Big_E

On April 18, 1923 the home office of major league baseball...the Cathedral in Da Bronx...The Stadium (as there is no other "Stadium") opened for the first time. Babe Ruth hit the first home run, and the Yankees defeated the Red Sox, 4-1.

Happy 85th Birthday!

Where in the world is AV?

One of this site's most popular posters, Amerigo Vespuci -- known by all as "AV" -- has been missing from these boards for the last five days...

Is she OK? Is she sick*? Overworked? Abducted by aliens?

I hope she's alright and returns to grace us with her presence, and tease us with her postings, very soon.






* - Yes, I've read her blog, I know what she is going through, I mean in a flu or other such illness type of way.

Today I woke up to a new logo next to my name -- TOP 100.

Thanks to everyone who has read and replied to my blogs (especially AV who is responsible for helping make my "The Moment of Truth" entry my most popular blog to date), who has rated my posts and has listed me among their favorite members.

Hopefully I can keep this rating, and with all of your help, even someday move into the TOP 10.

Thanks again!

OK, I admit it, I am a video voyeur. I love watching "reality" television, watching people humiliate themselves or torture themselves for cash.

One of the new reality shows this year is "The Moment of Truth". Before the show, contestants are asked a series of questions (over 50 questions) while hooked up to a lie detector. Then the show picks 21 of them to ask on TV.

This is where the show loses all credibility.

They never say that the producers pick the questions randomly. They never say they are picked by a third party. Quite simply, I believe the people are being set up to humiliate themselves, then lose everything if they try to go for too much cash. You can walk away at any point, and keep the cash you have won.

You win cash by answering questions truthfully, as determined by your previous lie detector test. Be truthful about the first six, and you get $10,000; next 5 get you to the $25,000 level. The rest of the levels (if I remember correctly are): four more right answers gets you to $100,000. Three more and you win a total of $250,000. Keep going, answer two more questions and you win a total of $350,000 and finally, answer the last question honestly and walk home with $500,000.

That's 21 total questions. Nobody has gotten to the top, and I don't think anyone will. And I don't trust the show.

The questions they ask are highly personal.

"Since being married, have you had sexual intercourse with someone other than your husband?"
"Have you ever stolen from your job?"
"Do you regret breaking up with your ex-boyfriend?"
"If your ex-boyfriend asked you back right now, would you go with him?"
"Have you had sex with any of your friends' wives?"

All of these questions have been asked of previous contestants. All were answered truthfully. Then they lose (when they get past the $100,000 level) on things like "Do you think you are a good person?", or "Have you ever touched a client more than you had to while giving her a massage?"

What????

They already admitted to a host of embarrassing deeds, then lose on something simple? And on this show, unlike most others, there are no "safe levels". On most shows, once you pass the $25,000 level, even if you're wrong after that, you still win the $25K.

Not on "The Moment of Truth". One wrong answer, and you drag your defeated ass home with no money, probably no spouse, and no job.

This is why I don't trust the show. They could either cheat, and say the person is lying when they're not (unlikely given the fact that it's a federal crime) OR they deliberately pick questions that the contestant previously lied to, just to get them to lose all their money.

Either way, I think they're cheating. But that won't get me to stop watching. Like I said, I'm a video voyeur, and I love seeing these people humiliate themselves for the almighty dollar. But I don't know if I'll ever believe that this show is on the level.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will share my rankings for the top fantasy baseball players. These rankings are based on a standard 5 x 5 rotisserie league, with a $260 salary cap and 23 active players.

Starting off: Catchers

1. Russell Martin, LA Dodgers. Martin has quickly moved up the rankings to become the top fantasy catcher. He hit 19 HR last year, knocked in 87 runs, batted .293 and stole 21 bases. Those would be good numbers for a 2B (Robinson Cano, for example, hit .306, with 19 HR and 97 RBI but stole only 4 bases) but for a catcher, it puts him in the elite class. Usually I don't like spending a lot of money on catchers, but for Martin expect to pay at least $20. He's worth it.

2. Victor Martinez, Cleveland. Many magazines will still have Martinez ranked #1, and really, you can't argue against it. He's been the top-ranked catcher for the last few years, and last year'