The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named its nominees. There are nine acts and five get in.

R.E.M.-Should be in.

Chic-I like Nile Rodgers, but that would be no.

Joe Tex-Uh, that would be negatory.

The Stooges-Yes. Yes. Yes. Iggy goes shirtless. Timeless influences.

Patti Smith-A magnificent talent. A no-brainer.

Van Halen-Probably because of Eddie's guitar playing and I always loved their backup singing.

Grandmaster Flash-Eventually rap or hip-hop will be represented. Probably not this year.

The Ronettes-Phil Spector's production probably trumps them as a group.

Dave Clark Five-I think they are in.

Meal of Links

Here is a talk with XTC's Andy Partridge. This guy is one of my all-time faves. I recall when they toured here, they played the old Colony Theatre. I understood it to be the loudest band anyone had ever heard and probably caused hearing loss among many.

Chris Jensen's final PD column. I'll miss him.

The Cleveland Orchestra looks to play elsewhere. I've oft wondered if they could move like the Browns. I mean, could they?

Even the kids of Cleveland have gone crazy for the Steve Irwin Halloween outfit. Well, we are the 7th Most Dangerous City. Mayor Jackson: "No surprise there."

Exercise Yard

Bill Belichick's son is arrested for pot. Probably was watching the Mo Carthon Play Calling Festival on NFL Network.

Visitor

15 Across: Biblical prophet (5 letters) Answer: Hosea (He married Gomer, you know)

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Nomar Stalker is today's special guest. Browns Version 2.3 is like "a hulking ship" trying to avoid icebergs. Mo Carthon has been fired as offensive coordinator, perhaps the worst we have had since, gee, it's been a while, but how 'bout Bruce Arians? Although I'm sure management feels we are the best 1-5 team in the NFL, the fans are restless. The promotion of Jeff Davidson to OC seems to have fired up the offensive line and the running backs. Curiously, it seems the quarterback and receiving corps aren't exactly doing cartwheels over the change. A terrible effort today will result in a riot, I am afraid.

Today's opponent: J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets! Jets! The Jets are coached by Eric Mangini, who has used smoke and mirrors to generate 4 wins, thus far. The Jets cannot stop the run. I repeat, the Jets cannot stop the run. Offense runs lots of motion, spreads the ball around and is basically a pain in the ass. I am not very confident going into this one.

The weather was not bad today. Sunny at the start for a 4:15 game. A little bit chilly, but not bad after dark.

Today's giveaway: There wasn't any.

Section 345 was rather subdued. That is except for the fight only two rows behind us. Men hitting men, women hitting women, men hitting women, women hitting men. Seems that Browns Chick brought Pennington Boyfriend. Now Pennington Boyfriend had pretty much kept his mouth shut until the second quarter. Then he would not shut up. It all started when a peanut was thrown at him. Then beer goes flying at the peanut thrower, while the peanut thrower throws his beer. Then mayhem ensued. Of course, security dawdles and when the ejections came, it was only Browns Chick and Pennington Boyfriend who received escorts out. Not one word was even spoken to the peanut thrower who started it all.

The running game today was as efficient as it needed to be. Reuben Droughns rushed for 125 yards. I mean he had to, because the Jets cannot stop the run. Imagine. An OC calling plays to exploit the weaknesses of the opponent. It worked.

Ah, the G.E. Smith Band is but a memory.

Worst Browns play: Probably Phil Dawson's missed field goal before the half. Man, that was one ugly kick. Yanked it left from the right hash.

Best line from me (to Browns Chick after Pennington Boyfriend started acting up): "We're starting to question your taste in men."

Best line from a random (actually Pennington Boyfriend): "You throw anything at me and this beer is comin' right back at ya, motherfucker." The peanut has landed and then it is on.

Oddest Browns jersey: 26 Wolfley (maybe for Halloween?)

No in-game purchases.

Best Browns play: I rather liked the 30-yard TD pass from Frye to Winslow.

Lots of boas, but not many costumes today.

Best Fan Cam picture: Three people dressed as nuns sitting together. Not real nuns, they had beer.

Worst stat: You would have to look hard to find any negatives today. Probably Frye's 4.8 yards per pass attempt. Still not throwing the deep ball or many at medium range.

2nd worst stat: Punt and kickoff coverage was lacking. The Jets ran a kickoff back after it appeared the Browns put a lock on the game. The old Tim Dwight would have had several more yards returning punts if he had any of his old speed.

Most interesting stat: The Jets had one penalty for 5 yards.

Not-so-much-a-stat: The Jets last attempt at a last-minute touchdown. Chris Baker makes a one-handed catch for an apparent TD. But wait, Brodney Pool knocks him out of bounds before his feet land. And the ref ruled it no catch. Gee, I don't know. That was in front of me and I thought it was good. And since it's a judgment call, no ruling from above. We win!!!

Today the Browns played their best game of the year. Not flashy, but extremely efficient and quite frankly, they deserved to win the game. They only made a couple of mistakes, took advantage of the Jets poor run defense and shut the Jets offense down for most of the game. Some will say the Browns were conservative on offense, especially in the second half. But they will overlook the fact that after the Jets made it 20-10, the Browns had a three and out, while attempting three passes. Frye was sacked twice, but that was not sitting on the lead. And the three runs late in the game worked beautifully in running down the clock.

Let's enjoy this one a little bit. We know San Diego will clean our clocks next week, but, hey, we got a home win for a change.

Meal of Links

Dexter is the most oddly fascinating series I've seen in a long time. Had to watch a few episodes before recommending it. I am now convinced. Showtime's quality of programming continues to be way up over the last two years.

Five bedrooms. Beach house. Hawaii. $150 rent. How do I become a native Hawaiian? Maybe Madonna can help.

Your candidate is in trouble. Or you have a chance to unseat an incumbent. Where does your party spend its ad dollars.

Exercise Yard

You can sense the stature of Red Auerbach by the fact that NBA TV turned over all of their programming to honor him today after his passing. The Cavs seldom crossed paths with the Celtics in the playoffs, but the first time was 1975. In that series, it looked like old man Nate Thurmond was going to lead the Cavs past the Celtics to the NBA finals. Game 6, the Cavs are in Boston and the home team is in trouble. All of a sudden, Auerbach goes near the Celtics bench, and it appears he gave the refs the secret word (this was the pre-David Stern Era). Soon after, Thurmond fouls out (and to this day, that was not a foul), the Celtics rally, and the Cavs get sent home. I didn't like Red very much that day.

Visitor

None, it's a sunny Browns Sunday.

I went to the Old Angle Tavern last night. Gale and I did that classic mistake of ordering too much early in the meal, hummus followed by a huge bowl of tomato soup. Then when the sammies came out, it's automatic box for lunch time. The food was quite good, as always, but damn, there was a lot of it. But the beer was cold.

We were entertained by a guy in an Evel Knievel outfit, playing the guitar and singing the classics. But he also brought one of those windup Knievel toys from years gone by. The one where Toy Evel sits on his cycle and you crank up the revolutions so he goes speeding off in the distance. When his set was done, the singer adjourned to the bar, where they set up a stunt area. They had a book that acted as a ramp and had several plastic shot glasses for Toy Evel to jump over. At first, there was a request to have flaming shots as the hazard. Cooler heads prevailed and they only lit one glass. It was very humorous. Several attempts of Toy Evel careening off the bar, not even hitting the ramp, made it that much more enjoyable when there were a few jumps that were successful.

