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

The words "Tea Party" are finally recognized as bad for a candidate. They could have asked me that two years ago.

Meal of Links

The Golden Globes is in legal turmoil. Dick Clark Productions negotiated a broadcast rights contract without the involvement of the Hollywood Foreign Press. Of course, renewal rights and money are at stake.

This is fantastic. Martin Scorsese is doing a remake of "The Gambler" with Leonardo DiCaprio. I can't help but be there on Day One. "The Gambler" is that hidden gem from the '70s with James Caan that I can't tout enough.

More important events than 9/11. Now that's an interesting read.

The science of sleeping. Brought to you by Overstock.com. Huh?

Bourdain talks about Southern food.

"50 Documentaries To See Before You Die" ends tomorrow. It's a pretty good post-1988 list. Number One is "Hoop Dreams", which went from rarely seen to almost a carved-up weekly feature on ESPN Classic.

Exercise Yard

Might be the last year to root for the Vikings in Minnesota. They are as good as gone.

Visitor

52 Down: Suave Butler (5 letters) Answer: Rhett

I wasn't too happy with John Kasich Theater the other day. Why waste everyone's time with that stunt?

We'll see what the people think of SB5, come November. If it's repealed, it's 1 win, 1 loss for everyone concerned and then we can work on a compromise.

Meal of Links

Chipotle doesn't talk turkey. They talk pork. Looks like Bill Niman is consulting. Buehler's sells Niman Ranch meat and it's very good.

Matt Taibbi has a long read on the SEC and its document keeping. Should be bigger news.

Bourdain has no reservations ripping on everyone. Deen, Fieri, Ray and Sandra Lee. Stuff needs to be said.

Another film oasis. Gary, Indiana.

Should the Beachland Ballroom have to pay its back taxes. Or, given its role in changing South Collinwood, do they get a pass? Love the place, but if their taxes are waived, I think that line of others starts forming pretty quickly. Let's hope for a settlement.

Exercise Yard

Not really a curse, but the Indians do need to think about selling postseason tickets. And they did. The Tribe's playoff odds are down to 9.3%.

Visitor

None, on a changing sky Sunday.

We are all Kipnises. Yes, it's catching on.

Gale and I were at Ubaldo's first home game on Wednesday. I liked what I saw. If he pitches like that through September, there's a gleam, men. The bats are coming around a bit better the last 10 days and just in time. The Tiger series was the first series win since the Yankee series on July 4 and first back-to-back wins since July 18.

One of the lowlights this past week has been the defense of Carlos Santana. Three lazy attempts behind the plate (one in Boston, two in Texas) and two bad plays at first against the Tigers, which all led to runs. Finally, Droobs had to call bullshit on him and let him have it last night.

Hell, on Wednesday, Kipnis called for a foul ball and Santana apparently didn't hear him and eventually caught the ball. But, it was an adventure and Kipnis barked at him for a while. So, it had been festering for at least 10 days. Nice that it came from Cabrera and not the coaching staff. And you better pray this doesn't cost us a playoff spot somewhere down the line.

Now Choo and his Uma Thurman-like thumb is back. The corpse that was Austin Kearns was finally DFA'ed. I'm not sure where Kearns was all year, but he didn't produce at all and when you have Marson, Kearns and Carrera starting, that ain't a lotta pop from one-third of your order. And maybe Shelly Duncan will relax now.

A nice chat with Josh Tomlin.

Meal of Links

How many stories have we seen on AMC and trouble on the sets of their biggest hits. Here's another one.

The R's had a debate last night. Earlier, some old guy at the Iowa State Fair yelled at Mitt. Oh, it's starting already.

Why do new sporting venues in the U.S. lack architectural ingenuity? It's actually a good question, since we foot the bill.

Two months ago, I didn't give two shits about Russell Brand. But, I gotta say, the dude is growing on me. And it has nothing to do with his real job.

I cannot say this enough. "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is waking up the echoes, thus far, this season. Last Sunday was a show hitting on a all cylinders. Larry is, indeed, a "social assassin".

Vow of Silence/"Curb"



Klosterman fawns over "Louie". And rightfully so.

