How I Hate the ACC, Let Me Count The Ways

ACC land of Carolina basketball has never been a winner in my book. But this years Big Ten-ACC challenge ws particularly annoying. When is the Big Ten ever going to pull this off? I am tired of getting slammed by the bloody South.

1. Stupid and dumb (yes they are both) Boston College beat MSU. I blame the Pope. Why does he not love all alike? I wish Neitzel would play better and be a bit more consistent. I can't handle simultaneously rebuilding years in both football and basketball. It is simply asking for too much.
2. Friggin' Chapel Hill. I hate Chapel Hill, and their annoying powder blue almost as much as I hate Duke, Michigan, and USC. Let me tell you, that's a lot of hate! What is a TarHeel anyway? Is it that crap at the bottom of my shoe?
3. Duke beat Indiana and just barely. I bet you they cheated. Duke always cheats. Especially when they get to play at home. And has anyone noticed how Duke automatically gets a totally overrated ranking? Hate it! Hate them!
4. Maryland beat Illinois and ended their longest even home court winning streak. Now, personally, I don't mind seeing Illinois lose every now and again. But I was rather hoping the MSU would be able to end the streak in conference play. Not some uppity ACC team.
5. Clemson *pounded* Minnesota, and now that Clem is gone I don't half mind the Gophers.
6. Georgia Tech beat Penn State. Now I would have guessed that a Lion would beat a Bee hands down any day of the week. Go figure!

If there is any reason I like the ACC its that they beat Michigan. And I *hate* Michigan. Tommy Amaker made a bad, bad decision.

A New Year, A New Coach?

So it looks like Michigan State found a new football coach - Mark Dantonio. Why Dantonio would want to leave a resurgent Cinncinati team to come to East Lansing is beyond me. Especially since MSU has a history of tossing coaches out on their asses.

Why I No Longer Like Grey's

I simply can *not* abide by Grey's any longer. It irritates the crap out of my why??

• I have never seen a more annoyingly, self-absorbed character on TV since Ally McBeal and Tyra Banks.
• The whole Prestina (I made that up Prestina. Prestina = Preston Burke + Christina Yang) storyline. Christina has generally been a bitch to Burke from the very beginning. (1) She lied to Burke about moving in with him when she kept her own apartment. (2) She left him when he got shot and was unable to use his hand. (3) She pushed him into performing surgery too soon. (4) She became the boss of him. Call me old-fashioned, but I like a guy who can stand up for himself. And Christina emasculated Burke. On top of that, she rats him out. Now some who believe in the kinder, gentler Christina might believe her conscience got the best of her. But those of who actually watch the show realize that Christina's conscience is stunted and most of anything/everything she does is driven by self-interest. She is Darwin's survival of the fittest at its finest. I think she turned in Burke because he embarrassed her in the OR. Lame! I guess they are just trying to write Isaiah Washington off the show since he choked McDreamy.
• Izzy. Will the Denny storyline never die? Denny died. Can't we just let the storyline rest in piece. I am not sure Izzy even realizes that she did anything wrong by cutting Denny's LVAD wire. If the hospital is going to fire Burke for operating with a slight tremor, then they should definitely fire Izzy for stealing a heart and trying to send a patient into cardiac arrest.
• What a waste of McSteamy. I was hoping he and Addison would get together, but look likes it is going to be Addex (yes, that would be Addison + Alex). Not sure I am loving this idea. Now I know Justin Chambers was supposed to be a Calvin Klein underwear model or something of that sort. But honestly, he just doesn't do it for me. There is something slightly neanderthal-ish about him.

Now there are plenty of other things about the show I do not like. In fact, the only thing I even moderately like is George. I think I am going to switch back to CSI. Grissom may be annoying, but the show itself tends not to be.

To Be the Best

After today, there seems to be little doubt that Ohio State is the #1 football team in the country. Sure their center could use a little extra work. But I was amazed by how awesome Troy Smith is. I don't care how many points Brady Quinn scores at USC, Smith is hands down the Heisman winner in my books.

The interesting question now becomes who is the best of all the rest? I would argue, as much as it pains me, that Michigan still belongs in the BCS Championship game... why, you ask? Well really it is quite simple...