Kevin (anxious to have a Halloween costume trial run) and Lisa joined us later. We were able to catch most of the final World Series game, which was good, because Tommy Lasorda was starting to hunt me down to encourage me to watch some innings.

Meal of Links

The world is falling apart. "Dancing with the Stars" goes on tour.

Jonestown revisited. And a cliche born.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience means getting sued a lot. This time, it's who owns the catalog.

Video of the Week

I've got The Who on my mind, what with the new tour and all. "Another Tricky Day" was used as part of the in-house ad for the Richfeld Coliseum, self-glossing "America's finest sports and entertainment complex". The song, I love very much. The video is, well...judge for yourself. We are in black and white. Roger from Oz has a scarf tied around his neck. Ugh! Pete looks like he just got up, looking sufficiently scruffy. John Entwhistle's thought bubble says, "I hope I'm getting paid for this." I think this is still the Kenny Jones era on drums, but does that really matter? Not much else to say, except it's the Pete I like, not phoning it in on this, although at about 2:25 he makes faces at someone off camera.

The Who-"Another Tricky Day"



Exercise Yard

The Cardinals are World Series champs. And, quite frankly, baseball has a huge problem. It seems no one cares. I was amazed at ESPN's coverage heading into Game 4 on Thursday. The 6:00 version of SportsCenter covered the QB change in Dallas for the first 10 minutes. That's 10 minutes of non-game action football coverage, while the championship of a major sport is being held.

I know ESPN has dropped their playoff coverage for baseball next year, but that juxtaposition of storylines was jaw-dropping.

Visitor

16 Across: Singer with the 1954 #1 hit "This Ole House" (15 letters) Answer: Rosemary Clooney

"The Great Pumpkin" is on tonight but that's not why "Happy days are here again..." No, the Indians did not just win a home game in 1968, but the good folks at Sunnyside Scion finally figured out what was wrong with my car. I had a terrible noise for a while when motoring in a straight line or bearing/turning to the right. And it was getting worse. Of course, I solved the noise problem by cranking the radio about 10 more notches, but it was annoying. Well, they replaced the front left wheel bearing assembly at no charge. My ears cannot offer enough thanks. "Happy days are here again..."

Meal of Links

To celebrate my newfound hearing, I took my Dad over to the Parkview Nite Club for lunch. He had the fish fry, I had the ribs, and it was quite good. I suggest you go there. They have Taco Tuesdays, as well.

Twyla Tharp tries on Bob Dylan for her new work. The fit seems to be not so good.

Scrabble dude scores 830 points! He obviously did not try the word "quone".

Exercise Yard

The Nippon Ham Fighters are World Series champs. In Japan, that is. See, they have a major baseball league over there, and they...anyhow, they have crowned a new champ. I am intrigued by that "1,500-beer shower".

Visitor

12 Down: Jazz trumpeter Baker (4 letters) Answer: Chet (Elvis Costello chimes in)

What's with these Missouri political ads? One for the Senate, another to push for stem cell research in Missouri, known as Amendment 2. Obviously, with the Cardinals in the World Series, these ads get played locally during the games. Let's take a look at them.

McCaskill

Claire McCaskill enlists Michael J. Fox for a Senate campaign ad about stem cell research. Pretty powerful stuff. You get Mike in full shaky mode, you know the kind Rush Limbaugh called "an act". Why is "Doc Hollywood" doing commercials in Missouri? Well, he tells us why, by stating "all politics is local, but it's not always the case". He tosses in a "Missoura" pronunciation and then shocks us all by renouncing his Canadian past and becomes an American citizen. Who knew? I think it's a terrific ad.

Michael J. Fox



No to Amendment 2

The production values on this one are not, let's say, as professional as the previous ad. Hey, it's Jesus! WTF? Is he saying "Vote no on Amendment 2" in Aramaic? And is he on vacation? Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan is next in front of a background that looks like he might be posing for a license at the DMV. Then it's former Ram quarterback, Kurt Warner. Kurt appears to be hanging out at your local rec center while forwarding an asinine argument that basically says no cures for 15 years, why spend the money? Hey Kurt, ask Magic Johnson why. Next up, it's Cleveland's own Patricia Heaton. She uses the old low-income eggs will be sold argument and we all know who she's talking about. It's not your neighbor, it's those people. The Royals Mike Sweeney is caught in the hallway of a local hotel to remind us of the physical dangers of egg extraction. Warner comes back and warns us that if groups can spend $28 million to tell us Amendment 2 is a good thing, maybe it's not. See, it's those OUTSIDERS telling us what to do. Jesus, as the sun is setting in an exotic locale, tells us in English to vote no on 2. I think the celebrity combo of Patty Heaton and Jesus is offset by the sports trio of Suppan/Warner/Sweeney. That would be the Cleveland equivalent of Jake Westbrook/Bernie Kosar/Jim Thome. Not sure the current citizenry would be enraptured by those three to take them seriously on a vote.

Assorted Celebrities



Meal of Links

We have all heard Jim Rome rag on "Softball Guy". But, how about a co-ed team that films its flag football games? I hate that guy.

Halloween is coming. How about reading some scary stories.

Dick Clark sells out. All his memorabilia, that is.

Exercise Yard

TV rules all sporting bodies. The latest was last night when Fox kept everyone waiting for the start of Game 4 of the World Series. It could have been called two hours earlier, but then Fox would have been unable to show three episodes of "The War At Home". Why didn't they show "House"?

But the most blatant act of how TV affects sporting events is the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Swimming and gymnastics finals would be contested in the morning local time. Which translates to, umm, lemme see, 9 p.m. Eastern.

Visitor

12 Down: Oil well firefighter Adair (5 letters) Answer: Red

I headed over to O'Rielly's Pub at Cedar Center last night. I went there with Drew. Man, that pubfare is good, as I had the tomato soup (big spoon) and a teriyaki turkey burger. And Bass Ale. Mmm, that's good Bass. We talked about many things including our former place of employment. I happen to think it was the most dysfunctional place ever. Although he thought his department, in hindsight, didn't need to be so rough on certain people, I think I surmised they probably deserved it. Admittedly the crowd I hung with was a terrific bunch of individuals and I'm glad I got to meet them.

On Monday night, I got a call from the Dennis Kucinich campaign. Here is the conversation:

DK Campaign Worker: "Can we count on your vote, November 7?"
Me (thinking call will end shortly): "Yep."
DKCW: "Would you like to put a sign in your yard?"
Me (having seen those yellow "DENNIS!" signs for years): "I don't think so."
DKCW: "Would you like to volunteer for his campaign."
Me (knowing it's 2 weeks before the election!): "No, he seems to be doing OK without me."

It was strange because I thought this was just a poll, but with 2 weeks to go, why would he need more campaign workers? This would be a call I would have expected weeks ago.

Meal of Links

TV Alert! Eddie Vedder is on Iconoclasts tomorrow on Sundance.

Another "Guess the Movie" time waster. This time, starring stationery products. In limited time, I got 12/20. Don't forget to use the "The" word in titles where necessary.

Kurt Cobain passes Elvis as the richest dead celebrity. Hey, even Einstein is still making money.

Exercise Yard

It's the 20th anniversary of Game Six today. If you saw Bill Buckner play back then, there was no one, I mean no one, who got more out of his injury ravaged body than Billy Buck. He deserved better.

