Griff

Did anyone catch Griffey's K to end the game the other night? At the time I just felt like it might be the end of his career. What a terrible way to go out. Yesterday he mentioned he's not retiring. What was weird about that at bat was that for the first time ever I can really remember a players career from first game to possible last name. He broke in with such a bang and I believe he hit a homer that first game (vs. A's if my memory serves me). Interesting thought that he probably is the best player to never play in a W.S.

Rip's love for Beltran unending

In perhaps some of the most blatant hyperbole of recent years, Rips attempt to hide his man-crush on Carlos Beltran is poor. Simply; Rip is the Gene to Beltrans Phineas.

Enjoy the reference.

Posnanski gets it right again!

JoPo is a must read:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/joe_posnanski/10/01/posnanski.pujols/index.html

Run DM &AL

Fellas,

What a crackup that Al DAvis is. Now I havent heard him speak publicly lately but that news conference was hilarious. Have you even seen a news conf when the speaker was sitting at a desk? And what about the black little table lamp so he could read the letter? HIs outfits are notorious but the long necked sweater with the sport jacket was great.

Speaking of necks, whats up with Ozzie Guillen and the big towel around his neck protruding out from the jacket? What does this serve? Its not that cold yet? Is he sweating as he's making managerial decisions?

The playoff are here. If last nights tiebreaker is any indication that it should be exciting. The best thing about baseball playoffs is the afternoon games! It makes it great knowing kids can come home from school and watch. That is if they have a dish or cable. Any predictions?

Rip

MMQB

1. Well I guess The Rams are crappier than The Chiefs. You guys won a game and we fired our coach. I actually started to believe again during the first half of yesterdays game, only to be left disappointed again.

2. What C.C. Sabathia has done is amazing. And I send mad props to the guy for doing whats best for the team in a conctact year. In the past he takes heat for being rather large but he gets it done.

3. Another Mets season, another Mets collapse. Thats 3 years in a row. Must be some great superstar leadership on that team?

4. What a fabulous weekend of college football, that is if your team didnt go down in flames like Chris' USC'ers, Georgia or Gouk's Gators. It's setting right up for Mizzou to play the final game if they can take care of business.

Sprint Center still without tenant?

After the Blues' pre-season game against the LA Kings on Monday night in KC, all parties involved raved about the Sprint Center. Question is, who is eventually going to call that arena home?

I know KC flirted with bringing Sidney Crosby to town a couple years ago, but that probably was more about the Penguins using KC as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with the city of Pittsburgh.

What would you guys prefer, the NBA or NHL? And which is more likely?

News

Once again slow on the blog front.

1. What a crappy day of news in STL Tuesday. Chris Carpenter has more shoulder issues. Was it related to TLR and Company rushing him back? Maybe, maybe not but once again more allegations for the management\medical staff concerning the treatment of players.

2. #1 draft pick and future team star Erik Johnson has torn knee ligaments. Apparently some sort of golf cart mishap. Of course the rumors are swirling that it was much more than that and probably included booze and horse play.

3. Starting QB benched for Trent Green. This team sucks.

4. So, which Missouri team will suck worse this year? Rams are pretty bad on all fronts.

rip

Get Something Started

Fellas,

Its time to get something started! Hopefully something for everyone.

1. Ram Fan is already speculating on the following:
Will Linehan get fired during the season?
Will the Rams get the 1st pick in next years draft?
Are the players trying to get Linehan fired by not trying?

2. Is Chief Fan excited by week 1 outcome or simply realize Pat's without Brady aren't the same?

3. Is Albert Pujols simply the greatest in the game?

4. When will some photo's of Sarah Palin appear? NOw I'm not expecting anything naked but you know some beach or backyard photo's will eventually show up. She is very cute.

5. Did you guys realize Derrick Thomas' son plays DE for B.S. South? Rockhurst killed them as you know.

6. Are the fantasy baseball paper mache` regular season leaders still licking their wounds?

7. Does Royal Fan have a thought or two? I keep hearing your turning the corner.

8. Gouk, when coming back from Branson went to stop at Taco Bueno next to mall and it already closed down. Branson is the friendliest town in the U.S.

9. Will KU defeat 2 out of the 3 in football? UT, OU and Tex Tech.

10. I know Ohio St usually sucks when playing big boys but its nice to see an Oh. St/USC early season matchup. You don't get top 5 teams very often.

I have more but can't remember.

Fantasy Football Is Back

My Take:
Fantasy Football is the most exciting of all the fantasy sports. If we cannot drum up enthusiasm for this sport, the league is dead as we know it.

On that note....

2007 Finals Standings:
1. Chris
2. Goyer
3. Dave
4. Rippee
5. Nate
6. Sed
7. Blake
8. Matt Gouk

Below is the URL for our league, though I did send out invitations already.

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/fsc2008football

This and That

This has been pathetically slowwwwwwwwww

Did the worst 5 tool player in history help get Willy Randolph fired? I don't think his .273 and 10 homers helped any.

Is FSC on life support?

Will The Royals win another series this year?

Draft

Haven't had any posts in awhile so I will throw some draft junk out. According to Keith Law it looks like the local teams did well. I was surprised to see Melville go so low but Law explains it a bit. I do hope the kid signs with KC rather than going to NC. Pisses me off he would select NC over MU so I don't want to see him in Carolina Blue.

Been watching some Super Regional ball. What was once a very promisioning season for MU turned sour about 6 weeks ago. Too bad they couldn't have finished stronger and seen them play this weekend.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/draft2008/insider/columns/story?columnist=law_keith&id=3429315&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fmlb%2fdraft2008%2finsider%2fcolumns%2fstory%3fcolumnist%3dlaw_keith%26id%3d3429315

Toyota & NKOTB

I'm enjoying the last morning of my week off. Cathing the morning show on NBC and the summer concert series sponsored by The Krauts Toyota. Who do I find but New Kids on the Block! Thanks Kraut and Toyota. Of all the Fridays that I am home from work to enjoy morning television I get NKOTB.

Will "Late Night" Plunge with Fallon?

Will he bomb?

Fallon has always lacked a natural timing with his jokes and, to me, never really had a strong presence as a host. Actually, I find his humor to be forced when he is himself; he translates much better, with comedic timing, as a character actor (see Almost Famous).

I find him a bit squirrely and I don't know if that will translate well on late night television to John Q. Average.

Your thoughts?

