My Dad and I took in "Frost/Nixon" at the Cedar-Lee this a.m. I liked it, but if you are not deeply into the subject matter as I am, I suspect there are long stretches of this movie where you would think nothing is happening.

Meal of Links

The Best TV Episodes of 2008. No "Dexter"? Hmmm.

J.D. Salinger remains too old for my Dead Pool. Guaranteed that not many people would have him.

Yeah, my cable company sucks.

Now we're talking. The Top 50 Victoria's Secret Models of all-time. Molly Sims at #10 is a keeper.

40 Unusual Websites you need to bookmark.

Exercise Yard

Good news. The Tribe traded for Mark DeRosa today. And they did not give away any major league talent to get him. The bad news? He is 34 years old and they want to play him at third, instead of second base.

I just realized the Indians home opener is on Good Friday.

Visitor

46 Across: Tarzan player Ron (3 letters) Answer: Ely

The Browns finally cleaned house today and I have a few thoughts:

Randy Lerner: I actually think our owner does care about the team. I mean, he'll cut the big checks (again) to rid us of this mess. But this nagging aversion to audio and video tape must be overcome. Woody Johnson (Jets owner, not porn star) faced the music in NYC today when he fired Eric Mangini, why won't Lerner do the same?

Than he sends Brady Quinn and Joe Thomas out there to answer questions from the media. Where are the adults?

I commend him for at least having a conversation with Bill Cowher. Of course, Cowher said no. Although I do not know what Cowher is doing with that "house in Strongsville he owns". We can now move on from that to the real issue of finding a coach and front office executive. Scott Pioli looks like the frontrunner for GM.

Phil Savage: To get fired on Saturday and then have it announced right as the team is leaving Pittsburgh on Sunday shows how much contempt Lerner had for Savage at the end. It was a rather insulting way to be let go. Three years ago, the city was up in arms when it appeared Savage would be forced out over the holidays in 2005, after year one. How wrong we were to cheer the fact he won out.

Listen, the baseball cap wearin', e-mailin', f-bomb droppin' GM was really wearing out his welcome. No second-day draft starters. 50-50 success on first-rounders. Players like Ken Dorsey on a professional roster. Draft for character (Kamerion Wimbley), not ability. Constantly giving Terry Pluto scouting info on why his guys were good. I love Terry, but c'mon, the selling of Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald at corners was getting to be absurd. Savage once pointed out Daven Holly's injury. WTF? If we are worried about an injury to Daven Holly, well...

Total mismanagement of the Kellen Winslow Affair. Totally inept at media relations. You cannot show up once a month to tell us why things are the way they are. In the NFL, you could go from 3-4 to 4-8 in November (like the Browns did), while Savage fiddled. Mainly with his e-mail.

I won't fault him for some of his free-agent signings like Gary Baxter or LeCharles Bentley. I mean, who knew their fates ahead of time? But Dante Stallworth was a major bust. He did hit on Eric Steinbach, but Kevin Shaffer? Ugh! And that Young guy who was subbing for Shaffer yesterday...ridiculous.

Romeo Crennel: His reign here could only be described as "Panormous". Because he seemed to like eating, but not making good football decisions on Sundays. Time management awful. Field goal and punting decisions well into this dark chasm of a season remained inane. Even yesterday where there have been maybe two successful 50-yard FGs in the history of Heinz Field, he sends in Dawson for a 53-yarder. Of course, he missed. Maybe it was sunny and he thought that would change things. No wonder the Browns went six games without an offensive TD.

Absurd replay challenges, including the one last year where he lost two timeouts. Flipping a coin to determine a starting quarterback.

Unbelievably bad post-game quotes: “When you win, you’re happy. When you lose, you’re sad. And that’s all we can do.” “It’s hard to get the most out of your players every week at this level.” “I can’t tell whether they’re going to show up week to week.” And on and on.

Oh, the players loved the guy. Those who said they played hard for him. You know, the same ones who threw in the towel after the Ravens game. I think the players took advantage of a situation knowing bad on-field performance would never jeopardize playing time.

Aw, hell, I'd keep going, but the "Three Stooges Theme" keeps running through my head.

Meal of Links

Russian professor predicts the USA will break up. Ohio will become part of the Central North-American Republic. And with it, our rivalry with the Steelers will disappear. Oh wait, that went away years ago.

Healthy foods under one dollar. Speaking of cheap, I was at the flagship Marc's in Middleburg this a.m. and, I must say, Monday mornings may be the time to shop here. Their new ads start on Tuesdays or maybe it was the holidays, but there was no one there. Clean, wider aisles, better selection (bottles of RC Cola!), and loud cockatoos in the back.

This week's TV Marathons. Speaking of TV Marathons, this is the time of year when ESPN, and its family of networks, trots out "World's Strongest Man". I saw the final the other day. WTF? How did I not know the 2008 final was filmed in Charleston, WV? Seriously, how did that not come to my attention? All those years of watching these exotic locations and it ends up within driving distance and I am caught unaware? Shame on me. And I just found out it was held in September when I had time off! Aaaaargh! Just kill me.

Exercise Yard

I finally got my first live look at the Cavs last night. Nomar Stalker and I were up in Loudville. Certainly didn't have their best game of the year, but LeBron took over in the 4th quarter and they finally went ahead of a Miami Heat team that had a 10-point lead.

My sense is that all the pieces/parts are there for a title run. Mo Williams was a great addition. Cavs won, 93-86.

Visitor

39 Across: Toon girl who's always traveling (15 letters) Answer: Dora the Explorer

Well, I got through Christmas. Another mystery ailment took me down on Christmas Day. After spending the morning at my Dad's, I was ambushed by something that sent me to bed by mid-afternoon. Throw-up streak was definitely in jeopardy, as I actually had to have a bucket nearby for the first time I could remember in quite a while. Name a flu-related symptom, I had it. Took in the first half of the Cavs game via radio.

Then I caught some "Family Guy". The one where Peter Griffin had a stroke, hopped in his car, then started singing "End of the World as We Know It" by R.E.M. That cheered me up a lot. Let me be clear. Having a stroke is NOT funny. However, Peter Griffin having a stroke IS funny.

Yesterday, I lounged for half a day watching soccer. Randy Lerner's Other Team had a big day, pulling out a late 2-2 draw with Arsenal.

And today, I feel fine.

Meal of Links

Stumbled upon "Quiz Show" for another viewing this evening. Charles van Doren recounted it earlier this summer.

The best indie movies of 2008.

Men's Health lists a bunch of things to say to a naked woman. Here's one: "Hungry? Stay right here. I'll go make you a burrito." Am I reading something into that, that I shouldn't?

Philips has a funny Internet ad for a Body Groomer. The phrase "extra optical-inch..." is a keeper.

"Valkyrie" with Tom Cruise is out now. But these guys did a movie a while ago you may remember: "The Usual Suspects".

Exercise Yard

Another "Friends and Family" game (attendance: 1169) at Cleveland State today, as CSU took on Notre Dame College. I am not sure what the Vikings get out of these Division III opponents, except for a workout. Anyhow, CSU wins, 91-40.

Next up: The beginning of Horizon League play on Tuesday against Wright State.

Visitor

8 Down: Edison portrayer in a 1940 film (6 letters) Answer: Rooney

Merry Christmas to all!

After a tame office coup, we are not scheduled for work today, so...

Never say that Cheap Eats don't exist around here anymore. On our way to the CSU-Kent game last night, we headed over to Lincoln Park Pub for what may be one of the longest-running Taco Tuesdays in the area.

