Gregory Pratt

QUOTE(kyyle23 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 01:49 PM) This morning I decided to call the local post office from my former address to find out why I havent recieved mail for about a week and a half after I moved. So I called 411 directory assistance, a nice lady answers and asks "City and Listing?", I say "Rolling Meadows, IL, and US Postal office", a computerized click and a number is repeated to me"1-800-275-2777". I hang up the phone, and call the number. A recorded womans voice answers "Thank you for choosing Pilgrim Telephone. Pilgrim advertising will be heard after the recording. " a small click "Are you feeling horny?" *click*, I hang up the phone. Laughing to myself, I call 411 again, thinking I just misheard the recording and dialed the wrong 800 number by mistake. Same rigamarole, and the recording comes up again "The number is 1-800-275-2777". WTF? So I hang up and call 411 one more time, and this time before I could get to the automated voice telling me the number for my listing, I tell the lady on the phone what had just happened to me. She tells me that I have to talk to her supervisor so she can report the incident, I say ok and she transfers my call. The phone rings about 15 times before I hang up, and I call 411 AGAIN and this time, the recording answers "The number is 1-800-275-8777" I wonder how many people were wrongly given a number for phone sex? Since you hung up, I take it you weren't feeling horny?

Did you tell her she's gorgeous?

QUOTE(G&T @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 09:30 PM) I love that Everett and Thomas are making the same argument, yet neither has ever been seen to be a clubhouse leader. I haven't heard Rowand make these comments, not that he has necessarily been asked, but he actually contributed to the chemistry. I'd be stunned if Rowand ever made comments like these.

Carl Everett doesn't think that the White Sox can repeat? He also doesn't believe in Dinosaurs, so... In all seriousness (as opposed to fifty-percent seriousness above), I appreciate that he didn't, you know, viciously lash out at the Sox, and he's entitled to his opinion.

QUOTE(soxhawks @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 09:07 PM) I am sure if someone wanted to go on as big of a witch hunt against those two as they did Bonds, you would find the same s*** When the charges are true, it's not a Witch Hint. It's only a Witch Hunt when there's no "There" there.

QUOTE(WCSox @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 01:00 PM) Like when Walter Cronkite reported that the Americans lost the Tet Offensive? Or when Dan Rather reported that Bush didn't fulfill his military service requirement with the Texas Air National Guard? :rolly I think you're right in regard to those two incidents, mate, or to point out that they happened and were nasty examples of Incompetent Reporting on the Latter's Part and Editorializing on the Former's. But they don't point out to "Liberal Conspiracy from Within." The Tet Offensive report Killed the Johnson Presidency, after all, and Rather was forced from "Power," so to speak. That said, QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 03:56 PM) You didn't answer the question. How is reporting combat deaths of thousands of American troops not news? Or otherwise worded, how is that politically biased? Walter Cronkite 40 years ago is your example?! The "MSM" as some like to call it will report what people read/hear/see. If they fail to do that, they fail to exist. If they choose to not report certain things, other networks will, and again, they will fail to exist. Its not politics - its business. Exactly.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 06:32 PM) Yes, you would. I realize everybody hates Barry. But it would be complete and total bulls*** to punish only him for something many others have done. I just think that no one else has this level of evidence against them nor has anyone else achieved as much as Bonds. McGuire and Sosa might come close, but not in regard to the Former, and so it'd be okay for Bonds to be hung, methinks.

"Retirement" is such a meaningless word to Clemens. He's "retired" before and returned. I think a man s***s in his own nest when he claims to be on the verge of retiring and then retires and then comes back a while later. It just makes you seem like a sham, indecisive and sometimes dishonest. Money-grubbing, too. Words mean things.

QUOTE(The Critic @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 04:40 PM) I like it, it's corny but fun. If someone like Borchard wins it for a 500-footer, will he be a Transitional Champion? [/inside joke]

And it's poor PR, too, since the Scandal was several years ago...

