The men in my family took my niece to see the old alma mater take on Brooklyn. I don't even know what they call this rivalry these days. The Backyard Brawl? The Battle of Biddulph? All I know is Rhodes is dominating this series lately and won last night, 64-14. That's right they scored 64 points! Would have been 70 if they had a kicker or were not just 4 of 8 on 2-point conversions.

First of all, it's a pretty cheap night. $5 to get in, pop and pizza squares were a dollar and it's $1.50 for popcorn. But there seems to be a malaise hanging over the football games at Brooklyn. Clearly, the kids who go in don't even care about the game as they congregate and do their own thing seemingly miles apart from the game. The cheerleaders don't have any focus and don't seem too thrilled to participate. They have a mascot without any direction. The band doesn't seem fired up. If I were an administrator at the school, I'd be embarrassed, or at least concerned, about the overall production.

Shockingly, Rhodes actually had fans show up on their side. They have a band this year, as well. And the guys really play hard on the field. Seems like some good things happening there.

But, much like last year's game we attended, Rhodes had big plays all night. I mean plays you wouldn't think would result in 6 points. They led, 20-0, at the end of the first quarter and it was inconceivably 40-0 at the half. Rhodes only put the ball in the air three times that I recall. A stupid backward pass on the first play of the game that failed and resulted in a turnover. A beautiful two-point conversion that made it 20-0. And a failed pass attempt on a 4th down play late in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, they must have run for at least 500 yards. Seriously. Their big running back, Wall, totaled 116 yards on his first two carries and had TD runs of 94, 36, 55 and 3 yards.

Here were the TDs:

A 94-yard run (6-0)
A 64-yard run (12-0)
A 36-yard run (20-0)
A 70-yard punt return (28-0)
A 10-yard run (34-0)
A 55-yard run (40-0)
A 3-yard run (46-0)
A 15-yard run (52-0)
A 45-yard fumble return (58-7)
A 65-yard kick return to finish the game (64-14)

Needless to say, lots of fun to watch.

Meal of Links

Irene must be important because I see Wolf Blitzer on my TV. No Geraldo sighting yet, my favorite part of hurricanes. Details here. Mail was delivered in Virginia Beach today. Kudos.

Now I find this interesting. Fox, yes, Fox, the big network, will start showing tape-delayed EPL games on a few Sundays they don't have football doubleheaders. And on Super Bowl Sunday, Chelsea and Manchester United will be on Fox that morning. As long as Michael Strahan makes no appearances and my drinks are cold, that will be the start to a great day.

Do you have any of the !00 Most Sought-After Out of Print Books. Some interesting titles, but I don't have any of them. Although, I thought I had a copy of "Cards As Weapons' by Ricky Jay laying around here, but have his other book, "Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women". That's out of print, but not as popular, I guess.

How to discover new music. I still haven't had time to comprehend Spotify, but I will.

More "Louie". Although his Afghanistan looked a lot like the Korea of "M*A*S*H".

"Say Something Nice"



Upping the antihero. "Breaking Bad', "Psych" and "Dexter".

Exercise Yard

Ric Flair not only has trouble inside the ring, he's got huge issues outside the squared circle. A long history of failed marriages and financial turmoil.

Hey, my favorite sign from last week's show: "It doesn't matter what my sign says".

Visitor

3 Down: Country that eliminated the United States at the last two World Cups (5 letters) Answer: Ghana

While wondering whatever became of Robert Benigni...

I'm listening to the Tribe game. Tom Hamilton is describing what sounds like an earthquake. I don't feel a thing. Apparently, the East Coast was in a panic. Or wanted a free day on a nice summer afternoon.

Of course, it was near a nuclear power plant. Fuck.

