Do you ever hate it when your name is attached to TV or film projects? It's the angst of hoping "James and the Giant Peach" doesn't get more popular as a movie than the book did. because you don't want to be asked about "The Giant Peach" all the time. Well, the latest one is up for me, "JJK Security"! AMC calls it a dramedy. Right there, I have major doubts creeping in.

The show chronicles a family-owned private security company in rural Georgia. AMC said the series was inspired “by what filmmakers like the Coen Brothers, Christopher Guest and Robert Altman have done capturing quirky, larger than life characters in the scripted realm,” and will make its debut in the third quarter of 2012.

I have plenty of time to work on my cringe face.

Meal of Links

Your Labor Day Weekend TV Marathons. A tossup between "BBQ Pitmasters" on Planet Green and Discovery Health's "Strange Sex". But I'll probably look at the Current "50 Documentaries" one that i missed.

Tracking the sales of Girl Scout Cookies. A sucker for Thin Mints, but hey, they ain't healthy.

Paul Westerberg is cordial. A rare interview.

As you probably knew, "Crankshaft" and a host of other strips will commemorate 9/11. Expect "Funky Winkerbean" to be extremely maudlin.

The true cost of 9/11. Just think of those dollars spent on war.

Coffee Jerks



The rich get richer. David Cross joins "Modern Family".

Red meat for the haters. Guy Fieri refused to wear long pants. Even in Alaska.

The Huntsman tax plan looks awfully intriguing. But many tax breaks are tossed, including the mortgage deduction.

NOLA preps for an odd storm. It is Tropical Storm Lee.

Topless Bollywood types.

All the foods we love have high calories. Pasta was Number One. The last time I made pasta, it was fusilli. No Kramer present.

Bruce Feldman winds up at CBS. This concludes one of the oddest personnel moves in the history of ESPN.

More Terrence Malick love. This time for the impossibly beautiful "Days of Heaven".

Exercise Yard

Finally the preseason is over. So, of course, the Browns start next weekend. Now, how many of these teams do the Browns play again. If they win against all of these Pretenders, maybe I'll have them winning more than 4.

Visitor

44 Across: Original Speed Stick Maker (6 letters) Answer: Mennen

By Mennen

While on vacation...

I was getting bids on my roof, as I have to get a new one. So, on Saturday, I got a call from a prospective bidder, who said he would be over but about 20 minutes later than planned. This gave me an opportunity to run to the bank.

So, as I was heading up to Third Federal on Ridge, I encountered some slow traffic on Pearl past Brookpark. I mean REALLY slow. I was third through the light, but, damn, the first car through was like following a horse and buggy. Naturally, I bolted to the right lane for a seemingly easy pass. Just as I was about to make my move into the left lane. I check my mirrors and now the guy is right next to me. WTF?

Yep, it was the old "I was going slow, but I will now prevent that guy from passing me" move. Some sort of strange behavior where he is judge and jury on YOUR driving. As we come to the next light, I decided to get behind this car, which is obviously being driven by an old-timer. As we are now stopped, he looks in his rearview, starts yelling, and seems to be writing something in the air.

I am now truly puzzled, but he is still yelling. I decide to yell back, "Whatever you're writing, you are! Yeah, that's you! That's what you are!" As we approach Ridge Road, I realize this dance is gonna be played again because:

a) We are stopped at another light.
b) We are both turning left onto Ridge.
c) We both know I am passing him pretty much as that light changes and I get onto Ridge.

So, as we complete c, I see him once again crazily pointing his arm towards the right side of the road. It finally dawns on me. He is pointing at the speed limit sign! Which reads 25! So, this is what he had been drawing at the previous light, the number "25"!

Yes, while on vacation, I yelled at a old-timer and called him, in not so many words, a "25".

Meal of Links

S&P downgrades U.S. Treasuries. That kinda blows. First time ever.

The verdicts in the Danzinger Bridge shootings, alluded to very much on "Treme" are in. 5 NOLA cops guilty.

Why the markets are tanking. And not a lot can be done.

The best 2011 road trip vehicles. Porsches, of course.

