I failed to mention some of the tasty items I picked up on my last visit to Trader Joe's. There was one item I had that was not good at all and I had to discard it. I think I immediately banished it from my memory, because I don't recall what it was.

Anyhow, here is the good shit:

Trader Ming's General Tsao Stir Fry Sauce

Trader Joe's Bold and Spicy Kansas City Style Barbecue Sauce

Ice Cream Sandwiches-These babies come 4 in a box, and have chocolate chip cookies on the outside with ice cream in the middle. These are...drum roll...440 calories each! Needless to say, moderation is key.

Honey Roasted Peanuts-These are the old Eagle Brand and are top-notch, top-notch, I say.

Chicken Stir Fry was really good.

Vermont Cheddar Cheese-outstanding!

I tried their Organic Mustard and I like it, because it's not a very big squeeze bottle.

Lemonade is always good there.

It was a productive visit and I also got to hear Disco Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes over the speaker. It made me think of Merv.

Trader Joe's Summer Guide comes out Monday.

Meal of Links

Five things that are always on sale.

The modern ruins of Detroit (click on squares). It's sad that the United Artists Theater is in such disrepair.

North Oaks, MN tells Google to remove their community from Google Maps. I've looked at my palatial estate on Google Maps. Looks good, nice sunny day and all, except for the suspicious truck in front of the house next to me.

They asked some kid, the eventual champ, in the Spelling Bee to spell "numbnuts". Oh, he said "numnah"? Never mind.



Exercise Yard

They are planning on fining floppers in the NBA.

Red Auerbach hated it 30 years ago! And where is Mendy Rudolph's ref outfit?



Visitor

60 Down: First name among revolutionaries (3 letters) Answer: Che

Well, I'm back. I was at the Tribe game on Tuesday. This is the third game I've been to this year. I have seen 3 wins and no losses. Two of those were against first-place Chicago, the other against the Yankees. But it was damn cold that night. Thank God, we were in club seats. Speaking of cold, the burgers were served cold that night. Not sure what was happening, but there were only a few vendors carrying stuff around, which is typically popcorn and Cracker Jack and the sirloin was as tough as shoe leather. Kind of disappointing, but hey, it's still the clubs.

Then it was birthday day on Wednesday. I get to share that day with "The Logo" Jerry West, Jim Thorpe, Ian Fleming, Kylie Minogue and her butt, John Fogerty, Jason Belser (for the football fans), MTV's Kari Wuhrer, Christa Miller (from "The Drew Carey Show"), Glen Rice from U of M, Armon Gilliam from UNLV, Kirk Gibson ("Here comes Gibson..."), Eddie from "The Courtship of Eddie's Father", Gladys Knight, Rudy Giuliani, Malcolm X's widow, Betty Shabazz, all of those Dionne Quints, "Papa" Don't Preach I mean, "Papa" John Creach, William Pitt (the Younger), and dear God, Jack Kevorkian.

Last night, Drew and I headed over to O's. Unfortunately, I still gotta lay off the suds. But Jim Beam visited for a pop. We were lucky in that the menu had some of my favorites on it, so I jumped on the Andouille Florentine soup and had a Po Boy. And we probably watched more of the Women's College World Series than was necessary.

Meal of Links

OK, let's play catch up.

In case you wanna start watching "The Wire", there will be recaps, from the beginning. These are very good primers from one of the best critics out there.

Rolling Stone has the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. Let the debate begin. Not enough John Fogerty and only one Red Hot Chili Peppers. Lots of Jeff Beck, though.

This Ohio lawmaker wants to ban pit bulls in our state. Well, we've run the gays out, so now we are starting on the animals.

Iggy Pop has a really funny concert rider. Beer that "...starts with a letter "B" and end with "udweiser" probably won't cut it and "Somebody dressed as Bob Hope" made me laugh.

Our President is now like the Browns during the first round of this year's NFL draft. Off the clock.

The schedule is up for Bonnaroo. I am sure the AT&T Blue Room will have video.

Bourdain talks about the latest episode of "Top Chef". He also admits the worst thing he ever ate as judge was in this episode.

Bono got an honorary law degree the other day. In Japan.

A whole bunch of stuff about the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I did not know 25% of their tour profits goes to charity.

Kajagoogoo lives!

Scarlett Johansson's record is selling worse than K-Fed. Ouch.

"The Big Lebowski" is in the news. In "Mutts". NPR shows some love. for "The Dude". Double feature in December.

Milwaukee is erecting a statue of "The Fonz". I wish Andy Kaufmann was around for his impersonation of "The Fonzie".

Drew and I were talking about old-time Saturday night television (Roy Clark was mentioned and that morphed into "Hee Haw"), and I brought up "Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell". Yes, that actually happened.

The Incredible Hulk fought a lot of things. Here are his 10 Best Brawls.

What's on the tube this summer?

This has been a long fight. The People vs. Metallica.

Exercise Yard

May as well catch up on some old Tribe players, as well. Last night, home runs were hit by Jody Gerut and Russell Branyan. In the major leagues. Jeff Kent and Brandon Phillips also homered, but they've been doing that for a while.

Visitor

2 Down: 1937 Shirley Temple role (5 letters) Answer: Heidi

Hey, it's Memorial Day. I'm in Operation Shutdown mode over here, so this will be brief.
















Meal of Links

They have already done this in Cleveland. But water providers are raising rates because of conservation by users.

George Carlin is still angry.

10 annoying office habits. Every one of them is pretty damn annoying. I need the office cool, so my hatred is directed toward those who automatically adjust thermostats upon entering a room and that's not on the list. Needless to say, I haven't had to deal with this recently, but it's pretty much number one on my list.

Exercise Yard

On this Memorial Day, a look back at Pat Tillman. His story never gets old. Long article, but well worth the effort.

Visitor

9 Down: Immortal coach Amos Alonzo _____ (5 letters) Answer: Stagg

Today is always one of my favorite days of the year, because there is typically a bunch of auto racing going on. Over the years, if the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend is rainy, I don't really care. Because I'm usually watching all three races: Monaco, Indy and Charlotte. I've stuck with Indy through thick and thin, so I'm not about to stop now.
















It started today with the F1 race from Monaco through the streets of Monte Carlo. It is way cool to see these machines on the city streets and today there was also some rain to contend with. Do we use dry tires, intermediates or wets? After that choice was made, there remains a lot of guys who are slipping and sliding, trying to pass where they shouldn't and generally a ton of mayhem. So, it was a good race to kick off the proceedings at 8:00 to see old friend Lewis Hamilton win.

With Monaco ending at 10:00, it's enough time to prepare eats. Because I was able to use my 4-10 method of cooking ribs. 4 hours in the oven and 10 minutes on the grill. Oh, there is beer and a rub involved, but it works every time. Fall off the bone action. And this time it worked perfectly, because I ran out of propane in my tank as I was finishing up.

Then it was into my Edward Scissorhands mode to trim some hedges and also mow the lawn. I just picked up a cordless Hedgehog from Black & Decker. It pairs up nicely with my Grasshog. Hey, no more cutting cords! Anyhow, I like the power in the Hedgehog. Gives a nice cut and the blades are a bit longer than I've used in the past, which makes things go quicker. And with Indiana now on Eastern time, it helps that the Indy 500 doesn't start until 1:00.

