UConn James

According to the link on the main TBD page, they are only replacing the artificial turf surface, not anything wrt the sub-surfaces. It also says that 8 years was the natural life of the AstroPlay. Has there been any word on what the "natural life" of Field Turf is? Doing some quick searching, the field in the Rogers Dome was redone in 2002 and it's reported that it will be replaced next year, two years ahead of the normal schedule. Of course, that's under use for 80 baseball games and more events. But, as such, 8 years for the AstroPlay surface in RWS wouldn't be a significant difference.

Who's he?

I haven't watched this series in a while, but there I was.... For someone claiming to be a former special agent, Phillip certainly left nothing on the table in the secrets department. CRAZY. Does he think anyone is going to tell him anything from that moment on? Natalie is hot.

WSJ: Sen. Scott Brown Recalls Childhood Abuse on ‘60 Minutes’ Wow.

That kind of grit would be welcome for a team whose last pick this early in the draft would sit it out when he got a hangnail or was "depressed."

As Garrison Keillor wrote, "Freedom of speech is like the freedom to climb on your roof and try to fly. You can do it, but there will be consequences." I don't necessarily disagree with many of the contentions. Even when I was in high school, there were many kids who just couldn't be bothered to care about anything, or try to push themselves to any extent. This has only gotten worse with the advent of walking electronics, the growth of the entitlement attitude, and the pervasive societal notion among teens that someone else will clean up their mistakes. The blame for this country's failing schools has long been bouncing b/w teachers or parents or government that doesn't throw enough money down the pit of this problem. I'm not going to say that these two groups are faultless, but a large onus is on the kids themselves. They just don't give a sh-- about anything beyond the next 15 minutes. And I'm not saying that I have any idea about how we as a society can make them give a sh--, but placing blame almost entirely on other parties for the kids' own failures isn't the answer. In this case, the teacher is living in the same fantasy world where there's no responsibility. If someone absolutely has to write this kind of stuff AND wants to keep his/her job, common sense would dictate they do so anonymously. It's not very difficult. I also have to posit that this teacher might have been happier about her job if she stopped thinking about it after she was done with her work. The most miserable people I know are always talking about their jobs, how much they earn, how long they have until retirement, etc. There are very few people whose jobs are this interesting.

I'm just wondering if he had a roster bonus due for March 1. Many contracts do this, especially older players, so the team has to either make a large financial commitment or cut them and give them a shot in the money-money-money UFA period.

Ralph's Old Man Syndrome was on high throttle. Costs a lot more to have to do work twice b/c you went cheap on materials.

Licensed apparel income, as of the last CBA at least, is pooled and divided evenly among the 32 teams. Only sales from a team's official store (e.g. the Bills store at the stadium or BB.com) are not included in the pool. It's a chunk of change to be sure, but after paying for designers, stadium signage, compensating for unsold jerseys in the previous design, any profit would probably be negligible, not a new revenue stream. Also, if there is a lockout, if the MLB strike was any indication, apparel sales will nosedive.

My aunt (non-sanguine --- she's my dad's brother's wife) makes about $500K a year in stock dividends from a company that her family owned. She spent 4 hours haggling with a guy at a store about some $3 charge. Don't assume that the wealthy don't care about every nickel and dime, even when the actual/potential opportunity cost vastly outweighs the amount in dispute. The owners want to make a point --- that THEY control terms. And by and large, they do. But, as with the MLB lockout, owners sometimes come to find out the depth of their Pyrrhic victory.

OC, You seem to think the seat is Brown's to lose --- that all he needs to do is be on the ballot in 2012. And when one looks at incumbency election rates, well, it's hard to argue. I'm not saying he ought to throw in the towel, and there ARE precedents of fiscal-oriented Republicans getting elected statewide in MA --- as long as they take a pledge not to touch abortion with a 10-foot pole (and I'm perfectly OK with pols saying they will represent their constituents' wishes over their own personal beliefs). But, as I wrote, 2012 is going to be a 16-month marathon, not the 2-month sprint that happened in the special election. I fully expect the Dem nominee situation to be FAR less chaotic than it was last Jan. There were several, including Capuano, who just beat each other up unmercifully in the press and debates, believing that they basically just had to win the Dem nomination to get to the Senate (Boston is a local market for me; actually comes in better than Hartford despite being double the distance). Well, they got a shock and may have learned to cut the intra-party mud-flinging. I haven't seen any polling on Brown. Not sure they do it this far out from the election for anything other than internal use.

