Instead of watching the traditional New Year's Eve programming, while staying off the streets, I have discovered the best shows to watch.

At 11:30 on Cartoon Network, Peter falls in love with the song, "Surfer Bird", on "Family Guy".

At Midnight on TBS, Crazy Joe Davola visits the opera on "Seinfeld".

And, at 11:00, Travis Pastrana tries to jump a car from ramp-to-ramp by the Queen Mary on ESPN.

Meal of Links

Roger Ebert names his Best Films of the Decade. He has "The Hurt Locker" at Number 2.

Disney buys Marvel. Spider-Man on Sportscenter?

There seems to be more going on with that Amsterdam-to-Detroit Christmas flight than the authorities are willing to state publicly. Seems there was a second guy involved. The eyewitness doesn't appear to be a whack job, either.

Foodgasms from Food Network. Giada is in the house! BTW, last night I saw Adam Richman eat this ice cream dish from SF on "Man Vs. Food" and I almost got sick for him.

Best Protest Signs of 2009. I busted a gut at #27 and 28. I don't care how many might be Photoshopped either, like #50.

Exercise Yard

Did Shaq really give LeBron a Rolls Royce Phantom for his birthday? Really?

Visitor

32 Down: Norwegian marathoner Waitz (5 letters) Answer: Grete

I saw "Invictus" today. This is the story of how Nelson Mandela used the 1995 Rugby World Cup as a way to unite the country of South Africa. South Africa was the host country and did not have to qualify. Well, they won against New Zealand, otherwise we would not have had the movie. And, in the movie, they did have the traditional Haka, performed by the New Zealand team, known as the All Blacks. I think it was an abbreviated version, but it was depicted nonetheless.

On a side note, I was in Mexico the day that Mandela was released from prison. That unbelievable event came on the day after Buster Douglas beat Mike Tyson for the heavyweight title, so these events have been burned into my head for a long time.

Good stuff from Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the captain of South Africa's rugby team. Enough politics to keep you interested. Enough sports to keep you interested. And certainly enough about Mandela to definitely keep you interested.

As in most sports films, there is that one lump-in-the-throat moment. For me, this didn't come on the pitch or in the locker room. Nope, it was when Damon visits the cell that Mandela languished in all of those years. He spreads his arms out and can almost touch the opposite wall with his hand. As he looks out the window, he imagines Mandela slaving away on the rockpile, then in his cell, reading the poetry that kept Mandela driven. Very powerful.

Meal of Links

Your TV marathons for New Year's week. Tomorrow: Three Stooges on AMC, Kathy Griffin is back on CNN again for New Year's Eve, Wrestling on Spike, Elvis Costello on Sundance, Hoops on TNT. New Year's Day: The Bruins at Fenway and Looney Tunes are highlights.

The Washington Times cuts its sports section. Huh?

Quit misspelling these words. OK?

Feed the Children is all fucked up.

Here is how Israel protects its travellers. It's all about the eyes, the eyes.

Dave Diles died over the weekend. Hard to believe now, but he used to host the Prudential College Scoreboard on ABC, which was a big board of football scores and the camera would follow the board. Lines like, "Now to the Yankee Conference..." and he always got the Slippery Rock score into the mix. Let's see, George Michael, Dave Diles...Van Earl Wright needs to be careful the next few days.

Exercise Yard

The list is out. If the NFL goes capless next year (IMHO, a certainty), These players, who thought they were unrestricted free agents, will be restricted free agents.

Visitor

42 Down: Astronaut Collins (6 letters) Answer: Eileen

I must be living right. I have had an annoying noise emanating from my car ever since the weather turned cold, probably since the beginning of December. At first, I thought it was a belt problem, but it kept getting worse and the sound was becoming more heinous by the day, I feared electrical issues.

Finally had a chance to take it in today. All that was needed was a belt adjustment at no charge. "F-R-E-E, that spells free."

Meal of Links

How to hack a Magic 8-Ball.

Fire the TSA! Probably have to fire Secretary Napolitano, as well. "The system worked!". Huh?

Hey, a new antibody helps defeat prostate cancer. In mice, but it looks good, so far.

Exercise Yard

Mike Holmgren says all the right things. Mangini will be gone in 10 days, I predict.

Visitor

62 Across: Actress Dunaway (4 letters) Answer: Faye

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Special Guest: My brother, Jeff. This gave us a chance to see what is going on with this Renaissance the Browns have been enjoying the past two weeks.

Today's Opponent: The Oakland Raiders. The Silver and Black have fallen on hard times recently. I happened to catch an AFL series on Showtime last night (BTW, highly recommended) and it's amazing how the Raiders franchise has become a laughingstock. Let's not kid ourselves, the Browns are right there, as well.

The Browns have won two games in a row, but with Brady Quinn injured, Derek Anderson (yeah, him again) gets to run the show. Hard to peg where this game will wind up. I'm in observation mode more then anything.

Parking: East 6th northbound in a Truck Zone on East 6th Northbound.

Pre-Game Festivities: We arrived pretty early for this game and were met with security who insisted you unzip your jacket and remove both of your gloves. Somehow I was able to keep my hat on.

We also noticed the Browns finally joined the 21st century and now have turnstiles directly in front of the escalator to take you to the upper levels. Where was that in the original escalator design? Oh, right, even the escalators were an afterthought.

The Browns Spirit Flag was unfurled again. Do you realize this is the largest Browns flag in the world, spanning 40 yards? The national anthem was sung by someone I think we should know, but did not.

Today's Browns Old Timers in attendance were Frank Minniefield and Dr. David Mays. Minniefield was introduced as the person who invented the Dawg Pound and he actually barked. The first thought that went into my head about Dr. David Mays was that he was out of jail.

Worst Feature (For Me): Baghdad Zac's Halftime Highlights. Does this guy ever take a breath?

The Weather: Marky Nolan was solo once again today, as Strano has obviously given up the gig. Game time temperature was 33, but the wind was brisk and he told us the wind chill was 22. Snow for most of the latter part of the game.

Today's Giveaway: None.

Section 345: Really quiet today. Lots of muffled clapping and not much else happening. The season ticket holders have fled and the newbies insist on sitting in their assigned seats instead of wanting to spread out. WTF?

