BrandoFan

Just like in hockey and football, today's baskteball is "uglier", less wide-open than it was 30 years ago, maybe even less skilled....but there is NO f***ING QUESTION that Wilt Chamberlaine, Jim Brown and Waybe Gretzky, who were all ahead of their time and are exceptions mind you, still wouldn't dominate their respective sports if they were playing in the 21st century. None whatsoever. They'd still be very good, but far from the best. Nostalgia is nice, but it can never replace the sheer, science-enhanced athleticism of today's stars. Look at track and field, look at tennis and soccer today and 30-40 years ago and it's like watching a slo-mo...even after taking into account imperfections of old recording equipment. Is it fair to compare and speculate? Yes and no....but ask George Foreman if he could beat Lennox Lewis of Tyson fight even in his prime and the answer will contain two syllables...Would Ali at his best be able to compete with Lennox Lewis, Hollyfield and Tyson at their best? Maybe, anything is possible. But if I were a betting man, I'd put my chips on last year's Lennox Lewis to drop Mohammed before the 5th round. The Klitchko fight only reinforces this theory: modern fighting is so competitive and margin for error is so small, that if you start looking past your opponent, if you don't train hard enough and if you come out just 10 punds overweight, you can be easily beated by a much inferior fighter. Lewis got lucky. (Speaking of tennis, do you honestly think Ilie Nastasi and Jimmy Connors would be able to do ANYTHING against Pete Sampras and Agassi in their prime? Common.)

It's pretty hard to get the said 'W's when you are forced to leave the game with a 1-0 lead and BP blows it.. If you think Mark Burly or Loaiza have more talent and ability than Colon, you're f***in' insane. Considering how Marky-Mark's record and ERA you'd think he and his fans would be a touch humbled. (Not that I don't agree with your assessment of Bartolo's lack of desire and embarassing out-of-shapeness....but his pitching skills go far and beyond other Sox pitchers. If he goes on a diet, he is the second best pitcher in AL, pure all-star talent)

Yay, the jinxing worked!

Let me put it this way: even if they only reach the WS, it would be disasterous for the Sox. And considering what Marlins did in '97, Padres in '98, Twins and Angels in 2002..and knowing what we know of their top 3 (Prior-Wood-Zambie)...all they need is to somehow crawl into postseason and it's all a crapshoot thereafter. It's not like Cards, Dodgers and Astros are all that...All they need is Lowell and they automatically become the second best team in NL. Scary stuff.

If Carlos Beltran, barely 26, but only if could ever get his OPS to 1000/RBI total to 120-130, he would be at least as valuable as Pujols if you factor in GG-caliber defense in CF and amazing running skills. His stick is coming around. Mark Prior is very close to a "can't refuse" status, provided of course that you have a Crede-like replacement at 3rd. Ditto for Pedro. Soriano, the way he played early this season, may eventually become more valuable than Pujols. His D. will only get stronger. A-Rod, too, except that his 25 Mill tag is too much. I am sure I missing someone here.

**begins to stick pins, complete with muttering and grotesque grimacing** **puts the doll away, lights up a cigarette only for the second time in his life"

But, you see, there's the rub: The two teams are connected/co-dependant in more ways than one: if Cubs somehow pull a 2002Angels on us--and with their 1-3 pitching they may very well do it especially if they get Lowell---you can pretty much stick a fork in the White Sox. Forever. You think I am dramatizing/exaggerating? Look at our fanbase, market share, media dynamic and more importantly baseball history....I will go as far as to say if Sox don't make it to the ALCS in 2003 and are forced to WhiteFlag2.0 it, this franchise is in deep trouble. Add to it (heavens forbid!) a Magical Summer and the WSChampionship on the North Side....scaaaaaaaaarrrrrryyyyyyyyy.

I don't care if the Cubs win if it helps us as well. But thats because I have nothing against the Cubs. I typically root for them unless they are playing the Sox. What that is, my friend, is heresy of the first order. (I ain't kidding either. As an admin, what kind of an example are you setting? Shame.)

It would help if White Sox won it before the Red Sox, but it's 100 times more important to beat the Cubbies to the punch. And every real Sox fan who "also likes" the Cubs should be aware of such simple truth.

