[Life in 1908]

Smallest crowd at World Series, 6,210 fans see Cubs beat Tigers -- Oct 14 in Detroit.

[DEM Primaries/Candidates thread]

Can anything that the law of unintended consequences could possibly do be worse than 8 years of Bush/Cheney?

 

I said, unintended.

 

But how about a runoff (there will be a runoff provision, right? If not, I really don't want it) between say, Donald Trump and Steven Spielberg? What a zoo.

 

[DEM Primaries/Candidates thread]

The Iron Law of Unintended Consequences would rear its ugly head if the switch were undertaken. Because of that alone, I'm leery of it.

[Rowand Day-to-Day]

He was hurt while playing tag.

[Iguchi Traded to Phillies for RP/SP Michael Dubee]

Domo arigato, Tadahito!

[Petition for Joe Jackson]

While he is guilty of having taken the money, he didn't throw any games as he put up monster numbers during the series, the best of anyone playing in it that season.

 

He took money for the express purpose of throwing the World Series. That in and of itself condemns him, in my book. His stats were good (.375BA,.957 OPS), but reading up on guys who threw games at the time there was a lot of padding of stats when things didn't matter, like bearing down when well behind or well ahead.

 

One telling thing that you don't hear much about is that in an eight game series, the Reds had three triples on balls hit to left field, that is, to Jackson. How many triples have you seen come from balls hit to left this season? I don't think I've seen two. And this was a guy who is considered a good defender, after all, "his glove is where triples go to die".

 

It's tough to admit it, but Joe sold out the Sox.

[Big 10 (11) maybe 12?]

There are five schools that make sense (in no apparent order): Pitt, Syracuse, Mizzou, Iowa State, Notre Dame.

 

Pitt - Penn State was a much bigger game than the Backyard Brawl until PSU joined the Big Ten.

 

I doubt Syracuse ever leaves the Big East, but they'd fit pretty well.

 

Mizzou and ISU probably wouldn't leave the Big XII, but they're both strong candidates.

 

Notre Dame was almost a member of the Big Ten in the 20's, but was rebuffed by the conference. Not much chance they'd join now, even though it makes the most sense in the long run. Way too much cash for their own TV contract and when they make a BCS bowl.

 

Louisville? I find it difficult to believe that the Big Ten would extend an invitation to an institution so academically inferior.

 

[For Dems only.]

The filibuster is a useful tool...as long as the media actually pays attention when its used, and thus makes sure that if a party overuses it, they actually suffer for it. But since it's only worth hours and hours of coverage when the Dems are filibustering a handful of judges, but not when the Repubs are filibustering, you know, everything...

 

Here's a letter to the Minneapolis paper from a staffer of Senator Norm Coleman, a staffer who I think is trying to win an award from the George Orwell society or something.

 

A July 25 letter that criticized Sen. Norm Coleman for voting against cloture on a recent amendment to the Senate's defense bill failed to mention some key facts.

 

It is true that Sen. Coleman does not favor the filibuster as a routine practice. He first stated his opposition to the filibuster when Democrats used it regularly to block votes on numerous judicial nominations in 2003. Coleman also has generally supported cloture votes when used to bring up a measure for debate and improvement on the Senate floor.

 

Unfortunately, since Sen. Harry Reid took over as majority leader in January, he has exploited this little-understood Senate procedure, invoking cloture more than any other Senate leader in history. Reid has now filed cloture 46 times in the first seven months of this session of Congress, compared with just 16 at the same point in 2005 or 11 at the same point in 2003 when Republicans were in control of the Senate.

 

Most important, Reid's use of cloture votes for the most part has not been to end filibusters but to avoid a full debate by taking away the rights of the Republican minority to offer amendments -- the exact opposite of what this tool was designed for. In fact, Reid is using it so often that a cloture vote is often the only opportunity for senators to express their view on any given topic, as was the case with the recent amendment to immediately begin withdrawing our troops from Iraq, which Coleman opposed.

 

Sen. Coleman will continue to support cloture whenever he can, but he will not be afraid to stand up to Senate leaders when they are suppressing debate on the major issues facing our country.

 

TOM STEWARD, WASHINGTON;

 

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR,

 

OFFICE OF SEN. NORM COLEMAN

 

So all the filibusters are Harry Reid's fault, I guess.

[Construction started on the Chicago Spire]

Ugly.

 

I'd rather let other cities build all the spacey looking stuff and just have my classic Chicago skyline.

 

A lot of the buildings in (on?) the skyline were considered hideous when they were initially built. There's the apocryphal tale of the society matron who hated the look of the John Hancock Tower so much that she bought a condo in the building. Why? So she wouldn't have to see it whenever she looked out her windows.

 

I like the Spire, but I am enamored with Calatrava's designs in general.

[Summer Reading Thread]

I read Einstein, by Walter Isaacson. Interesting. Einstein could be a bit naive at times, but he could also smell a rat when it was warranted.

 

Just finished History of the English Speaking Peoples since 1900, by Andrew Roberts. Fascinating. He's not exactly a guy I agree with a lot of the time, but it's well worth the read.

 

Also read Bangkok 8, by John Burdett. It's a murder mystery with a Buddhist twist. A fun, quick read.

[Does Owens stink?]

Why don't we get Ramirez and Reyes?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

/green

[Lindsay Lohan is in Trouble]

Ding, ding, ding.. winner.

