Wong & Owens

That's defintely possible. I look at that team, and without even getting into how bad defensively they are, I see: Giambi--If he has to play 1st regularly, he'll get hurt Brown--old, he'll get hurt Rivera--getting up there, seems to be getting less durable, more hittable every year. Williams--no range left, no power left. Matsui--overrated, with all the pitchers having a year to prep for him Sheffield--due to be injured, or start complaining 3rd Base--Mike Lamb? Who? Graig Nettles? Bullpen--dependent upon a healthy Tom Gordon? Good luck. A LOT of things can go wrong very easily for the Yanks. I'm guessing that many do, or at least I hope so!

You may be alone on that one, Brando.

Yah, maybe Matsui, or maybe they would sign a CF too. Steinbrenner's going to be awfully pissed when the Yankees don't make the playoffs this year. Trust me, they ain't going.

I was thinking that all Maggs has to do is look at where the Yankees are at, and bet on the fact that they will pay him more than he's worth next year because they will need a corner OF. Maybe he won't get $14 million, but he'll get close to that I'm sure. I bet the Yankees would love to trade for him right now, but they have s*** in their minors.

I agree that if you could get one of those guys--pull the trigger. But, if the Dodgers are in contention in July, yet still are in obvious need of another bat, you don't think with the pressure the Dodgers are under to win, that you wouldn't get even more for Maggs then? I know, it's a risk, but I think it's one worth taking.

No Steff, you are not alone. I am with you. I'm right behind you. Don't turn around. I said DON'T!!! Anything you'd get for Maggs in a trade now could be doubled in July, assuming he's playing well. Usually, good players in contract years put up mucho numbers.

You're missing my point. I never claimed that this wasn't doable(sorry Steff) on the Seattle end, although I see no reason why they would want Koch, as they signed Guardado in the offseason. My point was that it makes no sense for KW to come out and say point blank that Carlos and Maggs aren't going anywhere, if a week later he was to trade one of them away. That Sasaki defection happened over a week ago, so KW can't even use that as an excuse to go back on what he said. KW could have easily have answered the question regarding trades with a simple, cliched--"we have to listen to offers from anyone, and if we feel they would improve our club, then it's our job to make those deals. blah, blah" Instead, he puts it on the line and says that they are not going anywhere. I don't see any reason for him to say that, unless they're really not going to be moved.

Cmon people-- Not even a week after KW said in front of the SoxFest crowd, and tons of local media folks, that Maggs and Carlos weren't going anywhere, do you seriously think there's even a speck of truth in this? Why would he say that if there were even a snowball's chance that a trade would go through for either of them? He didn't say anything specifically regarding Frank or Paulie, did he? The Dodgers deal or possibly an Anaheim deal are the only two that I would think have any merit at this point.

I think these two statements are anything but certainties. I don't think I have any clue what we'll get from Loaiza and Garland this season. My hunch is that Loaiza falls back to earth a bit, but Garland gets a little better. And that would be fine, but it also wouldn't surprise me to see Loaiza wind up at 8-15 with a 4.50 ERA, and Garland having another frustrating, good outing/horrible outing, type year. I also don't understand what you're basing your statement that Harris and Rowand "can only" be better this year. Both really have never played a whole season in the pros, and their numbers in limited at-bats are pretty underwhelming. I certainly believe they could be better, but saying they can ONLY be better is a pretty big reach IMO.

Until the charges are substantiated, I wouldn't be so quick to label this guy a sicko teacher. Kids make s*** up to get a gay teacher fired? Parents & faculty automatically believe them because they don't really like the gay teacher anyways? Noooo, that would never happen in America. But, if he's guilty, jam a railroad spike in his eye.

That's not entirely accurate. The year they signed Lofton, they got off to a very fast start, then went into the tank the 1.5-2 months before the A.S. break.

I've finally gotten around to reading the Lord of the Rings books. Always meant to read them, but kept putting it off until recently.

