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

Meal of Links

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

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

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

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

Bourdain talks about Southern food.

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

Exercise Yard

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

Visitor

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

I was actually at the Tribe game on Thursday. The Indians had some insane deal (meaning advance ticket sales were dreadful) for the Toronto series where you can still get $44 tickets for $13 plus fees. Take that, StubHub!

But I wasn't there for this:



Somewhere, Bill Selby nods approval.

Anyhow, I'm not a master of the ALE (Always Leave Early) theory, but if you witnessed the first 7 innings of that game, no one would begrudge you leaving. Indians starter Zach McAllister threw 94 pitches in only 4 innings, while Carlos Villanueva for Toronto threw 110 in 6 innings.

I may have had a sense of kismet on the way home because I mentioned to my Dad that we had missed comebacks from large deficits in the past (ahem...the largest), so no big deal if we missed something that night. With that Joey Bats homer in the 9th to put Toronto up by 4, I thought that was the clincher.

But then Hafner came up and he smoked one. Good for them. Victories like that can really mean something come September.

Hey, at least the hot dogs were good.

Meal of Links

I don't know this guy from Adam. But he did co-invent Rotisserie Baseball. Deserves a parade.

What is with the fake fireworks? Child, please.

Another series jumps ahead in time. This time, it's "Dexter"!

There was a time if you had anything to do with baseball memorabilia, you knew the name, Barry Halper. Turns out most of his artifacts were stolen or forgeries. it's a long read, but fascinating.

Getting your kicks. On Route 66. Don't forget Winona!

Philly saves $2 million a year. How? By essentially decriminalizing marijuana.

Marc Maron does have a fine podcast. Listen here.

F-A-T. That spells fat.

Monkey self-portraits. Funny. Put a hat on hiim. Really funny.

Exercise Yard

We have two lockouts. One has been rumored as "close to ending" for weeks now (NFL), the other (NBA) has two factions divided like Korea.

Bill Simmons tries to solve the latter.

Visitor

10 Down: Pink Floyd's "The Wall:, e.g. (9 letters) Answer: Rock Opera

Casey Anthony is off to find the real killers.














Meal of Links

It's the American way. Making fun of Hitler.

Have you seen the light? The world's greatest light bulb.






















One of the most hilarious things I read today was Hollywood's reaction to the Tot Mom verdict via Twitter. Kim Kardashian, of all people, was shocked at the verdict. Prompting this response. Dexter Morgan was also trending high on Twitter, as if he were a real person who could take care of Tot Mom.

David Simon has a real knack for season-ending montages. He did it again with Sunday's season-ender on "Treme":



Simon talks about "Treme" here.

What's lurking in a navel? Strange stuff.

E-Harmony guy says don't get married. Wait a minute. What?

Exercise Yard

Nate Silver writes about the NBA lockout. The financial distress of the owners is a canard.

Visitor

9 Across: Jake LaMotta, e.g. (5 letters) Answer: Boxer

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

Last night was a great opportunity to zip through the dial and see who gives you the best weather coverage. The combination of lots of storms and violent ones at that, allowed us to see who was at the top of their game.

Channel 3

Kling makes a strong case for being calm and not at all panicky. Although she kept using the phrase "place of safety", which I guess means your basement, closet or bathroom on your lowest floor. Not very compelling to see someone watching a computer, so they had the irritant of Ramona and then the 7:00 crew sit by and offer up some tidbits. Kling must have the stalkers though, because she showed her phone after receiving an alert from Channel 3 Weather. "I get alerts for Cuyahoga County because that's where I work. You can also choose additional counties. I have the "county where I live" and two adjacent counties, as well."

Channel 5

OK, Mark Johnson has the Power of 5 on his side. Too much begging for photos and interrupting the broadcast with them. Did a decent job, but had the line of the night, early on in the proceedings, when the wind and hail were issues for the western counties. "Three-inch hail? How'd you like that coming down on your car? Three-inch hail. How'd you like that coming down on your kids? What are they doing outside? Get'em indoors!"

Channel 8

Didn't linger here too much. But I did hear Andre Bernier at 7:45 mention we would not miss a minute of "American Idol". Even as storms were closing in on Cuyahoga Falls.