I really enjoyed Indy this year. Although the first 100 laps seemed to have more cautions than normal. Scott Dixon was your winner. There were enough lead changes, but the top cars seemed not to change most of the day. It appeared the Top Ten was pretty much the same all day, with places being interchanged. I must say, I'm tiring just a bit of Danica Patrick's act. You see, on the radio with her team, she came across as whiny. Yes, whiny. "My car is slo-o-w." Well, sister, there are a bunch of other cars with the same issue. She had a Top 10 car but it was obvious early on, she would not win. It's unfortunate she was tagged by Ryan Briscoe while exiting pit row. But that's happened before to many drivers and you need to be professional about it, while lambasting the idiot that hit you. Upon getting back to her pit and exiting her car, she started a slow walk to Briscoe's pit, until cooler heads prevailed. What was she going to do, punch him? Then the announce team jumped in with the old descriptors of "fire " and "passion" and that it was "good to see". No, it was the actions of someone who thinks she is deserving of more than her ability has taken her, thus far. Look, I'm happy she finally won a race earlier this year, but if anyone thinks she will eventually end up in NASCAR with that attitude, they are insane. Note how this incident will gain bigger headlines than Dixon's win. Even with this cute picture of the winning family.





















Finally, it was off to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600. Side Note: James Carville and Bill Frist were in a Coke commercial where they are clinkin' bottles at the Washington Monument. How easy is it to get Coke in bottles these days? Anyhow, the race was really good, as it starts in daylight and ends under cover of the night. Close to 30 lead changes, with Kasey Kahne prevailing. The hated (not by me) Kyle Busch was third and Greg Biffle snuck in there for second. Side Note 2: All members of my fantasy team for tonight's race. 600 miles is a long test, but attrition had very little to do with the outcome. But the final laps had guys running out of gas, two guys into the wall and got pretty exciting for those who stuck with it. Side Note 3: Yao Ming was there, to fulfill a contractual obligation, I assume. Probably can't fit in a car.





















Meal of Links

Woody Harrelson wants to stop eating for 40 days. For grins, apparently.

Government economic data comes under scrutiny. This guy puts unemployment at more like 13%.

We need big thinking to change the way we use energy. Train travel, anyone?

Exercise Yard

While perusing the sportpage this morning, did you catch the article that mentioned managers in trouble? I was wondering if Hoynes had some info from a higher up, because for all of the fans whining, I believe this is the first time where there has been a hint that Eric Wedge could be in trouble.

Now, Hoynes may have been surmising, but I'm wondering if there's something to it. This is year 6 and Wedge has made one playoff appearance. Are the players turning him off? Have to look for more clues, I guess.

Visitor

None, it's a Racing Sunday.

Last night, I got to see Eddie Izzard, one of the greatest stand-up comedians of our era. It was the "Stripped" tour. This guy has made me laugh for so long, I was very anxious to see him, and Gale was along for the ride. He also has a voice in the new "Narnia' flick, I believe.

The Venue: The Palace Theatre. I believe I say this every time I see a show there, But it is really a great place to see a show. I love everything about the joint, the layout, the architecture, even those big old urinals in the men's room.

The Tickets: Can't stress this enough, gotta get those presale codes, if available. The tickets were first row of the mezzanine, center left, on the aisle. Just behind those loges where I always wanted to sit. Terrific view.

The Crowd: This had potential to be ruined by those who fancy themselves as Izzard cultists. But the crowd was actually very respectful and not disruptive at all. For instance, he was going off about one of the ancient cultures saying, "and they formed a democracy..." when someone shouted, "Ciao!". Without missing a beat, Izzard said, "...where you could shout things like that."

Opening Act: No warmup act, because Eddie goes on for about two hours straight.

The Outfit: He had his "boy clothes" on this time. Black coat with tails, like a ringmaster, white shirt, jeans.

The Sound: I could hear him fine. Maybe missed a couple of words due to the frantic nature of his speech or accent.

The Stage: Had a nice backdrop depicting ancient times. You know, hieroglyphics and stuff.

The Comedy: I liked it very much. He got in a few anti-Bush jabs. He had his talking animal shtick down, focusing on giraffes and tigers. Of course, he mentioned badgers a lot. He still goes off on very funny tangents and then comes back with, "So, yeah..." to get back to the routine.

Jeff, Janine, Steve and Kenny were names he tossed out for characters, mostly animals. Lots of musings on religion and why he doesn't think there is a God. Some Noah (kind of a throwback there) and Moses shtick. Great stuff on the Stone Age. Obviously loves the iPhone and Mac products. Ancient Greeks and Romans got some play. Love for Wikipedia.

I laughed a lot and I'd like to see him get another comedy special out of it.

Meal of Links

From the department of: "If you thought gas prices were high". Now that it's almost summer, if I know I'm gonna be outside for a while, I need to wear some sunscreen. For years I have used Bain de Soleil Mega Tan with Self Tanner, SPF 4. I don't care that I've never been to St. Tropez. Anyhow, last year I didn't have to order any and have just a little bit left from late 2006. I usually get mine from Drugstore.com.

Today, I notice the low stock I have and decided to reorder. I go to Drugstore.com and they don't sell it anymore. WTF? Then I find out that Coppertone bought Bain de Soleil while I wasn't looking and apparently has discontinued many of those products. So, the search was on to perhaps find some online. Found a listing at Amazon.com and was ready to order a bunch, until I saw they were selling their last bottle for 195 dollars! Huh? No, I did not place an order. It must be "Gold, Jerry, Gold!"

Anheuser-Busch may get bought by some bloody Belgian bastards. But A-B may buy Modelo to make a bid less attractive.

Hey, there's another Mars landing. i had the NASA channel on yesterday afternoon, and apparently, there was a toilet crisis.

Keith Olbermann is mad about Hillary's RFK comments:



Exercise Yard

Jensen Lewis got sent to Buffalo today. That's not a disappointment to me, but this is another move that smacks of arrogance of Tribe management and why it's so frustrating, at times, to wonder what the hell they are doing there.

If you recall, Lewis' velocity was way down in spring training. But no, Indians management would not cop to it and even Lewis himself tried to say he never lets it rip fully in spring training, his velocity gets better as the season progresses. Well, what do we hear from Wedgie today? "We need the guy we saw last year." The velocity was between 85 and 88 mph with a 90 tossed in, while last year he could throw at 92 and 93. But I read this next line as another copout, because he probably got pressed about it. "But it's not just velocity. It's command." That smacks of we know more than you, silly people. See, it isn't just velocity. Ugh!

Visitor

10 Across: 1973 Grammy-winning jazz pianist (5 letters) Answer: Tatum

I can't believe I've had to run the furnace three times this week. I normally have a rule that I won't have the heat on past May 1. This year...Yikes! I did not have it on that much but still fell into the clutches of Dominion on more than one occasion. I left work midday today and the temperature at home was 60 degrees. In late May! So, on it went.