QUOTE(sin city sox fan @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 11:17 AM) I am heading down to Arizona next weekend to soak up the atmosphere of spring training with the World Champs! (It still feels great to say that!) I'll be hitting the the games Friday and Saturday in Tucson....than heading north for "away" games on Sunday and Monday. I already have my tickets for the games and that part of the itinerary is obviously set. However, I have a few questions that I'm hoping people might be able to help out with.... 1) Whats the schedule as far as workouts in Tucson? Do they practice before the games? And is this open to the public? Also, does BP take place at TEP before games and if so, what time is this? 2) For the games in the Phoenix area, is there a standard schedule for road teams to get some work in? What time should I get to the stadiums in Surprise and Maryvale if I want to see the White Sox in action outside of the games? 3) While in Tucson, are there any bars / restaurants that White Sox players (and fans) tend to frequent? Also, any suggestions on places to visit in Phoenix? 4) Any good titty bars in Arizona? Thanks in advance to anyone that can provide answers....Go Sox! Titty Bar? I'd never heard it put that way before.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 11:07 AM) Dude, if there's a market for an item, someone will find a way to fill that demand. Global capitalism...isn't it a wonderful thing? I'm sure right now there's a company somewhere working on a cleaner and more rapid burning flag to market to folks who really want to put on a good show. Yes, Capitalism is a beautiful thing. It's even more beautiful, in a strange way, that the Muslim world spends so much time to cursing the infidels and burning Danish flags instead of finding ways to not have to s*** in holes in the ground or to keep themselves from dying of simple diseases.

I hope his family is okay, and that he's resting in peace. Fascinating man to read about. How sad his life became after he rose and fell, though, and how sad that he'd die like this.

I'm particularly fond of a few of them. As far as Listening to them Speak and reading their Speeches and that sort of thing, I'm fond of Scalia. I think he's a Monster of a Man and I despise nearly everything he stands for, but his sense of humor and sharp wits make him worthy of attention. "Some people urge a Moderate reading of the Constitution. What is that, really? Halfway between what is says and what you wish that it said?" I agree with him moderately! but I find things like that funnier than anything else. I'm fond of David Souter, but that may just be because of how much he pisses the Republicans off. I like John Roberts, because he's funny, fair and charming, I've found. Breyer is a nice, smart, able man, I think. John Paul Stevens is great. If he were half a century younger, I wish someone had made him Chief Justice. Clarence Thomas, Tony Kennedy and Sandra Day O'Connor are my least favorites. (Even though I know Sandy's gone.) Alito is up there, too, on my least liked, and so's Ginsburg. Ruth Bader just doesn't do it for me in any sense of the term.

It might have a little to do, in addition to the War in Iraq, with the spurts of violence in the name of Censorship-Against-the-Danish and God-Knows-What-The-f***-in-France. I know that my view of the Muslim world keeps dwindling, particularly after seeing things like that. You know, they don't have indoor plumbing but have ready-made access to any flag they want to burn, apparently.

QUOTE(NorthSideSox72 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 10:14 AM) It should all be routed through the FDA anyway. This particular thing, safety of food, seems to logically fall to the federal level to me - Illinois doesn't need a safety label that Indiana does not, and vice versa. Having hundreds of standards out there is an unnecessary cost to businesses. So I personally agree with the move. If a state wants to petition for a warning lable, they should appeal to the FDA. If rejected, there should be a court-based remedy to make their case, as a check against FDA beauracracy. If that remedy is missing, then that should be added. And there should certainly be a way to have all current state-level labels reviewed for addition, and the states should be allowed to continute using them until they have been reviewed. I never thought I'd say this, because it reminds me of Rush Limbaugh, but... Ditto.

QUOTE(ZoomSlowik @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 10:33 AM) God I hope that one is fiction. Carl Everett must feel like a whore everytime the Sox trade for him. "What? Not again! Can't they see I'm a Christian not a Piece of Ass?! I don't believe in One Night Stands!" "You don't believe in a lot of things, Jurassic."

