CBAreject

I visited there last spring, and I really liked the area / campus. I'm a first year at Duke.

Russ Ortiz is jeopardizing his next contract with his current run. This guy can't get the ball over the plate. With our shaky bullpen, it would be a disaster to throw Ortiz in the playoffs unless he has 2 good starts before then. Let's not forget what Tom Glavine did to our team in 2002. That year, Glavine was the Cy Young favorite after running up an 11-2 record. He finished the season 18-11. You can do the math. That's 7-9 after that great start. Furthermore, Glavine posted an ERA of nearly 5 in September of that year. Despite that miserable finish, Cox went with Glavine to pitch NLDS games 1 and 4 because of his HISTORY, not his lousy 6 starts to end the year. It turned out that both of them resulted in blowouts. Glavine kept up his stinky run right into the postseason. I'm afraid that Cox will again rely on a pitcher to revert to his prior form in the playoffs. Let's hope that Ortiz pitches no earlier than game 3 in the NLDS. If he does, I smell instant defeat.

It's hard to know where to put Vick. The truth is, his passing numbers will never be as pretty as Peyton Manning's. However, I don't know if there's another player who can single-handedly change the game like he can. Is there another player who takes a below average team and makes them instant playoff contenders? You could legitimately argue that a healthy Michael Vick is the best player in the league. I'm not sure that he is, but I wouldn't argue with you about it. That said, I think he's definitely one of the top 3 QB's in the league. I would put him at #2. I also have to take exception to Portis's #9 rating. This guy is in his 3rd season and still improving. He's not as good as LT or Holmes or probably even Jamal Lewis, but he's no lower than 4th on my list.

I've ranted about a lousy Reitsma all year. Well, now we have a suddenly unreliable John Smoltz to worry about. Tonight, Smoltz had his worst relief outing since that 9-run debacle against the Mets more than 2 years ago. A 5 run meltdown gave the Reds a win and Smoltz his 5th blown save of the year. What worries me, though, is Smoltz's last 5 or 6 outings. Last night he was touched up for a run on three hits against the Reds, but still held on to win the game. Reitsma gave up 2 runs in one inning in that contest as well. 2 weeks ago, Smoltz gave up 3 runs in an inning, blowing Jose Capellan's first major league win. Suddenly, one of the strongsuits of this Braves team appears to be its weakest link. Only Juan Cruz and Antonio Alfonseca have performed lately. They likely won't see big innings in the playoffs, though, where we'll trust Smoltz and Reitsma to finish up close games. We can only hope that Smoltz can pull it together for the postseason. Other than that, we need a solid Reitsma, or a reasoning Bobby Cox to use Alfonseca as his playoff setup man.

Who'd've....a double contraction. I love it more than a well placed semi-colon. Nice job by the Falcons today. I was really worried after the preseason, especially with D'Angelo going down. I don't think we've even approached our peak, yet, but it's nice to see a flogging of a solid Rams team. Great job to kick it up a notch after the Rams came back to tie. How many times did we see the team blow this type of game last year? Dunn sprains his knee. I've been saying Dunn should be a backup to Duckett for 2 years now. Duckett is a workhorse back. Dunn is too fragile to get 350 touches a year, and he gets stopped at the line too often.

I'm not sure 'Don't blow this one, Red Sox' counts as talking trash, and I'm disappointed in you for thinking that it does. We have multiple words in the dictionary for a reason--it prevents ambiguity that arises from using the same word or phrase for several different things. Trash talking would be 'Yeah, Red Sox rule; Yankees suck! Who's da boss now, biznatch?' Nothing has changed. I still want to see the Yankees and their $190 million payroll lose. I don't care if the Red Sox, Twins, or Angels do it...or some NL team. Whatever. Just get it done.

I'm not at all pro-Red Sox, as you know. I'm anti-Yankees. Red Sox winning the division would've been icing on the cake. The real prize is watching the Yankees and their grossly inflated payroll lose out on their devalued world series title. I have no intention of defending the Sox propensity to choke. However, I would hesitate to say that they 'CAN'T' beat the Yanks. 'Can' and 'will' are different things, though. All that is important is that some team, and preferably a low-payroll team (ala Angels '02 and Marlins '03), beats the Yankees in October. Then, I will have my BWA-HA once again (4 years running). Only this time it will be sweeter because of ARod.

