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

They had polkas at the Market today with DJ Kishka. So what better way to spend an afternoon than guzzling beer at Great Lakes Brewing. Had only been there once since the Great Smoking Controversy. That was for the Bourbon Beer Debacle as the annals report.

They are still on high alert when someone's about to smoke. No smokes inside the railing, Mister.

Anyhow, it truly is a Cleveland success story. Outside was packed. Beer garden was packed. Bar was packed. Downstairs was packed. At 2:00 on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. I know they are closed on Sundays, but man, that's pretty good business.

Meal of Links

Bachmann left her church when she decided to run for President. Sort of a reverse Jeremiah Wright going on.

Fox News has a segment on hacking. Jocularity ensues.

Hope Solo: Blonde. Against Hope Solo: Brunette. Either way, she has to stop the type of goal she gave up against France.

Exercise Yard

Minnesota is in the throes of a government shutdown. Vikings owner decides this is the right time to continue lobbying for a new stadium.

Visitor

2 Down: Frontman on the 1987 debut album "Appetite For Destruction" (7 letters) Answer: Axl Rose

I happened to be going through the dial when I saw the Penalty Kick portion of the US Women-Brazil Women's World Cup quarterfinal. Unbeknown to me, the US scored during Stoppage Time of Extra Time. In the 122nd minute, if you will.

"Major Onions" US Goal by Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery



The Real Call by Ian Darke and Julie Foudy



But when it came time for PKs, what the hell was with the Brazilian goalkeeper? Every shot she is way off her line. Wa-a-a-ay off her line. The ref nailed her on the first US attempt and gave a rekick. The US made that goal and the next four for the win, but I was curious to see if any other US miss was going to be given a rekick.

As for the US during PKs, Hope Solo has to be a bit more careful with her psych jobs. She sits off on the side, unlike most keepers, well out of the way, but on the field of play. She then makes a slow torturous walk towards goal, while the opponent is already lining up their kick. Again, unusual because the goalkeeper is almost always ready before the shooter. She will then do a lot of stretching and gyrations in front of the shooter before she gets on the line. To be fair, once on the line, she is not moving before the kick or still waving her arms, which is really getting out of hand by most goalies. But with one yellow card already in the match, that was too dangerous a time to be messing with the rules.

I am not going to call this the greatest comeback win in any sport, as ESPN already did. It seemed like a great finish but wake me up next Sunday and tell me who wins.

USA wins on PKs, 2-2 (5-3).

Meal of Links

Rutger Hauer is in a new movie. Best title since "Snakes On A Plane". It's "Hobo With A Shotgun".

The power of Rupert Murdoch. Clearly, he sacrificed News of the World for BSkyB.

Chris Hansen's affair probably cost him a job as "Dateline" anchor. Well, when he asks, probably more people know who he is now.

The world of obit writers. Not as humorless as one would think.

8 Secrets About Disney. I was actually in that Club 33 once. I didn't see Depp there, but I had an adult beverage.

Exercise Yard

I guess Travis Hafner's grand slam on Thursday did not propel the Tribe to gerater heights, as originally thought. Don't look now, but the White Sox and Twins are now the closest to the division lead than they have been all year.

I heard Manny Acta pregame and for the first time, I thought, yeah, the Indians may deal to find a bat. Then I read Chris Antonetti's comments and I'm not so sure again.

Visitor

None, on a sunny 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

After the Rapture...

The EPL closed up shop for the season today and what a day it was. Five clubs were in danger of being relegated, with West Ham already down. There were 81 possible combinations. So many possibilities that some teams could win and stay up, while at the same time, they could lose and stay up. That's how nutty it was. Relegation means $50 million in revenue because of all the TV contracts, so staying up is huge as you compete for players, etc.

At the start of the day, the bottom of the table was:

Wolves 40
Blackburn 40
Birmingham 39
Blackpool 39
Wigan 39
West Ham 33

Of the five teams left, I like Ian Holloway, the coach of Blackpool. They are a small team from the seaside, and nicknamed the Tangerines. A real breath of fresh air in the league this year.

I like Wigan and their coach, Roberto Martinez. He was part of ESPN's World Cup coverage last year. A sharp, young guy who never offers excuses. They are the smallest club in the league and if they could find some goal scorers, life would be a lot easier for them. They played the match of the year last week, relegating West Ham, after falling behind 2-0. A late goal won it for them.

And I like Wolves. Mick McCarthy is a straight-shooting coach and their fans are nuts.

We had three matches available to watch. Manchester United and Blackpool on ESPN2. Man U had not lost at home since last April and won every home match this year, except for one. Birmingham and Tottenham on Fox Soccer. I didn't think this would have enough drama. I opted for Blackburn and Wolverhampton on Fox Soccer Plus. Both teams there in real danger.

So, what happens? Blackburn scores three in the first half. I had given them up for dead about a month ago and now they looked solid. Great camera work by the Sky Sports crew as they ran the gamut of emotions by the fans. At the Birmingham match, I saw someone dressed as a nun (maybe a real nun) praying as they fell behind. At Wolverhampton, those fans were put through the wringer. Down 3-0, they were willing their team back. They scored to make it 3-1, but Birmingham had scored to start making them bite their nails again. Wigan scored at Stoke to lead, 1-0.