Best Browns Play: A touchdown in the third quarter that was nullified by a penalty. I'm still not sure what happened, but everyone was faked out, including most of the fans who then saw Harrison with the ball in the endzone. Whatever he did, hooray!

Best Raiders Play: Sebastian Janikowski's 61-yard field goal, the 4th longest in NFL history. He was cranking them up from long distances in pre-game and we wondered if he would get the chance during the game. He did, right before the half, and nailed it.

Worst Browns Play: Just a few plays after his TD was taken off the board, Harrison fumbled inside the 5-yard line and the Raiders recovered. It prolonged Oakland's chances on the scoreboard for another quarter.

Second Worst Browns Play: Not really a play, but a series. Second Browns series, Harrison has just ripped off three straight runs of 9, 10 and 12 yards for a first down on Oakland's 27. Of course, the OC has to show how smart he is and calls for three straight passes. Two incompletes and a 3-yarder later, the Browns kick a field goal. Idiot.

Best Exchange: As I mentioned, lots of newbies show up during ticket-dumping time. I actually heard this question asked today: "Where is the Raiders section?". Just kill me.

Oddest Browns Jersey: 10 Holcomb, 34 Droughns, 82 Chuzie. Someone took an old 2 Couch and made a computer-generated nameplate of Hodges. Hodges!

Food Items: BOGO Nachos and a Dr. Pepper.

Worst Scoreboard Feature: I normally do not mind the Hats Off to Heroes feature (a salute to people currently serving in the military, today the Coast Guard was represented), it's one of the things the new Browns have done well over the years. But, folks, it's a figurative Hats Off. As Lee Greenwood sings, most people applaud and everyone usually claps. But today, we actually had two guys saluting with their hats. Weird.

The Fuckin' Run: The Browns actually held another opponent to under 100 yards rushing, as Oakland had 88. The only reason this is getting better for the Browns is the pass defense has been deteriorating. Charlie Frye threw for 333 today.

Worst Stat: Defense gave up 389 yards.

2nd Worst Stat: Chris Jennings had two rushes for -4 yards. Are we done with him? Please.

Most Interesting Stat: Derek Anderson threw for 121 yards and the Browns still won.

Penalties: Oh, the Raiders were at their best today. Two guys got ejected, one for a headbutt, the other for bumping an official. They were offside on a Browns botched fake punt. They had a combo of three unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct penalties on the same drive. In general, they made some stupid decisions.

The Browns won their third straight game for only the third time since their return. It's hard to judge what is going on. is it pride? Is it playing for their professional lives with a new regime on the horizon? Is it their opponents, a schizoid Steelers team, a terrible Chiefs team an a crazy Raiders team? Is it a sense of routine as they, for the most part, have been home since after Thanksgiving?

Whatever the reason, they are running the ball well, not committing the killer turnover, and doing just enough to win.

The Browns beat the Raiders, 23-9.

Meal of Links

If you do something once in a Blue Moon, get ready this week. There is a Blue Moon on New Year's Eve.

20 things that happen in one minute. Some interesting, but many depressing things happen.

How to save jet fuel? Fly like geese.

Top 10 Top 10 lists. With a Cleveland sports mention.

Here are the favorite foods at Trader Joe's for 2009. Candy Cane Joe-Joe's are #14. The best Canned Corn you'll find anywhere is #19. I tried the Pumpkin Pancake Mix (#17) this year for the first time and it is terrific.

Listen up, Ohioans. Cash for Clunkers, Appliance-Style will start in 2010.

Exercise Yard

As far as Urban Meyer quitting...er...taking a leave of absence as Florida coach because of stress. They all come back. Even Dick Vermiel as Exhibit A.

Visitor

None, on a cold Browns Sunday.

Merry Christmas to All!

I don't have to attend work until January 4. So, I am going to have nothing but fun the next 11 days. And that includes two Browns games. Gee, 60 years ago today the Browns won their first NFL title.

Meal of Links

As I start to write this, Santa is in Estonia. Because I'm tracking him on NORAD.

Your Christmas TV marathons. Me? I've got 11 English Soccer matches from Boxing Day through Wednesday.

Sweden has one bizarre Christmas tradition. Lots of people watch a Donald Duck cartoon.

It seems the Apple Tablet announcement will be next month.

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas

This version of "Mr. Heatmiser" has become my favorite Christmas song in recent years. It's sort of traditional, it's got a good beat, and allows for singing along. And kids of all ages like it. "I'm Mister Green Christmas. I'm Mister Sun. I'm Mister Heat Blister. I'm Mister Hundred-and-One. They call me Heatmiser. Whatever I touch. Starts to melt in my clutch. I'm too much!"

"Mr. Heatmiser"/Big Bad Voodoo Daddy



Exercise Yard

George Michael died today. Not that George Michael. No, the one who used to run the Sports Machine. Spent many a Sunday night with that guy. Much bigger influence than we probably know.

Visitor

24 Across: Presidential pollster John (5 letters) Answer: Zogby

That healthcare bill may actually pass tomorrow. Then comes the hard part.

Meal of Links

Catching up with one of my Dad's favorites, Ray Davies. He also talks about a possible reuniting of The Kinks.

If you don't want or can't afford Apple products, here are some alternatives. Apple TV gets shredded all the time, get something else.

Jeff Dunham's show got cancelled. Well, that didn't last long.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

Decided to jazz it up with this version. God, I thought he was gonna pull a Jerry Lee there for a minute.

"Linus and Lucy"/David Benoit



Exercise Yard

Merry Christmas! Michael Schumacher resumes driving in Formula One.

Visitor

43 Across: "What The Butler Saw" playwright (5 letters) Answer: Orton

I finally made it to new Capitol Theatre on 65th. My Dad and I saw the latest Coen Brothers movie, "A Serious Man". Big crowd of 10. A movie on two fronts. "Every act has a consequence", it seemed, and what life was probably like for Jews living in Minnesota during the late sixties, an autobiographical nod from the Coens.

After a lengthy tale to start, in Yiddish with subtitles, the strains of Jefferson Airplane can be heard. They did a magnificent job with props and set design. A can of Orange Hi-C, a calendar on the wall with big black numbers and red for holidays, a Mustang in a driveway, "F Troop" on TV, the Columbia Record Club, all spot on.

