WCSox

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 01:24 PM) Sort of like Fox News running with a rumor from a blog about Air America Radio losing its New York affiliate. That turned out to be false. IIRC, the affiliate was being sold to another company. Before the new ownership picked up AAR, its future was certainly up in the air. No, it's actually a pretty good example. CBS didn't bother to authenticate the documents, which certainly falls into the "poor journalistic practices" category. Mary Mapes was also talking to Joe Lockhart about this behind the scenes, showing the obvious political bias in her story. The fact that CBS still stands by the independently-confirmed fraudulent documents means nothing. How many convicted murderers in Rikers still stand by their innocent plea?

QUOTE(bmags @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 12:14 PM) And yes i'm comparing Putin to hitler. Cuz hitler also seized control and corrected the economy whilst consolidating all his power and stripping away freedoms. that much sounds familiar. I can make that analogy without referring to the holocaust. There aren't that many good analogies of democratic societies being taken over by power hungry men and succeeding.

QUOTE(bmags @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 11:41 AM) i don't think this should be a criticism...i think a newspaper taking a memo thats been out for years and explaining it in a way the average citizen can understand is operating under its duty. If the memo's been out for years, why are they re-releasing the information? Which journalistic obligation does that fulfill? Not always. And yellow journalism is still a problem, as evidenced by the Rathergate scandal.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 10:52 AM) Who else, besides Frank, do you consider a potential HOF'er? I don't see Canseco, McGriff or Gonzalez making it. Nope, none of those guys will. Bagwell isn't on that list, but I think that he's only a borderline case.

QUOTE(vandy125 @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 10:42 AM) Because of all of the information that is now available, I have a feeling that we will never see a presidency in which there is not a White House "scandal" of some sort. Democrat, Republican, Independent, etc. It does not matter. As long as someone has a motive to find something to cause a scandal they will be able to do it even when it is not completely true. Unfortunately, you're probably right. We seem to have regressed back to classical "muck-raking" journalism. However, I doubt that the media would fabriate a Rathergate-esque story against a Democratic president.

QUOTE(bmags @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 09:47 AM) yes you've managed to find the most liberal poster here in controlled chaos as much as i disagree with what CCs reasons are for what he said...you completely misinterpreted him. Um, who said that I was disagreeing with CC? Did it ever occur to you that my comments were directed towards the liberal press?

One of the problems with Thome is that he never really dominated the game at any point in his career (unlike, say, Frank, Pujols, Bonds, etc.). He also lived in the shadows of Belle and, to a certain extent, Ramirez in Cleveland. His career .281 BA won't help, either. But it's definitely possible, especially if he gets to 500 HRs or more. The fact that everybody likes him works in his favor, as well. Like DA said, two or three more productive years will probably do it for him. It's going to be a question of him staying injury-free and keeping his bat speed up.

QUOTE(Controlled Chaos @ Mar 27, 2006 -> 06:35 AM) If the next president is Republican, it will be the same thing. Yeah, because the last Democratic administration was scandal-free! :rolly

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 26, 2006 -> 10:20 PM) Well, here's another one. This was only about a month and half before the invasion and it seemed obvious at that point that the UN was not on board. So no big news there. And because Saddam had been stone-walling the weapons inspectors, this isn't surprising. If he was innocent, he was certainly going out of his way to portray otherwise. I don't support the White House "baiting" other nations into a military conflict, but keep in mind that Saddam had been baiting the international community for years. So, what the NYT has uncovered is that the Bush administration was dead-set on invading Iraq a month and a half before they did so. Again, no big news. We should've taken out this clown years ago.

QUOTE(bmags @ Mar 25, 2006 -> 08:41 PM) i'm pretty much an asshole and i learned that assholes and douchebags aren't neccessarily a good mix...sometimes i rule thou.

QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Mar 25, 2006 -> 08:05 PM) Not every frat/sorority member is a douchebag but most of the douchebags I've ever met belonged to one. From my experience, there's a difference between the average Greek system people from large schools and those from smaller schools. Fewer of the ones from smaller schools seem to fall into the douchebag category.

QUOTE(Heads22 @ Mar 23, 2006 -> 10:38 PM) The superiority complex by Hawk fans, however, is a constant annoyance. And why, exactly, are we Clowns? Because your football team hasn't won a conference title or a nationally-televised bowl game since dinosaurs roamed the Earth?

