Bruiser Chong

After glancing at the members reading this thread, I eagerly await Edwin MacPhisto's annual baseball post.

What a great game. Game 3 and 4 weren't competitive, but all the rest were extremely close. A very well played game from both squads tonight, which is the least you can ask for in a Game 7. Even if the Sox were going to win, you'd like to see a close game. This series went a long way in cultivating the Red Sox/Rays into a true rivalry. The best part of the night for me was a text from my lone Red Sox fan friend. This is the one who has jokingly mocked the failures of the Cubs over the years, while boasting of Boston's success. I was fearing another series of boasts from him if the Sox completed the comeback. I guess he assumed I was going to send a gloating text after the game, because I received one from him moments after the third out that read, "Shut up. Just shut your mouth."

The hell? I thought I posted this in the Legends thread (where it belonged). I'm retarded.

I come across a great deal of wrestling magazines from this era. I recall seeing one with a cover featuring Hogan wearing this stupid helmet with a caption about how the WWF needed to ban it.

Don't worry, you don't really miss anything. The matches are almost as bad as the prior weeks and there aren't even any interesting segments of note. Even Heenan and Gorilla don't drop the quotables with as much regularity here.

I guess I just don't find this incarnation of the Red Sox to be an interesting team. If this were 2003 or even 2006, maybe that wouldn't matter to me. But after seeing Boston win two titles in four seasons, I'm in no hurry to see them notch a third championship. Boston fans (not you guys) already have this sense of entitlement since winning in 2004. Another one is going to make them damn near unbearable.

I can't believe I'm having to witness this again. It must be a charmed existence to be a Boston fan these days, but I have no desire to see another Red Sox championship any time soon. If they do win the series, and at this point it looks likely, they will have defied the odds and earned it. But it would've been nice to have two fresh teams battling for the championship. If the Sox win tomorrow, this easily passes last year's Cleveland collapse and seriously rivals the Yankees' collapse of 2004. The Yanks had three games on Boston, but the Rays were seven outs from the World Series up three games to one with a SEVEN-run lead.

Taking nothing away from what Boston did, it amazes me how many people (not here) are not declaring this series over.

Beckett's definitely pitching in Game 6. He's the key factor. If they rock him again and get into the Sox bullpen early, I don't see them letting another lofty lead slip away.

I still think the Rays win the series, but what a deflating feeling that must be for them. Between playing it safe on that hit that scored the first Boston run, the awful throw home trying to gun down the tying run, and that last play, Gabe Gross nearly single-handily lost this for the Rays.

That video's pretty disgusting. It's a reminder that no matter what sort of progression we make, there's always going to be that group of folks who have a racist viewpoint instilled in their life. Fear of a black planet, indeed. These people ARE trash.

The LA media's stringing up the Dodgers. I guess stomping the Cubs made a lot of people forget that the Dodgers were an 84-win team that had tendencies to look pathetic, even after the addition of Manny.

Yeah, they hyped it for two months and then not even a peep about the show. I figured we'd at least get Heenan gloating about Andre winning the main event. Anyone know why they act as if the show didn't happen? I know some have mentioned Andre's poor performance, but it couldn't have been so bad (compared to the quality of his matches at that point) that they'd treat it like some house show. And I'll assume they're in Vegas to tape the Slammy's, right?

Congrats are in order to the Phillies. It would've been great to see a Cubs/Phillies series, because this was pretty damn lopsided. LA was the inferior team and it was painfully clear almost the entire duration of the series.

Former MLB pitcher Kevin Foster died Saturday of renal cancer at age 39. Foster, who pitched for the Cubs, Phillies, and Rangers, was never a great pitcher and something of a long shot to even be in the majors. Still, he was a sentimental favorite of mine during his time with Chicago. I still remember coming home from school one spring afternoon and watching Foster strike out something like five of the first six hitters he faced.

What a genius that Joe Torre. Better save the closer for the technical save situation instead of the late-inning scenario where the possibility of that save situation is actually on the line.

I didn't bother to read anything past the first page, so if this was covered already, well, get off my case! It sounds like your parents are the sort of folks who buy their kids off in exchange to have the ability to indirectly run their lives. It sounds like they have no issues over making sure you're okay financially, but what does that matter if they don't even consider what you want in your life? Stopping that isn't even about "being a man." It's about being an individual and not what your parents want. If you aren't slanging crack rocks or raping bitches, why are on earth should they be opposed to you doing your own thing? Reading your post, I doubt you haven't shown signs of depression (and yes, you ARE depressed) around your parents. If they're honestly fine with you remaining in your current psychological condition just because it means you're doing what they want, then they're shitty parents. At any rate, it's time to start doing what you need to do in order to be happy. Get a job. Move out. There will be difficulties and it's always easier to respond ways out of your situation with, "Yeah, but..." If, however, you're truly ready to change things, you'll do it and not look for excuses not to. Your parents aren't going to live forever. No need to put yourself (or rather, keep yourself) in a position that only makes them happy.

I guess I just never bought HHH as a real main event guy. Years of constantly having the company try to convince everyone otherwise has only amplified the situation. It's funny how HHH talks about how he was at a certain level with DX, but he knew he had to branch out to get to that higher, main event level. I totally bought him as a mid-talent guy and really enjoyed his work during the DX era. I was just never able to buy into the character shift to snarling egomaniac.

The Rock's commentary is the only good thing about this HHH DVD from what I've watched. I've come to realize I don't even enjoy HHH's universally liked matches.

We were watching the latter stages of the game at a bar last night. I went next door to another bar that has an outdoor area. After about a half hour, I see my one Red Sox fan friend walk out of the bar and almost instantly get a text from another friend next door saying the Rays won. Awesome. My buddy's one of those "I'm going to rub your face in my team's success" fans. Beckett looked awful, though. He's one of the few players I despise, so it was good viewing.

I actually like Gene as the host of TNT. The show still sucks, but his insistence on never straying far from the subtle mature humor keeps it interesting. Bret Hart only seems to be on the show so Gene can mock his hair ("it looks like hell"). Though they don't go with the rest of his outfit, the Nikes Bret is sporting here are badass.

I did like the constant shots of the distressed Rays "faithful." I'm sure they've got their true fans, but how many of the people they showed tonight looking all gloom and doom were fans of this team a year ago?

It's easier for the media and talking heads to exaggerate Manny's importance and Torre's genius. Make no mistake, Manny was the reason they won the division, but they were still an 84-win team.

I'm sure he's a darling for Sox fans, but as a neutral viewer, Papelbon's more irritating to watch close a game down than K-Rod.

Pena swinging on 3-0 was their undoing in that inning. With two guys on, no outs and that count, all the pressure is on the Sox there. No need to swing away at what looked like a marginal strike at best. I sense the Sox are out of danger for Game 1, though I would still expect (or at least HOPE) we get a competitive series out of this yet.