Drew

My brother and I are thinking about doing a road trip as well. I went to Anaheim on 5/24, Buehrle's 10-inning game vs. Colon, and for Game 3 of the ALCS. I'm planning on going down there when they come back through town this coming season. I'm thinking about heading up to Seattle when they play there, or later on this summer flying back to Chicago and doing a driving trip with my brother to Detroit and NYC, with a stop in Cooperstown, and maybe catching games in any city that is along the way on the way back.

I've been to: Old Comiskey New Comiskey Wrigley Field Jacobs Field Miller Park Kauffman (formerly Royals) Stadium Angel Stadium Dodger Stadium SBC Park I spent a year living in Minneapolis and never actually made it to the Dome to see the Sox on a road trip, which now I kind of regret. However, the place was just such a depressing dump in the middle of an otherwise pretty nice downtown--it looks like the Michelin man fell over dead from a heart attack in the middle of the city--I had very little desire to spend money at a place like that. Baseball should not be played in a warehouse. It was built in '82 and politicians and fans alike have been in want of a new stadium for the Twins for almost as long. SBC Park, hands down, best new park I've been to. Right in downtown, McCovey Cove, they just did everything right with this ballpark. Miller Park has the best food, and they've got High Life on tap, big points for that, and Bob Uecker's broadcast can be heard all throughout the concourse during the game. The Jake is a nice park as well. Solid neo-classic design. Angel Stadium is all right, comfortable, but come on, Panda Express? I suppose it is OC, after all. I love Dodger Stadium. Built on the cusp of the concrete donut era, they really hit the mark. The place is immaculately maintained, and it's only about five exits on the 5 from my house. As a kid, I went to games at Wrigley almost as often as I did to games at Old Comiskey. And I enjoyed myself at both places, although I always was a Sox fan. New Comiskey did open to rave reviews as it was the first new ballpark since the Metrodome, IIRC. It benefitted from a lot of fanfare. However, when Camden Yards opened in 1992, New Comiskey's reviews turned sour. It was a place plagued with good intentions, like the brick exterior designed to be reminiscent of Old Comiskey before its whitewashing (as a kid, I remember thinking Old Comiskey looked like a big Pepperidge Farm coconut cake), but this beautiful façade was suburbanized by that stupid blue roof and silly green glass windows--the ballparks of old all have a skeletal quality to their architecture, that's part of the aesthetic. This looked like an office park. What's more, all of this is obscured by huge pedestrian ramps. The retort from the architects who built New Comiskey was the lack of funding necessitated a the corner-cutting that led to many of the design decisions, but part of good design is making due within the parameters you're given. But I remember for years hearing about the new Sox park and how Reinsdorf wanted a modern marvel on the level of Royals Stadium, which if you want to talk about sterile... I think the new renovations have done a lot for New Comiskey. I think the black girder work along the upper deck is more spartan than the blue roof and the all-white look of the outfield. But when I look at Camden Yards I can't help but think that's what New Comiskey should have been.

I'd like to go, now that I'm a drivable distance.

QUOTE(Sox Hustler @ Nov 11, 2005 -> 11:05 AM) It sucks to pass by on a player as good as him but sometimes its better not to have a guy like him...That sounds a little weird. Anyway, oh well. Not weird, unfortunate for both team and player in question. The Eagles are going through a spat with Terrell Owens. Different reasons, same principle.

Really, there are only two ballclubs that have a comprehensive Nationwide fan base, and those are the Yankees and the Cubs. The Cubs are owned by the Tribune Company and have been on WGN forever, so they have decent Nationwide coverage, and yes, they owe a lot of their continued box-office draw to their park. The Yankees have fans the same reason Notre Dame does--over the long haul, they have had a tradition of winning. They're in the media capital of the world, so they benefit from that exposure. The Red Sox ride on the coattails of their media exposure because of their intertwined history and storied rivalry. As such, the media force-feeds the rest of us this Yankee-Red Sox lovefest. Maybe they're planning to make foie gras out of my liver. What I really found funny was during the postseason reporters co-opted the term "White Sox Nation." It'd be great if there was a White Sox nation, but I think we're more of a city-state. Not that I care, because this has been my team my whole life. They weren't even trying on dead-air filler, though. They just took all of the Red Sox chatter and substituted the word 'White' for 'Red' on the teleprompters. There was the 'White Sox Nation', the 'Curse of the Black Sox', and a whole bunch of other cockamamy s*** coined by lazy-ass producers.

