I'd like to hear what other changes they're going to make in the organization too. Supposedly they were looking at everything and I can't believe that they think the manager and coaching staff of the MLB team is the only problem this organization has. I think they need to take a hard look at our scouting department and some of the coaching in the minor leagues too. The trainers and conditioning programs might be another area to evaluate. I know there are injuries in baseball but it sure seems like we've had more than our share.

yeah I think that can work, but the key thing is the manager candidate must be a baseball guy. Look at Boston, Theo Epstein is wholeheartedly a Moneyball guy, and Terry Francona is wholeheartedely a baseball guy. They both work so well together. Shapiro can do that, just don't be fooled in the interview process like he was the last time...LOL

you know our scouting has done fine the last few years though. Look at how well Hector Rondon and Chistenhall have developed, plus this last draft was notified as a successful one too, although I do believe it hurt Alex White to wait and sign because he missed three months of development in a pro organization. But yes, everything needs to be looked at too. There has to be an order, and it just doesn't appear to be.

Does anyone here have AT&T U-Verse? Time Warner is giving me a big rate increase. I figure if I'm going to have to pay that much maybe I would just switch cable companies and get a lot more for my money. On AT&T you can supposedly record 4 shows at once and play them back on any T.V. in the house. I figure their customer service has got to be better than Time Warner's too. I don't know how reliable they are though and was wondering if anyone else has their service and if they're happy with it.

I was reading reviews of it awhile back.Hope this helps some..... www.broadbandreports.com/comments/2911

*This one's for you, CG*

Wrestler, personality Captain Lou Albano dies at 76

(CNN) -- Legendary wrestling figure Captain Lou Albano, perhaps best known for his association with pop singer Cyndi Lauper, died Wednesday, according to World Wrestling Entertainment.

Captain Lou Albano reached a new level of fame in the '80s with his association with Cyndi Lauper.

Albano, 76, was "one of the company's most popular and charismatic legends," the company said in a statement.

The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.

"Albano began his storied career with Vincent J. McMahon in the 1960s as one half of 'The Sicilians' tag team with his partner Tony Altimore," the WWE said. "He will be greatly missed by the WWE and his fans."

Albano, who was with the WWE from 1983 to 1996, was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.

He started as a tag team wrestler in the 1950s but became a successful manager of champion wrestlers in the 1970s, according to a biography on the WWE Web site.

Albano was recognizable by his penchant for unbuttoned Hawaiian shirts and a trademark beard, which was usually bound by a rubber band.

His persona earned him the distinction of "one of the most hated men" in wrestling for 15 years, the WWE biography said.

Albano's image evolved in the 1980s, when he teamed with Lauper on several music videos, such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," and wrestling appearances.

As his celebrity status grew, Albano landed acting jobs, including a role on several episodes of the "Miami Vice" TV series, the biography said.

Albano became a cartoon in 1989, when he was the voice of Mario "Jumpman" Mario for 17 episodes of "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" according to the Internet Movie Database.
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CNN's Jack Hannah and Denise Quan contributed to this report.

www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/10/14/obit.albano/index.html

I have TW, and what I can't stand is seeing all their ads offering these great low deals to new customers (almost half the cost on some of them), while they continue to hike up the rates for the old customers. I swear, my bill seems to go up every couple of months. I wouldn't mind checking out another service, but I really don't want to put a dish on my house, and I want the phone & internet to be through the same company. If you end up getting AT&T, let me know how that goes...

"Swing your arms from side to side. Come on everyone, let's all do the Mario!"

Hahaha, I watched that show as a little guy. Boy I never realized how bad it was, but I'll be sure to catch an episode in memory Lou.

Their customer service HAS to be better. I couldn't count on both my hands how many times our cable or internet randomly went out in the past year. That's a good idea, Red. I may look into AT&T too, with all these price hikes Time Warner does.

