You can tell CSU has a new Athletic Director, I had been getting calls from my ticket rep a couple months ago about renewal. I was thinking, pump your brakes, dude, as I had been able to renew virtually up to tipoff of the new season. So, I get a letter today and their new renewal date is August 1.

I guess, like most schools, this allows them to sell the non-renewals as season tickets. It seems they also have lopped some heads in the athletic department. The new Senior Associate AD is a woman, so I assume she is being groomed to take over the whole thing eventually. They also have a new SID and The Ticket Guy is also gone.

Meal of Links

Are we witnessing the death of the DVD? Netflix adjusts pricing and divides streaming and DVD rentals.

Are you still reading the newspaper? There are the same number of newspapers in 2011, as there were in 1890.

"Mad Men" reruns on Sunday mornings, from the beginning. Time to catch up.

The most popular e-reader is? The Nook Color? Not Kindle? Mmmm.

I Will Not Be Riding "The Takabisha"



Can you think of a street sign that is constantly stolen? How about Stoner Avenue?

Joe Jackson. I think, at one time, I had memorized the entire "Look Sharp" album. So, "Got the Time" seems appropriate. This is my favorite song of his...

"Right And Wrong"/Joe Jackson



PolitiFact takes on Sarah Palin. And Slim Jims.

Exercise Yard

Michael Irvin champions gay marriage. Another twist in his story.

Visitor

25 Across: "Two Tickets To Paradise" singer (10 letters) Answer: Eddie Money (At the Pickerington Violet Festival in Pickerington on July 30)

Eddie Money Commercial

Yesterday was a long day spent at Quicken Loans Arena watching some NCAA tournament games. March Madness blessed us with four games yesterday and I'll get to them in a moment. First off, we were not so blessed with start times this weekend. With only a scheduled 25-minute break between games on Friday, we were greeted during the late game with the announcement of another late start for Game 2, 7:40 on Sunday. That did not please the Syracuse gathering one iota. First time I ever heard booing for a start time.

But, here's what went down as far as logistics yesterday. Every lot east of East 9th Street did not increase prices. All were listed at $10. I'm sure lots closest to the Q were higher, but that was extremely fair for those who stayed all day. I was in an unattended lot at Bolivar and 9th.

















Part of the angst earlier in the week was the timing between games. Allegedly, the arena was going to be cleaned out because you had to leave the arena as the four games are divided into two sessions. Trust me, they did NOT clean the entire arena between games, as my cups and the peanut shells from the woman next to me remained from our early session. I'm sure the bathrooms got a quick onceover, but nothing in the seating area indicated between-game cleaning.

Yes, they cleared the Q between sessions, but there was no line to get back in. There were people lining up outside, but that appeared to be Xavier people who were not in the place during the afternoon. I walked out a couple minutes before 7, stood around the entrance for a bit, followed some people in, and was back in my seat by 7:15. They didn't tip off until 7:45. To help speed up things, I found it extremely unusual that tickets were not wanded in, as they were in the afternoon, but only stubs were ripped off. Taking two steps to one. Gee, no fraud could take place during that hasty procedure, eh?

But my brother and Paul were able to eat at Tower City, so there was time for a sitdown between games. Maybe not at any 4th Street eateries, but if you went elsewhere, it was doable. And if you left the Buckeye rout early, it could be done easily.

There were no highlights from other games and no in-house replays, but our row was right in front of some clubs where we could peek at some TVs. Only scores from other games were announced and displayed prominently on the scoreboard.

















Oh, and Gus Johnson (in the blue shirt) was there. Ha ha!

I won't bore you with much of the game action but here's the recap of the Cleveland games.

George Mason-Villanova

I have a blind spot when it comes to George Mason. I was big on them getting to the Sweet 16 about a month ago. Then when they drew Villanova and then, perhaps, Ohio State, I wasn't sure about the second game. But I was definitely for Mason against Villanova.

















The first thing you notice about Mason is their band, or should I say, bandleader. Paul called him Cab Calloway, but he goes by Doc Nix. That's a Yale grad in that big yellow suit with cane. Oh yeah, there are also two violins in the pep band.

















This was a really ugly game and the Villanova mascot could not save them. Mason was only down by 6 at the half for reasons unexplained. Villanova only scored 22 points in the second half but intentionally slowed down their offense way too much. When they were quick, they scored. Extremely baffling.

Ohio State-University of Texas at San Antonio

















Really, what can you say about this mismatch. UTSA has a neat name, the Roadrunners. But as soon as their coach got a technical foul early in the second half, he stayed seated. His team must have looked at him and said "If he ain't tryin', why should I?" Game over.

Had to endure lots of "O-H" followed by "I-O" during this game. There was one thing that stood out. There are cheers for many of Ohio Sate players, but you know who gets the biggest cheers? Why, it's Jon Diebler. They just lo-o-o-ove the white man. Watch Sunday, it's uncanny.

















Even at the end of the game, they couldn't contain themselves.

Marquette-Xavier


























Marquette's first half was the best display of basketball on Friday. Good shooting, terrific defense, especially on defense and a loud fan base. Xavier had a ton of fans there, but early foul trouble nicked two starters and they sort of hung around, but Marquette was never really in danger of losing this one.

Syracuse-Indiana State




















The crowd really wanted to cheer for Indiana State. And, for a late game, their fans were boisterous. ISU somehow cut the Syracuse lead to 6 at the half. Then, at the start of the second half, Indiana State, for two minutes, had all of us in the palm of their hand. Then they crapped the bed.

Syracuse in a romp. We finally left when the ISU coach called a timeout with 2 minutes to go. It was about 12:35 a.m. Still observing Lent, I finally had a corned beef sammie when I got home.

Meal of Links

Now they are rating Full Moons. Tonight's Full Moon is a Supermoon. The largest in 18 years. Or is it just amore?

If you hated Google then, what about now? Google revisited.

Simon Cowell loves "Friday" by Rebecca Black. And also hires L.A. Reid for X Factor.

The Foo Fighters are back on tour. Perhaps, in your garage. Would I have to clean it?

We are currently lobbing missiles at Libya. Talk about Madness. Aren't we joining teh losing side of a Civil War? Again. Where's Biden?

Exercise Yard






















My Dad and I took in today's NIT game at the Bart between Cleveland State and College of Charleston. Weird to see Bobby Cremins on the sideline for Charleston, given his past coaching exploits. It was also the last game for Norris Cole at CSU, before he seemingly heads off to the NBA. It will be hard to replace him. Great leader, great teammate, great person, great player.

