Mercy!

Thanks for that link! I read his chilling account of Hunting Hugo. It had me on the edge all the way through, even though, of course, I knew he survived. I'd like to read the story turned in by that hapless reporter who accompanied them.

Sorry not to read the entire thread. For me - Channel 37 black screen with no audio, labeled "no signal." BUT channel 200 (high definition which I can't use) has the audio. When I first tuned in 200, I didn't know the score, but from the long silences, and Harrelson in flat-voice-filled with-barely-concealed-anger mode, I could tell Sox were behind

Queen, I’m sorry to hear about your loss. It can be difficult enough to find a sympathetic shoulder to lean on when grieving for a “traditional” pet like a cat or dog. It’s nice to see that people here understand your feelings of sadness about Stinky.

I believe he was giving the universal sign for "six points for stepping on any Boone brother's back."

Yeah, actually, Hawk and DJ made a very funny deal out of it. I think it was when they came back from the break for the next inning. As the first play was going on, Hawk said something like, “hang on, we’ve got something funny to show you in a minute.” Then they showed it in real time and slow motion several times as they howled with laughter and made a few appropriate comments along the lines of, “that’s AJ.” I think few people caught what happened in the excitement of the original play, because things were happening so fast. But thanks to some sharp-eyed producer ……..

Oh yes, he ABSOLUTELY went out of his way to step on Boone’s back. He he he. If you recall, AJ was only trying to get to the bag at third. He wouldn’t have overrun it toward the dugout. When the ball sailed past, he had to stutter-step to make sure he landed on Boone. Personally, though, I hope he was really aiming for his ass, not his back.

So there's still time left, thank goodness! Based on his only interaction with me, I was left assuming that Rex had a whole bunch of dog jokes to share. One can hardly go wrong with animal jokes, I think.

Dang! Ya gotta love those Kiwis. BTW, they are referring to the MEN'S badminton team, not the women's, right?

A fair, but generalized article. Not the source most people go to for their sports news, but Yankee fans have a particular interest in the Sox due to the Hernandez/Contreras connection. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/sports/b...20whitesox.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 20, 2005 With White Sox' Big Lead Dwindling, Fans Fear a Monumental Collapse By JOE LAPOINTE CHICAGO, Sept. 19 - At the beginning of the season, the Chicago White Sox introduced a new slogan: Win Or Die Trying. The first word seemed sufficient when they held a 15-game lead in the American League Central on Aug. 1. But last week, as their lead dwindled and clammy panic gripped the fatalistic fans of the South Side, Manager Ozzie Guillen casually coined what could become their unofficial epitaph. "We flat-out stink," Guillen said Thursday, after a 7-5 loss to the Royals, who have the worst record in the majors. At the time, the White Sox held a four-and-a-half-game lead over the second-place Cleveland Indians. It had dwindled to three and a half games by Monday night, when the Indians - the hottest team in baseball - arrived at U.S. Cellular Field for a three-game series. Did Guillen regret his choice of words? "No," he said before Monday's game, adding that he always spoke the truth. Were the players worried losing 7 of their previous 10 games while Cleveland won 9 of 10? Not according to center fielder Aaron Rowand. "Nobody in here thinks about that stuff," he said. "That's all you guys thinking about us; what are we going to do, panic and stuff?" So what advice may General Manager Ken Williams have for the White Sox' nervous fans? "They've earned the right to feel a little nervous and a little anxiety," Williams said. "I feel a lot of it, too. Hang in there. Give us a little support. And please, stay off the ledges." The fans filled the seats at the front edges of the upper deck Monday night, but the stadium was not quite full in the back rows. Flags commemorating the pennants of 1917 and 1959 flapped near the scoreboard in center field as an overcast sky settled above the park at dusk. The organist, Nancy Faust, greeted the crowd with "Let It Be" and "Still the One." Overshadowed as they are by the more popular Cubs of the North Side, the White Sox remain the second team in Second City, although not quite yet in second place. They do not have a .300 hitter in their regular lineup. Pitching has been their strength, but now the staff is in flux. One of their regular starters, Orlando Hernández, has been demoted from the rotation. The rookie Brandon McCarthy is expected to start in his place Thursday against Minnesota. In the bullpen, the rookie Bobby Jenks appears to have replaced Dustin Hermanson as the closer. McCarthy and Jenks started the season in the minor leagues. Guillen said before Monday's game that Damaso Marte might also close games if left-handers are batting. Marte has apparently returned to Guillen's good graces after staying home last week during a series in Kansas City. Marte had been banished by Guillen for showing up late for a game. Before that, during an appearance Sept. 7 against the Royals, Marte hit two consecutive batters, then said he had pain in his neck. Marte later apologized to Guillen and his teammates. "Marte showed up like a man," Guillen said. "He showed his teammates how sorry he was." Jon Garland, who leads the staff with a record of 17-9, is only 2-5 since the end of July and is no longer as strong a candidate for the Cy Young award. Garland said the team's emotional state was upbeat. "It's definitely exciting," he said. "It's definitely coming down to the wire. I bet there's a lot of people who didn't see it coming. A few people in this clubhouse did. It's a 162-game grind. If you start to worry about things, that's when things fall apart." Although the White Sox had drawn 2,123,180 fans in 74 home dates before Monday, their following has not been consistent. Only 14,571 showed up for a game Sept. 6 against the Royals. Across town, the Cubs, below .500 and third in the National League East, had drawn 2.9 million at Wrigley Field. But the Cubs have a national cult following; they make chronic underachievement seem charming. Like the Athletics in the San Francisco Bay area, the Angels in the Los Angeles suburbs and the Mets in Queens, the White Sox have subordinate status in their local market. When asked about a national personality for the White Sox, Williams scoffed at the Cubs' portrayal as lovable losers. "Winning will create an identity," he said of his team. "That's the only identity I want. You're not going to make up something. That has to be earned." Although the White Sox have been worrying their fans lately, their situation is not dire. Even if they should squander the Central lead to Cleveland, they could still qualify for the playoffs as the A.L. wild card. The Red Sox had that role last season and won the World Series, the third season in a row that a wild-card qualifier has emerged as the champion. The White Sox and the Indians will finish this three-game series Wednesday, then end the season with three games in Cleveland. Entering Monday's games, the Indians led the Yankees by a game and a half in the wild-card race. Despite their recent skid, they still held the best record in the American League, 90-58, and were second in the majors to St. Louis (95-56). If the White Sox collapse and miss the playoffs, their fade would be the worst in baseball history, worse than the 1969 Cubs, the 1978 Red Sox, the 1964 Phillies or the 1951 Dodgers. Would people love them then? Probably not, but they would never forget them, and somebody would take the blame. "Blame it on me," said Guillen, who added that he receives 40 or 50 e-mail messages every day from fans. Guillen said some of those messages said, "It's your fault" and "I know you're going to choke." "A lot of people say: 'He's scared. He's insecure,' " Guillen said, referring to perceptions of him. "No. I know baseball. The heat is on. Hopefully, we can turn it on." Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company

