Precious Roy

Lidle has historically pitched well in September, and he's played for teams in the middle of pennant races before. A team in the hunt rarely relies on late season callups in the rotation. Lidle's perfectly acceptable as a back of the rotation guy, but I wouldn't give up too much for him

People on SNL are still doped up, they're just choosing the wrong drugs. Weed and X don't make you funny, they make you retarded. These kids need to mix in some speed, cocaine and bourbon with their hippy drugs.

Oh, we definitely need another reliable starter, and I think we add someone (probably not a 'marquee' name), I'd be happy with a Livan Hernandez or John Lieber type, someone with a track record who's having an off year, but might have enough gas in the tank to pick it up down the stretch But Abreu though, I think when you can get a player of that caliber you take your best shot. His OBP is freaking .430! And he's a great baserunner. I don't even care about the drop in power this year. You can put him in right and DH Sheff if/when he comes back, Bernie sits, Phillips sits, you have more flexibility to put different lineups out there, Damon, Jeter, Abreu, A-Rod is a scary top 4....it improves the team overall. Plus, they're not going to bring back Sheff, so Abreu would have right to himself next season. I like Cabrera, but I'm not convinced he's a full-timer yet That said, supposedly the Yankees and Phillies are far apart on Abreu and talks are pretty much dead, and Abreu has been rumoured to move for a few years now and never goes anywhere, so I wouldn't sweat it

a sling and some painkillers

We can only hope that the Cavs and Heat get matched up and it becomes a free throw contest

why?

There's too much corporate money tied up in the show now, that will never happen. Remember when Rage Against the Machine pulled out the upside down flags? That was pretty much the last call for rebellion from musical guests, NBC/GE/ETC had a shitfit. Their fucking music is sponsored by BUDWEISER now!!!!

Oh yeah, I have to give props to the ABC dancefest, that was inspired

I went into the flick with low expectations, and they were met, basically. I liked some of the dialogue, I liked some of the gags, I liked the basic idea behind starting it/ending it in black & white and giving some sort of closure to the characters. The ending was probably the best part, the Soul Asylum song, the fading to black and white, bittersweet but perfect for the story the stuff in between....a ton of filler, some of it memorable, some of it horribly cliched, some of it just there Overall not that good, but as a kid who watched Clerks back in 94 or so and thought it was amazing (and still do) I got some perverse entertainment out of it. Smith has been going downhill for a decade now though. A movie like this should have been direct to video/DVD or something, and the pathetic numbers it generated prove it. Outside of his fanboy audience (which I guess I'm part of, moreso extended fanboy family) he can't draw. He needs to start making actual FILMS and not just dialogue wankfests. And if I posted this on ViewAskew I'd expect to be ripped apart in about 3 minutes

Oh, and NORM MCFUCKINGDONALD that dude should be the star of the show. sign him up!

GENIUS! I'm kind of sad to see Parnell and Dratch go. At this point they were two of the funniest, most polished people on the show, capable of taking supporting roles in dumb sketches and making them entertaining. Good role players. I'd be bummed if Maya was gone. She's hot. And her mom was a great singer. And Amy Poehler is AWESOME. FUCK HATERS. I'm a little worried that the show will become the Andy Sandberg/Lost Island-fest now. While that style of comedy would be an improvement, trying to make Andy the next breakout star would be a mistake, because he's no Chevy Chase. Speaking of Chevy...they should bring him back. And bring back Dana Carvey like someone said. And definitely Jericho. And of course keep Darell Hammond in the Tim Meadows role of guy who's on the show for a million years and yet nobody notices him.

Geoff Jenkins breaking his leg sliding into 3rd a few years back was pretty nasty Hideki Matsui breaking his wrist this season was kinda nasty...and cool....if only because he still picked up the ball and threw it back to the infield And the Damon/? (I want to say Damon Hollins?) collision a few years back when Damon got the nasty concussion that led to him growing his beard out was pretty F'n awesome

The only way Clemens gets traded is if he asks to get traded. And who knows with Roger, I'd say there's a chance that could happen, but I doubt it, since they'll probably still be in striking distance of the WC by the deadline. If they were 10+ out right now it would be one thing, but they're far from out of the picture. He'd probably get more satisfaction trying to make a run with Houston than a sure thing going to Boston or NY (and YES NY is a sure thing, fuck Detroit, fuck Chicago. Fuck Boston for that matter, we're winning the East.) Now, if the opportunity came up I would JUMP at getting Clemens. I'd give up Philip Hughes in a heartbeat, just to say the greatest pitcher of all time made his last pitch in our uniform. Of course then he'd just decide to come back for another year with the Rangers or some shit, so maybe that's not such a good idea..... As far as reasonable trade ideas I'm hoping the Yankees go after Lieber. He pitched well in pinstripes before, I was miffed that we let him go to spend money on Fagvano and Wrong, and we need another starter, I don't trust Jaret at all, and putting Ponson on the mound scares the fuck out of me. Carl's Jr. is never going to pitch again, I'm convinced. And back to the 'Stros, I'd really like to trade for Pettitte, he's another guy we never should have let go

The Yankees released Kelly Stinnett, and traded for backup catcher Sal Fasano from the Phillies. They gave up single A 2B Hector Made. Maybe Al can tell me something good about Fasano. On the surface his numbers are almost identical to those of Stinett.

