PhxPhin

if you look at the sharks pre thornton & post thornton it is a huge difference - with a strike year and rule changes it's not genuine to point out what a team did last season - also look how thornton improved the play of guys like cheechoo (who is now leading the league in goals) and the PP both are deserving though

hillary is not a good senator and has been very deceptive her whole political life - however, she is a strong candidate - i was still a NY resident when she took the senate, and watching the debates were amazing anytime someone would mention a legitimate concern, there was backlash - how could you say that, her husband cheated on her and you are only attacking her because she's a woman attack ads work when it's a couple guys going at it, because the public is used to watching men smack each other in the face - be careful with a female candidate, because having a man smack a woman in the face doesn't go over well I'd hate to see her run, because it would probably make the 3rd election in a row where I couldn't bring myself to vote for either of the major two parties I don't like biden either - i hear a lot of this guy living in wilmington & philly and I didn't like most of it I can't think of any real strong republican candidates (although I may go McCain) I just want a nice, moderate candidate to come along, regardless of party and end this partisan BS

you most definitely see it elsewhere as well - and as I said, not all are bad - just that the profession tends to draw a lot of that - i think that you are more likely to find either a whole group of great guys or a whole group of jerks, mainly because the job is so polarizing and it is an old boys club

prove me wrong - how many cops do you know that have college degrees?! - I know one out of about 30 and for the record I met another one I like this past weekend - dating my wifes coworker - seems like a pretty good guy I respect people and not positions - and most cops that I have met are bad people - i think it comes with the circumstances of the type of people they employ and the jobs they have to do - you take people who struggle to cope with basic HS classes, throw them into intense jobs that are very highly regulated by procedure (although procedure is breached constantly) and have them deal with mainly the lowest form of people it will leave them jaded - they often work off shifts, have trouble maintaining relationships outside of their clique and it hurts their family life any job where the husband & wife are working off shifts is dangerous - with police officers it's fundamental to the job blow some stress off of work with the boys at the bar and grow away from your family I understand it, but don't respect it

sure did - bowen has acted like a punk the whole time with ray - not that I blame him, it's a smart move - but he likes to hold, grab, step on feet and push - then run whenever someone comes back at him

if anyone ever serves jail time for just chirping their tires there is a serious problem

the jays scare me with the way they use their pitchers - halladay is going to lose his arm if they are not careful and we all know that AJ can get the bug as well which would be too bad because I like the jays

I don't necessarily hate them, but think the job draws a certain type of person and then molds that certain type of person and molds them into something else once again, this could just be a product of the circles I run in and you really need to get that teenager BS out of your head - i am not, nor do I associate with teenagers or angst ridden individuals there is also no supporting documentation to go against what I was saying about their perception - i'm sure a study could be found, but I don't feel like doing the leg work right now it's not that I hate the title of police officer, it's that most police officers I know are complete and utter scumbags who spit in the face of the laws they are sworn to protect

BS The Fan just provided a ton of stats that say just the opposite Also a lot of it has to do with location - maybe in places like Palm Beach County you can get a better demographic, but do you seriously think that small towns are holding out for the highly qualified guys who want to come live in the middle of nowhere and do police work with their college degrees?! how about places like phoenix, vegas and other massively growing cities - you want a job as a cop, move here and you will have one within a week, pretty much no questions asked - starting pay is around $35-$40k in most places and if my experiences are not the norm, then why does such a large portion of the population feel the way I do?!

