Opperman

Spoken like a hardcore radio guy...

And of course, it conveniently ignores the fact that most likely, whatever levee-strengthening project would have needed to start under Clinton to be ready now...if not during the administration of Bush I or Reagan.

Well keep in mind, the troublemakers in New Orleans this week have generally been the ones who already cause a lot of trouble...they've just been able to be more open and more brazen. Martial Law was the only choice. When your rescue equipment and personnel are getting shot at (by, in many cases, looted guns), you have no other choice.

You left out the caveat of landfalling pressure. Otherwise, Gilbert was at 888 mb and another hurricane (Allen?) was under 900 as well...

Sure, but they're still good players, and that's a pretty good return for three guys they were basically just trying to get rid of.

Germantown grad Paul Maholm made his debut the next night, believe it or not.

Who knows, but I wouldn't rule out Calipari having something to do with it. He's not the first Memphis recruit to go to a prep school after committing. Heck, Darius Washington did it after his HS season ended.

If it wasn't his intention to honor all of Peterson's scholarship signees, he should have said that from the outset. He should have said up front that he might or might not. He can't sign with another D-I program until Tennessee releases him or he sits out two years. I agree, and I wish the administrations would just come out and quit lying...it's about money and winning, nothing else. That's why I'm glad to be in D-II. Winning is important to us, but we haven't fired any coaches (at least at my school) for not winning. We fired one for other reasons, and we've had a couple of coaches resign (unforced) in part because they knew they weren't getting it done on the field. But at (most) D-II schools, academics really matter, and that makes it more rewarding IMO.

I think it does make some sense. Williams and Posey were troublemakers last season, so West wanted them gone. Considering they got Eddie Jones and a little more payroll flexibility back for what they were trying to get rid of, I think they came out ok. The four guys they were trying to get rid of were Williams, Posey, Wells, and Swift -- Swift left as a FA, and they got Bobby Jackson and Eddie Jones back for the other two, and they used a large chunk of the freed-up money for Damon Stoudamire.

You realize this is the second Cubs castoff you guys have picked up in a month, right?

Yes, Jocques is X-man's son.

Now that I think about it more, you're right...I was thinking that's what the little girl called Sully.

Wrong character. Googly Bear was the main character. JW's avatar is "Mikewezowski"

Well, Rolen didn't do anything in the LDS or the World Series last year... Losing him will hurt, but he's not completely irreplaceable like Chris Carpenter is.

2 - it's not the cars, it's the SUV's. Car's are getting better and better mileage. But the government exempted SUV's from the CAFE as work trucks. So... 3 - treat them as trucks. Require truck tags, require special licenses, etc. I don't agree with a blanket tax on older vehicles. My 1989 Toyota Camry, which I used until last month, got 30 a gallon on the highway and about 25 a gallon around town.

All the people who keep getting bigger and less efficient SUV's too. That increased demand drives prices badly.

Tim Thompson, former Melrose coach fired for conduct unbecoming a teacher (selling players, illegal recruiting of junior high players, etc.) made his return to the field tonight for Fayette-Ware. Jocques Crawford, probably the second-best running back in the area, was arrested this week for aggravated rape, a story that was released this morning. For all the good that comes out of HS sports, there's also an awful lot of crap... (Figuring talk of this is more appropriate for the plus boards)

Yes, that probably is the best thing. But if that's your intention, don't lie to him about it until his car's packed and his books have been bought. That's the problem I have with the situation, and every college coach I've talked to (and keep in mind, I work in college athletics) has agreed that's a horrible thing to do.

Get 9 rings, then we'll talk.

I'm afraid the Blues are in long-term trouble...the Lauries are trying to cut every corner they can since they're selling the team. Hopefully they sell to a local owner.

The guy has a career ERA of almost 5. 5.05 as a rookie, 6.43 in 2000. 2.74 in 2001, he's turned the corner, right? Nope, 7.33 in 2002. 3.30 in 03, now he's got it, right? Nope, 4.73 in 04. 2.whatever this year, he's finally got it, right? Personally, I doubt it. He's established a pattern. And to answer your point about Ortiz earlier...he's a 1B/DH, and Minnesota already had a bunch of those -- Mientkiewicz, Mike Cuddyer, Mike Restovich, Matt LeCroy, Bobby Kielty, Casey Blake...they couldn't keep all of them. Ortiz was about to get a lot more expensive due to arbitration, and he'd been injured more often than he'd been healthy. All that to say, they felt Minky, Cuddyer, Restovich, and the like would handle 1B/DH cheaper and more consistently. There's no way you can claim the Cubs didn't have room for him in the bullpen. With one of the worst pens in the NL, they traded him for a group of players that doesn't look like it will be worth much for a MLB team.

Grudzielanek, Eckstein, and Sanders were the only free agents. The Cardinals didn't buy Edmonds, Rolen, or Walker, they traded for them.

No. The rulebook doesn't say anything about the bat crossing the plate. It's the umpire's judgment whether the batter "struck at the ball". Spinning out of the way clearly isn't that. The bat crossing the plate is one of the tests umpires use to determine that, but it's not part of the rule.

There are some mistakes that are a lot stupider than others. Farnsworth is a reliever who goes back and forth between being good and being awful, and he hasn't learned anything yet about how to be consistent. Sure, he could...but some things are less likely than others. I particularly liked his 8th inning appearance today, though not quite as much as I liked Reitsma in the 9th... thumb He's an ok pickup, but he isn't wonderful.

How many runs is Sosa going to give up tomorrow? If it's 2 or more, the Cardinals will win. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/gamelog?playerId=3610 He's been 1968 Bob Gibson for over 2 months.