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.

Meal of Links

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.

Exercise Yard

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"?

Visitor

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.

Meal of Links

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.

Visitor

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.



Meal of Links

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.

Visitor

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.

Exercise Yard

Happy Birthday, National Hockey League. Game on.

Visitor

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.

For a snowstorm that was supposed to last for 36 hours, most of the little snowfall I had, occurred between 7:00 and 9:00 last night. Barely had to shovel and probably could have gotten away without having to pick that new shovel up at all. However, the plowing yesterday morning left a lot to be desired. Even the turnpike didn't have its normal pristine surface. Let's hope this isn't a sign of things to come this winter.

Very strange. I noticed the weather folks in town were not going out on a limb as far as snow totals go. I mean what can you do with a forecast that calls for between 1 and 6 inches of accumulation. Can you narrow that down a bit. Knock on wood though. That's two snow events that called for major accumulation and I hardly participated in either one.

Meal of Links

Sometimes you have 57 channels and something IS on. I stumbled upon "End Of The Century", a doc about the Ramones this a.m. and it was well worth the time.

Let the conspiracy theorists take hold. Rothschild Investment Bank makes record profits. I guess they do run the world.

Pick up your free Dr. Pepper. Starts at Midnight tonight. Thanks, Axl.

Where in the world can you smoke Hippy Lettuce legally? Pack the Reynolds Wrap.

Exercise Yard

I was in attendance at the Cleveland State-Kansas State game this evening. First visitor to the Bart from a big conference since Cal came here several years ago (excluding OSU at the Q last year). And 800 more people showed up this week than last for a crowd of 2800. And they all seemed to be in our row, as it was one of the few times my brother and I lost our coat chair. That's a sign of the times when that happens. All of a sudden I'm looking forward to "friends and family" games later in December to get my personal space back.

As for the game, well, CSU has some things they need to work on. Especially coming out of the gate and shooting well. Again, a dismal first-half effort had the Vikings down by 12 at the half. CSU shot 22% from the field to start. That's becoming a broken record in the first three games. They were also outrebounded, although they had 14 on the offensive end and many of those I apparently chose not to remember, because I thought the number was much lower.















Two side notes. K-State's coach, Frank Martin, I think might have the best stare I've seen in a long time. Besides, no question, he's psychotic. I had to yell at him, "Hey, Coach Bates, Relax.". Haven't seen a coach rip his players like that since Bruce Pearl was at Milwaukee. Although Coach Huggins is always good for that, too. Martin was an assistant under Huggins, so he learned from the best.

And right when it appeared CSU was making a run in the second half, the officials got involved and called an intentional foul on J'Nathan Bullock. strange call in that the K-State player clearly retaliated and escaped unscathed. thought for sure the double foul was coming. So, K-State turned a three point lead into an eight-point lead with the subsequent foul shots and three on the next possession. Game over, man, game over!

Maybe they need to get back to the Horizon League, because the Vikings are currently leaking oil. Bad starts, decent second halfs, but not much out of the star players, Bullock and Cedric Jackson. Jackson shot 1-for-12 tonight. Ugh.

A disappointing loss drops CSU to 1-2. The final was K-State 69, CSU 59.

Visitor

15 Down: '80s Peppard co-star (3 letters) Answer: Mr. T

I went to see a sneak preview of "Four Christmases" last night. This was at the Cinemark in the valley. I'd file this one under cute. It clocked in at a rather speedy 85 minutes or so, so don't order any Twizzlers, you'll have leftovers.

This was a movie about a couple, Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon, who always ditch their respective families around the holidays. You know, "You can't spell families without 'lies'." But this year, getting ready for Fiji, weather forced them to stay around for Christmas and visit each of their divorced parents. Robert Duvall, Mary Steenburgen, Sissy Spacek and Jon Voight play the parents. Jon Favreau and Tim McGraw play Vince's UFC fighting brothers. We also get Dwight Yoakam who seems to be resembling Clint Howard these days in the role of Pastor Phil. Nothing put me on the floor and there are a few chuckles, mainly the ones you see in the hideous trailer for the movie.

So, if you have a spare 90 minutes or so during the holidays, it may be good for a laugh or two when you see this one. Nothing great, but fairly harmless entertainment.

Meal of Links

The Most Underrated Muppets. I always thought Rowlf was massively underappreciated, especially as Doctor Bob. Kinda like Goofy on the Disney side. Always reliable and funny, can't remember a bad outing by either one.

Elvis Costello's new show opens in a couple of weeks. I am there.

A visit to Prince's house. Not royalty, the symbol guy.

They found the remains of Copernicus. I didn't even know they were missing.

Monty Python now has a YouTube channel. Some good stuff to begin with.

Independent movie posters. Omigod, "The Machinist". If you catch that one late at night, I guarantee you'll stay up to see the end.

Now go out and conquer that clutter!

Exercise Yard

Why is Phil Savage e-mailing fans and dropping f-bombs? He was allegedly at a tailgate when the Browns were at Jacksonville, too. I am sure he was not drinking, but trying to drop in on the regular folk, I guess.

Someone should tell him, it isn't working.

Visitor

4 Down: Longtime Georgia senator (7 letters) Answer: Sam Nunn

Quick Browns thoughts. Brady Quinn is quickly approaching “Saint Tressel” status after only two games. Compiled a few games for comparison between Quinn and Derek Anderson.