Conversely, after suffering through last summer at work with no air conditioning that stretched to my office, we finally had it installed a few weeks ago. We have no idea what the actual air temperature was last year in that office. But we are getting clues, because the air kicked on several times this week with the outside temperature barely reaching 60. When I arrive in the morning, the thermostat reads 70. We have the air set for 77. Sure enough, between 4:00 and 5:00 each day this week, it reached 77 and the air was turned on. For all of our complaining last year, we never knew how hot it actually got in there. Now we figure it had to be upwards of 85 or higher.

Meal of Links

Real vs. fake. Yes, breasts, mirrors, diamonds and Cuban cigars are exposed, so to speak.

Of course, Memorial Day means grilling. Already have my various and sundry items ready to go. How to become the Grill Master.

How do you beat jet lag? Don't eat. Maybe.

8 types of people you'll hate at the local Starbucks. I've only been there thrice in my life. As a non-coffee drinker, I have no reason to go. I once ordered root beer, another time, a hot chocolate. Manager who forces you to use the Starbucks lingo, buzzwords, or patois kills me though.

Here are some things Indiana Jones does better than your Grandpa. Drinking did not make the list.

Some info on "The Cleveland Show". My Grandpa actually worked with a guy named Cleveland Brown.

Memorial Day also means networks turn over the scheduling to marathons. Here's a list. "Beverly Hillbillies" on Saturday!

The new Weezer video is blowing up already. It includes all your Internet "favorites". Yep, Miss South Carolina sings to all us "U.S. Americans".

"Pork and Beans"/Weezer



Exercise Yard

Why do country music and Cleveland Browns Stadium have a hard time being compatible? Let's see if the toilets work this year.

Visitor

9 Across: "Tulips" poet (5 letters) Answer: Plath

I got to see the Champions League Final on tape-delay tonight. It was shown live on ESPN2 earlier in the day, with a replay at 7:00. I successfully avoided the outcome all day, but did not realize when I sat down to watch, it would take three hours on the delayed program. I'm not sure what ESPN thinks in these situations and I'll tell you why.

They cut the first 30 minutes of the second half! Now, it's easy to say, well, nothing happened, but it seems to be more of an arbitrary decision to forgo those minutes. Again, there were no scores but don't you think that 30 minutes had a foreshadowing on subs in the last 15 minutes, leg strength, tactics, etc.?














My advice is cut the pre-game. A pre-game in which John Denver's "Country Roads" was played. In Moscow. WTF? And, of course, the playing of the "UEFA Champions League Anthem". Therefore, the match actually started at 7:25. Then they showed the entire halftime. It seems to me to watch talking heads whom we don't know should have been edited out. Run a crawl and say due to time constraints, eliminate both of those studio sets for game action. They do it all the time with those Drive-Bys on Classic, so...

But they did show all of extra time and the resulting penalty kicks and the trophy presentation. It just seems to me they cut the wrong 30 minutes from the broadcast.

Meal of Links

Boy, Tom Waits knows a lot of shit. His definition of a gentleman: "A man who can play the accordion, but doesn’t." Great stuff.

These websites can save you money. I have used not a one.

American Airlines is now charging for the first checked bag. Sign o' the times or bad management?

Exercise Yard

The Indians still can't hit. A more drastic measure seems to be in the offing.

Visitor

39 Across: Danny of the Boston Celtics (5 letters) Answer: Ainge

Is our area going nuts?

First of all, a city union gets money for work they were supposed to do, but someone else did the work. An arbitrator ruled the union gets back pay and overtime. I repeat, it was work they were supposed to do, but didn't.

Tim Hagan says county reform may not be a bad idea. OK, good move. Then he floats a preposterous idea that the Medical Mart should be built by East 55th and Chester. Ouch!

Jimmy Dimora now thinks everyone is out to get him and says county reform is a bad idea. He's miffed he didn't get asked to lunch by the PD.

And I think our mayor is in France doing something.

A very strange week around here.

Meal of Links

Hall and Oates are getting some cred. You must remember, they were a hit machine there for a while. I still like "She's Gone" from the early days. My guilty pleasure is the "X-Static" album which has "Wait For me" and a bunch of songs you've never heard, but I like.

Is it Men Without Hats? No, it's Famous Men (and One Woman) with Hats (and other accoutrements) Made of Paper Money.

Is the Netflix Player the next big thing? Early reviews are pretty good.

I missed Pete Townshend's birthday yesterday. He clocks in at 63. So here's Pete on the tambo with some additional windmill greatness. With some help from Roger. From Oz.

"Baba O'Riley"/The Who



Exercise Yard

It's the Champions League Final tomorrow, Chelsea vs. Man U. in Moscow. Two debt-laden English clubs, one owned by a Russian and one owned by an Amish-looking American, Malcolm Glazer, owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nice shoutout to Randy Lerner though.

Visitor

20 Across: Crew cut for a notorious outlaw? (13 letters) Answer: Cassidy's Butch

Last night, my brother and I headed out to see the greatest American punk band, X. It was billed as the "13 x 31 Anniversary Tour" with the 4 original members: Exene Cervenka, John Doe, Billy Zoom and DJ Bonebrake. Of course, they tour every couple of years with all 4 original members...

The Venue: The House of Blues. Talk about stimulating the economy. A Jim Beam and soda and a Labatt Blue run ya about $10.25. Admittedly, I couldn't take three weeks laying off the sauce (per "the gout"), so I didn't dip my non-inflated big toe, but decided to drop the people's elbow, into the water. Gotta find out what the effects are sooner or later, right? Especially with only one more dose of that damn colchicine left. But, I digress. You know the setup there, reserved seating in the balcony, general admission everywhere else.

The Tickets: We were in the left balcony in Section L, Row C. I must say, down low you need to be closer to the aisle. You start having railing issues and I could see about 85% of the stage. I was thankful Billy Zoom was tall and did a lot of leaning, because then I could see him. So, if you find yourself upstairs, think middle when selecting seats.

The Crowd: This ran the gamut. Chaperone hat was neatly tucked away fairly early. You had your young folks and your old folks, so quite the mix. Far from a sellout, the upstairs was maybe half full, and the general admission area was not packed-to-the-gills crowded. HOB had been advertising GA tickets at 2-for-1 for about three weeks, so you knew sales were not going great guns.

There was some slam dancing, believe it or not. It peaked during "Johny Hit and Run Paulene". Would have hated to be innocently run into during that anthem, so I gladly observed from the safety of being upstairs.

And there were a few younger people who were sporting the punk throwbacks. Skinheads, mohawks, studded jackets, boots, makeup, etc. Then I noticed after the show, they piled into a minivan. I dunno, it seems they should have been driving a used Vega, perhaps one that could explode at any moment.

Opening Act: The opening act was the Detroit Cobras. As John Doe said later, "If you didn't like the Detroit Cobras, you could suck eggs." Hard to describe their sound, but it's definitely got some punk in there, some rockabilly, some 60's-type tracks, let's say garage. They don't do originals, but do a good job with their own arrangements. I especially liked the cover of Wilson Pickett's "99 and a Half Just Won't Do". I believe they were the New Year's Eve band at the Beachland last year.

