strummer

That Stephanie is Co-GM or President of Raw or something

"Howe now as good as gone Ax set for Oct.; Mets eye Lou By ADAM RUBIN DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER It looks like Art Howe is on his way out with the Mets. Art Howe's tenure as Mets manager will end Oct. 3. Owner Fred Wilpon, who personally hired Howe after a face-to-face meeting two winters ago, was persuaded to fire the manager during a summit of team brass Friday at Shea, the Daily News has learned. Wilpon, reluctant to eat the $4.7 million owed to Howe through 2006, had been the lone supporter of Howe as front office officials pushed for his dismissal. The Mets' dismal play of late - they've lost 19 of 21, including 4-2 to the Phillies yesterday - finally convinced the owner Howe could not remain, according to team insiders. Mets officials, like the team's fans, view Lou Piniella as the ideal candidate to succeed Howe. But several factors work against the Devil Rays manager relocating to Flushing, and team brass is not optimistic it can land him. Regardless of Howe's successor, Larry Bowa - who is expected to be dismissed as Phillies manager after the season, despite their wild-card push - remains a candidate to become bench coach on a staff that figures only to return pitching coach Rick Peterson. Convinced Wilpon would not relent and fire Howe, Mets officials had planned to pair Howe and Bowa in 2005. Piniella is under contract to the Devil Rays through '06, and Tampa Bay GM Chuck LaMar - notorious for tedious negotiations - may not part with his manager without substantial compensation, if at all, even if Piniella expresses a desire to leave. There's also the sizable contract Piniella would command as Mets manager, which Wilpon might find difficult to stomach while paying Howe. Then there's the fact that Howe and Piniella share the same agent, Alan Nero. Piniella isn't interested in undermining Howe and even went out of his way to compliment his former AL West adversary when New York reporters were in Seattle on Aug. 23 to watch Scott Kazmir's debut. However, with Howe's fate sealed, that obstacle might vanish. The content of Friday's meeting is believed to have seeped back to Howe, so he apparently is aware of his fate. The Mets are compiling a list of candidates to succeed Howe, but so far it's blank beyond Piniella. They want an established manager with a profile similar to Piniella's, who can handle the New York media and be more energetic and visible than Howe. They recognize those managers are in short supply, and no other names jumped out at them. When Tony LaRussa's name was suggested, one Mets insider doubted he would even consider leaving St. Louis for New York, even though his contract is about to expire. Howe, hired to be the anti-Bobby Valentine, went too far in the other direction. He rubbed even mild-mannered players the wrong way because of his lack of communication. His in-game management and hands-off style irked team brass. One insider complained that Howe didn't hold an early batting practice session in Milwaukee after an off-day spent in Chicago last month because the team bus from the hotel to the ballpark had been scheduled to depart later and the mild-mannered manager didn't want to tinker with it. Howe, 57, was named the Mets' 17th manager on Oct. 28, 2002, after leading the A's to back-to-back 100-win seasons. He entered his Mets tenure 41 games over .500 and eight wins shy of 1,000 in a managerial career that included stops in Houston and Oakland, but now has dipped to 1,119-1,127 with yesterday's loss. The Mets finished last season in last place, with a 66-95 record. This year they are trying to hold off the Expos to avoid that fate again, though Howe's lineup has been decimated by injuries, making it difficult for any manager to succeed. Howe's most notable gaffe occurred last year, when his New York naivete caused a firestorm. The manager said on television that he intended for Mike Piazza to begin taking ground balls at first base before he told Piazza, unaware word would get to the All-Star before Howe had a chance to inform him. Howe's mantra after losses - "We battled" - began being derisively used by talk-radio callers to mock him. Former GM Steve Phillips interviewed Howe in Houston on Oct. 12, 2002, and recommended the hire. When negotiations with the Mariners over compensation to land Piniella later went nowhere, Wilpon and son Jeff met with Howe at a Manhattan hotel. "He blew me away," Wilpon said at the news conference to introduce Howe. ". . . A half-hour into this, it struck me. There was no question. This was the guy I wanted. I said, 'Art, this interview is over. You are not being interviewed anymore. You're a New York Met. Now let's talk as partners.' " The divorce is coming soon. " Well, if they can't get Piniella, who is left out there that is "established and can handle New York"? No way LaRussa is coming to New York. I hope for God's sake they don't hire Bowa as manager. He's coming here, but I hope just as a bench coach

I like Flair as much the next guy, but Jesus, Meltzer embarasses himself with his Flair love. For someone who claims to be an objective journalist, it comes off as rather pathetic

The Eagles looked great overall, but they still nearly allowed 200 yards rushing to the pathetic Giants. That is the one thing I would watch with this team, can they stop the run? If their offense plays like it did today, it doesn't matter much, but it still could be their main weakness. The Giants are just an awful, awful team. Tom Coughlin looks like he is going to have a seizure on the sideline.

