Precious Roy

The Expos had fans? huh. And I think .500 is going to be a pretty unrealistic expectation for the Rap...er Blue Jays. Unless they have some impact prospects coming up (and Toronto prospects haven't had such a great track record lately) I just don't see enough talent there to win 80 games. Roy Halladay is great when he gets hot, and if he stays healthy, but he's only one man. Ted Lilly (who should still be a Yankee ) is a good #2, but there's a drop off after that, and I don't trust Miguel Batista. The bullpen was brutal last year, and Billy Kock (not a typo) just adds to the problem. The lineup has a ton of holes as well, Koskie and Wells can't carry a team, Rios isn't there yet, Cat is always hurt, and Hinske looks like a one-year wonder. Add to this the fact that they have to play NY and Boston an ass-load of times and I think they're lucky to win 70. I think I'll even go out on a limb and say Tampa Bay finishes ahead of them.

Vader was ran out by Hogan and Bischoff, the Orndorff thing was just an excuse, fodder for them to justify dumping him. Vader tells a much different story than the widely believed one in his shoot interview. On Sgt. Craig Pittman, does anyone else remember the angle where some pissed off ex-cadet showed up in WCW to get revenge on his former drill sargent? They had a PPV match, the dude showed up in fatigues, but I can't remember anything else about the guy, or if he even stuck around after that. I think this was late 95 or so, maybe 96, and WCW was still doing a lot of lame shit back then.

Sweet!

Agree. His one on one defense has dropped a notch, still a good team defender though, and his outside shooting, one of his strong suits in the past, is virtually non-existant now. His 3 pt. makes/attempts and percentage have dropped steadily over the last two years. In 996 minutes this year he's 10-39 from downtown. Ray Allen hits 10 3's in 1/15th of that time. His biggest value to the Kings now was as a passer, but with the Maloofs set on breaking up the band there's no premium on his proven chemistry. Plus the guy turns 35 this year. I don't see how they possibly could have done any better. Mobley is as good as role players get, 5 years younger than Christie, and better at Doug's supposed strengths (defense and shooting). Mobley is a great pressure defender and a thief who's averaged at least 2.5 steals a game over his entire career, plus he nails shots from all over the court. .464% from 3 so far this year, 58-125, and that's with almost 300 less minutes than Christie. The only question in my mind is how Mobley meshes with the Sacto motion offense, but he'll probably be a good fit. This trade is fucking thievery by the Kings.

The Blount contract was incredibly bad, paying big money to a marginal role player, and he hasn't done jack shit to prove that he's worth it. The Celtics are -2.7 when he's on the court this season, and +4.9 when he's on the bench, you do the math. C's have some good young players and, contrary to what Pierce thinks, a good run n' gun system in place. The problem is that Pierce is more of a halfcourt player, and he exerts so much energy on his moves to the basket and getting open in the halfcourt that he's not down with running up and down the court all night. It's not really surprising that he wants to play more downtempo ball, he's probably set in his routine, especially because he's been successful with his game and established stars like that often have trouble adjusting and playing a different style. Payton gets shipped out, he was there to mentor Banks/Allen/West in the short-term, if a playoff contender wants him they'll get him. Paul Pierce should never be traded, but if they have to do it they need to get another playmaking all-star in return. If they go and trade for Tyson Chandler and assorted scrubs Boston fans will go apeshit.

the nWo theme definitely lifted or replicated a couple Hendrix licks, Highway Child is the obvious one, and the part where the song slows down to allow for a couple "2 sweeeet" and "4 life" bits uses a definite Hendrix riff on the guitar. I think it was replicated though, Jimmy Hart playing Hendrix style guitar, because I never heard anything about them sampling or paying royalties to Jimi's estate, which they did when Hogan used Voodoo Child.

Definitely stock. I've seen it used on the history channel a bunch of times, the first time was back when Goldberg was first getting pushed. Turner had, and still has, a huge stock library of audio. Mysterio's first theme and Dean Malenko's first theme also pop up on THC from time to time.

Someone else would be on top or someone else would have married in? For all we know, Stephanie might have married Michael Cole, and Colemania would be running wild!