Visitor

3 Down: Miler Sebastian (3 letters) Answer: Coe

Historic day at work today. The can of Febreze was finally tossed by the cleaning folks over the weekend. We had a can in the men's bathroom for obvious reasons. Funny thing is, if you sprayed it for the last three weeks, it was empty and only air came out. Some of us were beginning to wonder if anyone else noticed and decided to not throw it out on our own. Because we're guys, either no one noticed or it was a case of us being collectively lazy and not pitching it. Because then you would have to tell someone, "Hey, we need some spray in here." I'm guessing it was a combination of the two.

Meal of Links

Courtney Love is back with a new record. The producer seems a bit overboard on praise, comparing her to Dylan. I have liked her music though.

Ape in Des Moines pulls a fire alarm. Weird part is there is actually a primate research center in Iowa. "Build it and they will come."

Arsenic may have killed Phar Lap. But we already knew that, didn't we?

Exercise Yard













"I love Pretzel Day!."

While trying to determine why Donovan McNabb pukes on the field a lot, does Kenny Rogers only cheat at home? A definite maybe.

Visitor

61 Across: Willem of "Spider-Man" (5 letters) Answer: Dafoe

OK, here is this week's unfortunate headline.

Since it's raining this a.m., I am glad I am not going to see the Browns live this p.m. Don't wanna be soggy. You know, I was the person who coined the phrase, "Bruce Hornsby sounds better on a rainy day." Well, I'm currently listening to Sufjan Stevens' "Illinoise" album (again...I am wearing the damn thing out) and it's giving Bruce a run for his money. The thing that really bothers me is I seem to have misplaced the CD case. So, it's currently an orphan. More on orphans later.

Switching media as I type, Thierry Henry scores for the Gunners in the first freakin' minute on Fox Soccer Channel. A large wet kiss to FSC this year, for allowing me to watch something besides Berman on fall Sunday mornings. Oh yeah, I heart FSC.

I'll post a Browns recap later.

















No wonder they hate us. A "portion" at Tony's in Birch Run, MI.

Meal of Links

Happy 25th Anniversary to Luke and Laura. Not many couples find true love in the aftermath of a rape, but these two wacky kids did. BTW, Laura, acting as if she's a Hinckley buzzard, came back to GH this week. Of course, everyone comes back to GH eventually.

It's always a curiosity when the deaf are marching and signing in protest. The student body, alumni, and faculty were out in DC yesterday to protest the hiring of the new Gallaudet University president.

I expressed a wish to be adopted by Madonna the other day, not to disparage my own Mom, but I think it would be kind of cool. Anyhow, there are hordes of other Malawi orphans who remain unadopted and they don't have much of a chance.

Exercise Yard

The Monday Night Football crew is getting pounded as much as the World Cup announcers this past season. The culprit, again, is the four-letter. ESPN needs to put the Nessler, Vermeil, Jaworski team on. And I like Tony Kornheiser, and I loved Joey T. as a QB, but his announcing blows. Tirico is kinda like 1% milk with me. I'll drink it if I have to. And those Berman (that guy again) halftime highlights! What is going on with those 4x normal speed clips? They look like Road Runner legs for cryin' out loud.

Browns

Take your pick. Broken record...dead horse...song remains the same. The Browns are a bad team. To have two weeks off and come up with the offensive effort we had today was shocking. I went for a walk in the rain afterward to be soggy anyhow, that's how disappointing today's game was to me. I said before the game I didn't want a 27-3 game, with Tatum Bell getting 125 yards on the ground. I got 17-7, while Bell got 115. I am vowing to watch these games with others from now on. One game alone was enough. I need a distraction as I find myself enjoying Randy Lerner's Other Team more (BTW, looks like Big Breakfast Saturday as it's Liverpool and Aston Villa, Saturday at 10:00 a.m. on FSC).

See, the easy way out of this game and I'm sure the excuse that will be floated, is that Denver's defense is so great. Poppycock, I say. We really tried nothing new to crack it. Where was Romeo Crennel's input into the offense? Two weeks off and we still get fourth-and-one pass attempts? Others will say our defense gave up only 17 points. Who cares? After Champ Bailey's interception to start the 4th quarter, Denver phoned it in. And in the first half, I'm convinced the Broncos threw 25 times, not necessarily because of the Browns, but moreso they wanted to give Indianapolis lots to think about for next week's game. That's how much they toyed with us.

A look at the numbers reveals lots of ugliness, in a game where, although it was close on the scoreboard, we were never really in it.
Time of Possession: Denver 37 minutes, Browns 23.
Browns outrushed, 150-34.
Browns third downs, 1-11, fourth downs, 0-3. (That's bad.)
Frye, 4 yards per pass.
Browns outgained, 347-165.
Northcutt out of the lineup and we still had dropped passes.
The five words you don't want to hear: "Ralph Brown in the game."

Next week, it's J-E-T-S!, Jets! Jets! Jets! Jets! But today, it was Denver 17, Cleveland 7.

Visitor

None, it's a wet Sunday.

Last night, a bunch of us headed over to Momocho for Best Friend’s birthday. This place is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I had the camerones taquitos which were out of control good. Wash those down with tasty $35 pitchers of margaritas and the eatin’ is good in the neighborhood.

Couple of things I learned yesterday. The women’s bathroom there has eucalyptus liquid soap. I think the men have some sort of flesh-scented stuff. And the music selection at Momocho is great. I heard Johnny Cash, New Order, the Cure, just to name a few. Loud enough not to intrude, but a chord is struck now and then to listen and groove a bit.

Meal of Links

I really don’t know who Sara Evans is, but jeepers, is her divorce splattered all over the place. The accusations are flying from both parties. I guess I could sub Paul McCartney’s name in there, as well. Except for knowing him, of course.

WXPN in Philly has been holding a countdown of the 885 Greatest All-Time Artists. Tchaikovsky checks in at Number 500, right above Bob Mould.

Why Target is better than Wal-Mart. Or, as my Dad told me this week, “Hey, I was in Wal-Mart today. And everybody was speaking Spanish there. Whatever aisle I was in, they were speakin’ Spanish.”

That reminds me of a shopping experience I had today at Marc’s. The two kids at the checkout line were guessing things about the people they were waiting on. Seems like harmless fun. I get there and the one guy says, “Married and all his kids are grown up.” Coming soon, my list of why Target is better than Marc’s.

Exercise Yard

It was a good day to check on the Premiership, with about 1/4th of the season gone. Randy Lerner’s Other Team is still unbeaten, as they drew with Fulham, but they need wins, not draws. Chelsea’s two big signings, Ballack and Shevchenko, both scored today and they are three points clear of Man U, with five matches on Sunday. Look out for the Gunners though, as Arsenal seem to be on the rise.

Visitor

44 Down: Teammate of A-Rod (5 letters) Answer: Derek

I'm sure what will be lost among all of NBC Universal's job cuts is a line that I think is going to start the transformation of TV networks to a digital future. Jeff Zucker says that NBC's ad revenue between 8:00 and 9:00 cannot keep up with production costs. Therefore, NBC will not program any comedies or dramas during that hour.

Knowing that networks won't program half-hour shows after 10:00, that means the sitcom is relegated to six hours a week at most, with football taking up Sundays. More shows like "Deal Or No Deal" and probably the return of multiple "Datelines" or other cheap reality shows will be the future. And just think about the export of American programming to other countries. That's less American (for the time being, NBC) product abroad.

