BruiserKC

Wal-Mart is running ads that I've seen comparing their pizzas to pizzas at places like Pizza Hut, Domino's, etc. They have pretty decent deals on their 'zas, $8 compared to $12-15. Don't forget also the 3conomics Wendy's spots as well pimping their 99 cent sandwiches, especially their radio ad where the guy saves money by buying Wendy's sandwiches for lunch.

That'll never happen in a million years. A sales tax unfairly switches the tax burden to those with lower income. I don't see that being any more popular or efficient than a progressive tax. A national sales tax would be a more honest tax that doesn't discriminate the way the tax system does now. You'd pay only if you buy merchandise that would be eligible. I probably wouldn't include food or clothes, but all other merchandise (TV's, cars, houses) would be subject to it. Prices for goods wouldn't really be any different in spite of the naysayers, that price is pretty much figured in now with all the stuff we buy right now. Besides, how many people would absolutely love the idea of no IRS to kick around? That'd be a good amount of money saved that could go to other stuff. As for the raising of taxes Obama wanted to do but now has had to hold back on with the current economic situation...one of the first things Hoover tried to do to alleviate things after the stock market crash of '29 was to raise the taxes of the $250k + bracket from 20% to 55%. Smaller government and lower taxes can work...but you have to cut spending to go with it. Right now the government is so bloated right now it's not even funny. Besides, while I understand people want the government to help out right now, relying on it is not a wise move. Look at matters such as Hurricane Katrina...if the government is inefficient in responding there, why would I trust them to get us out of this economic morass?

All things being equal, people have a tendency to look at titles more. Unfair perhaps, but that's the way of the world. People are referring to Peyton Manning these days the way the Atlanta Braves were referred to with all the playoff appearances they made but one world championship. Everyone had the Colts knocking off the Chargers and when they didn't it's as if Manning is almost a choke artist again. Look at Kurt Warner as another example. They're ready to enshrine him in Canton, even though he's only had about 3-4 really solid years. The middle years were pretty much gathering splinters on the bench in St. Louis, with the G-men, and in 'Zona until the middle of last season. He had some great years an NFL MVP and a Super Bowl, but I don't think he's a Canton enshrinee. His career hasn't been consistent enough.

Don't know where this would go, but will throw it here. This article courtesy of CNET.com Campaign to delay DTV transition gets a boost Posted by Marguerite Reardon It looks as though the digital TV transition will likely be delayed now that a group of Senate Republicans agreed to a plan that would push it back to June 12. Senate Republicans blocked Democratic efforts to push back the deadline just last week. But it looks like they've had a change of heart after working with Democrats to hammer out amendments to the bill. The DTV Delay Act, as it is being called, is expected to be voted on early next week. The switch from analog TV broadcast to digital broadcast was mandated by Congress in 2005 with the deadline date of February 17, 2009. On this date all TV broadcasters are supposed to stop broadcasting their signals in analog and broadcast only in digital. The switch will free up valuable wireless spectrum, which the Federal Communications Commission has already allocated to public safety or auctioned off for new services, mainly broadband wireless. But over the past few months, government officials have warned that too many Americans are not prepared for the switch. In fact more than 6.5 million U.S. households are still not prepared for the transition, according to the Nielsen Co. Many of these individuals are minorities. The government and broadcasters have been running public service announcements to get the word out about the switch. The government also allotted $1.3 billion for a voucher program to provide consumers with $40 coupons to defray the cost of converter boxes that will allow older TVs to accept the digital signal. But the government has run out of money for the vouchers, and as of Wednesday the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which administers the voucher program, reported that there was a waiting list of 2.6 million for new coupons. What's more, many consumers say they have had trouble redeeming coupons or their coupons have expired already. Democrats, including President Obama, have suggested delaying the transition to give people more time to get ready. But Republicans in both the House and Senate have raised concerns that delaying the switchover would confuse consumers and add costs for television stations that would have to continue broadcasting both analog and digital signals. A delay would also mean burdening wireless companies, which have already spent billions of dollars to buy the spectrum from the federal government. And it would delay efforts by public safety agencies that have been waiting for the spectrum to be freed up. After some negotiation and some amendments to the bill, it looks as though Senate Republicans are now on board with delaying the date for the transition. Under the new deal, the transition date will be delayed until June 12. But TV stations will be allowed to switch to digital signals before that date. And if a station chooses to switch to digital before the official transition date, the vacant spectrum will be made available to public safety officials. The bill will also allow consumers with expired coupons for converter boxes to apply for new coupons. The coupons had an expiration date of 90 days. The bill also extends the deadline to apply for a coupon from March 31 to July 31. The Senate is expected to vote on the DTV Delay Act next week. But a bill will still have to get through the House before a delay becomes official. The House Energy and Commerce Committee delayed consideration of a DTV delay bill earlier this week after the Senate had blocked its initial bill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I found it interesting, we have two TVs on satellite but two TVs without, one in our bedroom and one in my kids' room. Last week I went into a family-owned local TV shop to use the coupons I got to buy converter boxes. The owner told me that the government had cut him off from taking any more of the coupons. Supposedly many of the mom-and-pop outfits can only redeem so many of them.