Worst Sports Franchises

The following is on FOX Sports today. As expected the author takes the usual cheap shot at the Royals stating that their misery is based on David Glass being cheap. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8098378/Top-10:-Worst-franchises-in-pro-sports?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002

Is it just me, or is this getting to be a tired argument. Glass seems to have been setting a good foundation to build on a team. The GM has been a great hire. Baseball pundits have also lauded the hiring of the manager. To top that off, the pitching staff is more than respectable this year. So what is it going to take for the Royals to get off this list short of winning a WS?

Who's Who?

I just wanted to post this for posterity sake...

Which is more memorable...Nate's colorful shirts or the Christopher Thomas Stephens Collection (a closet full of Tommy shirts with horizontal stripes)?

St. Louis is a slum

Since activity on our blog has turned the way of a Saturday evening network television show I'll try and stir things a bit.

1. What the heck has happened to the St. Louis Arch (see picture above). All those cables supporting the thing, a video board suspended in the middle, and a Hard Rock cafe installed on the lawn beneath it. Tacky.

2. The Royals bullpen has weathered the lows and is one of the best in the bigs (thats the AL to those who live in NL cities).

3. Anyone own a Mac? I'm thinking of converting.

4. Who the heck does Houstons think they are. Last night Carrie and I went out for her birthday, had two drinks a piece, an appetizer, and two entrees consisting of steak and prime rib. The freaking bill was $130. I didn't spend that much in the Gaslamp a couple of weeks ago, beneath a picture of Bill Clinton eating at our table. I'm pretty sure Bubba has never been to KC's Houstons.

4B. I had the pleasure of sitting next two tables of high school kids out on prom night. Heres a little scorecard I kept

- Number of times I heard the term "free refills" - 2
- Number of times I saw kids on cell phones (something prohibited according to a sign at the door and on the menu - 3
- Number of times I heard the phrase "Get You Some" - 1
- Number of white kids that talked like they went to Ruskin, but probably go to Blue Valley West - atleast 4
- Chances of automatic gratuity NOT being added to their bill - 3675-1

Remember I teach high school, and so my threshold of annoying high school conversations is pretty high already but needless to say we didnt stay for dessert.

The Pitching is in Missouri

I hope you guys here about Mad Max last night.

It looks like the good young pitching is from Missouri. Check this out.

http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=1185&CID=802807

Look-a-Like's II

Sorry about the Black and White's, but here we have William Atherton (of Die Hard fame). He has had small parts in a lot of films, but Die Hard is probably what is most famous for.

And here we have KTLA'a own Mark Kriski. Sorry if you haven't been to LA and enjoyed their horribly nutty morning news (its that bad). Imagine an entire morning crew of anchor's who would probably fir better starring on TMZ.

A k R k O k D k !!!!!!!

Do I see Vratny in the picture? By the way, thanks for the offer. I couldn't get a signal at work.

A couple of quality images from AROD's great outing against the Royals. 4 AB's and 4 K's.

WOW!!!!!!!

KU

Like Nate, I did not have much confidence in KU beating UNC on Saturday night. The way NC had been playing and the fact that KU beat a #10 seed (Davidson) by just two points in the previous game made me believe that NC had a distinct advantage.
Having said that, I could not believe what I was seeing in the first half on Saturday night. I have NEVER seen the Jayhawks play better basketball. I have always questioned Self and how he prepared his team for big games, but no more. Building a 28 point FIRST HALF lead agianst the overall #1 seed was almost too good to be true.
As for tonight, I am a little more confident. Memphis is a very good team with two top lottery picks and size on the inside but I have to take KU based on Saturday.

KU - 83
Memphis - 78

Current FSC Standings

Goyer - 16
Dave - 13
Chris - 12
Sed - 8
Blake - 7
Rip - 7
Nate - 5
Gouk - 4

NCAA Pick Em Results

Everyone,
Sedovic’s dominance of the NCAA Brackets is officially over. The final standings for 2008’s pick ‘em pool are:

1) Goyer
2) Chris
3) Dave
4) Blake
5) Sedovic
6) Matt P.
7) Nate
8) Tim

I believe that makes me the overall leader for FSC since I have now won two the Bowls and the Hoops. On to baseball.

Out,

Goyer

F4

Are going to get some predictions on the games? I can make arguments in all directions so I am going to stick with my bracket. UCLA and NC with UCLA cutting the nets down on Monday. So hawkers, you going to stick your neck out and make any guarantee's? And don't give me any of that "it depends on how Self coaches" crap.

Self to Okie St

Sean Sutton is stepping down (forced resignation) at Ok St. Doug Gottlieb reported #1 booster wants alum Bill Self to come back. Reportedly Self says its a non story (what would you expect him to say)? After Davidson's final fling fell short, did you see Self? That was not a man excited to be at the F4? That was a man relieved to live another day? In my opinion, the guy is feeling it and his quotes over the past few weeks are proving that. I also don't think simply making it to the F4 will quiet the beakers. You look at this rumor and you first thought is it's absurd. ON the other hand, some people don't like to live with pressure and maybe's there's a chance Self doesn't want to put up with unhealthy expectations for the rest of his life. Beakers, weigh in??
By the way, if I were a head coach, I would gladly have a 25-50% pay difference for complete peace of mind. Whats Self making, Gottlieb through out the number of $4 mill a year. This would be an easier move if it weren't in-conference.

Best or Worst NCAA Tournament

Please don't take this an insult as it not meant to be one; moreover just a question:

Does four #1 seeds make this the best NCAA tournament, or does it show that teams that are weak #2's (Tennessee, Duke) do not belong in the final four making this a weak year for the Tournament?

Thoughts?

LOST: A Theory on Time Travel

The LOST fans in this group may have already seen this but if not I found it to be an extremely interesting read on LOST and Time Travel.

http://www.timelooptheory.com/q_and_a.htm

KU

Ok fellas, give us your prediction on the game tonight? Does NOva have a chance?

Watching the pathetic play of Tenn last night reinforced something I have been thinking about for awhile. If MA ever gets it going at MU you can expect a similiar product what you saw at Tenn this year. For the most part, that style will work during the regualar season. You can beat some teams in the tourney, yet I don't believe you can win 6 games in a row. MA wants all players to be athletic, lanky and go to the rim. Looks familiar.

Got the flu, going to bed.

Draft Results

Who feels like they got what they wanted? Who did you want, but didn't get?

I'll start. When I saw the draft progressing I wanted Ian Kinsler, but Dave drafted him when I had him in my queue ready as to go. I also wanted Bobby Abreu but Rip took him as well.

I got three players that I hoped I would get: Felix Hernandez, Joe Mauer and Eric Byrnes. Byrnes only because he is my favorite player.

NCAA Part 2

A few comments before my quiz.