The other change is that MSNBC will probably be declared a disaster area soon. The hot rumor is "Hardball" and Olbermann will go to CNBC, while MSNBC's lineup becomes a dumping ground for those cheap Investigative Reports-type shows. NBC and MSNBC will probably share resources saving more money. It's a shame that creativity loses to the bottom line, and I guess Fox with "American Idol" and ABC with "Dancing With The Stars" have been doing this for a while, but less blatantly.

Meal of Links

Parma weeps. The Pink Flamingo plant closes November 1.

Creepy time. The best ghost photographs ever taken. Have the lights on when you look at these.

How Hewlett-Packard spied on one WSJ reporter. Now we know what a "pre-trash inspection" is.

Video of the Week

I like The Strokes and "Someday" is video iPod-worthy. What we have is a bunch of scenes of folks hanging out, firing up heaters and drinking beer. Followed by The Strokes playing Guided By Voices in a game of "Family Feud", with Richard Karn hosting. Things to look for: My kind of bar, not too big, lots of beer, CD jukebox, soccer on the TV. The bassist has the same shirt on in the bar scenes and the "Family Feud" scenes. The question: "If you were the world's biggest slob, what would you go a year without washing?" "Hands" was number one answer. Karn: "That's a big slob." Fake handshake ensues. Question 2: "Name something a mother doesn't want to find under her teenage boy's bed." "Drugs" only gets 8 points to which Karn says, "Apparently it's not that big of a concern." "Female clothing." was the funnier answer. Then the two bands start a fistfight.

The Strokes-"Someday"



Exercise Yard

How they make Albert Pujols bats. He said, "Poo holes", heh hee heh hee.

Visitor

10 Down: "Bus Stop" playwright (4 letters) Answer: Inge

I went to see "The Last King of Scotland" at the Crocker Park Regal. Almost a private viewing--5 in attendance. Forest Whitaker was unbelievable as Idi Amin. Almost impossible to be over the top with that character, because Amin was so over the top. Nice touch of having some actual footage of Amin at the end. Sometimes we forget how evil this guy was.

James McAvoy stars as a young doctor from Scotland who heads to Uganda to get as far away from his doctor father as he can. Figures he'll have a great time there, and through some lucky circumstances he ends up as Amin's personal physician. The story deals with the compromises he makes while Amin is starting his killing rampage of Ugandan citizens. When he left power in 1979, Amin had murdered 300,000 people. Agent Scully was briefly in the movie and I didn't even realize it was her until her second scene. Must have been the tan. Needless to say, I loved this movie. I'm sure the facts were distorted in some ways because this was based on a book of fiction, but they hooked me early on and I didn't really care. Whitaker is a surefire Oscar nominee.

Meal of Links

The PD finally announced the names of the newsroom staff who took buyouts. Roger Brown and Bob Dolgan are gone. No great loss there. I'll miss Burt Graeff. I fear Bob Roberts departure seals the end of horse racing coverage and that bothers me greatly. Foodie John Long is leaving. I think the big losses are editors Chris Jensen on autos and David Molyneaux on travel. Especially Jensen, he is one of the best out there. Over 50 and 20 years in, you got 2.5 years pay with health coverage. That's great stuff.

As Best Friend and others can attest, my wildass gesturing might lead to a spilled drink on someone now and then. And it does make me really angry. But I've never gestured wildly enough to cost myself 91 million dollars.

Christopher Glenn died. For those of us who watched CBS on Saturday mornings, this guy was the voice of "In The News". And he did news broadcasts on CBS Radio. Great set of pipes.

Exercise Yard

How ESPN Mobile failed after only 8 months. Really good read.

Visitor

61 Across: Mustachioed Spanish painter (4 letters) Answer: Dali

On the way to work this a.m., I stopped at the drive-thru pharmacy. No, not the one on the corner, but Walgreens. Geez, they have to put a limit on how many transactions you can get filled at the window. This woman in front of me took so long, I was there 10 Minutes! 10 minutes, I say. Of course, my swearing made it seem like 20. They handed her so many things stapled together, you thought it was her Halloween candy purchase.

I mean we have socially acceptable procedures at the 10 item or less lane at the grocery. Typically, 2 over is acceptable. At the ATM, again 2 transactions is the socially acceptable number. And if you use more than one ATM card and there is a line, you cannot sit there and do several transactions on each card. We need to institute some laws at the pharmacy. And fast.

Meal of Links

The allure of YouTube. I love YouTube, because it's cool that things you may have missed, you know someone, somewhere, has recorded for everyone. You can see Dennis Green's tirade after the Monday Night Football game, the Miami-FIU brawl, Steve Lyons comments that got him canned, Joe Calzaghe showboating, Nancy Grace being, well...Nancy Grace, any Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert clip. Just a great site and now owned by Google.

On the campaign trail with Mrs. Sherrod Brown. Looks like a book is coming.

The 101 Most Influential People That Never Lived. Hey, Joe Camel was No. 78 on the list.

Exercise Yard

Who would have figured that Jeff McInnis is banned from Nets camp? It's part of the new NBA. If they don't like you, you just sit.

Visitor

70 Across: Friend of Jerry and George (6 letters) Answer: Kramer "Yeah, well, Joe Pepitone or not, I own the inside of that plate. So I throw one, you know, inside, you know, a little chin music, put him right on his pants. Cause I gotta intimidate when I'm on the mound. Well the next pitch, he's right back in the same place. So, I had to plunk him."

I don't have "haterism", but I have seen what might be the worst television program ever. It is the reality show, "Committed: The Christies". This 30-minute show follows the exploits of Doug Christie and his wife, Jackie. I believe the seeds for this program were sown toward the end of Doug's NBA career, when his wife was getting into all sorts of trouble. You know, Doug's hand signals communicating with Jackie during games. She helping Doug fight Rick Fox on the way to the locker room, and other shenanigans. So, some brainiac hears their profession of love for each other and thinks: Reality TV!

There were rumors that VH-1 was going to air the show. After witnessing this week's episode, it's no secret why they passed. First of all, Doug Christie was a decent NBA player, definitely not a star, and is currently not on any NBA roster. Next, you won't find this show on BET. No, they've plugged this show into BET-J (J for Jazz). Imagine. This show is so bad, even the main BET network won't show it. And the production values are high-schoolish at best. It makes for a jaw-dropping experience that has to be seen to be believed. I'll just leave you with this nugget: Jackie has seen Sasquatch, believes in elves, but does not believe in owls.

I can't do it justice, but this recap gives you all you need to know. Oh, I'm back next week.

Meal of Links

Yahoo! lists the the top 20 misspelled searches. Mercedez Benz, are you kidding me?

Just say Kuo. I got home last night in time to hear this on "60 Minutes": "I'm fine with it." Which is the last line of the interview. Doh!

Another list. America's Dumbest Congressmen.

Exercise Yard

The Bruce Gradkowski Era begins in Tampa. Keep your eye on this QB.

Visitor

44 Down: "The Fountainhead" novelist (7 letters) Answer: Ayn Rand

Today was another meeting of the Single Losers Club. This is the hopefully more than semi-annual event where my Uncle and his wife take pity on us single types and provide us with a home-cooked meal. Shhhh. Don't let them know I can boil water, at least. Plus, I was able to channel Saint Francis and charm their dog into playing with me for the first time. You know you pet them in that spot right under the snout, around the neck, and they fall for that every time.

Today's menu was outta control good.

Dips were an eggplant-based one and a cucumber one.
Butternut squash (with a small spoon!)
Salad
Stuffed pork tenderloin
Stuffed cabbage
Mashed Potatoes with gravy
I think I'm forgetting something else from my plate
Lemon cake
Pumpkin pie
I didn't have the apple crisp thingy.