"Louie" had another great episode last night. It actually touched on the accusations of Dane Cook stealing material from Louis C.K.

WTF? Martha Stewart's empire is actually crumbling?

I mentioned the lack of Joey Barton for Newcastle in Columbus last week. Now Newcastle doesn't want him anymore. For a free transfer.

Exercise Yard

Joe Pos on a forgotten moment of Track & Field. Carl Lewis and the 30-foot jump.

Visitor

18 Down: Wile E. Coyote's supplier (4 letters) Answer: Acme

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

NOLA's Dave Walker In Treme



Meal of Links

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exercise Yard

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

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

Visitor

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

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

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

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

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

Meal of Links

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

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

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

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

"Good Eats" is done.

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

Man City Wins the FA Cup



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

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

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

Exercise Yard

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

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

Visitor

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

Last week, the discussion was the Indians had to deal with lots of reasons for fans not attending. The Highlights:

A palpable hatred of the Dolans.

1994 Fan too accustomed to wins. 1964 Fan goes regardless.

The economy.

Ticket prices.

Gas prices.

Hard to support a team that has really stunk the last two seasons.

No stars on the team.

This week? People upset that Mitch Talbot went on the DL. Jeanmar Gomez returns.

See how things change when you win? Today they got homers from:

Grady Sizemore, in his first game back from serious injury.

Carlos Santana, who had hit only one ball to the outfield this past week. Sits out 2 games, hits 2 warning track flyballs on Saturday (one robbed by Adam Jones) and seems to have corrected things.

Travis Hafner. As I said, it's not 2005 Hafner, but he recommitted to getting into shape and look at his line: .354 BA, .407 OBP, .646 SLG, 1.053 OPS. That is insane!

I'll get a look at them against KC when they come back.

Meal of Links

Break up the Indians! Here is the at-bat music of the team. Grady Sizemore is into BRMC? Uh-oh, I may have to sling less arrows that way.

Five brain hacks that make you better at sports. Celebrating was one of them.

Nicolas Cage was arrested for a dispute with his wife in New Orleans. Here's how he acted during Mardi Gras.

There was a Sony factory in Sendei, the Japanese earthquake city. They manufactured HDCAM SR tape used in the film and TV industry solely in that factory. Hence, a shortage.

Hitch reads the Bible.

All about balancing the budget. Stop the Tax cuts!

Exercise Yard

Just when you think the FA Cup doesn't matter. Manchester City beat Manchester United yesterday. Then, Stoke beats Bolton today by a 5-0 score. Stoke! Biggest win in the FA Cup since 1939.

Visitor

None, on a cool Sunday.

Early this morning, while watching some soccer and addressing the crossword before Beck-A-Palooza, two noteworthy things occurred. The first is, I got a call on my cellphone which actually had the ringer on, so I answered.

The second was that Cousin Kevin was on the other end of the line and he had some news. He actually got engaged to Lisa. He said she finally put him into submission. I asked if it was the Figure 4 Leg Lock that finally got him, he admitted it was the Sharpshooter.

So, congrats to the happy couple. Looks like some 2011 nuptials for them.

Meal of Links

Katrina anniversary coverage. From the locals.

Major Garrett talks about moving on from Fox News. He and Shepherd Smith were about the only islands of sanity on that network.

A look at some guests on a new episode of "The Simpsons". Includes Flight of the Conchords.

Hungover owls! There are some gems here.

As I mentioned, I watched some of Beck-A-Palooza. You should always watch the other side, so you know what they are up to, and C-Span obliged. Anyhow here are some musings on the strange appeal of Glenn Beck. I think the guy is bonkers.

Parts of Mexico are pretty violent these days.

"Twin Peaks" revisited. Again. And I lap it up. Again. I love the clip they included. Lynch lingers on the pain of Laura Palmer's mother, where other directors, especially on TV at that time, would have cut away much sooner.

Sufjan Stevens has a new record. I will buy it, of course.

Chicks dig the geeky gadget guy. I think there is a TV show about that.

Public photo shoot turns into personal video shoot. Then the word "goober" is used.

