A few thoughts...

Rick Perry and the "Ponzi Scheme" line about Social Security caught fire today.

Get used to it. ESPN has Monday Night Football for 10 more years. Hello, cable rate increase. Plus more Berman.

Interesting item about Carlos Carrasco's Tommy John surgery. Geez, they couldn't wait to get Jake Westbrook tossing on a one-year timetable. Carrasco? 12 to 18 months.

Jeff Tweedy Covers Black Eyed Peas



President Obama talks tough. Now that's the guy I voted for.

Buddy Holly would have been 75 this week.

"Well..All Right"/Buddy Holly



Meal of Links

Are you ready for some football? The broadcast maps are up! Somwhere Navin Johnson is dancing. Looks like it's Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots for the Browns.

I know he's bad, but today's Kevin O'Brien column was downright awful. Using semantics to deny the existence of a middle class is astoundingly stupid. Deconstructed here.

This is low. A mentally disabled guy got swindled out of a bunch of Superman memorabilia.

"Shaun Of The Dead". Incredibly funny.

Kate is told “Reality TV is not a career" by Jon Gosselin. Amen, brother...wait...WTF?

Missed last night's debate? Here are the Republican candidates in one sentence.

It's happened. Schweddy Balls Ice Cream! An instant classic from Ben & Jerry's.

Exercise Yard

The Arturo Gatti murder case will be reopened. Cyril Wecht says the original cause of death by suicide is fiction.

Visitor

17 Across: Former quarterback Peete (6 letters) Answer: Rodney

Do you ever hate it when your name is attached to TV or film projects? It's the angst of hoping "James and the Giant Peach" doesn't get more popular as a movie than the book did. because you don't want to be asked about "The Giant Peach" all the time. Well, the latest one is up for me, "JJK Security"! AMC calls it a dramedy. Right there, I have major doubts creeping in.

The show chronicles a family-owned private security company in rural Georgia. AMC said the series was inspired “by what filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, Christopher Guest and Robert Altman have done capturing quirky, larger than life characters in the scripted realm,” and will make its debut in the third quarter of 2012.

I have plenty of time to work on my cringe face.

Meal of Links

Your Labor Day Weekend TV Marathons. A tossup between "BBQ Pitmasters" on Planet Green and Discovery Health's "Strange Sex". But I'll probably look at the Current "50 Documentaries" one that i missed.

Tracking the sales of Girl Scout Cookies. A sucker for Thin Mints, but hey, they ain't healthy.

Paul Westerberg is cordial. A rare interview.

As you probably knew, "Crankshaft" and a host of other strips will commemorate 9/11. Expect "Funky Winkerbean" to be extremely maudlin.

The true cost of 9/11. Just think of those dollars spent on war.

Coffee Jerks



The rich get richer. David Cross joins "Modern Family".

Red meat for the haters. Guy Fieri refused to wear long pants. Even in Alaska.

The Huntsman tax plan looks awfully intriguing. But many tax breaks are tossed, including the mortgage deduction.

NOLA preps for an odd storm. It is Tropical Storm Lee.

Topless Bollywood types.

All the foods we love have high calories. Pasta was Number One. The last time I made pasta, it was fusilli. No Kramer present.

Bruce Feldman winds up at CBS. This concludes one of the oddest personnel moves in the history of ESPN.

More Terrence Malick love. This time for the impossibly beautiful "Days of Heaven".

Exercise Yard

Finally the preseason is over. So, of course, the Browns start next weekend. Now, how many of these teams do the Browns play again. If they win against all of these Pretenders, maybe I'll have them winning more than 4.

Visitor

44 Across: Original Speed Stick Maker (6 letters) Answer: Mennen

By Mennen

It's a thankless job.

Some overeager student from my alma mater tries to get me to donate money.

The question which always sets me off is: (Alumnus first name here), when was the last time you visited campus?"

I wonder when the glow from Bubble City actually ebbs for this kind of person. So, I always reply with, "The point of this call is you are trying to get a donation, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, I can't do that right now."

"It doesn't have to be a big donation. You know, any donation matters."

"Yes, I know."

Awkward silence ensues.

Call ends.

Not trying to be cynical, but maybe it comes off that way. I don't care.

Meal of Links

Newspapers are always finetuning the Comics. But the Denver Post yanked "Doonesbury", and there was nary a peep. Hard to figure how "Beetle Bailey" and "Blondie" survive though.

Trippy movies. Why there's "Inland Empire".

Bachmann announces her candidacy. And, so it begins.

Inside "TMZ". I must say, a guilty pleasure is stumbling into the one-hour weekend show.

Throw-up time. One of the biggest costs of committing to wars in Afghanistan and Iran? That would be air conditioning. To the tune of $20 billion annually.

Do you realize cereal consumption in the US is dropping>? Special K was down 16% from 2007 to 2010.

Breaking down the US Gold Cup loss to Mexico. Naysayers, like here, say it's the coaching. Others say, they almost had 4 goals themselves to tie Mexico. But they didn't.

Exercise Yard

Joe Pos with a beautiful sendoff for Nick Charles.

Visitor

52 Across: Mule's parent (3 letters) Answer: Ass

The men in my family started Father's Day by taking in a morning screening of "Bullitt". Great to see it on the big screen. This is Steve McQueen. In a Mustang. In San Francisco. With Jacqueline Bisset. Does it get any better? And this was a few years before "Dirty Harry" in the same city.