That made it clear. Wolves needed not a win, but just one more goal to stay up. Blackburn scored off a goal kick earlier in the match, which is rare, but by God, Wolves did the same as Stephen Hunt fired one in, in the 87th minute. Bedlam. Combined with a late Tottenham goal over Birmingham, Wolves could celebrate. Probably the biggest LOSS in the team's history and people ran on the field, kissed the TV cameras, were carrying players off the pitch. It was insane.
























At the end of the day, the bottom of the table was:

Blackburn 43
Wigan 42
Wolves 40
Blackpool 39
Birmingham 39
West Ham 33

Wigan had spent 75% of the season in the bottom three and survived. Birmingham is the first winner of the Carling Cup to be relegated. Mick McCarthy and Wolves can breath normally for a change. Blackpool and Ian Holloway go back to the Championship.

So, I get my Sunday mornings back until early August with only one match remaining. But it's the big one, the Champions League Final. Barcelona and Manchester United at Wembley this Saturday.

Meal of Links

How Fox's Roger Ailes failed to find a strong Republican candidate. He appears to be a Chris Christie man. Everyone else...meh.

This guy doesn't really like "SNL". Calls it "The embarrassing uncle of American comedy".

Randy "Macho Man" Savage died on Friday. It was a cause to remember him, so everyone did their "Oh, yeah" impersonations. Plus you could snap into a Slim Jim, if you preferred.

Randy Savage is Insane



Exercise Yard

Looks like LAPD has a suspect in custody from the Opening Day beating of a Giants fan. One of last week's Giants games in LA was the lowest attended in the series since 1997.

Visitor

None, on a warm Sunday.

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)



Visitor

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

For reasons I can't really explain, I found myself at the Golden Corral after the CSU game yesterday. I think this joint has now replaced the mall as the place to watch what's wrong with the world these days.

First of all, you have people willing to stand in a long line, almost out the door, for their place at the feeding trough. Then you have no semblance of rules or order at any food station, requests for additional drinks or any other exercise you go through.

And trust me on this one, very few people in attendance are getting the appropriate exercise. Except for the kids who use the Golden Corral as their own personal playground.

Plus, since you are stuffing your piehole, you'll eat any combination of food to get your money's worth. I had salad, tacos, bourbon chicken with rice and a piece of steak. I can't recall the last time I polished off tacos and said, "Boy, I could go for a steak right now." BTW, the salad was fresh, tacos were OK, bourbon chicken average, but the medium steak I had was actually pretty good.

In my defense, I didn't have lunch nor dinner, so this was kind of the in-between chow and I didn't have a meal later. I'll have to go sometime later to see if there are still Menu Changers on Sundays who show up before breakfast ends, but stay until that day's entrees come out, to get the best of both worlds.

Meal of Links

Is Roger Ailes about to be indicted? We'll know this week.

Hitch wonders if President Obama is secretly Swiss? Might be true.

The Razzies were held last night. Here are the winners. I mean, losers. Shyamalan rules as we knew he would. "The Last Airbender" was criticized intensely.

Exercise Yard

I'm watching the Carling Cup Final this morning and suddenly, Obafemi Martins (who may be as old as Greg Oden) comes on as a sub. Geez, this guy has bounced around. Showed up in Birmingham three weeks ago. I remember his goal celebrations always consisted of some handsprings and flips. So, he scores the gamewinner.

Visitor

None, on a snow-melting Sunday.

Not sure about the Storm of the Century. If there is one thing I've learned from Dick Goddard, it's when you're on the Southeast side of a Panhandle Hook, that's a good thing. And we lucked out, as the snow line seems to be going to our West.

I thought I was going to have to work from home today, but that looks more likely to happen tomorrow. I had more snow than I thought we'd get last night, around 6 inches. But after shoveling, I realized it wasn't snowing, wasn't that cold and there was a long window of not much weather happening, I decided to go in.

The ride took 60 minutes, which is 1.5x longer than normal. My Cleveland street was untouched. Brooklyn apparently won't pay its workers OT for snow removal. 480 was a disaster. 77 was decent. The turnpike was pristine. Route 8 was in fine condition.

A plow did arrive this afternoon. Dumping all of that snow into everyone's driveway. There has to be an invention out there, where that doesn't happen.

So, now it's "Ice Ice Baby" from here on out.

Meal of Links

I always thought there was something, I don't know, disingenuous about the VISA ads with the four guys who never miss a Super Bowl. Did you know the NFL sells them their tickets?

A new book looks at the early history of National Lampoon. A talk with an artist.

Comparing the Steelers and Packers. Both teams have no cheerleaders.

Accidents can happen. A list of odd deaths.

"Exit Through The Gift Shop" is streaming on Hulu. It's Oscar-nominated.

The 50 Most Controversial Films. They pretty much nailed the list. Many of these were actually protested, including the No. 1, "The Last Temptation Of Christ".

He is most interesting. "Stay thirsty, my friends."

Dog? Or colonoscopy?

