News bulletin. Dateline Oakland, California. September 19, 2014. The Oakland Raiders, citing a 1982 court victory in an antitrust case against the NFL, have officially changed their name to the Los Angeles Raiders of Oakland. Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis invoked his father Al Davis' belief that Oakland still owned "exclusive rights to the L.A. market" as the basis for changing the team's name to reach full marketing potential. "This way, the Raiders marketing can straddle both heritages of our franchise history...the blue-collar grit and outlaw-style of Oakland and the Hollywood glamour and sheer size and media power of Los Angeles", said Mark Davis. Still to be determined is which city the team will actually play their games in; Los Angeles or Oakland. There is speculation a split home schedule would place 4 home games in L.A. and 4 in Oakland. Another scenario has the Raiders splitting the difference and playing in Bakersfield, but Bakersfield officials have vowed to not let that happen. Rumours have also filtered out of Oakland that the Hell's Angels are displeased at this announcement by the Raiders and are gathering en masse to stop any move by the team to L.A.

Ditto. We've seen this movie before. The Raiders are gonna get MASSACRED by the Brady Bunch this weekend. Patriots should score at least 44 points. Enjoy the demolition KB! Rick, take New England and lay the points...even if it's 20, haha. Hmmm...what should I watch with my breakfast...ESPN or The Flintstones? I'll go with The Flintstones...Wilma was HOT!

Wow. I thought he was voted in last year. Guess I haven't been paying attention. You're absolutely correct Walter.

Sue has a soft spot in her heart regarding 6.27.77...if you asked what were the best performances of every song on the 1977 tour setlist, Sue would probably list a 6.27.77 performance more often than not. As for the OP question...this will take some time and some thought.

Soundboards still have their place and serve a purpose, in my opinion. When there is no audience tape or the audience tape is shite, I'll welcome a chance to hear a soundboard. A soundboard of 9.19.90 MSG would be OMG! Or imagine a multitrack of that show? What a lost opportunity that was...Zeppelin's first appearance at the Garden, the band riding high off the year-long chart success of Led Zep II, Eddie Kramer surely was in town. They should have called him up and asked him to multitrack the MSG shows for historical reasons alone! But I still harbor a belief/dream that a soundboard for this show exists somewhere...either in Jimmy's vault or some enterprising former roadie/mixing board employee of the band.

With the rise of the internet and flacs and file-sharing and whatnot, every show is available and so I don't think there are any true rarities anymore. Any show you want seems to be yours at the touch of a button...or click of the mouse, if you will.

You know geekfreak, you list a lot of bands...most of which I like, with the exception of the doom bands (I find them too emotionally one-note; a musical dead-end)...but I've never seen you list Comus. Comus is a band I think a man of your love of progressive weirdness would relish, and perhaps could help inspire your mind to flights of fancy. A sampling for you to taste... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLfbsJlKHM0&feature=youtube_gdata_player http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2dYwU5Yw2c&feature=youtube_gdata_player

In blood.

"Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the Bible says 'love your enemy'." ~ Frank Sinatra

Luckily, you have a fireman handy! Late dinner after work with friends. Indian food, which is perfect for large groups as you can order many different dishes and share. Lamb vindaloo, lamb curry, chicken korma, vegetable korma, saag paneer, matar paneer, aloo gobi, dal makhni, yellow dal, basmati rice, raita, garlic naan, Taj Mahal beer, masala chai, and water.

Generator machines don't play football.

That's a great story, KB. What an amazing experience that must have been. I'll always be a Plunkett fan.

You're good to go, zepscoda. And thanks PC...I owe you one.

Well, Seattle seemed to do all right as they won the game 3-1. I had to work late, then had a late dinner with friends, so I only just now was able to check the scores. I'll be seeing the Angels play the Mariners next week while I'm in Seattle. The game won't mean shit but at least I'll be able to cross another ballpark off my list.

Thanks Walter, Bong-Man and jb126...now all we need is zepscoda! I hope zepscoda hasn't gotten discouraged. I'm stuck at work today but if someone can PM zepscoda and remind him to get his Thursday pick in at least, I'd greatly appreciate it.

