Yeah, it's over.

No more Podium Girls.







































No more Road ID ads with Bobke.



No more El Diablo.






















No more fear of a fan impeding a rider.



























I love the Tour de France, because it fits so nicely within the July sports calendar when there is a not much goin' on, 'cept the rent.







































This year gives us the first Aussie winner, the first winner from the Southern Hemisphere and the second-oldest winner ever. It was Cadel Evans and he gave it quite the ride this year.

Meal of Links

They are correct. Olivia Wilde is jarringly beautiful. She was on Bill Maher's show once and I think she was overwhelmed at that time. They need to bring her back.

I think I've waited a year-and-a-half to find a Thermopen on sale. It finally happened.

This guy's church HAS to be fun. "Boogity, Boggity, Amen!"

Invocation of the Year



"Wedgie, you're doing a heckuva job." The Mariners have lost 15 straight.

NFL seems to be starting again this week. BTW, Jay Cutler dumped his girlfriend and there will be no "Hard Knocks" this season.

The good old days.

About that Borders liquidation sale. You may want to wait.

Campbell's looks at the facts. It's hard to sell low-sodium soup. So, they are adding salt to the Select Harvest line.

Exercise Yard

I don't know if there is anyone out there who can help the Tribe. But, after today's game, I wonder "if the ship be sinking."

I'll be at either Monday's or Wednesday's game and have a better sense of what is going on.

Visitor

None, on a still humid Sunday.

Gathered the troops for a late morning viewing of "Unknown" with Liam Neeson. Good morning, Liam. This is the one where Neeson is a doctor visiting Berlin for a conference, who gets rapped in the head and suffers some memory loss. The only thing he remembers is a picture of him by a window with his wife, January Jones. Showering with January Jones. And having sex with January Jones. And then January Jones with a different hair color. Maybe that's what we all picture before our own demise, who knows.

But it takes Neeson a long time to realize who he is, but then it's not who he thought he was or something that Dennis Green would say:



Neeson is actually decent in his role as a doctor seeking his true identity. Bridget von Hammersmark (OK, the lovely Diane Kruger) plays a Bosnian cab driver who saves Neeson's life after a car accident, who later befriends him and joins in his search. January Jones doesn't really do much and is basically January Jones, standing around and looking pretty. Aidan Quinn is along to confuse matters as the guy Neeson thinks he is, and provides enough shenanigans to cloud the picture even more. Hitler, I mean, Bruno Ganz, plays a former East German spy who still has connections beyond the Cold War to also help Neeson. Good work from Frank Langella who calmly shows up late as Clarissa, and explains it all.

So, what do we have here? A short comment on the immigration problem in Germany via Kruger. A car chase in which Neeson, allegedly in Berlin for the first time, driving around as if he owned the streets. With complimentary reverse driving. We have the lamest German assassin ever, who fails to kill Neeson not once (because the guy was late to a train), not twice (Neeson was able to extricate himself from being tied up), but three times (Kruger and Neeson combine to kill the guy). Ex-spies still use cyanide. Biotech conferences have never been this action-packed.

Not a wait for cable type movie. Because there are some great throwbacks done well here. The second time the assassin tries to get Neeson is rather Hitchcockian and full of suspense. I thought a scene at a photo exhibit was straight out of the De Palma Guide. Not worth a full fare, but extremely enjoyable for a matinee price.

Meal of Links

Clarissa explains it all. For those who missed it.

Brett Butler remembers when she was the 20th Century Charlie Sheen. But I'm sure hardly anyone remembers her show.

I assumed "Rango" was in 3-D. But it's not. Gore Verbinski explains.

Shortest break-even periods for diesels and hybrids. Remember, no more tax credits for these.

15 great jingles for fake products. "Cheesy Poofs" and "Log" make the list.

The Cleveland Film Festival is nearing. I've circled two must-sees for me. One on Polkas and one on Bobby Fischer.

Has Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker lost the war. We'll see.

The Northwestern sex show...er...after-class assignment, at least introduced everyone to the (NSFW) "fucksaw". Now I know why she needed a partner. Black & Decker would be proud. Here's an account by someone who was there. Seems there was supposed to be a demo on female ejaculation.

Comparing the Qaddafis and the Bluths. Very funny.

Why bad teachers survive? "Cannot play with them. Cannot win with them. Cannot coach with them. Can't do it."

I recommend Jersey Mike's. The Big Kahuna was quite good.

Exercise Yard

You still can't applaud in the pressbox. SI's freelance NASCAR writer found that out the hard way.

Visitor

17 Across: Five-time All-Star second baseman (10 letters) Answer: Chase Utley

I saw another Oscar contender yesterday, "The Kids Are All Right". Annette Bening with a Best Actress nom, Mark Ruffalo for Best Supporting Actor, along with the movie itself for Best Picture.

Better than I thought, as Annette Bening and Julianne Moore (doing a Diane Keaton impersonation) play a lesbian couple. Each of them having a baby from sperm donor Mark Ruffalo's donation. The kids are now an 18-year old daughter (with Bening) and a 15-year old son (with Moore) who want to find out who their biological father is. The movie never explains why they went back with the Ruffalo model for their second child, but I assume they liked the way the daughter turned out.

Ruffalo plays a college dropout who now owns a restaurant and uses the products from an organic farm, down the road a piece, which he also owns. He starts to creep into the kids lives and finds himself having a lot in common with Moore. Bening senses she is falling out of favor with her all of her family, hence, her angst.

