It's been a long time since I've read a sportspage where I have a million things running through my head upon completion. But here it goes.

Tony Grossi grades the Browns today.

To show how bad the Browns are, 5 of the top 14 players are significant special team players (Cribbs, Vickers, Dawson, Zastudil, Pontbriand). To paraphrase George W. Bush, "He forgot Cundiff!".

Shaun Rogers at #3? "Child, please." Remains overrated by virtually everyone in this town.

Matt Roth plays 6 games and gets rated (Unbelievably in the Top 10), D'Qwell Jackson plays 6 and is not? I don't care who ended up on IR or not.

Jamal Lewis at #19? Not sure how or why.

One thing bugs me about Terry Pluto's column today. The line "You can be jaded and say that Mangini kept the job" and then lists EXACTLY the reasons why. Lerner paying for yet another ex-employee, the upcoming CBA dispute and Holmgren not yet sure he does NOT want to coach.

Why bang on Braylon Edwards? Dude is gone. Still in the playoffs, but gone.

New Tribe pitching coach, Tim Belcher, talked to Jake Westbrook about how he pitched in Puerto Rico. This always kills me. Hop on a plane and go to PR and see the guy pitch live, you don't even need a passport.

After seeing "Sugar" the other day, I will never underestimate the firing of Luis Isaac by the Indians again. From helping the Hispanic players with the English language and having a father figure around who can speak their native language and prepare them for the dos-and-donts of the majors and guide them when things don't go well, these players go through a lot. I mean how many times will you order "French Toast", because that's the only item you know how to pronounce, even though you don't like it. So, I was thrilled to see that Manny Acta, the Most Interesting Manager in the World, visted with Fausto Carmona in the Dominican. At least 15 wins this year, you watch.

Not a surprise that the Jets handled the Bengals. The Bengals offense led the league in three-and-outs and the Bengals had two of them in the first half yesterday.

Not much of a surprise that the Cowboys whipped up on the Eagles again. The Dallas front 7 is really playing well right now and may give Minnesota some fits next week. Last two weeks, the Eagles ran only 10 and 13 times against that Cowboy defense.

Today, I like the Ravens and Packers, but not sure either team will win. I think they'll be close, but not sure they can get over the hump.

Meal of Links

The World's Most Amazing Views. Hard to believe this did not qualify:




















A long excerpt from the book, "Game Change". About John Edwards, his wife, his mistress, etc.

Credit card rates. Going up.

Ten spinoffs better than the original. I have to think about this one more.

CNET lists the award winners from the Consumer Electronics Show. Do we really need 3-D at home?

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It was Mascot Night at the Bart last night. Slider (Indians), Skipper (Captains), Sully (Monsters), Vike (CSU Emeritus) and Magnus (current CSU) were there. No Mister Chicken or Akron Aero guy.


























It was my first look at the new "pressing" CSU Vikings. Due to attrition and bad play, Coach Waters has decided to go with full-court pressure and let the chips fall where they may. A truly weird game. They were "Homered at home" in the first half by the refs (only 2 foul shot attempts by CSU) and had to go to Plan C, with only about 6 minutes gone. Second half foul shot attempts, CSU 15, UIC, 3! Complete reversal.


























CSU eventually wore down Illinois-Chicago to grab a 16-point lead, 65-49, with only 4 minutes to go. Three minutes later, it's 66-63, WTF? In the last minute, CSU hit 4 foul shots for the final score of CSU 70, UIC 63.

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None, on a cold Sunday.

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

Meal of Links

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

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

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

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas

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

"Linus and Lucy"/David Benoit



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Merry Christmas! Michael Schumacher resumes driving in Formula One.

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

Last night, Drew and I headed out to O’Rielly’s for some drinking. No Po Boys, but a Turkey Burger hit the spot. He mentioned that he had just flown in on first class. Isn’t that a cool thing to get into first class?

My boss once upgraded me. The unfortunate thing was he was also there. Ah, those were the days. He proceeded to bring out his own caviar. He was piling it onto his crackers, like normal folk pile on cheese or peanut butter. What a sight! Then, he stuffs one in his mouth and then immediately asks, or should I say, mumbles loudly three rows back where I was, if I wanted any. I politely replied , “No.” as my thought bubble read, “Do I know you?”

Meal of Links

A look back at ”Reservoir Dogs”. I was a bit late to this party, but I still love it. “Toby Wong?” might be my favorite line. Plus, you get “Little Green Bag”…



The 2008 playoffs have already started. It’s the ”Worst Lyrics of the Year”.

The executive producer of “Dexter” talks about the finale, which I thought was weak. I’m curious to see what gets carried over to Season Four. I thought LaGuerta would have at least looked at the file or even mentioned Doakes in Season Three, and that never happened. Looks like Deb will obviously look into her father’s past though. But I can probably name 5 things I’d be curious about for next year and maybe they’ll be dismissed as well.

Yahoo! compiled the best and worst tech products of 2008. I like Hulu and that Herman Miller chair, Embody, is getting tons of good press. They are right, Blu-Ray discs for $25 suck.

Media errors and corrections for the year. Some of that stuff is funny.

Al Franken might win! I cannot believe they are still counting votes. It’s Christmas.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas…



(Yeah, it’s bad.)