Some of these actors you've seen, others you have not. But the casting again was terrific. This is one of those movies that grows on you and definitely you can have fun thinking about it and all its possibilities. Will be making lots of year-end best lists.

BTW, the Capitol has free popcorn on Tuesdays and a nice concession area. Our film was upstairs, where the theatre seats 131. No reclining chairs or cup holders, but pretty comfy. Might get a little cramped with a full house though.

Meal of Links

Bad Chinese. In Copenhagen.

"Rain Man" dies. Kmart still sucks.

Jeff Probst agrees. Russell got screwed.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas

What a cheesy Christmas set. I mean, the effect is dulled when the camera pulls back. I think Dino could sing this song in his sleep. And, after watching this video, he may have actually done it. Hey, Dean, watch that cig, will ya?

"It's time to play, it's a whipped cream day..."

"A Marshmallow World"/Dean Martin



Exercise Yard

These are the types of things that are threatened, but rarely happen. The Belmont Stakes is in jeopardy.

For years I heard the Preakness would move from Pimlico or Pimlico would shut down. Yet, every May, I see the Preakness run at Pimlico.

Visitor

14 Across: Actor Arkin (4 letters) Answer: Adam (Oddly enough, he was in "A Serious Man".)

On the Ninth Day of Christmas

How can you go through the yuletide season without watching this one? You have to remember, there were not a lot of original Christmas songs going around at the time. I like Run with his Blazers jacket. The elf still weirds me out though. So, who thought "Naughty" or "Nice" was so random?

"Christmas in Hollis"/Run D.M.C

If I was a West Virginia player, I wouldn't want to show up at the next practice either.

















Yesterday, my brother and I attended the Cleveland State-West Virginia game at the Bart, expecting a laugher. But we came away with one of the most exciting college basketball games I've seen. For the Vikings had the 6th-ranked Mountaineers on the ropes. West Virginia was the champ, sitting on his stool, contemplating if he had enough to win the fight...then somehow finding a way to do just that. West Virginia wins on a layup with 1.2 seconds left to defeat the Vikings.

Cleveland State was a far different team that lost to Robert Morris on Tuesday. Robert Morris, not Bruce Drennan's friend, but the university. Cause they're stupid in Pittsburgh. Hell, they were even a far different team in the second half from what they were in the first half.

CSU was down by 17 early in the second half. It seemed this would be a long march to another defeat. The Vikings had no other option, but to press. Then a funny thing happened. It was as if the Mountaineers had never seen a press before and made mistake after mistake. Finally, CSU tied the game at 78. WVU inbounds, and CSU almost traps the guy in the corner. Then they get the ball at midcourt and almost trap the guy there. Somehow, they spotted De'Shaun Butler and he waltzed in for an uncontested layup. Game over.

So, for a half, CSU figured it out. Next up are Ohio State and Kansas State. Let's see if they learned anything.

Meal of Links

Roger Ebert releases his Best Films of 2009. He had "Knowing" and "Bad Lieutenant" on the list, making for TWO Nicolas Cage films. I saw "Knowing" and "Bad Lieutenant" arrives here in January. Locally, the Cedar-Lee and Capitol Theatres are changing the Cult Film Series to the Late Shift. OMG, "Big Trouble in Little China"! And "Clerks" on the big screen. "My mom's been fuckin' a dead guy for 30 years. I call him Dad."

John Frusciante leaves the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Well, he quit a year ago and just made it public. Glad I got to see him live. Great guitarist.

Target fires emplotyees for buying Zhu Zhu Pets early.

Hey, did you know we've been attacking Yemen?

I cannot wait to see the White Stripes DVD, with their much better trailer this time:



Time Warner is the devil. Now, they are threatening to pull Fox from the lineup.

Vote on the Worst Ideas of the decade.

Ending the debate about decades. Millenium gets trickier. Are you an Ordinal Guy or a Cardinal Guy?

On the Eighth Day of Christmas

The classic. Could you make a better Christmas song? So, why not call it "The Christmas Song". Written, as we all know, by Mel Torme poolside in California. It is the perfect blend of arrangement, lyric and artist.

"The Christmas Song"/Nat King Cole



Exercise Yard

Mike Holmgren turns down the Seahawks. Not exactly earth-shattering. I think the money and power in Cleveland trumped any offer being made there.

So, the likelihood of Holmgren arriving here grows more and we'll know by Monday. And that means Eric Mangini would be gone. The precedent was set when Bill Parcells fired Cam Cameron after his dreadful season at coach, when he took over the running of the Dolphins. I'm sure lots of names are going to be tossed around for coach and GM. Holmgren's agent represents a lot of front office and coaching types. Two names to keep an eye on are the former GM in Denver, Ted Sundquist, and the current Vikings defensive coordinator, Leslie Frazier.

Visitor

None, on a snow-dusted Sunday.

On the Seventh Day of Christmas

James Brown was in the crossword puzzle today, so in his honor, here's my favorite of his Christmas songs. Unfortunately, another song without a true video, but the tune is very much worth it. With lines like, "Santa Claus, uh...", "Tell 'em James Brown sent you...", "Don't leave nothin' for me, I've had my chance, you see...". As Bob Seger sang, lo those many years ago, "Christmas just won't be a drag, cause Santa's got a brand new bag!"

"Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto"/James Brown

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

This is a better version than what I posted about two weeks ago. Por ejemplo, you get to see that while El Vez is tossing snow around at the start, he is actually cutting lines of cocaine on his hand. Aaaah, the Christmas spirit! Then he is snorting it. Hence, all of the subsequent Grandmaster Flash references from "White Lines". Unfortunately, the video is cut off at the end, but it saves us from Hall and Oates (both versions) this year....Freebase!

"Jingle Bell Rock"/El Vez, the Lovely Elvettes and Los Straitjackets

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

I am not sure where this rates among the Bruce Springsteen Christmas recordings. But the tune is really one of my holiday favorites. This is from 2002, when everyone looks much younger. Conan on guitar. Interesting blonde in the front row. Clarence jingling his bells. Presents include a blow-up doll for Max and a George Foreman Grill for Conan. "Well done, Santa."

"Merry Christmas, Baby"/Bruce Springsteen (on Conan)



Meal of Links

Let's do some catching up....

Yes, I was affected by today's Blackberry outage. You know when you look at your e-mail and you have had nothing for 4 hours.

