come on paul, just be happy for the astros for me....please?

i'll admit, clemens is NOT one of my favorite players, and i think he's a real ASS most of the time...but the thought of having a decent pitching staff here, well....hell, i don't care what sort of an ass they are, just pitch a good game for us.

I never thought Roger would really retire, although I did think he would just re-sign with New York. There's really no reason for him to stop unless he just doesn't want to play anymore.... and we knew that wasn't the case when he said he wanted to play for the Olympic team (can someone explain how that tournament works in that a team... Mexico I think.... gets to the Olympics with 3 losses and USA doesn't make it with 1? Or do I not know what I'm talking about?)

New York is a pretty high pressure environment for an athlete, especially a Yankee. Who knows how much of a pain in the ass ol' George is, a lot of people leave because of him it seems... and I don't think there's much available ranch land in the city. Also, these two have made a pretty penny already, so the biggest contract isn't the most important thing anymore (what about winning you say? These two have already done it.)

I think it's a good move on both parts, and I'm interested to see what the Yankees starting rotation will look like on Opening Day.

Isn't it funny that the Yankees lose a couple of players, the Yankee fans cry, tease, and make of them for leaving. Meanwhile they pillage every other roster out there by waving big dollars around.

I can't stand Clemens, but I have to rrot for the Astros this year for giving the Yankees a dose of their own medicine.

C'mon, wasn't it Twins fans who threw money at Chuck Knoblauch? Wasn't it Mariners fans who booed A-Rod? No one wants to see their team shunned for another.

Both Mets fans would be upset, too, if their team lost a talented player to another. Not sure who on the Mets roster qualifies as "talented," but I'm sure there's one somewhere.

"Has a national champ ever been 12-1 and ranked as low as 19? I don't get it."
12 of their first 13 games at home in the Carrier Dome with the one "road" game being in Rochester probably has something do do with it, PK. But they are a good team and they'll get up in the rankings.

Unlike football, if Syracuse is deserving they will get their opportunity in baseketball.

I don't mean just Syracuse football, but the difference between the football bowls and the basketball tournament.

What a crazy idea, the best teams actually playing the other top teams and eventually the top two going head-to-head.

Art

Pittsburgh hoops is having the same problem (17-0, 3-0, ranked 15th). But, the schedule hasn't been that tough yet. We'll have to see after the Connecticut and Syracuse games coming up.

Bible thumper? That's a tad pejorative.

Given that i plan on taking the next 9 months off...my summer appears to be just a bit brighter. Cubs v Astros...what a ticket.

Go Cubs!

'Cuse in in the house - OH MY GOD!!! Who cares about rankings, a 12-1 record speaks volumes about our Orangemen!

Forth is the man!!!

Charles Pierce's piece is stupid. He should be talking about Red Sox fans, not Pats fans. He mentions how supposedly Pats fans are arrogant and elitist now. So what? As long as the players don't become like that (i.e. Kordell Stewart, Marshall Faulk, Keith Bullock, et al) then what's the problem? As i recall, a great many players have lamented the shouldas-couldas-wouldas after being beaten by the Pats. You'll probably hear Dwight Freeney say that after this sunday, and then, 2 weeks later, you'll see McNabb cry like Marshall Faulk did after 2001. "the best team doesn't always win" waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!

Max Faulkenstein is the KU color analyist, not K-State's. K-State's colorman wears Dickie overalls, smokes a pipe made from a corn cob, and shoots a shotgun into the air while crying "hootie-hoo!" every time K-State makes a point or goal.

Max Faulkenstein is getting old. It's true. We KU fans have accepted him (and his senile babblings) as a part of KU's rich history. It's a history, may I remind you, that includes inventing basketball and dominating it from the very beginning... regardless of who the coach is.

Hey Paul....I agree that there isn't a team out there that likes to see their players go to another team.....

But you have to admit, 9 times out of 10 that team the player usually is going to is the Yankees.

If you want to get a bit deeper and say something that hits close to home....I would say you sort of sound like a Red Sox fan when Clemens ended up a Blue Jay, then a Yankee.

Unlike Red Sox fans, my written feelings about Clemens are mostly in jest. Really can't fault a guy for wanting to pitch in his hometown. I don't feel like Clemens betrayed New York as much as he embraced Houston.

But it's fun to see the Post call him as ASSTRO.

I have to admit....that was one of the funniest Post headlines in a long time.

Nice website.....Keep up the good work.

The saddest guy, likely, over The Rocket's decision to unretire is probably Kevin Towers, GM of the Padres. He was salivating over getting Greg Maddux in a Padres uniform, but now the Chicago Cubs feel like they need to open their wallets to get him back on the Windy City's North Side. Without Maddux, they probably won't be able to compete with the Astros. Maddux is the big winner. He gets more $$ and gets to play for a contender.

Paul,
You must now realize what Boston fans have felt like, in some small way. Imagine listening to Clemens say that he wanted to leave Boston and move closer to home, only to go to Toronto because he never used his millions to buy a map.
Now you know how the Blue Jays must have felt when he got a trade out of Toronto, citing the need to play for a competitor. Two years ... imagine the suffering.
Now you know how Mike Piazza felt, when Clemens threw a bat at him in the WS and said he thought it was a baseball coming at him. Not that he helped explain why he threw what he thought was a baseball at Mike Piazza.
Yep, you should know now. Roger Clemens is about as trustworthy as a colonoscopy from a free health clinic. Enjoy it while it lasts, Houston.

Paul, what is the word in NY on why players are leaving the Yankees? Is it more money being offered, not wanting to deal with George, or something else?
I don't follow baseball much, but I can't imagine not wanting to play for what has to be considered the biggest of the big time.

I honestly think that playing for the Yankees isn't as much fun as it once was. Maybe the 1996-2000 Yanks set the bar too high. Maybe it's Steinbrenner. I do know how much stress I felt during the ALCS, hoping to protect a century of history, and I can only imagine what it must've been like for the players.

Pettitte, Clemens and Wells all went home after accomplishing all they could ever dream of doing in pinstripes. I can't really fault them for taking advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I'm with Kevin on Roger. Feel the Red Sox fan pain Yankees! It broke my heart when he left Boston and then ripped it out once again when he became a damn Yankee. He's gotten his only salute from me for his last pitch. he's dead to me. :)

And SU is kicking butt! I think they are really starting to jell. I think it's good that they are ranked so low, keeps them a little under the radar. Less pressure on the youngsters. Did you see last night? Double team McNamara and Forth ends up scoring 18 pts. Go Craig Go!

I'm shocked that anyone (especially the great Pk) could mistakenly put our beloved (and perhaps a bit unusual) color commentator in the same realm of anything K-State. Max Faulkenstein may say some rather odd things, but he's being calling games for KU since we won the first national championship and Wilt Chamberlin played for us. Max makes all of those blowout games just easier to watch.

While I do agree that it would not have mattered at all about the 1999 ALCS, those were two horrible calls that could have turned momentum. However, the lack of mental toughness by the Sox killed them in the long run. Still, I wonder what you think of the Jeffrey Maier home run (which I know you will defend, but let's both be honest, that should have been called fan interference).

The Jeffrey Maier home run was just that, a home run. I was there, but in the right-field upper deck, so I didn't see any interference. and neither did umpire Richie Garcia. Richie's on the payroll for another 10 years, so I don't want to say anything bad about him.