Seven fine movies that were 90 minutes or less. Includes "Airplane" and "High Noon".

Three futures for healthcare reform. Individual mandate was struck down today, so it's on to higher courts.

Rick Perry is not a climate change guy. This should be the first item to check off on any sane person's candidate checklist. If it's a "No", you have to start questioning each part of their platform.

That cow is right. Eat more chicken.

Good Grief (the War on Christmas!). I saw this last night, as it happened:



Exercise Yard

I'm worried about Tiger Woods. Did you see any of his play in the PGA? I mean this thing is getting serious.

I wonder if we are starting to go Mike Tyson with him. It's getting like Tyson near the end. We remember what he used to be, and even though we knew better, we always thought he would snap out of it and regain his past glory. Now I get that Tiger isn't biting the ears off of fellow golfers but jeezy creezy, this is painful to watch.

Now this can go two ways. One is post-shaved head Britney Spears and a comeback or the other is Keyser Soze, where he disappears. No way is this a David Duval situation where he schleps around missing cuts in every time zone.

Visitor

53 Across: Team playing in the Big A (5 letters) Answer: Angels

I'm back. What have we learned lately?

Facts for economic arguments: Here is a graph describing Obama vs. Bush effects on the deficit. Half of Americans do not pay federal income tax. (Hat tip to Paul).

Last I heard today, the Dow was down 330. Oops! A really bad day for the markets. Is it time for extending the payroll tax holiday? It's one of the easiest quick fixes out there.

Breakstone's Zesty Blends Jalapeno Sour Cream is wonderful.

Hey, the Skinny Cow has moved into the candy aisle. Really good.

This year's Taste of Cleveland was cancelled. Not really a surprise. The Taste of Cleveland started in 1995 at Nautica with Cheap Trick as the headliner. So, they've handled this event at that venue before. I'm not buying the construction spin so much as a lack of interest by all concerned.

This event peeked the year George Clinton was the Saturday night entertainment. Without incident, I may add. Since that time, the Saturday musical acts have tended to be more mainstream or local...Michael McDonald, Squeeze, Blues Traveler, Michael Stanley, Donnie Iris.

The amount of vendors has dropped (last year, maybe 18-20) and the prices have gone up. Even the firemen, who used to have steak-on-a-stick for MD have been long gone. I think losing Giant Eagle as a main sponsor killed the entertainment piece. Marc's did a nice job as a sponsor and, for sure, Ohio Natural Gas Taste of Cleveland sounded funny, but I don't think the event had the same funding commitment.

The Taste of Cleveland, much like larger events like Taste of Chicago, has been spiralling downward for a few years now. Curious to see if a 2012 event makes it on the calendar.

Meal of Links

Speaking of food, I found myself watching back-to-back reruns of "Man v. Food", with Man losing. I thought his record was more invincible. But Adam Richman is only 37-22 against Food.

Oh, no. The "Shawshank Tree" suffered damage.

Rolling Stone lists the Top 10 Punk Bands of All Time. Better list than you'd think.

The NYC Lebowski Fest has a cast reunion. Where's Turturro, doesn't he live in New York? Didn't mean anything by that, because "nobody fucks with the Jesus".

Just what the world needs. Another tallest building.

The easy way to keep track of the flip-flops of Mitt Romney. It's Multiple Choice Mitt.

Exercise Yard

Ed Sabol gets his due as he is inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame this weekend. But here's how the NFL Network is neutering the gold standard that was NFL Films.

Visitor

32 Down: Citi Field team (4 letters) Answer: Mets

Yeah, it's over.

No more Podium Girls.







































No more Road ID ads with Bobke.



No more El Diablo.






















No more fear of a fan impeding a rider.



























I love the Tour de France, because it fits so nicely within the July sports calendar when there is a not much goin' on, 'cept the rent.







































This year gives us the first Aussie winner, the first winner from the Southern Hemisphere and the second-oldest winner ever. It was Cadel Evans and he gave it quite the ride this year.