Browns/Bengals: Anderson 15-24, 138 YDS/TD/INT/74.7 QB Rating
Browns/Jaguars: Anderson 14-27, 246 YDS/TD/Sack/95.6 QB Rating
Browns/Ravens: Anderson 17-33, 219 YDS/2TD/INT/Sack/80.2 QB Rating (His last start)
Browns/Bills: Quinn 14-36, 185 YDS/Sack/55.9 QB Rating

Note that I tossed the Giants game as an aberration. Anderson’s last 5 starts, 4 sacks. Quinn’s first 2 games, 1 sack. So the problem was not Anderson holding the ball and getting pummeled or being a statue. They went to that dink passing attack after the first Ravens game, which we are now getting with Quinn. I'll give you the fact that Quinn is more mobile, hence the bootleg and rollouts we saw last night.

In Anderson’s last 5 starts, his QB Ratings were:

Bengals 74.7, a road win.
Giants 121.3, a home win.
Redskins 57.9, a road loss.
Jaguars 95.6, a road win.
Ravens 80.2, a home loss.

In Quinn’s two starts, his QB ratings were:

Broncos 104.3, a home loss.
Bills 55.9, a road win.

“Quinn was 14-of-36 for 185 yards. Not great, but not bad.”-This is a Terry Pluto quote in today's PD. WTF? Barely 5 yards per attempt. No touchdowns, no long balls. If that was Anderson, he’d be hearing it today. Especially after having 11 days to prepare. The Browns certainly let everyone know Quinn’s QB rating against Denver was 104.3. I’m pretty sure we will not hear much about this week’s 55.9.

Any argument about "Quinn would have been better had not Braylon Edwards dropped passes" holds zero water. Because you could flip that argument to the two biggest drops that Anderson threw this year. One against Dallas, another against Baltimore.

All I’m saying is, if we are going to denigrate Anderson as mediocre, let’s not conversely anoint Quinn for doing basically the same thing. He's two games in, let's wait a while. Remember, we thought Anderson was the man after game 2 against the Bengals last year. And, yes, I am still not on the bandwagon, but am holding a reservation.

And don't get me started on the Browns run defense giving up 185 yards last night.

Meal of Links

Google is now hosting the Life Photo Archive. Why here's Joe DiMaggio at Dinky Donuts!






































Bruno strikes again. You'd think people would wise up.

How The New York Times met "The Simpsons".

Family Guy Spelling Bee

This put me on the floor.



Exercise Yard

Even Desmond Howard is not too sure about this Rich Rodriguez guy. Rodriguez has probably hired a food taster, at this point.

Visitor

27 Across: Brother of Curly (3 letters) Answer: Moe

Hey, it's Sunday a.m. and what better opportunity to see "Bond, James Bond" than at the early show at Crocker Park. A grand total of 10 people showed up. Day not starting well because they forgot to turn on the ICEE machines. Ugh!

Anyhow, I dragged my Dad and Gale to attend "Quantum of Solace". Why my Mom and Dad once took my brother and I years ago to a drive-in to see Bond. Listen, I don't know what the hell this movie was about. Who or what was Quantum and why he or she was Solaced or any of that. One of the few Bonds where you had to be into the first of the Daniel Craig Bond movies to remember what was going on. Something about oil, then diamonds, but really about water rights. And, as always, M suspecting Bond of going over the edge. Bond Chick was a Bolivian, I think, and rather saucy. Seriously, this town needs hot foreign chicks to pull up their cars aside you as you're walking down the street yelling, "Get in."

The PD review though had it spot on. Bond has been Bourned, as in Jason. Constant action all over the globe. At the end, he was in a snowy landscape, I half expected it be Cleveland. During one fight scene, I thought Bond would use the phone book as a weapon. Plus, he's leaping an alley from a roof to a balcony below across the street. I think I saw Jackie Chan do that 10 years ago. No new gadgets to speak of in this one. I loves Bond gadgets.

Plus, security of all kinds was not in evidence anywhere. A guy worked with M for lots of years and she had no idea he was the enemy. Bond takes a cycle and sits across a pier to spy on a guy in broad daylight. A hotel in the middle of nowhere is evacuated for a secret meeting and Bond and his friend basically stroll in to commit mayhem. Bond infiltrates a bizarre setting where a Toscan opera is performed (don't ask) by entering through the Artists Entrance. WTF? Security was rather Col. Klink-like. The villain was some wimpy French guy that Sean Connery would have disposed of before a 9:30 a.m. movie of his choice. But, in this movie, he actually puts up a fight. Aaaargh!

Having said that, Bond is Bond. So, he beat up guys, wore tuxedos, drank and knows how to move about in this world of ne'er-do-wells. Also, we have car chases. He used a boat, a motorcycle, an Aston Martin, an airplane and a Land Rover as transport. He even walked across a desert in his tux. They gave away his martini recipe and the chicks still dig him. Looks like a record opening at the box office, as well.

Afterward for us, it wasn't martinis, but Bloody Marys at Art's Pub for $2.50. You can make your own, but the staff did a fine job. So, we drank a bit, failed at the obligatory Keno, watched some football and had some eats. I had a Rib/Wing special that hit the spot. That was a fun day and it had just started.

Meal of Links

In case you missed it. Scene had an article about a potential suspect in the Amy Mihaljevic murder case. Interesting to hear about the case, all these years later.