And I had some Jack Daniels before and aft and some wine during. Yes, I had wine and I didn't whine. No coffee though. That's bad for ya.

I may not eat for a week.

Meal of Links

Terry Gilliam's "Tideland" is completely shredded. This seems to be a universal sentiment. I mean this got NO stars. That's harsh.

Spending cash for a good cause is the idea behind Project Red. I designed a nice looking orange "Go Browns" Chuck Taylor high-top. I didn't buy it, I just liked playing with the colors.

By now. I'm sure everyone has seen Paul Robinson's gaffe for England last week. But just a reminder of whose mug shows up in the background.

"I like you English!"



Exercise Yard

HBO had another Boxing After Dark program last night. The best boxer no one knows, the unbeaten Welshman Joe Calzaghe, took on Sakio Bika at 168 pounds. Of course, it took place in Manchester, UK. Calzaghe was not at his best in the fight, and admitted afterward that his hand still hurt from an injury over the summer. It was an interesting fight from the standpoint that it was a brawl. You could tell in Round 1 there would be a clash of heads ("I want no naughties with the head."). Sure enough in Round 4, Calzaghe got cut. But he did enough to win a unanimous decision.

Highlights were Calzaghe's trainer, Enzo, his father, dropping f-bombs as if he lived in "Deadwood". I hate showboating in boxing and finally after 4 rounds of this, Enzo finally asks Joe, "What the fuck are you doing out there?", telling Joe his showboating was the reason he got cut. Thanks, Dad! Bika threw three punches after the bell in a round; got a point deducted for a head butt; rabbit punched Calzaghe, while Calzaghe's upper body was through the ropes in another; delivered a low blow in the last; and did a lot of nasty things. Not exactly the Marquis of Queensbury out there.

Next up for Calzaghe might be a US fight among Jermaine Taylor, Winky Wright, or the big payday against Bernard Hopkins. Or a bout with Mikkel Kessler to unite the titles.

Visitor

None, it's a crisp, bye week Sunday.

How come every time I go to Giant Eagle, people bug me? Today, I'm in line and some old guy who's with his wife asks me if I'm in line. Hey, buddy, it's line 1, OK? That means there's lots of room and I don't need to follow your game of actually standing behind the cart. I can stand on the side. And, besides, I'm directly behind the guy who's in front of me IN THE SAME LINE. Impatient clown. And when you realize I'm in line, quit crowdin' me with your cart. It ain't gettin' us through the line any quicker. I almost threw my cheese at the guy.

Meal of Links

Always good for debate. One person's list of the Top 50 Essential CDs of the last five years. Essential is a pretty strong word here. Read the comments, as well. I agree. Where's Sufjan? And speaking of music, I'm zipping through the dial, and The Weather Channel is playing a live version of "Run Like Hell" by Pink Floyd/Gilmour/Waters or any combination thereof. A huge WTF?

I wonder if Mel Harris still looks good. But why is her divorce filing on the farm report page?

Steve Lyons got fired from Fox for some racially insensitive remarks. Not even sure if the comments were racist or idiotic. They should have canned him long ago for being unfunny and dumb in the broadcast booth. I had the displeasure of listening to him during an Astros playoff game a couple of years back. Carlos Beltran, men on base, crucial late part of the game. This asshat starts talking about the fact Beltran once had a pet monkey. Wha-huh? I've never forgotten it.

Exercise Yard

Maggs and his hair put the Motor City Kitties in the World Series.

Visitor

38 Across: "Sneakers" actor (7 letters) Answer: Poitier

I am witnessing Ben Affleck on Bill Maher's show on HBO. I think talk about him holding public office should be put to rest. He talks so much shit, he should be on "Def Comedy Jam".

Meal of Links

For drunks and insomniacs, Rob Zombie hosts some horror flicks on Turner Classic. He's like Elvis these days. He's everywhere.

Another Elvis, Malcolm Galdwell, gives us the myth of prodigy. And why it matters.

The woman whose apartment was flown into by Cory Lidle and his "flight instructor" (I thought he was gonna be the new Roebuck for a time), had an accident in her past. Remember when the float hit that lamppost and fell on a woman at the Macy's parade. Yep, that's her.

Exercise Yard

Giorgio Chanaglia is wanted in Italy. This is an extension of the Italian soccer scandal investigation.

Visitor

41 Across: "American Psycho" author (5 letters) Answer: Ellis

I guess it would help if I actually posted this, instead of draft mode...

Anyhow, I took my Dad down to the Happy Dog for Oktoberfest. They had the DJ who spun polka records and the staff was in full Oktoberfest apparel. So, in a surreal way, we were both in our respective elements. He had polkas to tap his toe to and, well, I had beer. Hey, Becks was only $3.00. Polkas are such a happy genre of music, but he was playing a couple of maudlin waltzes that he had to stop midway through because of the depression. Uncle Joe could have won a free drink if he had just blurted out louder "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" during a Name That Song portion.

I was also happy with the non-polka selections. Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, and "Slip Kids" by the Who, and noted polka king Elvis Costello with "Sneaky Feelings". Good times.

Meal of Links

While you're looking live at the Speedway, Brad Daugherty tells us how the drivers will be "driving hard". ESPN announces its NASCAR crew.

As you know, I'm bullish on Roger Ebert. Roger sends out a big howdy to all his fans.

Alec Baldwin was terribly inconvenienced by the Cory Lidle plane crash, as this picture shows:














Cop: "What's your name?"
Baldwin: "Fuck you. That's my name."

Premiere gives us Hollywood's 50 biggest disasters. "Fitzcarraldo", hah! Of course, another jab at "Hudson Hawk". Get off it already. Tee hee, Ashton Kutcher is No. 35. "Gigli". "Ishtar". Cleopatra. "Heaven's Gate". Jar Jar Binks!

Amazing how the books or DVDs about the making of some of these movies are incredibly interesting. Check these out if you can:

Books:

"Final Cut" by Steven Bach ("Heaven's Gate")
"The Man Who Heard Voices" about M. Night Shymalan's "Lady in the Water"

DVDs:
Terry Gilliam's "Lost in La Mancha"
"Burden of Dreams" about "Fitzcarraldo"
"Hearts of Darkness" about "Apocalypse Now"

Exercise Yard

Something that isn't mentioned very often among all of the tributes to Cory Lidle, is that he was a replacement player. Don't think players have long memories. There are still a few replacement players out there.

Visitor

4 Down: 1965 Nobel Peace Prize recipient (6 letters) Answer: UNICEF

After tossing a football yesterday, I thought one of my spectacular receptions resulted in a finger injury. The old index finger jam. But it responded well and sometimes you just gotta play with pain.

I went to see "Spamalot" this evening. I laughed my ass off. Stole just enough from "The Holy Grail" and "Life of Brian" to be dangerous. Many updates, as well. The Grail, by the way, was found under the seat of one surprised "Larry Dolan" in Row D, who looked from row last more like Larry David. Pia Glenn is outstanding as the Lady of the Lake. Lotsa fun.

Meal of Links

Tower Records died. Not many record stores left. Why I remember takin' the streetcar to...

David Bowie is going to guest on "SpongeBob SquarePants". I hope "Pinky and the Brain" are on that night.

Brain: "You must head to a place where overweight, middle-aged people go to party and throw away money."
Pinky: "Capitol Hill?"