The season kind of ended with a big thud today. As CSU shot an unbelievable 4% on 3-pointers. That's 1-for-25, if you need it. That's where the problem lied today.

They held Charleston's star guard, Andrew Goudelock, to 13 points in 39 minutes. Decent bench production today. Only 6 turnovers. 40 points in the paint. 81% from the line and they outrebounded CoC. They just couldn't hit a jumper.

The season is over. CSU loses, 64-56.

Visitor

4 Down: Nickname for an athletic "kid' (6 letters) Answer: Say Hey

Finally, Selection Sunday is underway. Cleveland did not get the two Number One seeds, as had been predicted. For weeks, actually, as Pitt got shipped to DC.

So, the matchups here on Friday are:

#1 Ohio State
#16 Tomato Can

#8 George Mason
#9 Villanova

#3 Syracuse
#14 Indiana State

#6 Xavier
#11 Marquette

Actually, not too bad of a pod. I loved George Mason to win at least 2 games coming into the tournament, but OSU in a faux home game is really a tough one. I think Syracuse could sleep for 20 minutes during the Indiana State game and still win. It's a weaker Xavier team this year, but one that shows up at tourney time every year. So, the seeds may hold here through Sunday.

And, of course, here are the yearly snubs. Virtually every talking head was fired up, because a notoriously weak field combined with an expanded number of teams was supposed to prevent the snubs we saw today. Then again, everyone is an expert this time of year.

Meal of Links

State Department spokesperson had to resign. His comments about Bradley Manning were his undoing.

Celebrities can't hide anymore. Even in the bathroom.

I stumbled upon this today. Google recipes!

Exercise Yard

Yeah, it's pitiful to watch the NIT Selection Show. But I thought Cleveland State might make it, and they did. They were the last matchup revealed and as a Number 2 seed, they drew the Catamounts of Vermont. Kent drew Saint Mary's.

Vermont played BYU and Connecticut and lost. They lost in the BracketBusters to the College of Charleston. Only common opponent with CSU was Iona. They won, as well.

NIT brackets here. First game is Tuesday at CSU on ESPN3.com.

Visitor

None, on a quiet Sunday.

The saga of receiving my tickets for March Madness finally ended this week. They always wait until about 4 weeks to deliver the tickets, which is amazing, because I ordered them during January of 2010. Locally, even though Quicken Loans Arena is the site of the games, I have priority through Cleveland State to get tickets.

Anyhow, the printing and mailing of the tickets was handled by Quicken Loans Arena. We received notification that the tickets were sent via UPS on February 15 and to expect them by the following Friday, ten days out. After Presidents Day, another e-mail was sent confirming that many people had already received them. Cutting slack for the holiday, I wasn't worried yet. Until 2 more days went by and I didn't get mine. Uh-oh. I wondered why on our original e-mailing they mentioned if there was any trouble, they would cancel the codes and print new ones.

Because that's exactly what happened. During the final CSU homestand, it went from 70 people who didn't receive theirs on Thursday, to 150 on Saturday. During the first-round playoff game, we were told the second printing and mailing had occurred and indeed, I got my tickets the next day. But what a ride.

Clearly, all of the tickets were picked up by UPS the first time, but somehow, a significant portion did not get delivered. This can only be one of two things. Gross incompetence or theft. I pity the fool who is going to buy these now counterfeit tickets, so hopefully, the authorities solve it before it gets to that point. We still have not received the commemorative tickets, because that would only cloud the issue further.

Still don't know if this is considered an internal UPS matter. All I know is the second mailing was done via Legal Priority, which is probably the most entrusted of their delivery service, by its nature alone.

Meal of Links

Mike Huckabee "misspoke" on President Obama in Kenya and it wasn't he who attacked Natalie Portman. No, no. That was the "Hollywood media".

Conversely, Matt Damon talks about what lots of us are thinking. But he won't vote Republican.

Phil Collins calls it quits. Thought that happened a while ago.

Exercise Yard

Speaking of Cleveland State, their season ended with a thud against their White Whale, Butler. I was watching it on the PC via ESPN3 last night and at 60-58, with CSU pressing and flying all over the court, Shawn Vanzant from Butler hit two threes and sucked the momentum away. I think CSU got somewhat close again, maybe by 4.

CSU loses, 76-68, and is probably headed for the NIT. Like I said, I'll have priority for tickets!

Visitor

None, on a where-did-that-snow-come-from Sunday.

It looks like Billy Crystal makes an appearance tomorrow on the Oscars for the heavy lifting. James Franco and Anne Hathaway have already said they are not there to judge anyone, which makes one wonder why they didn't get Crystal in the first place.

Oscar Predictions

After having seen virtually all of the nominees, here are the choices for the Oscars. I think it is unusually clear cut this year.

Best Picture: "The King's Speech"

In October, there was no doubt "The Social Network" had taken the lead. Up to that point, only "Inception" seemed Oscar-worthy. "Toy Story 3", as well, but that'll never happen. But "The King's Speech" was the only film I saw last year where people applauded when it finished. OK, I applauded at the end of "Marmaduke" for different reasons. I went in with zero expectations on "The King's Speech" and was taken aback by how good it was.

Best Actor: Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"

Here's your lifetime achievement winner this year. Firth has been nominated a few times. Tough for older Oscar voters. Jesse Eisenberg talks way too fast and Firth stutters.

Best Actress: Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"

Portman even took the Independent Spirit Award and should be considered a shoo-in. And I predict it will be at least 10 years before she gets nominated again. She makes some really odd acting choices. My vote would have gone to Michelle Williams.

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale in "The Fighter"

Bale, as ever, absolutely leaps off the screen. Again. I'd watch him in virtually anything.

Best Supporting Actress: Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech"

Probably the toughest one to pick, but Carter is still the standout here, because Melissa Leo was so over the top in "The Fighter" which led to her Golden Globe and SAG wins. This one usually goes early and if Carter wins, "The King's Speech" will sweep.

Others:

Roger Deakins should win for Cinematography for "True Grit".

"Toy Story 3" gets Best Animated Film.

Tom Hooper should get the Best Director nod for "The King's Speech".

All the doc buzz lately has gone to Banksy. He'll win for "Exit Through The Gift Shop".

I saw the Live Short Films today and "God of Love", about a modern-day Cupid, was my favorite. "Na Wewe" will probably win though.