The Tucson shooting occurred on 9 January. Perhaps a service member from your state was killed in the GWOT?

Follow-up: Burton, UConn Settle Differences And I think Mr. Burton's going to be really wrong about Paul Pasqualoni, however much Burton may not like him personally (not being liked by Burton would rather seem to be to PP's favor). This whole blow-up was very unnecessary, but may prove to be a good experience for this relatively fledgling program to get inoculated against.

A year ago was a political eternity. It was the health care legislation ago, it was the entire BP spill fiasco ago. It was a "thumping" ago. The Republican candidate doesn't need to be a knight in shining armor. Obama just has to continue being the Obama he's been once he had actual responsibility / a record on which to be evaluated. There is NO way Obama gets nearly as many Independent votes in 2012, which is the only reason he won. There is NO way.

There's also the argument that with teams switching to the 3-4, more talent would then be available of players who fit the 4-3. The pickin's get pretty slim at good NTs when so many teams run / are going to the 3-4. It also puts a lot of onus on LBs --- a very costly unit that has one of the highest injury rates. Some would prefer to put stock into guys on the line who have more, shall we say, natural padding. Then, the theory would be that as these DL get more pressure on the QB. As OLs have gotten bigger and more adept at blocking, I guess the consensus in the NFL has shifted toward a need to create confusion (re: which LB may be blitzing) rather than lining up fat guys against fat guys. If we could get Fairley or Bowers, I would be all for reverting to a most-of-the-time 4-3 to clog up the middle and if they don't get penetration/pocket pressure/bat down passes (it seems like every team in the NFL except the Bills gets 2-3 bat-downs a game) they at least force the run to the outside.

If they don't already, they may soon regret leaving the Big East. May have seemed a great idea at the time to join a superconference, but as we've found out in basketball-BE, superconferences only guarantee that you'll have little chance at a championship, and be beat up for the post-season.

They also managed to nominate a woman who wasn't terribly popular as AG, where there are always things that can be turned against you, and who couldn't fall back on a family legacy when she didn't have any answers about jobs or health care --- even the bare modicum that Dems will allow their candidates to get away with. Coakley and her Botox-stiff upper lip (seriously, she couldn't smile and had the personality of a galvanized nail) couldn't connect the way any Kennedy could in MA. Like I wrote, they steered clear of it for a reason, but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them --- Caroline, Joe III or Teddy's widow --- runs in 2012. Brown has charm and a talented/hot daughter, but I don't think he stands a chance when the Dems throw it on full force in a 16-month campaign in the second-most-liberal state. I think Brown may decide to angle for a cabinet position (Attorney General?) in a Republican admin. So don't feel too sorry for him when reality sets back in.

I'm not well-versed in this topic, but there it was on google news, and it's apparently being published in a few respected journals and has actual scientific measurements of the creeping fields.... You're saying it's a bunch of bunk? That'd be cool with me.

Uhmm.... I linked to two articles on page 5 (some being published in Nature and Science journals, one from the British Geological Survey, not quite a "random theory"). Link

So, no reaction to the theory that earth's magnetic field is shifting and that this is what may be causing the wacky weather (and more, worse conditions to come)? Yeah, that sound about right for PPP. Keep talking about unions in a thread about "Global Warming."

Fixed.

As I've written before, I would only consider a jersey that has my favorite number and my name. With free agency ensuring a human version of Buckyball in the NFL, it doesn't make much sense to do otherwise. After a player leaves, is suspended, traded or cut, you're left with an expensive piece of fabric that's now obsolete.

The last one was in May. Bledsoe and Mike Williams were introduced in the last hurrahs of the royal blues. And JW, we already do root for the Bills wearing pink, all through October.

Yep. Like I wrote, I root for the laundry/logo. It'd be nice to have some that doesn't look like [insert derogatory comment here].

Knows he's got a snowball's chance.... I expect the same from Scott Brown in Mass. He won in a special election when Dem turnout tanks (and I think the Kennedys --- Joe III in particular --- saw polling to this fact and stayed out), but he won't win a general.