Here are my 3 favorite people from the tourney that I didn't know beforehand.
1. Stephen Curry- Dude's been great
2. Joe Alexander- White boy can play
3. S. Curry's mom

My best prediction was #13 Siena over Vandy. Anyone else have a bigger upset.

My wife actually picked Davidson over Georgetown. With the scoring system we use shes beating me by 9 points, which would put her in 1st place in our league.

It's nice to see UCLA and KU get a cupcake road to F4.

ESPN Classic is showing KU-Duke Championship from '91. Without looking up the answers, tell me the starting lineup\players?

NCAA

While some of you may be booking your trips to the Final 4, some of us are booking are rooms to Omaha and The CWS. With two pitchers who could be top 10 draft picks in this summer's amateur draft, the future is bright.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/mizzou/story/EB39C96C772A991686257415000C068B?OpenDocument

Free Movies

Check out www.insideredbox.com if you want to get free movies from those red box machines inside grocery stores or outside McDonalds. Believe it or not Redbox wants you to get these codes as the free rental is only for one night, and they are betting that you will become a regular customer and/or take more than one night to watch the movie.

Anyways, take it or leave it.

March Madness

1. Well another year and I didn't see The University of Missouri on selection sunday. Very dissapointing. I have bought into the theory that M.A deserves time to recruit his players. This is understandable. I have identified two problems: 1. Though the players he inherited aren't particuarly talented (other than Lyons), I didn't see progress. If you have lemons to work with, make lemon-ade. 2. I noticed other coaches who were in their 1st or 2nd year guiding teams to the tourney. What about Mike Pelphrey at Arkansas? They improved in his 1st year. Think how terrible UK was and the turnaround they made in conference play? Even Rick Majerus at SLU took a team with only two legit players and showed signs of progress. If you watched the final minute of the 1st and 2nd halves of the tourney game vs. Nebraska you would have sworn Dr. Quin Medicine Woman was on the sidelines.

2. Now as I have aged and my family grown I don't pay as much attention to the talking heads at ESPN, especially the basketball heads. Tell me this? When did the term " eye test" come into existence when judging a teams tournament worthiness? I don't know how many times I heard those two ACC freaks throw that term around. Just b\c ACC teams look more athletic doesn't mean they are better teams. Am I the only one missing the boat?

3. Whats the story on NCAA bracket?

God Save the Fan

For those of you looking for a good sports (easy) read, I have just finished and recommend the book you see above. The author is the creator and editor of Deadspin, which is a great sports blog I read on a daily basis. The book takes an outsiders look at athletes, fans and sports journalism, with emphasis on the ESPN hype machine and how they manipulate and kill stories that harm their own interests.

Hansbrough + Race + Bloody Nose = Media Darling

When Dick Vitale basically declared during this weekend's Duke-North Carolina broadcast that Tyler Hansbrough displayed the most desire of any player he has seen in all the years he has been covering college basketball, for a moment -- a fleeting one -- I thought I was smoking crack again.

Did I hear that correctly? Boop-boop, went the TiVo. Yeah, damn, Vitale did say that.
Vitale's television career goes back to the late 1970s, which means he has likely seen such collegiate basketball brilliance as Larry Bird, Christian Laettner, Magic Johnson, Danny Manning, Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas, Larry Johnson, Chris Mullin, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson.

And Hansbrough has more "desire" than those greats?

Read the rest from Mike Freeman - CBS.Sportsline Columnist @ http://cbs.sportsline.com/columns/story/10700001

Cult of Vratny

I usually write my tests the night before I give them, and sometimes that means I'm up an hour or two later than normal. When this happens my mind gets loopy (probably the same state as Stephens when he makes his blog posts), and so in an effort to try and complete the test I will fill in the remaining wrong answers with randomness. Needless to say that since I teach history I cover a lot of names and events and so I will use some old names from previous units in future tests. Whenever I can't think of someone, or don't want to confuse the test taker I will just use Dave Vratny as an option. For instance today Dave's name is listed among exploreres in Africa. Also, sometimes I will use variations of Dave's name like Dr. David Vratny, Rick James Vratny, David Vratino, Dave Bratny, or sometimes just Vrat.

Well, after seven years someone finally noticed.

During 3rd period when I gave my last test a few weeks ago a kid blurted out in the middle of the test, "Who is this Dave Vratny, and why is his name always on the tests?" I hushed him up, but I nearly burst from laughter.

Today I am giving another test and when I gave the student three or four minutes to look over their notes or ask me questions before I handed out the tests a completely different student in a different period announced to the class, "Don't choose Dave Vratny, thats a fake answer!"

I guess the word is out and I'll have to change to someone else.

Sorry Nate....I could not resist!

Entertaining game on Saturday night. ESPN spends half an hour talking about 'Speedo Man?' pre-game and then when he is shown during the game he spends 10 seconds point to his cock. As a KU fan I would gladly take a #2 seed to have NC in the same bracked as a #1.

LOST March Madness

I found this on the Washington Post website, have fun!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/television/features/2007/lost-central/lost_madness.html

Good episode last night! I was thinking about the characters after the show and where does Benjamin Linus rank in the history of TV characters? Is he up there with the likes of Tony Soprano and Jerry Seinfeld or does he rank lower as he is not the central male figure of the show?

Draft Order

1. Gouk
2. Rip
3. Chris
4. Goyer
5. Dave
6. Sed
7. Blake
8. Nate

Draft Date??

I need to know what conflicts people have to set the draft date

Post them

Has LOST jumped the shark?

I must admit that I am disappointed that LOST took a science fiction turn on Thursday. It appears that Abrams and Lindenhoff have decided to take the show the way of Star Trek / Back to the Future. I was hoping that many of the island's mysteries would be answered with logic and be realistic and believable. I will stick with the show as there is a severe lack of suitable options but I hope that 'time travel' is not the answer to the LOST riddle.

KC Star

I just read the KC Star has won more 'newspaper' awards than any other large city news paper in the country. Whitlock and Posnanski were both honored several times......

" The Kansas City Star dominated, winning the “triple crown” (Top 10 honor for the section, the Sunday paper, and special sections) for the third time in five years in the largest circulation category. In a city without an NBA team, one of the worst teams in baseball, and the equally-crappy Chiefs, how big of a surprise is this? It probably means the KC Star sports editor, Mike Fannin, has assembled quite the staff. But it should also be noted that he is the president of the APSE."

Fantasy Baseball Deadlines

List your 3 franchise players on this post by Monday March 3rd.

Fantasy Baseball

Spring training is around the corner and March is less than a week away. What are we doing for fantasy baseball this year?

