NorthSideSox72

QUOTE (SleepyWhiteSox @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 01:53 PM) Remember that wolf in a 7-11 or something like that downtown? Someone remember so that I don't feel like I'm imagining things... That was a coyote. They've been in the area for a while. Different animal.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 01:42 PM) I'm not certain of the range of a panther (my h.s. mascot) but I suspect these are different animals. I'd even go out on a limb and guess that there is a common breeder somewhere selling exotics. On the wild side, we have some in Texas the closest I came was across a gap at Big Bend. I much prefer to see a bear at 50 yards then a cougar at 800 yards. Those damn cats will stalk, whereas a bear will be big and noisy and easier to scare away. I had a near-encounter with what was "either a jaguar or an unusually large mountain lion" in the Big Hatchets in New Mexico. That according to the experts I sent the track pics to. Fresh track in the snow that hadn't softened at the edges yet in the NM sun - couldn't have been more than a few minutes that I missed it by. The thing was probably watching me from the brush nearby while I was checking the tracks. For reference, an "unusually large mountain lion" would be about 7 feet long and weigh 250 pounds.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 11:49 AM) From what I can tell from the trailer and website, this is exactly his point. Scientists lecture about everything that happened after X point in time, but they have no explanation for what happened prior to that. Which is how it should be. How is that a problem? Its not their job to talk about what/how the speck that became the big bang because that speck. You start from where you can.

QUOTE (stretchstretch @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 12:44 PM) not really, the one pattern we've observed the past couple seasons is the Sox losing the one game where the pitching matchup favors them to win 19/20 times. yesterday was a prime example of our Ace holding a team to 2 runs and losing to a guy none of us ever heard of. Today, we don't have our ace on the mound, but certainly don't expect the Sox to knock out another no-name as would be the case with most other teams....we just have a knack for being flat against no-names and being strong against proven vets (with the exception Johan) 1. I was talking about regression to the mean generally - not specifically the Sox 2. Remember this is NOT the same Sox team as last year. I wouldn't depend on that trend.

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 12:32 PM) Nice to recommend the best defensive outfield but then you want Ozuna and Ramirez at 3rd and 2nd ????? To me, one of the biggest misconceptions held on this board is about Ozuna at 3rd. People seem to assume that because he's terrible in the OF (which he is), and pretty bad at SS (which he is), that he must suck at 3B or 2B - but he doesn't. In fact, I remember in 2005 when he played 3B for Crede for a while, he looked pretty OK over there. Nothing like Crede of course, but passable for a game here or there. He's an OK 3B.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 11:38 AM) They just recently spotted a cougar in Wisconsin for the first time in decades. Wolves are also starting to make it over there. I think the populations out west (Yellowstone in particular) are growing and migrating out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Cougar I'm going to add a bit to this. The Black Hills are not nearly the closest population of cougars to southern Wisconsin. And that 2008 sighting was the first in decades where it was, but not the first in Wisconsin. There is and has been a population of cougars in southern Ontario and nothern Minnesota, and there have been sightings in far NW Wisconsin. I'd think that's most likely where it came from. There is a lot more forest cover between those places, and lot less distance, then there is between Wisconsin and the Black Hills. And wolves are more than starting to make a move - in fact, there have been multiple active packs in WI for at least a decade now. There is even one residing in the Black River Falls area, which is into the southern half of the state. Wolves have been sighted further south than that as well. And those wolves are not from out west either - they are from the north woods.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 10:20 AM) If the Sox finished in 4th and the Royals won the division, that would be fine. If the Sox finished 2nd and the Royals won the division, I would tear the doors off my car. Besides, I don't see the Royals has having nearly enough offense to win the division. When you have Miguel Olivo DHing - even against a lefty - it speaks volumes about how mediocre you are offensively. They barely hit 100 homers last year, and I'd be surprised if they cracked 130 this year, even with the addition of Guillen and Gordon and Butler with considerable MLB experience under their belt. In the AL, you have to score runs to win ballgames in the regular season. I don't see them doing that nearly enough. They have Ross Gload. No other offense is needed.

QUOTE (scenario @ Apr 14, 2008 -> 07:28 PM) W L ERA G SV IP H R ER HR BB SO GO/AO AVG 3 2 1.88 18 8 24 15 6 5 01 09 22 9.60 .185 Nice season when your closer has a 9.6 groundball to flyball ratio. Jeez - I've never seen a number that high for somoene with a decent amount of innings. That's insane.

Heh. I put this in PHT. Sorry.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 10:58 AM) Well I doubt I'll be going to theaters to watch it, but if he gets a good discussion in the country going I say good for him. I have no issue with evolutionary theory, nor do I have an issue with there being a creator. I don't see how both ideas can't mix. As I tell my athiests friends all the time, you believe that gases just existed there in space and eventually formed together and blew up and millions of years later we came into existence. I believe (at least right now) that a higher being put those gases there. Both of us have a huge leap of faith in believing in something that can never be proven. I don't see why one side is so much more obviously right than the other, which is what our educational instutitutions seem to suggest. That's what I got from the trailer of this movie, and if that's the case then i'd be interested in who he talks to and what they have to say. I definitely agree that both sides of this issue tend to have a very arrogant streak. Neither can prove or disprove the existance of a greater being. But I think what is being dismissed by academia is the idea of biblical creationism - that the world is only 2500 years old, etc. And I tend to agree that that sort of thing has no place in a classroom, except maybe as a mention on other peoples' beliefs. Its just too outlandish.