Robert Osborne has my dream job. I love the guy. He and Alec Baldwin restart "The Essentials" in March.

Ask Men reveals its Top 99 Women. My litmus test on these lists is Kate Beckinsale. This year, she's 14. OK, I'll live with that.

More Beck Bullshit (with multiple blackboards)



Exercise Yard

Soccer's transfer window ended last night and it was insane. There was a record amount of money spent and even Randy Lerner was in on it.

Visitor

34 Across: Pop music's Lady ____ (4 letters) Answer: Gaga

I'm still around!

Out of a potential 8 soccer matches I could see this week, I've seen 6 of them, with one more to choose this afternoon. Probably gonna lean toward Chelsea vs. Bolton. The best of the bunch was the Arsenal/Chelsea match on Monday. The Gunners may have tossed off some demons with a 3-1 win. It's a good time of the year with many matches, including a full slate on New Year's Day and more on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week.

I've seen two movies this week and it took me a long time to recognize actors in two key parts. In "True Grit", Barry Pepper plays Ned Pepper. I didn't get him until the credits.

In "The King's Speech", I didn't get it until his abdication speech, that Guy Pearce was playing Edward VIII.

As for the movies, "True Grit" is faithful to the book. This is the Coens at their best. Delicious language out of the characters mouths, Roger Deakins filming it quite beautifully, superior acting all around. This is a far cry from the John Wayne/Glen Campbell flick. A lot darker. Not sure it's going to have enough oomph for the Oscars, but it would be a shame to be overlooked.

"The King's Speech", however, is what the Oscars lap up. A personal journey of an historical figure overcoming an affliction to achieve greatness. This is the story of Queen Elizabeth's dad, King George VI, who overcame his stuttering to lead England after his brother's abdication, into the Big One, WW II. It's the story of Lionel Logue (played by "Shine Guy"), the speech therapist who helped him with his stammering. This movie is good, really good. My God, people applauded at the end. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are shoo-ins for nominations. Helena Bonham Carter is the Queen Mother.

I think it's gonna be a generational showdown at the Oscars. "The King's Speech" is clearly your frontrunner and it will butt heads with "The Social Network" come award time.

Both of these are excellent, but make sure you see "The King's Speech".

Meal of Links

Geckos as pets. My question would be "Why?".

Paris may ban SUVs within its city limits. Let's see if that works.

Best of TV 2010. With a "Terriers" mention for Best Theme Song. And "Rubicon" is here. And Mayhem.

Porter Wagoner. I actually do an imitation of Porter, "You can only find them in boxes of Breeze." Listen to the classic, "The First Mrs. Jones". Now, THAT'S a song.

I received a few gift cards for Christmas. How not to waste them.

Nate Silver shows us how snow and air travel do not mix. It's all about airline capacity.

Exercise Yard

Tucker Carlson subbed for Hannity last night. Fairly routine until he said Michael Vick should have been executed for killing dogs.

Visitor

16 Across: Stubbs of The Four Tops (4 letters) Answer: Levi

On the Second Day of Christmas

Asleep At the Wheel can really grow on you. Keeping that Texas Swing alive. This song is kinda funny, the video kinda lame. But the story is Ray Benson has too much to drink and ends up in jail for Christmas. I'd say that's a modern seasonal original. "Everybody's havin' Christmas turkey. Bring me bread and water to eat."

"Xmas in Jail"/Asleep At The Wheel



Right on cue. Time Warner Cable comes through with a Christmas present for me. Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Soccer Plus in glorious HD.

Meal of Links

This is pretty cool. Especially if you saw "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". A Yogi Bear parody! Keep the kiddies away.



Mr. Skin has a decent job. Therefore, he has his list of the Top Ten Nude Scenes of 2010.

Top Tweets of 2010. BTW, I am a huge fan of Miss Catherine Middleton.

"Jeopardy" tries to outdo Adam Richman. They'll have their own version of "Man vs. Beast".

No words for this. Except, "Americans is stupid".

Alan Sepinwall takes a look at the TV portion of the Golden Globe nominations. Mostly run-of-the-mill.

I think Joey Pants is interviewed. Barely any questions, but he talks for a while.

Exercise Yard

Barry Cofield's sack dance is killing me.



Visitor

18 Across: Actress in a classic shower scene (10 letters) Answer: Janet Leigh

Boy, I had just an awful headache yesterday, so I watched local news for some inane reason. Did I miss something? I thought both forecasters that I saw predicted a nice day today. Unless I was delirious. Off I went to do errands much of the late morning/early afternoon.

Sure, it was warm enough, but where was Mr. Blue Sky? As it became increasingly dark, I kept putting off mowing my lawn, or should I say leaves. Anyhow, I watched the end of "Heat". I've only seen that a million times. After that, I thought I'd mow, but it started drizzling. WTF? Then A&E had "Murder By Numbers" on. One of the Sandra Bullock movies I had not seen.

I took advantage of long commercial breaks and would do part of the yard, then come back in to see more of the movie. And so on and so on. Not a bad effort. If you see it on and are completely bored, watch it.

Meal of Links

Juan Williams was fired from NPR earlier this week. Lots of people protested. Apparently, some NPR "viewers" also protested.