On Tuesdays, you get beef or bean tacos for $1.25 and the combo ones for $2.00. Toss in Mexican beers (They have Bohemia!) for $2.25 and you have yourself quite the frugal, but tasty dinner. Plus, when it's cold, the fireplace is on. The place still holds up well.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...



(Yes, this one has finally risen to the top of the charts...It's Mr. Heatmiser!)

Meal of Links

Terrible band merchandise. The Kiss Kasket may take the cake.

The most Underrated Christmas specials. This includes the classic ending of the U.K. version of "The Office" and Johnny Cash, believe it or not. And the Mr. Magoo cartoon that scared the crap out of me when I was a kid.

Hurry, the last of the VHS tapes are dwindling. I still have some old ones laying around, including the Jets-Browns playoff game from long ago.

Hotels to stay in before you die. There are some awesome sites listed.

Twitter just can't stay out of the news. Like GPS, I'm having a hard time grasping why I need this.

Is Barenjager new?

Here are all of the upcoming Christmas marathons for your viewing pleasure.

Asian man pulls a Neil Peart



Exercise Yard

My brother and I attended last night's CSU-Kent game, where a season-high 4052 (er...uh...mostly Kent crowd) showed up. One of the best games CSU has played in the Gary Waters era. This one was done early and the lead extended to as many as 28 points in the second half. My personal whipping boy, George Tandy, played the game of his life. Big-time dunk, 7 points, 13 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks. He was so unconscious, he even delivered a no-look pass in the second half. The fatal flaw for CSU right now is foul shooting. 53.8% for the game. Ouch.

CSU wins, 67-41 to give everyone a Christmas present.

Then we were sent off into an ice storm. Folks, never where tennis shoes with a threat of ice. You fall down and go boom. I'm amazed this one poor guy who we saw didn't break anything.

Visitor

54 Across: Eight-time Grammy winner Turner(4 letters) Answer: Tina

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...



(The classic.)

On the Tenth Day of Christmas...

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Special Guest: None. There was absolutely no way I was going to today's game. I used the "pick up the paper" scheme as the deciding factor. If it was really cold, I wouldn't go in. Yes, it was cold.

Today's Opponent: The Cincinnata Bengals. As Forrest Gregg used to say when he coached here, "The Cincinnata Bengals" are a fine football team. Except these days, they are not. The Bengals are one of the few teams actually worse than the Browns this year.

Browns Version 2.3 hasn't scored since the Truman administration. We'll see who plays hard today and who shows up for a paycheck.

Parking: I did go Downtown for some pre-game and first half beers though. Parked on Prospect.

Browns Player on Ticket: Pro-Bowler (yeah, right) Joe Thomas. he may have threatened voters with a bear trap or something.

Pre-Game Festivities: I got my paper and had a banana. Then some beers.

Worst Feature (For Me): "Hang on Sloopy" at the end of the third quarter. I could hear it on the CBS broadcast. They showed fans singing. Braylon may be right.

The Weather: Freakin' cold.

Today's Giveaway: Major headaches and posterior pain for those who watched.

Section 345: On TV, I was amazed at how few people in my section actually showed up. It isn't a section of diehards but it was littered with no-shows, as was the entire park.

Best Browns Play: The Browns won the toss.

Best Bengals Play: Leon Hall's interception for a TD. Picture-perfect jumping of a route by a defender.

Worst Browns Play: Ken Dorsey's throw on that first Leon Hall interception. Baffling throw.

Second Worst Browns Play: The second Leon Hall interception. Horrific route running by Braylon Edwards compounded by a throw into triple coverage by Dorsey.

Worst Bengals Play: T.J. Houshmanzilly looked like he did not want to field any punts today. But he came dangerously close to having the ball touch him on numerous occasions.

Best Line from Me (as the game ended): "At least it was quick."

Best Line from a Random (actually Rich Gannon): "On days like these, the balls are as hard as rocks." I think he was referring to the pigskin.

Oddest Jersey: I actually saw a Bengal fan with a 94 Jumpy Geathers jersey.

Food Items: Beer and pizza.

Best Fan Cam Feature: Some chick had a sign that read, "At least we are not the Lions." Yeah, that'll get you on TV for sure, but that's sort of a sucky attitude.

The Fuckin' Run: Cedric Benson ran for 171 yards and the Bengals overall had 191. If that doesn't scream for help on defense, I don't know what does.

Worst Stat: The average pass play for the Browns gained 2 yards.

2nd Worst Stat: Four interceptions from Browns QBs today. Dorsey's QB rating was 28.2 (he had 28.3 against Philly). Gradkowski's rating was 8.3.

Most Interesting Stat: The Cincinnata Bengals threw the ball once in the second half. One time! This ain't 1958, but their offense looked like it today.

Penalties: The Browns had 9 penalties, with some killers in the first half.

Well, Romeo Crennel's last home game was probably not the farewell game he envisioned. For the second time in three years, the Bengals shut out the Browns at home. The 2006 was one of the worst games ever. This one was pretty bad, as well. The Browns won one home game this year.

No one showed up. Fans, players or coaches. An exercise in futility. Hopefully, all of the empty orange seats sent a message.

Browns are embarrassed, 14-0, by the lowly Bengals.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas...



("What's this, a Twisted Sister pin? On your uniform?")

Meal of Links

Did you use any buzzwords in 2008? In case you forgot, here are the latest ones.

Great band names of 2008. Is the Sisters Fibrosis taken yet?

All about beer goggles. They last longer on women.

Exercise Yard

Now, it's the Titans again as AFC favorites. The Browns lost to the new favorites, and play the old favorites, the Steelers, next week to close it out for 2008.

Visitor

None, it was freakin' cold today.

Finally made it back to Melt after today's CSU game. They are still doing a fine business out there, expansion and all. We had about a 15-minute wait for a table at 3:30. that speaks volumes. I got the BBQ Chicken sandwich I so love. That hits le spot every time. My Dad opted for the one with ham, bacon and swiss and he liked it, too.

So, Melt today and yesterday our Christmas party from work was at Glenmoor. I had a filet that was made just the way I like it. Topped that off with a Creme Brulee. Kind of a normal meal around here for me.

On the Eighth Day of Christmas...



(The Boss with a strange hat he got from Bono that allows him to speak French. And a bonus...Clarence is upright.)

Meal of Links

Time for "It's A Wonderful Life" again. Still holds up really well, I think. "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings."

24 underrated websites. I've used a couple of these, not too bad.

I know The Sun is there, but this story about Amy Winehouse cannot be true. She is addicted to a game show and won't record any new music.

Hitch talks about Rick Warren. Last paragraph sums it up brilliantly.

Weird shit. Bizarre X-rays. Not for the weak.

Exercise Yard

I took my Dad to the CSU-LaRoche game today. LaRoche? Yep, a Division III school from Pittsburgh. They ran out on the court and I immediately predicted a 35-point win for CSU. Well, it was 26 in a glorified workout.

CSU wins, 72-46.

Visitor

2 Down: Remini of "The King of Queens" (4 letters) Answer: Leah

On the Seventh Day of Christmas...



(Check out George's bowtie)

Last night, Drew and I headed out to O’Rielly’s for some drinking. No Po Boys, but a Turkey Burger hit the spot. He mentioned that he had just flown in on first class. Isn’t that a cool thing to get into first class?