The 10 cars that sank Detroit. I never did understand that Taurus neglect. And 10 cars that can salvage Detroit.

More than 60 beautiful videos. Aphex Twin, no doubt. I have always loved the look of that Lenny Kravitz video for "Are You Gonna Go My Way?". Doesn't hurt that it's a great record too. Other standouts on the list: Beck's "Girl"; Lego-fied White Stripes on "Fell In Love With A Girl"; "Sabotage" which must be played loudly; "House of Cards" by Radiohead is an awesome song to have on when it's raining, especially in your car; we have Weezer!; and I like Richard Ashcroft walking on "Bittersweet Symphony", which has to be on everyone's Top Ten list of '90s songs.

Gas prices still down. I noticed in today's PD, they are dropping the gas surcharge for deliverers.

Exercise Yard

Tomorrow, let's see what Brady Quinn does against an NFL defense. Additionally, there will be snow and Buffalo went apeshit last year on a Monday night when they played Dallas. It was their first Monday nighter in ages and the atmosphere was insane. Not ready for the Quinn bandwagon yet, even with the extra prep time.

Visitor

None, methinks it is about to snow.

Looks like I bought an ergonomic shovel just in time...

I took my Dad to the season opener of CSU basketball tonight. The opponent was the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University, picked to win the Summit Conference. Big expectations for CSU this year and you could tell the city was behind the team with a huge crowd of...2078. See, LeBron was playing down the street and well, it's the same old, same old.

Anyhow, Cleveland State had some issues in the first half. They were getting outrebounded and shot a John Carroll-like 21%, including 2 of 14 from three-point range. Yeah, that's ugly. Oakland shot only 32%, but that was good enough for a 31-24 halftime lead.

In the second half, it was still a struggle. Oakland went up 46-36 with 15:44 left, but only scored 9 points the rest of the way. CSU finally went ahead, 55-53 with 3:12 left, as Norris Cole hit a jumper. Ninety seconds later, he hit a three for a five-point lead and the eventual win. He had awesome defense on the shooter in the final ten seconds as Oakland missed their potential game-tying shot.

The Vikings need some work. Shooting heated up to 47% in the second half, but was only 35% for the game. Fouls shooting was 8 of 14, with not one attempt in the second half. They were also outrebounded by 4. This was a tough game, the type of game you have to pull out in the end, that you'll face many times during the season. Actually had excitement for the few people that were there.

Next week, it's out west to the University of Washington and back home for Kansas State. CSU wins, 58-55.

Meal of Links

How to run a con. Or you could watch any David Mamet movie. Speaking of cons, here's Joe the Plumber's website.

Breakout movie performances from 2008. I missed this many movies? Anyhow, ditto on Toby Kebbel in "Rock N Rolla" and Danny McBride in "Pineapple Express".

Michael Lewis has a long read about Wall Street. Excellent article.

Will Maury Eventually Kill Someone?



Exercise Yard

The Browns may be done, but Randy Lerner's other team had its biggest win to date of his ownership. Aston Villa 2, Arsenal 0. A game in which the Villans did virtually nothing wrong.

Visitor

23 Across: "Lonely Days" group (7 letters) Answer: Bee Gees

While contemplating that it's the 30th anniversary of Cheap Trick's "Live at Budokan" and they have released a reissue:

Strangely enough, as I was driving home tonight, 1st Wave actually played "Stories For Boys" by U2, so I rightfully can sing, "I've got the pow-er."

My niece likes Kid Country, I mean, Kid Rock. And knows Taylor Swift songs. I may have to plan an intervention.

Why does that guy on the BeepBeep.com commercial sing "easy" like "E-Cee" not "E-Zee"? Really bugs me.

Until I see a "Ganley Man" commercial, that is.

On "The Office", why did they so easily discard Pam's graphic artist foray? That seemed to take a turn to wrap things neatly in a bow in the span of 10 minutes.

And speaking of Jim Halpert, he is the voice of those Blackberry Storm commercials. "It clicks...".

I'm glad Romeo denied the Browns quit last Thursday. I think that word is tossed around way too much these days and covers up a severe lack of talent. Early in the history of Browns 2.0 you could say that, but not last week.

Do you laugh when the graphic on "Larry King Live" commands you to "Blog"?

Could C.C. Sabathia command $140 million? And, if so, what would Manny Ramirez get? I wonder what the Indians bid will be? Oh right, there won't be any, because we'll go after Casey Blake.

I watched "Kitchen Nightmares" for the first time last night. The first hour with an Italian restaurant from Stamford, CT. I think I found the real "Uncle F-Bomb". Jee-zus, even if the restaurant turned around by the end of the show, why would you ever give that guy any of your money?

The restaurant in question.

Meal of Links

A list of the "100 Movies I'm Embarrassed I Haven't Seen". I still have not seen "Forrest Gump" or "Top Gun".

We are now in the W's. That means The Who, White Stripes, Wilco and X.

I don't watch "Real Housewives of Atlanta", something about these Reality TV shows I guess. But I understand the wife of former Cav Eric Snow is on the show.

Exercise Yard

Lenny Dykstra is still making money. Yes, "Nails" is surviving the recession quite nicely.

Visitor

16 Across: First name in a Beatles title (7 letters) Answer: Eleanor

Today is a rather anxious day in XM nation. That's because the new channel lineup, post-merger of XM and Sirius, takes hold. I always listened to Fred, Ethel and Lucy on XM. They have been replaced by 1st Wave, Alt Nation and Lithium respectively.