Ike Hilliard is the slowest receiver in NFL history I swear to God, he catches a ball in stride heading right towards the end zone and is caught EASILY from behind

Seriously, the Giants could end up winning 1 or 2 games this year, it is that bad

What a terrible time to be a Giants fan. This defense is utter shit, complete and utter shit, about to be 28-7 Eagles

Portis fumbles on an awkward exchange with Brunell, Ronde Barber returns it for a TD for the Bucs. Tie game

After seeing the True Hollywood Story, I kind of felt sorry for Dustin Diamond. I didn't know he was considerably younger than the rest of the cast, and didn't really hang out with them at all. Sounded like the rest of the cast was a prick towards him. They sort of portrayed Mark Paul as the "reluctant celebrity" and Mario as the "primadonna" Seeing Mario in interviews and on "The Other Half" he came off smug and not likeable at all. Mark Paul always seemed cool

Very quietly, the Phillies have won 7 of 8,still probably too little too late for Bowa. The Mets announcers were talking all night if this was enough for him to keep his job. They didn't give a clear answer, but clearly they were leaning towards no. There have been rumors that if Bowa is fired, he will become the Mets bench coach. And the Mariners have an early lead on the Red Sox

Rafael Furcal arrested on his 2nd DWI charge http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1878607 Wouldn't suprise me if the Braves got rid of him, they usually don't stand for this type of stuff, but maybe they think he is too talented to let go.

1997 WWF- Hart Foundation/Austin Feud, Origins of DX, Taker having the best matches of his career, the end of the cartoon gimmicks, 3 faces of Foley, Cornette's rants, the formation of the Rock character

All I have to say is that Brigette Nielsen is fucking scary looking

And it's official. The Mets stop their 11 game losing streak, beating the Marlins 4-0. And who got one of the big hits? Eric Valent. Pisses me off even more that he sits behind Todd F'N Zeile. The season is over Art, just play Valent!

Yankees already up 3-0 over Tampa. If the Yankees keep playing like this, it doesn't matter what the Red Sox do.

Anyone have Triumph's "Come Poop with Me" CD and the DVD extra? Hilarious stuff, I love the prank calls, especially the one where he calls the nurse because his balls taste funny. Then he calls a Chinese restaurant to see if they have seen his missing brother Spike. I like his duet with Sandler "30 Seconds of Magic" "Together in Pooping" is awesome, with Jack Black stealing the show "Stinky Faye" with Horatio Sanz is really funny, with Horatio putting a dildo in his mouth "Cats are Cunts" with Conan is pretty funny, especially Triumph mocking Conan "What would Letterman say, boo hoo hoo" Only slow parts are the celebrity interviews, especially with the Dude you are getting a Dell guy, Vincent Pastori and Jared the Subway guy Anyone?

Harold Reynolds on SportCenter just ripped the Cubs big time, saying they will fall out of the wild card race. Look for the Cubs to win the wild card by at least 5 games.

Hudson minimizes the damage, Sox only get 3. A terrible AB by Cabrera let Hudson off the hook. Hudson walks 3 guys and there are no outs and Cabrera tries to bunt!!, fails, and eventually K's.

bases loaded, 0 outs for the Sox in the top of the 1st

Oh yeah, Zeile's quest for 2000 hits, come to Shea!!!, Baseball Fever!! Catch It!!! What a joke Zeile plays over Valent, the whole organization is so political, Zeile is friends with the veterans (Franco, Leiter, Piazza, Glavine) so he gets playing time to get a meaningless accomplishment, while Valent busts his ass and sits on the bench.

Valent has practically been the Mets best hitter this year, which goes to show you how pathetic it has gotten. I know it can suck to be a Phillies fan, but I would trade places in a minute with any one of them

should be a great game in Oakland tonight on National TV with Pedro v Hudson The Mets are so bad, I'm more psyched for this game than any Met game in about a month or 2.

The skits performed live

In a minor move, the Marlins sign David Weathers