sfaJack

Cubs win! That's the Reds' bullpen we've come to know and love. Fuck C.B. Buckner.

Uh...why wouldn't they just trade up and draft Gallery at #1 instead? I mean, if you're going to go through the trouble of trading up, then why not get the player you really covet? How's he worthy of the #4 pick, but not the #1 pick?

Or just contract them, along with Tampa. You kill two birds that way, and avoid the complete oversaturation of the NY/NJ market. Of course, that is pure fantasy. Might Salt Lake City be a decent home for a franchise? I think they support the Jazz pretty well, right? Certainly couldn't be much worse than some other markets baseball's currently floundering in.

What about how she kept her cool while Joe Namath made a complete ass of himself? Does that count for anything?

To hell with the wild card. No second place team should ever get into the playoffs, regardless of how "exciting" it might make the postseason. Interleague play can go away as well; I think it's proven to not really be worth it. I generally don't like Selig. He's folded to the player's union too many times, and focuses too much of his time on silly things like the "this time it counts" All-Star game. The CBA signed in 2002 didn't accomplish much of anything except staving off another work stoppage. Expanding in '98 was a terrible idea. And the ridiculous "five times and you might actually be in trouble" steroid testing plan is a joke. Not to mention how he helped fuck over the fans in Milwaukee. Eh...Selig. He's gone in '06, I think. Good riddance. Maybe then we can get someone who can actually come up with a way to market the sport effectively AND get the TV contract the hell away from Fox.

Eh, I'm not expecting a great Super Bowl run or anything. I wouldn't be shocked at all if the 'Boys slip back to 8-8 or 7-9 or something (any further than that would be a problem). They overachieved a great deal last year, and in no way did I expect them to make the playoffs with a lot of the same guys that had gone 5-11 for three straight years. Bill's got a plan though. He's done it too many times in his career to doubt him now. 7-9/8-8 this year...12-4 with a shot at the Super Bowl in '05...? I could live with that. Think about this though: who amongst their division foes has done anything to markedly improve themselves this offseason? As of this moment, I'd put the Cowboys right on par with or ahead of both NY and Washington, and not all that far behind the Eagles, who have probably missed their window. Of course, the draft is still to come, along with the June 1 cuts (see ya, Larry Allen), but it's shaping up to be a pretty tight division.

That depends on who replaces him, really. If it's Carthon, as is rumored, then they should be ok. Parcells won't last all four years on the job. He'll put in two more, and then vanish for another few years or so. I know this. I'm prepared for it. Hell, it was sweet enough just getting back to respectability this year.

Uh, what? Better check your brackets again. Rockets would get the Spurs/Grizz winner if they somehow survive the Lakers. I would be surprised. If Karl Malone is healthy, the Rockets have just about a zero percent chance of winning more than 1 game in the series simply because they have no one on the front line that can contain both Shaq AND Malone. The Rockets' forwards are garbage, and will be the main reason they get beat by the Lakers in 5 (lose both in LA, split at home, lose in LA). Plus, Yao has looked dog-tired lately, and has never faced a playoff-focused and ready Shaq...he's gonna have some serious problems controlling him. Cato might actually be a better option to guard Shaq, at least for part of the time. And you just KNOW that Francis is gonna do something stupid late in a game and cost them big time. Now, if for some reason Malone isn't fully healthy, then who knows. Anything could happen, I suppose, but I just really don't see anything more than one, maybe two, wins for the Rockets. That's still better than no playoffs for five years, though.

Or it could just be that the Giants are/were perpetually overrated, and their flimsy house of cards finally came crashing down last year. Just one Dallas Cowboys fan's opinion, anyway.

Actually, I think it's the same year the CBA expires - 2006.

When was the last time Todd Jones got anybody out?

Cubs up 6-1 in the fourth inning. Michael Barrett has two homers. Zambrano has thrown 89 pitches through four innings. The Cubs could really use a nice 7 or 8-inning start to give their bullpen a bit of a break, but it doesn't look like they'll get it today, unless Dusty loses his mind.

Oh, I know that. It's just fun to pick at the Yankee fans on the board a little bit.

Me too. But I think we should take what we can get. Their pitching is horrible. Outside of Morris (who's hurt too often) and Williams (who's really nothing great), they just don't have much. I figure the Cardinals are a third place team at best, provided the Cubs and/or Astros don't get devastated by injuries or something.

Did I hear it right that the vaunted Yankees are last in the AL in team BA, with a .208 mark? That can't be right...can it?

Cubs up 8-0 in the bottom of the fifth. About time they remembred that they're the Chicago Cubs and that they're playing the Pirates.

The problem with that is that not all cable/satellite providers carry ESPNews, or even ESPN2 for that matter. Confining Sportscenter solely to that chennel would probably limit its audience. I have NO problem with moving all that "world's strongest" bullshit to one channel and leaving it there, however. What a waste of airtime. They can take that World Series of Poker with it, too (and I know Dr. Tom and some others will hate that idea )

I don't mind the constant Bottom Line, but do they have to list every player's complete stat lines with the score? It takes way too fucking long to get through all that. I just want the scores and winning/losing pitchers for baseball games, for example. - For me personally, I find ESPN's dogged determination to shove their own "original" programming down our throats. Dream Job...Playmakers...it all sucks. - Page 3. - Stuart Scott. Somebody please kill that motherfucker.

Wrigley Field, for one. Nothing says baseball like Wrigley. WGN is another reason; a large part of the country has been watching the Cubs for years (that's how I became a fan despite living in Astro-country), while the Sox haven't had that outlet until recently. Why do my neighbors two doors down insist on playing fuckin' Tejano music at absolute maximum volume ALL DAY every Saturday?

Hey, how about that fan in McCovey Cove who retrieved both #660 AND #661? I think I heard that on the radio today (forget the guy's name though) and was blown away. What are the odds of THAT?

Even if Clemens is on the mound?

That's what you get for trading Jeff Weaver.

I'm kind of surprised that Alamo didn't do any better than that. I guess the interest in its story would be limited, though.

Am I the only one who prefers the Cubs' blue "alternate" jerseys to these ugly-ass grey ones they're wearing today? Did I hear it right that the fourth inning he just finished was Russ Ortiz's first scoreless inning he's thrown this year? Ouch.

The 1998 Houston Astros. After they picked up the Big Unit at the trading deadline, they were the best team in the National League. But, as usual, their offense was miserable in the playoffs and they were sent packing in 4 by San Diego. Not that they would have necessarily taken out the Yanks that year, but they should have at least had the chance.