Ruffalo eventually hires Moore to do landscaping at his house. Because she's there all the time, they eventually have lots of sex, although I thought she was a lesbian. It is very mindful of the "Seinfeld" episode where Elaine tries to get a gay guy to switch teams, but he decides to stay on his own team, because he's a starting shortstop. Julianne Moore is like that in this movie.

Bening finds out that Moore and Ruffalo are having sex and the shit hits the fan. Everyone ends up disliking Ruffalo and Bening and Moore decide to stay together, with approval from the kids.

Overall, the movie is OK. The casting of the kids is spot on, and Bening and Ruffalo do a nice job, as well. How it got to Best Picture status, I do not know. Maybe someone needs to start Oscar Bracketology.

Meal of Links

Dave Duerson committed suicide late last week. He though he might have chronic traumatic encephalopathy and requested his brain be studied. He may be the first to realize he had the disease before his death.

Are we starting to see a second dotcom bubble. Signs point to yes.

Roger Deakins will probably end his jinx and pick up the Cinematography Oscar this year for "True Grit". He explains his shot of the year.

Exercise Yard

The unlikeliest driver, Trevor Bayne, wins the Daytona 500. And he gets the historic Wood Brothers team back in Victory Lane for the first time in 10 years. They had not been there since Elliott Sadler stole the spring Bristol race in 2001.

Earlier in the day, NASCAR blinked. With Lord Football moving closer, it seems, to an 18-game schedule, NASCAR moves the Daytona 500 one week later for 2012.

Visitor

None, on a sunny, snowy, rainy, sleety Sunday.

I'm thinking that NBC move to all comedy on Thursdays is not working. It tied an all-time ratings low for them this week. Hey, I'm watching "Archer" at 10, I can't tell you what NBC has on that time.



Meal of Links

Hal Needham is still around. Now, he's written a book. There was a time when his outtakes were better than his movies.

Oscars through the years. It's smaller than a bowling pin.

The Cars have a new single. Yes, The Cars! Is it just me or does this sound like Devo?

"Blue Tip"/The Cars



Congress can try and neuter Planned Parenthood. But don't touch military sponsorships in NASCAR.

In case you did not know, we are in the midst of "Black Thanksgiving". Enjoy.

Chicago elects their next mayor soon. In three days, if there is no runoff.

Exercise Yard

It is BracketBusters weekend, and for the first time in a long while, the matchups are pretty good. Cleveland State has a massive game at Old Dominion tomorrow. I'm still thinking no at-large bid from the Horizon League, but a win at Norfolk at least muddies the picture in that regard.

Looking ahead to your March Madness pool...do not sleep on George Mason.

Visitor

34 Across: Lonely guy in 60-Down (15 letters) Answer: Maytag Repairman

On a weekend where Jackass 3-D made $50 million...

The Browns played the Steelers today and, obviously, the Browns lost.

What did we learn today?

Colt McCoy looked decent. Had a QB rating of 80.5. Second interception was a bad one, first one, not necessarily his fault. Give him credit. Most people thought he'd be on his back a lot and the Browns would lose, 41-3. Too early to tell, but it was a promising debut.

Defense gave up 378 yards. Ben Roethlisberger on his return, gave a standard issue performance, with 16-27 for 257 yards for the Steelers.

The Browns didn't run well today, getting only 70. Peyton Hillis was 12 for 41.

James Harrison put down two Browns with helmet-to-helmet hits and was flagged for neither, Joshua Cribbs and Mohammed Massaquoi.

Joe Haden had an interception and was a challenge to bring down on his return.

Slight controversy at the end, when the Steelers threw for a TD after a Browns timeout with under two minutes to play. If you wanna extend the game, the Steelers have a right to jam it in your face. And they did.

There really wasn't much to squawk about or get overly excited about. To me, it was the typical sort of game against the Steelers. Sure, there signs of life every once in a while, but overall, it was just a slow march to the inevitable ending of another loss.

Browns lose, 28-10.

Meal of Links

Louis C.K. America's liberal comedian.

Canada's most dangerous cities. Saskatoon made the Top Ten. I love saying Saskatoon.

"Runnin' Back To Saskatoon"/The Guess Who



The best drunk dances. The drunk driver is great, but the pole dancer at the wedding takes the cake, so to say.

I normally do not watch "30 Rock", but I thought the live show was pretty funny. Here are the differences between the East Coast and West Coast versions. "Kenyan Liar" vs. "Barack Obammunist", for example.

The saga of Officer Bubbles. Hah!

Roger Ebert talks with and about his good friend, Bill Nack. You hear Nack these days, mainly on ESPN, talking about his old beat, horse racing. He had a fine essay on yesterday's broadcast from Woodbine on the final race of Secretariat.

Keith Richards says if there are any new drugs, he'd like to road-test them. Very admirable.

The web is watching. Includes evidence of Eric Stoltz as the original Marty McFly.

The next "30 For 30" on Tuesday is on Tim Richmond. That guy was ahead of his time in NASCAR.

Exercise Yard

Eric Wedge gets a new job. And it's managing the Seattle Mariners. How he can survive on a team with absolutely no power is beyond me. Plus, Milton Bradley is on the team.

Get your popcorn ready.

Ben Crane, Cutup? Who Knew?



Visitor

None, on a sunny Sunday.

