Tim McG

Maybe they're Dutch! Do bear in mind that a lot of "mispronunciations" are actually regional variations that wouldn't raise an eyebrow in their natural habitat. And there are many variants between standard Canadian and standard American pronunciation of the same words. Two people I know from Oregon pronounce "lawyer" in a way that sounds to me like "liar" (though more specifically it's something like lah-yer). Same goes with the word: Orange. A lot of it depends on the prevailing accent in the place one lives. Hunnert for hundred is another. Another irritant for me is adding "r" to words that do not have them. Warsh when they mean wash. Man, that bugs me.

In America, the mispronunciations which bother me the most are deliberate or just plain lazy drops in diphthongs. As a Speech teacher, I battle this all the time with my students. To point this lazy speech out to my students, I give them a sheet of paper with several common words written to reflect the phonetic sound they make when spoken incorrectly. Here are a few: Ruckerd when they mean record; Melk when they mean milk; Mel when they mean mail; Butter when they mean better; Auction when they mean action; And so forth. Once they see the mispronounced words spelled phonetically, the words start to creep back into their speech patterns pronounced correctly. Personally, there is one word which really irritates me when pronounced incorrectly: Temperature. More than a few people say tem-PAH-ture. Ugh. To me, it is as bad as hearing finger nails scraping down a chalkboard.

I absolutely agree, Noj.

He is a talent, that's for sure.

I give the coach one more year...then he's gone.

Spurs are too tough. It will be an uphill battle for OKC, I'm afraid.

Well, at least the Lakers got it to the 5th game. No sweep. Go Giants.

What...again? Man, I am staying as far away from Dodger Stadium as I can get. Seriously. The place is just out of control. An Oakland A's night game is safer. Wow.

It's his fastball, IMHO. Check out his average speed. I heard early on this year that hitters in the west didn't fear his fastball, which meant they didn't fear the speed between it, and his changup.I don't see him pitch that often, but back in the day...he would bring a 96-97 fastball up if he needed a big out. even when I see someone swing and miss, it's usually a perfectly placed pitch outside, perhaps a bit high, but it's 91-92 now. I know they must worry about him "bulking" up, and not being able to keep the same funky delivery, but I think if he is to have a long term career, he needs to build up his slight frame. He's too young to be losing speed off his fastball every year. I think you're right. He's been leaving his FB up and in the hitter's zone. He's also been missing his spots and hanging his curve ball. His velocity has been off for a couple season's now, but this year [and part of last year] Lincecum has struggled mightily just to get guys out. Maybe that's why the Giants only gave him a two year contract. I dunno. But for the Giants to even have a chance to get into the playoffs, either as the NL West Champ or a WC berth, they need Lincecum to pitch well. Couldn't hurt

Good question. I think the eclipse was seen more in North America and Hong Kong/Asia,if memory serves.

Not weather related but did any of you see the solar eclipse yesterday? It was way cool Solar Eclipse

What's going on with Lincecum?

No doubt. But three close losses in a row just shows the Lakers still have a fair amount of talent on the team. The Thunder has had to struggle to win [or, more to the point, preside over the mistakes of the Lakers]. My thinking is if the Thunder was that good [or the Lakers that bad] the games would be more lopsided and they aren't. Okay, let me put it this way; a W is a W is a W. The spread only makes a difference to the money betters. OK...fair enough

No doubt. But three close losses in a row just shows the Lakers still have a fair amount of talent on the team. The Thunder has had to struggle to win [or, more to the point, preside over the mistakes of the Lakers]. My thinking is if the Thunder was that good [or the Lakers that bad] the games would be more lopsided and they aren't.

Well, the good news is the Lakers aren't getting blown out.

I hope it's a Great B-Day, Chuck!

Yeah, I noticed that, too. Back-to-back games...when did this start? Even in the regular season there is at least one day between games. I saw the schedule in the paper this morning and thought it was a mistake; my first thought was "how can they do that, it is unheard of in the playoffs." I was wrong. And brother, you are right, the NBA and David Stern had better wake up or face an unheard of strike. Players injuries off the scope, ridiculous triple back to backs and way too many double back to backs. I agree. If Stern stays on much longer it will ruin the game irrevocably.

Where I am glad the Lakers beat OKC 99-96, it has always worried me that Kobe Bryant is has to be the guy to bail the team out all the time. I mean, do the other guys on the team even care about winning? Game 4 tonight....we'll see if the rest of the starters will step up.

Lakers tonight vs Thunder. Go hard or go home time.

Or Robb Nen...among others.

Yeah, I read about that today in our local fish wrap. But he was barking at the Phillies manager, right? What's bad about that? I remember when he broke into the majors and everybody was raving over his pitching prowess. Sorry to see it end this way, though.

Brandon Crawford rescues Cain for a 7-5 win over the Cards! The winning streak is now at one.

True dat. I have to admit OKC is looking pretty darn good right now.

if not for the bullpen the Mets would be in first place. Sounds like the Giants of the 90s.

You know, it is amazing how they still talk about me since I've been gone. The insulting post #17 speaks volumes on the point I made earlier: JC is a good ol' boy toilet dominated by people who just don't get it. Blame first, think last. Such is the nature of the Internet, I suppose. May the Schwartz be with you