The Sound: Excellent sound at the HOB. Music was loud, but not eardrum-splitting, and vocals were really crisp.

Exene can still sing, BTW. John Doe does most of the talking, reminding us to vote in November, hopefully not for the crazy white guy. Billy Zoom is a marvel. He plays these intricate guitar lines, while constantly grinning or posing and lots of leaning, "assuming the Zoom position", as I call it. Effortless. DJ Bonebrake attacks the drums savagely, still. Awesome sound last night.

My favorite exchange:

Doe: "Hey, it's Saturday night. I'm not into that whole Saturday night thing anyway."
Exene: "You should try it, John."
Doe: "Oh?"
Exene: "Come on, John. It's Saturday night. Let's get high!"
Doe: "I'm already high. Don't you remember those muscle relaxers we got in Detroit?"

The Stage: The setup, as with most shows at HOB, is rather sparse. So, it's Zoom, Exene, and John Doe, left-to-right across your stage dial, and Bonebrake in the back on drums.

Fun fact to know and tell: Exene Cervenka was married to John Doe at one time. And also to Viggo Mortensen! That's quite the list of exes. And, yes, DJ Bonebrake is his real name and John Doe is not his real name. And I nominate Billy Zoom to replace the Bob Dobbs face.

The Music: An especially strong set last night. If you are an X fan, there is no way you could be disappointed with that concert. It was like 1981 again, without getting punched, fallover drunk or maimed while dancing. The songs were mostly from the early days, without any dropoff due to time. I think we decided the notable missing songs were "Burnin' House of Love", "4th of July" and "Wild Thing". I know I'm missing some (we think they did at least 25 songs), but here are the tunes, not in any particular order.

Setlist:

"We're Desperate"
"You're Phone's Off The Hook, But You're Not"
"Soul Kitchen" (we're still not sure if this was played)
"The World's A Mess, It's In My Kiss"
"The Unheard Music"
"In This House That I Call Home"
"The Once Over Twice"
"Beyond and Back"
"Los Angeles"
"Johny Hit and Run Paulene"
"True Love"
"My Goodness"
"The New World"
"Blue Spark"
"Breathless"
"The Hungry Wolf"
"White Girl"
"We're Having Much More Fun"
"Devil Doll"
"I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts"
"Nausea"

Lots of fun last night.

Meal of Links

Look at these kitchen tips. Hey, separate your bananas. Who knew?

China has perfected the police-state. Lots of cameras.

Umm, okay.

Exercise Yard




















It was fairly obvious that David Stern had not chosen which team would move on to face the Pistons, because the Cavs were only down by 5 entering the fourth quarter of Game 7 at Boston. But since the Cavs are actually from Cleveland, we probably knew the outcome before anyone else did, and the Cavs proceeded to lose.

LeBron tried. Oh, how he tried. He tossed in 45 today. But Paul Pierce dropped in 41 for the Celtics. The only help LeBron got today was from Delonte West, who chipped in with 15 points, so I guess we'll overlook his 6 turnovers. West seemed to be the only other person besides LeBron who wanted to take big shots. He missed a wide-open three late that would have tied the game. And LeBron passed up a three in the final minute to drive to the basket, but it looked like he did not have a great handle on the ball and shot an airball. They had some chances to tie down the stretch and it didn't happen.

Statwise, both teams had their best shooting game of the series. But the Cavs were severely outrebounded in this game. That 10-rebound margin was their worst of the series and that's a big part of their game.

Today the stat that jumps out at you is the minutes played category. If there is a beef with coach Mike Brown, this is it. I find Szczerbiak playing only 15 minutes. Probably desreved the short leash, as he did nothing. But maybe re-enter the game late for threes? Damon Jones actually played 10 minutes. Pavlovic played 36 minutes! I repeat, Sasha Pavlovic played 36 minutes in Game 7. WTF? Joe Smith, who shot 3 of 5, played 16 minutes and Anderson Varejao only played 11 minutes. I understand Daniel Gibson was out, but today's rotation made no sense. I honestly can't fathom Varejao getting only 11 minutes. Especially in a game where they being outrebounded an perhaps could have used his energy.

I'll be curious to see and hear where the fans go the next couple of days. But in a game where Lebron James carried the Cavs, he did not get much help from his teammates. Cavs end their season, 97-92.

Visitor

None, it's a game 7 Sunday.

I see where the NFL owners look like they'll opt out of the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement), perhaps this week. Looks like no change for 2008 and 2009. Then the fun starts.

2010 would be a year with no salary cap and free agency gets delayed from year four to year six for players. Aye, there's the rub. Seemingly the union would have an issue with that, given the limited career, therefore earning power of the average NFL player. Oh, and the draft would not exist after 2011.

I realize it's very early in the proceedings, but I was surprised Commissioner Tagliabue got that last deal through somehow. I think there was still some damage from all the other sports having a lockout since the last one in the NFL in 1987, and both sides succumbed. If the players have to give things back, I'd say it'll make a lot of news as we get closer to 2010.

Meal of Links

Friends, neighbors, countrymen. Don't let this happen to me.

Seems like Radiohead an unusual amount of fans who didn't make it to their DC area show. Storms, bad directions from venue staff, etc. Refunds? Uh, that would be a no.

Early Crawdaddy issues. With advertisements, too! I saw one from October of 1968 for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown that was cool. His head appeared to be on fire while wearing flame-retardant gear.

Exercise Yard

You can't take a shot with this bunch against Big Brown in today's Preakness Stakes. Again, an absolutely awful field. Andy Beyer said yesterday he thought they went to Central Park and rounded up some horses from Hansom Cabs. He claimed it was the worst field for a Triple Crown race in his lifetime.

Therefore, try and beat Big Brown at the Belmont.

Visitor

23 Across: Radio DJ Rick (4 letters) Answer: Dees

Why do we continue to boo Manny? He adds to the legend by making a catch he has no business making, runs to the wall for some unknown reason, high-fives a fan, then whips to ball to the cutoff man. Double play ensues.



Meal of Links

There are not many CDs totally about baseball. A couple of R.E.M. guys, a Dream Syndicate person and some chick have come up with one. You have to love one of the titles, "Ted Fucking Williams". Even Curt Flood and Harvey Haddix get some love. Sounds cool.

I really like "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". As I've mentioned in the past, I think the trailer killed this movie. It made no sense. Robert Downey, Jr. is awesome, and so is Val Kilmer as "Gay Perry". And Michelle Monaghan, well, let's say she looked really, really good here. But this breakdown of the film does not do it justice.

Marisa Miller looks good, as well.

Exercise Yard

I love Charles Barkley. But everyone knows he has a serious gambling problem. He estimates he's lost $10 million over the years. Well, now the Wynn Resorts are suing him for unpaid markers. That can't be good.

But Charles says he will pay up.

Visitor

35 Across: "Guitar Town" singer Steve (5 letters) Answer: Earle

I stumbled upon the ABC network last night and was amazed to find the show "According to Jim" still on the air. Quite frankly, I thought this show had been cancelled about 4 times already. I keep wondering about America when a show like that can outdraw "Knights of Prosperity".