Something, perhaps, to file away for the future. Martin O'Neill, the coach of Randy Lerner's Other Team, resigned on Monday. Only 5 days before the start of the English football season.

There are some things that jump out right away. First of all, Aston Villa lost 43 million pounds last year. That is a bushel of money. Additionally, they have started selling off some players, and that's always a source of problems between the Chairman and the Manager. Last year, Villa sold Gareth Barry (28 when he left) to Manchester City and did the same this year with 24-year old James Milner.

That seems to be the issue as Milner's transfer fee (30 million pounds) was not available to O'Neill to grab someone else for the team. Rumors abound that 25-year old Ashley Young will also be moving on, over to Tottenham, for another 18 million pounds. O'Neill was vehemently against that move. And, of course, it's very Tribe-like when you keep dumping good, young players.

As far as coaches coming and going in England, this is nothing new. O'Neill is booked as a favorite to pick up another coaching gig soon, as there are already a couple of coaches on the hotseat. Most notably, Roberto Mancini at Man City.

Lerner is on record as saying he wants a new coach named by August 22. Very interesting names are considered, it seems. Bob Bradley, the current USA coach. Sven-Goran Erikkson, the former England coach who coached Ivory Coast in the latest World Cup. He got a raw deal at Man City a couple of years ago. And Jurgen Klinsmann, although I think he's eventually gonna get the USA job.

So, there is evidence of money woes at Villa. We'll have to see if any of these issues surface with the Browns.

Meal of Links

Niche airlines! Pet Airways and Erotic Airways are still in business.

The New Yorker has an interesting article in the print version. Whatever happened to John Lurie? He was not fishing.

Who knew? Johnny Carson was a philanthropist.

I heard this song the other day, for the first time in a while. Still holds up 14 years later.

"Overground, watch this space
I'm open to falling from grace."

"Six Underground"/Sneaker Pimps



I've decided to watch "Rubicon" on AMC. Lots of people are into "Mad Men" or "Breaking Bad". But I hope something, anything, starts soon on "Rubicon". Better be a big payoff and not some goofy shit. Sledge Hammer is in it, as well as Clay Davis from "the Wire".

Well, we've waited a long time for it. Townes Van Zandt. Finally! You can watch the doc on Townes, "Be Here to Love Me", on Hulu.

Robert Gibbs condemns "the professional left". Oops!

Exercise Yard

How's that NASCAR Hall of Fame working out? Not so good? Built for $200 million with promises of 800,000 visitors, they are projecting half that total. But it's really been too hot to do anything, right?

Dan Gilbert should take notice with his gambling estimates.

Visitor

8 Across: Robbins's partner (6 letters) Answer: Baskin

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

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

Meal of Links

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

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

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

Exercise Yard

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

Visitor

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

I had to start catching up on the Oscar nominees, so I went to Solon after work to see "An Education". This was written by Nick Hornby ("High Fidelity") and he nabbed a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination, Carey Mulligan got a Best Actress nomination, and the picture itself is nominated.

Peter Sarsgaard stars as a guy in his thirties who is, oh, a bit of a rogue. He meets Mulligan as she is waiting for a bus after school. You see, she's only (ahem) 16 and studying to get into Oxford. So, he charms the pants off her parents (and hopefully Mulligan's pants, he thinks) and soon, she realizes there is a life outside of the boring world of going to school. Or is there?

Mulligan plays the role really well. Pretty sophisticated for a kid, but not totally aware of what goes on in the real world. This story is set in 1961 London, so you get a lot of men wearing hats, some cool chick fashion from the early '60's, and I heard Wanda Jackson on the soundtrack. Rosamund Pike played the girlfriend of one of Sarsgaard's friends and it took me a long time to figure out. She was the robot wife of Bruce Willis in "Surrogates"!

The movie probably won't win anything. I checked, it's made $9 mil at the box office. But it's one of those small films that comes to town, and you're lucky if you find the time to see it.

Meal of Links

I am lax in posting this, but you have to see Ruhlman and Bourdain in the Hudson Valley. Look for the repeat. Here's Ruhlman's original post on the filming.

Another late posting, but how did this happen? They have filmed a movie about Danny Greene! With Val Kilmer and Christopher Walken! But filmed in Detroit.

More love for the MagicJack! Annoying ads (and they are on all the time), but it works.

How to look for airfares. The frugal way.

11 real people who sound like Star Wars characters. KRS-One and Padma Lakshmi. And, of course, Yngwie Malmsteen.

Hey, it's Liz Phair. She attends an environmental conference and a NASCAR race.

Exercise Yard

Tony Kornheiser blasts fellow ESPN employee, Hannah Storm. The debate about Hannah Storm's fashion choices will never end.

Visitor

55 Across: Explorer Hernando de ____ (4 letters) Answer: Soto

I had a long saga ordering some flatware. My old stuff from Target kept disappearing or breaking and I was really getting short on forks and was down to a single butter knife. So, I found a really good deal from Oneida and ordered some over MLK weekend.

After I ordered, I didn't hear anything for several days. The really nice people there told me on two different occasions over the course of the next 2 weeks, that they had some coding issues with their inventory that their new system was not recognizing. So, imagine my surprise when I returned home from vacation that the package arrived last Friday.

But it was weird. After the initial e-mail, I didn't receive any further notification that the item had been shipped or when I could expect it. Maybe the new system has caught up, but it's awfully strange they operate in this manner, when some companies go overboard on their communication.

