soupcan

Geez Louise - every time I comment negatively on the tastelessness of something it turns out that 'it's for charity'. First the Citifield bricks now Wright's dumb hat. Its a conspiracy.

Professionally and personally, I've got nothing but bad things to say about Baltimore.

Being a Sirius subscriber I actually heard some of this when it was on. The Bubba the Love Sponge show is aired on one of the two stations that broadcast Howard Stern and my Sirius is usually tuned to one of those stations. I didn't realize exactly what was on at the time, as I was sort of just half-listening. My ears did perk up when I heard Aubrey Huff's name amid a expletive-laced dialogue. I remember thinking that it was odd for a ballplayer to be in this venue and contributing to it as he was. He was indeed dropping some 'F'-bombs as well as discussing pornography. I figured at the time that there might be ramifications.

I think Edgy meant that crowds should always sing it like that regardless of who the mic is in front of not whether or not they remember the words.

"What you are about to watch is the most amazing display of kindness, humanity and patriotism that I have seen in a very long time. It�s Disabilities Awareness Day at Fenway Park. This man with Autism, who was chosen to sing the National Anthem, got a case of the giggles half way through. Listen to how the crowd reacts."

="metirish"] Brain surgery, am I right?

metirish wrote: David was wearing a ridiculous looking white beanie cap. I saw that. What was the deal there? I missed his intro, did anybody comment on the dumb hat? He looked like he was recovering from brain surgery or something. How do you go on a studio show as a commentator/guest wearing something like that. Kids today. Although Ron Darling also looked pretty stupid in his extra thick turtleneck sweater/blazer combo. Who's dressing him?

There is an R-rated trailer for this movie out there somewhere. I've seen it but had no luck finding it for youse guys.

"Needing extra cash, two brothers conspire to pull off the perfect, victimless crime. No guns, no violence, no problem. But when an accomplice ignores the rules and crosses the line, his actions trigger a series of events in which no one is left unscathed." Starring: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marissa Tomei, Albert Finney. Wife and I saw this on Friday night with another couple. I was the only one that liked it (a lot). They all thought it was too long and not well produced. I like a film that makes me squirm in my seat as a result of feeling what the characters are (Tim Roth slowly bleeding to death in Reservoir Dogs for example). In any case I'm already a fan of Marissa Tomei and Hoffman. Ethan Hawke stole Uma away from me so I'm a bit more reluctant to like him, but he did a great job here as a complete loser with a conscience. This movie also has the added extra bonus of Ms. Tomei romping topless throughout.

He says the same things we were saying and he has a valid point HOWEVER he's a douchebag for saying it because of who he is and because of the attention HIS comments will get. If nothing else it shows a huge lack of respect for his colleague.