it's really not that lowpaying - many make between $40-$75k a year - it's never going to make you rich, but you can live very comfortably on a policemans salary and their benefits are pretty good as well

here it is all about winning - the d'backs have always had this stadium and winning a WS shows they can be competative in it - right now they are in the down side the cycle, a WS hangover of sorts - ownership and management has toggled - they have some young talent and look for attendance to go back up next year

a lot of it is from highschool - a lot through the couple guys I actually call friends, others from a coworkers boyfriend (who is a cop) and my friends sister used to be married to a cop you meet them at social functions, barbeques, bars, etc - they are pretty tight knit

i think it's more than a few bad apples - provide better and more consistent training - make the job more tiered where you have to be able to test into certain positions and get leadership that will shift off the old boy network a little bit, which is the hardest part right now cops police their own - they don't like anyone in their business and they take care of each other - i understand and respect that to a degree, you must be able to depend on your fellow officers - however, the public has a right to demand better than this and be provided better access & information - as it stands right now you have too many good people getting harrassed and too many bad people being handed loopholes due to shoddy police work each time a case goes through trial, appeals and then a supreme hearing due to a breach of basic procedure, it costs all of us tax payers a lot of money - unfortunately a lot of society is of the mindset of the ends justify the means - you caught a bad person, who cares what you had to do to get this i don't think you blow it up - but you need to find a way to shift the culture to one that is more responsible - i think by ensuring that only those who have integrity, intelligence and a history of solid performance can climb the ladder, the leadership can shift - other than that it's pretty complicated to change a culture that is so imbedded, i can only wish I had the intelligence & clout to pull it off

personal integrity is important to the job - especially if you've ever been to a cop bar and wonder why none of these guys get DUIs on their drive home as I stated - they suit a purpose, but most I know are aholes - i personally know around 20-30, and I'm good friends with 2 and get along with about 3 of the others - the rest are all piles of crap imo if you look at some of the things that go to the appelate courts for all states, it's rife with police officers abusing their power and duty - everytime you pick up the paper or walk down a city street you can see examples of police not acting right also, i'm far from a teenager

yep - tons of firsthand experience i'd say a good 85% of the people I know who became cops have zero college background and were very poor student in HS - a lot of them are failed athletes or those who had a few other options I know many cops, i'm even friends with a few - there are some very good ones out there, some who love the work, want to make a difference and uphold the laws but there are many others who are there because it's a good paying job, they train you and you get a chance to run amock and have authority i know cops who have given themselves sobriety tests before going into work, I know cops who get off on harrassing highschool classmates, over half the cops I know have openly bragged about cheating on their wives and the thing is, most cops won't argue about this - not the good ones anyway - they get pissed because it gives them a bad name - they usually say it's exagerated - although from my experience it isn't

most cops are undereducated, power abusing, alcoholic a-holes however, they do suit a much needed purpose in this instance I think it is unneccesary to ticket - although helping her across the street and giving a friendly reminder to only cross when you know you can make it would be in order

it's the lifestyle they chose to live - i have only sadness that people do this to themselves

shana

i think crosby will develop into the better player - but I still love what ovechkin brings to the table as for cheechoo this is his 3rd season up - only his second where they were relying on him .. this is the first time he's been on the first team PP, the first time he's been on the top scoring line - and he's still developing as a player his style is very entertaining and he's shown talent ever since the playoffs as a rookie for having a knack at goals of course thornton makes him better - and it's logical that his goals are assisted by him because they play on same PP and scoring line

agreed - i'm loving the NHL this year - only downside is how long you have wait to get a whistle to return to your seats after buying beer noticed 3 sharks are in the top 20 in points - thornton is totally revitalized as well cheechoo is fun to watch

some great young talent in the league this year also I was at the sharks/coyotes game tonight and my man Cheechoo just keeps producing love the way ovechkin plays though - also love that hit he put on chelios in the olympics and the goal he scored out here in the desert

the media sucks unless i'm trying to get drafted and am in my senior year of college why not though - they used him to sell papers at age 12 - hopefully he can use them to get some attention to live his dream

my thoughts are with you and yours - best of luck

where did those predictions come from?! - pretty sure a couple of them are early games and only afternoon games are eligible for the bump to sunday night status

yep .. i also thought it was spike i can't honestly say I've ever recognized your name and in reality, i've already forgotten it