Why wouldn't the Dodgers offer Saito something like that contract, if they were willing to offer him about the same guarantee? Where's the risk?

I'm tapping Dodger Thoughts as the early favorite for "Best Weblog About Politics".

How can I find Looper's BABIP against? He sure does not strike many out 108K/199IP, but does not walk many either, 45 last year.

I'll miss Sammy so much. And that slider will remain as one of my favorite pitches of all time.

Understanding (and in fact, appreciating) the "injury risks" associated with Sammy and Penny, in my opinion it seems like we are doing well in the area of losing pitchers. And are doing equally as well in the area of not doing anything to replace them.

12.5 to Saito, Smoltz and Penny, nice. I would think we have at least that kind of money for god knows what but then again each day as another pitcher gets signed it makes me wonder if we really do.

12.5 to Saito, Smoltz and Penny

Or roughly what the Dodgers pay each season for Ja(y)son Schmidt.

On an unrelated note, Ned Colletti is, for all intents and purposes, a wealthy man.

On an unrelated note, one of my favorite anime series, Hajime no Ippo just started a new season, after 5 years of downtime! If ESPN thought outside the box, they would put this show on air in America.

Theo=Einstein
Ned=Me
That's not a good equation for Dodgers fans.

9 - No way! I loved that show. Know where I can watch it or do I have to just look for a torrent?

We spent 8 million in 2008 on Estaban Loaiza and won't spend 12 on Saito, Penny and Smoltz in 2009!

12 You work for apple, don't you(?) What was up with macworld. Those "new" releases blew... hard. And no new mac mini for those of us who cannot afford the imac.

Whatever.

15
That sounds like progress to me.

14 Look for a torrent if you want a subbed in english version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLQ3CZJ3onw&feature=related Youtube has it up if you want to watch it streamed. Although, I don't know if its subbed or not.

18 - Thanks!

I'm not judging it really, other than there seems to be a tighter leesh.

Quotes from Saito's agent.

http://blogs.pe.com/prosports/2009/01/dodgers-lose-saito-to-red-sox.html

Does anyone know why Walt Alston retired with 4 games left in the 1976 season rather than after the season?

Sad to see Saito go. Seems like he would have been a decent risk to take at that price, particularly since we paid him relatively little for his contributions the past few years. That's not to say we should have paid him more - the system is the system - but maybe that should have made us a tiny bit more inclined to take a risk on him. All moot now...

What I really have a hard time understanding is why there seems to be absolutely no discussion of bringing Lowe back. When he was looking for 4/60 (or more) that made more sense. But with the numbers down around 3/36, plus the lingering uncertainty around our 4th and 5th starters, doesn't it make sense to reopen those discussions?

22 - I remember when it happened but it was never clear to me exactly. My sense - but don't take this to the bank - was that Alston wasn't quite ready to retire, and decided just to be done once it became clear he was being forced out.

But of course, I could go back to the archives and see what's there.

24
Was there kind of a sense that Lasorda was campaigning for Alston's job?

Man, I need to learn more about those 1970s teams. Are there any books you would recommend that have some insight into those 1970s Dodgers?

21 Unless the Dodgers never made him an offer, I don't think it is fair to characterize it as one-sided decision. I don't believe Saito would stay at any cost so it was not solely the Dodgers decision.

24 Sounds about right.

25 Here is Tommy's take on that situation.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/10/sports/sp-lasorda10

25 There was the infamous "Inside Sports" story about the Garvey/Sutton conflict (not helped by Garvey's then wife Cyndy).

I don't think there has been much written about the pre-Lasorda years, the Dodgers did win the 1974 pennant but if Tommy was great at anything, he created a new media buzz and he was the star.

25 - Of course, mine hits the '70s. But if you don't have it, you might want to get Steve Delsohn's True Blue.

If Sammy is good enough for Theo, an actually competent GM, he should have been good enough for Neddy. I really hate losing him. At least I have a favorite player in Boston now.

My own memories about those teams is that in many ways they represented the times, guys wore longer hair, guys who were "clean cut" like Garvey stood out so you were immediately suspicious of them, it was primarily a white and black league, and the influx of Dominican and other Latin American players was not felt yet.

And this can't be overstressed, you still only had one or two games a week available to watch, the Dodgers might have started broadcasting on ONTV by '77 but aside from the occasional road trip to Cincinatti and San Francisco, your access to the Dodgers was limited to the radio and sports page.

30 Is that the same GM who gave Schilling 8 million dollars to sit on his rear end last year.

Speaking of rear ends: any news on the undoubtedly great offers Ned's been getting for Andruw Jones?

30 $16.5 million to Wakefield, Saito, Penny, and Smoltz. Theo is rolling the dice that a couple of them are healthy enough to produce. He's just playing with house money.

32 Yep, but also the same guy who didn't sign Schmidt and his known arm injury, Pierre, Loaiza, Jones, Nomar's extension...I get your point but forcing Saito to walk just seems so senseless.

32 and also gave a 4 yr/36 million dollar contract to the great Julio Lugo.

I'm watching "Harvey's Wallbangers," the story of the 1982 Milwaukee Brewers, on MLB Network, and its pretty good.

Besides the wonderful powder blue uniforms, Gorman Thomas playing CF, and Don Sutton's perm, my favorite part so far is a shot of owner Bud Selig pacing Baltimore's Memorial Stadium smoking a cigarette using one of those classic cigarette holders.

36 We used that first rounder the Red Sox gave us for Lugo on Bryan Morris, I believe.

I'm not surprised at the Saito situation (it sucks) but putting my self in Ned's shoes I wound not have signed him either...

I think you can also argue that two World Series championships give Theo something of an edge over Nedster, Lugo included.

36
To be fair, Lugo's FanGraph values in the 3 years prior to joining the Red Sox:

2004: $12m
2005: $14.2
2006: $7.3

Average: $11.2

33 Considering that its known the Dodgers have to release him by January 15th, leaving us with zero leverage, what could we possibly expect to get in a trade? I would think any interested team would just wait until we release him.

Alston did not particularly like Lasorda and vice versa. Lasorda said he liked Alston when he was starting out in the minors, but he claimed that Alston shut him out from a lot of the decisionmaking and instruction when he was the third base coach.

Alston was a very proud man who often felt he wasn't given much credit for his ability as a manager. Many critics viewed him as a manager with deficient strategic skills or someone who was woefully out of touch with his players, especially in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Alston was not considered to be the Phil Jackson of baseball managers. During Alston's time as a manager, Casey Stengel was regarded as the best manager, primarily because he had the Yankees to manage. Then the mantle (but not Mickey) turned over to another generation of managers in the 1960s. There were younger guys (at the time) like Hank Bauer and Dick Williams and Red Schoendienst and Gil Hodges were considered to be better managers.

Sure, but Theo isn't the 'smartest' GM in a long shot. And the Dodgers situation and the Red Sox's situation is different. They were prepared to spend over 20 million on one player, while the Dodgers after several years of aggressive spending on free agents are being much more cautious now. I would love for Saito to be back, but I understand why he's not. And its easy to look 'smart' when you're able to gamble on pitchers with significant injury risks like the Red Sox are able to do this off season. Which other team would be able to sign Smoltz, Penny, and Saito and not take significant heat for it? No other team could chance it like that except for maybe the Yankees.

37

I'm not getting Harvey's Wallbangers. I'm getting some Red Sox history video. Hope I don't anger berkowit28 by pointing that out.

44 Its the ultimate hedge bet, Theo looks great even if only one or two pans out. And if none of them do, he can just claim that they knew the risks, and move on.

43
I also left out that Alston also spent much of his career overshadowed by Leo Durocher.

45
It was on this morning and I recorded it. I believe it is on a few times later in the month.

Ned got mediocre starter Shawn Estes for about the same base salary Theo gave to Saito. Yes, Saito stands to make a lot more in incentives if he doesn't break down, but the Sox's incentives aren't much more than Ned was prepared to give Hoffmann. And wouldn't a healthy Sammy have been worth it if it came to that?

38 We used that first rounder the Red Sox gave us for Lugo on Bryan Morris, I believe.

No, Chris Withrow in the 2007 draft.

49 Shawn Estes got a minor league non-guaranteed deal. His base salary at the moment is $0 dollars. He reaches $500,000 if he makes the 40 man roster, and gets another $1.5 million if he makes 30 starts.

The difference between $0 and $2.5 million is pretty substantial, so is the guaranteed roster spot.

48

Oh, okay. My channel guide still doesn't list anything but "Major League Baseball" for the programming. Makes it hard to plan for things.

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/braves/entries/2009/01/09/t_hanson_on_way.html#comment-229033603

Kenshin Kawakami is a Brave.

Getting the LA Times Thursday through Sunday for 25 cents per week seemed like a really good deal when I signed up for it a month or so ago.

However, for some reason 2009 has not started out so well. After not receiving a paper on January 1, I received the paper on Friday & Saturday. Since then, I have not received the paper for 4 straight days. I have called to complain 5 different times and it has yet to produce a newspaper.

It's hard for the print edition to stay afloat if the carriers won't deliver the paper.

51 I concede that point and thanks for the correction--I misread the story--but I still maintain overall that Sammy would have been worth the risk.

From "Harvey's Wallbangers" regarding Game 4 of the 1982 ALCS, from narrator Bob Uecker:

"While Moose [Haas] did his part, the Brewers performed surgery on Tommy John"

It's that kind of wit that helped land Uecker the part on Mr. Belvedere.

55 He would, but signing Shawn Estes or Claudio Vargas to a deal didn't prevent the Dodgers to re-sign Saito. If anything, I'd say it was the talks trying to acquire Hoffman were.

56

That wit got Marilyn Manson cast on the show, as well.

57 Quite possibly, although Ned seemed pretty intent on it even before that. I wonder if it's part of the Schmidt revelations ("Colletti Signs Another Sore-armed Pitcher").

Unless, the Dodgers go against their own recent history, their bullpen is one area I will not worry myself over. That being said, the Dodgers, in my opinion, were stupid to pursue Hoffman and smart to let go of Saito. They have a closer who will instantly become among the 10 best closers in baseball, and they are better served spending the "bullpen money" on a good middle reliever than a proven closer who is either old and due for a decline or who is a serious injury risk.

58
Wasn't that rumor debunked?

60 And I say this, even though, on an emotional level, I would have liked to see Saito back. Business wise, it was not a smart move and I agree with the Dodgers in not bringing him back.

61

It was so ridiculous in the first place, I'm not sure debunked is even the right term.

Does anyone know whether Hoffman was "guaranteed" by the Brewers that he would be their closer? If so, does anyone know how such a guarantee will be enforced?

64. The same way Pierre was to be our starting centerfielder for 5 years when we signed him.

When it comes to playing time, the only way for a player to enforce a "guarantee" is to whine a lot.

The Brewers bullpen lost Torres and Gagne, so Hoffman had a pretty good idea that he would be the closer because the team didn't have a lot of other options.

Hoffman could see that the Dodgers had Broxton.

Or the same way Gagne was promised the closer job when he signed with the Brewers last year.

The Red Soxs have 4 Japanese pitchers on their 40-roster. I bet they will get Darvish too once he posts.

Regarding Saito: it looks to me like Colletti assumes that, once the man is displaced as "closer"--whether by injury or age or whatever--he has to go. You can't take away his title and keep him around to foment rebellion. You wouldn't have kept Edward II in the bullpen.

It wouldn't surprise me if Joe Torre felt the same way--or even if he was the primary advocate of the policy. (Then there's Larry Bowa, but he wouldn't want to be in the same post with Edward II.)

Darvish has been linked with the Yankees for the last two seasons.

I'm bummed the Dodgers didn't pick up Saito, although given the money involved perhaps it was smart.

If Saito is back to form, the Red Sox pitching staff from top to bottom looks pretty great.

Our pitching targets are pretty terrible.

Manny will make everything all better.

they are saying Nomar is talking with the Phillies....

Anyone who wants to know why ballplayers seem to think 'me first' should remember the way the Dodgers handled Saito. They got a lot of performance, energy and enthusiasm for very little $. Not to mention his recruitment of Kuroda.
I love the Dodgers but they are run by a classless bunch.

Raiders are interviewing our old offensive coordinator Marc Trestman, who is currently the coach of the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL.

Just contract us. I am so tired of this.

This NFL Today interview with Adam Jones and his lawyer is bizarre.

75 You mean they signed someone with no ML experience and gave him a chance to play everyday in the majors for three years, paid him when he was hurt for half a season, and then when the contract ran out, made a decision not to risk millions of dollars on a pitcher, who is still considered an injury risk, even by his new owners. Yeah, sure, they should just pay him for the next ten years for enthusiasm.

