Dr. Tom

Close. An Army installation in MD.

Que? ::has sigs and avatars turned off during the week for at-work browsing:: Edit: Clicking on my profile shows my correct avatar and sig. Shrug.

It's not that, it's what it might turn into. The example of MTV is a little apocalyptic, but not too far off. They were playing music videos constantly, then they started doing some music-themed game shows. Then they started things like "The Real World" and "Road Rules" that have nothing to do with music videos, continued that with shows like "Undressed" and the like, and now you're hard-pressed to find any music videos on MTV at all. I don't think ESPN will go down that road, but with their "original programming," the signs for a comparison are indeed on the wall.

Yes, that was great. On another note, I love it when people get told they're not going to advance, then loudly proclaim to the camera that the judges have made the biggest mistake of their collective lives. It always helps, of course, to have a loudmouthed friend trumpet the spurned contestant's "talent" profusely, using four-letter words for added emphasis. Spurned contestant: "They just made the biggest mistake ever!" Friend: "Yeah, they don't know real fuckin' talent!" I think that was the case with Miss I-Lost-80-Pounds-And-Still-Can't-Sing.

It did. Every offseason, dozens of perfectly good players are relased because they're too expensive. Every offseason, dozens more players restructure their contracts so that the team can afford to keep them and a few other important guys around. (The Colts are going to have to do this with Peyton Manning very soon, btw.) Long-term contracts in the NFL are basically a joke. A player will sign a contract that's lauded as a "7-year, $50 million contract" by the media. The thing is, $14 million of that is a signing bonus, payable over all 7 years under the salary cap rules. Then the player's salary structure is $3m, $4m, and $5m for the first three years, with the remaining $24m coming in the last two years. The cap numbers are then $5m, $6m, and $7m for the first 3 years, then the player either gets released or his deal gets restructured. That does oversimplify the system a bit, but that's the crux of how it works. None of those years are guaranteed, and sometimes they're even called "voidable option years." I don't even pay attention to "big" contracts in football anymore, because they're invariably back-loaded like that so that teams can get out of them. When Drew Bledsoe got traded to the Bills, a lot of people said, "OMG he has a $100m contract!" True, he does. However, his salary for the first three years he'd spend in Buffalo was about $6m per year, then the insane money hit. It stands to reason that Bledsoe will either be released or his contract greatly restructured before that happens.

These casting specials, or auditions, or whatever they call them, are the best episodes of the show by far. I hardly ever watch it when the show really kicks off, but watching talentless idiots get ripped on by Simon is endlessly amusing. My highlights of the night are probably the same as everyone else's, though I wish Simon would have been harsher with that hippie idiot. Btw, Colonel KKK, I must agree that Paula Abdul is still a fine piece of ass.

I work in the IT field for the Department of the Army.

We'd be throwing down for the knife, then.

Indeed.

You know who you are. Keep this shit out of my CE folder. Back on topic, I thought the speech was a good one. No real bombshells were dropped, but it came across well and had some memorable lines. I had to smirk at the "mistimed" applause on the Patriot Act comment, though. And seeing Uncle Ted shaking his head in frustration brought a smile to my face.

I know I've told this story before, since this thread crops up every month or two, it seems. Anyway, in high school, a few of us were trying to decide who was the most cynical among us. Someone said they'd taken a doctorate course in cynicism, so I countered with, "Motherfucker, I TAUGHT that course!" Thus, I was dubbed "Dr. Tom," and I decided to use the moniker when I first got into the internet and BBs years ago. The reason I spell it "DrTom" is out of habit: a lot of older BB systems didn't allow spaces or special characters.

Agreed. No one else was going to offer him that much money. His OPS is paltry for his position and has shown no signs of appreciably increasing. I think the Dodgers are still wrapped up in the potential Beltre showed when he debuted in the majors at age 6, or however old he was.

Considering the M's already have Guardado (who I'm presuming will be the closer) and Hasegawa (who was 16-17 in saves last year, and thus makes a great fill-in and setup man), I don't see why they need Urbina. They could do far worse for bullpen help, though.

Goose Gossage.

And now, to try and drag this back on topic, or close to it... Yes. I have zero sympathy for people who bring misfortune upon themselves. I have even less, if that's possible, for people who carelessly risk the lives of others while bringing misfortune upon themselves. Drunk drivers who maim or kill someone while surviving the accident themselves should be put out of society's misery by the first officer to arrive on the scene.

Hmph. I'm starting to feel short at 6'5.

Funny that these people who are big on the Ten Commandments and the "laws of God" seem to have no problems violating the laws of man.

And political correctness invades even homicide bombings. Next, we'll see a bunch of old cripples in wheelchairs vying to detonate themselves and others in the name of their worthless god. "Pick me, pick me. My goodness gracious me, you can use the spokes of my wheelchair for more very very nice secondary explosives to kill rescue workers. Praise Allah!" Bah. Can you tell I'm in a mood?

That's my take on it, too. No one has the right not to be offended by something someone else says about them on the internet. Really, people take themselves, their online personas, and the internet FAR too seriously.

You trusted a baseball player? Why? Sports is a business, both from the ownership perspective and from that of the players. You're taking this WAY too personally.

Likewise. And I don't even like Warren Sapp.

When did you start watching football, last week? They weren't going for it. They had no intention of going for it. All they were trying to do was draw the defense offside. Since that failed (as it usually does in those spots), they took the delay penalty to back up five yards and get a better kicking angle for the deep corners of the field. Of course, their punter is a fucking stain, so that ended up being pointless. They definitely weren't going for it, though. If they were, I think they would have snapped the goddamn ball at some point.

I'm indifferent toward the Packers, as I am to the Eagles. I was rooting for the Packers to win simply because I had picked them to do so. Once Sherman was exposed as a sissy, I immediately began hoping they would lose. I guess you don't know anybody with "nutz," then. What Sherman did last year was stupid. Bravery and foolishness should not be confused.

And what's wrong with that?

That's Ahman Green, first of all. Second, you shouldn't sell Foster short. Sure, he's not in Green's class yet, but this is really his rookie season, considering he missed last year with an injury. He's shown good speed to the outside, good ability to cutback, and good vision in the open field. And he had a good game against the Rams, who are no slouches on defense, and tougher against the run than the Eagles. Let's be real here. You won for two reasons: 1. Mike Sherman is a gigantic pussy. 2. Brett Favre is a cretin. The Packers had the game won, but their coach let you back in to tie it, and then their veteran QB made a rookie mistake in OT. Don't act like you outplayed the Packers all day. You'd better hope you can do it again. Personally, I don't think you can.