Matthew

That Italy vs. Slovakia game was one wild game! Exciting.

Hey, I'm excited -- Seattle now only has the fourth worse record in the AL. So things are improving. At least the Giants are staying close... PS: Q. How many Mariner fans does it take to change a light bulb? A. None. They just sit back and watch in horror as Don Wakamatsu removes the broken light bulb and then pencils it into the lineup as a DH.

If I'm the USA team, I would much rather play Ghana than Germany. Hope the score line holds...

Isn't the other-way-round? Since USA topped the group, they'll play either Serbia or Ghana? Not too sure that group D's really decided yet. All depends on tonight's games, I think. If Germany lose they may not top the group this from BBC site "Group D: Ghana and Germany will advance if they draw and Serbia draw with Australia. If Germany, Ghana or Serbia win, they go through. Serbia will qualify with a draw if Germany beat Ghana by more than one goal or if Ghana wins. Australia need to beat Serbia heavily and hope the other game ends in a draw or a big defeat or else they are out." You're right, the places are TBD after the afternoon games.

News does not sound good, at all...

Isn't the other-way-round? Since USA topped the group, they'll play either Serbia or Ghana?

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!!

What he said! What they said!

Truer words have never been spoken

Thanks Lon & Shawn: Lamentations looks like the place to start, and maybe pick up one of the Wilson produced cds.

On another note: I'm starting to get interested in Opeth. Any thoughts on where is a good place to start? On a funny note: I was in Best Buy yesterday, and the "Manager's Special" was Chinese Democracy, on sale for $1.99, and the box was full to the brim -- I was almost tempted...:blush2:

Aug 12th Hollywood, CA – Hollywood Palladium. I'm seriously considering going to this one, PT are great in concert, the one I went to in Seattle was one of the best concerts I ever attended. It helped that I was five feet from the front-center of the stage.

The White Stripes: Black Math. About as stripped down rock as you're going to get, the Hotrats only wished they were anywhere close to this. Also, I absolutely love how Meg plays the drums -- does that make me a bad person? http://www.youtube.c...eos=ccRIIf-J8Go

Oh, it would be a stunning upset if the U.S. by some miracle won this tournament. I have no illusions there. And that's kind of the point. I don't really care who wins, as long as it's good, clean, fair futbol. -- No more diving, no more feigned expressions of excruciating pain by a nicked player who is magically up and running at full speed minutes later. No more players wrapping their arms around opponents inside the penalty box on a free kick. And no more unaccountable referees. Agreed? Fair sportsmanship, in other words. That might help the game's image here. I still say the 'bashing' has more to do with the cultural peculiarities of the game outlined above than any result. Here's an example: I think the game of rugby is respected in the United States, even though we're no good at it, because it seems to be a sport that is played honestly and ruggedly, without the sort of theatrics that are all too common in soccer. Remember Argentina's "hand of God" goal vs. England in 1986? (Who doesn't?). That goal, I'm sure, was celebrated in Argentina, along with the 2-1 victory over England. And I'm pretty sure that if the United States scored a similar goal, and went on to win the game, it would be viewed with embarrassment. An unfair goal; a game not won honestly. But the result is accepted in Argentina as a proud victory. Seems to be something not right, not just, about that, doesn't there? That's the sort of difference in attitude that I'm getting at which Americans kind of scratch their collective heads over. Does Argentina really want to be proud of a game unfairly won? On this sportsmanship thing: I have never heard a Yankee fan in my life want to give back game one of the 1996 ALCS -- Jeffrey Maier is a hero! Video for those who forgot. I love Mr. Sportsmanship Derek Jeter: "I don't care!"

The Sign of the Four. It's my favorite Sherlock Holmes novel. Is the BBC TV movie with Jeremy Brett any good?

Yeah, to bad Chuck didn't win, Saga is one beautiful cd. The one WTH choice for me is Kurt Elling, I mean, what the heck??? Also noticed the ages of most of the male singers, it doesn't bode well for the future.

That just can't happen, the God I worship is one of mercy, not vengeance!

The Fox & ESPN announcers are just terrible -- guys, sometimes less talk is better.... Well you can't really expect McCarver to know that there have been so many injuries to the outfield that batting them 7-8-9 might have happened before. I mean its not like its his job or anything. As for tonight, I guess when you're hot you're hot. Now we'll see if Tampa can keep pace. McCarver job is to remind everyone that: 1. He used to play in the Big leagues. 2. He caught Bob Gibson. 3. He caught Steve Carlton. 4. He's the smartest man in the game. Come to think about it, 1-4 are also Joe Morgan's job.....

The Fox & ESPN announcers are just terrible -- guys, sometimes less talk is better....

Very sad to read about the death of Manute Bol this morning. Truly a great figure who tried his best for his country of Sudan. RIP Big Guy. Here is an article

I have MLB.tv, as I travel a lot, it's easier to keep track of things, the condensed games are very cool.

I'm thinking of getting this one also, despite the "prime Pig." I love the shows from the early 70's, especially those after Hart left the band.

5.7 ain't nothing in Fun Diego. Noticed how panicked everyone was -- reminded me of old times growing up in San Diego.

It's not just talk - the SEC Commissioner was in College Station wooing the Aggies yesterday. All the reports I've read have the Aggies torn (very torn - supposedly there's a razor thin margin of votes leaning one way or the other within the A&M Board of Regents) between moving to the PAC 10 and the SEC. The PAC 10 Commissioner has also been in College Station this weekend - in addition to hitting the other "desirable" Big 12 South schools (Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Okie State). I'm sort of torn myself - there's alot of history and tradition between A&M and Texas - hell, even our fight song is essentially about our hate for the Longhorns), and would like to see that maintained on into the future, with conference implications (read - we should move with UT to the PAC 10). On the other hand, we've always been in Texas' shadow, save for a brief period in the 80's and 90's where we really dominated them in football. Moving on to the SEC would allow us to chart our own course, out of their shadow. It would be a tougher challenge, football-wise, moving to the SEC, but I think it may be the better choice. This *IS* all about football, not the other sports. That's why Kansas, despite being a powerhouse basketball program, isn't being pursued by either the PAC 10 or the SEC, but probably the Mountain West. Texas A & M to the SEC makes a whole lot of sense to me. I'm not dumping on the states of Texas or Oklahoma, but geesh, I've lived in Cali all my life, I could care less about Texas sports, in fact, I still think of the Arizona schools as "the new comers" to the PAC 8. Someone on ESPN was going on and on about how Austin is more culturally West Coast -- hey, it's in Texas, that's all we know out here. I'm all for the West Coast staying West Coast, but $$$ rules college sports now (as if it didn't before).... Supposedly, the rumor is that the administration at A&M want to go SEC, while the athletic department wants to go PAC 10. We'll see who wins that argument, but it will probably all come down to $$$$$