HopsGuy

I was at the 1991 US CoreStates Championship. The winner that year was this montrous Dutchman named Michel Zanoli. After he won, he walked by me to the victory stand. I couldn't believe how big this guy was. I remember some guy running up to Davis Phinney compalining that Zanoli had bumped him near the end of the race, but Phinney was too exhausted to respond. The thing that stands out in my mind is the size of Zanoli. He must have been at least 6' 5" and 210 lean (all muscle) lbs. Lance won that race in '93.

Get this - None. We are expected to eat at our desk. One guy ususally goes out and picks up a take-out order. Yeah, it's probably illegal, but that's what we do.

Elite Trader I like to see what the masses are thinking. I don't post, I just lurk.

You could in the column next to the prices enter the formula: =A1*.85 then paste that down the whole way. Or you can put 0.85 in a free cell, copy that cell then highlight the column where the prices are, select "Paste Special" from the edit menu. The dialog box will have a choice in the operation section to Multiply. This will change those prices. Then you save the spreadsheet under a different name. This should be pretty easy for you. Here's a great resource that I use all the time: Mr. Excel

I remeber Norm MacDonald once saying, "If Brian Boitano is such a great skater, how come he doesn't just play hockey?"

I noticed that while you get "the whole 9 yards", you don't get the rear view. Made me a bit suspicious as I watched her on "The West Wing" last night. I'm going to let my Playboy subscription run out. I hardly even enjoy the articles any more. That piece on David Williams was interesting, but barely.

We get 5 sick days and 3 personal days in addition to our vacation time. If you don't use them, you get paid as if you worked them. At the beginning of the next year you get an additional check for those days. It's nice. FO course any vacation time you don't use, you lose. You're supposed to ask for vacation at least a week in advance, but the bosses aren't really all that strict about it. Usually if you call in, they give you the option of using a vacation day so that you can still get paid.

I run a season long pool for 15 of us. The entry fee is $200 (works out to about $10/week). You pick 5 games each week. Two pro games, two college games and one more game that can be either college or pro that is your best bet. The best bet is worth 2 points while the others are worth 1 each. You start with 100 points. There is a college bowl round where you pick 4 2-point games, 1- 3-point game, and 1 4-point game. Same is true for the pro playoffs. The cherry on top of the sundae is that before the pro playoffs start, you pick the Super Bowl teams and the winner for bonus points (3 for the conference champs and 6 for the SB winner). There is prize money for the top 3 spots and our money winners are set. It's going down to the nitty-gritty and the Super Bowl will decide the order of finish. This is the 3rd year I've run the pool and I've yet to finish in the money. I was doing great until the pro playoffs where I went 1-5. Just brutal. I'll probably get some squares in some pools and maybe a bet on the Pats if the spread narrows. Nothing too big, though. $100 at most. I might be tempted for a teaser on the Pats and the under, but I'm not feeling it right now.

Did you notice the "Clinton-esque" ability of the governor to say two different things at the same time? and then... So guv, are the wardens/guards there to punish the prisoners or rehabilitate them? Most people like ask, "Can't they do both?" Yeah, sure. It's easy. I'm sure the guards that have to deal with this scum were happy to let them play video games all day. It kept them occupied and from fashioning weapons. I guess it's back to the weight room.

"Cirrhosis of the Liver with Yellow Jaundice! Jackpot!"

Thanks for telling that story. I can see the smile creep across his face as Chris Mohr picks up Christie.

That is some nice work. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed those wins this year, especially the one down here in South Florida. Kudos to BAM.

Ummm... what sort of engineer are you? Are you the guy that designed the Tacoma Narrows bridge? Resonance rocks! -Hops BSEE Drexel, '93

Usually the spread narrows when there are two weeks between the championship games and the Super Bowl. The dumb money begins to believe that the underdog has a chance. So if you want the Eagles, you should bet now. If you want the Pats, you should wait. I'm avoiding this one. I don't have a strong feeling either way. If it gets crazy and moves to 5.5 on no major news (I don't consider TO playing as major news), I might bet a little on NE.

Ummm.... what? I lived in Philly for 5 years and I never heard that. I've heard of Chili for Cincinnati, but not Philly. Most folks know about the cheesesteak. Soft preztels are sold by the bag on street corners like newspapers. Of course, it's the bread that makes these thing popular, and for some reason the bread in Philly is just better. Have you ever had scrapple ? Serve that up with some Yuengling, and you're on your way.

I caught the first (Sunrise, Office Depot Center) and last (Miami, American Airlines Arena) shows of the Elevation tour. To paraphrase Chris Farley in "Tommy Boy", It was AWESOME! A friend of mine was able to bootleg the first show using some RF recording gadgets. He cleaned it up for some great discs. I'll probably have to forego some stuff to fit these babies in my budget, but I'll do it.

I may as well pick a nit - The USFL actually won that anti-trust lawsuit. The damages award was $1, trebled to $3. A reported asked if he had it on him. A day after the lawsuit, the league folded. Kelly was a bit dour, since he had just been traded to Donald Trump's NJ Generals and was going to have Herchel Walker in his backfield. This is beginning to feel like an "I love the '80s" special.

I'd like to hope that he's in a place where there is a game on every night.

A couple of years ago, Chris Berman was doing one of his "2-minute drills" and they edited the kick so that it passes on the good side of the upright, same stupid camera angle that we always see. I have to say, it was beautiful.

Counting Crows - "Angels of the Silences" Listen to it loud. It cooks.

I respectfully disagree. Greed is very much a natural impulse. So is fear. In trading, these are the two emotions that are your enemies and are exactly the reasons why humankind has developed into what it has over the eons. They are the key elements in the fight/flight reaction you see in nature. I'm not one of those Gordon Gekko "greed is good" people, either. Greed is greed. I do, however, agree with your handle. RUN THE DAMN BALL. I have a feeling you'll see quite a bit of that in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Just re-read this and now I understand that you need to describe why YOU should get the tix: How about: Bills fan; Wide right, Homerun Throwback, I NEED a party.

I had season tickets that year. We decided to skip the Jets season ender and the Raiders game. My buddy just isn't that hardy a dude, y'know? That game was blacked out locally, so I watched it in a bar in Silver Creek (illegally). I met some cool people who invited me back to smoke up, listen to some Bob Marley and play Jenga. That "City of Good Neighbors" extends throughout WNY. The play that sticks out is the Tasker's return of the squib kick to inside the Raider 5.

Superbash: The most fun Brits can have with their shoulderpads on.

One guy sent a funny email to a few of us with the subject "I found the culprit!". The email contained a picture of the Hamburglar. Another guy forwarded that to her, and she replied to him that she thought it was funny. So at least she has a sense of humor about it. I feel her frustration. We have a bunch of savages working here. On the trade desk we have a guy that is crazy. I'm not kidding, he's certifiable. Not crazy in a Jim Carrey zany way, but more of a Rainman-type way. I should start a blog about his strange behavior, but my narratives wouldn't stand up to the standard that Johnny Coli has established.