Having said that, I really do like the set. And they do have some good sales from time to time. I guess my advice is if you order from their site, keep after them.

Meal of Links

Karaoke killings! Do not sing "My Way" in the Philippines. I repeat, do not sing "My Way" in the Philippines. And in Thailand, you may wanna skip the John Denver.

Nate Silver looks at Sarah Palin's 2012 primary path. Nice work.

Hitchcock movies that were never made. Cary Grant as a modern-day "Hamlet"?

Since there are 10 Best Picture nominees this year, AMC has changed their schedule to 2 Saturdays for viewings. With an AMC card you can watch them at Ridge Park for $40. They still haven't released the schedule and of course, in Cleveland, you can see "Avatar" in lovely 2-D!

John Boehner. Confused politician.

OK, she's got a great ass, but what else qualifies Rachel Uchitel to be on "Extra"? Wait a minute, she was interviewed by Mario Lopez, so, there you have it.

Your Olympic broadcast teams. In other broadcast news, The Champions League Final actually ends up on Fox, the big network, in May.

Exercise Yard

Now we turn our attention to college hoops. And NASCAR.

Visitor

16 Across: Gonzalez in 2000 headlines (5 letters) Answer: Elian "They broke Elian's bed!"

Randomness from last night's Browns home preseason opener:

Special Guest: My brother, Jeff. Since this is the only one of the two home preseason games that I am attending, I thought I'd get him down there. He's always had a thing for the Lions anyhow, so there you have it.

The Browns Commissioned Warhol to do a Mangini
















Today's Opponent: The Detroit Lions. That means only one thing. It's the GLC, baby! The GLC is the Great Lakes Classic. Each year, the Browns play the Lions in a preseason game. I think each team donates some money to charity. They also play for a trophy...of a barge. I'm not even sure the winner displays it proudly. As the song says: "Never has a game that meant so little meant so much...G-L-C!"

Last night, that meant the Lions come to Cleveland Browns Stadium for this year's renewal. After the debacle in Green Bay last week, the Browns need to show something, especially on defense.

Realistically though, it's preseason, so I don't really care.

Parking: Went really early as I usually do for the first game, so I grabbed a spot on East 6th southbound by Public Hall. This is known in the street parking biz as "great spot".

Browns Player on Ticket: As I said when my tickets arrived, there are no player photos on the tickets this year. So, consider this segment from now on, retired.

Yep, I Was Early

















Pre-Game Festivities: This may have been the earliest I have ever arrived. There was an army of friskers waiting for me when I got there. I swear I was one of the first 150 in the place. And, this year, I got touched. I think I was actually tickled by the guy. Needless to say, I won't be in his line ever again.

What I noticed was the music was a lot louder this year. Old farts prepare! I heard "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin on my way in. They also played "Signs". They followed that with some "Born To Run". Then they played a medley of country favorites, then during calisthenics turned on some hip-hop for the players.

Worst Feature (For Me): We were long gone before "Hang on Sloopy" was played at the end of the third quarter. Christ, it's only three more weeks before I have to hear that song in person at the OSU-Toledo game.

Bad Moon Rising

















The Weather: Don't know if this is standard for 2009, but both Marky Nolan and Hollie Strano were on the mike. This may have been because Strano appeared to be hammered. The radar, much like Strano's empty glass, showed nothing.

But it rained hard on the way down there. By the time I got Downtown though, it had subsided. It looked ominous to the west, but never materialized into any rain. It was actually some fairly pleasant weather, probably in the mid-to-upper 60s by gametime.

Today's Giveaway: There wasn't any, or maybe they had not unpacked it yet when I got there.

Section 345: I always like to see who has decided to carry over their tickets from previous seasons. I saw ONE familiar face. Now, it is a game for lots of one-timers, so I'll have a better handle on this when Minnesota is here for the opener.

Unfortunately, I had Jimmy Donovan, Jr. sitting near me. You know, one of those loudmouths who has to demonstrate his knowledge to the rest of us while delivering cogent expert analysis. Like, "Hey, defense, you can't let that guy stand there forever. He had 7 seconds to throw that ball." Now, everyone else around thought that, but he needed to yell it. An aside to Jeff: "We are winning 20 to nothing in a preseason game, aren't we?" Gems like "That was a terrible throw there." and "That was a good call, ref."

Way too fuckin' serious for the GLC, I say.

Best Browns Play: The Josh Cribbs New Contract play, the punt return for 84 yards. We had previously talked about the 2-man wedge on NFL kickoff returns the year and how that might hurt Cribbs return yardage. And that he was going to have to be more of a factor on plays from scrimmage to get that bigger contract he has been threatening to hold out for. Kickoff return yardage was down in the first week, but Cribbs blew that theory to hell by running back the opening kick for a TD. Unfortunately, the Browns had a penalty, nullifying that return.

But the punt return was a thing of beauty. Showcasing Cribbs' speed, cutback ability and strength to shed tacklers. Forget Eric Metcalf. Cribbs is the best return man the Browns have ever had.

Best Lions Play: Sadly, for the Lions, it was before the opening kick. As Jeff rightly pointed out, I haven't seen a professional team direct their full attention to the National Anthem in quite some time.

The players, including the injured ones, lined up at attention along the sideline. The coaching staff and trainers and equipment staff lined up a few yards behind the players. Of course, the Browns are in a line, but it is more of a serpentine fashion than anything else.

