While still puzzled at Chris Berman referring to Retief Goosen as "The Iron Goose"...

I took my niece to see an a.m. version (Hah! My dollar, my rules.) of "Mr. Popper's Penguins". I vaguely remember the children's book as some British business guy ending up with penguins. Written when penguins were not all that popular. But Jim Carrey (has he fallen this far?) takes the lead as a real estate developer. His assistant, Pippi, still uses all words that begin with "p".

Probably the funniest scene (and, believe me, not many to choose from) is when Carrey has to bribe the doorman of his townhouse, so he isn't turned into the board. Angela Lansbury plays the owner of the Tavern on the Green, who will not sell to anyone. Least of all, to Carrey, or so it seems.

Carla Gugino in a pedestrian role as Carrey's ex-wife. Two kids round out Carrey's family. None of them really wanna see Carrey, until the penguins arrive. Bookman from "Seinfeld" plays Carrey's boss.

I will say the overall theme of the penguins presence fueling the family to get back together is so pie-in-the-sky, I hope kids don't fall for that crap. Other than that, an average flick. My niece liked it, hey, she's a kid. I thought maybe 6 on a scale of 1-10, and that's pretty generous. The closing song over the credits? "Ice Ice Baby", silly.

Meal of Links

Catching up with Louis C.K.. "Louie" starts up again this Thursday.

Keith Olbermann returns this week. Have you found Current yet with your remote?

The forgotten treasures of a Gen-X childhood. My favorite? "Halloween Candy Paranoia"!

Clarence Clemons died. Saw him 3 or 4 years ago and he looked bad back then.

The editor of Pollstar says Ticketmaster is not to blame for their fees. It's your favorite artist. Who allows you to blame Ticketmaster. This is what happens when everyone downloads music.

This song is now 25 years old this week...

"Bigmouth Strikes Again"/The Smiths



All the TED talks are here. With descriptions and dates.

Pictures of famous people. With their records. The Brando one kills me.

Exercise Yard

Bruins win the Stanley Cup. And their owner is still a dick.

Visitor

5 Across: Bean counter (10 letters) Answer: Numbers Guy

Hey, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup last night. Well, that only took 40 years.

How about that city? In the last decade, each of their major sports team has won a title. We are still waiting since 1964. For any team.

Look out for the riots in Vancouver. Apparently you riot-win or lose.

Meal of Links

"Spider-Man" officially opened on Broadway. Oh, it still sucks, but in more of an official way.

The 100 Greatest Non-Fiction Books. I haven't read a lot of these.

NPR lists their 25 favorite albums from this year, thus far. That's a lot of unknowns there.

E! has a show tonight on commercial stars. The Most Interesting Man in the World is featured.

Facebook lost 6 million users in the USA during May. Even Bill Gates couldn't take it.

Exercise Yard

Progressive Field will host an Ohio State-Michigan game. In hockey!

Game will be held on January 15.

Visitor

21 Down: Actor Matthau (6 letters) Answer: Walter

"The Fortune Cookie"

On Sunday night, S. and I were at the Rock Hall for the 3rd Annual Chef Jam. This raises money for the Ohio City Farm, which picked up a check for $5K, and education programs for the Rock Hall.

This year featured a higher ticket price, more music, less people and less vendors. But still rates fairly high on the fun list, as this year, even some of the vendors got into the act and started dressing the part. Prosperity had the Ramones, I think Melt had Kiss and there were some Beatles as well, dishing out some Yellow Submarine sammies.

The music started earlier with the band from Crop. As usual, they played "Whipping Post". The Naked Cowboy strolled around, publicizing Naked Cowboy Oysters, by mainly posing for pictures. There was of very good cover band, Abbey Rodeo, before the headliners appeared. That was the English Beat (actually only Dave Wakeling with other unknowns), who actually treated this as an appearance, and played more than an abbreviated set including some General Public stuff.

English Beat Setlist:

"Save It For Later"
"Tears Of A Clown"
"I Confess"
"Tenderness"
"I'll Take You There"
"Ranking Full Stop"
"Mirror In The Bathroom"

Sampling of Restaurants/Plates:

B Spot: Beef Sliders

Deagan's: Mushroom Stuffed Quail

Melange: Pork Belly and BBQ Beans

Melt: Fried Twinkie

Moxie: Whiskey River Gelato

Prosperity Social Club: Sloppy Joes and Mac N Cheese

Sweet Moses: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Bourbon Caramel Sauce w/Chocolate Candy

Sushi Rock: Spicy Salmon and Spicy Tuna

Meal of Links

Last night, I went to the Cinemark and saw the latest Woody Allen flick, "Midnight In Paris". I must say, moving his productions to the other side of the pond have revived the guy. This was sort of a "Back To The Future" for the adult set.

