cryptique

My name's in. If I get tickets, I'll not only have to pay for airfare and hotel accommodations, but also expedited passport service (still haven't renewed mine). If 20,000,000 people are vying for 20,000 tickets, the odds are slim but not astronomical -- about 1,000 to 1. Of course, I'd assume that the vast majority of applicants plan to buy the limit of two tickets, so that may be closer to 2,000 to 1.

That's half the reason to go to Seattle in the first place. In short, the answers are "good" and "yes."

Then you're pretty talented, because they're being broadcast live.

The U.S. women won their second match of the World Cup today, 2-0 vs. Sweden, and Abby Wambach scored both goals. Nice to see they've recovered their form after getting rattled a bit by North Korea.

Disgruntled Michigan fan tries to sell allegiance on eBay

They won't look like Ticketmaster's, that much is certain.

I guess he couldn't think of anything else to say, and didn't want to write "Mikael Jorgensen just kind of ... sat there, behind the piano."

^^ Custer, post-Little Bighorn?

Certainly the Lions should.

So I decided to put my name in for tickets, but now I can't get the site to work. Anyone have better luck?

I have EEE-width feet, so my shoes are what I can find in my size, rather than what I would wear if I had unlimited choices.

Have a great one, Jen!

I like the idea. I'm not sure how well it would work, because the defense doesn't tend to huddle and so often has to adjust to the offensive set at the last second ... but at least the coaches could call blitzes without tipping off the offense from the sidelines.

The next ten that came up made for a pretty good set, so here are those: Pixies - I've Been Tired The Easybeats - Then I'll Tell You Goodbye Calexico - Panic Open String Wire - Straight Line The Beatles - I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You) Joe Higgs - Let Us Do Something Spoon - Let Me Roll With It Little Feat - Roll Um Easy Ryan Adams - 1974 Neko Case - In California

Kirsty MacColl - Innocence Jackson Browne - Rosie Crowded House - Four Seasons in One Day [live] Sand Rubies - Guns in the Churchyard David Bowie - Red Sails Paul McCartney - Mr. Bellamy Wilco - The Late Greats [live] Fred Neil - I've Got a Secret (Didn't We Shake Sugaree) The Persuasions - Let's Get Married / Sincerely Whiskeytown - Everything I Do

They probably won't ever top A Series of Sneaks for me. That said, it's a great record and is fighting it out with Girls Can Tell for my second favorite of theirs. It'll also probably be in my top 5 for the year, if not top 3.

Sue Parkway

I think it's part of the game, and if you don't want them stolen, it's on you to make them harder to steal.

My problems with fusion have nothing to do with "purity." I just don't like it. Is that OK? This thread probably isn't the place for this discussion, though. Zawinul did plenty of great work that wasn't fusion. Let people remember him for whatever part of his catalog they most appreciate. For me, it's the Adderley years.

This is a stupid rule. It's on the books, so I guess there should be some kind of (minimal) punishment for violating it, but then let's ditch it. If you don't want the other team to steal your signals, develop a better system for communicating them. King Kaufman makes much the same point in his column today for Salon.com:

si.com can't seem to let the idea of Kobe to the Bulls rest. I haven't read the Oden story yet. Mostly, I dug up this thread because I'd just mentioned in the RTT that my "bit" seems to be starting new sports-related threads. Also, because the season isn't that far away now.

Don't worry, he's only quoting me.

Don't forget about "Proctober" ... it's the month to get your yearly rectal exam!

Until I just now went to actober.com, I had no idea why they'd chosen to inflict the non-word "actober" upon us. Now that I know (or think I know) what it's supposed to mean, I'm even more annoyed than I was before.