Meal of Links

Jerry Lieber died yesterday. How would you like to have your name attached to that songbook? Think of the Elvis hits, the Coasters hits and on and on. Lieber and Stoller also produced "Stuck In The Middle With You". This is my favorite Lieber and Stoller tune:

"Spanish Harlem"/Ben E. King



Nickolas Ashford died yesterday, as well. He, and his wife, Valerie Simpson wrote many Motown hits. Listen to Marvin Gaye just kill on this Ashford and Simpson record.

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough"/Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell



The odd death of Arturo Gatti. Next week, a P.I. gives his findings. Never bought the suicide for one moment.

15 arcade games we miss. They are all there. Circus never makes these lists, but damn, I ruled that game.

Art of the Title with the classic, "Catch Me If You Can". One of the best title sequences ever.

10 songs ruined by advertising. "Saved by Zero" not on the list? Bah.

"Snakes On A Plane" is 5 years old. Only made $34 million at the box office.

The Rock plus Bruckheimer equals...'80s Wrestling Show! Dust off Ron Garvin running up those stairs.

Speaking of earthquakes. What's up with Haiti?

Versus is getting more NFL on its network. Mike Florio has a Friday at 6 show, with Darren Rovell following. Now, NFL Films is producing "Turning Point". This looks like old-style NFL Films stuff, Thursdays at 10.

Exercise Yard

Pat Summitt has early onset dementia. At age 59. Fairly obvious she can't coach much longer. But damn, that's an early diagnosis.

Visitor

43 Down: Hairy TV cousin (3 letters) Answer: Itt

I am officially on...



Big day on the Tour day, as the snow cleared in the Alps. My main man, Andy Schleck, decided to attack with, oh, only 60 KM left in the race and got himself back in line for a shot at the yellow jersey with basically only two days left. Tomorrow may be a repeat as it's Alpe d'Huez, followed by the time trial in Grenoble on Saturday. With the ride into Paris on Sunday, a symbolic one, the finish will be bang-bang, as Rick Manning likes to say.





























Schleck's ride today will be epic, especially if he wins the Tour. Probably the best one-day ride since Floyd Landis in the infamous Stage 17 in 2006. You guessed it, shades of Eddy Merckx. But the leader, Thomas Voeckler, didn't crack and hardly anyone can believe he still has the yellow jersey. But the Schleck ride cracked Alberto Contador and Sammy Sanchez.

So, it's probably down to 4 guys. The Schleck Brothers, Cadel Evans and Voeckler. After tomorrow, the leader will be one of the Schlecks, so it all comes down to Saturday's time trial.

But the Tour finally started today.

Allez!

Meal of Links

Going to the movies in Australia is like buying books in Canada. The prices are high.

Debt ceiling talk. Yeah, it's important.

"Dexter" cranks up Season 6 on October 2. New trailer is out.

Did someone mention R.E.M.?

The endorsements are starting for US Women's Soccer. Not a bad idea, as that team competes in the Olympics next year in London. I think the real star is Megan Rapinoe.

Richard Lewis was back on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" last week. He chats about Larry David.

Comeback of the Year? WWE Wrestling!

Exercise Yard

I'm actually on Team Stevie on Steve Williams firing by Tiger Woods. Yeah, that Stevie, the scourge of photogs everywhere. Boy, are there a lot of folks giving Stevie the business over how much money he received for being Tiger's caddie.

But, let's face it, he was not on some mystery retainer and he hadn't worked that much in the last 18 months. Typical caddie pay is a Missed Cut will get you zip, 5% of earnings for a cut finish, 7% for a Top Ten, and 10% for a win.

I'm not sure how much loyalty comes into play, when you are deprived of a job you like to do and you get that itch to get out there and do something. I'm sure Stevie was tired of sitting.

But, man, is he getting blasted for being "The Caddie".

Visitor

44 Across: PETCO Park player (5 letters) Answer: Padre

I saw two movies this week. The first was "Horrible Bosses", and tonight "The Tree Of Life" made its initial appearance on the West Side. Let's talk about that one first.