My first thoughts are they have effectively killed Fred. Why last night I was able to hear groups like the Charlatans. This morning, I had this stretch:

"Eyes Without A Face"/Billy Idol
"I Will Follow"/U2
"Ball of Confusion"/Love and Rockets
"Rush"/Big Audio Dynamite

I like Billy Idol in his Generation X days, not that crappy tune. The U2 song, a classic for sure, but rarely played on Fred. How about "Stories For Boys" or something like that? I get the last two selections, although "Rush" would probably be played on Lucy. The first two could be heard virtually anywhere on terrestrial radio.

On the trip home, I heard "Kinda Kute" by Joe Jackson. OK, that's an amalgam of every one of Jackson's early tunes, but not often played. Good choice. And nothing wrong with hearing "London Calling" or "Fashion" by Bowie. But, "Voices Carry"? I only stick with that so I can sing, "Hu-u-u-u-u-sh, hush...keep it down now...voices carry". I'm afraid the songs of the Fred Essentials era are going to be tossed.

Disappointing Day One, I'd say, because the "Classic New Wave" that they play is just going to cover the "hits". I don't think I'll be hearing The Damned or Nitzer Ebb anytime soon. Conversely, the little bit I paid attention to the others, I'd say Alt Nation and Lithium were truer to the charter of their old XM counterparts. Although these channels always play Green Day and Social D's "Ball and Chain" which fit into almost any format, so they can act like they have a harder edge. I'll let ya know if I hear "Ring of Fire" by Social Disorder.

Thank God though, a punk channel is back. And pick an artist, they have a channel. I now get Margaritaville, Bruce Springsteen, Jam On, Little Steven's Garage, and the Grateful Dead 24 hours a day. I also get BBC Radio One and that's pretty cool, just because it's the BBC. Sports-wise, I picked up NBA play-by-play.

The station that I got to hear all of Sarah Palin's speeches live, POTUS '08, has changed to POTUS. So, I liked it that the channel has remained. And I picked up an NPR channel, as well.

I'll be listening to see what else has changed.

Meal of Links

Dave Grohl will be a judge on a Thanksgiving version of "Top Chef". I hope he screams.

Malcolm Gladwell has another book coming out. A long read about him.

The Raconteurs have gone goofy with "From Old to Gold". Cool song from the last album, so I'm not sure what they are promoting.

Looks like HBO is hooking up with Anthony Kiedis. I could get into that story.

A short history of the bagel. I went to Bruegger's today. I ask you, why are they so expensive there?

Smoking movies. Cannot believe "Good Night and Good Luck" is not on this list. And where is "Cold Turkey"?

Old: Red vs. Blue. New: Educated vs. People Easily Fooled by Propaganda.

Nate Silver talks about his new found stardom. FiveThirtyEight was really the go-to site for all of the election polling. Plus, when you hear fantasy baseball geeks talk about PECOTA, well, Nate invented that, too. And don't forget, we still have three Senate races going, so Nate's still got it going on.

Fox cancelled "Mad TV". This show was really strange. Sometimes it was absolutely hilarious, other times it was pretty embarrassing.

Exercise Yard

Herb Score died yesterday. What can you say about Herb? The man watched more bad baseball than any human deserved to endure. Look at some of the players he had to chronicle on a daily basis for over three decades. I mean, Joe Lis? Seriously, his only claim to fame was he could sign his name twice as fast as Jack Brohamer.

Here are some of the funnier things I remember about Herbie. I once heard some local wag, after hearing Score for probably the millionth time, claim his first words out of the womb were probably, “Throw to first, back safely.” I recall driving back from Columbus one time and tuning in the Tribe on the radio. Channeling Feagler, you kinda did that sort of thing back then. Anyhow, the Indians are playing the Oakland A’s and had the catchers, Mickey Tettleton and Terry Steinbach, at the time. Herb called the Oakland catcher, “Mickey Tettlebach”, for only about six innings before correcting himself. (I believe that was in the PD today, I actually heard that as it happened.) And finally, his call in the 1997 ALCS of the go-ahead homer by Tony Fernandez in extra innings against Baltimore, “And the Indians are going to the World Series…Maybe.” Herb forgot they were in Baltimore and had the bottom of the inning to get through. But everyone loved the guy.

It was a crime the liner off the bat of Yankee Gil McDougald that hit him in the eye started his downfall from what, early on, looked like a surefire Hall of Fame career, as this SI cover story from 1955 attests. He was really that good, piling up the strikeouts at a record pace and being mentioned with the all-time greats at a young age. Here’s a look at the early comeback in 1958 and a quite painful read of when it’s obvious he had nothing left as a pitcher in 1961.
















Truly a sad time for all Tribe fans.

Visitor

30 Across: "Seinfeld" stumbler (6 letters) Answer: Kramer

Cleveland State basketball opened tonight. They put a hurtin' on John Carroll in an exhibition game. In years past, this was a regular-season game, but Carroll looked so bad, maybe both teams agreed to put this into the "doesn't count" category.

There wasn't a whole lot to learn from this game. Oh, the pep band wasn't there. Concession prices seemed stable from last year. Male cheerleaders are present (they still don't do much heavy lifting). And my free parking pass still sucks, as I can't seem to park close and when it's cold, I'll take street parking every time. But from the basketball perspective, it's tough to get a true reading.