The five laws of human nature. Still no law for E-Z Pass scofflaws.

Nickelback is the band of the decade! Everyone now...WTF?

Stephen Colbert's SI cover outtakes. The tie kills me.

Mr. Skin reveals his top nude scenes of 2009. I did not see any of them.

The worst movies of 2009. Didn't that John Cena movie. "12 Rounds", come out this year? That sucked. Here are the best. Jeezy creezy, there's "In The Loop" again at No. 6. Big ups to "The Hurt Locker". It is the best movie I saw in 2009.

Denver has opened the first marijuana restaurant in the US. Called "Ganja Gourmet".

Howard Dean continues his kill the bill campaign on healthcare. He makes a lot of sense, but I don't think it will happen.

Greece is all fucked up.

"Bad Santa" is revisited. Excellent timing.

It was 20 years ago today. Not Sgt. Pepper..."The Simpsons"! But do they matter?

Julie Benz talks about getting killed on "Dexter". Still a very compelling scene, several days later.

The 10 Worst Predictions of 2009. Some really bad ones, I think.

Opining on Reality TV.

Exercise Yard

Are NFL teams circumventing the Rooney Rule? The commish says the Redskins complied while conducting a seemingly quick Bruce Allen hire.

And I feel the Browns hiring of Fred Nance will somehow allow the Browns to hire Mike Holmgren, if it happens. It's easy to say Nance was interviewed for that job, but was more qualified for the job that he eventually received.

Visitor

46 Down: Comics cowboy Red and others (6 letters) Answer: Ryders

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

There is no official video for this song, as far as I could tell. The lead singer for The Strokes kicks ass on this "Saturday Night Live" yuletide classic. Clearly, it's the best Christmas song that debuted this year.

"I Wish It Was Christmas Today"/Julian Casablancas

On the Third Day of Christmas

I don't know who these folks are, but the tune is not that bad. It's some choral group that seems to be gaining popularity due to some Christmas songs they crafted into an album. I'm sure they are a PBS favorite. The video is about as dorky as you can get, however. Definitely not "CSI: Xmas Party". Because they really can't figure out who spiked the eggnog, until the end.

"Who Spiked The Eggnog?"/Straight No Chaser

As season finales go, the last episode of "Dexter" was, indeed, a killer. As they offed Dexter's wife. So, it's the second time a cast member has been killed, as they got rid of Doakes earlier. Of course, all the buzz ahead of time was that this episode would be a "game-changer". Let's see if that rings true, it may have only been a "kick to the groin".

I hope now the series goes back to its darker beginnings. I was getting the sense that the marketing of "America's favorite serial killer" was getting the series away from his roots. Dexter and his family were becoming, in essence, a bit too cute. Now we need to get back to the "Dark Passenger" era where he needed to kill to satisfy his bloodlust, not to have his killings serve some other purpose.

A very good ending to what was a rather tepid season.

Meal of Links

How to learn your credit score. I use MyFico, BTW. I think it's a good tool.

Tag Heuer stands by Tiger Woods. Let's face it, you and I are not in their target demo, so who gives a shit. And who wears watches anymore? Even the "Cheaters" guy weighs in on Tiger. And if Ian Baker-Finch comments on Tiger, he's toast.

A lengthy read. But here's how America can keep its edge.

Yep, he's my Congressman. Dennis Kucinich answers online questions.



On the Second Day of Christmas

It looks like Merle Haggard comes on to ruin the Statler Brothers Christmas Special. I love the Hag, but jeezy creezy, why did he decide to pee on everyone's Christmas with this tune? Just to be clear on how shitty things are, my favorite line: "Got laid off down at the factory...". Even Merle gives up, by not even faking his guitar playing about a minute in. The sheep in the audience applaud heartily at the end, probably thankful the song has ended.

"If We Make It Through December"/Merle Haggard



Exercise Yard

Christmas never ends if you go to a bowl game. Look, it's Bowl Game Swag!

Visitor

17 Across: Comical character in "Star Wars" films (11 letters) Answer: Jar Jar Binks

Since I spent most of the last two days doing Christmas stuff, it was time to take advantage of a Browns-less Sunday.

First stop. My Dad and I stopped in for a few minutes at the Kamms Corners Indoor Farmers Market. Got some provisions including some cheese, some fresh pasta, some jelly and some garlic butter. Brussels sprouts seem to be in season.

Then, it was off to the Cedar-Lee, where there were about 8 in attendance to see the late morning showing of "The Damned United". Yes, I went to see a movie about soccer. It was an homage to Brian Clough, "the best manager England never had". The American equivalent is maybe Billy Martin, sort of kind of.

Anyhow, the plot dealt with Clough's personal rivalry with Leeds united coach Don Revie. Revie left Leeds to coach England, after they failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1974. So, Clough takes over Leeds from his rival. And lasts all of 44 days as Manager.

Michael Sheen starred as Clough. I have now seen him play three famous Brits: Tony Blair, David Frost and Brian Clough. Other familiar faces, such as Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall and the guy who worked with Jason Statham in "Snatch", filled out the cast. Not much soccer footage, although there is some archival footage of how dirty Leeds played back then.

The movie was fairly non-offensive and proved a pleasant diversion.

Meal of Links

The Best DIY Projects of 2009. I do like those Sun Jars. Those Ping-Pong Ball lights look good, too.

Tiger Woods. And modern celebrity.

Can a grapefruit-sized piece of hail kill you? And don't think I have not thought about it.

On the First Day of Christmas

Yeah, it's Christmas at Uncle Bob's house. First of all, it's Dylan doing Christmas. Then, it's Dylan choosing Brave Combo's polka, "Must Be Santa". Third, what's up with the hair?

"Must Be Santa"/Bob Dylan



Exercise Yard

Speaking of soccer, Randy Lerner must be living right. the Browns exorcised some demons against the Steelers on Thursday. Less than 48 hours later, his Other Team exorcised some of their own.

Aston Villa had not beaten Manchester United in 27 matches. They also had not won at Man U since 1983. Both of those streaks ended yesterday. Aston Villa 1, Manchester United 0

Visitor

None, on a wet Sunday.

