OK, everyone can relax, as the Browns beat the Colts today. Sort of another yawner today. The good thing was the defense was only allowing Colt field goals until they gave up a TD with very little time left. They also got two turnovers, one when Reggie Wayne fell, allowing Usama Young to get a cheap interception. And Jabaal Sheard sacked Kerry Collins, picking up a fumble.

Again, not a whole lot happened either way here. The Colts were under 200 total yards until late. The Browns threw the ball 32 times and ran 34 making a lot of people pleased with the playcalling. Too many short passes, but they live to see another day.

Browns win, 27-19.

Meal of Links

Look at the size of those cans!

Not normally associated with recycling, but these are the size of the receptacles that Cleveland is using as part of its Sustainability 2019 Program. These cans were delivered to our expansion area (ward) this past Thursday. The black one is for garbage and it holds 95 gallons. On a weekly basis, I'd be lucky to fill two bags worth in the winter, without any yard waste. The blue one is 65 gallons for recycling. That looks like a one per month for me to even get close to maybe a third full. Maybe I should have ordered the smaller ones. But the things you can recycle! The cardboard toilet paper roll, for instance. Sheesh. First time I've had to recycle in the city for a long time.

Keith Law hated "Moneyball". Paul DePodesta (Jonah Hill's charecter) didn't want his name in the movie.

Overcoming the fear of public speaking. Still, a dreadful experience for many.

Exercise Yard

I was a bit perplexed to find that Floyd Mayweather actually beat Victor Ortiz by a KO. Hasn't had many of those lately. But it was the way he won.

Ortiz does a diving headbutt into Mayweather in the corner. The ref breaks them apart, rightfully penalizing Ortiz. As they get back to the center of the ring, Ortiz tries to apologize and give Floyd a hug. Floyd looks like he's going to go into a full embrace, and with a move straight from the WWE, notices the ref is not looking, Mayweather then decides to hit Ortiz with a slappy left to the face, then a huge right to the chin of the defenseless Ortiz. KO! The ref didn't appear to indicate that time had been restored after the headbutt, but awarded Floyd the win anyhow. Uh-oh. Get the conspiracy theories ready.

Pretty cheap, borderline legal, but it stands as a KO. Leading to this exchange between Mayweather and HBO's Larry Merchant.

Mayweather: "HBO needs to fire you; you don't know shit about boxing."

Merchant: "I wish I was 50 years younger and I would kick your ass."

God Bless Larry Merchant



Visitor

None, on a sunny Browns Sunday.

Well, the debt deal finally got done. Here are the political winners and losers.

And, the policy winners and losers.

Meal of Links

Happy Birthday, MTV.

Kings of Leon seem to be having issues. Not breaking up, just pissing off fans.

Come on, is this year's shark attacks the D.B. Cooper case? Still, one of America's greatest mysteries, unless you think Bigfoot ate him.

I'm sure this is the type of interchange that was proposed for I-480 and Tiedeman. Obviously, shitcanned by people who seemingly know better.

HBO premiere dates. "Bored to Death" goes to Mondays in October.

The best time passages in movies. There's that pyramid again. "You know, for the kids." And that beautiful ending from "25th Hour".

"Bachelorette" summary. Great, that saved me a bunch of time.

Getting Bin Laden. Has to be the most revealing account, thus far. "For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo."

Exercise Yard

Versus gets its expected name change, which is...NBC Sports Network. Obviously, lots of Olympics, hockey, horse racing and cycling. Don't be surprised if that NFL Thursday Night package (down the road) winds up here.

BTW, the NFL Network and RedZone Channel go to Charter. Seven of the top 8 cable carriers now have the NFL Network. The holdout? Although the public sniping has cooled, it's Time Warner, of course!

Visitor

48 Across: Maine mail order giant (6 letters) Answer: L.L. Bean

David Simon talks (briefly) about "Generation Kill". And says the most satisfying show he's done is "Treme".

NOLA's Dave Walker In Treme



Meal of Links

Is it too early to bitch about the American version of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"? Boobs on a poster are not going to bring in the teens. If it was "The Girl With The Tyson Tattoo", maybe.

"Boys, we got ourselves a werewolf. Right here in River City."

Lots of talk about cloud computing lately. Here's the scoop.

Craig Ferguson takes his show on the road. To Paris?

End-of-life questions you may want to think about.

Tim Pawlenty. WTF? He wants tax cuts three times larger than the Bush tax cuts. So what then does Romney offer? Or Bachmann?