A look at movie purgatory. That Bradley Cooper-Renee Zellweger movie that just came out? Shot on 2006.

The Quaids are at it again. This time in Canada.

Trying to get Axl Rose to speak. Complete with old mugshot.

This is nice to dream about. The best first-class seats in air travel.

Exercise Yard

It's almost as if Wayne Rooney was going to do a LeBron and leave Manchester United (ahem, that's like Cavs to the 10th power) earlier this week. Same sort of situation, if you wanna leave, there are only a handful of clubs who can afford to pay you.

Cooler heads prevailed and Rooney ultimately signed a five-year contract to stay at Man U. The crazy thing is he is with one of the most recognizable clubs in the world. It's like starring with the Yankees and thinking the Angels would be a better fit for you. Might be better for Rooney to at least start scoring some goals for this to pass.

Ian Holloway is Pissed at Wayne Rooney



Visitor

25 Across: "Against the Wind" singer (5 letters) Answer: Seger

"Against The Wind"/Bob Seger

It was almost 4 years to the day since I had seen Roger Waters in town. Last time was 9/27/06. This time, Gale and I went to see his presentation of “The Wall”. Waters had performed this barely thirty times in the past. This tour will at least double the amount of performances when he’s finished with this round.

But what I saw on Tuesday was easily one of the best I’ve seen. Part rock concert, mostly stage show, but certainly all spectacle. But it seemed right to dust it off now. Thematically, it’s a good time to stage “The Wall”. And it did not disappoint.

The Venue: The former home of LeBron James, the Quicken Loans Arena. Big enough to have a wall constructed. I’m glad I’m not Asian, as signs posted at the entrances read: “Pyro and Strobes in use during show”. In a pricing quirk, I saw beer ($7.25) priced higher than cocktails ($7.00). Although I didn’t see any booze, only wine. BTW, t-shirts were going for $40 and $50. Needless to say, I did not buy anything.

Roger Waters: Waters is one of the most politically overt entertainers out there. At 67, he hasn’t backed down one bit. But, if you check your politics at the door, the stuff he says should not be favored by one party or the other. For example, during “Mother”, he asks, “Mother, should I trust the government?” Then, on the portion of the wall that was built up to that time, the answer appeared in bright red letters read: “No Fucking Way”. Later on, during the song, “Bring the Boys Back Home”, those words appeared on the wall, and spontaneous applause broke out while there was a pause in the lyrics. Man, it was a moment that was truly lump-in-the-throat time.

I’ll contrast Waters with what you see at a U2 show. When Bono gets on the soapbox, you know it’s coming and, at times, you roll your eyes and realize OK, it’s a timeout for the political bullshit. But with Waters you know he doesn’t speak as an American, or a Briton, but as someone who understands what it means to be a citizen of the world. The message is bold and heartfelt and I like it very much.

One other thing. Waters is very appreciative of the crowd. He is serious when he has to be, but not afraid to smile and wave to the crowd when appropriate. At the end, he said this, “Thank you so much, from the bottom of all our hearts. You’ve been a fantastic audience, and it means a lot to us.”

Tickets: We went full fare this time (cost ticked over the $100 mark—think of it as a Broadway show, if it’ll make you feel better) and were in the Club seats. We had Section 109 in the Clubs, which was the second section from the stage. Aisle seats with a perfect view.

The Band: There was an array of eleven musicians and vocalists with Waters this time. Roger barely plays his bass, but remains in front of the wall most of the time. So, when they were building the wall, he had his Gilmour sub, Robbie Wyckoff, to the left, with four other backup singers in the middle. Drums were to the left, not on a riser. Plenty of guitars in the back, including my favorite whipping boy from the Browns games, G.E. Smith, on one of them. Yes, there was a G.E. Smith sighting at “The Wall”! Keyboards were on the right.

Of course, there were local kids who got to sing, “We don’t need no education…” Had to be from Cleveland, because maybe they need that education. They were supposed to sway together, but some were going one way and the others, the opposite direction. And they couldn’t stay in a straight line to save themselves. But their shirts read, “FEAR BUILDS WALLS” and that makes up for a lot.

The wall is finally constructed right before intermission. So, the first song afterward, “Hey You”, is done behind the wall. Waters is the focus for the next several songs. During “Nobody Home”, the wall folds out and there is Roger sitting in an easy chair in his hotel room, with the crowd chiming in to sing, “Got 13 channels of shit on the TV to choose from.” This leads up to what is one of my favorite songs.

"Comfortably Numb"/From Chicago



For “Comfortably Numb”, Waters is on the stage, while separate scaffolds carry Wyckoff and another guitarist to the top of the wall. Yeah, it takes two guys to replace David Gilmour! Talk about wishing you were here. I absolutely love the way Gilmour sings the chorus on this song. But they did an awfully good job on this song on Tuesday. Gilmour is rumored to make one appearance on this American tour. If he does it for this song, without any intro, and rises above that wall, I swear people will crap their pants.

After that, all of the songs are performed in front of the wall, until the wall comes tumbling down after “The Trial”. We all chanted, “Tear down the wall!” Sort of like “Let them play!” from that hideous “Bad News Bears” sequel. For the finale, ”Outside the Wall”, the lights go up and the band is dressed colorfully for the first time, dumping the black.