Cleveland State owned the boards. They didn't attempt that many 3-pointers. Assists and steals were way up. John Carroll had 24 turnovers and shot 21% from the field, so again, tough to measure Cleveland State's ability.

CSU wins, 81-33, and the regular season starts on Saturday against the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland.

Meal of Links

The best current TV theme songs. "Dexter" is good because you can make up your own words. "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy" also make it. "Doctor Who" is Number One, but I don't watch it.

Lots of women love Barack Obama. Now you can have him inside of you. (I'm guessin' NSFW)

Will General Motors die? I go back and forth on this one. The web of the auto industry weaves around so many other industries, I think it would be catastrophic to the region if they are allowed to fail. Even something seemingly unrelated like advertising companies would be hugely affected. However, if they built better cars and could compete on their own, the government wouldn't have to bail them out. It's really a tough call.

Exercise Yard

Josh Cribbs hops on the "some players quit" train. How about someone hopping on the "we don't have a lot of talent on defense and we suck" train?

I'll be honest, I didn't see a whole lot of guys quitting last Thursday. But I did see a tired, limited defense hanging on against a team with no running game they should have beat.

The word "quit" is used way too many times in sports for my taste. It tends to disguise the real issues on these teams.

Visitor

15 Across: Pop singer Lavigne (5 letters) Answer: Avril

I went to Cinemark in the valley to see "Rachel Getting Married". Lotta buzz about Anne Hathaway (and who doesn't like her?) in this movie and she'll probably get Oscar consideration. Speaking of Oscar, what else is worthy up to this point? Only Heath Ledger, I'd say.

Anyhow, Hathaway plays a drug addict who gets a pass out of rehab for her sister's wedding. Anne's an "It's all about me" kinda gal, so it's interesting to see how the family interacts. And we get to see the rehearsal dinner, the wedding itself and the reception. You're in tight with the group, because Jonathan Demme used a lot of handhelds in filming it. It's very different and Altman-like. Not exactly a laugh riot, but there is some humor. Hey, Fab Five Freddy and Robyn Hitchcock make appearances and the TV on the Radio singer was the groom, so there were many forms of music represented. The wedding ceremony was some of sort of Jewish/Hindu/Rasta. I somehow see my Dad at this type of wedding saying, "What the hell is this?".

Meal of Links

The perils of "Populist Chic". OK, I am checking myself into Palin rehab.

They may have found a cure for AIDS. Bone marrow plays the leading role.

Chrysler has talks with Hyundai. Yes, we all saw that coming, didn't we?

Exercise Yard

Salma Hayek paid for ball juggling lessons from Becks at an auction. And now he's off to Europe. She paid $350,000. You'd think they could sneak in a hour somewhere, don't you?

Visitor

62 Across: 1950 Tony winner born in Rome (9 letters) Answer: Ezio Pinza

If you thought Barack Obama becoming President was going to tone down racism around these parts, well, I don't think that's happenin' soon. Case in point was before last night's Browns game. I was enjoying my pre-game ritual of Corona Lights when this guy and his wife sidle up to the bar next to Kevin and I, putting Kevin in the middle between us.

I guess this dude felt obligated to chat. Oh, he was a talker. So much so, Kevin had to find other victims as a buffer. He found friends that he knew and gave up his seat to a female, then her and her friend moved on when a table opened up. Then Lisa, who picked out my glasses, showed up and she occupied the chair for a while. I happened to mention Sarah Palin and the dude's ears perked up like a dog.

Let me backtrack a bit. When he sat down, the guy mentioned he was a Cowboy fan. And he was wearing a DuPont NASCAR jacket, so I probably shouldn't stereotype, but you know where this was heading. He went on and on about how he saw the Dallas-Cleveland game and how great the Cowboys are. To the point of annoyance. Then he mentioned the tired line about "Bill Cowher bought a home in Strongsville." This pisses me off to no end, so I called him out on it and challenged him, "He did not. OK, what street is it on?". Of course, he has a trusted friend who knows and blah, blah, blah. Thank you, sports talk radio and you, you Internets.

So, with the rotating seat next to me, he finally started eating and was quiet for a while. I happened to mention Palin. By this time, Lisa and I had our backs to the bar. But I hear the dude ask Lisa if I mentioned Palin. And she said yes. So, the guy turns to us and asks. "Who did you vote for?" and we responded. I told him, "I voted for Obama and, you know, he actually won." He said, "I give Obama credit. I really do. For having half a brain. Because he's half white." Lisa and I just looked at each other and shook our heads and turned around. How could you dignify that with a reply? Not very often that you meet someone and within 20 minutes, they admit to being a racist.

So, there is still much work to be done.

Meal of Links

Everyone hates those Toyota "Saved By Zero" ads. Everyone. Not one person likes them. I've never minded the song, but I wish they hadn't used it though. It'll stick with you.

Is Obama leading the Fourth Republic? Looks like Bush destroyed the third one.

Here is Tina Brown's new venture, The Daily Beast.

Exercise Yard

John Cleese explains the offside rule in soccer. Pay attention!



Visitor

33 Across: Emmy-winning scientist (3 letters) Answer: Nye

Randomness from tonight's Browns home game:



























Special Guest: Kevin. I went to a game with Kevin two years ago. It was in December. He made a sign and I think it became useless after a few minutes, because it was kinda cold. Last year, we were scheduled for the Buffalo game and I bailed on that one since it snowed quite a bit. So, the weather should be much better tonight. Plus, he gets out of school at 6:00, which probably means no signage.

