"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

While still looking for Worcestershire Sauce at Marc's...

My new blender finally arrived. I ended up with a Blendtec. I have never seen their infomercials, but I guess they can chew up an iPhone. They had some insane sale around the middle of March that was so good, it backed up their shipping. BTW, I'd never buy it at its original price, but the sale was too good to pass up.

I like it, because it takes the place of a couple of machines I had. But the noise it makes will allow me to wake up the neighbors once the weather gets warm.

Meal of Links

Sidney Lumet died today. What a movie legacy this guy left. I mean the guy started with "12 Angry Men". Only got an honorary Oscar after directing "The Pawnbroker", "Serpico", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Network", "The Verdict" amongst others.

New Beasties?



No offense to the Art History folks. How to get a real education at college.

Budget talks point out that old Republican myth. We are for veterans rights.

King Kenny has no idea who LeBron James is. I'm sure they'll battle it out for kingdom rights. Anyhow, LeBron is now part owner of Liverpool. He joins the owners of the Red Sox for global icon marketing purposes. This seems to be replace Dan Gilbert's entree to Asia, as Liverpool is sponsored by Standard Chartered, and is already touring Asia this summer.

WTF? Iggy on "Idol"



Seems like a contrarian opinion. But maybe Pia deserved to be voted off "Idol".

Trump's hair? The rarely executed double combover.

Exercise Yard

Watching a lot of the Masters this weekend. Curiously, FIGJAM was hardly mentioned today until this exchange:

Feherty: "At -3, with the leaders at -9, I think Phil Mickelson has a chance to win."
Falso: "Really?"

That statement by Feherty was ridiculous and even moreso after Rory McIlroy still had 5 holes to play at the time. File that under Absurd Popular Name Invoking.

As his caddy said, McIlroy is playing beautifully right now. The only knock him coming in is that he hasn't learned how to win yet. But now that he is leading by 4, that point may be moot.

It was a strange day at Augusta. No one from the bottom of the pack played well. And McIlroy was the only one up top to play well. The middle was where all the action was, but at the end of the day, those guys were still anywhere from 4 to 7 shots back. If McIlroy strings another good round on Sunday, he'll have lapped the field.

Visitor

24 Across: 2003 Cy Young Award-winning reliever Eric (5 letters) Answer: Gagne

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

Well, it seems everyone can get their 15 minutes these days.

As I was watching the Indians-Yankees game last night, Homer Matt mentioned a disturbance in the bleachers. It was actually loud and had everyone in the crowd distracted. At one point, the second base umpire even called time.

Homer Matt then continued with some cryptic thoughts about how it appeared there were two females fighting. Then he realized what was going on and started chuckling. Yes, some clown decided to wear a LeBron Miami Heat jersey. Now, why it took 6 innings for people to get on this guy's case, I have no idea.

Any video you see of this event makes me wonder, did anyone in the bleachers know how to film? Jeezy creezy, I saw one video where the guy could not keep the jersey popper in the frame. Another was filmed so you had to watch with your head tilted 90 degrees to the right. I mean, there was nothing I saw remotely close to Zapruder-quality. Shocking.

Anyhow, here's an update on the guy. And, of course, in true fashion, he says, "Eff the haters!"

I've read comments on cleveland.com that bring out the old refrain, "Wait until the national media gets a hold of this". So what? Even Kornheiser on PTI feared for LeBron's safety upon his return game and intimated he may have to sit it out. Huh? Really?

This sounds like a lot of huffery from people who don't attend games. If you wear an opponents jersey, especially at a football game, you will get yelled at. If you wanna be a guy who fights about it, there are willing participants lining up. So, it should come as no surprise that this incident happened. And, if you see the videos, it's clear he's enjoying the reaction until he gets the boot. As does his friend.

Two days from now, it's forgotten.

Meal of Links

The annual energy consumption of the average American. I go at least 50% beyond the average of driving 12,000 miles per year.

Could it be the greatest music video ever? The backstory of "Take On Me".

You know, Daniel Schorr, the last link to Edward R. Murrow at CBS died last week. I happened to hear an interview he did with Bob Edwards in 2008 on Monday and he is sorta like "Zelig" in his career. CBS, Watergate, Nixon's enemies list, CNN, NPR. Ane he was also friends with Frank Zappa. WTF?

Leonardo DiCaprio was going to do a movie with Mel Gibson. Even though he likes Vikings, Leo decided to tell Mel, "Nope."

If it involves The Who, you know I'm gonna lap it up. One of my favorites...

"La-La-La Lies"/The Who



"Dexter" stuff. I knew Julia Stiles was in, but did not know Peter Weller had joined for Season 5. Robocop! Masuka has a fake ad.

Ellen leaves "Idol". Looks like Randy and Kara need to look for work elsewhere and quick.

Foreclosures. Vegas still leads with 6.6% of housing units in foreclosure. The lowest rates seem to be in places no one wants to live.

Exercise Yard

Jack Tatum, "The Assassin" died the other day. Steve Grogan didn't like him all that much.

Visitor

6 Across: Northwest Passage seeker (6 letters) Answer: Cabot

I saw the neighborhood skunk tonight. It was about 10:00 and I was pulling out of the driveway and there it was about four houses down on the tree lawn. Just sniffin' around for some bugs. Looked pretty big, too. When I returned, I saw some walkers and wondered what the hell would you do if you didn't see it quick enough and then there it was. Probably get to the other side of the street quickly, I imagine.

Hey, I finally tested my lawn mower for a minute or two yesterday, with the first real usage coming tomorrow. As I mentioned, it is a Craftsman, but the first thing that jumps out at you is how light it is. Now the old-timers would say it's cheap construction and they may be right. Lots more plastic involved. And I'm not sure the bag is as big as my old one, although the emptying of it is much easier. But I must say, the self-propelling is much, much better on the new one. The designers and manufacturers have done a lot in the last 13 years or so.

