GhostMachine

It'll never happen, but the way baseball works needs to change. Revenue sharing and the luxury tax, rather than having a salary cap, benefits the large market teams and it doesn't really help the small market teams be competitive; it just keeps them from going belly up. Let me give you an example of why I don't think revenue sharing works the way it should: At another message board someone did some research last year and figured out that the way revenue sharing is done, no MLB should have a payroll less than $70 million, yet last season at least 12 teams had payrolls below that. That means the owners are either pocketing the money or spending it on repairs and upgrades to the stadium instead of trying to make their teams more competitive by boosting the payroll. Luxury tax doesn't mean shit, because to teams like the Red Sox and Yankees, that's pocket change. Bud Selig said a few years ago that the system works because there is parity in baseball. I said it then and I'll say it now: BULLSHIT! Yes, you do get smaller market teams who become competitive and even make it to and win the World Series. But those teams do not STAY competitive. Baseball used to be my favorite sport, but the steroids scandal (particularly Roger Clemens and Mark McGwire being users), teams essentially buying championships due to lack of REAL parity, and the lame change they made so the All-Star Game determines World Series home advantage have all kicked baseball down a few notches. I actually care more about college and pro football than I do baseball.

That's the M90 Cain, and its an overkill weapon. You can almost, but not quite, one-shot the final boss with it. I'm not sure, but I think if you get all the heavy ammo upgrades you can get enough to be able to fire it twice. However, the Blackstorm Projector, which you only got if you pre-ordered from Gamestop, is freakin' SAWEEEET! Its basically a cross between Incendiary Ammo, Pull, Singularity AND Toss. (It tosses enemies near it into the air and holds them there as it sets them on fire before sucking them in as it explodes - will kill anything short of a fully armored Krogan, which will either be dead or close to it at the end) Should be the heavy weapon of choice during the Archangel recruitment mission (for the balcony fight and the biggest room during the shutter closing part) and Tali's loyalty missions if you have access to it. Also comes in handy for the Mordin recruitment mission, but isn't really necessary if you take Jacob along. I'm not sure what the max # of shots you can get with the Blackstorm once you've got all the heavy ammo upgrades is, but I know its at least 8. Oh, and for those who didn't pre-order from Gamestop, the Terminus Armor pretty much sucks. Its next to useless after you do Omega.

No word on when Kasumi is being released. All I know is we're getting some sort of new heavy weapon this month, with the Hammerhead pack coming sometime around the end of the month. Frankly, a new heavy weapon is a waste. Anyone who pre-ordered from Gamestop (like me) probably uses the Blackstorm as their heavy weapon 90% of the time, with the Collector Particle Beam and M90 Cain being used the rest, and those other two weapons (and maybe the Missile Launcher) are probably used the most by everyone else. (I swear the Avalanche is next to useless)

There are a few wrestling themes that are just generic music. I've heard the Hardys' theme in a couple of different commercials and on a tv show. Booker T's old WCW/WWE theme is also generic music, if I remember right. I remember hearing it in a commercial or movie or something a few years ago, when he was still using it.

If Ndamukong Suh doesn't get drafted #1 and the Lions don't take him, every Lions fan in the state of Michigan should head to Detroit and riot. Detroit's biggest problem last season was defense, so of course I fully expect them to draft a running back or wide receiver with their first pick. (Soooo glad I'm not a Lions fan)

I've done all the romances (including Kelly) except Thane, because I haven't run enough female characters to do that one and because I find the idea of female Shepard hooking up with him weirder than hooking up with Garrus - even if you don't include the fact that Thane is dying - in the first place.

Along with some of the new team members, Garrus and Tali are both romance options for Shepard in ME2 (opposite sex Shepards; no gay/lesbian options in ME2...except Kelly, technically). Tali's romance storyline is interesting, and well written, but I'm going to save you the suspense and disappointment; you don't get to see her face or skin. And all the romance scenes in the game are for the most part more toned down than in the first game. I don't think we'll ever get to see what Quarians look like unmasked, but if we do it won't be until ME3. (Because I doubt they'd do it as DLC) In ME1, the only romance options are Kaidan and Ashley (opposite sex) and Liara (either sex, as Asari swing both ways). Romance options in ME2:

Exactly. In Jacksonville, the hype about the hometown hero might help sell tickets. Everywhere else, I'd expect the scouts to be looking carefully at Tebow and making their own decisions. You know what puts butts in seats just as well, if not better, than signing a hometown hero? WINNING. They'd be better off filling a position they need than drafting Tebow. The only way I see the Jags signing Tebow as a good idea is if they're willing to have him ride the bench/carry a clipboard for about 3 years while he learns how to play NFL style better and get some training under him or if he's converted to another position. The fact he changed his throwing style for the 3rd (if I remember right) time in his career RIGHT BEFORE THE COMBINE should make any team wary of even considering him, unless its as a 3+ round pick. I wouldn't draft him as an owner or GM unless the team was in Florida, and even then I'd have to think about it a lot first. I may be anti-Gators (since I'm a Vols fan), but I actually do hope Tebow doesn't turn out to be a bust, though right now I'm leaning more toward him heading in that direction than fture Hall of Famer.