Besides, who cares about lenght- girth is where's it at, oh naive one!

The problem with you "evolutionists" and your crackpot theories is that I am as dumb as a bocks of rox. LOL.

Do I have 'Alan Zweibel' written on my forehead, cutsie pie?

Tolstoy...it's longer than uncle Miltie's Berle.

How about the news yesterday about firemen recovering a mysterious black box which when unsealed turned out to contain Phil Garner's ethics?

I haven't harbored as much bile and undulterated hatred as I do for Todd Ritchie since Jim Parque and Corey Patterson...and I hate those f***ers with passion! (Yes, I dabble in clown drawing why do you ask? )

Hear-hear!!!

Never read that scientology crap. That is just cultish. Good scifi is a different story... *cough*Stanislav Lem *spit*

As someone who merceliessly mocks anything within 20 rhetorical mile radius of Mr. Hubbard and Sciencefiction, er, Scientology...I couldn't let that one go by without a chuckle. Pay me no mind. (Jack Ryan is one bad mofo. Check that, he is one bad dork . )

Do you think I am a disgrace to my race? In my culture hair signifies manhood and character. (I have hair where it counts, tho)

My biggest flaw is that I still don't have chest hair, I am damaged goods

Harry Potter is a story that has magical elements like any number of stories. There are any number of people who love to attack things because it is a great way to raise money: pronounce something the devil's tool and you can sell a lot of books, get media time, and get results from fund raising letters to fight this new horror. And it is all bulls***, in my opinion. Harry Potter is a story and nothing more, nothing less. Just like Cinderella. Whenever money can be made by bombastic crusades against this latest new work of the satanic one - whether it be rock in roll in its day or whatever the topic de jour - there will be some idiots right there bashing and trashing and pocketing money all at the same time. Its getting children to read 800 page books, so I'm all for it. Kids should read more anyway. Reading requires a healthy attention span and imagination. Anyone who starts reading after ages of 13-14--after years of sports, television, internet and video games--will have greater difficulty getting into it. So from that standpoint, Potter (Wizard of Oz for my generation, though Marquise de Sade tickled me fancy) does a lot of good by involving kids from a very young, impressionable age. (However, if you are an Ordothox Jew, fundamentalist Christian or Muslim, I can certainly see why you wouldn't want you child to read it)

im still waiting to be saved..........but my life is pretty darn good......... I am going to save you, HSC.

It's not rigged...it's Oscars, baby!!!!!!!!!!!! [/lameitsnottvitshboreference]

While they are doing very well in their respective leagues (AA, high- and low-A), Guzman, Brownlie and Sisco are WAY overrated, especially the former two, and will NEVER do anything remotely close to what lottery high picks Prior and Wood may end up doing. They are as likely to "dominate" the majors as Diaz, Pacheco and Rauch. 30% chance at best. Arrogant Cubbie fans need to be humbled at some point. Zambrano is pitching over his head and all of the sudden they think their scouts have found a magical way to discover Big Talents? Bwa! How soon do we forget Foster, Jeremi Gonzalez, Quevedo, Zuleta, Kelton, Bobby Hill and dozens of others just in the last 4 years....

Underestimating the importance of entertainment & leasure in our lives are we? f*** health care if there is nothing worth living for...That said, I am not wild about dollar/coolness ratio of Hulk's CGI. As far as Michael Moore haters go....Yes it's true that he is an egomaniacal satirist with a dubious grasp of morality and ethics first and foremost and only then a documentarian/activist......Yes, Bowling for Columbine isn't exactly Ophuls' Hotel Terminus (though to be fair Ophuls too did a lot of "editorializing", "juxtoposing", "editing", and was also operating from a certain moral and political vantage point, not at all a coldly impartial observer).........BUT tell me this: Who else is more suitable and ballsy enough to undertake MM's s***-stirring anti media/corporate crusade and serve as counterbalance/satirize to some of capitalism-abusing scum....Ted Koppel maybe? LOL...Yes, he is a deeply flawed human being, but his heart is in a right place, his serves a big purpose and he is funny as hell. The latter distinction is a very underrated one.