Dr. Tom

Goodear stated why in his post announcing the thread's closing.

All of the WWE folder mods have put time into improving the folder. Some more than others, perhaps, but not everyone has the same amounts of time to devote. The point is that they've all been doing their jobs. The moderator logs bear this out. If they weren't doing their jobs, they'd be sacked in favor of those who would. Besides, people making comments on another messageboard out of frustration (and the frustration is completely understandable) isn't something I'm interested in crucifying them for. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, if you will. Some people are unwilling to change. Some people are idiots. To both, I say good riddance. It depends. A lot of that had to do with the way the problems were presented. I'm not going to stand around and watch folder and global mods get pilloried over trivial things like closing and moving threads. If you have problems with certain people, you should come out and say it, in an adult manner. The whole "I'm not going to name names" spiel doesn't do anything for your argument.

He's doing his job. The point is that the staff isn't collectively champing at the bit to ban people who seem like harmless idiots simply because you've flip-flopped on the idea of reopening registrations.

Not necessarily. It sounds like it makes sense, and I'm sure it does in some cases, but there's no way this is universally true. In a word, no. If they've deflected the ball to the point that it's only a few feet behind them, then they'll pick it up and see if a play can be made. If the ball gets completely past the shortstop, then the outfielder might make the play. If the SS is expecting a hop he doesn't get and the ball gets under his glove, he's going to lose a second or two looking for the ball and surprised to not see it in his glove. By that point, the ball is well onto the grass and still going, so the left fielder (who should have been running in to backup the play anyway, precisely for this reason) has the better play since he's running toward his throw. The SS would be running away from the throw if he made a mad dash after the ball. And never mind that the LF is running the whole time, while the SS has to start from a dead stop. Because unless you have just the right position, you're not going to stop it. Why risk a foul and a three-point play when you can just give up the two and take the ball back? Also, a lot of the defenders who are stopping might be doing so to draw a charge. The quality of professional athletics is greater than the quality of college athletics. That's not to say that I don't like college sports, because I do. But the best pro teams are better than the best college teams, and thus the games are better and easier to watch and enjoy.

It needs it, too.

Bullshit. My father for example works 12hrs a day, 5 days a week and then proceeds to work another 5hrs on Saturday in a sweatshop of a diecasting place. Then he's not the average person, is he? The average person works 40-45 hours a week over five 8-9 hour days. Pro athletes have a harder workload during the season. MLB players play six games a week on average, and have to travel all over the country to do their jobs. Other leagues don't play as often, but the travel can be just as grueling. Any athlete who just "lounges about" in the offseason will have to work twice as hard to get into game shape when the season starts. Conditioning oneself as a pro athlete is a year-round job. They have to lift weights, stretch, run, and do exercises specific to their sport to maintain muscle memory. Again, bullshit. Anybody can hit a baseball or shoot a basketball. Sure. I can do both. And I'd hit about .014 against major league pitching. In the NBA, I'd be lucky to shoot 25% from the field, and that would be before the 7-footers started getting all up in my grill before I shot. The point is that very few people can hit a baseball or shoot a basketball at the levels competitive professional athletics demand. People won't spend their ticket money to watch a bunch of scrubs: look at the NFL's attendance plunge during the scab games of ~15 years ago. Fans expect certain levels of competency and performance, and that is part of what makes pro sports so compelling. Strawman. They're not paid to do that, and doctors are compensated quite well for their work. Doesn't mean they can afford to They wouldn't start the process if they didn't think they could finish it. Unlikely. The odds against Joe Random having the same skills and being in the same condition as Alex Rodriguez are ludicrously small. The pitching wouldn't suffer nearly that kind of dropoff, as there are plenty of college and semipro chaps who can throw 90 and never sniff the majors. Again, the caliber of players involved in replacement games would be orders of magnitude worse than the standard, and owners would be committing financial suicide if they tried to find replacements for 750 MLB players. And with your bitter tirade, you make it sound like it's their fault. It isn't. Americans will pay a lot of money to be entertained. People love competition and living vicariously thru their favorite athletes and teams. The market dictates things like salaries. If there weren't 75 million people going to baseball games every year (a guess), the current salary structure -- which is much more fiscally responsible than a few years ago, showing the market can and does adjust -- couldn't be maintained. That's a matter of perspective. As long as people are going to the games and generating revenue, and as long as spending doesn't exceed that revenue, then I don't care what the players make. There are far more important things to worry about than the size of Manny Ramirez's biweekly paycheck.

