Cheech Tremendous

Happy 25th, Porter.

Has anyone noticed a precipitous decline in the quality of this folder since we switched from Chocolate Socket to Chocolate Negro? It's just not working (hey look at that, something named negro not working). I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.

Not for me. I didn't really care much for Shawn or his act at that point. The thing I wanted most was for Austin to finally beat Bret on the big stage. I can't think of better symmetry than Austin winning the title and avenging his loss at Mania one year after the Submission match and double turn. The whole story heading into XIV was Austin was assuming the company's top position, and it should have been built on him beating Bret. Shawn just seemed like a placeholder in a feud he wasn't part of.

Can't believe that no one mentioned that Elgin Baylor is out as VP of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. Isiah Thomas, Matt Millen, Elgin Baylor... not a good time to be a bad GM. Check out these team stats racked up over 22 seasons under Baylor's watch: - Two seasons with a record over .500 - Twelve seasons with less than 30 wins - Eleven seasons finishing in last place - Five seasons with 17 wins or less (That means once every 4 years or so during Baylor’s march to glory, the Clippers got crazy and won at the very most, 17 games.)

Seahawks Stadium (Qwest Field) is awesome. You're going to have a fantastic time. I guess it's your first NFL game so you have no basis for comparison, but the noise level, sight lines and all that jazz are phenomenal. Rowdy fans, yeah they exist. But these guys are northwest rowdy, not Oakland rowdy. You'll be fine.

These analysts are really drilling the whole "that one" comment by McCain. Honestly, who gives a fuck? I was more concerned that McCain doesn't think that people know what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are. What a condescending prick statement.

That angle from 1999 where he was repackaged as "The Total Package" was so bizarre. The new character was really nothing different from what he was playing before. I seem to remember them even having a funeral or something for the old Lex Luger character too. What the hell was the point of all that?

It's nice not having to pay sales tax, but they rape us homeowners on property taxes.

I'm fine with that being #2, it's just that "The Message" should have been #1. I like Public Enemy and all, but "Fight The Power" doesn't really do it for me.

Holy shit... a shoot interview that covers four discs? This is the first I've heard of this project, but then again I don't really follow anything wrestling-related these days. Maybe someone can do a recap once it's out.

"BOB" for Outkast? Really? That's probably my least favorite song in their catalog. No "ATLiens", "Elevators", "Rosa Parks", "Ms. Jackson" or "Player's Ball"?

Notable classic singles that are missing at first glance: "Hynpotize" Notorious BIG "Dwyck" Gangstarr "Mona Lisa" Slick Rick "California Love" 2Pac "Eric B. Is President" Eric B. & Rakim "Bonita Applebum" Tribe Called Quest "Slow Down" Brand Nubian "NY State of Mind" is his best work, but I'd also put "Ether", "The World Is Yours" and "If I Ruled the World" above "One Love."

I'm expecting a very good series between these two teams. They had some real good games this season and there is probably still some bad blood remaining from the Coco fight. We could see the beginning of a new AL rivalry. More importantly we are going to get some good, solid baseball. Both teams have good pitching, excellent defense and deep lineups. It's probably going to go 6 or 7 games with a few hotly contested battles. Hopefully it redeems what has otherwise been a fairly mundane postseason.

1. Who will win the MVP? It's really hard to predict the MVP, as it rarely goes to the best player. Writers just latch on to the hottest player or the biggest name on the best team. I'll say Lebron, just for the fact that he has to win one eventually. 2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? Greg Oden will have the spotlight and the opportunity to look like a star. I could see one of the guys who'll be asked to do a lot (Beasley, Mayo) having an outside chance as well. 3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? If the Rockets are able to incorporate Artest and become title contenders, it'll go to Rick Adelman. 4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard 5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? Hmmm... Marcus Williams 6. What team had the best offseason? I could go the easy route and say Philly, but I'll go off the board and say Toronto. They solved their point guard problem by shipping Ford out and picked up an All-Star big man in the process. Not really confident that O'Neal can stay healthy, but any sort of contribution would make this team better. 7. What team had the worst offseason? Golden State. They lost their point guard and then threw a bunch of good money after bad players (Maggette, Turiaf, etc.). Then their only hope for a decent season (Ellis) goes down in a moped crash. 8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? Probably Miami, just for the simple fact they were putrid last year and they should at least be in the playoff mix this season. 9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? As much as I love the team and organization, I'm going Portland. The expectations are just too high. They overperformed a bit last year and are now going to try to work three rookies into the rotation. It's going to be a growth year but they might still sneek into the playoffs. 10. What was the best offseason move? Philly signing Elton Brand 11. What was the worst offseason move? OKC Thunder 12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Portland, Miami 13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Denver, Atlanta 14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? Kobe, Paul, Williams, Lebron, Howard 15. Who will be the division winners? LA Lakers, Houston, Utah, Orlando, Cleveland, Boston 16. Eastern Conference Final: Boston over Cleveland 17. Western Conference Final: LA Lakers over Houston 18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: Lakers defeating Boston 19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? I have no clue. 20. Make one bold prediction. Phoenix will see major declines from Nash, Hill and Shaq. The team is forced to rebuild at the end of the season. Also, one year after having nine teams flirt with 50 wins, the Western Conference will only have six teams that finish more than a game above .500 (LA, Utah, Houston, NO, Dallas, San Antonio)

But he saved us all from that rampant stupidity.

The ump made the right call and Scioscia even conceded that point in his post-game interview. Varitek made the play, then fell and dropped the ball. There's no continuation there. They were mutually exclusive events.

It was a bizarre call. Just about any sort of batted ball, out or hit, would have got Willits in from third. I don't understand how you can call for a suicide there. Anaheim had pinch hit options, too, if they were worried about Aybar not being able to push a ball into the outfield. Watching the Angels in this series, I have to wonder about their ability to "manufacture" runs. I respect Scioscia as a manger, but this team seemed to run themselves into a lot of outs in this series. Being aggressive seems to cause them more trouble than good in the postseason. Maybe it's just a small sample. Overall, you have to wonder a bit about the Angels. They've had some fairly anemic playoff performances since their title win in 2002. Might be time to shake things up.

I agree with your first two sentences. I'm very perplexed by the third. Lester's amazing. Dice-K is a five or six-inning pitcher. Beckett's the real X factor here. If his outing last night was just rust, then the Sox are in a good position. Who's their fourth starter? It'll be Byrd of Wakefield. Byrd was the better pitcher down the stretch, but Wake has very good career numbers against the Rays (partly because the Rays have sucked, but also because the knuckler works well in domes). Regardless, I don't know how you can't think much of a rotation that features three top notch pitchers.

I agree with your first two sentences. I'm very perplexed by the third.

Jon Lester has been nothing short of fantastic this postseason.

They keep the pick but lose their second-rounder. The team losing the free agent gets a compensation pick in the sandwich round.

Name-dropper!

"Pinball Wizard" is great.

Noah Fentz versus the Truthiness? It's TSM's version of the 2005 World Series.

I wonder if the Nationals will take Strasburg. He's the number one talent in this draft, but signability concerns could scare them off.