Exercise Yard

Was over at Paul's for the Browns third exhibition game aka the GLC, or as Jake Delhomme called it, the dress rehearsal. Delhomme looked pretty good, however, this appears to be the same offense the Browns ran last year. Although, we now have someone at the helm who goes through the progression quickly.

As evidence, I point to the fact the Browns have not really thrown the ball deep in this preseason. Keyword may be "preseason" and they are not showing anything, but what are they doing? Mainly the Dink and Dunk of years gone by. The only medium-range throw, and it has been effective, is the tight end running the seam downfield. We've seen Evan Moore and Royal Roberts make that catch. Otherwise, it's a ton of the short stuff mixed in with dumpoffs. The only other pattern is the sideline up route that cuts off as the ball is thrown to the outside. We see no wideouts running deep over the middle. The only time the Browns do attack through the air are some redzone patterns.

That type of offense can be effective. But you have to keep the chains moving or it becomes a snoozefest. And as Gary said, if the Browns fall behind by 10-14 points, there are not a lot of signs currently that point to any big comeback ability. That, combined with an obvious lack of speed on defense, allows hope for only some slight improvement by the team this year.

Visitor

19 Across: Mystery author whose work has been translated into more than 100 languages (8 letters) Answer: Christie

Did you ever take a look at something that obviously needed to be fixed, like a water main, and it seems no one's really in a hurry to fix it? Late last week, there seemed to be a water main that burst or a major leak on Ridge Road by Biddulph. Tons of water.

Later that day, there were at least two other places up the road a piece where the water department was addressing situations. I swear one part looked like Old Faithful. Now that was a gusher. I think they needed those fixed, before they could move on.

It's funny, they had the wood prepared to build their walls around the problem for two days and finally had it constructed today. I wonder if they have to wait for experts, or if they are really that busy. Meanwhile, we still have water escaping in parts.

Meal of Links

Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's. I am not sure we learned any deep, dark secrets, but it is interesting.

Do you remember quicksand? All I remember is that it always popped up when you least expected it. And it seemed like a horrendous way to go. Although someone could rescue you, typically with that large, unattended branch that happened to be nearby.

Karl Pilkington travels the world. And then whines about it. Maybe there will be "Monkey News"?

Jim Jarmusch is planning a documentary on the Stooges. Iggy, not Curly.

TicketMaster knows you hate service fees. They are now attempting to change their policy and let you know upfront what you'll be charged. But they will keep charging for the fees.

20 things to know about travel. I have to believe if we had the same off-time as Europe, we would all travel a lot more.

We will get bombarded this week with remembrances of Katrina and rightly so. Here is a record to download to help some organizations in New Orleans.

Damn, it's a traffic jam. One that goes for 60 miles in China.

It's amazing how things can evolve so quickly these days:

"Bed Intruder Song"/North Carolina A&T Marching Band



Frank Costanza goes home. Reminisces about paella. Watch the video, it's rather sweet.

Remembering Hank Thompson. Get that "Six-Pack To Go".

America isn't buying houses. Key quote: "The number is so low that it looks like a statistical aberration: let’s hope it is. Because if it isn’t, the news is gruesome. It means that despite record-low mortgage rates, people aren’t able to buy houses: essentially all the benefit from those low rates is going to people who already own their homes and are taking the opportunity to refinance."

Exercise Yard

Tim Couch has a new job. He'll be an analyst on a weekly SEC show.

Visitor

15 Across: Linguist Chomsky (4 letters) Answer: Noam

I finally got my taxes done today. I can't remember the last time I got zero back from the state, but that's what I got...Zippo! And, of course, when you refi, you lose some of that deduction, but I still get a check back from the feds.

So, overall, not too bad.

But today, I also forgot that my Third Federal branch moved temporarily. That's an odd feeling searching the memory bank for that "Oh, yeah, where did they go?" moment. Then I remembered where they moved. A hint: How about some signage for people who forget what they received in the mail?

And from the department of the unnecessary: National City sent me a new bankcard, which I think is going to be active for exactly three weeks until we get the PNC makeover. That seems like a waste of money.

