Cheech Tremendous

Cheech is a New York Post headline writer! I'll be here all day folks. By the way, do you know how we can tell A-Rod used steroids? He used to cycle off every October.

Couple of thoughts now that I am processing all this: -Gene Orza tipped off players that tests were coming? Holy shit. That's not as juicy as A-Rod, but it's the bigger story. That indicates that the Player's Association was actively trying to subvert the system and promote steroid use. He's fucked. -Bet the Yankees aren't too happy about the $30 million in incentives for A-Rod meeting historical HR marks now. The whole complexion of that chase has just changed significantly. -Those 103 names are going to come out. That's going to once again bring steroids talk to the forefront of conversation. -We were just introduced to A-Fraud as a nickname. Do we have to change this to A-Roid already?

Everyone knows my feelings on A-Rod and the Yankees, but it sucks to hear this news. It's bad for the sport to constantly have their best players outed on a public stage as cheaters. Doesn't matter if he stopped in '03 or not, he's forever branded as a cheater and all his accomplishments seem a little hollow today. They should have just had Jose Canseco write the Mitchell Report. He's nailed every single one of these guys, hasn't he? Colin Cowherd reported that on his radio show last year. As it turned out, he had a fake Mitchell Report. Pujols has never been linked to any steroid usage, at least to my knowledge.

Like the stock market is doing any better than TSM.

I just got done listening to Goat's Head Soup and I honestly can't figure out why it catches so much flak. Yes, it pales in comparison to Exile and the others that directly preceded it, but it's still a solid album. Could any album really live up the standards that they set with the early 70s run? "Angie" and "Heartbreaker" are both solid singles and the rest of the album cuts range from average to good.

I'll sell you my share.

I bet they wished they would have just ponied up the money for Stephen Drew or Jered Weaver now. What a colossal waste. To answer Jimmy's question, he's probably considered a pitching prospect. He never displayed any sort of ability at the plate to suggest a future in the field. His track record as a pitcher is almost non-existent, but he at least showed good stuff in a small sample. It's not completely out of the realm of possibility to think that he could turn it around and have a future as middle reliever.

Matt Bush attempting to take the Josh Hamilton path to superstardom?

You just described why a friend of mine and I love it when our MLB roadtrips in the summer stop at hotels that carry this channel. It's all about the Family Matters (or is that on Nick at Nite?). MLB roadtrips? Venk, I don't think you've ever so much as shown your face in an MLB thread here. What gives?

The reaction to Phoenix has more to do with the general disposition of the team than the record. They hate the coach, they hate Kerr and they seem to hate each other. Shaq wants out, Amare wants out and the team looks completely despondent most nights. Maybe that's reading too much into stuff that doesn't appear in the won-loss column, but I think they are about one year away from being a lottery team.

Don't worry, Kamala: I don't like the Eagles at all. I just thought it was funny that they were used twice in the span of a week to denote really crappy rock music. I always threw them into the category of too soft or mainstream for my own personal tastes, but I never went so far as to actually call them bad. I do like Joe Walsh, though. That's one Eagles member that's alright by me.

You convinced me to check it out. Plastic Ono Band and On the Beach? That's some really hefty praise. Those are two of my favorite albums, ever.

Weird statement considering the fact that the Stones' disco stuff was amazing. Some Girls? That's also the second time in the last week that you've put down a classic rock band by comparing them to the Eagles. Is there some repressed anger towards the Eagles that we need to talk about?

The writing's on the wall in Phoenix. Every indication is that Suns are thisclose to blowing up the whole team. Amare could be had today in the right trade and Shaq's a goner if they can find someone to take on that salary. That run is over in Phoenix.

I'm with Krankor on this one: ESPN Fantasy is total shit.

Has anyone heard Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue? I've heard that it was the best solo effort from any of the members of the band. It was finally released on CD last year and I was thinking of checking it out. However, my Beach Boys appreciation has always been limited outside of Pet Sounds.

Oh my, I totally forgot that he was dead. There was a two or three year stretch where there were so many 80s stars that died that I totally lost track of them.

Axl seems more coherent in this interview than he has at any other time in the past fifteen years, but it does seem like he's woefully out of touch with the record industry and how he and GNR are viewed now by the general population. Blaming record companies or media coverage for the problems that Chinese Democracy had just seems a bit childish in hindsight. The best thing for Axl to do now is go on a summer tour and get another album out in the fall. He's too much of a sideshow act to be taken seriously in this current role. His goal should be returning to the actual music and distancing himself from 10-year-old feuds and an album that was good, but not great.

Bam Bam Bigelow's first WWF run was so screwed up. It was obvious that they wanted to push him big time, but they really misfired with the delivery. The formula at the time would have suggested that they put him in feud with Hogan, but I guess the thinking was that they didn't want him to be the flavor of the month fat fuck challenger. Putting him with Oliver Humperdink was a bad move. Even as a five year old mark I didn't get why this badass dude with flame tattoos on his goddamn head was monkeying around with a fat, gay leprechaun. The free agent angle was great in the sense that it made him seem special, but he should have spurned all offers and remained a lone wolf. He could have spent the next year running through the talents represented by the other heel managers. One of the old internet rumors that existed back in the RSPW days was that in the original plans for WMIV he was going to go the finals and lose to Dibiase. That one's been debunked over the years, but he was pushed hard enough that I could actually buy it. That's how much he meant in 1988 and he never regained it after his early career injuries. The second WWF run was a joke and the less said the better. He was a mid-card heel programmed in go-nowhere feuds. He probably could have meant something had he been programmed right away in a top slot. There's no reason to think that he couldn't have been the WWF's version of Vader in 1993. He had the look and ringwork necessary to be a main event heel. WCW screwed up his return by not capitalizing on the Goldberg feud, but what else is new? He never meant much again, but I had a soft spot for the Jersey Triad. I don't know what he's up to now, but it's odd he never got another chance post-WCW. Overall, it's too bad that he never got a role commensurate with his talent. A decent career overall, but a lot of missed opportunities.

Todd Haley is taking the Chiefs job. Info can be found at any of the major sports sites.

Mo Williams got snubbed again. It's not that Ray Allen isn't deserving, but Williams, as a PG from a top-tier team, was such an obvious replacement for Jameer Nelson. It's quite odd that Cleveland is only sending one All-Star this year. Good point. I think the Lakers are still the best in the West, but it's going to be tough to get past San Antonio. The Lakers might not have won that series last year with a healthy Ginobli and SA has only gotten better this season. Regardless, the finals in both conferences are going to be epic this year.

Two nice performances by the Lakers against the the Celtics, but they were still regular season games; they don't mean that much. In a seven game series, I'd still take Boston or Cleveland over LA, but it's still very early to be making these sort of prognostications.

Can a mod just close this? I think everyone made their point.

They were waiting for their contracts to expire. Hogan, Hall, Nash, Goldberg, Sting, Flair, etc. were all on huge deals with massive guarantees. I think we talking million dollar range on a lot of those guys. The WWF waited until the contracts expired or they accepted buyouts from Time Warner before bringing them in. That would have been a lot of extra dough to fork over for a wrestling angle that was already doing big business.