"The Social Network" gets a bone tossed to it, as Aaron Sorkin gets Best Adapted Screenplay. This consolation prize takes place a lot. "Sideways" and "Pulp Fiction" come to mind.

David Seidler will pick up the Best Original Screenplay for "The King's Speech".

Nate Silver gets in on the action.

This guy from Time is doing the 24-hour AMC Oscar Marathon. That would have been ideal here on Friday with all the snow.

Meal of Links

Hate talking on the phone? Here's why.

The economics of "Two And A Half Men". $250 million is in the balance if the show does not return next year. Obviously, a new show makes up some of that, but...

Libyans



I like it when a movie goes above the norm with its title sequences. IFC has its Top 50. Yes, Lola is still running. "Snatch" is in here. "Reservoir Dogs", of course. "Bullitt" gets some love. "Catch Me If You Can" is a classic throwback. "Warriors" with its montage of gangs almost made the top 10. Can't go wrong with any of the top 10.

Exercise Yard

Cleveland State won today and was determined to be a tri-champion of the Horizon League. Didn't matter as Milwaukee and Butler both won and are now seeded through to the league tournament semis. The Detroit loss on the road after the Butler home loss was probably the killer, although losing at home to Milwaukee didn't help. The road to March Madness just got a whole lot tougher, as CSU needs 4 conference tourney wins to advance.

CSU beats Green Bay, 64-57. Should have been over early, as Green Bay only shot 19% in the first half.

Visitor

11 Down: Goldfinger portrayer Frobe (4 letters) Answer: Gert

We had some crime in the hood last night. Some brave soul went up and down everyone's driveway, looking for easy marks. Yes, I was one, as I left my car unlocked after chipping off a whole bunch of ice Monday, thinking last night's mix was going to be a nuisance. I suffered an incredibly minor loss. My neighbor, ouch. He got nicked bad.

Meal of Links

Memories...the 5 most dangerous cars. Of course, the Pinto was Number 1.

With St. Patrick's Day nearing, it's Shamrock Shake time. Here is your Shamrock Shake Locater.

If you stumble upon it, I guarantee you'll get some laughs. The world of Adult Swim.

Always had a thing for Judy Greer. So, here you go.

What you will see on the Oscar telecast. What really bothers me is when they basically show the trailer for nominated films. Why not pick the best scene, like they used to?

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

Renting. Not a bad idea anymore.

Some people go ga-ga for their Oscar parties. Especially their food selections. "127 Hours", I guess, provides stumpy foods?

Palin with an old trick. The second online identity! Amen.

Exercise Yard

Norris Cole gets some ESPN love. He is clearly the best player CSU has had in the last 20 years, surpassing J'Nathan Bullock.

If the Gary Waters Era truly takes off, I look for Cole's number to eventually be retired.

Visitor

24 Across: Jazz guitarist Montgomery (3 letters) Answer: Wes

I'm thinking that NBC move to all comedy on Thursdays is not working. It tied an all-time ratings low for them this week. Hey, I'm watching "Archer" at 10, I can't tell you what NBC has on that time.



Meal of Links

Hal Needham is still around. Now, he's written a book. There was a time when his outtakes were better than his movies.

Oscars through the years. It's smaller than a bowling pin.

The Cars have a new single. Yes, The Cars! Is it just me or does this sound like Devo?

"Blue Tip"/The Cars



Congress can try and neuter Planned Parenthood. But don't touch military sponsorships in NASCAR.

In case you did not know, we are in the midst of "Black Thanksgiving". Enjoy.

Chicago elects their next mayor soon. In three days, if there is no runoff.

Exercise Yard

It is BracketBusters weekend, and for the first time in a long while, the matchups are pretty good. Cleveland State has a massive game at Old Dominion tomorrow. I'm still thinking no at-large bid from the Horizon League, but a win at Norfolk at least muddies the picture in that regard.

Looking ahead to your March Madness pool...do not sleep on George Mason.

Visitor

34 Across: Lonely guy in 60-Down (15 letters) Answer: Maytag Repairman

Our long national nightmare is over. CAVS WIN!!!!

And then this...

Wayne Rooney Goal



I was in the midst of eating a piece of bacon when, all of a sudden, it was a goal for the ages in Manchester. My jaw dropped, but the bacon hung on my lip like a cigarette. Last view shows how great it was. Goal of a career material.

Meal of Links

I saw "Blue Valentine" on Wednesday. Terrific piece of film making, but it would be hard-pressed to find an audience, given its $6 million gross, thus far. It's such a a gut punch, but not a proverbial country record, it's like a proverbial country album, complete with a dead dog.

After watching it, here's what the demographics say:

Singles: "Thank God!"

Divorced: "Hey, I lived that."

Happily married: "Whew!"

Hardly married: "Uh-oh."

Box office is around $7 million after 7 weeks. It's a hard sell.

Acting is superb. Michelle Williams is great and Ryan Gosling, as ever, just kills it. It's the story of a couple who has been married about 5 or 6 years and their marriage is coming apart at the seams. There are some flashbacks to when they first met, seeing their relationship develop and evolve into marriage, no matter how blindly they may have got into it.

For, you see, Williams was studying to be a doctor in Western PA, while Gosling worked for a moving company in Brooklyn. All their dreams come to a grinding halt when, shortly after dating Gosling, Williams realizes she's pregnant from another guy. They decide to get married.

Eventually, she becomes a nurse and he becomes a house painter. He winds up attached to the daughter more than her, as Gosling tends to act as a child for the most part. So, Williams is, in effect, raising two kids. Gosling wants nothing more out of life then what he has, she can't stand what's happening to them both.

And you get two hours of that. As I said, extremely well done, and a great movie for winter where it's already dark and gloomy.

Boeing's next-generation intercontinental plane. Much attention to first class space, in which you will never fly.

John Hughes-inspired art. There is some good stuff here.

This critic really dislikes Martin Lawrence. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Martin Lawrence, sole owner-occupier of his own special zone of terrible."

Mubarak used most of the last three weeks to save his fortune. Seems he may have gotten ahead of the Swiss banks.

Bourdain is doing some writing for "Treme". Even scenes with the infamous Alan Richman.

From the time flies category, "Arrested Development" has been off the air five years.

Uncle Jack



Speaking of John Hughes, there has been a recent news item. They have determined the dates of the baseball game played in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Algeria might be next.

Mark Wahlberg. Big-time producer. Another show. This time, CBS hires Rob Riggle for "Home Game".