Channel 19

Easily the clusterfuck of the evening. It seemed that every storm chaser that went west got there after the storm had already passed. Tanchak had to redirect everyone eastward. The Vampire, Eddie Gallek, sent in some video that was not even legible. I guess they filmed from the car, but who could tell. Even Tanchak looked like he was gonna comment, but bit his tongue. Tanchak's highlight was demanding that a Tornado Warning be called for Portage County and actually said, "If the Weather Service is watching us...". No wonder they have no upticks in ratings when the weather turns sour.

Kling is probably the winner, with 5 and 8 reasonably close and 19 huddled somewhere in it's "place for safety".

Meal of Links

Friends of Jeff Bridges talk about Jeff Bridges. Good stuff.

Palin is making noise again about entering the fray. I'd like to see her in a legitimate Republican primary season with no holds barred.

Guinness does taste better in Ireland. Why? Crazy little thing called freshness.

Oh, boy. VH-1 decides it wants more "Pop-Up Video".

Outstanding. Mugatu will be back for "Zoolander 2".

Vermont adds another first. They go to single-payer health care.

The 10 Greatest War Movies. I've seen 9 of them. This is actually a very good list.

Gov. Kasich's poll numbers are pretty bad. And they are still dropping. I think part of it is he never seems happy. Always mad or grousing about something.

The Ted Williams Bio is on tonight. Wonder how that Cavs job is going.

Exercise Yard

It was rather interesting to see David Beckham back at Old Trafford for the Gary Neville Testimonial. The fans
still love him there.

Hey, I know it was a friendly, but he looked pretty good. Did a lot of passing to the opposite side of the pitch and was on target virtually all the time. And almost put in a free kick. Odd that he played the full 90 minutes, but they Probably figured if he got hurt, he doesn't play there anymore.

Visitor

2 Down: Baseball's "Old Perfessor" (7 letters) Answer: Stengel

Casey Stengel

I really hate being ill, even if it's for only a short while. But I picked up a bit of a cold over the weekend, as I guess I was running around as if it was 80 degrees instead of the 62 it actually was.

Yesterday, I had a hell of a time as the day wore on. Battling pretty hard until mid-afternoon, when I started getting the chills, along with some non-stop sneezing. Knocked me out pretty good and then I got to play a lame-o when I went home. Signified by my cable going out with 18 seconds left in regulation during the Miami-Boston game. Do I crawl and grab the cable box for a manual reboot? No, I turn on XM and get a score from ESPN radio.

You always have to be resourceful.

So, is it starve a cold or feed a fever? WebMD says never starve.

Meal of Links

Clear the decks, start checking off the bucket list. The world ends on May 21. Boy, if you're not raptured or subsequently saved, it's gonna really suck around here.

Gus Johnson lands on Fox. I'm not sold on him being permanently removed from March Madness coverage. Especially with Turner involved. Clearly, their influence got Marv Albert, Steve Kerr and Reggie Miller NCAA gigs this year and Kevin Harlan has been doing double duty for a while. But I'd love to see Gus get a Fox NFL playoff game soon.

More on the Derby winner, Animal Kingdom. And those lying trainers.

Google Music has arrived. Just in time for the apocalypse.

"Party At Ground Zero"/Fishbone



That's why there is an Internet. Things Tracy Jordan said on Season 5 of "30 Rock".

Bible? Yes. All other books? No.

Gary Coleman is dead. Has been for a year. That doesn't mean he's buried.

You're watching a favorite TV show. In this episode, the characters go on a game show. "Odd Couple"? On "Password"? Yes, sir! Plus "Sanford and Son" go "The Gong Show".

Michael Bolton Is Funny



The center of population since 1790 in the United States. Go west, young man.

Painful stats on Americans and their cars.

Hitch is losing his voice. Strange, but every time I read him, I actually hear his voice saying those words. Just picked up a National Magazine Award, as well. Of course, he can still find time to neuter Noam Chomsky.

Exercise Yard

Dan Rafael from ESPN has a nice wrapup on the Pacquiao-Mosley fight from Saturday. It's a shame these things cost $54.95 on the PPV. I mean who pays for these, especially when you hear the 39-year old Mosley say, "I wasn't going to take those kinds of risks. I was looking to land my shot." Which means, "I stayed away from Pacquiao for 12 rounds and got my $5 million."

It's tough to put any blame on Manny, but he hasn't knocked anyone out since Ricky Hatton. And that fight was two years ago! Since then, he's carried Cotto, Clottey, Margarito and now Mosley for 12 rounds. Now with the Mayweather fight seemingly not going to happen until both these guys are in their forties, Manny is starting to run out of opponents. It looks like Marquez will be next, because they can sell the fight to the public. After that, who knows?