Anyhow, I had to make sure it was still sweeps month as ABC aired not one, but two of these shows back-to-back. And I thought to myself has the President of the network fallen asleep or has he just given up. I mean, what would possess ya? I thought since I was there, I might as well see if the show had become funny in some sort of miraculous way and not everyone (meaning me) had been let in on the secret. Uh, no, it still sucked. Badly.

So, is my brain now destroyed?

Meal of Links

Robert Rauschenberg died. He was 82. I liked his art very much. I guess because it was for lack of a better word, accessible. And, of course, he did the cover for the Talking Heads album, "Speaking in Tongues". That actually got him a Grammy.

Speaking of the Heads, "Our President's crazy...did you hear what he said?". Our President said he showed solidarity with the troops by giving up golf, supposedly a big sacrifice for the guy. You can't make that up.

The last "Seinfeld" aired 10 years ago. "What am I supposed to do with all this paella?"

Exercise Yard

Bill Simmons has a preview of Doc Rivers' pregame speech.

The Cavs certainly had a chance in Game 5. I let the thought that the Cavs were playing superb defense cross my mind. And they got to that 43-29 lead, with LeBron scoring his series high...in the first half! But then, of all people, Rajon Rondo, hits not one, but two threes and the Celtics get right back in the game. And to think the Cavs went from a 43-29 lead to a 71-59 deficit near the end of the third, that's being outscored 42-16. Attribute some of that to Boston's hot shooting in the third, but, man, what a turnaround.

The playoffs are turning into an easily-solved mystery this year. San Antonio has looked so awful at New Orleans, but so good at home. I'm afraid the Cavs are heading to the same sort of fate. The pressure is mounting on both teams for Friday's game here.

Look at the box score shows Rondo had more assists than the Cavs, that's not good. Cavs only got 13 points from the bench. Bad three-point percentage from the Cavs, who were getting to the line, but only shot 68% on fouls. Plus, they got outrebounded, especially in the second half.

The Celtics lack of depth, and perhaps their eventual downfall, really showed tonight with only 9 points. Rondo had to go 42 minutes at the point and had his best game, by far. They finally got Paul Pierce going and Kevin Garnett had an all-pro game. The Celtics shot 48% and most of that was after that 14-point deficit.

We'll see which Celtics team shows up on Friday, but their confidence has to much better after tonight's game. Cavs are hanging by a thread.

Cavs lose, 96-89.

Visitor

45 Across: "Family Circus" cartoonist Keane (3 letters) Answer: Bil

Today, I called in sick for the first time in eons. I've been on this medication for "the gout" called colchicine, which I have to take for 10 days. It has some side effects and really for the first four days, I had not noticed much of anything. But last night, all of a sudden I had the chills and really did not snap out of it for over two hours. This was not listed as a side effect, so I'm not sure if this was some sort of coincidental event, but I didn't feel so good for a while afterward, so I thought better of trying to make the long haul in. It's tough to assume the fetal position with teeth chattering incessantly. Feeling much, much better as the day moves on, so I think I'm good to go.

Anyhow, what does one do when you're at home during the week. Amongst finishing laundry and doing dishes, you discover lots of things:

Well, I started the day by listening to Mr. Tony. Visits from Michael Wilbon and Carl Hiaasen.

I finally got around to reading the latest Vanity Fair. Yes, I actually have the Miley Ray Cyrus naked photo in my possession. Much ado about nothing, as far as I could tell. Those Dolce & Gabbana ads in there creep me out more than anything. And what about Jennifer Aniston posing for some bottled water in a foldout ad? She's never been a fave of mine, but I may have to go back under the hood for further review. Anyhow, there was an excellent excerpt on the RFK 68 campaign. A pretty good issue, I thought, even without a Hitchens piece.

A blind guy bowls a 300. 12 balls, 10 lanes? Or was he tossing threes and they either sounded like strikes or someone told him they were. Seems shady to me.

Channel 3 has reruns, I think, of "The Insider" during the day. They had a report on a woman with 34FFF breasts. Of course, she wants to "break the law" by making them bigger. Apparently, there is a legal limit on the size of implants. I guess you have to go to those weigh stations on the highway or something.

Victor Newman got engaged to Sabrina on "The Young and the Restless".

I love the fact that Kyle Busch is stirring the pot in NASCAR. I think Tony Stewart may officially cede the bad boy title to him. Let's see he wrecked Dale Earnhardt, Jr., drives for a foreign manufacturer, gets booed all the time. I think it's great.

"The Zen of Bobby V" is on ESPN tomorrow. I'm telling you their doc division has really stepped up lately.

The 20 best Nike commercials. Dennis Hopper! The Michael Vick Experience was a gem. Mars Blackmon asking is it the shoes, Michael? Tiger's bouncing golf ball. Randy Johnson bowling. And, of course, Bo knows.

Sadler's Wells retires at the age of 27. Much of the Coolmore empire is based on his stud work.

I noticed that we finally started getting the "NewsHour" at 7:00 on PBS HD recently. I mean how many reruns of "Smart Travels" could you watch? But if you find yourself forgetting about the war (if you possibly could) they hammer it home with the photographs of some of the dead soldiers from time to time. What a shame. Most between 21 and 26. Women, men, all ranks, all geographies. Very sad.

Meal of Links

Fulham, who avoided relegation yesterday, may get a spot in the UEFA Cup based on fair play. It's good for the team that sports the most Americans abroad, but certainly insane that a shitty team can be rewarded with a spot in European football.

How to talk like someone from Mayberry. "Shazam!"

Many friends of Willie Nelson talk about Willie Nelson. Check out Ray Benson's comments on "Pretty Paper".

Will Bob Barr be the Republican Nader? Or could he siphon off some Obama votes?

Exercise Yard

Hey, the Indians had only 8 hits in today's doubleheader, as they split two 3-0 games. But that bottom of the lineup in game 2? Shoppach, Tyner and Marte? WTF? Come on, against Marcum? Let's at least try, Wedgie!

Anyhow, after the Cavs games on TNT, you can't change the channel too quickly, because you get the best insights on the postgame program. When you have Magic Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley (champions all, well, except for Charles) breaking down games, it's a must-see. So, pay attention to what those guys say. Sure, they are entertaining (Magic: "Those 16 games I coached and "The Magic Hour" are the two worst things I've ever done."), but they know of what they speak. Even with those annoying new Heineken commercials.

LeBron shot 7 of 20 and still improved his shooting percentage in the series, while telling his Mom to sit down during the game.

















But that was a HUGE dunk to close out the game late in the 4th. "With no fear of human life", as Kevin Harlan put it.































Celtics had no bench tonight. Zip. Nada. While the Cavs had big performances off the bench. Smith, Varejao and Gibson with major contributions.

Garnett, harassed by Varejao late, and Allen didn't show up in the 4th quarter for Boston. Z was a minor player for the first time in the series and didn't log many minutes for the Cavs. Both teams took care of the ball as they each had less than 10 turnovers. Simply a matter of the Cavs playing better down the stretch tonight.

Boston's road woes continue as the Cavs win, 88-77.