On page two of this thread I posted excerpts from Murray Chass' article in the Times the other day which consisted of various GM's thoughts regarding their interest in ARod. Today Chass has a column about the GMs being accused of some form of collusion as a result of a closed door meeting they had where they all spoke about who was available and what they were looking for. Chass himself was then accused of colluding as a result of his article the other day. Strange stuff. New York Times November 9, 2007 On Baseball Is It Collusion or Friendly Chats? By MURRAY CHASS ORLANDO, Fla. Theo Epstein was in elementary school when the owners engaged in collusion against free agents in 1985, and maybe he never read the history. But Epstein, the Red Sox general manager, and Larry Beinfest, the Marlins� president of baseball operations, came up with a new idea for the general managers� meetings that concluded here yesterday, and that idea could easily have crossed the line of collusion. At the Tuesday session, each general manager was asked to tell the group his plans for the off-season, his team�s needs, what players might be available in trades. The general managers were not expected to give away any secrets or disclose anything they did not want to, but Epstein and Beinfest, co-chairmen of the meetings, thought the format would save everyone lots of time rather than have general managers contacting each other and exchanging such information in separate meetings. The Players Association found the idea of sharing information so repugnant that Donald Fehr, the union leader, issued a statement last night saying the union would investigate the general managers� action. Calling the sharing of information on free agents improper, Fehr said, �We expect to look into the situation, and are prepared to take the appropriate action to respond to any collusive behavior, and to make sure that the rights of free-agent players under the Basic Agreement are fully protected.� Much of what the executives said was already obvious. Epstein, for example, was quoted as telling the group he was trying to re-sign Mike Lowell, the Red Sox free-agent third baseman. Brian Cashman of the Yankees said: �I don�t have a third baseman. I need a third baseman.� No one revealed any secrets, but the general managers pronounced the session a success nevertheless. �It�s increased our efficiency tremendously and has saved us a lot of time,� Epstein told USA Today. �Some teams are specific; others are more guarded. Everyone I�ve talked to thought the idea was beneficial.� In 1985, �86 and �87, the owners thought what they did was beneficial. They set out to drive down salaries and figured they could accomplish that by forcing free agents to stay with their teams. No one who lived through that collusive, corrosive period and is still working in baseball has acknowledged the violation of the clause that stipulates clubs shall not act in concert with other clubs and players shall not act in concert with other players. I recall how, before any arbitrator found the owners guilty, any time I mentioned collusion the clubs� chief labor executive, Barry Rona, would laugh and scoff at the idea. He wasn�t laughing when Commissioner Fay Vincent, shedding collusion�s remnants, relieved Rona of his duties before the start of negotiations for a new labor agreement in 1990. If those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it, I give you baseball�s general managers, 2007 style. �We asked before we did it,� Epstein said. �We had two different officials from Major League Baseball there � one from baseball operations, one from labor relations. They felt that would meet all the requirements for a proper meeting.� Epstein didn�t want to identify the officials who monitored the meeting, but they were Joe Garagiola Jr., senior vice president for baseball operations, and Dan Halem, general counsel for labor. �My understanding is there were lawyers in the room to make sure nothing improper happened,� Rob Manfred, baseball�s No. 1 labor executive. �Furthermore, it�s hardly shocking that general managers would have a feel for what other teams wanted to do. It�s no state secret and there�s nothing illegal about clubs knowing about other clubs.� What if a general manager had said Player X was a free agent and made it clear to his colleagues that signing that free agent was his No. 1 priority? �Conversations about specific players, given the history of the industry, would be more problematic,� Manfred said, �but that didn�t happen. I know for a fact that there was no discussion about specific players.� Did Manfred know about the Epstein-Beinfest plan before they exercised it? �I was not aware of it before it happened,� he said. Would he like to have been aware of it? �I�m not going to go any further,� Manfred said. In the interest of full disclosure, I will report that the union�s No. 2 official, Gene Orza, accused me yesterday of being an enabler of collusion. I�ve been called lots of things in my professional life, but this was a new one. The reason for Orza�s charge was a column I wrote earlier this week about Alex Rodriguez for which I asked about a dozen general managers if they had interest in the highly talented but highly expensive free agent. �You did the general managers� work for them,� Orza said angrily. �You did what they could not do in a room together.� Taken aback by the charge, I told Orza I never signed the labor agreement. I, therefore, was not a party to it and I did not think I was obliged to keep readers uninformed, that is, not tell them which teams, if any, might be interested in signing Rodriguez. Given this episode, maybe I�ll be invited to join the negotiations for the next agreement.

I'd ask them what they want. I wouldn't deal Wright, everybody else is in the discussion.

Inside the park homeruns?