Now this guy can fill a scorecard. It shows how personal these can be. I'm just happy someone still keeps core at the ballpark. You have a better shot at seeing a Yeti.

John Dahl has been mostly involved in TV lately, directing some episodes of "Dexter" and "Californication". Hell, he even did an episode of "Terriers". But he also directed the noir gem, "The Last Seduction".

The hardest part about giving up drinking? Dating.

Regrets? The FDA Scientist who approved LASIK surgery has some.

Porn. An industry in financial trouble.

Exercise Yard

Norris Cole was a man today. 41 points, 20 rebounds (!), 9 assists. One shy of the first triple-double in CSU history. And they needed him, too.

In perhaps the sleepiest game of the year, CSU beats the Fighting Penguins of Youngstown State, 86-76. YSU is in last place and pushed the Vikings to almost the end of the game, as the three-ball kept them in it. Cole needed to be dominant and, thankfully, he was.

Visitor

49 Across: Knighted son of King Ban (8 letters) Answer: Lancelot

I was at the CSU-Butler game and now we know how many people it takes to fill the Bart with its curtain in place. Word is it was considered a sellout at 8490 and, even the last rows of the upper were filled. That, by far, is the largest crowd since North Carolina visited several years ago. It was a Blackout day where everyone was encouraged to wear black and even the players got to sport spiffy new black jerseys.

Don't let the casual fan describe what happened today. The refs today were not that good, but I am a firm believer they never really cause you to lose. You have to play through these things. And I find it unacceptable to follow the "homered at home" crowd when CSU was 19-25 from the line. CSU had Butler in some early foul trouble, as Matt Howard sat most of the first half with 2 fouls and for some reason, CSU did not attack Andrew Smith when he remained in the game with 2 fouls in the first half.























People have to realize that Butler is a bad matchup for CSU. Kind of like Orlando vs. the Cavs two years ago. Today, CSU moved Tim Kamczyc to guard Howard and Aaron Pogue took Smith. With Howard out, Kamczyc drew Khyle Marshall and that puts him in a quandary. Not big enough to guard Smith, and not athletic enough to guard Marshall.

Butler had an excellent floor game today with only 6 turnovers (1 in the first half) and 55% shooting in the second half helped a lot. That's tough to beat. And, obviously, very disappointing for the newbies and grizzled old veterans of the home crowd.

Butler forced CSU into a halfcourt game and it's not how the Vikings get the job done. I hope the people come back.

CSU loses, 73-61 .

Meal of Links

Melissa Leo goes rogue for her Oscar campaign. Let's see if it works (or was even necessary).

Super Bowl wings? Use Frank's, of course. Or you can get some hot dogs from places featured in the Rachael Ray Hot Dog Bracket. Those would be from Skyline, Seti's or Steve's.

Landing in LA



It's David Lynch. Sorry, I'm hooked on the guy.

Exercise Yard

Insane day of soccer. Most goals ever in one day of Premier League play. It was like hockey scores on a rainy day in England.

Biggest win: (Last place) Wolves 2, (First place and unbeaten) Manchester United 1.

The big one tomorrow, which deserves the Big Breakfast on Super Bowl Sunday: Liverpool at Chelsea.

Visitor

16 Across: Actor who said "Some people have youth, some have beauty. I have menace." (15 letters) Answer: Edward G. Robinson

Cleveland State's white whale, Butler, comes to town for a Noon game tomorrow. Probably the largest attended CSU game since a Butler matchup in the Massimino era.

People are actually showing up. The confluence of an ugly sports year (CSU has more wins than the Browns and Cavs combined), cheap tickets and better marketing has boosted attendance. A far cry from an 11 a.m. game last year when I think 100 people showed up.

If you can bear the shitty ESPN broadcast team that is showing up, look for me on the tube. I'll be wearing black. Oh, wait a minute, we all are.

Meal of Links

The 5 sleepiest animals. Aren't squirrels on the most skittish list, as well?

Joyce Carol Oates on "The Fighter". Nails it, except for Wahlberg's performance.

I bet Marilu Henner remembers everything about this episode of "Taxi". I hope they break down a Vic Ferrari episode.

It's good to be the king. The Mubarak family's estimated worth is between $40 and $70 billion.

Joe Pos on Tiger Woods. It's difficult to watch Tiger struggle to even get three rounds out of four to go his way these days.

Michael Lewis turns his attention to the financial crisis in Ireland. "Now the Irish people finally caught a glimpse of the guy meant to be safeguarding them: the crazy uncle had been sprung from the family cellar."

Exercise Yard

The Super Bowl will never move to Saturday. But I can see it eventually moving to President's Day weekend with an 18-game schedule. Sorry, Daytona.

BTW, it'll be the Packers by 9 on Sunday.

Visitor

39 Across: Tesla, by birth (5 letters) Answer: Croat

"Tesla Girls"/OMD

The World Cup is all fouled up. Remember the 2022 bid that went to Qatar? You know, it's kinda hot there in the summer? Well, now Sepp Blatter thinks it could be held in the winter. What the hell, we have 11 years to figure it out. We'll conveniently forget that all the submitted bids were for a summer World Cup.

And certainly the World Cup butting heads with Lord Football is not a good idea. And I certainly never imagined I'd have to wear a Santa hat to watch any matches.

Meal of Links

While we all obsess over Ted Williams, here's a look at those he left behind. Now this is a story that should be celebrated.

ESPN looks like it will pay $2 billion a year to keep Monday Night Football. And keep NFL draft coverage, as well.

Dead wrestlers? We got 'em! Includes Ron Martinez, local Channel 43 announcer.

Bidding help for Priceline. Not a bad little assistant.

Facebook will fade. Stay tuned.

Aretha Franklin says she's OK. Somewhere Luther Vandross sang that sentence out loud.

Another Republican nutjob has power. I'm in a dream, aren't I?

Who is the world's most dangerous terrorist? Looks like Pakistan is the major threat to the West.

Palin in Alaska. Looks like her frontierswoman aura is debunked.

Matt Taibbi takes down Boehner. "The ultimate beltway hack..."

Exercise Yard

CSU played its worst game of the year losing to Butler. Game comes at the worst possible time, when they were getting more eyeballs in their direction. Let's see where the bandwagon goes after this defeat.