Tonight's Opponent: The once-hated Denver Broncos. Sure, 20 years ago, we thought this team was the devil. We always seemed to come up short against these guys. The 1986 AFC Championship game here ("The Drive"). The 1987 AFC Championship game there ("The Fumble"). The 1989 AFC Championship game there (We never got around to naming that one). But both teams are a far cry from that era. The Broncos have no discernable defense. They are horrible on that side of the ball. Can you imagine a Denver Bronco team with no running game? Well, they are here tonight. It's basically Jay Cutler at QB and if he is successful, they move the ball. If not, they really suck. Amazingly, with all of that, they still lead their division at 4-4.

Browns Version 2.3, however, is in turmoil once again. Brady Quinn, the People's Choice (or as I like to call him, "Dink II"), is now in charge of the Browns offense. For the record, I am not yet a Quinn fan. He needs to do something more on the field, instead of being shirtless and doing commercials off it, before I hop on his bandwagon. With only one day of practice before this game and limited reps all year, what should we look for tonight? I'm telling you, if you thought the short passing game was prominent with Derek Anderson, watch tonight's game. I expect lots of slants, short outs, swing passes out of the backfield. I expect less deep passes than when Anderson was in there. And last week, he threw only one and we saw how that worked out. Doh!

On paper, this would have been an easy Browns win before the QB change. Since the change was announced, I still think the Browns will win. Though I have this nagging feeling that it'll be ugly.

Parking: East 6th by the Board of Education. Ni-i-i-ice.

Browns Player on Ticket: D'Qwell Jackson, arms folded.

Pre-Game Festivities: The Browns Spirit Flag was unfurled once more. We also had the flag that wasn't really a flag. You know, the one with red, white and starred blue strips of varying length.

At halftime, the Browns old AAFC championship teams from 1947, 1948 and 1949 were honored. Names you would recognize: Ara Parseghian, Dub Jones and Dante Lavelli were in attendance.

Worst Feature (For Me): "Hang on Sloopy" at the end of the third quarter. I'm really tired of this.

The Weather: Hollie Strano had the unfortunate experience of trying to do her weather gig, while chants of "Brady! Brady!" resonated throughout the Stadium as Brady Quinn was entering the game for his first series as a starter. No one heard her and she stiffed me on that radar again. The weather was as perfect as could be for a November night game. This was one of those days that closer to the lake it was much cooler than inland. But the temperature was steady throughout and was in the mid-50s. Outstanding.

Today's Giveaway: There wasn't any.

Section 345: Nothing happened. Probably the tamest crowd in years. Not even a threat of anyone risking ejection.

Best Browns Play: Once again, the best Browns player was Josh Cribbs. Absolutely loved his end around in the 4th quarter for 21 yards. It's a shame our best player is only on the field for maybe 15-20 plays per game, and most of those are in the return game.

































Best Broncos Play: The 93-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to Eddie Royal. Cutler did a fake and Brandon McDonald, who else?, bit on it. By the time he recovered, Cutler had delivered the ball to Royal, who was well behind the defense. Royal had to wait for the ball, but still caught it and outsprinted everyone to the endzone. This brought Denver right back into the game at 23-20.

Worst Browns Play: The fumble by Kellen Winslow with 12:48 left. The Browns had started the drive on the 50 after another good return by Cribbs. On 3rd-and-6, Quinn hit Winslow with a pass for an apparent first down. But he fumbled at the Denver 38. It took Denver less than 3 minutes to score a touchdown to go up, 27-23.

Second Worst Browns Play: The bad tackling on Daniel Graham's 28-yard touchdown catch for the Broncos. Pitiful.

Worst Broncos Play: Repeatedly kicking to Josh Cribbs. Fools.

Best Line from Me (at halftime): "Omigod, Dante Lavelli looks horrible. Dead Pool?"

Best Line from Kevin (after another big Denver gain): "Swiss cheese, baby. Swiss cheese."

Best Line from a Random: Denver fan says, "I know you guys have Kellen Winslow, but we have Tony Scheffler."

Oddest Browns Jersey: 17 Gardocki, 29 Turner, 34 Droughns, 75 Fraser. There was also 80 Postal Dawg.

Food Items: Kevin got me a $4.75 bratwurst. We learned these babies are really hot (temperature-wise) last Sunday. Try one.

Best Fan Cam Feature: The "Beware of Dog" sign that you could purchase at your local five-and-dime was held up.
























The Fuckin' Run: The Browns only gave up 123 yards rushing today. Normally cause for celebration, right? Unfortunately, this was accomplished mainly by Denver's FOURTH AND FIFTH-STRING RUNNING BACKS. Cutler even chipped in with 26 yards, including a huge 18-yarder up the middle with two minutes left. Putrid.

Worst Stat: The Browns defense, the unit that has let us down for how many years now?, gave up 564 yards tonight. Cutler had a career-high 447 yards through the air. Couldn't stop them.

2nd Worst Stat: Denver punted one time. The only defensive stop the Browns had all evening. Cutler had an awful interception ending one drive and they had a missed field goal on their opening drive. Halftime stopped another drive. The Browns had no three-and-outs.

Most Interesting Stat: Conversely, the Browns only punted twice. The Winslow fumble and the Browns inability to get a final first down on their last drive were the other times they did not score.

