Middle Buffalo

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Apr 19, 2012 -> 10:32 AM) Well, this worked out well. Was at the drive-thru at McDonalds today when the belt popped off. Don't know how I was able to make it home. Lost power steering and everything. Gotta get it fixed now. s***ty. That wasn't the first, and it won't be the last belt that pops after a trip through the McDonald's drive-thru.

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Apr 15, 2012 -> 04:45 PM) Take 2 of 3 every series you got 90 plus wins I will take it. 2 of 3 would actually be 108 wins. I'm not trying to be a jerk, either. I was going to post somewhere after the first five games, when they were 3-2, that they were on pace for 97 wins. A 3-2 or 6-4 record doesn't seem that impressive, but if you break the season down in 5 or 10 games at a time, that's all you have to do to win the division. I've thought all along that the starting pitching, IF Peavy is healthy, is good enough to win. Combined with Beckham, Rios, and Dunn improving somewhat over last year, and I don't think playoffs is totally out of the question. Four pretty big ifs, though.

QUOTE (Tex @ Apr 14, 2012 -> 04:06 AM) I am thinking about how to tie a thesis into soxtalk. There has to be a Comp and Rhetoric thesis in here somewhere. I'm not sure how you'd do it, but the most interesting aspect of Soxtalk for me is how seemingly innocent topics get sideways in a hurry. http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56397

QUOTE (Brian @ Apr 12, 2012 -> 03:18 PM) Does anyone really bring laptops or iPads to games? I sat in the scout seats a few years ago, and the guy in the M&Ms jacket brought his laptop. He was on it the entire game. He also stood up and turned around and looked at the fans behind him and the announcers booth between every half inning. Really annoying to sit behind.

QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 23, 2012 -> 07:26 PM) I liked Marion but favorite player? lol, what made you like him so much? He was the American Football version of Jacko.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 21, 2012 -> 12:26 PM) @QBKILLA Just Heard Who The Snitch Was Is it just me, or as a member of the media shouldn't Warren Sapp drop this persona? Snitch? really? Especially since he doesn't really know for sure that Shockey "snitched." He says he heard it from someone he trusts. It's basically a rumor that Sapp thinks is okay to go public with. Nice ethics. I can't get the yahoo headline out of my head, "Warren Sapp fingers Jeremy Shockey as the Saints’ bounty snitch."

It's dumb, but "Appreciate the Game" > "Baseball is Better..."

iPod is up and running. Thanks for the advice.

QUOTE (kjshoe04 @ Mar 6, 2012 -> 09:25 PM) I haven't although I suppose I would if the opportunity presented itself. Life is about making opportunities for yourself, not waiting for opportunities to be presented to you. For God's sake, go s*** in the woods already!

Thanks. I put it in rice. The Chinese built it, and now they will fix it. Gotta love it.

Dropped my iPod in the sink today. Let's all say a lttle prayer.

I don't mind the Hawkisms too much , but I hate that he speaks in absolutes so often. "He's the best (fill in the blank) that I've seen in all my years...." It hurts his credibility with me. I don't mind a homer, but don't lie to me. And if the team is bad, Hawk doesn't have to tell me that because I understand that he doesn't necessarily want to crap on the product, but I don't want him to tell me that it's a good team.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 29, 2012 -> 02:22 PM) Jeff Passan ‏ @JeffPassan Source: MLB to immediately investigate Rangers' signing of Jairo Beras. MLB was under the impression Beras was 16, ineligible to be signed Beras may be the last of baseball's big bonus babies. The $2.9M cap on int'l FA starts this summer. Sliding scale goes into effect in '13. Fascinating case about to unfold with Rangers giving 17-year-old Jairo Beras a $4.5M bonus. Until recently, was believed to be 16. Ben Badler ‏ @BenBadler Baseball America has evidence going back to 2011 of Jairo Beras using a Dec. 25, 1995 DOB. Story coming soon. Jairo Beras' DOB was listed as 12/25/95, giving teams and MLB the impression he was a July 2, 2012 guy. If he's 17, something has changed. Don't pencil Jairo Beras into the Rangers' farm system just yet. If MLB approves the reported contract, teams will be furious. When do we learn that he's actually 21 and that Leo Nunez is his real name?

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Mar 1, 2012 -> 12:09 AM) I'll agree with you on Life is Beautiful, although I'm not sure I can agree it should have won over Spielberg that year. THE READER was terribly overrated, but just given so much praise largely because of the topic and the presence of Kate Winslet. I liked Saving Private Ryan much more, too. And I couldn't make it through The Reader. Also, Roberto Benini (sp?) was great in Life is Beautiful and deserved the Oscar. He's one of the people that gets brought up as undeserving by many people.