• I can't help but wonder if Florida ran up the score in their 62-0 win against W. Carolina in an effort to curry favor with the BCS. Despite a less than convincing win against Spurrier's Gamecocks, of all the also rans, Florida may be the most deserving. The Florida St. game will be key.
• Booty and USC fail to impress me. They play all their hard games at home. If that and their pathetic loss to Oregon St. and near loss to Arizona St. don't drive down their BCS score, I don't know what will.
• Arkansas has been on quite a roll. If they can beat LSU, they could potentially make the case for a BCS bid. Their loss to USC was the first game of the season, and they have since knocked off Auburn (then No. 2) and Tennessee. It could be an interesting SEC match-up between Florida and Auburn.
• Notre Dame should be out. Wins over the Armed Forces (e.g., army, navy, air force) are expected and don't really help strength of schedule. Still I would like to see them crush USC.
• Rutgers. Oh poor, poor Rutgers. Well one could question if they really even beat Louisville, or if Louisville beat themselves. They are so out!
• The attack of the Big East continues with West Virgina. They look pretty good, but have only played one ranked team so far (Louisville) and lost. I say they are out.
• Now that Saban ditched them to, I feel a certain kinship with the LSU fan who was betrayed by a coach running toward the elusive pot of gold. However, going to 1-2 against ranked teams, I think LSU's case is far from compelling. Maybe next year?
• How the Big East teams are rolling through the Top Ten is beyond me! Still, Louisville presents an interesting case. Their only loss was to Rutgers and their flukey field goal. Still, I am uncertain that they have the strength of schedule required.
• And for shits and giggles, why not throw in Boise State. Besides Ohio State, they are the only remaining undefeated team in the country. Wow. If they were in the BCS Championship game. I am pretty sure they would get steam rolled. In fact, I would worry that they might get hurt.

So what you ask is the point of all my blabbering? Quite simple. Ohio State and University of Michigan need another face off. Fans will be happy. Media outlets will be happy as rating would likely be fabulous. And people would keep faith with the BCS, which in the past has created some seriously shitty match-ups.

As a side note, I loved the whole Fear Factor, name your favorite mascot campaign. My only pet peeve with the commercials is that they didn't include any Big Ten mascots. The FurFactor commercials can be found on the Capital One Bowl page.

In case you were wondering about the Michigan State game... quite frankly it is just too painful for me to talk about. What is funny is that both Michigan St. and Penn St. are at the moment being coached my lame ducks - John L. because he was fired and Joe Pa because he is old, fell and couldn't get up.

At least I can capture a small slice of football happiness with the knowledge that Princeton secured a piece of the Ivy League title (although technically they should have it outright since they beat Yale) and beat Harvard and Yale in the same year for the first time in over 10yrs. Ah. Happiness.

The Pot Calling the Kettle Black?

I generally disagree with much of what David Brooks has to say. But given his views and the paper he writes for, I am quite confident that he is used to all the "haters". The title of his Op-ed today intriguing, The Heyday of Snobbery. So despite my better judgement I decided to read it.

Brooks complains that the movie 'Borat' "ridicules Pentecostals, gun owners, car dealers, hicks, humorless feminists, the Southern gentry, Southern frat boys, and rodeo cowboys. A safer list it is impossible to imagine. " This may be true, but Brooks sense of injustice rings hollow. Brooks criticizes John Stewart and Bill Maher for scornful tone. His trifecta against snobbery culminates with the snobbery of Blue Staters who think people who voted for Bush are either racist or anti-Semitic idiots. (Note to D. Brooks: I doubt many people think GWB is anti-Semitic. I always thought he was rather nice to the Jews... to the Muslims, not so much. I would classify Bush as pro-Semitic if such a term exists.)

The problem with Brooks' essay is he, like Borat, goes with the "safe conservative list". By denouncing liberals, the Daily Show, and pot-heads (e.g., Maher), he hits the "usual suspects". Since when has Brooks cared about humorless feminists? If he did, he should have added Ann Coulter to the list. Is she not a snob for her comments about liberal feminists being ugly? Or how about Bill O'Reilly who thinks that secular progressives (e.g., most normal people)? Apparently, Brooks prescribes to the school of “fair and balanced” reporting ala FOX news.

The National Geographic

I love the National Geographic. When I was a kid, my parents got me National Geographic kids. tucked away, somewhere underneath my bed are the scrapbooks I made by clipping photos from National Geographic articles. And if I am really honest with myself, what I would love to do some day is become a National Geographic photographer.

Anyway, the National Geographic website is pretty awesome. And the other day I discovered these webcams they have. (You need Real Player to watch).

• The Polar Bear Cam - It's great. The Polar Bears seem to hang out right in front of it. One of them sleeps a lot, and the others seem to fight/play. I am not sure which actually. But seeing as how I have no plans to go to Alaska or the Arctic Circle anytime soon, this lets me pretend.
• The Africa Cam - This one is less exciting for me since I spent some time in Africa already. The animals are your standard safari animals. But it is still pretty cool.
• The Kakadu Cam - Good for checking out crocodiles. This Cam makes me feel guilty for wanting a crocodile purse...