Visitor

55 Across: Law partner (5 letters) Answer: Order

There are pluses and minuses to being an a pool that picks the winners of bowl games. You find yourself watching games you wouldn't ordinarily care about. But that allowed me to to see this sign: "UCF: The Harvard of the South" during Central Florida's win over Georgia. It may have been the same game (they all run together), but I also saw a QB spike the ball on the 7-yard line, after gaining a first down with 48 seconds in the first half. While he had TWO timeouts left! Ugh!

Since, we are getting close to the New Year, I had to settle on my Dead Pool picks for 201l. Lots of replacements. Because unless there is a strange happening where several diverse well-known people, not only get together, but die in the same place, it looks like I've won the 2010 edition.

So, while staving off some sort of weird cold I have, I decided to knock down some Jameson highballs to start the evening. Some steak and shrimp at hand, as well.

Meal of Links

Lifehacker has its Best of 2010 List. I find myself going to this site more often.

Wow, this guy looks like he'll win his case. Jeezy creezy, the cops kinda overstepped their authority there.

Hey, that's Hitch!

The 40 Drunkest Cities. 15. Toledo, 22. Cleveland, 35. Cincinnati.

Auld Lang Syne.

Kodachrome has left the building. The end of an era.

You Will Be Legal Soon, You 1990ers



Exercise Yard

Cleveland State keeps winning. Last night, they pummeled Loyola.

Another crowd over 4,000. Plus, my coat chair gone for a second game in a row. WTF?

Visitor

41 Across: Lofgren of the E-Street Band (4 letters) Answer: Nils

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

It shocked me a few weeks ago when I heard a Pogues song used on a commercial. The times they are a changin'. But "Fairytale of New York" is the most unconventional one that gets some play around the holidays. I really enjoy this one as Shane and Kirsty do a bangup job on it. Plus you get Matt Dillon as a cop.

"Fairytale of New York"/The Pogues with Kirsty McColl



My brother and I went to the Cavs game tonight. We are streak breakers. The Cavs definitely took advantage of the Knicks having two tough games with the Celtics and the Heat and won in overtime, 109-102. Anderson Varejao proving to be the star of the game with 14 points and 17rebounds.

The Knicks could not shoot straight in the second half and the Cavs somehow scraped enough points to get this one. It appeared to be Tsingtao Beer Night, as the Tsingtao Girls danced at halftime. Yes, they were showing their Tsingtaos. I assume they sell that beer there, but I got a Bud Light from the Beer Guy.

Meal of Links

How to find better answers online. Google alternatives, that is.

Here is the easiest path to an Oscar for a woman. It's scientifically-approved.

Pitchfork has the top tracks of 2010. Well, you can't go anywhere without hearing "POWER" by Kanye West.

Best new beers. The Goose Island one with the 13% ABV looks outstanding.

DADT was repealed. Joe Lieberman deserves credit and how about President Obama who could have kicked him to the curb 2 years ago. And Voinovich was a yes. Maybe they should name a bridge after him. But this is the Senate and they are actually doing things this week? Too bad the DREAM Act went down. Next, it's the START treaty.

Turner gets it right with their Blake Edwards tribute. These are the essentials.

Remember when they turned off Niagara Falls? We have proof.

Exercise Yard

In the first of two big Cleveland basketball games today, Cleveland State visited West Virginia. They lost, 74-63. If they had won, they would have been ranked, as they would have remained unbeaten.

So, in typical fashion, the fans who may have whispered about them, perhaps be intrigued by them, maybe see them in person, will now be distracted by other things. And the crowds will remain small and then everyone will wake up when they have a shot at March Madness.

Visitor

9 Down: Plastic ___ Band (3 letters) Answer: Ono

I was at the Cleveland State game tonight and what can you say. You schedule an NAIA opponent like West Virginia Tech because you know they run up and down the court and sorta try for rebounds. You get yourself an easy win, the team gets a good workout and you get to rest the starters and see your bench for a bit. That's it!

So, CSU remains unbeaten at 11-0. But it now gets tougher. Roadies at Sam Houston State (NCAA qualifier last year) and West Virginia from the Big East (Final Four member last year). In two weeks, it's another Big East team, South Florida, visiting. If they get two wins out of this stretch, I think the buzz will get louder.

I gotta say, right now, they are playing better than the 2008-09 NCAA team. Plus, they are still missing a starter and their best defender, D'Aundray Brown. I think the Horizon League is theirs for the taking.

Meal of Links

Today is Pearl Harbor Day. The Park Service dedicated a new visitor center today. Around 90 Pearl Harbor veterans were expected at the ceremony.

The first season DVD of "Treme" drops in March. David Simon talks about it and the "Treme" soundtrack that he's not so happy with. The marketing of, that is.

Lifehacker posts its most popular 2010 How-To Guides. I check here every so often and amazed at what you can find.

Afghans really don't like having bombs dropped on them. I wonder about the 23% who apparently don't mind getting bombed.

Danny Boyle says he may be getting closer to a "Trainspotting" sequel. But he and Ewan McGregor do not speak, so who knows.

For some reason, during last week's Browns game, Costanza as a hand model was brought up. Get this:

Insane Hand Model



DVR Alert! The "Mobsters" episode on Danny Greene is this Friday at 10. "Mobsters" is actually one of those shows if you stumble upon a good one, it'll hook you.

Well, it looks like the tax cut debate was not a complete disaster for the Democrats. Sure, the Bush tax cuts got extended for 2 years in exchange for 13 months of unemployment extensions and a 2% reduction in payroll tax for 2010. Now let's see if it passes.

Bernie Ecclestone has a laugh about his mugging. That's a pretty striking ad.

HBO says it may want to become a standalone service. Subscriber loss is the issue.

The highlight of Cavs-Heat last week? The revelation that Craig Sager shopped at Mr. Albert's. I guess he is a regular. Well, maybe not so much with LeBron gone.

Future jobs? Uh, movie projectionist may not be a good choice.

Exercise Yard

Major crime solved. They found Lee Corso's head. Mascot head, that is.

Visitor

56 Across: Kentucky county named after a trailblazer (5 letters) Answer: Boone

My brother and I attended the Cleveland State-Robert Morris game last night at the Bart. Kind of an odd weekday start at 6:00. Strange beforehand, but nice to get home early.

The Vikings may be on to something here. For they managed only two baskets in the final 14 minutes and were still able to win, Because they had a 22-point margin at one time. That got frittered away late down to 2, but they survived. Mainly it was the attempt to pound the ball inside, without any concerted effort to break down the Robert Morris zone.

