Balta1701

QUOTE(KWs OK for Me @ Jan 23, 2006 -> 12:19 PM) Seattle did a whole lot more than simply "throw 2, 3, or 4 guys at Smith." They were able to do something that the Bears were unable to do, get to the QB. Seattle showed a great ability to pressure Delhomme without needing to send a blitz. Their front four was able to constantly collapse the pocket and reduce throwing lanes and get to Delhomme (very similar to what the Bears did the first time they played the Panthers and held them to 3 points). They were at a huge advantage though because they knew full well that the Panthers couldn't run the ball. If their front 4 focused entirely on rushing the passer...because of the lack of any talent remaining at RB for the panthers, they were going to stop the run anyway, so they could focus all their energy on disrupting Delhomme. Stick Foster or even Goings in there and suddenly those linemen have to both be concerned about stopping the run and gettign to the QB, and since you wind up moving in different directions to do those 2 things, the job for a d-lineman becomes far more difficult.

QUOTE(Jordan4life_2006 @ Jan 23, 2006 -> 12:46 PM) The 1987 Bulls were probably just as bad, if not worse, than these Lakers. Jordan was also 24 in 1987. Kobe is currently 27, with significantly more experience in the league than Jordan had then also.

Let's add 1 more detail to this budget talk...it may very well be possible for the White Sox to operate in a deficit for 1 year or more. However, we're not talking about just putting a couch on a credit card here...we're talking about multiple millions of dollars in deficits. You don't get those credit lines all that easy...you have to offer something up. The ownership of the White Sox is in a place where their main assets are the White Sox (and the Bulls of course)...they don't just necessarily have a lot of cash lying around to cover operating in a $10-$20 million hole year after year after year. If they were to take out some sort of loan to allow for improvements of the team this year, using some share of their equity in the team...at some point, they would have to find a way to pay that loan back, unless they had more significant cash reserves than I know about. That basically means that in order to try to win even more this year...they'd have to be willing to cut costs in the future. But if they cut costs significantly in the future to pay back the expenditures from today...then through the cost-cutting, they may very well destroy some of the growth of the fan base accomplished by the winning. Operating in a deficit is practical if you have large cash reserves to finance the deficit, and you expect revenues to grow in the future to the point where they would be able to cover both the increased costs and the repayment of the debt...which simply can't happen here, as the stadium is only so big. We're not talking about a government here which can simply print money.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 22, 2006 -> 01:33 AM) When the terrorists take the words, or at least the spitit of the words, from a Democrat to use for their jihad, then maybe that said democrat should STFU. Just a thought. Osama Bin Laden...2002. When the terrorists take the words, or at least the spitit of the words, from the Republicans to use for their Jihad, then maybe those Republicans should STFU.

American Research Group: Do you approve of the job President Bush is doing? 36%: Yes. (Yeah, I know I'm the guy who always talks about the stats, and there's a finite probability that he's actually at 39% or so...but 36%...yeesh, that's roughly the %age of self-identified Republicans in this country)

This actually illustrates a very interesting part of our health care system...doctors aren't exactly required to give patients full information about their conditions. In many cases, the only way a patient can get full information about their treatment from the doctor is to in fact file a malpractice suit, simply to make use of the disclosure requirements of the courts. It's disturbing...but that's how the law is written right now. All she wants is the information on her case.

To answer the question posed in the title...this is one possible future for Wal-Mart, if the employer-provided health care system continues in this country, and is mandated by law in states/the whole country for certain employers...and if no government action is taken to reform the health care system to hold costs down at any point...and if people aren't willing to just, you know, fall ill and die.

And yes...the Bears plan for the Panthers was absolutely moronic. If you have a pro-bowl corner on your team and you're facing an MVP caliber receiver...they should be matched up every play, and the corner should probably still get help, exactly like the Seahawks did. The Bears also got in trouble though...when their front 7 couldn't stop the run.

Carolina was doomed probably the week before when they lost foster...but certainly doomed when they lost Goings. How many teams can survive a playoff game with their 4th string running back as their only weapon on the ground? How woudl the Bears have done if they lost Jones, Benson, and Peterson? Remove Parker, Bettis, and Staley from the Steelers? At that point...the Panthers simply had no skill left in the running game, and the guy just slammed into the pile, got 1-2 yards, and left Delhomme on a 3rd and 8 or so. If the Panthers couldn't run...the Seahawks could just drop several people back to double or triple cover Smith, because they didn't need the extra people up front, and their D-line could just go straight for Delhomme. Losing your running game is a recipe for disaster for almost every team, but especially so when you're playing a very good team on its own.

QUOTE(WilliamTell @ Jan 23, 2006 -> 09:46 AM) I'm glad some people are mentioning older names like Wilt and Oscar Robertson. The Big O is probably one of the most under-rated players that ever played the game. I think the golden era in the NBA is the late 80's-early 90's but the a lot of the guys that were playing in the 60's could take on players of our generation. Personally I still feel that it's almost impossible to say that "This player from x generation could take this player from y generation" just because the training regiments and athleticism have changed so dramatically in the past few years. Statements like that always bug me. Who knows...maybe if Wilt or O were 23 years old now, their bodies wouldn't hold up to a heavy lifting and training schedule as well as some other folks, and they'd wind up sitting on the bench injured a lot. It's been known to happen to very talented people these days already.

Has anyone yet suggested that we now may actually have evidence of senility setting in on the part of Wilson and Levy? Just to stretch my memory, can someone remind me of where Jauron coached before he was with the Bears?