The Crowd: No chaperone hat, because this was truly an all ages show. Aw, these kids today. They didn’t seem to appreciate what they were seeing. My God, the row in front of was a revolving door. And, of course, there was a helluva lot of smoke with the hippy lettuce debuting by the end of song two. But, it was well-behaved and we saw only one person carried out by stretcher. He seemed to be, ahem, comfortably numb.

Props: When any Floyd member is involved, you have lots of visuals and, obviously, they did not disappoint. We had balloons representing Mother, the Teacher and the Wife. The actual wall allowed all sorts of graphics and film to be shown.

Once again, he had pics of his father who died in WWII during “In the Flesh”. This morphs into a photo of a new American soldier, then an Iraqi boy, a Somali woman, a New York City firefighter, all dead. At the conclusion of that song, a war plane crashed into the wall. We were on that side and it was cool to see.

He had photographs of fallen heroes, in war and peace, from all sides that he rotated during intermission. I even spotted Gandhi. It had a picture, when they were born and when they died as stats. Really an amazing visual.

The circular screen that Floyd seems to favor was also on hand. It showed a lot of the animation from the film version. Flowers having sex, marching hammers, etc.

"Run Like Hell" (with the Pig!)/From Chicago



Guess who else made an appearance during “Run Like Hell”? The pig!!! Yes, that old warhorse was put into service again. I love that pig and his red eyes that blink on and off. He has it labeled with RUN and "Trust Us". Plus, it displayed a Shell Oil logo, one of Roger’s favorite targets.

Also there were shots on the wall during “Run Like Hell” that mocked Apple. For instance, sheep (with their iPods) appeared followed by the word “iFollow”. Plus creepy terrorist-looking guy with an “iTeach” immediately followed by kids with “iLearn”.

During “Empty Spaces”, the animated bombers dumped out corporate logos among nation logos (Stars of David, Crescents, Dollar Signs), as well. I saw the Mercedes and Shell Oil (again) logos.

And the wall collapsing was something to see. I think the people in Row 1 may not have been completely sure it was safe, as it came hurtling at them. But it piled up in the pit between them and the stage.

The Music: I’m quite surprised at some of the early reviews that say Waters is sounding pretty good. Um, I think there may be some behind-the-scenes dubbing going on that make it sound that way. And I’m OK with it. As a matter of fact for “Mother”, he played a duet with an old film of himself that had the vocal tracks from 30 years ago. So, who knows? His voice was shot 4 years ago and I’m skeptical now. But, again, I don’t care.

Highlights were what you think they would be. “Comfortably Numb”, “Run Like Hell” were both stellar.

All in all, a fantastic effort.

Setlist:

“In the Flesh”
“The Thin Ice”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 1”
“The Happiest Days of Our Lives”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 2”
“Mother”
“Goodbye Blue Sky”
“Empty Spaces”
“What Shall We Do Now?”
“Young Lust”
“One of My Turns”
“Don't Leave Me Now”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 3”
“The Last Few Bricks”
“Goodbye Cruel World”

(20-Minute Intermission)

“Hey You”
“Is There Anybody Out There?”
“Nobody Home”
“Vera”
“Bring the Boys Back Home”
“Comfortably Numb”
“The Show Must Go On”
“In the Flesh”
“Run Like Hell”
“Waiting for the Worms”
“Stop”
“The Trial”
“Outside the Wall”

Next stop...Boston.

Meal of Links

I happened to see "Wall Street 2" at the Capitol on Monday. This surprised me. It was much better than I thought it would be. I don't know if it's Michael Douglas near the end, but to revive Gordon Gekko was pretty sweet. Basically, he still loves the game, knows how to play, but he doesn't have a stake. That's where his daughter, Carey Mulligan comes in. Good job by Shia Lebeouf and Josh Brolin, once again, steals the show. New York is beautifully photographed and you get a score with Byrne/Eno tunes, with "Naive Melody" over the closing credits, as in the first movie.

When Der Bingle met the Thin White Duke. Or "When Crosby Met Bowie". Even more Bowie.

Mick Foley reveals Tori Amos changed his life. And this is why Mick is still the most beloved of all wrestlers.

Thermos probably has your favorite lunchbox displayed. Pretty cool site.

The MacArthur Genius Grants were announced earlier this week. David Simon got one. Deserved, I may add.

Finally. It took the Senate, of all places, to lower the volume on commercials. It was unanimous and they agree on nothing.

Quentin Tarantino's longtime editor, Sally Menke, died the other day. She was the only editor he worked with. Cast and crew always had time for a "Hi, Sally!" as she edited.

"Hi, Sally!"



The Flintstones turn 50. This, on the day Stony Curtis died.

Pee-Wee Herman will host "Raw". Now that could be funny.

Today's WTF?



"Death Wish 3" really sucks. Trust me, it's bad.

Roger Waters already in trouble over "The Wall". ADL not liking those "Stars of David" dropping like bombs.

Being Glenn Beck. Kudos if you get through it.