Saturday Commentary: football, hypocrisy, and politics

College Football
What weekend is complete without a little football? Well it looks like Ohio St. and UMich will stay on top. In fact, the divide between the best and the rest only seems to be growing. And as much as it pains me to see UMich as one of the best, I am proud of the Big Ten. If the BCS title game is between anyone other than UMich or OSU at this point, it will be an utter travesty!

Other potential contenders for a BCS title just do not stack up... here's why.

• N0. 3 Louisville: If only they hadn't lost to Rutgers. But even then, they did not deserve the chance. With the mess they made at the end of the game, and my generally low opinion of the Big East, Louisville just isn't a National Champion.
• No. 4 Texas: Texas could come back and beat Kansas state, but it'll be tough. And the fact that they are so far down, does not make them look like an attractive National Champion.
• No. 5 Auburn: Another one of those, if only situations, except this time I actually feel rather bad for Auburn. But their loss to Georgia was nowhere near close in my opinion.
• No. 6 Florida: With Auburn and Louisville's losses, Florida is likely to move up to either No. 3 or No. 4. But Florida already has one loss to Auburn, and barely got by South Carolina. If Auburn isn't good enough to play in the big game, why is Florida?
• No. 7 USC: It'll be interesting to watch what happens in their game against Oregon. But as before, I maintain that USC's schedule is far too easy, and they already lost to Arizona St. At least have the decency to lose to a ranked team.
• No. 8 Cal: While I am inclined to think Arizona just got lucky, Cal has had one too many losses. Multiple losses in the PAC-10 are certainly not acceptable.
• No. 9 Notre Dame: The Irish have definitely rebounded since the ass-whooping they got at the hands of UMich. But it's easy to stay unbeaten when you play the cellar-dwellers of all the major conferences. Besides which, I have serious questions about the quality of the ND defense. They beat Air Force, but allowed them to get 400yds of offense. Notre Dame's real test is coming up at USC.

So suppose, Ohio St. and Michigan meet next week and then again in the National Championship game. It is likely that they would split the games... and then who would be the Champ? It's one of those things that makes you go hmmmm...

Fat Suits and Fake Empathy
Tyra Banks tried this awhile back, and it annoyed me then too. (Check it out.) But I randomly had ET on , and they had Vanessa Minello (Nick Lachey's new girl) in a fat suit, dressed ala Ugly Betty. And poor Ugly Vanessa, she was crying and sad because people were not talking to her. The punch line was, "you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover". Are you for real ET? You are in the business of judging people for the way they look. And would Pretty Vanessa even consider dating a guy with questionable fashion sense who was carrying an extra hundred pounds. Talk about hypocritical!

Germany and the Donald
Poor Donald Rumsfeld. First, he is ignominiously fired by Bush, before Virginia is even conceded. Then he is forced to plaster a fake sort of Rumsfeldian smile on his face as Bush announces Gates as the new Secretary of Defense. Now he is facing potential charges in Germany for war crimes associated with torture at Abu Ghraib.

Now I am not a fan of Rumsfeld, but war crimes do seem to be a bit unnecessary, and more than anything a way for some German politicians to gain a couple points in the polls. And although Rumsfeld may have a head of stone, and be prone to idiocies including statements like "it [the war] is complex for people to comprehend" (see my older entry for more Rumsfeldisms), he is not the real problem. The Cheney-Rove duo is the real problem within this administration and this country, and sadly it looks like they are not going anywhere for the next two years.

Election Night

So it's election night, and there is nothing on TV except political pundits. But I did stumble across this interesting show, "The Papdits". It's basically a rather comed-ish sketch about a bunch of FOB Kashmiri's coming to America. I recommend checking it out.

Well on to topics of more substance... the election!

• Rick Santorum is gone. I don't care what David Brooks says, I say 'good riddance'! Republicans are generally in my belief a bit nutters, but Santorum with his, I don't believe in evolution, I believe in the Lord of the Rings bullshit bullshit, was certifiable.
• Poor Lincoln Chafee is gone. I do feel rather bad for him. He seemed like a decent guy, and I am inclined to think he actually thought about his votes. His voting record certainly suggests it. Collateral damage I suppose... sucks that he's the one who got bashed. But in some ways the Bush administration can't be crying much about this once since Chafee never really towed the party line effectively.
• George Macaca Allen is apparently still going to be around. Oh the frustration. Usually the racists in office (the exception being Strom Thurmond) have either apologized or are in the closet about it. Allen apparently likes to embrace all with his bigotedness.
• Michigan appears to be safe... for now! and the women came out strong. Granholm and Stabenow are both being called as winners. The big disappointment, in my mind, is that Mike Rogers may actually win. The guy is just a big waste of space in Washington, and that says a lot considering the extent of wasted space in that city.