My brother informs it was the first movie that contained the word "bullshit". Nice to see a decent crowd at the Capitol, as well. We feared it might be lightly attended and were surprised by how many were there.

Meal of Links

Funky Winkerbean is still awful. Please remove this from the same page as the Crossword Puzzle.

My brother's foot asks, "Why are air conditioners so heavy?". It's the copper. Or science.

Top 100 Apps. Look how few actually make it to a Blackberry. Sigh.

The 25 Most Influential Videos. I like "Sabotage".

30 Songs about Domestic Violence. I do hear The Crystals song every once in a while on The Underground Garage and I always ask, "1962? Really?". It stands out.

Norm Macdonald tries to save his Comedy Central show. Sort of.

The little engine that could. Netflix. Still baffling the experts.

The last time I saw Ryan Dunn was last night. He was on "Minute to Win IT" with Steve-O. Not many obits are mentioning that, even if it was a rerun.

I'm watching the US Open Golf with my Dad yesterday afternoon. After a Rory McIlroy par, NBC goes to some weird shot of the Congressional clubhouse and Dan Hicks apologizes for a video or something. We had to rewind it and we hear that Hicks apologizes for a video that was supposed to be a military salute that used an edited version of the "Pledge of Allegiance'. Without even thinking, I said, "They didn't edit out "under God", did they?". Of course, they did.

Exercise Yard

Jennie Finch named her son, Diesel.cThat is all.

Visitor

58 Across: Brad of "Ocean's Eleven" (4 letters) Answer: Pitt

Can't say enough about three things. Drew and I attempted to save the world once again at O'Reilly's at Cedar Center. I think I had the coldest beer I've had this year last night, a Harp. Man, that hit the spot. And I had their Steak Quesadillas. They never disappoint.

And with March madness in the air, you have to see the docs that aired this past week. Clearly, the star of "The Fab Five" was Jalen Rose. They did a fairly decent job of the Fab Five's journey from high school through Michigan even without Chris Webber's particpation. Now, Jalen appears to be getting in trouble for some comments he made about Duke. It was his thought, at the time, that blacks who played ball at Duke were Uncle Toms. I thought he made it clear that those were his long ago thoughts. But Grant Hill felt compelled to reply

The other doc was an HBO production on the Runnin' Rebels of Nevada-Las Vegas. You have Tark the Shark in all his defiant glory. Remember his quote, "The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky, they gave Cleveland State two more years of probation." Lots of nice footage of their style. The best line was when the word "Thugs" was being tossed around (a lot) to describe them. One guy said, "Thugs? Their point guard was head of the Young Republicans!". Indeed, Greg Anthony was.

Those were two very nice throwbacks down memory lane.

Meal of Links

An excellent primer on drinking early in Cleveland. These gems are rare these days. Unless it's St. Patrick's Day.

Has any company reinvented itself more successfully than Netflix? They now own 61% of the streaming market.

Charlie Sheen. The Anatomy of a Winner.

Gilbert Gottfried got sacked by AFLAC because of some lame jokes about the tsunami. Fairly stupid, because he probably gets a decent amount of cash for saying one word. Now he says do the opposite of of what I do.

Clash of the Titans. Hee Haw vs. Soul Train.

Did Batman go to college? Yale thinks so.

Evan Bayh. Hypocrite.

Exercise Yard

One of the nagging thoughts going into March Madness is this. Does Jimmer shoot too much?

OK, here are Thursday's winners (get your brackets out):

Clemson
Old Dominion
Georgetown over VCU (USC over Georgetown)
Temple
Kentucky
Pittsburgh
Vanderbilt
San Diego State

Florida
BYU
Connecticut
Wisconsin
UCLA
Gonzaga
Missouri
Kansas State

Visitor

12 Down: Nicolas Gage memoir (5 letters) Answer: Eleni

How did Charlie Sheen get on Twitter so fast?

Sheen. Lunatic or marketing genius?

Who said it? Sheen or Gaddafi?































Meal of Links

An old interview with the Unknown Comic. What brought that up? You'll see.

The day that movies died? Do you realize there will be a movie called "Stretch Armstrong"?

The New York Daily News has dropped an entire page of comics. They had the balls to drop "Marmaduke".

Hey, it's Saint Tressel reading The Cat In The Hat. Or doing a Buck Henry imitation.

Let's go for a ride...(go full screen)

Downhill



Jeff Probst on the death of soap operas.

Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem kissed at the Oscars. That's why we had that long shot of Penelope Cruz on ABC. they didn't show it.

After shoveling a lot last Friday, I stumbled upon "The Cable Guy". Didn't like it when it came out and I still don't like it. But the new DVD is out now, and Judd Apatow talks about it. And other things.

Palin, once more, does not understand the first amendment. Where are your forefathers now?

Exercise Yard

Bob Probert had CTE. CTE's profile is growing with each of these brain donations by athletes.

Visitor

56 Across: "The Gong Show" regular with a paper bag on his head, with "the" (12 letters) Answer: Unknown Comic (I know this is Tuesday's, but, come on, it's the Unknown Comic)

Although, I didn't place any bets this this year, my Dad and I had our annual ritual of watching the Breeders Cup today. All the focus was on the quest of Zenyatta to finish her career at an unbelievable 20-0. That race was the Classic and it actually lived up to the hype.