Meal of Links

They are correct. Olivia Wilde is jarringly beautiful. She was on Bill Maher's show once and I think she was overwhelmed at that time. They need to bring her back.

I think I've waited a year-and-a-half to find a Thermopen on sale. It finally happened.

This guy's church HAS to be fun. "Boogity, Boggity, Amen!"

Invocation of the Year



"Wedgie, you're doing a heckuva job." The Mariners have lost 15 straight.

NFL seems to be starting again this week. BTW, Jay Cutler dumped his girlfriend and there will be no "Hard Knocks" this season.

The good old days.

About that Borders liquidation sale. You may want to wait.

Campbell's looks at the facts. It's hard to sell low-sodium soup. So, they are adding salt to the Select Harvest line.

Exercise Yard

I don't know if there is anyone out there who can help the Tribe. But, after today's game, I wonder "if the ship be sinking."

I'll be at either Monday's or Wednesday's game and have a better sense of what is going on.

Visitor

None, on a still humid Sunday.

It's not the heat, it's the stupidity.

Try a secret beach.

Meal of Links

Richard Jewell still had a court case against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That case was dismissed last week. Unclear if it will be appealed.

The Weinermobile is now 75 years old. Not on my list for the next car I get.

The 5-album test. I kinda like it.

How about a limburger cheese sammie? I don't think I've ever had one.

The Gang of Six. And their plan.

Modern poverty includes an Xbox No, can't be.

As always, the day to watch the Tour de France is when they get to Alpe d'Huez. BTW, that is this Friday. It's also snowing in the Alps. Huh?

Borders is dead.

Exercise Yard

NFL free agency starts in a few days. And what a whirlwind that will be. 5 months compressed into a fortnight.

Avoid these types of players.

Visitor

67 Across: Buck of country music (5 letters) Answer: Owens

I saw two movies this week. The first was "Horrible Bosses", and tonight "The Tree Of Life" made its initial appearance on the West Side. Let's talk about that one first.

"The Tree of Life", of course, is the latest from Terrence Malick. Malick and David Lynch are probably the two most unique American directors left. Lynch always jolts you with color. And Malick does, as well, but his films always shoot from different angles. Angles that most people hardly see in a movie. Close ups, framing a subject from behind, trees from the ground up, etc.

So, yeah, I've been waiting for this one for a while. And I could tell right away that we were gonna have people hit the eject button, it was only a matter of when. Old couple sits directly behind me and I hear the woman say, "I thought it would be more crowded. You know with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in the movie." OK, my Spider-sense is tingling. Also had to hear "This is weird." and "Do you want any gum?". I give 'em credit, though. They actually made it to the end. We had 15 at the start and this is your Up-To-The-Minute "The Tree Of Life" Walkout Scoreboard:

We had 2 leave before the dinosaurs.
We had 1 leave during the dinosaurs.
We had 4 leave after the dinosaurs (one guy letting us know he was asking for his money back).

That means 7 of 15 left in the first 35 minutes or so. You may be wondering why I mentioned dinosaurs. After Pitt's family suffers a loss, Malick decides to show us (sorta like 2001) his vision, at length, of how the earth was created and took us through some various early life forms. This tends to honk off the Car Chase crowd. It also points out the ignorance of today's movie crowd. Do you just open the Friday Magazine and see the picture of Pitt and Penn and say, hey, looks like a good one. Seriously, how do you not know this is a Malick film? Trust me, for its alleged offensiveness, I didn't see one person walk out of "Borat". Yet, 7 of 15 walk out on this one? Baffling.

Too bad, because the scenes that immediately follow the dinosaurs is awesome. It shows a kid growing up and makes you wonder how that happens exactly. First steps, starting to talk, etc. Amazing sequence.

Now, I'm not gonna pull a Jack Buck and say, "I don't believe what I just saw!". I understand Malick is not everyone's cup of tea. But, as a moviegoer, I think you owe it a look. But it's not exactly "Happy Days" here.

