Fatter than Joey

BB gun. Won't break the skin, but will give em a nice message of "here isn't a good place for you". Eventually they will move on. This won't work -- It doesn't work on the neighbor kids, I can't imagine it would work on raccoons... One idea would be to use a live trap and then release them in the woods somewhere.

I almost fell out of my chair when I heard this line while watching the show. In context of the show, I'm not sure what it meant, if anything. I intially thought perhaps the office had a pool of NY v. NJ, or there was some sort of internal competition in the FBI with regard to the 2 different factions.

I liked the Pumpkins better.

I'll take a crack at these. White Lion - You can't argue with songs like Little Fighter, Wait, When the Children Cry, Going Home Tonight, Don't Say It's Over, Tell Me, Farewell to you, etc. I thought they were a Golden Earring tribute band -- the only song I remember by them was that tepid cover of Radar Love. Slaughter - Extrememly underrated band. By who? Dismissed for being too pretty. Again, by who? Poison - Yeah, yeah, they were marketed in an abundance of glam. They also wrote songs like Something to Believe In and Fallen Angel. Yeah -- They were some hot chicks, they weren't as hot as Vixxen, but they were pretty. Wasn't one of them named CiCi?, and then one of them was Rikki Rockett? -- There was a guy named Pat Rockett that played for the Braves. Today's modern rock bands couldn't write songs that significant if someone else was doing it for them -- not to mention today's rock bands would ruin it with crappy singing and the guitar playing ability of an empty Pabst can. I agree I often long for the lyrical genius and masterful shredding that was Unskinnybop. I am surpised that no one has covered this song, although who could. As a sidenote -- I thought that "Every Rose has a Thorn" should have had the line "and Every Toe has a corn" that would have cracked me up. Winger - Lumped in with glam bands despite being near virtuosos at some of their positions Here is the only thing I remember about Winger. On Beavis & Butt-head, there was that kid that lived next door that was a total wuss/weiner -- he always had a Winger shirt on. There's maybe been 10 or 15 vocalists in the history of metal that are better than Sebas. There is a qualifier missing from this statement. Let me suggest a few. 1.) ... that performed with Skid Row. 2.) ... that performed at the Pizza Hut in Ogalala Nebraska. 3.) ... that share the last name of a classical composer. Warrant - Jani Lane is almost right up there with Warren Zevon when it comes to telling a story through music. Wow, I agree, have you ever heard Cherry Pie? It works on 2 different levels -- maybe he just likes pie?, or maybe his girlfriend is a hot red-head? -- makes you stop and think. I used to be sad that Warren Zevon died, not so much anymore. Enuff Znuff - Who wouldn't like this band? They're like what the Beatles would be like if the Beatles didn't suck. Wow -- Someone on Bfnet just stroked out. I just want to make sure this statement doesn't get overlooked. WASP - Three words: The. Crimson. Idol. The guy in this album, hangs himself with his own guitar strings, I've often wondered if that would actually work -- I think your head may come off. It's too bad Mr. Wizard passed away, this would be the sort of thing he would address. All in good fun. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

Steve Perry (Journey) interview Short and interesting insight to the song used. I tend to agree with the conclusions drawn in the piece. The only other thought that I had about the ending -- was that instead of Tony getting whacked -- we the viewers got whacked, just like Tony said in the boat to Bobby. The Soprano's life goes on, but our view into it doesn't.

wow -- that's an incredible lineup -- not my cup of tea -- but that is definitely a who's who of 80s hair metal.

I think I'd hold the players accountable, they are who wins or loses the game afterall. Perhaps -- this argument is simplistic. If the Brewers finish below .500 this year -- I'd hope they would address and upgrade any positions that they felt they could, including manager.

But I do think that he's having a good year, and any talk of removing him before the season is over is crazy talk. I agree with this --Unless the team becomes unglued or something catastrophic happens -- I can't see Yost's firing as a positive. And, overall I think he has done better this year than last -- but I think he is at the end of his rope, and its time to pull the cake out of the oven.