Meal of Links

SoapNet died. I guess DVR killed the daytime-at-night network.

The FreeCreditReport.com band is breaking up. Relive the bad ones. "Ren Faire" reminded me of a Men Without Hats video. But the original still puzzles me. The guy had his identity stolen, so he had to work at a seafood restaurant?

Here is your World Cup calendar. All in a neat format in Spanish. By date, group, team, venue. Also, a nice read on Maradona. "Hand of God or Brain of Idiot?" for this year's Cup.

How to take photos of a cool place. Without those annoying people interfering.

To channel Tanya Roberts: "The grill is calling." I will get my weekend provisions soon.

HBO has been running this a lot lately. But with the return of the Philadelphia Flyers to the Stanley Cup, you may wanna watch "Broad Street Bullies". I think do they do a great job of conveying how hated those teams actually were. Today, people may dislike the Yankees or Celtics and think they hate them, but back then people HATED the Flyers.

Remember the volcano that erupted in Iceland a while back. There was talk of that even bigger volcano. Well, that looks like it is going to erupt.

Oh, no. As if that wasn't enough bad natural disaster news, here come the hurricanes!

Do you know who Rickey Minor is? I know he's no Simon.

Crime has dropped a lot since the 1970's. And there are some clear reasons for it.

This reporter steals a favorite line of mine. Can you guess which one?

Ozzy, You Devil!



Exercise Yard

A Cleveland fan looks back at Tony Horton. Many great references including Banner Day (Yes, they had that), Camera Day (That, as well) and, of course, the Folly Floater.

Visitor

5 Across: Center of Cleveland? (5 letters) Answer: O'Neal

Hey, it's a Mini-Super Tuesday! With election results that mean something or not really anything.

Arlen Specter goes down in PA. Strange race, but let's face it, the true Democrat won there. A repudiation of President Obama and Gov. Rendell.

Rand Paul declares a win for the Tea Party in the Republican primary in Kentucky. A repudiation of the Republican Senator of Kentucky, Mitch McConnell. Who, much like Don King when his fighter loses and then immediately gets close to the new champ, said this: "We are spiraling further into unsustainable debt and Kentucky needs Rand Paul in the U.S. Senate because he will work every day to stop this crippling agenda." Only in America.

Looks like Jack Murtha's Congressional seat in PA stays Democratic with Mark Critz. Bill Clinton delivering big there.

Arkansas will be interesting if Blanche Lincoln can't get to 50%. If there is a runoff on June 8, look for Bill Clinton to don the cape again and save the day for her then. Not sure President Obama is helping there.

Or anywhere, for that matter. I saw Lee Fisher passed on an opportunity to be with him in Y-town today.

Oregon will be a late close and I will be yawning. A repudiation of staying up late.

Meal of Links

I hadn't seen Elizabeth Ashley in a long time. But, with only a few lines, she became a big favorite of mine on "Treme" as Aunt Mimi.

Aunt Mimi: "I think it's time for another martini."
Jeffrey (her brother): "Maybe you should have a short one this time, Mimi."
Aunt Mimi: "Oh, don't be vulgar, Jeffrey."

Seems harmless enough. A long-time ABC News producer leaves to become a high school guidance counselor. Puff piece, right? Then her ex-employees and co-workers begin to comment. The result? A media shitstorm, but really compelling reading.

Whew. I have had none of these drinks.

Modern potty patrol. DNA testing to find out who's poopin' around the condos.

There are no guarantees of success from "American Idol". Many finalists struggle.

John Lydon answers a bunch of questions. He likes skiing and boating!

Austin City Limits Music Festival released their lineup. Who knew The Verve Pipe were still around?

Exercise Yard

The Dr. Galea case heats up, as he finally gets charged. Cleveland playing an important part as a place of treatment.

Visitor

46 Across: "PBS NewsHour" anchor Jim (6 letters) Answer: Lehrer

Have you ever thought of going paperless? Sometimes I look at my desk at work and think, oh yeah, that would be nice. But I tend to re-use a lot of paper. You know, print something I thought was important than use the backs for note-taking, writing lists, etc.

But here is a guide to going paperless. That converting to a PDF file hint may be a good thing.

Meal of Links

Twitter on the brain, I guess. But I did find this interesting. Why teens don't Tweet.

Hot-air balloons. Lots of 'em. World record even.

A farewell to Paula Abdul. Simon is the only one who can't leave. But if you're gonna re-up Seacrest for millions, well, someone's gotta go.

Murdoch says, "Damn the torpedoes", and will start charging for online content. Let's see how that works.

Exercise Yard

Kid tries pop-up slide in Little league. Fails. Tears up knee. Mom sues. Wins $125,000. No, really.

Visitor

41 Across: Kilmer of "The Saint" (3 letters) Answer: Val

"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"

Time to catch up:

It never fails to amaze me when I hear folks actually wanting the PD to close down. the fall of Sheriff McFaul is Exhibit A on how the press is very much needed in this town. OK, it's years late, but the mood is right for more of this.

Joe Klein talks about Populist Rage.

If you find yourself traveling internationally, you can call and text. On the cheap

Last night's Obama presser? He did good.

The Top 10 SNL ads. Recent ones, that is.

2010 Oscars? Back to March. First time since '06.

Matt Groening talks.

Woody Allen writes.

Of course, they lip-synch on "Idol". Blame Janet Jackson.

This is probably it for U2.

Meal of Links

26 great shows that were cancelled quickly. And with "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" out on DVD, it was rightly included in this list.

The New York Dolls are still going and have a new album. Always a good time when one of their records is played.

GM still offers company cars to managers. And pays for gas.

Exercise Yard

Don Banks thinks major changes are coming to the NFL. Capless in 2010 probably leads to lock out in 2011. And that would end my ticket participation.