Now some people (most notably Adam Schefter) are speculating that the #1 pick may be Sam Bradford, not Ndamukong Suh.

I don't have an absolute favorite Bowie song, but if you asked me to rattle off my top favorites, off the top of my head I'd say... Fashion China Girl Lets Dance Ashes To Ashes Rebel Rebel I Am A DJ The version of "I'm Afraid of Americans" he did with Trent Reznor Changes About the only period of Bowie's career I don't like anything from is Tin Machine.

I looked at the Livejournal page showing all the comparisons between Bleach and Incarnate, and Nick's comments just make him look like a liar AND an idiot, if it really is him. I could see maybe one or two panels being nearly identical being a huge coincidence, but when the character designs are blatant ripoffs and some of his work is blatant tracejobs, not just rip-offs.....no. And Gene can tell him whatever he wants....if he actually did....but I'm sure that if they did take legal action for slander, the case would be laughed out of court, since he IS plagiarizing. I hope Viz and the Japanese publisher both put the screws to Nick Simmons, suing him for a lot of money and seizing all of his artwork then burning it. And the people at Radical Comics come off looking bad for not even realizing his work is plagiarized or simply choosing to ignore it until Nick got called on the carpet about it if they did know. The comic apparently has been published and they're just putting a halt on publishing the rest or republishing and publishing a trade paperback, so they should be sued, as well.

Watched it when it was on Adult Swim a few years ago.

I'd like to see Adrian Paul do another series. Since the Highlander series ended he's done some shitty series (the second season of the War of the Worlds series, which sucked hard unlike the first season, and Tracker) and movies that I guess either were made for cable tv or went straight to dvd then ended up on cable....and the Highlander: the Source movie that was utter rubbish I refuse to even watch after all the reviews I've read.

John Glover was on the short-lived series Brimstone, playing the devil, and was pretty damned (pardon the pun there) good in it. He also narrated the series Haunted History, which is being re-run on the Biography Channel if I remember right.

Tebow should pull a Chad Ochocinco have his name legally changed to Touchdown Jesus, but the people in South Bend would probably sue.

I've already seen most of Death Note, but thanks for the recommendation.

Heard this yet? (NSFW!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEbZNOAsYl4

I'm not a Phillies fan, but I think they'd be a lock to repeat as NL champs for sure this year if they had kept Cliff Lee. Because both Halliday and Lee in the rotation would be damned scary.

Paris Hilton, who *thinks* she's an actress, deserves to be run over by a vehicle. Does that count? Jeri Ryan, who was on Star Trek Voyager and Boston Public just guest-starred on Leverage for several episodes but left in the season finale, and I'd love to see her get a new series. (Gina Bellman, who plays Sophie Devereaux on Leverage was pregnant in real life so they brought Jeri Ryan in to play her character's replacement as the team's con artist) She was really great in her first appearance on Leverage and in another episode (the one with the fashion designer scam, if anyone watches the series).

If anyone here uses iTunes, is there any anime series on there worth checking out?

Now you need to play again and try for

I never hotkey anything either.

I don't know where Tomlinson will end up, but I don't think it will be Houston. He may end up on my Do Not Draft list next season, (made the mistake of joining a 16 team league at another board I'm a member of this past season; BAAAAAD idea!) depending on where he ends up. I don't think it will happen, but he's definitely ending up on that list if he goes to an NFC team....or the Raiders.

The thing with all the special armors (except for the Cerberus Assault armor, maybe) is that they're only useful early on. Once you get access to a few upgrades, those armors aren't worth using.

I've read a bunch of stuff about Darker Than Black, including an article in the latest issue of Otaku USA and article in an old issue of Anime Insider. (Is Protocultural Addicts still being published? I haven't seen an issue on the stands in months, and the bookstore I bought it from closed down) However, the one thing the article in Otaku USA won't tell is what Hei's power is; they just say that if DTB was a fighting game, he'd been banned from tourny play for being too unbalanaced. So what's his power? Also, are Baccano, Bamboo Blade, Blasreiter, Moon Phase or Rental Magic any good?