pruneface

I usually drink kirkland. I had a professor who drank coffee with a shot of red wine. Funny, that one.

Boxing is one way to do it, yes. Humans have explored the subject of destroying brain matter to exhaustion. The sport does undermine the notion of civilized man, however. There are lots of folks in suits and ties screaming with bloodthirsty lust. While they aren't laughing, humans nevertheless find violence entertaining.

Why can't they both sponsor the Red Sox? One can take over for the other midway through the 4th. Crispy Creme can handle the 9th and extra innings. Do you think we'll ever see advertising on uniforms? They're feeling a little left out, and honestly, I pity them. I want the most garbage waste throwaway cup and unfair trade practiced bean around. Where's the pleasure if it's not at someone else's expense? I also want that plastic lid to proclaim itself as green and environmentally friendly with 'minimal' waste. I enjoy bald-faced lies because there's something humorous in the honest effort of obfuscation, no matter how unsophisticated. That way, I get to pretend. If pressed, I'd say I prefer oil. We all run better on oil. Behind every drop of coffee, there's a hefty dose of oil.

My interest lies in where the threshold resides. I take a perverse pleasure in imagining the outcomes to this eventuality. We've squandered our endowments; why not derive some enjoyment from our depredation as we cross the event horizon? It's who we are, at least along these contingent lines. Speaking of lost opportunity, the city of Baltimore squandered a perfect opportunity the Romans exercised to its fullest potential. Bread and circuses. Eventually the granaries become exhausted, as everything is subject to diminishing returns, but in the interim, why play to an empty house when they could have invited a fraction of the city's destitute to partake in a day of reprieve, a field of dreams, a poverty jubilee with a complimentary diabetes inducing beverage and cardiac clogging hotdog? Of course, security presence would have had to have been absent, for obvious reasons. Let the next city deal with another contentious death, thank you very much. And the event would have perforce called upon an ultimate exercise in faith on the part of organizers that the ne'er do wells, sloths, morally depraved and people otherwise perceived as social freeloaders would not exploit the situation. But the upside would have been a calculated act of largesse and a sign of compassion. It might have offered a longer period of reprieve. Oh well. In the meantime, the privileged class would do well to avoid imprudent displays of ostentation and rather adopt the essence of jade, which is often wrapped in unassuming dirt caked commonality. In appearance only, mind you; I wouldn't expect folks to actually adhere to the mandates of the sages of every major religion. Profess in name only. That's why we have words - to deceive. I would very much appreciate it if you could act the part of an obnoxious Yankee fan trolling a Sox site. It would be much more interesting. If you persist in being gracious, I will question your loyalty to the tribe.

The big fight looms, probably the last giant fight of this civilization's history. My gut sides with Pacman; my head, Floyd. Pac will have to pour out a volume of punches, use his feet to get into position to fire and never allow Mayweather space for comfort. He'll probably have to feint to lure Floyd's straight right (a shot that is always there against southpaws and Pac in particular), then explode once May has it extended. He'll have to use lots of odd angles and not come right at him, start fast, and get ahead on the score cards before May figures things out. May needs to stun Pac, earn his respect, make him wary of swarming, and turn this into a potshotting chest match, like he always does. I'm hoping it delivers action. Pac's aggression will hopefully draw the reserved Mayweather into a fight. The undercard is undeserving even though Lomachenko is a superstar in waiting. I wish he were fighting Santa Cruz; instead they're fighting cab drivers. But no one is watching for the undercards anyway.

No, really, I insist on brash arrogance and an undiluted swagger from Yankee fans. Feigning coyness is unbecoming of fans of the winningest franchise in recorded sports history. Consider the possibility that you aren't looking at the situation realistically. The Yankees surely can pick up some rental pitching if needed and succeed in winning yet another championship, for surely they haven't won enough. Winning is the ethos of American culture even as it is a Quixotic endeavor by definition; no franchise epitomizes this bottomless greed more than the Yankees. Due to their unprecedented success, they now have many emulators , a sure sign of flattery and social pathology. I'm equally certain the Yankees will consider Arod's 6 million dollar bonus worth the price of a victory. After all, these athletes aren't paid enough.