My boss once upgraded me. The unfortunate thing was he was also there. Ah, those were the days. He proceeded to bring out his own caviar. He was piling it onto his crackers, like normal folk pile on cheese or peanut butter. What a sight! Then, he stuffs one in his mouth and then immediately asks, or should I say, mumbles loudly three rows back where I was, if I wanted any. I politely replied , “No.” as my thought bubble read, “Do I know you?”

Meal of Links

A look back at ”Reservoir Dogs”. I was a bit late to this party, but I still love it. “Toby Wong?” might be my favorite line. Plus, you get “Little Green Bag”…



The 2008 playoffs have already started. It’s the ”Worst Lyrics of the Year”.

The executive producer of “Dexter” talks about the finale, which I thought was weak. I’m curious to see what gets carried over to Season Four. I thought LaGuerta would have at least looked at the file or even mentioned Doakes in Season Three, and that never happened. Looks like Deb will obviously look into her father’s past though. But I can probably name 5 things I’d be curious about for next year and maybe they’ll be dismissed as well.

Yahoo! compiled the best and worst tech products of 2008. I like Hulu and that Herman Miller chair, Embody, is getting tons of good press. They are right, Blu-Ray discs for $25 suck.

Media errors and corrections for the year. Some of that stuff is funny.

Al Franken might win! I cannot believe they are still counting votes. It’s Christmas.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas…



(Yeah, it’s bad.)

Exercise Yard

Travel to bowl games looks like it’s taking a hit. Check out these Orange Bowl prices. Walk in cheaply and upgrade.

Visitor

21 Down: Diggs of “Rent” and “Cake” (4 letters) Answer: Taye

On the Fifth Day of Christmas...

While I was absorbed by the Browns last night, I realized how behind I was with regard to Christmas and all of its trappings. Like starting to gather gifts for other people. Did some of that a weekend ago online, but realized I still had a bunch more to do, as I had ordered several things for me. Then I looked at the calendar, muttered an expletive and decided I better hop to it.

So, tonight, it was the traditional writing of the out-of-town cards. Using my neighbor's spotlight as the light source, I accomplished that. Tomorrow, it's social time.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas...



(What the hell is going on? I swear that is a spazz attack!)

Meal of Links

The police finally close the case of the murder of Adam Walsh. The perpetrator died in prison 12 years ago.

Turner Classic Movies lists the schedule for 31 Days of Oscar. TCM University is the theme. February 16 is a keeper. "The Conversation" is on February 20, mark it down. And check out the Athletic Department on February 28. Not a dog the entire day. Don't call me, because it'll be really dusty over here around Noon that day, when Jack Warden figures it all out in "Heaven Can Wait". Gets me every time.

The Worst Movies of 2008. "Indiana Jones", hah! But "Witless Protection" makes Number One. Or should that be Number Two?

The Detroit Free Press offers big changes. Home delivery only 3 days a week. Newsstand still has an edition every day. Which makes me wonder. When was the last time I actually used a newsstand?

Some dude on "The Price is Right" guesses correctly and wins the Double Showcase with a perfect guess for the first time in 35 or 36 years.



Then how come it sounds like Drew Carey is as excited as he is when he is reading the phonebook? I agree with Leitch, it has to be a re-shoot.

Exercise Yard

Braylon. You just buried yourself, dude. This town will never forgive him. If he wanted out, he could have gone about it a different way.

Visitor

41 Across: 1999 Brendan Fraser film based on a Hanna-Barbera toon (13 letters) Answer: Dudley Do-Right

Hey, great game from Cleveland State tonight. They beat 11th-ranked Syracuse on a 60-foot shot at the buzzer to win 72-69. Just like they draw it up in practice, eh?

As you can tell, that is a fairly long shot:

































On the Third Day of Christmas...



(Yep, just a still photo.)

Meal of Links

Wes Anderson directs Brad Pitt in a Japanese callphone commercial.



Maybe Jack Black can save "The Office". It needs a spark this season.

It's the "Throw Shoes At Bush Game". I heard the Indians signed the actual guy today.

Yawning cools your brain. Mine must have been really hot during the Browns game.

Exercise Yard

At least the Browns lost quickly tonight. Highlight: Browns call timeout with 1:54, losing 30-10, prompting Donovan McNabb to say, "No-o-o-o-o way!".

A dismal affair.

Visitor

33 Across: Pioneer Daniel (5 letters) Answer: Boone

It seemed all I did today was run around town. Part of which was zipping out to the Cedar-Lee to see "Slumdog Millionaire" and then I had to zip right back to this side of town. Anyhow, to paraphrase Jackie Gleason, the Cedar-Lee audiences are supposed to be the best movie-going audiences in Cleveland. Boy, things are slipping.

This was shown in one of the theaters where the seats are contained in maybe 10-12 rows and the aisles are on either side. And it was almost filled. So, look, you really can't sit in the middle of a row and decide to leave during the movie. The rows are not wide enough and everything in your row gets disrupted. Let alone the people behind you are fucked. That happened twice. I was in row last and there now seems to be an obsession with some people to get a head start on leaving, so these people leave their seats late in the movie and watch the ending while standing in the back. WTF? I hate when people hover and I certainly don't like it in the dark. Checking for texts and messages...folks, that's a no-no. That went on. We even had a phone ring today. I don't even wanna start on the guy who sat down and had cold hands. How did I know that? Because he did the cup hands, blow into them and rub them before the start of the movie. At least five times. It was killin' me. You'd think we were in Antarctica. He was rubbing them so much, if they were sticks, I would have had to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

As for the movie, it's a gem. The movie is about a kid who is a contestant on "Who Wants To be A Millionaire?" (the Indian version). He is not well-schooled, but a survivor of the slums of Bombay, now Mumbai. Anyhow, it shows how he knows the answers on the show by using flashbacks and how those answers were revealed to him and he cashes in on that knowledge. Pretty unique stuff. Subtle comedy, throughout, absolutely hot Indian chick, Freida Pinto, along for the ride, too. Stars no one you know. You won't find another movie like it. Best I've seen all year.

This past weekend at the movies had some new trailers. Got my first look at "The Wrestler" which looks great. "Revolutionary Road"? Leo in a 1950's suit? After seeing him kick ass in "Blood Diamond", I dunno. "Che" also looks like that may be in two parts. Otherwise, that's 4.5 hours of subtitles in one sitting.

Meal of Links

Speaking of hot chicks, you know what I think of Penelope Cruz. Hot, but don't even try speaking English. Absolutely, ruins it for me. However, I have found the ultimate Spanish substitute. I have stumbled upon this show, don't ask me how, on PBS called, "Spain: On The Road Again". Yeah, Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mark Bittman are on it, but I can fast forward them to listen to Claudia Bossols turn a phrase in Spanish or English. She needs to do more work in the States, pronto.

Oh, great. They are now throwing shoes at the guy. "So what if the guy threw a shoe at me?". Once a Vietnam War dodger, now a shoe dodger.

Changes are coming for "Idol". Haven't they figured out that less bad singers = less ratings.

On the Second Day of Christmas...



Exercise Yard

If you thought the Browns had bad play calling, did you catch the end of the Buffalo-New York Jet game? Really, the Buffalo coaching staff needs to be jettisoned after that bonehead call to lose the game. Haven't seen anything that egregious in a long time. Well, maybe a Browns game or two earlier this year.

Utterly indefensible.

Visitor

None on a rainy Sunday.

From the land of "Yes, my neighbor's Christmas lights are bright..."

