The Critic

Which raises an interesting question: Do you think there'd be many players willing to suit up as replacement players, and how far down the ranks would they have to go to find enough guys to fill all the NHL rosters? I was about to joke that "I already watch the Thrashers' replacement players - they're called The Wolves" but I doubt many of the Wolves would sign on as replacements. Whattya think?

Poor kid, indeed - can you IMAGINE what that kid's punishment's going to be??? "Ah thought Ah told yew ta be home bah 9:30!!! Now GIT UP on that box an' Ah'ma tie them elektrikul wahrs ta yer jennitulz!!!"

People are such lemmings.

.....HOCKAAAAAYYYYYYY???? WHOO HOOOO!!!! The NHL is BACK, BABY!!! The HITTING! The SCORING!!! The GREAT SAVES and SPECTACULAR PLAYS!!!! It ALL BEGINS TONI-.....what's that? Ohhhhhhh.......that's riiiiiiiight...... ....never mind.... The weird thing is, I TOTALLY forgot that tonight was supposed to be the Slackhawks opener against the MINNY WILD. Amazing how quickly it slipped out of my mind... Oh well.... FRIDAY NIGHT, BAYBEEEEEE!!!!! HAAAAAA-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! The Wolves open up in Millewaukay, then have their home opener on Saturday! WOLVES :fyou :fyou NHL and NHLPA :fyou :fyou

Figures that the Spankees and Red Cubs would be on Fox. I mean, NOBODY would want to see that AWFUL Cardinal lineup outside of St. Louis, right??? By the way, the name "Red Cubs" is EXCELLENT for pissing off annoying Cub fans!!! Followed up with "Think about it.....'curses'.....choking......rickety old ballpark....whining martyr fans......"

I got a TWO???? I refuse to believe that I'm more evil than Steff!!!

Yes, 450 million probably could be put to better use. I just doubt that it actually would. I just find it funny that every politician in Washington and New York uses the memory of those victims for their own agendas, then conveniently pisses on the memory when the mood strikes them. Extend that to people in general if you want to - one day 9/11 is a tragedy, the next day it's a reason to sell a cheap-ass flag or coin.

I agree, but I think I'd be pretty pissed off at the thought of my loved one's remains spending eternity in a landfill, especially if I was promised that the remains would be brought to me. Instead of building Nine Eleven Park, they could use that money to fund the return of the victims' ashes to their relatives.

That's because you're thoroughly unlikable, YAS.... Hey, YAS, check your PM's.....PSYCHE!!!!!!

GO REDBIRDS!!!! I've always been a Cardinal fan, plus it has the residual effect of bugging the Cub Cult members at my work!!! Sample conversation from last week: Cub Cult Guy: "I want the Red Sox to win the World Series since the Cubs aren't in it." Me: "I want the Cardinals. They do things the right way - they trade for good players and keep them there." Cub Cult Guy: (angry) "Well, why don't you move to St. Louis, then??" Me: "I said I like the Cardinals, not St. Louis! St. Louis is a HOLE!"

And his relatively bad throwing arm. I'm always surprised at how weak his throws seem, especially from a "FIVE-TOOL PLAYER" such as him.

Welcome, Lefty! I completely agree with you about Pat - he is excellent, even when given the unenviable job of making a 7-1 blowout interesting for the listener. I wonder what his situation is with this lockout - is he getting paid? If not, how would he make extra money this winter? There aren't exactly any other leagues he could broadcast for. I'm sure he's not starving, but I'd think that an extended lockout would hurt guys like him, who don't really crossover to do other sports.

I'll believe they're true until I see some sort of vehement denial by Penn. It's absolutely believable to me that he would send this type of letter, given his tightassedness and uptightitude.

I think the fact that Lee has more time left on his contract would make him more attractive to other teams, but of the two I'd actually prefer they move PK. NOT that I want to see either one go, but Lee's made great strides defensively and is a good offensive threat, and I'd hate to see some other team benefit from his continued ascent. PK's huge year would bring the Sox some good value in return, and if KW can pull off a smart deal, I'd be alright with it, even though PK is one of my favorites.

I hope I'm wrong, but I smell a Cub-like collapse a'comin'! Astros have not been able to knock anyone out, EVER. They've lost every elimination game they've ever played. Atlanta winning would be worse for the Cardinals, cuz the Braves always seem to match up well against them. A Braves vs Yankees World Series would turn my television off QUICKLY.