Well, it's over. The losing streak against Pittsburgh, that is. I'll be honest, I don't know how they won that game, but first, let's concentrate on the obvious. There must be something about home night games the past two years. Since the loss to Pittsburgh on a Sunday night last year, the Browns whipped the Giants, then-defending Super Bowl champs. This year, they held the Ravens to 13 points, then mugged the Steelers, defending Super Bowl champs, last night.

Love him or hate him, Eric Mangini probably keeps his job as coach for next season, with that result. What did he say at the start of the year? There would be less penalties. They would be competitive within the division. The second time through the division, the defense has been awfully tough. Although I think they benefited by boneheaded offensive play-calling in both the second Ravens and Steelers games, you cannot argue with the result. There would be improvement by the end of the season. I think our crazy owner would give him passing grades on all three. Mangini today channeled Lou Brown by saying, "It's starting to come together."

Special mention needs to go to Rob Ryan, the defensive coordinator, and Bryan Cox, the defensive line coach. Ryan, with only one day of practice, basically designed a fun plan for the defense, which was basically throwing the kitchen sink at the Steelers. Mindful of the freak defense that Glowik installed in the defense a while ago with the Browns. You know, the one that worked for about an hour that season. Cox gets kudos because his unit has been the most decimated by injuries and they came to play last night.

Before we go all Winston Wolf on each other because of the win, here come the buts. The combination of not being embarrassed on national TV, a short week of practice and the weather conditions all came together for the Browns. The Steelers could not string together three consecutive good plays on offense and they had no answer for Josh Cribbs. None.

You do realize our QB was 6-for-19 for 90 yards last night, don't you? Granted, Brady Quinn did not turn it over, but I don't wanna hear that he "managed the game". In the second half, they had 3 three-and-outs and punted 5 times, totalling 76 yards. Yikes! You cannot tell me that you were not constantly looking at the scoreboard as it went from 13-3 to 13-6 and were just waiting for the inevitable 13-13 score? Which, for once, did not happen. As a matter of fact, the Browns best drive came with Cribbs running the Wildcat.

Brian Daboll still cannot call a game. Evan Moore seems to have come from nowhere to be a decent pass-catching tight end. Made a nice, one-handed catch for 24 yards in the first quarter for 24 yards. Next play, the Browns call for a reverse, not with Cribbs, but with Stuckey. WTF? Next play, deep ball to Massaquoi, FAIL. Next play, short ball to Massaquoi, FAIL. Momentum gone. Perfect example of Daboll's play calling meshing with Quinn's shortcomings at QB. Too many third-and-longs for my taste.

Conversely, the Steelers had numerous third down attempts, from short to medium length. And they didn't cash in on many of them. I'll give the defense credit for those stops, but again, I'm not sure how it happened.

Let's see how the Browns do in their final roadie at Kansas City. I'm glad they beat the Steelers, finally. But let's put an end to this talk about how it saved the season or how this makes up for the shitty results we've seen for most of the year. In the two Browns wins, they have outscored the opponents, 19-9.

The Floyd Reese as Czar Watch begins.

Meal of Links

Didn't we just do this? It's the year in band names. Really liked: I Was A Lover DeLorean Was A Dealer.

The White Stripes tour of Canada will be documented in a rather pricey box-set. The new trailer is pretty choice. Arrives March 16, 2010. Pre-orders...NOW!

Sears Killed My Dog.

There have been some excellent photo essays this year. here's another. The Ghosts of Shopping Past.

Exercise Yard

Catching up with Marvin "Bad News" Barnes. I don't know if he was a character or a thug, but he was always highly entertaining.

Visitor

57 Down: Chair designer Charles (5 letters) Answer: Eames

El Vez, the Lovely Elvettes and Los Straitjackets

Last night, my brother and I saw a show that has finally put me in the Christmas spirit. El Vez decided to go back on the road this year with his "Viva Christmas!" tour. If you do not know who El Vez. is, well, you should. For he is the "Mexican Elvis". He brought the lovely Elvettes with him, Lisa Maria and Priscilita. And for this go-round, he jettisoned his backup band, the Memphis Mariachis, in favor of long-time favorite, Los Straitjackets (with their lucha libre masks). And since both outfits had plenty of Christmas material to choose from, it was, indeed, the most wonderful time of the year.

The Venue: The venerable Beachland Ballroom. Obviously, one of the best concert settings in town. They had some tables and chairs set up for this one, along the left side of the ballroom. We grabbed one for the opening act, but you had to get up for the main attraction.

Stage Banter:: El Vez is pretty damn funny. Easily more laughs than any Dane Cook concert. He is from East LA, "...where we have gangs, we have crime, and really high prices for Chevy parts." He is also running for President in 2012 under the "El Vez for Prez" banner, under which he ran in 2008. This time, he is tying in the fact the Mayan calendar says the world will end in 2012. He said, "El Vez for Prez in 2012. What have you got to lose?"

The Tickets: Got the tickets ahead of time for this General Admission show. As we were walking in, there was a little kid going to his first show. Now that is quite the introduction to the concert scene.

The Crowd: Outside of a couple kids that El Vez had to be careful with, because he was putting the "X" back into "Merry Me-X-Mas", it was definitely an adult crowd. When he asked if we were having a good time, I yelled, "Jes!".

The Sound: The sound was really good. Very clear when Los Straitjackets were playing holiday favorites or their own standards. And they had plenty of time to do this, because just like Elvis, El Vez and the Elvettes have many costume changes.

The opening act was a decent band that did a mix of country, cowpunk, and in general, performed quite nicely. Sadly, I have already forgotten their name. I think it was the House of something or other. They played for about 30 minutes.

The Stage: Obviously, El Vez was front and center, flanked by the lovely Elvettes. From left to right, Los Straitjackets (or the "Four Horsemen of Acapulco" per El Vez) were bass, lead guitar, drums, rhythm guitar.

The Music: El Vez was doing mashups before the word was even invented. So, on many of the tunes, he throws in his own personal touch. My favorite had to be when he channeled "White Lines" from Grandmaster Flash during "Jingle Bell Rock". All of a sudden, the Elvettes shouted "Freebase!" and I could not stop smiling. Of course, they also went through with "...Sugar!...Cane!...Sugar!".

