southsider2k5

Happy Birthday

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 03:18 PM) Foundation trilogy. Awesome. One of my all-time favorites.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 15, 2009 -> 06:08 PM) Senator Roland Burris seemingly does a complete 180 degree turn regarding his under-oath testimony about his relationship with Blago and how he got in to the seat. I wonder how much he paid for the seat. The Illinois House Republicans want him investigated for Perjury. Awesome. Just awesome. The funny part is if the Senate and/or Illinois House/Senate had stuck to their guns and refused to seat him, this eventually would have come out and they would have looked like geniuses. Instead they caved, and now they have to go through this stupid stuff all over again.

Good for Mark. Its too bad that we don't really focus on the guys like this in baseball instead of the low lifes like Bonds and Arod. A guy who can make his money, stay normal, and still be a good family man should be the guy we celebrate. Chicago is lucky to have a Mark Buehrle on the Sox for all of that time.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 03:20 PM) Third secretary of commerce is a charm! Well I suppose it was good that one of Obama's nominees actually withdrew because of convictions, and not a lack of convicitions...

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 14, 2009 -> 01:43 PM) http://www.stimuluswatch.org/project/by_state See where all of the money is going.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 03:15 PM) OK Stacey King. You just said they raise payroll by the margin of money they make the previous season, even though Forbes says they make a profit even after raising and paying payroll, $70 million combined for seasons 2005,2006,2007. I pointed out that BEFORE this crisis hit, they wanted Hunter or Fukudome and were willing to spend at least $50 million to get them. They didn't, and although JR is saying even with this economy attendance shouldn't be too affected and the raising of ticket prices which will more than cover the loss of 2 sponsors even if they are not replaced, which isn't happening, they will cut payroll. So, being zero sum as you say, they must have lost money last year, even with 3 extra home games and would have really been stuck this year had Hunter or Fukudome signed because contracts like those or Dye's, or Konerko's or Thome's aren't moving anywhere unless you pick up similar money. You are reading waaaaaaay too deeply into that statement and turning it into a 100% truism. I never said they completely abandoned common sense. It would be really stupid to add payroll to the point where you know you are going to have a loss in total revenues. As I said when you pulled out that tired Fukodome/Hunter arguement before, times have changed. Just because the team was willing to spend money last year, doesn't mean they are now. If the economy was the same as last year, I have no doubt the payroll would be the same, or even higher this year. There are years of history that prove that out, as compared to the anecdotal hypothesis with zero flexibility you are trying to paint this as. Failure to recognize that times have changed is the type of stupidity that turns you into the Phoenix Coyotes.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 02:45 PM) So they lost money last year, even with a couple of extra dates, and they really didn't want to sign Hunter or Fukudome. C'mon, you're not that drunk on the Kool-Aid. For the record, I have no problem with their payroll, I do have problems with raising ticket prices and lowering payroll, but there are some things that if you really think about it, are difficult to buy. So you don't think it is reasonable for them to cut costs in the worst economy in recent history? If I am drunk on Kool-aid, you need to be putting down the Hateorade.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 02:35 PM) The zero sum operation is a myth. It is virtually imposssible to break exactly even every year. The $5 million will affect it, but they will make money of this in the long run, and they have been planning this for a few years, so chances are the money was most likely budgeted for years. JR's real edict is to not operate in the red. He doesn't care if he doesn't make anything, but just don't lose anything. That usually results in a profit, unless Forbes is way off. 2005-2007 seasons, they supposedly made a total of $70 million in profit, AFTER meeting their heightened payroll. Its a myth in the narrowed sense of the term. In reality the payroll fluxuations pretty much match the profits from year over year.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 02:20 PM) To begin with, there will be some accounting taking place that will make this expense a lot less than $5 million in actual cost. Do you think they don't separate expenses? Do you think if they hire another guy to print tickets at the box office, it will be that much less for player salaries? There are different budgets for different departments. While in theory, that would still mean there is less money to give to the salary budget, this is an expense that can be made up over time. Obviously, there is something that makes it worth it to them to pay the $5 million, and its not going to be at the expense of their baseball team. I am willing to bet if you asked KW and JR about it, they will tell you it has no effect. Spring training expenses will be cut down as well as revenues rising. Forbes says they make as much profit as any team in baseball, and there's really no reason not to believe them, if you believe all of their other numbers. I haven't heard anyone say it won't affect the bottom line. Do you have a link or something? With a zero sum operation, I am assuming that the money has to come from somewhere until proven otherwise.

So the Dow has traded as low as 7693 today. This is interesting because the next long term low level is 7591, which is the lows from the post 9-11/bubble recession in 2002. If they manage to go lower than that, the Dow will be looking at levels it hasn't seen since 1997-1998.

QUOTE (Kalapse @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 01:40 PM) They've cut the payroll by approximately 6%. Even better. I was just guessing off of the top of my head. Thanks for the assist.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 01:32 PM) Spring Training buyout should in no way effect 2009 payroll. If it means the White Sox can't add an Orlando Hudson, I'm sure White Sox fans everywhere would say they should just ride out their obligation to Tucson. They will be making more money in Phoenix. Why not? Its $5 million coming out of the teams budget. Where else would it come from?