This is totally on point. The best deal they were close to making was Boston's pick (which would have become Foye), Gerald Green and Carlos Boozer from Utah, and Ainge pulled out of it. That's an acceptable deal I guess, you get Boozer who's best years are theoretically still to come but is overpaid, a high school kid with 1 year in the league and a ton of talent, and one of the top rookie guards, but it was taken out of Philly's hands. Why should the 76ers deal Iverson for any less? If all they're getting are Andre Miller+Nene type offers they aren't improving OR rebuilding, and it doesn't seem like any teams really want to sell their future for a couple good, expensive years of Allen Iverson. The only willing trade partners left are probably Atlanta, but unless they're offering Josh Smith and/or Marvin Williams the 6ers won't do the deal. You also have to consider how much money Iverson brings in, even if he stalls a rebuilding process by a few years he's helping keep the team above water. The aforementioned "Barkley deal" would be a disaster. I do think Sam Dalembert is tradable though. Look at the market for bigs, his contract isn't that bad with respect to his talent. He had a bad 05-06 though, they'd be crazy to sell low on him.

Miller is a better passer, has more range as a shooter and is a better "international style" (zone/rotation) defender than Bosh or Stoudemire. Battier is a much better, more versatile version of Bowen. He's one of the best rotation defenders in the league, he understands the zone inside and out, he can knock down open shots, he can pass, he's vocal....you definitely want him on the team. Cut Bowen. And honestly, I'd probably cut Melo and Arenas, I don't really see a need for either one of them on that team. Paul and Hinrich make more sense at the point and both Wade and LeBron can do a lot of ball handling, and even though Melo is one of my favorite players they have enough scoring out there. It's a toss up between cutting Melo or Jamison for me, Melo is more dynamic, Jamison is a more consistent rebounder and outside shooter and seems to have less of an ego. I could see Melo pouting if/when he doesn't get the minutes/shots he wants, like he did the last time. I'd probably cut him for that reason.

What the fuck is wrong with New York sportswriters/fans/etc.? This A-Rod thing has pissed me off to no end. He's got 21 home runs, over 70 RBIs, close to a .900 ops...not his best season but far from a bad season at the plate. His errors are troubling (of course like 3 of them came in one game, and there's been like 2 since then, all since he started getting booed at the plate), but it's such a small sample size, there's no reason to think it isn't just a bump in the road. I don't understand why everyone wants to throw him overboard. He slumped in June, ok, but now it's like self-fulfilling prophecy from all the people looking to tear him down. You want to hate and boo? Yeah, that's real productive. The sheer # of Yankee fans that shit on the guy and demand he be traded is very troubling to me. What's your take on this whole situation?

So they start Smith at the 3, whatever, the guys they have there are pretty much interchangable in the sense that any one of them could be a competent starter. I don't really see Smith as a 4, personally, he seems like a prototype 3 man, kind of a more explosive/less polished Kirilenko type. I can't see Sheldon Williams not starting at the 4, and I still think Marvin Williams is a 3 in a 4's body, at least at this point. They drafted Sheldon to give them some polished muscle inside, not to come off the bench, at least that's how I see it. If you didn't plan on having him start why would you lock in on him at #5 weeks before the draft. But that's the thing I like about the Hawks' depth, you can make valid arguments for any one of Smith/Childress/Williams starting at the 3, or even at the 4 for Smith/Williams, and all three are versatile enough to play at least two positions. And as Cheech13 reiterated, this was the best deal for the Hawks. The only other enticing offer they were getting was from the Warriors, but it involved players at the same positions they're already stacked at (I'm thinking Pietrus) plus filler they didn't want to make the contracts match. Why create a further logjam at the 2/3 and take some crappy contracts when you can have a big chunk of salary freedom to do whatever you want with? In the NBA right now a trade exception of that ammount is infinitely more valuable than some average player who's making a couple mil a year. Now they have flexibility to sign another big on the FA market, and have more room to reup a Childress or Smith in a few years. With a young, promising team it's smart strategy.