Take last year's Tigers for example. Everyone says Leyland turned them around, but he was just a small part of the puzzle. Sure -- I don't think anyone here thinks Casey Stengel would take the 2002 Brewers to the World Series. Of course you are right the big piece of the puzzle was the talent acquisition for the Tigers. However, Leyland was a part of that puzzle nonetheless. Would Yost have been able to take that team to the WS? -- I don't think so, that is my opinion though. For the record Polanco, and Ordonez were Tigers before Leyland.

Clearly you think he should be replaced, right? Now, no. If the Brewers are less than .500 at the end of the season, I think he should get fired. So, what evidence do you have that the team, because Yost is manager, is under-performing. I never really want to argue this position -- My question is "what criteria do people have to say that he is a top manager?" -- If all it is, is personal opinion, then that is fine with me. I am really rallying against the concept that Yost is a sacred cow. I would say that there are no bad teams that have gone to the playoffs because of the manager. In one year -- of course you are correct -- but many managers before Yost have turned a team around faster -- of course the infusion of talent plays a huge role in this, and some bad teams were destined to remain bad, but for argument's sake lets assume a franchise with some committment to getting to the playoffs. This is really not what I am saying -- rather there have been managers that gotten teams with no talent, to the playoffs in a quicker time span than Yost (Hargrove Cleveland e.g.) -- this is to say, Ned has gotten a free pass because of the team's lack of talent in 2003, 2004, which is fine, but if the Brewers are sub .500 after his 5th year -- I am quite certain that is a reasonable amount of time to see what Ned can do. What else do you want? Estrada never to bat 5th, and a .500+ team at the end of the year.

As long as he's not losing more games than he's winning why rock the boat? He has lost more games than he has won in his career. If Yost is .500+ this year, I certainly would not push to get him fired. If the Brewers were .500- this year would you want him gone? I don't care where Yost "ranks" in the league among managers. Or if there are better managers out there. I am not trying to "rank" managers -- I realize that my method is far from scientific. However if there is batter managers out there, I wouldn't hestitate to try and upgrade our manager. I don't see why we wouldn't. I don't mean to defend any crazy "top-5 manager" comments. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif I am not singling you out on this -- I hear this "top-5" comment a lot, from a lot of people. Now if you think Yost is the best manager -- I can't touch that. However people toss around the "top-5" if there is some sort of actual criteria or that it is undisputable fact. i.e. "Yost is a top-5 manager we would be silly to fire him." For example -- you could say "Estrada is my favorite C" -- That is not debatable-- however if you say "Estrada is a top 5 catcher in MLB" -- there is a criteria that can be applied to either support or refute that statement. My question remains, "What criteria allows you to claim Yost is a top 5 manager"? -- If it is your personal perferences -- that is super cool, only it should be stated as such -- however, I can tell you Yost's results certainly don't show that. really? actually crappy teams, or crappy teams that had good years? Sometimes I think we think that the Brewers are the only franchise that has extended times in the dumps. There are plenty of examples of managers taking bad teams and turning them around faster than Yost has (before 5 seasons). It's not like Yost has worked a real miracle here in Milw.

Less fat, butchers! I am pretty sure that this is the major reason for stagnant sales. I can't imagine that people all of sudden decided that they want fruity tasting brats. I imagine once they find a way to cut out calories sales will increase. I also wonder with the higher gas prices, if less people are driving to the campgrounds to vacation and then buying less brats -- this may be a small dent in the problem.

While that's a neat list, it doesn't say a whole lot. I certainly wouldn't use career winning percentage. Well -- again -- what tells us that Yost is a "top-5 manager"? -- If your gut tells you that -- that's fine -- however all I am saying, is let's be objective about this and not just randomly declare Yost to be a "top-5/untouchable" manager. After going through the managers on baseball-reference, it didnt take me long to find a bunch of managers that had better results than he has, and have taken crappy teams to the playoffs. I guess my conclusion after studying the managers a bit, while I would never consider Yost to be an abomination, I think chances are pretty good a better manager could be found.