So the talking heads on MSNBC, or maybe its just Joe Scarborough, seem to think the Democrats that are winning are "new", conservative, pseudo-Republican Democrats. But I am not sure that is really the case... sure Casey (PA), Tester (MT), and Webb (VA) are all on the conservative side. Hell Webb used to be Regan's Secretary of Navy (or something like that). But there are plenty of liberal Democrats campaigning out there, for instance Ned Lamont (though I guess he lost to Lieberman) and Sherrod Brown (who beat DeWine).

Incidentally, I know nothing about Tester, except that he has a really bad crew-cut, but I really hope he beats Conrad Burns. I blogged about Burns before. I can't stand the guy. He's barely educated and it comes out in spades with regards to his comments on fire fighters, abortion, etc. etc.

I am more than a little concerned about Nancy Pelosi becoming Speaker of the House. The Republicans call her 'the liberal from San Francisco'. While that may be a bit harsh, I do think there is some truth to it. She reminds me a bit of Howard Dean. She can appeal to the Democratic base in large urban areas, but other than that, she is not centrist enough. Oh, and I think she might be petty, in that way only women tend to excel at. Pelosi apparently has some tiff with Jane Harmon, the ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee. Therefore, an experienced woman will no longer have a ranking position on one of the most important committees in the House. I have a problem with that!

While this Election has already made me happy, there is a big elephant in the room (no pun intended) - what are the Democrats going to do about Iraq? Everyone seems to have a different idea. From time tables, to unilateral pull-out (e.g., cut-and-run), to stay the course (ala Bush-Lieberman)... will they ever agree? I am not sure... and can Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi make them? I think not. While I am happy the Democrats won, if they can't get their shit together, there won't be a Democrat in the white house in 2008.

A Night of Revelations

I thought this was actually one of the better episodes of Desperate Housewives in awhile.

• Romancing the Stone. I liked the shout out to the old Michael Douglas - Kathleen Turner movie. The Gabby-Carlos pairing has improved significantly since they decided to give Carlos a backbone. His line about Gabby screaming dollar amounts when she climaxes was pretty funny. Let's see what happens next week. It appears the on-again, off-again couple are back on-again. The writers need to give these two something else to do before they turn into the Ross and Rachel of Desperate Housewives -- oh, wait. They already have...
• The Chinless Wonder. There is something about Julie that has been bothering me for awhile, and I finally figured it out. She has no chin. The doctors from Grey's need to get her some chin implants - Stat! Seriously, looking at her is almost painful because now I know what it is about her that is bothering me. And the sad thing is, she isn't unattractive. Still it looks like Julie has hit pay dirt because if the previews are to be believed she is going to be hooking up with Edie's nephew. And while Austin may not be as hot as John the Gardner, he is definitely a notch up from Zach the psycho stalker/murderer or any of the other Wisteria teenagers (e.g., Andrew the gay sociopath). Besides which, I kind of like the way they snark at each other.
• How the mighty have fallen. Bree has been ever more annoying since she became Mrs. Orson Hodge. I don't even understand how their whirlwind romance occurred, and I am a little disappointed that Andrew hasn't tried to bust it up. But perhaps he is waiting for the union to go up in flames, as I am sure it will. Still Bree is largely responsible for what happened. Carolyn Bixby is as Stepford-ish as Bree. Bree should have known learning of her husband's affair would send Carolyn over the deep end. And then to turn a grocery store hostage situation into a gourmet, TV-viewing event, is beyond tacky. The Bree I know and love from Season One never would have done that...
• The Body. How is it that Edie is always in the smallest outfits possible? She had some fabulous lines in today's show though... (1) when she tells Austin that she's disappointed he didn't steal better whisky, (2) when she tells Mr. Bixby to "take one for the team"... I wonder what she is going to say when she finds out that her nephew is hooking up with the spawn of her arch-nemesis.
• The Death. There was no one else to kill besides Nora, yet some how her death seemed a bit too pat. It tied up the Tom-Lynette storyline a bit to cleanly. Still it was great that she managed to call Lynette a "stupid bitch" before she died...

Did I miss any other important moments in the show? Let me know!

Football Round-up

There's something curious going on in the Big Ten. Sure there were the expected winners in Michigan and Ohio State, but they seemed weak. And there were unexpected losers.