Several countries have agreed to get the EU together to discuss the issue regarding what to do with the Gitmo prisoners, but the funny thing to me is that all nations like France and Switzerland have said they won't take the prisoners, even though they were extremely gung-ho about it closing.

Stan Hansen's storming to the ring swinging his lariat, ringing the cowbell and spewing chewing tobacco all over the place got a chuckle out of me. I'm also surprised no one has mentioned Ravishing Rick Rude's coming to the ring and then informing all the men to pipe down while he showed the ladies what a real man was supposed to look like.

I doubt making Orton the new SCSA will work either though.

Does that make football, college basketball, baseball, boxing, and UFC not real sports or am I part of the 5%?

First of all, I went crazy when Orton punted Vince. There wasn't much else to put Orton over as a heel but they did it. Next...why have Stephanie make Orton's life hell? Go the opposite direction...Orton wins the RR, and then he and Legacy pretty much take over the show. It'd be really nice to have them book it where the McMahons are on their heels and dealing with a group that just runs rampant all over.

RIP Ricardo...BTW, he was a widower. His wife died 2 years ago...they were married 63 years. My daughter gets a kick out of hearing his voice as El Encantador on an episode of "Dora the Explorer."

Damages kicks all forms of ass. While Danson and Close are their usual solid selves with their acting, Rose Byrne steals the show IMHO as Ellen Parsons. For those not familiar with her, Byrne has played in movies like "Troy", "Attack of the Clones", and "The Tenants." She's definitely worth watching by herself. The only thing with the show is you have to be careful because if you miss an episode, you do miss a lot of the story and it's hard to catch back up.

I'd mark out for that.

Needless drama at work just completely pisses me the hell off. I don't have a problem with people that have issues in their lives. I understand it, I get it. But when they moan and whine needlessly about the boss, their boyfriend/girlfriend/mistress/FWB/whatever, everything under the sun, it just drives me crazy. I don't get paid to sit at work for 8 hours listening to you bitch about your sorry sex life 6 of those hours.

A little interesting bit of trivia going back to Baer beating Carnera in 1934. The year before, Baer and Carnera fought on the big screen in the movie "The Prizefighter and the Lady". In the film, they fight to a draw. However, Baer sees some of Carnera's fighting style and gets his manager to get him the fight for the championship the following year when Baer drops Carnera 12 times enroute to winning. It's a shame Michael Spinks didn't do more and put out more of an effort, he would have been a very solid threat to Tyson had he pushed himself.

I would put Baines and Trammell in the HOF before Grace, although Grace has a higher batting average. (.303 for Grace, .289 Baines, and .285 Trammell) Baines had 2866 hits, 1628 RBI's (compared to 2452 hits and 1451 RBIs for Rice), and was a 6 x All-Star. Trammell had 2365 hits but is much more known for his defense. Trammell might have had better numbers but the end of his career saw a ton of injuries. Otherwise he would have better numbers. It will eventually be like Bill Mazeroski who ultimately got into the HOF because of his glove.