Visitor

34 Down: 2008 Libertarian presidential candidate (4 letters) Answer: Barr

I closed out the Best Actor category for the Oscars to see Richard Jenkins in a PPV of "The Visitor". I guess this falls into the realm of each major acting category has to have one nominee from a movie no one has seen. This was released last April and I'm willing to bet it played here for one week. It was written and directed by Tom McCarthy, who played a reporter on "The Wire". McCarthy also wrote and directed "The Station Agent", so he has that experience of getting major publicity for a film that slips under the radar.

This story involves a professor who has to go to New York for a conference. Upon his arrival, he finds his apartment occupied by an illegal alien couple. He befriends them and one of them eventually gets picked up by immigration. It was pretty good, and although Jenkins was nominated, I must have missed why his performance was such a standout.

Meal of Links

I was over at Luxe after the CSU game last Saturday. I liked their pizza very much, especially when I had leftovers the next day. I opted for my standard pepperoni and jalapeno. And the music was outstanding. Early Prince was featured. Neat bar, as well.

Thankfully, Tom Daschle gave up his bid to be HHS Secretary. The Obama administration can't preach change, then let all these tax scofflaws keep their posts. And the Press Secretary got absolutely roasted yesterday, so there were signs he had to go.

Not to be outdone, Bonnaroo releases its lineup. Where else are you gonna find Springsteen, The Ting Tings and Merle Haggard at the same place? They have an outstanding lineup.

Ridge Park hosts this year's AMC Oscar extravaganza. All the Best Picture nominees in one day. That's a ton of popcorn and a shitload of ICEEs. It's not a bad deal. All the movies and a large popcorn with unlimited refills for $30 ($25 for members). I'd probably go to one if it had all of the short films.

Free Diet Dr. Pepper.

The set of "General Hospital" is getting redone. Hell, I remember when Amy Vining was manning the gossip...er...nurses station.

Car Bombs. Not drinks. Cupcakes!

The Christian Bale Soundboard. "What don't you fucking understand?" amongst other gems.

"Idol" singers. Fake or delusional?

Exercise Yard

The US is actually bidding once again for the World Cup in 2018 or 2022. Back in 1994, I never thought I'd have to wait this long to see another one. BTW, less than 500 days to next year's World Cup in South Africa.

Today was also the day that the English Premier League received bids for the next three years of TV rights for the UK, 2010-2013. BSkyB says what recession and bids around $1.3 billion pounds. In 1992, the rights went for 38 million pounds, so good times for the EPL owners, including Randy Lerner.

US rights are determined at a later time.

Visitor

23 Across: Smart, to 99 (3 letters) Answer: Max

After some minor technical issues, I am back.

The strangest thing I heard today was on Fox Sports Radio. They were interviewing Chris Landry, who is their self-described "NFL Personnel Director". He is another member of the Belichick Tree, having worked here in the early '90s with the Browns. So, he knows all of the principals getting these NFL jobs lately.

They asked him about Scott Pioli, newly appointed GM of the Chiefs who also interviewed with the Browns. He said he would be a really good administrator. The next question was about his scouting ability and Landry stated that Pioli has never done scouting, that he never travelled around in that capacity. So, it makes sense that Pioli would opt for the Chiefs job, where he can report to the owner and lean heavily on that scouting department.

If he came here, God knows what his role would have been, but it seems to me he would have been responsible for drafting and it's obviously not his forte. Maybe that's a good reason for him not being here.

Meal of Links

Samuel L. may not play Nick Fury, after all. He doesn't seem too happy about it. All I know is, he got cheered when he showed up onscreen in "Iron Man".

"Flight of the Conchords" returns this Sunday. Right after a long day of football. Here is an interview.

Bonnaroo is making concert footage and some music available to the masses. The first band up? "The Raconteurs"! Yeah, baby. That will warm you up.

"Idol" is back. Plus, the BBC decides to have "Butcher Idol".

The "Dog Whisperer" has advice for the Obama family dog. I am sensing a "Very Special" episode of the program?

Steve Jobs is taking a Medical Leave of Absence. That can't be good.

Johnny Cash was once a deputy in Davidson County (Nashville).

I am fascinated by this accidental cartography. Kinda like when Al Bundy sweated Elvis. How can you not like "Australia as a puddle"?

They are dropping like flies. Mr. Roarke and Number Six both died today.

Exercise Yard

ESPN says, yeah, we are bidding for Premier League matches. The next contract determines my future programming provider.

Visitor

60 Across: 1960s-'70s group, and this puzzle's theme (8 letters) Answer: The Doors

It seemed all I did today was run around town. Part of which was zipping out to the Cedar-Lee to see "Slumdog Millionaire" and then I had to zip right back to this side of town. Anyhow, to paraphrase Jackie Gleason, the Cedar-Lee audiences are supposed to be the best movie-going audiences in Cleveland. Boy, things are slipping.

This was shown in one of the theaters where the seats are contained in maybe 10-12 rows and the aisles are on either side. And it was almost filled. So, look, you really can't sit in the middle of a row and decide to leave during the movie. The rows are not wide enough and everything in your row gets disrupted. Let alone the people behind you are fucked. That happened twice. I was in row last and there now seems to be an obsession with some people to get a head start on leaving, so these people leave their seats late in the movie and watch the ending while standing in the back. WTF? I hate when people hover and I certainly don't like it in the dark. Checking for texts and messages...folks, that's a no-no. That went on. We even had a phone ring today. I don't even wanna start on the guy who sat down and had cold hands. How did I know that? Because he did the cup hands, blow into them and rub them before the start of the movie. At least five times. It was killin' me. You'd think we were in Antarctica. He was rubbing them so much, if they were sticks, I would have had to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater.

