Matthew

Just a little YouTube Old School Rap to get you in the basketball mood.

I've only used PayPal to buy things from Ebay & on-line purchases, and I've never had a problem. Very satisfied with this part of PP.

Might be a bad sign for Boston that Mussina pitched very well last night. If the Yankees get any kind of pitching in the play-offs, they'll be tough to beat. And the thing about playing the Angels in Anaheim is that there will be a ton of Yankee fans in the stands -- yuck! So it really won't be a hostile environment for the Yankees. I hate to say it, but they are looking very dangerous right now. Needless to say, there's no NL team right now that could win a game against the Red Sox or Yankees, and they wouldn't do that well against anyone else in the World Series.

It's shocking to see Gagne fall so far down in terms of quality. I was looking up his stats and when he left the Rangers his ERA was 2.16, and now it's all the way up to 4.18, his ERA pitching in Boston is 9.00 (!!!!). I can't think of a tank job this bad, that has hurt a contending team so much, in a long time.

Amazing... How do the Knicks think they can get out of this with any kind of respect? Beyond belief that this stuff is still going on. An account of yesterdays events in the courtroom. PLEASE END THIS GAME OF UGLY BALL By ANDREA PEYSER September 19, 2007 THE question hovers over every inch of the downtown court house - like an intern waiting outside a professional athlete's truck: Why don't Isiah Thomas, Jim Dolan and all the emotionally stunted chuckleheads who run the Knicks, simply leap off the roof of Madison Square Garden with nothing but their inflated egos to break the fall? End this, already! Just when you thought the sexual-harassment trial of Anucha Brown Sanders against Knicks prez Isiah Thomas - with its nonstop revelations of lusty players, easy interns, and a coach who thinks black men own exclusive rights to the word "bitch" - can't get any more painful to watch, it does. The absolute low moment came yesterday. Garden vice president Rusty McCormack, an elderly gent with a complexion the approximate shade of ripe cheese, was seen on videotape discussing how he convinced owner Jim Dolan to fire Sanders. McCormack was asked if referring to a person as "n- - - - - " was contrary to Garden policies. The correct answer would be, "Yes." Fatally, he said, "Again, it's not harassing a person. That's a pretty serious term! "They would be reprimanded and told not to refer to that person again." He was asked, again, by Sanders' incredulous lawyer - Is calling a person "n- - - - - " a violation? "No. I don't think so," he struggled. "It would not be a very nice thing to do." Oh, it got worse. He was reminded that player Stephon Marbury had referred to Sanders as a "black bitch." Was that OK? "It could be, depending on the severity of it. All that stuff is by degrees. How many times, if it's not said directly to the person. . . "The 'black' has racial overtones," he finally stammered. "And the bitch part." Lordy. The tape came moments after Garden owner Dolan, also on tape, finally, called it inappropriate for someone to call a woman a "black bitch." Then Dolan continued to run his mouth. "It's also not appropriate to murder anyone. I don't know that that's happened, either," he said with a cocky shrug. There you have it, sports fans. This pair has admitted - boasted - that they punished Sanders by taking her job. Just because she complained. Settle this thing! Zeke's rep is completely trashed.

I'm really on the fence about buying this one. Any thoughts after listening to this set for a year?

Dude! I had to google the word tranche to find out the the heck it meant!

402 for me.

What....The....Heck???????? The NBA reinstates Joey Crawford???? So much for keeping the refs under control. Stern is something else at times, this is completely messed up. Can't wait for his first Spurs game. :rmad:

Went shopping in Seattle today: Gram Parsons: The Complete Reprise Sessions. Pure Prairie League: Pure Prairie League / Bustin' Out. The Flying Burrito Bros: Anthology 1969 - 1972. The International Submarine Band: Safe At Home. Poco: Pickin' Up The Pieces. Jackson Browne: --- Jackson Browne (AKA: Saturate Before Using). --- For Everyman --- Late For The Sky I know, I know, forgive me; I'm falling for the whole 1968 - 1977 Country-Rock, Singer/Songwriter Era stuff right now.

Cool, Avery Johnson calling out his MVP. Not every day you see that in the NBA. Q. What does Dirk Nowitzki have to do this year to improve on an MVP season? A. Dirk can get better, and there are some things that Dirk can improve in that may not be basketball-related. It may be leadership-related. Dirk can get better on and off the court. And that’s why I’ve been stretching him. He’s the reigning MVP, and if he’s not willing to be stretched by his coach, then he never would have improved. So he’s willing to be stretched. And his stretching may not be necessarily on the court, but it may be in the area of leadership, and we’re willing to help him get better in that area. Not sure if it's a good idea though....