Am I crazy, or did that look like an Ultimate Warrior tease on Impact today???!?!

Predictions: EC - going out on a limb with Edge, mostly wishful thinking. Anyone but Hunter. IC - Shelton Womans - Trish Tag Team - Eugene/Regal Kane Hassan

The PPV is tonight!?!! No shit.

I'm rooting for the Vikes, pretty much in spite of Mike Tice. Nothing against the Packers, but I'm not looking forward to their inevitable loss to Phila. or ATL, so might as well get em out now.

Is it just me or is Jared packing on the LBS again? Too many footlong meatballs

I also can't believe anyone bet on Denver with the 10 pt spread! Suckers

I can't believe people picked Denver to win this

New York Mets - C- Mike Piazza/Jason Phillips 1B - Phillips/Valent 2B - Kaz Matsui SS - Jose Reyes 3B - David Wright OF - Floyd, Beltran, Cameron (I'd probably put Beltran at center and Cameron in right, not sure what they're planning) rotation: Pedro Martinez Tom Glavine Kris Benson Victor Zambrano Steve Trachsel Closer - Braden Looper That has the makings of a very potent team, no major holes. Wright showed major promise last year and could be a stud this season, and the rotation is hella-solid. Looper was great as their closer in the few chances he got to actually close. The biggest thing for the Mets will be luck, ie. avoiding injuries. Reyes, Piazza, Floyd and Cameron all missed large chunks of time last year, that can't happen again if they want to compete. If Reyes stays healthy he's a difference maker and a great 1-2 punch on the bases with Beltran. Another key is Randolph in his first shot as the man, but I have a good feeling about him. Let's compare to ATL: C - Johnny Estrada 1B - Adam LaRoche/Julio Franco 2B - Marcus Giles SS - Rafael Furcal 3B - Chipper Jones LF - ? CF - Andruw Jones RF - ? rotation: Tim Hudson John Smoltz Horacio Ramirez Mike Hampton John Thomson closer - Danny Kolb I'd probably give the edge to Braves' pitching out of habit, but talent wise it's very, very close. Smoltz is a big question mark in my mind, no telling how his arm handles the return to starting. Could be a huge success or a lost season. Kolb is tough, but no better than Looper IMO. The Braves' lineup has some solid producers in Chipper, Giles, Estrada and Furcal, but also major question marks in the OF, and Andruw Jones is in Mike Cameron territory in terms of consistency. Now the Marlins: C- Paul Lo Duca 1B - Jeff Conine 2B - Luis Castillo SS - Alex Gonzalez 3B - Mike Lowell LF - Miguel Cabrera CF - Juan Pierre RF - Juan Encarnacion rotation: Josh Beckett AJ Burnett Dontrelle Willis Al Leiter Ismael Valdez (?) closer - Guillermo Mota Another good staff, and a tighter lineup than ATL at present. The NL East looks like a toss up to me.

Agree. I think Pedro will have a great season because the guy has huge balls, but if Beltran goes to Shea I see a big letdown in relation to the money they'll pay for him.

But seriously, that promo totally ripped the Warrior face paint, and I'm positive they were looking to bait marks with it

Cool, glad I'm not going insane

Well, I'd say the Mets are as much a contender as Houston at this point, and the money was basically even. It's not a matter of beltran being greedy, it's a matter of him being Boras' bitch.

According to most published reports the difference between the relief from the lack of Texas income tax and the Mets offer made the deals even in the long run, which means the only true difference is Boras' cut. What the fuck? I don't understand why Beltran won't just tell Boras to go fuck himself!?? It's not like he needs him. If I were Beltran I'd go where I wanted to go, Boras ain't shit, anyone with half a brain can handle their own finances.

Am I the only one who get's a prompt to open that page rather than it opening in my browser? Not just you, either. What are you using? Firefox or IE? Firefox, and it's the only link on ESPN.com that won't open properly

Am I the only one who get's a prompt to open that page rather than it opening in my browser?

Am I the only one who get's a prompt to open that page rather than it opening in my browser?