As for the movie, it's a gem. The movie is about a kid who is a contestant on "Who Wants To be A Millionaire?" (the Indian version). He is not well-schooled, but a survivor of the slums of Bombay, now Mumbai. Anyhow, it shows how he knows the answers on the show by using flashbacks and how those answers were revealed to him and he cashes in on that knowledge. Pretty unique stuff. Subtle comedy, throughout, absolutely hot Indian chick, Freida Pinto, along for the ride, too. Stars no one you know. You won't find another movie like it. Best I've seen all year.

This past weekend at the movies had some new trailers. Got my first look at "The Wrestler" which looks great. "Revolutionary Road"? Leo in a 1950's suit? After seeing him kick ass in "Blood Diamond", I dunno. "Che" also looks like that may be in two parts. Otherwise, that's 4.5 hours of subtitles in one sitting.

Meal of Links

Speaking of hot chicks, you know what I think of Penelope Cruz. Hot, but don't even try speaking English. Absolutely, ruins it for me. However, I have found the ultimate Spanish substitute. I have stumbled upon this show, don't ask me how, on PBS called, "Spain: On The Road Again". Yeah, Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow and Mark Bittman are on it, but I can fast forward them to listen to Claudia Bossols turn a phrase in Spanish or English. She needs to do more work in the States, pronto.

Oh, great. They are now throwing shoes at the guy. "So what if the guy threw a shoe at me?". Once a Vietnam War dodger, now a shoe dodger.

Changes are coming for "Idol". Haven't they figured out that less bad singers = less ratings.

On the Second Day of Christmas...



Exercise Yard

If you thought the Browns had bad play calling, did you catch the end of the Buffalo-New York Jet game? Really, the Buffalo coaching staff needs to be jettisoned after that bonehead call to lose the game. Haven't seen anything that egregious in a long time. Well, maybe a Browns game or two earlier this year.

Utterly indefensible.

Visitor

None on a rainy Sunday.

I was at the Bart this morning, because my sister-in-law was graduating from the Cleveland State School of Nursing today. Maybe she can help with "the gout". Anyhow, they do a nice job on the production values. The orchestra plays Elgar's only hit record, so Pomp and his friend Circumstance were in attendance. Some guy (trust me when I say he never shows up at the basketball games) belted out the National Anthem fore and the Alma Mater aft.

Nice video screens, again not present at hoops affairs, were also a nice touch. It seems the undergrads aren't in full attendance as many of the conferees present were getting Masters degrees today. And I know there are probably more post-grads attending there, but I'm always amazed at people who decide not to show up, regardless of your age. It's a great accomplishment. But it's always good when you get your name read off in front of everyone. I did not have that pleasure at Miami, where we were conferred by schools. I believe I stood up, some guy said something and I sat right back down. Very memorable. All in all, a nice program. The President down there is doing some really significant stuff and the school tends to get overlooked in its accomplishments.

















I know a couple of other grads as Shaun and Phil were graduating today, as well. I sent Shaun a congratulatory text and he told me he was amazed that they'll give anyone a degree these days, as he's living proof.

Meal of Links

Dave Grohl writes a letter to Metallica. He says not to release their next album, until it kicks ass.

My bullshit meter goes way up on this one. A 13-year old steals his Dad's credit card to buy hookers. This seals the deal for me, as it's too funny to be legit. "Police said they were alerted to the motel by a concerned delivery clerk, whom after delivering supplies of Dr Pepper, Fritos and Oreos had been asked by the kids where they could score some chicks and were willing to pay." If you believe that, welcome back from that line at Papa John's.

Murray Saul is 80. If you have to ask who he is, well, forget it. There's hope for Keith Richards to reach that age.

There's no way this David will win "Idol". How do you change the words to "Stand By Me" in the first place? What gives you the right to "improve" on that number? He's done and should thank his Dad for the runner-up spot. Clearly, if the competition is fixed, the company won't put up with that crap.

A site that calls bullshit on politicos. Finally.

Exercise Yard

A terrific game for the Cavs tonight. I liked the offensive setup from the get-go. the main thing as they were finally hitting open shots and incredibly built a 43-17 lead. Much better spacing, ball movement, and everyone contributed early. Wally Szczerbiak scored enough at the start to get the halftime interview gig. Even Anderson Varejao hit a jumper. And Rajon Rondo running the Celtics offense looked like a fan subbed for him and wore his uni. He was awful and Sam Cassell did actually look 90 yesterday. This one was done early.

Joe Smith was big off the bench and Delonte West keeps seesawing by having a very good game in this one. LeBron did not shoot 33% in this one and that was an improvement. Now 13-58 in the series, he didn't have that good of a game, but his teammates (for once) combined with Boston's effort, resulted in an easy win. Boston again proving they are a completely different team away from home. Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were not factors tonight. Allen especially is being overshadowed in suckiness by LeBron, but has been just as bad in this series. Pierce has a handful watching leBron, so I think he still gets a pass. Garnett did not see the ball that often, but had a decent game for what it was worth.

No one breaks it down like Charley Rosen.

Visitor

40 Down: Putin's predecessor (7 letters) Answer: Yeltsin

I think I need to declare this...I love vidalia onions.

I'm taking my Dad to the Yankee game on Saturday, which led to this exchange:

Him: "Are we sitting next to the Steinbrenners?"
Me: "No. I think we're sitting next to the David Brenners."

But the main thing today is I'm calling bullshit on the cancellation of this evening's Alicia Keys concert at the Bart. How do I know this? A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine expressed interest in going to see this show. Of course, my interest level was not that high and I think it was actually zero. Mainly, because I thought the concert had been announced for a while and the seat selection would be awful. Several days later, on a whim, I thought I'd check. To my amazement, you could get 5th row on the floor ($97) and tickets in the first sections from the stage in the lower level (I think these were in the $57-$67 range). So, you can see, she wasn't selling ANY tickets. Don't know if it's price, opening acts, her statements that "Gangsta rap was a government invention" or what. Jordin Sparks was one of the openers, but had to bail on illness, as well.