Exercise Yard

Reds win division. Reds celebrate in locker room. Reds smoke cigars. Uptight fans call smoking ban complaint hotline.

Visitor

1 Down: 1997 Depp title role (6 letters) Answer: Brasco

Early this morning, while watching some soccer and addressing the crossword before Beck-A-Palooza, two noteworthy things occurred. The first is, I got a call on my cellphone which actually had the ringer on, so I answered.

The second was that Cousin Kevin was on the other end of the line and he had some news. He actually got engaged to Lisa. He said she finally put him into submission. I asked if it was the Figure 4 Leg Lock that finally got him, he admitted it was the Sharpshooter.

So, congrats to the happy couple. Looks like some 2011 nuptials for them.

Meal of Links

Katrina anniversary coverage. From the locals.

Major Garrett talks about moving on from Fox News. He and Shepherd Smith were about the only islands of sanity on that network.

A look at some guests on a new episode of "The Simpsons". Includes Flight of the Conchords.

Hungover owls! There are some gems here.

As I mentioned, I watched some of Beck-A-Palooza. You should always watch the other side, so you know what they are up to, and C-Span obliged. Anyhow here are some musings on the strange appeal of Glenn Beck. I think the guy is bonkers.

Parts of Mexico are pretty violent these days.

"Twin Peaks" revisited. Again. And I lap it up. Again. I love the clip they included. Lynch lingers on the pain of Laura Palmer's mother, where other directors, especially on TV at that time, would have cut away much sooner.

Sufjan Stevens has a new record. I will buy it, of course.

Chicks dig the geeky gadget guy. I think there is a TV show about that.

Public photo shoot turns into personal video shoot. Then the word "goober" is used.

Exercise Yard

Was over at Paul's for the Browns third exhibition game aka the GLC, or as Jake Delhomme called it, the dress rehearsal. Delhomme looked pretty good, however, this appears to be the same offense the Browns ran last year. Although, we now have someone at the helm who goes through the progression quickly.

As evidence, I point to the fact the Browns have not really thrown the ball deep in this preseason. Keyword may be "preseason" and they are not showing anything, but what are they doing? Mainly the Dink and Dunk of years gone by. The only medium-range throw, and it has been effective, is the tight end running the seam downfield. We've seen Evan Moore and Royal Roberts make that catch. Otherwise, it's a ton of the short stuff mixed in with dumpoffs. The only other pattern is the sideline up route that cuts off as the ball is thrown to the outside. We see no wideouts running deep over the middle. The only time the Browns do attack through the air are some redzone patterns.

That type of offense can be effective. But you have to keep the chains moving or it becomes a snoozefest. And as Gary said, if the Browns fall behind by 10-14 points, there are not a lot of signs currently that point to any big comeback ability. That, combined with an obvious lack of speed on defense, allows hope for only some slight improvement by the team this year.

Visitor

19 Across: Mystery author whose work has been translated into more than 100 languages (8 letters) Answer: Christie

I took a late afternoon swing today and headed over to Cinemark to see "Restrepo". This is the documentary that follows an army company through a 15-month deployment in probably the worst area for fighting in Afghanistan. This was co-directed by Sebastian Junger, the "Perfect Storm" author, who has carved out a really fine career as a war correspondent, in places such as Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The directors are apolitical here, but I can't see how you could be pro-war after viewing this one. The thing that is so striking is how young these guys are and, in the end (we find the US withdrew from here in April), they fight for what? But no one can question the resolve and professionalism these guys exhibit. Regardless of being at death's door on an almost daily basis, they have a job to do and perform it well.

The story revolves around the unit that has to go to the Korengal Valley to fight the Taliban. The guys hear the stories before they get there (CNN called it "the most dangerous place in the world"), but nothing prepares them for what they are about to experience. Restrepo was an outpost named for one of their fallen medics early in the fighting. A tribute to him and the bond these guys have with each other.

We also get to witness the problems they have with the locals, the rare times of boredom, the childlike hijinks and the effects of losing more of their brothers. Basically your heart gets ripped out when you hear how they try and deal with what they witnessed over there.

Anti-war? Probably. Pro-soldier? Most definitely.

Meal of Links

I happened to see Glenn Beck cry earlier this week on his show. I forget the context, but I think it's his 8/28 Fest or some other nonsense. So, to top most of his other idiocy, he says President Obama reminds him of Lucifer.

Wyclef Jean is running for President of Haiti. Sean Penn isn't a hater, but asks where he's been since the earthquake.

Eight inventors who changed the world. Tesla, Edison and Ford top the modern list.

Exercise Yard

Shades of Eric Plunk. Pitcher cannot intentionally walk a guy.

Visitor

13 Down: One of the original Politburo members (7 letters) Answer: Trotsky

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there.




















A World Cup is never complete without that photo. And since Italy played today and dove for a penalty, well, there you go.

Meal of Links

Did Billo get a vuvuzela blown into his brain? Now he criticizes Michelle Bachman.

Bon Jovi fires his manager. But wishes him well in his future endeavors. In other music news, Live Nation introduced their new tiered pricing at a show at Chicago's Soldier Field. Eagles, Keith Urban and the Dixie Chicks. $895 up close plus $46 parking. Joe Barton has already apologized to Live Nation for the hate.