You're both being held to it.

Subject TSM-CWM-001 is not responding well to mental realigment therapy.

Newdow is an atheist, Mike, according to the stories which appeared in the papers when this first became news. As an atheist myself, I'm ashamed to share a philosophy with such an absolute waste of sperm and egg.

Maybe he has a bitch on the side. Every man can use some STRANGE~! BTW, Colonel, what's a "divorice?" Is that like licorice?

I couldn't disagree more. If anything, the last few years have shown that MLB does NOT need a salary cap. The Marlins didn't spend their way to a World Series win, nor did the Angels. Recent years have shown that deft team-building is what wins, not money. The Oakland A's are competitive every year with a small-market payroll because they draft and develop players well, and if they need to trade or sign a free agent to plug a hole, they get players that fit into their team concept. The free-spending stardard is obviously the Yankees, but they haven't won a World Series in a few years now. Sure, you'll have a good team when you can buy All-Stars, but it doesn't mean you're going to go all the way. Look at the team now: two of their starters, both at least 35, are hurt, they've had some other injury problems, and their defense is still nothing to write home about. If the Red Sox didn't havw worse injury problems, I don't think the Yankees would be in first place right now. As for what hockey can do, I think shortening the regular season to 72 games would be a great start. I doubt the owners would ever do it, since fewer games = less TV revenue, but it's not like networks pay thru the nose to televise the NHL to begin with. I'd also get rid of the insitgator minor and let the players swing on each other with fists instead of sticks.

I turned the big 3-0 back in February, but I know there a couple folks here more advanced in their internet dotage than I.

Sadly, it wasn't my dad. Though he does occasionally bust out the guitar, banjo, or ukalele.

I have two. One on my left upper arm/shoulder, which is a wolf's head above a skeletal hand, dripping blood. The one on my right upper arm/shoulder is a yin/yang symbol, with the yin submerged and the yang in flames. I got the first when I was 19, and the second when I was 20, so they probably need to be touched up.

Send me a writing sample, CM. Review Heat (or another show) and either PM the review to me, or email to [email protected]. We'll take it from there.

The 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers pwn you and all your souls.

No part of this forum is for spamming. Perhaps if you'd bothered to read the very visible link pointing to our board rules, you might've been aware of that. I'm going to go ahead and presume that you will click on that link, and that we won't have any problems like this again.

You don't want a site email, unless you have an unnatural love of spam and virii. The best thing to use is a Yahoo account, since their spam-blocking capabilities are pretty good.

Lady Thatcher's tribute was AMAZING. That alone made it worth tuning into the state funeral.

Lawrence Phillips wasn't a thug? Lawrence Philips was a waste of sperm and egg.

Two things: 1. They realized they were covering a crappy B-show and got tired of the lack of quality 2. They weren't getting enough feedback to make them happy Actually, #2 has happened to quite a few former TSM writers. I've always submitted that you're writing for the wrong reasons if you're writing for anyone besides yourself, but my words of wisdom went unheeded.

All of page 1 and the first third or so of page 2? You made some silly "arguments" and got taken to task for them (and rightly so), then tried to say how enlightening the whole thing was while your pants were still on fire. That might fool some of the rubes, but it's not going to fool anyone here with a brain.

Welcome to the neighborhood. I've gotten used to fighting off eight or so people at once. It's actually kind of fun.

Merged the two threads. Carry on.

AL, what about guys who were stars in each league? Not saying I'm nominating these fellows, but Mark McGwire and Frank Robinson had very productive years in both leagues. What's the criteria here?