Pitt is not exactly a great father and he and his wife are constantly battling for the kids affection. And the whole house knows who wins on that front. And, for almost three hours, the characters rarely smile, although I think near the end, when Penn (Mostly a dour figure) believes he's come to grips with his life, there is a faint smile. As for the acting, Pitt and the kids have most of the dialogue. Jessica Chastain and Penn have more narration of their parts, as does the oldest son.

So, again, it's a different type of movie experience. But one you have to see.

For a movie where your brain doesn't suffer from overload, I give you "Horrible Bosses". This isn't by any means "Hangover"-funny, but there are enough laughs to keep it going.

Charlie Day and Jason Bateman basically play themselves. Jason Sudeikis plays a horndog. And their bosses are, respectively, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. The latter two are especially funny, while Aniston is a sex harasser. Hilarious cameo by Jamie Foxx.

The plot is the three guys want to off their bosses. Hilarity ensues. That's really about all you get here.

Meal of Links

Playhouse Square finally released their summer movie schedule. They need me to program this. I hardly see anything of note. Although, "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" and "Jaws" are the standouts. I say this every year. You want asses in the seats? Gotta be an early Tarantino selection. How 'bout a Richard Pryor comedy? "Silver Streak" would do. Have a Bond movie. "Ghostbusters", "Caddyshack". It ain't difficult.

Nick Gilbert has a Fathead. Seriously. For charity.

Alan Sepinwall talks Emmy nominations. Still baffled by "Community" being ignored.

Wal-Mart starts selling "Cheesy Poofs"next month. Yes, it is South Park-related.

Lots of Soda Pop



If the debt ceiling is not raised, which side wins? Maybe neither.

Dads on Vacation.

Exercise Yard

What is Sunday's biggest sporting event? Last round of the British Open? USA-Japan at the Women's World Cup? How about the WWE PPV?

Visitor

48 Across: "12 Angry Men" director (5 letters) Answer: Lumet

Not much goin' on except the grillin'.

Friday-Burgers

Saturday-Drumsticks and Roasted Corn

Today-Pork Chops, then Burgundy Mushroom Burgers.

Tomorrow-Looks like Ribs.

Meal of Links

I didn't know Celeste Holm was still around. She's embroiled in a family feud.

The Ten Greatest Liars. We know a few of these.

Worst Non-Handball Call Ever



Jim Morrison's been dead for 40 years. They are reissuing "LA Woman".

Exercise Yard

Hey, Wimbledon's over. Did you know Cinemark had both the men's and women's finals in 3D? That's why you pray for rain in these situations. Instead, it's grilling and yardwork for me.

Anyhow, Jon Wertheim breaks it down. Always the best recap if you watched nary a deuce.

Visitor

None, on a terrific Sunday.

Remember these dudes with "The whistling song" from a few years ago. I really like this single.

"Second Chance"/Peter Bjorn & John



The video blows. I think he's mocking my drumming style. Is that a mean cowbell or a sample from "Knock Three Times"?

Meal of Links

One of the crazies has left the building. That's Glenn Beck. Oddly enough, he thinks he doesn't need TV.

MoviePass update. It appears the San Francisco trial has been scrapped because they didn't have the OK of the theaters involved. Automatically tossing this venture into the "Shady" category. Current irritants if you watch movies at a theater.

You can't call the President a dick. Especially on TV. BTW, I actually found Keith Olbermann's channel. It's right above the digital BBC America on Time Warner. Shitty sound, had to crank it. Really bad set compared with Rockefeller Plaza. And odd guests like Markos from Daily Kos. Banned on MSNBC, but front and center here.

It's that time again. Know your fireworks!

Are zucchini pancakes on your Holiday menu? Good God, does that look good. Also, 5 Burger recipes from the LA Times contest.

I always mention "There's an app for that, unless you have a Blackberry". A RIM exec tells all.

I'm with "Treme" every week. Another opinion.

Spin has the best albums this year. So far.

Sampling Lou Reed. Glad they included "Vicious". But here's a throwback to the Velvets:

"Waitin' For The Man"/Lou Reed



The Enquirer says Chris Hansen has been cheating on his wife. There is video.

What if these morons actually avoid raising the debt limit/ Can they be that stupid? I'm now starting to hear rhetoric about "artificial deadlines" being repeated by those who should know better.

