Cheech Tremendous

I actually diverge from the popular opinion here because I find Presence to be their best album (or at least top 3). The songs may not be as memorable or timeless (well, "Achilles Last Stand" is the greatest fucking thing they ever did, hands down... but that's something for another day), but when listend beginning to end the whole thing feels so epic, yet still raw as hell. Most people say that they like "Achilles" and "Tea for One" but not much else. But when those two take up damn near half of the album, how could you not like the product as a whole? "For Your Life" and "Nobody's Fault" are great rockers as well. Presence is the only album that you can feel the band's weakness, and their state of mind at the time. I really enjoy that, but I guess it's not for everybody.

The Suns aren't any closer to the title than they were a few months ago. They are a top 5 team with the ability to win it all, but they haven't done anything this offseason that has set them apart from the rest of the contenders.

Hey Slim, I actually like basketball. I've played the game since I was old enough to bounce a basketball, but I've been disillusioned with the NBA (American) product for years. I don't pop my head in to bash the sport, just the idiots who run the thing. This year's team was destined to fail just like Athens and their predecessors because they still filled the team with stars and impressive athletes instead of creating a unit that would be successul in the international game. The early rounds gave everyone a false sense of hope because this year's team had bigger stars and better athletes, allowing them to run up the score on countries that any of our recent teams (Athens included) would have slaughtered.

I really want my kids to have Arenas as a role model as well, because the first thing they need to learn in this world is that when things don't go the way you want, the best course of action is bitching to the media and making outlandish statements.

Told you so.

Apparently that player is George Kottaras. Good move. I don't know a ton about the guy, but he's a 23 year old catching prospect and the Sox have no catching prospects even on the radar.

If you has to ask how to party hard, then the following is true: a. you've never partied hard b. you probably never will, and even if you had the opportunity to you wouldn't like it But, if you are so inclined to party hard, you need to accomplish at least several of the following things: -To start, you need to drink A LOT. I don't mean you have a few extra shots on Friday night. I mean Friday was the fourth consecutive night you drank and blacked out... and you started drinking before noon on most of those days. -Lots of people recognize you, but only simply as "That Guy." As a sidenote, these people either love your or fear you. There is no in-between -You lose something really important to you (girlfriend, money, your parent's respect) and are happy that you got off that easy for all the shit you did the night before -It becomes a major problem when you see the sun come up while you are still partying. Not because you realize that you drank all night, but because you have to be to work/school/your wedding in an hour. -You are worried about stories or pictures getting out of you partying, not because you are embarrassed but because they could lead to incarceration -You've woken up in bed next to a chick and don't remember meeting her... and she's much more attractive than any girl you could pull sober -You've destroyed copious amounts of personal property -You get extremely drunk, but don't puke or pass out. That might give you an excuse for your behavior -When you wake up, your clothes/face/house looks like it's been hit by a Mack truck -Your hangover is so bad that drinking is the only way to cure it -You've done something legendary, yet completely insane, while partying (like screwing a girl with a mudshark)

Which is utter bullshit because they had sold out the entire season before the first pitch of the first game of the year. Never trust what you read in a Boston paper.

Supposedly Wells is traded, but neither side has confirmed yet (to SD for Kotteras?)

Also seems to imply that they can't draw for shit on PPV anymore. Does anyone have an idea as to what the breakeven point is for PPV buys? I doubt they are getting to that point, but the profit margins have to be dwindling to extremely low levels.

