cryptique

I attended two days of matches at Soldier Field in '99, but didn't get to any of them in 2003. It's not the same without Hamm and Foudy and Fawcett and Milbrett and Chastain, but this is another damn good team. I think the Americans' main problem is that the rest of the world is already starting to catch up to them. I mean, who cared about German women's soccer before 2003? Now they're terrifying. And North Korea? WTF? Where did they come from? That's OK ... makes for some exciting matches.

I said it before and I'll say it again: the Bulls don't need Kobe Bryant.

I watched most of the second half of the U.S.-North Korea match this morning, and I have to say, the Americans were fortunate to survive with a draw. The North Koreans were relentless. Hope Solo made a terrible rookie mistake on the first Korean goal (I don't care how wet it was, as a former goalkeeper myself, I know there's no excuse for that), but she redeemed herself somewhat with a few terrific saves later in the match. The best thing to happen all day for the Americans was Nigeria managing to tie Sweden. Also: Germany 11, Argentina 0? Are you kidding me? As for EURO 2008 qualifyin

obit I know him mostly for his work with Cannonball Adderley. Jazz fusion pioneer Joe Zawinul dies at 75 VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Jazz legend Joe Zawinul, who soared to fame as one of the creators of jazz fusion and performed and recorded with Miles Davis, died early Tuesday, a hospital official said. He was 75. Zawinul had been hospitalized since last month. A spokeswoman for Vienna's Wilhelmina Clinic confirmed his death without giving details. His manager, Risa Zincke, said Zawinul suffered from a rare form of skin cancer, according to the Austria Press Agency. Zawinul won widespre

It was definitely one of those "I remember where I was when..." events. Hard to believe it's been six years already.

I appreciate his votes against the USA PATRIOT Act, the Iraq War Resolution, and the Military Commissions Act of 2006, but I disagree with him on far too many of his other positions to ever consider voting for him. He may be a rabble-rouser among Republicans, but he's still a Republican. Even if there's no other good reason to do so, I'll be voting for the Democrat in 2008 because I'm terrified by the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court. There are other reasons, but if I had to reduce the next presidential election to a single issue, that would be it. Also: your post, being your first

Yup.

Jeezus Mulletheaded Christ on a Skateboard, all someone did was make a prediction that didn't include your precious Yankees! Get over it already! I love it when Yankees fans get defensive.

Dammit, Chris, I'm serious. I'm closing this fucking thread if there's any more talk of the S-word. Keep that shit in the other thread.

They're 8th in the AL in team ERA. The Red Sox are first, the Indians are 3rd, and the Angels are 4th. What?!!? They have the # 1 offense in the AL, by several measures -- runs per game, total runs, team batting average, total home runs, team on-base percentage, team slugging percentage, adjusted OPS, and runs per game at home (and they're second in runs per game on the road). That's why they're four games up in the wildcard, 5

So, no one's supposed to predict an ALCS without the Yankees? For much of this year, the Yankees' pitching was terrible. It's not unreasonable to argue that it still is terrible. An overly sensitive Yankees fan ... isn't that an oxymoron?

Probably.

Bad news for the Tigers ... Bonderman may be gone for the rest of the year.

Since page one of this thread, there have only been about 12 posts (out of ~70) that weren't about steroids in some way. The last non-steroid-related post was on page 3. You can do what you want in this thread, but it had become clear (to me, anyway) that if anyone actually wanted to talk about baseball, a new thread was needed.

Ruined for me. Y'all go on ahead.

All right you people, it's time to talk actual baseball again. It's pennant race time! No steroid/HGH/cheating talk in this thread. Keep that stuff in the other MLB thread, where it belongs which has been sadly tainted by such talk. I think five of the six eventual division winners are currently ensconced in their rightful places. To my mind, only the NL Central is still up for grabs, and my pick to take the division, the Cardinals, haven't really looked like they want it over the last few games. The Cubs are faltering, the Brewers are surging, but will it stay that way? I just don't know.

I guess I need to participate in this thread more and develop my reputation a bit ... I've been advocating for this album for a while now with no discernible response, but Kyle mentions it, and suddenly people pay attention. Hey, whatever gets people to check it out!

I doubt it. Despite getting spanked yesterday, I think Notre Dame has found themselves a quarterback. I hate to say it (because I loathe Notre Dame) but Clausen looks pretty good already, and he'll only get better. I certainly won't be putting any bets down on Michigan next week.

Yup. Well said. I was a latchkey kid from first grade on (age 6), often spending multiple hours on my own at home (though most days it was less than two), so in some cases that kind of arrangement works out fine. But that was 1974 or so, and we lived in a safe neighborhood where we knew most of our neighbors (and trusted them at least enough to be able to help me out if needed), and I was more mature intelligent than the average six-year-old, so my parents made the calculated decision that I'd be OK at home alone for short stretches so long as I knew who to call/what to do/where to go if tro

Me neither, as far as that goes ... but he's an even better drummer than he is a frontman.

If there were about twelve more hours in each day, I would really think about this. As it is, I'm barely able to keep up with everything I need to do during the twenty-four I'm allotted.

But they are not receiving such votes, and that was quite clearly not his sentiment.

I have to say, if anyone could re-create a reasonable facsimile of the John Bonham sound, it may well be Dave Grohl. Such a fantastic drummer ... I'm kind of sad that he's spent so much of the last decade standing out front with a guitar.

Yup, sounds like the pit. Should be just left of center.