Cherry Picking through the thread.... The only team with a bigger division lead than we have right now is Boston. This means nothing. If we were in the AL East we would be buried in 2nd-3rd place without strong hopes for the WC. The 2nd team in the NL Central would be in last place in many divisions. I don't think that STL or the Cubs are going to be playing at a .444 clip here on out. We get more like Cubs fans every day... Yourself included? -- This is not necessary -- There are obviously 2 camps here, both with reasonable points of view. Why can't someone be concerned about the Brewers recent trends, and Yost's abilities without getting their fandom called out? If we could hypothetically pick 5 MLB managers out of a hat and had each one manage the team,my guess is our record would be close to the same with each guy. I keep hearing this -- and I think if you keep this argument to gameday decisions (bunt/hit away) or (steal/H&R) you are probably right -- I have heard estimates that there is about a 3-5 game spread between managers, and that is probably correct. However, I think managers can make a long-term impact on a team as well that can hurt a team years down the road -- I would point to Dusty Baker burning out Cubs arms. For Yost I would point to not getting Hart more ABs last year -- certainly Yost has done some good things as well... but I do think managers do make a difference, on both short and long terms. I have a difficult question for all the Yost haters who think he does not manage the bullpen well. What should we do with our closer who has blown the last two saves. I don't think anyone here expected that CoCo would go the entire season with a .030 ERA and perfect in save attempts. I am betting most people here would give the ball to CoCo tomorrow without thinking 2x about it. He was very overdue to give up a lead. Even in the game he gave up 4 ER, -- He got ahead of most of the batters 0-2 -- Fielder botched a play at first -- CoCo didn't get "shelled" -- he just gave up some fluky singles -- it happens. This is not a team that is going to play .500 ball against good teams, I agree with this, and in a large part should be a reason that we look at replacing Yost at the end of the year (assuming we end up sub .500). Yost is one of the better managers in the game and will be with the Brewers for many more years. What allows people to say this? -- Certainly not his career winning percentage. He has never finished a season over .500. This statement just seems very unqualified to me. If you like Yost, and how he handles the team -- that is a very reasonable point of view, however what seriously allows us to consider Yost a top-flight manager. I flipped through Baseball Reference and looked at the current managers. Check this out. ********************************** Gardenhire - 4 1st place finishes, career winning pct. better than Yost (BTY) Francona - WS winner, career BTY Torre -- clearly BTY Gibbons -- 1 season over .500, career BTY Wedge -- 1 season over .500, career BTY Leyland -- clearly BTY Guillen -- WS title, 3 season over .500, career BTY Scoscia -- Clearly BTY Hargrove -- 5 first place finishes, career BTY Cox -- Clearly BTY Randolph -- 2 first place finishes, career BTY Manuel -- 5 out of 6 seaons over .500, career BTY Tracy -- 1 first place, career BTY Garner -- WS appearance, career BTY Pinella -- 4 1st place finishes, career BTY Bochy -- 3 1st place finishes, career BTY Little -- Never under .500, career BTY Melvin -- 1 first place finish, career BTY Exempt -- Washington, Geren, Gonzalez, Acta, Black ETY -- Narron WTY -- Perlozzo, Maddon, Buddy Bell, Hurdle ****************************************** Now -- Historically, Yost does not stack up that well, -- and again, please understand my question is "Why can we claim Yost to be a top manager." 1.) Just because a team like the Mets has $$$, doesn't mean Randolph is worse than Yost. I really doubt that Yost would have done as well in NYM than Randolph has (IMO). 2.) Rest Assured there are plenty of examples in the BTY group, where a manager has taken a crappy team and turned them into a playoff or even .500+ team. Sometimes I get the impression that people think that Yost is the first manager ever to inherit a crappy team. There have been equally as crappy teams that have been transformed faster. I certainly think it would be a mistake to fire Yost in the middle of the season -- but I am not sure what he has done to get all sorts of free passes.