QUOTE(Flash Tizzle @ Mar 24, 2006 -> 05:06 PM) A paper enscribed "Northwestern" is worth more than "University of Illinois," but why? Reputation. Professors with published material in their field and extended education select schools known for their high standards. But truthfully, is a professor with an elaborate resume and 15 years of experience any better at teaching material than someone less credited, although with 25+ years?...U of I probably dos have their share of quality professors. Professors tend to choose schools not only based on prestige, but ones with facilities and graduate students that will maximize their publication output. In several departments, U of I is in a better position to provide facilities (instruments) for professors than Northwestern because the departments are larger, with more faculty bringing in more grant money. The larger departments also mean that they hire more graduate students for TA positions. Because the university pays the graduate stipends, professors can take on more graduate students (and increase productivity in their labs) without having to use their own grant money to pay these extra students. Of course, the flip side to that argument is that "more prestigious" private schools inherently have higher-caliber graduate students, but I think that the difference in comparison with U of I is minimal. In terms of the faculty quality, you have to be a bad-ass to get a tenure-track position at U fo I. They hire the cream of the crop over there. I'd say that U of I is right there with Northwestern in science and engineering. Hell, I'd argue that their science programs are even better. But it's my understanding that Northwestern has much better law and journalism programs. Agreed. The program I was in for my doctorate was ranked #1 by U.S. News when I entered. Several faculty left the department (retirement, death, etc.) over my six-year tenure and the program ranking only went down to #2 when I left. There's absolutely no way in hell that they were even in the Top 5 at that point, and probably not even the Top 10. That's how much reputation plays into these rankings. U of I will always be ranked lower than some of the private schools simply because it's a public university. It was a very good school when I was accepted there back in the early '90s and, given that people getting 30s their ACTs aren't getting in now, it sounds like it's getting a lot more selective. By the way, I turned down a postdoctoral position at Northwestern last winter and decided to work in a lab at a "lesser" school. Rankings and reputation aren't everything. QUOTE(SnB @ Mar 24, 2006 -> 07:42 PM) Here's one of my theories: If you're wearing a north face jacket, there's a 95% chance I hate you. When you live in a place where it rains 6 days a week in the winter, you don't have much of a choice. Carrying an umbrella around everywhere become a serious drag.

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Mar 24, 2006 -> 10:37 AM) I actually liked Grace throughout his career. So did I. I was very happy to see him win at all with the D-backs right after the Cubs gave him the boot.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 24, 2006 -> 02:57 PM) Are you really serious? NU is the 12th ranked national university by US News. I wouldnt say U of I is comparable academically. Those rankings are based heavily on reputation. In terms of grant money and the overall quality of the students, I don't see a vast difference. Agreed that Northwestern is still the better school, but U of I has gotten a lot closer over the past decade.

QUOTE(RockRaines @ Mar 24, 2006 -> 02:00 PM) Easy there killler.

U of I is beginning to rival Northwestern in academics. Good for them. I'm sick and tired of seeing universities lower their standards simply to pad their bottom line.

No way in hell that this will fly over the long-run in Texas, a state where walk-in refrigerated rooms full of beer are common at gas stations.

(1) They make no effort to differentiate between designated drivers and passengers. (2) To say that problems such as people walking out into traffic and jumping off of balconies are even remotely comparable in severity to drunk-driving accidents is ridiculous and an insult to all drunk-driving victims.

QUOTE(SSH2005 @ Mar 24, 2006 -> 10:14 AM) Sure, Beane may want too much. In that case, it may not be worth making the move. But if Cruz is a "mental midget" then Thornton doesn't even have a brain. Cruz has actually had some success in the majors, Thornton has not. Cruz > Thornton. Agreed. Cruz pitched reasonably-well in his first two seasons with the Cubs, sucked in the third year (injury?), was very effective in long relief in Atlanta, and then had a disasterous year in Oakland. He's inconsistent as all hell, but has had success at the major-league level. If Mazzone could get a 2.75 ERA out of him, he has the goods and can be effective. I'm willing to bet that Coop could get reasonable numbers out of him.

One non-political/religious reason for this could be that the cost of living in America has gone up tremendously over the past decade. Why have children when healthcare costs and student loan repayments are making it difficult to make ends meet every month?

Wow, Zoom couldn't drop it. What a shocker! QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Mar 24, 2006 -> 09:11 AM) Considering you've started ignoring about half of my points . Wrong. This is a desperate attempt to bury your characterization of a 4.50 ERA as being "bad." You've said it several times already.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Mar 23, 2006 -> 09:40 PM) So citing poor statistics that are only partial, have numerous flaws, and don't support your argument is better? I cited the most recent stats. You cited zero. But here are some more complete stats for you... 2004 AL: Top 19 starters had ERAs under 4.50 (24%) 2003 AL: Top 26 starters had ERAs under 4.50 (33%) 2002 AL: Top 29 starters had ERAs under 4.50 (36%) 2001 AL: Top 28 starters had ERAs under 4.50 (35%) 2000 AL: Top 19 starters had ERAs under 4.50 (24%) Those are all fewer than last year (39%). Thanks for strengthening my argument. When they're on the DL they're not very effective pitchers, are they? Yes, there is. Look them up in the dictionary if you don't believe me. Funny, starters with 4.50 ERAs were about the best that the Sox could do back from '97-'99. They don't exactly grow on trees. Ask the Astros, who had a difficult time finding a decent #5 pitcher last year. Your arguments are beyond stupid. At most academic institutions, a grade of C+ is considered "average". Therefore, a C would be "slightly below average". That's far from "bad". You said that a 4.50 ERA was "pretty bad". Don't try to change your argument now. Yes, you've failed miserably at letting this topic die. I'll give you that. I'm very good at multi-tasking. And debunking your poor arguments doesn't take much time or energy. I'll give you the opportunity to shut up now. We'll see if you can pass my test. Given your inability to prove me wrong thus far, I'm not sure that I like your chances.

QUOTE(bmags @ Mar 23, 2006 -> 07:51 PM) no he's right, apparantly conservatives attract the irrationally sensitive folk in america these days. The more spelling and grammatical errors you make, the more Republican votes go into the ballot box. Keep up the good work!

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 23, 2006 -> 12:18 AM) The way Chef died was kind of lame. The way they seemed to respect him was cool. The way they completely ripped apart and destroyed Scientology was beautiful and made me want to stand and applaud. I'm glad that they attacked $cientology rather than Hayes, but the episode was pretty lame overall. It seemed like they were in a rush to get something thrown together. However, the very end was quite clever.