No. 2 Michigan 34, Ball St. 26
Ball St 26? Yes, you did see that correctly. Ball St. had all of 46 rushing yards, yet still managed to put points on the board at the Big House. Looks like the Michigan pass defense is weak... I hope OSU was watching...

No. 1 Ohio State 17, Illinois 10
Is Illinois back? Have the ghosts of Florida finally left Ron Zook? Illinois could become a contender next year - compiled more total yardage than the Ohio State offense, held Ohio State scoreless in the second half. It looks like their bottom dweller days could be over. Woe to the Michigan State fan, looks like it is our turn to spend some quality time at the bottom.

The UMich-OSU game should be great. I do not care what BCS or stupid (and they are stupid) sports commentators say. The real Championship game is between OSU and UMich. There isn't really another team out there that has shown it can compare. Certainly not a team in the Pac-10. So all this talk of a BCS Championship game is utter nonsense, unless they have a UMich-OSU rematch.

No. 17 Wisconsin 13, Penn State 3
A low scoring game was not unexpected, but seeing the Wisconsin defense hold Penn State to under 50 rushing yards was. Not to mention all the bitching and moaning Joe Paw did, made him hurt his knee. The Paterno situation is sad. He really should just retire and preserve his legacy. Right now he is only damaging the way history, especially Penn State history, will remember him.

Northwestern 21, Iowa 7
How the mighty have fallen! Iowa was actually ranked at one point this season. And now they lose to Northwestern? Even Michigan State managed to beat Northwestern. Iowa still has a chance for a bowl game, but their season has effectively been a bust.

Purdue 17, Michigan State 15
Some how this score looked funny to me? 15 is not a number you see that often in football games. It does suggest some botched extra point kicks. Well, the MSU woes will now continue. They get Minnesota next which just routed Indiana. They have a lame duck coach, as John L had been sacked. Personally, I think this could be a mistake. Who is going to want to come into the toxic waste dump that is MSU football? And poor Drew Stanton... the fact that he rushed for 80+ yards should help him in the draft. Let's wait and see.

Minnesota 63, Indiana 26
Yes, the score is crazy! Equally crazy is that both offenses put up over 500 yards. Where's the Big D? Indiana is really going to have to step it up before they get Michigan next week. The Michigan D is certainly not going to let them put up 500 yards. Minnesota has it easier, as they get my sad and sorry Michigan State squad.

High School Football (aka. Pac-10 Round-up)
Well, didn't those USC Trojans bounce back from their loss to Oregon State with a stunning victory over Stanford. So they beat Stanford 42-0. Honestly, is that surprising? Stanford hasn't won a game this year. In fact, if USC hadn't put up as many points as they did, I would have been concerned.
Cal did have a somewhat convincing win over UCLA, 38-24. But unless you believe in the strength of the PAC-10 conference, which I certainly do not, their overall record is far less compelling.
In case it isn't clear, I have no use for the PAC-10. Their players generally suck in the NFL (e.g., Harrington, Leaf), their coaches can't seem to make it outside of the PAC-10 (e.g., Willingham), and they are a conference of the weak! with a couple dominant teams.

Other Games of Note...
No. 5 Louisville 44, No. 3 West Virginia 34. Louisville has Rutgers next in a game that looks increasingly important. Who would have ever guessed that Rutgers had the chance to be a spoiler. I wish I had the chance to watch the game. The teams seem to have very different styles of play (Louisville passing, WV rushing). This was probably the best game until the showdown in two weeks between UMich-OSU.

Crazy Clown Lady

Remember Katherine Harris from the 2000 election that wasn't. She was the one with the orange, cake-like make-up who allowed Jeb Bush to hand the election to his brother. And now the crazy, orange heiress (I guess that explains her fascination with orange make-up) has decided to run for a Florida Senate seat. It really is an unfortunate decision on her part, and I feel rather sorry for her. Here's why

• Her own party has withdrawn support for her - Republicans are stupid, but apparently not stupid enough to support her
• She is polling at 29%... that makes this like the least competitive race in America.
• None of the 22 daily newspapers in Florida support her.
• Her former campaign manager says working for her is like being in "insanity camp".
• She makes no sense. Generally, Republicans make no sense. What was Rick Santorum's LOTR comment all about anyway? But Katherine Harris makes even less sense. Her solution to solving the Social Security insolvency problem is to end the Social Security tax - huh?
• Not only is her make-up still bad, but her plastic surgeon is apparently smoking crack because her face ain't pretty!

Incidentally, check out http://www.whitehouse.org/ it is definitely not like http://www.whitehouse.gov/.