History of Violence is another one. Taxi Driver is a great call.

2001 and Apocolypse Now.... Do those qualify? How about Blair Witch Project. I think we should exclude movies that are part of series or sequels (i.e. The Empire Strikes Back)

I hate driving through So. Ill. -- it is my least favorite part of our country

Lots of great points/ideas in this thread. I never liked the "Leotardo" angle in the diner -- simply because if he was involved in sitdowns, I am pretty sure Tony would have recognized him -- as paranoid as Tony is. The one thing that has stuck in my craw, is the Journey song -- which abrubtly ends on "Don't Stop" -- not "Don't Stop Believing" which I have come to interpret -- that the Sopranos should "Don't Stop" i.e. their reality continues and not their dreams. As others have pointed out -- Meadow will be tied into the mob and will not be a Dr., at Stanford, AJ as well, Carmella will continue to have her distractions but her life will not change at all. Tony will have to continue looking over his shoulder and every time he eats at a diner he will have to ask himself when a patron enters, if this is the one that is going to try and kill him. I guess in some ways -- Tony getting shot may have been a merciful release to grant Tony -- however I think that Chase decided to damn Tony to more years of wondering about every person he sees, and wallowing in his paranoia.

And also that Tony was seen eating an orange in the final episode. This is a reference to certain death taken form the Coppola films is the argument. Well -- I noticed that -- however that could have been in reference to Phil getting whacked as well, as It happened right before Phil died IIRC. The unsettling thing, was that this wasn't a "fade to black", it was very abrupt. The problem I have with the "Death Theory" -- is that there is no real reason to think that he would have been killed, -- by anyone in the storylines at least... plus a lot of the shootings happened with multiple shooters ala Sil and Bobby. I think that life goes on for the Sopranos

Ive had DirectTV for about 8 years now -- I love it. If you are a big NFL fan, (as am I), it is a must have. I am very very satisfied.

BTW -- This refers to the show on Sunday only. If there is a montage at the end, that doesnt count.

But he isnt a scout and he doesnt work for a major league team, so he is neither an expert nor an insider. No he isn't -- He has never represented himself as such either. There are plenty of people who are critical to delivering sports information that are not "scouts" or "works for a major league team". Worthy of thanks,yes. Anything above that is patting yourself and him on the back. I have never met Colby in person -- but I'd be the first to pat him on the back for what he does.

OK -- For fun -- Let's see who can come closest to predicting the finale. These are yes/no answers. I am making the questions based off of everyone's posts/ideas here. 1.) Does Tony die? 2.) Does Phil die? 3.) Does Tony take down Phil with help from the FBI? 4.) Does someone from Tony's crew betray him? 5.) Does someone from Tony's family (wife+kids) die? 6.) Does Tony get relocated via FBI? 7.) Does Tony remain a boss in NJ? 8.) Does someone from Tony's family betray him (wife, sister, kids)? 9.) Does Tony end up arrested? 10.) Does Paulie die? My answers. 1.) No 2.) Yes 3.) No 4.) No 5.) No 6.) No 7.) Yes 8.) No 9.) No 10.) No

Not a drop of rain north of Madison either. A couple of small tree branches here and there that got DFA'd, but nothing noticiable. I really think that there is a new mentality to the storms as far as the "weather centers" are concerned. You have more break-ins to shows than when there is a war somewhere or elections. I must admit I like the big storms and enjoy tracking them.

I set up a political forum, back when everyone was discussing nationstates. If there is an interest I can revive it. I am a political junkie, and would certainly appreciate the discussion, especially around election time. Drop me a message and hopefully we can get something going.