BP bails on the North Sea. Must maintain profitability.

Exercise Yard

The Florida Marlins had a giveaway last night. Not vuvuzelas, but air horns. 15,000 of 'em. Joe Maddon: "There are cool things and non-cool things. That's non-cool."

Visitor

None, on a gorgeous Father's Day.

The Kentucky Derby is on Saturday. Much like one of Goldman Sachs deals, it's a pretty shitty year on the Triple Crown trail. Note there are only two horses with morning line odds below 10-1. That's Lookin at Lucky and Sidney's Candy. Bob Baffert trains Lookin for Lucky and he drew the rail. Sidney's Candy (from the Sid and Jenny Craig family) drew Post Position 20, the far outside. In between, there is a whole lot of nothin' goin' on.

But there is one horse I would not mind taking a shot with, and that's Ice Box, who drew Post Position 2 and is 10-1. Trained by Nick Zito, and he says Ice Box is a late bloomer. Even though the field is crap, there should be loads of speed in this one. Some are predicting the half-mile in 44 and change. That means it is setting up for the closers, of which Ice Box is one.

Check out the breeding on Ice Box. His Sire is Pulpit and his Dam is Spice Island. His Grandsire, of course, is A.P. Indy and his Damsire is Tabasco Cat. So, we have bloodlines going back to Seattle Slew and Secretariat and Storm Cat. On paper, it's a trail of racing royalty and that looks like a winner.

Meal of Links

Keith Richards says he's growing up. Don't believe it.

Is the music video back? Don't believe it.

Sarah Palin sticks her foot in her mouth again. Believe it. I wonder if she'll refer to "Lame Street" soon.

Steve Carell says one more year for "The Office" ought to do it for him. Don't believe it.

Catching up with T-Bone Burnett. An American gem. Believe it.

Bob Bennett probably loses his Senate seat in Utah. Does that mean the end of legislating in the Senate? Don't want to believe it.

Today is the 7th anniversary of an all-timer from Sheed:

"Both Teams Played Hard"



Exercise Yard

Who is the most hated team in major league baseball? The Yankees? Red Sox? Dodgers? Nope. It's the Indians!

Visitor

11 Down: Five-time NHL scoring leader Jaromir (4 letters) Answer: Jagr

Watching the film from Haiti has been especially brutal. When I first heard there was an earthquake near Petionville, I thought that was weird. You see, Petionville won the Ohio Derby several years ago. Then I realized the magnitude of this thing and it's pretty gut-wrenching.

Thousands dead. Perhaps 3 million of a nation of 9 million affected. Your capital city, Port-au-Prince, pretty much gone. Obviously, no one in charge as even the head of the shadow government is now homeless. No army or police presence. Aid on its way, but gridlocked. Adds up to a pretty bad scene.

Shepard Smith, God bless him, on Fox News puts into perspective: "This is a story where the pictures are going to look the same over the days ahead. And we are all going to be get bored with it, because we always do. And then they’ll all be truly alone, and then they’ll really need us."

Meal of Links

Uh-oh. The guy who invented SpaghettiO's died.

Catching up with Patti Smith. She is like the Zelig of late '60s-early '70s NYC.

Sarah Palin likes all of the founding fathers. Then stumbles upon George Washington as her favorite.

Nikola Tesla still inspires the geeks. With obligatory "Tesla Girls" references.

Mark it. "Treme" starts on HBO on April 11. Get on it quickly. Meanwhile, "Eastbound & Down" cranks up again on February 19.

Roger Miller gets some love. Dang me.

Exercise Yard

The Glazers have pretty much ruined the finances of Manchester United. That's why Raheem Morris coaches Tampa Bay. It's called "no money".

Visitor

47 Down: "Broadway Joe" (6 letters) Answer: Namath

What do you do when your odometer clicks to 100,000 miles? Well, you try and document the moment.

















I'm actually doing about 80 on I-480 between the State and Brookpark exits right there. And, yes, I wish my camera on my phone was better.

Meal of Links

The math of gambling. yes, you have to work it at.

Good shows, but yet they have terrible episodes once in a while. The one of "the Office" they cited was a strange one.

Mr. Skin says these are the Top 100 Nude Scenes of all time. Covers most of the usual suspects, I imagine.

GEICO bids adieu to to advertising on Glenn Beck. That's now 6 who have jumped ship.

Obama is literally Hitler. Very funny stuff.

Exercise Yard

FIGJAM believes in time travel. Couldn't he go into the future, read a headline about him losing the PGA this week and come back and try and fix it?

Visitor

10 Down: Grammy-winning country singer Ronnie (6 letters) Answer: Milsap

I kinda like how the sports calendar keeps throwing things my way. Just completed March Madness, which meant watching the Final Four. Then Opening Day happens next. Then the Masters starts. Then Miami is in the Frozen Four for Thursday. Then I get to attend the Home Opener for the Indians.

Then the Easter Bunny shows up.

Meal of Links

Dylan on Obama. It seems that he likes him.

Kenny Fucking Powers is back. "Eastbound and Down" gets renewed.