78 The word "owners" in 78 makes me cringe, so please read that as "employers". Thanks.

I agree wholeheartedly with Zak. I think that Saito is damaged goods, as I believe Brad Penny is as well. Smoltz is just done. I think that Boston has taken a flyer out on the three pitchers they signed with a great deal of upside and little downside per the money. That being said, I don't think it is going to make much of a difference to them. I have little concern regarding the bullpen, although Kuo's arm may not be suited for more than a situational lefty at this point. I assume that means Wade is the primary set up guy with Trancoso or Elbert prior. Unless they get back Mota, which I could see happening.
It is easy to panic and either see this fairly woeful offseason as either Colletti incompetence or McCourt intractability in allowing him to spend, whether due to his "cash flow" issues or the economy. Extrapolating further, it is actually even conceivable that Mccourt is gutting payroll for a potential sale. Much of what has happened is a mystery to me. Perhaps all of this is in preparation for Manny and a frontline guy like Wolf or Andy P. Either way, if we signed one of those guys, we would have three lefties conceivably starting for us in Wolf, Kershaw, and Estes.
I don't think the team is in as bad a shape as I think they are. If that makes sense.

77
I had to change the channel. It was too awkward for me.

(From Buster Olney today. Finally the "C" word is mentioned, which makes a great deal of sense as to this offseason.)

Well, in talking with executives and lawyers in baseball this week, they said the powers that be probably would greatly frown upon this type of system manipulation. And as one executive said, the teams involved, even by discussing the matter, might be guilty of collusion, in a winter in which there are rumblings on the union side about collusion. We'll see whether it comes up.

16 (Do I work for Apple?) No, I don't - I guess I'm flattered you think so. I used to write some 3rd-party software (AppleScript) for the Mac - mostly for Microsoft Office Mac - in my spare time, and some technical writing on the same. Now I don't have much spare time (my day job, which is completely different, changed) so I've had to drop that for a while. I didn't even go to Macworld this year. The announcement that Apple is no longer going to participate in Macworld means the end of an era - it will fade away, like the one in New York did. Apple doesn't seem to need it any more, but it was a lot of fun in its day.

37 I really enjoyed that Harvey's Wallbangers episode -- and I never would have imagined it would be interesting to me. This is going to be a fun channel. Couple of immediate observations:

1) I had forgotten Gorman Thomas played centerfield (!) for that team.
2) In watching old games, it always seems that over the years, batters have gotten more compact (in their swings), while pitchers have gotten far less so (in their windups).

Why might this be?

Can we acknowledge that at least on some mechanical levels, ballplayers today are "technically" superior to those of yesterday?

84 To clarify, the old-fashioned "step and sling" pitching windup delivery is clearly less powerful and efficient (as evidenced by its absence -- outside of Paul Byrd -- today).

Meanwhile, it seems that everybody (on both teams) in that Don Larsen game was bailing out on every pitch, trying to yank just about everything. Today, batters are almost uniformly more compact and balanced in their swings.

The average major league swing and windup today seem aesthetically and technically superior to those of the 1950s, and I don't think it's a matter of taste.

Dodgers adjust Coliseum fences:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2009/01/january-10-1959.html

52 I took a leaf from Bob's book and phoned up my cable provider (Cox) a few days ago to complain that their channel guide showed absolutely nothing for MLB network. They said they'd look into it. I can't imagine that made the difference, but you never know. Last night program info suddenly appeared. It's true that the majority of programs are just called "Major League Baseball", as you say yours does, but by selecting any one and then pressing the Info button, real program info shows up. It makes it a little more work, but beats having to go to a computer in another room and check the MLB website, which is what I had to do until yesterday.

I'm in the middle of Harvey's Wallbangers too (recorded earlier). At 5 pm PST there's a real (full, it looks like, or nearly) game on: game 7 of some NLCS between Cardinals and Mets. That must be 2006 since that seems to be the only such matchup that went to 7 games.

Bob "the guy who whines about cable TV a lot" Timmermann

86
January seems awfully late to announce the NL Rookie of the Year award.

90
Did that Oscar Robertson guy ever pan out?

91
He was much better (about 10 ppg) than that scrub from West Virginia!

So when are we going to Wurstkuche, Eric?

93
Sausage fest! Oh wait, wrong choice of words.

Next time I'm up north (February?) we can hit it up.

Theo's made some nice high upside relatively low cost deals.

Wonder if Penny/Saito will be the next Jayson Werth?

I am still trying to figure out why you could not wait until feb 11. Unless you wanted to leave TW anyways.

96
Either you get busy living or you get busy dying.

4 of us walked into wurstkuche and walked right out last Saturday. Something about the feel of it and the dopey looking guy at the grill. It was a unanimous decision. I may try avian with someone else.

Hey did anyone here mention the interview Kim Ng recently gave, where when asked whether two years for Manny was a sticking point she said, "absolutely not"?

79 Thanks for the correction. As I reported to bh, the reserve clause didn't have Sammy in mind and so the Dodgers enforced what I consider, as applied to his circumstance, an unconscionable provision in the MLB contract. I won't call it "classless", but I am wondering why, even if you don't think that he has the goods to pitch for your team, you don't atone for the prior unconscionable act by simply giving him the money that you didn't give him when you thought you owned him.

Not saying that I agree with the proposition, we can have that discussion another time, but I'm willing to concede in the interim that it isn't frivolous or in bad faith to argue that we have a reserve clause since some might be unjustly enriched if some weren't allowed to recoup the cost of job training in some way, shape or form. But, again, can't say that about Sammy. And they knew it. And so you might say that when some speak of dream fields, I see Sammy picking cotton.

Lastly, as a Rays fan, this certainly makes things more interesting. I hope Sammy does well. Him and his new mates will just have to find another to way lose, that's all. And, Sammy, you here? Sorry, Sammy, but Aki's gonna have to take you over the wall, kinda like this:

http://tinyurl.com/a72shg
http://tinyurl.com/88m67t
http://tinyurl.com/9nmul7

99
Is there a link for that interview? Was it a radio spot?

I hope it works out for you.

I liked Takashi Saito a lot, but why he is deserving of anything more than he got under the way the MLB salary structure is set up? He knew what he was getting in to. He could have just packed up and gone back to Japan.

EVERY player is used up and spit back out when they're no longer useful to a team.

EVERY player is used up and spit back out when they're no longer useful to a team

Unless you're on Ned Colletti's team.

98 - http://www.franklinavenue.net/

And Curt Shilling. He got a 8 million deal from the Red Sox to blog for a year.

Setting up D4P for a derisive remark about Ned Colletti makes me feel like John Stockton working the pick and roll with Karl Malone.

Saito was a risk. But he was a class act, and I do think they had the money to take a minimal monetary risk on the guy for just 1 year. After all, we've cut a lot of salary by releasing a lot of players, and I'm not seeing that money cleared or committed to Manny (yet). So actually, I don't really know what the fiscal philosophy is here, other than Jamie McCourt buying big houses and a constant reference to the depressed economy. I'm seeing Dodgers 2007 reunion right now, with a weaker starting rotation, the Beard, and a speculative hope that our young nucleus will perform "stronger."

107

Can I be Frank Layden?

Ha, this is a great Layden quote, via Wikipedia:

When asking a player why he didn't play defense or rebound, he asked, 'was it ignorance or apathy?' The player responded, "I don't know, and I don't care."

107 Or: a recent review of Adam Carolla's morning show called his co-hosts "batting practice pitchers at the home run derby" ... that is, their job is to lob things and watch him take an improvisational comedic hack at it.

101

Ya, she was being interviewed by Lee Hamilton, and when asked if two years was a line drawn in the sand, she quickly said no without hesitating.

She also mentioned that the club is expecting big things from James McDonald.

Also gave the same ole "be patient, deals could come at ST" and the ever popular "the club on opening day might not necessarily be the club at the end of the season".

Either way, I just found it interesting that 2 yrs on the contract is not what the media is portraying it for the Dodgers

I like Saito but to say he deserves to be paid for the work he put in prior years is just wrong. You pay players for what they can do you for today and tomorrow.

Certainly past performance is strong and perhaps overused metric to base that pay on but no one deserves to be compensated more just because they got less a few years ago.

112 That interview could have been taped days, weeks or months ago.

110 Nowadays, the only place you see Layden is on those old "NBA bloopers" shows on NBATV... but I remember when he was the Johnny Carson of sports comedy -- featured in Sports Illustrated's They Said It virtually every other week.

Lord help us if Tommy Lasorda is relegated to similar status on the new MLBTV.

114
Classic Lee Hamilton. The local media writer for the Union-Tribune, Jay Posner (the guy Ryan Leaf famously yelled at), loved to poke fun at the taped and often outdated status of Hacksaw's interviews.

Frank Layden stepped down as coach of the Utah Jazz nearly 20 years ago.

114

it was today

118
Where is Hacksaw these days?

117 Man, I'm getting old.

Well it only 3 months away.

"A tradition like no other."

The Walmart "We Will Rock You" commercial is pretty good. Not quite Cheers good, but still good.

I guess Schilling and Lugo are going to be the straw men used to prove Theo is just as bad as Ned...by some here anyways.

Fumble!!!

Wow, how many turnovers can Tennessee commit?

Much like the Tootsie Pop question, the answer is three.

123 I am not saying Theo Epstein is a bad GM but then I tend not to put things in such absolutes. Everyone to me is just certains shades of gray.

I don't even think Schilling was bad signing at all.

123 -- I think it was more like showing that Epstein doesn't walk on water.

Anyway, it could be mentioned that a lot of people here wanted to kill Colletti after he released Hee-Seop Choi, and the impulse to homicide doubled when Epstein picked him up, since of course, Epstein is brilliant. Then when Epstein released Choi? Not exactly a lot of mea culpas along the lines of "Sorry, Ned, guess you were right all along."

122 , but wouldn't it be better if the little kid was not wearing a Jason Sehorn jersey?

completely unrelated: does anybody know offhand when the MLB Hall of Fame results are announced?

129
10:30am Pacific on Monday, on both MLB.com and MLB Network.

130 Its not official until "The Griddle" tells me so.

Baltimore didn't get that snap off nearly in time.

And I go to work late on Tuesdays, so I never get the results up fast enough. I can't post them in the part of the time-space continuum that Tripon lives in.

132

I've been noticing all season that the clock will hit zero and the team still takes an extra second or two to snap the ball. It is definitely more forgiving than the NBA shot clock.

130 - so can we all submit our own HoF ballots here Sunday night or Monday morning and then see how wrong we were? Sweet!

134
I think the officials just wait until they see the center move his hands to snap the ball.

However, it's one of those things that it's difficult for the brain to process as fast as you would think because the official who makes the call is lined up in the defensive backfield and has to look down at the center and then up at the play clock.

Wow, a good chance for the Chargers to host the AFC Championship game next Sunday.

The Titans never would have lost if they hadn't fired Norm Chow.

137 That would be welcome to a certain commenter who might have to cover that game.

138 That logic does not work well for UCLA's current head coach.

Norm Chow is now forced to be Crafty in his offensive schemes.

Details on the Penny/Sox contract:

$5m base salary
$500k for 160 IP or 55 games
$500k for 170 IP or 65 games
$500k for 180 IP or 75 games
$500k for 190 IP or 35 games finished
$1m for 200 IP or 50 games finished

http://tinyurl.com/849ns8

141
Looks like Norm had decided schematic advantages over Washington and Washington St. this past season...

142 This is at least the 2nd time this week I have read the words "games finished" regarding incentives for a player contract.

What exactly does that mean? It can't mean what it seems literally, right?

I mean, does Penny have to be on the mound when the game concludes at least 35 times to collect the 500K? 50 times to collect the 1M?

"Games finished" is an official stat. It is given to the last relief pitcher in a game. You don't have to get a win, a loss, or a save. You just have to be the last pitcher.

If the starter throws a complete game, there is no "game finished" awarded.

Nomar's on Channel 2. He (and Mia) are "looking at our options."

142 - So Penny's more willing to relieve for them ...

Cal and Washington are in double OT, 68-all, 2:26 remaining.

Lee Smith is the alltime leader is games finished with 802. Trevor Hoffman leads active players with 774.

Last year's leaders in each league were Jose Valverde with 71 and Francisco Rodriguez with 69.

49

I agree and more important the additional pitching pick-ups seem so blah,, both personality and talent. The thought of Brandon Looper is now sounding exciting! I am now beginning to hope that we are saving some of our money for Andy Petit. Our rotation needs much help and I would love like many here to have Lowe back or perhaps take a gamble on Sheets, but we need someone to pitch some serious innings, and I can't see Vagras or Estes being able to do that.

Three-pointer in the final seconds to tie! Triple OT in Seattle!

Oops - that was a basket plus a foul to send it into the third OT.