Wanted: Someone to fill the 6th Best Job in College Basketball

Yesterday Jason Whitlock wrote an article and about how stupid Kelvin Sampson was for so blatantly violating rules that cost him the 6th best basketball coach in the country. I thought Whaaaaatt???? Is Indiana still considered one of the best jobs in the country. Maybe I was alone when I was surprised at how good Indiana was playing this year. Or maybe not.

Heres a quick run down of what I think are the best college basketball jobs in the country

1. Duke - sorry had to do that. hey its my list
2. UCLA - Still running the show in la la land
3. North Carolina - Although 6 people turned down this job in 2001, its still a prime job
4. Kansas - yeah, okay
5. Kentucky - man this job looked a lot better last year
6. Frank Beamer - just kidding Tim

heres where it gets tough....
6. Connecticut - It seems every time I think this program is on the way down they turn it around, which seems right about now would be a good time to start turning around.
7. Michigan State - see #6 (the second one)
8. Arizona - This has got to be one of the easiest places to recruit as you compete with UCLA for the best HS basketball talent in the country.
9. Indiana - There I did it.

Maybe I'll do a 'worst coaching jobs' list

Fielder Goes Vegetarian

Seems like a just reason to avoid him in all fantasy drafts!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/mlb_experts/post/Prince-Fielder-is-on-an-all-sunflower-seed-diet?urn=mlb,67984

LOST

Great episode last night! Anybody else expect Kate's "child" to actually be "Aaron" ?!?! Great shock value there at the end!

Stealing Sed's Thunder

I don't want to steal Sed's thunder but I picked up the little boy on the left from an Oklahoma Humane Society on Tuesday.

He is the final addition to our rescued bunch. We decided to wait on children and help the animals for now.

From Left: Pilot (age 7-10?), Dori (age 7-10) and, of course, the high maintenance Henry (age 10-13?).

13 Episodes of LOST this season

In the latest episode of TV Guide to hit my mailbox (Feb 25-Mar 2) they have reported that there will be 13 episodes of LOST this season and so we will only miss 3 espisodes. On another of the podcasts that I subscribe to they speculated that they would probably air 7 episodes and then a 2-3 week gap before returning to air 6 more episodes to gain momentum for May sweeps.

BS

I had heard that Missouri had a representative in the final 24 of American Idol. Somebody told me today that he was from Blue Springs. Anyone confirm this and whats his name?

Annabelle Grace

Guys, I've joined the ranks of Fatherhood.

My wife, Karen, and I welcomed our 1st child into the World early Monday morning. Annabelle "Grace (d)" us with her presence about 3:45 a.m. weighing in at 8 lbs, 4 oz and 21 inches long.

She's already got more hair than I do! Forget college, how much is a wedding going to cost me some 20+ years from now?!?!

Thoughts on LOST...

A few things about last nights episode. Sorry if you havent caught it yet.

1. How did Sayiid know to take off Naomi's bracelet? It seemed like he went right for it. I wish I remembered what it said. I should have paused the show. Can anybody help me out here.

2. The cabin probably was gone because only certain people can see it. Also it can change its location as we saw in the season premier.

3. Did Kate really choose to stay. We know that she eventually does get off and so she changes her opinion later, but does it have to due with

4. I want to hear more about the theory that Adam and Eve from the first season is actually Jack and Kate. Anyone else heard this theory.

5. The title of the Episode was the The Economist, and then later we learn that the man whom Ilsa worked for was said to be an economist as a cover. I dont think that was a good choice for an episodes title. They should have titled it "Unlikely Pair," That way it keeps you guessing on who the unlikely pair is, and then it is revealed in the end.

6. I'm guessing that the next episode is a Kate episode.

7. I watched the enhanced version of last weeks show and am hooked. Kind of like a pop-up-video style of show that gives you little clues.

On a related note with the writers strike ending I heard that they probably will only be able to get 3 more episodes done in time to show this year. Will this mean a longer Season 5?

Separated at birth???

The 2nd place finisher in November & John Locke's father from LOST

Mirror Images

A local sports\entertainment radio show was calling for look-a-likes. So maybe for some fun you might want to add a few of your own. There were numerous that the callers had, but my favorite was Neil Cavuto and Cards Radio Play by Play John Rooney.
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/team/broadcasters.jsp?c_id=stl
http://www.foxnews.com/yourworld/index.html

Disney's 1.2 billion redux

Heres a good NY Times article on Disney's 1.2 billion dollar rehab of their Southern California Theme Park that has underperformed the past 7 years. A few things that the article doesn't say; It says that California Adventure draws 6 million guests a year to Disneyland Parks' 15 million a year. However what most people do is go to Disneyland for the day and then at some point when the crowd is unbearable head across the promenade (literally 100 steps) go to California Adventure and ride the 3 big attractions there. This boosts California Adventure's attendance on paper, but the park is basically a ghost town for most of the day.

I point the finger (I won't tell you which one) at former head of Disney Theme Parks Paul Pressler who cut the budget to protect his own bottom line and then left the company to be the CEO of The Gap; and now its underperforming as well (Gap Kids anyone...).

However Disney can afford the fixer-upper as on my latest trip to WDW I spent way too much money and I can't stop going back.

30 second overview of seasons 1,2 and 3 of LOST

In order to get this in in 30 seconds I will not talk about individual characters.

Plane crashes on tropical island. Survivors wait for rescue and think that they are alone on the island. They soon discover that they are not alone and the people who inhabit the island know a whole lot about the personal lives of those who survived the crash. Some survivors are intrigued by the mystical powers of the island while some believe that the everything can be explained.

In S2 more survivors are found, and some of the secrets of the island including a large abondoned science experiment is uncovered.

S3 lets the viewers in on more of the lives of the Others (those who were already there when the plane crashed), and how they are a blend of the abondoned science experiment and more that already inhabited the island and some who were brought to the island.

S4 has started to explore which survivors actually get off the island, their resons, and a rescue attempt that isnt exactly what it seems.

Can Someone Fill Me in on Lost

Ok, last night I caught my first two episodes of Lost. As you can guess, I'm a little lost on the series. I get that these are survivors of a plane crash. I also understand that they are scared to death of something on the island. Can someone give me the 30 second overview of Seasons 1 - 3?

Can You Say Orwellian?

The FBI is gearing up to create a massive computer database of people's physical characteristics, all part of an effort the bureau says to better identify criminals and terrorists.

The FBI wants to use eye scans, combined with other data, to help identify suspects.

But it's an issue that raises major privacy concerns -- what one civil liberties expert says should concern all Americans.
The bureau is expected to announce in coming days the awarding of a $1 billion, 10-year contract to help create the database that will compile an array of biometric information -- from palm prints to eye scans.

