Wow, a 5 game suspension is a little steep.  Maybe a 2 game to show the players that the NBA will not tolerate any player going pass the court/stands barrier.  I know I would have done the same thing if it had been my wife.  I truly believe that he did an outstanding job not losing his temper.  I think I probably would have lost mine and grabbed the guy.  As far as drinking goes I can only assume.  Axelrod claims he was not drunk but isn't it odd that not only he was removed but so were several others around him.  What is with the sue thing?  Sue for what?  Because he was scared he was going to be hurt by a woman(not trying to male chauvanist).  Oh yea she was yelling at him and it looked like she was going to scratch him.  The man needs to go home and get his man card back from his wife.  Hopefully the courts will not listen to this type of case and waste the taxpayer money.  Technically she could counter sue him as a threat to her person.  Axelrod needs to figure out that it is a game and only a game.  Life does not rely on the outcome of that game.  Take a chill pill and go on with life.

As a note:  Alcoholic beverages should be removed from sporting events for the safety of the fans as well as the players.  If you want to drink and watch a game then do it at home where it is safe.  Anyway drinking and driving is against the law.  What needs to be checked now is if Axelrod got into a car and drove home after drinking.  If so then he just broke the law and needs to go to jail.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Butch

Wow to Mr. Celizic!  That was a tough statement on Mr. Bonds and his conceitfulness.  And yes Mr. Bonds is a very self center individual.  Once he saw that he could actually break the record is when his whole body structure started changing.  Think about it.  At one time I use to watch baseball a lot.  Now I watch it rarely and just read about it.  But I do remember when Mr. Bonds body looked nothing like what it does now.  He has enhanced his strength somehow through weightlifting workouts or something else that he has been accused of doing.  I can't really judge him on what people say he has done.  I have no clue what he has done except for what the press says he has done.  I think his pulling out of the WBC was very unamerican.  He needs to reconsider what he has done and sacrifice a little.  It is so surprising that the players of today can not handle the pain and playing with that pain.  One example of playing with pain would be Lou Gehrig and the amount of pain he must of suffered with all those broken bones(17) in his right hand yet he played every game in that pain.  And then there is Mickey Mantle.  The man had to be wrapped from ankle to crotch on both legs just to be able to play and he did.  There were quite a few others but then I would be going on about the same thing.  But what we have in todays baseball world are a group of whining grown men that have difficulty handling the pain of a hang nail and have to be out for a few days to recover.  With the amount of money they are being paid to play they should either play or have money taken from them for each day they don't play.  For some of them that would be a lot while others very little.  As it is, a few of them make more in one hour of work than an lot of us do in a year.  They are good and they are crowd attractions but not to that extent.  When was the last time you heard that a pitcher finished an entire game and was paid a small fortune.  Very rarely whereas in the 60's and before, that was a common thing and is actually in the books.  What about the ERA?  Remember Bob Gibson, Harvey Haddix, and the like.  Mr. Gibson still holds the record of the lowest ERA I believe.  Mr. Haddix pitched all those innings(12) of shutout ball just to lose the game.

Well enough jibber jabber.

 That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 Butch

She and Frank are so right with not retiring Roberto's number.  He was a fantastic ballplayer and would have probably set records that would be extremely hard to catch if not for the wreck.  He showed baseball what can be done if you have the determination to accomplish that goal.  But to retire his number is really stretching it.  They did not retire Babe Ruth's number nor Henry Aaron nor Lou Gehrig's nor Cal Ripken's and they set great records.  Let's leave the situation as is.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it

Butch

C'mon Mr. Celizic you're too nice to the Yankee's.  I've been a Yankee fan since the middle 50's and always will be no matter what happens.  I look at this year as the year of the Yankee conceit.  The lineup is like a 'murder's row' with St. Louis.  They should get at least 4 .300 hitters, 250 homers, a crap load of doubles and score a large amount of runs with this staff.  But with no pitching to mention of and the conceit of the stars it just may backfire on George.  He has paid way too much money for them as they will be great ballplayer for their time but not worth that much. 

I will always argue the fact that all ballplayers in todays baseball are whining babies.  The disable list is abused by all players.  But that is another story.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Butch

Surveillance within the U.S. has been going on for many, many years.  When the 'Black Vault' first was initiated is when it all mainly started.  NSA is here to protect not to destroy U.S. citizens.  If you don't want the 'company' spying on you then be American and not of another country or for another country.  You're an American citizen so act like one.  NSA only spies on those they feel threaten the well being of the U.S.  They do not 'go' after the normal citizen, but the problem makers.  And they rightly should do that.  So should the FBI and the CIA for that matter.  If you have nothing to hide then nothing will happen and you will not be spied on by them.  NSA spies on just about anyone in the world one way or another, whether it be by satellite, cameras or phone bugs if there is just cause.  Those that are whining about what NSA does, need to get off their high horse and just shut up.  If they are raising this much stink about it then they must have something to hide and don't want the nation to know.

Whether what NSA does is legal or not is a good question.  Of course by law it isn't 'legal' but I am glad that we have someone covering our backs.  Their style of spying is in a grey area.  All countries spy on other countries but you don't see the U.S. citizen whining about the fact that the Russians or the Japanese or the English are spying on them.  Just the fact that we are spying on our fellow Americans.  If you're going to whine about one country doing it then you need to whine about all the countries doing it.  If the U.S. is spying on you, more than likely other countries are also spying on you.  They also want to know what you're doing in case it is something against them.

