TheTwoJuans

but if it doesn't happen this year they can try again in the future when perhaps friendlier people to the marlins are in office.

Just out of curiousity, does the latest stadium proposal in clude changing the name to the Miami Marlins? I hope not. If the state hlpes fund the stadium, it seems like it should remain Florida. 757807[/snapback] I think the bill that passed in the house stipulated that if they took the state funding that they would have to keep the name flordia marlins.

Its the manifest destiny. In the 1800s it was our justification to spread religion, capitalism and democracy to the mexicans and the rest of the west. Now it is our justification to spread those things through the world things dont change. As an arrogant nation we force our system on others nothing shocking really 756161[/snapback] :thumbdown Somebody has to take out evil like Saddam and we did. We are the only country strong enough and we have enough balls to go in and do it. If you don't like it then move to France. I don't care if we have to force democracy- I believe in right and wrong and Saddam was wrong. I was sick of hearing about Saddam killing his own people who only love him because they fear him and raping women. If arrogance means taking out evil then Im all for it. Just about the only state who doesn't agree is all the California quacks. 757782[/snapback] Then why are you not up in arms over things like Rawanda, or a zillion other african nations where things like genocide took place where armies took rule over countries and wiped out millions of people? And we did nothing to help. Iraq is not the only place where injustices occurred if you are going to police some you need to police all over and not just push your agenda on other countries when it conviniences you. Also, are you planning to sign up for the army anytime soon? because it is hella easy to say we should go here, here, over there, under here, and back this way, when it is not you being sent time and again coming back in a body bag. is the world a better place without saddam from our perspective, yeah sure, why not? was it worth it? he is still alive, and will be for a while, meanwhile countless innocent people are dead. the real "enemy" who attacked us on 9/11 are still out there, and not even in iraq. when did we become a country to use first strike against people who did not attack us? maybe we should invade canada next, they have stones and are pretty close, they could do bad things to us oh no. if we went to iraq solely to help out the people and those poor poor citizens, why are we not in cuba, africa, in south america somewhere helping out those people? because that is not why we went to iraq. it is because they are vastly different than us, resemble the enemy and that is reason enough to force our agenda on them.

isnt' a 3/4 vote necessary? which means that 38 yes' are necessary. 757740[/snapback] I think it would be 30, since I think there are 40 senators.

T.A. McLendon signs as Falcons free agent Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. - Oft-injured North Carolina State running back T-A McClendon has signed as a rookie free agent with the Atlanta Falcons, but there's a line ahead of him for a roster spot. McClendon gave up his final year of eligibility to make himself available for the N-F-L draft, but he was never selected. He scored 35 touchdowns for the Wolfpack, good enough for third-best in school history, but injuries stymied his progress. McClendon missed one game as a freshman, when he was named the A-C-C rookie of the year and first-team all-conference after finishing with eleven-hundred-and-one yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. He missed four more games as a sophomore, then struggled with shoulder and hamstring ailments last season. Atlanta was the top running team in the N-F-L last season thanks to quarterback Michael Vick, and running backs Warrick Dunn and T-J Duckett. The Falcons also picked running back DeAndra Cobb of Michigan State in the sixth round. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctime...ts/11485338.htm :blink:

positive reports about soldier deaths, using incorrect intel, or coming to false conclusions would be hard to report on in a positive light i would think. and there are bunch of people on the radio that are far from liberal really the complete opposite. and radio is part of media and means of how people get their news. it could be hard to be positive when there is only so much positive stuff to talk about. 756975[/snapback] Do you deny that the media reports the negatives in Iraq FAR more than the positives coming out of Iraq. When was the last time you heard about a school opening up in Iraq? A hospital being built? A library opening? A police station being opened? Police officers and soldiers being hired everyday? A businessman opening up his own business? All these things happen in Iraq, some everyday some weekly, but they happen all the time. You never hear a report on it. Does a murder in Miami make news in Iraq? How about a dozen murders in Miami, does that make news in other parts of the world? Do conservatives have their radio network geared toward ALL consrvative views? 756979[/snapback] no i will not deny that a lot of negative news comes out of iraq. but i never hear fox news, rush, or any of the other conservative news sources come at me with the school openings or anything like that. its not like the conservative news sources are acting too much different than the liberal media sources. if you have a problem with the media, have a problem with all media, because when did you hear about any of those things you listed on conservative news sources? and when the murders are of americans it is different. it is our boys being killed over there, so how can you not want to hear about that? if iraqi tourists were killed over here i am sure they'd report about it in iraq. when we are in control of another country like we are in iraq and spending our money to help it out, what goes on over there becomes our priority. unless you want to ignore where you money is going. put on hannity, rush, laura, bortz, and any other number of conservatives with radio shows. they call out and mock liberals. as much as i watch cnn i have never heard them say anything along the lines of "conservatives are just stupid, they need our help, we want to heal the conservatives," because a number of those shows say things like that about liberals everyday. no... not biased at all.