It was as if the spirit of Bud Grant had been channeled by the Lions. Very impressive.

The Fans Come Out Of A Tunnel, Too

















Worst Browns Play: Probably the Derek Anderson inteception. It was high and a little bit quick, but the running back tipped it up, ending the Browns 2-minute drill. There was time for the Lions to run one play, a field goal, which they made, giving the Lionsan undeserved thre points before the half.

Second Worst Browns Play: They do not serve beer at the Gridiron Grille or Browns Town after the half.

Worst Lions Play: Matthew Stafford's interception to Eric Wright. Ran a decent fake, but when he rolled to his right, no one was open. he sees a trailing cutter, then fires a pass to him. But Wright on a gift interception easily leaves his man and grabs the ball.

Best Line from Me (seeing another Reuben Droughns jersey): "That guy's the head of the Droughns Family. He's Grandpa Droughns."

Best Line from the Ref: "Detroit has choosed to kick off." Jerome Boger was the ref, and Jeff suggested he may be the first one who needs subtitles.

Oddest Browns Jersey: Since there were lots of one-timers there, this list is exhaustive: 2 Couch, 5 Garcia, 9 Frye, 11 Dorsey, 24 Fuller (Yes, someone with a Corey Fuller jersey), 34 Droughns, 41 Prentice, 44 Suggs, 54 Spielman, 55 McGinest, 69 Mr. Joe (Remember this number was worn proudly by Your Mom, Beef and Uncle Drew last year), 84 Jurevicius, 85 K. Johnson, 92 C.Brown, 95 Miller.

Food Items: Jeff bought me a Mountain Dew. But his food take was a hot dog, nachos and a pop. All that for $19.50. Nachos $6.75, Soda $4.25, Hot Dog $4.25. Beer is $7.00 from a vendor.

Best Fan Cam Feature: Nothing stood out.

Most Interesting Music: Instead of playing the traditional "Jeopardy" theme during a disputed call on replay, this thunderbolt was sent over the P.A.

"Controversy" by Prince! The 20th Century welcomes you, Cleveland Browns music provider.

The Fuckin' Run: Didn't even care to notice.

Future Champions Milling About
















Penalties: The holding on the Cribbs kickoff return cost the Browns 7 points. Mike Furrey lost a first down on an illegal formation penalty on the line. Brady Quinn suffered that penalty and another hold on the line while he was in there.

Now, all that took place in the first half, because we left to meet up with She Who Cuts My Hair for some beers at The ClubHouse Pub and Grub. Which is also known for their Chicken Paprikash. I don't eat that, so I had the potato skins.

All in all, it was what I expected from the GLC. Derek Anderson took advantage of the start and played reasonably well. Brady Quinn had zero momentum. James Davis took advantage of a Jerome Harrison injury and busted open an 81-yard TD run. Cribbs was great. The defense with many newcomers was pumped up in front of the home crowd and did OK. But I caution everyone. It was the Lions.

Meal of Links

Who do you blame for film noir? Even Hitler is on the list.

Men will spend one year of their lives staring at women. Who volunteers for these studies?

Guess I have to change my Swiss Bank account. I've always thought that was one of the coolest movie tricks. You mention "Swiss Bank account" and the intrigue is ratcheted up by at least a thousand percent.

Exercise Yard

NASCAR drivers now have their own intro music. Mark Martin has AC/DC!

Visitor

None, on a typical summer Sunday.

Awkward high-fives, everyone! Tiger Woods is back.



























Boy, it was really easy to watch sports today. The Cavs won, and LeBron ran over a ref and then fell on the court and acted like he was dead.



Then I had a 1-2-4 finish in Fantasy NASCAR.

Then Tom Izzo proved he is a great coach once again. As Michigan State humbled Louisville. Izzo's teams always play tough defense and his teams always rebound well. And he'll play you anywhere, anytime.

Later on, it's dark out and Tiger does his thing. Still the only athlete around who can move the needle. When he's on, people watch. And more often than not, he delivers.



Meal of Links

Stem cells for larger breasts. Hey, now!

How does a gas pump know your tank is full. It's science.

The government forces the CEO of GM to resign. Are we on the hook for that $1 salary or what did we really pay to get rid of him?

Exercise Yard
















Well, the alma mater finally came through. After years of coming up short, Miami finally makes the Frozen Four. And that is pretty cool, as Miami does not compete for many national titles.

Visitor

None, a rainy Sunday.

Last night, Nomar Stalker and I headed over to the Atlas Cinemas to watch the NBA All-Star festivities in 3-D. As an early adopter, I thought this would be a good opportunity to see if 3-D can get beyond traditional movies, animated movies and concerts. I am still amazed at the 3-D from the U2 movie, but you can cobble that from filming various concerts and put it through a rigorous editing process. Can 3-D translate to live events?

The verdict? Hard to say. I guess the good thing is there were about 75 people in attendance who paid $20 to see something that you could see at home for free. It shows that people are willing to try something new. Unfortunately, the very best 3-D shots were of the company logos who presented the event and trailers for upcoming 3-D movies including "Ice Age 2".

Some of the angles you thought may give you a nice 3-D picture didn't really occur. Those included the skills competition, where the contestants had to pass the ball through a circle. The camera was set up behind the netting and the ball would come through, but never really giving you the feeling it was coming off the screen. The same thing occurred with high angle shots for the 3-point contest and Slam Dunk competition, with side views of the rim in the foreground. These angles and replays don't have the capability to show 3-D at its best.