There are two docs that are worth looking at, and they are both on TV. The first, which I have seen, is "Dirty Driving: Thundercars of Indiana". If you want an hour or so of redneckery combined with asshatery, this is a can't miss. Probably need to catch it on HBO On Demand, by this point. This is all about the citizenry of Anderson, IN, and how they cope with life and a bad economy. And also how they aspire to "get me one of those six-foot trophies" at Anderson Speedway most every week.

The other was on on ESPN tonight, "The Greatest Game Ever Played". From the same company that colorized the 1960 Masters last year, it's the 1958 Colts-Giants NFL Championship game. The colorization was really cool. This is no Ted Turner crap where everyone has Ronald Reagan Red hair. And the restoration process found every play, except one, through various forms. So, there are lots of reverse angles throughout. Of course, this game has grown into mythic proportions. Seventeen Hall of Famers were associated with both teams and it remains the only championship game to be determined in overtime. I've got portions of this game on an old NFL Films VHS tape around here somewhere. The game is a great slice of NFL history. Final scenes are hilarious. Colt fans running on the field and tearing down the goalposts...in New York at Yankee Stadium!

And "The Miser Brothers" were on tonight, too. I DVR'ed it for future viewing.

Meal of Links

I saw "Milk" today. Deserves all the accolades it is getting. The casting person astoundingly got actors who resembled the main participants. A little bit slow at times and I think some license taken with a few strategically placed phone calls for dramatic effect. Other than that, it'll be on many Top 10 lists. Sean Penn is a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination. One for Best Picture iffy, although Gus Van Sant probably gets a nod for Director.

Here are some down-and-out Christmas tunes. "Fairytale of New York" made the list, so...it's the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.

On the First Day of Christmas...



Bush's "Midnight Regulations". Lots of stuff will be implemented as he walks out the door.

"Dexter" gets some love. The finale is tomorrow. Jimmy Smits was really good in his guest turn this year.

If The Smiths reunite, I'll be there. "Ask me, I won't say no, how could I?". And, yes, I realized last night I still know every word to "Ask".

Clocks.

Exercise Yard

HBO Boxing had the live Klitschko-Rahman fight this afternoon. One word: Terrible. Rahman took the fight on short notice and, boy, did it show. He hardly lifted a finger in this bout, with Klitschko finally dispatching him in the 7th. Well, the ref had finally seen enough. I had thought that way since about the third round. Unbelievably, Riddick Bowe was on the card.

Which leads me to the replay of the Oscar de la Hoya-Manny-Pacquiao reply. Pacquiao actually rearranged Oscar's "beautiful face", as Lamps put it. I'm not kidding, he destroyed Oscar and propelled him into retirement with fury. Oscar should use the $20 million and start his MMA promoting. Like yesterday. Tough to see the great ones go out like that, but it was as one-sided a big fight as I've seen. Great stuff from Pacquiao.

Visitor

45 Across: First right-handed batter to reach 500 home runs (10 letters) Answer: Jimmie Foxx

Crap! Too late to make this card.

























Meal of Links

This language translator is the ginchiest. Dead on for: "Where is Pepe's house?"





















Looks like I'm gonna have to go back under the hood and take another look at Jennifer Aniston. Here's her GQ spread.

It's that time of the year. Best music lists: Here and here.

Heard an interview with Diane Ravitch on Bob Edwards' show today. Fascinating stuff about education in America.

Greg Oden? Not such a fun guy.

I saw a clip of Obama with Governor Strickland the other day. We may need the big guy's help. Our budget deficit sucks.

The approval rating of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich hits 7 percent. Somewhere, President Bush is relieved.

Exercise Yard

The Indians are Putzes. We overpay for Kerry Wood. Cannot believe that 2-year/$20 million deal. Then we have a trade involving J.J. Putz from Seattle, who would have been a great pickup.

Except we don't get him. We get the "well-known" Joe Smith from the Mets (where Putz goes) and some Josh Barfield-like second baseman from Seattle. And we only give up Franklin Gutierrez, to whom I say "Gut Riddance".

Our Hot Stove is still on simmer, I'd say.

Visitor

30 Across: Sports Illustrated's 1984 co-Sportsman of the year (6 letters) Answer: Retton

I finally had a Coke today from Dave's Mercado. Not just any Coke. Nope, this is your father's Coke. You know, the Real Thing. As I visited old Da-veed's last week, I noticed they were stocking Coke in bottles from south of the border. Not Kentucky, but from Mexico. Finally. OK, they charge extortion prices of $1.69 a bottle, but they are so good.

I only bought a couple and have treated them like gold. Waiting for the appropriate time to open them up with my Cleveland Indians bottle opener. Oh, they were good. It's all about the cane sugar, baby. Not that corn syrup crap.

Meal of Links

Time is doing their Top 10 of Everything lists again. The Top 10 Ads are pretty choice. Number One with Dwyane Wade and Charles Barkley is an excellent choice. That Nike ad with Polamulu-LT, I had no idea David Fincher directed that. The Scorsese AT&T movie ad is a killer, too. Politics and Hilary's "3 a.m. Call" are also represented.

Jay Leno stays at NBC. In primetime. That is a very interesting move.

Wanna drive the Wienermobile? They are looking for drivers.

The Merrill Lynch CEO wants his 2008 bonus to be $10 million. His company got saved, Lehman didn't.

Sort of an unfortunate parking experience.

Hey, it's a Betamax Christmas! Use the channel changer on the right. I just saw a Christmas-themed Parkay commercial that was so long, they gave a recipe. Then one for Velveeta and other members of the Kraft family of food products. And Cher dropped in on "Pee-Wee's Playhouse"

I was watching "Family Guy" on Sunday. I guess Laura Bush really did kill a man.

Hitler's maid says he was a good boss. A charming man, if you will.

Exercise Yard

PETA lists the most vegetarian-friendly stadiums. Oakland, Philly, and Green Bay in the Top 5.

Visitor

1 Down: Kevin of "Tin Cup" (7 letters) Answer: Costner

Not much happening, so Tim Goodman charts his favorite Christmas shows.

I am kind of anxious to see what that new Miser Brothers special is all about this coming weekend.

Anyhow, Siskel and Ebert provide a...

"A Christmas Story" Review



Meal of Links

Mario Puzo with behind-the-scenes commentary about "The Godfather". Photos, as well. Great shot of James Caan rigged for death.

WTF? A cold sore virus is linked to Alzheimer's Disease.

Andrew Sullivan declares newspapers are dead. But blogs are probably not the answer either.

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Well, what did you expect with a third-string quarterback? The Browns were terrible today. They gave up 235 yards rushing today. We are in crisis mode.

But we're not the Lions!

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A dismal day in Browns Town.

I hate being ill. Especially when it prevents you from doing things. I think I'm normally a good patient but I get anxious to get things moving in the right direction. So, after feeling shitty starting yesterday afternoon, I had to sit out a birthday party last night and try and get better. It worked, as I was in Operation Shutdown for about 12 hours after taking some meds.

Today, I took it easy and bought some Christmas cards. And declared it Cyber Saturday and shopped for many things while watching some basketball. And on cue, the snow is falling down. Aw, isn't that nice? Yeah, until I have to shovel.

Meal of Links

Mom goes to Whole Foods. It cannot end well.

BTW, the Modells were behind that NFL game on Thursday that was broadcast in 3D. I still say that U2 movie in 3D was unbelievably cool to watch and if our local IMAX or some other theater showed a Super Bowl that way, I'm there.

39 years ago today: Altamont. If you haven't seen "Gimme Shelter" lately, I suggest a revisit.