It's also time we eschew understatements and tell it like it is. The league is on notice, the Yankees are World Series favorites.

I'm looking forward to seeing Roman Gonzalez on television. One of the best P4P fighters in the world. This little beast has it all and he absolutely destroys competition.

Good fight over the weekend. Didn't live up to the full hype, but a brutal war nonetheless. Matthysse hurt his hand in round seven probably because Provodnikov has a skull harder than Wolverine's. Provodnikov's chin is uncanny. His face looked like someone dipped him head first into a wood chipper. He cuts easier than Abdullah the Butcher. Right on cue, as always when this type of carnage occurs, Jim Lampley says in a nonchalent desensitized voice, "Provodnikov, his face a grotesque bloody mask..." Quite a few vampires would of had a free lunch just watching at ringside. Both boxers have been in the past two fights of the year respectively. http://www.allthebestfights.com/matthysse-vs-provodnikov-full-fight-video-pelea-2015/

Clay and Masterson have been shakier than an alcoholic with parkinson's during prohibition. Unless a miraculous transfiguration occurs not seen since the last day of Christ, the Sox are likely to let them walk at the end of the year. Miley and Porcello are locked up for better or worse and Kelly is arb eligible until 2019 when he becomes a FA. If they're still in contention (can .500 ball be enough?), they could opt to trade for a rental ace at the deadline. I'm hoping at least one AAA prospect finds his way into the rotation before year's end. There's been a debate on here whether the Sox overpaid for Porcello or not. Stepping outside the crazy bubble of MLB for a second might help gain some perspective. This guy is making over 20 million a year to chuck a ball in a children's game while farmers that work to feed the rest of us parasites are in so much debt, they spell the word by taking out a b and inserting an 'a' and an 'h.' Back in the baseball bubble, maybe they overpaid or maybe they didn't. Time will tell.

Terence Crawford - no one in jr. welter can touch him. Fantastic complete boxer. Unfortunately, he won't be fighting the champion because the other guy is in another promotion. The other guy is moving up to welter where he won't amount to much. That guy is Danny Garcia - he would lose to Crawford.

Just watch a stream online. That's what I do. Vipbox is one.

Absolutely. If Pacquiao could do it, so can someone else. He did it by being very busy and delivering action. That's what those other guys are doing and they are the main attractions after Pacman on HBO. Both are drawing fans and should hit the mainstream soon if they continue winning. By all means check that fight out on HBO on Saturday night. I think you'll enjoy it. I have high expectations it'll be a war.

With all the alphabet bodies, the best don't end up fighting the best nearly enough. Fighters are also not as active as in the past, with 1-2 fights per year for big players being the norm. There should only be one belt. Now there are superbelts, regular belts and interim belts in the same weight class, not to mention x # of sanctioning bodies. It's all bureaucracy - a bunch of middlemen looking to take a cut of the pie. That'll shrink in time. But there are still gems from time to time, like the Provodnikov/Mathysse fight this weekend. If you liked Hearns/Hagler, this fight could remind you of 'The War.' I'm usually hesitant to recommend a fight, having been burned with duds in the past, but this one looks like a sure action/slugfest, war of attrition can't miss sloberknocker. Another couple of fighters I like are Sergei Kovalev and Gennady Golovkin. These guys are skilled, powerful, and stay busy. GGG fights 4 times a year right now as he builds his star power. Both have lead in both hands, extensive amateur pedigrees, meaning they know how to cut the ring off, use a jab, their feet, and engage in fan friendly fights. I'm not a purist - I prefer action. I can appreciate a boxer like Sweet Pea or Floyd, but they don't leave their opponents beaten. On the other hand, both these guys are f***ing beasts, knocking everyone out and they are the best in their respective weight classes - light heavyweight and middleweight.