Imagine my non-surprise then, when I saw in the morning paper, Keys had cancelled her show in Pittsburgh last night and in Cleveland tonight. However, her people claimed she had "swollen vocal cords". That is quite the excuse for someone who just started their tour on Saturday! Of course, you can't say, well there was no interest. But the proof that she didn't sell many tickets was in a statement from her own website which read "Ticket holders in both cities may contact the respective venues for instructions and fans with tickets for the Cleveland concert will be able to have them honored at the upcoming show in Columbus, OH".

I have never seen that in the history of attending shows locally. If there is trouble selling tickets, they usually look for a smaller venue. It's rare, but it does happen. Second of all, she's admitting they haven't sold that many tickets in Columbus, because they can also accommodate the crowd from Cleveland or they sold virtually no tickets in Cleveland and can easily squeeze those folks into Columbus. Now, I must say, that's a pretty long drive on short notice to get nowhere near the seat you had locally, so I'd probably opt for the refund and watch the NFL Draft or something.

I don't know why that irked me, because I wasn't going. Hell, I'm watching the Cavs tonight anyway, but that reeked of bullshit so bad, I had to say something.

Meal of Links

If Sam's Club is rationing rice purchases, is it time to panic? Uh, no. But wouldn't that be about a 52-pound size there or at Costco anyhow? I don't buy a lot of it, but I guess rice prices are going through the roof.

Matt Taibbi visits an "Encounter Weekend" sponsored by John Hagee's church. You get some behind-the-scenes info and one funny made up story.

I don't watch "Idol" and even I was shocked. Aw, two guys in the final anyway.

Have you heard about Hard Rock Park? Get Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon and start writing a song. OK, when I opened up the Entertainment Schedule, I was secretly hoping Eddie Money was on it, you know, for grins. He's not scheduled. Yet. But George Clinton is!

It's Coachella this weekend and you get video via the AT&T Blue Room. The Raconteurs get a late Friday night viewing.

Laurie Anderson finally got married. To Lou Reed.

A long, but fascinating read about elevators. Sometimes, a rather mundane topic intrigues.

Exercise Yard

A profile on Manny Ramirez. I still love Manny and he remains the best hitter I've seen.

Visitor

31 Across: Claudius' grandnephew (4 letters) Answer: Nero

The Browns are loading up, it seems. They picked up Donte Stallworth today. That gives them a number two receiver with some speed. Joe Jurevicius moves to the number three guy. Happiest man on that deal is probably Kellen Winslow. The Browns have speed at both wideouts now and they will attract attention.

They also traded away their second and third-round picks for some beef on the defensive line, which was sorely lacking. My God, will they finally stop they run? Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers show up. Each with their respective baggage. Rogers is up to 370 pounds, and is now nicknamed "Big Maybe". Williams arrives not only with a big contract, the second-round pick looms large, as well. He's gotta be a difference maker to justify that set of circumstances. As far as the dumping of the draft picks, Phil Savage must not be too pleased with the upper reaches of this year's draft.

Also, good news for Cleveland State basketball. The Vikings had five things that had to happen to reclaim the number two seed in the Horizon League tournament. Three of them occurred on Thursday night. Valpo beat Wright State earlier today and CSU beat the Fighting Penguins of Youngstown State. CSU had a complete turnaround, winning 20 games this year after losing the same number last year. The win, however, seeds CSU to the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament, depriving fans of a tournament home game, unless Butler loses before the final.

Meal of Links

Saw the new Will Ferrell flick, "Semi-Pro". today. This one clocking in at a crisp 90 minutes. Yeah, you'll chuckle at this one, but really, only a few scenes stood out for me. Kelly Leak makes an appearance as a '70s stoner named "Dukes". And a scene with a gun is funny. And a wrestling bear shows up. There are a few laughs throughout, but it's typical Ferrell. If you hate him, it's not for you. If you like him, well it's not "Old School" and certainly far from his best, but probably still worth the small time investment. Not a full house, and that's a bit surprising. Maybe the act is getting a bit old for some or the R rating is causing some issues. The trailer of his summer movie, "Step-Brothers" with John C. Reilly may offer him redemption after this one.

A man should never win "Idol". The two male winners, thus far, were "giant, non-threatening clowns".

All about the Steinbrenners. There are some gems from Hank the Quote Machine.

Exercise Yard

First Saturday of the month must mean boxing on Showtime. Tonight, it's Vazquez-Marquez 3. Stallone and Jack Nicholson in attendance. This Super Bantamweight bout became the early leader for Fight of the Year. The combined workrate for both fighters was perhaps the highest I've ever seen.

Rafael Marquez dominated early throwing the left jab at will. Israel Vazquez got knocked down in the 4th, which was a terrific round for both fighters. I had Marquez way up on points early. But Vazquez kept at it, despite a probable broken nose and two nasty cuts, one on each eye. It was painful to see him get tended to between rounds as those cuts were stinging badly. His work paid off in two ways.

Marquez got penalized a point in the 10th for low blows. The final straw was probably a borderline call, but you had a feeling this would come into play, because he was warned very early for the infractions. This set up the 12th round which most viewing thought Vazquez needed a big round to pull it out. Unbelievably, he did it. Big right early in the round set the tone and he was all over Marquez, finally getting a knockdown in the final 20 seconds of the fight. That 10-8 round combined with the 10-8 round for the low blow round won him the fight.

It was tough to score, reflected in the split decision. I thought Marquez won it with a 9-9 round for the low blows. One judge had it 114-111, Marquez, another had the same score for Vazquez. The final judge had it 113-112, Vazquez, allowing him to retain his title.



















Great fight tonight.