David Lynch peeked inside my head for his latest movie. "Each plotline deals with issues of betrayal in relationships, but the film soon veers off those tracks as it showcases musical dance sequences, sitcom-style family scenes featuring people with rabbit heads and dramatic episodes with actors speaking Polish." I am there.

Exercise Yard

The new Skipper at ESPN takes charge. It does seem as if there is less screaming on the four-letter these days. Obvious changes: "Cold Pizza" looks like it's a goner. Page 2 on .com is emasculated except for Simmons. New NBA Shootaround this year with Patrick, Wilbon and Mark Jackson with the former cast heading to game coverage. Now if we could have no Berman, less Michael Irvin, bring back Jason Whitlock in any capacity and have Mort quit stealing from Adam Shefter on the NFL Network, we'd be on to something.

Visitor

39 Across: Vehicle in "Speed" (3 letters) Answer: Bus

With the election only 4 weeks away, here is a look at the Ohio issues we'll be taking a look at on November 7. Kinda vice-y, as we have gambling, and not one, but two smoking issues. Worker's comp and minimum wage are the others.

Meal of Links

One student balks at MySpace. A trend? Hardly.

You can buy Paul Westerberg's guitar. At Wal-Mart. If you buy it, please learn "Can't Hardly Wait" and I'll sing it with you.

Mary Hart is still on "Entertainment Tonight". "There's something about Mary Hart's voice that's giving you seizures."

Exercise Yard
















John Carlos and Tommie Smith were pallbearers at the funeral of Peter Norman. Norman was the third man on the podium during the '68 Olympics Black Power protest, a most brilliant image. You know, the one on my "old guy" shirt.

Visitor

21 Across: Synthesizer pioneer (4 letters) Answer: Moog

Not sure what's going on inside my head these days. My REM sleep has been producing some really strange stuff lately and last night was no exception. I was out at Holden Arboretum drinking beer yesterday and by the time I got home from Best Friend's house, I was able to finish watching boxing as the Tivo was rolling.

Then I have one of these dreams where people you haven't even thought of in a while get starring roles. And I did a lot of driving in this one, for some reason. Unusual, even for me. Maybe it's the full moon.

Then to cap it off, I stopped at Giant Eagle for a little bit and they were playing The Killers. "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier..." as I'm buying crackers. Then, while waiting forever to check out, the Flaming Lips come on! "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"! Hey, even places that portray themselves as hip don't play that one. On second thought, maybe my dreams aren't that weird.

Meal of Links

"Smells like David Arquette". OK, I stole that, but LA County wants to test celebrity crap in Malibu.

Seven years have passed since Michael Apted's last documentary on his British subjects. It's time for "49 Up".

Did you see those two losers debating for the Missouri Senate seat on "Meet the Press"? Yikes. Anyhow, here's an explanation of how the R's are goofing up on the Foley scandal.

Not much to say about today's Browns game, although I thought Rich Gannon was unusually harsh on the play of Charlie Frye. He had only 3.7 yards per pass, but it wasn't all his fault. It was one of the oddest games in a while. Carolina was 0-11 on third down, the Browns 2-14. The Browns gave up (what else?) another 100-yard rusher. But they had the time of possession, but turned the ball over three times. The absolute worse call was in the third quarter when Lawrence Vickers (that guy again) attempted a halfback option on a 3rd-and-inches call from the Carolina 21. It fooled no one. On the reply, watch how far Julius Peppers is downfield. Again, it fooled no one. Amazingly bad. Browns lose, 20-12.

Exercise Yard

Crowded boxing night last night, as both HBO and Showtime had cards. Showtime had to navigate the embarrassment of Diego Corrales not making weight against Joel Casamayor. They also had Vic Darchinyan against Glenn Donaire in a flyweight match.

Lemme say this, Darchinyan is one bad-ass Armenian. This guy is really cocky and very entertaining, as he comes to fight every time. Donaire was clearly overmatched and went to the "My jaw is broken" card to bail on the fight in the sixth. There were claims of a phantom headbutt, but Darchinyan was mopping up the ring with Donaire and had just connected with a shot to the jaw. Instead of a TKO, it was strangely scored a technical decision. Talk of Darchinyan moving up to 126 would be welcomed, as he is cleaning up at 112. He wants to unify the titles, but the others are running.

The Corrales-Casamayor fight went on as planned, with Corrales stripped of the title. Casamayor, in a no-lose situation, grabs the title if he wins, but remains the number one contender if he loses. I wasn't too thrilled about this one. Corrales seemed lethargic, as he had starved himself earlier in the week. Casamayor delivered an intentional headbutt mid-fight, only to have Corrales follow with an intentional low blow in the next round. I thought the judging on Corrales was a bit harsh, as Casamayor won a split decision. Casamayor did just enough to win and the pre-fight circumstances resulted in a sub-par bout.

On to Chicago, as HBO had a good card on paper. Tomasz Adamek from Poland against the Aussie Paul Briggs in a rematch at light heavyweight. Crowd definitely in Adamek's corner. "Fight of the Year" potential. Merchant: "It almost hurts my eyeballs to watch these guys fight." Ha! Briggs had a knockdown in the 1st, and Adamek delivered two low blows in the 9th, so I'm not sure how he ended up way behind on two cards (probably 10-8 Briggs in the first, but the 9th could have gone 9-9). Briggs also had a big 11th and the 12th was an epic battle. Big 8th for Adamek, and solid work mid-fight. Big shots by both guys. Adamek wins a decision.

The heavyweight bout was Nikolai Valuev and Monte Barrett. Barrett gave up 100 pounds to the 7-foot Russian. OK, it's a freak show when Valuev fights. The staredown even made me laugh, as Valuev towers over everyone. Valuev is vulnerable, but he's so big, it seemed that Barrett, at times, had to jump to punch the guy. Barrett was pretty good in the first half of the fight. But he got knocked down in the 8th and seemed to lose his legs from that point forward. They went 11 rounds, before Barrett finally gave out. Valuev with the TKO.

Visitor

None, it's a great looking Sunday.

Finally made it to Melt last night. Oh, it's a keeper. Kind of on the smallish side and there was a wait for tables, if you got there late. Bar probably seats 16 and it's Happy Hour from 4 to 7. It's got a good vibe and any place that can play some Paul Revere and the Raiders and "Career Opportunities" by the Clash in the same setting gets extra points. Friendly staff and camped out at a table with no trouble. Menus arrive on old record covers.

As you may know, they specialize in grilled cheese sammies and they do not disappoint. I started with a cup of Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup that was outstanding. Little pack of Goldfish, too. Proudly used a soup spoon, because it was thick. Now, the sandwiches come with slaw and fries and those are quite tasty. The sandwiches are big, and the bread is really good. I had a BBQ Chicken that had grilled onions and sharp cheddar, and it was tasty.

For the not so hungry, you can have a cup of soup, half a sammie, and salad. The dessert was great. Cheesecake that was light and came with "mixed berry preserves", probably from the Amish. God bless the Amish! All in all, this place makes the list.

Meal of Links













Playboy is opening a casino in Las Vegas. Seriously, do you just hand over all of your money now? I've lost 350 hands in a row and don't seem to care.

Buck O'Neil died. There should be a stronger word than gentleman, but he redefined the word. For him to give the speech that honored the last of the Negro League inductees into the Hall of Fame, when he undeservedly did not get voted in himself is an example on how to live life. "Hatred. It doesn't make any sense."