F1 finally bails on Bahrain. No one really wanted to go there.

Exercise Yard

Grantland debuted today. Simmons on LeBron. Boy, what we saw in Game 4 this year was as perplexing of what we witnessed in Game 5 last year.

That will remain one of the greatest sports mysteries of our time. Leonard Nimoy should do a show.

Visitor

53 Down: "Another Saturday Night" singer Sam (5 letters) Answer: Cooke

My Dad and I were going to go to today's Indians game. This was the last Saturday 1:00 start of the year and I really like that start time. The forecast looked too ominous, so we backed off pretty early on going.

Instead, we headed to the Capitol and took in the documentary "Bill Cunningham New York". Cunningham is the iconic photographer of the New York Times. Not only takes pictures at social functions, but does the shows in Paris and also shows the fashion from the streets of New York.

Absolutely a first-rate production. Just enough of a picture into the guy's life. A guy still doing his job at 80, riding to and from work and to the events on his bike. Sweet guy who has an eye for what looks good on people and a keen sense of what would make a good photo.

After the movie, while it was still raining, BTW, we went for our first taste at Sweet Moses. This is the new ice cream joint on Detroit. Neat interior and the ice cream is really good. I had a root beer float and he had a chocolate malt. I had one taste of that and have to get one of those next time. Highly recommended.

Meal of Links

Michael Heaton is right. The Lady Gaga-Madonna comparison is so obvious, I can't believe the lawyers haven't been summoned. You hear a song and you say, mmm, that's "Express Yourself' or "La Isla Bonita". Watch the Gaga special on HBO, It's laughable. My favorite part was the shoutouts to "Jesus Christ" and "Jesus Christo" for being real superstars.

Paul Simon is kind to Canadians. He got a request from the audience and let the requester play guitar.

"Treme" got renewed for a third season. I was starting to worry about the ratings ("Terriers" territory) and wondering if HBO could continue to buy into David Simon's 5-year vision. Good for them.

Speaking of NOLA, the Mighty Mississip has to empty somewhere. Can you really trust the Corps decision to open up that Spillway? Limited options, but, oh, if they get it wrong.

"Good Eats" is done.

Catching up with Bootsy Collins. Includes "Groove Is In The Heart".

Man City Wins the FA Cup



The WBWC Summer Marathons on Thursday have started. This year, even Gordon Lightfoot gets the treatment.

These are not pictures of government officials watching Bin Laden get his. Nope. These are funny. The one with Bob Ross kills me, because you also have notables such as Quint, Spongebob, Pee Wee Herman, The Rally Monkey, and Mr. Clean.

Huckabee says "Not for me." Keeps his job and his money. Might have made some early primary noise but would not have won a nomination, in my opinion.

Exercise Yard

Harmon Killebrew has decided to end his cancer treatment and head over to hospice. Now this is how you want to sign off. Beautiful. As Rick Telander said, "...it's not raising the white flag, but perhaps lowering the party banner."

Killebrew was not your prototypical slugger. Kind of short and squat. But he homered 40 times in 8 different seasons (along with A-Rod, Bonds and Aaron) and only Babe Ruth has done better.

Visitor

51 Down: Shortstop Vizquel (4 letters) Answer: Omar

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.

Visitor

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

"All My Children" died today. So did "One Life To Live". If Mario Batali's show isn't dumbed down, it might...what am I saying, it's network TV. OF COURSE, it'll be dumbed down.

Forget about it. It's Loretta Lynn's birthday.

"Portland, Oregon"/Loretta Lynn



Meal of Links

Look what Taco Bell is testing. A taco with a shell made from Doritos. You may call it fast food. I call it heaven. How about a roadie to Toledo?

Yeah, Simon Cowell leaving "Idol" means criticism also left the program. "Idol" really needs him.

"Treme" starts in 10 days. The producers are trying to stop the NOLA mayor from demolishing some homes. Homes in disrepair, but used to market the show.

Great kitchens. Hardly used.

Some love for Ernie Kovacs. New DVDs are out next week.

A history of Las Vegas weddings. No word on Mexican divorces.

The films of Walter Hill. Trust me, I'm an expert on these. Matter of fact, I stayed up late a couple of months ago to watch "Southern Comfort". I will stop and watch "The Warriors" and "Streets of Fire", if they show up.

Another fave. Luc Besson.

And lastly. Test your French. It's Cannes.