This time, Owen Wilson plays the Woodman Voice as a successful Hollywood writer with a deep love for '20s Paris. He is taking a shot at writing a novel and about to marry Rachel McAdams. I normally like McAdams, but she seemed off here. Michael Sheen eats some scenery as a friend, maybe former lover, of McAdams. He's an art professor, lecturing at the Sorbonne, so he knows everything about art and wind and just about everything else. Type of guy who corrects tour guides, Described perfectly as "pedantic" by Carla Bruni. Yes, stunt casting has Bruni in not just one, but two scenes.

Anyhow, as the clock strikes Midnight, McAdams and Sheen and his wife go elsewhere, Wilson is transported back in time on a nightly basis. Where he meets artists like Hemingway, the Fitzgeralds, Cole Porter, Kathy Bates as Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Bunuel, Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali ("Dah-LEE"), those types. Accepted almost immediately and never questioned about his clothing, even at the most formal gatherings. Of course, he is smitten with Marion Cotillard during these throwbacks.

The story is a nice take on nostalgia. If you immerse yourself completely, it appears that Allen has decided it stifles you creatively. Because everyone has their own idea of what the greatest time was. For example, when you think Wilson and Cotillard are a match, she opts for the Belle Epoque period of Paris.

Definitely a love letter to Paris, especially the shots in the rain. Certainly worth the 90 minutes when it comes to cable. And, you have to admit it, Allen still has some interesting stories to tell. Hopefully.

Worst addictions, by decade. And how they were treated.

Best game show hosts of the '80s. Good to see Ken Ober on there.

A look at "The Wall". Yes, it still fascinates.

Hugh Hefner's fiancee decided not to marry him. She realized she was about to marry a fossil. So, Dr. Phil's son shows up. For her, not Hef.

In case you did not know, the CIA has drones over Yemen. Shouldn't there have been a vote on that or something?

After last night's Republican debate. Could this be their future?

Exercise Yard

Big Game 7 for the Bruins tomorrow. Newest hero: Brad Marchand, the Erich Barnes of the NHL.

Quote of the year:

Why did Marchand keep punching him then?

"Because I felt like it," Marchand said.

"Golf Boys" Video/Crane, Fowler, Mahan, Watson



Visitor

29 Across: 1983 Woody Allen title role (5 letters) Answer: Zelig

The anticipation for "The Tree of Life" is getting even higher. Terrence Malick is even allegedly coaching projectionists on the correct equipment settings.

But the Cedar-Lee has a Malick retrospective next week that somehow does not include "Badlands". They do have "The Thin Red Line" though. But they don't really write what makes the films special. We go to Nashville for that.

And they have "Badlands".

Meal of Links

It seems DJ Kishka gets more ink than Bic these days. Tireless promoting will do that. Niche is now permanently carved.

We go to walk our dog and we pick up a hitchhiker named Bono. WTF?

Here are 5 major companies that pay taxes. Maybe I should go to Costco.

No surprise. The global war on drugs has failed.

One of Sandra Bullock's early roles was in the US version of "The Vanishing". She's not in it very much (looks great, bitches at Kiefer Sutherland, does a cute little dance, then gets chloroformed) and it sucked. Ah, but the original, was much creepier and, by far, the better movie. And, of course, it did not have a Hollywood ending.

It's official. TV has run out of ideas. NBC reboots "Fear Factor". When does "Sledge Hammer" return?

Exercise Yard

If you find yourself watching the Stanley Cup Final (and how could you not with the Bruins FINALLY involved) Listen to the play-by-play guy. Here is Doc Emrick's story.

Visitor

26 Across: TV's Mrs. Peel (4 letters) Answer: Rigg

How did Charlie Sheen get on Twitter so fast?

Sheen. Lunatic or marketing genius?

Who said it? Sheen or Gaddafi?































Meal of Links

An old interview with the Unknown Comic. What brought that up? You'll see.

The day that movies died? Do you realize there will be a movie called "Stretch Armstrong"?

The New York Daily News has dropped an entire page of comics. They had the balls to drop "Marmaduke".

Hey, it's Saint Tressel reading The Cat In The Hat. Or doing a Buck Henry imitation.

Let's go for a ride...(go full screen)

Downhill



Jeff Probst on the death of soap operas.

Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem kissed at the Oscars. That's why we had that long shot of Penelope Cruz on ABC. they didn't show it.

After shoveling a lot last Friday, I stumbled upon "The Cable Guy". Didn't like it when it came out and I still don't like it. But the new DVD is out now, and Judd Apatow talks about it. And other things.

Palin, once more, does not understand the first amendment. Where are your forefathers now?

Exercise Yard

Bob Probert had CTE. CTE's profile is growing with each of these brain donations by athletes.