Visitor

7 Down: Pan pal (12 letters) Answer: Wendy Darling

I guess I got it wrong. Moe Green is still alive! And that was Alex Rocco in the Audi commercial during the Super Bowl. I thought he died after that "Famous Teddy Z" TV series of yesteryear. I still maintain there is too much going on to figure out they are selling Audis, but good to see Moe Green is still kicking. Now, if we follow "The Godfather" correctly, shouldn't we all get an Audi?

Meal of Links

Here I am, minding my own business, when this comes across my desk. Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz in a lesbian scene. I don't even care that this is in a Woody Allen film. As always, I'm hoping Ms. Cruz doesn't speak, or in this case, moan in English in the flick. I'll see this one, oh, probably the minute it shows up in town.

The Bonnaroo lineup. I'd say it's very good. The SXSW lineup is here. I love that band name, Scissors for Lefty.

Animals that have somehow avoided entering my house, so far. Chimps in clothes! And, of course, "Maybe the dingo ate your Peppermint Jo-Jos." I still have one box left.

Jeezy creezy. "American Idol" as a theme park attraction. Isn't that karaoke?

If the writer's strike ends soon, here is what may happen with the remaining schedule. Looks like "The Office" is the only one that may have more than 7 episodes.

Who knew that G.O.B. was the voice of GMC Trucks? So, he can't do the voice of K.I.T.T., because it's a Mustang. BTW, Will Arnett is still alive.

Why Pete Doherty matters.

Exercise Yard

My Dad and I attended the CSU-Wright State game this evening. A scant three weeks ago, it was the high of beating Butler and Valpo back-to-back. And there were people there. Today with Wright State in town, after CSU dumped four in a row on the road, it was back to normal as I parked on the street. Although they listed the crowd at 2,793.

While "What a difference a day makes..." was playing in our collective heads, Wright State jumped out to a 15-2 lead. They never gave up that lead. It got as close as two in the second half, but in about 20 seconds, it was a Wright State three, a CSU turnover and another Wright State basket. "Game over, man, game over!" Five losses in a row have now marred a pretty promising season. 34% shooting by CSU tells the story.

CSU loses, 55-49.

Visitor

22 Across: He came after Jimmy (6 letters) Answer: Ronald

Survived another Polka Happy Hour at the Happy Dog last night, so let's catch up on some things.

The death of chess icon Bobby Fischer at age 64, the number of squares on your average chessboard. You must understand, back in 1972, Fischer was sort of T.O., Britney Spears, and a young John McEnroe, all rolled into one. And all of a sudden, people then started playing chess. WTF? His championship match with Boris Spassky was on PBS, for cryin' out loud. You didn't see the actual combatants, but you saw their moves on this big flat board facing the screen. Hard to believe that now. Although the Cold War aspects have been played down over time, Fischer seemed to get away with a lot. It was like, "Sure he's an asshole, but he's our asshole and he's beating the Russians." You know how they always talk about that thin line between genius and insanity, I think Fischer jumped over that line a long time ago.

Rachael Ray hates Dunkin' Donuts coffee. I still think that was one of the phoniest ads I ever heard.

I think this guy was really upset that the Cowboys lost week. His name? Adolf Hitler!



Seinfeld makes sure Eli Manning (Hitler: "ELI SUCKS!") gets to watch "Seinfeld". Eli is in Green Bay, prepping for tomorrow's loss.

Why do I come across items with this type of headline? And I quote, "U.S. to Study Bizarre Medical Condition". I don't need to know these things.

Sears is in trouble. Roebuck is probably off somewhere, laughing.

Look at all these old computers. Click on the pics for info.

Daniel Day-Lewis is kind of an oddball. Great actor, though. More on him later.

Michael Bloomberg looked at those running for President and isn't running yet. But he's close.

Meal of Links

Took in "There Will Be Blood" at the Regal Beagle at Crocker today. And there was. Daniel Day-Lewis' voice reminded me of John Huston's in those old RCA Color TV commercials, "Table green, holster black". Major star vehicle for Daniel, who actually played a guy named Daniel.

It's an early 20th century story about the oil business, religion and the crazy people associated with both. Paul Dano provides a nice assist as a young preacher/faith healer type. But it's really a movie for Day-Lewis, who plays the madman very well, and Ghoulardi's son, P.T. Anderson. Old P.T. done made himself an epic movie. Very Citizen Kane-like in its delivery, I think. Plus, bowling makes an appearance near the end. Not to give too much away, but I caught myself saying, "Throw the pins! Throw the pins!". Lengthy and maybe not the most satisfying of endings, but it is a major award contender.

A long day at the Australian Open. The Hewitt-Baghdatis match ended at 4:30 a.m. And you thought "There Will Be Blood" was long.

"Idol" has been taken over by freaks. "Why do I feel like giving the camera the finger, why do I feel like giving the camera the finger."

Exercise Yard

Just because I made my Dad walk a couple of blocks in freezing weather to save a couple of bucks on parking doesn't make me a bad person, does it? Naw, of course not. We took in the CSU game against Valpo, and once more, parking was at a premium.

Tonight there were 4400 in attendance. Geez, my Fan Meter must be off a bit. I thought it equalled the size of the Butler crowd. Anyhow, it was NCAA Take a Kid to a Game Day and Dollar Hot Dog Night and they still couldn't pack the place.

CSU never trailed in this one, slowly building a lead which reached 7 at the half and eventually reached 12 in the second half. Valpo had a rep for hitting threes, but they were defended strongly in the first half and only made 2. They did get 7 in the second half, but by then, it was too late.

The Vikings are now 7-0 in the league. However, the next two weeks see them on the road, with the Wisconsin and Illinois swings. That will be the test of where they might finish, but they are playing really tough team ball right now. Only four league games left at home. CSU wins, 69-63.

Visitor

24 Down: Dallas Mavericks owner Mark (4 letters) Answer: Cuban

I just realized I forgot to honk my horn after tonight's CSU game. Aren't we supposed to do that after any kind of big win? I don't know what started this renaissance of local sports, I'm guessing the LeBron game last June against Detroit, but it seems to have filtered down to the lowliest of them all, CSU. Described by the AP tonight as "a program in disarray for most of the past 20 years".