Meal of Links

I wonder this virtually every time a pizza chain comes out with something new. Is there anything Americans won't eat.

It's amazing what can be done these days. An acne drug renders HIV dormant.

The Saints won the Super Bowl. Now here comes the ticket price increase and others may lose their seats.

Exercise Yard

The Madness continues. I had an even better day yesterday, even after losing 2 of the first three games played, giving me 25 correct after the first round. Nice wins by Georgia Tech and Cal last night.

Everyone needs to pray for the Mormons in the last game tonight. My whole bracket rides on the ability of BYU winning tonight and getting to Salt Lake City next week. The first two games today didn't matter much as I didn't have a dog in either fight. I thought Tennessee would already be gone and I thought Villanova would lose today, but I had Richmond instead of St. Mary's doing that. But Butler came through.





























Today's winners:

Richmond (already done)
San Diego State (already done)
Butler
Kansas (losing at the half...uh-oh)
Baylor
Washington
BYU
Kentucky

Sunday's winners (all still alive):

Syracuse
Ohio State
Maryland
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Pittsburgh
Texas A&M
Duke

Four March Madness articles guaranteed you'll see next week.

Visitor

1 Across: "The West Wing" creator (11 letters) Answer: Aaron Sorkin (another one of those way too easy Saturday puzzles)

I just flew in from Kauai and boy, are my arms tired. I'll have a full report when I get organized here and mainly, sleep some. But I did get back in time for the Super Bowl. Outside of being ill, I haven't flown solo for the Super Bowl in quite a long time, so I had many observations that kind of hung out there in the ether. I like the Super Bowl ads, but I still think football process during the games and need to bounce those ideas off of people. So, here it goes.

Did I miss an Asian singer during the pregame? I saw Queen Latifah and Carrie Underwood (in her "Lost in Space" outfit) and wasn't sure if the rainbow was complete.

Jim Nantz was over the top in announcing, "The coin toss...next!". Then, Emmitt Smith "debacling" the coin toss.

The commercial with LeBron and Basketball Jesus was, and I'm being quite charitable, lame.

Peyton Manning has become "Peyton", much like "Ben". But Nantz actually said, "And Miami has become Peyton's place again!". So much for spontaneity. He needs to check his sponsorships at the door.

A commercial with Betty White AND Abe Vigoda? Gold, Jerry, gold!

The Saints with really bad tackling early. I think I agreed with Manning after the game. I'm not really sure the Saints ever stopped the Colts offense.

Two major criticisms I had with the announce crew. The first one dealt with a play in the first half right before Pierre Garcon's TD for the Colts. On a third down play, Joseph Addai busted up the middle for a big run. The Colts had a linebacker (#52) in the backfield. Now, I don't see the Colts very often, but I see 'em enough to know that was a new wrinkle. Anyhow, he goes right to start the play, as if he is going to get a pass out of the backfield. Obviously, the Saint defense moves with him, and Addai gets the ball behind that motion and gets big yards. Absolutely no mention of it, even during a replay.

The other was before the half. Nantz and Phil Simms actually had a discussion of how the Saints might use their timeouts before halftime. The problem was, on second down, the play ended with 59 seconds left and the Saints called a TO at 51 seconds. After the ensuing punt, they clearly could have used those seconds to run another play before having to kick their field goal. And, once again, the announce crew (more concerned with spotting Barney Stinson in the crowd) asleep at the wheel.

Dexter. For Dodge. Ni-i-i-ice.

Yeah, Nantz was typically Nantz, but I did laugh at this FLO TV ad. You know, the "injury report" with the spineless husband? He had me at "Hello, friends..."

The Pierre Garcon drop in the first half probably changed the outcome of the game, even though it was early. So much for Haiti.

The Simpsons commercial for Coke was baffling to me. Not the actual production, but the concept.

OK, I'm a fanboy for The Who, so I really enjoyed the halftime. But, I must say, Roger Daltrey didn't have the best of starts. I thought we may have had a disaster brewing, but he definitely got it together after his first two attempts at singing. Pete, as ever, windmilling around the stage, was still the Pete Townshend I love. And I loved the hat. CBS must have thought Keith Moon was still drumming, because Zak Starkey, Ringo's son, seemed to be getting more airtime than Roger and Pete. Pino Palladino and Pete's brother, Simon, were afterthoughts it seemed, as far as TV time. Regardless, I thought it was great.

