Wong & Owens

I was thinking along the lines of, the Sox sign player Mike Jones to a 6-year deal in year 3 of this 5 year transitional period. Two years after signing the deal, Mr. Jones goes motorcycling with Jay Williams and Aaron Rowand and gets his legs severed. I think the Sox should not have the remainder of his contract count against the cap.

I'll stick with my atheism, TYVM. Surveys are to be taken with a grain of salt--you can always find ways to make them say whatever it is you want them to.

I would think they would have to announce that a cap would be enforced 5 years from whatever date. This would give teams enough time to make arrangements, and there could also be some exceptions in certain circumstances for being over the cap after the 5-year period.

I know where you're coming from Vince, but I disagree with you. Not from the perspective that you can buy championships, but from the perspective of keeping franchises viable in cities that can never match the Yankees in the pocketbook. If the NFL didn't have a salary cap, there would be no Green Bay Packers anymore, probably no Buffalo team, or Indianapolis team, and others. The Bulls are a bad example, because A) the NBA has a salary cap, B)Jordan and Pippen were players drafted by the Bulls, and C)Rodman had virtually no value after his stunts in San Antonio, and was considered a huge risk. Kind of like if the Yankees signed John Rocker. In order to keep ALL franchises in healthy working order, you must keep that teams fans interested in one way or another. Without a cap, already waning interest in many once-great baseball cities will become non-existent. The Yankees by no means guaranteed themselves a championship this season, but they did a lot more to get their fans interested than 95% of the other teams could.

Without tax-exempt status, wouldn't the Church have to essentially fold? I mean, at least half of the churches wouldn't be able to afford property taxes right off the bat. Sounds like a good plan to me. Strip 'Em.

It should be like in that movie, Logan's Run. At age 32, a player is sent hovering into the air, then vaporized. Warning: This method would not work on Jesse Orosco.

Thank You Everyone! I must admit, however, that I have no idea why I am the Fox Mulder of Soxtalk. I mean, I did have a sister who was abducted by aliens, but I never told anyone here that........

Wow, and it's not even 8:30 yet! Thanks Steff!

I don't remember much of the class, I only took it because I had to, but I remember him being a pretty interesting guy.

I'll see it, if only to satisfy my evil craving to find out what all you christians and jews are arguing about. It's a pretty good story, even if I don't believe 75% of it ever happened. Hey, Dominic Crossan. I believe I took a class of his when I was at DePaul.

Cheers--Massachusetts Northern Exposure--Alaska? Hawaii Five-O--Hawaii

USELESS INFO WARNING Valentine's Day, in a move typical of the Catholic Church, was created by the church during the Roman times. It was created to divert efforts away from celebrating the Roman Feast of Lupercus, which was celebrated essentially with orgy-ing. The church, apparently as uptight about sex then as it is now, drummed up the milder, more christian, St. Valentine's Day.

My girlfriend HATES Valentine's Day(as well as Sweetest Day). Thinks it's a contrived commercialistic piece of crap. No complaints from me there!

1.ELVIS COSTELLO_______ & the Attractions 2.NICK CAVE_______ & the Bad Seeds 3.JOAN JETT_______ & the Blackhearts 4.JOHN MAYALL_______ & the Bluesbreakers 5.BILL HALEY_______ & the Comets 6.BUDDY HOLLY_______ & the Crickets 7.GEORGE THOROGOOD_______ & the Deleware Destroyers 8.STEVIE RAY VAUGHN_______ & Double Trouble 9.BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN_______ & the E Street Band 10.JAMES BROWN_______ & the Famous Flames 11.GRANDMASTER FLASH_______ & the Furious Five 12.TOM PETTY_______ & the Heartbreakers 13.TRICK QUESTION!!!!!!!_______ & the Houserockers 14.ART BLAKEY_______ & the Jazz Messengers 15.???_______ & his Magic Orchestra 16.BOOKER T_______ & the MGs 17.SMOKEY ROBINSON_______ & the Miracles 18.JOHNATHAN RICHMAN_______ & the Modern Lovers 19.FRANK ZAPPA_______ & the Mothers of Invention 20.GLADYS KNIGHT_______ & the Pips 21.???_______ & Prime Time 22.JELLY ROLL MORTON_______ & his Red Hot Peppers 23.BOB SEGER_______ & the Silver Bullet Band 24.IGGY POP_______ & the Stooges 25.DIANA ROSS_______ & the Supremes 26.JOHNNY CASH_______ & the Tennesee Two 27.KINKY FRIEDMAN_______ & the Texas Jewboys 28.LOUIS JORDAN_______ & his Timpani Five 29.RICHARD HELL_______ & the Voidoids 30.BOB MARLEY_______ & the Wailers

Ha, people are so f***ing gullible. I don't care what diet you're on, if calorie intake > calories burned, you're not gonna lose weight, doesn't matter if those claories are meat calories, carbs, sugars, etc. You want to lose weight? Stop eating for three and get the f*** off the couch.

