SI1020

Jaime Navarro part 2?

we could blame in on the fact that outside of one 15 win season todd ritchie has been one of the worst starting pitchers in all of baseball.. 3 million for ritchie??...im gonna be sick I'm going to be sick and bitter too. Business is really lousy. I'm a lot better at what I do than Ritchie is at what he does. All you Sox fans out there, don't be the least bit surprised if Ritchie does a repeat or only improves slightly in 03. s***, when that guy pitches give ME a bat!

What Trent Lott said was indefensible. Most of the heaviest heat that has come down on good ole Trent has come from the right, not the left. Many conservatives will not let this die, you can believe it or not. One example is the Jack Kelly column I linked in this thread. In the past others like Jimmy Carter, Coleman Young, John Dingell, Robert Byrd and Rev Jesse Jackson have made some tactless and insulting comments and gotten away with it. That doesn't absolve Lott. I'm either old enough or dumb enough to still believe there is such a thing as right and wrong and in this case Lott was just plain wrong. Unlike the above mentioned Lott will pay for his mistake.

One thing I learned is all message boards have "pecking orders". Also people say things on a message board they never would to your face. I love a good argument but try to stay civil, while making my point (s). I love baseball and the Sox so I hang around several boards as an "elder statesman" I guess. About WSI, I suspect I'm under most people's radar screens at that site and hardly noticed. It's too bad about the controversy because they have some good things there. That being said I don't blame hsc and some others for leaving, there was some unfair slamming going on at times. Oh well, maybe I'll be on the s*** list now, but like I already said, I don't think I'm that big a deal one way or other there. Of course the folks here should know by now they have my best wishes. Just keep working and don't worry what others may say or think about you. If you're working hard and putting out a decent product folks will come by and post. It looks like it's working for you.

Oh boy, this one could really get heated. How about two voices of sanity? Jack Kelly is a conservative Republican and Dennis Roddy is a liberal Democrat. I enjoy reading both because in addition to writing well, they don't just submit the usual partisan crap. www.post-gazette.com/forum/comm/20021213edkelly13p1.asp www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20021214roddy102col2p2.asp

Great post baggio. I too have spent some time in the deep south. The whole country has changed a lot since the 50's which is as far as my memory takes me. The south of today is nothing like that of yesteryear. And of course you're right, vilification of the Bear on this thread was unfair and uncalled for.

Here is a former player's view of the movie. www.post-gazette.com/sports/other/20021212junction6.asp

In the early 70's one of Bears teams was soundly thrashed by a USC team that featured Sam (Bam) Cunningham, brother of Randall. Bear was on a losing streak in Bowl games at the time and after that he went for black athletes in a big way. Southerners of his generation were not unanimous in their feelings toward black Americans but all grew up with segregation. Many were able to change their hearts and minds over the years. What good is life if you are not given the opportunity to rise above your prejudices and shortcomings, which all of us human beings have. I think that Bear was able to do that to some degree. If you want to talk about an unreconstructed racist southern coach then I think basketball coach Adolph Rupp is a better example of this. As far as the movie goes, it is not entirely accurate. The guy that gets head butted in the movie contends that it didn't happen the way it was portrayed. He states that Bear was showing him a blocking technique and the heat butt was incidental contact that merely stunned him momentarily. Also, in the book the author contended that this particular player had died, which the still alive man naturally denied.

About Minoso being eligible for the HOF through the Veteran's Committee. We were also getting into a real good debate about the relative merits of the various sports HOF's. Oh well, stuff happens.

Am I hallucinating or did the Minnie Minoso thread disappear?

While there is no doubt we could use additional depth at SP, there is no one out there available now that interests me greatly. Pitching depth is a problem across the board in MLB baseball today.

The courts these days don't look kindly on any man who beats his wife or girlfriend, even if he's just defending himself.

If anyone's interested. home.earthlink.net/~jlerew/eefms.html

Ernie Kovacs, a famous 1950's and 1960's comic. Had his own TV show. Was hilarious. Way ahead of his time.

I live in Pittsburgh. I think it is punishment for something I did in a past incarnation. Maybe I can buy a round for some of you at a Sox game next year.