After the Saints onside kick, Nantz said, after a replay, "Bounced off the hands of Hank Baskett...". Yeah, you don't hear that often. Tee hee.

The NPP (Non-Playing Posse) of the Saints killed me during this championship run. The gold sweatshirts, actually acting like they were playing, towel waving. Gave me tons of material. Several second half sightings of them.

While watching Manning and Drew Brees battle, where is the hope for the Browns? Especially with the current guys we have at quarterback?

Leno, Oprah and Dave on the CBS promo for Letterman was genius.

Did you catch the mention that Howard Mudd, the Colts offensive line coach, was retiring after the game? Do you also realize he coached the Browns line under Marty? If we have any glory years around here, those are it. And he started here (gulp!), 27 years ago! It makes me wonder where Lindy Infante is.

Reggie Wayne with only one catch in the first three first quarters was not good. But Manning kept going to him in the fourth quarter and, well, you saw the result. Interception return for the Saints to put the game out of reach. And, it was by Tracy Porter, the guy with dumb Super Bowl haircut.

Once you think you know the NFL rules, they redefine them further. I'm thinking of the Saints 2-point conversion. First ruled incomplete on the field, then overturned on replay. First, we have become obsessed with "making a football move" after a catch. Now, we have to be concerned with something called a "second act"? I thought the original call was correct. Those hands definitely separated for control, the way I saw it.

After Manning's interception, the Peyton Manning Face returned! Do the face!

As you may or may not know, a famous local sports radio caller, Dumpling, died recently. Virtually all of the hosts in town eulogized the guy on their shows. Then some callers called in with their memories, as well. For a day or so, these random calls would show up and someone would comment on Dumpling. It got to the point, we thought it would be great if the Cavs would win a title and LeBron would say, "This one's for Dumpling!". That has spawned a lot of "This one's for Dumpling!" comments during the NFL playoffs. Yesterday, with the Saints winning, we had to change it to, "This one's for Boulette!".

I predict that Drew Brees pictures with his kid will be like Kurt Warner and "Thank you, Jesus!".

I saw James Carville on the field during the postgame celebration.

Let's not forget Tom Benson almost moved the Saints. Just sayin'. Great teams are not always run by great owners. Art Modell.

Great scene on ESPN last night. They wanted to show Bourbon Street after the game and right when they got a camera shot, you saw two policemen on horseback giving a guy a hard time. They lingered awfully long on it, until someone nudged the camera in a different direction. Awesome. Of course, Rick Reilly referred to the "Latin Quarter" of New Orleans.

Speaking of weird, that Polamalu commercial scared me.

Lastly, did you see Peyton Manning run off the field WITHOUT SHAKING HANDS WITH THE OPPONENTS? Let's see how differently the media handles that than LeBron. When LeBron did it, it was a major story that would not go away. Manning does it and, well, let's see if anyone noticed it.

Big wrapup here.

Meal of Links

Costa Rica elects a woman President. And she looks like a weird version of that "Biggest Loser" trainer.

22 romantic characters who don't deserve love. Nothing earth shattering here.

How the theme to "Twin Peaks" was written. Great stuff. "I see Twin Peaks."

Exercise Yard

It's All Saints Day today.

Visitor

28 Across: NBA center who was a three-time MVP (11 letters) Answer: Moses Malone

Happy Valentine's Day to all.



Think romance. Think Paris. Just a normal drive through Paris 30 years ago. Listen to that Ferrari engine! I'm thinking Frank Martin's Dad is behind the wheel.



Here's the scoop.

Meal of Links

Speaking of All-Stars, Michael Lewis ventures to Houston and finds Shane Battier? Lewis has become one of my favorite writers and delivers the goods again.