Penalties: Another offensive pass interference penalty on Kellen Winslow was the killer. This was on the first play of the fourth quarter, nullifying a first-down catch by Braylon Edwards. The Browns punted, setting up the long Royal TD.

This loss drove the final nail into the coffin this year. The season is over. Oh, we knew it was done early this year, but the tease of the Monday Night Giant win and the tough win at Jacksonville kept the charade going. Finally, at 3-6, we can breathe easy. Now we know we suck, for sure.

































Can't pin this one on "Dink II". Those games, with tougher defenses, will eventually prove my point. Nope, this one is pinned solely on the defense, who for the second game in a row, were handed a fourth quarter lead and proceeded to perform dismally when it counted. Both times at home to compound the misery.

So, where does the season go from here? We've seen it numerous times. Some teams play to the end under these circumstances. Others do not and the team slides into a steep decline to finish out the season. Is the coach in jeopardy? Remember, his forte is defense and it just ain't working right now. Is the general manager in jeopardy? He hasn't addressed linebacking needs when that unit has been crying for an upgrade for years. And his free agent signings have been hit-or-miss.

Whatever happens it's because the team had their season on the line with back-to-back home games against teams, that if the Browns are as good as they think, should have no trouble beating. And the defense, as it does for as long as I've been watching the Browns, let everyone down. Again.

I can't believe I'm typing the Browns lost to the dismal Denver Broncos, 34-30.

Meal of Links

Seriously, Sarah Palin thought Africa was a country and did not know the countries involved in NAFTA. Yet, women (and many men) across the land claimed they identified with her and she was "one of us", etc. Good grief.

I got to see some daytime TV yesterday that I normally don't see. I stumbled across some of the Judge Shows again. Nearly fell off the chair when I saw Bruce Cutler, famously John Gotti's lawyer, hosting a show called "Jury Duty", where three "celebrity jurors" adjudicate cases. Two of the jurors were Melissa Rivers and Bruce Vilanch, just to give you some flavor. Quite the awful program, I say. Then I watched old favorite, Judge Extreme Akim, in "Eye For An Eye" rule on some obviously phony case.

Forgotten names for everyday items. Like the "aglet".

10 songs that resemble 10 different songs. Some of these are blatant lifts. Kinks vs. Kinks is one my faves, as well.

Exercise Yard

The Boston Bruins decide to fight the Dallas Stars. Jack Edwards, the formerly mild-mannered ESPN anchor now Boston Bruins homer/announcer, seems to have gone a bit over-the-top with some of his descriptions.



Visitor

47 Across: Perennial 1950s-'60s NBA all-star (6 letters) Answer: Pettit

I have a few days off and cannot believe this Indian Summer weather we have been having. Really good these days.

Do not go the Circuit City liquidation yet. Looks like the liquidators have jacked up everything to retail price before taking the discounts. Music and movies were 20% off, cameras 15%, TVs 10%, I think PCs were only 5% off. I think the better deals are coming, but frankly, it shows why the store is dying. Not much of a selection and prices blow. And there are much better deals online if you take the time to find them.

And I didn't see Joe Biden at Home Depot. I think he's busy.

Meal of Links

Bill Ayers talks to David Remnick. "They made me into a cartoon character."

Don't forget Poland. Russia is thinking about lining up missiles at the border.

Lookee here. Girls do have cooties.

Election News; Obama beats McCain, Franken appears to have tied Coleman, and Bacon beats Fries. Every time, in my opinion.
















Exercise Yard

Soccer rockets! And, of course, the ubiquious rioting after the match.

Visitor

45 Down: Nixon adviser Nofziger (3 letters) Answer: Lyn

"Honest to goodness
The bars weren't open this morning
They must have been voting
For a new president of something"
-"The New World" by X

And so it goes.

I walked over to the polls this morning. The Trio Tavern had an "Open" sign on, but they were closed. I was out the door at 6:30 a.m. and arrived about 6:40 a.m. And the lines were already out the door. I chatted up a guy about Brady Quinn, but the line moved quickly and I was in line for a booth by 7:00 a.m.

A few thoughts. If you recall last year, I was shocked that people were sitting at tables filling out their ballots. Whatever happened to the idea of the secret ballot? They offer this to you in my precinct as a way to vote without waiting in line. I don't quite understand it. Maybe we need a bigger polling place.

This year, it was even worse, if you can believe it. We have people at tables, we have people sitting in chairs, we have people standing in line while waiting for a booth to open, all out with their pens coloring in the circles for who they voted for. It looked a lot like Thistledown. My God, are we in that much of a hurry? Besides, I don't want the guy next to me looking at who I am voting for. It's more proof that Election Day needs to be a national holiday every four years. I will sign every petition and back every initiative until this becomes a reality.

That wasn't the half of it. I actually had to talk to the Voters Rights person outside of the polling place. God bless the woman in front of me. It was pretty chaotic inside, but she was actually reading the "Ballot Privacy Folder" (which they neglected to give me, BTW) before they scanned her ballot. I guess that's supposed to keep your ballot private, after you sit out in the open and vote at a table, I add snarkily. Anyhow, the procedure was we were supposed to hand the guy by the scanner a stub from our ballot. Then we could scan. She was the first person to notice this at our precinct's scanner (we have four precincts, that means four scanners): WE HAD NO STUBS!