149 Thanks Bob! So it does mean literally games finished. Your examples of the leaders last year were both closers which makes sense. Given that, it would appear he has almost no chance at that $1M bonus, unless of course he pitches the 200 innings.

Any chance you have the league leaders in games finished for middle relievers? By definition, I wouldn't think it would be many. Certainly not 50.

151
That game sounds more fun than the typical "Pac-8 Game of the Week" I watched as a wee lad on Channel 4.

The top 5 in the NL in games finished were all closers: Valverde, Cordero, Lidge, Gregg, and Wood.

The top 5 in the AL were all closers: Rodriguez, Papelbon, Rivera, Nathan, and Soria.

There was no pitcher in the top 10 in either league who was not a closer at least at some point last year.

I am getting excited, because it looks like our young pitchers are going to throw many innings, and I like this, although I realize the results will probably not be consistently good. Of course the alternative is for starters to come from the remaining dregs of the free agent pool, or spring training invitees. At any rate---outside of Lowe, these are the options, and it is where we are going.

If I still owned a truck, I would wonder if Howie Long had anything better to do than to hassle me and other truck owners.

Per Diamond Leung:

Scully: No decision on retirement from Dodgers

http://tinyurl.com/axhb37

Also Per Diamond Leung:

Kuo as Dodgers closer?

>> "I think I'm better suited to being a reliever because I don't have a big assortment of pitches," Hong-Chih Kuo told Taiwanese reporters last month. "But I may need another two to three years to be ready as a closer." <<

http://tinyurl.com/9lzh4b

157 Have you been bombarded by that Ford ad on espn.com?

By far the most annoying ad ever.

Grizzlies plan to sign Darius Miles to 10-day deal

>> Amid simmering controversy, the move sets the stage for Miles to continue a comeback attempt from major knee surgery and adversely affect his former team's salary cap situation in the process. <<

http://tinyurl.com/8umj4t

160
No, but I have seen quite a few Chevy ads (w/Howie) watching football today.

Forget about those weblogs, I have no idea what your talking about. Anyway I could never understand what URL is.
All I can say is Penny & Saito will make them Yankee-Redsox rivalry games more entertaining for me.

I wish Howie could've taught his son to be a better football player.

162 Lucky you didn't get to see the ad. But overall I'd say you're unlucky for having to watch that borefest. ; )

171
That's Saito's ERA+ for 2008.
I'd argue the loyalty the Dodgers needed to show wasn't to Saito, it's to us, the fans. A flyer on a guy with Saito's upside would've been smart, not kind.

166
Saito pitched 5.2 innings after the All-Star break. There are legitimate injury concerns.

Did you guys hear Kim Ng on XM radio this afternoon? I forget who the host his, but he asked about Manny, and lack of activity in pursuing pitching.

Ng replied that the Dodgers are fortunate in that they have plenty of young pitchers including Kershaw, McDonald, Billz, and Stultz. I think the fact that she included Stultz in this group tells me that upper mgmt hasn't forgotten about him and his ability to contribute. Whether or not is given a fair chance is another thing altogether.

She added that there was no way to patch things up with Penny. He basically had to leave town and start over somewhere else. She said if Penny is healthy, he should be a strong acquisition for BoSox.

Does anyone know why we don't seem to be interested in Lowe at the numbers being discussed now (3/36)? Has he made it clear he doesn't want to come back? Doesn't he make a lot of sense for us at this point?

wish for nothing but the best for Saito & Penny.

168 Thanks for the report. Did she say anything about Lowe or Saito?

169
The question might also be if Lowe interested in those numbers. He rejected the 3/$36m offered by the Mets.

169 172

From what I remember he also felt "under appreciated" I'm not sure why the Yankees didn't go after him, he is a reliable & "clutch" pitcher.

The issue of the Dodgers losing Penny, Lowe, Saito came up, but there was no talk of bringing Lowe back. The possibility was never raised (if it was, that part of the interview was drowned out by my daughter's rendition of Carry Underwood). Much of the interview focused on Manny, the young pitchers, and Ng's recent job interview for the Seattle GM job. I get the feeling from listening to the interview that Manny will be resigned.

Lowe may not like the 3/36 level, but it's not like there are a lot of big money suitors left for him at this point. It seems odd that we wouldn't jump back in at these levels. I love our young pitching options, but I'd love them even more with one more dependable name in that rotation.

Marlon Pollard has decided to remove himself from the obelisk. UCLA commit then Notre Dame, now today, back to UCLA.

The Braves are moving hard after Lowe.

177 What time does your family shop open? I may want to pick up some donuts early.

178 We open around 5AM everyday. I say around because waking up before 5AM is hard, and its more like 5:15 when I walk in.

Diamond Lueng shares the stuff he knows about Saito. Its touching really.

http://blogs.pe.com/prosports/mlb/dodgers/

176
My obelisk is permanent I fear. It's not done with a "Magic Slate."

I remember that 1986 World Series 6th game 10th inning. I was talking on the phone and I kept saying this game will be over soon.

182
I never knew before tonight that Harry Wendlestedt asked Wade Boggs for his hat with 2 outs in the 10th. Jinx!

Bill Plaschke writes the kind of column that he does best. A nice update on Jamie Dixon and his continuing relationship with his late sister Maggie.

183 I wonder if he has Ray Knight's hat?

T.J. Simers blasts the McCourts and Plaschke together because he can.

These are tough economic times, and such fan reaction is very impressive, a tribute really to Plaschke & the Power Couple, who have made such a compelling case to accept whatever.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-simers11-2009jan11,0,1451200,full.column

Titans win!
Gauchos lose!

I have learned that Jamie Dixon is exactly one month older than me.

LBSU with impressive 4-0 in Big West play.

Grrr, the Gauchos made like 30 turnovers, too. Or it felt like it. They miss Jesse Byrd and Justin Joyner.

Btw, thinking of getting the CBS College Sports All Access subscription to watch college games online? Skip it. Besides involving the Silverlight player, it doesn't work more than half the time anyway. I got a trial to check out Big West games and it's hardly worked on any of my computers. I'd contact them for a refund for the month, but will probably get sucked into a customer service vortex. Feh.

190
What will happen first: Underdog watching a Big West game on his computer, or me receiving the LA Times? I'm waiting with baited breath.

I'm waiting with baited breath.

I'm picturing Eric with a worm on his tongue.

180 That Japanese video he posted was pretty crazy. Also, in the story that he originally posted about Saito's choice of music:

Another one-and-done is Johnny Cash's somber track "God's Gonna Cut You Down," which reliever Joe Beimel tried.

I'll have great memories of Saito, and that's not incompatible with thinking that this was a pretty good decision not to bring him back.

I will really miss Saito, but I understand the Dodgers decision to not bring him back.

I used to love seeing Nomar hug Saito after every save.

191 Well, I've already watched one BW game at least, before it stopped working, and take it you haven't received the Times -- thus I guess I win.

Or lose.

I think we both lose regardless, so at least there's that.

192
Ha! Oops.

Those Brewers won 93 and 95 games in 1978 and '79 and didn't make the playoffs either year?? No wonder Selig pushed so hard to get the wild card...and if anyone hasn't yet watched that special, do it ASAP because the baseball is quality and the hairstyles are terrific!

Here's to missing Smiling Sammy as well. If only because he brought a certain tranquility to these pages in the ninth, which turned into a lot of gnashing of teeth and rendering of garments after the All Star break.

197 - We, the O's, almost snuck on them in 1982 with Earl's last hurrah (before his really last hurrah). Sutton beats Palmer in the last game of the season, and Yount goes 4 for 4.

Make that 3-4 with 2 dingers.

197
That really was a cool video on the Brewers.

If the Yanks are trying to clear Nady from their outfield are they making room for Manny?

202
After the Yankees signed Teixeira, they had too many outfielders as Swisher was supposed to play first.

could this be right, the Phillies are interested in Nomar?

read it on the ESPN ticker.

I just finished watching (a lot of) the 2006 Rose Bowl for the first time since the night it was played. That was a really great game, but it still hurts to watch. Oh well.

Gran Torino was so good for anyone that hasn't seen it.

190 If only Mark Hull made one more three pointer against Arizona in 2002, maybe things would be different now ... I nearly punched a hole through my floor that night. It was hard to be a sports while I was a UCSB student... although we did often party with B. Zito.

186 The Simers article is devastating and horrifically accurate. No other franchise will zombie through the turnstiles like those zombies at chavez ravine. It matters not if Manny Ramirez is on our team or Manny Sanguillan. This is the reason why Frank and Jamie are the happiest couple in the history of Los Angeles entertainment.

How do you guys get the referral number to highlight in blue. That didn't happen when I did it.

209 - See FAQ on bottom right corner visible if you scroll all the way down

Simmers woke up with his low self-esteem negative hat on when he wrote that article. He made no attempt to offer up why he thinks the McCourts are running the team into the ground.

I would have liked to have Sabathia on the team for two or three years and after that the Dodgers should have two aces in Billingsley and Kershaw, solid #2 or #3 pitchers in Elbert and McDonald, Martin coming up maybe for a #5 pitcher, and hopefully Miller creating Miller time somewhere in the mix.

Three years from now, do the Dodgers really want or need to pay CC $22MM+ for 5 more years? Could they have signed Manny for 2 years already? So what is Simmers saying other than nothing?

208 - I want the Dodgers to improve, but I'm not going to boycott the team just because Manny Ramirez isn't signed. I don't think that makes me a zombie. I'm sorry if my enjoyment of baseball is bigger than that. Yes, that does give the McCourts some options, but that's life.

It's a simple fact that the deadline for signing Manny is after the deadline for renewing season tickets. So what exactly is one supposed to do?

Well, I'm sad.

Kershaw video interview on "Good Morning Texas"

http://www.wfaa.com/video/gmtgeneral-index.html?nvid=319817

Nothing substantial, but a few HS clips are shown and he talks about playing the Rangers in June.

The more I think about Gran Torino the less I like it. It's a lot of fun to watch Eastwood, but the story is incredibly weak and unbelievable. I remember reading that it is the first screenplay by the writer, it looks it. He had a good outline but it really needed more story.

215 - I didn't hate it, but I thought it was too heavy-handed.

208 -- Over many years I have noticed a pattern: Simers declares that nobody is going to go to Dodger Stadium unless the Dodgers do this, that, or the other thing. Then the Dodgers DON'T do what Simers wants, and Dodger fans proceed to fill Dodger Stadium to the brim, making Simers look stupid for having predicted attendance would fall through the floor. Then Simers lashes out at the fans for making him look like an idiot. Then the cycle repeats itself.

You call Dodger fans "zombies." Why? A fan is a zombie unless he demands that his team match some ideal of perfection before he graces the team's stadium with his presence? That's not a fan, that's a front-runner, and a front-runner is what Simers is, calling the Dodgers ridiculous names like "The Choking Dogs" when they go through any sort of adversity, but licking their shoes when things are going well. The last thing the Dodgers should want is fans who resemble Simers.

I can't believe that anyone takes anything Simers writes seriously. I don't even live in LA, and I know that.

The guy is a buffoon and he knows it. And, he's made alot of money being a buffoon.

208 Not true. If the Dodgers fall out of contention early, attendance will suffer. They haven't been terrible in a long time.

215 I want to see it, but am resistant because it appears to be a bit of a fantasy, which is unfortunate because Clint can be so great, e.g Unforgiven, Perfect World.

I saw doubt last night. Very interesting.

The Wrestler is still my favorite film in a very long time. Since There Will Be Blood I would say.

And, he's made alot of money being a buffoon

Oh no you di'nt...!

220 - Is one year what you call "a very long time"? Kids :)

222 Kids today. I tell ya'.

Saw "The Visitor" last night. Great movie, compelling story, and for once a very realistic ending. Tom McCarthy has now directed two of my favorite movies over the last few years. Is he the next John Sayles?

On that note, watching one of my favorite actors Peter Dinklage in Narnia was tough to stomach. I'm a big SciFi/Comic movie buff but the Narnia movies are real crap because the actors are terrible. When you see child actors from around the country like the ones in Slumdogs or The Fall you get a real sense of what a good child actor can do for a movie.

224 Didn't know TM was Scott Templeton from "The Wire." I bet Jon did.

224 - Yeah, one of my favorites this year.

Did you see Dinklage on 30 Rock this week? He was very good.
225 - I interviewed him a few months ago.

http://tinyurl.com/87et68

Take this for what it is worth.

Paul Pierce has left the game in Toronto with an injury. Kendrick Perkins is already out for this game.

Carfado: Dodgers talking to Ausmus, Giants offered Manny one-year plus three one-year options.

http://tinyurl.com/9p9wys

It's pretty sad, I woke up this morning, got up on my garage & was taken back ok how beautiful the day was (I was able to see the Rodando Beach bridge all the way from were I'm at) & right know slowly but surely the smog is creeping in.