BTW, Pacquiao-Mosley's $8,882,600 gate was the 14th best in Nevada history. It shows the public still loves Manny, regardless of who he fights. Showtime has the replay this weekend.

Looking ahead, what other fight holds any interest? I see Haye and Klitschko are starting to knock around a bit for their heavyweight fight. That's July 2nd on a crowded holiday weekend, so we'll see what audience that will attract. Haye talks a good game, so it'll get interesting as we get closer. HBO will have that live during the late afternoon on July 2.

Visitor

63 Across: Singer with Crosby and Stills (4 letters) Answer: Nash

"Chicago"/Graham Nash

I just recovered from March Madness. It's not so much the physical exhaustion of watching the games (I was home by 10:30 on Sunday night), it's the mental strain. But it figures I would pick up my first cold of the winter, just as it is ending. I have been sneezing a lot for the last two days. Cannot decide if it was NCAA or NIT people who gave it to me.

To add to the confusion, Marc's did not have an ad this week. How can they do that? They are getting to be like NASCAR. They toss in those odd dark weeks.

Meal of Links

Chloe Moretz has a huge career ahead of her. Probably the best child actress since Natalie Portman.

Whatever happened to Mickey Rourke? He even lost out on "Taken 2", which went back to Liam Neeson.

Randy Lerner's Other Team, Aston Villa, is getting dangerously close to the relegation zone. Who's going down? Probably Blackburn for sure, with QPR definitely up.

Programming, Motherfucker! Do you speak it?

Soap operas have been dying fairly rapidly. Is "All My Children" next? It's moving to LA for production. Or dying in NYC.

Movie Characters Saying Their Title



Jack made a new whiskey. It's called Tennessee Honey. For the chicks, apparently.

Amazon has some digital albums for 5 bucks. Good shit here. From Frampton to Dropkick Murphys.

Digital media in the Middle East and Africa. Who's next?

Yep, he's my congressman. And may still be what's left of any anti-war movement we have in this country.

Sure, these candidates are awful. But don't write them off.

The Blackberry Playbook arrives. Same pricing as the iPad. I need to see more of it.

Exercise Yard

My Conspiracy Spider Sense is tingling. The new NFL kickoff rules have tripped it. I realize the owners have decided to move the kickoff back to the 35-yard line under the guise of safety. At least the two-man wedge and touchbacks to the 20-yard line survived.

But in the process of making the game safer, they have taken away one of the more, if not the most, spectacular ways to score. Along with the one play that can be a huge momentum swing.

What I really think the owners have done is eliminate one more specialist they have to pay. You won't see the likes of a Devin Hester contract anymore or even a Josh Cribbs sorta cashing in like he did. There's no need for them anymore and they have to earn their keep at another position.

Visitor

18 Down: Poet Ogden (4 letters) Answer: Nash

Our long national nightmare is over. CAVS WIN!!!!

And then this...

Wayne Rooney Goal



I was in the midst of eating a piece of bacon when, all of a sudden, it was a goal for the ages in Manchester. My jaw dropped, but the bacon hung on my lip like a cigarette. Last view shows how great it was. Goal of a career material.

Meal of Links

I saw "Blue Valentine" on Wednesday. Terrific piece of film making, but it would be hard-pressed to find an audience, given its $6 million gross, thus far. It's such a a gut punch, but not a proverbial country record, it's like a proverbial country album, complete with a dead dog.

After watching it, here's what the demographics say:

Singles: "Thank God!"

Divorced: "Hey, I lived that."

Happily married: "Whew!"

Hardly married: "Uh-oh."

Box office is around $7 million after 7 weeks. It's a hard sell.

Acting is superb. Michelle Williams is great and Ryan Gosling, as ever, just kills it. It's the story of a couple who has been married about 5 or 6 years and their marriage is coming apart at the seams. There are some flashbacks to when they first met, seeing their relationship develop and evolve into marriage, no matter how blindly they may have got into it.

For, you see, Williams was studying to be a doctor in Western PA, while Gosling worked for a moving company in Brooklyn. All their dreams come to a grinding halt when, shortly after dating Gosling, Williams realizes she's pregnant from another guy. They decide to get married.

Eventually, she becomes a nurse and he becomes a house painter. He winds up attached to the daughter more than her, as Gosling tends to act as a child for the most part. So, Williams is, in effect, raising two kids. Gosling wants nothing more out of life then what he has, she can't stand what's happening to them both.