I have not seen the new Rachael Ray show yet. You see, I work during the day. But the show delivers impressive numbers.

Drop five pounds in five weeks. Eat less, lay off the booze, I say. As I'm on my way to drink beer.

Exercise Yard

Only in boxing. This time, Diego Corrales does not make weight. So much for pious statements. Absolutely no excuse.

Visitor

48 Down: "Wicked Ale" brewer Slosberg (4 letters) Answer: Pete

As some of you could probably tell, YouTube was messed up for about a week or so and did a massive video dump here today. But it looks like problem solved and it's back in bidness.

Today was my brother's birthday, so to celebrate, my Dad and I (my brother was rewarded with childsitting) went to Das Schnitzel Haus. I don't know German, but I'm guessing that means "The Schnitzel House".

The place was jammed, because they serve clambake dinners from Thursday through Saturday. People piggin' out all over the place. The bar is small, has some nice selections on tap, and the decor is early Eichmann. But, oh man, the portions were huge! And were really good. I opted for an outstanding veal schnitzel sandwich and potato pancakes. Box, please. My Dad opted for the pork chops. Of course, we each had about a pound of fries that went to waste. Overall, a tasty meal and a good value.

The beauty about dinner with Uncle Joe is there is always time for a joke. I keep telling him we are going to have a box with a key at his grave like the zoo. That way you insert the key, select which joke you want to hear, then listen. Today's joke is so old, Augie Bossu was young when it was told.

My Dad worked on the East Side when he was younger, and there was one guy that wouldn't stop talking about Benedictine football. On and on, he went. How great Benedictine was, they could do no wrong, etc. Finally, my Dad had enough. He told the guy that Benedictine was good because they could recruit from such a wide area. Of course, that was more taboo in those days, and the guy said they didn't recruit. My Dad insisted they did and, as a matter of fact, they recruited a new running back from France. The guy didn't believe him, but, after a while, finally asked who it was. My Dad told him it was the great French ballcarrier, Jacques Strop. The guy got mad and didn't talk to him for a long time.

Meal of Links

I don't make many commitments. But I was committed to "Kidnapped". NBC didn't reciprocate.

Looks like a beautiful day for a nuclear test. Kim Jong Il cancels his tee time for Sunday.

Beat stress. Drink tea.

Video of the Week

This should have been last week's video, it is "Comfortably Numb" from Live 8. Let's get right to the things to look for: Waters voice is shot. Gilmour’s voice still holds up, although he looks like the love child of Dr. Evil and Michael Keaton. I like Gilmour's little arm wave when he says his hands felt like two balloons. Is that my future wife on backup vocals? Lots of smoke near the end. And the boys all pose for pictures before they walk off.

Pink Floyd from Live 8-"Comfortably Numb"



Bonus Video of the Week

The Brothers Mael, Ron and Russell, led Sparks to a truly unique style at the time. Much more than a novelty act, I wondered why this band was not more popular. This is so much like a Queen song, it’s scary. But it’s them at their best. Things to look for: Russell appears to have arrived straight from a ski lodge. The Roxy Music graffiti on the wall. Ron looking much like a famous German we know. The brief shots of the couple at the side of the stage looking bored. This was before Ron changed the word “Roland” to “Ronald” on his Roland organ.

Sparks-"This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us"



Exercise Yard

Be sure to catch Michael Schumacher in his final F1 races this month. Japan late Saturday, then Brazil in two weeks.

Visitor

52 Across: "Four Quartets" poet (7 letters) Answer: T.S. Eliot

Hey, it's Wednesday, where Fergie asks the musical question:

"How come every time you come around
My London, London Bridge wanna go down..."

Apparently, "London Bridge" refers to two couples having sex and forming a bridge. Hello. I guess her next single is "Superior Viaduct".

She says "Oh, shit" a lot in that tune, as well. I think she wrote that herself.

That wasn't the best song I heard today. Jeezy creezy, I heard Kraftwerk! Kraftwerk, I'm tellin' ya. "Electric Cafe" was the tune:

"Musique rythmique
Son electronique
L'art politique
A l'age atomique"

I wish I had my pocket calculator with me to tap on the keys.

Meal of Links

If you crave, I mean absolutely crave, old-time country music, you must listen to James Hand. You'd think Hank Williams had just strolled into the room.

Your sex scandals are worse than ours. Take that, Democrats! Why are we arguing over this crap? Even the guy who took Foley's place on the ballot wants to play it straight, so to say. So please, shut up!

I am putting this country on notice. We are officially insane. Can you believe this place was advertising the movie, "Jackbutt Two". "Jackbutt"! Maybe they need to order more "S"'s.

Exercise Yard

Has anyone fallen from grace quicker than Congressman Foley? Perhaps, Becks is your guy. From England captain to Real benchwarmer in less than four months.

Visitor

32 Down: Illinois Senator Barack _____ (5 letters) Answer: Obama

With the news that Aaron Boone is leaving the Tribe, it's time for a post mortem. This year had to be one of the most disappointing years in a while, because we actually had expectations from the club, something we last experienced in 2001.

I don't envy the Indians mission at all. They have to find ways to get more butts in the chairs at Jacobs Field, but seem to be going back to "the sleeping giant" years that were the abyss of '60s-'70s-'80s-early '90s baseball in this town. Clearly, they are Number Three once again in the pecking order. The Browns will never relinquish the top spot and the Cavs are a solid number two. But what went wrong with 2006? Was it organizational arrogance, lack of payroll, or just bad luck? Answers with a Magic 8-Ball look ahead to 2007.

The AL Central: The Tribe was supposed to contend with the White Sox for the division crown. Minnesota was going to be better, and Detroit was going to improve. And Kansas City sucks. What happened? Amazingly, Detroit started off so hot, they could stagger to the finish and still make the playoffs. And they did exactly that. Minnesota compiled an insane record since mid-June and won the division on day last. The White Sox didn't win games when they didn't score, unlike last year. If they didn't hit, they didn't find a way to win. KC still sucks, although they beat us pretty good early in the year. The future? Looks tough. Minnesota and Chicago do not look they are heading down. Detroit may, but the pitching should keep them up there as, at least, our equal. So, we have to leapfrog three teams, while many needs must be addressed over the winter.

Magic 8-Ball says: Outlook not so good.

Catching: Victor Martinez can't throw me out but his offense was above average, especially at catcher. Kelly Shoppach proved to be a good backup. The dilemma. The pitchers seem to like throwing to Martinez, but they can't afford to give up baserunners with him behind the plate. I don't see this being corrected soon. However, he'll still start in 2007.

Magic 8-Ball says: Most likely.

First Base: The early year platoon of Perez and Broussard produced some offense, but lacked defense. Then they both got traded to Seattle. One of the bright spots was the emergence of Ryan Garko. All he did since mid-August was hit. Should be a shoo-in at first base for 2007.

Magic 8-Ball says: Signs point to yes.

Second Base: Ronnie Belliard had another solid year on defense, but his hitting was down and was a trade deadline package to Saint Louis. I don't want him back. Keeping Ramon Vazquez over Brandon Phillips was awful and Joe Inglett is, well, he's Joe Inglett. Hector Luna? 'Nuff said. Big question mark for 2007.

Magic 8-Ball says: My reply is no.

Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta had a disappointing year. The Bob Feller statue showed more range in the field and the guy had an awful year at the plate. He just seemed disinterested from Day One. Lots of strikeouts and not much clutch hitting. Will start here in 2007, but let's keep an eye on him. His contract makes him affordable in a trade.