McCarthy was the twerp I loved to hate on The Wire.

Taken looks ridiculous.

"I kinda like it."

-Jason Bourne

228 That Manny 'proposal' is insane. Its like the Giants just want to troll Manny and Boras.

226
Yes, his acting was solid as usual but I thought that episode was very weak.

I forget how the song goes, but is it the Stonecutter that keep Joe Buck employed? Is it his solely his lineage and name? It upsets me to no end when he trys to do analysis.

At one time Joe Buck did not annoy me but now that I'm watching MLBTV I notice how boring he is when great moments happen.

Many things are right with baseball but boy could we use a dynamic national announcer.

Agreed. I know we're spoiled here in LA with Scully, Jarrin, Chick, and Bob Miller but the only national announcers I've ever enjoyed and have become somewhat "attached to" are Al Michaels, Marv Albert, Brent Musberger and Tom Jackson.

Maybe ESPN would've let Vitale do football is FOX asked real nice.

236
I can't find the clip, but there is a pretty funny video of (a fake) Joe Buck calling great moments in history, and showing no emotion for things like the Hindenburg crash.

Joe Buck started going downhill for me when he completely overreacted to the Randy Moss fake pants pull down at Lambeau Field. Moss was called disgusting without context (Green Bay fans are notorious for mooning the opposing bus as it enters and exits the parking lot). I thought it was hilarious.

I saw this link from a Bill Simmons column a few months back, but Drew Carey has taken the mantle from Buck as the least exciting announcer in human history:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMFFGFmn20k

Bob Barker is spinning in his grave. (I know he's not dead)

238 I'm sure Barker already bought his casket from Costco.

237
Dick Enberg has really grown on me through the years.

I mentioned Drew Carey on here a few months ago after watching an episode of the new Price is Right. The man seems clinically depressed up there. Is the job that much of a step down from a sitcom and/or improv show? Was he hoping for King Lear?

Isn't Carey getting paid more from the Price is Right than his old sitcom show?

240

You should really have a doctor look at that.

241 I would say it's an enormous step down, must be deadening by comparison. He might be hoping for Falstaff, not King Lear. He'd probably be great at it too.

242 So?

213

I blame Molly for our morning woes today.

she started it.

241
Does hosting a game show make actors/comedians crazy? Ray Coombs, Louie Anderson, now Drew Carey.

Louie Anderson and Drew Carey were crazy well before their gameshow days.

244

You and he must really hold mediocre-at-best sitcoms and improv shows no one watches in high regard.

7-5 is an awesome score for a football game.

Hi everyone, been gone like forever. Blame it on grad school and trying to get done.

22. Does anyone know why Walt Alston retired with 4 games left in the 1976 season rather than after the season?

I remember a radio interview with Alston about a week after he left, the interviewer asked him why he had decided to retire, Walts reply was 'I 'didn't retire I was forced out.' That interview started my loathing of lasorda, as far as I'm concerned he's the madonna of baseball, great at self-promotion.

The idea that the mccourts are cash strapped might not be too far fetched. The tax breaks owners get when they buy a team are only good for 5 years. So they're going away and with the economy and the payments they have to make to murdoch it is plausible that the fact that they really couldn't afford the team in the first place might be coming home to roost. It's a nice idea that they are gutting the pay roll in order to put the team up for sale- Come on Eli Broad!!

As far as them being classless, wasn't that a given in the way they treated Dan Evans and Depo? Telling Evans that he could 'interview' for the GM job rather than just telling him out right that his services were no longer wanted was as classless as you can get as well as just being gutless.

250
It's a nice idea that they are gutting the pay roll in order to put the team up for sale

If they were gutting the payroll, they would be making Padre-esque moves this offseason rather than spending any money to retain Blake and Furcal.

Giants just need to get a couple of runners on base and they're right back in this thing.

--

I love Peter Dinklage. He was even good in the crummy Underdog movie!

--

Well since y'all brought it up, these were my picks for Best of '08, even though I may very well change my mind on a few of them at some point.
http://tinyurl.com/8oobcy

Would love to see your own lists in the comments there! I've since seen Gran Torino and enjoyed it but had too many problems with it for consideration.

250 - The notion that Eli Broad would care about the team the Dodgers put on the field is an extraordinary one.

252 - I was about to praise you for including Ballast instead of Wendy & Lucy ... until I saw you include Wendy & Lucy.

That and Happy-Go-Lucky are the only movies on your list that I saw that I had big problems with, though I'm in the minority on both.

Forgot to add my thoughts on Saito, Lowe and Penny. I'd have to agree with Branch Rickie (sp?) when it comes to the 3 of them and to a lesser degree Manny- 'It's better to lose a player a year early rather than a year late' and yeah, I'm paraphrasing.

251. I can dream/hope can't I??
Crushing dreams just because you're view makes more sense is just wrong! ; ^)

I've always liked Brad Ausmus as a defensive catcher, though he'd be another backup with little in the way of offense. But I'd be cool with that signing. He has a reputation as a great handler of pitchers.

255
Dodger Thoughts is so entrenched in my life that I thought you meant Branch Rickey the DT commenter rather than the baseball executive who made those cool strike zone strings. :)

Here are some nice quotes from Theo Epstein on Saito from AOL sports [http://tinyurl.com/79q2l7] "He's done an amazing job since coming over from Japan three years ago," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said during a conference call. "If you look at his performance and how he's gone about it the last three years, he's been just about as good as anyone in baseball."

___

& here is something from Saito from the same AOL read "I'm very excited; obviously there is excitement playing for a new team," Saito said. "I know that obviously Daisuke and Okajima are there right now and I've met them several times in the past. I also understand that there is a lot of Japanese staff working with the team. Atmosphere-wise, it's going to be a very nice fit for myself. I'm just very, very excited to be a Red Sox right now."

___

How many different things is Eli Broad supposed to own in Southern California?

Let's see
1) Large chunks of the Westside
2) Portions of LACMA
3) MOCA
4) Parts of the Music Center

And people want him to bail out the LA Times, the Dodgers, and the putative LA NFL franchise probably.

I think Buss and Sterling should sell their NBA teams to Eli Broad also.

The Kings and Galaxy can still be owned by Anschutz.

A Chargers-Cardinals Superbowl would be very interesting. One of them would actually have to win.

I can't decide whether an NFL team having two kickers (one for kickoffs/distance and one for FG accuracy) is wasting a roster spot or not. It feels a bit like 3 catchers to me.

Anyway, the Giants FG specialist and ageless wonder John Carney just missed a 46-yarder.

A Cardinals-Eagles NFC championship game would be the rubber match for the 1947 and 1948 championship games.

254. Well, I remembered reading somewhere that he was a Dodger fan so I assume (I know I know) he would. Or at least hire a competent over seer.

Ausmus's Fangraphs Fielding Value:

2005: 0.0
2006: 0.1
2007: -0.4
2008: -0.7

259 - Rule 7

A Chargers-Cardinals super bowl would also be not the first choice of network executives, not that I care.

Not for that reason but more out of bitterness (and a small wager I made): go Steelers!

227 - wow Pierce fakes another injury

261
For the older kickers, I've read that kickoffs take a lot out of them. It's much more of a strain on their legs. And there really isn't much else that it makes sense to rest for them.

While kicking may look like it doesn't seem like hard work, I would assume that a leg can just as tired as an arm.

2008 Value:

Gary Bennett: 0.4
Brad Ausmus: 0.2

265
Eli Broad is buying Rule 7 too?

266
Is the marginal difference in ratings for the Super Bowl affected that much by the participants?

I believe the first 49ers-Bengals Super Bowl got very high ratings.

268
Yeah, that's why I'm on the fence about it. There's also the strategic advantage of having a guy that can just boom the heck out of the ball into the endzone on kickoffs.

I guess it's a battle between a backup on special teams coverage or the 2nd kicker, so it's not a huge cost to have the extra kicker.

The not wanting to have two kickers is one of the main reasons the Broncos didn't re-sign Jason Elam this year, which they regretted. Elam's lost a lot on his kickoffs, so it makes sense that they wanted a stronger legged guy. But they missed him for accuracy. It's a tough call.

269 - What's that based on?

Ausmus did win a Gold Glove in 2007, for what that's worth. I'd rather have he or Ardoin (or myself) over Gary B.

270
OK, that was very good.

Did Pierce even use the wheelchair this time? He'll have a great career in drama when his playing days are done.

271 - Yah, not nearly as much as for the World Series. Still, I think they always seem to prefer having at least one East of the Mississippi team in the final game, fair or not.

252
The idea that Hellboy was better then (Iron Man or Dark Knight) just dropped you several notches, and you were the reason I rented the Visitor.

Still I'll be using that list to rent a few movies from Greencine since you have built up quite a reservoir of goodwill with previous recommendations.

269 - What's that based on?

Fangraphs.

Heh. Fair enough Toy. I actually thought higher of Dark Knight the second time I saw it; first time I saw it found it overrated but now I really appreciate it. Still, I definitely enjoyed myself a great deal more in HB2, and thought it was visually one of the most imaginative movies I've seen in awhile. I also loved Iron Man. Honestly, I could've put those three films together, it's that close. But wanted to give the one that needed a push imho a bit of it there. Oh well, to each their own. I'm sure you'll find some other ones there that you appreciate. I want to see your top 10! :-)

I'd like to see Henry Blanco is the backup catcher. In the last 4 years he has thrown out 50 of 114 would-be basestealers (43.8%).

279
Can you buy Criterion Collection DVDs through Greencine?

hi, this is jon weisman's daughter.hi,hi,hi,hi,hi!and this is where I tell you that i'm at home.and that i'm happy.and i'm wearing a necklace.and i'm very,very silly.now i am saying bye-bye.bye-bye!

282

Rule 11!

265 Just for the record, 259 reads like a typical Bob joke to me. A tinge of sarcasm, sure, not much I can see being interpreted negatively. Negativity may be partly in the eye of the beholder, I suppose, but...

281 - Right now, no. We stopped selling DVDs (through drop-ship) awhile back to focus on rental. We rent out every single one though. (As well as their Eclipse series.) Might bring back sales this year. There's always Amazon or some of the other DVD sales specific sites, or the Criterion site itself. (They had a major sale awhile back but that may be over.)

I just bought Criterion's Wages of Fear used at Amoeba. They also sent me the Rialto set (which includes Army of Shadows, Rififi,Billy Liar and quite a few more) as a gift, still have to watch some of those.

283
And Rule 8!

284
But if something can be misinterpreted by someone, then it is by, by my reading of Rule 7, a violation of that rule.

Heh. From the Onion's "Saving the Lions" sidebar:

-- Consider removing ice cream from sidelines.

-- Take the advice of longtime Lions fan Ben Wodyczyek, 78, and just hit 'em with your purses, you buncha bums.

-- Game plan to keep offense and defense off the field.

279
I didn't see enough movies made in 2008 to make a top ten list and based on your list I'll be quite busy catching up.

8-7 isn't quite as much fun as 7-5, but we get a rematch of 11-10 later today.

I fully supported the officials messing up the end of that game because I wanted that 11-10 score. Society demanded it.

280

Nice call Eric, he is a former Dodger (with out looking it up) from what I remember... what makes it more impressive is that I think he caught all those runners with a partially torn rotator cuff.

282 283 I wonder. Not a single spelling mistake, though the absence of capital letters at beginning of sentences is not very Weismanesque. "daughter" is hard to spell for a young child. Not to mention "jon weisman's".

284 - I think I'm qualified to discern what a typical Bob joke is. Even Bob needs to be reeled in sometimes.

If a sarcastic comment can have the effect of making the previous commenter feel bad, even if that was not the intention, then it's a violation. If I'm guilty of overmanaging, that's the price of being here.

sixter sobs.

Okay, I'm sitting right here, but I don't know what the previous comment meant.

Yet 259 is still there, making others feel bad. My violating comments don't get the same treatment. Off with their heads! :-)

"daughter" is hard to spell for a young child. Not to mention "jon weisman's".

I wondered about that part too. Spelling aside, that didn't really sound very kid-like. Kids don't usually say "I'm X's daughter/son": they usually say "X is my dad/mom".

293
that's the price of being here

This [weeze] is the business [weeze] we've chosen.

egg food and yummy.

I knew I should have gone with my first instinct which was to compare Eli Broad to Noah Cross.

297 - I told her not to use her name.

296 - I'm admittedly inconsistent in my crimefighting approach. :)

I got off with a warning because the judge was feeling benevolent.

I do sincerely feel bad for my sometimes unchecked sarcasm.

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ.