Visitor

56 Across: "The Gong Show" regular with a paper bag on his head, with "the" (12 letters) Answer: Unknown Comic (I know this is Tuesday's, but, come on, it's the Unknown Comic)

Now that football is gone for a while, one of the better things on Sundays is I get back to listening to Harry Shearer on "Le Show". Really good music today, like this:

"(Everytime I Turn Around) Back In Love"/LTD



And his news of the "greenest Olympics" in Sochi was really funny today. The best tidbit:

Perhaps Sochi's biggest challenge will come from the heavens: It's another temperate maritime city like Vancouver, where snow had to be trucked and airlifted in for the ski events in 2010, and adequate snow cover will be a challenge. As a climate scientist said last year, "I rolled my eyes when they picked a city on the Black Sea," said Simon Donner. "I'm pretty certain it never snows in the city. They grow palm trees there."

Meal of Links

BAFTAs or Grammys? I actually leaned more towards the BAFTAs tonight. Those winners are here. With Best Film handed out by Samuel L.!

BTW, Detroit has a significant indie movie presence. I applaud Cinemark for filling the void locally when a trip to the Cedar Lee is out of the question.

Top 7 destinations after 10 p.m. Good suggestions.

Prison economics. Fish and coffee are now king. I did not know cigarettes are banned in federal pens.

This Is Cool



Exercise Yard

Weird hockey stuff, including Ovie Christ. And this is choice:

Ovie. Russian Spy?



Visitor

None, on a thawed-out Sunday.

My brother and I attended the Cleveland State-Robert Morris game last night at the Bart. Kind of an odd weekday start at 6:00. Strange beforehand, but nice to get home early.

The Vikings may be on to something here. For they managed only two baskets in the final 14 minutes and were still able to win, Because they had a 22-point margin at one time. That got frittered away late down to 2, but they survived. Mainly it was the attempt to pound the ball inside, without any concerted effort to break down the Robert Morris zone.

So, the Vikings find themselves unbeaten at 8-0, the first Division I team to win 8. Defense is carrying the day, as the opponents have a FG percentage of .369. That's a Georgetown-in-their-heyday kind of stat. The RPI is at 20. The mid-major rank is 5.

League play starts this week in Wisconsin and it's traditionally the toughest road swing for Cleveland State. If they can somehow win 2 games, we can start to have a discussion of a league title. Especially since Butler has fallen out of the rankings for the first time in memory. But CSU has not won since 1999 in Milwaukee and 2006 in Green Bay.

Meal of Links

Home stretch for "Terriers" tomorrow. I actually wrote an e-mail to save the damn thing. It was a proud Tiger Beat moment for me. BTW, "Archer" returns on FX on January 27.

Michael Douglas talks about his health. Seems to be on an uptick presently.

The funeral aftermath of Pat Burns did not go so well. His widow was robbed. They even took his wallet.

How to sleep. Currently, I have been getting into some really deep REM action.

Nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards are out. Looks like "Winter's Bone" is one to watch for Oscar, already picking up some Gotham awards. It's on PPV, I'll get to it this week. BTW, Kenny Fuckin' Powers brother is up for Best Actor in it.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco to host the Oscars. Great idea! Not so fast, my friend.

Getting further along in Nashville. Today, it's Brad Paisley.

Barry Sanders Goodness



Even Pravda hates Palin.

Exercise Yard

Adrian Wojnarowski has written another anti-LeBron column. Always fun to catch up with these. (Hat tip to Paul)

So, LeBron scores what, 50 on Thursday?

Visitor

46 Down: White House family (6 letters) Answer: Obamas

The Browns escaped with one-point win over Carolina. Geez, this one was nerveracking.

What did we learn today?

I like Jake Delhomme. And it looked like he was going to have a fine day. His passes to the middle of the field were superb. But his first two passes in the second half brought Carolina right back into the game. In fairness, these were routes that were not run in the first half. But that second pass. Yikes! Rated with the worst we've seen since the Browns return.

Oh yeah, that was really funny. Rob Ryan almost intercepted a pass late. Big laughs. Watch the replay, this idiot had his foot in play right before he gets hit. Jackwagon.

The end of two Browns drives in the 4th quarter were really bad. The 4th-and-1 when Peyton Hillis was stuffed at the Carolina 25 was painful. Quit calling for Lawrence Vickers election to the Pro Bowl, if you don't use him in that situation. My God, they had no Vickers and Evan Moore, noted in the PD as a bad blocker, and Royal Roberts in. No wonder it didn't work.

And the quick snap and QB sneak by Delhomme on 3rd-and-1 for no gain was ludicrous. Thank God, Phil Dawson hit the go-ahead field goal. Just when you think Brian Daboll had turned the corner as a playcaller.

Evan Moore fumbling inside the 5 was a killer. You knew right after the Browns went up 21-7, it was gonna be a long day. They have no right to think they'll stomp anyone until they do it regularly. You could see it in the body language that they relaxed.

Josh Cribbs was nowhere near being ready today.

Hillis should have run the ball 30 times today. Carolina could not stop him early.

Conversely, the Browns could not stop the fuckin' run either. 151 yards and a 5.5 average for Carolina.

