Cheech Tremendous

Perhaps you're right, but I never felt Andre was that important in the grand scheme of things, as far as WWE is concerned. He was a major sideshow attraction across the country in the '70s and headlined some monster shows (Shea Stadium and Mania III), but his success in the WWF is overstated. Perhaps I'm just clouded because I grew up on this stuff and I don't recall Andre being at that transcendent superstar level. If we are talking about '80s superstars I'd be tempted to put him behind Hogan, Savage, Warrior, Piper and Orndorff.

Bruno Sammartino? He basically was the WWF from its inception up until the Hogan era. Also, is it just me or is Andre much more revered by the current generation than he was during his own era? Not that I want to downplay the historical significance of Andre, but he wasn't that crucial of a figure in the WWF gaining and sustaining its popularity in the '80s. I blame Wrestlemania III and the WWE rhetoric that surrounds the event for increasing Andre's place in history.

You know, Florida and St. Louis aren't exactly dead yet either. Long shots, yes, but still hanging around.

I wonder if Washington is starting to regret that max deal they gave him in the offseason. I didn't really see him as that type of player even when he's at his best, and it now appears that injuries will sap him of his future potential.

The 2008 NL Wild Card Race: Who's less choke-y?

I have to totally disagree with you. The only worthwhile albums in their catalog are Rocks and Toys In The Attic. The comeback stuff from the '80s just sounds so dated now, and everything post-Pump is totally disposable, in my opinion. I really hated Aerosmith up until a year or so ago. That drug-addled, trashy mess of a band from the '70s is really underrated in the pantheon of great hard rock.

The answer, to me, is quite clearly Hulk Hogan. I can see younger fans finding the Rock or Cena more identifiable because they represent the modern era, but Hogan and WWF are synonymous in my mind. He was the face of the company during the national expansion and was the company's primary headliner from 1984 to 1993. Wrestlemania, which is now the backbone of the WWE product, was built on Hogan vs. (insert heel) for its first nine installments. Not sure that any of the other guys have his longevity, or his peak.

So, no interest in this whatsoever?

The Rays aren't going to choke. No way, no how. Have you seen that team play? There is no evidence whatsoever that this Rays team would blow a lead down the stretch. I still think they'll win the AL East comfortably.

Minnesota should be on the phone with Tampa right now trying to swing a deal for Jeff Garcia, even if it means overpaying in draft picks. This team was assembled to be a Super Bowl contender and it's slipping away with each passing day. I'm sorry but Gus is not the guy that's going to lead the charge to a championship.

Fidel Castro has reportedly slept with over 35,000 women. Screw it, I'm making a thread in General Chat.

I don't even understand what that whole Wrestling Draft in General is, and now it has its own folder. Huh?

And he's a awesome wrestler Let's not get carried away here and start another Cena war with an over the top statement. Guy's done a great job in his role, but he's still fairly limited in the ring. He's far from an awesome wrestler.

It's definitely Lidge. Outside of the many saves (which are just a by-product of his gross number of opportunities), K-Rod's having a fairly pedestrian year. He's barely a top five closer in the American League.

I think you're right on the money with the selection of Anderson. You might find some Boston fans who'd argue for Michael Bowden, but I'm not of the opinion that his stuff will translate to anything more than a back of the rotation starter. Funny thing about Lars Anderson. I brought him up on this board about a year ago during an argument about the Yankees and Red Sox farm systems. One of the Yankees fans laughed at me for bringing up "some guy named Lars." One year later and the guy might be a Top 10 prospect.

Most of the posters here are a lot older now as well, which I think would bode well for a literature folder.

The only work I am familiar with is Consider The Lobster. My impression after reading the essays was that Wallace's writing was at times brilliant, being equal parts engaging, insightful and funny, but ultimately something that was not my cup of tea.

I still think of Beane as being an excellent evaluator of both talent and market inefficiencies. The most serious flaw he had was the development of the farm system, which just collapsed under his watch. Some teams can overcome such a setback, but not one as cash-strapped and dependent on cheap talent as the A's. It's clear that he now understands this and has worked diligently over the past season and a half to rectify things.

I'd be careful about placing emphasis on Theo Epstein. He's no doubt one of the best minds in baseball, but remember when people thought that about Billy Beane? Look what happened there. Are we no longer in agreement that Beane is a top 5 GM? He's been through his ups and downs, but the track record is one of proven success on a limited budget.

That's actually the one I was considering as well. What's the story on Dell laptops? I've heard good things in general, but every once in a while you get a horror story. Like I said earlier, I'm going to be using mine mostly for work. That means a lot of Microsoft Office and internet, but not much else. I want a solid machine, but nothing extravagant.

The Red Sox avoided the possibility of any offseason gorilla suit antics by finalizing a new deal today for Theo Epstein. Somehow they managed to do this without the normal circus that surrounds all of their front office moves. I am thoroughly pleased. Epstein is the most valuable piece of this team's success.

What is up with WWE giving their new talent the most uninspiring, generic names possible? Would it be that awful to give them something marketable? Just think if the current creative team was around in the eighties. Instead of Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Ultimate Warrior headlining cards, we could have had Todd Simpson, Lance Buchanon and Gary Lloyd.

Can't Book Club just co-opt the existing Comics folder? Just move the recommendations and DFW threads there and we've doubled that forum's content in seconds. Do we really need to continue the dialogue regarding a potential lit folder when comics still roams free?

Sad to hear. I was reading a news article that mentioned he wrote "Great Gig in the Sky", "Us and Them", "Echoes" and "Shine on You Crazy Diamond." Holy shit, that's like four of their best songs. I also wasn't aware that he has such a role in the group's artistic development pre-Wall.

I would like to piggy-back on this thread and take suggestions for a new laptop. I don't really want to spend much more than a grand. It will be primarily used for work purposes.