Low-angle shots from the baseline made the basket support and rim seem condensed as a player would approach for a dunk. Unfortunately, we never had a view from behind the basket where we may see the player eyeing the rim with a full head of steam. I think the directors of these live events are still trying to figure out the best angles for 3-D and that's probably a different thought process from regular filming.

Another detriment to the broadcast is it's a totally different production from the TNT version. For instance, Matt Devlin was the only announcer we had while Harlan, Miller and Fratello did the TV side. They simply cannot sync the voices over a different 3-D production that features different camera angles. And the 3-D production does not include many graphics. Plus, they continually reference the fact we are watching this in 3-D. I know, hence my glasses.

The pluses? The 3-D graphics, when used, are of superior quality. The 3-D glasses are very cool, black-rimmed affairs. If you wear glasses, they fit comfortably over them. Certain camera angles do give you a sense of being really close to the action. Many of these shots were of the variety where there was something in the foreground to give you a sense of depth. You may have a gaggle of cheerleaders running onto the court past the camera ("I think they may have forgotten a digit between that 3 and the D.") or simply a player sitting down, waiting for his turn at the Slam Dunk.

Overall, I think the normal left-to-right pictures you see on a regular telecast won't cut it for 3-D and we had a lot of that last night. And with 3-D for live events still in its infancy, they are going to have to scrape up the cash for more than five cameras. Otherwise, the dream of 3-D TVs for the home is not going to make much sense. One more thing. They need to sell beer at these live events.

And, by the way, Rudy Fernandez got absolutely hosed by the judges on this unbelievable dunk last night (with an appearance from the ubiquitous Spanish Announcers' Table):



Meal of Links

Hey, that's a bigass plane. And it bombs, too.

The Mayor of Mexico City has stumbled upon a way to get votes. Free Viagra.

Vanity Fair has an article on "The Godfather". And a fantastic-looking Kate Moss in a Versace ad in the print version.

Exercise Yard

The auto companies and NASCAR. Joined at the hip.

Visitor

None, it's Daytona, baby!

My Dad and I trundled down to the Bart tonight to see CSU whip up on last-place Detroit. The nagging thing about this game is Detroit kept hanging around until finally wilting in the last 6 minutes. Norris Cole threw in 21 for the Vikings, as CSU wins, 66-49, in front of 1752 hardy souls.

Meal of Links

Dumping cable. Looks like it should work, but I don't know for sure.

The worst hotel in NYC. Click "Traveler Photos" for bed bug evidence.

About our economic appetite. Can you really do more with less?

Meg White's drumkit is being auctioned. I guess I can do more with less.

Exercise Yard

Rahal-Letterman Racing may not race IndyCars this year. Hard to do without a sponsor or driver. In NASCAR, David Gilliland has a ride with Yates Racing, but no sponsor, so he sits. Sponsors can't justify the expense in this economy.

Visitor

6 Across: Three-time NFL MVP (5 letters) Answer: Favre

My Dad and I headed over to the cinema this evening. We were gonna see Clint Eastwood in "Get Off my Lawn". But, in a last-minute swerve, we saw "Doubt", because it looked like it was leaving the west side after today. And it picked up some Oscar nominations, as well.

"Doubt" is another play turned into a movie. So, there are some rather lengthy scenes. Acting, of course, is top-notch. Hoffman, Adams, Streep are very good. Viola Davis snagged a Supporting Actress nomination in limited screen time.

For me, the memories of a Catholic school education came flooding back. No one got whapped on the hands with a ruler, but there were enough cuffs to the back of the head that made me sit up straighter in my chair. And if you've ever had to kneel down with your arms spread wide holding a huge dictionary in each hand for the major sin of talking in class, you may wonder why that was not depicted in the movie. I guess it wasn't considered torture.

Anyhow, the depiction of wind in this movie is about as subtle as a a sledgehammer. Ooooh, wind....bad things. And I don't think Philip Seymour Hoffman did what he was alleged to have done. You see, I have "Doubt"s.

Meal of Links

Google and the future of books. One of my goals this year is top read more books. I am in the middle of "Nixonland" right now. Pretty good stuff.

Will no "The Dark Knight" as Best Picture ruin Oscar ratings. I don't know, would it make any difference these days? Seems like plenty of stars got nominated. And I'll talk about those over the weekend.

Two priests embezzled $1 million. I have no "Doubt" they did it.

Exercise Yard

Bruton Smith floats the idea of NFL-style blackouts for races at his NASCAR tracks. NASCAR politely says, "Are you insane?". That idea is duh-umb.

Visitor

10 Across: Spice Girl married to Beckham (4 letters) Answer: Posh

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

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

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

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

Meal of Links

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

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

All about steak.

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



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



Exercise Yard

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

Visitor

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

Well, it looks like Gustav has made landfall. One criticism I have of today's coverage is that you heard repeatedly that "things were OK". What happened to "Let's wait for potential flooding before we all do the Happy Dance."?

For trustworthy coverage, go to the Times-Picayune site.