Seattle's thinking about adding Paul Westhead as an assistant coach?? First P.J. Carlesimo, now, possibly Westhead, what next? bringing back Bob Weiss?? Well, there's always Durant to watch.

Sorry, when I cook chicken I use Shake-n-Bake Original Recipe, I love it. Does that make me white trash?

Billie Holiday: The Complete Verve Studio Master Takes. Very nice. I know where to get the Complete Columbia set and I'm debating whether to buy it or not.

Get used to it, Matthew. This is an East Coast dominated BBS. Yeah, but it beats these g-d awful Mariner / D-Ray games I'm suffering through...

Even though I do, and I mean I do get sick of hearing about the Red Sox / Yankees all the time, I have to admit: it's a lot more fun breaking down a Red Sox vs. Yankee game then a Mariner vs. Devil Ray game.

No, he wasn't watching it....after he destroyed his TV.... Well, now we know how much confidence Francona has in Gagne -- none. I mean isn't the whole reason they brought Gagne to Boston was to have him pitch the 8th, then bring in Paps to shut the Yanks in down in the ninth? I thought Francona managed in panic mode last night, now, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Yankees sweep. But in retrospect, would you have put Gagme out there last night? The guy has not done much yet to instill any confidence in his ability. If EG had pitched the eighth and given up a run or two, we'd be all over Francona for putting in that chump. ...Or at least I would. Maybe Gagne will get it together before the end of the regular season, but I wouldn't count on it. And I'd run him out there a few times against TB, Tor, Bal... Meanwhile, for the first time in 10 starts CC Sabathia has a bad inning and gives up more than 2 runs in a start (while striking out a career high 13 against KC). Outpitched by Brian Bannister who deserved more than a no decision. Fortunately, ex-Indian David Riske was there to serve up a game-tying HR to Victor Martinez in the 8th and a game-winner to Casey Blake leading off the ninth. Coupled with a White Sox victory over the Angels, the Tribe and LAA are now tied for the second best record in the AL (2.5 games behind Bos). I hear what you're saying about Gagne, but why I thought it would've been a good idea to bring him in was that Boston had a five run lead, and I think that Gagne could've handled the inning with that kind of a lead. I know, the Yankees had two lefties coming up to start the 8th, but still, bring in Gagne and if he was able to handle it, that would've given him a big boost in his confidence. Besides, he did come in the 9th and didn't do that bad of a job. I just have a bad feeling about Boston after that game, but on the plus side for Boston, Manny is still out. One last thought: How can a nine inning game take 4:43 to play? If Boston doesn't win the division, or go deep in the playoffs, the Red Sox nation will be partly to blame, IMHO. How??? Well, you can't ever make a mistake as a manager anymore. IF he had brought Gagne in, and the Yankees had hit two home runs, well don't ever pitch him in Fenway again.(They still might not use him in Fenway again!)There'd have been death threats against him. So, Francona uses his 2 best relievers, and it's still Francona's fault they didn't succeed. Okajima needs rest. Papelbon didn't have enough time to warm up, (Cuz Okajima didn't get one single out)everything was Francona's fault!!! When your best guys get batted around, you tip your cap, and try to get them the next day. Instead, Francona is going to be paralyzed the next two games knowing whatever he does will be wrong if the team loses. And I didn't even get into the pressure on guys like Lugo or Renteria to succeed. Yeah, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen, sac up and all that.... well there is a point that you can reach that instead of getting a chance to excel turns into better not fail, and good things rarely happen in those situations. The Sox clearly have the best pitching in baseball, the Yankees the best offense. But, if the Yankees win this year I think it will because there is less pressure on them, of all things. Of course Francona is going to picked about on how he handled this; in the AL. what else do you judge a manager on? it's all about how they handle their pitching staff. It just seems to me that it was a sign of panic to bring Papelbon to pitch two innings -- but hey, that's baseball, like you said, today's another day. Still, the way Fancona handled the 8th wasn't one of his brighter moments.