And you get two hours of that. As I said, extremely well done, and a great movie for winter where it's already dark and gloomy.

Boeing's next-generation intercontinental plane. Much attention to first class space, in which you will never fly.

John Hughes-inspired art. There is some good stuff here.

This critic really dislikes Martin Lawrence. "Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Martin Lawrence, sole owner-occupier of his own special zone of terrible."

Mubarak used most of the last three weeks to save his fortune. Seems he may have gotten ahead of the Swiss banks.

Bourdain is doing some writing for "Treme". Even scenes with the infamous Alan Richman.

From the time flies category, "Arrested Development" has been off the air five years.

Uncle Jack



Speaking of John Hughes, there has been a recent news item. They have determined the dates of the baseball game played in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"

Algeria might be next.

Mark Wahlberg. Big-time producer. Another show. This time, CBS hires Rob Riggle for "Home Game".

Now this guy can fill a scorecard. It shows how personal these can be. I'm just happy someone still keeps core at the ballpark. You have a better shot at seeing a Yeti.

John Dahl has been mostly involved in TV lately, directing some episodes of "Dexter" and "Californication". Hell, he even did an episode of "Terriers". But he also directed the noir gem, "The Last Seduction".

The hardest part about giving up drinking? Dating.

Regrets? The FDA Scientist who approved LASIK surgery has some.

Porn. An industry in financial trouble.

Exercise Yard

Norris Cole was a man today. 41 points, 20 rebounds (!), 9 assists. One shy of the first triple-double in CSU history. And they needed him, too.

In perhaps the sleepiest game of the year, CSU beats the Fighting Penguins of Youngstown State, 86-76. YSU is in last place and pushed the Vikings to almost the end of the game, as the three-ball kept them in it. Cole needed to be dominant and, thankfully, he was.

Visitor

49 Across: Knighted son of King Ban (8 letters) Answer: Lancelot

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

The bowl season has finally ended. Let me say this, I don't know how professional gamblers do it. Here I am, in this pool for the bowls, and I found myself watching more post-season NCAA football than ever. Yes, that was me watching the Kraft Hunger Bowl late on Sunday, pleading with Boston College to score in a 20-10 game, as I was getting 9.5 points. They obliged with a late, barely-made field goal to make it 20-13.

BTW, I have to go back to Christmas Eve and blame Tulsa for my avid interest this year. While driving home late after dinner, I had the Hawaii Bowl on the radio, lamenting the fact that Hawaii was getting killed. Two days later, I realized I had picked Tulsa over Hawaii and that gave me a 5-2 start. Somehow, that signalled to me that it was "Game on".

So, the Kraft Hunger Bowl allowed me to be in the running for not even first, but second place in the pool. That shows how crazy it was. All for a tie for second place, but with a cash prize. I had Oregon getting 3.5 points, and expecting a track meet, I had 81 points in the Tie-Breaker to win second place. As soon as I heard this from Kirk Herbstreit on Oregon's first drive: "Oregon is running a formation they have not used all year...", I knew I was cooked. That said to me that Oregon didn't feel they could beat Auburn using their prolific offense, so they had to try and outsmart Auburn. Hence, new plays, trick plays, any new look to confuse the opposition. I shut it off at 11:00, knowing my point total would not be reached. Not even close. So, I guess I'm happy Oregon covered, but it didn't mean anything to me.

However, I may have stumbled upon the proper betting technique. In this pool, you pick all 35 bowls ahead of time. That means any spreads that change, coaches that get fired, and other items don't matter. By December 17th, you have to look into the crystal ball and make your picks for all the games. I did and out of the 35 bowl games, I was 25-10 against the spread. Maybe I should bet events three weeks out from here on. OK, I spent maybe 20 minutes on the whole process, but still, I was awfully prescient this season.

And my interest really picked up on New Year's Day. That was really the make or break day for me, as I had kinda stumbled between the holidays. And I had a good New Year's, picking 5 of the 6 games correctly. After the early non-cover of Texas Tech over Northwestern on 1/1, I had the next 12 games in a row right, to put me back in contention.

So, what did I learn?

Virtually every team that scored first ended up winning. If you fell behind early, you were cooked. As a matter of fact, I think the only comebacks from a significant margin were Florida International over Toledo (17 points) and Louisville over Southern Miss (14 points). I had both Florida International and Southern Miss and they beat the spread.

Bad beats?

The late interception return by Iowa over Missouri cost me.

