Vegas Halo Fan

If the Astros could have played us 162 times, they would have been in contention for a playoff spot.

Not only that, but willing to take over a team who just slipped below .500 despite significant increases in payroll, and locked in with Pujols and Hamilton until several of us hit retirement age.

Oklahoma by 14. Sweet.

Yeah, he was so great in Jacksonville that the team this year is his legacy. The only surprise to me is the timing. Everyone pretty much knew that this was coming, it was just a matter of when. It's pretty bad when your AD believes that the team is better off with an interim coach than even letting you coach one more game. Kiffin is scum. He did enough in one year at Tennessee to basically turn everyone in the south against him, and he wasn't even that successful.

I thought that it was the renewed sense of urgency the team had after the All Star break.

Del Taco.

Cruz has become a sad parody of himself. Here is an excerpt from his filibuster on the Senate floor, in which he voices an opinion of Jesus Christ that I have certainly never heard taught before: “What we have here is our core values as Americans and Christians slipping away into this facade where we should take care of our poor, sick, and disabled. It is disheartening to know that the nation our forefathers built is no longer of importance to our president and his Democratic counterparts. Not only that, we are falling away from core Christian values. I don't know about you, but I believe in the Jesus who died to save himself, not enable lazy followers to be dependent on him. He didn't walk around all willy nilly just passing out free health care to those who were sick, or food to those who were hungry, or clothes to those in need. No, he said get up, brush yourself off, go into town and get a job, and as he hung on the cross he said,”I died so that I may live in eternity with my Father. If you want to join us you can die for yourself and your own sins. What do I look like, your savior or something?” That's the Jesus I want to see brought back into our core values as a nation. That's why we need to repeal Obamacare.”

Wow. That sucks.

It's a figure of speech. Watching the Astros is like having a viral infection.

One possibility is that there is a natural tendency for most players to lose weight during the season. If a player's weight is already lower than he is used to going into the season, that process may sap energy as the season wears on. As much as this season has sucked for him, and there was no reason to expect it, the first place to look is things that he did differently in preparing for the season. Sounds like that is what he is doing.

He won't get a ten-year contract for starters. He is 31 years old now, and a middle infielder with only a moderate amount of pop and not the kind of guy who can carry an offense. We have probably already seen his peak years. He wouldn't get $30M even on a one-year deal, much less as an average salary for the next decade. No harm in asking, though.

Nice job, Glen. At least I have a rooting interest in this year's playoffs, and the Braves won't be gone in one game on a bad call like last year. Would have been nice to have both of my clubs in, but there you go. And no Yankees in October.

Fixed.

Coming this summer from Universal Pictures: Steroids in Space!

Vernon Wells contributed in a huge way to the Yanks' one-run rally in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out walk.

You're right. Recognizing the accomplishments of probably the greatest closer to ever wear a uniform is pretty ridiculous. I have no issue whatsoever with the Yankees holding a ceremony for Mariano Rivera and acknowledging the accomplishments of Andy Pettitte, two major components of a perennial championship contending team. That said, I draw a degree of satisfaction from knowing that neither of them will be adding to their postseason stats.

You could always join me in the Jacksonville camp. That way, the only suspense is if there will be zeros on both the clock and the Jaguars' side of the scoreboard when the game ends. Tough stretch, though, I have followed the Bucs for years, including the 0-26 stretch at the beginning.

These are great, because they are so close to what is being said.

Pretty impressive showing yesterday against the mighty Utah State Aggies.

Invariably, the people involved in stuff like this wait until their own college playing careers are over to come clean about it. When I lived in Oklahoma, an Oklahoma State player, Hart Lee Dykes, turned the OSU program in for numerous NCAA rule violations after his own career was over and he would not be affected. Truth be known, money gets handed around all the time. A friend who played football for two years at Kansas told me about "$100 handshakes". Players would attend meet-and-greet events with influential boosters, and when one of them would shake a player's hand there would be a $100 bill in it. No need for an investigation, then. It's settled.

Up until the recent change in management and coaching staff, I would say that my own Jacksonville Jaguars might have to be the leader in the clubhouse on that one. Jacksonville's first round draft picks since 2003 (and mind you, they have generally drafted pretty high): Byron Leftwich, QB, Marshall; Reggie Williams, WR, Washington; Matt Jones, WR, Arkansas; Marcedes Lewis, TE, UCLA; Reggie Nelson, DB, Florida; Derrick Harvey, DE, Florida; Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia; Tyson Alualu, DT, California; Blaine Gabbert, QB, Missouri; Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State; Luke Joeckel, OT, Texas A&M. Of that group, only Lewis has made a meaningful contribution. Matt Jones was a QB in college, and a total bust at WR (not to be confused with his total busts for drugs before he was finally cut). Reggie Nelson has gone on to have a serviceable career, but only after being traded to Cincinnati. With Blackmon and Joeckel it is too early to say whether they will turn out to be good players. With the QB situation as bad as it's been (the Jags haven't had a good QB since Mark Brunell, and he was taken in the expansion draft, not drafted), they took a punter in the third round of the 2012 draft, a round ahead of the Seahawks pick of Russell Wilson. Former GM Gene Smith was the 2000s version of Matt Millen. He was a sucker for "feel good" stories and he was a very poor judge of talent. The current team is his legacy.

They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB). Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must be put to death. Such evil must be purged from Israel. (Deuteronomy 17:12 NLT)

As soon as I saw the thread title I was expecting something on Aybar.

The third one, but not by a wide margin. The second one has a lot going for it, too.

Some on my list based only upon memory, not any particular stats: Jeff Mathis Brandon Wood Justin Speier Esteban Yan Gary Matthews, Jr. Mo Vaughn Scott Kazmir Vernon Wells