"Jingle Bell Rock"/El Vez, the Lovely Elvettes and Los Straitjackets



Setlist: (I think)

"Here Comes Santa Claus" by Los Straitjackets
"Holiday Twist"
"Huaraches Azules" (the Spanish "Blue Suede Shoes" with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer")
"Santa's Got a Brand New Bag" (with "Boney Maroney", "Devil With a Blue Dress" and "Land of 1,000 Dances" with "FA-la-la-la-la" instead of NA-na-na-na-na")
"Mamacita, Donde Esta Santa Claus?" (with Velvet Underground's "There She Goes Again")
"Deck the Halls" by Los Straitjackets (with "I Fought The Law")
"Jingle Bell Rock" (with Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines")
"Silver Bells" by Los Straitjackets
"En El Barrio" (ahem..."In the Ghetto" with "Silent Night" and "Souped Up Chevy Nova" to the Oasis song, "Champagne Supernova")
"Sleigh Ride" by Los Straitjackets
"A Marshmallow World" by Los Straitjackets
"Little Drummer Boy" (with Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll (Part One)")
"Merry Christmas Pretty Baby"
"Let It Snow" by Los Straitjackets
"Joy to the World" (with "Polk Salad Annie" and Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World")
"White (Brown) Christmas" (with Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)")

Encore:

"Holiday Chicken" by Los Straitjackets
2 more Los Straitjackets tunes
"Feliz Navidad" (with El Vez fighting a blowup Santa and Snowman)

Meal of Links

Matt Taibbi explores the relationship between President Obama and Wall Street. Needless to say, he's still not happy. Also, Rolling Stone puts out their Best of the Decade Lists.

The Top 100 band names. I insist I would buy a record from a group called the Sisters Fibrosis, if that ever existed.

It was pretty obvious, but now official. No more "Flight of the Conchords".

Top 25 albums of 2009. Phoenix takes No. 1 and probably deserves it.

Exercise Yard

Every once in awhile, 3rd Bass pops into the conversation. Usually with a "Pop Goes the Weasel" reference. Here's what happened to Prime Minister Pete Nice.

3rd Bass/"Pop Goes the Weasel"



Visitor

6 Across: Pierce portrayer (4 letters) Answer: Alda

What a sad day today. I feel like Al Bundy when his barber died and he didn't know where to go for his next haircut. In what has to be the suckiest move that ever sucked, Fox Sports Radio has dropped Steve Czaban from its lineup. The Czabe and I have been sharing my a.m. commute for the past 5 years and I even listened to his evening show for a time before that.

As a matter of fact, his show was the first place I heard Frank Caliendo, lo those many years ago. I actually thought John Madden was on the air drunk or high or concussed or something. Anyhow, XM also had a replay of the Czabe's show start at Noon, so he was also my lunch time companion for most of the past 5 years.

FSR has made some really bad moves over the years, but this one was really poor. To claim Czaban sounds like Lame and Lamer in the morning is absurd.

His replacement? Steven A. Smith. You have to be fucking kidding me. I assume Screamin' A has moved to London, so he doesn't have to be at work by 6:00 a.m. And do you really want him talking at you in the morning? And which of his friends will be up at 6:00 for a nice morning chat. Clowns.

BTW, Peter Gammons announced today that he is leaving ESPN. Gotta be going to MLB, one would think.

Meal of Links

Depressing link of the day. An interactive map of unemployment in the USA.

Hitch writes about Palin. Again. And he does it well.

The top overlooked movies of 2009. I, at least, heard of "Big Fan" and "Anvil". Didn't see either one, but I was aware.

Czech yourself! Czech government allows 5 cannabis plants for personal use starting January 1.

What the hell is going with this "Jersey Shore" program? Seems like a lot of people are in a snit. I mean, it's MTV, what do you expect?

A look back at "Pee-wee's Big Adventure".

"Dexter" has one more episode. John Lithgow talks about life as the "Trinity Killer".

Exercise Yard

David Stern is insane.

Visitor

49 Across: Brockovich portrayer (7 letters) Answer: Roberts

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Special Guest: No one. In good conscience, how can you ask someone to go to a game like this one? Uh, it's cold, we are gonna get killed and, by the way, I'm probably leaving at halftime. And that's about how it went. Arrived home just in time for the second half kickoff. Perfect.

Today's Opponent: The San Diego (Super) Chargers. The Chargers have looked awfully good lately and Philip Rivers should now be regarded as one of the league's elite quarterbacks. LaDanian Tomlinson is a mere shadow of his former self, but against the Browns, any runner is still a threat. Surprisingly, the Charger defense is getting some pub as a better unit this year. They come in riding a 6-game winning streak.

The Browns are coming off a game where Brady Quinn looked like the Quinn who got benched earlier this year. More defensive starters are out this week, the secondary especially hit hard.

As for this game, the Browns do not even come close. The Chargers have too much offense and with a defense playing better, the Browns will be lucky to be in this one.

Parking: East 6th northbound in a Delivery Zone at the corner of 6th and Superior.

Pre-Game Festivities: I arrived about a little more than an hour before the start of the game and was surprised at the lack of people walking around. Very eerie. I was able to see the Browns Spirit Flag. Do you realize this is the largest Browns flag in the world, spanning 40 yards? The national anthem was sung by some local "American idol" contestant from Beachwood. Not the horrible singer, I think it was Scott, who everyone hated.

Today's Browns Old Timers in attendance were Al "Bubba" Baker" and Erich Barnes. Baker, of course, runs Bubba's Q out in Avon. Had not seen Erich Barnes in quite a while and he looked great. Barnes, if you recall, was locally considered a dirty player when he played for the New York Football Giants. But once the Browns got him, he was merely "aggressive".

Worst Feature (For Me): Today was a tribute to the NFL's "Play 60" program. I have no idea what it is. However, it got its own video as one of the Browns dopey mascots was running around downtown to the strains of "Rocky". He eventually ran onto the field and then the kids in the program all ran out to greet him.

The Weather: Marky Nolan handled the solo reins today. Strano not there. Wind was out of the west, so the scoreboard was our friend. Temperature was 28 degrees and it didn't feel that high.

Today's Giveaway: None. Yes, the sponsors have fled this year.

Section 345: Really quiet today. Lots of muffled clapping and not much else happening. Too cold to fight, too many newbies, many season ticket holders were no shows and not much drinking going on. I am skipping the Steelers game, but will see the Raiders and the Jaguars.