Yes, the Vikings beat #12 Butler tonight, the first time CSU has ever beaten a Top 25 team in the regular season, and the biggest win since the Mackey Era. A game so big, I actually had to pay to park. Apparently, the days of "Gee, I'm still home and have a game in 25 minutes." are gone. Well, at least for one evening, as a crowd of 5,352 was in attendance. People in front of me, people behind me, even people NEXT to me (Stop touching me!). A game so huge, as the "crowd" stormed the court afterward in typical Cleveland fashion, they tried to steal the head of Magnus! Ha!

















Obviously, Coach Waters has got it through his team's head that if thou playeth defense, good things will be bestowed upon thee. Butler shot only 34% for the game. Last year, they had 20 3-pointers here...this year, they had 6. CSU had more rebounds, 37-32, and led almost the entire game.

The crowd was into the game, probably at its best since the North Carolina game of years gone by. The Vikings played a really good game and didn't crack when Butler had its only lead, 44-42, with 7:58 to play. They benefited from a horrible game by A.J. Graves (he actually missed a foul shot) and the fact Mike Green missed plenty of the first half with 2 fouls. They had really good efforts by J'Nathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson, and we'll kindly overlook his 9 turnovers.

So, what does it mean? CSU remains unbeaten in league play at 6-0. Valpo comes to town next, another threat in the league. If CSU gets by Valpo on Saturday, they may be onto something. CSU goes on the road for the next two weeks and it will go a long way in deciding their fate. Too bad they can't enjoy this game for more than an hour or so.

The final, CSU wins, 56-52. And, once again, it's time for my favorite Bill King quote: "There's no time left...there's nothing real in the world any more!...A man would be a fool to ever try and write a drama and make you believe it!"

Meal of Links

It's official. Kids hate clowns. I bet that's why they never rerun "It". That scared the crap out of me.

"Idol" is back on. Look at these "Idol" products. I've already mentioned that "Take the Cake" ice cream...it's good. Soylent green is people.

Fuck Time Warner.

China owns us. Not owes, owns.

Exercise Yard

When was the last time you read Golf Magazine? Silly, it was the time they put that noose on the cover.

Visitor

26 Across: "Chinatown" screenwriter (5 letters) Answer: Towne

Time to play catch-up:

Kevin really did me a solid yesterday by constructing my new stereo system. Let's face it, my personal motto should be: "Thou shalt not handle power tools.", so when it comes to speaker stands, speaker wire, handling a screwdriver (non-drink variety) anything like that, I'm, uh, what's the word...challenged. You see, I treated myself at the end of this past year to the Onkyo TX-SR605 receiver. Yeah, baby, this thing rocks.
Matched it up with some KEF speakers and, quite frankly, we will wake up the neighbors. I had some cash saved up and found some Internet ("off-the-truck", perhaps?) deals, and went for it. I love it already.

Although it got some minor play, the most interesting story this week (to me), was the cancellation of the Dakar Rally, because of terrorist concerns. Can you imagine a sporting event cancelled like that? It's straight out of soccer. Dakar is the wildest of the auto races in the world and one of my faves, Robby Gordon, seems to have become a regular now. Here's some race background. It's the kind of race that Versus might cover, to give you a hint to its popularity. So, we'll look for it next year.

Everyone is worried about tiger attacks. What about bears?



David Garrard? Running on 4th down? For big yards? Been there. 2005 Jacksonville game. Browns down by six. Just over two minutes left. Third-and-19. Garrard for 28 yards up the middle. Game over. Threw up.

I can't stand Dane Cook for seven minutes, let alone seven hours. I don't get the guy.

Taylor Hicks lost his record deal. The Soul Patrol is in a hole. Oh, God, that show is back soon.

Meal of Links

Here's how to afford anything. Live cheap, it sees to be.

2007 Gadgets. Some were good, some bad, but do you need them? He liked the Chop Wizard. Wow, it's that easy! I saw an infomercial on New Year's for the Sonic Blade and was in awe. I think it could cut through a building. Salsa in 60 seconds! I wonder what happened to the Deion Sanders Hot Dog Express.

Warner Bros. picks Blu-Ray. Next year's self gift: DVD player.

Exercise Yard

The Cavs? The Indians? The Browns? Now, the Cleveland State Vikings? I don't know what's happening, but it's the third consecutive league win at home. And, once again, handily. And they are in first place. Attendance: 2008. Or did they get that from the calendar? In 2 weeks, it's Butler and Valpo at home.

Best line from my brother after a period in which many fouls occurred: "This is like Mad Magazine's version of basketball." Which has everyone awaiting foul shots. Miss. Foul occurs. Walk to other end of floor. Foul shots. Miss. Foul. Walk to other end. Hey, we're old. If you saw it, you'd laugh.

Visitor

None, it's Big Snow Melt Sunday.

What's all this I hear about no more lap dances in Ohio? I don't frequent these places, but how does a bill like that get passed when everyone thinks it's terrible legislation. Oh, it's the fear of being attacked by conservative groups and losing that campaign money. Now I get it.

The better news, dare I say, the great news is the Cavs get the number 2 seed! Against the injury-depleted Washington Wizards. What a day, we thought we would get Miami in Round One and now we don't. Beautiful.

Meal of Links

This guy always writes the best "Idol" recaps. I never have to watch.

Hey, peoples, 420 is Friday. Therefore, a history lesson.

They've already heard "Icky Thump" in the UK. I've heard the White Stripes will be touring in 16 states they've never played before in the summer. Then things get serious (meaning they better show up here) in the fall.