I was a Bob Timmermann fan years before it became cool. But he jumped the shark when he promised me the D-Backs would finish behind the Dodgers in 2005.

304
Now do all the numbers.

Okay, I am a little nervous that she has unlocked the keys to the kingdom.

Is this a sequel to "Freaky Friday", "Screwy Sunday," wherein Jon and his young daughter trade places?

12345678910.

306 Bob jumped the shark when Ted McGinley started posting for him.

Capital numbers might be a bit harder.

310

Only ∞ to go!

313
Yeah, I meant all the numbers...

I would like some egg food and yummy now, too. Hasta luego.

311

I liked Jefferson D'Arcy.

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 100

how did you do the infinity?

My 312 was sneakily trying to elicit a Rule 1 contravention under Jon Weisman's name:

!@#$%^&*()

(a sort of euphemism for profanity...)

But I like 317 too. Well done.

Now type Daddy's credit card number.

319

that is very impressive.

318

On my Powerbook, it is "alt/option" and "5." I had to try all the keys to find it.

i did it! ∞

!@#$%^&*()

318
I was going to say, "Just keep typing and you'll get there."

daddy says i don't know what a euphemism is.

326 Well, you showed him!

316 - also Stan from Revenge of the Nerds, no?

If there is any justice in this world, the Eagles will pick up a safety and win 12-11.

see the difference?

318 - or you can use &infin;, viz. ∞.

326 - there's novanism like chauvinism, like novanism I know.

i really like nerds.did you know nerds are candy?

331 - and on that subject,

http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/html40/entities/symbols.html

Tim Tebow will come back for another year at Florida. He will put off his opportunity to become the next Rex Grossman until 2010.

330 Ah, you've got your own signature here now. Your very own username. Welcome!

Now it's time to ask the Young Miss Weisman her opinion of Juan Pierre.

335 - when's the last time an H Back ever left early?

Any thoughts on the game tonight? I think we'll come out fired up, lead at half, and get clipped by UCLA in the last 5 minutes.

337 - Dodger Thoughts: now with My First Flamewar!

dodgers!!!

339
That sounds like a very typical UCLA-USC basketball game in recent years.

I remember my older brothers used to tell me stories of the time they broke into my Dad's blog in the late 1970s. Boy, was my Dad mad at them!

Wait, did they say "blog" or "liquor cabinet?" I can never remember the details.

When USC beat UCLA last year, I followed the game on my BlackBerry while reading on a train from Vienna to Munich that was called "The Orient Express."

A guy in my compartment was taken away by German police because his papers weren't in order.

okay,too much about me.

342 - unfortunately yes. We're a perfect example of how talent at every other position is completely irrelevant when you have no point guard. I'll give Floyd a bit of a pass on the death of Francis, but the lack of effort in even going after PG's is a joke. Gary Franklin would be starting now for us and he's a junior at Mater Dei, hopefully he's ahead on credits and likes summer school.

does anyone on here read Nelson DeMille? I was thinking of picking up the new sequel to the Gold Coast but wanted to see others thoughts first.

thank you for not saying anything about me.well that was just a joke. you can say more about me.

5 lead changes in the Eagles/Giants game, a game I didn't think I would watch. John Carney just missed making a 6th lead change.

348
D4P thinks you get too big of an allowance.

go 70 mph and you will be a star!

Time for lunch!

350 - Um, rule 7?

I'm just not having a good day.

D4P just wants to see Young Miss Weisman's list of chores before he passes judgement on her salary.

And is her allowance guaranteed, or conditional on chore performance?

She gets no allowance, actually. Tough daddy.

Well, I guess Steve Spagnuolo will be eligible to be hired for head coaching jobs in about 30 minutes or so.

I believe 324 answers 337 .

--

It's looking more and more like the NFC Championship game is going to be fun for ornithologists.

--

Troy Aikman is like Mr. State-the-Obvious today.

358 - Which might be good news for me, bad news for my Dad, the NY Giants fan.

The FedEx commercial in the daughter's dorm room is weird on many levels.

Get ready to see photos like this from the last time the Eagles played the Cardinals in the playoffs:

http://www.angelfire.com/fl/TheCard/images/gallery/snow.gif

That's the 1948 Championship game. The Eagles won 7-0.

The Eagles are in the light colored uniforms. The players had to come and help the grounds crew get the tarp off the field before the game as it is was covered in several feet of snow.

The next year, the Eagles came out to L.A. to play the Rams in the championship game. And it rained really hard that day and the Eagles won that game too. The score was 14-0.

Attendance at the Coliseum: 27,890.

I wouldn't mind seeing Kurt Warner win another Super Bowl, especially since he got cheated out of the last one he played in.

At the time the Rams let him go, it seemed like he was getting concussed or breaking a finger on just about every play. Nice to see him make a comeback.

My goodness, we seem to have entered the age of Philly sports.

Mike Patterson is a beast.

Did anyone say 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21......etc.

In 1949, the Rams finished 8-2-2 and the Bears were 9-3. But at the time, the NFL just threw out ties when determining winning percentage so the Rams got the division title.

The 1949 Rams completed 192 passes in 12 games that season. Tom Fears caught 77 of them.

One of my favorite John Coltrane songs is track #1 on his "Ballads" album.

363

Get ready for a lot of hallelujahs.

364 Good thing Philly fans are generally so tolerable. :-/ (das excepted of course.)

Boy, that Jack Bauer sure has an awful lot of bad days.

If young miss Weisman doesn't get an allowance, the least daddy can do is get her a pony. Show of hands, who here thinks she should get a pony!

370
If I worked at a hotel, and I saw that Jack Bauer or Jessica Fletcher were on the upcoming guest list, I would call in sick and just stay the heck away for a few days.

373 meant to reference 371 , not 370 .

Crazy 180 for Randall Carroll. He's dropped all the SEC schools, may have dropped Cal, and is now going to official to ASU and USC (whom he previously said there was no reason to official to). We'll see.

If Jack Bauer came to my hotel, I would be putting out cougar traps.

Who would have thought the NFC Championship will be Philly at Arizona? It would be dumb to pick againt either team at this point but Philly is the 2008 version of the 2007 Giants so i wouldn't be surprise if they win it all.

BTW what the heck was McNabb doing on the Giants sideline pretending to Hug a Giant and picking up their phone? I mean I know you got the game won pretty much but lets be mature now. Troy Aikman said it best "You know sometimes I don't know what goes on in that guy's head."

377 He'd probably just read The Philip Rivers Guide to Sideline Etiquette.

375
Some talk he might have given a silent verbal to UCLA.

Sorry Kurt W, God is an Eagles fan apparently.

Silent Verbal is going to be my next screen name.

Now to see if SD can complete upset weekend. Imagine the final four being Arizona/Philly and Baltimore/San Diego. Actually Baltimore should not be a surprise.

Oh and yes I cannot wait until 24 Season 7 premier tonight. The only setback is the Lakers/Heat is also on. This means I cannot catch 24 on HD if i record it. Anybody know if I buy a DVR, is it possible to DVR shows on HD? If so what do i need to do/buy?

I think Silent Verbal is really Keyzer Soze.

381 Played by Kevin Spacey?

{curses Bob}

383
What is your TV provider? I'm able to record in HD via DVR with Time Warner.

387
Eric lives in the blessed part of Time Warner's service area.

However, I could record "24" in HD if I chose to.

387 - I have COX Cable but I do not have a HD Receiver. I do receive free HD on regular channels obviously.

I'm rooting for Pittsburgh. Heck with San Diego.

379 - I've heard that too. I think that's where he ends up, but I don't believe the silent verbal stuff. One, it's so late in the process, trickery is irrelevant, and they are both his local teams, so theres no reason for tricks. Two, this is different then Pressley, everything I've heard is the kid actually still likes SC best, but Mom really wants UCLA. Mom always wins though.

Being a Cowboys fan I really wish both teams would have been eliminated, I think I should be hating the Eagles more but I can't help but be happy at the fact that I will not read "Eli is God" from Giants fans anymore.

And I also guess people will not even be able to think Eli belongs in the same sentence with Peyton after todays performance despite Peyton losing in yet another playoff game this year.

It is guaranteed that 4 teams I don't like will be playing in the NFL playoffs next weekend.

391
I heard it was because he wants to announce on National Signing Day. I guess while he is on television.

When the Chargers played their inaugural season in L.A., the LA Times usually referred to them as "Barron Hilton's Chargers."

The Cardinals are one of two teams that have played in every NFL season. The Bears are the other.

The Eagles and Steelers didn't start until 1933.

Officially, the Ravens started in 1996. Because in the NFL, you can sell your team's history.

393
I am rooting for Ravens. Cardinals stink too much to be in the Super Bowl.

389 You can get an HD DVR through Cox. Although they charge you something for the HD receiver service, they don't charge anything per HD channel, and they seem to keep adding more every couple of months.

actually, go ∞ mph and you will get a world record!!!

391
Do you know where in the Bay Area, Flournoy is from?

396
The Cardinals are the team I hate the least of the ones remaining. I would move into the "root for them" category if only one thing was different.

Hint: it would conflict with D4P

I definitely do not want to see a battle of Pennsylvania and I definitely do not want to see the Chargers win.

My friend that is a Raider friend last night said he was rooting for the Chargers because they are from California. That made me sad.

The NFC Championship game will be the early one next week. It will start at noon out here.

If the Chargers were to wear their pale blue uniforms in the Super Bowl, I would actually plan to watch the game.

You don't plan on watching the Super Bowl?

4 8 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 100

403
Even if it is between two teams I don't like at all, such as the Ravens/Giants Super Bowl, I couldn't imagine not watching the Super Bowl.

404
Not always. Sometimes I go to the movies.

405
I think you are already better at math than I am.

406
I have still never seen a single minute of the Packers-Broncos Super Bowl.

407
You could become king of the hipsters.

Except they match the Super Bowl for the irony of watching the Super Bowl.

gotta go! bye-bye!

I will also watch the Super Bowl, if they dump this Springsteen guy from the halftime show and bring back those nice "Up With People" crew.

I think they should have a French house music halftime show.

399 - didn't know he was from there, figured he was from the Valley since he goes to Birmingham.

I missed on Super Bowl to watch Kenneth Branagh's 4 hour Hamlet in a movie theater. And missed another one because I was driving back from Tahoe. Otherwise I've seen them all since I was 8 years old.

Bob's Elway (and Favre?) dislike has caused him to miss one of the better SB games ever. I have it on DVD if you ever want me to burn it and mail it to you.

I have not missed a Super Bowl, but I did miss the Janet Jackson fiasco as I was driving during halftime.

I think the last time I went out of my way to watch a Super Bowl, some guy named Larry Brown intercepted two passes and paved the way for his own demise.

If you want to annoy your friends about math, just tell them there's no such thing as subtraction and division. Just addition and multiplication.

Young miss Weisman showing some PVL.

I'd like to see Tim Tebow try a quick kick!

I watched a super bowl (I think the Marcus Allen one) at a Chucky Cheese.

Had to bring up Larry Brown. That was sure a smart contract for the Raiders. :(

417 Okay, that had to be Jon, right?

415
I too missed the Super Bowl to go see the Branagh version of Hamlet.

I didn't skip the Packers-Broncos Super Bowl because of John Elway. I skipped it just to see if it could be done.

417 - Sorry - got our signons crossed.

Tim Tebow has to be a Detroit Lion. It is his destiny.

I definitely have got to be careful with this.

425 - I was gonna say. Otherwise I thought she aged about a year for every 30 mins today.

--

424 -Ah. I thought that was you, in the front row?

--

That was a heck of a run back by Santonio! This is quite a game so far.

http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2009/01/al_martinez_dropped_again.php

Al Martinez dropped from the L.A. Times permanently.

Jon, your daughter is adorable.

That Peyton Manning Mastercard commercial is a lot more funny now that the Colts are out of the playoffs.

Rafael Furcal has spent the majority of his time playing second base in the Dominican Winter League, and last night for Aguilas, he played 11 innings of third base and committed a fielding error.

Rafael Furcal is our new utility man.

http://blogs.pe.com/prosports/mlb/dodgers/

431 Every time I see Peyton Manning I think it's funny he's out of the playoffs.

Are The Kite Runner and Charlie Wilson's War considered to be good movies?

405 Young Miss. That can be described as a series in which each term is (4+the previous term) with an initial term of 4. There may be a simpler way to do this.

The other day (or was it yesterday?) we were discussing salary caps and I mentioned I was not in favor of them because I believe they lead to a bad product (like in the NFL). Then low and behold we have a two 6 seeds, and a 4 seed advancing to the Championship round with 1 game pending.

So I ask here, does everyone here enjoy this type of sports where anything can happen? Or do some, like me, like the olden days where you could count on who was good, and if you wanted your team to win, they had to beat the very best?