Exercise Yard

Travel to bowl games looks like it’s taking a hit. Check out these Orange Bowl prices. Walk in cheaply and upgrade.

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21 Down: Diggs of “Rent” and “Cake” (4 letters) Answer: Taye

Today was one of those evenings that you have planned ahead of time. Order a pizza, gonna watch some football, then make a call or two. But it all changed when my new cellphone arrived in the mail, so I had to start the setup on that noise. Yes, it actually has a camera, too. Welcome to the 20th century. And I guess I have to make a vow now to actually carry the phone around like a normal person.

And then Time Warner finally changed me over to the Road Runner domain. That had only been promised for a year. So that takes time to change all my accounts and notify everyone via e-mail. Still no NFL Network and I'll see red if they put that Big Ten Network on ahead of the NFL. I mean, how stupid is that?

Meal of Links

The everlasting charms of sweet tea. Lemme say this, sweet tea is real good, and you can't find it much here in the North.

We are Number 2 in something! It's most affordable homes.

Psst. Over here. Buy me.

Exercise Yard

The Steelers debuted their new mascot yesterday. And the Internets are not taking too kindly to this Steely McBeam character. In one day, he's already become the gay mascot with the pornstar name. Pittsburgh hasn't seen an operating steel mill within its city limits since 1995, so why they are celebrating the Steelers 75th Anniversary with this dude, I'm not sure. Folks are already laying odds he'll be booed off the field or beaten up by Game 4.

But it has reminded everyone of when Homer took Bart to the Gay Steel Mill:



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19 Across: #1 tennis player for much of the '80s (5 letters) Answer: Lendl

I fell asleep in "The Dream Chamber" (my couch) and had the oddest dream that co-starred Scarlett Johansson that I'm still trying to decipher. First of all, everyone had their clothes on. But I was trying to find my seat location in this monstrous arena. It was in Section 1004, but the way the arena was built, I couldn't find the section.

The sections from 1009-1018 were hidden. So, I would go to 1008, then the next section was 1019. And, I could not figure out what the hell was going on. So, I stopped at a concession stand, bought a Pibb (a real Pibb and definitely not a mojito), and realized that there was this hallway that led to those missing sections. Sort of like finding a hallway in "Being John Malkovich". Just as I was ready to go there, Scarlett walks over. She knows me, I know her, so we start chatting until it was time for the event. Then I woke up. Hell, it could have been a Joel Osteen revival or something, but I have no idea where it was. The REM was in overdrive and it was really bizarre.

Meal of Links

Some behind-the-scenes thoughts from the executive producer of "Lost". Still have not seen one episode.

The Top 10 flops from Apple. Hard to think about now, but a trip down memory lane to some items that didn't make it. I recall the Lisa was unbelievably expensive for its time (but I think I saw one in a Rickie Lee Jones video back then) and I actually forgot about Pippin! And the Newton, of course.

Whoo hoo, another boxing movie. I feel I must support boxing any way I can, so I actually pay to see any movie that has boxing in it. Even that Meg Ryan disaster, "Against the Ropes", filmed partially here in town. I even watched "The Harder They Fall" on Turner the other day.

Exercise Yard

Switching to the Women's Final Four for a second. Has anyone noticed the downright disastrous attendance totals at the Regional Finals. I used to have a difficult time with these games played at campus sites, but if that's the only way people show up, they need to move back there.

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8 Down: Brewer Coors (6 letters) Answer: Adolph

When will we get a Sonic? After their latest commercial (during "The Riches", BTW) for a Banana Pudding Shake, apparently not soon enough. Oh, why do they torture us so? Closest location: Whitehall, OH.

Meal of Links

Folks are eating less fruits and veggies. I had a pear and broccoli and a salad today. I guess that counts for something. OK, I had Girl Scout cookies, too.

When to buy gadgets. Wait is the operative word.

In Detroit, houses are cheaper than cars. Hey, maybe the next Will Smith movie will have him living in a house.

Exercise Yard

Cricket may have killed the Pakistan coach. The pressure of the job may have bowled him over at the World Cup.

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41 Across: School official (4 letters) Answer: Dean

During a weekend of trying to get out of a funk, staving off a cold, and watching a shitload of English and American football, I was reminded that this week is the week of the Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld. I'm curious to see what Apple is coming out with tomorrow with rumors about a phone, iTV, and a new video iPod, which I've been craving. But I am also intrigued by Sharp's 108-in. TV. Whoo-hoo.

I can now go camping, as well.

Meal of Links

The Rock Hall inductees were announced today. I think the only surprise for me was The Ronettes over Iggy Pop. That baffles me. BTW, today is David Bowie's 60th birthday, and here are 60 Bowie facts. I really dig #37, for some reason. And, he does dig Arcade Fire.

Bad Tigger? Come on, he barely pawed that kid, but check out the kid. He appears to be grabbing Tigger's neck, and I can't believe I'm this concerned about it.

I was elated when I saw Bruce Campbell in the new Old Spice commercial. If you don't know him...well, you should.

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Stephen Hawking wants to go to space. No laughing.

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28 Down: Vladimir of the Kremlin (5 letters) Answer: Putin