The Browns had a trick play, the halfback option with Hillis, that should have worked. I'm not sure I'd have called it inside the 10, but Hillis had a terrible throw.

Overall, it's hard to squawk, because the Browns did win one at home. After so many close ones early that went for losses, hey, I'll take any win. But let's face it, at 21-7, plus Moore's fumble, the Browns should have put this one away early. As it turned out, they let a 1-9 team hang around and sometimes you don't escape those types of games.

Lucky to win? Maybe. I prefer to say they missed an opportunity for a big win and barely hung on for the victory. Browns win, 24-23.

Meal of Links

The Plain Dealer decided to run a travel piece from the Orange County Register on Kauai today. It's 2 months old, but still fits. Here is a view from Brennecke's, which the guy called his quintessential Kauai:

















Here is an interesting photo collection. Where gun crimes have occurred in London.

David Lynch. Pop Singer!

Speaking of Lynch...

Nicolas Cage Losing His Shit



Where we spend our money. Food. Damn food.

Enrico Pallazzo did not die today. But Leslie Nielsen did.

"It's Enrico Pallazzo!"



Goal celebrations! First, it's the Western Conference. And the Eastern Conference. Ric Flair, hah!

Exercise Yard

Cleveland State is really on a roll right now, upping their record to 7-0. Was at last night's game after my heat came on. The opponent was St. Bonaventure from the A-10 Conference.

Cleveland State shot a dismal 22% in the first half, but somehow were still ahead by 1. Then, over the next 10 minutes, the Vikings played their best stretch of ball since the 2008-09 season. They completely demoralized the Bonnies by cranking up the tenacious D (yes, like the band) and attacking the rim on offense. It was something to see. Then they cruised to the finish.

CSU wins, 69-51. And the Bart debuted three new concession stands, which I will test soon.

Next up: Bob Morris comes to town, tomorrow at 6.

Visitor

None, on a sunny Browns Sunday.

I still have lingering pain with my foot today, but it's better than yesterday. If I move around, it seems OK. But, I didn't do too much of anything.

After spending much of the morning watching soccer, I found myself watching OSU and Iowa. As a matter of fact, I thought the best thing about the Ohio State game today was Saint Tressel's jacket. that looked sharp.




















Meal of Links

Aw, jeez. Ten reasons parents should love cougar women.

I will have issues with President Obama if he caves on the Bush tax cuts. My patience is wearing thin.

The pain of poker. A really cool read.

LeBron James is one of NBC's People of the Year. No reason to get upset when you realize Kim Kardashian is on the list. I guess Matt Lauer needs ratings.

Fox moves "Idol" to Wednesdays and Thursdays. I thought it was already on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Sometimes you just can't understand verdicts. Jim Leyritz walks.

Exercise Yard

One of hockey's best coaches, Pat Burns, died yesterday. Burns coached 4 teams, and was in charge of the Bruins for a time, but had better success elsewhere with Montreal, Toronto and New Jersey.

Best quote: "You don’t cry because it’s over, you’re happy because it happened."

It's too bad they could not get him in the Hall of Fame. It is strange he got passed over this year.

Canadiens Tribute to Pat Burns



Visitor

33 Down: Quantum theory pioneer (9 letters) Answer: Max Planck

I was over at the Lakewood Winking Lizard today. Mr. Mix threw Mrs. Mix a surprise birthday party. And it actually worked as a surprise. But they had a nice spread on the stage area regarding the food. Fun had by all.

I was there during the Browns game and there were a lot of Steelers fans there. Many other fans, too, because of the Sunday Ticket. But the roars of the Steeler game were overwhelming any Browns action. The Browns didn't have most of my attention, but they won their first game today against the Bengals. Even though the defense was torched by Carson Palmer, who had looked average coming into the game.

Meal of Links

My Dad and I, being the wise horsemen that we are, thought we would see a sneak preview of "Secretariat" at Crocker last night. Unbeknown to us, they stuck it in a smaller basement theater, therefore we arrived after it was sold out. So, making a quick decision, we opted for "The Town".

"The Town" is directed, written and starred by Ben Affleck. Let's take a look at the men in the movie. Chris Cooper (as Affleck's prison-bound father) and Pete Postlethwaite (as a crime lord florist) are pro's pros in their limited screen time. I could not get beyond the "Hey, it's Ben Affleck with a Boston accent" view. Jeremy Renner, as intense as ever, is a solid casting choice. A scuffed up Jon Hamm is dominated in almost all of his scenes by another character even when he should be the dominant one. A fault of the writing, not him.

But the real revelation, once again, is Rebecca Hall as the female lead. I'm telling you, Hall is the most natural actress on screen since a young Sandra Bullock. You never get the sense she is reading her lines, but is actually the character on the screen. She gets to display all the emotions here and does a great job with what is obviously an unbelievable storyline. Clearly, I am smitten.

