RockRaines

FYI, the torture by rats reminded me of 2 Fast 2 Furious for whatever reason. The only other time I had seen it on tv.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 03:01 PM) I think they are going to be interrelated. Basically showing the consequence if they lose to Jones. As for GOT: I think right now they are trying to show all of the different claims to the throne and their "weakness". Rob Stark seemingly a great tactician, but suffering from the fact that Notherners dont play politics and have no real ambition towards taking the Throne. (History seemingly repeats itself as Ned lets Robert Baratheon take the throne to start the whole mess.) At the moment you have the Baratheon's infighting, you have the North about to be attacked and you have the Lannister's weakened but seemingly okay if Tyrion Lannister is allowed to run things. If Joffery and Tyrion continue to fight that will weaken them as well. And of course the Targaryen are slowly building their mythical legend by wandering around. Im thinking that Stannis beats Renly and you have Stark/Baratheon v. Lannister with Greyjoy screwing around in the North. Sounds like a long protracted civil war, right in time for monsters to screw everyone. (edit) As to Joffery, he didnt like his Uncle punking him out, so he ruined something that his Uncle enjoys. Im not sure that Joffery gets that Tyrion isnt someone to be screwed with. I wouldnt have put money on Stennis until his fire-witch gave birth to some kind of demon. Clearly there is some sort of advantage there. Maybe setting up a showdown with the dragons?

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 02:44 PM) I get why you don't play Saad, but I don't agree with it. However, Shaw has shown a great ability to rise to the occasion, so his being back is still an upgrade. It'd be nice if Saad could stay in the lineup vs a Brunette or a Morrison. Yeah, Bruno is the slowest man in the NHL, I wince every time he goes into the corner because I know he wont come out with the puck and he wont make it back to play defense.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 02:48 PM) Joffrey is the worst of the worst. If I was him, I would have just had a sweet threesome.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 01:24 PM) New York Style > Any other thin crust > Deep Dish Just like there are a 100 kinds of thin crust, it depends on what "deep dish" you are talking about. Some of them are f***ing god-awful.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 12:35 PM) What I got at Lombardi's and Johns both did. Thats more like Coal fired pizza, not sure thats the same as the floppy giant NYC style pizzas.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 12:01 PM) no kidding. i threw some of it into my Chest/Shoulders/Tris workout today. I think I'm gonna do the whole thing on my Legs+Back days as well. modifying P90X to make it work even better is super fun. Thats kind of how I do it. I do a modified S&A routine one day a week and I add in a shoulder exercise like that to really burn mine up. I've seen a TON of growth in my shoulders to the point where some of my suits are getting a bit tight up there. You should see good results.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 11:48 AM) hmm. you sure it wasn't Famous Rays Original? or Original Famous Rays? or Original Rays Famous? or Ray's Famous Original? They all exist. All independently owned and operated. How ridiculous is that? And they all taste different. Ive had that one near times square, it sucked, bad. Ive also had some similar pizza down by the Smyth where I usually stay and its awesome.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 11:31 AM) We hit up a cart for lunch up near central park for Philly steaks that were just incredible (it would be a couple of blocks in from the southeast corner of CP). Not a big fan of Halal, nor lines, so I didn't do that one. Ill look for that next time. I typically stay down in Tribecca so I dont make it up there all that often.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 11:26 AM) I stayed at that Hilton. I could not believe the lines for that place during all hours. They were like 50 deep at 10pm on a weeknight. Crazy. HAHA, I knew someone would have seen that cart. Its kind of famous. Theres also a hilarious bar down the street call Point Break, yup its a Patrick Swayze themed bar.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 11:25 AM) This is why God invented Google Maps. The joker who picked us up from LaGuardia had an interesting start to the ride, and I corrected him almost immediately and then we got down to business. Yeah, they kind of gauge how far they can take you out of the way. One of the girls that worked for me when I was in NYC alot took like an hour and a half cab ride. She was staying at the Hilton just south of central park and the cab took her all the way down through battery park up on surface streets through the lower and upper west side and then back around central park to the hotel. Basically a tour of manhattan. Hilarious.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 11:16 AM) I got a turnover from Lombardi's which was spectacular, all except for the well done/thin crust. The toppings were about the best I have ever had. John's was decent, but not on that level. There are definitely plenty of places in Chicago that do it as well, or better. The best pizza I've had in NYC was probably long after 3am from one of those corner spots. THATS where and when the NYC food shines. The Halal cart by the NYC Hilton is fantastic after a night of drinking.

QUOTE (farmteam @ Apr 22, 2012 -> 10:32 PM) I'm always surprised by the positions the Bears take in every round after the first, so I've given up trying to figure it out in advance. Since we've pretty much narrowed it down to someone on the line or perhaps a game changing WR, I am guessing the bears pick a safety, one that was projected in the 3rd round.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 10:44 AM) I've never been to NYC but I flew into and out of Newark last month. It was a bright, clear day, so I got a great view of both the NYC and Chicago skylines. I couldn't believe the difference in size. I actually prefer flying in and out of Newark because the train is very easy to take in and out of manhattan. Otherwise im in a f***ing cab half the day from Laguardia or JFK. Those guys LOVE taking people for rides from out of town.

