AddisonStSox

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 02:37 PM) No, right. "Neither of us has asked that question to the Packers," agent Jordan Woy wrote The Associated Press in an e-mail. "We have had discussions with the team about his contract." If rotoworld told you the earth was flat would you believe them? That was a logical jump. :headshake

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 02:00 PM) I'm pretty sure I always used Suburban Express, one of their competitors. That seemed to work well. My only complaints were about the stupid ticket machines that wouldn't take a bill smaller than a $10 and always dispensed change in $1 coins. I had about 40 of those suckers lying around by the end of the year, and people (especially bartenders) give you dirty looks when you try to use them. I had a hard time believing it was Illini Express. Suburban is the way to go, despite that damn ticket machine and its Sacajawea dollars.

QUOTE(Beltin'Bill @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 01:59 PM) Sorry. That was not my intent. My point was we all seem to be barking up the wrong tree. I think Singleton deserves a chance just like any of us deserve a chance when we embark on a new career. To be thrown in front of an audience after never having announced before should allow Chris a pretty substantial grace period. I can bear with him as he develops his style and learns the art of broadcasting. He probably will not become a HOF broadcaster, but not many people acheive that notoriety. Farmer, on the other hand, is a finished product and we are getting a lot more of him this year. He is more pompous and arrogant than Hawk and is not good at his trade. I am so bitter at the Score for screwing up the broadcasts. Sorry, now you are correct, I do need to relax. Good show. ...and an excellent post.

QUOTE(Beltin'Bill @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 01:51 PM) Do you find it tolerable to listen to Farmer call a game? Singleton may be painful, but Farmer is downright offensive. He had no business being in the booth with Rooney. The fact that he is in charge of the booth now does not bode well for radio broadcasts well into the future. I have a very difficult time listening to Farmer on pbp. My remark was in regards to my not being issued an invitation to the Hair Splitter's Convention.

QUOTE(bmags @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 01:49 PM) and addy, i'm not holding it against singleton, i'm holding it against the score for not finding an adequate replacement.... That's all I ask.

QUOTE(Beltin'Bill @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 01:44 PM) No he is not. Ed Farmer is replacing John Rooney. Relax, champ.

QUOTE(bmags @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 01:31 PM) addy, considering we are listening to a season that really likely could be one of the best seasons in our tenure as sox fans...i think we are complaining because we are gonna have terrible radio calls for important plays. I mean, Do you realize how much fun it was to post the rooney calls last year? His voice is attached to those memories...i mean imagine... "Ball hit middle uhmm. uhh uribe...he throws it to konerko...and um uhhh out ...and uhhh the sox oh uh champ world ...oh uhhh ohh no..oohh" Well, this post is a microcosm of my beef with the Singleton criticisms. Thank you. You are going to hold it against Singleton for replacing a legend? Singleton is replacing the best play-by-play announcer in baseball. Period. If you are going to hold a novice to Rooney's standards, you are going to be seriously disappointed. We've gone over this time and time again. If you want to express your displeasure at someone, make it Score management via the White Sox. We have yet to reach the All-Star break and Singleton is already being labeled one of the worst announcers in Sox history. Give the guy a freaking chance. It doesn't help that he has to sit next to Farmer, a guy that is barely cut-out for color duties. The venom being spewed at Singleton just floors me.

Hawk has to be the most pompous, self-righteous, egotistical announcer in sports. And another thing, I'm noticing a lot of, "I used to hate DJ, but, now..." comments, yet, there are still people out there calling Farmer and Singleton the worst radio tandum in history. Last I checked, that was Darrin's first job in broadcasting as well. Correct me if I'm wrong, Soxtalk, I know you will.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 12:56 PM) According to Driver's agent, he's right. The Agent denied Driver made any demands. Then again, who knows. Sometimes these things go on behind the scenes and people make denials so that they don't leak out. I'm hearing it from both ESPN and now a Green Bay newspaper, so, if it quacks like a duck and it looks like a duck...

Here's the deal, my passion on this issue is twofold. 1) I want the people out there to realize this sort of service is not acceptable, simply because we are students does not mean were concede certain rights. There is another bus service available, and while they are far from perfect, they are professional and that is a start. That is all you can ask for. 2) I want to put the ball back in a neutral-court. As it stands, the students have absolutely no leverage in regards to this issue. This company has the student population by the balls because they are fully aware that for many students, there is no other alternative. If you have to get home, you need to take the bus. (I suppose it doesn't help matters that my car is sitting in my garage. I have my own car, an awesome car, available for me at school, but, my parents would rather it stay at home for reasons I don't want to get into here) Let's get the ball back into a neutral-court. This company shouldn't be calling the shots. This is a student population of over 30,000 and I would like to think that should count for something. On a positive note, there is a growing trend in the alternative bus company. I think as more and more students realize how unprofessional this bus service is, they will make the switch to the alternative--albeit more expensive--and never turn back.

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 08:34 AM) this was a false report by ESPN. Driver came out and said he was perfectly happy and has no demands to be traded. Wrong. Per rotoworld:

QUOTE(SleepyWhiteSox @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 09:11 PM) I'd say take your business elsewhere, which may have been the nest option after you encountered problems the first time. (Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.) First off, what do you take me for, a common moron? Do you honestly believe I would continue giving this company my business if there was an alternative? There is an alternative on campus and they are a much better service; but, there are times when scheduling conflicts do not allow travel with the better service, especially when one is coming from the Chicago-land area to Champaign on week days. QUOTE(Texsox @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 10:58 PM) BTW, did you also contact the company directly? IMHO I think it is always a good idea to report to the offending business first, and give them a chance to fix the problem. Attempts to talk to ownership result in similar problems. It's a one-man show. Keep in mind this is a family-run operation. Many have voiced their complaints on this company's service and they have yet to make even one improvement. QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Apr 28, 2006 -> 10:12 AM) The other thing that it does is add a complaint to the number of complaints the BBB has received regarding a company in the past few years. That can make a difference with people doing business. If they see several hundred complaints - it might make someone think twice about doing business with the company. Ultimately, I think that is all I was hoping for. I don't know how the BBB handles these things, but, if they open a file and keep a running tab on the kind of s*** this company tries to pull, it may start opening some eyes.

