So, ok, not quite the same thing. But Daugherty was on the way to becoming, maybe, the most dangerous center ever, when his back gave out, and he retired, in the prime of his career.

all I know is, if I'm a Trailblazers executive, and I'm looking at a 7-footer with possible low-back disk problems, I'm probably going to pass. The odds that this kid has a short career are higher than I'd like.

It'd be different if the Oden was, say, going to have some kind of office job. But basketball is uniquely hard on the low-back. Not as hard as football..but hard enough. Most centers have back problems. Hell, many players have back problems. If you're starting with back problems at 19? Dubious proposition, man.

Ya know, this kind of squirming is the sort of thing I've been waiting for for a long time. I *so* wish Karl Rove had to get in front of a congressional committee... any committee, and answer a lot of very short, pointed questions, with lots of follow-up. Then Harriet Miers.

Now THAT would be fun. I'd pay to watch that.

But what I'd REALLY pay to watch is Dick Cheney and George Bush trying to defend themselves during a trial in the Senate. I'd pay a *lot* to watch that.

Won't happen, I know. But, boy, that'd be some fun.

I'm hoping this obviously prevaricating rubbish from Fielding is just a prelude. I expect we'll be hearing a lot of this kind of gibberish in the next 18 months. And I bet it'll be a lot funnier than that..unless, of course, all the lawyers start telling their swelling client list to shut the fuck up.

...you have GOT to be kidding.

You'd have this poor guy likely derail his career because he's "in love?" Dear Jesus.

You, of all the people posting here, should know that being "in love" is about the dumbest reason there is to do much of anything. "In love" is just brain chemicals telling you to have sex as much as humanly possible. Or, more to the point, to bond with this *other* to make yourself whole, and then reproduce.

It is, in essence, a form of psychosis (Been there, done that, got the tee-shirt..two or three, in fact), as well as a form of immaturity (again, been there, done that).

This is psych 101. I join the chorus telling this guy to go to Toronto, live his life fully, and keep in touch with this woman. If there's more to it than a bunch of evanescent brain-chemicals, then maybe they'll find a way to be together.

If not, there are plenty of fish in the sea, and falling in love isn't that hard to do..unless you're "really" screwed up psychologically, and only crazy people will do. although there seem to be plenty of crazy people out there for them as want one.

Sheesh. You really should have refreshed yourself with some Erich Fromm and Harry Stack Sullivan before you gave this guy such ill-considered advice.

Being "in-love" isn't a reason to do anything. In fact, when "in-love" the best thing to do is nothing at all. Wait for it to pass, and then try being an adult. It's not a bad way to go.

Giuliani's candidacy simply demonstrates just how low the GOP has sunk. Wait 'till Thompson gets going. I wager he'll be even worse.

Although, my own take is that Giuliani will likely self-destruct before the conventions, and Thompson will prove to be every bit as lazy as a candidate, as he was as a Senator, and his candidacy will wither. Leaving...Mitt Romney? That's gonna be fun. I think Hillary can beat Romney. So can Obama and Edwards.

Frankly, aside from anything else, how does anyone vote for a guy with a lisp who looks like Christopher Lee's vampire uncle back from the dead? I swear, every time I face the reality of Giuliani running for President, I get a case of the giggles. Surely this *can't* be happening, can it?

Have Presidential primary run-ups always seemed this deranged? Or is this one especially kooky?

Then I remember that we'll soon have had eight years of GW Bush...a man who shouldn't have been elected dog-catcher in a sane world, and I realize, with real despair, that any damned thing is possible now.

A record of Lieberman's utterly mendacious comments during and after the most recent election is a well-nigh perfect example of a corrupt politician.

He's just paying the price of his office. He would not BE a Senator now if he hadn't said everything he's said. The people who paid for his election expect certain things. They're getting what they paid for.

I always thought, somehow, that people in Connecticut were smarter than the average. I guess I was wrong. Or, at least, wrong about the Democratic voters who gave Lieberman the margin he needed for victory. GOP voters voted for him en-masse, that was part of the plan. But the fact that so many Democratic voters actually voted for the guy instead of Lamont just boggles my mind.

And let's not even get started on how the DNC abandoned Lamont.

Although, in the DNC's defense, they probably knew that Lieberman was a quisling, but his victory made it possible for the Dems to take over the Senate. That's a good thing...even if the price was Lieberman. Hell, the DNC and Lieberman probably had a deal in advance: you support my candidacy, and I'll caucus with the Dems.

Dems taking over the Senate has meant subpoena-power. That's worth 10 Liebermans...we can but hope.

It's all pretty disgusting, nonetheless..