I SAW THAT!!!! Was that not the freakiest thing ever? Poor friggin guy. On a sidenote--I s*** 3 times a day, and I have never had my colon cleansed. I have yet to find any substantial proof that they actually help much. Couldn't hurt I guess, unless Tex goes DIY on his ass and hooks his garden hose up to a wet-vac and a funnel.

I think all of those reasons are legit as long as they occur in moderation, and not every Tuesday. As for your reason #4, I personally HATE it when people in my office come in sick. I don't want someone coming in spreading germs around and getting me ill. Stay the hell home!

1549-- Johnnie's, while every bit as excellent as you claim, is in Elmwood Park, not Oak Park. And if you think it doesn't matter, tell that to someone from Elmwood Park.

Yah, here's another one for his mp3 player: Gee whiz Pretty pretty boys Pretty pretty boys Onward to Managua (Repeat between 17-24 times) That would be "Managua" by Naked Raygun. (This weird tune notwithstanding, NR remains in my mind the hands-down greatest band ever to emerge from Chicago. At the very least, the best live band. I will NOT argue about this. Blue Meanies are a close second, although they're technically not from Chicago)

Ugh, you allowed your loved ones to go to an Uno chain in Crestwood. Shame on you. That place on Cal-Sag and Cicero is really good--J.C.'s? J.P's? And that little Italian place at College Drive and Harlem is also really good.

Don't compare the Pizzeria UNO downtown with the chains located across the country. The quality never transfers. It didn't work for Connie's either--all the satellite locations are abominable. Brian is nuts if he went to the ORIGINAL Uno and said it was the worst thing he ever had. Unless he ordered quiche or something.

1) He's a very good fielder, I'll give you that. 2) But if they move him to #6 or #3, now his speed may be below-average. My point is, who cares where he bats in the lineup? He has OK speed, nothing special. 3) I think you can't call a player an overall clutch producer or choker based on one season. Is Adam Kennedy a "clutch run-producer?" Time will tell if Chop Suey keeps it up. 4) Er, he hit .281 for the playoffs. Good, sure, but very well? That's arguable, especially after he went 2 for 15 over the last 4 WS games. 5) Or, he may not be able to adjust. 6) I disagree. I think after having a whole season to disect how he hits, what his tendencies are, and where his trouble spots are, the pitchers will have an easier time adjusting. I think pitchers always have that advantage. It's part-and-parcel of why pitching always beats hitting when it comes down to it--Pitchers have the upper hand, and more options to choose from. 7) $6 million. And I would say he's worth that. My point had nothing to do with his ability to draw Asian fans. I just think he's been way over-hyped, what with the "Godzilla" (he hit 16 HR's) label and all. He is a pretty damned good player, but hopefully he's not enough to keep the Yanks from a solid 3rd-place finish in the East this year.

A couple little tidbits about a couple of the places mentioned: Pizzeria Uno(and Due), probably Chicago's most famous, and defintely the originator of the deep-dish, was started by Ike Sewell and his partner back in the 1940's, but almost didn't happen. Ike initially wanted to start a Tex-Mex restaurant, but a couple days before they decided, his partner had gotten food poisoning from some bad Mexican food, and so they went with a pizza place. Ike later got his Tex-Mex fix, opening Su Casa in the 1960's. Lou Malnati was the first head chef at Pizzeria Uno.

Here's one for the whole family: I got something to say I killed your baby today And it doesn’t matter much to me As long as it’s dead Well I got something to say I raped your mother today And it doesn’t matter much to me As long as she spread Sweet lovely death I am waiting for your breath Come sweet death, one last caress Go Sweet lovely death I am waiting for your breath Come sweet death, one last caress Well, I got something to say I killed your baby today And it doesn’t matter much to me As long as it’s dead Sweet lovely death I am waiting for your breath Come sweet death One last caress For those of you who don't know it, that would be "Last Caress" by the PAX-friendly Misfits.

Well, you can have him!