Potpourri
 

yeah but:

"I'm out there laughing because those are shots I usually make," James said. "Four or five high school games I hit more than eight 3s in a game. I've got the all-time record at St. Vincent-St. Mary's with 11 3s in a game, so it's just finding my comfort level. That's all it is."


and:
James did have the niftiest pass of the night, catching the ball in mid-air and quickly redirecting it to Ricky Davis for a second-quarter dunk.

I'm just saying he could be something. Magic didn't score tons his fist game out and he was 2 years older.

Potpourri
 

Then please explain to me why the teams yelling the loudest about the disparity pocketed the cash instead of spending it on better players.

Interesting argument. Can you explain the Clippers to me then?

And your argument isn't with the Yankees. It's with major league baseball. Just like all bitter fans, your anger is misplaced. You're upset because the Yankees have fans, are popular and make money and spend that money within the rules of the sport.

The Mets had a huge payroll. The Dodgers had a huge payroll. The White Sox certainly had a larger payroll than the Twins. Spend the fucking money. (And here's the key:) Spend it wisely. Build a winning team. Increase your fan base so you have more money. Repeat.

That's my point. You people are griping because the Yankees are successful. You just scream extra loud because we invest what we make in the team. Until other teams decide to stop lining their pockets instead of doing the same, I don't really want to hear the complaints about the payroll. Especially when we pay you extra for the right to play within the rules.

TM

Potpourri
 

He couldn't score on Devean George.

That's all I am saying.

Melo will have a much bigger impact as a player than LeBron this year.

Question
 

Is anyone reading this crap? I haven't read word one since its second post.

You've just been knighted Sir Petunia, Knight of the PJ order, Land of Fu.

TM

A Minor Dilemma
 

I don't know about that, but we already have enough hotel heirs/heiresses in town with the Pritzker family, which owns the Hyatt chain and a gajillion other things...

There's a lot of them, too, so my money's on them to whip some bony Hilton ass!

I actually had to work today
 

So this is my miscellaneous ketchup on whatever caught my eye (which does not include sports):

Arby: re: the non-listening friend: She has made it clear that she is not, in fact, interested in your opinion or advice, whatever she says. The "no comment just hand the hankie" approach is probably best at this point. If she keeps asking "alas, alack, whatever, ever, shall I do," you might make it pointedly clear to her that you have been telling her what she might do for some time, and she hasn't given any heed, so you assume she doesn't really want to know. But that's best if it is more of a lead up to "you made your bed now lie in it and stop snivelling" speech.

Pony: re: the rant about rich assholes getting kudos for buying shit: have I told you recently that I adore you? Changing the loo roll in my house would make you a hero.

Wonk: re: wife with separation anxiety: You clearly have to go; going to business/social/face-time/team player events is (sadly) very important. Your kids are clearly not invited. Your wife clearly will not go without the kids. So leave her at home and party it up with Paigow. I agree that taking the kids along to a business celebration, even left in the gentle care of hotel sitters, is a sort of cheesy move (particularly if you live in the city in Q), but whether it is more cheesy than going to the play/dinner and then going home instead of staying the night with everyone else, I couldn't say - I don't know if these people are likely to party all night, or get up and commisserate over bloody marys in the morning or what. I would probably go along on the whole shebang w/o the wife, though. That's just me, so YMMV. My parents lasted until I (the oldest) was about 5 before they started abandoning us with neighbors for long stretches, so I guess I don't have much insight into your wife's views here.

A Minor Dilemma
 

And just one Pritzker girl could buy many many Paris Hiltons...

Which is completely irrelevant if she isn't as hot as Paris.

Just Eat It
 

No wonder you're so fucking good with the song parodies. You had help.

TM

ANNOUNCEMENT
 

the window is closed.

Potpourri
 

you mean the guy who said:"I know he's athletic and he can drive. I wanted to see how well he can shoot," George said. "There's no reason for me to get real close on him and let him use his athletic ability when he hadn't hit a jump shot, so that was my strategy."

Not the words of a clampdown on a helpless, no offense having, also ran.

this'll boil down to how good their respective teams are really. "Impact" is hard to define for teams sorry enough to have earned a lottery pick.

Potpourri
 

cite, please? Their fans are yelling at their own teams for not spending. Or the players (see Expos). Regardless, teh luxury tax does not give teams equal amounts of money. The Yankees pay something like $10m this year. That hardly brings up any of the low-ball teams anywhere near them. Compare with the NFL and revenue sharing. And, Yes, the gripe is with baseball, but the gripe is with baseball perpetuating a massive problem with the competitive balance of the game.

Yes. They suck. What's your point? That every league has a Clippers/Bengals/Tigers equivalent? Of course they do, but is that a good thing for the league? No--that's what leagues strive to eliminate. Sometimes the mismangement is so great that they can't. Then they try to dissolve the team.

Every team except the Orioles and Expos have fans. And a good number of teams are popular.

Do the Yankees make money? Or does Steinbrenner simply subsidize them with earnings from other businesses? (no, this question can't be answered because he, like every owner, can shift money from one pocket to the other with impunity).

But that's not the point. Plenty of people play "within the rules" but aren't particularly liked. Do you work for Microsoft perchance?

The Discrete Smarm of the Bourgeoisie
 

She was impressed. "There was no hugging or kissing," Dr. Dean said. "Maykin's not a jump-up-and-down kind of person, but I know she loved it."

Man has other men build antiseptic, monochromatic house for frigid wife. Woman registers near-imperceptible positive emotion before overpriced industrial wok breaks.

Does this house have separate bedrooms? It should.

In happier, passionate news, Neko tends bar in Chi-town. How hard is the Illinois State Bar Exam? I knew there was a reason I've always liked Chicago.

Wonk (it was Wonk, wasn't it?), haven't your children ever been to sleep-away camp? To sleep-overs with neighborhood kids? This might not be the time to fight this battle, but having your wife ease up on the overprotective mom thing might pay off dividends once your kids reach their teens. You don't want to have to deal with a son/daughter who stays out all night because mom never let them out of the house.

I presume no family is nearby. If she won't let your kids stay overnight with family, then get a prescription of Paxil for you and a bottle of bourbon for yourself.

Paris Hilton
 

One out of four ain't bad.

Thurgreed(anticipating the "Yes, I am in love response)Marshall

A Minor Dilemma
 

Ha. You mock. How would you feel if someone said something as cutting and hurtful as "puppies suck"? How would you feel? Devastated, I tell you. And to think about how cleverly nfh sucked me into her trap. I am obviously no match for wit of her caliber. Think about it, she probably just came up with that off the top of her head. And other pithy phrases, like "woo hoo, let's here it for you." Let's not forget when she taunts those from other countries: "How's that ejucashun system up there?" Hysterical. Or (and this should hit particularly close to home) when she advocates animal cruelty: "Find some other dog to kick." I could rack my brain for a month of Sundays and such cutting edge humor would never occur to me. I may just give up -I'm clearly outmatched.

And I'm sure that her tummy bubbles don't stink, either. In fact, I'm starting to picture her as Jessica Simpson. Look out, Less, you have beauty AND brains coming to this happy hour.

A Minor Dilemma
 

To respond to the above and the Daintiest Petunia's poll:

If Paigow gets physical with Paris, look for a "bonus." Earlier this year, I was afforded an up close and personal look at Paris Hilton's left breast, when she stepped out of a cab at the valet station of a restaurant here and her breast fell out of her dress. I guess Paris is too cool (or drunk) to be bothered by such things, because she ignored it and simply sailed past me and the 10 other people standing on the sidewalk and headed into the restaurant like an Amazon.