GOT was nice last night. I am really anticipating the end game of all of these armies being built up.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 10:12 AM) I just want to know where this Mike Smith came from, because he used to be atrocious. Seriously, 2009-2011 while with Tampa Smith was one of the worst goaltenders in hockey - of course, the D in front of him was awful, but he'd have given up about 4 softies in any of these games with 40 shots on last year. I swear goaltending is the relief pitching of baseball these days. Save a few truly elite guys, the highs and lows of goaltending performance are completely random. Almost every cup winning team did it because of much greater talent than every other team or an incredibly hot goalie. If you look back and see teams that shouldnt have won the cup, its always because of a hot goalie. Nowadays these guys seem to come out of nowhere. I still think Nashville wins the cup, hot goalie, frustrating defense, physical play.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 09:48 AM) There is a time and a place for everything. Sometimes the chains are fine, sometimes not. Chicago is just way more dispersed than NY, but it doesn't make it inherently less exciting, it all depends on the person/people in question and what they like. I, specifically, love living in the City of Chicago, BUT, I'd prefer to NOT live in a city with a mass concentration of population like NY. I also do not care for public transportation, however, I will and do use it when it's more convenient than car travel. Yes, you can when it comes to chain restaurants...but for me, Oak Brook is relatively close and I know my way around. That doesn't necessarily make Oak Brook boring or the restaurants bad simply because they're chains...it is what it is, and for some people it's enough for a quiet day. There are a lot of chains that are better than Chicago's little unique eateries...I call food as I see it, expensive or cheap...good is good. If I eat at a unique little overpriced Chicago restaurant people rave about and *I* find the food/service lacking, it gains no points for being small or unique when I know I could have had a better meal, for less, at a chain. But that's not to say there aren't some great hidden little gems in Chicago, either. Yeah, chains are almost always above average in their niche, however they are not nearly as close to as good as really good unique eateries. Oak Brook's best restaurants are steakhouse chains, or another lettuce entertain you spot. I can name single location places that are better in not only quality of food, but preparation and service levels. Oak Brook is a tiny, very bland, boring town. I know because I grew up right next to it. Naperville will keep you alot busier than Oak Brook ever would, inside and outside. And you keep saying you wouldnt like NYC, why dont you go there and check it out. There are TONS of areas that feel like the neighborhoods of Chicago. You seem to think people are packed together like sardines, when in fact they are generally only that way in the horrific tourist areas. Kind of like if you spent your entire Chicago trip on Navy Pier and River North. I would say NYC is the most like Chicago in terms of neighborhood's being the identity of the city. Every area is very different from the next.

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Apr 23, 2012 -> 08:01 AM) I actually had just amended my post mentioning this about NY and everything being in closer proximity. To you, it would be an advantage...but I am very anti-public transportation. While it can make travel cheap and convenient, and cut emissions, it's also a hub/petri dish that cultivates the spread of germs and illnesses throughout a City. No thanks to sharing rides with that. You should stay in your basement. So far you hate crowds, hate people and are a germophobe. I envision your perfect setting to be out in the middle of nowhere away from everything unless you make an effort to drive yourself near activity. The Oak Brook comment was pretty funny though. Alot of people like big box chain restaurants, they kill in remote areas, however Chicago is much more well known for our unique eateries.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 22, 2012 -> 11:13 PM) In your opinion. In alot of people's opinions. The Hawks havent been outplayed, they've been outhit and outscored in OT. They are holding Phoenix to low shot totals and are firing away at Smith. Smith>Crawford.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 09:56 AM) are you kidding me? LA is terrible. Miami even worse. and Y2HH you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm pretty sure your opinions are based off tv shows. Or spending your entire NYC trip in midtown.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 12:17 AM) So I've been having a lot of trouble building up my shoulder muscles like I want to. It's my main problem area. I'm not sure if it's technique or what, but anyone got any tips of a good routine to really hit the shoulders? Yes, very easily. I do a variation of this: I do that at the end of my upper body workouts, especially after I should the S&A P90 routine at the gym. If you can do that routine then this shoulder shredder you will see some good results in the form of the muscle.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Apr 21, 2012 -> 09:54 AM) LOL, the roster doesn't need tinkering? It's perfect as is? Please, let's not throw our arms up and say "a goalie beat us" and call it a day and get ready for the guaranteed Cup run next year. That's a lazy thought process. Tinkering as in this next game, not next season. This team as it stands today cannot win a Stanley Cup. Luckily we have pretty damn good prospects ready to move up next year and hopefully can fill a hole or two with FA.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 20, 2012 -> 02:38 PM) Up against playoff level intensity defense though, that ball movement can easily be lost because the defense is pressing you harder and playing more physical. They've been up against that for weeks being the best team in the league. They constantly have a target on their backs and have faced that pressure against the other playoff contenders.

Let the tinkering talks begin when really the Hawks have run into one of the hottest goalies in the league.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Apr 20, 2012 -> 02:01 PM) Without Rose, I really worry this team is something of a paper tiger in the playoffs, no matter what their regular season marks. The lack of a regular way to generate offense without him and the weakness in the backcourt it creates might be things you can exploit more in a 7 game series than in a single regular season game. Two things that other teams cant exploit: The bulls superiority on the defensive end and on the boards. The Bulls are alot better than almost every team in the East. No paper tiger at all.