Best Browns Play: I actually liked the Browns first TD. They looked like a professional team. Brady Quinn was patient in the pocket, waited for the pattern to develop and hit Mohamed Massaquoi with a spiral over the middle.

Best Chargers Play: Philip Rivers dumping a pass to a fullback, Mike Tolbert, who rumbled 66 yards for a touchdown. A perfect example of how inept the Browns are at downfield tackling. An absurd demonstration.

Although that long pass from Rivers to Antonio Gates in the third quarter was sweet. He boxed out two defenders for the long catch and it led to a Charger TD later in the drive.

Worst Browns Play: Another red zone turnover by Brady Quinn in the second quarter. This one a fumble that sucked the life out of the place. After two horrible formations/play calls on 1st-and-goal from the 2, Quinn rolls out, stalls for time trying to make a play, but a lineman hits him from the backside, causing a fumble which the Chargers recovered and the Browns never recovered from. Sadly, Quinn got sacked later in the game on the same type of play.

Second Worst Browns Play: After the Tolbert touchdown, the Chargers kick off goes out of the bounds, giving the Browns the ball on the 40. Wait a minute, a second flag was dropped. If there is a weird rule or penalty, the Browns usually find it. You guessed it, the illegal wedge penalty was called on the Browns. First time, with the new rule changes, I've seen that one called.

Best Exchange: This was earlier in the day on "Tailgate 19". Bob Golic shows up 15 minutes late. I texted them "Hey, Golic, get a better alarm clock" and they ran that. First time all year they ran a text of mine.

Oddest Browns Jersey: With all of the winter apparel today, I did not see much. For some reason, a guy wearing 9 Frye stuck out.

Food Items: Pretzel and a Mountain Dew.

Worst Scoreboard Feature: The Browns always show clips from an old Browns game featuring today's opponent. Apparently, the Browns don't play the Chargers much or beat them often, because a game from 1976 was shown. Greg Pruitt had 100 yards in the first quarter before he got hurt. Larry Poole must have had his career day as he then ran for 119. The highlight for me was Oscar Roan catching the game-winning TD from Brian Sipe and being congratulated by Gary Parris.

But it goes to show you, when you think the Browns had glory days in the '70s, they didn't. Just look at many of those names.

The Fuckin' Run: The Browns actually held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing. Mainly because the Chargers insisted on having L.T. do a Jim Brown Tribute in the second half. If I was a Charger fan, I would be pissed off, because Rivers could have thrown for 500 yards, the way the Browns were playing. And they seem d to be content to have Tomlinson do some personal tribute to Brown, who when they kept showing him, seemed disinterested in what was happening.

Worst Stat: Defense gave up 477 yards. Time of possession went to the Browns. Toss the tired defense excuse, please.

2nd Worst Stat: Probably Dink II's 6 yards per pass play.

Most Interesting Stat: The Chargers punted once.

Penalties: While the illegal wedge call was a definite highlight for the Browns, the Chargers committed one penalty for five yards. And that was late in the 4th quarter.

The Browns surprised me a little bit today. Some tight end I never heard of, Evan Moore, is making Kellen Winslow-type catches all over the field. Mainly because the Browns hadn't showed that capability all year. It reminds of the game Massaqoui had against the Bengals. And Brian Robiskie had a few catches but was not on the field a whole lot. Let's see how it plays in the future, now that there is film on these guys.

But the Browns were actually in the game until that Quinn fumble. But really, the San Diego offense could do whatever they wanted, especially through the air. The score was clearly not indicative of how the game was played.

But it was the first home game of many down the stretch and I think the players wanted to demonstrate to the home fans they still care. We'll see if that attitude carries over through the next 4 games.

Certainly, the no-shows started today. I'm guessing the crowd today was probably 55,000 with many people arriving late. Hell, there were people walking in as I was leaving at halftime. I expect the Steeler game to be better attended with dismal showings for the final two games.

The Browns lose to the Chargers in a not so close game, 30-23. They are now 1-and-11.

Meal of Links

Time has listed the Best Chefs on TV. Kind of an old-school list, it seems.

This guy decided to take a walk. All along the Amazon.

Another woman with Tiger. Jeezy creezy, I think we are up to 6 now.

This made me laugh uncontrollably:



Another wrestler, Umaga died this week. With the ubiquitous list of wrestlers who have died before the age of 50.

Bionic lenses. The alternative to LASIK.

Exercise Yard

Could the new Comcast-NBC Universal be a threat to ESPN on air and online? It is a popular topic.

Visitor

None, on a chilly Browns Sunday.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Sachsenheim Hall. Back in August, the Plain Dealer did a feature on the Best Taco Nights in town. Well, Sachsenheim Hall rated 5 tacos. I pass by this place all the time, because the Fulton Bridge is still out.

Anyhow, my brother and I finally made it there last Tuesday, and it rates very highly on my own scale. There are two things that strike you immediately. Number one is the price. 75 cents! And these babies are stuffed, they don't skimp here. The other is the choice of fillings.

So, for 75 cents ($1 for takeout) you get your choice of soft or hard shells. Fillings on this day included: Beef, Ancho Chicken Sausage, Fish, Green Chili Saxon Sausage, Black Bean & Corn, Refried Bean, Chorizo, Chili con Carne, and an Elk and Venison Combo. Certainly better than your average visit to Taco Bell. They also had empanadas for $1.50 or a 14-inch burrito for $5.95. Pumpkin Soup, Chili, a Nacho Cheese Platter and Mexican Lasagna were also on the menu.

Our bill was less than $14 for 6 tacos, two beers and a tall mixed drink. I had one each of the fish, beef and chorizo. The fish was good, the beef was very good, but that chorizo one was maybe the best one I've ever had locally. They also supplied us with their fish fry menu and that looks appetizing, as well. They have quite a gem here.

Meal of Links

Hat tip to Paul for this survey from Pew Research. I got 11 of 12, missing Question 11.

The 10 Best Movie Posters of the year. I do like that one for "Food, Inc.".

James Franco writes about his experience on "General Hospital". Performance art?

Large study just came out. No link between mobile phones and brain tumors.