I want to know why Bonzi turned down over $7 mil a year from Sacramento. Isn't he worried that Ron Artest will kill him now? Seriously though, I think that's about as good an offer as he was going to get. Maybe he can get bumped up to 8 per in a sign and trade, but he'll probably end up with a lesser team. I don't understand this John Salmons lovefest at all. I think I'll call it the "Boris Diaw Syndrome" And to touch on Al Harrington...why the hate for the Hawks on this deal? The point behind jettisoning him all along has been to clear room for their other, cheaper forwards. They didn't want to take comparable contracts back, the trade exception was the best thing that could have happened to them. The deal gives them a lot of flexibility and more cap room to resign their kids in a few years. Potential Lineup: Pachulia S. Williams Childress Johnson Claxton with Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, Stoudamire, Lue off the bench. Plus they might be able to sign a Wilcox/Drew Gooden/Reggie Evans/Melvin Ely now if they feel so inclined

I didn't say it was bad because he hasn't taken the 76ers anywhere lately, I said it was bad because of what they'd be giving up in the deal. But you have to take Iverson's resume into account. I understand having a win now mentality, but this is a 31 yr old who's probably on the verge of slowing or breaking down. Somebody somewhere had a good point about players like AI....Isiah, Nate Archibald....who lost it around his age. I'm not sure how much I buy into that in his case, but it's a definite risk, and he has had a history of injury. Usually he plays through it, but that won't last forever. And are you convinced that you can win with him? The potential of that team would be very high for sure, but does it make you better than Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix.....maybe, maybe not, and the window would become considerably smaller as Cassell/Iverson have a ton of miles on them. I mean, I do understand why one would be tempted to make the deal, but Shaun Livingston has the potential to be a very special player in the league for a long time. He's 20 years old. He's got a LOT of ball left in him. Top 5? Probably not. Top 10 or so? Definitely. And is Iverson, right now, a top 5 player? Top 10? I'm not so sure. I can think of at least 10 guys I'd rather have than him. I wouldn't do it. I think a core of Brand, Livingston, Kaman, Maggette is something you can build around and be a perenially good team with. I wouldn't give that up for one, maybe two shots at a title when you could be a dominant team for 5 or 6 years with those guys, maybe more. Now, do you want Allen Iverson on your team? Of course you do. Not only is he a highly skilled and mentally tough player but he's a huge draw in the league. He sells jerseys, he sells tickets, he brings media attention. But do you give up great young talent for him? It's the same reason the Celtics haven't pulled the trigger. The 6ers want some combination of Al Jefferson/Sebastian Telfair/Delonte West/Gerald Green. It's too high a price.

Simmons couldn't go because he's been on the Bucks for a year, but I get what you are saying. Cassell, I wouldn't part with. I like all the guys on the Clippers and I think Shaun Livingston will be big in the league, but without Cassell, the Clippers would not have been in the playoffs last year. If he had left this offseason, I think they would've been dead in the water. His role on the Clippers this year was very similar to Nash on the Suns, IMO. The point is that nobody in their right mind would give up Livingston AND Maggette for Allen Iverson. They shouldn't be trading Livingston AT ALL. The kid is like 20 yrs old, 2 years into a rookie deal, and showing huge potential. He's a natural PG and very good defender with great size for the position, and most of all he's just got great feel for the game, the kind of shit you can't teach. In the Clippers' situation, do you give that up for a guy with a monster contract who's never really won anything and realistically is about to see the back-end of his prime? Iverson is an amazing player, but he hasn't even been able to take his teams to the playoffs lately. Not to mention that you're giving up Maggette in the deal (who has a contract they want to move anyway), but still. I would think it's a big stretch for the Clippers to take that deal, and anyone suggesting they offer less is insane. The West/Jefferson/Green/bad contract for AI/scrubs rumours were bad enough. As far as Arenas goes, he's a unique talent, but not talented enough that he could carry a team to a championship. He needs a great big man to play off of, like a Dwight Howard or healthy Amare, and unfortunately I think the lack of that is going to hinder Washington for most of his career. Having watched him since college I think what he's doing in the pros is incredible, I love his game, but I don't know, he's never going to be a winner in the playoffs with his style without the right guys on his team. I like the Wizards' roster, but it's not really the right mix to compliment him

Yeah, and if I'm the Clippers I trade Quinton Ross straight up for AI. Oh yeah, and maybe throw in Waltah McCarty for Andre Iguodala.

Disagree. Wallace is nasty.

That is bullshit of the highest degree. Charles Oakley deserves more credit than Joe F'n Dumars. GMs don't make players. And Ben Wallace was a rising star in the league for Washington and Orlando before Detroit even got their hands on him. You know what the biggest thing holding him back from his breakout season was? Foul trouble. But he was gradually getting that under control before he ever got to Detroit. All Detroit did was give him a chance to play 30+ a night (and Ben responded by keeping the fouls down) but with the way he played he'd have gotten that chance with ANY team, certainly with Orlando if they didn't think they were getting the second coming of Jordan-Pippen with T-Mac-Hill. Oh, and Grant Hill's sign and trade was done so he could get the biggest contract possible, not because he wanted to help out the Pistons. If he could have got his deal without going through them he would have.

Who cares if Ben Wallace wants to deny the Pistons a sign and trade? Seriously, what the fuck? I can't believe people in this day and age buy into this bullshit. Ben Wallace can do whatever the fuck he wants to do. If he wants to be "loyal" to the Pistons he can do that. If he wants to tell them to go fuck themselves he can do that too. How is it any of our concern? Who knows what went on behind the scenes between him and the Detroit ownership/management. Obviously he had his reasons for bouncing, and personally I don't give a fuck. He's free to make his own decisions in an open market, he doesn't owe the Pistons jackshit.