Exercise Yard

I missed this from earlier in the week, but Dr. Z has some health issues. And with the cuts over at SI, he may not have that job much longer.

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39 Across: Hall of Fame football coach Earle "Greasy" _____ ( letters) Answer: Neale

I participated in my first "whiteout" at the Cleveland State-Butler game. You're supposed to wear white, so it looks good on TV. Since the game started at 8:00, it was a good opportunity to eat at Becky's. Remember the burgers are fresh, never frozen, there. It seemed more crowded there than at the game, as the Coat Chairs were intact. A hugely disappointing crowd of 2604 showed up, probably half the size of last year's game. This shows CSU still has some marketing to do.

Rumor has it Butler came in with the #1 RPI. I have yet to see that, but everyone keeps mentioning it. They have no seniors on their squad and were picked for middle of the pack in the Horizon League. Their freshman play as much as Valpo's, but there is a major difference. Butler's are really good at this point. They played as many as three freshmen during much of crunch time and believe it or not, the ball movement of this team might be the best Butler has ever had. Really impressive.

The second half was the difference. CSU had a pretty decent first half and was up 27-20 at the half. All you need to know is CSU shot 14% in the second half. Yep, 14%! Combine that with 56% foul shooting and, well, there you have it. Butler cut down on the turnovers after halftime and crawled back in it and had a chance to win on a final shot. Zack Hahn hit a three-pointer with no time left to win it for Butler. That was a dagger! The hallmark of Butler teams is they never quit and they still don't, even with a whole new team.

CSU loses, 50-48, in a heartbreaker. Next up: Grab the coonskin cap. It's the Mountaineers and Couch Huggins of West Virginia.

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"The Big Lebowski" returns to the Cedar-Lee on Saturday. So, celebrate with a White Russian.

All about those Hollywood studio logos. I still love that fanfare on those Fox movies.

Roger Ebert has some words for Ben Stein. Uh, he basically hammers him.

Wes Anderson talks about his early films. BTW, "The Darjeeling Limited" is making the rounds on the HBOs this month.

CNN cuts its science/environmental unit. That means no more Miles O'Brien. The Weather Channel dumped their environmental group two weeks ago, as well. And we'll have more cuts locally at Channel 3.

Snub-Nosed Monkey alert!

Exercise Yard

The Knicks are the most valuable NBA franchise. The Cavs are fifth at $477 million. Thanks, LeBron.

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26 Across: Ranting comic _____ Black (5 letters) Answer: Lewis

My brother and I headed down to the Bart last might to take in the Horizon league opener. That's right, the earliest start in CSU's history for league play. Kinda like the Tribe starting in March. The opponents were the Crusaders of Valparaiso. Hey, 1572 showed up, so the Coat Chair was back in full effect.

Let's be honest, it would hard to find something that Valpo did correctly during this game. Sure, the bus driver got them there on time, they tied their shoes, they practiced, but that was about it. Even the coach, Homer Drew, got ejected from this one (first time in his career and he's been around forever), as he walked on the floor to protest a call. He couldn't take it anymore. I'd like to think CSU had a little bit to do with it.

CSU shot 45% as J'Nathan Bullock looks back on track, as he had 29 points. Even my favorite whipping boy, George Tandy, had 10 rebounds, although many of them sort of rolled or bounced to him. He seldom grabs after anything. CSU outrebounded Valpo, but Valpo shot 31%, had 22 turnovers and only 8 assists to CSU's 19. A really bad effort from Valpo, excused because their roster is full of underclassmen. Looks like a long year for them and a good start in the league for the Vikings last night.

CSU wins, 66-42. Next up: Thursday, the big one against the Butler Bulldogs.

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A couple of channels have changed their formats locally. MOJO is no longer. They died. Time Warner Cable HD packages have come up with MGMHD as a sub. But they have yet to kill"Three Sheets"! On terrestrial radio, 92.3 changed formats again. This time, it's Adult Album Alternative with no DJs. I heard Dave Matthews, Silversun Pickups and Linkin Park in limited listening today.

The Bloody Mary turned 75 yesterday. I, for one, will celebrate it.

A mad scientist. He wants to bring back the dead.

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Sean Avery talks about "Sloppy Seconds". Uh-oh. Suspended by the NHL.

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14 Across: Arthur of tennis (4 letters) Answer: Ashe

From personal experience; When eating a meatball sub at work, make sure the final meatball is secure in said bun. Otherwise it may ping pong between your pantlegs several times and you wind up looking like Harris Smith, I mean Plaxico Burress.

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Look through the spin of Black Friday retail sales. This is a simple primer on who to listen to when it comes to these sales forecasts.

A nice story that rewards hard work. But the business was sold and things will change. Trust me when I tell ya.

10 big energy myths. Build those windmills!

Exercise Yard

Soccer just can't get away from the racist chants. This time it's directed at Mido, as in "Mido, he's got a bomb, you know." Apparently, people think he's Richard Reid.

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29 Across: Actress Bullock (6 letters) Answer: Sandra

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Special Guest: Shaun. The last time I was at a game with Shaun, the Browns scored 51 (we'll forget the Bengals scored 45 for now). The parallels are eerie. Derek Anderson making a start after he replaced an injured or fired quarterback in the previous game. The fans are howling at the team for being so inept, once again. Coach in jeopardy. Defense playing awful. Pick any year and it's the same story.

Today's Opponent: The Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are on fire and are now 7-4 with their next three opponents the Browns, Bengals and Lions. They can smell the playoffs. They have turned around their year with Peyton Manning taking a break from his commercials and zipping the ball around pretty well. The two things the Colts haven't done well this year is run the ball or defend the run. And Bob Sanders is not playing. That can only help the Browns offense.

Team Turmoil, I mean Browns Version 2.3, reached another historic low last week. This week, Derek Anderson starts for the first time in 4 games. Only God knows what we'll get from him. The forecast calls for rain. Ah, the Great Equalizer!

The Colts are favored today and deservedly so. But there are three things the Browns must do to be competitive today. For the first time in a while, the Browns face receivers who aren't very tall, so the secondary may play better today. Although I realize it is Manning throwing to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. The Colts cannot defend the run, especially with Sanders out. The Browns should run 30 times this week. Of course, I said that last week about the Texans. Jamal Lewis, once again last week, expressed his dismay to the media about his lack of carries, and last time that resulted in more touches for him.

Lastly, the Colts have not been a juggernaut on the ground. With the predicted wet track, I think the Colts may have to prove their worth with the running game. If the Browns haven't given up, they may make the game at least bearable to watch today.

Parking: East 6th northbound by the Taverne on the Mall. Known to old timers as Pat Joyce's. Not so bad.

Browns Player on Ticket: The Kamerion Wimbley Gun Show. Only 9 Browns players had their pictures on Browns tickets this year. This clown making the top 9 shows how bad they are.

Pre-Game Festivities: Walked in after the National Anthem, under the influence of Christmas Ale. Not sure what I missed.

Worst Feature (For Me): "Hang on Sloopy" at the end of the third quarter. No Browns organist today.

The Weather: Hollie Strano on the mike again. Radar made an appearance today because of the threat of rain in all of its green radar glory. Drizzled on the way in and first part of the first quarter. Did not rain on us until after the game ended.

Today's Giveaway: There wasn't any, as far as I could tell.

Section 345: Nothing happened. Could have been the most nondescript game I've ever attended. Empty seats for two rows in front of us. Row behind us virtually empty. Quite the boring game.