Not sure if anyone saw this, I'm surprised no one posted it. Chicago Police shot and killed a decent-sized cougar (a.k.a. puma, a.k.a. mountain lion) in Roscoe Village yesterday - a fairly crowded residential neighborhood on Chicago's north side. The story is fascinating - the animal freaked quite a few people out. If you missed it, an article in yesterday's Trib detailed a bunch of reports in Wilmette (north suburb) of a cougar. In March, there were reports of one in North Chicago (a further out northern suburb). And back in January, a farmer in southern Wisconsin had one bound out of a barn and jump over him before running off. They do not yet know if its all the same animal, but they have DNA from the Wisconsin one, so they may find out. Sort of a sad ending - hate to see the animal have to die. But I can also understand how a bunch of Chicago cops, probably with no clue what to do with such an animal, feeling the need to shoot it when it apparently leapt at them. And I am sure that people with children or pets in the area would concur. Still though, hate to see it end this way. The question now is, add this to a cougar that was run over in western Illinois in 2004, and increasing sightings in Wisconsin... are cougars moving that quickly south and east from the Rockies and Canada? Or was this just some moron's escaped "pet" (in which case I hope the owner is prosecuted)?

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 08:35 AM) Then they are definitely not high on the list of places I plan on moving to. Oh come on, I am sure you could make a living studying some sort of rare creatures in Berserkerstan or somewhere like that.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 08:25 AM) And many times more countries that wouldn't spend 60% of my tax money funding an endless war that doesn't make us safer. Actually, I would bet there are indeed many other countries who would do or are doing just that.

I'm thinking that Mr. Eveland's 0.68 ERA is due for a bump. It won't stay that way all season. Let's get the split against Oakland and feel good about this series. Go get 'em Danksy. GO YOU WHITE SOX!!!

It seems interesting to me that we often don't hear about the political and societal views of major celebs (movies, TV, music types), but then when they do, they often end up sounding like whackos. I wonder if that life makes them so insulated from reality that they lose their grip on perspective and common sense.

I may have disagreed strongly with DB's posts in those other race-issue threads, but I see no problem with posting this article for discussion. I think it has some relevance to current culture. Let's try not to make this about any specific poster, alright? And this isn't the Buster. Although I have a feeling this thread may end up there.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 15, 2008 -> 08:05 AM) I always ask this question when this topic comes up, and usually no one answers it directly... Would you understand your family/friends/children dying in a case where the US has a suspect who later turned out to have had information on a pending attack (and the US government believed they did before the attack), whom they didn't torture at all because they followed the Geneva conventions to the letter of the law? Well, that situation would be so incredibly rare - let's establish that first. But this is really the same question as, what if your loved one was kidnapped in Iraq and the US doesn't negotiate with terrorists? Obviously in either scenario, if you are actually in it, you have a different perspective. But in both cases, I'd suggest, following the harder path is better for the country as a whole.

So, Goose Island - Chicago's largest brewery and the nation's 25th largest brewery - is closing down its flagship and original brewpub on Clybourn. The owners asked for a large rent increase that they couldn't afford. I am not happy. The good news is, the brewery itself will live on, as well the second pub location in Wrigleyville (blah). Article from The Trib.

QUOTE (Princess Dye @ Apr 14, 2008 -> 04:51 PM) Question... is the end of yesterday's game the first time we've heard Hawk mention his Republicanism? I cant recall a past instance...can anyone? He mentioned his Republicanism?

Columbus @ Charlotte, 6:15pm CDT, Charlie Haeger gets his 3rd start of the season (1-1, 5.79) Mississippi @ B-Ham, 7:05pm CDT, Richard starts for the Barons (1-1, 4.00) Winston-Salem @ Myrtle Beach, 6:05pm CDT, Ely gets his second start (first start: 6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K) Hickory @ Kanny, 6:05pm CDT, J Rice with the start for the Intimidators (0-1, 2.45)

ARG is indeed a large bit pro-Clinton, but more importantly they are just really bad. Taking a look at other PA polls that took place after the "bitter bomb" (LOL), there are two I can find. One is Clinton +4, but that is Zogby, who is also awful. That leaves one other - Susquehanna. It shows Clinton +3, with the poll being taken 4/6 to 4/10. I think the comment hit the airwaves on the 5th or 6th, right? Give another few polls a chance to show up. Much like the Wright issue, I think people will react to it a bit. Then, the voters who are actually on the fence (not the super Obamatons or Clintonites or GOP'ers) in the Dem race will do what they did last time - realize its pretty irrelevant. And heck, I'd say the Wright situation was a lot more relevant than this piece of garbage "news" story anyway. The polls will swing back again, and Clinton will hold onto a 3 or 5 point lead going into 4/22. It will be a tight race, but I think Clinton will pull it out.

The way the article reads, it seems as if they are likely to keep Jerry in AAA for a while. With Quentin established in LF, Ramirez dying for playing time and Anderson seen as more ideal as the 4th OF, it sounds as if Mr. Owens is not going to be brought up in a hurry. Are people mostly happy about this? I pretty much have to agree - I think its best to leave the squad as is, with the exception of 2B where Richar or Ramirez need more playing time.

1st place team, solid opening to the season... its good to be a Sox fan right now. That said, this Oakland team has been doing better than most projected. I'd be happy with a split of the two games. Set the tone MB! GO YOU WHITE SOX!!!

QUOTE (BearSox @ Apr 14, 2008 -> 10:23 AM) most people talk about D, and Richar is no slouch with the golve. He plays an excellent 2B from what I've seen. Richar is capable of making some good plays, but he's very erratic. I have to agree with DA, he's average there at best. Though he may improve with time.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 14, 2008 -> 09:59 AM) Or that someone is trying to read into someone's statement just like Clinton did... Bingo. This Dem race was a neat thing to watch for a while, and I'd even say it was energizing for the country. Now, its getting mired in a cesspool of bulls***. Hopefully Obama can win PA and this thing can just end. Unfortunately, I think Hillary will win by a few points, and it will drag on.