SoxFan562004

Mir completely suprised me last night, he looked awesome. You can argue Big Nog is on the downside of his career, but he has never been stopped or submitted before, so Mir accomplished something last night

QUOTE (Jimbo's Drinker @ Dec 27, 2008 -> 11:05 AM) Ok where do I go to watch all the old UFC and other matches, I am just getting into this sport. HDNET is a saviour. UFC is pretty on the ball about taking bootleged fights off the net, but look around, dailymotion.com use to have them. Look at the DVDs they have out, PRIDE 33 is a very good event, as well as PRIDE Final Combat Absolute. The older PRIDE's are excellent too, i'm just not sure of their availability since Zuffa purchased them. Spike has free UFCs I'd say about once every two months and Vs. has WEC every 2-3 months. Google Fedor Emelianenko and have some fun

So far this is probably the best offseason news I've read for the Sox

QUOTE (Kenny Hates Prospects @ Dec 26, 2008 -> 10:38 PM) Yeah, that was the most brutal KO I'd ever seen until Rashad kicked Salmon's head in, although it should be said that Sean Salmon may be the master of the brutal KO. I don't think he should be fighting anymore given how he reacts. Here's a link to a video of him getting destroyed by Jorge Santiago. When Cro Cop knocked out Wand with a left high kick in the finals of the Open Weight Grand Prix I got a similar feeling, Wand drops like a sack of rocks and the way he laid there with the blood streaming over his bald head is a nasty sight

UFC.com has a link to a video with the highlights from the weigh-in, this is the order they have the fights in for the PPV and probably what they'll end up being in starting from first to last (don't flame wrong spelling, I'm just doing this off the top of my head) C.B. Dalloway vs. Mike Massenzio Cheik Congo vs. Mustafa Al-Turk Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir Rashad Evans vs. Forrest Griffin

QUOTE (MHizzle85 @ Dec 26, 2008 -> 09:27 PM) I've got goosebumps...I really hope this doesn't disappoint. if they show the countdown show again and you haven't seen Rampage/Wand II from PRIDE you have to see it, I remember watching a tape of it and thinking Rampage was going to have brain damage, it's ridiculously brutal

He's on the main card because he was on TUF and they probably have plans for him. As for putting the fight after the Wand/Page fight, they've done it before, they probably like to spread the big matches throughout the show, they're pumping the fight, it got a ton of time and was the last fight covered on the countdown show. They did something similar during 84 where they put the Reljic/Gouveia fight after the Ortiz/Machida fight, which was probably the most anticipated on the card. http://sherdog.com/events/UFC-84-Ill-Will-6394

It's almost like they waited until firejoemorgan.com shut down before they released this

QUOTE (BearSox @ Dec 24, 2008 -> 09:59 AM) Ryan is right, pitchers are babied in today's game. It's funny how people assume because you throw more innings or pitches in an outing your arm is going to fall off. That's a load of bull. Pitchers get injured because of poor mechanics and stuff like that, not because of fatigue. Everyone always says Kerry Wood's injury problems lead back to his high school days where he pitched an "abnormal" amount. But that's completely BS. Anyone who throws across their body with the type of velocity he has is going to have injury problems. Perhaps the injury happened a year or two sooner then it could have because of all the work he got in HS, but it was inevitable none-the-less. Also, if the Ranges do shift to a 4 man rotation, they'd be wise to sign Jon Garland. He could do wonders in a 4 man rotation. I tend to agree with you and as stupid and simplistic it may seem I think a lot of it comes down to genetics. For the most part you are going to get hurt or you aren't. Of course some of the crazy poor whiplike mechanics have something to do with it, but I look at a player like Zambrano. The guy has started at least 30 games the last 7 years. Javy is another example of a guy who just goes out there year after year and throws 30 games and gives you either 200+ or close to it, year after year (Since 2000 he's made 30 starts and thrown over 200 in 8 of those.) On the flipside there's a guy like Harden who just can't stay healthy. I believe I saw a stat that this season was the first time he made more than 10 starts in a row and then he ended up having to skip starts again. Again, I'm oversimplifying it to make a point, but I just think there are guys who are horses who you can run out there and count on and others that no matter how much you baby are going to run into injury problems.