In typical fashion, ABC took the first two hours of coverage until 3:30, when ESPN would take over. Except for one thing. Michigan couldn't stop Illinois and vice versa, so we had to watch 3 overtimes to determine that Big Ten football winner. Then 22 minutes later, it was the Juvies almost finishing their post parade before they switched. Geez, horse racing always gets the shaft. I remember once the Travers, the Summer Derby, getting shuffled around because a Little League World Series game was rain-delayed. WTF? Maybe it's the dearth of non-US companies paying the freight of advertising of this event. Except for Sentient Jet, it was Fly Emirates and Grey Goose all day. Where is Budweiser?

Anyhow, there was some excitement before the big race, but not a whole lot. No jockey fights today! And, really, how hard is it to break up a jockey fight?

The Juvie Turf was won by Pluck. That was good, because I got to say, "Oh, Pluck!" after the win. They had to euthanize Rough Sailing after she slid into the first turn.

In the Sprint, it was one of those rare ones, when it was over early. Big Drama rolled wire-to-wire in that one. Give it up for the old master, D. Wayne Lukas. He got a winner of a claiming race last out into a second-place finish.

The BC Turf Sprint



I liked Bridgetown in the Turf Sprint and thought he had it in the bag. Central City on the hedge to his inside moved toward him a bit, and he got all discombobulated. Chamberlain Bridge picked up the pieces.

The BC Juvenile



My Dad picked Uncle Mo in the Juvenile. Look out. This is your early Derby favorite. Just an awesome move to win it. Notice how far the top 2 finishers are from the rest of the field. Stay Thirsty was also in this one.

Next up was the Mile. Goldikova won that race for the third time in a row. That's never been done before.

The Turf Mile had the longest shot of the day, Dakota Phone, hitting the board.

The BC Turf



The Turf was kind of a weird race. Not many greats here and no one wanted the lead. So, it was basically Champ Pegasus and Dangerous Midge going out for a ride. They were 1-2 the whole way, with Dangerous Midge and Frankie Dettori moving up to get the win late for a nice $172 exacta. This race was won at the 1:15 mark. Watch Rosario on Champ Pegasus give a peek behind him. That signalled to me that he realized he was sitting on a pokey pace and that he had a lot of horse and might win on the lead. Note how Dettori pushes the pace down the backstretch and both Champ Pegasus and Dangerous Midge start to separate from the field. Just a terrific tactical race from two of the longer shots in the field. That's why they call it gambling.

The BC Classic



Watching the coverage, it was definitely The Zenyatta Hour of Power. My God, Steve Cyphers was assigned Barry Bonds duty and had to watch her all day. Where she stood around and ate grass for the most part. My Dad wondering if we would get updates if she took a shit. So, it's very easy to get cynical about her.

As for the race, we were both all over Blame. Zenyatta had so many strikes against her. A better field than last year's Classic. She hadn't raced east hardly at all. She ran mostly on synthetic surfaces. And her running style of laying back and just getting to the wire at the end is tough to do, but she does it all the time. You have to figure some time, somewhere, some horse will beat her. Today, we thought it was Blame's turn.

And, as it turned out, we were right. But the charge of Zenyatta coming like a train at the wire and not getting the win this time just sucked the air, not just out of the room or Churchill Downs, but the whole world of racing. I can't tell you how many times in horse racing over the past several years (or couple of decades), when the Triple Crown is on the line or horses with huge winning streaks like Cigar are reaching for history, they all seem to fail.

Even a cynic like me, after that ending in the Classic, decided it would have been not only a good thing, but a great thing, if she had won. And it sure would have made a helluva movie.

Now she'll have to perhaps settle for just being the best filly ever. And, in today's world, probably disappear faster then you can say her name.

Recaps are here.

Meal of Links

Hitch firmly believes there needs to be cancer etiquette. "So I get straight to the point and say what the odds are. The swiftest way of doing this is to note that the thing about Stage Four is that there is no such thing as Stage Five."

Growth and trends of online spending. It's the way to go.

Response to LeBron James Ad



I'm sure we all did this today. Turn back your clocks and change smoke alarm batteries. Actually, I did my battery thing last week. And, obviously have synchronized my time devices already.

Berkeley Breathed talks about everything. Hard to believe it's been 21 years since "Bloom County" ended.

Studying Mexican Coke. This is now starting to show up at Giant Eagle for one dolla. Love that bottle.

I know I shouldn't have, but when David Cross stumbled upon the deaf tour of the House of Parliament in the season finale of "Todd Margaret", I loved it. One guy actually threw a shoe at him. I believe the line was, "Sir, these people are deaf, not retarded."

Exercise Yard

Windy says the Hornets showed the NBA the blueprint for beating the Heat. I'll be at the Cavs-Nets game on Wednesday. (Hat tip to Paul)

Visitor

33 Across: 16-time Gold Glove winning pitcher Jim (4 letters) Answer: Kaat

It's the end of an era today. I decided not to renew my Browns season tickets. I said if it ever got to the point of being a chore to attend the games, I'd probably give them up. Last year's combination of a really bad team, lousy opponents and not-so-good weather all contributed mightily to that decision.