But the movie is one where the whole is greater than any of the individual pieces/parts. Not a great movie by any means, but entertaining enough to offset the $10.50 I paid to see it.

How Disney is selling "Secretariat".

The 5 most dangerous places in the world. New Orleans is the only US city, with Mogadishu the leader in the clubhouse.

Donald Duck Explains the State of the Nation (with Glenn Beck)



The Best Film Books. By 51 critics.

Watch Andy Kaufman be Alive. Absolutely incredible.

Exercise Yard

A blast at that Canadian institution. "Hockey Night in Canada".

Visitor

None, on a mainly cloudy Sunday.

World Cup 2010 finished up today. We made it over to the Old Angle for the Final. Spain wins, 1-0, as the Dutch decided to play a physical brand of soccer which prevented the game from having any kind of a flow. However, both teams had some chances and it was tension-filled as we had to go to Extra Time before the Spanish got the game-winner.

Before the match, an anti-racism guy tried to put a red hat on the actual World Cup.

Jimmy Jump Almost Touched The World Cup



The Dutch yellow cards came fast and furious. Eventually John Heitinga got a red card late and they had to play with 10 men. This is an early foul by de Jong that should have resulted in a red card. Uh, he is not playing the ball.

They Were Kung-Fu Fighting



Spain kept trying and trying. And, thankfully, to spare us from Penalty Kicks to decide another World Cup, Andres Iniesta got the trophy-winner in the 128th minute.

Iniesta Wins It For Espana



Fun facts to know and tell:

The octopus picked every game it was asked to, correctly.

The Dutch tie Germany with three second-place finishes.

14 were the most yellow cards ever in a final.

Spain won all of its matches by a 1-0 score.

Spain is the first European team to win away from Europe.

Diego Forlan of Uruguay wins the Golden Ball as MVP.

Germany's Thomas Mueller gets the Golden Boot as leading scorer and Best Young Player, as well.

Iker Casillas of Spain wins the Golden Glove as Best Goalkeeper.

Next Stop, Brazil 2014


















Meal of Links

Today is the 50th anniversary of the publication of "To Kill A Mockingbird". On the trail of Harper Lee.

Check out how Bob Probert was transported to his final resting place. That is all kinds of cool. And the service was quite poignant. Look at all the luminaries: Yzerman, Gilmour, Ciccarelli, Domi, Stu Grimson, Chris Nilan. What a sendoff.

How to save money. On just about anything.

How laws are made in California. Wow.

Exercise Yard

Spain wins the World Cup. But what about the politics that continually divide its regions.

Visitor

None, on a warm Sunday.

Hirsh picks the best 11 of the World Cup.

Have you noticed how risky it has been for an athlete to appear in a high-profile ad? The World Cup has only Fabregas that I see remaining.

Nike World Cup Ad



Then we have this epic FAIL.

Gillette Ad



But good news. Andres Cantor appeared in a GEICO ad that made me laugh.

Andres Cantor GEICO Ad



Meal of Links

The Meadowlands is now officially torn down. No sign of Hoffa.

They have exhumed the body of Bobby Fischer to determine paternity. I'm betting he's still angry.

Here is the first picture from the new Planck telescope. Pretty awesome, it's of the universe.

One of the all-time baddies in hockey died today. Bob Probert was 45.

Exercise Yard

If you were blowing up things this weekend, you may not have realized the Tour de France started. Tomorrow promises to be a fun day. Why? Cobblestones!

Visitor

11 Down: "Shaft" star Richard (9 letters) Answer: Roundtree

The Indians are so bad, they even ruined a perfect game. Well, the first base umpire did, with a heinous call. Look for calls for replays to go on forever after this one. Tiger announcers a bit over the top, BTW...



Quite simply, give each team one challenge. Can't take more than a few minutes, if the person is based at the league office. Said person, with no reference to the game situation, makes the call.

Meal of Links

I had a burrito from Sheetz for lunch today. Nice job with the beans and rice, really fresh eatin'.

How much the average American spends on entertainment. the obvious trend is in-home vs. out-of-home. The lower income levels especially, do more in-home.

Some pictures of NYC. Really great visuals.

An interview with (ugh!) Flo. Whatever is worse than annoying, that's her.

Here are the this summer's albums that matter most. A pretty good primer.

I watched "Hoosiers" again last night. Turner fires up the Dennis Hopper Tribute on June 8. Come on, "Easy Rider" at 2:30 a.m.?

Gary Coleman's coffin. With appropriate nameplate.

Country music moonlighters. I have the Elvis album and it remains a favorite. Time for some real country...

"I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive"/Hank Williams, Sr.



A co-creator of Trivial Pursuit has died. Now an eternity spent looking for that final wedge.

The Luckiest Man In Iraq Has Moved To An Asian Locale



Exercise Yard

World Cup Posters. I rather liked "Olsen's Eleven" for Denmark. But some of these are plainly a WTF?