Another bonus - they speak English almost exactly like we do. I don't have many of those "What'd they just say?" moments.

I agree. And as an added bonus, they don't spend 50% of their time covering the latest young white American woman gone missing. Seriously, when I want a quick video overview of what's going on in the rest of the world, I check out the BBC and the CBC.

Of course, using that same reasoning, were both you and Mr. Bush to drown, you would still have to consider your efforts successful, correct?

What about the Sox offense is surprising to everyone who has followed them all year? The Sox this season made a commitment to live (and now, die) by their pitching. Their offense has been anemic all year, usually just enough to win. Once they were unable/unwilling/whatever to get a significant stick in before the deadline, their fate was sealed. But that doesn’t mean they have to live with the same starting rotation. It’s time to elevate McCarthy and give El Duque a seat in the pen. And what would be so bad about trotting out Joe Borchard or the other bench warmers for an occasional at bat?

I'm running IE with Windows 98 and don't get any sound. I looked at the source and found the sound file to play by itself, but that wasn't any fun! Even afterwards, I still didn't think the Batman one was funny, so I guess I'm hopeless.

Here's my contribution for the day: http://tcruiseko.ytmnd.com/

What’s up these days with the Budweiser Twins? Wouldn’t they have been a better choice to do that photo op at the Astrodome than their grandma, Babs?

Actually, I just figured it was one of those "the amount of humor is in inverse proportion to your age" things. I'm having a lot of those moments now.

There wasn't any audio when I played it. Would that have helped? Otherwise totally

That’s just ALL wrong! What photojournalist in a fast-breaking story (a flood, no less) would be shooting film??? DIGITAL, all the way, man!

Somebody should have told the marketing department, it wasn't going to be WIN OR DIE TRYING, but EVERYBODY GETS TO PLAY Do we ever have threads on helpful suggestions for marketing slogans which we could send to Brooks?

Jeez! Do I look STOOPID? Tell you what, just to get you off the ledge - how about if I make the Ozzie wager with you (and only you) for $200?

If things go completely south, perhaps we might expect to see Jerry call a press conference and accept responsibility for the collapse, then go to a prayer service with his wife, and finally appoint Karl Rove to head up the team rebuilding. P.S. - The Sox aren’t going to miss the playoffs, and Ozzie isn’t going to be fired. I’d be happy to accept $20 wagers with everyone in this thread regarding Ozzie's 2006 employment status.

I'm afraid you're too late

Yeah, athletes with feet of clay. Go figure! Anyway, I’m so old school I had to look up your reference to Brooks and Dunn! Anyone much outside of Miles Davis (speaking of domestic violence ) or Mahler leaves me scratching my head.

ROTFLOL, kid.