It won't prevent me from seeing a couple of games, I'm sure. But, at least, for this year, I will be a free agent to watch the home games.

BTW, here is the home record since the Browns have been back, which made the decision much easier:

31 wins and 57 losses. A winning percentage at home of .352. With 7 of those wins in one year, 2007. Ah, the Glory Year!

Eleven years of some incredibly awful football.

Meal of Links

Cartoons that have caused controversy. Some of these were really hot at the time.

Capaicin is found in chili peppers. Now it can stop chronic pain.

Crap. Bad habits can age you 12 years.

Kenny Fuckin' Powers goes to Mexico for Season Two. No idea when it starts.

Wrestlers turned actors.

The Tribe needs to get on this. The Wendy O. Williams Bobblehead!

What if the Tea Party was black?

Almost spinoffs. Popular shows that tried to spinoff a show and it didn't quite work the way producers had planned. The Big Ragu didn't make it.

WTF? The owner of Joe Boxer now owns the rights to "Peanuts".

There is always electricity in the air when you get "fatcats" to appear in a Senate hearing. And, yes, I heard Claire McCaskill say "shitty" during the hearing. Sen. Levin loved it so much, he said it a bunch of times.

I give you the catchiest song of the spring...

"Felicia"/The Constellations



Exercise Yard

Before the draft, you can't ask Dez Bryant if his Mom is a prostitute. In the new world of the NFL, that's a fineable offense, not a peek into someone's psyche.

Visitor

14 Across: Bruin legend Bobby (3 letters) Answer: Orr

The New York Times is going to wall off some of its content, once again, on its website. Let's see if this works.

Not many details, but it appears if you subscribe to the paper, then you're in. The rest of us get a set amount of articles for free, then once you pass that amount, you get dinged for whatever the monthly subbie rate is.

I gotta believe the amount of freebies is going to be pretty low, otherwise, why have it? But until they figure out what the plans are, we can hold off on the squawking for a time.

Meal of Links

Comic strips that need to die. If you even take the time to scan the comics these days, you'll find them mainly without laughs. Link to the 2008 article and you'll see the ones you thought should be mentioned in that piece (e.g. Funky Winkerbean).

Nate Silver was right again on Massachusetts. Then again, he's never wrong. Is Scott Brown really left of Olympia Snowe?

Sundance starts this weekend. Has to get better, no?

"Pants on the Ground". And we wonder why they hate us.

Britney loves Stewie. Maybe he can write her a song.



Exercise Yard

Bill Simmons loves LeBron. Makes me want to go to a game or at least watch the Laker game tomorrow night.

Visitor

23 Across: Poet Lowell (3 letters) Answer: Amy

Have you been paying attention to "Crankshaft" lately? Seriously, what kind of a mindfuck is this comic strip? I never read the comics anymore. The Diversions section of the PD is there simply for me to do the Jumble, Sudoku and the Crossword.

But a few weeks ago, old Crankshaft is really old. They jump into the future and there's our hero, in a nursing home! Wheeled out to the curb to attend a ballgame. WTF?

Then the following week, I noticed Crankshaft was out in his garden and there was some huge snake about to, I don't know, bite, strangle or eat Crankshaft. Then this little dog took the hit for him and rescued him. Then the heroic dog got saved by the vet. Was that a dog he hated up to that point? I have no idea and can't say for sure. I thought it was gonna end like the Euclid lady beating that fawn, but it did not.

Then, he was lecturing people about bees or something. Sort of Seniors Show and Tell.

Now this week, Crankshaft is fretting about some corn that he grows, sells on the black market, or takes unsuspecting senior ladies into and has his way with them. I can't figure this old dude out. And what happened to comics that made you laugh? Like "Herman"? That guy was funny.

Meal of Links

You asked for it, now you have it! It's truckspills.com.

Mexico now has legal possession for some drugs. This includes marijuana, heroin, cocaine, even meth and LSD.

Krugman wants the public option for healthcare. But admits "it’s possible to have universal coverage without a public option — several European nations do it — and some who want a public option might be willing to forgo it if they had confidence in the overall health care strategy. Unfortunately, the president’s behavior in office has undermined that confidence."

Might Apple deliver us a TV set. Well, we know it would look good (at a cost), but will it deliver the goods?

Kraftwerk is putting out a box set. Now, where is my "Pocket Calculator"?

Exercise Yard

Grady Sizemore's drinking elbow looks healthy, but I mean, he's drunk. I don't know Playmates, but I guess that's a Kendra friend next to him.

Also, these pix were from Seattle. The Indians were there a week before his birthday. And, of course, you know Grady "the gamer", never misses a game even with his gout-like elbow this year. But, amazingly enough, he missed the Saturday game that weekend and the first two games in Anaheim because "he was ill". Mmmmmm.

Visitor

60 Down: Shanghai-born NBAer (3 letters) Answer: Yao

I didn't have the swine flu. Do you have pig flu? Here's your culprit! But I know this made me ill:

Oak Ridge Boys/"Seven Nation Army"



I haven't actually been ill, but watching way too much of the NBA playoffs. New month today and I'm back.

Hey, today was the first time in many years I had to deal with E-Check. Not much has changed. They only had one lane open shortly after lunch. Weird employees remain.

My niece spells burps, "b-e-r-p-e-s". Of course, I think that's funny, and I did pronounce it "ber-pees" a la herpes.