The Flyers Channel Kate Smith....Again



Visitor

62 Across: "I Can't Help Myself" singers (1965) (11 letters) Answer: The Four Tops

I don't really want to talk about the Bruins. They only lost a Game 7, in a series they were leading, 3-0.

The Preakness wasn't that great either.

So, with the World Cup getting closer, time to catch up on soccer.

The EPL concluded play with Chelsea as champs. Today, they handled Portsmouth in the venerable FA Cup to conclude the English season and complete a rare double. Didier Drogba, straight from the cover of Vanity Fair, nailed the gamewinner on a very nice free kick.

Drogba Free Kick



The two things I took away from the match: The pitch at Wembley was awfully spotty and rightly criticized. And Prince William is losing his hair!

As for next year's EPL. Those relegated included Burnley, Hull City and Portsmouth. Moving up are returnees Newcastle and West Brom. Cardiff City and Blackpool play next Saturday for the final Premier League slot.

Tottenham gets the all-important fourth place and joins Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United in next year's Champions League.

So, what's next? Fox has moved the Champions league Final, Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich from FX to the big network. That airs next Saturday at 2:00. Look for TMZ to be pre-empted.

The first World Cup match? Coming soon on June 11.

Meal of Links

The 50 Greatest Samples of Hip-Hop. You get the originals and their modern counterparts. Yes, even David McCallum got sampled on an all-timer by Dr. Dre. And that's only #40.

Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson have a new project. "Music For Dogs"!

Do you realize Kate Bush only toured once? Never came to America.

"Law and Order" (the original) finally gets cancelled. Other versions are still on, though.

Exercise Yard

You know, you sit down for a night of boxing on HBO and nothing can deflate you more than hearing these two words: Paulie Malignaggi. And then I find out that Lennox Lewis isn't calling any more fights on "Boxing After Dark" and this was the first broadcast without him. He wasn't the greatest, but definitely better than George Foreman.

Back to Malignaggi. I just can't stand the guy. Never thought he was any good. Only has 5 KO's, but yet, HBO keeps promoting him as someone I should take seriously. But I can't. My ears perked up, however, when I realized he was in a match at 140 lbs. with Amir Khan. Khan is very popular in the UK, and this was his first fight in the US.

Remember, boxing is the art of making your opponent participate in his own ass whipping. And Malignaggi obliged Khan by not moving. Stood right in front of him and ate leather for 11 rounds until the ref realized something his corner didn't. He was getting his ass handed to him. Then a funny thing happened. I started to not feel sorry for the "Future Legend" Malignaggi, but I realized he didn't have any quit in him. And, really, that's all you can ask from a fighter.

Amir Khan wins on a stoppage in the 11th. He was tossing a shutout at the time.

Visitor

38 Across: He played Will Scarlet in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (15 letters) Answer: Christian Slater

Big crowd at the AMC Westwood Town to see "Up in the Air". A grand total of 4. At $4.25 per head. Ouch. Maybe George Clooney will visit their HQ and can somebody. In fairness, the DVD comes out in 2 weeks, so that's why this was the last theater in town still showing it. This movie is up for Best Picture and George Clooney gets a nomination for Best Actor. Anna Kendrick (a character I really didn't like) and Vera Farmiga get Supporting Actress nominations.

First of all, the subject matter of firing people is not exactly all grins at this juncture. So, this is not laugh out loud funny. Oh, there are some light-hearted moments, but this is not Comedy Central. I think it was in "A Perfect Storm" where I realized Clooney is a star. This guy can rise above weak material and I think to a certain extent, he does that here. But he and Farmiga make a great couple. Sparks fly. She pretty much matches him whim for whim, to coin a Steely Dan phrase.

But then Clooney, in a mere blink of an eye, rejects what he stands for by basically saving his sister's wedding. Cold feet by Danny McBride and Clooney talks him off the figurative ledge and straight to the altar he goes. Somehow, we are to believe that a family that he's not even close to, and a "casual" relationship with Farmiga result in him having an epiphany at a truly awkward moment. While giving a speech at a convention.

Maybe it's the time lapse since this movie came out, but I expected lots more out of this movie. After watching it, I didn't think there was a whole lot of there there. Probably worth a DVD rental, but not a DVD purchase.

Meal of Links

10 reasons to not talk on the phone. Impending bodily functions are a good way to end a call.

Robert Duvall talks about "Crazy Heart". He's a big Jeff Bridges fan.

"U-S-A! U-S-A!"

They found the world's tallest dog. A Great Dane from Arizona.

Exercise Yard

Hitler is Shocked as the USA Beats Canada in Hockey



"U-S-A! U-S-A!"

Visitor

69 Across: Artist Warhol (4 letters) Answer: Andy

I listen to "Sound Opinions" virtually every Sunday evening on XM. Where two Chicago rock critics spend an hour a la Siskel and Ebert and rate the music of the day with an interview or two spliced in. Nice place to hear some music you would not normally hear. Their website is here.