So, the Vikings find themselves unbeaten at 8-0, the first Division I team to win 8. Defense is carrying the day, as the opponents have a FG percentage of .369. That's a Georgetown-in-their-heyday kind of stat. The RPI is at 20. The mid-major rank is 5.

League play starts this week in Wisconsin and it's traditionally the toughest road swing for Cleveland State. If they can somehow win 2 games, we can start to have a discussion of a league title. Especially since Butler has fallen out of the rankings for the first time in memory. But CSU has not won since 1999 in Milwaukee and 2006 in Green Bay.

Meal of Links

Home stretch for "Terriers" tomorrow. I actually wrote an e-mail to save the damn thing. It was a proud Tiger Beat moment for me. BTW, "Archer" returns on FX on January 27.

Michael Douglas talks about his health. Seems to be on an uptick presently.

The funeral aftermath of Pat Burns did not go so well. His widow was robbed. They even took his wallet.

How to sleep. Currently, I have been getting into some really deep REM action.

Nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards are out. Looks like "Winter's Bone" is one to watch for Oscar, already picking up some Gotham awards. It's on PPV, I'll get to it this week. BTW, Kenny Fuckin' Powers brother is up for Best Actor in it.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco to host the Oscars. Great idea! Not so fast, my friend.

Getting further along in Nashville. Today, it's Brad Paisley.

Barry Sanders Goodness



Even Pravda hates Palin.

Exercise Yard

Adrian Wojnarowski has written another anti-LeBron column. Always fun to catch up with these. (Hat tip to Paul)

So, LeBron scores what, 50 on Thursday?

Visitor

46 Down: White House family (6 letters) Answer: Obamas

The Browns escaped with one-point win over Carolina. Geez, this one was nerveracking.

What did we learn today?

I like Jake Delhomme. And it looked like he was going to have a fine day. His passes to the middle of the field were superb. But his first two passes in the second half brought Carolina right back into the game. In fairness, these were routes that were not run in the first half. But that second pass. Yikes! Rated with the worst we've seen since the Browns return.

Oh yeah, that was really funny. Rob Ryan almost intercepted a pass late. Big laughs. Watch the replay, this idiot had his foot in play right before he gets hit. Jackwagon.

The end of two Browns drives in the 4th quarter were really bad. The 4th-and-1 when Peyton Hillis was stuffed at the Carolina 25 was painful. Quit calling for Lawrence Vickers election to the Pro Bowl, if you don't use him in that situation. My God, they had no Vickers and Evan Moore, noted in the PD as a bad blocker, and Royal Roberts in. No wonder it didn't work.

And the quick snap and QB sneak by Delhomme on 3rd-and-1 for no gain was ludicrous. Thank God, Phil Dawson hit the go-ahead field goal. Just when you think Brian Daboll had turned the corner as a playcaller.

Evan Moore fumbling inside the 5 was a killer. You knew right after the Browns went up 21-7, it was gonna be a long day. They have no right to think they'll stomp anyone until they do it regularly. You could see it in the body language that they relaxed.

Josh Cribbs was nowhere near being ready today.

Hillis should have run the ball 30 times today. Carolina could not stop him early.

Conversely, the Browns could not stop the fuckin' run either. 151 yards and a 5.5 average for Carolina.

The Browns had a trick play, the halfback option with Hillis, that should have worked. I'm not sure I'd have called it inside the 10, but Hillis had a terrible throw.

Overall, it's hard to squawk, because the Browns did win one at home. After so many close ones early that went for losses, hey, I'll take any win. But let's face it, at 21-7, plus Moore's fumble, the Browns should have put this one away early. As it turned out, they let a 1-9 team hang around and sometimes you don't escape those types of games.

Lucky to win? Maybe. I prefer to say they missed an opportunity for a big win and barely hung on for the victory. Browns win, 24-23.

Meal of Links

The Plain Dealer decided to run a travel piece from the Orange County Register on Kauai today. It's 2 months old, but still fits. Here is a view from Brennecke's, which the guy called his quintessential Kauai:

















Here is an interesting photo collection. Where gun crimes have occurred in London.

David Lynch. Pop Singer!

Speaking of Lynch...

Nicolas Cage Losing His Shit



Where we spend our money. Food. Damn food.

Enrico Pallazzo did not die today. But Leslie Nielsen did.

"It's Enrico Pallazzo!"



Goal celebrations! First, it's the Western Conference. And the Eastern Conference. Ric Flair, hah!

Exercise Yard

Cleveland State is really on a roll right now, upping their record to 7-0. Was at last night's game after my heat came on. The opponent was St. Bonaventure from the A-10 Conference.

Cleveland State shot a dismal 22% in the first half, but somehow were still ahead by 1. Then, over the next 10 minutes, the Vikings played their best stretch of ball since the 2008-09 season. They completely demoralized the Bonnies by cranking up the tenacious D (yes, like the band) and attacking the rim on offense. It was something to see. Then they cruised to the finish.

CSU wins, 69-51. And the Bart debuted three new concession stands, which I will test soon.

Next up: Bob Morris comes to town, tomorrow at 6.

Visitor

None, on a sunny Browns Sunday.

Trying to cram in a lot this weekend. Yesterday, I found myself at two places I had not been to in a really long time. First, I had to go to a shoe repair place, as I had a blowout on one of my shoes. Obviously, kicking a lot of ass around here. Yes, these places still exist. Look, I'm not gonna pay triple digits for a replacement pair, if this one can be fixed.

The other place was Borders. Hadn't been there in so long, I did not realize they now open at 10:00 a.m. Of course, they drove me out of there because my entry and exit were bracketed by these jewels from Neil Diamond, "Yesterday" and "Alone Again Naturally". Bah!

I spent the early afternoon on Saturday taking care of my lawn for the last time this year. Trimmed and mowed. I cannot remember the last time I had to do this in mid-November, but we really didn't have any Indian Summer until this past week, so I had to deal with it. I think I gave Mother Nature the go-ahead to release the hounds!

Also, this weekend, Cleveland State started their schedule by hosting a tournament for 4 days. I attended Friday with my Dad to see Bryant and Local Chuck went with me yesterday to see Iona. Already exchanged tickets out of Monday's game, but opted out of tonight's Kent game, after the Browns OT game.

By having a 6:00 start last night, I was afforded the opportunity to visit a couple of my favorite places. Who can resist the Becky Burger at Becky's? Seriously, try to. Postgame found it kinda warm, so I went over to the local gem of an ice cream shoppe and that is the Honey Hut. The peanut butter sundae was beckoning me for my last visit of the year.