Hope you didn't buy a $220 million Mega Millions ticket, because I have the winner.

How about Rado and Marty Allen getting dumped from Triv's show on WTAM? Haven't really noticed much of a change except the two bits I heard were lamer. I mean, "Paco Gonzalez" (seriously with a "jew" for you" accent) wants us to travel to Mexico. Yikes, that was incredibly unfunny. But Triv still hates Obama. So, you can still listen to that if you wish.

Saw the Kentucky Oaks today. Rachel Alexandra looks like a filly for all-time. Won by 20 lengths today, it appeared. Tomorrow's Kentucky Derby winner...Friesan Fire.

Meal of Links

Tomorrow is Free Comic Day. I think I might see "Wolverine".

Favorite opening scenes of all time. I just watched "Once Upon a Time in the West" last Sunday on the HD Channel. I always thought Charles Bronson ruled this one. But the more I see of Jason Robards, I like him more than ever.

"Raising Arizona" provides "No, not that motherscratcher."

"Mulholland Drive" with the Jitterbug!

"The Searchers" as ever. And nice shoutouts to "Blow Out" and "Jackie Brown".

Artists who get a lifetime pass. For me, it's probably Clint Eastwood. Hey, I paid to see "Bronco Billy" in the theater.

Environmental changes are affecting some popular tourist destinations. Even the Galapagos Islands.

A primer on the greater of the babkas. Chocolate babka! BTW, there is a "Man Hands Bandit" running amok in Seattle.

Why hasn't anyone developed an "SNL" killer? Maybe the time is right.

The AT&T Blue Room returns with the New Orleans Jazzfest this weekend. Looks like the Sunday lineup is strong.

Miss California is now "protecting marriage". Looks great in a swimsuit, but she's not very bright.

Exercise Yard

Guy Lafleur's son's troubles finally get Guy Lafleur in trouble. Sheesh, these guys are a piece of work.

Visitor

31 Across: "Turn Me Loose" singer (6 letters) Answer: Fabian

Hey, it's a change in the weather. Lemme catch up:

America's Most Miserable Cities. Well, the article mentioned only the Top 3. Stockton, Memphis and Chicago. So, I go to the pictures for the remainder. Imagine my trepidation, wondering how long it would be before our little hamlet showed up. Well, the wait was wasn't long. We're Number Four!!!!! And, of course, the photo they use is stellar. Imagine looking northeast from the 14th Street entrance onto the Innerbelt. On a gray day. It looks like Jacobs Field may be the tallest building in town. BTW, Flint, Detroit and Buffalo are rated BEHIND us. Ouch.

The latest "Pink Panther" movie is out. Steve Martin must need a new addition on his home. Here's a look at the originals.

Jack Bauer returned a few weeks ago. So far, 280 people died.

Lux Interior died this week. Here are some photos. Strangely, in Photo No. 10, he resembles Brian Billick. Scary.

Another movie. Did Sid kill Nancy?

TV viewers just do not like Tom Cavanagh. In anything.

"Bloom County" returns. Sort of.

Feeling miserable? Captive in our homes.

The Springsteen-Ticketmaster flap knows no borders. The issue isn't that TicketsNow, a TicketMaster subsidiary, actually sells unclaimed tickets. It's TicketMaster declaring a concert a sellout and within 30 minutes, TicketsNow is selling several prime seats with the prices jacked up to the heavens. That's not right.

Meal of Links

Remember last Tuesday? Denny's had free Grand Slams? Here is one man's journey to eat 5 Grand Slams.

Weekly World News has a message from someone. It's from Kurt Cobain. On a shoe.

Bernie Madoff forces an old-timer back to work. The guy is 90.

Exercise Yard

Next week's H-O-R-S-E game at All-Star Weekend (BTW, I am at the 3-D broadcast next Saturday) isn't called H-O-R-S-E. It's now G-E-I-C-O.

Visitor

39 Across: Kind of kitten (3 letters) Answer: Sex

Tonight's Presidential Debate comes from Belmont University, a place I have actually seen, in Nashville. This is the "Quasi Town Hall" format, favored by Senator McCain, who makes a point to mention that he finally got Senator Obama in this format. I watched CNN this time, so I could see the Men/Women Pulsemeter chart as the candidates spoke. It'll keep me awake. The moderator this evening...Tom Brokaw of NBC. Here are my notes:

