The Critic

QUOTE(spiffalicious @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 07:08 PM) I listened this morning, and the one thing I remember him saying is that his editor told him a few months ago to take some time off, so he was acting like it has been planned all along for him to be off at this time. But then, Mike asked him why he said he would be covering the draft and then didn't show up and he said he decided to take a vacation. So what is it? Did he have this planned or was he told to go on vacation? Wait - are you suggesting that Jay may be changing his story to fit whichever situation he's asked about? Or that he might be flip-flopping? He doesn't do that.....

QUOTE(bmags @ Jul 17, 2006 -> 07:15 PM) no no... i'm sure you'd be hard pressed to find a person who doesn't like no way out I like a fair amount of "classic rock" stuff, but I don't like one Allman Brothers song.

Woke up at 6:30am (way too early for a Sunday), went grocery shopping, talked with my sister for a while, took care of my daughter, got a nap (slept through the Sox game, luckily), had some dinner and came to work. About to leave, I'll get home for about 4 hours' sleep before I have to take my daughter to the doctor (nothing serious) and then to day camp (see, told you it was nothing serious ).

While that's not a good outing by any means, it does look like Jeff Farnsworth allowed 3 of Hermanson's inherited runners to score, along with two of his own, after two outs.

US - thumping of a hollowed-out tree stump with large branches UK - scraping of jagged rocks against a cave wall

QUOTE(Hangar18 @ Jul 13, 2006 -> 12:57 PM) Then we go to Detroit for 3 games. The SOX have put themselves in a position where they now have to sweep to get close, whereas the Tigers have to win just 1 game to keep their lead the same. Yet all the Sox have to do is win 3 more games than the Tigers the rest of the way, while keeping a lead on Minnesota, Cleveland and Kansas City, to win the division! There's way too much baseball yet to be played to put undue emphasis on this weekend's activities.

QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Jul 13, 2006 -> 11:24 AM) What direction is it supposed to go? It seems right? You know the kids these days with their dirty minds, Mr. Gleason. When WE think "gadgets", we think of doohickeys, thingamabobs, and gizmos. When these little pervies think "gadgets", well, the thread doesn't go in the direction THEY were hoping....

Shingo was the highlight of 2004 for me as well. It's strange to consider that he was still the main closer into June of last year - it seems like so long ago now. It's always nice to see him on the Sox Pride DVD. I'll always be a fan of "good ol' number 10".

All I have, gadget-wise, is my 30GB iFreezeUpEveryCoupleOfWeeksForNoReasonWhatsoever. My computer is decent, too (160GB, 512GB RAM, flat screen monitor, CD/DVD burner). No cell phone (wife has one), no TiVo (VCR and DVD player), no digital cable (standard Comcast), all the basic stuff is fine for what I use it for. As a rule I'm very reluctant to try new stuff - it's all part of my Advanced Curmudgeon lifestyle.

I just obtained a transcript of the actual meeting between Vince McMahon (on behalf of WWE creative.....if there is such a thing anymore) and Mick Foley. Well, I'd actually call it a lecture, since Mick doesn't get a word in - well, here, see for yourself: "Listen, uhhh, Mick......you know and I know that we here in the WWE strive to be 'cutting edge' and all, but......that promo you did last Monday.......well, quite frankly, it crossed over the line. I mean, it's one thing to allow a skit, as I did on July 4th, where Triple H and Candace pretend to be serviced orally behind a picnic table, even though we can CLEARLY see that their pants are still on.....but your promo was UNACCEPTABLE, and I'll tell you why. If we allow you to deliver emotional, intense, realistic, believable promos, then, well, we may eventually have to expect that of everyone, and we both see why we can't have THAT, right, Mick? I mean, can you imagine Shelton Benjamin, Charlie Haas, or any member of the Spirit Squad delivering a promo that good??? Of course not! Can you see where a decent segment would break up the dull, lifeless, interchangable feel of the show? C'mon, Mick....be a TEAM PLAYER.....dumb those promos down, okay?.....keep the expectations NICE AND LOW where we like them.....oh, and Mick?......have a nice day....." Oh, and I can absolutely believe every single bit of news you posted, LCR - Vince is clearly trying to kill ECW, and it's working better and more quickly than even he could have imagined.

QUOTE(T R U @ Jul 12, 2006 -> 12:27 AM) Funny thing is we are all on here complaining about it yet we are still watching I haven't watched an episode of WWECW SmackRaw yet. I saw the first episode on tape and that was enough for me. I basically watch Raw out of habit, and I'm doing more channel-flipping than ever. I don't watch SmackDown anymore, either. I'll probably tape Saturday Night's Main Event to see how watered down it gets for NBC to air it.

