Name:Joon Country:United States State:California Birthday:6/3/1980 Gender:Male
Interests:Lakers, Niners, hip-hop, R&B, korean music, video games, b-ball, football, money, beautiful women Expertise:Loungin', listening to music, 'net surfing, creating compilations CDs, building models Occupation:Unemployed/Between Jobs
Oi, so today I asked my supervisor when my temp period would end, I also had hopes this would lead to a permanent position as they told me they were hiring and interested in keeping me, but today she tells me that all the open spots had been filled and that my temp period could end really soon...GODDAMNIT! how much longer am I gonna be stuck in this ugly cycle of "temp work and no work"? I didn't even get a chance to interview for the position for crying out loud! I FUCKING HATE THIS!
NEW YORK (AP) -- Scott Boras loves the World Series so much, he wants to make it
best-of-nine -- and open with two games at a neutral site.
Arguing that the shift would create a marketing bonanza that would rival the
Super Bowl, Boras outlined his ideas in a two-page letter he sent to baseball
commissioner Bud Selig on April 15.
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"I know from an owner's perspective, this is a gold mine," Boras said.
"To have a World Series Weekend, WSW, I think it will create a stage that the
game has not seen."
Boras, the high-profile agent with high-profile clients who earn high-octane
paychecks, said in an interview Thursday that he will meet with the commissioner
after the All-Star break to discuss his proposal. He would open the weekend on a
Friday night with a televised gala announcing the MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the
Year and Manager of the Year awards, and have the five top candidates for each
in attendance.
Hall of Fame voting would be announced Saturday, with the opener that night
and Game 2 on Sunday night. After that, the Series would pick up the 2-3-2
format that's been used since 1925 (except for 1943 and 1945, when there were
wartime travel restrictions). If the scheduled host club for the opener won the
pennant, the Series could become a 3-4-2.
Cities would bid far in advance for the right to host the first two games,
and baseball would solicit corporate money, trying to create an event similar to
the Super Bowl, Final Four and BCS Championship. Figure on hotels with flowing
hospitality suites, ballparks surrounded by champagne-and-caviar-filled tents
and tarmacs cluttered with private jets.
"Create this buzz around it the same way they do the Super Bowl," Arizona
outfielder Eric Byrnes said. "I think is a very innovative idea."
At the same time, it would add more tense games to a postseason in which
World Series champions already have to pile up 11 wins.
"Nine games? It's too long," said New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter,
the owner of four World Series rings.
Selig, who successfully pushed for the introduction of interleague play,
wild-card teams and an extra round of playoffs, declined comment on Boras'
letter.
There already has been one far less radical change to the World Series this
year. While it was scheduled for a Saturday start from 1985 through last year,
it is slated to begin on a Wednesday in an effort to decrease Saturday night
telecasts, which get low television ratings.
The World Series originally was a best-of-nine affair, with the Boston
Americans (now the Red Sox) beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3 in 1903. The
Series switched to best-of-seven for the second edition in 1905 and has remained
that way with the exception of 1919, 1920 and 1921, when it again was
best-of-nine.
That, of course, was before television. Extra postseason games these days
translate to more broadcast revenue.
"I could see how that would possibly be a big draw, a big money maker,
something cool and new," San Francisco Giants player representative Randy Winn
said. "But I think a seven-game Series is more than enough to decide who the
world champion is."
Boras is convinced winning the right to stage the first two games would be a
windfall for the host club, which would tie access to Series seats to
season-ticket plans. Teams currently do that with the All-Star game.
Chicago's Wrigley Field hasn't hosted a World Series since 1945. The Series
hasn't been to Washington, D.C., since 1933, and it's never been hosted by
Colorado, Seattle, Tampa Bay or Texas.
"The World Series is something that rarely gets to a number of venues in
professional baseball. And that's one problem because we want the fan base of
particular cities to participate in the World Series even though there may be a
lull in the particular performance of the regional team," Boras said.
Imagine World Series Weekend in Las Vegas? Or Hawaii? Maybe even Tokyo?
"Obviously generating revenue is what this is all about anymore, which is
sad, but again, you have to find ways to make it work," Yankees manager Joe
Torre said. "But, yeah, that's certainly intriguing."
Given baseball's traditional conservatism and resistance to change, Boras'
idea likely won't be adopted anytime soon. But it has gotten some people
thinking.
"I'm not a guy that would just want to hold onto the past for the sake of
combating change," said Washington Nationals president Stan Kasten, who had one
conversation with Boras about the proposal. "But in this case, I think we have
such brand equity in the marketplace established with a seven-game Fall Classic,
played in the two home cities. I really like that. For a lot of reasons, I think
that neutral sites wouldn't work the way they do in other sports."
But if baseball ever does include neutral-site games, businesses would
salivate to be involved.
"I think the opportunity to celebrate the ultimate of our national pastime
in a neutral location opens up a whole host of opportunities for corporate
sponsors," said Eric Kraus, a sports marketing executive formerly with Gillette
and now with Covidien. "Like an All-Star game or like the Super Bowl, you're
bringing in a whole host of fans and corporate partners that you wouldn't be
able to reach."
Ah Shit! Does this mean that there'll be MORE baseball than what already expected?! FUCK THAT! DIE YOU JUICED MOTHERFUCKERS DIE! FUCK BASEBALL!
This week, speculation spiked that the 20GB version of the PlayStation 3 was on its way out. It came after the official Sony Style online store
removed the "basic" model of the PlayStation 3 from its Web site.
Today, the US online stores of Amazon.com, Best Buy, GameStop, EB
Games, and Circuit City were also longer listing the 20GB model, which
retails for $499.
[UPDATE] As it turns out, there was a good reason for the 20GB
PS3 vanishing--it's being officially phased out. "Initial retail demand
in North America was upwards of 90 percent in favor of the 60GB [PS3],
so we manufactured and shipped-in accordingly," said Dave Karraker,
Sony Computer Entertainment America's senior director of PR. "Due to
the overwhelming demand for the 60GB model from both retailers and
consumers, we have ceased offering the 20GB model here in North
America." The 60GB model retails for $599 in the US.
The 20GB model of the console has a number of differences from the 60GB
version aside from the size of the internal hard drive and lower price.
These include the lack of Wi-Fi connectivity, multiple flash memory
card readers, and chrome trim. "Based on retailer and consumer
feedback, we have decided to focus our current efforts on the more
popular 60GB model," Karraker told GameSpot.
The discontinuation of the 20GB PS3 in North America also
throws doubt over the model's launch in Europe, Australia, and other
territories, where currently only the 60GB version is available. The
budget version was originally expected to arrive sometime in the
"summer," although no hard date was ever set. "We'll continue to
monitor demand for the 20GB model, from a consumer and retailer
perspective...which will be factored into any future Euro launch
plans," a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe spokesperson told GameSpot
UK. Both versions of the PS3 will continue to be available in Japan.
ROFLMAO! It figures, I mean who in the right mind would actually shell out 500 bucks for a stripped down PS3? Serves them right...this is one to cut their losses. Now its only a matter of time when they upgrade the 60 gig and slash the price, not to mention introduce some new colors.
Yeah yeah, just got my paycheck and tax refund at the same time. I got pizzaid! Top it off I'm starting a new job next week, things are looking up for me.
