EsoxLazer

For anyone else thats out of market and looking to watch the Brew Crew, don't let them talk you into buying the MLB Extra Innings package unless you want to watch all of the games they offer. If you are out of market and looking to only watch the Crew, they can isolate those games and get them to you in a much cheaper package. I just got off the phone with 3-4 people and was finally able to work something out with them in order to get the Brewers games. The first 5-6 people I talked with over the last couple of days told me that I would have to purchase the entire package, but my supervisor told me that they had the capability to isolate teams. I'd imagine that they try to keep that on the downlow in order to get more people buying the $200 package. Sorry if this was posted in an earlier thread...I didn't get a chance to read the entire thing.

I've been working as a DirectTV tech for a while now and I just typed up a step-by-step walkthrough for tuning your dish but it didn't post for some reason. Its too long to type up again so if you are interested in learning how to tune your dish, please e-mail me at elazenby19 AT yahoo.com. I will re-type the guide or walk you through the process. Its not very hard to do it yourself, you just have to be comfortable with being on the roof and have a 7/16 wrench/socket. DirectTV is actually a very reliable system, it just needs to be installed and tuned properly to maximize signal strength. The satellite itself is 22,300 miles away and the standard dish is aiming at a target the size of a dinner plate whereas the HD dish is aiming at a target the size of a quarter...that should give you an idea of how important proper tuning is to the system.

Sorry that I don't have much to add to the conversation but I found this article pretty funny: What CC would look like in a Brewers uniform

Weird, we saw Weeks and Mike Rivera at the bar on Friday night after the game and he didn't seem to be limping at all. It always amazes me how much bigger these guys are in person compared to what they look like in uniform/on TV. I only wish they could have pulled out a few more wins for us Brewer fans out here in CO.

Did this to myself last summer except I punched a soft-sided tackle box after losing a very, very large muskie while fishing in Canada. I thought the soft sides would lessen the blow but that wasn't the case. I never went to the doctor and it took about a month before it felt normal. It still hurt at all but I know that I screwed something up because I can feel something hard floating around in the knuckle area. If I were you, I'd go get it checked out...especially if you have insurance.

If you need more persuasion, you could always point to the many "baseball math" sites that come up with a Google/Yahoo search. It would probably go a long ways to show the principal that you aren't just trying to make the field trip fit your wants and that there are a bunch of teachers/institutions using baseball to teach math to younger students. Good luck getting your trip approved!!!

Thanks Peavey, I appreciate it. I'll try to post something this evening if I'm around and let you know how it goes. I really appreciate all the work that you guys put in on the boards and LLeap is definitely one of my favorite Packer message boards.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch has a very special place in my heart. I'll go on streaks where I'm buying a box every 3 days and then I won't eat it for a few months. I can sit down in the morning with the smaller box and eat the entire thing in one sitting. Probably not the most healthy thing to do but its addicting. When I'm not on a CTC kick, I'll most likely have Raisin Bran. It never seems like there are enough raisins so I'll add a few to each bowl...if you haven't tried it, add some golden raisins to your bowl of Raisin Bran...if you like raisins you'll love it. I've never had the French Toast Crunch but have thought about trying it. Whats the main difference between the Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the French Toast Crunch? Now I've gotta go stock up at the grocery store...this thread has me craving some cereal.

I signed up for LL quite a while ago and when I made my first post I was told that it needed to be checked by the site admin/moderators before it would be posted. I received an e-mail from one of the mods telling me that I was OK'd to post. Even after being OK'd, I've been getting the same message about my posts needing to be reviewed before they are allowed on the board. Is there any way around this or is this just the policy on LLeap? It wouldn't bother me but some of the threads are more of a running conversation and by the time my post is reviewed it may no longer be relevant to the discussion.

Yes, you can definitely throw up from being in a great deal of pain. I threw up a few times after breaking my elbow and tearing my LCL and ulner nerve in a freak baseball incident...I was seeing spots and definitely thought that I was going to pass out when it initially happened. Not sure if this following story was pain related puking but its one of the worst things I've ever seen happen to someone. I was playing in a fall league a few years back and had pitched game 1 of a double header so I was in the dugout doing the book and trying to stay warm. I was sitting on a ball bucket just outside of the dugout so I got a birds-eye view of the whole thing. The batter fouled off a pitch, it came back up off of the plate and hit our catcher in the nads just behind(under) his cup. He immediately went to the ground writhing and screaming in pain. Our trainers got him into the dugout and after some investigating found that one of the nads had been driven up into his stomach. He was puking like crazy and screaming that he had never been in so much pain in his life. The trainers had him sit on the ground with his legs straight out in front of him while they picked him up under his armpits and dropped him onto the ground(maybe a 6-12" drop) trying to get his nad to drop back down. After 4-5 attempts and A LOT more puking, they finally decided to take him to the hospital. He said that the hospital visit was quite the ordeal but the pain went away almost instantly once they got it to drop. I'm not sure if it was the pain or the fact that it involved the nads that had him puking but it was crazy to witness t nonetheless. Needless to say, he was a little gun shy when get got back behind the dish a week or so later.