He hasn't earned my trust with big deals that involve big leaguers, yet. And if you notice, I also say that we may win based on the Foulke-for-Koch aspect of the trade, and I really wouldn't be surprised if the Sox win at the minor league level thanks to this trade, as KW has shown incredible skill with the wheelings and dealings of minor leaguers, my beef is with A) the loss of Johnson and now the rush of Olivio to the bigs, which will only hurt us in the long run, and B) the perception of the doghouse that I fear exsists in the organization. And so what if a lot of fans like the trade? That forbids me from saying I dislike it? Jason wrote a great piece on why the deal was a good one, so its not like you don't get both sides of the spectrum at the site. I'm just offering my opinions on why I am suspcisious of this trade. If Koch remains a dominant closer, Foulke falls apart (again), Valentine turns out to be a dud, Johnson continues to suck, Olivio becomes a catching stud, and the PsTBNL become solid prospects, I'll gladly take back what I've written. Until then, I'm going to be suspicious. You've written a very good article, better than some of the superficial pap that some "real" sportswriters dish out. As previously stated, I am uneasy about this trade although Koch may be ready to kick it up a notch and be the "lights out" closer we all want him to be. I agree with you on the "doghouse" aspect of trading Foulke. That kind of crap has got to stop, but I'm afraid it would require a personality transplant on the part of KW. Again, good work, you analyzed it the way you saw it and did it well.

He was overruled by JR IMO.

Interesting article. And thanks for bringing some conversation to the thread. The way people jump all over each other for politics drives me nuts. Me too. I love a good debate and it is possible to do it without all the vicious insults. I also understand that when you are young you think you "know" everything. I've tried to make my points without raking the college kids over the coals. The lack of historical knowledge is depressing as hell, one of the reasons I decided not to try to teach after getting a degree and certificate as an adult. I said it before in another thread, this generation of American kids is the most sloppily and badly educated in the history of the nation. Before I get slammed for saying this, I know from where I speak, lots of educational professionals will tell you the same thing and it is NOT the kids fault. Besides, if you want to do anything right you often have to do it yourself.

Sideshow didn't see your comment about having the s***tiest evening. Sorry for missing that initially.

The second amendment has been misinterpreted for decades, more like centuries. It states that: A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. I'm sorry, but the Montana Freemen and the NRA are not f***ing militias. Also, read up on US v Miller where the US Supreme Court ruled AGAINST Miller's right to bear arms. That case should be more than enough evidence to institute gun control, but of course we need our guns, so we can...um. Shoot them at the range. Yeah, sure. It's just so asinine how anyone can defend the 2nd amendment. The Supreme Court ruled against Miller's right to bear a certain kind of sawed off shotgun, not strictly to bear arms. The Court also said in its ruling and I quote directly "The signification attributed to the term Militia appears from the debates of the convention, the history and legislation of Colonies and States, and the writings of approved commentators. These show plainly enough that the Militia comprised ALL males physically capable of acting in concert for the common defense." Capitals in "all" are mine, otherwise this is word for word in the decree.

Kenny had nothing to do with this,this deal was done by JR and Arn Tellum,no one else was involved. Bingo.

Belated thanks to Jason and Heather.

You're last question is a very good one. Let me see if I can get this link to work. Click on archives and go to "Eight Common Held Falsehoods About the War on Terror". I don't care for everything on the site but this article is good. www.laststory.com

Declared or not Western Civilization is in a war of survival. If I were in charge our foreign policy would be entirely than it has been for the last 30 years or so. However saying we are not in a "war" will not make the danger go away.

I don't "veil" anything I meant everything I said word for word just the way I said it. I was disagreeing with some of your points but also praising your own personal quest for knowledge. I don't know how you can possibly make that out to be an insult. One of the shortcomings of this medium is that you can't see the other person, hear his or her voice, see facial expressions. Shading, nuance, humor and tone are often lost. Plus if you are not personally acquainted with the other poster you can misunderstand and be misunderstood. I wish you knew someone that knows me. You'd be told I don't veil or bs anybody. I don't play mind games and I don't politic behind people's backs. Disagree with me hell ya if you feel like it. But don't say I tried to stick it to you. Lefties is not an insulting term any more than democrat, republican, socialist, etc. What a dumbass I am for trying to talk politics in a reasonable manner. Oh, by the way the pretzel comment in your original post is funny.