Kimberly Del Greco, the FBI's Biometric Services section chief, said adding to the database is "important to protect the borders to keep the terrorists out, protect our citizens, our neighbors, our children so they can have good jobs, and have a safe country to live in."
But it's unnerving to privacy experts.

"It's the beginning of the surveillance society where you can be tracked anywhere, any time and all your movements, and eventually all your activities will be tracked and noted and correlated," said Barry Steinhardt, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Technology and Liberty Project.

The FBI already has 55 million sets of fingerprints on file. In coming years, the bureau wants to compare palm prints, scars and tattoos, iris eye patterns, and facial shapes. The idea is to combine various pieces of biometric information to positively identify a potential suspect.

As Yoda would say...to a scary place this line of thinking takes us.

Incomplete Poll

How can this poll be valid when we only know a little bit of three of the losties, and we don't know who the other three are?

Supremicist

Screw you AFC'ers! Screw you AL'ers! You guys can take your AFC\AL Supremicist attitudes and stick'em where the sun don't shine. You guys chant all year long about how great your leagues are and then oh so often don't live up to it when it really counts. Choke artist, not to mention cheaters.

Rams Legacy Intact??

As the rumors swirl about Bellicheat and his spygate tactics, I can only think and hope that maybe the legacy they were creating will once again be recognized.

The Fed, Tax Rebates, and the Dollar

The Fed does not care much about the value of the dollar it seems to be more concerned with trying to control inflation. It seems to me that the devaluation of the dollar is something born of our ever growing trade deficit particularly with China which was at $177.5 billon last year and the American phenomenon of spending borrowed money and racking up large consumer debt. If anything the Fed appears willing to allow us to continue on with this imprudent spending spree, even if the long-term results create massive economic hardship further down the road. At some point if there is not a correction made to our current path the long-term economic reality could be a disastrous one. Think of the Federal governments own growing deficit, the massive off-balance social security obligations, and the nations chronically low savings rates. In the short-term these rate cuts are nothing more then an attempt to weaken the dollar to dull the pain of reality to make us feel good. I also view the upcoming proposal of giving massive tax rebate checks out to all Americans to “fight recession” more of the same. Sure it might give the economy a nice one time jolt, by lifting consumer spending when consumer spending appears to be down, but what does it really do for anyone in the long run? It certainly will not forestall a recession if that is what we might be heading for. To me it is bad economic policy. I have heard it called "feel good economics", because it’s only real effect is to make politicians feel good about themselves and buy re-election with public funds. Is it any wonder then that the international community is becoming increasingly skeptical of the long term viability of current U.S. economic policy? Is it any wonder that foreign investors continue to dump their holdings of U.S. securities by a record amount and are pouring money into global funds as global equities rise the more the dollar drops?

What is needed are “real measures” taken to strengthen our dollar. For the strength of our currency is a reflection of the perceived value of our country in the global marketplace. Maintaining and strengthening the value of our nation’s currency, would be in the best interest of American consumers, American businesses and investors in the U.S. economy. What this Country needs is a President and a Congress that is willing to take the steps necessary to curb government spending and work towards balancing the deficit. We need leaders willing to take measures to greatly simplify our nation’s tax code which would encourage greater productivity and achievement. We need a Washington willing to take a look at policies that they have created which have unnecessary and excessive regulations, which result in excessive artificial inflationary costs which are passed on to consumers. Of course you probably will not hear about any of this in this year’s Presidential race, nor is anyone in Washington likely to take any revolutionary steps toward this end. Unfortunately I think more gimmick economic plans will be tried and our path hardened before any real change is made, but what do I know?

Mizzou

Are any Jayhawk Fans going to take shots at MU Fan?

Lost

The blog should be hot with the return of Lost. I can't believe our 8 month wait is over.

Mizzouri state bird......The Jayhawk??

A 'Mizzouri' State Senator introduced an actual bill to change the 'Mizzouri' state bird to the Jayhawk. After I first read this I was confused.....until I noticed he was a Republican, and then it all made sense.

http://www.stlsportsmag.com/index.php?postid=1281

Polls

I guess only Nate can make a poll. You need the template tab and I don't see it.

Majerus vs. Burke

Not sure how many Catholics we have among the group, but this recent issue between Rick Majerus and Archbishop Burke has gotten a lot of play in the media over the last couple days.

Personally I'd like to see Burke take his "act" elsewhere. He's really rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, and could personally be responsible for driving many local Catholics away from the religion.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/bryanburwell/story/B18B7EBCAAB26360862573D9001A8AC0?OpenDocument

Monday Thoughts....

* I will not touch on the current economic situation as Gouk did a great job of analyzing the situation in the post directly below this one.

*I heard the Oscar nominations this morning and have two recommendations for movies that are nominated for Best Picture. No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood are both excellent movies! Nate has been on the Daniel Day Lewis bandwagon for quite some time and he delivered in Blood big time. I am not sure that any other actor could have pulled of that type of performance as Lewis's facical expressions and voice tone were mesmerizing in certain scenes. The same can be said of Javier Bardem (sp?) in No Country.

* The Pats/Chargers game was a bore (Philip Rivers is still a bitch even though he played with one ACL) but the Packers/Giants game was one of the more entertaining football games I have watched in recent memory. The fact it was -4, the game was played at Lambeau field, Brett Farve and it was the NFC championship game were all the ingredients for a classic.

* MU/KU was entertaining! I realize that this is MUs Super Bowl (outside of the annual home NIT game) but I was impressed with the effort the Tigers put forth. KU has not been challenged lately and MU put them to the test as the game was in doubt late into the second half. The officials called the game waaayyy to tight which resulted in numerous trips to the FT line which BTW is the Jayhawks Achilles heel. I can see missing from the FT line costing the 'Hawks in March.

Feds Cut Rate

In my opinion, one of the key strengths of the United States and our "democracy" is that it's slow moving. However, the federal reserve, you know the arbitrary body that coins our money and sets interest rates, seems to be the most reactionary of any entity related to our goverment.

Granted, cutting the rate puts money in people's hands right now and eases some high-interest debt, but what does it say about the long-term value of the dollar itself? If foreign investors pull money out of our markets because of low-interest and the price of oil, food and other commodities continue to inflate, will the dollar rapidly lose value in the long term while foreign currency continues to grow (i.e the Euro)?

Technically, by definition, a "recession" is two consecutive quarters of a falling gross national product. To date, we have only recorded one. Are you worried? Is it a benefit or a hinderance when foreign investors buy up American companies at a record rate? What is the real issue here? To me it is allowing US manufacturers to set up shop overseas or over the border and not holding the businesses accountable. I want cheap goods as much as you do, but we cannot outsource everything and expect unskilled workers to keep up as the chasm between the rich and the poor grow.