Today's silly coverage provided by Michelle Kosinski. Remember, she was the one who was in "a flood" in a canoe years ago, when people went WALKING by. So, maybe she deserves this beating from the elements:



And be sure to watch Geraldo on Fox News. I was at Best Friend's yesterday and this guy is a pleasure to watch in a natural disaster. He was the Fox Sunday Night main guy and he kept having technical difficulties and would repeatedly ask his fellow reporters where they were "hunkering down". So, we came up with "Geraldo Hunker Haiku". I happened to see him this morning in the middle of Canal Street with a wind gauge. "Look at this...66...63...67...59..." as he pointed the instrument towards the heavens. Compelling TV.

Meal of Links

I was at the Taste of Cleveland on Saturday. An increased number of food vendors this year, I'm happy to say. I was having some gastric troubles earlier in the day, so I mainly went to drink this year. But I did sample Buffalo Chicken Egg rolls from Willoughby Brewing, Sushi (once again!) from Otani, and Chicken Wings from Just Like Mom's. All very good and I didn't need a stomach pump later.

Squeeze, yes, that Squeeze, was the entertainment. Remember when Difford and Tilbrook were the next Lennon/McCartney? In all my years of attending these Saturday night events, this was the most poorly attended music portion. And, after they played "Tempted", things got really empty. I know they like to have '80s Night, but look for Classic Rock to return on Saturday next time. Having said that, I kinda liked the show. Lasted 90 minutes and there were enough of the 45s played to make it worthwhile. Hey, it was $5. A steal. And I want the yellow suit.

Songs by Squeeze that we knew and obliged me by playing:

"If I Didn't Love You" (Always fun for group sing-along)
"I Think I'm Go Go"
Take Me I'm Yours (Press Play)
"Cool For Cats"
"Separate Beds"
"Another Nail In My Heart"
"Tempted"
"Pulling Mussels from a Shell" (Mr. Mix on lead vocal for the chorus)
"Black Coffee in Bed" (Superb backup vocals by me)

It's so confusing. Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant. Is, not was. Or is that Was (Not Was)? Anyhow, why did it take three days for this to come out and then bury it under the news of Gustav?

I seem to have lots of conversations with many people regarding pills for all of our ills. Therefore, this was a good read.

Exercise Yard

Miss Sprint Cup kills me. Have you seen her? She is the one who stands behind the winner of the race, and while he is being interviewed, she smiles and nods approvingly as if she's part of the winning team. Now, I see her creeping into the background on network interviews. Look for her at the end of the next race. It's a hoot.

Speaking of cars, check out Mario driving the Lotus John Player Special in Sweden in 1979. Those Lotuses were beautiful.



Visitor

1 Down: Playboy founder, familiarly (3 letters) Answer: Hef

I actually went to the Target at Steelyard Commons. Hadn't visited Steelyard since last October, but I must say, there were plenty of people shopping down there. I don't know if it can be viewed as a success, but the turnout surprised me. Looks like plenty of room for growth down there, as well.

Zoiks, a Chick-Fil-A opens there in November! Hey, that's cool. They have a Jimmy John's, IHOP, Chipotle and Steak 'n Shake already for food intake.

Meal of Links

I read an obit like this and I think hoax right away. It's on the website of the Vallejo Times-Herald though, I guess it's legit. Must have been some kind of woman.

Obama tells Wesley Clark, we don't really need you anymore. He isn't even going to the convention.

Can tastelessness sell at the box office? "Tropic Thunder" does $26 million this weekend. We'll see if it's sustained after school starts.

Exercise Yard

Cheating in NASCAR. I didn't think the Nationwide series ran in China.

BTW, I watched even more Olympic boxing over the weekend. Sort of an exercise in self-torture because the scoring is so bad. For everyone. Only one American left.

Visitor

None, the EPL started today.

After I trimmed some hedges this a.m., I set about to do a little grocery shopping. Mainly to get some steak at Giant Eagle. I was trying to buy some olive oil, as well. Thought for sure I had seen some at Marc's and it might be cheaper. I couldn't find it, but I did buy the 625-pack of Q-Tips there. BTW, how do those people stay in business?

Then I went over to Giant Eagle. Couldn't find any there, knew they had it though. Asked a worker, who took me to it. Why is it in the coffee aisle? Bottles of balsamic vinegar are elsewhere, shouldn't they be like peanut butter and jelly? I hate when I can't find stuff there!

Meal of Links

The Times of London says, "We don't live there." Has the story of John Edwards sex scandal. Gives every newspaper and network in the USA the greenlight to report it.

We've had some nice weather lately. How about a smoothie or a frozen drink. I must admit the picture of the Banana-Split Cake looks pretty good.





















The gang at Fire Joe Morgan really loves the Casey Blake trade. And I'm speaking of love in a rather snarky way. He did defy the odds by getting 2 hits yesterday. But whiffed twice and hit into a double play today.

The lesser-known 5 Best British Gangster Movies. I've seen "The Long Good Friday", "Sexy Beast" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Saw a piece (ha, ha) of "Layer Cake" before I had to run off somewhere. All worth the time.

Exercise Yard

Fell asleep before I could see Margarito-Cotto over the Internets. Sounds like a great fight to catch on the replay next week.

So, today I watched the Brickyard 400 from Indy. Mostly after the Indians blew a game in the ninth inning. For some reason this year, games against the Twins have fascinated me enough to watch almost the whole game. Very strange. I think the Indians have lost most of those, BTW.

As for the race. What the hell was with those tires. They called about 7"Competition Yellows" because the Goodyear tires sucked today. They could barely go 15 laps before averting disaster, so the race was kind of a dull one. Not a whole lot of racing.