Exercise Yard

How do those pros play Augusta National? Here is Kevin Streelman's yardage book from the Masters.

Visitor

16 Across: Hater of David, in Dickens (5 letters) Answer: Uriah

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

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

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

Those were two very nice throwbacks down memory lane.

Meal of Links

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

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

Charlie Sheen. The Anatomy of a Winner.

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

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

Did Batman go to college? Yale thinks so.

Evan Bayh. Hypocrite.

Exercise Yard

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

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

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

Florida
BYU
Connecticut
Wisconsin
UCLA
Gonzaga
Missouri
Kansas State

Visitor

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

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

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

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

Meal of Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

Insane Hand Model



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

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

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

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

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

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

Exercise Yard

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

Visitor

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

Drew (picking up Clooney air miles these days) and I were at O's last night. First time I had a burger there. I selected the J.V. Burger. On an English muffin, with a bit of bacon, tomato, lettuce and bleu cheese. Very good. And, of course, I had the Tomato Soup.

They had the Cavs and the World Series on, as well. So, it was a good time. Drew may be the only person I know who has been to New Brunswick. Not a suburb of Brunstucky. Canada.

Meal of Links

Jim Rome started a day early and warned everyone with his annual "If you are older than 12, and you are wearing a Halloween costume, you are a loser" rant. How appropriate are costumes at work?

Frank Jarvis died. Don't know him? He was a driver in "The Italian Job". You know, the one where Michael Caine says, "Just remember this. In this country they drive on the wrong side of the road."

Could "Moneyball" work at Liverpool? Not sure. Just because there will be a cut in player wages isn't an automatic adoption of "Moneyball" principles. Huge late Saturday match this week: Manchester United vs. Tottenham.

Here are 15 Black Friday myths. I have snagged some good deals on Turkey Day before, without waiting until Friday. This year, I'm trying for a Thermapen.

Remember Newy Scruggs?



Danno gets booked for heaven. Last of the original Five-O cast.

"I'm about to fuck you up with some truth." "Big Love" ends. Both "Bored to Death" and "Eastbound and Down" get renewed by HBO.

Karl Rove blasts Sarah Palin. Keep your eyes on Delaware, Nevada and Alaska on Tuesday.

How do these pumpkin offerings from chains actually taste? I had a pumpkin muffin from Giant Eagle last week that was really good.

The 10 Most Disturbing Horror Scenes of the past decade. Didn't see any of them.

This is old news. Really. I heard this shortly after the controversy died down that this was a prime motive of all involved.

Exercise Yard

A look back at the post-season managing of Mike Hargrove with the Indians. Oh, God, the pain.

They're all here:

1995: Jim Poole in Game 6 of the World Series.

1996: Casey Candaele pinch-hitting for Jim Thome in Game 3 of the ALDS vs. Baltimore. Jose Mesa for a FOURTH inning in Game 4.

1997: Surprisingly devoid of stupidity.

1999: Jaret Wright in Game 3 of the ALCS. Forcing both Bartolo Colon and Charles Nagy to go on three days rest.

2001 (OK, this was by Uncle Cholly): With Ricky Rincon warming up, Bartolo Colon remained in the game to pitch to Ichiro.

Hence, no title since 1948.

Visitor

2 Down: Stern with a Strad (5 letters) Answer: Isaac

It was worse than a snow day today. I bugged out of work a tad early today and escaped with no traffic on 8. Forty-five minutes later...complete mayhem. See, there were accidents that shut down the Turnpike east of me, and 271 was also closed in both directions between 8 and Forbes.

And there was a massive delay northbound on 77 for the morning rush. i saw a a stalled auto carrier in addition to an accident. So, those folks were stopped from at least Wallings to beyond the Turnpike.

Long days all around.

Meal of Links

David Fincher finally picked his Lisbeth Salander. It's Rooney Mara. When he wanted an unknown, he really picked one.

An account of the Tila Tequila incident. They pelted her with rocks and garbage.

Economic charts. China is Number Two with a bullet.

Now this is unexpected. HBO picked up "The Life & Times of Tim". It was cancelled. I admit this show isn't for everyone, but I really like it.

22 TV characters who ruin good shows. Yep, John Burns from "Taxi" and Klinger from "M*A*S*H" show up. Of more recent vintage, Sonny from "Treme" and Rita from "Dexter" (well, not anymore) make it.