Fast Food Update: McDonald's has pretty good Hot Chocolate. With enough caffeine to make anyone happy and they make it with milk (whole or skim), I might add. Not that Sonic needs a shill, but they do serve breakfast, you know. I was there this morning at 10:00 in Parma and I was the only one there. Like a scene from "2012". Virtually every McDonald's I passed had long lines.

The rise and fall of MySpace.

You gotta give "Monk" its due. It is responsible for changing basic cable programming to further develop the limited-episode series which makes for less of a commitment than network fare.

Dubai is a mess.

Exercise Yard

Famous South African Charlize Theron did not exactly "pull the balls" yesterday at the 2010 World Cup Draw. But she received their contents from such people like David Beckham. And, by God, if ESPN devoted three hours to cover this (in what may have been the best soccer program they've ever aired. i.e. No Tommy Smyth.), then it must be important. Of course, I recorded it and watched it last night.




















The United States could not have asked for a better draw. They got lumped with the English (I have Saturday, June 12, already marked for frivolity), Slovenia and Algeria. As stated many times within the past 24 hours, if the USA does not make it to the Round of 16, it will be a major disappointment. Both England and the USA will move on from Group C.

The infamous "Group of Death" goes to Group G for 2010. Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal get to beat up on North Korea and then duke it amongst themselves to advance. The biggest stars in soccer are here. Kaka for Brazil, Didier Drogba for the Ivory Coast and Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal. Ivory Coast is rumored to have the best chance to go further than any African side in the World Cup.

France, who was punished by FIFA by not getting a seed, got punished all right. By getting possibly the easiest path to the next round. They battle the host, South Africa, Uruguay and Mexico. Qualifying was a pain in the ass for France, but let's see if the runners-up in 2006 get it together before June.

What went down yesterday has fired up everyone for June.

Visitor

18 Across: Singer/pianist with the 2002 hit "A Sorta Fairytale" (8 letters) Answer: Tori Amos

OK, so I was snowed by Tiger's gumar. Or, at least, one of them. How the hell did I know he would open up the checkbook? He's like a drunk on a three-day bender the way he is writing checks now. I understand there are kids involved, but wouldn't it be cheaper to walk away with the prenup he has now, instead of the reworking that will eventually lead to a breakup anyhow? Truly strange. Of course, it saves him from having to hear these women on talk shows, but...

Lesson learned here is know who you are spending time with. Geez, the cocktail waitress could not wait to share messages from Tiger with anyone who asked, it seems. That's why the Grady Sizemore photos are so laughable. He takes pictures of himself in the mirror and sends them to his girlfriend. Somehow they get into the public domain. And we are supposed to believe she didn't forward any of those photos to her friends? No, she claims a mysterious stalker stole the photos, with no other claim of any sort of identity theft or some sort of computer break-in. I don't know, that argument seems awfully weak to me. Let's see how that one concludes, if it does.

Hey, Grady, next time. Give it a ponder...



Meal of Links

The New York Times has the 10 Best Books of 2009. I haven't read any of them.

The 10 Most Watched Shows of the decade include some surprises. How about "Joe Millionaire" and the last appearance of Michael J. Fox on "Spin City"? One obvious note, a lot of these shows are from earlier in the decade dramatizing cable's success in grabbing viewers.

How could this not be good? A Kinks biopic! Of course, focusing on the Brothers Davies. I am there.

Catching up with Kris Kristofferson. Quote from Wilie Nelson: "Everything he writes is a standard, and we've just got to live with that."

Bigass list of Christmas specials. Big weekend on Food Network this weekend. "The Year Without Santa Claus" with my fave, Heat Miser, shows up on ABC Family on December 8, December 12 and Christmas Eve.

"Family Guy" does "Star Wars" again. Right before Christmas.

The 30 Best Movie Fight Scenes. And you know the list is good when Bruce Lee, Rocky Balboa, Borat, Bourne and Bob Barker are included. Mr. Anderson and Agent Smith are Number One. Oh, this will eat up some time.

WOXY has the Holiday Mixer up and running. Great stuff.

Comcast buys NBC. I'm sensing we'll have to somehow pay for free TV.

AV Club has the Almost Best Films of the Decade and the Best Movies of the Decade and the Favorite Movie Scenes of the Decade.

The Almost list has "In The Loop". Again! This is on DVD on January 12. Other gems: "Owning Mahoney", "The Fog of War", "Shaun of the Dead", "Slasher", "Minority report" and "Rachel Getting Married". All worth your time.

Some surprises from the Best list include: "Zodiac", "Capturing the Friedmans", "Almost Sunset" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" as No. 1.

Favorites probably should have more of the actual scenes.

Let's put this to rest this once and for all. President Obama is not responsible for some sort of Muslim Christmas stamp.

Exercise Yard

The World Cup draw is tomorrow. How can I say this delicately? Charlize Theron will be responsible for pulling the balls.

Visitor

3 Down: Quaker Oats trademark (10 letters) Answer: Aunt Jemima (How's that for timing?)

Tollbooth Karma
















The Turnpike Gods must be mad at me. Yep, this is what happens when the E-Z Pass gate comes crashing down on your car or should I say windshield. The State Trooper (BTW, very accommodating) told me that's not supposed to happen. Oh, no, he dint. But, yes, it did happen. To me!

I was at the gate marked E-Z Pass/Tickets. The two people in front of me needed tickets manually, as the machine was not working. Obviously, something was not reset as I tried to get through on my sensor. Then, BOOM. I'm OK though.

The good people at "Safelite repair, Safelite replace..." helped me out. And late this afternoon, I was able to resume driving.

Meal of Links

20 things you should know about beer. Damn hippocampus.

You want a better ass? Think again. Don't cry for me, Argentina.

The best film performances of the decade. Hard to argue with most. Nice props for Christian Bale in "American Psycho" and Peter Sarsgaard in "Shattered Glass".

What if superheroes had beards? Well, they would probably get in the way.

Look what music is coming out in 2010. More like first quarter stuff, but the list looks promising.

You may wanna rethink the TV Box Set DVD as a Christmas gift. Some of them are still good.

Now here's a festival we can all get behind. The Po-Boy Preservation Festival.

Exercise Yard

The other woman in the Tiger Woods incident speaks out. She sounds fairly credible.

But there may be other women.

Visitor

38 Across: "Elder" or "Younger" Roman statesman (4 letters) Answer: Cato