No, he wasn't watching it....after he destroyed his TV.... Well, now we know how much confidence Francona has in Gagne -- none. I mean isn't the whole reason they brought Gagne to Boston was to have him pitch the 8th, then bring in Paps to shut the Yanks in down in the ninth? I thought Francona managed in panic mode last night, now, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Yankees sweep. But in retrospect, would you have put Gagme out there last night? The guy has not done much yet to instill any confidence in his ability. If EG had pitched the eighth and given up a run or two, we'd be all over Francona for putting in that chump. ...Or at least I would. Maybe Gagne will get it together before the end of the regular season, but I wouldn't count on it. And I'd run him out there a few times against TB, Tor, Bal... Meanwhile, for the first time in 10 starts CC Sabathia has a bad inning and gives up more than 2 runs in a start (while striking out a career high 13 against KC). Outpitched by Brian Bannister who deserved more than a no decision. Fortunately, ex-Indian David Riske was there to serve up a game-tying HR to Victor Martinez in the 8th and a game-winner to Casey Blake leading off the ninth. Coupled with a White Sox victory over the Angels, the Tribe and LAA are now tied for the second best record in the AL (2.5 games behind Bos). I hear what you're saying about Gagne, but why I thought it would've been a good idea to bring him in was that Boston had a five run lead, and I think that Gagne could've handled the inning with that kind of a lead. I know, the Yankees had two lefties coming up to start the 8th, but still, bring in Gagne and if he was able to handle it, that would've given him a big boost in his confidence. Besides, he did come in the 9th and didn't do that bad of a job. I just have a bad feeling about Boston after that game, but on the plus side for Boston, Manny is still out. One last thought: How can a nine inning game take 4:43 to play?

No, he wasn't watching it....after he destroyed his TV.... Well, now we know how much confidence Francona has in Gagne -- none. I mean isn't the whole reason they brought Gagne to Boston was to have him pitch the 8th, then bring in Paps to shut the Yanks in down in the ninth? I thought Francona managed in panic mode last night, now, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Yankees sweep.

I hope Dan wasn't watching the Yankee 8th inning on his birthday......

:party: Happy birthday Dan. I hope you throw some down today! :party:

Holy Crap! Out for the season!!!! Thank the heavens above Seattle lost the lottery. PORTLAND, Ore. -- Celebrated Trail Blazers rookie center Greg Oden, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, will likely miss the 2007-08 season after undergoing knee surgery Thursday, the team said. Doctors found cartilage damage during an exploratory procedure, and team physician Dr. Don Roberts performed microfracture surgery to repair the damage. "There are things about this that are positive for Greg," Roberts said in a statement posted on the Trail Blazers' Web site. "First of all, he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal. All those are good signs for a complete recovery from microfracture surgery." The 7-foot center is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks. A full recovery likely will take six to 12 months, the team said. The Trail Blazers will hold a 4:30 p.m. ET news conference to discuss Oden's situation. The procedure was performed in Vancouver, Wash. Seven-footer Greg Oden will spend pretty much all of his first season in the NBA on the Trail Blazers' bench. "Certainly this is a setback, but our future is still incredibly bright," Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "Is it disappointing? Yes. However, this is a great core of talent and players of strong character and will continue to be." Oden described the knee pain in an entry Tuesday on his personal blog: "On my vacation earlier this summer i got up off the couch and remember my knee having a sharp pain in it. That was about a month ago. I didn't tell anyone because i didn't want to seem like i was complaining or making excuses for anything. Plus i wasn't doing anything at the time i realized it hurt, so i figured it couldn't be anything big. "After a couple of weeks, i had to finally tell someone so i went to St. Vincent's Sports Performance (where i worked out at before draft) and got my knee looked at. That was right before i moved to Portland for good. My knee was swollen since i was there. I finally just said that i need to tell my trainer because this is not normal. We went to the doctor's the next day to get a MRI and that night me and my mom ended up in the doctor's office being told that I have to get surgery. It's a light one, just a scoop, but still it's just another setback. I would like for me to be playing and not seem like i'm a high-maintenance player, but things just keep popping up." If Oden does not play this season, he would become only the second player in the common draft (1966-present) to be selected No. 1 overall and not play in the year of his selection. David Robinson was drafted by San Antonio in 1987 but instead honored his naval commitment. This is Oden's second health problem since the Blazers drafted him in June. He had a tonsillectomy in July after struggling in two Las Vegas summer league games. Oden, despite being hampered by a wrist injury during his freshman (and only) season at Ohio State, averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds in leading the Buckeyes to the national championship game. He had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the title-game loss to Florida. The Trail Blazers were the surprise winners of the NBA draft lottery and chose Oden over Texas forward Kevin Durant, who went to Seattle. Portland opens training camp on Oct. 2, and its regular-season opener is at San Antonio on Oct. 30. Sucks to be Portland right now.

Isiah Thomas had better start looking for another job, the testimony yesterday was amazing -- in a icky, sick idiots if true, kind of way.

I should also mention the one non-Matthew post in my deleted thread: Soulstation1 was excited about the upcoming Laker season -- like we didn't already know SS1.