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 07:24 PM) I do not want to sound like I am raining on your parade, but let me be the devils advocate for a second. One disclaimer is I have not dealt with the BBB personally. From my understanding and looking at the BBB website, it seems that a BBB complaint about purely "unsatisfactory service" will not really matter to them. It looks like they are more concerned with scam artists, "unfair" labor practices, and defective products, warranties. Although as I write this, if you tailor your repsonse not as "upset about being late" but "feeling unsafe using this public transportation", it may get them to take interest. This is entirely speculation though, but my gut feeling is that they are not there to make service better, but instead or to make customers aware of dangerous or misleading products. As for bad service, talking to whoever runs the bus service may work. Its hard to tell, Im not sure if this is a public or private bus service, so potentially could be different laws and requirements. If they are a "common carrier" the rules are stricter. Im really just some what burnt out of working so I dont want to start really researching. So in the end, this is all just advice and not based on any information that I have actually taken the time to make sure is correct. Well, you make some excellent points and they are well taken. That said, couldn't one make the argument that in their abhorrent and negligent service, they are, in turn, providing a service that is both unsafe and under the "false advertisement" umbrella? When one buys a bus ticket, he or she is expecting a certain service in turn. He or she is expecting a certain degree of professionalism and respect. For me, this is not only an issue of a misleading product/service, but safety. And for the record, this is a private, family owned bus service.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 07:09 PM) This kind of complaint should be much more effective than a more emotionally charged one. Thanks, Critic. My sentiments exactly. Believe me, I could have written an obscenity-laced gripe-fest, but, felt this approach was much more civil and conducive to a response. QUOTE(aboz56 @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 07:12 PM) My only thinking is that one specific incident, with times, details, names, anything pertinent to the incident....would drive your point home even stronger. That is my biggest fear at this point. I truly wish I could have provided that, but, it is seemingly impossible, especially when I wanted to simply grab their attention first and foremost. That said, I fear that may make or break further action. I pray I am wrong in this fear.

QUOTE(aboz56 @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 07:06 PM) Well-written, did you include anything else in more detail? Thank you. I have since identified two grammatical errors, but, I believe the point remains. I did not include anything else. I did not include the names of specific employees--although I do believe I may be able to replicate names if need be--or specific interactions. As I've said, this was my first dealing with something like this and I felt going in that if I detailed a certain scenario or singled out a single happening, my larger point may have gone over-looked or, more fittingly, under-estimated. Is detail--of lack thereof--a problem, AB?

Listed below is the first letter I have ever written to the Better Business Bureau. This is my first dealing with this organization and I was wondering if I approached this in the correct manner. Will I be taken seriously? Do these complaints ever truly come to fruition? Please lend me your opinion on both my letter and what outcome I may expect. It's appreciated.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 06:03 PM) So I got a survey from my insurance company today... They wanted to know if when Madison was in the ER a couple of weeks ago, it was for a work related injury. "Yes, we had her stitching seams for our designer jean line.....errrrrrrrr" "Wait, I take that back." "Disregard that."

QUOTE(Soxbadger @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 03:22 PM) The rumors Ive read say Walker is either going to Denver or Philly. The supposed Denver deal inolves a WR, (most likely Lelie), the Philly deal is just picks. Supposedly the Eagle deal has been on the table for a while. These are just rumors from other people, so I do not vouch for their accuracy. The Eagles are willing to try their hand with another Rosenhaus wide receiver, huh? I don't know if that is ballsy or just stupid.

QUOTE(GoSox05 @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 03:07 PM) The Packers signed Charles Woodson to a 7 year, 52 million dollar deal. Now lets just hope he can stay healthy. Also it sounds like there gonna trade Javon Walker to denver or New Orleans by saturday. Well, the Woodson bit is old news; but, trading Walker to Denver or New Orleans would have multiple draft implications. Would Lele be the one coming over from Denver? With Walker on board, would the Broncos use their first-round selection for something other than the WR which is so heavily anticipated? Would the Packers be getting back some picks in this year's draft? It's something to keep an eye on for sure.

They must have done some serious editing in that email. I thought for sure your phone number would have been in there.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Apr 27, 2006 -> 12:50 PM) And now, across the street, where Thome finds himself hitting cleanup for the World Series champs, there is a whole new connection, more powerful than most people realize. This guy could have told me what size Jockeys Jim wears, but messes this up. Editing. It's editing, Stark.

Many thanks.

If anyone has the large version of these picture, could you please post them here?

QUOTE(shakes @ Apr 26, 2006 -> 11:12 PM) I do respect Mel, because the league respects him. You can't say that about too many analysts on ESPN. I can't remember which talk radio program it was, but they suggested playing replays of past years drafts on ESPN classic. Just to see the analysis and predictions of their futures. I think that woud be fun to watch. Hey, shakes, do you have the larger picture of your Steve Perry avatar? If you do, and you could post it, it would be greatly appreciated!

ManBearPig. I'm cereal.