The salute after a TD by the Kansas State receiver against Syracuse. Missed the subsequent 2-pointer, which may have led to an overtime win.

Northwestern had a late interception return against Texas Tech.

Worst games (Blowout Division)?

Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14.

Alabama 49, Michigan State 7.

Troy 48, Ohio 21.

Worst game (Non-Blowout Division)?

Central Florida 10, Georgia 6.

Total misreads?

Did not see these wins at all: Illinois over Baylor, Washington over Nebraska, Maryland over East Carolina.

Late steals?

By far, the late Florida Pick-6 against Penn State with 55 seconds left. That was the only way I could win that one. Florida giving 7.5 and up by 6. It was either Penn State scoring or, if not, Florida running out the clock.

Wisconsin, getting 3.5, and scoring a TD with 2 minutes left against TCU to make it 21-19. They blow the conversion, TCU runs out the clock, OT is avoided, spread is beat.

Meal of Links

It may be getting near the end for Borders Looks like it's another Circuit City.

This will make you think. Or cry.

Seattle superhero gets "Kick-Assed". Unbelievably funny.

Peter Yates died the other day. "Bullitt" is still one of my all-timers. The scene where Steve McQueen's Mustang first appears in the bad guys rear-view mirror, and obviously the subsequent chase, is a classic. There should be a tribute on Turner. If there is, "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" needs to be included. Absolutely loved that one.

DVR alert. First, I'm gonna try the boxing series on FX. "Lights Out" premieres tonight. Tomorrow, "The Dude Abides" is on PBS. And if you have to ask who The Dude is, well...Thursday, Michel Gondry directs "Jimmy Kimmel Live".

A look back at the Ravishing one. Rick Rude.

Diet Myths. From the "Eat This, Not That" dude.

Jenny McCarthy and vaccines. Again.

Here he is. Johnny Paycheck, Job Shover. That one song clearly obscures his greatness.

ABC gives the Oscars more red carpet treatment, up to 90 minutes this year. Hopefully, better hosts!

Palin's missed opportunity. Seems she'll lay low for a while.

Exercise Yard

Michigan signed Brady Hoke as its new coach. Probably not a bad choice. He comes Lloyd Carr-approved and for a defensive coach, he surprisingly has had some prolific offenses.

He had Nate Davis at Ball State, and if you watched the bowls like I did, San Diego State had a fun offense to watch. Can easily see him improving the team immediately.

Visitor

43 Across: Actor Neeson (4 letters) Answer: Liam

I took a day off to get a lot of errand running done. One of the things was to get an eye exam at EyeMasters. They had a coupon a while back and it expired tomorrow, so to save $15, I went.

But this necessitated a trip to Parmatown Mall. I hate malls, but I swear the ad read that EyeMasters opens at 9. Uh, no they don't. It's actually 10. So, I had to kill 45 minutes. I grabbed a bench and looked around. Mall walkers! Yes, people still do this! Macy's and JCPenney are open early, but most of the people there are mall walking.

So, I proceed with the exam by getting in there right at 10. Do all the tests, get the eyedrops, etc. Everything checks out well. No glaucoma, no retina detachment, I just can't see and need a bit of a stronger prescription.

As I leave the mall, I notice there still aren't that many people and it's about 11:00. I know Strongsville had taken away a lot of business, hence, the WalMart at Parmatown. And Kohl's and Target are to the immediate South. But, man, it's dyin' over there. Parma has their recreation office there and even Dennis! has an office. And, if you drive by the strip portion, there are a lot of empty storefronts.

Honestly, I shouldn't have been surprised, but it threw me for a bit of a loop. It used to be insane getting around there during the holidays.

Meal of Links

Miley Cyrus hits the bong. It had salvia in it.

2010's Most Contagious. Indian Fever not mentioned.

Slate names its Best Books of 2010. I read "The Big Short", so I am 1 for 15.

Many Introductions (including "I'm your huckleberry!")



Catching up with Bin Laden. He is not moving rock to rock, cave to cave.

Do you have $418? You can travel the world.

Bruno Ganz talks about playing Hitler. And he's not really mad at anyone, like those YouTube videos.

The Best Fictional Parties. Damn right, you'd love to be invited to the wedding in "The Godfather". Plus the rehearsal dinner from "Rachel Getting Married" always looks pretty cool.

Proverbial Wallets. Awesome idea.