Isn't there some irony built directly into saying "1 prospect is twice what another prospect was" if the other prospect was a pretty major disappointment? 2 times zero is still zero. 2 times a very small number is still a very small number.

Since the thread opens with excerpts...Here's an excerpt responding to his TV program. I'd talk more...but have only like 10 minutes before I have to be upstairs, and this is IMO a very complicated issue, much moreso than the simplistic explanations of Stossel.

QUOTE(FGarcia34 @ Jan 22, 2006 -> 09:13 PM) From the Philly Inquirer: Officials from around the majors say that the pitching-rich Chicago White Sox would deal righthander Jose Contreras, who pitched brilliantly for that team in the second half of 2005. There are indications that the White Sox like Bobby Abreu but would have trouble taking on his salary as their payroll has climbed about $20 million and is closing in on $95 million. Screw Payroll, lets add a gold glove outfielder and a hell of a player. He's a hell of a player...but I still say that the gold glove doesn't mean that much when Jeter's winning them...and that's a ton of money to give up. A metric f***ton of money even. I would have trouble disliking having Abreu...but given that we still need to sign #56 to a 20 year deal...

QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jan 22, 2006 -> 06:10 PM) That is a great, fun movie. Im not really sure how historicily accruate, but who cares? Two snipers going back and forth, awesome flick. The basic plotline is actually very accurate. They embellished a little with the relationship stuff I think, and included the normal Hollywood "Communism doesn't work and here's why" stuff...but the story itself is actually very true. During Stalingrad, the Russians made one of their snipers a propaganda toy, the guy killed over 300 Russians or something, and the Germans sent the top instructor from their sniper academy to kill him. The duel dragged on for weeks...eventually at one spot, the guy accompanying the Russian sniper lifts his head and is shot immediately by the German...revealing the German sniper's position. The Russian wins at that point.

On the Kobe/Jordan thing...not only was Mike playing in a different Era...but I don't know if Mike had to put up with this bad of a supporting cast at any point after his first couple seasons in the league. For his best years...he actually had people to feed, so even on games where he'd go off for 55-60...he'd still pass the ball because it was just a more high percentage shot.

QUOTE(greg775 @ Jan 22, 2006 -> 08:24 PM) Do we have any options besides Anderson? I hope he starts and is great I just wondered who is his backup. It begs the question. is this guy going to be great this year or will he have similar or worse numbers than Jeremy Reed had his first full season in Seattle? Reed didn't hit for average and didn't knock in runs, and never got on base, other than that, he was an all-star. My other question: Do you think Jenks will shine this year or could he be lousy? If Bobby Jenks remains healthy and listens to his catchers...he may not be the best closer in the league, but he will be a damn good one. If you have a 99 MPH + heater and a solid curve ball to go with it, and maybe an occasional change or slider...if you can throw the pitches for strikes, and you listen to your smart catchers...it will be physically impossible for him to be a complete failure. He could do a ton of things wrong and that third digit on the speedometer would save his ass in a lot of cases. If he does a lot of stupid things, like walking people or shaking off AJ, or his arm gives out, then he could get himself in trouble. But if he acts like a big league player , like he did last year...his arm will make it hard for anyone to beat him without a lot of luck.

QUOTE(Rex Kickass @ Jan 22, 2006 -> 01:24 PM) That's not how the Senate works. It's not that CT would elect a Republican Senator, its that the Republican Governor would appoint a Republican Senator who would finish Lieberman's term. So CT would NOT be getting what it votes for, by definition. Well, he would be replacing Liebermann...

QUOTE(nitetrain8601 @ Jan 22, 2006 -> 08:00 PM) Oh yeah, Dick Jauron is going to be the next coach of the Buffalo Bills. As a Bills fan...let me be the first on this page to say... GOD BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP ING BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP SON OF A BLEEP BLEEP ITY BLEEP OF ALL THE MORONIC BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP WITH A PILE OF STINKING, WET, FRESH BAT BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP. Well...Belichek was a total failure in 1 city before he got to New England...so I can always think very very wishfully...but BLEEP BLEEP.

Xie Xie Nimen dou! (Thanks everyone!)

The NYT has taken a look at the ABC Show "Welcome to the Neighborhood" which was supposed to air last fall...a reality show where a bunch of non-traditional families and people move into a predominantly white, Conservative neighborhood. That show was canceled about 10 days before it was supposed to air, with ABC/Disney eating the production costs. Today, the NYT is alleging that ABC canceled the show because Disney was worried about evangelical groups boycotting "The Chronicles of Narnia" because the gay couple in the show appeared normal, healthy, and well, American. In fact...the show actually convinced a man to begin to accept his estranged, homosexual son. It's worth reading the whole article...lots of details that would just be too insanely long to excerpt.

Moore replies.

QUOTE(YASNY @ Jan 21, 2006 -> 09:35 AM) Easter is not a celebration of his death. It's a celebration of his resurrection. That's what was so 'twisted'. Sorry man, gimme a break...been a while since I've set foot in a church. I probably burn when you throw holy water on me.

QUOTE(Reddy @ Jan 21, 2006 -> 10:24 AM) do you not realize that MOST dems dont like hillary? edit: and as soon as you can substantiate your claim about a liberal media then i'll give it to you. until then i'll sit back, watch fox, and laugh at the absurdity of it all.

QUOTE(EvilMonkey @ Jan 21, 2006 -> 09:30 AM) So I guess Jeffords was a sellout also, eh? Of course he was a sellout...he switched parties almost entirely because of the fact that Daschle offered him a plum spot at the head of a committee. He was fine with sticking around as a "Republican but not really", until it got to the point where he could get maximum reward for switching - i.e. a nearly divided Congress.