Wii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My quest is complete. On Sunday morning at 4 AM I got up, put on 5 layers of clothes that included; thermal underwear, fleece pants, jeans, two pairs of wool socks, snow boots, two thermal shirts, turtleneck, long sleeve T, hoodie, fleece jacket, down coat, 2 scarves, 2 pairs of gloves, ear band and hat.

I was fully ready to sit outside the Circuit City until they opened at 10. I had dowloaded 5 new podcasts (Pottercast, Coach K, WDW Radio, Force-Cast, Indy-Cast) to get me through it, and packed a bunch of snacks in my backpack.

As expected I was the first on there. So I sat went up to the door, put my folding chair next to the door and returned to my warm Honda Pilot for a while. At 5:30 another car showed up, but luckily they wanted to stay in their car too. At 7:00, many more cars showed up, wherupon I was forced from my idling car to brace the 5 degree temperature.

It wasn't that bad. I was really the only one ready for the cold weather (what were they thinking?). But at 9:00 they handed out vouchers that said we had until 12:00 to pick up the Wii, and I returned home for more coffee. I returned at 10:15 (after all the angry people who showed up at 9:30 had left and the Circuit City people took the heat for only getting 9 Wii's) to get the prize.

Overall, very worth it. Anyone else have it, or played it?

Fun Read

I love this guy. Gave me a good chuckle this morn.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=gallo/080118&sportCat=nfl

No Air Time

Now I understand that MU is not a great team these days. On the other hand, KU is highly ranked and this is still a top tier rivalry game. I hadn't heard of this situation until reading the paper this morning. In my lifetime I can't ever remember a MU-KU Game not being available to most of the tv audience. This is very disturbing. I now know how you folks who don't have NFL Network felt.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/columnists.nsf/dancaesar/story/BF1DA7EFBB2E938E862573D500141B67?OpenDocument

Dirty Foreign Travelers Blaimed for Epidemic

Around Orlando, inlcuding at one Walt Disney World value resort (All-Star), the Orange County Health Deprtment has seen a rise in reports of bed bugs. Once thought to be rid of the world, bed bugs have recently been discovered to be able to lie dormant for several years while living in mattresses.

In their official release the Orange County Health Department attributed the rise to three factors

1. Unseasonably Warm Winters

2. Certain Pesticides Being Banned

3. Increase in International Travelers

Yes thats right, Dirty Foreigners are being blamed for the increase.

Enjoy your next vacation, which for me begins in 8 days.

Greg Paulus Flops like a Champion

I saw this last night and almost fell out of my chair when it happened. Paulus taking a Lambier-like flop is classic. I have also attached another classic Paulus flop from last year. Looks like GP is continuing the line of Dooke soofties that look for cheap fouls (Redick, Laetner etc) I must credit deadspin as a source for this post.

Biiiiaaaaatttcchhhhh........

Is there any bigger bitch in sports today than Philip Rivers? After screaming out Jay Cutler a few weeks back he spent Sunday taunting the Indy fans. Not to parrot Champ Bailey's comments from a few weeks back but what has this guy done? With a HOF RB, a future HOF TE and a great defense I could win eight games. I am looking forward to this Sunday when he and the Chargers will be systematically destroyed by the Pats in frozen Foxboro.

Rolen for Glaus

Goodbye, Scott Rolen......

Hello, Troy Glaus!!!

The Cards continued their rebuilding by unloading disgruntled third baseman Scott Rolen to the Blue Jays for PED-suspecting Troy Glaus. I live and breathe Cardinals' baseball and still don't understand the feud between Rolen and Tony LaRussa. Publicly we only get Tony's side of the story. To Rolen's credit, he hasn't to this point gotten into a public war of words. To me, their spat doesn't make much sense. Thanks to the Cardinals, Rolen is a rich, rich man. He has more money (some $90 million) than he and his family could ever spend. On the flip side, Rolen was a huge part of LaRussa's success. Not only does he play the game the right way, but he played through numerous injuries, not once using them as excuses. Some point to Rolen's previous spat with Larry Bowa in Philly and now coupled with this disagreement as a trend. All I know is that if I ever have a son, I'd want him to play baseball like Scotty Rolen.

I do commend new Cards' GM John Mozeliak for making the best of a bad situation. Never did I think that he could get "fair" value in return for Rolen. But in Troy Glaus, it appears that he's done so. Only time will tell, and for both players, it's a matter of who can come closest to regaining his peak health.

Wazzu???

It appears that Washington State wants to go by the name "Wazzu." I don't think so. Didn't someone at ESPN call Missouri State "Mizzou St" on a ticker one time and get a reprimand from the throngs of Mizzou J School alum in Bristol. Sounds like someone in Bristol needs another reprimand. This is just another attempt by a school trying to rip off some culture from an established institution. Much like the execs at Kauffman Stadium trying to change the name of the field to "The K", St.Louis trying to pretend that they aren't Chicago's little sister, or anyone born in Jackson County rooting for the Jayhawks; this is a "tradition" that needs to end.

Linky:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280120026

Unfathomable.....

LONDON (AFP) - Twins who were separated at birth and adopted by different sets of parents later married each other without realising they were brother and sister, a peer has told the House of Lords.

David Alton, an independent, pro-life member of the Lords, said the brother and sister were granted an annulment after a high court judge ruled that the marriage had never validly existed.

The Catholic politician -- who discovered the case after talking to a judge -- used it to highlight perceived deficiencies in the government's proposed Human Embryology and Tissues Bill, which is currently going through parliament.

The bill is designed to make it easier for lesbian and gay couples to have children through assisted reproduction, recognising same-sex partners as legal parents of babies conceived through donated sperm, eggs or embryos.

But it contains no provision to require the identity of the donor to be disclosed, potentially meaning a child could not be told they were conceived by assisted reproduction.

Alton raised the case of the married twins -- who were born after IVF treatment -- during a debate on December 10, details of which only appeared on Friday.

"There are implications for everybody involved, but the needs of the child will always be paramount, and it is right that we should therefore make the process as transparent as possible," Alton told the Lords.

IVF -- which increases the chances of multiple births -- meant such cases could become more common if the law does not require children to be told they were donor conceived and have access to their genetic history, he said.

"The right of children to know the identity of their biological parents is a human right," he added Friday.

"There will be more cases like this if children are not given access to the truth. The needs of the child must always be paramount."

The identities of the twins and details of their relationship and marriage have been kept secret, but it was known they were separated soon after birth and never told they were twins.

They only discovered they were blood relatives after the wedding.

Worst Performance Ever!