QUOTE (MO2005 @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 01:18 PM) Bulls**t you are going to tell me there is no more money! Are you Reinsdorf's accountant, funds holder, money guy? The answer is no..The only source you have is the economy and what the internet tells you. There is money..there always is..it just depends on the owener spending it or not! Not that you have your mind made up or anything...

QUOTE (Greg Hibbard @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 12:45 PM) I can understand people being sympathetic to economic conditions, but to be fair, revenue was just fine for the White Sox in 2008 and we averaged almost 31,000 fans in attendance, 76% capacity. Since they won the World Series in 2005, The Sox have had over 30,000 seats in the stands 3 straight years (36,000 in 2006) and while they have increased payroll, I would sincerely doubt it more than offsets their increased revenue, especially when you factor in certain aspects such as salaries being paid by other teams. EDIT: just saw the comment about attendance and sponsorships, so I guess that's a good point, but do we really expect the White Sox not to pick up other sponsors somehow? Is it fair to expect a decline in attendance this year? Absolutely, given the economic conditions. A precipitous decline? Hell no. At worst I could see it dipping to 27-28k, 2005 levels. So that is about a 10% decline, which isn't too far off of what the Sox have cut off of their payroll from last year to this, once extra costs such as the spring training buyout are included.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 12:28 PM) God I hate Bud Selig. ^^ He needs to suspend himself. He alone had the powers to fix this problem years ago. Selig hides behind the union for not allowing him to institute testing, but he convienently doesn't mention that the Commissioner of Baseball has the ability to put changes into the game, with no one else's approval, if he deems them to be "In the best interests of baseball". It might not start with Selig, but the final responsibility lies with him, as he could have fixed this at any time.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 9, 2009 -> 11:51 AM) Link In a dramatic contrast to former President Bush's town-hall meetings -- which were held almost exclusively in party strongholds, with tickets distributed primarily to supporters -- it was first-come, first-served in Elkhart on Saturday. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained on Friday: "I've watched the President do town halls from 2004 through 2008, and the audience has never been hand-picked, and neither have the questions. And we're not going to start any of that on Monday." Link http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123431418276770899.html

The Cubs could put "We have sucked for 100 years, and you idiots will still over pay to come see us at Wrigley" on a billboard, and they would still have 40,000 people there everyday.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 11:10 AM) Well, I didn't start to like her until I saw her on Charlie Rose and saw how smart she was. I say smart not like, oh hey, a Woman? But more like she didn't seem to have the same stupid news anchor opinions we hear so much, she seemed to be fed up with everything, like me. She also totally breaks the mold of the weak anchor. She regularly gets up and challenges the people and executives who come onto her program more than any other journalist I see.

QUOTE (bmags @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 10:11 AM) Seriously, I love bloombergs content but they have to get a better format, I feel like I'm watching a high school news studio. But, I'm still in love with maria bartaromo so...CNBC it is. Its dry even for someone who has worked in the industry forever. As for the other Ave Maria!

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 09:45 AM) maybe its positive spin coming from the bulls people... but from what the media has portrayed, the Lakers were never seriously considering moving Kobe. If thats true, than the only thing you can blame Pax for is not killing the speculation earlier -- because it obviously had an effect on this team early on in the year. I always understood that Kobe killed the deal. Garnett was a matter of Boston not wanting what the Bulls had to offer. I never saw anything about the Bulls turning down MN. Gasol was the only deal I saw that the Bulls actually killed.

http://books.barnesandnoble.com/search/res...RD=what+goes+up Cover Image What Goes up : The Uncensored History of Modern Wall Street as Told by the Bankers, Brokers, CEOs, and Scoundrels Who Made It by Eric J. Weiner Awesome book so far. I am almost done with it. Its great perspective from the inside, instead of from reporters who don't really understand Wall Street.

QUOTE (lostfan @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 09:21 AM) Normally I prefer CNN coverage, but their standard way of offering analytic insight is to get 4 people on a panel and have them shout talking points over each other. Either that or have some celebrity on Larry King. Pretty awesome. To be honest, that kind of stuff is why I don't watch much network news. CNBC is on here at work, so I watch that all of the time. They also usually have MSNBC on the other channel, though I like it better when they have Bloomberg.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 09:03 AM) LINK I don't now about the other networks, but MSNBC had live footage of the Geither testimony pretty much all day on the 9th. That is a pretty bogus accusation without talking about why.

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 12, 2009 -> 09:00 AM) It does seem that way, and it probably should have been that way from the start. But now it feels like an increase in size overall. Either adding the boots and hat set to the FDA or adding white coated scientists to the USDA. Sounds expensive. That's the opposite of what I want to happen, and it is more likely with separate agencies. Put together as some sort of a consumer protections agency it makes sense to me, I am sure there are some other agencies that could fit in there that I can't think of at the moment.