Best Browns Play: In a game where literally nothing happened, it must have been Derek Anderson's pass to Braylon Edwards for 20 yards in the third quarter. This resulted in a gain to the Indy 25. Three straight runs including a direct snap to Josh Cribbs on third down, ended with Phil Dawson missing a field goal.

Best Colts Play: Try and find one. I think it may have been early in the first quarter when Manning hit Dallas Clark on a crossing route for 17 yards on the Colts second drive.

Worst Browns Play: In the fourth quarter, Dwight Freeney sacked Derek Anderson. Ball comes free and Robert Mathis recovers the fumble and runs 37 yards for the game-winning touchdown. Then depression set in.

Second Worst Browns Play: The aforementioned play out of the Wildcat formation where Cribbs took a direct snap and failed to get a first down. Will the Browns do something different from this formation this year? It's Game 12 for cryin' out loud.

Worst Colts Play: First play of the second half, Manning throws deep for Wayne and is intercepted by Brandon McDonald. Oddly enough, Eli Manning did the very same thing on the Giants first play of the second half in the Monday night game.

Best Line from Me (as the game ended): "At least it was quick."

Best Line from a Random: I heard nothing of note. Most of the regulars have already bailed.

Oddest Browns Jersey: 31 Green, 44 Suggs, 52 Ambrose, 69 Beef, 69 Uncle Drew, 95 Willie.

Food Items: Shaun bought me two of those $7 Budweisers at the game.

Best Fan Cam Feature: Once again, the shirtless man in cold weather. A standard this time of year.

The Fuckin' Run: The Browns gave up only 90 yards rushing today for a three-yard average. Indy did their part to keep us in this one.

Worst Stat: The average pass play for the Browns gained 3.2 yards.

2nd Worst Stat: The average run play for the Browns gained 3.2 yards. Yes, it was Weak Beer Day at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Most Interesting Stat: Anderson was sacked three times today. That was 20% of the Browns season total in one game.

Penalties: Nothing mind-boggling today.

This one was for the books. Both the Browns and Colt offenses were strangely vanilla the entire game. It was as if both teams were still in the midst of a turkey coma. Sure, both teams tried to run. The Colts ran 29 times, the Browns 32. Indeed, both teams tried to pass.

It was not as if they were really bad throwing the ball. It was more of being ineffective, because neither team took that many risks. Manning hit 15 of 21 for only 125 yards. Derek Anderson had two turnovers and was sacked three times and incurred an MCL injury, making him doubtful for the rest of the year. It had a strange feel of "First Touchdown Wins" to it, especially in the second half.

So, Ken Dorsey becomes the starter for the Browns. Did you know our backup is now Richard Bartel? Sounds like he should be playing Hamlet, not the Titans next week. Bernie Kosar's favorite QB, Dorsey, now gets to drive the bus home for the final four games. Can't be too encouraging, as a couple of years ago, they played a one-armed Charlie Frye over a 100%-healthy Dorsey in the final game of the year. That speaks volumes. Maybe Josh Cribbs and the Wildcat takes over.

However, I can't ever remember attending a game where nothing happened. But that's what occurred today. In a game where Peyton Manning cannot get the Colts an offensive touchdown, the Browns still lose, 10-6.

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Need some tools? These are the 5 best CD/DVD burning tools.

Something to file away about the Mumbai terrorism. Most of the victims were tortured. And a Brit who saved many.

WTF? Where are all the acorns?

Mmmmmm. A "plastic soup of waste" in the Pacific Ocean. Maybe there will be a "Transporter 4"? BTW, Kevin is still mad about the movie. He said he was offended by it. I am still insulted by it.

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Shouldn't D'Arcy Egan and Joe Thomas be on the case? How come the PD doesn't have an article like "How to Butcher Your Own Deer"?

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None. A dreary Browns Sunday.

A grand total of 8 took in the early viewing of "Transporter 3" at Crocker Park earlier today. Kevin, Shaun and I were in attendance for what we hoped was a typical Jason Statham affair. The consensus was: "It was horrible." Yes, this franchise has been effectively killed off after this effort. It appeared that Luc Besson wrote this during a lunch hour with the TV on, looking out a window, knowing he had no shot to make a "Transporter 4".

You see, I don't like plot getting in the way of my Transporter movie. I want Frank Martin beating up guys and driving his car really fast. That's all I ask. Pretty simple. I'm even willing to suspend reality for some of the driving stunts as long as they seem somewhat plausible. But even that didn't happen, as some of these stunts were really out of left field. And I'm not even talking about the "driving between two trucks" stunt from the trailer. I'm totally into that. Some of the others were just idiotic.

Oh sure, he had a fight scene where the weapons were his clothes. Yeah, he beat up a gang of guys with his suit jacket, followed by his shirt, then his tie, and later he whipped a guy with his belt. All good "Transporter" stuff. But then he starts breaking his rules. Rules he lived by explicitly in the first two Transporter movies. Uh oh, if he starts suspending rules, that means plot enters the picture. Aaaaargh!

There were some environmental polluters (Huh?) and then the Bad Guy kidnaps a daughter of a diplomat dealing with those guys (So, where's my Audi?). Frank Martin finally realizes (after the audience had known, oh, since the start) the package he needs to deliver is this girl. The most annoying character I've had to deal with in a movie in a long time. Couldn't he shut her up with a cufflink or an ascot or something? Anyhow, they become a love interest by the end. WTF? If he wants to break his rules, fine. But to end up with this one? Ay yi yi!

Oh yeah, he and the girl are also wearing bracelets and if they end up 75 feet away from the car, they go boom. Easy to forget, because they were never really in danger of doing that. I mean, he has to drive the car, doesn't he?

Then, of course, we have the Bad Guy. First of all, why doesn't the Bad Guy and his henchmen drive the girl without the middleman. Seems infallible to me. Then with all the sophisticated tracking equipment they have, they are driving around with it housed in a UPS-type truck. That's laughable. Then when the girl is delivered, they decide to ride into Odessa (Oh yeah, Budapest and Bucharest were just false destinations. I guess they ran out of ests.) on a train instead of driving there in their cars. Even a henchman asked that question and the Bad Guy pulled a gun on him as his answer. I guess that's better as a symbolic answer instead of saying, "Well, that would be the smart move, but because we have some more stunts to do, we need to involve the car and a moving train. Plus, the Bad Guy Rulebook dictates I have to do something utterly stupid so my plan is foiled, he gets the girl, and I meet my demise in a rather exciting fight to the finish. And if we drive into town in our comfortable Range Rovers to deliver the girl, we can't do that."

Should be showing up on Worst 10 lists soon.

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Most popular Top Tens. From Lifehacker.

What do auto workers really make? Well, it's not that $70/hour figure that has been making the rounds.

Did Winona Ryder steal some jewels? And what does she exactly act in recently?

Exercise Yard

Another rather indifferent card on HBO Boxing After Dark tonight. While everyone is not paying attention, Chris Arreola is now the best heavyweight boxer in the United States. If you ask who, well, you're not alone. He came into tonight's bout out of shape and boxed a stiff. So, he gets knocked down in Round 2 and then knocks his opponent down twice in the same round for the uncommon 9-8 round. Then finishes off his opponent early in Round 3. We've been down this path before, let's see how he does against the top flight.

In the main event, Paul "The Punisher" Williams threw a shutout at Verno Phillips for 8 rounds before the ref ended it. Nasty cut on Williams by the unintentional headbutt in Round 1 made it interesting for about 5 seconds. But Williams went about his business with his typical high workrate and dismantled Phillips from that point forward.

