NorthSideSox72

So here is something to chew on for all the people who tend to think that contending for a division title but not winning it is no better than spending the season mired in the cellar... The Sox sent out playoff ticket invoices in late August, back when the team was still in it. Season ticket holders had to pay in advance for the tickets, or else not only not get to buy the tickets, but also lose their "place" in seniority and have to start over the next season. This playoff ticket invoice was well over half of the total cost of a season plan. Any games not played, becomes your 2010 deposit. So, even if some season holders were hesitant, most of them will have paid, to not miss the potential playoff ticket opportunity, and to not lose out for the next season. This will ultimately result in a much higher renewal rate than if the team was far enough out that no playoff invoices were sent. Secondarily, the team does sell some pro-rated season plans in-season, and they were offering some post-season tickets if you went in during the season - and again, until early September, the team appeared to still be in the chase. So, the fact that the team was in it for as long as they were, means a much higher number of 2010 seaon holders than if they hadn't been. Just something to consider.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 02:20 PM) You're right. I'm not very good at math. I just assumed that the it being a veteran rumour was still on. I was looking at the lineup at nearly everyone got in the game, including Wise, Fields and Lillibridge. The veteran thing is true, you can eliminate some players there - unless of course it wasn't a veteran at all. Ozzie never actually said that, if you carefully at the quotes. He said he was worried about examples for the non-vets, but that is not the same thing. Basically, other than dudes sitting in the pen, we have no idea.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 02:20 PM) Unless the Israelis can quickly and decisively take out the Iranian military and their paramilitary forces (highly unlikely to say the least) then I really doubt this. The Iranians are pretty nationalist, even the pro-Western ones, and they wouldn't just let that slide. That's my thinking. Take a look at the two "lines" we are headed down here. Israel cannot abide a nuclear Iran, and Iran cannot abide being bombed without retaliation. Therefore, the only thing that I can see staying off a serious conflict here is if Iran doesn't (or cannot) build nuclear weapons. And right now, that seems unlikely. Again, the narrowing tunnel.

Unemployment rate in Chicago actually dipped for the second straight month. And because of the extension of long-term benefits, the number isn't an artificial drop-off either. Sort of surprising to see Chicago possibly trending out faster than the rest of the country, but we'll see how sustainable this is. By the way, I am in agreement with people who point out that the standard U number isn't very accurate because of all the exceptions, and that U-6 is really a more accurate picture. But I think its amusing that people point to the drop and say "that's because people have been work over a year dropped out", because that is a fallacy for two reasons. One, because of the extension of benefits, its not true anyway. Two, even if it were, we weren't dropping jobs like flies in July 2008 - so you are replacing those numbers with current ones and showing a better result, so that actually means it is MORE positive than it would otherwise be. Anyway, I think its likely this number doesn't move much, but stays semi-level for a while - but even that is progress.

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 02:15 PM) That eliminates the bullpen, leaving AJ, Kotsay, Buehrle, and Peavy. I imagine the training staff or clubhouse crew had the game on. A couple of the guys went in to either check some tapes, or go to the bathroom, and lingered a bit too long. That leaves everyone other than the bullpen, not just those four.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 01:50 PM) didnt the sox have to take 2 games with a 0 official attendance figure because of rainout/makeup dates? I believe that is true.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 01:40 PM) If Isreal does it right, not a damn thing. Israel is not going to take out the entire Iranian military. They couldn't realistically do that, not in a short period of time anyway.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 01:26 PM) We dropped the ball on this once, no reason for us to repeat the mistakes of 2 generations ago. What I want to know is what people think Iran will do if Israel actually did bomb them. I think this depends on what sort of support Iran can get from some of its neighbors. If Israel strikes Iran, and if Iran has the backing of certain regional powers like the Saudis et al, then I think Iran counterattacks with missiles, and probably does something closer to home as well to prove the point (starts messing around with Iraq more than they are). I think they would also seriously boost their arming and support of the Palestinians. The thing that is scary there, in my view, is that Israel can strike Iran all day, and Iran can lob missiles into Israel and arm the Palestinians and Iranians even more, back and forth... and neither country is going to invade the other. This leads back, again, to support of regional powers. It ALSO asks the question, does Iran think that the US would act militarily in concert with the Israelis. Maybe I'm worrying too much about it, maybe I'm wrong and nothing happens, but I have a hard time believing that Iran would allow their military and nuclear facilities to be bombed without responding in some way militarily. Just seems non-viable to me, for their domestic political situation. And as people have pointed out, it would be a shame to waste the fact that Iran is probably going to shift on its own in the coming decades. But I just see a narrowing tunnel here, IF Iran decides to build a weapon.

Prompted from the discussion in the GOP thread. Come up with, or steal from others, your favorite nickname for Barack Obama. Go.