McCain

He may have looked at Obama upon entering the arena. I repeat, may.
Looks like he got stuck with the high barstool. I know, I know, when he was in a box for 5-1/2 years, he didn't have a barstool.
"Good to be with you at a town hall meeting. Hi, I'm Senator Snarky."
"Energy independence."
"My friends." God bless ya, if that was in your drinking game.
"Not you, Tom." WTF? Was Brokaw the banker at a Monopoly game once? He should have said, "Phil Gramm" to make Pulsemeter go crazy.
eBay mentioned and Pulsemeter almost crapped out to the negative.
"Oliver, I prefer rescue to bailout. Now go to your room."
"Never heard of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." Don't assume, we'll just skip over my MLK Day vote.
"Cronies." I love that word.
He has more voices than Bernie Kosar.
"The American worker is the best in the world."
Lieberman! I thought Pulsemeter died right there.
"I have reached across the aisle..."
$3 million overhead projector. Small business loan, anyone? That was for the Adler Planetarium, you know. Not the South Park Planet Arium.
"I think you can work on all 3 at once..." I won't choose yet.
"My hero, Ronald Reagan." He's dead.
"Internets. Huh? What?"
"Not rifleshots here." Cheney?
"Nailing Jello to the wall!" Pulling mussels from a shell!
"Herbert Hoover." Young folks scratch their head.
"I got some news for you, Senator Obama. The news is BAD!"
"Double tax exception for each child." Again, what about me?
"Tip O'Neill." More head scratching from the young.
"Nuclear power is safe." The French do it. I thought we hated the French.
"THAT ONE!" Oh, no he dint. Too much racialism.
"Hair transplant." Too much Bidenism.
"Can we hear the size of the fine?" Crickets.
"Teddy Roosevelt, my hero." Nursing home residents perk up.
"It was a joke. Come on. I joke about war."
"Rotten stinking corpse." Not McCain.
"Second Holocaust." Aw, jeez, not this shit again.
"I have a secret plan, but I won't tell anyone until I'm President."
"Russia? Evil? Uh, maybe. I don't want Putin rearing his head."

The thing that bugged me about McCain was that flippy thing he kept doing with the microphone. He kept dropping it into his right hand. And his jokes were really lame. He should quit now. This was allegedly his best format, but Obama just looked better. The age difference was very prominent tonight. And for Palin to say forget looking to the past, you Democrats, her boss invoked Reagan, KGB, Hoover and Teddy Roosevelt to Obama's safe JFK. He has the potential to get dusted.

Obama

Obama wins the toss. He does not defer (NFL Joke minted 2008).
Allan from the no-hair section with a question.
I think Obama ignored the old timers on that one.
"AIG? We own it now. Fire their asses."
He said, "Junket..." heh heh hehe heh heh heh
Warren Buffett as Treasury Secretary? Doesn't he have a job?
"Senator McCain is right."
Brokaw tries to enforce rules. Ha! The role of the moderator went out the window in the VP debate.
"Not surprisingly." Attack him!
"No one is innocent..." about the current economic crisis.
"JFK."
"You've got to prioritize, you can't say 'all at once' and think that's okay."
He said, "9-1-1." first!
Brokaw just said we're all drunk!
Brokaw invokes rules. This is not good.
"The Straight Talk Express lost a wheel on that one!" That made me spit.
"He's been there for 26 of them." But he's a Maverick.
"I'm just trying to keep up with John" and his mumbo-jumbo lies.
"Rwanda."
"Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran." Good one.
"Green behind the ears." An alternative energy, I presume.
"We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al Qaeda." And that's coming from a Democrat, my friends.

The great thing about Obama was that he tore a page out of Palin's playbook, where he ignored the rules. To answer the questions, mind you, but since all future moderators are neutered, what the hell, go for it. And he stayed and shook an awful lot of hands afterward. It looked like McCain could not wait to get to Strongsville on Wednesday and departed early.

Folks, I think this race is almost over.

Meal of Links

The voice of "Frontline", Will Lyman, talks about his gig. You can also hear him on the BMW ads. He possesses one of those unique voices. Look (or hear) for him in "Mystic River".

Christmas is coming. So to speak.

Liz Phair live from LA. She revisits "Guyville".

Berkeley Breathed ends "Opus" in a month. I am pretty sure "Bloom County" was the last daily strip I read with any regularity.

Exercise Yard

If you've been watching the baseball playoffs on TBS, you know what is coming. Yep, it's the return of Frank TV.

Visitor

17 Across: 1974 kidnap victim (11 letters) Answer: Patty Hearst

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

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

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

Meal of Links

OK, let's play catch up.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kajagoogoo lives!

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

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

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

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

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

What's on the tube this summer?

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

Exercise Yard

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

Visitor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My favorite exchange:

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

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

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

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

Setlist:

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

Lots of fun last night.

Meal of Links

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

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

Umm, okay.

Exercise Yard




















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

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

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

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

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

Visitor

None, it's a game 7 Sunday.

Looks like MMA is going mainstream. Like I've said, I'm still hanging on with boxing, because I know it. CBS showing a few UFC matches is one thing. But when the Bud Light logo graces the octagon, it's only a matter of time before the bouts show up in more unlikely places.

Meal of Links

Kate Beckinsale says her best feature is her twat. "That's gold, Jerry! Gold!"

The most disturbing comic has to be "Garfield Minus Garfield". Methamphetamine addictions can be rough.

A reminder. Here is the link from last night's John Doe/Wilco concert, live from D.C.. Goes for a tick over 3 hours. Wilco appears on SNL this Saturday with Ellen Page.

Looks like Jason Bourne will return. Not quickly, but some time in the future.

How to copy online videos. Some good conversion sites here.

The mind can act in odd ways, can't it? From Deja Vu to a bunch of other phenomenon. I think Costanza had L’esprit de l’Escalier in the "jerk store" episode.

Learning how to smoke. Not a big deal. Unless you're 46.

John McCain was born in the Panama Canal Zone. Can he run for President?

Remember when HBO used this intro? It's 25 years old now.



