Tuesday, November 30, 2004

Move Over Michelle

Here comes Paula Creamer.

Low Bandwidth

Every now and then, I'll post a quick thought. Here's the first.

Rotisserie chicken was for dinner tonight. I have never been disappointed by rotisserie chicken, nor do I know anyone who has been.

Just Another Day in Detroit

OK, I lived there for about five years. Not in the city, but within the TV and newspaper market, so I could see the news and read the papers. This is not unusual.

People actually try to defend the place. If the energy spent defending it was geared toward fixing it, the place could just turn around and become a good city again. Instead, you've got a bunch of finger pointing and fruitless mudslinging. Funny, in lots of ways. Sad in so many others.

Bush Goes North

Nice of him to venture out every once in a while. Give me a break. He's spent hundreds of days at his stupid ranch. Dozens of days schmoozing with Tony Blair and the G7/G8. Has it been that difficult to visit a nation that's right next door, and a nation with whom you share thousands of miles of border????

Oh, and while I'm here, thanks for what you did 3.5 years ago that one Tuesday morning. It's appreciated. Really. We might even take your beef again soon.

Monday, November 29, 2004

How to Dismantle an NHL Season

John Buccigross goes into explicit detail comparing the new U2 album with the current NHL season or current NHL lockout, whichever you prefer.

You Too Can Get Into the Baseball Hall of Fame

Well, anyone can get in with the price of admission. I'll be going soon, myself. But it's not all that much harder to get on the ballot for nomination.

Otis Nixon?
Jeff Montgomery??
Jack McDowell???

Worse yet, these people will get some votes saying they should be in the Hall of Fame. Think about that. You can win 127 MLB games like McDowell and get on the ballot. You can get 1379 lifetime hits and have a career OBP of .343 and get on the ballot like Nixon. What a sham.

Now, who on the ballot should get in?
Bert Blyleven. 287 wins. 3700+ Ks. Shameful that he's not in already.
Rich Gossage. Longevity. Dominance. One of the first dominant closers...he did it longer, although not always better than the rest.
Dale Murphy. A superstar anywhere other than Atlanta, which was a dreadful team at the time.
Jim Rice. Supreme slugging numbers.
Lee Smith. See Gossage, Rich.

More Christmas Music Problems

To the previous post, it's shows like this that need to be stopped. Banning Nick & Jess at the sametime is worthwhile too.

Sunday, November 28, 2004

No More Christmas Songs

I hereby issue a moratorium banning the further publication of remade Christmas Songs. Popped on Music Choice on Friday while the tree was going up and strolled on over to "Sounds of the Seasons." When I want the "Sounds" of Christmas, I want Bing Crosby, I want "Let it Snow", and I want "Jingle Bells". I do NOT want Jessica Simpson, Spyro Gyra, or anything that is not already a classic.

No more recordings.
No songs recorded after 1980 can be played with two exceptions: "Do They Know It's Christmas" and Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." That's it. That's the list.

Wednesday, November 24, 2004

Don't Stop There...

...cover up her hideous face too.

In all seriousness, what is the attraction with this woman?

Bush Pardons Wrong Turkey

But who's going to pardon Bush when the time comes?

Pope Gets Lambskin

The Pope received an honorary degree from a university in Poland. Insert your own Polish joke here, I'm not touching it. Meanwhile, I'm hoping against all hope that he really means there's "dialogue" between science and faith. The church is out of touch with the world - witness the 1992 pardoning of Galileo. That is classic comedy.

Cup Throwing Jackass seeking 0:15

At a time where the scrutiny of the nation is right upon him (and Artest), Cup Throwing Jackass is trying to tap into his 15 minutes. The guy really needs to crawl back under the rock he came out from under (tm Curtis Strange.) Here's the background of this tool.

And Skip Bayless has an interesting viewpoint on the whole mess. Maybe it wasn't really that bad.

No way Artest belongs on the back side of the scorer's table. That's the single biggest mistake in the whole thing. But he didn't go into the crowd swinging wildly. He got punched first, by Cup Throwing Jackass, of course. And I support Artest leveling the fat bastard in the jersey 100% because that Rhodes Scholar came on the court, right up to Artest, with his fist cocked.

Stephen Jackson went to defend his teammate. He had to. That's not saying he's an angel here, but he's not 100% in the wrong for sure.

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Motor City Throwdown: Day 5

This won't go away soon. The images are too compelling, and ESPN had about two dozen cameras in The Palace that night (or so it seems).

The alleged cup full o' beer perpetrator, some slapdick named John Green, showed up on Larry King tonight accompanied by his lawyer, Doogie Howser. This was bad for several reasons:
1) It bumped Bill Maher back 10 minutes
2) These guys did NOTHING to help Green's defense. Green came off as a cocky arrogant prick who thought that he...um, whoever threw that cup...wasn't in the wrong. He spewed forth canned lines such as (paraphrasing) "You can't punish everyone who threw things, etc." Doogie didn't do him any favors, saying that, as a citizen, he believes cup throwing is wrong, but as a lawyer, he can't say that. Kids, you too can be a public defender.

Remember, Artest had no business going into the crowd over a plastic cup. That doesn't excuse Green from ALLEGEDLY throwing it either.

Tony Kornheiser gets it right. Jason Whitlock doesn't. Surprise!!

Mr. Whitlock, just because a black person is involved in a controversial issue doesn't necessarily mean that race is involved.

No Wardrobe Malfunctions Here

Please.

Monday, November 22, 2004

Fantasy Update

For those of you who care:
Fantasy Team "A" is losing one of those blah games. Nobody on either side has done anything great ... I'm pinning my hopes on Derrick Blaylock. Not a comforting place to be.

Fantasy Team "B" is getting slapped around. I traded away Brian Westbrook (22 points this week) for Jimmy Smith (2 points). After a 6-0 start, I continue to manage this team into the ground. 6-5 and sinking fast.

Fantasy Team "C" continues it's march toward a high 2005 draft pick. Keeper: Clinton Portis. Second keeper: Jamal Lewis. First pick: Travis Henry. Speaks volumes about that league this year.

Suspensions

As one of the 269 million Americans who don't give a rat's ass about the NBA, I was somewhat pleased by the brawl Friday night, if for no other reason than it gives the league another black eye. But after watching it a few times, it was downright scary. How does anyone know (yet) whether or not Artest went after the right guy? How can that many people justify throwing cups, bottles, popcorn, clothing, and chairs in that situation? And how in the bloody hell can fans just end up on the court, and stroll right up to Artest with a fist cocked and ready to throw?

I can't fault Artest one bit for drilling that fat chump. But there's no excuse for going into the crowd. So my hat is off to David Stern. He stood up strong on this one and he needed to.

What caused all this? Respect. No, not a lack of it. A new definition of it. Mitch Albom explains.