Consumers are cutting their spending on food. I visit Marc's now more than ever. For instance, Ken's 8-oz. salad dressing at Marc's today was 98 cents. I had a coupon to buy two and get a dollar off. So, I got 2 bottles for 96 cents. I don't see how Giant Eagle can compete with that. Look at the continuing saga of pop prices. Giant Eagle had some 2-liter prices today at inner-city Dairy Mart prices, while offering "specials" at 3/$4.00. They also raised the 2-liter Giant Eagle brand to 99 cents. Specials were usually at $1 each, while the house brand was at 89 cents for a very long time. Even Marc's is offering more soda at a 4/$5.00 price. I don't visit the warehouse clubs, but that seems more of a luxury than ever to me. But there's always Mickey D's.

Folks are still buying Mardi Gras beads, however. Laissez les bon temps roulez!

Exercise Yard

Randy Moller is a play-by-play guy for the Florida Panthers. He is a treasure trove of pop culture when the Panthers score via the radio audience of Dan LeBatard. The Penguins announcer does something similar but he's from Pittsburgh and just makes up weird phrases on their goals, so there.



I think "I'm a lead farmer!" is my favorite. But I must say, "O-o-o-oh, good for you!" and "We're gonna need a bigger boat!" made me laugh out loud, as well.

Visitor

40 Across: Contemporary of Bela (5 letters) Answer: Boris

I have had a bit more time to digest McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as VP. And I'm still not sure I understand it. It is hard for me to fathom that there are Clinton Democrats who would go with the R's just because there is a woman, any woman, on the GOP ticket. I thought recent polling had McCain doing OK with Independent voters, so I'm not sure the choice adds more voters to his side with Independents. We always hear about female Reagan Democrats, I mean, is Palin enough of a choice to get that bloc, whatever those numbers are? Seems puzzling to me. And to add a pro-lifer with abortion as the number one topic with only 3% of the voters is a reach.

And to take Obama's experience off the table by adding Sarah Palin could be a major mistake. As I say, forget about the 3 a.m. phone call, what if McCain can't wake up for his 6 a.m. alarm? She's the next President? I don't think so. Personally, I see it as a major blunder.

And the creepy rumors have begun. Was Palin really pregnant for a fifth time or was
she covering for her daughter? I can't even believe someone came up with that one, but thought I'd let you know. It seems all the stops are gonna be pulled out with this election.

Other thoughts on the choice:

From Politico.

From The Huffington Post.

From an Alaskan.

And, of course, a MICHAEL Palin reference:



Meal of Links

Mr. and Mrs. Mix are in town and we headed late over to The Harp last night. They seemed to have a partially new menu there, I could be wrong. Any, I tried their Root Beer Float. This is Three Olives Root Beer with cola. It was just OK, there needs to be a better companion than cola.

The 20 Best Seasons in the last 20 years of TV. Thought there would be a "24" or a "Seinfeld" in there. I'll vouch for "Arrested Development" and "Twin Peaks" Season One made it. BTW, Monday's ride to work was most enjoyable. Bob Edwards re-ran interviews with David Lynch and Terry Gilliam in the same hour. Great stuff. A list of Bob's recent shows.

Let's hope not. It looks like Nawlins is about to be tested again. This seems like a diagonal hit and not a direct path like Katrina, which means lingering effects.

Exercise Yard

NFL Cuts. Browns let go Travis Wilson, no surprise to me. David McMillan and Lennie Friedman the other names to go. Terry Cousin made it.

Visitor

45 Down: _____ Callender's restaurants (5 letters) Answer: Marie

Word of advice. Do not go to Giant Eagle on Super Bowl Sunday. You'd think it was Y2K or something going on. I actually saw adults pushing around those "car carts", because there weren't any regular ones. Hey, I draw the line on that and would rather wait for a conventional one. Nevertheless, it was madhouse status in there, rivaling Thanksgiving week.

Meal of Links

Stilettos help women's sex lives. Wow, what a surprise.

Stalking at the Super Bowl. I laughed.

When will this happen? Or at least move the game to Saturday. Especially this year, when you Super Bowl, Mardi Gras and Chinese New Year in the same week.

