I actually like this rule. The beauty of it is that when there is an altercation, they don't need to figure out who were the good guys and who were the bad guys. If you get up from the bench during a fight, you're a bad guy. Period. It is not subtle or difficult to figure out.

I can't buy the argument that the NBA should not have enforced the rule because the stakes were so high. There are a several problems with this. First of all, when do the stakes start being high? It is the second round of the playoffs. How about first round? Or a pivotal regular season game... Secondly, which rules lapse when the stakes are high? Finally, I would argue that in a high-stakes situation it is all the more incumbent on the NBA to apply the rules rigidly. They are going to piss people off no matter what, but if they stick to precedent they can at least defend their decision.

The old system stank. There is simply no logic for making Iowa and New Hampshire so powerful. They are small states that have little impact on the general election, and they are not ethnically diverse. Moreover, they have not been kind to the Democrats. In 1992, Bill Clinton lost both Iowa and New Hampshire. John Kerry won both.. Far from punishing Florida, Howard Dean should thank Charlie Crist for saving the Democrat Party from this lousy system.

The one thing that is not clear from the letter is what she is doing that makes her an irresponsible parent. Is it simply that she is doing something illegal? The legality of medical marijuana is pretty hazy (pun intended) and depends on where she lives. In Los Angeles there about a hundred stores that openly sell marijuana for medical use. Even if she is breaking the law, I don't think that necessarily makes her a bad parent. Sometimes the law is wrong.

Haven't you seen Fatal Attraction, dude? It's your bunny you have to worry about...

As horrible as the story is, the events described aren't happening "in Iraq".

People are way to confident that Alex Rodriguez will get past Bonds. Even if Bonds retired with 756, A-Rod would still have 256 left to go. To catch up, he would need to average 40 home runs a year for more than six years. That may not sound too hard, until you consider that the guy is already 32. So he needs not only avoid serious injuries, but keep banging home runs at a superstar level into his late thirties. Without being on the juice (or at least not getting caught).

Following King's logic, sooner or later someone will get past Bonds, but it probably won't be A-Rod.

(I know innocent until proven guilty, yadda yadda yadda...)

That leaves Aaron and Ruth. You have to look at how a typical power hitter ages, not the best two non-juiced sluggers of all time. The question is whether A-Rod is more like Hank Aaron or more like Ken Griffey, Jr.

The GOP: Don’t make us send our goons.

Dem sticker -- [picture of phone or guy with headphones] They already KNOW you're a Democrat...

GOP sticker -- O B/S A M A [the B and S are arranged diagonally]

... since I submitted, these don't seem like winners. I get the one about drinking beer with one's friends, but that presumes that the Democratic nominee will be unlikeable.

They should get a panel to vote.

McCain is just trying to bring his mostly-dead campaign back to life by bashing the Democratic witch.

... is to tell them that you are going to stay and live in your normal manner, as if there is no baby in the apartment. Make it very clear, if they read between the lines, that you are not going to walk on tiptoes just because their little darling is having a nap. In fact, you may just turn on the radio.

This puts the onus on them to move, because you can't force someone to be quiet. They can't paint you as a bad person, because you are simply living in your usual manner in your apartment. At worst, you are discourteous.

This is very passive-aggressive, of course, but in this case they deserve it. And they probably wouldn't call your bluff.

I always find it funny how sports journalists talk about players/teams being overrated or underrated. It just begs the question "Overrated by whom?" When you slap the label on somebody it rather negates their overratedness, doesn't it? It would be one think of the speaker was really going against the conventional wisdom, but usually they are just following the consensus. Certain NBA players seem to be perpetually labeled "underrated". Jason Kidd, for example.

I would be feeling a little silly right about now if I was one of those columnists who emphatically told the Blazers to pick Greg Oden. Not naming any names, but it rhymes with Ming Maufman.

Some women walk around with the word "JUICY" on their tush. Is that better or worse than "MOIST"? Discuss.

What people are overlooking here is that it was a Republican legislature and Republican governor who passed a law that moved up the primary. Dean is punishing Florida Democrats for a decision that was largely made by Republicans.

After all of the drama about "counting all of the votes" in 2000, the DNC is threatening not to count Democratic votes in order to show Republican lawmakers what happens when they don't obey its rules. Brilliant!