Exercise Yard

God bless the Internets! Hunt Me 4 Sport.

Visitor

43 Across: The Boss's backup (11 letters) Answer: E Street Band

"The E Street Shuffle"/Bruce Springsteen

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

One would say Randy Lerner has had a track record of not hiring well when it comes to his sports teams. It seems he is going to do it again with the signing of Alex MacLeish as the new coach of Randy Lerner's Other Team. You see, MacLeish was the coach of their local rival, Birmingham City. I say was, because he got canned from Birmingham after they found out he was talking with Aston Villa. This was after Birmingham had committed to him even though the club had been relegated.




















So, Villa fans have been in an uproar. They had 1,000 fans storm Villa Park last night. You know, with the usual obscenities and graffiti. Many have said they will turn in their season tickets if MacLeish is hired, which looks like a go for Friday. A Facebook page "Aston Villa Supporters - We don't want Alex McLeish" has 17,000 followers. Did the Browns ever have protests like this? Oh yeah, the Dawg Pound Mike fiasco.

The main thing we are realizing with this latest coaching circus at Aston Villa is this. Randy Lerner is trying to do it on the cheap. They'll sell some more players this offseason and won't spend for the replacements. That's why they are ending up with a coach many do not want. The better candidates have been ignored or have stayed away.

The scoop.

This guy says the Villa fans are wrong.

BTW, next year's fixtures come out tomorrow.

Meal of Links

Speaking of soccer, Fox Soccer Channel becomes Fox Soccer in August. New logos, new studios and let's hope they get us to matches 5 minutes earlier. It wouldn't hurt to see the players come onto the pitch.

And the new sponsor of the FA Cup was announced today. It's Budweiser! The King of Beers hosts the match at teatime.

Cheer up. Keanu Reeves is an author. Who eats sandwiches.

"Moneyball" Trailer

How to eat when you're broke. I'm thinking "cinnamon crispas".

Polkas. Weird Al style. I guarantee you will smile. If not, listen to the one with "Loser" on it.

"America's Next Great Restaurant". Not so fast.

Mitt Romney is NOT unemployed. He's just not working.

Today's meme.

Exercise Yard

I thought Shaq was supposed to enjoy his retirement. I don't think an attempted murder and kidnapping trial is where he wanted to focus his time.

Visitor

10 Down: Dudley Do-Right's gp. (4 letters) Answer: RCMP

Need to put a hold on that Saint Tressel Statue. As Jim Tressel resigned this morning.

This whole scandal started with something I thought would be his doom. That is, knowingly playing ineligible players. The NCAA looks the other way on some things and completely ignores others, but that's not something they are going to let slide. With the Ray Small comments burning up sports talk for another two days this past week, it became obvious this would be what OSU would deal with until they met with investigators in August.

They have no distractions of spring football or actual games. So any comments by former players or, heaven forbid, any hint of further allegations was going to muddy the waters the next two months.

SI has the goods.

Meal of Links

I'm convinced it's part of a viral campaign. But if there were any doubts about David Fincher being capable of handling "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo", this alleged trailer solves that. Shaky camera at beginning and end. Trent Reznor/Karen O. "Immigrant Song" "The Feel Bad Movie Of Christmas". Book it now.

"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" Trailer



Is it too early to talk about the Oscars? Clearly, nothing released stateside yet is a contender. "Tree Of Life" is here this month, so that'll signal the start.

First it was IFC. Now it's PBS. Commercials during programs. BTW, last night I stumbled across "Wedding Crashers" on TBS, I think. "Jesus Christ" was dubbed in for "Cheese and rice.". So, Isla Fisher is hitting Vince Vaughan and he is yelling, "Cheese and rice!" multiple times. Amazing.

Patriot Act. It's still here. Debate in the house lasted all of 30 minutes.

The economics of barbecue. Eastern NC BBQ great. Western NC BBQ tragic.

Exercise Yard

Swansea beats Reading and joins the Premier League. The first Welsh side to make it.