Anyhow, Jim DeRogatis picks his worst rock movies. I love "The Last Waltz", but he's pretty much spot on with his other choices.

Meal of Links

If you want to remodel a kitchen or bath, these sites are for you. Cannot help with the necessary cash, however.

A 1938 guide for single women and dating. In the photos, the 1938 woman seems like fun, while 1938 guy seems a bit of a prig.

All about the early Woody Allen. Complete with a Foster Grant ad. Great stuff.

Reality politicians.

The Olympics Sap-O-Meter. Stay tuned.

Family Guy Farts



Exercise Yard

Even colleges these days get into the pre-game videos to fire up the crowd. This one is from the Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks hockey game. Pretty cool, except they blow up my university. And Ohio State gets it, too.



Visitor

15 Across: "Milk's favorite cookie" (4 letters) Answer: Oreo

Conan says, "No effin' way!". Even Richard Nixon knew the value of a good talk show host.








































Meal of Links

Is swine flu a scam? Leading health expert says it was a "false pandemic" and made billions for drug companies.

I've thought about this ad a lot. Domino's Pizza seems to really hate their product. Or, I guess, their former product.

Bordain talks about the new season of "No Reservations". He quit smoking, would eat Giada's food and cannot stand Sandra Lee.

Pee-wee is back.

If you watch too much TV, you'll die. Looks like I gotta cancel that football watching this weekend.

Jacques Demers is now a Canadian Senator. Huh?

Could you ever imagine getting a letter like this? A response from John Kricfalusi, the "Ren & Stimpy" creator.

Voiceover in film. All the ones you think would be included are present.

Exercise Yard

Some Mark McGwire stuff. Oh, MLB will accept this "apology" while most of us wonder what the hell is McGwire is talking about. Really, there are statements he made that are downright laughable.

Visitor

59 Across: Baseball's Big Papi (10 letters) Answer: David Ortiz

Hey, I'm back from Music City. I went to visit Mr. and Mix and try and extend summer a bit. So, to keep up with what had been happening weather-wise in the South, it continued to rain through Saturday. Lots of rain this month. Probably about 2.5 inches in the last storm that blew by. Finally got sunny and Sunday and Monday were very nice. Cooler, but nice. Of course, I arrive back in town yesterday and it's winter.

I got to meet their new dog and here he is...Brutus!

















A black lab and pit bull mix that is just the right kinda dog you want. Nice temper, hustles around (hell, he's young!), and is a great companion. Even when I had to sit with him for a time, he was cool.

I went to a few places I had not been before for chow. Ted's Montana Grill was one. This is the chain owned by Ted Turner. Remember when he went crazy and bought bison in Montana. Well, this is the end result. I actually buy bison now and then and was eager to try Ted's place. It actually is pretty good. All of the burgers can be beef or bison. I opted for the bison, of course. Unlike our local buffalo purveyor, you can actually get a pot roast or meatloaf done bison-style. And I think I had 17 gallons of sweet tea. Nice touch with salt and pepper onion rings, too.

We also had some barbecue over at Calhoun's. If you recall the glory days of the National Rib Burnoff locally, you may recall Calhoun's being an entrant for a few years. Pre-scandal winner as well, I think. I wish I was a bit hungrier here, but the pulled pork was very good. And they had Shiner Bock, too.

Since we had a chance to see some preseason hockey on Saturday, we went to Rippy's, which is right across from the Sommet Center. Who cares if it was more barbecue? We got here in plenty of time, as it was packed. Tennessee had a 6:00 game on TV and the hockey game started at 7:00. Unfortunately, the kitchen lost our order. A discovery made only about 45 minutes after we ordered. Uh-oh. But one of my favorite words appeared via the manager. "F-R-E-E, that spells free." Great pulled chicken sammie. Which I think I inhaled. Good stuff.

After the hockey game, it was time for a snack. Wild Bill's (it seems he may have a shady past, but his food is good) Beignets and Bikes. This was right across from the Sommet Center and it's a little shop that combines, oddly enough, beignets and motorcycles. I had the banana with caramel sauce and, lemme say, it was outstanding. It is hard to describe, but this concept may actually work. Can't speak for the bikes, or any alleged shady past, but the food was a real thrill.

















As I mentioned, we took in a Nashville-Carolina preseason hockey game at the Sommet Center. We got last row seats for not a bad price. And they had a pretty good view. It was good to see hockey again. I cannot stand the Monsters games because the speed of the game is way too slow for me. But it had been a while since I saw a live NHL game. Cheerleaders, louder music, Kiss Cam (with Kiss band members over your face), etc. It's just a different experience these days. And I loved it.