QUOTE (daa84 @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 12:49 PM) http://awfulannouncing.blogspot.com/2008/0...gan-trivia.html I don't see anything wrong with this. It's a pretty typical baseball conversation that every set of announcers has during the season. I don't like Joe Morgan, but the only reason this is on the "awful" list is because it is Joe Morgan.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 06:35 PM) As for Holocaust movies, you've also got on include LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL and THE READER. I loved "Life is Beautiful." I wouldn't count it as one of the movies that won best picture that didn't deserve it.

Good stuff. I figure I can take my time getting to Chicago heading up north (which I'm guessing is the most scenic way), spend 8 days in Chicago, and haul a$$ back to Phoenix going the most direct route. Or I can hit a few sights on the way, and a few on the way back. I haven't really decided. Thanks for the suggestions.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Feb 29, 2012 -> 05:39 AM) Oh, so you've already made the drive from Phoenix to Chicago. I have, so I know that the most direct route has nothing to see. I'm planning on going up north through Denver. I think I want to see Mt. Rushmore. That's about the most far north I want to go. I'm just looking to see if there's any can't miss stuff on the way. Or, is there anything (Mt. Rushmore, for instance) that isn't worth the time.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 03:56 PM) St. Louis is obviously the first that comes to my mind. Jean shorts are already packed for that portion of the trip.

It's worth a shot while people are giving SF and NY trip advice. I have about 16 days in the summer to make it from Phoenix to Chicago and back. We decided that spending $3K to fly and rent a vehicle for the two weeks might not make much sense, so we are going to drive. Any tips? Must see places along the way. I want to spend 8-10 days in Chicago, so that leaves me 3 days travel on each side. I'd like to hit a few "can't miss" sights along the way. Assume I've seen nothing.

PacBell (or whatever it's called now) is awesome. I sat on the third base side looking out into the bay and saw the steroidal Barry Bonds hit a game winning HR into it. I didn't like him even when he was with the Pirates, but I have to say that it's a pretty solid top sports moment that I witnessed in person. Just walking along the bay to Pier 39 to see the sea lions is pretty cool, too. I was only there a few days for work, so I didn't do much else. ps It's much colder than you might think, so pack some fall type clothes.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 28, 2012 -> 03:20 PM) The issue there is that this movie itself is still pretty terrible with the stereotypes itself. It's like Crash in that regard. "The Help" is as guilty of stereotyping the Southern white characters as it is the black characters. But, they're characters, so of course they're stereotypes. On the whole, it was a bad year for movies. The Help was overrated. Moneyball was a Disney sports picture (that happened to star Brad Pitt). The Artist was probably the biggest risk taker. I liked it, and it may be deserving of best picture, but I will never watch it again. And as far as the Oscars being a "circle jerk." It's no different than sports halls of fame that fans argue about and bemoan the inclusion/exclusion of certain players. In the end, why do we care at all?

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ Feb 23, 2012 -> 11:32 AM) Hearing the story of Walker and Guillen's concern about Dunn last spring has me feeling less certain about what shows up this year. Prior to hearing that story, I was of the opinion that he would return to normal. For me, the worst part of the Walker/Guillen story is that Guillen kept trotting Dunn out to the plate. If he was as broken as they "knew" from Spring Training, Dunn should have sat. As a fan, I thought it was the right thing to do to be patient. But if Walker and Guillen identified from the first day of Spring Training that something was very wrong, they never should have stayed with him. 1. Ventura will be fine. Don't know that he's a championship manager, but it will be nice to get away from the Ozzie/Kenny circus. It's actually kind of disappointing that at some point in the past few years, one of the vets didn't come forward and say that they were sick of it and that Ozzie and Kenny should be professional and keep their crap in house. That would have showed some leadership. The players always said it didn't bother them, and the fued itself might not have, but answering questions about it had to. 2. MB will probably be missed more for his presence in the clubhouse as an all-around good guy than for what he has left on the field. I love him, but he's a 12-14 win guy. 3. I can't imagine that Dunn will be as bad as last year. 4. I can't remember the question - closer? I think they'll do fine by committee early. I wasn't ever 100% confident in Santos, though he certainly performed well for stretches. I think he's replaceable, and I doubt he turns into Mariano Rivera. He reminds me a little of Roberto Hernandez - pretty good, but always had me on the edge of my seat (in a bad way). 5. CQ was really good when he was really good, and incredibly frustrating the rest of the time. I wish Kenny traded him when his value was higher. Viciedo will be fine, and if he's not, at least we'll know and can move on. I'm kind of excited about the season. I have low expectations, and that's usually when my teams win.

In other news, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generalissimo...o_is_still_dead

QUOTE (Milkman delivers @ Feb 12, 2012 -> 03:49 PM) Shouldn't the title say "worst"? That's been bothering me. I was thinking the same thing - had the thought again as I clicked on the link. I chalked it up to Textalk and moved on originally.