My experience with replicas is the fabric they're made from doesn't hold up to stains, wear and tear, or washing like the authentics do. I've had a few replica baseball and hockey jerseys over the years by different manufacturers and they've all been disappointing. None of them were the current makes by Majestic, though, so YMMV. If you're worried about color bleeding or fading, machine wash cold and then hang dry. I've got an authentic Blackhawks white jersey back when CCM still made them (and Roenick was wearing the 'A') that I machine wash normal cycle and usually hang dry, never any problems. It's close to 10 years old and no fraying or pilling to speak of. I'm far from certain but I don't know if the pros get their stuff dry-cleaned. Then again, since most players have 4-5 uniform sets, they may be able to afford the time turnaround.

Exactly. I'm a White Sox fan. I have far too much to be excited about to give a s*** about how Cub fans or their resident braintrust who we'll call Jay Mariotti are downplaying it.

Count me out of the Cub fan/Sox fan Holy War. It's stupid. From all sides.

QUOTE(BlackBetsy @ Nov 6, 2005 -> 09:32 PM) Not when it comes to making CDs. Only when you are talking about performances. If you want to copy someone's recording of a song, you need permission. If you want to "play" (perform) someone's recording of a song, you don't need permission. There is no general performance right for sound recording copyright owners (the exception being on-line streaming and other digital performances). You are correct, including "Thunderstruck" on a DVD would entail royalties to AC/DC and their record company. Nobody here is disputing that. Licensing fees vary dramatically based on circulation, type of medium, per-unit cost, number of times and amount of the song that is used, as background or foreground music...a whole slew of variables are involved in calculating what it would cost to buy rights to music for use in a DVD. Technically, RIAA requires BMI and/or ASCAP licenses for DJs and Venues to play copyrighted music recordings for an audience, and a similarly comprehensive list of variables is used to arrive at the cost to obtain such a license. While a lot of entertainment venues and DJs themselves are small enough operations to make due without adherence to RIAA guidelines, you can bet your bottom dollar that a venue the size of a Major League ballpark is far too big to fly under their radar, and they do probably pay some sort of annual licensing fees.

Art Director here, so I'll throw my hat in the ring... Interesting idea, although the players behind the skyline and how they are treated makes them look kind of like cardboard cutouts with the shadow treatments used. The work itself is pretty clean, though, so that's a plus. Not exactly wallpaper, but I've thought about doing a series of portraits similar to my sig image. The Count and El Duque would probably be my next couple, although I'm open to requests if anyone has one.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Nov 4, 2005 -> 02:12 PM) THe seven dollar one? I got mine at the local Barnes and Noble yesterday. You should try there first although you may be on to somethign with it being regional When I was living in Chicagoland last year, I picked up the Red Sox commemorative SI. Now that I'm living in LA, I haven't seen the commemorative SI anywhere out here. Any fellow Southern Californians know where I can go in LA county to take one of these beauties home with me?

These are what are important to me: Got it: ALCS Program Game 3 ALCS Ticket Stub One set unopened red ThunderStix World Series Program Game 1 World Series Ticket Stub Chicago Tribune Section 1 and World Series special section; 10/23/05 Need it: White Sox Authentic road gray jersey with World Series patch (I'll be getting #12) Sports Illustrated Commemorative Edition. I got the Boston Red Sox' edition last year while I was living in Chicago, but I've not yet seen the Commemorative SI out in LA. Chicago Tribune Section 1, 10/27/05, framed. You can get the Sun-Times if you want, but since I really never liked reading it, I don't bother, but I did manage to collect all of the '85 Bears poster pull-outs when I was a kid. Get whatever will be sentimental to you. The programs and ticket stubs say that to me because I was at those games.

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Nov 3, 2005 -> 08:12 PM) Thank you, you are awesome. quite welcome, sir.

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Nov 3, 2005 -> 05:49 PM) The one thing I really want is the Chicago Tribune of last Thursday, but I don't see any way to get that. I saw an 800# on chicagotribune.com that advertised reprints and framing, but in my searching for that number again, I have come up dry. I'd like that under glass myself. EDIT: "To purchase professionally printed and framed archival copies of front pages from the Chicago Tribune or Redeye, you can call 877-282-1121." http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...oll=cs-ctsports

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Nov 3, 2005 -> 02:28 PM) Yeah, like in game 2 when they put him in with the game tied in the 9th. Or in game 4 where he came in with the game tied in the 8th. I was speculating more on Garner's bullpen picks in Game 3. He also overlooked some favorable pinch-hitting matchups like Orlando Palmeiro vs. El Duque. I'm not complaining, a win is a win for us.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Nov 3, 2005 -> 11:11 AM) Like Steve said: I also think the Brewers are more than happy with Carlos. It's not like keeping Pods and Viz was going to get them to the Series. They got a VERY good power hitter who has grown into an adequate-to-good left fielder. Congrats to CLee on his Silver Slugger Award! This all goes back to KW's trading philosophy of 'giving up something to get something.' He's always been about fair trading, which ups his dealing equity in the league. Both sides are happy, CLee and his Silver Slugger, us with our Championship bling. Mutual success.