QUOTE(MHizzle85 @ Jul 11, 2006 -> 02:44 PM) Last night's promo was a little too good...makes ya think it wasn't all acting When it comes to Ric Flair, Foley definitely wasn't 100% acting. But it's not unusual at all to use real-life personal hard feelings to further a storyline. Makes for pretty good television when done right, though, and Foley does it damn well.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jul 11, 2006 -> 10:50 AM) What'd Foley talk about -- and who is he feuding with? I can't describe his promo HALF as well as it came off. He's so good. He's still sort of feuding with Ric Flair, and he mostly talked about how Flair had a ghost writer for his book and Foley wrote his books by hand, and then he called Flair a "used-up hack" and mentioned how when Foley's ear got torn off, Flair was basically in charge of the booking. When they brought Foley's ear backstage, Flair went out to see what happened and Foley was still out there wrestling. Foley was insulted by Flair saying that Foley "took the easy way out" by doing hardcore matches, so Foley described all the sacrifices he's made over the years to show that he never took any easy way out. He finished up by saying that when he saw Flair bleeding all over the ring during their last match, and saw Flair's family crying, the space in Foley's mind that Flair used to occupy suddenly was cleared out. He's not giving Flair a rematch because "you don't matter to me anymore". It really was so much better than a synopsis can convey - Foley gets angry at just the right moments in his promos, and he makes you believe what he's saying.

Last night's Raw = another VERY strong Mick Foley promo (if he's not the best promo in the business, I don't know who is) and besides him, a giant steaming pile. Honestly, I don't know why I watch any more. And I hardly watch as it is. I was flipping between the HR Derby, Raw and that Real World/Road Rules thing on MTV. (that girl Diem is quality) I was lucky to catch a glipse of Foley before I flipped away from Raw, because Ric Flair doesn't stop my remote anymore either. He is what Foley said he is, a used-up hack.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 01:49 PM) Well, the difference between those two was Khabibulin was an aging goaltender coming off being out of hockey for an entire season... Havlat is young... but he was on such a powerhouse offense, who knows? Don't get me wrong, having a forward who has scored some goals at the NHL level is never a bad thing, unless he has a bad back, questionable work ethic and suspect defensive skills (thankfully, that guy is gone). Just have to wonder if being almost the only scoring threat, and the defensive attention that goes along with it, will wear on him.

QUOTE(Gregory Pratt @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 02:34 PM) Someone should go meet the Tiger fans who post here in Detroit and beat them savagely. This is the most painful shade of green ever.

Basing my grade solely on game threads.... F-minus, punishable by death.

QUOTE(Steve9347 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 12:55 PM) Havlat's stats may have been padded by playing on such a stacked team. We will see. Bell is not a huge loss, imo. I agree with both points. Will Havlat pull a Khabibulin when he leaves a successful team? Time will tell.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 01:15 AM) Hey Critic, that Indians loss was 4/4. I was trying to pretend it never happened? to me. Now I'm off to correct the date.....

ESPN just showed Zidane's notable past red cards, including one for stomping a guy (Wayne Rooney, anyone?) and another one for headbutts. I guess he'd have punched guys, but you can't use your hands in soccer. He's still a classless jagoff, though.

I went with Dye. The best part of this poll is that you can make a legit case for 4 or 5 guys.

QUOTE(Rowand44 @ Jul 9, 2006 -> 11:47 PM) Ya, Cheapshotting=balls. Yep, and not being around for penalty kicks in his last World Cup final also = balls. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Jul 10, 2006 -> 01:05 AM) WITHOUT being snarky....what is your level of trust in the bullpen...rank each member from best to worst. Jenks - still the best arm in the pen Cotts - I still want him in there for a big out.... Thornton - A little prone to the single at times, but still tough to hit Riske - Been fantabulous with us when throwing strikes Mac - Rather hit or miss Cliff - mostly miss I think you've got it about nailed. I am becoming more and more confident in Thornton, which is nice. A lefty who can bring it in the high 90's is always nice to have, as long as he throws strikes.

QUOTE(My Dixie Normus @ Jul 9, 2006 -> 11:11 PM) Anyone starting to get the feeling that these posts are authored by a 43 year old dude? In a dress? I have to admit that I wondered about just that, for a minute. When I read her posts, I think about that commercial where the guy who had his credit card information stolen is talking in the girl's voice.

Awakened at 7:00 AM by my daughter, who's not feeling well. My main duty was to take care of her all day. I tried to take a nap because I am working tonight, but I was once again awakened by same not-feeling-well daughter, who felt like she was going to throw up. I watched the beginning of the Sox game after I was sure I couldn't get back to sleep. Later I made dinner for the family, watched more of the Sox game (which I had to give up free tickets for because my daughter was too sick to send to her cousin's house) until the 16th inning, and then I came here to work (where I will be until 2:30 AM). I was told of the final score by my wife, who actually kept watching the game after I left the house (that's rare, too - normally she'd have switched over to 60 Minutes immediately). When I get home at approximately 3:30 AM, I will attempt to sleep until 7:00, when my daughter will no doubt awaken me again - she rarely sleeps past 7:00 AM. If she's not feeling better, I'll be taking her to the doctor. If she is feeling well, she'll be off to day camp and I will be off to Sleepy Land. If I was Pete Rose, I'd bet on the doctor visit.