As for the games, CSU is still shaking off the rust. They struggled both nights, although the transition defense was much better against Iona. Norris Cole is now a senior and clearly he is the rock of the team. Looked very good, so far. The Vikings have been picked to finish third in the Horizon League and I think that's a proper prognostication. Crowds still suck though. For CSU-Iona which was Game 2 of the doubleheader, I think there was 600 people in attendance. Kent should change that today.

The good news is CSU starts with 2 wins.

Meal of Links

Who did not see this coming? "Rubicon" got cancelled. Clearly, the agonizingly slow first 4 episodes killed it. By the time it found its feet, the audience had moved on. Let's face it though, zombies are in. One of the few who liked it. I will say, it probably is worth viewing in an on-demand setting or a summer rerun, as I doubt there will be a DVD release.

The phone call is dead. Seriously, texting is much easier.

I am not sure who constructed this list of 55 Hollywood Babes. Maybe, a 13-year old. Jolie is listed at 29. Now here's a woman.

A David Bowie Primer. Feel free to crank "Sound and Vision".

For all the women who want to stand to pee.

Does your TV viewing lean left or right? I'm definitely right.

You think you're smart? You fix the budget.

James Blunt, of all people, stopped World War III.

Who makes the best sour cream and onion chips? Looks like Ruffles takes the plain category.

Mystery surrounds Terrence Malick. That's not new news.

WTF? I was witness to this midday stunner. Sunderland beat Chelsea, 3-0. At Chelsea.

BTW, I'm always awed at how quiet the EPL crowds are during a minute's silence for Remembrance Day. It's almost creepy, then you get this massive applause. It's something to witness.

Remembrance Day at Villa Park



Exercise Yard

It has been a long time since I've been fired up for a Browns regular season game, as I was this past week. I think we have to go to the last century. But after today's game, we've been down this path with the Browns before, haven't we?

We are going to have to see how the team responds after today's OT loss against the Jets. For all the horrible seasons the Browns have had upon their return, there are parallels with what happened today. Most people can't remember Jeff Garcia actually winning games as the Browns QB. But in 2004, the Browns had a 3-3 record, and things were looking rather decent. Then the Eagles came to town and beat the Browns in an overtime game, 34-31. The Browns had a bye the next week and then they waved bye to the whole season and won only one more game, finishing 4-12.

In 2008, the Browns were 3-4, coming off a surprise win at Jacksonville, and had home games against Baltimore on a Sunday and Denver on a Thursday. The Ravens beat the Browns late, 37-27, with a Derek Anderson interception adding to the defeat. He got benched for Brady Quinn for the Denver game and the Browns got torched by Jay Cutler, 34-30. Accusations of players quitting were launched, every QB got hurt from that game forward and the Browns ended up 4-12.

Based on what I saw today, I don't think the Browns are headed to 4-12. But as Bill Parcells once said, "You are what you are." and right now, the Browns are 3-6. And to hammer this point home once again, the defense NEVER comes through for the Browns. NEVER.

So, what did we learn today?

Colt McCoy's a keeper. The game-tying drive late looked awfully good.

The Browns depth on defense is sold as a strong point. But they seemed to miss something with Scott Fujita and Sheldon Brown out with injuries. Let alone, the offense seemingly dormant for a time without Josh Cribbs available. The defense didn't get the turnovers they had been blessed with the last two weeks, so that made a tough job even tougher today.

Looks like the Eric Wright Hate Factor goes way up after his, I don't know, nonchalance in going after Santonio Holmes on the game-winning TD. He needs to be more chalant next time.

I thought the Browns were on their way to a win, but then Chansi Stuckey fumbled. Great that Nick Folk took him off the hook with a missed field goal, but my goodness, they looked like money before that play.

The Browns gave up 456 yards today, with 172 of them on the ground. Just sayin'.

For all of the talk about the Browns wide receivers, isn't it obvious from today's game, they still need a serious upgrade at that position. Granted, they almost won a game while completely ignoring their own wideouts, but with a serious threat at that position, things will get easier offensively.

Browns last drive of the game in OT can be debated. I like the fact they went for it with a throw on first down. And I understand the Jets timeout situation factored in to running on second down. My thought was, let's throw it on second down, as well. My thinking was one first down probably eliminates the Jets from winning, but allows the Browns a chance at a win. After the second down run, I thought it was only a tie for the Browns.

And certainly after the punt, a good one by Hodges, I didn't think a TD would beat them and was setting myself up for a field goal loss. So that made the Holmes catch even more tough to take.

Browns lose in OT to the Jets, 26-20.

Visitor

None, on what appeared to be the first sunny Sunday of winter.

What did we learn today?

Geoff Bodine still makes a mean bobsled. A gold-medal bobsled, BTW.

She sure sounded like a nice lady, but while watching tsunami coverage, I was struck by the irony of a stuttering seismologist on MSNBC.

Remember it's not the first wave of a tsunami, it's the second wave. Or perhaps even the third wave you need to worry about. Or is it the fourth?

I'm not Mr. Foreign Relations, but why does Chile insist they need no help with that massive earthquake? Don't throw out this canard of "everything's under control", while admitting most of your highways and half a million homes suffered major damage. There is a thing called Haiti Fatigue and if you wait a few days to ask for help, sorry, you've missed your chance.

A set of curling stones costs $7,000.

Best sign at curling tonight: "That's gold, Johnny. Gold."

Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal had his leg broken above the ankle on a bad challenge today against Stoke. Even the players were immediately grossed out. I'm not gonna post the pic, but it is described everywhere as a "horrific". Lemme tell ya, it was the old tib-fib. I had that same injury, a bit higher on my right leg, and for me, it was the sound of the break that I'll never forget. Not good when things end up pointing the wrong way. And with his injury more towards the ankle, it was not pretty. They wouldn't even show the replay. Oh, they'll show dead lugers, but not this.

It still sucks when the plow ruins your great job of shoveling.

Meal of Links

Carly Simon says it's David Geffen in "You're So Vain". Wow, why not just carry that one to the grave.

Olympic pictograms. Some of these are pretty lame.

A comeback for Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Or should I say another comeback. It won't go away.

Dermot Mulroney gets to play Jim Rockford. Can that really be a good thing? Well, if he gets that role, I wanna be Angel Martin.

Rockford's Answering Machine: "Jimmy, old buddy, buddy. It's Angel! You know how they allow you one phone call? Well...this is it."