positive reports about soldier deaths, using incorrect intel, or coming to false conclusions would be hard to report on in a positive light i would think. and there are bunch of people on the radio that are far from liberal really the complete opposite. and radio is part of media and means of how people get their news. it could be hard to be positive when there is only so much positive stuff to talk about.

espn says Kim is starting game to for the rocks

Why didnt the Marlins sign Pudge and Lee after '03? a) The Marlins didnt think they were good enough. b) The Marlins couldnt afford them at the time. Its definately not A. The Marlins were working with strict financial restraint. 756886[/snapback] Where did that restraint stop them from signing Delgado and Duca to more monney? I think their payroll is higher now than it would have been if they kept Derrek and Pudge last year. Loria apparently did not seem to think that Derrek or Pudge were worth the money. Explain to me how Loria can say he lost more money last year (2004) and then in turn increase payroll for this year, and you say he didn't have enough money to sign Pudge and Derrek after the WS year. He had the money he just did not feel that it was worthwhile to spend it and he tried to make up for that mistake by signing Delgado and Duca. I do not understand how you can say the Marlins had tighter financial restraints after 03 than after last year given the fact Loria says he had less money after last year than he started the year with.

Im loving life in Lee land, I have him in my money fantasy league.? I hope he can continue.? Wrigley field has helped him A LOT, Dolphin Stadium was not the best place for Lee, he always hit better on the road. 756779[/snapback] sorry but the stats dont back that up.before today. Lee at home this year:306 BA, 2 HR, 10 RBI,426 obp. Lee on the Road this year:487 BA,3 HR, 11 RBI,535 obp. 756792[/snapback] and how many games has he played at Dolphins Stadium? Lee's a good hitter, the a lot of the hate he got on the board was not warranted, but I did support the trade to the Cubs because Choi wasn't a huge downgrade to Lee, and $8 million cheaper. (beinfest had to screw that up though) but we've got Delgado now and all that really doesn't matter. 756817[/snapback] as is turns out Choi was a huge downgrade and was not 8 mill cheaper. lee only makes about 7 this year and choi made about 300k or so. rougly a 6.5 mill difference or so give or take. now you see the numbers he puts up and Lee was well worth it. we have delgado now and its all good but what did we give up? and we dished out about 20 mill more for delgado than what lee is getting. so for less than we are paying loduca and delgado you could of kept lee and gave pudge what he was asking for. things have turned out well for us either way but to say we came out on top is ridiculous.we could of made out like bandits. 756835[/snapback] I agree with you. Pudge signed for 4 years and 40 million dollars. Derrek Lee signed for 3 years and 22.5 million dollars, meaning in those two contacts there is about 66.5 million tied up. Now we have signed Lo Duca to a 3 year 18 million contract and Delgado to a 4 year 52 million contract, about 70 million tied up there. We let Lee and Pudge go and signed Lo Duca and Delgado for more money, for the same 7 contract year span. In the process we lose an ace in Penny, as well as a gold glover and a 1b who is entering his prime. But we did gain lefty thunder. I think most would agree Pudge is better than Duca, and you can say a peaking Derrek is ok when comparing to an aging Carlos. So I agree with you we came out of these couple years a little bad.

this thread has made me do crazy things i see it. i read it. i'm hungry. i look in the fridge. No tomato sauce. Yes bbq sauce. The point is, there is a currently a matza pepper jack ham barbecue sauce pizza in my oven I blame/ credit whatever it tastes like to this thread 756445[/snapback] hot damn that was some good stuff 756463[/snapback] so you are keeping the passover holiday i am guessing since you are eating the mazta yet you eat ham. :blink:

well apparently this should be wrapping up very shortly. if its in the committee now, then we could see a vote as early as this afternoon until maybe friday..with jebby signing it next week :crosses fingers: 756372[/snapback] The problem is is that the bill that passed today and the one in senate ae vastly different bills. From my understanding of government for Jeb to be able to sign it into law the bills must be identical. So even once the bill passes the senate they will have to sit down and make a new bill together and then try to get those passed in the house and senate again before it can even get to Jeb.