Wow only scoring 20 points for the whole team in a college game has to be painful to watch....I wonder if Majerus is rethinking his return to the college game after a game like that?

January 10, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rick Majerus knew it would take some time to get Saint Louis playing the kind of successful basketball he's used to getting from his teams. He couldn't have expected a game like Thursday night's
Saint Louis set a modern Division I record for fewest points in a game, falling 49-20 to George Washington in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams.

SLU Billikens Set Record

Our beloved Billikens scored a total of 20 points (7 in the 1st half) last night vs. George Washington. That point total is the lowest since the onset of the college basketball shot clock in 1985. SLU made 14.6% of its shots to break the school mark for lowest shooting percentage in a game.

To borrow a philosophy from one of the my favorite sports' movies of all time, "Hoosiers", Rick Majerus is in the middle of "breaking this team down so he can build them back up". After last night, I'd say he's got the 1st part down.

Can't wait to see the progress first-hand on Saturday night as they take on the #22-ranked Dayton Flyers'.

7-Foot-7 ?!?!

Anybody catch 7-foot-7 Kenny George play against UNC last night? Looking at him in the lane reminded me of when we were kids and would lower the rim to a dunkable range.

By the way, there's a reason Kenny's not playing at a bigger school than UNC-Asheville. Check out Hansborough taking it to him. As a Mizzou fan, it makes me cringe every time I watch this kid play:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xXK7wnR_V2c

Bourne?

Now everyone here knows how I enjoy a good argument. We also know I am usually right. I'm going to throw a new stake in the ground for your entertainment.

Is there any better action hero than Jason Bourne?
Is there any better trilogy than The Bourne Series?

Now I don't consider myself a cinenamtic like a few bloggers here do, but I can't think of a trilogy that is better. If you have one, lets hear it.

There have been numberous action heroes that I have enjoyed. Many of their characters have a fairy tale side to them. This in a way ruins the excitement of their character. Come on, do we really think Rambo could single handedly take out the Russian's and some Southeast Asian Country.

You see where I am going with this. I can be swayed, but boy do I enjoy J Bo. Whatcha ya got?

Too close to Call????

Despite both frequenting several Dunkin Donuts on Tuesday , (a favorite breakfast, snack, hangout spot for fat Chowds), Neither Hillary Clinton nor Barrack Obama were able to claim an early victory on Tuesday night. Although Obama was thought to have as much as a 12 point lead going into this week; Clintons shrewdness (hiring Bills old staffers) was apparently just what the doctor ordered; or atleast what Bill ordered.
Clinton appears to have bested Obama by 2%, but most of the media likely won't want to kill Obama's momentum and so they will likely award both the victory through a "Close Call" headline. Maybe this will get ugly. Bring on the Willie Horton ads
On another note: Write-Ins received 1% of the vote, and Joe Biden received 0%.
John McCain, however, repeated his 2000 efforts by winning New Hampshire again, this time by 6% over windy Mitt; this giving hope to liberals everywhere that Mike Huckabee could be destroyed.

Golf Idea

What if we just did the majors this year.

You select any 5 golfers, and we add up what place they finish in, and the lowest team total wins. We could just open it up for the Masters and select any five and it doesnt matter if a player is on more than one team, then figure some sort of selection order for the last two tournments so that the first place team doesnt automatically secure a victory by selecting the same team as the next closest player.

I'm not set on any of these ideas except I think it would probably be ebst if we just played the majors. I used to love gettign ready for all of the tournaments, but I just dont think everyone has the time anymore.

MU Recruiting

For all you Tiger Fans its good to see Pinkel and Co. winning some recruiting wars. In case you haven't heard, they gained a few nice recruits today. DeSmet WR Wes Kemp switched his verbal from Wisconsin to MU last evening. In addition, a former DeSmet Spartan DB Munir Prince is leaving Notre Dame, will sit out the 2008 season and join The Tigers in 2009 with two years of eligibility. And in late breaking news, 4 Star OL Recruit from Iowa, Dan Hoch, has just committed to play at MU this fall. Throw in one Blaine QB this year and another Blaine QB in 09 and things are looking good for years to come for Mizzouuuuuuuuu.

Please....

Please don't post any questionable material on this blog. My "district owned" laptop is not something that I want to lead to termination from my job. Also, I want to be able to view this site from various places and sometimes (thought not intentional) I leave the screen open to my computer when students or other backstabbing coworkers might be able to see what is on it. Thanks
Nate

Stock Market Game

Would anyone be intersted in playing in a fantasy type stock market game. I do one with my class and it is totally addicting (Screw Papa Johns). It is kind of like the one you probably played in high school, but now its online (and instant) and you don't have to mail it to St. Louis to submit your results.

Loving the new blog.....

To find it on my home computer I Googled it, and to my suprise, it only took until the 2nd "O" to find. Hopefully everybody makes it a part of their regular internet surfing routine.

I'd post a picture, but like Nate and Rip, it seems I better wait until March when my child is born!

Kansas Will Go Undefeated Through The Regular Season

Thats what I am predicting.

At this point, they are 14-0, and are virtually done with their non-conference games. They basically only have 3 games to worry about for the rest of the regular season. I am not going to pretend that any of those games involve Missouri as they are nothing to worry about with the talent that Kansas has, and Clarence Gilbert is gone.

The first game that Kansas will be tested in will be the Jan 30th game at Kansas St. The talented young players at K-St have likely had this date circled on their calendar.

The next date to concentrate on for the Beakers is Feb 11th at Texas. Kansas should be favored in this game because although Texas is currently ranked #14, they will probably drop their Jan 30th game at Texas A&M.

The last game that Kansas has to be concerned with during the regular season is their Feb 18th game at Texas A&M. This might be a game where I would pick Kansas to lose, but the Aggies win in Lawrence last year will probably give the Hawks the focus to come out with a win.

Soccer errrrr....Football Players have the best on field celebrations.

Found this on the Internets......quite amusing......not much else to say but thought I would explore the wonderful world of blogging. Quiz for Nate/Blake.....who is in the picture above?

College Football Recruiting

Check out the U.S. Army All-American High School Bowl on NBC today.

Very unusual to see not one, but TWO MU recruits playing in a National All-Star Game.

