but who will cut our hair when we're gone?

(Joshua Masayoshi Huff)

I'd just like to thank Joe Torre for being a man and telling Steinbrenner to "shove his money right back up his keister, meister" (well, not really, but almost). Someone of Torre's stature does not deserve to be belittled during the play-offs and does not deserve to not know his fate for a week and then be told to fly down to Florida, where he was told that his contract was going to be slashed to $5 million dollars a year (+$3 mil for winning the World Series).

Why is Steinbrenner being a stickler on money? I mean, what is $10 mil for a franchise worth a billion dollars that also comes with a television network worth another billion? Simply, he's not being stingy--he just didn't want Torre back but didn't want to be seen as the man who fired Torre. Weak attempt, George.

I'm so proud that he said no to a return--he has pride and knows when to call it quits. Of course, already having millions of dollars makes it easier to walk away from that kind of cheddar, but nonetheless, Torre really "manned up" and he's an incredibly respectable man in my eyes for it.

Who will the Yankees sign? The "in the know" pick is probably Trey Hillman, though the Yanks had better act fast if they want him--the dreadful Royals want him as well. Most Yankee fans probably want Don Mattingly or Joe Girardi. I think Mattingly is the fan favorite, even though he has said himself that he isn't ready to follow Torre (his agent believes differently..paycheck?).

Girardi is my pick of the two--dude led the Marlins to the play-offs in his first year with them last year and was fired after his clashes with management (which makes it seem he's incredibly unlikely to be hired by Steinbrenner, the classic egomaniac).

Tony La Russa would be a smart choice, but he's too Midwest for the Big Sleazy. He is said to be a huge micromanager, which just could NOT work with a team like the Yankees in a city like New York. He may be the irreplaceable coach in St. Louis, but New Yorkers won't give a damn who he is.

Bobby Valentine, anyone? He led the Chiba Lotte Marines to Japan's Baseball title in 2005 and led them to the Pacific League Championship Series the past two (in case you wanted to know, Trey Hillman, mentioned earlier, led the Nippon Ham Fighters-- they are the Fighters, not the Ham Fighters--to last year's Japanese baseball title). He handled the Mets and managed them well--sure, they're not the Yankees, but at least he knows what REAL heat feels like. The only problem is that his contract is huge and so too is the buy-out--he's incredibly well-loved in Japan.

But who can say no to a cat as goofy as this?

My pick? Valentine. Who will get picked? Mattingly.

(I can't believe I'm writing this much about the Yankees)

Lastly, Mariano Rivera will be back. Jorge Posada will be back--like I told Pat M, they only team big enough for them are the Red Sox and the Angels--and neither will leave the Yanks for these teams.

A-Rod, though, WILL be an Angel or a Cub next season. Count on it.

------------

And South Florida lost. Finally. The beautiful thing about it is that it will shake up the BCS standings a lot. UH may not crack the top twelve (there's still 6 weeks and they have to move up six spots), but if they are in the top 18 and top the champ from a BCS conference...guess what? They leapfrog the team for the bid.

So, theoretically, South Florida will drop--hopefully, they will drop below Hawaii. This leaves West Virginia as the ONLY Big East team ahead of Hawaii in the BCS poll.

South Florida and West Virginia just need a loss more each--do it, please.

----

Oh, the EU is about to let people talk on their cell phones on planes.

How do you feel about this? I think it's a mixed bag--it's gonna turn into the bus, where people are talking and having really loud, obnoxious conversations. We'll also be subjected to really bad ringtones and people will rush to their phones in order to shut off their really bad ringtones.

Do you guys notice that? Why pay all that money for a ringtone when you're going to cover it? I usually let all of the ringtone play out--I love them. I mean, on any given day, I can hear Prefuse 73, Magnanamous, Dead Prez, the Smiths, LCD Soundsystem, Q Tip and Fergie (well, not Fergie so much--Burgwinkle is in Amsterdam and no longer calls me). Why wouldn't I want to hear my ringtones?

The beauty of it? We'll probably be able to play turn on wi-fi. Sure, it'll cost to access an internet network (especially since we're paying for peanuts now), but I just want it so I can play DS against kids. Nothing beats challenging some random kid to Mario--and beating him.

I guess the downer about this is that JAL has had built-in game consoles in every seat for a long time. So, when we flew JAL last year, I played Tetris against some kid sitting a cabin behind me. The kid beat me, of course, but I think I can take him at Mario Kart. Maybe.

(And I'd like to see my brother write really bad words in a Pictochat room, they way he did at the Harry Potter showing this summer. I swear, I never saw a kid leave a room as quickly as they did after my brother drew a naked behind. I mean, potentially, you could be telling high school humor jokes in three or four languages, with everyone getting a kick at being inappropriate and knowing that no one else has any clue with what is being said)

blah blah. Maybe cell phones and wireless are a terrible idea for planes? Plus, they make us all that much more accessible.

lame.

(have a nice weekend)

ps-my dad's computer sim baseball team had dante bichette as well. i remember solely because i used to think his name was totally hilariously inappropriate.

youth, i tell you.