I hope you guys don't mind my adding one. Nobody has to answer, if they don't want to, of course. Number X: A White Sox pitcher will win a Cy Young Award this Year. Fact. My money is on Buerhle or Garland.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 12:46 AM) Barry Bonds isn't going anywhere unless he chooses to retire. You would have to ban half the league if you were to ban Bonds. No you wouldn't. QUOTE(YASNY @ Mar 9, 2006 -> 04:53 AM) To what extent, I don't know, but I believe Selig will slap Bonds pretty hard. Suspension in works for Bonds? I think that a Suspension is the Path of Least Resistance for Selig, and I think he might be pansied into it because so many people would shriek that Bonds is no different than anyone else because they're all on steroids, or that it's in the past and doesn't matter, or that Bonds was great BEFORE he juiced up and it's UNFAIR!! to punish him severely with a ban. That said, I hope he doesn't slap Bonds but knocks him out. As an example. And to illustrate that baseball is serious about not letting s*** like this go on.

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 11:19 PM) C: "I approached Mr. Bonds about these latest allegations." J: "How did that go?" C: "Not well Jon. He ripped a phone book in half and tried to f*** a Coke machine." Jon Stewart and Rob Corddry It's eery how well they know their subjects!

My argument was never that he broke any laws, nor was it that he should go to jail, and it wasn't that a Prosecutor should or Will prosecute him for violating the Law. On a personal note, I do believe he could be hit for Perjury, but I don't think any Prosecutor would be willing to take such a difficult case on. OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson and the Recent Rapist in Chicago are clear examples of Why Prosecutors would be selective. As to that -- the issue of Criminal or Civil Prosecution -- that is all I have to add as I was not and am not urging for him to be Prosecuted. I will say, however, in response to the post by Soxbadger, where he stated: Yes, having a mind substantially more advanced than that of a Goldfish-Third Grader Hybrid, I do know the difference. That's rather irrelevant however, but I will say that in defense of the Evidence in the Book, there is apparently substantial Grand Jury Testimony and Evidence in the Book that backs up the case that Barry Bonds did a wide range of things wrong. Now, to the rest of your tirade. And, frankly, it was a tirade and an angry one at that -- with an anger that I perceived as unwarranted and unfairly directed at me, as I'm not sure what I said that would provoke such an outrage from the man who doesn't consider it an outrage that a baseball player might have broken a ton of records by using steroids. Why do I think you were furious, undeservedly so, and at me? Because of this: I was, I believe, the only one to mention Rose and the Black Sox. AND GOD DAMN, I WAS SO OFFENSIVE AND RUDE ABOUT IT TOO. LET'S SHOVE IT UP MY ASS JUST TO STICK IT TO THE MAN! I will say, first, that I consider it so incredibly patronizing that you'd go and give me the History of the Black Sox as if I haven't got an inkling of what happened. But you have indirectly bolstered my point. I will ignore your ridiculous demand that I "tell" you "how they are going to convict Bonds" because I never pushed for such a thing. However, the Black Sox confessed and the confessions disappeared, but they were still enough to warrant a Lifetime Ban. The story behind them, the claim that they had thrown the game. Besides, Shoeless Joe went to his Grave insisting upon his innocenece and lamenting the confession that he'd made, claiming it to have been false. Whether or not he was guilty was irrelevant: the currents strongly pointed to his being guilty, and so he and the others were banned. Why were they banned? Because they broke the rules, disgraced the game, and set an example that doing such a thing and getting caught will get you into trouble, no matter who you are. I believe that the same should, and will, happen to Bonds. Go ahead and crucify me for daring to argue that similar evidence against Jackson and a similar status and similar circumstance might lead to Selig making an example out of Bonds. This is all rather irrelevant. My point was that the Charge, without the Smoking Gun "necessary" but regardlessly strongly smelling of accuracy, was enough to provoke a ban on him and that a similar fate could befall Barry Bonds. Oh! What audacity! Maybe you should start getting the nails now, Badger. No thanks. I'm not taking your advice on how to argue with you. No. We're not talking about a Court of Law and I'm not a Prosecutor. We're in the Courtroom of World Opinion, and the MLB doesn't need "reasonable doubt" to ban him. But I will say that the testimony of all those involved that the Excerpt, and by extension the Book, cite, are enough to prove "reasonable doubt" to the Commissioner's Office. I'm going to ignore the Canseco reference as it's not relevant. The book, however, of Shadows, has uncovered a great deal of things. Apparently it's got a confession from Bonds' ex-girlfriend/mistress that he was doping and told her. And also, the public knowledge, that he'd assailed her several times. What is your job? Well, no. What you're talking about with stories that are "based on true stories" are "novelizations" and "screenplays based on" other stories. True stories are true stories as in "they occurred and this is my view." It isn't as though someone writes their autobiography and says, "Well, one day, I picked an apple from a tree. So, let's make a story based off of that where I pick an apple from a tree and the apple then comes to life and we fight to the apple's death!" That's just a saying. It doesn't amount to a hill of beans. If Bonds won't dispute the book, it speaks volumes about the tome's accuracy. Maybe not in a Court of Law, but that's not where we are and that's not who is going to be handling this entire affair. I will point out how snotty it is to whine that nobody has read the book and are then "jumping down" your throat when you turned around and took an angry and unnecessary tone with me for no reason aside from some silly desire to make your point in as rude and classless manner as possible, perhaps? GOD DAMN HIM FOR MENTIONING HISTORICAL BASEBALL PRECEDENTS THAT HE BELIEVES BOLSTERS HIS OPINION! "We all break the rules, it's okay, Bonds won't have anything done because it's in the past. It's nothing. Everything's fine, fellas. The book has no proof that Bonds knew he was doing roids -- why, let's give him the benefit of the doubt, and consider that perhaps he thought a growth spurt was responsible for the enlargement of his cranial cavity!" Seriously. All I said was that Bonds should get banned, that I'd pull that trigger if I were Selig, and that I think Selig is going to do that once the WBC is over. Don't jump down my throat and then claim that you're the one being abused or persecuted or whatever. I was perfectly fine and civil and, frankly, I have remained so despite some sharp and pronounced sarcasm.