Next week is the big one. Oscar de la Hoya vs. Manny Pacquiao. It's on PPV but I hope to get a look next Saturday.

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50 Down: "Project Runway Canada" host (4 letters) Answer: Iman

Talk about Doorbusters. Well, they trampled a guy at the old Wal-Mart today. I think the surreal video of this is the one where a victim is being wheeled away, as many more people are leaving with carts filled with these huge boxes. Gotta get in that "Blitz Line", I guess. Last night at 8:30 as I was taking my Dad home, our local Best Buy had the line already wrapped around a side of the building, as some folks are now constructing a Best Buyville with tents. Urban camping, indeed.

Seems a bit ridiculous. I didn't really notice any outstanding sales at the brick-and-mortars for Black Friday. GPS seems to be the biggest thing in the ads, but hard to tell if these are the newest models, as I haven't had a crying need to get one. Today is always the day to buy memory though, if you need it. Everyone has really good deals on that. I usually get Kingston memory cards. They are cheaper and perform just as well, I think. Online, it was the much the same. Although, I got a great deal on a Canon digital camera from Newegg and cut more off with a promo code and got free shipping. I think the only other really good deals were at Amazon. The Kindle 2 would have been a big holiday item for them but that doesn't arrive until 2009. I know Wal-Mart had a Blu-Ray DVD player (Magnavox, maybe?) for $125, but Amazon actually had a Sony for around $200. That was cheap. They also had the Flip Video HD that just came out for around that same price. Of course, we'll hear how great business was today and by Monday, I'm sure we'll hear how bad it actually was.

Here's a video of a long line of traffic to go to an outlet mall in Oahu last night. Do they realize they are in Hawaii? I would think that's a daily bargain.



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Did the Cartoon Network kill "Rickrolling"? This would have worked much better if Rick Astley didn't have an NBC mike and Matt Lauer hadn't warned us about a surprise. They should have done it as a complete work.

Fantastic meal at my Uncle's yesterday as his wife treated the Single Losers Club to Thanksgiving dinner. And "The Godfather" marathon was on, so that's always a kick. We had butternut squash soup again. I rarely eat that, but my God, is that a great thing or what? I think we also had turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, biscuits, salad with garbanzo beans, corn souffle, a vegetable medley and desserts including pumpkin pie and a grilled pineapple with chocolate and mascarpone. There was also a caramel apple pie that entered the fray and looked outstanding, but I think I had enough for my coma already.

But the day started with the annual Turkey Day trek to the cinema, where a huge a crowd of six saw "Australia". This is the Baz Luhrmann epic and has quasi Oscar-nomination potential, I think. Simply because there is nothing like it this year. This is sort of a post-"The Big One" lesson during a few years of Australian history. It's kind of a Western with World War Two thrown in there, along with a look at aboriginal racism. I think it works, but it's not the movie they are selling in the ads (cue the Midnight Oil song). Hugh Jackman as "The Drover" and Nicole Kidman work well together and the kid who plays "Nullah" is terrific. And you get older Aussies like Bryan Brown and Jack Thompson, too. And "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" (I am tired of that classic. We get actual film, harmonica, singing and whistling versions here to poke at me.) and Oz play a role. It's got a certain old-fashioned flavor and the old coots in the academy may go for it, at least for directing and movie. But there are flaws. It takes a while to get the whole thing moving, the accents can be a problem, if you hate kids as narrators or kids that might rub you the wrong way this may not work (I still recall rooting for the trucks to go faster in "Pet Semetary" to get rid of that kid), Kidman still calls him "The Drover" and not by his name after they are living together (it would be like Kirsten Dunst calling Tobey Maguire "Spider-Man" all the time when he's in his street clothes) and there's certain leaps of faith you have to take. For instance, the movie's big turn is addressed in about 10 seconds almost off-screen, it seems, and you must trust the mystical powers of the aborigine. But there's enough action, comedy, romance and movie-star stuff in it and if you can survive 2 hours and 45 minutes, it's probably worth a walkabout to the movies.

Saw the trailer for Clint's "Gran Torino". Looks like that and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" arrive around Christmas. "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Milk" get here in two weeks. All of them have Oscar buzz.

Speaking of walkabouts, I was outside earlier and sure enough, if you look up, you can see it. With the clear sky tonight you could see Venus and Jupiter doing their thing, getting closer together. On Monday, the moon gets involved.

Exercise Yard

Rookie running back. Plays on 1-10 team. Leads team in fumbles, but practices touchdown dance.

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22 Across: Electromagnetism pioneer (6 letters) Answer: Ampere

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

How much time does the turkey have left?





















I successfully made my turkey last night. This was the first time I brought a fresh one, as I typically get a 4 or 5-lb. frozen breast to ensure leftovers, as I head over to my uncle's tomorrow for the big dinner. This year it worked out pretty well. Stuffing tasted pretty good, as well. I have a basic, easy recipe that uses sausage and I like it a lot. So, it appears I have a few dinners left.

Meal of Links

Remember this dude?

I noticed "Slumdog Millionaire" is getting some buzz. Here's a chat with director Danny Boyle.

17 TV shows cancelled too soon. Let's see, some of these lists can be pretty bad. This one is OK.

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Happy Birthday, National Hockey League. Game on.

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30 Across: Lou "The ___" Groza, memorable NFL placekicker (3 letters) Answer: Toe

Cooking the Thanksgiving turkey this evening, so let's roll...

Hitch still hates the Clintons.

What a cool idea. "Family Guy Sings".

31 Lost Projects.

Here are all the fees that airlines charge.

I had General Tso's yesterday. Here's a recipe.

Meal of Links

That bailout is costly. Today, credit was addressed at another $700 billion.

A look at piracy in Somalia. Might not be bad.

NBC announces their winter schedule. "Howie Do It" is on it. Ugh.

Exercise Yard

Yelena Isinbayeva moves up the charts with this quote: "Every girl on the track has a duty to be nice-looking and womanly." Amen, sister.

Visitor

19 Across: McShane of "Deadwood" (3 letters) Answer: Ian

Randomness from today's Browns home game:




















Special Guest: Gale. Jeezy creezy, it's cold today. Let's see if we can make it through this one. This is the first of the final three Browns home games. One next week against the Colts and the Sunday before Christmas against the Bengals.

Today's Opponent: The Houston Texans. The last team to enter the NFL. It seems this series goes like this: We don't play well in Houston and have lost some mind-numbing games there. The quality of play is not much better here, but the Texans always seem to save their worst for these visits. They come into the game with the league's fifth-best offense. Uh-oh. The running game is quite good with Steve Slaton and Ahman Green. The immortal Sage Rosenfels is at QB. The Texans' run defense is awful, but somehow rates several places above the Browns, which shows how bad they are.

Browns Version 2.3, however, is on a winning streak of one game. Once again, it is the dreaded short work week which hasn't treated the Browns very well this year. Brady Quinn comes in with a chip on his index finger. I don't expect that to be an issue, because we should run the ball a lot today. We have a GM who, hopefully, attends today's game, instead of paying attention to his e-mails. And we apparently have a coach-in-waiting ready to purchase a home in Strongsville.

It's the Texans, by God, and this should be easy. I repeat, this should be easy. Jamal Lewis should get over 100 yards today and we all go home deliriously happy, because the Browns are still in the playoff hunt. OK, that's for the delusional fan. You know, the 5:30 a.m. tailgating type. However, the Browns are 0-2 when favored at home and guess what? They are favored today.