QUOTE (ChiSox_Sonix @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 01:05 PM) No lamer than Dubya's "village idiot" moniker That was lame too. I just figure, we're all smart here, we can do better. Yes we can.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 12:46 PM) Why didn't South Korea get the bid in 2010 with a 51% 1st round vote result? The numbers on that one don't add up to 100, they are over 100, so that must be a vote total, not a %.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 12:26 PM) Well he does have some big f***ing ears. This is true. I kind of chuckled at the "car with the doors open" jokes when they came out - that was kinda funny.

So it turns out that the site chicagoansforrio.com wasn't about Chicagoans for Rio at all - it was one Chicagoan, who works in "creative advertising", who wanted to play a game. Link.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 12:20 PM) I seem to recall that they split - then they consolidate when it appears that their city is gone. In other words, there's bribes up the ass that gets traded after each vote. That's what I was referring to by "horse-trading".

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 12:18 PM) It's lame, but it's funny. lame isn't funny. Hell, I could come up with something that was at least a little funny. Call him teleprompt-Obama, or Barackstar, or something at least mildly connected to him. Mighty Mouse? I could have called W, Elmer Fudd too, but seriously, that's just lame.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 11:47 AM) Does anyone know when the actual voting process takes place, not just the announcement of the votes? I got this info from a pretty solid source, but by word of mouth. There is an initial round of voting, and the results would be announced at 11am Chicago time on Friday from that. Then the horse-trading and second round occur, supposedly resulting in a final vote by 3pm. But, the rule is a vote plurality - it takes as many rounds as needed to get 50% for someone. So I suppose its possible that someone could get over 50% ont he first vote, but apparently that is very rare.

QUOTE (Cknolls @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 10:05 AM) Mighty Mouse is headed to Copenhagen after all. Discussed in the Olympics thread (in the Sports Pub). Mighty Mouse? Kinda lame, I'd think his opponents could come up with better nicknames than that.

I'm anti-death penalty, but not because I care if some multiple victim murderer dies. Its because no matter how hard we try, the system is flawed, and someone innocent will die, which I cannot abide.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 11:22 AM) Probably also worth noting that the new Iranian facility is supposedly under construction within a mountain next to the city of Qom, a holy city for the Shi'a. I'm sure that's no accident. You want to hit that facility militarily...I'll bet the civilian toll will be enormous. It would be an enormous casualty rate only if they nuke it. I am sure the facility is not within the city, so convetional weapons shouldn't cause an issue.

Usually, when these rising tensions come up with states acting outside what most of the world wants, a way is found for them to push boundaries but not break down into full-on war. And the US, Russia and Europe all seem to want to keep it that way with Iran - negotiate and use economic incentives and sanctions to change behavior. But in this case, the wild card is Israel. Iran is about to reach an inflection point - like North Korea did - and decide if they want to take the last step and make some nukes. In NK's case, negotiation didn't really work - but they didn't have an Isreal to deal with. Japan wasn't going to strike them preemtpively, China and Russia have no desire to either. But with Iran, I honestly think that if they get to where they are starting into the last phases of producing a nuke, that Isreal will strike Iran to end the program, even without the support of the US or others. And that could end pretty badly. Israel destroys targets in Iran, Iran starts lobbing missles into Israel... then it could go any number of ways.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 09:29 AM) The fertility clinic emplanted the wrong embryo, and your choices are abort, or give up the baby. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/...tory?id=8675885 That is awful.

QUOTE (Athomeboy_2000 @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 09:29 AM) Chicago needs to dump the "El" system in favor of some sort of light rail solution, but it will cost billions upon billions fo dollars. And even if we could get the national government to foot the bill, it would take well over a decade to do. Why would you scrap the existing system for a different light rail? Light Rail in the modern sense would mean train cars on the ground, which wouldn't work anymore, there is no room for it. Wouldn't make any sense. What is needed is infrastructure updates to what is already there.

QUOTE (bmags @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 08:52 AM) LOL seriously. "Did he really think he was fooling us by saying he might be going? Mayor Chucky told him he better be there or else. I hope the IOC choses RIO and not Chicago.....All the mayors courupt buddies are waiting for a piece of the pie$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$" I too hope it goes to Rio, where there is no corruption and everyone will be safe. Yeah, I can see the comments now as well - the comment board on there make the Buster on SoxTalk look like tea with the Royal Family.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 09:25 AM) Public transit changes if we get the Olympics: So, the Olympics will not miraculously fix all of Chicago's transportation issues. We knew this. No one said it would. People HAVE said, as history has dictated, that the city will indeed get an influx of money to do a lot of good things. Fix everything? No one said anything of the sort.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 28, 2009 -> 08:12 AM) great, now no one gets health care. Screw health care, I want me some archery!!!!