"Life In Quarantine". I like the bin part at the end.

Another thing I have to fret about. Wheat fungus. Not among us. Yet.

Exercise Yard

I was at the final CSU home game this afternoon (I like how the tsunami was scheduled, so I had plenty of time to kill) and they pulled out a thriller against Wright State. So, we get a home playoff game on Tuesday. CSU wins, 68-63.

Visitor

39 Across: Upset winner at the 1992 Kentucky Derby (7 letters) Answer: Lil E Tee

Next up on the Oscar trail today was "The Blind Side". A little late to this party, as this came out exactly three months ago today. Of course, I had prior knowledge of this story, as I read the book by Michael Lewis. It is the incredible story of Michael Oher, who rose from the depths of poverty in Memphis, and now plays offensive line for the Baltimore Ravens. No need to go into the plot, because if you know that story, well, there's your movie.

The cast is headed by Sandra Bullock. Tim McGraw and Kathy Bates chip in, but it's mainly a Bullock-driven movie. Now, I've been there with Bullock from the start. Way back in the "Love Potion No. 9" and "Wrestling Ernest Hemingway" days and on to "Speed". Everyone knows she has a flair for the comedic roles. She's done OK with some dramatic roles, but her career has been kinda spotty when she goes that route. "The Lake House" and "Premonition" are some recent duds that come to mind. But she made sort of a comeback with a comedy, "The Proposal", which came out last summer and now has all the Oscar buzz attached to "The Blind Side", her first Oscar nomination.

And, quite frankly, I don't get. Now, I haven't seen all the other nominees yet, but really, this isn't a role that Oscar typically loves. I mean, this is no "My Left Foot". It's basically Bullock as a blonde, adopting a Southern accent. Oh, she's tough as nails, gets to wear flattering outfits, and so on, but she doesn't really overcome anything. There really is no emotional comeback for her character.

Her most emotional scene is when Michael decides he "needs a proper hug" when he goes off to college and although she appears to have shed a few tears in the car, they do have a long embrace when she gets out. And this scene is at the end. Other than that, she gets her way at every turn. Now, I'm not saying Bullock isn't good in this role. She is. Probably her best role yet. Remember, Oscars are a time for payback as much as they are for celebrating the movies. But this certainly doesn't fit the bill as to what I think Oscar sees as an award winner.

Now, if she made "My Left Breast", maybe. But we'll see in a couple of weeks.

Meal of Links

Conor Friedersdorf does a great job (again) in compiling his own list of the Best Journalism of 2009. And speaking of Michael Lewis (I inhale everything he writes), he gets three mentions. His superb stories for Vanity Fair on Iceland and AIG. Yes, even the one for Slate on Shane Battier. I urge everyone to read at least a few of Conor's mentions.

Devo does a turn at the Olympics on Monday. And Mark Mothersbaugh is talking to everyone about it. New outfits and energy domes, too.

It is the second picture that confuses me.

Checking in with Ana Marie Cox. Next up for her: Washington correspondent for GQ.

Yeah, he's a kissing expert. And what is with the kiss of the Trobriand Islands? Pull twigs out of hair. OK. Bite lower lip. Now we're talkin'. Pull partner's hair. Hey, now. Nibble off their eyelash. WTF?

Exercise Yard

Was at the CSU game tonight against Toledo. Toledo? This was part of the annual BracketBusters day and somehow CSU drew Toledo, a team with only three wins! Not sure how that happened.

But it was a good tonic for the Vikings. After a tight first half, CSU wins, 87-63. Hard to lose when you shoot 74% in the second half.

Visitor

48 Down: Washington Nationals manager Manny ____ (4 letters) Answer: Acta (Hey. Wait a minute. Isn't he...)

It was 20 years ago this week that Buster Douglas KO'ed Mike Tyson. I recall the exact spot where I heard the news. I was in Puerta Vallarta on a trip from work and, earlier in the day, we actually thought about watching the fight at some bar. We decided not to do it.

So, after a late dinner and some drinks, several of us were in the lobby of our hotel around 3:00 in the morning. All of a sudden, some Canadians appeared and tried to convince us that Douglas had won. I was pretty skeptical that they were trying to put one over on us, and they were pretty convincing. But still...

This was pre-Internet and barely cable days. But it was obvious by the next morning that something big had happened. Could not wait until I saw the replay when I got home. It remains the most stunning sports result in my lifetime.

BTW, Nelson Mandela was released from prison on the same day.

Meal of Links

The war in Afghanistan? It's heating up.

The Opening Ceremonies in Vancouver. In pictures. Well, they already killed a luger. The "Tour of Canada" was nice, I guess. Something about the phrase "welcome poles" reminds me of Peter Griffin saying the word, "penis". Steve Nash with a torch. I was happy to see Anne Murray was still alive. The Great One with THE torch, of course. kd lang with a great version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". When does curling start?

Craig Ferguson talks about "The Late Late Show". He has a budget smaller than Carson Daly's show.

What happened to chicks in '90s rock like Liz Phair? I still find interviews with Liz Phair pretty compelling.

I can't say enough good things about "Archer" on FX. This week's great joke was a boat named "Chum Guzzler". It's on Thursdays at 10.

Exercise Yard

This afternoon, Cleveland State played its biggest game of the year at home (hey, almost 4700 showed up), as the dreaded Butler Bulldogs came to town. Butler has remained a Top 20 team most of the year and came into the game at 22-4 and 15-0 in the Horizon League. CSU was riding a 6-game winning streak and was 9-4 in the conference.

My Dad and I arrived early to get a knit cap. Silly us, it wasn't a CSU cap but a Cleveland Clinic cap. Did they advertise that? I'm not sure.

As for the game, CSU decided on this day to come up with a dud. Although the game was 29-27 Butler, at the half, the signs were there that it was going to be a long game for the Vikings. They shot poorly and were getting absolutely hammered on the boards. Adjusting after the half, Butler started going inside a lot more and CSU had no answers defensively. Last three games, Butler has been winning by a combined one point at the half, and ended up winning each game by a combined 36 points. That's the definition of adjusting.

Stat sheet says it all. CSU shot 37% for the game, and hit on only 1 of 15 three-pointers. They were outrebounded (gulp!) 46-20. Too bad, because they caused 17 Butler turnovers and held them to 41% shooting. In a game never in doubt after halftime, CSU loses, 70-59.

Visitor

35 Down: "Suspicion" Oscar winner, 1941 (8 letters) Answer: Fontaine