"The Tree of Life", of course, is the latest from Terrence Malick. Malick and David Lynch are probably the two most unique American directors left. Lynch always jolts you with color. And Malick does, as well, but his films always shoot from different angles. Angles that most people hardly see in a movie. Close ups, framing a subject from behind, trees from the ground up, etc.

So, yeah, I've been waiting for this one for a while. And I could tell right away that we were gonna have people hit the eject button, it was only a matter of when. Old couple sits directly behind me and I hear the woman say, "I thought it would be more crowded. You know with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn in the movie." OK, my Spider-sense is tingling. Also had to hear "This is weird." and "Do you want any gum?". I give 'em credit, though. They actually made it to the end. We had 15 at the start and this is your Up-To-The-Minute "The Tree Of Life" Walkout Scoreboard:

We had 2 leave before the dinosaurs.
We had 1 leave during the dinosaurs.
We had 4 leave after the dinosaurs (one guy letting us know he was asking for his money back).

That means 7 of 15 left in the first 35 minutes or so. You may be wondering why I mentioned dinosaurs. After Pitt's family suffers a loss, Malick decides to show us (sorta like 2001) his vision, at length, of how the earth was created and took us through some various early life forms. This tends to honk off the Car Chase crowd. It also points out the ignorance of today's movie crowd. Do you just open the Friday Magazine and see the picture of Pitt and Penn and say, hey, looks like a good one. Seriously, how do you not know this is a Malick film? Trust me, for its alleged offensiveness, I didn't see one person walk out of "Borat". Yet, 7 of 15 walk out on this one? Baffling.

Too bad, because the scenes that immediately follow the dinosaurs is awesome. It shows a kid growing up and makes you wonder how that happens exactly. First steps, starting to talk, etc. Amazing sequence.

Now, I'm not gonna pull a Jack Buck and say, "I don't believe what I just saw!". I understand Malick is not everyone's cup of tea. But, as a moviegoer, I think you owe it a look. But it's not exactly "Happy Days" here.

Pitt is not exactly a great father and he and his wife are constantly battling for the kids affection. And the whole house knows who wins on that front. And, for almost three hours, the characters rarely smile, although I think near the end, when Penn (Mostly a dour figure) believes he's come to grips with his life, there is a faint smile. As for the acting, Pitt and the kids have most of the dialogue. Jessica Chastain and Penn have more narration of their parts, as does the oldest son.

So, again, it's a different type of movie experience. But one you have to see.

For a movie where your brain doesn't suffer from overload, I give you "Horrible Bosses". This isn't by any means "Hangover"-funny, but there are enough laughs to keep it going.

Charlie Day and Jason Bateman basically play themselves. Jason Sudeikis plays a horndog. And their bosses are, respectively, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. The latter two are especially funny, while Aniston is a sex harasser. Hilarious cameo by Jamie Foxx.

The plot is the three guys want to off their bosses. Hilarity ensues. That's really about all you get here.

Meal of Links

Playhouse Square finally released their summer movie schedule. They need me to program this. I hardly see anything of note. Although, "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly" and "Jaws" are the standouts. I say this every year. You want asses in the seats? Gotta be an early Tarantino selection. How 'bout a Richard Pryor comedy? "Silver Streak" would do. Have a Bond movie. "Ghostbusters", "Caddyshack". It ain't difficult.

Nick Gilbert has a Fathead. Seriously. For charity.

Alan Sepinwall talks Emmy nominations. Still baffled by "Community" being ignored.

Wal-Mart starts selling "Cheesy Poofs"next month. Yes, it is South Park-related.

Lots of Soda Pop



If the debt ceiling is not raised, which side wins? Maybe neither.

Dads on Vacation.

Exercise Yard

What is Sunday's biggest sporting event? Last round of the British Open? USA-Japan at the Women's World Cup? How about the WWE PPV?

Visitor

48 Across: "12 Angry Men" director (5 letters) Answer: Lumet

After the Rapture...