 

Stupid people shouldn't breed. Apparently the Lohan's didn't check their mail the day that memo was sent out.

You have to have a license to drive, not to breed, alas. Unfortunately, stupid people breed every day.

[NBA Ref Fixes Games for the Mob]

Wow... Per a Stern PC "The NBA was warned about "issues" as early as Jan '05".

But Stern also said that the NBA was informed by the FBI on June 20 and not before. He denied that he knew about any betting on basketball before that.

 

He seems to be grasping at straws -- if anyone from the FBI contradicts his recollection of events, his league is toast.

[Why do you still watch the Sox?]

You may as well ask me why I wake up in the morning.

[NBA Ref Fixes Games for the Mob]

Harsh but somewhat true.

 

Harsh, yes, but that's how I feel, and I'm sure I'm not alone. The only thing I can see is that if the FBI told the NBA that they needed more time to make a case against some other people involved and would you please shut up about it -- then I understand, I guess.

 

Still, though, the NBA should have told the FBI that Donaghy wouldn't be working any playoff games, so they better get their investigation wrapped up by then.

 

Stern has a lot of work to do.

[NBA Ref Fixes Games for the Mob]

If the Association was aware since January that Donaghy was under investigation and allowed him to work games, then every fan who attended those games deserves a full refund and the entire executive offices of the Association should resign forthwith.

 

I realize that none of this will happen, but they suits in New York should realize that most of the people who were on the fence about the quality of play and officiating just jumped off the fence and are walking away. I let my partial season tickets lapse a few years ago, but it'll be a very long time before I pay for an NBA ticket, if indeed I ever do.

[NBA Ref Fixes Games for the Mob]

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines

 

Donaghy is always involved in games that have strange circumstances and outcomes

Always might be too strong, but here's Bill Simmons' take on the situation.

 

Suns fans, if you have tears, prepare to shed them now.

[Catch-All Anything Thread]

I blogged this, but I figured I'd put it here, too. If you're in a restaurant or bar and you cut yourself -- if you decide to use napkins to stop the blood flow -- throw the napkins away yourself! I don't want to deal with them!

[Republican Senator from LA]

Besides, lots of other numbers in that book. Start spouting abotu him, and the next number just may be a Dem. In fact, they did trace one to a Dem's office, but he was out of the state at the time, so it was probably a staffer. Still doesn't look good, but who knows who is next.

Agreed. There are going to be a lot more names bandied about before this runs its course.

[What happened to Home Ec?]

The writer Dashiell Hammett said that the best piece of advice that his mother ever gave him was, "If a woman's no good in the kitchen, she probably isn't worth anything in any other room in the house."

[NBA Ref Fixes Games for the Mob]

I guarantee it's worse at the NCAA level.

This response brings a question to my mind. I'm by no means singling you out, B>W, because I've heard plenty of people say the same thing, but my question to everyone is, if you truly believe that the games are fixed, why are you watching?

[Official Soccer Thread]

Is there any way to follow the Premiership online? Like, does English soccer have their own version of MLB.tv or NHL Radio?

 

If you were to put to a gun to my head right now to choose a side, I'd say Liverpool just because I go gaga over Gerrard. But I feel like that would be like an Englishman picking a team to follow in MLB and choosing the Yankees. As of right now I'm in the 'watching' stage and I'm enjoying that. I love watching Christiano Ronaldo with the ball, although I also understand he's kind of a puss and goes down a little to easy.

I think that if I were to have chosen of my own accord, I probably would have chosen City. But the guy who turned me on to the game many years ago was a Lilywhite supporter, and the rest is misery.. er, history.

 

Edited to say that I have no idea why I quoted CWSGuy and not DBAHO -- other than sheer ineptitude. Also, the English consider the South American diving to be cheating. IIRC, the English and the Yanks are the nations least likely to dive and dissent, along with the Eastern Europeans.

[Official Soccer Thread]

So I just ordered the Fox Sports package on Comcast, mainly to see the Premiership games. I'm a total soccer newb, but how does this work -- are they 'in season' right now? Are the games that Fox shows live? Any and all information would be appreciated. I'd love to be able to follow the Premiership and eventually be able to latch onto one team, but if the games aren't live, I figure that's going to be tough. Any good blogs/message boards I can follow?

As I said -- any and all information would be appreciated.

Premiership is in the offseason for about another month -- until August 11, to be exact. Pretty soon, Premiership sides will play some friendlies (exhibitions to us on this side of the pond) to get ready for their long season ahead.

 

Have you chosen your side yet? DBAHO swears by West Ham, while I swear at Tottenham.

 

There are a lot of Big Four followers -- and of course, Sox Fan 1 will cheer for any side with a couple of Serbs!

 

Following the matches is a lot more fun than a lot of folks would have you believe as well. It's an exciting game once you learn some of the nuances.

[Chertoff wants us to worry]

I sort of agree with kap (shock!) that more is being made of this than it probably ought to be. But, as the person in charge of the National response to threats, Chertoff probably should be a little more circumspect in his statements.

 

How about an answer of, "The threat alert is (insert color here), and that is appropriate for the current conditions."

 

No fuss, no muss.

[Bush commutes Scooter Libby]

I don't think it's been posted here yet, but here's one of life's delicious ironies.

 

After Marc Rich was unbelievably pardoned, his lawyer, reasonably enough, argued vigorously in the media on his behalf.

 

His lawyer's name? I. Lewis Libby!