And she was determined to fix it. She said she had always had a stub in all her years of voting, so they could check if there were problems. I then joined with her. We checked the scanner. 26 had already voted and God knows how many others had been given ballots without stubs from our precinct's table. Let alone the other precincts. The worker claimed, "They opened the doors before we were ready." Trust me, that is not what you wanna hear on Election Day, especially in Ohio. But that's really not an excuse. Make the people wait, instead of handing them ballots they can fill out in the open. Their solution was to take a bunch of stubs and just throw them into the envelope.

I presume one of those stubs was mine. So, I guess my vote counted. My parting shot to the scanner guy was, "You're sure I didn't just vote for Canadians, but Americans, right?".

On the way out, I noticed the woman talking to the Voters Rights person, so I felt obligated to join the fray and file a report. Jeezy creezy, I understand it's hectic at the start and all, but my goodness, you'd think ripping a ballot from the tablet with the stub intact is a pretty important step in poll worker training.

Even with all of that, I walked back home and arrived here at 7:25 a.m.

So, perform your civic duty and vote today.

But before you vote:

Please Be Informed



Election Night
























4:00 p.m.: I just realized 4 years ago at this time, I was reading those dreaded exit polls. I thought John Kerry was ahead? W'happen?

4:45 p.m.: Breaking Election News: Bill Richardson shaved his beard.

6:00 p.m: I turn on MSNBC, the Place for Politics. Also decide I'm going to have leftover Chinese.

6:45 p.m: Lester Holt is manning the Senate desk. I imagine he'll get very limited air time. Ann Curry rears her ugly head, much like Putin.

7:00 p.m: First results. McCain gets Kentucky, Obama takes Vermont for an early 8-3 R lead.

7:10 p.m.: Morning Joe calls it a complete repudiation of Republicans. Gee, that's early.

7:30 p.m.: I vow by 8:00, I will start paying more attention. South Carolina goes to McCain. He's up 16-3. That sounds like a playoff game that C.C. Sabathia pitches.

7:45 p.m.: Indiana intrigues me. Still has not been called for McCain. Highly unusual for Team Donkey to be close here.

8:00 p.m.: Pennsylvania and its 21 electoral votes go to Obama. It's over, baby. (Happy Dance ensues.) Chris Matthews: "The McCain plan for victory has crashed." Obama needs only one red state at this point. Maybe Colorado at 9:00. This may be an early night.

Oklahoma and Tennessee go to McCain. Obama picks up Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, New Jersey, Massachusetts and the District. Obama zooms to a 103-34 lead. I break out the Lays Kettle Cooked Potato Chips.
































8:24 p.m.: Florida STILL cannot design a simple ballot. Or Palm Beach County residents is just plain stupid. Ann Curry and Howard Fineman have the same hair color.

8:27 p.m.: Fox Business Channel shows a graphic of Maine results: "Obama 2, McCain 1".

8:39 p.m.: Headline News crawl: Tim Robbins waited five hours to vote in Manhattan. Poll worker said his name was not on the register. He says he's voted every year there since 1992. A judge intervened.

8:45 p.m.: Alabammy and Georgia go to McCain, making it 103-58.

8:57 p.m.: Fox News seems very sad.

9:00 p.m.: More polls close. New York, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Rhode Island to Obama. McCain takes Arkansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Kansas. Team Elephant is losing, 175-76.

9:06 p.m.: Decide to check the locals. Bad year for school levies. Most are losing. Hey, it looks like "Dennis!" wins. Yep, he's my Congressman.

9:11 p.m.: Chuck Todd says, "Not so fast, my friend!". Virginia, Ohio and Indiana are still in doubt.

9:22 p.m.: Unbelievably, Ohio goes to Obama. This state we live in, where the Mason-Dixon Line has crept up to I-80, votes a black man for President. Obama up, 195-76. Chuck Todd should have waited 15 minutes. Now, it's really over.


















9:25 p.m.: McCain takes Louisiana and picks up 6. He is still getting whomped, 195-85.

9:30 p.m.: New Mexico actually counts its votes early. 5 more to Senator Obama and he is at 200-85.

9:37 p.m.: Keith Olbermann desperately wants to say "It's over!". I said it a while ago. I think Neil Cavuto's head asploded on Fox Business.

9:42 p.m.: Fox is still hanging on for Florida. MSNBC won't call it, but it's leaning heavily toward Obama.

9:44 p.m.: Wolf Blitzer: Nice man. Wolf Blitzer: Terrible Election Night anchor. I forgot, Kentucky goes to McCain. Obama up, 200-90.































10:00 p.m.: Utah to McCain, Iowa to Obama. It's now 207-129. Fox News throws in the towel.

10:07 p.m.: James Carville on CNN says the R's are in no position to dictate to Obama how he should govern. The rational Republican next to him jokingly says, "If we only had 9 seats on the Supreme Court, we could pull this off." It was very funny.

10:12 p.m: It is now 207-135 for Obama as I miss some McCain states.

10:16 p.m.: Major difference in crowd scenes. Many thousands in an outdoor Chicago park for Obama, a few hundred in a hotel ballroom in Phoenix for McCain.

10:26 p.m.: Howard Fineman talks about a new generation. "Sea change but it's happening on a lake."

10:37 p.m.: South Dakota goes to McCain. You never hear about people in long lines waiting to vote there.

11:01 p.m.: Barack Obama is our next President. Si, se puede! God bless these United States of America!