Cheech Tremendous

Link According to the Sacramento Bee, the Kings also traded Michael Ruffin to the Portland Trailblazers for Ike Diogu and $1 million in cash.

Hidden somewhere in the Sports folder are threads on sports blogs and sports books. Could we maybe get those moved to the Lit folder for the time being?

Why is everyone so interested in what Czech looks like? I smell a little bit of very attractive in a way that I can't explain around here. EDIT: Fucking word filters. very attractive in a way that I can't explain very attractive in a way that I can't explain very attractive in a way that I can't explain

188 last night. I'm down 7 pounds since the start of this exercise. If I can shed 2 or 3 more I'm golden. Get those updates to me today.

Interesting tidbit from espn.com.

Can't it be both?

The Rockets need to go for it now because that window is closing fast. Adding Carter to Yao is a move that could get them somewhere in the playoffs even if it comes with a ton of risk. We know Artest has no future there, so it's basically a swap of Battier for Carter long-term. I don't think that McGrady will be back next year so if there is an opportunity to add an All-Star player to the lineup you do it.

So does McGrady retire after the surgery or is he going to come back and hobble around as a shell of his former self like Penny Hardaway? Decent stats aside, he looked cooked this year. Some of that may be the knee, but I don't see surgery as the gateway to regaining his peak athletic form. What does this do to Houston? Do they still try and acquire Carter by using Artest and Battier or do they pack it up and call it a season?

A pick for the children: Chad Qualls, RP

Cashman to return to Yankees.

No Sunday games scheduled this year?

The hell? It's one thing to predict the Yankees to win the division, but the expectation of going over 100 wins (and significantly in 909's case) is quite shocking. Rather than try to pick apart your guess, could you at least provide a quick synopsis of why you feel so strongly about that team? To me, they spent a lot of money for not much guaranteed success, but that could be the inner-Sox fan in me speaking out. I've got them at 90-95 wins based on the projections I've seen. I'll tweak that over the next few days as I start analyzing the roster, but there is nothing on the surface that suggests they are definitively better than Boston or Tampa Bay.

Czech's off by at least 20 wins on the Cubs. Quite a bit of optimism for the Yankees, Mets, and Dodgers as well (EDIT: I did not steal Al's thoughts). Only the Mets out of that group strike me as a team that will push more than 95 wins. I'll have to do some thinking before I come up with my own list. It probably won't be that interest

A-Rod's problem is that he is always trying to save face. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are, he's always angling to get the best reaction from those that cover him. Did you hear that he has five public relations consultants? Five! He needs to tell the whole truth or none of it. This wishy-washy bullshit makes him look like a joke and totally degrades what he is trying to accomplish by apologizing anyways. It's been eight days since the Gammons interview and he has already changed his story significantly, which in and of itself was a total 180 from the Couric interview. That's why he has no credibility and that is why I think the entire story he gave today is 100% bullshit.

Link to nytimes.com article

The Cavaliers are making a hard push to acquire Antawn Jamison from the Wizards. They are offering Wally Z's expiring contract, but I'm not sure what else. It doesn't seem like they'd move any of their top 7 players. If they can do this it's a potential game-changer in the East.

75% of the voters want a Lit folder in some capacity. I know the staff is still against this, but that's a fairly sizable percentage in favor.

What's the shtick? I can't comment on the board or make suggestions?

By the way, Griffey is now denying the story.

I'd be curious to find out what people are looking for in a review. Are they looking for a star rating that conforms to their own tastes? Do they want a competent write-up that explains what the album is about? Or is just a matter of wanting to read good writing about a subject they care about? What is everyone's criteria for what deserves a 5-star (or equivalent) rating? There was a post earlier in the thread that said it was a joke that Joplin had achieved this honor, but not TVOTR. I don't agree with that at all. I like TVOTR as much as the next guy, but it may take a few years to assess their impact and decide whether classic status is warranted. I sort of think those kind of ratings are earned, but I know that's not the same for everyone. Surprisingly, The Source used to be the best with their rating system. No one got 5 mics and that ended up making their ratings feel very important. Granted, that magazine has fallen apart over the years, but it's a good example of knowing how to show restraint when praising something new and developing a system that has a lasting impact.

I totally dropped the ball on this last week. Sorry. Let's do two updates this week and then call this thing at the end of February.

I'd peg them both for an OPS around .750. The biggest difference between the two is Francoeur is a competent fielder, while Griffey is at least a -20 defender and that's before we talk about the potential injury implications from having him in the field everyday.

The Spring Training Thread and MLB Offseason Thread are competing for the same news stories and discussion. Maybe we should ax one. I'd vote to switch the discussion to Spring Training now that the Offseason is over, but that's just an opinion.

Word is that Ken Griffey is joining the Braves. Not sure what they are thinking, unless they mistakenly thought that the NL was adding a DH this year. Deal is apparently for $2-3 million so it's not a total albatross if he's cooked. Everyone wanted him to go to Seattle for PR purposes, but it wasn't a good fit. He just doesn't fit into their plans at all and given the budgetary constraints affecting the team, the money could have been better spent elsewhere. I still think they should have gotten in on Dunn, or even Abreu at the prices they went for.

That's too bad for the Hornets. Nice, young team on the rise and they have to tear it apart for purely financial reasons. OKC now has a nice core with Westbrook, Durant, Green and Chandler, with five first round picks and loads of cap room the next two offseasons. They just went from afterthought to potential contender by 2011.