SI1020

Ordinarily I would agree. However, expectations are high and this was the KC Royals! The thing that bugs me is they didn't seem ready to start the season. I also think the Twins are going to remain a tough team. I don't like them, I just don't think they're going to fold. This could be, this should be a really good year. It's time for the Sox to play ball. Starting today.

I think you're right. They did not answer the bell ready to play this season. WTF

I'm not an over optimistic person by nature but this is awful. Over the course of the year you're going to lose three in a row, but not THIS way to THIS team.

CW- sorry if I gave the impression that I didn't read your post. I always read what you and everybody else has to say. Giving 20 points out of 150 is a lot of assistance. Did you read me when I said I could give chapter and verse of specific companies and institutions and their attempts to implement AAction? MM- Couldn't agree with you more about the state of education. Poor minorites in urban areas and poor whites in some rural areas are at a serious disadvantage. They deserve the same chance as everyone else. However when I came out in favor of vouchers and other methods to break the NEA monopoly I was savagely attacked on another board. In conclusion just let me say that if my fortunes change and I'm in a position to hand out favors, jobs, contracts, housing etc then I will give special preference to Chicago White Sox fans because I'll already know those folks have a lot perserverance, loyalty and tenacity. Cubs fans applications go to the bottom of the pile.

Why is diverisity defined only in terms of race. Doesn't a poor white kid from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan bring diversity to the table also? Wouldn't Barbar Grutter an educated professional woman who ran a small business add diversity to the mix? Like I said before I have seen affirmative action programs up close and personal. They range from mildly benign to absolutely catastrophic depending on how the company or institution wishes to implement it. When Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, John Henry Lloyd and others were denied a chance to play major league ball it was a terrible injustice. When George Bush and others get in to elite schools on legacies s at the expense of others more deserving that too is wrong. All forms of discrimination must go. I would like to see excellence in education across the board as my remedy to the problem. If that makes me a bad guy so be it.

Damn! I thought I made a really good offer too. You know I have a high limit on my Capital One card.

Discrimination in any form is wrong. When wealthy WASPS like Bush (believe me he's not the only one) get into Ivy league schools on a legacy it is wrong. When qualified applicants like Barbara Grutter are denied admittance to an upper tier program like the University of Michigan Law School that is also wrong. I understand why affirmative action is a reality. I still think it is a very bad policy. I believe in a meritocracy as strongly as I believe in anything. No race or ethnic group has a monopoly on intelligence or the ability to achieve. If the results are displeasing to some, then I think we need to raise our educational standards across the board, another thing I strongly believe in. If standards are raised and all have the opportunity and encouragement to achieve then the idea of affirmative action will be obselete. In any case, to make choices based on anything other than merit is in the long run suicidal for a society. Lastly, I could give a number of case histories of how "affirmative action" has affected various companies. It has ranged from a minor annoyance to near catastrophic. One company nearly went under in part because of it. I know because I worked for them.

You never know how you are perceived on these boards. I've tried to be civilized but Mumia is a real hot button for me. I worked for 4 and a half years in a jail. Most prisoners who voiced an opinion one way or another about their guilt or innocence insisted they were innocent. Often despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. I've seen prisoners on more than one occasion deny their identity despite being revealed by their fingerprints. I know about the other side of the coin. In 1974 I was arrested and charged with a felony. The police realized their mistake almost from the start but tried to cover their asses at my night court hearing. Luckily for me the judge saw through it and me and my case were dismissed. That is peanuts compared to being on death row for a crime you didn't commit. Mumia is not one of those people and only the most delusional or ideologically blind will refuse to see this. A dispassionate review of Mumia's case might show some procedural problems with his original trial but nothing else. It is hard to understand how the pathetic punk at the trial morphed into this cult figure of today. The search for a mystery gunman is a fraud and charade of the worst kind. What now, OJ was innocent too? I have tried with everything in my power to be kind and generous to the poster who calls himself sideshowapu. Enough. He posts more bulls*** than anyone on this board. He probably has more friends than me here so enjoy him and his endless fantasies. Does anybody on this board do any research related work? Can you look for the facts despite whatever ideology you might have? Mumia is not innocent. Not even close. Bye Y'all!

Didn't Isiah Thomas say that if not for Knight he might have been lost to the streets like his older brother?

When a six year old girl in Flint Michigan was shot and killed by a classmate in February of 2000 it was the lead story for several days in the national news.

Here's another guy who had great potential but lost his chance for fame due to a torn rotator cuff. Read about him here. He probably was already injured when the Pirates called him up in 1952. He occasionally appears at autograph shows in this area.

283 pitches in one game! What would today's pitch count police say about that?

Led the league in K's five times and K's per 9 innings 6 times.