QUOTE(soxhawks @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 08:11 PM) But just Bonds acording to you not Sosa, Mcguire, Giambe, and others. Steroids were legal until just a couple of years ago in baseball. Last I checked throwing a world series and betting on baseball were clear rules. You cannot kick someone out of the league just because you hate him Is there a legitimate smoking gun against those guys? I think they're pieces of s*** -- all of them -- but Palmeiro and Bonds are the ones who can reasonably be banned, particularly Palmeiro. It's a matter of proof that keeps McGuire and Sosa alive. QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 08:14 PM) And therein lies the rub. Bonds broke no baseball rule that we know of, unless they have evidence of his cheating since the rule against juicing went into effect. It sucks because I want to see none of the juicers rewarded for cheating, but in essesence it is baseballs fault for being sissies all of those years and not demanding that players not cheat. Apparently he's been lying his ass off. That's good reason. Besides, I believe the Commissioner can Ban for reasons such as, "Disgracing the game."

QUOTE(Balta1701 @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 06:52 PM) (wikipedia). Whether or not there was a guilty plea, there were admissions. Also, even beyond the missing confessions (which couldn't be entered into evidence because they were missing)...the Jurors were asked to hold to a very strict standard in determining guilt. The point stands that they were acquitted and technically not guilty of anything. My point was that there's more evidence on Bonds than there ever was on Shoeless Joe.

Yeah, well, we should've rolled straight through Canada like a Panzer through France, so...

QUOTE(whitesoxfan101 @ Mar 8, 2006 -> 05:33 PM) I enjoy debates, however I can't refute a post that has not a single legitimate fact in it. The book is written entirely based on GRANDY JURY TESTIMONY AND FEDERAL COURT DOCUMENTED INFO. So in others words, you either believe the courts, or Bonds. End of story. And then you go on to say baseball is above U.S. Law so who cares if the players are on steroids? Ugh. In addition, the idea that players are above US Law is ridiculous. Shoeless Joe was found guilty of no crime -- weren't they ALL acquitted by the Courts? -- but MLB decided it had been disgraced by the gamblers and that warranted banning. I think the same line of thinking shall take over here.