Oh yes, Bethie, I've liked Carlos for a while now. It's not that he's the "replacement" or anything - I just needed a new Astros guy since Willy left. Haha, that sounds horrible, but I fell for him shortly after we got him, and he's one of my favorite players now, along with Berkman, Oswalt, and Pence.

Thanks for the cute photo, SB!

Mark, you're definitely one of the guys, considering you're already jumping in with the Willy jokes.

My latest fantasy interest has been Kobe. Controversy and team loyalties aside, I can't help but find him cute. I just won't admit it in public. I always find myself watching the playoffs, then wishing I'd kept up with basketball the entire season. The Rockets really made Houston proud, getting as far as they did and taking LA to seven games. Oh, and those puppet commercials are so funny! Have you seen them? The ones with that little boy are hilarious, where he's asking questions nonstop.

You just did!

I have to say, I'm just a little scared for you. Kobe?

Let's applaud Gina for admitting her problem. It's the first step toward finding a cure.

Kobe??? Really???? Is it because he was named after beef or because he speaks Italian?

Gina, we're all here for you. Consider us your Anti Kobe Anonymous meeting. hee hee.

Uhh...can I still claim that was just a joke for you guys...? Ahem.
I consider this "semi-public"...and look at the bad reaction already!

I don't know why - it's mostly his smile, and maybe his actual talent. Geez, now that I have to defend myself, I feel like a weirdo! I think I'll stick to baseball players, and root for the Magic.

Confession is good for the soul...as Cardinal Lamberto said to Michael in GF3; "Yes, Gina, go on...go on."

Sorry ladies - I was going to bring you all a gift but I was told that you "can't be bought!"

Pfffffft . . . .

Ha Ha. I farted in the Ladies Thread.

Are you ladies sure I can't bring you any more gifts - like a can of Lysol, perhaps?

Some of us can be.

Paybacks are forthcoming in the guys thread.

Oh no! I suppose you will start by making us throw out all of our milk crate shelving units, mopping the floor and putting coasters on all the table tops!!!

Yes but you can keep your dirty tv tray for your tv stand.

Shocker!

I'll grab the potpourri and SB you grab the doilies and Jeter pictures and we'll head over to the Men's thread.

Mig, Bret Michaels is from my neck of the woods. Although he had moved to LA before I moved to the Harrisburg area, he frequently returns to his hometown of Mechanicsburg.

He's an avid Steeler fan, which makes him ok in my book. I never met him, but he was pointed out to me at a nearby sports bar where we were watching a Steeler Monday Night game in the midor early 90s. I've been told that he is a generous and friendly guy.

To show that this is not all shallow chatter, happy to see that the Yankees won again last night. They head to Boston a half game up on the Sox. They've yet to beat them this season, so it's great that they're going there on a high.

Oh, and Jeter hit a home run last night to solidify the win.

MASN plays Nationals Classic games during the day. I'm watching a game when Vinny Castilla was on the team. It's nice to see him standing in the batter's box chewing his gum again.

I was thinking of you and SC today, SB, as I read my book about Roger Clemens - The Rocket That Fell to Earth. To be honest, I guess I never knew a lot about his history, just bits and pieces, and it's interesting to learn all these things about the fallen hero, who I once idolized. I imagined myself as a Sox fan in the Boston years, and now I'm in the Yankee years, nearing the end of the book.

I really don't think I could ever learn enough about baseball. There's SO much history to it!

Bethie, that's so nice you still get to see your man.

gina, have you ever seen the movie, "Cobb", starring Tommy Lee Jones as Ty Cobb? It's an EXCELLENT portrayal of arguably the best ballplayer who ever lived (even though the movie "concentrates" on what an SOB he was).

If you haven't seen it, check out some of his lifetime stats and then watch the movie. You'll enjoy it!

In "Field of Dreams", doesn't Shoeless Joe say that they won't let Ty Cobb come and play on the Iowa field because they all hated his guts???

That was true. Cobb was probably the least liked, but most respected player of his time among his peers.

A former major league catcher, Steve O'Neill, who had grown up on the same street that my dad did, but was a generation older, was fond of recalling a game, in which he picked off Cobb at first base.

When Cobb got to the plate for his next AB, he muttered, "You son of a bitch, you'll never do that again," to which O'Neill replied, "You son of a bitch, you'll never take that lead on me." O'Neill, who went on to manage the Tigers to a World Series, played against Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, etc., and thought that Cobb was the best and fiercest player he had ever seen.

I never have seen the Tommie Lee Jones movie that SC mentioned, but always meant to. Maybe this summer I will.

Part of that was covered in the movie, "Cobb". During an annual Hall of Fame reunion in the late '50s, many of the greats gathered in Cooperstown and publicly showed their admiration for Cobb, but privately (in a party thrown after the HOF event) barred Cobb from attending the party.

Legend has it that Cobb was traveling with Grantland Rice, a noted sportswriter of the day, in the 1950s and that they stopped off in a liquor store to buy a bottle. The clerk who served them was none other than Shoeless Joe, who had been forced to take menial jobs after he had been banned from baseball. Supposedly, Cobb recognized Jackson right away but Shoeless Joe didn't say anything to Cobb. Ty finally asked him if he recognized him and Jackson replied that he did but wasn't sure if Cobb would recognize HIM because many others from the baseball world had turned their back on him.

Cobb had a soft side, probably albeit a small one.... he basically supported Mickey Cochrane, the great catcher of the 1920s, during his later years when he was an alcoholic has-been.

I highly recommend the movie to any baseball fan!

*faaaaaart*


Oops, sorry; wrong thread.

Carry on...

The sign on the door here:

We're gonna need a bigger button.

SC, you might have more luck in the Ladies Thread if you posted this button:

Yep!!