I'd say there's a special place in hell for spineless politicians unwilling to stand up to a small but both popular and rich business that so blatantly extorts its own customers. As a business owner, it's stupid to not ask (or demand). But no one ever calls to see if it's really a bluff.

Yeah. Ol' FSK really, really, REALLY, did not like the British. Who knew being held against your will after dinner with the English was that unpleasant.

Interesting. I imagined the stadium imploding slightly before the first game as the two groups of fans, never this close to each other during an NLCS before, create a black hole of self-righteous smugness.

You've never been to Columbia, South Carolina or Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have you?

Hell, the NHL has a better chance, as there is actually a professional hockey league in the UK. Or at least there was when I was living there. They even showed it on TV.

What about Verizon iPhone models which are, at least for now, CDMA and don't have a SIM, which is only for GSM?

Total Wine has carried it. At least the one in Springfield did. It's been a while since I've been in.

Respect the athletes? Seriously? I don't have to respect the Christian being fed to the lion in the Coliseum. I'm only there to see how long it takes and how gory it might be. Modern American athletic leagues are only different because no one is supposed to die for us to be entertained. Let's not kid ourselves.

There was a joke. You didn't get it. It happens. At this point, there is no reason to explain it. But you are so delightfully literal in your thinking, I'm not all that surprised.

You forgot Soundgarden and Alice in Chains.

He sounds like a character from "The Tick", the Mad Burner what Burns at Midnight. HE'S GOT LEGS, BABY!

"Original" as in "first" not necessarily "original" in "I thought of it first". I'm not saying it was Monty Python's "Funniest Joke in the World", but there was a joke. Now, though, this is much funnier. Why do you keep coming back?

a) Was ESPN naïve about the relationship with a hard-driving documentary unit

More like Chaminade beating Duke in the Maui Invitational. It counts (Cardiff get the three points), but not as much at the beginning of the season as it would at the end. The real test will be the remaining 36 games, when the bigger clubs depth tends to take its toll on the newcomers. The difference between the…

Let's be fair now. He's also former Giants linebacker Keith Bulluck.

You're like a puppy that keeps getting kicked and coming back for more. At this point, I'm not even going to try explaining the original joke. This is much better.

Gosh, thanks for explaining that to me. You know how when you have to explain a joke, it isn't funny? This has been like that, but 180 degrees in direction from where you think it has been going.

I'd recommend purchasing a dictionary and searching for "sarcasm", "sardonic", and "dense". I've already done you the favor…

Try harder.

No.

And no one can replicate the "savings" she got on the free Saturday night upgrade. That's just a nice benefit they happened to get because of a mistake. Hardly useful advice for anyone else planning a wedding.

Exactly. The advice she is providing is: try and see if the venue you booked can screw up said booking so you…