House passes bill to help pay for Marlins stadium in Little Havana By MARK HOLLIS Tallahassee Bureau Posted April 27 2005, 12:30 PM EDT TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Marlins scored a dramatic political victory Wednesday as the Florida House voted overwhelmingly in favor of a $60-million state tax subsidy to build a ballpark in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood. The baseball stadium proposal cleared the state House on a 90-26 vote, tied to a funding package that would sprinkle millions of state sales tax dollars throughout the state for baseball spring training sites and other sports stadiums and facilities. The House bill (HB 173) diverts $2 million a year for the Marlins and $2 million a year for four spring training sites, as well as $5 million a year to counties with convention centers. The measure also sets aside $2 million a year for the Orlando Magic and $1.2 million a year for a NASCAR museum in Daytona Beach, although that money would be repaid through the sale of a NASCAR auto license plate. Among the baseball training sites that would benefit under the bills is Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, where the Mets hold spring practice games. Over 30 years, the bill would provide $15 million to the baseball spring training sites. And at Tradition Field, that money -- $500,000 a year – would go to repay renovations already made to the park two years ago. Sponsors of the stadium-funding package clapped hands and cheered when the House voted. But major hurdles remain. The House bill is significantly different from a Senate package and lawmakers have just over a week to work out differences. The stadium funding also faces sharp skepticism from Senate President Tom Lee. Earlier this month, a Senate staff economist told lawmakers that new sports stadiums don't usually have the intended effect of spurring economic development. And Lee has said this may not be the best year to increase state subsidies to sports franchises. City of Miami and Miami-Dade County officials, who watched the House deliberations in the Capitol after spending days lobbying lawmakers to pass the bill, were ecstatic after the vote. ``It now goes to the Senate very strong,'' said Miami Mayor Manny Diaz. ``Ninety members in favor and very positive debate. It's not like we barely edged a victory.'' Miami-Dade Commissioner Rebeca Sosa said the local lobbying efforts will now be thrust at the 40-member Senate. ``What we saw here today was bipartisan unity on economic development,'' said Sosa. ``The state is secure in its investment. We hope the Senate will show the same unity and same enthusiasm for economic development.'' Throughout the ongoing two-month legislative session, the Marlins funding package has faced an uncertain fate. But Miami Republican Rep. Marco Rubio, the House's incoming speaker, maneuvered the bill around one of its biggest obstacles – Rep Fred Brummer, R-Apopka, a House committee chairman who has blocked numerous bills this session. Rubio, however, tacked money for the Marlins and other sports stadiums onto an unrelated bill dealing with sales tax rebates for convention centers. Critics attacked the maneuver, saying House leaders sidestepped budget committees where the issues should have drawn more debate and scrutiny. Rep. Susan Bucher, D-West Palm Beach, was among critics who pointed to public-opinion polls that show more than 80 percent of people are against spending tax money on professional-sports arenas and a report by a Senate economist that showed the facilities provide little or no economic benefit to their regions. Other critics, such as Brummer and Delray Beach Democrat Anne Gannon said the bill steals money from other state priorities, such as health care for the poor, public schools, and local road and water projects. But supporters, such as Rep. Juan-Carlos Planas, R-Miami, said if not for the stadiums, the state wouldn't raise as much revenues as it now does for public priorities. ``This is where we get the money for the eyeglasses and the dentures for the poor, all the special projects we want,'' Planas said. ``It's by people coming here (to Florida and its entertainment facilities) and spending their money.'' Some lawmakers said they are opposed because they think Miami-Dade County has already enjoyed enough perks in the budget while other parts of the state have suffered from last year's hurricanes. ``I can't stand here and help build stadiums when I still have 30,000 families (in my community) who can't move into their homes (after Hurricane Ivan),'' said Rep. Holly Benson, R-Pensacola. Mark Hollis can be reached at mhollis@sun-sentinel.com or 850-224-6214. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/legislatu...0,1184606.story

Yeah I saw that this morning and is that just an extra BCS game, or is it a pluse one game? 756178[/snapback] I read more about it last night. This is NOT a plus one. What this basically is is an extra BCS game. Its gonna work like this: -Big East still has its automatic bid -Instead of 8 BCS teams there will be 10 (2 extra at-large) -The 4 BCS bowls will be played the first week of January -The pre-determined BCS #1 and #2 will play in a championship game a week later. -Like now the championship will roll between the 4 main sites. So for instance there will be 2 orange bowls a year one year, 2 rose bowls the next instead, etc. -The teams are still pre-determined before the bowls, it is just and extra BCS bowl really.