Visitor

18 Across: He hit 660 (10 letters) Answer: Willie Mays

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms! And don't forget the single Dads, too!

And speaking of Moms, look how all of these kids grew up. And show me the kids named "Neveah".

Meal of Links

It seems some younger Euros will be poorer than their parents. They are called "baby losers".

San Francisco settles a complaint for excessive force. I'm sure it happens all the time. Although, this one was for jaywalking.

Some words about modern farming. More and more you hear about restaurants around here using local farmers. I think it's a good trend, because I don't know what goes in or on a lot of that food in the supermarket.

Exercise Yard

Today was the last day of EPL action, where it was about 80 degrees in London today. But the newest Nike Soccer ad was peppered throughout the broadcasts today. It'll run through Euro 2008 which is coming soon. Whoo hoo!

It was directed by Guy Ritchie and has a JunkieXL remix of "Don't Speak" by Eagles of Death Metal as the track. It's as if Arsene Wenger picks you to join Arsenal. Many stars here. Ronaldo, Rooney, Ronaldinho, Materazzi, Van Nistlerooy and Ibrahimovic. Look and sound is pretty cool.



Manchester United wins the league title on the final day. Derby, Birmingham City and Reading get relegated. Fulham pulls out a win with 15 minutes to stay up for 2008-09. Geez, Middlesbrough scored 8 today against Manchester City. Eight goals! Yikes! Randy Lerner's Other Team, Aston Villa, tied today and they finished sixth this year. Moving up for next year are West Brom and Stoke, for sure. Playoff on the 24th for the remaining spot.

A recap.

Only 12 weeks until it starts all over again.

Visitor

None, it's a rainy Sunday.

I was at the Bart this morning, because my sister-in-law was graduating from the Cleveland State School of Nursing today. Maybe she can help with "the gout". Anyhow, they do a nice job on the production values. The orchestra plays Elgar's only hit record, so Pomp and his friend Circumstance were in attendance. Some guy (trust me when I say he never shows up at the basketball games) belted out the National Anthem fore and the Alma Mater aft.

Nice video screens, again not present at hoops affairs, were also a nice touch. It seems the undergrads aren't in full attendance as many of the conferees present were getting Masters degrees today. And I know there are probably more post-grads attending there, but I'm always amazed at people who decide not to show up, regardless of your age. It's a great accomplishment. But it's always good when you get your name read off in front of everyone. I did not have that pleasure at Miami, where we were conferred by schools. I believe I stood up, some guy said something and I sat right back down. Very memorable. All in all, a nice program. The President down there is doing some really significant stuff and the school tends to get overlooked in its accomplishments.

















I know a couple of other grads as Shaun and Phil were graduating today, as well. I sent Shaun a congratulatory text and he told me he was amazed that they'll give anyone a degree these days, as he's living proof.

Meal of Links

Dave Grohl writes a letter to Metallica. He says not to release their next album, until it kicks ass.

My bullshit meter goes way up on this one. A 13-year old steals his Dad's credit card to buy hookers. This seals the deal for me, as it's too funny to be legit. "Police said they were alerted to the motel by a concerned delivery clerk, whom after delivering supplies of Dr Pepper, Fritos and Oreos had been asked by the kids where they could score some chicks and were willing to pay." If you believe that, welcome back from that line at Papa John's.

Murray Saul is 80. If you have to ask who he is, well, forget it. There's hope for Keith Richards to reach that age.

There's no way this David will win "Idol". How do you change the words to "Stand By Me" in the first place? What gives you the right to "improve" on that number? He's done and should thank his Dad for the runner-up spot. Clearly, if the competition is fixed, the company won't put up with that crap.

A site that calls bullshit on politicos. Finally.

Exercise Yard

A terrific game for the Cavs tonight. I liked the offensive setup from the get-go. the main thing as they were finally hitting open shots and incredibly built a 43-17 lead. Much better spacing, ball movement, and everyone contributed early. Wally Szczerbiak scored enough at the start to get the halftime interview gig. Even Anderson Varejao hit a jumper. And Rajon Rondo running the Celtics offense looked like a fan subbed for him and wore his uni. He was awful and Sam Cassell did actually look 90 yesterday. This one was done early.

Joe Smith was big off the bench and Delonte West keeps seesawing by having a very good game in this one. LeBron did not shoot 33% in this one and that was an improvement. Now 13-58 in the series, he didn't have that good of a game, but his teammates (for once) combined with Boston's effort, resulted in an easy win. Boston again proving they are a completely different team away from home. Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were not factors tonight. Allen especially is being overshadowed in suckiness by LeBron, but has been just as bad in this series. Pierce has a handful watching leBron, so I think he still gets a pass. Garnett did not see the ball that often, but had a decent game for what it was worth.

No one breaks it down like Charley Rosen.

Visitor

40 Down: Putin's predecessor (7 letters) Answer: Yeltsin

While trying to determine if Rick Manning says "bang-bang" during each Indians broadcast:

I learned to always wait for the results of the blood test. I get a call from my doctor yesterday that I, indeed, have "the gout". Who knows how you get it, I can't think of anything out of the ordinary that has happened lately to trigger this. No sudden changes in diet or eating something that may have caused it.

Again, I consider myself lucky because I don't have any pain, really. But I have to be on a medication for 10 days and after that, switch over to some sort of more permanent (for the time being) med.

Meal of Links

As I arrived home yesterday with choppers hovering:

















I realized that Papa John's Fever was infiltrating the neighborhood. As I was walking around yesterday, I thought I'd gawk at the Fulton Road location for grins, and at the corner of my street, there was a young kid eating his out of the box. I guess when you wait a long time for a 23-cent pizza, well, it ain't gonna get cold. As I got closer, I encountered an old woman and I asked her how long was the wait? She said, "Three hours and they are running out of dough," My only reply was, "Well, you'll have that."

















Let's face it. If you're in a suburban area waiting for a 23-cent pizza, you are an idiot. If a media member asks you who to thank and you offer, "LeBron" or "King James", you're even more of an idiot. But I will offer this. If you're poor and someone gives you a 23-cent pizza, maybe you'll stay in line, regardless of the wait, because it's considered a treat. Not saying it's right, but I wonder if the poverty level is that bad, that we have some sort of modern bread line going. Still not sure what Papa John's gained by all this. I guess it's free publicity, as long as no one gets knifed. You lose goodwill if people think they got hosed, even for 23 cents. All of the workers who showed up should get a bonus, I think.

Maybe these people had the right idea:

















I like "the Gong Show". I like Dave Attell. Will this work?

"Speed Racer" has arrived. A look back at the Japanese cartoon classics.

Exercise Yard

I'm not sure the Cavs are in lots of trouble, but the first two games against the Celtics have been troubling. As was correctly pointed out in the broadcast, who can create their own shot other than LeBron on this team? Say what you want about Scottie Pippen, but he was a solid Number 2 for Michael Jordan. The Cavs have no one even close to that talent level.

Numbers are horrid. LeBron is 8 for 42 in two games. Cave shot 35% for the game and that's Brick City. And they got outrebounded. I know the Celtics defense is first in the league, but Daniel Gibson gets 2 shots in 20 minutes? Wally Szczerbiak is much like Travis Hafner. He hits 2 shots and everyone thinks he's back. Then he has a game where he is 4 for 11. Again.