Why Does Everyone Love John McCain?

Why does everyone love John McCain? I just don't understand it. Anytime the 2008 election comes up, people make the same comments (that I too am guilty of):

• Hillary Clinton is going to win the Democratic primary.
• Hillary Clinton cannot win the South.
• Barack Obama will win the Democratic primary.
• Barack Obama will be the Vice Presidential candidate (the first African American Vice Presidential candidate).
• John McCain will win the Republican primary and the election.

People seem to have this bizarre belief that McCain is a maverick, that he is not really that conservative, that he'll pick a Democratic running mate, etc. Personally, I think, Stephen Colbert got it right when he said, and I paraphrase, John McCain is such a maverick, he eats his salad with a desert fork.

Here are some, in my opinion, little known facts about John McCain.

• Does not believe in a woman's right to choose and believes Roe vs. Wade should be overturned.
• Voted NO on investigating contracts awarded in Iraq and Afghanistan (because clearly Haliburton deserved all the money for no results).
• Graduated 5th from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy which is apparently a McCain tradition of sorts (makes you wonder if he is smarter than G.W. Bush or just has better speech writers)
• Voted NO on raising the minimum wage from $6.25 to $7.25 (easy decision when your wife's heir to an Anheuser-Busch distribution dynasty and you haven't worked a day in your life)
• Voted NO on background checks at gun shows (because a criminal would never try to buy a gun at a gun show. who are you kidding??)
• Voted NO on adding sexual orientation to the list of hate crimes and does not believe in gay marriages
• Has limited interest in alternative energy options like ethanol, which are "not worth it" (tell that to the Brazilians who run the majority of their cars on that stuff and are hence less dependent on foreign oil).
• Caved on his anti-torture beliefs to reach a compromise with the president that allowed for reinterpretation of the Geneva Conventions (as a former POW himself, I am sure this must have pained McCain because now our enemies can cite our behavior to rationalize their own, but of all those in Congress McCain had the most leverage to push the administration to obey international rules/norms that have been in place for a half century).

Don't get me wrong for all the McCain "cons" I have listed, I think he is generally a decent person. He has spoken out in favor of campaign finance reform and against pork barrel spending. He together with a few others (e.g. Arlen Specter) have helped check the growing extremism of the Republican party. These are things I can respect. However, unlike most, they do not make me see him as a political savior. McCain has bent over backwards a few too many times to gain entry to the Republican fold. It is hard for me to see him as a straight-shooter now. That being said, I am not convinced that I won't vote for McCain in 2008, nor am I convinced that I will vote for him. He'll have to re-earn my vote!

Weekend Recap

I spent the weekend in Vermont. The middle of nowhere Vermont, but I still managed to keep up with all the important stuff!

College Football
* Michigan State lost again! and this time to Indi-frickin'-ana. I don't know what to say anymore, other than that this sucks big time.
* And just to spite me, the football gods made Princeton lose this weekend to Cornell which had yet to win an Ivy League game this year. Still there is hope. Yale (currently on top) still has to play both Princeton and Harvard.
* Oh happy days. USC finally lost. This day has been a long time coming, and they are lucky it didn't happen earlier this month. But I do take some perverse pleasure in the fact that their loss came to an essentially no name Oregon State. There is justice!

Desperate Housewives
* Oooh that Orson Hodge is a bad apple, and he just keeps getting badder. I liked him a lot better when he was Charlotte's husband on SatC, even though he was impotent.
* This must have been the week of the weak men getting back bones, because finally Carlos got Gabby good. She better watch out because it looks like her soon to be ex- is on the war path.

Nostalgia
* Remember the 'yep, yep' aliens from Sesame Street? They were awesome. Check them out on You Tube.

Things That Make You Go...

Ugh!

• The Tigers for mucking it up yet again to go 1-3 in the World Series. In fact they were so bad that they were accused of playing like the "Michigan State football team". The next game is in Detroit, hopefully they will be able to pull something off.


• Republicans because they exist. In all honesty, it's really hard for me to think of a Republican I actually like amidst all this election year nonsense. Rarely are their ever any positive ads on TV, but I have found a few particularly annoying: Rick Santorum's new ads portraying Bob Casey as an Axis of Evil lover (because clearly all Dems are), Kerry Healey's ad against Devon Patrick is eerily similar to the Willie Horton ad the elder Bush used against Dukakis, the RNC ads against Harold Ford that are clearly in poor taste if not an attempt at race baiting (so much for the Republican outreach, apparently the Southern strategy is alive and well)


• Bill O'Reilly on Oprah! How can the Queen of Talk even consider giving him such a platform. I hope the audience gives it to him good!