And check out all of those Notre Dame commits playing for the East. Wow!

http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=880&CID=746936

Final 2007 Fantasy Sports Championship Results

Here are the final standings:

1st - Nate - 41

2nd - Goyer - 40

3rd - Dave - 39

4th - Blake - 36

5th - Sed - 35

6th - Chris - 33

7th - Rip - 33

8th - Gouk - 17

Bowl Pick

1st - Rip - 8pts

2nd - Gouk - 7pts

3rd - Goyer - 6pts

4th - Nate - 5pts

5th - Blake - 4pts

6th - Dave - 3pts

7th - Sed - 2pts

8th - Chris - 1pt

March Madness

1st - Sed - 8pts

2nd - Blake - 7pts

3rd - Rip - 6pts

4th - Dave - 5pts

5th - Gouk - 4pts

6th - Goyer - 3pts

7th - Nate - 2pts

8th - Chris - 1pt

Baseball

1st - Nate - 23pts

2nd - Blake - 20pts

3rd - Sed - 17pts

4th - Dave - 14pts

5th - Goyer - 11pts

6th - Chris - 8pts

7th - Rip - 5pts

8th - Gouk - 3pts

Football

1st - Chris - 23pts

2nd - Goyer - 20pts

3rd - Dave - 17pts

4th - Rip - 14pts

5th - Nate - 11pts

6th - Sed - 8pts

7th - Blake - 5pts

8th - Gouk - 3pts

Nates' Top 10 Coaches in College Football

1. Pete Carroll - I dont think theres a person alive who would argue this one, but I think winning 65 games in 6 seasons says it all.

2. Bob Stoops - 4 straight BCS losses aside, he has returned Oklahoma from the pit of the mid 90's. And really, only 1 of those BCS games meant anything

3. Jim Tressell - Has coached the Buckeyes to two different 19 game winning streaks. Oh, and has won 5 national championships.

4. Urban Meyer - After beating Missouri twice at Bowling Green (those losses don't feel so bad now) Was 10-2 at Utah in his first season, then went 12-0 the following year. Then went to Florida and won a National Championship in his second year.

5. Nick Saban - Won a national championship for LSU, then skipped town for Miami, then skipped town for Alabama, now rumors circulate that he may be headed to West Virginia. However taking LSU to the top of the SEC says enough.

6. Mark Richt - Since taking over in 2001 has won two SEC championships, and 4 divisional championships. He also led Georgia to top 10 finishes four consecutive years in a row from 2001-2005

7. Les Miles - Some would say that he should be ranked higher than Richt, but he took over a program that was much better off. However he has 11-2 in his first season even after being displaced because of Hurrican Katrina. Then finished 11-2 in 2006 and are currently 11-2 this season (a season when he beat 4 coaches who have won national championships).

8. Butch Davis - Brought Miami out of its disarray including several inherited NCAA violations from previous coach Dennis Erickson. During his tenure the Hurricanes were 51-20 and were screwed out of a national championship game. The Hurricanes also won a championship with his players after he left for the NFL

9. Rich Rodriguez - Took over at West Virginia, in 2001 and eventually turned it into a powerhouse posting back to back 11 win seasons, 4 consecutive New Years bowl appearances and 3 Big East championships.

10. Mack Brown - The butt of many a joke about his wealth of Texas and lack of hardware, however has come close to equaling rival Oklahoma in recent years. Won a nation championship in 2005. However he did do an impossible by turning around consecutive 1-10 seasons at North Carolina and eventually having three ten win seasons. At Texas he has compiled a 103-25 record including 7 consecutive seasons with 10 wins.

Let us be Honest

We, as Americans, are fairly good at mending fences. After Nixon, we brought in Carter? After Bush, we brought in Clinton? After Kennedy died, we elected LBJ?

Ok ok, maybe we're not that good at it.

I'm going to break this down. This election is EXACTLY like 1992, without an encumbant...

No matter who the Democrats collectively support, they can win if Ron Paul runs as an independent. After viewing Paul's numbers in Iowa and examining his monetary collections, I think we can safely say if he does choose to run as a Populist or a Green Party member, he will pull enough votes away from the evangels to let the Dems win (Perot - Bush = Clinton).

So, the question is...if the Dems take over and continue to towe the Repub party line, will anyone really notice if they take the White House? Which begs a more important question....why are we putting so much emphasis on this election?

2007-2008 Bowl Update

What a game last night……I think with that KU win over Va Tech the Big 12 can be proud of what it has accomplished this season, even with the Conference champ OU once again underperforming in a BCS game.

My thoughts from last nights game:

• Talib is one hell of a Cornerback, BTW I am not sure I have ever seen a flag thrown for high stepping.
• I don't understand Va Tech's platoon QB situation- it appears to me that when they want to pass they go with Glennon and when they want the possible option of the QB to run they go with Taylor- it looks like KU exposed this weakness early on.
• I also don't understand why Va Tech didn't run the ball more. It seemed like KU's defense had a hard time stopping Ore, yet for some reason Va Tech felt compelled to try and pass to win the game.
• Is it me or did Mangino out coach Beamer in that game?

With three Bowl games left it looks like the top 5 placement is locked the outcome of the International and GMAC Bowls could cause a change between 6th and 7th place:

1st place 61pts - Goyer
2nd place 56pts - Vratny
3rd place 55pts - Rippee
4th place 54pts - Stephens
5th place 52pts - Sedovic
6th place 47pts - N Parrish
7th place 46pts - Little
8th place 40pts - M Parrish

Victory in Iowa?? Victory in Miami!!

Is this what the American voters want as their Presidential Candidates? Mao and Jerry Johnston? Now I see why 50% of America stays home.

The Jayhwaks did it. No one, but a bitter old Jack Harry actually thought that they could win a BCS game prior to this season. But hell, it was just December of 2006 when Kevin Keitzman was calling for Mangino's head to be rolled out of Lawrence after going 6-6, so Jack knew that he had to go against the company line and break the rank and file of Marconi and his band of cronies. But enough about them. How about those Jayhawks. Even the the awkward Fox telecast, a half time featuring 300 chubby chicks in shiny shirts, but more importantly guys who looked like they left their walkers at the edge of the stage. Their trademark shimmy-step backwards reminded me of Tina Turners 1990's farewell tour.

Congrats beakers. Lets all go the MU-KU game next year.

Time for Change

Anyone else tired of hearing about the Iowa Caucuses? Is it me or is the relative importance of Iowa overstated by them having the first contest in the primary season? I heard one analyst say that an Iowa voter in this process is 20 times more important then votes later in the primary process I am guessing because they just happen to be the first ones? I reject the notion that all of a sudden I need to give credence to what someone in Iowa happens to think about Mike Huckabee who by the way I am tired of hearing about or that I now have to take him or view him as a serious contender just because he seems to touch a populist sentiment that resonates with Iowans. I guess I think it is far more important how a candidate performs on Super Tuesday (February 5th, 2008 when upwards of 20 states with over half the delegates hold their primaries) then what might happen in Iowa or New Hampshire.