Really a bad display tonight. Cavs lose, 89-73 The only good thing is they come home and Boston has yet to win a playoff game on the road this year and has looked like a different team while doing it.

Visitor

50 Across: "To Kill A Mockingbird" lawyer (12 letters) Answer: Atticus Finch

I had to visit the doctor today for what appears to be bursitis. Wiki has a picture of the tennis ball I've been lugging around for the past two weeks. Which makes me wonder what their pages for STDs look like. Anyhow, the doc suggests what he wants to do involves needles. Yes, that's I wanted, to drain the stupid thing.

So, as he's prepping all of the needles, gauze, band-aids, etc. I notice the injectable of choice is lidocaine. Yes, half of the Roger Clemens treatment! All I can think of is him defiantly saying, "Lidocaine and B-12!". As we were draining and injecting, the doc kept reminding me that they needed to test the blood for uric acid to see if it was gout.

Damn. I always associated that with old guys and their tootsies. I understand that gout has a lot of pain associated with it and my current pain was about a zero, it just looked gross. We are pretty confident that this will test out as bursitis. Hopefully, never to return.

Meal of Links

Sue Johansen is retiring. The type of show, when you stumble upon it for the first time, you never forget.

Some cool photos from National Geographic. I think the Brazilian one is a very fascinating mix of old and new.

Amazon looks like they are starting a new service for out-of-print recordings. It's hard to fathom that anything would be out-of-print these days, but I guess there are some that make the cut.

Exercise Yard

Charlie Weis sure is talking a lot for not being a very good coach at Notre Dame. He accuses Michigan of already lining up excuses for next season. Same guy who recently said, "I could get hoodlums and thugs and win tomorrow. I won't do it that way."

I hope U of M wins by 50.

Visitor

31 Down: Player for whom Giants Stadium, oddly, is the home field (9 letters) Answer: New York Jet

For one fleeting moment, I thought the Cavs were gonna steal Game 1 against the Celtics. But with LeBron shooting 2 of 18 and knowing he would have the ball near game's end, wow, he missed that layup and several other bunnies tonight. Wasn't meant to be. And lots of really bad turnovers by both teams tonight. The Cavs, especially, had lots of traveling calls. LeBron was good for about five of those himself, I think.

What did we learn tonight? Joe Smith cannot guard Kevin Garnett. Period. That matchup is going to cause serious trouble for the Cavs if they continue to go that route. You can't let 38-year old Sam Cassell go bombs away either. Big time point production from him in the fourth quarter. I think Daniel Gibson should probably be in there when Sam plays, gives him something to think about on both ends of the floor. Charles Barkley with an excellent point that Paul Pierce probably won't score a lot in this series, because on defense he has LeBron, and he did he helluva job tonight. Plus lots of flashing help from teammates to defend LeBron.

The Cavs also need to shoot better than 31%. That's why it was so scary they were even in the game at the end. But a big thank you to the Celtics for 23 turnovers and that kept the Cavs alive.

But it is hard to fathom that the Cavs lost a game when Pierce shot 2 of 14 and Ray Allen scored zero points. That's why Garnett was the man. Rajon Rondo chipped in with 15, but most of those were early when Delonte West was having some issues keeping up.

Couple of bright spots for the Cavs. Z really saved our bacon tonight with 22 points and 12 rebounds. And the Cavs played some really tight defense helping cause some of those Boston turnovers. But not much else happened. Anderson Varejao was a non-factor along with Joe Smith. Sasha Pavlovic had some horrible fouls called on him and he can't match up with Pierce, so his playing time was limited. Again, I think Daniel Gibson should have more than 6 shots in a game like this, when nothing is working on offense. And LeBron had one of his worst playoff games. Missed three drives and a three-pointer in the final minute alone. He stuffed the stat sheet alright, but with that ugly shooting, four fouls (one really stupid one before the half) and 10 turnovers.

My hope is that an ugly game like this is not the precursor for the rest of the series. Otherwise, it's gonna be agonizing to watch.

Meal of Links

Dwight Schrute is now starting to rival Costanza by the way he acts on "The Office" The Xterra that he was selling online is actually being auctioned off. It's at $15,300 as I type this.

Does "Seinfeld" still hold up? Didn't I just mention Costanza? Sure, it does. Otherwise, how come each time I see that dude on the Time Warner Cable channel realignment ad do I think his eyebrows are drawn on like Uncle Leo's. You know, when Elaine drew them on and the doctor thought Leo was angry.

The 50 Greatest Commercial Parodies. Lots of good ones. Alec Baldwin selling "Tylenol BM", for instance. "Puppy Uppers" is an oldie. A visit from Velvet Jones, one of my favorite characters from Eddie Murphy. "Buhweet Sings" is another gem from Murphy, listen to his Slim Whitman on "Una Panoonah Banka". Number 2 is "Little Chocolate Donuts" with Marv Albert providing the voiceover for Belushi. It parallels the Bruce Jenner Wheaties Olympic ad to a T. Note how Belushi grabs the flag a la Jenner and has a cig while touting the donuts. Genius. The winner, of course, is "Bass-O-Matic".

I've been watching more and more of "Family Guy" recently. This clip of Peter singing "Rock Lobster" to Cleveland Brown makes me laugh.



Exercise Yard

Super Bowl ads in 2009 will be expensive. Hey, if the Browns are in it, I'll be there live, won't I?

Visitor

36 Down: Actress Petty (4 letters) Answer: Lori

OK, what are we going to do with the Indians offense? Currently, they are a mess. Another well-pitched game ended up in a loss today, as Aaron Laffey threw a really good game. But it seems the offense is going to be a lingering problem and there will probably have to be some changes.

First of all, Travis Hafner deserved to be dropped to sixth in the lineup. I'm not sure what the deal was with Terry Pluto's observations in this morning's PD. I think his case was overstated or, at the very least, "over-statted". A whole bunch of stuff about Hafner hitting flyballs to left or some other rot. He fails to mention the important stat, which I'll keep saying because it's, in fact, true. He is not driving the ball. It's that simple. You can talk all about an "uppercut swing" or whatever, but last year, even with the drop in run production and batting average, Hafner's walks were still up and his strikeouts were down. This year, however, the walks are way down (OBP is .305) and the K's are way up, projecting to 166 right now, which would be a career high by plenty. He is also projecting to only 77 walks, a significant drop to a career low. This points out to me he's lost whatever plate discipline he had. Last year, even in the throes of a slump, he could still hammer a pitcher's mistake. This year, it's been fairly ugly and he's not producing.

Mark Shapiro's magical number of 40 games played will be upon us in the next week-and-a-half or so. I have to believe Ben Francisco will get the call at that time. And if he hits, place him in the third slot. He may see some good pitches ahead of Victor Martinez in the lineup. He's 26 years old, we can't wait much longer. BTW, Victor seems to have become a singles hitter while no one was watching. Only 6 extra base hits (all doubles) and 4 walks.