Who plays 1st if PK is traded to the Angeles? It gives the Sox some options if that happens, they could sign Dunn or try and move Dye there and sign Abreu. I would love the Sox to add one more player with a good OBP and that takes a lot of pitches. With Q and Thome already in the lineup it would help get starting pitchers out of the game quicker and get into the soft underbelly of pens. I think that was the major offensive flaw of the '06 team. Let's take the Yankees for example. You are absolutely 100% dead if you're a free swining team and let them go starter, Joba then Sandman, but if you have a team that can get into the pen in the middle of the sixth or so they become more vulnerable.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 24, 2008 -> 09:48 AM) Hilarious reading this thread. "He's good not great, the yanks are average at best." A Whole lotta jealousy and sour grapes in here. Tex is a hell of a player and a top 3 guy at his position. It was a good addition, and the money doesnt hurt them, so who cares how much he makes. I agree, don't take my last post to say the Yankees aren't going to be an excellent team this year, I think Tex is probably the best signing out of the big 3. I'm just trying to point out that they had some flaws last year and Mussina's perfornamce last year was outstanding and they lost that and had to fill it, which they did a more than ample job doing with CC. I'm just trying to point out don't enscribe their name on the AL East or the WS trophy just yet. But again, if they sign Manny, it's going to be crazy.

If the NYY stand pat they won't run away with this division. the Rays and Red Sox are still two very good teams. I'm not saying the Yankees haven't made some good signings, but Captain Clutch is another year older, there's no guarantee Cano is going to bounce back, 2 out of the last 3 years Matsui hasn't played over 100 games and Mussina had a crazy year last year where he pitched better than CC did when CC was with Cleveland, so that was a major hole for the Yankees to fill from last years rotation. There's no doubt they'll be up there and have made some solid moves, but that AL East is still crazy talented and, to this point, I don't see the NYY running away with anything. Now if they sign Manny I take back all of that.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Dec 21, 2008 -> 06:30 PM) Everything bad is always George W. Bush's fault. We know after 8 years. What's beautiful is, everything is going to be George W. Bush's fault well after he's gone and not Obama's fault. and it will probably be the exact same news sources who say you can blame none of Bush's problems on Clinton

initially I was checking a lot, but now I think there will be only minor moves. Only thing that intrigues me along the lines of something big is it looks like LAA pulled their offer to Teixeira and said they're out of it. The Yahoo article speculated that they'll look at PK and Dye in trade and Dunn and Burrel in FA. Obviously the Angels and Sox trades are now in their 100th spin in the rumor mill, but they make sense, so will pay some attention to that

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Dec 21, 2008 -> 05:38 PM) Angels now out of the Tex sweepstakes as well. If I'm not mistaken, that narrows it down to BAL and WAS? Yikes. Boras is scum. Angels withdraw offer FWIW author speculates the Angels may turn their attention to PK or Dye and also look at Pat the Bat and Dunn. Also, just my guess, but I think LAA are actually out of it and obviously, since my last post said I think he ends up in Boston, the Red Sox are still very much in it

QUOTE (fathom @ Dec 21, 2008 -> 05:48 PM) I still think he ends up in Boston. I agree, it makes too much sense for both him and the Red Sox

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Dec 17, 2008 -> 09:20 AM) You know who became hot recently that wasn't 10 years ago? Hannah Storm. If ever there was evidence that a hair style can change someones appearance... http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/watchdog...rlanTurkell.jpg vs. http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/pa...9cd0e1-57-1.jpg I've noticed her recent hottness on SC in the morning and was stunned by it as well

cool to see, because if something pops up that i'm interested in I usually punch it in wikipedia first to get the basic info

http://www.baseball-reference.com/v/vazquja01.shtml Javy is always destroyed on this board but I've always said he is a great luxury for a high payroll team, like the Sox are. At worst he'll be average or slightly below and at best he can be a good pitcher, but he will make 30+ starts and pitch over 200 innings, which is extremely nice to pencil in for any MLB team. I would have been perfectly fine if KW brought him back and he was the 4th or 5th starter. Last year it worked out that he had to start some crucial games for the Sox, but at that point he was their 4th best starter. Unfortunately the Sox stretched the other 3 when they could but Javy still had to start big games. I think most teams wouldn't have been thrilled to run their 4th best starter out in those games. Also I still stand by my opinion of Swisher that he's a solid player. His previous two years were good, espicially in OBP, a place where the Sox may come up short in this year. Is there any defending his 2008 season? Well he wasn't very good, that's for sure, but at his age I will chalk it up to playing out of position and being moved around the batting order. What he is owed on his contract isn't that bad, again, considering the Sox have a big payroll and espicially now that he's on the NYY. IMO he's a perfect fit for the NYY. He's a legitimate 1st baseman who will get on base for them and hit for a little pop, espicially since he's a switch hitter and will hit lefty a lot with a short porch. I imagine some will make the argument that he doesn't hit for enough power for a "traditional 1st basemen," but when you have a good lineup like the Yankees it's madeup for at other spots, so you can absorb not having a "traditional 1st basemen" as long as he makes up for it other areas. Also, i'm in the camp of who care is he strikes out a ton? An out is an out. Swisher has a history of getting on base a lot too. Obviously if you make a batted out there's a chance of an error or in certain situations moving a guy long etc., but mostly an out is an out and it doesn't impress me if an out is a strike out or a lazy pop to center. I can pull out the BABIP stat and show that Swisher could of easily had a better year last year, but I think it's been established on this board that some people like stats and some people hate them, so it's kind of pointless brining them out, espicially for Swisher. The great thing is though we all get to see. They'll play the 2009 season and it will all play out. Some of us will be right, some of us will be wrong. That's the fun of this board. There's a lot of great posters on this board who I disagree with and I've only blocked one user in my years here, and that's not because we disagree, it's because he or she is an asshole.