Nah, you're not a racist, probably just underexposed. Most white guys haven't been with black girls and vice versa. The fact remains that black folk and white folk don't live in the same neighborhoods very often, especially if you are from Chicago or Detroit. The upcoming generations are having a broader range of cultural exposure than we did(although I'm speaking as an American, I can't of course speak for Mother Russia.), and that will undoubtably spill over into sexual experience.

My girlfriend is 1/4 black. I'm so multi-cultural.

Harry Caray's quote went something like, "...those Latino players sure are good looking guys..." A couple Bud Lights and a naked Enrique Iglesias -- it's every Cubs fan's dream.

If it's h pylori, I'd actually be relieved. I, of course, am convinced it's cancer. I'm driving my girlfriend nuts--she thinks I'm crazy for being so worried about it.

Bags, Thanks for your input. Yes, a stomach scope is what I was referring to. They probably won't be taking any esophogus samples because I don't have any acid reflux problems or heartburn. My doctor seems to think that possibly my 8 years of digestive problems might be due to h pylori bacteria, which causes ulcers. He says that they're now finding that even if it doesn't cause an ulcer, that h pylori can cause other more serious problems later if left untreated. Thanks again for your info.

They certainly have produced world-class talent, but do they really have the same class of coaches, practice facilities, training equipment, etc. as do teh Italians, Brazillians or even the Americans? And although they play it, are the really playing the same game that leads to spots on World Cup champiionship teams? I can't say I know that much about African soccer teams, so these are just questions.

Has anyone here ever had a gastroscopy before? My doctor is thinking about having me get one. I've heard you're sedated, and there's really no prep, so it's pretty pain/discomfort free. Anybody who's had one care to share their experience? Thanks!

I think I apply my hatred-by-association theory to Oprah, like I do with the Grateful Dead. I don't really hate Oprah herself all that much (same goes for the GD) but the amount of hatred I have for the followers of said entertainment icons spills over to the degree that I develop a small amount of hatred towards the icons themselves. The Oprah Book Club? Dr. Phil? Give me a f***ing break. These stupid women that rely on talk show hosts and unlicensed self-help gurus to guide their lives need to get a clue. How about actually utilizing your brain, rather than let the Oxygen channel tell you what to think, what to read, etc. These cheeba monkeys that think Oprah is the all-knowing, all-empathetic uber-goddess need to have a reality milkshake and realize that she is nothing more than a newscaster from Baltimore that took a better paying job in Chicago. You want diet advice? Call a f***ing nutritionist. You want book advice? Read the Review. Want advice on how to start a new career? Go to the goddamned local college, do some research, and figure it out for yourself. I don't know when common sense became on-high knowledge, but it probably occured around the same time that people came to expect praise simply for doing their job right.

I think that you also have to take into account that, no matter how much of a genetic advantage someone has, you still need to learn how to play a sport correctly, and practice at it in the right way. With a large part of Africa being third world countries, it's not accurate to say that there aren't better athletes there just because they don't compete in the world cup. Other countries have better resources and sport knowledge available to them, that no amount of genetic advantage can supercede.

I knew there was a significant latin number to deal with, but I thought the number of blacks and whites were about equal. Is the number that disparate?

Not a lot of black hurlers, either.....

I think there are some genetic reasons why they are good athletes, and also some socio-economic reasons as well. I don't think it's any more inappropriate to say blacks are pre-disposed to being better athletes than it is to say they are pre-disposed to having dark skin. I mean, how more obvious does it have to be? Take into account the percentage of black people in America(MUCH lower than you probably thought it was), and then factor in what percentage of nfl, nba, mlb and nhl players are black. I think the nba is 70-30 black, the nfl 60-40 black, the mlb is 50-50, and whatever the nhl ratio is, it still shows that there is a much higher percentage of black people that become pro athletes, than any other race. Maybe they're prone to having more muscle mass? faster reflexes? Whatever the case may be, I absolutely think there's something to the theory.

I believe the word Gay, as in homosexual derives from the french word gaiol(sp?) which I think means queer or odd. MEANINGLESS TRIVIA WARNING First time gay(in a homosexual way) was used in a movie? Cary Grant, in Bringing Up Baby.