Exercise Yard

Brock Lesnar wasn't much of a wrestler either. He lost his UFC debut. I don't watch UFC, I'm still hanging on to the Sweet Science. But there's been a dearth of good boxing matches lately.

Visitor

None, it's Super Bowl Sunday!

Nomar Stalker and I attended the Cavs game this evening. The great thing about it, it was F-R-E-E. The Cavs went through the motions, and we got help from unexpected sources, Donyell Marshall and Daniel Gibson, and beat the Raptors, 95-91.

Observations:

New P.A. announcer was pretty good, sticking to the basics. However, in the first half, he had this annoying habit of counting down the shot clock. 15...10...5, 4,3,2,1. For example, the Cavs bring it slowly up court, they flip it to Varejao and, in the background, the guy says, "15." Even though it is inane, I might see him calling out at 10 and 5 and below. But 15? Yikes! I'm not sure this happens every game, but he didn't do it in the second half, thankfully.

The Brad Daugherty bobblehead may have been the worst-looking bobblehead ever. It is Brad in a suit and a Cavs cap, holding up his jersey, a la Draft Day 1986. One of the few bobbleheads in which the guy is wearing a tie. Brad had a scoreboard message for everyone, saying he'll be here in March. I guess a 20th reunion or something. He should hope there is no NASCAR conflict.

Cavalier Girls seem to have had a large turnover, which I think is by design. I'm just not sure where they go after they leave. Oh, they still look good, but no pole dancing or Erotic City outfits.

Ronnie Duncan's histrionics have been taken over not by the aforementioned P.A. guy, but a Scream Team Leader. He introduces the squad, implores us to make noise, accompanies Moondog when he fires hot dogs at the crowd. BTW, I had my hands on one of those little basketballs they toss into the crowd. Same one twice. In keeping with the evening, I bobbled it. Needless to say, these antics got the best crowd participation of the evening.

Celebrity in attendance: C.C. Sabathia.

The Scream Team still does their Lockers imitations. Somewhere, Rerun is smiling.

Honestly, it didn't seem as loud as it has been there. Maybe they save that for the weekend games.

They replaced the shot clock/scoreboard above the south basket at halftime. It's a rare sight to see a spare brought out. Good job by the work crew.

Beer from Les was $6.00. Small soda, hot dog, and a pretzel added up to $11.25.

The Special Olympics organizing committee was in attendance. They were guests in a loge behind our section. I won't tell you how I clapped. Use your imagination, it was funny.

Meal of Links

The NYTimes tries to define Creole, in response to Alan Richman. Bottom line, I'm hungry. Something about the word "pork fat".

More food. The memorial for Johnny Apple.

If David Lynch is involved with a movie, I am there. Let's see, evil, depravity, erotic longing, violence...Bring the kiddies!

Exercise Yard

Wow. Just when you thought the worst contract this offseason went to Juan Pierre or Danny Baez or J.D. Drew. Julio Lugo and Jason Schmidt hit the jackpot. If Julio Lugo is worth $9 million at shortstop, and Jason Schmidt gets $47 million for three years, what is Travis Hafner worth? Start preparing the "Hometown Discount" talk, boys.

Visitor

54 Down: Eponymous ice skater Paulsen (4 letters) Answer: Axel

Today is "Happy Odd Couple Day". So, Oscar, use your coaster!

The greyhound episode:

Felix: You were right, Oscar. He's got racing in his blood.
Oscar: Then he needs a transfusion.

"Password":

Felix: "It's a known fact that Lincoln loved mayonnaise."

Hah!

Meal of Links

The GQ food critic ate a lot in NOLA. And has a long report on what he found. And, of course, the local rebuttal.

Life is good for Keith Olbermann. Ratings and book sales are up.

This guy hates the fireworks at the Cavs games. Imagine that, someone disliking pyrotechnics.

Exercise Yard

My Dad and I attended this evening's CSU game against Notre Dame. This wasn't Notre Dame from South Bend. This was Notre Dame from South Euclid. I expected Cleveland State to win by 25, and they won by 26. The final score, in a Friends and Family game, was 88-62.

Visitor

53 Down: "My Dinner with Andre" director Louis (5 letters) Answer: Malle