Dandy

Happy Birthday to my second favorite poster on this board: Venkman. May all your dreams come true!

Don't forget to leech heat from posters whose popularity far exceeds your own.

SCALAMOOSH!

Wear a a surgical mask or painter's mask and they will probably leave you alone.

I don't mind the cut-ins on things like that because it is happening live. There is a bit of tension or drama. ESPN knows that viewers have been conditioned now to turn it to ESPN if they hear about something big possibly happening. More viewers, more money, and more publicity of being the sports channel(s) to turn to should something be in the works. It is different than watching it unfold on SportsCenter, because you have a) likely already heard about it, and b) they typically tell you about it before they show it to you. That is the same as reading about it in the paper. Watching it happen before my very eyes usually gets me into the moment, and excited or disappointed depending on the outcome.

I would like to hear Buggerhen's thoughts on the subject!

Now that I reread his post, he could have meant that. Sorry, Dragon, if that is what you meant. However, I don't think Regal would get buried upon his return, just by looking at how Jeff Hardy has been handled since coming back. Maybe the World Title is out of his reach for the time being, but it's no burial. If anything, I think WWE looks at these guys taking their punishment and dealing with it in a humbled manner as some sort of "rehabilitation process." Take it in stride and come back saying all the right things and you get to help them make money again.

He has been suspended for 60 days and it was announced on their website. I think you can rule out the WWE taking it back and not holding it against him. He failed the test and got punished. Do you actually think they will overturn it? Wow.

Happy Birthday to my boy King Kamala Clasic!

I thought we discussed that already. Maybe it was with one of my friends and I thought it was here.

I was hoping that after the credits, a couple of burritos would be seen coming over into the burgers' area as a hint of a sequel.

Ah, but it is also what you get used to. I am not saying that Gorilla, Jesse, and Heenan were not great, but they became synonymous with announcing to you because you became familiar with their voice. When that voice gets replaced, it doesn't sound right. Over time, it might become more familiar with you, but it's not what you grew up with. I agree that having a good voice gives you an advantage, but it's not as important as the overall job the announcer does. If they do such an awesome job, their voice will be familiar enough for you and you will come to accept that voice.

There is a really good debate going on at espn.com about whether or not the National League has finally caught up with and passed the American League to be the better league "right now." There are good arguments coming up, and some fans from Boston that refuse to listen to anyone's comments that say the AL is not better because their team plays there. Still, it's been a good debate. Any interest in having that debate in another thread here? I didn't want to start the thread if no one wanted to discuss it, but if several folks want to talk about it, I'd be up for it.

Brilliant! That should win an award!

Hundreds of feet from the umpires was meant for the "did he catch it or trap it?" call that gets by them often, or was it a home run/in play off the wall/fan interference calls that come up several times a year. I feel that there are things that should be subject to replay (without appeals by managers) and things that should not be subject to replay. My list: Subject to Replay -Outs (except for strikeouts) This covers tags, bang-bang plays, catches, and interference calls. -Home run or not (as stated above) -Fair or foul -Was the batter hit or not Not Subject to Replay -Balls and strikes -Balks

Damn, I thought I posted the link along with it. Here you go: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/ps_odds.php If you are not familiar with this, this is a bunch of simulations and the average of those simulations. It changes as the year goes along due to current trends in teams, injuries, trades, etc. and should be viewed for what it is, computer simulations. They play the games for a reason, but my point still stands...The Cubs would have to play some awful baseball not to make it to the playoffs.

Lots of people think that because they are small, it doesn't matter. However, the smaller pieces of trash are much harder to pick up when people are doing "Adopt A Highway" or just trying to clean up their streets. When I had a front porch, I bought a small trash can and filled it with non-expanding kitty litter (so if it got wet from the rain, it wouldn't be that messy) and sat it on my porch for guests that smoked. I still had dozens of butts in my front yard when I went to mow. It's like people are mesmerized by the act of flipping a cigarette BUTT when they are finished smoking.

But with that same math would the Reds theoretically qualify for the Wild Card? I know you just did the math inside of the Central but what if that math is applied to the other WC contenders from today's standings (which would be the Mets/Phillies/Cards/Astros/Dodgers). Not necessarily. St. Louis is only two games behind Chicago, and there are 7 teams tied or ahead of Cincy in the Wild Card standings, and Milwaukee is only one game behind them. The Reds have to play scorching baseball the rest of the way and hope that all of those teams play much worse than them. Winning the series' with teams in their own division will be the key way for them to gain ground, obviously. I think Al has linked to a site that has updated probabilities of whther teams win their division or a Wild Card spot. Perhaps he could show us again. Edit---I found it. Reds have slightly better than 7% chance of winning their division, and slightly lower than 8% at the Wild Card. They thus have a 15% of making the playoffs in some fashion. This will obviously change as the season goes on, but that shows you what an uphill climb they have.

One person in the booth relaying to the umps that they were obviously wrong should do it. No manager appeals or anything like that. "Hey dumbass, he trapped the ball." Balls and strikes are subjective to each individual umpire's strike zone and should not be reviewed. That is part of the game. But when the umps can't clearly see something several hundred feet away in some instances, they get a little help from above.

I don't get it.

Sheets, Gallardo, and Suppan are pretty decent, too, but they might not be the 1-2-3. Gallardo hasn't pitched the entire year, either. Zambrano and Dempster have had great starts, but I think I would rather have Harang and Cueto as a 1-2 punch. Ted Lilly definitely puts his team in a better position to win than Arroyo, Belisle, or Cueto, so I agree they are the best 1-2-3 in the Central.

I think the joke was that you had a habit of chiming in on subjects that did not pertain to you, like when you used to chime in on the "when I have sex" topics.

Cincy has been on a roll lately, and that can be chalked up to quality starts from the pitchers and decent enough work from the bullpen. The offense is still not up to speed, so it will be difficult to keep this momentum going until that area comes around. They are only 6 games back with plenty of time to go, but it is a pretty big hill to climb if the Cubs continue to play the way they have been. If the Reds play .600 baseball (a major improvement over what they have done so far) the rest of the way, the would finish with 92 wins. The Cubs could play .480 baseball the rest of the way and still beat them. Making up that 6 game difference looks a lot worse when you look at it that way.

I never understood why people just throw their cigarette butts on the ground. It's not socially acceptable to throw your wrappers on the ground when you are finished eating.