I didn't watch either game yesterday, and watched the last 5 minutes of the Giants/Eagles game. And I have no interest in the 2nd game today, whomever is playing.

So, do most of you like this, and therefore would welcome a salary cap in baseball?

I'd be interested to hear some responses, as I think I am probably one of the only ones who dislike the current set-up in the NFL and NBA.

I actually think no salary cap allows for more player movement and a chance for bad teams to get better fast.

I think that happens a lot in the NFL just because of the nature of the sport. Players get injured or old fast in football.

437
And 37.5% of the teams make the playoffs in the NFL, compared to 26.7% in MLB.

The NBA of course sends 53.3% of it's teams to the postseason.

What makes the perfect Date movie?

not My Bloody Valentine 3D. Who the heck approved that dreck!?

428 - it was like "Flowers for Algernon" only without the surgery, or the being dumb first part.

436 - it probably matters less in a sport like football, where statistical proof of performance is impossible to obtain.

439 - if you're a teenage boy, the teenage girl next to you isn't looking at the movie but is burying her head in your arms, thus the perfect date movie.*

*I avow NO knowledge of this from first-hand experience. Seriously.

442 Except I would be totally bored by a movie like that. Horror films suck on principal.

443
You must just watch the cruddy teen horror movies.

There are tons of great horror movies.

443- You're meant to be otherwise engaged.

445 Hah. Point.

444 Let me amend that, recent horror movies suck.

434 CWW was well done, I believe. Good cast, smart script, interesting story. Atypical of most Hollywood A-list pieces, it made me think.

446
You should check out "Let the Right One In" and "Mum & Dad."

436 I know I can see no way I would want a salary cap in MLB if it is like the other sports. And here near NYC, if you could hear the constant talk of the Knicks maneuvering to have cap room for the LeBron sweepstakes a few years hence, I think it would make anyone sort of ill.

The NBA salary cap is weird, its not a hard cap, so it doesn't effectively limit players salaries as it should.

450 - actually, the NBA salary cap is the best a limiting individual players' salaries as there is a "max" deal that the former team can offer and a slightly less "max" deal that a new team could offer, then there is a component for how much you can spend for the entire roster. The NFL system is team by team, so each team can spend no more than X dollars on all of its players.

The NFL cap is designed to stop a few teams from spending an insane amount of money on the best players and effectively freezing out the competition. The NBA system is designed to decrease the incentive for players to play for all 30 teams before they retire.

436 I should add that it is not just the salary cap that makes the product weak, but expansion played a big role as well. In fact, it probably plays a much bigger role.

There are too many teams in every major sport, and not enough players to support them. The salary cap is used to artificially create balance instead of using a true method of sport where only the strong survive. And of course the draft helps this artificial balance as well.

I don't have a problem with growing the sport. But I do have a problem with artificially keeping the sport at a certain level, especially when the result is such a weak product.

However, maybe I am the only one who thinks the product is weak, hence the reason I asked.

444

Top 5 Favorite (American) Horror Movies:

1) Psycho (Hitchcock version)
2) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Hooper version)
3) Night of the Living Dead (Romero version)
4) Bride of Frankenstein
5) The Shining (Kubrick version)

Old-school, am I? You betcha.

433 Why must you all make me cry.

453
Those are quality, though I have not seen Bride of Frankenstein.

451 But does the result of either (NFL or NBA) actually lead to good entertainment, outside of the fans of the teams who advance?

I am neither a Celtic or Laker fan, but I enjoyed them immensley in the 80's, (not so much last year). I am neither a Cowboy or 49er fan, but enjoyed them both in the 90's.

And this is not to say that only dynasties make for good entertainment. I really don't have a problem with who wins, even if it is a different team every year. I just think you should be able to look at the champion, whomever it is, and see greatness.

UCLA womens basketball team takes care of business.

453 You certainly went old school, but curiously left out The Exorcist. Or are we talking strictly slasher horror flicks?

If not, that movie scared me more then any other I have seen. Or maybe it's not American?

It is American.

Well, I'm not a true Charger fan. I gave up on them when #24 let the running back get away. Handed the controls to the wife and came in here.

455 In some ways almost a comedy more than a horror film (and wittily parodied in "Young Frankenstein"), but quality throughout. Beautifully directed, and better than its predecessor.

I would probably say almost all the exact same things about "Dawn of the Dead." But I sort of consider it more of a satire/gross-out flick more than a horror film. It's a lot of fun, to be sure -- but there is nothing fun about "Night of the Living Dead." Creepy, pure, dismal horror, made more "real" due to being a tiny, grainy movie made by some people in Pittsburgh on a looooow budget. (But talent will generally shine through, despite your budget...and Mr. Romero is a talented filmmaker.)

458 It's quite American. But I always found it calculated and gimmicky -- I don't much like the source material, for one thing, Blatty's novel. I guess you could say that of "Psycho," obviously, but that was Hitch working at the height (and towards the end) of his powers. And nobody had ever seen anything like it before.

Not to rag on Friedkin, for sure -- although I'm not a huge fan of "The Exorcist" or "French Connection," his two biggest pictures, I do generally admire his work. I really like some of the dark horse titles in his repertoire, like "Sorcerer" and "The Boys in the Band" and "To Live and Die in LA."

Jeez, I didn't even think of "Jaws." That scared the heck out of me as a kid. But even then I think of it as sort of a horror-adventure thriller.

461
It is all about the young girl in "Night of the Living Dead." And the manic opening.

456 - I don't think the point of the salary caps is to "lead to good entertainment." The point is to maintain a competitive balance that, along with revenue sharing (made easier in the NFL and NBA because of the national TV deals), create a situation where teams can quickly build a winner and then maintain that winner.

How enjoyable would baseball be if you were a fan of the Royals or Pirates? How enjoyable would baseball be for any of us if it was the Mets or the Cubs against the Yankees or the Red Sox every year in the World Series?

The issue of greatness is separate and distinct from the salary cap. Truly great teams are more an anomaly then they are constant. If there was a team like the '27 Yankees every year, it would diminish what the '27 Yankees stand for. Sometimes, less than great teams win championships because they simply played better than the "great team" (see: World Series, 1988). To me, that's the beauty of sport.

464 Well certainly I was not referring to greatness at the 1927 Yankee level.

1970's Orioles, Reds, A's, Dodgers, Yankees, and even the bookending Pirates, not to mention the Phillies, Red Sox and Royals were examples of what I'd call greatness.

The 1970's NFL had Dolphins, Vikings, Steelers, Raiders, Cowboys among some others.

Last years Giants, and whomever wins this year are absolute dogs compared to those NFL teams. Last years Celtic team pales considerably to the Celtic teams of the 1980's. Same with the Laker team last year. More importantly, unless you are a fan of either, not nearly as entertaining. Not even close.

I didn't ask if the purpose of the salary cap was to lead to good entertainment. Obviously it is not. I just asked, from a fans perspective, does it lead to good entertainment? Do fans like the result?

just because I know there is a few U2 fans here (encase some of you have not heard) U2's Bono is a contributor for The Times New York [http://tinyurl.com/7g56vf]

my favorite band of all time.

Hmm. The two Pennsylvania teams are my favorite teams left, but I don't particularly want to see an all-PA Superbowl. The Cardinals are still in? Maybe I'll root for them. Good old Warner. Go Kurt!

463

Every time I re-watch NOTLD, I'm so impressed with Romero's directing. He's got an amateur cast, a bunch of local crew members who have mostly been working on commercials and industrials at that time, and he pulls out a genuinely unsettling and scary film. There are obvious influences from "Psycho" (the trowel murder with the swinging lightbulb that you alluded to re "the little girl") and "The Birds" (the whole concept), but he spins it into something so interesting and original.

468
And then he goes and makes Monkey Shines. ; )

469

Hey, nobody's perfect!

;-)

Unless your name is Robert Bresson or Ingmar Bergman or Stanley Kubrick, and even then you're only perfect to your fan base...

(i.e. Most Americans despise "Barry Lyndon." I think it's one of SK's two or three best films. Am I partisan? Am I biased? You betcha.)

I would have to say if a team that won a championship last year gets close or wins this year, they are creating their own time and greatness.( say Giants, Celts, or Phillies).

My favorite "scary" movies:

The Exorcist
The Haunting (original)
Dracula (original)
The Thing (original)
Invaders from Mars (original)
It! The Terror from Beyond Space

229

Just did some research & the bridge is actually called "Vincent Thomas Bridge" there is a smaller bridge near Rodando Beach but I can't find it on google maps nor google earth.

472

Isn't it sort of deranged that we constantly have to refer to the "original" versions when we cite them? I had to do that for four of my five choices. Why are there so many awful remakes of classic horror movies?

I like your list (though my reservations about "The Exorcist" have already been duly noted). I like "The Haunting" a lot, despite a truly nutty concept (we're gonna invite all these psychics to a haunted house!). But when it works, it REALLY works. ("That wasn't my hand you were holding.")

I adore both versions of "The Thing." I guess I probably think of them as more sci-fi than horror (though the Carpenter one is quite horrific). Actually, come to think of it, I probably should have considered "Halloween," which is also quite beautifully directed and achieves low-budget horror shocks without being stoooopid.

Haven't seen the old "Invaders from Mars" or "It!" yet, though I know the latter was the bare-bones script basis for "Alien." (which also deserves some consideration in this category, but maybe I think of the sci-fi angle as much as the horror angle. But that one is certainly pretty darned horrific.)

While we're at it, I just wanted to mention to you, Marty, that I really enjoy your posts and they tend to elicit responses from me at a high rate. Keep it up!

472

I'm gonna be honest you guys "The Exorcist" was scary in epic proportions for me... I think it was made worst cause of my catholic up bringing, but who knows, I just know I was scared for days.

472 The original "Haunting" I can immediately agree with,and perhaps "The Thing". I was thinking of a few other originals the other day but I can't say which right now. It is amazing how few remakes are much good. Think how "Journey to the center of the Earth" has devolved with the new attempts. And there are others.

Thanks for the nice comment Skyblue.

I saw The Exorcist opening night (12/26/73). Scariest experience I've ever had at a theater. People were walking out because they couldn't take it. It's hard at this time to convey what a unique experience that movie was at the time.

Not Horror, but for example "In Laws" and "The Producers". Great movies end up as terrible dreck. But I understand the second "Producers" was a movie about a musical, and therefore not a direct remake.

I would do a favorite horror movies list, too; not a "best" list, because I don't know how to qualify best horror... (and could get really specific and do a favorite vampire, favorite zombie, etc.)

Anyway, my favorite horror films include:

Night of the Living Dead + Dawn of the Dead (yes, original)
Jaws
Poltergeist
Psycho
The Thing (original and remake, as noted above, are both great)
The Birds
Peeping Tom
Nosferatu (original but remake is interesting too)
Eyes Without a Face
Suspiria
Rosemary's Baby (still chills me to the bones)
The Shining

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a classic, too, but I don't know if I can ever watch that one again.

Some of my favorite comic horror films, which I consider a different group, include: Gremlins (which is scary enough, too, I suppose), Young Frankenstein, Evil Dead II (and I, and Army of Darkness), Shaun of the Dead, and Piranha.

Peeping Tom and Suspiria are great.

I have not seen Halloween in a long time, but my problem with the movie was that he carries around this giant knife but he mostly just chokes people.

Let me just put my knife down so I can go ahead and choke you.

465 - I would posit that a .500 team in today's NFL would likely crush any team from the 1970s if only because the players are bigger, stronger, faster, and they run schemes now that weren't even dreamed of in the 70s. Relatively speaking, you're right. But part of that is just the ebb and flow of the game over time. They are simply times when the quality of the game drops for a variety of reasons - the 90s NBA is an example (Jordan aside, the league was terrible in the 90s). It likely also has to do with expansion and a dilution of talent to more teams.

Now, to get to your question of whether the salary caps make it more entertaining for fans, I don't know. I know I find the NFL more intriguing come the last few weeks of the season as teams are battling for playoff spots, because there seems to be a decent amount of turnover when it comes to the playoffs. There's a little less turnover in the NBA playoffs, but then again, more than half the league makes the playoffs (16 teams out of 30). For some, I think, having more teams competing later into the season would have added value. Whereas in baseball we can pretty much write off 15-20 teams after a handful of games, and its pretty much the same 15-20 teams every year.

I absolutely loath The Shining. I'll have to check out Peeping Tom, Susperia and Eyes without a face. I put Psycho and Jaws in a suspense category rather than horror/scary.

Also, in my list some of those were scary as a kid, but would not frighten anyone now.

I have only seen a few scenes from Eyes Without a Face. I need to check it out.

Now that I think of it, two movies scared the bejeebers out of me as a young boy.