Visitor

49 Across: Slurpee seller (11 letters) Answer: Seven-Eleven

I am now officially honked off at having a cold. I am now in Day 12 and seemingly not that much better than when I started. Now it's devolving into take a deep breath and immediately start hacking.

I swear I am now coughing up lung chunks. Lung chunks? Look for them in the frozen aisle of your favorite grocer. I keep hoping for some warmer weather which might help but, man, this is getting old.

So, when in doubt...Alcohol! I have poured myself a rye and ginger to help out. Who cares about any alleged healing powers after a few of these.

Meal of Links

I didn't see this coming. Frank Beckmann vs. Mitch Albom. Seems Albom is in favor of the Michigan Film Tax Credit (a proven loser for the state) and just happened to also get his own screenplay filmed in Michigan.

Danny Trejo. The Badass's Badass.

Dick Ebersol leaves NBC. Could this mean a Berman Olympics?

Two more days until...

"Rapture"/Blondie



Ruhlman has an excerpt of his book on Slate. He suggests sex while cooking.

Speaking of cooking...

My Drunk Kitchen Does Brunch



Stuttering songs. Another excuse to hear "Psycho Killer". And this...

"Surfin' Bird"/Family Guy



A driving tax? No fucking way. Very few of us get to work around the corner from where we live. And if anyone had vision in this town to build public transit to the South, lo those many years ago, I might sing a different tune. We only had three directions to build in this town and public transit barely benefits 2 out of the 3.

Exercise Yard

Man sets candlepin bowling record. I'd like to raise a practical question. What is candlepin bowling?

Visitor

24 Across: Fourth-cen. monastic (7 letters) Answer: St. Basil

I was at the Happy Dog tonight and requested a Johnny Cash tune. But here is the Pearl Jam version:

"Twenty Five Minutes To Go"/Johnny Cash



Meal of Links

Check out this way to grow tomatoes. But you have to build shit. It looks like this guy has those "Hampton tomatoes" that Costanza likes.

The birth of Trig Palin had been on the backburner for a long time. It's back again and Salon thinks it has debunked the conspiracy theory once and for all.

How can you not love the new Beasties video?

"Make Some Noise"/The Beastie Boys



Major League Eating treats Kobayashi like Mark McGwire. His name is banned from the Coney Island Wall of Fame.

Joe Queenan reviews "Hanna". And the career of Eric Bana.

Exercise Yard

The MLB takeover of the Dodgers is a lot more complicated than I thought. Fox gave Frank McCourt that $30 million loan everyone is talking about.

Plus, the Dodgers have sold only 17,000 season tickets for this year. That's down 10,000 from only 4 years ago. That is astounding to me.

Visitor

44 Down: "Hardball" network (5 letters) Answer: MSNBC

See how Lord Football rules over everyone. Today, I found myself watching "The Reading of the Schedules". Yes, an ESPN show which was built around the releasing of this fall's NFL schedule. Maybe.

Even with the present lockout and perhaps some cancelled games later in the fall, Lord Football maintains his grip on our lives. The Browns finally get a Holmgren Factor when it comes to the schedule. Three of the first four games at home. Five of the last six games in the division, so the Browns are not of it by the end of September. Christmas against the Ravens, New Year's with the Steelers. Hardly any travel after October. Only one December and one January game at home. Could help a late season short passing game.

Meal of Links

I finally got to see Colin Quinn's Broadway show, "Long Story Short" on HBO. I gotta say, it surprised me how funny this was. I'm not saying I was on the floor, but the laughs were plentiful and it was very smart. Good stuff.

Cubes decides to get rid of some of his entertainment holdings. Seeking offers for Landmark Theatres and Magnolia Pictures.

Hitch takes on one of his favorite topics. The Royal Family. His advice to Kate Middleton? Run!

Dairy-free frozen dessert. Looks good. Some Giant Eagles have it. Of course, none near the city.

Castro resigns. You are now free to move about the country. Cubans can buy property again.

How many times have I seen this guy on a Sunday night? Catching up with Wendell Pierce.

Ten reasons to be still pissed off about the BP Oil Disaster. There's that phrase, "tar balls", again.