Jason Statham has another movie next week. I am there opening weekend. Here are the 10 most outrageous moments from "The Transporter" series. The fight scene with the hose is much better than Number 8. And I do love when he kicks that door in on that guy's face. Hah! I checked IMDB. He's got "Death Race 3000", "Crank 2" and "Transporter 3" in the pipeline. Yes!



Exercise Yard

College basketball and taunting have gone hand-in-hand for a long time. But we're way beyond "Gun Down, Kent State"-type cheers, it seems.

Visitor

44 Across: 1979-81 trucker-with-chimp TV comedy (12 letters) Answer: B.J. and the Bear

While contemplating Radiohead's visit to Cleveland this summer (Gee, I wrote that and "Body Snatchers" blasted from the Music Choice channel just then)...

Somehow, I ended up on the Cavaliers call list as a "Preferred Customer". I think I bought one game. It made me wish the Do-Not-Call List extended to organizations you patronize. I must have been repulsed by the concept, because I was extremely uncooperative with the caller. I give her credit for hanging in there, but sheesh, haven't they sold all their tickets yet? And why are they bugging me?

Meal of Links

Another second chance at a TV series. DVRs and TiVos should roll when "Mad Men" returns on January 20. Season 2 will commence this summer.

Did you know that Marvel Comics pulled a "Dallas"? Spiderman's marriage never happened. Wouldn't that be cool to start over again?

Look at who the candidates are getting as celebrity endorsements. I saw Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon with Edwards in NH. I love the fact Wilford Brimley is in the McCain camp, because he's older then McCain and it kills me each time I hear him say "diabetes". And Sean Penn is supporting my congressman.

Exercise Yard

How would you like to coach in the English Premier League? Sam Allardyce lasted all of 21 league matches after being hired at Newcastle. Of 20 teams, 8 have already sacked their managers.

Visitor

15 Across: General Bradley (4 letters) Answer: Omar

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Special Guest: My brother Jeff went today. He needed to improve on this year's record after that debacle against the Steelers.

Today's Opponent: One of the worst teams in the league, the winless Miami Dolphins. A team so bad, Browns Version 2.3 is actually favored today. Cleo Lemon takes over for the oft-concussed Trent Green at quarterback. The one thing that scares me about this game? The Dolphins can run the football, and Ronnie Brown is carrying the ball at 5 yards per. And what can't we do? Anyone? Bueller? Stop the fuckin' run. Believe it or not, Miami's run defense is worse than the Browns. I do expect the Browns to win this one, as the Fins are a team we should beat. Especially at home.

The Weather: An outstanding October day to watch football. 65 and nary a cloud. Perfect.

Today's Giveaway: None.

Section 345: When the Browns are winning, it's fairly calm. Not many folks sporting Dolphins gear because they are awful. There was a skirmish a couple of sections over when the game got tight, but nothing major. The sight of the world's largest man, a couple of sections away was disconcerting, however. I'm not sure how he fit into a seat. He had Sumo Dawg tattooed on his ample gut and, of course, was shirtless.

















Best Browns Play: I liked the last touchdown from Braylon Edwards. Nice pass from Derek Anderson in the left corner of the endzone beating single coverage. A pass that must be successful in the NFL, if you want to win.

Second-Best Browns Play: Kellen Winslow's 33-yard catch-and-run right before the half. Anderson noticed single coverage with the hated Joey Porter. He hit Winslow in stride with a bullet and he carried it to the three. It put the Browns in position for a field goal before the half.

Worst Browns Play: The late fumble by Jason Wright.

Best Line from Me (noticing a little person): "Hey, look at the midget!"

Best Line from Jeff (in reply to the above): "He could be the Brownie."

Best Action from a Random (following a well-endowed woman): As the crowd applauded, he tipped his cap and acted if the cheers were for him. Of course, he simulated grabbing of the woman's breasts as he continued his journey. Of course, it's juvenile, and funny.

Oddest Browns Jersey: 67 Jurkovic, 8 Dilfer, 81 Morgan, 58 Ranier.

Food Items: One hamburger (which I waited several minutes for) and one beer. I was carded. I continue to fool everyone.

Best Hat: A day-glo Tyrolean emblazoned with "Be A Dick".

The Fuckin' Run: The Dolphins could not run much after falling behind early. The Browns still managed to give up 110 on the ground. That only took 23 carries for a 4.8 average. Not good. BTW, Ronnie Brown has the most heart I've seen in a long time in a football player. Obviously, he is on a bad team, but he does not give up and had 101 on the ground and caught 7 passes for 69 more yards.

Worst Stat: Jason Wright. 20 rushes for 59 yards. That's not going to work.

2nd Worst Stat: Andra Davis had one tackle, tying Ryan Pontbriand, the long snapper.

Most Interesting Stat: The Browns have had games at home where the opponent has scored 45 and now 31 points. They won both.

The Browns blurrily charge off the field at halftime, up by (gulp!) 17 points:

















The Browns did what they needed to do today. A bad team showed up and they won. They got very complacent after going up 24-3. Things got kinda dicey in third quarter, as the Dolphins closed to 27-24. But the Browns scored twice more to put it away. The defense was not called on to do much and had a good first half, but they still give up way too much in the ground game. They also let Cleo Lemon make some big plays.

But let's see where the Browns go after the bye week. There are beatable teams remaining on the schedule. And they may end up with a decent record, if they avoid injuries. Unthinkable from me even a few weeks ago.