Its the manifest destiny. In the 1800s it was our justification to spread religion, capitalism and democracy to the mexicans and the rest of the west. Now it is our justification to spread those things through the world things dont change. As an arrogant nation we force our system on others nothing shocking really

Don't forget -- beginning in the 2006 season, the national championship game will be played after the four BCS bowls. Did I miss when this went down? http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2047127

Tax break for Marlins stadium gains ground in state House By Linda Kleindienst And Mark Hollis Tallahassee Bureau Posted April 26 2005, 8:31 PM EDT TALLAHASSEE -- Miami-Dade County's quest for state help with a new $420 million Florida Marlins ballpark got a boost from the state House on Tuesday, winning preliminary approval in a bill that also sets aside money for Fort Lauderdale to improve its spring training facility for the Baltimore Orioles. It was a dramatic turn around for the stadium proposal, which had been blocked - and already pronounced dead - by House Finance and Tax Committee Chairman Fred Brummer. But Miami-Dade Republicans used their collective political muscle in both houses of the Legislature to move the $60 million tax break ahead, hoping to win final approval by the session's scheduled May 6 adjournment. In the House, Procedural Chairman Marco Rubio of Miami, who is slated to become House speaker in late 2006, tacked the Marlins amendment onto an economic development bill aimed at helping county convention centers. The same amendment calls for the state to help four cities, among them Fort Lauderdale, refurbish spring training facilities. Almost simultaneously, a key Senate committee agreed by a one-vote margin to keep the stadium alive with a likely caveat that the team keep its name as the Florida Marlins and not change to the Miami Marlins. "If the money is that important, maybe it shouldn't be left to doubt…that it should be known forever more as the Florida Marlins," said Sen. Skip Campbell, D-Fort Lauderdale, a Marlins fan. He voted to get the measure out of committee with assurances from Senate Majority Leader Alex Villalobos of Miami that the name change issue would be considered by the full Senate. Now in its fourth try, this is the farthest the stadium proposal has come in the legislative process. Previously it was the team asking for the $2 million a year, 30-year tax break. This year it was the county, city of Miami and the team that presented a financing package to the state. The county and city have estimated that a new ballpark next to the Orange Bowl would raise $8 million of new sales tax revenue a year. "If this amendment is not approved and, God forbid, this team would leave this great state, we would have nothing," said Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, a prime sponsor of the House measure. Opponents accuse the team of double-dipping. In 1993, H. Wayne Huizenga got the same tax break when he owned the Marlins to help remodel then-Joe Robbie Stadium to accommodate baseball. The team is now owned by Jeffrey Loria and has a lease at Dolphins Stadium that expires in 2010. "This is all trumped up to get the second $60 million," said Rep. Susan Bucher, D-West Palm Beach. "What precludes all the other teams from coming back for their second $60 million?" But House Tourism Chairwoman Nancy Detert, R-Venice, said help for the teams will spur economic development and tourism. "I feel real uncomfortable standing up defending more money for sports teams," she conceded. "However, tourism is our number one issue. Florida is in the glamour business. It's what we do." Rubio's amendment won on a voice vote. "It's a good day so far…I'm optimistic," said a smiling Miami Mayor Manny Diaz as he left the House gallery. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa agreed the state has a right to be heard on the name change issue and said she would bring it up with fellow commissioners. "We need to come together and talk," she said. "We mainly want to keep the franchise in Miami and in the state." The Marlins had no comment on the name change. Under a non-binding agreement the team signed with the city and county, the name would only be changed if the two local governments requested it. Linda Kleindienst can be reached at lkleindienst@sun-sentinel.com or 850-224-6214. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/flo...la-news-florida

Hey Joe, I hope you are doing well. I love reading your Q/A pieces, they are great! Anyway my question: Many fans who I talk to are upset at the Marlins inconsistent offense, and I am too. However, many of those fans that I talk to feel that what the Marlins need is a change of hitting coach, thus they feel the organization should fire Bill Robinson. I do not support that thinking. What do you think about the Marlins getting a new hiting coach? And how much of a factor does a hitting coach have on a team's offense? Hitting coaches are convenient scapegoats. The players respect Bill Robinson, and frankly the organization doesn't have anyone with his experience. If you promote a minor league hitting coordinator, with no big league experience, you think Carlos Delgado will listen? Bill Robinson has been a .300 hitter as a player, he's been on World Series teams. Players listen to him. It's very true that the offense has been inconsistent. Scoring one run on Sunday against Brandon Claussen at home is a problem. You could see every now and then this happening, but Aaron Heilman baffled them on one hit not too long ago. Great hitting teams don't have that happen. I can't blame Robby for Mike Lowell hitting under .180. This team should be eight games over .500 with the pitching they've received. To be a championship team, some guys have to pick it up. Lowell's slump is baffling since he also didn't hit in the spring.

Kids named Espn or Espen have it tough.

I love Jeff, but he's been done since 2002. 755203[/snapback] Did you miss the 2003 playoffs when he hit about .350? Without him the Marlins would be only one-time champs. :thumbup

Well JuanE is hot. :thumbup

They could always start it up again. Couldn't they?

Is there anyway we can watch this?