Exercise Yard

Joe Pa doesn't look like he's gonna last the season. If your local sports editor asks if he should be driving, That's a cause for concern.

Visitor

10 Across: "Java" trumpeter Al (4 letters) Answer: Hirt

"Java"/Al Hirt

An interview with the guy who created the girl, you know, with the tattoo. Looking back at the only public chat with Stieg Larsson. Good news on the American movie version. Obviously, in Fincher's hands, that's great in itself, but he's looking at Daniel Craig as the male lead. I see him working here, and I'm actually buying it.

Now, the casting of the girl is what's going to make or break the U.S. film version.

Meal of Links

The fake BP PR Twitter account. Complete with "tar ball" and Marmaduke references.

HBO has started up a Monday doc series. Tonight's, "Smash His Camera", on Ron Galella, Jackie O's "favorite" photographer, was terrific.

HBO giveth and they taketh away. "The Life & Times of Tim" got cancelled. Very underrated and underpublicized show.

That casino jackpot you thought you won? Why, that was just a computer glitch.

"Seinfeld" has made $2.7 billion since leaving network TV. that's a lot of fusilli, Jerry.

Exercise Yard

The 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's. The dark ages for US Soccer.

Visitor

14 Across: Contemporary of Ella and Sarah (4 letters) Answer: Lena

Why do we torture ourselves by following these teams? Because we love to be tortured! I mean, would we really know how to act if we ever won one of these things? But this Cavs loss was a killer. I can't believe they were knocked out a round earlier than last year. It just doesn't make any sense. They are regressing with better talent.

Oh, there will be lots of blame to go around. I'm not sure we'll have Mike Brown to kick around anymore. He is the third longest tenured coach in the Eastern Conference behind Doc Rivers and Mike Woodson. Doc is making noise about leaving the Celtics and I suspect Woodson and Brown are on shaky ground. Avery Johnson is available and I love the way he talks. Hire him.

And I think LeBron stays, so there's your Cavalier summer.

Cavs lose, 94-85. Game over. Series over. Season over.

Meal of Links

The 40 Best Cartoon Characters. With Video. Dr. Doofenshmirtz is Number 8! OK, no Pink Panther, no Foghorn Leghorn, and Daffy Duck is much, much better than Number 19.

The music from "Treme". Shows up every Monday.

New Coke machine gives you a choice of 104 flavors. 335% more flavors than Baskin Robbins.

Look what else you can get in a vending machine. Pizza!

I dunno. I think I'd be more impressed if movies were not his job. But he's viewing "100 Movies in 100 Days". I am probably jealous.

This guy loves flushing toilets. I am not sure if there any members of the Brown Trout Club, but I think it's safe. Literally, Toilet Humor.

7 things you need to stop doing on Facebook. Perhaps, joining should be on there.

A Warhol self-portrait goes for $32.6 million. The new owner is Anonymous Bidder.

Great news. The "Rockford Files" remake is floundering.

Exercise Yard

Drew Bledsoe scores. With wine. Robert Parker rates it a 91-94. Outstanding.

Visitor

44 Across: Comic Cheech (5 letters) Answer: Marin

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

I was over at Target today at Steelyard Commons. As I was leaving, I noticed they had a three-wheel motorcycle-looking vehicle parked up front. It was done up in the red-and-white Target colors and marked "Assets Protection". Only 100 stores nationwide have one, so far.















I guess if someone shoplifts, they can hop on this cycle and chase them down. I'd like to see it in action. But I guess the real reason is to patrol the parking lot and provide outdoor security.

Meal of Links

Have the laughs on this past week's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" ever been better? Looks like Leon will kickstart the Middle East peace talks.

Hey, you wuss! Make your own pie crust!

NME lists its 50 best albums of the decade. Not bad.

The 25 Best Live TV Moments of the decade. Includes the mother of Bill Hicks receiving Letterman's apology. Early White Stripes on MTV. Lots of sports, but no Ron Artest, which is easily Top 5 material!

A review of Palin's book. "It moves as quickly as possible to its real raison d’Atre, a methodical re-imagining of her entire political career replete with more excuses than a Cleveland Browns post-game press conference. Palin has never done anything wrong." Nate Silver says she will run in 2012.

Kurt Vonnegut writes a letter from the war. Read the crap that guy lived through.

Bill Maher keeps coming on earlier. Now it's 9:00 p.m. on Fridays, starting in February.

The Best Metal of the Decade.