Does anyone know if there will be a site carrying either audio or video of tonights final? I know its probably a long shot but its the only chance for those of us living out of state. There's a small contingent of Tosa East alumni up here in a small Colorado mountain town that would love to hear/watch tonights state final game. Thanks in advance for any help you guys/gals can offer. Does anyone know if they are still punishing students for wearing the Tommy Raider logo to school sponsored events? Honestly not trying to stir the pot at all...I'm genuinely curious if its still a big deal after all these years.

"Coerpers 5 O'Clock " I'll give another vote for Coerpers. Its a bit pricey but the food is amazing and you get large portions compared to some of the other expensive restaurants in town. I hate going into a place, ordering a $30 steak, and walking out hungry because the portions are small. Bacchus is also very good. The portions aren't as large as Coerpers but you will walk out with a full stomach and great dining experience. Congrats and good luck to you and your future fiance.

2HoopHead beat me to it. I always wondered what happened to Joey Meyer. My brother was convinced(and probably still is) that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with and a cornerstone for the Brewers to build around. He still has a few of these Topps Future Star cards: http://www.autograph-cards.com/sp1_d03744_Joey_Meyer.asp Great thread!!!

I couldn't tell you what they are going for these days but my favorite cleats are the Mizuno 9-spikes. I'm pretty sure that they have both a leather and a synthetic model to fit a few different price ranges. I used to tear through cleats like crazy and these Mizunos(all leather model) were the only ones that I could get more than one season out of. The only others that I've tried and really liked were the Nike Clipper Anniversary cleats. They were all black with a very thin gold outline to the Nike symbol...they were about $100 and I'm not sure that they even make them anymore. I'll agree with the above poster on Eastbay...they always seem to have a big selection and some great deals. Here is a pretty good deal on the Mizunos: http://www.baseballjunk.com/mizunoclassiclowg3.htm

I think a big part of calling a good game is keeping a pitcher in rhythm. If a pitcher has to constantly shake off their catcher it can throw off their timing and rhythm which can have an impact, especially for pitchers who like to work quickly out on the mound. I had a chance to speak with one of the pitchers on last years staff and I got the impression that the way Estrada called games was a big concern among the pitching staff.

In no particular order: Perch Walleye Bluegill Northern Pike(gotta watch out for the "Y" bones) Nowadays I fish solely for Muskies(at least when the season is open). Most people are blown away that I'll spend countless hours fishing for something that doesn't come home for the frying pan...most of my buddies don't understand they just aren't that good to eat and there are too few of them in any given body of water to keep. I'll stock the freezer by ice fishing in the winters or else rely on buddies who fish for pike/walleye/perch/gills during the spring/summer/fall months. Man, now I really have a craving for a fish-fry. I grew accustomed to having Friday fish-frys back in Wisco. I've searched long and hard for a good fish fry here in Colorado and can't seem to find anything close to what I could get back home.

http://www.addictinggames.com/hidethefart.html That above site has grown to be addicting when I've got nothing to do. I don't know whether or not you are a fan of the band Phish, but I've killed countless hours checking out this messageboard(it may be a Phish board but they talk about everything under the sun): www.phantasytour.com/phish/boards.cgi

MHgb, if you have any of those tickets available still, please let me know. I ran into the same exact situation that you did except our tickets were put back into the pool even after we got a partial confirmation number. Ive called the ticket office a few times and our tickets were dumped back into the pool and sold to someone else. I wrote a pretty long summary of our situation over in the "off topic" board. If you can part with 2 of the tickets or cannot find anyone to take them, I would gladly pay you over face(as long as its not 400 bucks like most of the scalpers are asking) if you can part with some of the tickets. I was devastated when our order didn't go through. My best buddy just moved out here last week and his birthday is on Saturday so this was going to be his b-day present. I just can't afford to insane prices that they are asking through the scalpers. I know its a long shot but its worth a shot. Id be the happiest guy in the world if we could work something out. Thanks a lot. My e-mail is elazenby19@yahoo.com.