The Time Machine was the first movie I went to at a theater. The morlocks made me sleep with the light on for a week.

The Beast with Five Fingers petrified me when it played on Million Dollar Movie.

483 - I think The Shining is on there as a film I was mistakenly allowed to see as an young 'un and it scared the bejeezus out of me. "Redrum, redrum!" Those creepy kids and all that blood and so on. The atmosphere in that film is still great but revisiting it recently I feel like Nicholson's character goes crazy way too early and then it becomes this deranged stalker in a mansion movie. I love Kubrick in general and that film made an impact on me but thinking more on it probably isn't still one of my faves today.

But speaking of creepy kids, I forgot one of my all time favorites: The Changeling.

Creeeeepy.

I do think of Psycho as a horror film -- not only scary, even with the black comedy and suspense elements, but an early slasher film as well. Even today there are two scenes in Jaws that make me literally jump in fright. It's much more entertaining than it is scary as a whole, though.

479

Oh, heck, if I was gonna go for international cinema, I would have definitely cited "Eyes Without a Face" and "Suspiria." My goodness, how could you not? ;-)

And the original "Nosferatu," yes. Creeeeeepy. (though I admire the Herzog one as well)

I probably should have mentioned above that, when I was referring to "Dawn of the Dead," it was the original. Like I said, I'm old-school. God, another pointless remake!

I could care less if I never saw another "Saw" movie again.

I like "Poltergeist" (I saw it on opening weekend, about two weeks before "E.T," and I thought it blew the latter off the map). I like "The Birds," but I got a C on a paper I wrote about it back in film school and I'm always biased against it now... It's pretty good -- Hitch still seemed to have a couple of good pictures in him at that point (through "Marnie," unless you're a fan of "Frenzy" -- which I'm not), and it was certainly one of the most influential movies of the 1960s.

(But I think "Psycho" was probably his best picture -- ahead of such heavyweights as "Sabotage," "Notorious," "Rear Window," and [gasp!] "Vertigo" and "Shadow of a Doubt.") What a maestro! (I haven't even mentioned "Strangers on a Train").

Too many riches! Glad we've got 'em.

What have I unleased!?

I heart horror/suspense movie thoughts.

Sounds like the Broncos are going to hire Josh McDaniels as their next coach. I was hoping for a defensive guy, but people are really high on him and having a new GM might be more important for fixing the defensive woes. I guess McDaniels, Frazier or Spagnuolo would all have been good choices. But damn, he's young. And tainted by Patriots cooties.

483

I think as a "horror movie," The Shining seems awfully clunky on a first or second viewing. Stephen King HATED it, for example -- that's why he authorized the TV remake.

But on subsequent viewings, as with all of Kubrick's flicks (IMHO), it started to make more sense to me -- the last time I saw it, I felt it was this intense, deeply personal examination of the possibilities of madness inherent in the patriarchal unit. And it was "disguised" as a horror movie.

What can I say? I'm a convert. He's one of my two favorite filmmakers, and his films tend to resonate over time with me in a way that few filmmakers' films do (with obvious old exceptions like Renoir and Satyajit Ray and Welles).

But as a straight-up horror movie, it's clunky, for sure. Give me zombies or "Texas Chainsaw" for that stuff.

490
Baaaaaahhh!!! He is the guy I wanted the Raiders to hire the year we hired Kiffin.

482 First off, thanks for responding. I would have thought the topic may have caused a few more to write, but perhaps it is just a boring topic.

As for teams now versus the 70's, you are right if they went back in time and played them with their current abilities. My point was only the level of talent on those teams relative to the other players at that time.

But as you also allude to, relatively speaking they don't compare. For example, the Steeler team of the 70's may have had a current payroll in the neighborhood of $100 million or more if all those players had been born in say the mid to late 80's. And of course, then they couldn't have a team like that due to the cap, (my point).

We both agree that expansion played a big role. We disagree on interest in the end of the current NFL seasons, because I find a bunch of bad teams competing for a playoff spot uninteresting, because they are all bad.

I guess I'll sum it up this way. I have long felt that awhile back, some of the sports teams were really good, and then it just seemed that instead of forcing the other teams to become as good as those good teams, they went the other way, and made all those good teams come down to the level of the other teams.

And for me, that makes for a bad product, for the same reason almost every other fan thinks its a good product, "Because anyone can win". I just think you no longer need to be great to win it all. You can be very average and still win it all.

492 - Seriously? What was he, like 19 when that happened? ;-)

Don't worry Raiders fans, Tom Cable is coming back for another year!

486

Which scenes?

One has to be the head coming out of the chewed hole in the boat, I imagine.

What's the other one? The shark coming up when Scheider (who just died last year -- darn, I'm getting older) is chumming?

Or the shark jumping onto the boat at the end? (right into the camera)

Intense...

I still think the first death in Jaws is the most well done in the entire series.

Of course, there was only one good movie in the whole series.

496 - Yes, definitely the corpse in the boat scene -- my god, just rewatched that again this past year and it still made me jump. The shark coming up behind Scheider used to be another but now it's so expected it doesn't really work me up as much. Yes, the shark jumping at the camera still does it.

UCLA is starting Nikola Dragovic for reasons I cannot fathom.

Jon no doubt reveling in Kate Winslet's big win.

I actually saw Jaws 3-D in a theater when I was a teen or preteen. whenever that was. So excited to see a 3-D movie and Jaws to boot! Man... was that awful.

Hmmm . . . Jaws came out in 1975 when I was 8.

I have a distinct memory of deep fear after seeing it -- I clearly remember getting so overloaded with water fear during a shower that I had to get out in a panic all covered wiht soap and shampoo.

But did I really see that movie when I was 8? If I didn't, back in that universe when would I have seen it. I guess a Movie of the Week type thing a year or two later?

500
Not unless he traveled to the East Coast to watch it. ; )

Oh no.

It's an awards show for crying out loud!

502

I saw it on its first network screening (ABC Movie of the Week?), which must have been 1979-1980. They cut the profanity and the tail end of the "severed leg shot," where you get to see the viscera, but they most emphatically did not cut the severed head floating out of the boat. My mother and her husband were working that night, so I was watching it alone, and I was freaked out beyond belief. Scariest thing I ever saw on a television (except for the news).

The whole Alien series has a special place with me.
Alien - best scary/suspense movie
Aliens - best action/sci-fi movie
Alien III - stupidest beginning to a movie I've ever sat through. Lets just throw out the whole reason for being vested in Aliens.
Alien Versus Predator - expected nothing, enjoyed the heck out of it
Alien Versus Predator II - worse movie of 2008, and it had some tough competition

502

And I'm the same age you are...

Robert Horry as a Celtics would be horrifying.

501

Yeah, I heard that one was a real dog. I did, however, manage to rent "Jaws IV" ("The Revenge" ?) at my grandparents's house in summer of 1987. Suffice to say I won't be renting it again in this lifetime.

"Jaws 2" was okay. That was the one with all the terrified teenagers having a regatta. That was the one where the shark eats a water-skier. And a helicopter, to boot!

505 I'm sure that's it.

It's funny tracking back and thinking of the world many of us grew up in where you either saw a movie on release, saw an edited version if you planned and watched its scheduled appearance, or saw it 10 years later when VCRs and cable emerged.

Seriously, when you are ranked No. 4 and you beat the No. 3 team at home, you should not rush the court.

506

Isn't there an "Alien 4" out there, too? With Winona Ryder? How was that one?

506
I re-watched Alien 3 after I went to college and I found a new appreciation for the movie. David Fincher did a good job of directing again.

512
It is just so-so, but at least it is a little weird.

514
It won't go on Jean-Peirre Jeunet's highlight reel; that is for sure.

I do not like this UCLA starting lineup at all!

Okay, Holiday did start. Quit lying to me FSN!

Iron Chef Complaint Sidebar

Here's a thing that bugs me about the way they edit the show. The secret ingredient comes out and . . . both teams dash off and start cooking. But in the real world, they just must have taken a moment somewhere there in the first five minutes and, you know, jobbed out dishes and sauces and whatnot. They can't just conjure these dishes without some moment of planning/organizing.

So how come they never show that part, or even hint at it? I'd find it really interesting, and I bet that a lot of folks bent enough to actually watch Iron Chef would as well.

I could save myself some aggravation and do some laundry and come back for the last 5 minutes.

Oh, duh. How could I forget one of my all time fave horror movies on that list above?

Alien.

No doubt. Saw it when I was too young to be seeing it, and kept me on the edge of the seat -- traumatizing me even. (The alien popping out of John Hurt's stomach is like permanently etched into my psyche.)

bh,

Did you get my email awhile back, a reply to you?

518 I read where they give the contestants a list of the possible secret ingredients prior to the competition so they can give them a list to shop for those ingredients.

Often the contestants and iron chefs can tell what the ingredient will be from looking at the other ingredients in the pantry.

Wow, I hadn't seen Phil Jackson's quote about Sasha until now. Pretty harsh, but also quite funny (and probably true).

>>"We just had to come to the conclusion that Sasha's just an emotional player that plays by the seat of his pants, and that's about it. He just doesn't have a brain," Jackson said before Friday's game against Indiana. "He's just out there whacking away and working really hard. He's not using his head out there at times. We're working with him, hoping that he will."<<

521 Yes, we are good. We can discuss as the time gets closer.

518 Mario Batali says they get 5-10 minutes to plan out the menu.

Scariest moment of The Shining for me is when she takes a look at his "work".

Seeing Alien again is weird. They got to smoke on the spaceship for heaven's sake.

525 I went to the donut shop this morning, nice coffee and old fashioned donut.

I always suspected they know the ingredient beforehand.

527 Cool.

520

Yeah, I thought about it, but I just couldn't quite figure out if it was sci-fi or pure horror. I guess the latter -- it's kind of a "haunted house" movie that happens to be set in space.

Beautifully made, to be sure (with superb acting -- almost like an Altman cast; they all interact so naturally), but so simple and visceral. It just works you over. I can't imagine seeing it a theater back when I was 11 (first release) -- I think I would have had a heart attack. I waited until we had StarCase (Massachusetts's pay-station thing before HBO), and then watched it about six times in three weeks.

http://xmmlbchat.blogspot.com/2009/01/florida-marlins-mermaid-auditions-jan19.html

The Florida Marlins are bringing back the cheerleaders. Warning, possibly not safe for work due to skin of females.

I guess I always knew but I'm still very disturbed by these Iron Chef revelations.

See the Mario Bava movie "Planet of the Vampires" and you can see where Ridley Scott got a lot of his influences for Alien.

529 I take it you were not there.

532
Did you know on Jeopardy they are given a giant book of answers? Basically, there are too many questions for them to memorize, but they can get a bunch down.

Oh sure.

What'd you see that in Capricorn One?

I was only rooting for the cat.

532 http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070528/CUSTOM04/70523008

535 I'm calling shenanigans and urban legend.

536
Of of my TA's at UCSB dad was a producer on the show and one of my dad's friends was a contestant on the show.

Jeopardy isn't that hard, it wouldn't surprise me if someone knew that much.

That Iron Chef thing is like telling me there's no Santa though.

On TV, everything is manipulated to a crazy degree.

542 This is true [especially reality TV], but I have known too many Jeopardy contestants who all refute your suggestion, alone with every online account from a contestant I can find.

541 I don't know, its still seems pretty difficult to make and plate 5 dishes in an hour.

538 I opened up the store today, and left around 9:30 AM. If you met a nice middle aged Asian lady, that is my mother. If you met a colleged aged man who was half asleep and wearing a hoodie, that was me. We might have met, but when I'm working I have the memory of a goldfish, and barely notice anything.

I was going to say something about the Dodgers but I think this will wait until a different post--- we have at least thirty days until pitchers and catchers, darn it.
Most of S. Kings stories have not moved well into film, but when I look back, I think the best were Carrie and the Shining. And they didn't seem that great until I saw the remakes. But Jack Nicholson and Piper Laurie were so good IMO that the two films Stand.

543
Well, I have no reason to think my TA lied. This was a history of television class that he was TA'ing for too.

547 We need a DTer to get on Jeopardy to settle it forever.

544 You have three accomplished chefs sharing duties. Its not as if each chef is cooking one dish by himself, its almost like an assembly, all the chefs use the military style to prep and cook food. There's always one chef who handles the proteins(meat, and fish), another who creates sauces, and another who does random stuff, at least when Batali cooks.

Also, I love the promotion the L.A. Kings are doing with their Youth Movement. The Dodgers need to do something similar.

546 I thought Jack jumped the shark with his "Here's Johnny" line.

The 11th inning of this ridiculous game is about to start on MLB Network.

Spoiler below.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT199104210.shtml

Has Jon done any previews for the mid season replacements yet? I'm really interested in the David and Goliath remake, that's set in an alternate reality version of pseudo American North East. I want to hear his thoughts on it.