Exercise Yard

The coach of my alma mater is a wise old man. Listen to Charlie Coles respond to a question of how the Kentucky game got away from Miami. Lowly Miami lost on a last-second shot, BTW.



Hey, Australia! Wrestling is fake! Not front page news.

Visitor

18 Across: "Seven Year Ache" country singer (11 letters) Answer: Rosanne Cash

Advice for all the kids out there. Never step on your glasses. Mine are currently being prepped to see if they can survive. I banged up my left lens pretty good. I hope I don't have to get a new one.

So, I'm back to my old ones and I can still see!

Meal of Links

Talking about Judge Sotomayor's confirmation chances. Nate Silver has the totals. Current Senators approved, 35-11 in 1998.

Trent Reznor is raising money for a patient in need of a heart transplant. Already raised more than half a million.

Al Pacino will play Dr. Kevorkian. You know, the guy on my Dead Pool released from prison on health grounds who got better after he left.

If you're a sea fish. Plan on big changes. You probably have 50 years left.

Hello, Newman.

Exercise Yard

The Cavs are performing their own version of "Drag Me To Hell".

Quick Postgame Thoughts:

Do you realize Sasha Pavlovic was perhaps not even active (one box gave him a DNP-CD, another had no listing) for tonight's game? But that's the history of Mike Brown come playoff time. Just look at the box score of Game 7 last year with Boston. Guys disappear without much notice. Today, Joe Smith only played 4 minutes. Apparently, enough time to get abused defensively like some of his teammates, as he had a -7 in that time.

Just goes to show you. For all the wasted breath about home court advantage, come playoff time, you must win on the road.

Ben Wallace had only 4 points, but even with getting picked on that Lewis three-pointer, he played much better defensively. His most active game this series. But he was -14 for the game.

Wally: 21 minutes, 2 points. Only 4 shot attempts. Cavs running out of bullets.

I am digging the "Most Interesting Man" on those Dos Equis ads. Stay thirsty, my friends.

For all of the talk about guard play and the bench: Williams and West combined for 12-of-30. The bench scored 14 points. Daniel Gibson enjoyed, what, three minutes of good play? I thought Delonte West came to play today and he made some tough shots. Almost saved the game in the last 7 seconds but he couldn't grab the ball from going out of bounds.

Mo Williams? Completely disappeared late. His last FG came with 6:46 left in the third quarter. Only attempted 3 more shots after that, missed a technical and his last attempt was a missed layup with 8:15 left in the fourth.

It's all about the Orlando threes. Cavs outrebounded them. Shot 45% from the field, 83% from the line. Only had 12 turnovers (LeBron had 8!), which points out how bad they were late in the game when those piled up. Negatives: 27% on threes and only 17 assists.

Overall, not that bad on the stat sheet, but still not enough to overcome 50% shooting and 45% on threes by the Magic.

My old adage: "Never underestimate the pride of the professional athlete". I assume the Cavs will not roll over and expect their A-game on Thursday. It might be the last chance to showcase their talent at home. I sense a win in Game 5.

Cavs lose in OT, 116-114.

Visitor

12 Down: Rumored Himalayan (4 letters) Answer: Yeti

Last night, my Dad and I saw Cliff Lee win his 20th game of the season. Great game as Lee tossed a gem, like he was throwing at the start of the season. No runs, five hits, no walks, in a complete game. Might be time to start thinking contract extension. He has only 2 years left here.

We were originally slated for the Party Deck. In some weird sort of circumstances, we must have been the only ones to purchase seats in that section for the evening. So much for that September sale they ran online. Anyhow, when we arrived, the section was "open to the public". I found that strange, because there was free food involved. Then we were sent upstairs to the picnic area in the Mezzanine, where the guy told us he was under the impression The Party Deck was closed for the evening. We eventually got in after a discussion. Since I had not had anything to eat, I immediately grabbed a hot dog, a chicken wing and a pulled pork sandwich. Scarfing that down in no time, we were then approached by an Indians employee (I told my Dad, "We're about to be harassed again!") who told us our seats were being upgraded...TO CLUB SEATS!!!

If they had only come five minutes (maybe seconds) earlier, I would not have had all of that food. I had to then pinch myself because the customer service from that point on was unreal. "Oh, we've been waiting for you." "We heard that you might be joining us." "If you need anything, just ask." WTF? I didn't know I was coming here until 2 minutes ago. But, no, they kept reminding us there was free food. They must have thought we had just come off the boat or something. Of course, I was not going to let all of the food go by, so it was cups of popcorn, Cracker Jack, some ice cream, and a slice of pizza. All that while enjoying a really good game.