In case anyone is interested I have the rest of the story. Tickets went back on sale at noon on Tuesday. By sheer luck I managed to get through around 12:15 and pulled 4 RockPile(center field bleachers) seats at 65 bucks a pop. The next screen had me enter my personal and credit card info, then came the verification of info page, and finally the page to enter the credit card identification number and "click here to complete your order" page. After the problems of Monday I was hitting "print screen" as each new page loaded. I clicked to complete my order and the next page started to load with the confirmation number and suddenly the page timed out. After calling the ticket office for 2 hours I finally got through. I wanted to make sure that my order was complete and verify my confirmation number before making the 2 hour drive down to the stadium to pick up the tickets on Wednesday. It turns out that they have a record of me pulling the tickets, have my credit card info on file, and they had the seat assignments in the computer. Then the man I was speaking with says' "I'm sorry but our connection didn't hold out long enough for your order to be fully completed. Although we have a record of the seats that were pulled for you, they were put back into the ticket pool and sold to another individual shortly after." I asked him if he could sell me tickets for game 5(at this point, games 3 and 4 were sold out) but he said that he could not do anything for me over the phone and that I should get back online to try and get the tickets that way. Had I known this I would have been online trying again the entire time but since I already had tickets I didn't see any reason to continue to clog their already bogged down system. So now I have a sheet of paper with the section, row, and seat numbers, a ticket order payment sheet, and a sheet that has a partial confirmation number thanking me for my purchase. Ive called multiple times to no avail. I really feel bad for the die-hard Rockies fans. If this had happened with the Brewers I would have been devastated. For the life of me I cannot understand how these problems weren't fixed in the 24 hours after the first ticket debacle on Monday. At the very least, why not have a server dedicated to people that have gotten into the system and are trying to complete their orders? According to the news last night, there were people that were turned away at the ticket window even though they had FULL confirmation numbers. I'm upset that I can't go but its not the end of the world...more than anything I am just upset with how terrible the whole process was run and how the Rockies are proclaiming their system was "a complete success that ran more smoothly than we anticipated with very few problems". The so called "malicious attack" sounds more like they got caught with their pants around their ankles and didn't have their system set up to boot the people(scalpers) and their programs from accessing the system. I know it was a long story but I figured you guys/gals might be interested to hear what happened. If I end up going the scalper route for any of these games, look for a RYAN BRAUN FOR ROOKIE OF THE YEAR sign being held up by a tall lanky guy rockin Brewers gear out in the bleachers. I hope the Brewers don't have these kinds of problems when they make their appearance at the fall classic.

Yikes, its been nearly 2 hours of trying so far and I haven't gotten through yet. Its all over the news that most people are running into the same problems. They had a Rockies official on the news saying that they were having server problems and that people should keep trying while they get the servers up and running. I just hope that its worth the effort. I'd love to get to see World Series baseball played not too far from my house but that wont be a possibility unless they get these dang servers fixed.

I know its a bit late but this is the first chance I have had to get in front of the computer after spending a few days down in Denver. A good buddy of mine flew in for the games so even though the Crew stunk it up, we still had a great time. We lucked into great seats for a few of the games(front row behind the Rockies dugout for Monday) and it was great to see guys like Prince and Braun that close. I know most of you guys/gals saw the games so I won't rehash them but here are a few things that come to mind from the series: -The thin air is no joke. At first I thought it was just Vargas getting lit up like a Christmas tree but soon realized that nearly every pitch looks like it was absolutely smoked. -I have a newly found respect for guys that pitch in CO. After watching the breaking balls or lack thereof(see Gallardo) it made me realize just how different it is to pitch at altitude and why certain guys that rely on their breaker have failed out there. Ive seen it on TV a number of times but its much more apparent seeing it in person. I can't imagine what it was like to watch games in that park before they started using the humidifier. -Prince is a beast -The bar across the street from Coors Field could be the death of me if the Brewers ever play more than a 3 game stand in CO. I highly recommend Swanky's if anyone is ever in Denver. -The players seem much more approachable away from home. -Spurling is much bigger(built) in person. We ran into him on Tuesday night and got the chance to talk to him for quite a while. We didn't want to bother him other than to say congrats on the year they have been having but he was really talkative and carried the conversation for the most part. It was great to get his take on the current state of the team, the race for the Central, and life in the big leagues. I was almost tempted(and almost drunk enough) to ask if his neck hurt after giving up that bomb but didn't think it would be appropriate at the time. -Being 1000 miles removed from my favorite team in the world sucks. It was way cooler when I could practically walk to Miller Park on any given night. -This team is extremely frustrating. I know that I should have gone in with tempered expectations(especially on the road) but its hard to do when the team that you love is in town after months of anticipation. I would have been cool with a single win and a few close games, but getting blown out and then having brooms waved in your face is no fun. -Coors Field is extremely fan friendly. Ushers were walking around with sunscreen and mist bottles on Wednesdays day game(the heat and sun were horrendous) which I thought was a nice touch. All in all we had a great time and it was great to see the Brew Crew in person again instead of watching everything on MLB.tv. I know its frustrating to watch lately but just remember back a few years when we were 10-20 under at this point. We are still 1/2 game up in the standings and there is a bunch of meaningful baseball on the horizon. Its easy to get down on this team but when you look at it, its the best we have seen in a number of years and we should be celebrating that instead of complaining more than ever. I know its small, but here is a picture of the sun going down past the mountains that I took on Monday night. Its not this small or blurry on my computer but I don't know how to change it to imbed properly into the post. If anyone has a suggestion on what to do, its a pretty cool picture when its clear. http://images.yuku.com/image/gif/f7735c174cff957ad73c9e6e62592cd625f47b1_t.gif edit: I'll learn to spell one of these days.