Parking: East 6th northbound by the Federal Building. Outstanding.

Browns Player on Ticket: Joe Thomas, bigass arms folded.

Pre-Game Festivities: Walked in as the teams were lining up for kickoff. Sounded as if an opera singer had National Anthem duties.

At halftime, youth football. Baby Braylon, with a sense of irony or was it parody, dropped a pass as he was wide open deep in the secondary.

Worst Feature (For Me): "Hang on Sloopy" at the end of the third quarter. Especially after the U of M was debacled yesterday.

Then, later in the fourth quarter with the game in peril, the Browns decided to do this. During an interminable timeout, they played an organist's rendition of "Here We Go Brownies, Here We Go". Can't remember the last time they played it, but it was as if the white flag was being raised as this went on. And on. I estimate it repeated 20 times. People at Gitmo were confessing as it would not stop, citing waterboarding as less torturous.

The Weather: Hollie Strano on the mike again. No radar. It was a sunny day today with temps topping out around 40, I'd say. Cold, but not brutal.

Today's Giveaway: There wasn't any, as far as I could tell.

Section 345: Nothing happened. This has everything to do with the weather. Less visible opposing jerseys, applause muffled by gloves (my new gloves and hat were up to the test today), less beer drinking (ahem...during the game), and general non-action accounted for no threat of anyone being ejected.

Best Browns Play: OK, I think I found one. It was difficult or maybe it was obvious in a game with only one TD scored between the two teams. But it was the 42-yard pass from Brady Quinn (starring in "Dink 2 Throws Long", er, for one play) to Braylon Edwards in the second quarter to get to the Texans' 19. Of course, Quinn threw three straight passes, two incomplete, immediately thereafter. The Browns settled for a 32-yard field goal for their final score of the game. With 32 minutes of football remaining. Ugh!












Best Texans Play: By default, the Sage Rosenfels to Kevin Walter TD pass on their first drive. Over, as I keep saying, the height-challenged Brandon McDonald. That 8-minute drive to start the game promised a short game, timewise, today.

Worst Browns Play: The benching of Brady Quinn at the end of the third quarter. So unexpected, I didn't even notice Derek Anderson warming up. Let me tell you, it was shocking to see that move live. People gasped like they did at "The Crying Game". It was something to witness.

Second Worst Browns Play: Brady Quinn's second interception, the one that got him benched. An awful pass inside the Texans' 10-yard line. Both of his interceptions today were mystifying.

Worst Texans Play: Houston, who tried desperately to keep the Browns in the game, survived an incredibly bad field goal attempt by Phil Dawson with 7:34 left. They run once. Then inexplicably throw a long incomplete pass on second down. So, on third down, the Texans and Rosenfels, as they do, throw an interception to Sean Jones, who returns it to the Texans' 20. Seemingly strategy stolen from the pathetic Browns. Only, they escaped this one, as Derek Anderson fumbled two plays later.

Best Line from Me (after Quinn got benched): "Maybe it was his injured finger. I don't know, but I bet this finger still works." (as I extended my own middle finger).

Best Line from a Random: A guy, a few rows in front of us, almost had an aneurysm after the Browns failed on a third down, "The Browns Suck!!!". After Dawson kicked the ensuing field goal, he said, "OK, you're right, the Browns are going to the Super Bowl." On the next "Here We Go Brownies", he put his two index fingers to his head and shot himself twice on the appropriate beat.

Oddest Browns Jersey: 31 Bowling Green, 51 Paine were the highlights today.

Food Items: None at Cleveland Browns Stadium. I had a coupon for Great Lakes Brewing and we were going to go there after the game. Uh, who knew they were closed on Sundays? So, we went to Momocho (me with my hat hair) for their Sunday Night Dinner Special. You get chips and two types of salsa. We had the guac and the pico de gallo. We both had Enchiladas Pollo and shared a Vanilla Bean Flan. I loves me some flan. Price was $30. Terrific meal (I almost licked my plate clean) at a great price. Then throw in margaritas and it costs a bit more.

Best Fan Cam Feature: Shirtless man in cold weather. A standard this time of year.

The Fuckin' Run: The Browns gave up only 112 yards rushing today. That might be a season low. Today, they got torched through the air.

Worst Stat: The Browns defense, you know, the unit that breaks your heart all the time, gave up 259 yards today in the first half! I had visions of Denver floating through my head.

2nd Worst Stat: The Browns quarterbacks averaged 4.5 yards per pass attempt, threw no TDs and three interceptions. Quinn's QB rating was 21.3, Anderson's 17.3. Those are so bad, and really hard to comprehend.

Most Interesting Stat: Shaun Rogers, who most fans automatically assume played a solid game, had zero tackles. That's one less than Brady Quinn and Braylon Edwards, who had one each on turnovers.

Penalties: The Browns drive in the middle of the fourth quarter was a comedy of errors. Both the Browns and Texans had three penalties each on the drive. The Texans had 11 for the game, which helped the Browns immensely. It was the Browns best play for a while.

Each Browns season, you think to yourself, it can't get any worse. There's always been a game where you think they have reached the bottom. Two years ago, it was the Cincinnati shutout at home. Last year, it was the opener against the Steelers. Well, today's effort against the Texans was this year's game.

There is absolutely no way the Browns should have lost this game. This was the Houston Texans, the team that had given up the most rushing yards this month in the NFL and had not won a road game in over a year. A game in which they should have run the ball at least 35 times. The Browns ran only 20 times and had a 4.5-yard average. Clearly, this coaching staff has no idea how to prepare a team to win. Time to throw out the theory that many players propose, that this team plays hard for Romeo. Uh, they don't.

































The benching of Quinn and his subsequent quote, "I didn't know I was on such a short leash." surely signals the end for Romeo Crennel. He won't get the boot this week, but he won't be back in 2009. And I'm not on the Quinn bandwagon. Fans are rightfully asking, why did Andersen get to play through some really bad games, Cincinnati immediately comes to mind, and proceed to finish them. As I stated earlier this week, Andersen was pretty mediocre but he was not throwing many interceptions.

That's all I have to go on, that Quinn threw two interceptions today and the Browns had not had to overcome that amount of turnovers in at least two months. That's weak, I know, but I can't find any other reason for Quinn's benching, unless Romeo figured if he was going down in flames, he would prefer to do it with his own guy. It's pretty common knowledge when you make a move to a guy like Quinn, you have to stick with him, you can't go back to the other guy. I still believe Quinn will start, but now he'll be looking over his shoulder, much like Andersen did a month ago. What a mess.

And the crowd really turned today. Chants of "Cowher! Cowher!" were heard loudly in person and on a radio clip I heard. We even had a guy chant "Dorsey! Dorsey! in our section. Next week's Colts game could get ugly. We still have road games at Tennessee, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. So, if the players quit (for real this time), it's gonna be tough sledding from here on out.

This one was really tough to take. Browns lose, 16-6.

Meal of Links

Let's buy a submarine. For grins. It'll be fun.

The GNR album. Available now.

Unhappy people watch more TV. Not watching "Deal or No Deal" makes me happier, because I yell at my TV less.

Exercise Yard

I sat through the boring Hatton-Malignaggi fight last night. Ricky Hatton winning on a stoppage in the 11th. What an incredibly boring fight. Paulie Malignaggi was on HBO for the first time and many found out what Showtime viewers already knew. He has no punching power and is not as much of a crowd pleaser as he thinks.

The best thing about the fight was Hatton's crowd, as usual.

Visitor

None, a sunny Browns Sunday.