Bosox are now 2 losses back of the Yankees with 5 more games left between the two teams. A blown save by the best closer in history leaves the door open for an improbable overtaking. Can I have my BWA-HA? 183 million dollar payroll not good enough to win the division? Oh, I can hardly bear it. Don't blow this chance, Bosox. Don't blow it. Bosox curse be damned. The curse of ARod will take the Yanks down.

I'm a Tech alumn, so I'm partial to Kenny. However, I realize that Kenny had his best years with the Nets. He was one of the top 4 PG's in the league back then. To say that he might peak this year is wishful thinking. Scratch that. Irrational thinking. That said, I believe that Kenny will do OK for us. I'll never forget the year that Stephon Marbury left Tech to become a top 5 draft pick (I was in high school). Mark Bradley wrote that Marbury would never be as good as Kenny Anderson. Mark Bradley has said a lot of stupid things in his career.

I think this team will be 'in it' by the end of the year, and the addition of Swift could really help us on a run at the 8th spot. There's enough veteran leadership now to make playoffs feasible, though not probable, IMO. Swift or no, Billy Knight's offseason will still be called a 'failure' by sports writers since he 'failed' to get KMart or Damp to take his money. Is anyone disappointed that we don't have those guys locked up to massive deals right now?

Sometimes, Reitsma can't even get the ball over the plate. I wonder about his head. He seems a LOT like Wohlers with a slower fastball. I would much rather have Alfonseca in the 8th. I trust his experience. He's not perfect, but I like him more than Reitsma. Also, I'm tired of Bobby giving Gryboski the ball with multiple runners on base. Gryboski does have a sinker that makes double plays more likely, but he also has trouble finding the strike zone on the first batter. This strategy has backfired, resulting in 2 losses due to bases loaded walks. Furthermore, we go out and trade for Tom Martin to get out the lefties, and if anyone had checked the stats, we'd see that he hasn't been very effective at doing that all year. Lefties don't ALWAYS get out lefties as a RULE. You still have to check the stats. Martin has blown a couple of games, including one to the Cards where Larry Walker (a lefty) raked him for a double. This isn't the first time the Braves have done something like this. For all the success they've had and for all the good trades Scheurholz has made, they just make me scratch my head sometimes.

I have been selling/buying on eBay for about 3 years. I had 90 positive feedbacks with no negative or neutral. About 6 weeks ago, I was selling some video games before I moved, and I sold a copy of Paper Mario to some guy. He never paid and never responded to any of my emails or payment reminders. After 4 weeks, I filed a non-paying bidder report with eBay to get my listing and final value fees refunded. Well, this guy is miffed that I would file a NPB on him, and get this.. He left me a neutral. What a total sack. The guy has a -1 feedback (1 pos, 2 neg), so it's not the first time he has chumped out on a payment.

Quote: hopefully he's just in to give the other guys (like Russ Ortiz) a rest and the other injured guys like Mike Hampton time to heal. Cyman, I don't mean any disrespect, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Reitsma pitches the 8th inning when the game is close. He is our designated set-up man to our closer, John Smoltz. He has had this role ALL YEAR. He is not just in there temporarily. He has pitched in big games all year and has NOT done well. I don't know who would say that Reitsma is just in there to rest the starters you listed. Quote: that being said, i dont care too much if the guy blows a few games here and there over the course of the remaining season- as long as he doesnt play in the postseason. There is NO WAY Reitsma doesn't play during the post season. He is our SET UP MAN. We traded for him in the off-season to BE our set-up man. Why would we bench him after 162 games of filling that role? Bobby will stick with him, and he will lose. Reitsma is garbage. He has a decent fastball, but it's straight and he gets too much of the plate when he's under pressure.

forgot to login...can somebody fix that?

I cannot give you any medical advice, as I have no license and don't really know that much. I will mention that I understand coughs generally persist after any illness that causes mucus buildup in the lungs. If you had a productive, hacking cough during your cold, your lung tissue might have become inflammed. For a week or two, minor irritations would trigger a coughing reflex, so you would have a hacking dry cough. So, that wouldn't be a big deal. If you actually have infection in your lungs, your cough would most likely be productive and regular, rather than dry and sporadic. In the second case, seeing a doctor would be necessary, but I can't say which case is yours.