Exercise Yard

This guy. Again. I am really ambivalent towards this story. I like the fact our community is helping out a guy. Helps that he's white and a Browns fan. But how about helping our own? It's just nutty.

Visitor

43 Across: "This American Life" radio host Glass (3 letters) Answer: Ira

It's that time of the year.

It's Mixmas.

Ugh!

Meal of Links

W. has been making the rounds this week. Revisionist history taking place on the question of how bad was he? Uh, really bad.

Palin still lies. Plus, the producer of "Dancing With The Stars" says this gem, "I don't really see any particular gain for them in skewing a ballroom dance competition." From everything I've heard, Bristol Palin is terrible.

Alcohol. And what it does to your body.

"Wheel of Fortune" had a puzzle solved the other day. Not really news, until you realize it was a seven-word answer with only one letter revealed. Contestant next to her cannot believe it.

Robert Downey, Jr. as Mr. Peanut



Combined with Nissan ads and "Due Date", his voice is all over the place.

Danny Pudi talks about "Community". He had a line two weeks ago in the Halloween episode, when Troy was fighting the zombies, that was choice: "Troy, make me proud. Be the first black man to get to the end."

Diabetes myths debunked. Some think it's contagious?

Exercise Yard

Look at the Browns this week. they are all growed up. Nantz and Simms with the call. "Let him have a life."

Visitor

17 Across: High jump technique created by 1968 Olympic gold meadlist Dick (11 letters) Answer: Fosbury FlopTEXT

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

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

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

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

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

The BC Turf Sprint



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

The BC Juvenile



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

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

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

The BC Turf



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

The BC Classic



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

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

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

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

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

Recaps are here.

Meal of Links

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

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

Response to LeBron James Ad



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

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

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

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

Exercise Yard

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

Visitor

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

Today was the biggest win in Eric Mangini's tenure as coach of the Browns, defeating the Super Bowl champ. This easily surpassed last year's home win against Pittsburgh, the defending Super Bowl champ. This was also the biggest win since the Browns return in 1999. For this win surpassed the victory against another defending Super Bowl champ, the New York Football Giants, on that fateful Monday night in 2008.

The reason? Well, both of those games were in doubt for a long, long time. But today, the Browns were pretty much an afterthought going in and they grabbed the game by the throat almost from the opening kickoff. Would not be surprised if they were promised some extra time off during the bye week if they had won. Because they were definitely playing as though they had something riding on the effort.

Absolutely not a day to quibble. Although, I will say before we go all Winston Wolf on each other, the Browns offense only had 12 first downs and gained a paltry 210 yards.

So, let's celebrate the "Emptying of the Playbook" today:

Peyton Hillis throwing a pass to Colt McCoy, of all people, for 13 yards.

The Josh Cribbs to Eric Wright pass. ON A PUNT! For only 62 yards.

Reggie Hodges getting 68 yards on an improbable fake punt with the Saints parting like the Red Sea.

David Bowens with not one, but two Pick-Sixes, capping the second one by tumbling over the goal line.

The Browns defense, low on sacks and interceptions coming in, getting 3 sacks and 4 interceptions.

The NFL this year is really a crapshoot, so it's doubtful if this is a sign of things to come. So, for one day or several through the bye week, let's enjoy a most improbable win. Although Drew Brees still has the stats, maybe we had a bit of the Madden Curse on our side.

The Browns actually do a "Whoa Dat", beating the Saints, 30-17.

Meal of Links

We've heard it all before. But is this, truly, the death of Cable TV?

Sony bids adieu to an old friend. The Cassette Walkman.

Mark Cuban loves Netflix. He says Netflix is as smart as shit.

Employers are thinking about their health insurance options. Uh oh.

P.J. O'Rourke says, "This is not an election on November 2. This is a restraining order."

Before you vote, here are some things the public thinks they know. And they are wrong.

Exercise Yard

Wayne Rooney should stop complaining. Chicharito is the real deal.

Chicharito with the Impossible Header

Visitor

None, on a beautiful fall Sunday.

Check out Banksy's opening for "The Simpsons" from last Sunday. Absolutely skewers Fox. Pretty dark. And it was originally darker.

"The Simpsons" Opening by Banksy



Meal of Links

Lots of times, financial issues are really difficult to grasp. But this is the best primer on the current foreclosure crisis.

You know the old saw about Canadians who cross the border for healthcare. Well, it isn't true.

Wes Anderson helps shoot an ad for Stella Artois. That is a beer I seldom drink. BTW, "The Darjeeling Limited" gets the Criterion treatment.