Huh?

• Rick Santorum's Lord of the Rings analogy. I am confused. Bush and Cheney are Frodo and Samwise? which is which? Cheney probably bears more of a physical resemblance to Samwise. I wonder if Santorum has heard any of the discussion about Frodo and Sam's "relationship". It could offend his tender sensibilities. Also which character is he? and Ork? Check out Colbert's thoughts on it.

"As the hobbits are going up Mount Doom, the Eye of Mordor is being drawn somewhere else. It's being drawn to Iraq and it's not being drawn to the U.S. You know what? I want to keep it on Iraq. I don't want the Eye to come back here to the United States."

• The NFL in Los Angeles. The NFL wants a team to move to L.A. in order to keep the number of teams even at 24. Here are the critical questions in my opinions. Which team is going to move? What will their name be? What will their colors be? And what's the price tag? cuz I wanna buy. In all seriousness though, L.A. already has two basketball teams, an ice hockey team, and two baseball teams. They don't need anymore!

Yeah!

• Barney Frank for saying that when a party is in power for too long it tends to become corrupt regardless of whether they are Republican or Democrat.


• 'Ugly Betty' for being funny! My new favorite show
  

Never Again...

At the end of World War II, the "world" (e.g., US, France, GBR, Russia) promised mass genocide would never happen again. Yet now, some 60-odd years later, it is. It is happening again in Africa. Nicholas Kristof has been writing about Darfur in his NYTimes Op-Ed column for months, if not years. The articles make me sad. They make me feel guilty. And perhaps for that reason, I have since avoided reading them. I too am now culpable in whatever small way for heinous events occurring halfway around the world.

Until today, I thought at worst (and it is pretty bad), the US could be accused of turning a blind eye. Other countries like China and Russia are far more culpable as they have leveraged their positions in the UN Security Council to block US-led sanctions against the Sudanese dictatorship. Both China and Russia also have vested interests in Sudan. China's lucrative oil contracts send huge amounts of hard currency to the Sudanese government, which they use to purchase Russian arms and pay the Janjaweed militias. It is a sad testament to our times that the United Nations which was created in part to prevent such crises has ignored the events unfolding in Darfur. The new Secretary General refuses to even use the word genocide in relation to Darfur. Not only that, but there is no one willing to take a principled and moral stand on the issue.

Still, it would be dishonest of me to claim to having given this issue much thought as of late. However, tonight, '60 Minutes' aired a segment on the situation in Darfur. While the human suffering was tragic, it was the connection between the 'War on Terror' and genocide that was the most troubling.

The Sudanese government sheltered Osama Bin Laden for a number of years and as a result has a veritable trove of information on Al Qaeda. So while President Bush has been denouncing Sudan publicly at home and at the UN, where he bandies about the word 'genocide', he has been cozying up to the Sudanese government in secret to gain tidbits of information on Osama and Al Qaeda. Although I disagree with Bush on many things, Darfur was not one of them. I respected him for taking up their cause (albeit late) and taking the moral high ground. But now even that is not true. It is all just posturing. Bush's accusations and proclamations do not scare the Sudanese government, and they already have Russia and China in their pocket. They know the US military is spread too thin between Afghanistan and Iraq. Not to mention the last time the US sent troops into Africa (Somalia), it was a complete and utter disaster that still to this day haunts Clinton. I doubt any American president wants to send troops to Africa.

All in all their seems to be little hope for the people of Darfur. Even if allies in Chad and Eritrea (interesting since it is a Christian country) come to their aid, it will serve no purpose other than to inflame this national crisis into a regional one much like what is happening in Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, etc. But perhaps looking back on this in a few years when the damage has been done, we will tell ourselves, "never again".

Uninspiring Football Weekend

I have got to say this week's football just didn't do it for me. Part of the problem is none of the "good" games are televised out here. At best we get a few ACC games or an occasional SEC game, and I am really not a particular fan of either Bama or Tennessee. USC did not even play this weekend, so I am having a hard time getting my angry football fan spirit up. Hopefully, next week's games will be better!

Sitting Pretty in the Ivy

I never got the chance to see Princeton beat Harvard at home, but apparently this year they did. Not only did Princeton beat Harvard, but Princeton secured a spot at the top of the Ivy League (which despite what some might suggest is better than even Texas high school football). Sadly, they have to share their spot with Yale, but still... Here's to hoping this will be a bonfire year!!

The Biggest Comeback!