QUOTE (bmags @ Dec 12, 2008 -> 10:39 AM) I never really got into classical music. I assumed it was mostly used now for apt violent scenes in Italian gangster movies, or poor violent scenes in Brian de Palma films. But I'm writing a paper about the rise of Peronist governments in South America, and I turned on Beethovens Symphony no. 9, his final composition, and I think the key is this time I'm listening to it REALLY loud. I'm really enjoying it. Now, assume complete lack of knowledge on my part. I know the heavy hitters, your Bachs, your Mozarts, your aforementioned Ludwig von Beethoven. But so anyways rec. me some good classical. I don't like the Romantic era that symphony no. 9 helped usher in, however, so spare me. I'm not very educated on classical music, but I do listen to it a lot. I listen to the classical station here in Chicago or on Sirius, especially to chill out

QUOTE (Downtown518 @ Dec 12, 2008 -> 10:27 AM) II was wondering if anyone could recommend any quality baseball related books, in any genre, to give as a gift this Christmas. If it helps any, the possible recipient is a varsity coach and a filthy Cubs fan…. Thanks in advance! Total Baseball, the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia. The last edition I got was the 8th, but they may have a 9th out now.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Dec 12, 2008 -> 09:48 AM) Punto stinks He probably lead the league in stupid baserunning mistakes that led directly to outs. He has zero power and stinks at the plate. He slides head first into first base, what kind of idiot does that? Why do the Twins even go to the winter meetings? They do nothing ever. This team will be terrible in 2010 when they stop playing on the concrete carpet and actually have to hit for power to score runs. I am a slappy banjo hitter who hardly hits .250 with zero power and runs the bases like Hellen Keller, can I have $8.5 million too? Punto got it. The Hawk sees nothing wrong with it

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 12, 2008 -> 09:42 AM) MMA in the beginning was barbaric but is now mostly very skilled fighters who are experts at 4 or more fighting techniques. They still roll out the haymaker flukey fights like Kimbo and the last PPV with old man river and WWF's best. In your example above though, there are many outcomes, do you know the arm bar defense? Are you good on your back, in guard, half guard, are you giving up side control. Is the guy possibly a Mui Thai fighter? Do I have to know how to defend the thai clinch? There are so many factors in becoming a very good MMA fighter that other sports just dont have. I would recommend watching some Ultimate fighter on spike to see how guys train to survive in MMA, but also pay attention to the non PPV fights, where you can find alot of skilled guys without the hype. Rock, I love you as a poster man, but I disagree with you including Lesnar/Couture in the same sentence as Kimbo. You can make a strong argument that the fight shouldn't of been for the belt and they should of just kept Nog's as the only HW belt, but Randy and Lesnar are far and away more legit than Kimbo. Lesnar was an NCAA champ, that is impressive and right up there with the wrestling credentials of many of the top fighters. Randy hadn't fought for a year, but beating Sylvia and Gonzaga were two quality wins. Was the match rushed and overhyped? Yes, I would agree, but its a busniess and it worked since prelim PPV numbers are floating around 800k to 1m, but it's not in the same league as Kimbo

QUOTE (MO2005 @ Dec 12, 2008 -> 09:34 AM) I am an attorney as well! 1 year going strong..Go Sox! you may grow to hate it

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Dec 12, 2008 -> 09:26 AM) She WAS hot until the sh*t hit the fan. She is about to spend a lot of time alone Yeah, I should make it clear, I'm talking about the pics when she was out partying, i don't have a weird jailbird fetish