Alec Baldwin texts during a movie. Deservedly, he gets the M&M treatment.

"Castle" Bids Farewell to Stephen J. Cannell



Wal-Mart is already discounting toys for the holidays. Ten bucks for Monopoly seems reasonable.

Songs that mention other songs. Appearances by "Bowie" and Shooter Jennings.

Everything you wanted to know about "The Empire Strikes Back".

Jenn Sterger. The perfect harassment victim?

Anderson Cooper. The accidental gay activist?

Exercise Yard

Confessions of an agent. Good read, but I wish the guy had represented some better-known players.

Visitor

25 Across: Stand-up guy who played Tobias Funke on "Arrested Development" (10 letters) Answer: David Cross

Happy Labor Day! Hope you enjoyed some time off.

President Obama didn't take the day off. Maybe it's the unions that get him fired up.

Meal of Links

I noticed the number one movie at the box office this past weekend was "The American". Before George Clooney can do the happy dance for his first Number One film, the opening was comparable to "Leatherheads". Aw, geez. The pacing of "The American" reminds me a lot of "Rubicon", so I decided to post an action scene from that show:
























28 gleeful breakup songs. Including the awesome "Thank God and Greyhound" by Roy Clark. Some Elvis, Rilo Kiley, Nancy Sinatra, Ben Folds and even Garth Brooks make it worthwhile.

The most viral videos of 2010, thus far. I would have thought, with all of the attention it garnered, that the Old Spice Guy would have been higher, although I realize it had an astounding limited run.

All Shows Should Be Like This



Who needs a cineplex, when you have alfresco movie viewing. I think we have these around here in extremely limited fashion.

The D's are going Darwinian this fall. If odds don't look good for your re-election, help goes elsewhere.

You are having a heart attack. Stop tweeting!

Exercise Yard

Dick Enberg is calling US Open Tennis for CBS because, quite frankly, who knew he would have taken a departure from announcing the first-place San Diego Padres. Since he left, the Padres have lost 10 straight.

Only 2 other teams have done that and made the postseason. The '51 Giants and the '82 Braves.

Visitor

23 Across: John who played Basil Fawlty (6 letters) Answer: Cleese

Basil Fawlty Waits on the Germans

The World Cup moved onto the quarterfinals today with two matches. And what a two matches they were.

In the first, Brazil self-implodes like no other Brazil team ever. Their opponents, the Dutch, are normally the ones to freak out and now they are in the semifinals. Their first in 12 years. Needless to say, with Brazil gone, lots of brackets got blown up.

In the first half, Robinho puts Brazil up, 1-0. Then, in the second half, major confusion gives Holland the equalizer. I'd hate to be in the meeting to explain this one.

Uh...That's A Howler



So, with the score 1-1, what a beautiful goal by the Dutch. Arjen Robben with the corner to the near post. Dirk Kuyt, with page 6 of the Spalding Guide, flicks on a header to the rear and Wesley Sneijder heads it in. World Cup Soccer is Fa-a-a-n-tastic.

Sneijder Gamewinner



With Brazil trailing now, 2-1, Felipe Melo gets himself sent off with this nonsense. Not a good day for Melo. He had an own goal, got beat by the gamewinner, and then stomped on Robben. See ya!

Melo's Stomp



So, Brazil, a major threat to win the whole thing...Gone!

Hard to explain the second match. But let's keep it in perspective. I needed Uruguay to win to keep my hopes of winning the pool alive. I was dismayed when after 90 minutes, it was Uruguay 1, Ghana 1. They were obviously moving toward Penalty Kicks, when Ghana got a free kick that would surely end extra time in a tie, if only Uruguay defended the play. Then all hell breaks loose. We have a Ghana shot on goal, then another, then I see an intentional handball by Uruguay to stop another shot and you know what that means. An automatic red card. All Ghana needs is to ram the Penalty Kick in and it's over. Did you hear me yell this?

"He Missed It!"



I am still alive in the pool and so is Uruguay in the match! Quickly, we go to Penalty Kicks. Uruguay makes its first 3 PKs and Ghana has made their first two. Then John Mensah steps up...for this...

Worst PK, Perhaps Ever



After a Uruguay miss and another Ghana miss, it all comes down to the fifth player for the win. The sub, Sebastian Abreu. Can you believe Abreu's touch on the gamewinning PK? As Jerry Caesar would say, "Reverend, you got balls as big as church bells."