The Browns head into the bye week at 3-3, following today's big win.

Meal of Links

Charles Schulz, not exactly the most easy-going guy around. Good grief!

Hey, somebody was gonna try and assassinate Putin this week in Iran. No big deal, there are plots against him all the time wherever he goes.

Brains are weird. They recognize fearful looks quicker than happy faces. Maybe it's because you don't see abject fear very often. I dunno.

Exercise Yard

Home Run, But No Win, Manny!













I hope everyone stayed up for the Tribe game, because I'm still wondering if Jonathan Papelbon blinks. The problem with that one wasn't that it ended for me around 2:20, it's that I was able to pore through all of these catalogs I had laying around during the game and had ample time to browse. And then order. Lots.

Great job by Fox on the bumpers as I heard The Hives, The White Stripes and The Flaming Lips amongst others. Good God, what has happened there?

Don't know if last night was a great game, but it was awfully tense. Jhonny Peralta with a big-time homer early. He hit that home run where Jim Thome hit a playoff jack against the Bosox several years ago. I thought after Manny and Mike Lowell homered to put Boston ahead, it might be a long game for the Tribe. But the Indians bullpen came through in a large way and eventually Boston ran out of pitchers. It was an example of "getting some work", as several Boston pitchers had not pitched in a while. And, of course, Eric Gagne is the scourge of New England. And God bless you, Tom Mastny. My bandwagon ass has been with you all the way, buddy.

Can you imagine that the Indians have gone this far without having Jobo out there in a dire situation? We have escaped this impending disaster and even he can hold a 7-run lead in the 11th.

One thought on Eric Wedge. Ever since Josh Barfield has been banished to Herb Washington (look it up) status, Wedgie has fallen in love with this move. In the late innings of a tie game, he will inevitably pinch run Barfield for a slow runner. This move irks me in three ways. First of all, there is no guarantee the run will score and most importantly, he yanks one of our better hitters. Either Garko, Martinez or Hafner. Lastly, if we don't score, that spot in the lineup will invariably come up in a pressure situation. I have watched this move for over two months and Wedge has not been burned on it yet.

(Trot Nixon, Humble Pie Purveyor)


















I have warned everyone that this move will blow up in the playoffs and it will cost us a game. Last night, what happens? Barfield pinch runs for Hafner in the 9th and does not score and we go to extra innings. So, who comes up in the 11th in Josh Barfield's nee Travis Hafner's spot? Trot Nixon, Pieman! Oh no. Wedge, you fuckin' clown. This is it, you will prove me...Base hit! Trot is the man! We Win! God is good! God is great! Eric Wedge is a Hall of Famer!

Tribe evens the series at 1-1. Indians 13, Red Sox 6.

Visitor

None, it was a Browns Sunday.

I really am astonished at how quickly the I-Man got the boot from radio. Maybe not the fact he got canned, but at how fast it happened. It is a mystery to me. Jason Whitlock summed it up for a lot of people with his column yesterday.

Like I said, Imus has probably had worse comments on his show throughout the years and why this one stuck, I would imagine, mystifies him more than anything. I listened a little bit to friends of Imus, Opie & Anthony, this morning. Because it's pay radio on XM, you hear tons of F-bombs and shit and other words. I'm stumped by the whole thing.

Meal of Links

You can write your own movie starring Will Ferrell. There may be some legitimate hits in there.

Great Lakes Brewing nabs two places in the 25 Best Beers in America. And Ommegang Hennepin made it, as well.

"Life on Mars" gets a sequel. And a US treatment of the original. Good BBC series.

Exercise Yard

The unfunny "Family Circus" comic becomes funny. And an excellent Tim Couch panel, BTW.

Visitor

56 Down: Boxer Spinks (4 letters) Answer: Leon

My MoneyCard has been rendered useless. It has been split for a while, but now it can't read the stripe, although it had been able to for a while, even with a small split. At least the ATM won't swallow the card, it just says nicely to try again. I gave up after 5 tries. Seemed like a legitimate effort. Takes 7 to 10 days, mind you, to get a new one. I'm sure I can go inside a bank (the horror!) to use it, if necessary. I would expect they get just as digusted as the cashier at the grocery, who tsks when they have to type in the numbers on your discount card, when your card doesn't scan. Oh, I know all their tricks to get under my skin.

Meal of Links

Comic books can be unintentionally funny at times. He said "boner". Merkle's Boner is still funny, as well.

Larry "Bud" Melman, R.I.P. I loved that man. I seem to recall a trip to Roosevelt Island that was unbelievably funny. God, that was when Letterman was the best. Take note of the infamous Larry Bud interviewing style:



I really like good opening credits, be they in a movie or a TV show. I don't know, it's like the producers really care about their product. It's nice to see some good ones around, especially since the demise of the TV theme song, and the short running time of most shows these days. Great to see "Dexter" on there, as the opening sequence hooks you. Well, at least it hooked me.

Exercise Yard

Matt Schaub was traded to the Texans. I think the Falcons become a prime player to move up from what is now the 8th slot in the draft. I can see them easily packaging their one and a second rounder to move up even higher. I hope the Browns answer the call.

Visitor

47 Down: Harris of "Seinfeld" (7 letters) Answer: Estelle ("What am I supposed to do with all this Paella?")