Is this an omen for things to come? I must confess that after seeing the first half score, I gave up in disgust and decided to go to a coffee shop to study. Besides which the game wasn't even televised here, so I had no idea what was going on. At least Michigan State should make Sports Center tonight, it'll be interesting to see how they spin this though as a triumph or a defeat (after all it is only Northwestern that they beat, though technically Northwestern has won 3 Big Ten titles since State won their last). Still all and all, I am somewhat happy. At least we are no longer Big Ten bottom dwellers, we are now ranked on par with such Big Ten "powerhouses" as Illinois. Woo hoo!

My full football recap to be posted after the Michigan-Iowa game...

Don't Vote for Dick the Dick

You might think I am talking about Dick Cheney, but no, there is another elephantine Dick - Dick DeVos who is running for the Governor of Michigan. Incidentally, there are a lot of Dicks, and I mean it literally, in Republican politics? I wonder why...

I figured hating Dick for his name alone is not enough. So I scouted around for evidence to prove that he is in fact a dick.

• Dick will quit again. Dick DeVos has a history of "cut and run". In 1990, he was elected to the Michigan State Board of Education. He resigned 2 years into his 8 year term. In 1996, he was appointed to the Grand Valley State University Board and again resigned before completing his term. Will he resign again once elected governor?
• Dick has questionable bedfellows and no, I do not mean his wife, although she is a crazy (see below). Dick and Betsy have personally donated money to the political campaigns of both George W and Tom DeLay, not to mention the $100,000+ they collected for the Bush-Cheney ticket to cement their standing as "Pioneers". This does not even come close to accounting for all their "charitable" giving which includes organizations like Focus on Family, which despite having great names are nothing but Christian Conservative PACs.
• Dick cannot win. When Dick DeVos was CEO of the Orlando Magic (His daddy bought the team. Feel any George W deja vu?) from 1991-1993, the Magic went 21-61 and 41-41. If elected governor will he bring his oh so stellar performance to Lansing?
• Dick doesn't believe in science. Dick DeVos has stated that he believes intelligent design should be taught in high school classes as a legitimate alternative to the Darwin's theory of evolution. Right, teaching intelligent design is a great way to diversify Michigan's economy and bring in more high-tech and bio-tech companies. (DeVos' stance is not entirely unexpected given that he has a degree from the seemingly sketchy "Northwood University" which has campuses in Florida, Texas, and Michigan, huh?)
• Dick is a crazy conservative when it comes to social issues. He does not believe in stem cell research. (Those fetuses were going to be thrown away if they weren't used by scientists.) He does not believe in abortion even in the case of rape or incest. (It really gets me when guys get to legislate what women do their bodies. Why don't mail politicans make sure rapists get their penises cut-off?) Through his foundations, Dick DeVos helped anti-gay groups lead a boycott of Ford Motor Company because of their support for gay rights. So (a) I just think that is wrong and (b) Ford is one of the biggest employers in Michigan and you are boycotting them while simultaneously complaining about lost jobs in Michigan - Hello! get a brain brainiac.
• Dick has married the MidWest version of Marie Antoinette. Just like French Queen's 'let them eat cake' lives down in infamy, Betsy DeVos has maintained that Michigan's economic woes are due to the fact that Michigan workers are overpaid. I thought governors were supposed to increase the number of jobs for workers and their real wages... apparently not...
• Dick is a job uncreator. Through his restructuring of Amway/Alticor, Dick DeVos shed nearly 1,000 Michigan jobs (that he subsequently moved to Asia) and reduced benefits by millions. From the perspective of a CEO, this was likely the right thing to do. However, as Governor of Michigan how will he be able to attract net new jobs to the state given his own track record?

Arrested!?!

I thought all the jokes people were making about the Michigan State football team were just that - jokes! But apparently it is true. The Michigan State program has turned into those of schools I hate like Miami and Nebraska, the only difference is State doesn't have the record that typically goes will such jailhouse programs. I quick look at the Lansing State Journal shows that at least 3 current and former Spartan football players are facing possible charges... Talk about ridiculous. I do not think John L. deserves all the blame for this, but is Michigan State really so desperate for recruits that we have to recruit violent delinquents?

On a side note, why on earth does anyone think Mariucci should become the new head coach (well other than the fact that he and Izzo are buddies)? Mariucci's 15-28 record at the Lions, where he had more stars than the Spartans do, is currently worse than John L's record at Michigan State which is 21-22 (through 2005). I am not suggesting that keeping John L is the answer, but given the speed with which Michigan State churns through coaches, it is hard to imagine anyone taking on the task of trying to rebuild a program that has been in the process of rebuilding for almost 20yrs!!