Our species is violent. We're the only species to rape and murder - for fun, to say nothing of all the other reasons. We're the only species to prey on ourselves - more so now because we're running out of other stuff to destroy. The same question in another light: what is the appeal of watching action movies (action in the violent sense, usually with a gun), horror movies, all the CSI homicide shows, or all the suspense/thriller stories involving serial killers? Apparently, our species needs more than one outlet. We also make and sell a lot of weaponry. What do F-16 fighter jets have to do with opening day at Fenway? Ostensibly, nothing. Baseball isn't about war; it's been recruited to sell it, though. People with power are respected - power, that is, to force others to do what they want. The word 'peace' is only real in a beauty pageant contestant's flimsiest of fantasies.

PBC on NBC drew 2.9 million on Saturday, number one for the 18 to 49 demographic. Boxing's not dead, it's been overburdened with bureaucracy and a cancer of competing sanctioning bodies. Despite all those impediments, it still produces a lot of profit or networks wouldn't be putting it on the air. Mayweather is the highest paid athelete in the world. Forget May/Pac. You want to see some violence, Lucas Mathysse vs Provodnikov this Saturday on HBO is guaranteed to be a war.

LMAO. Rosenthal called a dwarf. He's also in a bowtie. Yes, let's bring more attention to one's self. He's already some team's mascot and doesn't know it yet.

Agreed. THe US has to start bombing more countries.

You called? I'm curious about what the over/under is for when the California teams cease watering the baseball turf. You'd think Fred would have bigger concerns than continuing to fret about Lester/Sox. On the plus side, you can be damn sure the beer in LA won't be watered down.

I'm not worried. Masterson might fail, but he's on a one year trial deal anyway. I'm excited about guys like Wright, Owens, Johnson and Rodriguez. The Sox can surely find some internal remedy and get a rental ace at the deadline for a guy like Cecchini if need be. Any bets that there'll be flabby drunken streaker this year in a panda mask? That should make you laugh or lose your supper.

The Sox may end up being a MLS team this year - a major league SOFTBALL team. Perhaps this thread could be redirected to the regular season forum. I fully expect the Sox to acquire a pitcher before the deadline, whether a rental or something longer. Ditto this offseason. For now, I'm content with seeing what this rotation can do the first 2 months of the season.

His concussion almost certainly had something to do with that. And teams have asked about him, but you appear to be correct that he won't get a starting opportunity with the Sox. I think he'd get that chance with not a few teams.

The waters are still muddy. There are so many moving parts, some of whom would be guaranteed starting positions on other teams. We all know about Castillo, Betts, Craig, Vic, and Hanley. There's also Holt, who was hitting well over .300 when he got concussed. Holt also deserves the opportunity to start every day and see if he can maintain that promise he showed. He's a good hitter and a heck of a defender, versatile, a tremendous athlete. I just have to be patient and trust things will become clearer. I do know that there's isn't room for all these guys to get consistent ABs and that's what they need to maintain their edge.

I think all experience is mediated, so the opportunity for deception abounds. Moving toward abstraction invites manipulation. Numbers. The official unemployment rate in the United States doesn’t actually depend on the number of people who are out of work. Words, another step away from the concrete, can deceive. A product labelled 'new and improved' is just as likely to be worse than its predecessor. Something claiming to 'taste great' often tastes bad. While not in all cases (for example, I don't consider technology morally neutral), it's not so much the things themselves, as it's what we do with them. Science, for example, theorizes; it does not profess a claim to absolute truth. It's the people (practitioners) who fundamentalize it. Since science has been harnessed along with its handmaiden technology in the service of progress, and has come to be an end itself, its radicalization should not be surprising. Nor should we be surprised when more and more people are skeptical of the claims made in the scientific community, particularly in the realm of medicine, pharmacology or nutrition, where scientists have recanted previous truths and inserted new ones which will only be replaced again later. Corrupted data and manipulation for marketing purposes feeds anti-vaccination, and various other denial claims, understandably so. I suspect all of science will be looked upon with deep supernatural suspicion in the years ahead. And there are numerous natural tendencies, not the least of which is confirmation bias that will paint how we perceive reality.

The offense was inexplicably horrible. I expect they should be better. I think the Yanks could surprise people this year, though the WS is probably out of the question. No skin off my back; not only am I a Sox fan, they've won enough, don't ya think?