RE: ARod - excerpts from Murray Chass' column in today's NYTimes. ]Arte Moreno, the Angels� owner, has said privately that he would not use such a large percentage of the team�s payroll for one player. ]Brian Sabean, the Giants� general manager, isn�t at the meetings. Dick Tidrow, the assistant general manager, answered the question. �I think we would obviously kick the tires,� he said. �But it�s a long shot.� Although the Giants could use a superstar to keep AT&T Park filled and help pay off the bank debt, a major league official has said that they couldn�t afford A-Rod. The person did not want to comment publicly about another team�s finances. ]Ned Colletti of the Dodgers said: �We�ll have to wait and see. I haven�t heard from Scott. I don�t know if they have interest in being there or not. If they have interest we�ll see where we go. It�ll take a long time to play out, I�m sure.� ]Jim Hendry of the Cubs said: �He�s a great, great player. I know he has a longstanding relationship with Lou Piniella. Anybody would love to have him. In our situation we�re very happy with Aramis Ram�rez at third. In the overall scheme of things, for the dollars it would take, we have other needs � in the outfield, speed-wise, maybe a little more pitching. �For that kind of volume of dollars, I don�t see a way that would make any sense because we�re very happy with our guy at third. To commit that much more to one player and not address the other needs we have when we already have an All-Star caliber third baseman is really tough to do.� ]Theo Epstein of the Red Sox said, �We�re attempting to sign Mike Lowell and we�re not going to figure out any other alternatives until we see how that process plays out.� ]Dave Dombrowski of the Tigers said, �We do not have interest.� ]Larry Beinfest of the Marlins said: �We have no plans to pursue A-Rod or engage in any negotiations for him. It makes no sense to have a player who takes up most, if not all, of our on-field payroll.� ]Bill Bavasi of the Mariners said, �We�re not a player.� Bavasi added that he continued to believe that the Yankees would be the best fit for Rodriguez. �The Yankees need a third baseman,� he said. ]Two of the three executives questioned at random � Andy MacPhail of Baltimore and J. P. Ricciardi of Toronto � said they had no interest. The third, Kevin Towers of San Diego, said: �Do I have interest in him? Absolutely. Do I think we�ve got a legitimate chance to sign him? No. I�d have a hard time paying one guy a third of our payroll. We wouldn�t be able to compete.� ]Omar Minaya of the Mets didn�t mention Rodriguez yesterday. The day before, he said he would look at Rodriguez like he looks at all free agents. Some people inferred from that comment that the Mets were interested. They are not.

When I was coming of age as a Mets fan in the mid to late '70s there wasn't a whole lot to cheer about. They'd win on Opening Day and I'd cut out the standings from the newspaper and tape them to my wall so as the season progressed and they rapidly sunk to last place I could always look at those standings and see what it looked like to have the Mets in first place. During those lean years one other thing that I took great pride in was Doug Flynn winning a Gold Glove at 2B. It wasn't much but it was all I had. A Met in the national news - if only just a blurb - for a day. So while Wright didn't really deserve it, as a Met fan I'll take it. If nothing else it makes me think of ole #23 for a day and how happy he made me when he won his.

Every single one of you needs a girlfriend.

Pretty easy to find her topless pic too.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: By the way, paul LoDuca's skanky teen x-girlfriend is nekkid in playboy Which one? There were several, no?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: I love Castro and all but the guy has missed huge chunks of 2 straight seasons with back injuries. Yeah but doesn't it seem like whenever he does play he hits big homeruns?

Joel Sherman of The Post says: Rockies think they will lose Torrealba and have targeted both LoDuca and Castro.

I remember watching Lincecum pitch and thinking 'that guy is a serious arm injury just waiting to happen.'

Joel Youngblood.

="Kid Carsey"]Net proceeds from the sale of Citi Field Fanwalk bricks will be donated to the Mets Foundation, which will distribute the funds to area charities. The Mets Foundation funds and promotes a variety of charitable causes, including educational, social and athletic programs for young people in the community. A percentage of your donation to the Mets Foundation is tax deductible. Well, that changes everything. You'd think they'd publicize that a bit more. See, now I might actually consider it. After I read Greg's essay of course OE: Just read it and I swear I didn't read it before starting this thread

Tom Severed (head)