That's two races where the fans at Indy have been hosed. The F1 debacle of a few years ago also comes to mind.

I'll watch Carlos Sastre take the Tour de France in a few minutes here. And wonder why Cadel Evans didn't attack in the three weeks of the race.

Visitor

None, a rather nice summer Sunday.

Here is what Barack Obama said in Germany today.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, McCain didn't forget Poland. No, he forgot Afghanistan.

Actually, I'm not sure either image resonates too much with the average "Americans is stupid" voter.

Meal of Links

It's over. Skip Bayless must be stopped. Why is the Four Letter even covering this?

The French have turned their backs on the 35-hour work week. I'm sure there will be strikes soon.

NASCAR fans are still having trouble stomaching Toyota. Having Kyle Busch drive them angers these clowns even more.

Exercise Yard

Today was the 25th anniversary of the Pine Tar Game. It may have been the only time I thought an umpire was about to be killed by a player. I recall George Brett saying he was "gonna go out there", if they had nullified his go-ahead homer.

Of course, they did. Then he did. The continuation of the game was a mockery as Ron Guidry even played the outfield. Might have been Billy Martin's last gasp as a manager.

Visitor

36 Across: "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" actress (5 letters) Answer: Cates

Today is always one of my favorite days of the year, because there is typically a bunch of auto racing going on. Over the years, if the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend is rainy, I don't really care. Because I'm usually watching all three races: Monaco, Indy and Charlotte. I've stuck with Indy through thick and thin, so I'm not about to stop now.
















It started today with the F1 race from Monaco through the streets of Monte Carlo. It is way cool to see these machines on the city streets and today there was also some rain to contend with. Do we use dry tires, intermediates or wets? After that choice was made, there remains a lot of guys who are slipping and sliding, trying to pass where they shouldn't and generally a ton of mayhem. So, it was a good race to kick off the proceedings at 8:00 to see old friend Lewis Hamilton win.

With Monaco ending at 10:00, it's enough time to prepare eats. Because I was able to use my 4-10 method of cooking ribs. 4 hours in the oven and 10 minutes on the grill. Oh, there is beer and a rub involved, but it works every time. Fall off the bone action. And this time it worked perfectly, because I ran out of propane in my tank as I was finishing up.

Then it was into my Edward Scissorhands mode to trim some hedges and also mow the lawn. I just picked up a cordless Hedgehog from Black & Decker. It pairs up nicely with my Grasshog. Hey, no more cutting cords! Anyhow, I like the power in the Hedgehog. Gives a nice cut and the blades are a bit longer than I've used in the past, which makes things go quicker. And with Indiana now on Eastern time, it helps that the Indy 500 doesn't start until 1:00.

I really enjoyed Indy this year. Although the first 100 laps seemed to have more cautions than normal. Scott Dixon was your winner. There were enough lead changes, but the top cars seemed not to change most of the day. It appeared the Top Ten was pretty much the same all day, with places being interchanged. I must say, I'm tiring just a bit of Danica Patrick's act. You see, on the radio with her team, she came across as whiny. Yes, whiny. "My car is slo-o-w." Well, sister, there are a bunch of other cars with the same issue. She had a Top 10 car but it was obvious early on, she would not win. It's unfortunate she was tagged by Ryan Briscoe while exiting pit row. But that's happened before to many drivers and you need to be professional about it, while lambasting the idiot that hit you. Upon getting back to her pit and exiting her car, she started a slow walk to Briscoe's pit, until cooler heads prevailed. What was she going to do, punch him? Then the announce team jumped in with the old descriptors of "fire " and "passion" and that it was "good to see". No, it was the actions of someone who thinks she is deserving of more than her ability has taken her, thus far. Look, I'm happy she finally won a race earlier this year, but if anyone thinks she will eventually end up in NASCAR with that attitude, they are insane. Note how this incident will gain bigger headlines than Dixon's win. Even with this cute picture of the winning family.





















Finally, it was off to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600. Side Note: James Carville and Bill Frist were in a Coke commercial where they are clinkin' bottles at the Washington Monument. How easy is it to get Coke in bottles these days? Anyhow, the race was really good, as it starts in daylight and ends under cover of the night. Close to 30 lead changes, with Kasey Kahne prevailing. The hated (not by me) Kyle Busch was third and Greg Biffle snuck in there for second. Side Note 2: All members of my fantasy team for tonight's race. 600 miles is a long test, but attrition had very little to do with the outcome. But the final laps had guys running out of gas, two guys into the wall and got pretty exciting for those who stuck with it. Side Note 3: Yao Ming was there, to fulfill a contractual obligation, I assume. Probably can't fit in a car.





















Meal of Links

Woody Harrelson wants to stop eating for 40 days. For grins, apparently.

Government economic data comes under scrutiny. This guy puts unemployment at more like 13%.

We need big thinking to change the way we use energy. Train travel, anyone?

Exercise Yard

While perusing the sportpage this morning, did you catch the article that mentioned managers in trouble? I was wondering if Hoynes had some info from a higher up, because for all of the fans whining, I believe this is the first time where there has been a hint that Eric Wedge could be in trouble.

Now, Hoynes may have been surmising, but I'm wondering if there's something to it. This is year 6 and Wedge has made one playoff appearance. Are the players turning him off? Have to look for more clues, I guess.

Visitor

None, it's a Racing Sunday.