Thanks. I will keep reading the reviews. Most people who wrote in seemed pleased with their TV service. I have a couple of weeks before I have to make up my mind. I'm going to do some negotiating with Time Warner and cut out some channels we don't watch and see if we can't get the price down. If I can't, I might go ahead and make the change. They are talking about doubling our price and I just can't deal with that.

When I talked to customer service at Time Warner they freely admitted that they offer great deals for new customers. They said all the companies do that. Part of my problem is the package we have goes back to the time the company was Comcast. If you look at my bill it has the packages we ordered listed under the old Comcast names and prices. Time Warner never got around to updating things. Now when everyone's contract comes up they are changing it over to their system and prices after all this time. The representative I spoke to said she is doing a lot of these right now. They also said I was under a special promotional price for the last year. That was news to me. It's not like I was a new customer last year. Anyway, if I stay with the same package I have now my bill is going to double and I just can't handle that. If we cut out some of the channels we have that we aren't watching it could bring the price down. However, she didn't want to deal with that the other day. I have to call back in a couple of weeks because technically my contract expires on the 2nd of November and the new billing won't start until then so she told me to call back the day before to work out a new deal. If it's not satisfactory I may make the change. I'll still be paying a lot more if I switch to U-Verse but at least I'll be getting more for my money.

We've had a lot of trouble with their repairmen. We've had a lot of technical problems the last couple of years and they never seem to know how to fix them. It tooks them 6 visits to solve one problem. I don't like their DVR boxes very much either. We have had several bad ones and when we do get a good one it doesn't last very long. We've had our current one maybe 6 months and it's starting to go again. It keeps rebooting itself. That's really annoying when you're watching something and it goes out. It's even worse when it happens in the middle of recording something. You go to play it back later and only have half the program.

It's not available where i am but when it comes around i'll be very interested.Their fiber optics line looks very appealing with the internet.They can do DSL for me but it's not fast enough but their fiber optics line can fly at 18MB's.Their internet is priced lower than my cable and the speeds are greater.I'm sick of cable and what feels like a monoply.Good luck....

very sad to hear. Captain Lou was one of the true legends in Wrestling. Thank you.

Yeah, I figured most companies offer sweet deals to new customers, but some of the ones I've seen recently seem a bit extreme. When I first paid attention to their ads a few years ago, it would be something along the lines of getting free HBO for 3 months, or get phone service for $29.95 for six months. Now, I've seen where they were offering phone & internet for $19.95 a piece for a full year. That deal would save me $40 a month, and $480 a year. You'd think the phone would come down for all customers since there are companies like Vonage that basically offer the same deal at a cheaper price. I've thought about threatening to leave and go somewhere else to see what they'd come up with, but I cringe at the thought of even getting on the phone with one of their reps. They certainly don't make that a pleasant experience.

When I moved a couple of years a go, I had to have the house rewired. I called & explained what exactly had to be done. Well, the first guy that showed up thought he was just there to do some basic hook-up (the inside cable boxes), and actually got in an argument with me about what needed to be done. I finally got him to at least check out the attic, to see where the wires needed to be laid. He then comes down & says he has to go out to his truck to get some tools. A few minutes later I see him backing out of the driveway & he's gone. He didn't do anything, and didn't say he was leaving. I called to complain & set up another appointment, which was days later, of course. Well, I'm waiting the 12 to 3 time period & a little after three I see it's the same guy pulling in the driveway...well, he must immediately realize where he is & takes off, again. It was insane.

Anyway, After about three more visits over a two week span, with three different people, they finally got everything done. I guess I should have went elsewhere, but like I said, I really didn't want to deal with a dish.

I'll always remember Lou in those Cyndi Lauper videos.

I've never even heard of it :P

yeah Lou helped Wrestling get mainstream coverage, more than anyone really thinks. H e was great in that video.

How about Direct TV? Does anyone have them? I got an advertisement from them this weekend and their prices look awful good but I wonder how good the service is? Is reception a problem when the weather is bad, etc?