You Cheeky Bastard



Today's Results:

Brazil 1, Holland 2

Uruguay 1, Ghana 1 (Uruguay through on PKs)

Meal of Links

This weekend's TV marathons. "A-Team" on a channel I don't think I get.

18 things you should know when you are 18. I'd like to think Number 9 is the most important.

Pre-existing conditions? Thing of the past.

The worst thing about the current jobs situation is it seems the government's attention is meandering elsewhere. Oddly enough, if Sen. Byrd hadn't died, the latest extension would have passed.

Hitch has cancer. But he seems to be taking it well. "I have been advised by my physician that I must undergo a course of chemotherapy on my esophagus. This advice seems persuasive to me."

The Dems should be even more worried about the mid-terms. At least, Charlie Cook thinks so.

While I have been absorbed with the World Cup (Concludes 7/11, bear with me), an old topic seems to have been making a comeback. Sarah Palin's Pregnancy with Trig.

Aw, geez. Here comes the metric system. Again.

Food courts.

Exercise Yard

Kreskin thinks he can save the Pittsburgh Pirates. Think about it, shouldn't he have made this offer in 1993?

Visitor

1 Down: Rich kid in "Nancy" comics (5 letters) Answer: Rollo

Fred vs. Rollo

I had to DVR the Cavs game today and it's a good thing I remembered to record the following show in case the game ran past its prescribed time. So, while everyone was watching the agonizing finish, I was preparing to watch the start of the game.

I think it's easy to pinpoint this one. Just a really bad start to the 4th quarter. The Cavs had clawed their way back into the game, but played a fairly pedestrian defense for the first 4 minutes of the last quarter. And then they finally scored their first basket in the quarter with about seven minutes left in the game.

Too bad. The Cavs mainly went seven deep but wasted a supreme effort by Shaq today and they still can't guard Rondo. But they got outrebounded and shot poorly (4 of 21 on threes).

Cavs lose by 10.

Meal of Links

My brother and I decided we were gonna see "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". Thought we'd see it at the Capitol, but had to motor to the Cedar-Lee because of a lack of an early afternoon showing. You know, because of the Cavs. This was a Swedish thriller. Yes, we had to read it. I wasn't sure how to react because there were more than 20 people in the theater.

Kudos to the Swedes, it was a good one. Some rich guy hires a disgraced journalist to solve a family mystery. With the help of the goth chick in the title (who had tats, piercings, and some deep secrets), the mystery deepens. Geez, we had Nazis, a sadistic legal guardian of the tatted girl, great research techniques (spycams, hacking, etc.) and a really good story. Definitely more than an episode of "CSI: Hedestad". The title character has that really intense appeal we haven't seen since, oh, I don't know, Nikita, way back when or maybe Lola more recently. Of course, the American rework is already being discussed.

We also got to see trailers for The Good, The Bad and The Weird" (a 2008 South Korean western), "Looking For Eric" (finally the 2009 Cantona movie arrives, "I am not a man, I am Cantona"), and "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" (the new doc). They all looked worthwhile.

Is there a cure for alcoholism? It might be baclofen.

We need one of these around here. The Soda Pop Stop. I mean the dude still sells Jolt.

Exercise Yard

CNN has a list of the Top 20 Sportscasters of All Time. Hard to see any major omissions here.

BTW, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the present-day Indians link to their past, Sandy Alomar. Here is Sandy coaching first base really hard yesterday.

















Visitor

None, on a brisk, sunny Mothers Day.

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

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

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

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

Eleven years of some incredibly awful football.

Meal of Links

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

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

Crap. Bad habits can age you 12 years.

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

Wrestlers turned actors.

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

What if the Tea Party was black?

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

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

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

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

"Felicia"/The Constellations



Exercise Yard

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

Visitor

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

There is a Tim Horton's in Kandahar. Its employees are actually eligible for war medals and, oddly enough, not one of them waited on me.

But I Google Mapped it anyhow. It's a long drive.

Meal of Links

No shit. This has to be the most fascinating interview about farts I have ever read.

A whole bunch of movies that are remakes or reboots. 75 of 'em and I think the only one that interests me is "Robocop". I love "Robocop".

Darryl Strawberry fires himself. Probably had to catch up on his DVR library.

Exercise Yard

Showtime sponsors the Southern 500. I don't mind their sponsorship, I just wish it wasn't for such an historic race.

Visitor

23 Across: Comic Phillips (3 letters) Answer: Emo