Exercise Yard

Did you happen to hear Uncle Charlie Manuel go off on that Philly radio guy yesterday? "I've been growed up..." may be my new favorite line of his. I kinda like the fact he referred to himself as "Look, there’s Good-Time Charlie, or Take-it-Easy Charlie, Laidback Charlie, Uncle Charlie, Grandpa Charlie..."

Visitor

22 Down: Queen of Talk (5 letters) Answer: Oprah

Thoughts on the Opening Day That Wasn't:













The Indians need to take much of the blame for this fiasco. I've seen baseball for a lot of years and clearly that was the coldest day with the lowest wind chills for a game that was attempted to play locally. I realize many factors played a part, mainly that this was Seattle's only trip in. But I drove down with my Dad at 1:30 and it was amazing how much snow was flying down there. The game was to start at 4:00, but it looked in doubt even at that time. We had pretty much decided in an executive decision beforehand that we wouldn't go in. A parking spot on the street by a two-hour meter pretty much clinched that one. Imagine that, $3 to park on Opening Day. So, we headed over to Alesci's.

Which was packed. So, we hung around and waited for the Budweiser Clydesdales, who delivered beer throughout Gateway. I petted one of them illegally. I got the "Sir, you're not allowed to pet the horses." line. But I got a picture with them as my Dad pulled a Richard Avedon and went snap-happy. In the interim, I drank many beers. The snow stopped significantly maybe twice during that span.

We then heard the game was pushed back to 5:00. This was a bad decision. They should have tossed the pre-game ceremonies into the trash and started at least 30 minutes earlier. So, I don't wanna hear they tried everything they could. They clearly didn't.

You knew it was trouble after the first inning with 26-minute and a 17-minute delays. Gale joined us after another inning because of some work issues and we see the Indians get a 4-0 lead. Oh, we lost our catcher. I'm not sure if the cold was to blame, but Victor Martinez strained a quad muscle. It looked like it hurt. Blame the cold.

We decided to leave after the fourth. Then the snow started up again. Old friend Mike Hargrove sets aside his taco snacks and pulls a great managerial stunt out of the Spalding Guide and starts a filibuster about the snow falling and that his hitters can't see. Any manager would have done this. This is after Paul Byrd loads the bases with walks, gets two outs, and has two strikes on the hitter. One more strike and the game is official. That's when Hargrove goes out. After several minutes, while the snow gets worse, the umpires relent and the game is delayed again. The odd thing is at this time we are driving on I-490, two miles to the south, and it is not snowing there. After an hour and 17 minutes, the game was mercifully postponed. Paul Byrd's quite the redass as he had not given up any hits and claimed Seattle was "celebrating" after the postponement. They even called a team meeting afterward.

This attempt at a game joins the Opening Day lore of the snowout game several years ago when they actually postponed it in the morning. The game a few years ago when it was the coldest baseball game I'd ever attended up that point. And the mid-70s game where you could throw snowballs at the Milwaukee Brewers.

So the game was rescheduled for today, when I had to actually shovel snow this morning. Obviously, both games today were cancelled. BTW, in Seattle, it was 78 degrees yesterday. Keep in mind that next year, the Indians want to open at home on the first Monday of the season.

Meal of Links

During the snow around Noon today, I spent time with the younger set, Shaun and Kevin, and we took in the new Will Ferrell classic, "Blades of Glory" at Crocker Park. If you like Will Ferrell, this is a must see. He stars as Chazz Michael Michaels, the only three-time skating medalist and adult film star, who feuds with Jon Heder's character, Jimmy MacElroy. After they are both banned from men's skating, they make a comeback in pairs skating.

Ferrell is typically funny and has an ode to his Italian hairbrush that I could not stop laughing at. Of course, he's half naked at one point and tells MacElroy to "drink it in." Another time with Nancy Kerrigan, "Are you an official? Because you've officially given me a boner." Spot on commentary from Jim Lampley and Scott Hamilton. Lamps especially with, "He puts the "bone" in Zamboni." and "They have captivated this crowd much like a stack of classic Euro porn."

Other highlights were funny "Up Close and Personal"s of the skaters, William Fichtner as an eccentric billionaire and MacElroy's adoptive father, Ferrell saying Louis Armstrong walked on the moon, Craig T. Nelson as the skating coach who takes the wraps off the feared "Iron Lotus" move and gives it to Michaels and MacElroy. Amy Poehler and Will Arnett are good as rival skaters and the one who probably had the least impact on the movie was Jenna Fischer, in a rather ho-hum role.

The reasons that Sanjaya remains on "Idol". I still don't get if this guy is so bad, how did he make it to the Finals in the first place?

YouTube gets into politics with CitizenTube. Seems like a good idea. Probably a place to find some nutjobs, as well.

Exercise Yard

Once again, HBO and Showtime had boxing on the same day, HBO did us a favor and showed the Calzaghe-Manfredo fight at 5:00. Not much of a 168-lb. match here. Joe Calzaghe whipped up on Peter Manfredo, aka "the guy from "The Contender", in a three-round affair. Manfredo was simply outclassed as he could not keep up with Calzaghe's hand speed. Oh, it was a quick stoppage as the fight was on Calzaghe's home turf of Cardiff, Wales. Third round and Manfredo hadn't even hit the canvas. Yet. But the ref saved us from the inevitable and stopped it quick. Calzaghe now 21-0 in title defenses.

Showtime had a rather interesting non-title fight between Diego Corrales and Joshua Clottey. Corrales was leaping two weight classes to take on Clottey at 147 in the fighting mecca of Springfield, MO. Of course, both men failed to make weight. What the hell is going on with this sport when it comes to making weight? Corrales comes in at 149, Clottey first at 151, then two hours later at 149. Game on. Clottey almost threw a shutout as he dominated the action. Corrales was game, but never hurt Clottey. It was an active fight and that's all you can ask. It may be the end of the line for Corrales, who has been coming up short a lot lately.

Visitor

3 Down: 2007 International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee (7 letters) Answer: Sampras