I would agree with the ending of the Attitude Era being Wrestlemania X-7, but I'd say the Attitude Era for me started with RAW on January 1, 1996. While we had the little blurbs with Goldust's arrival and such, to me it all started on RAW with the first Billionaire Ted/Huckster/Nacho Man segment. While Bischoff had been spilling spoiler results for a few months on Nitro, McMahon kicked it up a notch with those skits. And of course, who could forget that great talk show host Larry Fling. From there for me everything seemed to have that edge from that moment on.

The WWE formula is what calls for repetition basically. You can trace that back even before Hart and HBK...Hulk Hogan personified the staleness of the same thing repeatedly. You could set your watch by what Hogan did...Hulk Up, right hands, bodyslam, Irish whip, big boot, legdrop...done. By doing the same thing over and over again it is designed to get the fans into the match...they knew when Hogan started Hulking Up what was coming. Same with Cena...when he starts his comeback the idea is to get the fans going. I've become impressed with Cena's workrate over the last 2-3 years. You will never confuse him with a Ric Flair (another wrestler who became predictable in his spots and moves), but the man can work in the ring. Unlike those who might have gotten over with backstage clout or family connections, Cena has earned what he has done. He gives his all in the ring and will put his opponent over if needed to make the show good.

I want to say Lawler's involvement with the WWE means Vince has control of the Memphis library, especially the stuff from its days with the AWA (about the time Sting would be there), plus I know Vince controls the Mid-South/UWF library.

I've told the story before...I'll tell it again. I was five years old...it was back in the summer of 1979 and I was over at a friends' house for a playdate. My friend was taking a nap and his brother in high school had his girlfriend over. They turn on Georgia Championship Wrestling on WTBS. The first wrestler I remember seeing in action was Tommy "Wildfire" Rich. I scramble up onto the couch and start watching with them...I'm mesmerized by what's going on. When my mother comes shortly after to take me home, she wonders what they did to me as I'm so quiet just watching. I've been a fan ever since. Some of the other wrestlers I saw on that show IIRC was Ole Anderson, Ivan Koloff, the Masked Superstar, Wahoo McDaniel, and Outlaw Ron Bass. I watched GCW, Mid-Atlantic, and Mid-South initially. I didn't first see WWF until mid-1983.

Watching the press conference this afternoon was hilarious. When he was talking about how families are trying to make a better life for their families, my first thought was, "Did Blago do this for the kids?"

I figured Candice Michelle has improved tremendously (in spite of the fact she's had a hard time staying healthy lately) and a great inspiration for all WWE teenage male fans that have just figured out puberty. She's still one of the main women to build the Diva's division around. Why would they release her?

That's it's a complete humanitarian crisis and quasi-immoral and support for Hamas (and other groups) isn't going to go away until either a) living conditions in Gaza improve or b) all the Arabs die. Hamas' refusal to recognize Israel as a legal country hurts their cause and in reality the only way it gets resolved for them is either... a) Hamas is wiped out or b) They push Israel to live in the Mediterranean at the bottom of the sea.

When does TSM go for its bailout? I think we provide here equally as important a service as Hustler and Joe Francis.

I'm a sucker for a nice sirloin or ribeye. I throw it on the grill, season it with salt, black pepper and red pepper. Then, I top it with gorgonzola or blue cheese and have Worcestershire sauce with it. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, you could try steak de Burgo. For that you're best to use a tenderloin or filet, but you could get by with other cuts. I mix in a saucepan butter, olive oil, and garlic (you can do either the garlic powder or cloves if you really want to get fancy). Cook the steak medium to medium-rare, then cover with the sauce and then sprinkle basil and oregano to finish.

I'm surprised the thread has gone this far without mention of Man v. Food. Adam Richman strikes me as being a regular guy but he's not over-the-top. I've had the chance to eat at Al's Beef and Gino's East in Chicago, as well as Primanti Brothers in Pittsburgh. I liked those episodes, and also like his challenges, especially the 72-ounce steak in Amarillo and the Dagwood sandwich in Columbus.