That would be Armando Rios right? He was a major disppointment with the Pirates. He was expected to provide some power and give the team 350-400 Abs. Instead he hurt his knee and IIRC barely hit his weight. He showed very limited range in the OF too. What is it with Chi teams taking all these Pgh rejects lately?

Mcdowell's career stats Sam McDowell went to Central Catholic in Pittsburgh, the same school that gave the world 1950's NBA star Jack Twyman, Dan Marino and Mark Bulger, plus countless lawyers and politicians in Allegheny County Pennsylvania. McDowell was a great talent, who threw as hard or harder than any of today's pitchers. 1549 is right, alcohol did shorten his career. When he was on, he was unhittable.

Had to reread that part cw about the "federal reserve" connection in American Presidential assassinations or in the case of Reagan, an attempt. When I was young and foolish I used to be susceptible to conspiracy theories of various stripes. Most of them collapse under the weight of the available evidence. I also have done a lot of "research" oriented work and I do not pass on bulls*** to folks I do work for. Thorough and accurate work does not always make for good copy. You can say outlandish things like LBJ was part of the "hit" on Kennedy or Jews conspired to elect John XXIII so church dogma could be watered down. When you examine things closely you see that most "theories" such as these are outlandish fantasies. Concerning Mel Gibson, it just appears to me that most Hollywooders are filled with self absorption and self importance. I think a lot of them, despite the money, fame, fortune, etc are very insecure and feel a constant need to be on stage one way or another.

Should have been more emphatic about those comments. I'm cynical about the press and I'm not sure about the elder Gibson's mental state. Yes the Jewish holocaust happened. I don't know why Jewish people seem to be everybodys favorite whipping boy.

Thanks. Munoz and Neal Cotts are two young pitchers I'm trying to follow this spring.

Did he get shelled the the other two times? The only WS ST Box Scores I've seen have been courtesy of Soxnet.

Is this the first time Munoz pitched in a ST game?

The love of money is the root of all evil. Try living without it. As far as the article goes, it's interesting but I'm sure it's meant to cast Gibson in a bad light. The fathers comments I take with a grain of salt. I find the comment in the sermon about the "modern church" to be disturbing. I've wrestled with religion seriously since my teens. The problem with religion, ANY religion is that once you've convinced yourself you've found God's truth how do you deal with people who don't believe as you do? The result is sometimes not pretty, as any cursory study of history will reveal. I was brought up in the Catholic faith. My grandparents were kind and devout people. I've fallen away and come back more times than I can count. I am well aware of all the historical and modern criticisms of the Church that come from members and non members alike. I grew up in a part of Chicago that was predominately Jewish at the time. I'm not an expert on Judaism, but I never met a Jewish person that would deny his or her identity regardless of whether or not that person practiced the Jewish faith seriously. There is a cultural component to being Jewish. I'm of the opinion that being Catholic is similar. Culturally I will always be a northern urban Catholic whether or not I practice the faith as rigorously as some think I should. These are difficult scary times and many people long for clarity and decisiveness in their religious faith. It appears to many that their particular religion may have sold out to modernity in order to "fit" in. That is why Mel Gibson has chosen more traditional Catholicism. The fastest growing Christian faiths are those that demand much of their flock in terms of belief and action. Fundementalists and faiths like the Church of the Latter Day Saints grow by leaps and bounds while more traditional Christain faiths lose members every year. Every one has to decide for himself or herself. This is a highly personal choice and one of the most basic rights of an American citizen.

No biggie here. When it counts then we can get all psyched up.

That "someone" you know who is high on Cotts has every reason to be high on him. Trust me, I've seen him pitch here at my university for an entire season. I know college stats don't predict professional stats, but he's going to get the job done. Wow, I guess I came across as "ripping" Cotts. The fact is of all the prospects KW got in recent trades he interested me the most. Additionally, I'm quite sentimental about ISU because of the time I spent there. I was told he throws harder than the scouting reports indicate and that his ball has wicked movement which sometimes leads to control problems. I was hoping to see him pitch in ST but since that's not possible I have to rely on box scores or first hand accounts of any Soxnet members who may see him pitch in Arizona. Believe me if you are right about Cotts that will be quite all right with me.

His pitchers Cicotte and Williams crossed him up many times. He could see the fix better than anyone on the team. Schalk prided himself on his defense and handling of pitchers. He took extra care in calling the two games Dickie Kerr won.

He was blasted by several of his former Padre teammates. I hope this turns out to be just a rumor because it would be great if this guy could step up and take advantage of an opportunity. You know the Bears and Blackhawks are in a downward spiral, the Bulls continue to disappoint and I don't root for that other team. I'm hoping the Sox will buck the trend this year.