NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 09:07 AM) I must have missed something because the only thing I saw was that Blagojevich offered to appoint a union-friendly candidate in exchange for a position in the Obama administration... sounds like Politics 101, not really illegal unless I neglected to read something else. Read further down the article. There's more. Lots more.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 08:59 AM) I wanted a piece of that when I was about 13. Then again, at that age you want a piece of everything. No way man. Kathy Ireland effect. She's attractive until she starts to speak, then its nails on a chalkboard.

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 08:59 AM) I disagree. Dye broke his leg in a freak accident, but he was pretty consistent in games played outside of the year after he broke his leg, Kotsay has been missing 30 games or more for the past 3 years Kotsay Dye I wasn't comparing them statistically - more the idea of signing an outfielder with some injury issues, who is older but not OLD yet. Seems like a Kenny-type move to me. I could be wrong of course. Just seems like the type of guy Kenny would target.

Holy s*** is Blago stupid. Get this... apparently, he is in trouble partially because he tried to bribe friggin Obama, about the Senate seat. Blago wanted to be HHS secretary, and offered certain things in exchange. Per the Trib. What idiot does that, while under investigation?

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 08:06 AM) Doesnt Kotsay have a neverending disc problem in his back that has limited him for the better part of the last 3 years? When healthy he is nails, but i had him on my fantasy team last year and he didnt seem to be healthy all that much I don't know the exact nature, but last year yes, that was an issue. I thought he was fine the year before though, and his numbers last year were still pretty decent with ATL. Seems like a Dye-esque signing to me, in some ways, when we originally acquired him.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 08:39 AM) Obama better not pardon him when he winds up in the slammer either... Obama owes him nothing. I doubt he would.

Wow - a sitting governor taken into federal custody. Yikes. But, good. Blago deserves it. By the way, I'd be this isn't just about the Senate thing - too quick. This is from years of investigations.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 08:40 AM) I'm thinking that seat is going to Caroline Kennedy. The first time Fran breaks out that glass-breaking cackle in a press conference, she will assure that she won't win the seat.

QUOTE (G&T @ Dec 9, 2008 -> 07:46 AM) Seriously. The names involved are ridiculous. However, Rosenthal says that no deal will go through until the new Cubs ownership is announced because they have to approve of the money. But no one else is saying that. So the Cubs won't sign any trades or deals until March? Which is when they are saying the sale will be material? No way.

Per CNN. Wow.

Here's my odd prediction... I think after the Sox trade Dye (or before), you'll see them sign Mark Kotsay to play CF.

QUOTE (Wanne @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 05:59 PM) Are TV revenues going down. Will less people be attending games. Are they anticipating corporate dollars from suites, advertising, etc depleting... Yes, yes, and yes.

QUOTE (RockRaines @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 05:49 PM) Ill see if there is any info about Garland. You keep doing this cryptic thing where you seem like you are standing next to KW at the meetings or something.

QUOTE (southsideirish71 @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 04:27 PM) The 15 billion was to open lines of credit. Now that doesn't mean that the lines of credit are opened up to companies that don't deserve it. Thats what got us here in the first place. I would rather they be frugal with the credit than to go hog wild, piss it away on companies that will fail anyway and then we have to give them another bailout. This. The money wasn't for giving out lines of credit that aren't likely to be ongoing concerns. Also, I read some more recent articles today on this. Apparently, B of A and this company have been in talks for months. Want a bad guy here? Look at the management of the company, not the bank.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 03:17 PM) I am surprised, however that in a PR move, a Harris Bank or JP Morgan Chase rep didn't come out and save the day. Probably because BofA had some good reason to remove the line of credit.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 02:42 PM) Stealing from a blog commentary on their status; Yup. And there is a third financial piece in there, related to the Times purchase. When they bought the times, they unwittingly bought themselves millions of dollars of back federal taxes (that we in dispute) along with it, which they had to pay. Ouch.

Yet again, Blago being Blago. Pretty much all his political moves can be described as follows: --Find a hot topic of discussion --Place self firmly in populist corner --Suggest something warm and fuzzy to "help" the people effected --The suggestion will serve no actually helpful purpose --The suggestion will cost money, but he will veto any increase in revenue OR cuts in service to achieve it --He will get mad at the legislature for not magically creating funds to accomplish it --In the end, nothing happens I give you, our governor.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 01:48 PM) For what it's worth, this has been a long time coming for the newspaper industry. They have been very, very slow to adapt to new media and it is costing them. There will always be a demand for newspapers for a variety of reasons (People like them, they are useful, they supply useful ads/coupons, they give me something to read during coffee, they fund better investigative reporting than most any of the tv networks). But there needs to be significant reorganizing of the entire industry to reflect the fact that they all don't need the structure they currently have, and they need to adapt to making a profit in both the digital and hard copy forms. The hard copy form is going to decline for some time, and then probably level off. Any business that sees that sort of a decline in its chief product will probably need some version of bankruptcy. Of course...the other option is we could just let themselves declare themselves banks, and then they'd get bailouts, no questions asked. Decline was underway already, as you state. But Zell's buyout accelerated the pressure dramatically, such that TribCo couldn't make the slide gracefully. Now they're bankrupt. And yes Rex, definitely, this is a pre-emptive strike. They owed $70M by EOD today they couldn't make, and they know it will take a while to generate the cash from selling the Cubs. But for all they are saying about this "not effecting operations", they are full of it. Layoffs will occur, paper quality will fall, ad space will increase, column inches will decrease.

Newsflash for everyone posting in here... Saying this: "You are an idiot" is the same as... Saying this: "If you think (fill in whatever some other poster just said), you are an idiot" They are both personal attacks. Stop it.

QUOTE (lord chas @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 12:16 PM) no santo thank god little much, no?

QUOTE (Texsox @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 01:10 PM) I'm considering a buy at that price. Off to do a little research. I'd be very cautious. Its halted and at $1 because if it goes bankrupt, it goes to the bulletin boards, and if/when TribCo reorganizes, there is no guarantee the stock will be worth anything. They can elect to walk away from it.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 01:01 PM) The stock is now halted. Last trade at 1.07, low of 1.00. There are going to be a lot of pissed off Trib employees. This bankruptcy is directly caused by Zell's leveraged buyout debt. Some employees filed suit against TribCo recently over it (supposedly the Board allowed it in violation of some rules) - we'll see what happens with that now.

Tickers reporting that TribCo is indeed filing for bankruptcy.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 11:48 AM) YOu share a birthday with Terrell Owens and the bombing of Pearl Harbor! Happy Birthday!!! And Larry Bird and Vince Coleman. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Thanks for the B-Day wishes, everyone!

QUOTE (Thunderbolt @ Dec 8, 2008 -> 11:29 AM) IF only Poreda and Richard can combine in a way, it would make not only for a fine pitcher, but an unstoppable acronym. Poor Richard? Doesn't seem like a good idea to me.