Hey guys, i was wondering if any of you have had a similar problem.  Here is how i'm set up.  I have a 32" Toshiba LCD.  I don't subscribe to Comcast's HD service yet, so i just hav an analog cable box.  I'm connecting through my composite/ AV cables (video 1). 

When i watch CSN intermittantly, about once an hour, the aspect ratio changes and the picture gets very zoomed in.  To best describe it the image will appear reduced in quality, it's focused on the center of the image and i'm not able to see things that are normally on the edge of the normal broadcast image.  It's like when you mess with your setting for aspect ratio, ie: theatre wide, zoom 1, zomm 2 and so forth. 

I can easily fix this by changing the station and then changing back?  And this has only ever happened on CSN.  And it appears to happen most often when leaving a comercial break and coming back to the game or program.   I notice this alot during broadcasts of Cubs games, perhaps because i observe the broadcast or 3 hours but it seems like every 3rd commercial break it comes back zoomed in.  I have tried adjusting the settings that auto detect the aspect ratio, switching them to manual but to no avail.?

Have any of you ever experienced this or do you have any advice or suggections.  Much appreciated.

I have always thought the way the Cubs handle their tickets has been odd.  And i was wondering if anyone had any info on if how season ticket holders are treated is the same across all sports. 

So let's say i'm your average Cubs fan in the Chicago area.  When January/February rolls around i either jump all over the 9 game package and/or get my wristband and hope i get lucky (like this year) or just wait till tickets go on sale and try to get as many good dates/ value dates as i can.  Last season when the Cubs made the playoffs, i tried to get tickets but didn't jump fast enough.

Now i know the Cubs usually offer those post-season tickets to season ticket holders first, and then the rest are sold after that.  Now, i get that the season ticket holders contribute alot of money to the club every year and the Cubs are trying to reward their most loyal(ie: wealthiest/older?) fans.  But i've always had a problem with this.  Season ticket holders get to go to every home game the cubs play, rightly so, they pay for it.  But for the average fan like me, getting the chance to see my handfull of games and even the posibility of a post-season game... i think it would be fair to offer the tickets to everyone at the same time.

I'm sure there are people on here who have their "place in line" for season tickets.  I'm sure someone here is 47,000th in line.  I have always thought, that much like a politician's term in office, season tickets should only be allowed by the same ticket holder, let's say for 4 years consecutively.  Theoretically (and quite possibly) i could be a Cub fan for the next 35 years and never get my chance to have my summer of Cubs baseball.

No offense to the season-ticket holders here but i just wondered what other people's thoughts were and if these same practices are carried out around the league and in other sports?

So i have a question?  Especially after seeing posts about trading Marquis and about only using the 5th man in the rotation sparingly. 

The way i have always seen it, your 5th man in the rotation isn't really supposed to be a dominating picher.  I mean on almost every team around the league, isn't the 5th man the weakest of your starting pichers?  I would asume the expectation is to just win as many games as you lose and we should be ok?  What was Marshall's record last year... 7-8.  He had a decent ERA along with it and a pretty good BB to SO ratio.  Now i understand that Marquis's (funny to say?) BB/SO is only 15/21 and his ERA is higher but he is 1-2 with a small sample size.

I mean if every club has an ace that will get you 17-18 wins, a 2nd guy that can get you 14-15 and 3rd and 4th guys that can get you 10-12 wins (assuming the no-decisions are split 50/50 where the other team wins half and we win half) all you really need out of your 5th guy is 8-10 wins.  Marquis was 12-9 last year, so lets say he has a worse year and goes 10-10?  Wouldn't that be just fine for a 5th guy?  I mean he's not pitching 3rd like last year so i don't see why we should have a gripe against him like he needs to be moved down in the order or anything.  I understand he has a bigger contract than our other pitchers, but that's just the game today.

I personally thinkg we're set at 5th man.  And actually set at 1st through 3rd (i bleive Lilly will come around) so all we should really be tinkering with was sending Hill back down and replacing him with a quality pitcher.  I also think that 4th guy should be Marshall.  I love Lieber as a long guy.  Just some thoughts...

I was inspired by some of the responses i read in the Cincinnati posts which got me to thinking. 

Do you think baseball players ,especially today, sign with the Cubs because of a Cubs magic of sorts?  The atmosphere of playing at Wrigley, in Wrigleyville with the Cubs fans.  And all the Cubs/Wrigley lore that seems intertwined with such a long history of baseball.

Or is this just all in my head as a fan?

But ya gotta figure, these players are huge baseball fans as well.  I just wonder if they get caught up in it enough to make decisions in their profession.

You just got owned!  What a bum...  Watching this guy pump his fist and jump around unceremoniously last year against us just got my blood boiling.  A very classless gesture.  I only wish we could have taken one game last post-season so i didn't have to see his face.  Too bad he never really gets to come up to bat, ya know.  We could have Wood or Marmol work on their high-inside heat?