Magic 8-Ball says: Reply hazy, try again.

Third Base: Boone was a disaster. A quick first week turned into another bad start. Stayed with us the whole year, because no one wanted him. Good professional though. He kept his mouth shut and actually played OK when they needed him the last two months. Too early to tell on Andy Marte. He couldn't hit at home. Showed some power and decent enough defense although I think he's got a scary arm. Kevin Kouzmanoff is interesting, but way too green at this point. Another big hole to fill.

Magic 8-Ball says: Concentrate and ask again.

DH: Travis Hafner. Should be a three-time All-Star. Would have out-Papied Big Papi, if he stayed healthy. No problems here.

Magic 8-Ball says: It is decidedly so.

Left Field: Jason Michaels did not come as advertised. He was supposed to be the on-base percentage guy with lots of walks mixed in with his hits. Walked 43 times and whiffed 101. Should be a bench guy. Another open slot for 2007.

Magic 8-Ball says: My sources say no.

Center Field: Grady Sizemore is on the edge of stardom. Never quit playing and led the league with 92 extra base hits. Solid.

Magic 8-Ball says: It is certain.

Right Field: Casey Blake. On paper, it appeared Blake rebounded from his dismal 2005 with a decent season, hitting 19 homers and knocking in 68. But he was on the Disabled List twice, sticking us with Franklin Gutierrez (nope) and Shin-Soo Choo (maybe) in the interim. And half of those power numbers came before June 1. He hit .194 in June and .219 in September (whiffing 25 times in 96 at-bats that month). Probably gets the starting nod in '07.

Magic 8-Ball says: Don't count on it.

Starting Pitching: C.C. Sabathia had a lower ERA, but instead of "dominating" as described this past week by a team official, he is now a .500 pitcher. Good staff member, but far from being an ace. Jake Westbrook won 15 games and has now been a solid starter for three years. I begrudgingly give him his due. Cliff Lee won 14, but once again had some bad stretches. Still, he's won 32 the last two years and we must keep him. Paul Byrd had to be labelled a disappointment. He was our big free-agent signing and pitched fairly mediocre ball most of the year. It seems every time he reaches 200 innings, the next year he stinks. He followed that trend this year. Jeremy Sowers makes us think what would have happened if the Jason Johnson Experiment had ended earlier. Sowers appears to be mentally tough enough to make it and won 7 over the last three months. Big upside here.

Magic 8-Ball says: Outlook good.

Relief Pitching: Not much to say here. Bob Howry and Arthur Rhodes left. Wicky Wicky Bob went to the ATL, because he didn't have an opportunity to save many games here. Carmona should have stayed on as a starter. I think Cabrera was hurt by the World Baseball Classic and never recovered his form. Betancourt is OK, Matt Miller can't stay healthy, Jason Davis has had way too many chances to impress and failed each time, and the cast of a thousand others were bad. A 2005 team strength became a team failure in 2006.

Magic 8-Ball says: Very doubtful.

There you have it. Some terrific, some good, some average, some lousy and some really putrid stuff happened. Of course, we'll be back next year.

Meal of Links

This man's goal: To drink in each Starbucks around the globe. I need a goal. 2,600 Tim Hortons in Canada...Yonge Street, the longest street in the world...another 290 in the States...pack small spoon for chili...no stores in Northeast Ohio...check Tim Hortons Trip Planner...let's see, carry the two...aha!...need more vacation time.

Congressman Foley resigns and who could have predicted...3...2...1... he's gay, was molested by that ubiquitous "clergyman" and he's an alcoholic. It's amazing how many folks get that 28-day vacation from the heat by checking themselves into a clinic. I expect him to be on Larry King by November 15.

Oprah has her Book Club, so does ESPN. Apparently, some sports fans can read. Joshua Prager's "The Echoing Green" is the latest selection. It's about the 1951 Giants ("The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!...") and amongst other things, delved into how they may have cheated to win the playoff game against the Dodgers, 55 years ago this day. I heard an interview with Prager on Bob Edwards' XM show this a.m. Good stuff.

Exercise Yard

Only in Philly. The "Lincoln Financial Fan of the Game" is ejected. That's hilarious.

Visitor

42 Across: Alice's restaurant patron (4 letters) Answer: Arlo

Continuing my bad streak of purchasing belts, I had one explode on me today. Not really, but the damn thing did fall apart in my hands. I'd say the workmanship was of the highest quality. I go to hook it and the buckle comes off one of its pegs and there you have it. Rendered useless. So, I go to my workshop and find the correct tool...Of course not. I struggle to shove the leather piece that has the peg through a slot and then...aaargh, it just doesn't fit. I'd have to weld the peg down to slide it through the slot and hook it back on that thing that wraps around that watchamacallit, and, Christ, why do belts hate me? I don't whip, I don't hang, I treat them well. A little somethin' for the effort would be nice.

Meal of Links

At lunch the other day, Denise brought up the fact that "CSI" has a serialized storyline this year. Call it "Grey's Anatomy Syndrome".

BlackBerry addicts in the UK are suing their employers. It's funny, two weeks ago, I saw The Edge doing yoga while checking his BlackBerry.

Ohio keeps logs of inmates about to be executed.I like the guy who stuffed himself for his last meal. Then had Pepto Bismol later.

Exercise Yard













Kinda makes you wish for Slider, no?

The Euro 2008 mascots have been unveiled. It appears the Intergalactic Space Fairy (you know, the Force mascot that replaced Darth Vader. THE Darth Vader, I tell ya.) has some new friends.

Visitor

14 Across: Singer Horne (4 letters) Answer: Lena

I finally recovered from watching the final Indians game for me this season on Friday. We stayed for fireworks. Yes, fireworks! The music was TV themes, maybe that was the draw. Anyhow, this was the game where Jhonny Peralta got his head hit after receiving a walkoff walk. It was the fourth consecutive walk given up by the Devil Rays in the 9th inning. What a way to win. No wonder they suck. They came to town, having won only won three road games since the All-Star break. They left that way, as well. So, the last two games I see are decided by a walkoff force play and a walkoff walk.

Yesterday, a bunch of us went over to the ICASI cooking school lunch. For $15, you get five courses. I had Artichoke Fritters, Bouillabaise, Roast Turkey, an Arugula Salad and something called Pear Bavarian. This was a meal that got better as it went along. The firtters were good, soup tasted good, but could have been warmer, salad had lots of herbs, turkey had an oustanding rutabaga mash, and the dessert had like pureed pears over a piece of toffee with whipped cream on top and a dried pear sticking out. Damn good lunch, I thought. Saved me from watching a bunch of soccer.

Meal of Links

Here's something I'll never be accused of. Compulsive shopping. I like my clothes. Well, maybe not that orange polo, which has been restricted to game days.

A very quick rundown on celebrity gossip. They're correct, it does sound boring.

Is cheap labor a good thing or a bad thing? Economically, it may not be that bad.

Exercise Yard

The Browns almost did it. They almost lost to the worst team in the league, the Raiders, falling behind by a first-half score of 21-3. They put together a good drive to start the second half, held on fourth down after a horrible spot did not give the Raiders a first down (which the Raiders, unbelievably, did not challenge), and got a great punt return to set up the go-ahead TD.

However, we still gave up lots of yards on the ground and survived another mind-numbing Charlie Frye endzone interception late in the game. We come out of Oakland with a win two years in a row, Cleveland 24, Oakland 21.

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None, it's Sunday.