Meal of Links

We had to get out of the rain, so Mr. Mix and I bolted quickly to catch a matinee of "Surrogates". You know you are in the big city when you have to shell out $10 for a matinee. The local Regal only allows the first show cheaper. This is the movie where Bruce Willis plays an FBI agent who wants to start living his life again instead of using a surrogate. Did I mention surrogates are the rage in the not-so-distant future? You lie on your ass at home while it does the work for you. The movie was OK. I decided that I like the fact Bruce Willis is left-handed. I don't know, when he beats a guy with a bunch of lefts, it looks pretty cool to me. I saw Bruce on Letterman that night, and I gotta tell ya, I'm not sure Bruce is really into the final product here. Not necessarily going through the motions on the publicity tour, but not giving it the hard sell either. After seeing it though, one could hardly blame him.

At first, this was a big WTF when I heard it over the weekend. But this is why Roman Polanski was arrested. i still think it's a big WTF.

The Senate Finance Committee took two votes today on the public option for the healthcare bill and denied it twice. Check out Sen. Jay Rockefeller from West Virginia during these deabtes. He may be the smartest guy in the room.

"A Serious Man" congers up memories of "Barton Fink". "You're a sick fuck, Fink."

Dear God. She's back.

"The Brady Bunch" has turned 40.

The Austin City Limits Music festival takes place this weekend. It's live here.

Exercise Yard

While in Nashville, we witnessed the debacle that was the Browns game against the Ravens. The Browns are just not bad, they are historically bad. One offensive TD in 9 games. That is now more than half a season over two years. I don't think the Browns are at Chris Palmer, expansion-level yet. But it's getting perilously close.

And after only three games, is it really this bad?

Visitor

22 Across: Japanese sleuth Mr. ____ (4 letters) Answer: Moto

A terrific speech from President Obama on torture and terrorism. Cheney had a rebuttal. Some excerpts below.

President Obama



Meal of Links

I love the Internets. Especially for something like this. I give you RunPee.com. The site will tell you when and how long you have to take a bathroom break during a movie. It's in Beta so not a lot up there yet. Although, they are dead on with "Wolverine".

Talk about timing. I just started a new bottle of Sriracha last night. Oh, it's crack.

Here are the Memorial Day TV Marathons.

Some really good Pop Culture Relic Quotes. There are a few that I go to.

Any ballgame where the batboy has to fetch a new bat after a hitter breaks one: "Pick me a winner, Bobby" from "The Natural".

"You know, for the kids" from "The Hudsucker Proxy".

Kind of a paraphrase from Spicoli in any work setting: "We've got the tools. We can fix it."

And Stewie Griffin: "Everything's better with Cool Whip."

Exercise Yard

The Stanley Cup could use a spellcheck. Thank God for Bobby Orr.

Visitor

15 Across: His 2,297 RBI is a major league record (5 letters) Answer: Aaron

I was down at Progressive Field last night as the Indians won, 9-4. Gale and I actually saw Carl Pavano work into the 7th inning! The guy has unbelievably turned into the second-best starter on the team. But it was a terrible crowd. You could tell when I parked close to East 9th on Prospect around 6:00.

The crowd was listed as 14,000, but trust me, there were not that many people there. And these were on that half-price ticket plan and they still couldn't draw. I admit it was cold and the Indians suck, but it was mindful of an early 1994 crowd. I understand the cold part, because I am still fighting my cold. Thought I had it licked late last week, but over the weekend it had returned. Jee-zus, this has been hard to shake. Anyhow, they are really pushing the Tampa series, starting on Memorial Day, for tickets. However, the Yankees, Cardinals and Reds show up in late May/June, so that should temporarily allay any temporary attendance woes.

Couple thoughts about last night:

First time I had seen or heard any mention of Albert Belle in quite a while. They showed his memorable 1995 grand slam off of Lee Smith accompanied by Herb Score's call (where was that Opening Day?). He's been poison for quite a while.

"Hang On Sloopy" was referred to as an "Ohio tradition". Ugh!

Aaron Laffey may become Pavano's "personal reliever".

Ryan Garko has been warming up pitchers between innings as a reminder to Eric Wedge that he is still on the team.

A female in front of us had one of those Hulk Hand Cup Holders on. If anything looked like it could be sold behind the curtain at an Indians team shop under the (ahem) "Novelty" banner, this is it.

Today, the Indians announced the return of Spork No. 1. On a team of Sporks (Matt Laporta now a first baseman), this is significant. And to hear Wedge say that said Spork is a candidate to hit leadoff, is he officially certifiable?

Meal of Links

What makes us happy? A cool report on a 72-year Harvard study.

Jack White takes Dead Weather on tour. Cleveland date? Of course not.

Jesse Ventura derides Cheney. He'd waterboard him, if given the chance.

Dude, don't Bogart them Cheerios.

The changing of the guard in Afghanistan. Not many times is a General publicly fired.

God help us. An "American Gladiators" movie has been announced.

Exercise Yard

The Bruins force Game 7. Quite simply, they have to win or it's another lost season.

Visitor

2 Down: "Deal or No Deal" host Mandel (5 letters) Answer: Howie