Roger Ebert counsels Bill O'Reilly. I give it two thumbs up.

Happy Birthday, Internets! Watch Iconic Videos to celebrate.

The Top 25 Fictional Ads in Sci-Fi Movies. Some of the "Robocop" ones are present.

Check out Philip Glass. This doc is on PBS tonight.

"Parks and Recreation" starts tomorrow. Rashida Jones talks about her role.

The death of newspapers. In pictures!

Marines forced Saddam Hussein to watch the "South Park" movie. That makes me laugh.

It costs $5.75 for Cracker Jack at Yankee Stadium. They need a Marc's.

Exercise Yard

The Mets hate Little Leaguers. I'm curious if the Tribe still allows parades before the games.

Visitor

69 Across: Media mogul Turner (3 letters) Answer: Ted

This morning, I was watching the FOX outlets, News and Business News. Why watch FOX? For crap like this.

On a FOX Business News rerun:

Obama Supporter: "It's all on the Internet. You can find any earmark in the bill."

FOX Host: "You can't expect anyone to go through 9,000 pages of the bill."

First they complain about not knowing what's in the bill, then when it's pointed out to them that you can find out, they turn the argument to it's too cumbersome or not everyone has access to the Internets. Aaaargh! It pays to know how these doofuses (doofi?) operate.

Then on FOX News this a.m., Mike West, the CEO of BioTime, comes on and talks about stem cells and how you don't need embryonic cells for research, you can use adult cells combined with 4 molecules in some sort of cellular time machine, in effect, bypassing the embryonic stem cell issue. Totally flummoxing the host who wanted to pursue the embryo angle immediately. West hijacked the angle and delivered a monologue on the benefits of stem cells and how precious time was wasted with the previous ban. On FOX News!!! So the host got owned and will be fired soon, I'm sure.

Meal of Links

If you are a city dweller and a Catholic, this weekend was D-Day as the diocese started announcing parish closings yesterday. I understand why some of these parishes had to close. Operating costs, declining neighborhoods, negligible attendance, etc. My old church, Our Lady of Good Counsel, is going to be merged with Corpus Christi, which is just up the road a piece. It has to get a new name though as Our Lady Christi of Good Corpus Counsel won't cut it. I wonder if they'll have a naming rights contest? Perhaps booking your passage to heaven if you win.

But, all kidding aside, it's really torturous to see some of the churches that were picked for closing. These are churches you may not have attended, but have known about or seen all of your life. St. Colman's down on 65th. Never been in it, but even I know on St. Patrick's, it's a big deal there. And when you come home using 65th as your route, it is magnificent to see that beautiful structure lit up on a summer night. A shining beacon in the night. Very sad.

Same with St. Ignatius on Lorain and West Boulevard, another one of those lit up at night. Truly stunning that it will close, as it seemed to be thriving. Man, St. Procop's down on 41st is 145 years old!! Gone. It looks like Downtown, they are funneling everyone to St. John's, eschewing St. Peter's, a popular parish, and a second one. While St. Malachi's made the cut, one other Downtown location should have survived. St. Patrick's in West Park. Gone. But St. Pat's on Bridge, another fine structure, will stay open. Maybe that's where the Irish can relocate. Slavic Village seems to be in turmoil over their closings. Have they given up on that neighborhood? And all the Hungarians now have to go to Buckeye? Really?

Let's hope when they close, the city can protect these buildings from the vandals. That's a lot of property to just sit there. Here is the list.

Social networking is the new e-mail. And, no, I am not on Twitter.

Joe Biden can now take Amtrak to Home Depot. Not really, but Amtrak gets a a bunch of cash.

Two funny things I've seen recently: "South Park"--"She's a notorious whore...". And Will Farrell's George Bush stage play. BTW, I think Edward Norton was sitting next to that Shakespearean scholar in the nickname portion.

Exercise Yard

I was down at CSU for the March Madness Selection Party. CBS wasted no time with CSU, as they were in one of the first brackets revealed. They drew a #13 seed against #4 Wake Forest. The game will be Friday in Miami. Wake was ranked Number One at least once this year, maybe twice.

Early thoughts:

If CSU can play a zone, they have a shot. Much like CSU, Wake's fatal flaw is their inconsistent outside shooting. Maryland slapped a zone on Wake in the ACC Tournament and defeated them, as Wake shot 29% on 22 of 74 for the game, and hit only 3-25 on threes.

If Wake can run or get us in the man-to-man with better shooting, it may be a short run for the Vikings. Depth inside will play a big role, as Wake is probably going to try and jam it inside and that's where that zone can help. Another plus is that Wake is a young team.

On paper, it looks like a not-so-good matchup. Between the lines, it's a winnable game.

BTW, I still haven't been contacted about tickets. I guess that's my responsibility to find out or maybe I'm not even close on the priority list. Besides, CSU wins two and they play in Indy next week.

At the gathering, Coach Waters assured us that winning the Horizon League Tournament was not their goal. He also had each team member and coach introduce themselves and say where they were from. If you watched STO, you saw what a fine group of guys are on the team.

The brackets are here.

Visitor

None, it's a sunny Selection Sunday.