What started out to be a clusterfuck ended on a really high note.

Meal of Links

"Flight of the Conchords" may only do 10 more episodes. That would be a major problem for me, I think.

American adaptations of British TV shows. Great clip of "Sanford and Son". Ditto "Fawlty Towers".

All about steak.

I've run into this guy in more theaters than I can remember. I'm gonna miss him.



He's on the record saying this was his favorite trailer:



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Behind the scenes with Tony Stewart. I have to go to Rolling Stone for great stuff like this?

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20 Across: Poem set in Mudville (13 letters) Answer: Casey At The Bat

St. Patrick's Day was a modest success in Gateway, from what I learned. The prevailing opinion is that with most everyone having this Friday off, due to Easter, and Opening Day a short time away, people had to pick and choose their time off wisely. I know that applied to me, and I didn't arrive Downtown until 6:30.

By that time, it wasn't very crowded. I understand pre and post-parade was jammed, but not much activity in the a.m. compared with previous years. I can attest by the time my imbibing started, the celebrating looked to be mostly over. For instance, one of my favorite things is seeing the late-day drunk blowing a long, green horn. Missed that this year.

Although, I had a car bomb (don't mind the leakage), I was not close to auditioning for that role. I think the highlight was eating half of Uncle F-Bomb's corned beef sandwich, seemingly the last one in town. And it was good.

Meal of Links

"Let's talk about race, bay-bee. Let's talk about you and me." Obama delivers a speech about a racial stalemate. Mostly positive reviews follow.

HBO cans the head of their entertainment division. They are having a bit of a slump over there, besides "The Sopranos".

I do not watch "Dancing with the Stars". But here's a critique of the men.

The Raconteurs new album drops next week. Another release that tries to change the model of music delivery. Apparently, it was finished just this month.

Really cool beds. Some of these with the home theater incorporated, look like the view you get in Row 1 at the local cinema.

David Lynch donates a million dollars to MIU. Plus, he has his own weekend there.

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SI puts all of its content online, for free. That means easy access to the best cover ever:


















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5 Across: Rapper Shakur (5 letters) Answer: Tupac

Dennis! wins! It looks like Joe Cimperman's campaign died the same day Kucinich gave up his presidential bid. I think it's Dennis!'s job until he doesn't want it anymore. A clear repudiation of any or all opponents last night. The guy has a loyal group of followers and a machine that works. I got another phone call from him yesterday on Election Day. I'm not sure I even got the dreaded campaign literature from Cimperman and I certainly got no calls from his phone bank. Perhaps if he lived in the district, it might have helped.

As for my voting journey yesterday, there were a couple of things I didn't get. But the good news is they had a person at the door who had a master list of voters. I vote at a church that has four precincts, and I know I vote in Precinct E. But there are always people who forget or get confused, so this is a good thing to have someone direct you to the correct precinct.

But I wasn't sure they were matching up my ballot without any sort of checking device to know it was mine. I think they ripped a ballot from a legal pad and when I was done, I threw it into a box with no stub or anything that I was aware of. The other disturbing thing was that if you didn't want to go to a booth, you could fill out your ballot while sitting at a table. Where other folks were filling out their ballots in the open! Didn't really care for that too much.

Anyhow, it looks like the D's will be at each other's throats for a while and now I'm guaranteed no sleep during convention week in Denver. Has anyone figured out why Puerto Rico, not a state last time I looked, has 55 delegates at stake in June? That's more than some states. Found that out after 1:00 this morning.

A pretty good analysis of what happened last night.

Meal of Links

All about Steve Jobs. I haven't bought an Apple product in a while, maybe it's time.

My Dad utters the word "Shit" with the best of them. But Clay Davis from "The Wire" rules all.

"Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit"/Clay Davis



Keep this quiet. Do not give them any ideas. Or I'll do my Clay Davis imitation.

"If you could read my mind" becomes closer to reality. Kind of a Brainiac Video machine.

What is up with Jeff Conaway? Well, he carries a knife.

While the world is deifying Brett Favre, take a look at his first completion with the Packers:



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The Top MLB Promotions this year. Omigod, Tampa is giving away Cowbells!

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22 Across Down: Coach Parseghian (3 letters) Answer: Ara

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

Meal of Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



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



Exercise Yard

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

Visitor

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