Quote: How is the interview process? So, I guess you've already filled out your primary application (AMCAS). If you're getting secondaries by now, you should return those as quickly as possible to demonstrate your interest. Interview days are somewhat variable, but most contain similar elements. You'll have a meet and greet, talk to a fin. aid representative, take a tour of the facilities and affiliated hospital, and generally have 2 30-60 minute interviews. At least one of your interviewers will be on the Admissions Committee, and it might even be the Dean of Admissions, but this is a random process. The interview format is usually conversational. It will begin with something like, 'Tell me about your family.' At some point in the interview, you will be asked about your motivation for applying to medical school and ultimately being a doctor. A few interviewers will cut to the chase and ask this pointed question right away. You should have somewhat prepared answers for the following questions: "Why do you want to be a doctor?" "Tell me about yourself." (this should be an interesting story) "What would you do if you didn't get in to medical school?" Quote: How do I find out about the different teaching styles of the schools? You should be able to find out this info on the school website. There is almost always a 'curriculum' heading. If you need more information, call the admissions office. You will certainly be given a full description during your interview day. Quote: What should I be looking for? This, of course, depends on what is important to you, but here are some things you might consider. Apply to schools where 1) you feel like you have a fair chance of being accepted (apply to MANY schools with a wide range of competitiveness, though) 2) you are satisfied with the school's reputation 3) you think the curriculum suits your goals 4) you think you could LIVE for 4 YEARS (do you want to be separated from your family, being too busy to fly home?) Choose to attend the school based on 1) the fact that you are ACCEPTED 2) the amount of debt you will have at the end of 4 years 3) the prestige of the school 4) the unique opportunities (research, etc.) that you will have at the school 5) the 'personality' of the students (you do have *some* time for socializing) Hope that answers some Q's. Will check back in a couple of days. I have my second exam on Monday...

I just went through this process last year, as did KB. It's a long road, and I know several young 'squawkers will be going through it. I'll be checking in to answer any questions you might post. Also, I invite KB and Weez to answer questions. I'm sure we all have different perspectives.

I'd love to answer any questions, so I will start a thread in Off-topic. That way, I won't be emailing the same info twice. I want to get some more Hawk fans at Duke!

cool, nicky p. i had you pegged for finance. Did you work for some years before going to bi'ness school? I've heard you need 4-5 yrs experience.

I have tons of advice for any med school applicant, so I'd be happy to answer any specific questions or give general tips. You'll have to let me know and we can talk off the forum...no need to clutter it with that stuff. I applied to something like 13 schools and visited 9 or 10 for interviews. It's a looooooong process.

When did you start classes? I started on the 9th. Are you doing gross lab yet? We don't start that until the 7th week, so it's all biochemistry thus far... The schedule has been hectic, I agree. Didn't stop me from checking up on the Toine trade and coming in here to BWA-HA at the Yankees horrid loss. I'm still giddy about that one. Unfortunately, I won't be able to watch many Hawks games up here...maybe I can go watch them play Charlotte. I want to see Okafor in action, too.

BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! Go Tribe. Way to stick it in the Yanks and break it off. They're only 3 losses ahead of the Red Sox now, too. A-Rod is a cancer.

Why does Eddie George get to be a professional football player? Is he really better than Hambrick? Is he better than Ken Oxendine?

Go Yanks! Go! Who cares, dude? The fact that they haven't won in 3 years means BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The Yanks have never developed prospects as well as the Braves. Sure, they trade tons of 'prospects' away, but they don't pan out, do they? Soriano is the only Yankees player to pan out in recent years. Nick Johnson has yet to show me anything. Yankee prospects are generally overrated.

This goes against the other remarks I read on Chill. Then again, I've read a lot of biased views against Hawks' picks so far, so I don't know if I believe the negatives on him. I'm thrilled that neither of these guys pulled a Dermarr in the summer. Sure, summer league doesn't mean a lot, but when a #6 pick looks helpless like Dermarr did his first, second...and third...summer, it makes you sick.