Wake up America and help the country, not whine about what it is doing to you.

 That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Butch

Well, Jeannette Walls delivered good news for us.  If Prince doesn't care for Paris Hilton, he moved up half a notch on my scale.  But then just because he headed out of the 'house' does not mean he doesn't like her but that she mentioned his name and his being in the 'house'.  Maybe just maybe he didn't want the publicity at the time.

Wow!!  I never know Scientology belonged to Tom Cruise.  Why does the media continually make these type of statements.  Tom Cruise is part of the Scientology religion and it is not 'his' religion.   Pay attention to what you say Jeannette, not that I agree or disagree with Scientology, as that religion belongs to other people not me. 

And who really cares if McConaughey uses deodorant.  None of us will ever get close enough to check that out anyway.

Sometimes the 'good' media acts just like the 'Star' or that other tabloid.  Give the people some worthwhile news.  And quit harping on Dick Cheney and the shooting.  We now know about it and constantly repeating the same words over and over only becomes irritating.  Make the statement and go on with some new news.  Unfortunately we overextend the use of the 'freedom of speech'.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Butch

So true Ms. Curry.  Although I tend to believe that the 'press' is allowed too much freedom of speech in certain cases, there are items that we all should know about to get a better understanding of what is going on.  If Americans became upset at some of the cartoons published in our newspapers and started killing each other over it, our population would be extremely small.  Sometimes other countries take the religion thing one step to far.  Yes, there is a God and yes we all have our own beliefs but to kill each other over it is not what religion is about.  Or is it.  The MidEast has been killing each other over religion for thousands of years and probably will continue doing so no matter how much America interferes.  Their problems have nothing to do with America and America does need to step back and let them work it out.  Never can tell, they may do that one day.

What Sadaam did had nothing to do with religion no matter what any mideasterner may say.  It was just down right murder because people did not do what he and his cronies liked or wanted.  The battle between Isreal and Palestine is a religious confrontation.  A wants B's land and believe B does not even belong.  B wants what they believe God gave them; the land they have occupied for a thousand years.  So they fight over it.

Sadaam needs to be irradicated.  Unfortunately we have let this man remain alive because of the world's belief that he should stand trial.  Think about it, did he provide the people he killed with a trial.  I think not.  We all know what he did and now the world is paying to keep him alive.  hmmm Sounds just like what we do America, i.e. In America, a thousand people could watch someone kill someone else and then we will spend a fortune keeping that individual alive for what they did.  We call it human rights.  hmmm  The world is now following suit on that.  Unfortunately some of us have stronger beliefs about paybacks.

 That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

 Butch

Once again the intelligence level of the muslim world is prevalent.  Although the cartoon was a very very stupid thing to do, should people die from it?   Look what our world is turning into!  It is okay for an individual to go around killing people on a constant basis but it is not okay to provide humor in a situation of continual sadness.  Will Rogers is probably rolling over in his grave.  Of course as Americans we must understand that there is no such thing as 'freedom of speech' in the muslim world.  We have to respect that just as they 'should' respect our various religions of which one is muslim.  The muslim leaders need to step in and adjust the situation to a calmness.  The cartoon is not worth the death of another human or any other creature for that matter.  The human race has to realize that God is within all of us and not just in one religion.  It is said that Jesus disappeared for something like 7 years.  Why couldn't he have ventured to other countries and brought his beliefs to them.  They could very easly have refered to Jesus as Mohammad or maybe Allah.  That thought process is not as far reaching as many people would tend to believe. 

Once again America is trying to step in where they do not belong.  This situation is between the country of Denmark and the Muslim religion.  Let them settle this in as peaceful as manner as can be.

 That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 Butch

Whiners!  I have been doing rebates for quite a few year and have only had a couple not show up.  One being my own fault for failure to fill the form out correctly and provide all the necessary proof.  If they say it will take 6-8 weeks it usually does.  Be patient.  You are not the only one wanting the rebate.  Always make a copy and when the time period is up and nothing shows make sure you call and explain to them that you did not get the rebate and you would like to talk to a supervisor.  If that supervisor cannot provide you with the proper answer that is satisfactory to you then ask to speak to their supervisor.  Always remember that everyone has someone they have to report to about problems they cannot handle.  Of course I only had to do this once and was completely satisfied and my check came just a few days later.  The point is that if you speak to someone who just answers the phone, you will probably get the runaround.  So request to speak to a supervisor and more than likely you will get the answer you need because they know if you go over their head then they will be reprimanded for poor customer satisfaction.  I do that whenever I feel I am getting the runaround.   

When it comes to money you must be bold to get your satisfaction. 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Butch

Come on now!  It is the media who hyped up the Bode Miller crap.  Yes he is a good skier but not a great skier.  He is also an arrogant jerk.  He and Michael Weir are so self centered that they believe they are great.  The only great thing about them would be their mouths and those are really big.  If they were as good as they claim they are then they should have did their job.  Their job was to win gold for the U.S. and not for themselves.  The Olympics are international and they represent our country.  Competitors use to be proud to win for the country.  We need to get back to that.  Speaking of conceit, you could even include that Shani Davis.  People like them only hurt the sport of the Olympics with their conceit and arrogance.  If they don't want to compete for their country then they should not be there.

 That's my story and I'm stickin to it.

 Butch