^^^ Yeah, I remember they were the California Angels...although in a state with FIVE!!! baseball teams, I always thought it a bit presumptuous of them to call themselves the California Angels. As if people outside Orange County would identify with the team. Random bit of trvia...my first baseball game I ever saw in person was Nolan Ryan no-hitting the Tigers at the Big A in 1973. Hey Bong-Man, were you even born then? Do I think the Cardinals are as good as the Nationals? When it comes to the playoffs and performing under pressure...hell yes! What have the Gnats ever done in the postseason? We all know the postseason resilience St. Louis has exhibited over the years. So yeah, I'll take the Cardinals over the Nationals in a 7-game series. Regarding what Paul posted the other day, I feel the Angels won their division despite whatever Mike Scoscia did as manager. So my vote for AL Manager of the Year would definitely go to Buck of Baltimore...or the KC guy if they get in the playoffs...over Scoscia anyday. As for Donnie Baseball and the Dodgers, Rick, every week the Letters to the Editor in the LA Times Sports section are filled with irate Dodger fans bemoaning Don Mattingly's managerial skills. There is no faith in Mattingly as a manager from what I read and hear from Dodger fans.

Ugh, please don't say that. To us long-time Angel fans, it irks us. They were, are, and shall ever be the Angels of Anaheim and never Los Angeles. Arte Moreno's asinine marketing ploy of changing the team's name to the ridiculous mouthful of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim pissed a lot of people off and erased much of the goodwill he had accrued since becoming owner. Not to throw a wet blanket on the Angels celebrating their AL West division crown...BUT the one time they won the World Series they did it as a Wild Card. The last 8 times the Angels won the division, they failed to even make it to the WS...often not even getting past the first round. So, I'm not exactly feeling confident.

That post read like a publicity hack's wet dream. I wonder if he works for the Stones. The 1975 is definitely the more interesting of the two releases. I went to the July 10th and 13th concerts...both were among the longest shows the Stones had ever played. Two hours plus, ending after midnight with "Sympathy for the Devil". The things I remember most from that tour are the awesome stage design...a glass flower opening up to reveal the band, the inflatable cock, and Billy Preston and Mick Jagger making out. Oh, and those tribal drummers. It's a shame not all the songs will be on the vinyl release. The 1981 I'm less enthused about. It was a mediocre tour, with the Stones frequently being outplayed by the opening bands. The venues were mostly outdoors with terrible sound, Mick was a poncy fuck in a ridiculous football uniform, Keef looked bored to tears, and that boring stage with the giant Jovan perfume banner was dated upon arrival. It looks even more hideous now. I saw several dates on that tour...L.A., Houston, and Dallas...and ZZ Top and the Prince debacle in L.A. were the only interesting moments from those shows. Oh, and the stabbing in Houston. I also watched the pay per view broadcast. All I remember from that is Keef bashing someone with his guitar. I have long had the bootlegs, so I'll probably only get the 1975 release. I do wonder what effect these releases will have on Jimmy Page. Will the Stones recent barrage of live concerts from the vault loosen Jimmy's thinking on putting out more Zeppelin shows, even if they aren't technically perfect? One can only hope.

You better believe it, ebk! Practice makes perfect...and you're not that far behind in the grand scheme of things. A couple good weeks and you're right in the thick of it. It'll also give you a good reason to watch the Taters. Still need 4 more people's picks.

I'll wait until the Angels are actually IN the playoffs before speculating on anything. Does the name Dave Henderson mean anything to you? It does to me...I break out in a cold sweat when I hear that name. I also still remember the Angels epic collapse in 1995...losing an 11-game lead to Seattle. So yeah, I fear Seattle and don't think the Angels have the division or the best record wrapped up by any means. Calamity could strike at any time.

Yes Rick, that statement includes you.

^^^ Yeah, I'm not changing my Seattle pick either. 12th Man will be in effect...and it won't be 120° like it was in San Diego last week. I don't understand Tom Flores not being in yet...he coached 2 Super Bowl Champions to Madden's 1. Poor Jim Plunkett...all those years being battered in New England. At least he finally found the promised land with the Raiders...he and Flores were the QB/Coach combination for those two Super Bowl wins. I guess Plunkett's regular season stats aren't gaudy enough for some HOF voters.

Well, thanks to the Orioles, at least one of my picks has come true. Paul, it might be time for an update?

This news may affect some of your picks this week fellas...and gals. http://m.espn.go.com/nfl/story?storyId=11542076 Denver's Wes Welker, Dallas' Orlando Scandrick, and St. Louis' Stedman Bailey are immediately eligible to play because of this new agreement. Basically granted amnesty.

Mediocrity waits for no man... Herewith my Week 3 picks: Thursday Atlanta Frauds Sunday Baltimore Ravens formerly Browns but should be Colts Dallas Oh no Romo Detroit Rock City Houston Spoilers Indianapolis Dolts New Orleans pottedplants New England Brady Bunch Buffalo Williams Cincinnati Bungalows Philadelphia Follies San Francisco Forty-whiners Seattle 12th Man Miami Dullfins Carolina Cams Monday NY Jests