Funny, but also foretelling of how the Astros seemingly gave up on Brad Lidge in the postseason.

QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Nov 2, 2005 -> 09:10 PM) Wyoming is apparently neutral in this debate, because apparently, there are no computers in Wyoming. nor in Hawaii.

Cheers Marty for outing another ignoramus. Well-written, potent, eloquent, and all-encapsulating of our righteous discontent. Be that as it may, it's taking candy from a baby--Fumelli didn't have much original to say, just regurgitated tall tales from ESPN. Bumpkin easily toppled.

Marte - dealt El Duque - bullpen Frank - injured Willie Harris - bench Manny - Anaheim

The Eastern Sports Promotional Network puts Cleveland over us. Not at all surprised. It's a matter of geography--Cleveland is closer to the edge of ESPN's scope of New York and Boston. Seriously, they couldn't shut up about the Yankees and Red Sox even after they were eliminated from the playoffs. "The White Sox have just won four straight to win their first AL pennant since 1959, let's cut to Yawkey Way and Johnny Damon's hairstylist."

QUOTE(bmags @ Oct 30, 2005 -> 06:09 PM) you wouldn't have thought randy johnson was a white sox fan when he was declining trades left and right

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Oct 30, 2005 -> 03:58 PM) It'll probably be similar to what they have now with the flags with just the year number on it. You never know though. JR might spice it up like he did with the Bulls banners after a year in which he has every single player's name that was on the team including IR. They will also be doing the ring ceremony too if they follow what most teams have done in the past on opening day. I think you still have a decent chance of getting opening day tix. You're just going to have to get them on the day(within in a couple of days) they are released intstead of being able to wait a couple of days or so. I can't wait. I definately can't miss break my streak of 5 consecutive OD's. I'll flex a little bit of my graphic design geekery here... I think that had to do more with the fact that around that time, the Bulls and Blackhawks were moving to the United Center and it was part of the trappings of their new home. Also, listing 12 names of a basketball team around the perimeter of a banner that will be viewed as a stationary position from a much shorter distance is a totally different proposition than a much smaller flag that flies in the outfield, and about twice that many names. They've updated the flags a few times at new Comiskey. When it opened in 1991, the team logo at the time of the championship was centered on a white flag between the year (as in 19-Old English Sox logo-59; 'American League Champions' along the bottom). These were pretty, but a little too much fine detail to read from, say, Section 534. A few years later, they went to bigger flags set in IIRC, Eurostile bold--really bold, squarish, futuristic--with just the year from edge to edge and the championship below it and a black border. I thought these were too spartan. I remember being at SoxFest '94 (I was 16), and unveiling the 1993 Division flag, which is the style they currently have, simple, sufficient block lettering.

Last off-season, I had hoped that KW would have gone for Troy Glaus at third, and/or Cabrera or Renteria at short. Then again, this was also around the time I was sending my Christmas List to Santa. It also happens that all the repressed memories I had of E-5s and E-6s of the Sox infield in 2004 mainly involved Jose Valentin. He would be a good bench player if there was a salary position that could be bankrolled for pinch hitter, but don't let this man put on an infielder's glove. I was cautiously optimistic about Carlos Lee for Scott Podsednik. I went to a Brewers game at Miller Park last June and saw Pods get an inside-the-park home run (ok, fine, triple + E-9) and was impressed with what I saw. I had doubts about the Count and El Duque. They both smelled like Loaizas to me. But of any Major League team, the Sox had the most productive off-season, did the most to rebuild their team, and thought that if they stayed healthy they could win the division. Big if, considering the past couple of seasons. It was a little much to say I thought the Sox were done for when Frank went down to injury (again), but with how soft the AL Central has been, I didn't exactly like the Sox' chances at a wildcard, either.

I think the main problem is that SNL's writing has really degenerated over the years. Skits go on about twice as long as they need to, with no payoff. They've also had a pretty shallow talent pool of a cast in the past few years. I don't even think Will Ferrell is funny most of the time, and 'most' being outside of Anchorman, Robert Goulet, the Cheerleaders, and the Cowbell skit. However, I'd love to see Scotty's cameo on the show. I don't have Tivo or even decent reception at my house. Anyone have clips to share?