Currently, they are getting virtually no production out of three positions. Casey Blake at third, Jhonny Peralta at short, and Asdrubal Cabrera at second. Those guys have been dismal, so far. BTW, Grady Sizemore seems to be playing much better since his injury caused him to miss two days. Maybe he'd be better off playing 150 games a year, as opposed to every inning of every game. Only Kelly Shoppach of the bench players seems to be doing anything with the bat. Andy Marte can't be trusted, it seems, and Jamey Carroll is...well...Jamey Carroll.

Having said all that, what are the options? Francisco seems an obvious choice. He can certainly replace Jason Michaels in the leftfield platoon. Cabrera would be the most likely position player to be sent down as he has options and Josh Barfield has major league experience. Other than those moves, unless a deal is made, I think we're stuck with what we have.

I realize there is a long way to go and really no one is running away with the division, thankfully. It also looks like a win total in the high 80's may get you in the playoffs. My concern is 20% of the season is now over and we don't have a lot of good signs offensively. Perhaps, the hitting coach is the fall guy. Remember, Eddie Murray was dumped during the season a few years ago, so it's not an unprecedented move.

Pitching is OK. Starting pitching has been terrific the last three weeks. Bullpen? Certainly not as sharp as last year. Have to grade them incomplete for the time being, because we'll have to see if Borowski gets healthy and gets the closer's job back. He starts throwing later this week, I believe.

Meal of Links

You play with the Royals. You're on the disabled list. There's a rainout in Cleveland. What do you do? Punch a door was probably not in your plans.

Racial profiling by police in Los Angeles? Nothing to see here, move along.

A reminder of what May 4 means to some people.

Exercise Yard

In case you wondered whatever happened to Trajan Langdon. Today, he was MVP of the Euroleague Final for CSKA Moscow. I happened to catch the end of this game on NBA TV.

I have no idea who the announce crew was, but a foreign guy did play-by-play, while an American did color. The color guy sounded like an old coach and it was as if they weren't even partners. The play-by-play guy did it by the book, while the American nitpicked virtually every play. It was hilarious.

Visitor

None. A sunny, cool Sunday.

As predicted, the obvious choice today for the Kentucky Derby was Big Brown.















As I wrote earlier:

Extremely weak field today, one of the weakest I've ever seen. Only three horses at less than 15-1 on the opening line. The knocks against Big Brown are the Number 20 post and not enough races. Both of those knocks are gonna eventually go, as no one really races a lot anymore and a horse will win once from the far outside, so why not this year? Big Brown won from the extreme outside at Gulfstream in the Florida Derby, a rarity. I think anything above the 3-1 morning line is quite the overlay, so go all in with a win bet on Big Brown.

The race developed somewhat the way I thought. We know Big Brown did not need the lead, and he didn't take it at the start. I thought the time for the half-mile was a very slow 47.1, that helped Big Brown. He cruised from that point forward. He destroyed the field by 5, and it was another 4 or 5 lengths back to third. Probably won't get mentioned much, but Calvin Borel almost duplicated his Street Sense ride on Denis of Cork for third today, hugging the rail almost from the start. Too bad he didn't have Street Sense today. And, of course, it was awful to see Eight Belles have to be euthanized on the track, breaking both front ankles after finishing second. The disturbing thing was NBC had a lingering shot of the horse lying down on the track and normally that's a no-no on TV coverage.

I know they don't run on paper, but who will step up for a challenge at the Preakness? Not one from today's field, I assure you.

Meal of Links

Recipes for Cinco de Mayo. Some of these are standard fare, but still look pretty good. I'm getting an early start with some burritos tonight.

This guy wants Hollywood to stop trying to kill Robert Downey, Jr.. Repeat "It's only a movie..."

Hey, Cuban. You're gettin' a Dell.

They are still trying to figure out the mystery of Stonehenge. Eddie Izzard chimes in:



Then there's always Carhenge. It's a bit closer.

Exercise Yard

The NFL Draft may hit the road. LA doesn't have a team, but they want the draft.

Visitor

34 Down: "Spanish Eyes" singer (9 letters) Answer: Al Martino

More later, but the obvious choice today for the Kentucky Derby is Big Brown. Extremely weak field today, one of the weakest I've ever seen. Only three horses at less than 15-1 on the opening line. The knocks against Big Brown are the Number 20 post and not enough races. Both of those knocks are gonna eventually go, as no one really races a lot anymore and a horse will win once from the far outside, so why not this year? Big Brown won from the extreme outside at Gulfstream in the Florida Derby, a rarity. I think anything above the 3-1 morning line is quite the overlay, so go all in with a win bet on Big Brown.

Visitor

34 Down: "Spanish Eyes" singer (9 letters) Answer: Al Martino

I was off today, so I took care of some car and grocery needs early and then headed over to the Cinemark to catch "Iron Man". First of all, it was packed for a Noon showing. Geekdom was well-represented.

Since this was the kickoff for the summer movie season, I witnessed trailers for the following flicks:

"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian"
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
"The Incredible Hulk"
"The Love Guru"
"The Happening"
"The Dark Knight"

That's a rather heavy-hitting lineup.













As for "Iron Man", this was probably one of the best of the Marvel Comic features. If the original "Spider-Man" was 1, I think this easily rates as 1A. In a shrewd casting move (one of several), Robert Downey, Jr. is perfect as Tony Stark, the playboy millionaire arms developer/manufacturer. He eventually becomes Iron Man due to some odd misfortune, but his humor really comes through in the development of his suit. BTW, I was not a big Iron Man fan. I recall buying the comic once as a kid, and kinda hating the red and gold suit. I thought him a tad boring and went back to Spidey, by that time, an old man in the Marvel clan.

But everything about the casting was good. Terence Howard is James Rhodes, Jeff Bridges is Stark's evil business partner and Gwyneth Paltrow plays Pepper Potts. Hey, if Dame Judi Dench can play M, eh? All of them are very good.

There are a couple of cameos. I didn't see Stan Lee or maybe didn't recognize him. Jim Cramer plays himself on an episode of "Mad Money" that was fun. And, since it's Marvel, you have to wait until the end credits to get a look at the Easter Egg. Didn't know for sure if it would happen, but enough people were lingering, so I stayed. And I think the people got what they wanted to see because all of geekdom was high-fiving and cheering after that final scene ended. It seems there will be a sequel, perhaps involving others. It'll all be out soon, but I'll let you look for who it was.

"Iron Man" is a definite must-see.

Meal of Links

"This American Life" returns to Showtime this Sunday. I passed on the movie theater event last night, because they were showing clips from the show and I'd rather wait for those than get a preview.

Seldom does NASCAR make business news. However, this week's race in Richmond may not be a sellout. The first time in 16 years for NASCAR, if it holds. Is that a somewhat-leading economic indicator?

Movie drunks! No, not the attendees, those on the big screen. If Mickey Rourke in "Barfly" was not on the list, this would have been not so good. But he made it. All is right with the world.

Exercise Yard

Cavs with an easy win over the Wizards. A 21-2 run in the second which continued to the third pretty much wrapped it up.

Visitor

22 Across: Saxophonist Sims (4 letters) Answer: Zoot