Versus is going to get a new name. Something with NBC in it, I'm sure.

Exercise Yard

The Indianapolis 500 has something unique this year. Four women will try to qualify.

Visitor

7 Down: College football immortal Amos Alonzo _____ (5 letters) Answer: Stagg

I want to like Diet Sun Drop, I really do. But I'm not sure about it. Sometimes it tastes really good and other times I can't wait to finish it.

Upon further review, who knew it had that much caffeine? Shit, more than Mountain Dew? Yikes. Of course, try and find the caffeine-free variety. I know Mountain Dew has caffeine-free varieties, as well, but they aren't stocked everywhere either. Looks like Canada's Diet Montain Dew is the USA's Caffeine-Free Diet Mountain Dew.

OK, next roadie to Canada includes a visit to Tim Horton's and a soda run.

Meal of Links

Michael Sarrazin died today. And they didn't even mention his greatest role, "Josh Ramsey, VD Caseworker".

Seriously, is this what being a Browns fan has become? Getting gleeful about Peyton Hillis gracing the cover of Madden '12. That's what happens when your fanbase gets pumped up by beating Pittsburgh in a 4-12 season.

Seven hotly debated movie questions. And their answers. I thought "Pulp Fiction" and "Lost In Translation" were somewhat disappointing.

What's up with Low-Sodium Campbell's Tomato Soup? It has the same sodium amount as regular tomato Soup. Ah, you need to read the label.

"Treme" starts this week. Can't wait for the John Hiatt song. We also get a look at HBO's series on horse racing, called "Luck". That's the Michael Mann/David Milch effort.

Exercise Yard

Who would have thought that two weeks into the season, Indians-Royals is a big series. For all things Royals, for years the place to go is Rany on the Royals.

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37 Down: Wrestling duos (8 letters) Answer: Tag Teams

I think I need Glenn Beck's blackboard. Especially now that he won't be using it. This almost seems like a victory for the left, as he'll be off of Fox by the end of the year. But I think it's really a story of making up shit and people getting bored with it. Half his audience under age 50 had left. I used to laugh when Olbermann called Beck, "Lonesome Rhodes", but the truth is he was pretty much that character.

But the reason I need that blackboard is I finally did my taxes. Just in time for the looming government shutdown. I'd like to trace where my refund is heading. Or stalling.

Meal of Links

The thing about the Paul Ryan budget is it really cuts back funding on low-income programs. Probably close to 70% of the cuts are there. That's a huge difference from what the Budget Commission proposed. Of course, the Democrats hopped all over the budget, but you have to admit, it's the closest thing to serious reform we've seen in a while. That's why the D's need a plan of their own. Come up with an alternative to that $2.9 trillion in low-income cuts and show how it can be done. Like taxing the highest 2%. How long will it take to get that in there.

Playing with Spam. I'm always surprised when someone says they've never had the stuff.

Did you see the list of material selected by the National Recording Registry? Steely Dan's "Aja" made it. Reminds me to listen to that again soon. "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" and "Stand By Your Man" also recognized. De La Soul, Mort Sahl and Al Green, if you need 'em.

2011's Ten Ugliest Cars. There are some bad ones here.

You asked for it. The Complete Guide to Jerry Seinfeld's Sneakers. Chronologically, I might add.

Mark me down for this one. The Bill Hicks doc is starting its release this week. Better get here soon.

Will Ferrell. MeetGary Sanchez.

The Grammys got revamped again. No more Best Hawaiian, Native American or Cajun/Zydeco awards.

The road to Nashville ends. In Nashville.

Exercise Yard

Speaking of docs, did you catch that surprise 25-year look back at the 1986 Masters that ESPN ran today? Once again, had the best line ever in golf lore for me. Conversation between Jack Nicklaus and his caddie, also his son, on the 16th hole. Nicklaus stripes his tee shot on 16.

Caddie: "Be right."
Jack (bending over to get his tee): "It is."

Jack on 16 (1986)



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23 Down: His 3,000th hit was a homer (5 letters) Answer: Boggs

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.

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None, on a quiet Sunday.

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.

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