I don't think I was ever as nervous as I was before I got up to deliver the speech at my best friends wedding. I wrote a few different speeches but I didn't like how they looked on paper so I decided to wing it. I had a general idea of what I wanted to say and figured it would probably come off better if I wasn't reading directly off of a piece of paper. I figured that with the help of a few cocktails, the nerves would be calmed down a little bit and I would be loose enough to deliver. We got held up at the church and didn't get to the reception hall with enough time to hit the bar. I pretty much sat down at the head table and had a mic handed to me within minutes. It came out alright, you could just tell that I was nervous as I used a bunch of "uhhs" and "ums". I knew pretty much everyone there and they know that I can't speak in public so it wasn't so bad. I made fun of the groom a little bit, complimented the bride, told a few humorous stories about some childhood shenanigans, and finished up with one of my favorite old-school quotes about life. As long as its heartfelt you can't go wrong. I probably should have prefaced this by saying how deathly afraid I am of public speaking to begin with. With your knowledge and history in speech, you will be just fine.

I have heard really good things about the book "Easy Way to Stop Smoking" by Allen Carr. Supposedly the quit rate after reading it is very good and he takes a very sensible approach to getting people to quit. I have also heard really good things about Chantix. My parents just got their prescriptions and should be starting it soon...I will give an update after a few weeks if you would like. I quit not too long ago and what I learned was that the withdrawal really isn't that bad...I think most people, myself included, psych themselves out by thinking about how bad its going to be and chalk up that anxiety as a withdrawal symptom. I haven't read it yet, but I have heard thats the point that Carr tries to make in his book. Keep your mouth occupied with seeds, gum, hard candy, etc and you will be just fine. Think about how much money you are going to save and how much better you will feel when you are done with the cigs. Good Luck!!!!!

I would say that one of the most important things that you can do is be there for her and make sure that she knows that you are there to listen. In my experience, when people get scared and are going through tremendous stress due to something such as this, they tend to bottle it all up and try not to put the burden on anyone else. My mom just had a pretty big cancer scare and she was a wreck. I finally got her to start talking...when it was all said and done she told me the thing that helped the most was that she knew she could talk to someone and that she wasn't going through it alone. I know what its like to have to be the "strong one" and that it can really take its toll. Make sure that YOU have someone to talk to...otherwise, before you know it, it will start eating at you as well. Stay positive and keep reassuring her that she CAN and WILL beat it...give her all the reasons in the world to fight because having a positive attitude will be crucial to her recovery. My thoughts and prayers are with you, your mother, and your family.

One of my best buddies is a Cubs AND Brewers fan...when they play each other he roots for the Cubs to win their home games and the Brewers to win their home games. I think he is seriously confused and I constantly try to sway him over to the good side. He says that the only thing that will make him choose one over the other is if/when they play each other in the playoffs, but even then I don't know who he would root for until they would play each other. I really do enjoy going back and forth with him though and makes the season a lot more enjoyable. It would almost be easier if I could talk some trash to him but thats impossible because he likes and is passionate about both teams...I guess its a win-win situation for him this year as long as one of them makes the playoffs.