In my opinion, In Through the Out Door is the weakest link in the Zeppelin catalogue. That's not to suggest that I think it's a poor album, but it falls far short of their earlier work. Jones was a talented musician, but I don't think that his keyboard driven stuff really embodied the Zeppelin sound. This album is lacking the riffs that made their sound unique (which is not surprising given Page's mental and physical capacity at the time). As for the songs, the stuff is hit and miss. "In the Evening" is as hard as anything they've done. "Carouselambra" is by the far the hidden gem our of all their songs. "Hot Dog" is downright embarrassing. "All of My Love" and "South Bound Suarez" aren't technically bad, but not my cup of tea. "Fool in the Rain" is fun, but ultimately I could take it or leave it. As for the positives, Bonham's drumming is as great as ever, and his groove really drives the album. And while Plant's voice was shot by this point, it gave the music a unique feel. It's probably better that the band ended shortly after this because I think they would have eventually tarnished their legacy by changing their output to match the new wave and disco trends that were creeping into popular music at the time.

Big deal. If he's going to be such a whiny pussy then I'm glad that he didn't make the team.

You know, I knew that was coming when I saw the yellow spoiler tag. That's a funny joke and all, but you realize that he's jobbed at the past three Wrestemanias right?

I picked last in a ten-team league. Due to a login snafu, I missed the first two rounds, and by the time I picked again in the third every respectable RB was off the board. Here's what I ended up with: QB-Matt Hasselbeck QB -Jake Plummer RB-Brian Westbrook RB-Joseph Addai RB-Dominic Rhodes RB-Mike Anderson WR-Reggie Wayne WR-Deion Branch WR-Eddie Kennison WR-Rod Smith WR-Donte Stallworth WR-Roddy White TE-Antonio Gates K-Josh Brown It doesn't look good right now, but I've won the league the past two years. I'm confident I can turn things around.

It's not that far-fetched to imagine him being sad that WCW being gone, but from a business standpoint, how you do pass up that opportunity? WCW was dead and buried anyways because they lost their tv contract... it wasn't McMahon that killed it. Haven't you ever had a competitor at work or school, who you never really liked on a personal level, but enjoyed competing with them? Once you beat them, you get that feeling of satisfaction from winning, but then you miss the fact they brought out the best in you.

I live in Portland and (mildly) support the Blazers, but I wouldn't do that deal this summer, but I'd maybe consider it next year as a salary dump. The Blazers have turned over like 75% of their squad during the offseason. Even though I hate his contract, Randolph is still the best player on the team and I'd like to see how he gels with the new guys going forward. Webber was my favorite player growing up, but he's just not an elite player anymore. I usually don't buy into the notion of "empty stats", but if their was ever a player who embodies that it would be C-Webb. It's like the skills are still there, but he's so broken down physically that the entire offense has to die just for him to get his looks.

Tim Kurkjian seems to have figured out what no other mainstream writer has even though the rest of the sabermetric world did two years ago. The A's have left the world of OBP behind and have built their team on pitching depth and defense. Perhaps it will cause some of his colleagues to figure out that Moneyball was about finding and exploiting market ineffiencies, not drawing walks.

Beckett has been so screwed up this year. He shut just shut it down, and start working towards next year.

I think we are going to the semifinals for sure, but I still doubt that we are shoo-ins for a medal, let alone gold. Spain and Argentina have been bitch-slapping their competition even worse than we have, and even in the games we have won, our flaws have been evident.

Well that Abreu sure has taken his lack of hustle and leadership to the Yankees now. Look at the negative affect he has had on that team.

Howard has hit a bunch of homers and is having a great year overall, but he's not quite at that Beltran/Pujols level.

I'd fully support Beltran for MVP. He's just slightly behind Pujols in VORP, is a more efficient base stealer, plays better defense at a tougher position and his team is running away with the division. I'm not saying it's a no-brainer, but he has every bit the case for MVP that Pujols does.

Didn't see this mentioned anywhere, but the new stadium in Glendale may end up being called "Pink Taco Stadium." The owners of the Pink Taco franchise have offered $30 million over 10 years for naming rights. Mayor seems to be against it though

Mike Lowell has one extra base hit in the month of August. That's it. One freaking hit! He also has a tremendous .660 OPS since the All-Star break. He's barely a serviceable player at this point, Gold Glove defense or not.