Sean Penn is entitled to his opinion, and I'm entitled to not give a s*** about his opinion. Ironic that the star of one of the funniest movies I've ever seen ( Fast Times At Ridgemont High ) has become a completely humorless tightass. You'd THINK he'd realize that a comment like "it's OK not to vote if you don't know what you're talking about" is a JOKE. He is a really good actor, although lately he's started to become a parody of himself to an extent.

Usually SLaP is the first board I check out. I like to see what non-baseball stuff people are talking about. Even though I try not to talk politics ( since I'm kinda put off by politicians in general ), I'm fascinated by what our ST folks think and always love to read the different viewpoints. Debate is great and everyone learns in the process. I'm always floored by the amount of research and reference sources Apu provides. What I'm trying to say is, this place is interesting whether or not the Sox are playing ( AND whether or not they're playing well! ) KUDOS to everyone who posts here!!!

I hope Frank and Carl both come into camp lighter than before. I really hope Maggs recovers and can resume his career, wherever he may end up. It would be a shame if he couldn't come back from this.

The story I heard is that he arrived, b****ed about Dusty, claimed an illness and left. The reason doesn't change the fact that he claimed to have stayed until at least the 7th inning and the surveillance video proved him to be a liar.

I choose None Of The Above.

While I do basically agree with you, there is some cause for concern regarding the rotation. They're almost certain to let Clement go. Maddux will be one year older, and sometimes age hits a guy suddenly. He threw pretty well for them, but he did allow 35 homers, which is almost a dozen more than he ever had ina season before. If they're counting on Angel Guzman, he's still a question mark from injury. If they're counting on Ryan Dempster, he's still a question mark as far as starting, after his injury. They appear to be grooming him to close, so he may not even be in the conversation as far as starting goes. They have a bunch of prospects, but as I like to say, "prospects are like suspects - line 5 of them up and maybe one will be The Guy". Prior is suddenly a bit of an injury mystery as well. So the rotation isn't as set in stone as it appeared to be when they acquired Maddux and were anointed "The Greatest 5-Man Rotation In Baseball History". ...funny how things work out, isn't it?.....

Well, the benefit for SamME to accept a trade is that the sucker - oops, I mean LUCKY TEAM - who trades for him would have to guarantee his option year at 17.5 million bucks, meaning that they'd take on 35 mil over 2 years for a 36-year-old, quickly fading, mysteriously shrinking, awful defensive right fielder. If he refuses a trade, there's NO WAY IN HELL the Cubs will pick up his 2006 option. And there is also NO WAY IN HELL anyone would give him anywhere close to 17.5 mil on the free agent market.

Bruce Levine reported that Sosa, who CLAIMED to have stayed at Wrigley until at least the 7th inning yesterday, was seen on parking lot surveillance tapes leaving the lot in his car at 1:35pm. He had arrived at 12:10pm, meaning he stayed long enough to b**** about Dusty Baylor's comments about him, make up some phony reason not to play, and then leave. How DARE the Cubs doubt him at his word!!!!

There's a thing called "drowning your sorrows". Maybe that was part of it. Also, they're headed on vacation and this is the last they'll see of each other until February, if then. Surely some moves will be made and guys will be gone. And hanging with the fans is always a good thing. Can fault them for a lot of things over the past week, but this ain't one of them.

Three things to consider: 1. That is a sportswriter writing that. If you read the fans' comments in Sunday's papers, there were far more comments that could be read as "sad" than there were "angry" comments. IMO, it's still going to take more than this year's choke to change the perception of the Cubs as the "In Team" or Wrigley as the "Place To Be". If (when) they have to leave Wrigley Field, that will have more of an impact on their fanbase than anything that happens on the field. 2. Just because the sportswriters are smelling blood in the water, that doesn't mean that they're suddenly going to embrace the White Sox. They still believe (INCORRECTLY) that USCF is a bad ballpark in a rough neighborhood, they still believe that Frank Thomas is a hyper-sensitive sulker, they still hold a LOT of incorrect perceptions about all things White Sox. THAT won't change too quickly, either. 3. This is just the stunned aftershocks of the Collapse. Give it a week or two, and I believe the blame for this season's Cub failure will shift to the injuries they suffered through much of the season and the hurricane-induced schedule changes. Remember, there's ALWAYS an excuse... Unfortunately, one bad Cubbie week and the subsequent fallout won't have much impact on the White Sox. Winning some kind of championship, however, would help the Sox greatly. Winning them consistently could shift the balance of power for certain. I'd like the Sox to try THAT route.