Iron Chef Complaint Sidebar 2

OK, now that the show is shamed and dishonored in my eyes, here's another question. What exactly are the rules? Wonderful cooking genius aside, food that is fresh and hot and hasn't sat for 20 minutes is always going to be better than food that has been parked. And the cooks sure don't seem to be plating up 3 dishes of everything. So is the rule just that, whatever dishes you can plate during your time are yours, but you make them fresh to serve for judging? And so if you can push out a dish in 10 minutes, it's "done" and counts when you cook for judging? Or do you have to meet some basic standard of having your dishes ready simultaneously?

553
I think you would have to work on the show to actually know all that stuff.

553 The team that goes second is always allowed to reheat their food. But in the Japanese version, they weren't allowed to do this, and the Iron Chef always went first putting the challenger at an disadvantage.

And I don't think they plate 3 plates of everything, its just one plate that the Judges share, almost like family style?

I worked on an episode of Last Comic Standing and they pretty much lie about everything on the show.

554 Now you're talking!

550 Yes he did!

When did Sasha handle point guard duties? Since Farmer was out?

546

Generally the best ones, I felt, had the better directors: De Palma, Kubrick, Cronenberg are all uber-competent, hence the better movies. (Although that didn't help Carpenter out, but he peaked early.)

Lots of people hold out their hearts for "Stand By Me," but I have so far avoided it.

I should have asked Santa to have someone that can post up for UCLA.

Last good Carpenter movie was "In the Mouth of Madness."

This appeared last thread, Ng on Penny's departure==

"... there was no way to patch things up with Penny. He basically had to leave town and start over somewhere else. She said if Penny is healthy, he should be a strong acquisition for BoSox."

Why exactly did things get to that point between Penny and the team? I saw a story which had Joe saying something like it was best Penny left because he wasn't comfortable with the Dodgers, whatever that meant.

Did I see some reference to his maybe thinking he had to pitch hurt??? Does anyone have a link to a good story about this? Thx.

560 I think you have something there. "Stand by Me" is an enigma. Sometimes I think it's pretty good. but then I think I might be thinking of John Lennon doing Ben E. King.

Oh man--I'm watching some "Planet Earth" thing on the Discovery Channel, and suddenly they are trying to sell me some special collection of "Cristian Music."

every time sasha does something good tonight, the director shows the lakers cheerleaders jumping, etc... go sasha, go!

is Silence of the Lambs a horror movie? i think it was. my wife almost didn't marry me i was such a wuss when i saw that.

I am shocked no one has mentioned "The Shawshank Redemption."

The Jonas Brothers really creep me out.

566

well, if you were an adult then I would understand your wife's reservations but if you were a child, I mean come on...

569
adult. sort of.

566

I'll be the first to admit that I know next to nothing about film but isn't that a psychological thriller?

When I was a kid, I could not fall asleep after watching Gremlins 2.

Now it is like, great I was horrified by a friggin comedy.

568 Could it be that if you add their ages, they are barely older than you.

To be fair, they are much closer to my age (added up) than yours.

How about some love for "The Orphanage"? That movie creeped me out really good. Something about kid ghosts with masks... "The Devil's Backbone" is also great.

In terms of comedic-horror, i enjoyed "Severance", it had a bit of a Shaun of the Dead vibe but much more violent and crazy.

And finally, I felt the middle of "The Descent" was very creepy, claustrophobic, and scary. Unfortunately the first 30 minutes is pretty boring and the end is like the end of I Am Legend but underground.. and less realistic. ouch!

I guess Silence of the Lambs is officially a thriller, but it definitely has horror elements, and certainly has its share of terrifying scenes. I wouldn't disagree if someone wanted to classify it that way.

Gremlins 2 is hilarious, and the first one is funny, too, but the 2nd one is more cartoonish. (Still, I can see how parts of it would be scary to a kid.)

545 You work at Circus Donuts, right?

I agree minty, The Orphanage is one of the creepiest, most effective horror films in ages.

563 You know, when you add the Penny thing with the comments by Saito and the Red Sox, and the fact that Lowe seems to want to be anywhere but LA, you could begin to get a bit paranoid. Of course if all these folks wanted to get away from this team it wouldn't be paranoia, but based in reality.
It's a bit funny that none of the younger players have been signed to protective contracts. Do our young core of at least five,(including DeWitt) feel they have not been appreciated.
I am beginning to feel uncomfortable about this. I'm not into the importance of
clubhouse love, but I don't think the opposite is positive.

DeRozan is having the best game of his short career.

The Lakers are being pathetic again tonight.

576 yes.

I wasn't allowed to watch "Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes" [http://tinyurl.com/9kbz4a]

578 Let's see Brad Penny doesn't stay in town during the playoffs, Derek Lowe was upset that he didn't get an extension offer during the first part of the season (not that Boras would have signed one anyway) and Saito was hurt with an elbow that normally requires Tommy John surgery.

As for the young players, this is the first off-season where you could seriously considered extensions and we don't know what will happen. Right now, these players only have to be paid the MLB minimum and really they would be out of line to feel they should get anything more until their servive time requires the Dodgers to treat them that way.

DePalma is on my list as possibly the worst director ever. I really dislike almost all of his movies.

580 Pathetically on their way to their 30th win, you mean? ;-)

Of course the Lakers allow a wide open 3 in the last second, luckily for the Lakers that shot didn't go in.

I think signing any of the youngsters to any extensions this off season doesn't happen this off season since Ned doesn't seem to be interested in any long term moves.

I can only imagine what life would be like if the Lakers didn't have the best record in the NBA at the moment.

587 He explored signing Martin long term last off season only to be rebuffed by Marin's agent.

Vlad runs away from a wide open 3 point shooter and the Heat got one last chance. Lakers get away with a foul at the end and escape with a 3 point win. Pathetic but I guess I will take it.

589 But what about Kemp, Loney, Ethier, Billingsley, or Broxton? Just because one young player rebuffs the option doesn't mean you should just stop.

There is nothing pathetic about being 30-6. A win is a win. Oklahoma City and the Clippers are pathetic.

Hey, the Celtics in their slump is kinda pathetic. ~_~

UCLA and their ridiculous 3P shooting is killing me!!!

591 To be fair as good as they have been, you could wait and go to arbitration with them.

594
USC is much better off if Dragovic and Shipp are chucking up threes.

583 Fair enough--I hope I am just being paranoid myself. But either Colletti is making a huge commitment to the "core" or he will sign a bat and a SP.

595 What I mean is that Martin with All-Star cred and being a catcher is someone that would probably do well in arbitration. If Chad has another year like 2008, than he would be in a good place to bargain from. But Ethier, Kemp and Loney really need raise their games to be players that would bust the bank if they went to arbitration.

597 I think he is doing both.

596 You wanted to type "upchucking" at first, didn't you? ;-)

--

Yay, Waltz with Bashir won a Golden Globe!
Yay, and {sniff} Heath Ledger won, too.

Very happy Heath won.

Fading on the E coast---gnight.

600
I read Mike Nolan is going to be your DC.

You can't escape him.

600 Or you could go to IMDB.com and watch something else.

603 - Really? I keep hearing it's going to be Dom Capers.

One of those is a false rumor. I prefer Capers, though I guess Nolan will be better as a DC again than he was a head coach, whatever that's saying.

--

Man the GG nominees for screenplay were all disappointing imho except for Frost/Nixon. And they were all adaptations -- they need to have separate categories like they do at the Oscars.

Yay, Alec Baldwin!

605
I read that Capers was going to be an assistant, but not DC.

606 There's a man who will watch the tape-delayed Laker road game broadcast.

For those participating in Slasher Thoughts upthread, you guys might be interested in this game:

http://www.otb-games.com/cineplexity/

I played it at an annual New Year's Day party I've been going to for some years, and it's a blast.

Jrue Holiday might be only lottery pick who will pass the ball with a chance to take a shot to clinch a game.

Giamatti is awesome!

oh man. I can't stop giggling at the road runner pic on Kate Winslet winning a Golden Globe.

611

He is a great actor man...

UCLA 3-0 at the Galen Center. USC will look to bounce back against ASU.

When I first saw Gremlins I spent much of the movie worried that Gizmo would die. I think I might've asked my mother if he would and she said no. Those Westwood sneak previews were the best . . .

The amazingly prolific and talented A.R. Rahman won for Slumdog Millionaire. That is very cool.

the first season of Californication was great, (except for the last 2 episodes) I only caught the first episode of the 2nd season but the writing seemed up to par.

the first season rocked man.

I'm not impressed with any Showtime shows. Dexter is the only one I can really watch and that's only because of Michael C Hall. I am going to give Nurse Jackie a shot though!

After what Tina Fey did tonight, I think we should all hope that Jon never gets a national forum to "thank" us.

I'm growing tired of losing to ucla at Galen. Props to the Bruins on a good game.

616
I was curious how Slumdog did not make your list. Also no Barcelona?

Tina Fey has had a heck of a run, might be the most creative person in Hollywood at the moment. Would be interested in what she could do with a HBO type of show.

I loved the Gremlin movies. The bar scene in Gremlins II was classic.

The Rupert Murdoch Gremlin should get a talk show on Fox.

621- I didn't see Vicki Cristina Barcelona, alas, which is odd for me as I usually do see even lesser Woody Allen. I enjoyed Slumdog but had some severe problems with the (now Golden Globe winning) screenplay, found some of the characterizations simplistic and the story contrived. I was glad I saw it and that it was made, but I'm not in love with it.

The Hardball Times' Evan Brunnel on the Dodgers' Vargas signing:

>>Los Angeles Dodgers signed RHP Claudio Vargas to a one-year contract.

I really like this deal for the Dodgers. Vargas showed flashes of potential for the Montreal/Washington Expos/Nationals before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks where he started putting it together. As a starter for the Diamondbacks in 2005 and 2006, he posted a mid-4.00s ERA before being dealt to the Milwaukee Brewers for the 2007 season. In an abbreviated season cut short by injury, Vargas posted a 5.03 ERA in 134.1 innings, this despite an xFIP of 4.89. Vargas signed a minor league pact with the New York Mets in March and spent most of the year in Triple-A. At the big-league level in 37 innings, he threw for a 4.62 ERA (4.78 xFIP). All told, the best way to explain this signing is that Vargas, for all intents and purposes, replaces Chan Ho Park in the role he will fill and in the effectiveness he can bring.<<

http://tinyurl.com/8lls2o

Dodgers reliever Ramon Troncoso is listed among those who signed player participation agreements with the Dominican Republic, making him eligible to pitch in the World Baseball Classic.

Also, Diamond Lueng has the Kim Ng interview she did today with Hacksaw up.

http://blogs.pe.com/prosports/mlb/dodgers/

Seven, Jacobs ladder and Frailty although not straight Horro movies scared the crap out of me. After seeing The Exorcist and Halloween as a kid, I stuck to comedies and Star wars. I had had enough.

619
I was at a 24 party, so I missed that, plus the Laker game, plus the USC/UCLA game.

Here's more on the Tina Fey acceptance speech:

http://tinyurl.com/8mby3r

I think 24 parties may be a sign in the apocalypse.

629
Even worse, I've taken quite a bit of ribbing at said parties because when the previews come up for the next episode(s) I cover my ears and close my eyes very tightly. I look like a child when doing so apparently.

When my roommate in college forced me to watch that show. I thought the previews were the best part.

The ESPN Pacman interview with Stephan A. Smith is lurid.

It is hard to watch anything with Stephen A. Smith.

Saw Gran Torino last night and thought it was the best movie I've seen in years. Brilliant.

I still cant get over that Anwar from Skins is in one of the best movies of the year. Great for him.

635
Do you come from Indian descent or English decent?

Either way we would have something in common.

636 neither... just a hispanic guy born in L.A. now living in the Puget Sound area for the last 9 years (this site is a godsend for us L.A. Ex-Pats). Loved watching Skins on BBC America.

I hoping for an Eagles-Steelers Super Bowl, just so we can let Pennsylvania have some time in the spotlight.

I am sad I missed horror film/thriller thoughts.

I remember I was home for the summer in college and I was staying on the couch in the family room. There was a Friday the 13th showing every night for the entirety of the series. I got through the first 3.5 showings. What I learned is that if you take off your clothes or intend to have relations out of wedlock, you will die in the next scene.

NPUT

What I learned is that if you take off your clothes or intend to have relations out of wedlock, you will die in the next scene

And if you're being chased by Ja(y)son, don't bother running, because you'll probably trip (multiple times). Plus, he walks faster than you run, anyway.

Oh: and yes, Camp Crystal Lake is still dangerous. So don't bother going there in the first place.