The EPL closed up shop for the season today and what a day it was. Five clubs were in danger of being relegated, with West Ham already down. There were 81 possible combinations. So many possibilities that some teams could win and stay up, while at the same time, they could lose and stay up. That's how nutty it was. Relegation means $50 million in revenue because of all the TV contracts, so staying up is huge as you compete for players, etc.

At the start of the day, the bottom of the table was:

Wolves 40
Blackburn 40
Birmingham 39
Blackpool 39
Wigan 39
West Ham 33

Of the five teams left, I like Ian Holloway, the coach of Blackpool. They are a small team from the seaside, and nicknamed the Tangerines. A real breath of fresh air in the league this year.

I like Wigan and their coach, Roberto Martinez. He was part of ESPN's World Cup coverage last year. A sharp, young guy who never offers excuses. They are the smallest club in the league and if they could find some goal scorers, life would be a lot easier for them. They played the match of the year last week, relegating West Ham, after falling behind 2-0. A late goal won it for them.

And I like Wolves. Mick McCarthy is a straight-shooting coach and their fans are nuts.

We had three matches available to watch. Manchester United and Blackpool on ESPN2. Man U had not lost at home since last April and won every home match this year, except for one. Birmingham and Tottenham on Fox Soccer. I didn't think this would have enough drama. I opted for Blackburn and Wolverhampton on Fox Soccer Plus. Both teams there in real danger.

So, what happens? Blackburn scores three in the first half. I had given them up for dead about a month ago and now they looked solid. Great camera work by the Sky Sports crew as they ran the gamut of emotions by the fans. At the Birmingham match, I saw someone dressed as a nun (maybe a real nun) praying as they fell behind. At Wolverhampton, those fans were put through the wringer. Down 3-0, they were willing their team back. They scored to make it 3-1, but Birmingham had scored to start making them bite their nails again. Wigan scored at Stoke to lead, 1-0.

That made it clear. Wolves needed not a win, but just one more goal to stay up. Blackburn scored off a goal kick earlier in the match, which is rare, but by God, Wolves did the same as Stephen Hunt fired one in, in the 87th minute. Bedlam. Combined with a late Tottenham goal over Birmingham, Wolves could celebrate. Probably the biggest LOSS in the team's history and people ran on the field, kissed the TV cameras, were carrying players off the pitch. It was insane.
























At the end of the day, the bottom of the table was:

Blackburn 43
Wigan 42
Wolves 40
Blackpool 39
Birmingham 39
West Ham 33

Wigan had spent 75% of the season in the bottom three and survived. Birmingham is the first winner of the Carling Cup to be relegated. Mick McCarthy and Wolves can breath normally for a change. Blackpool and Ian Holloway go back to the Championship.

So, I get my Sunday mornings back until early August with only one match remaining. But it's the big one, the Champions League Final. Barcelona and Manchester United at Wembley this Saturday.

Meal of Links

How Fox's Roger Ailes failed to find a strong Republican candidate. He appears to be a Chris Christie man. Everyone else...meh.

This guy doesn't really like "SNL". Calls it "The embarrassing uncle of American comedy".

Randy "Macho Man" Savage died on Friday. It was a cause to remember him, so everyone did their "Oh, yeah" impersonations. Plus you could snap into a Slim Jim, if you preferred.

Randy Savage is Insane



Exercise Yard

Looks like LAPD has a suspect in custody from the Opening Day beating of a Giants fan. One of last week's Giants games in LA was the lowest attended in the series since 1997.

Visitor

None, on a warm Sunday.

I was lucky to find out about the death of Bin Laden when I did. I finished up "Treme" and somehow landed on Fox 8 to watch a scene from "The New Adventures of Old Christine". Then I landed on the baseball game where ESPN was running a Breaking News crawl about the death of Osama Bin Laden and we had the body. Mercy! So, I grabbed a news channel and continued to watch the President and the aftermath of his speech.








































I was surprised at the gathering outside of the White House and the subsequent cheering. I seem to recall when we see people in their homeland cheering at our misfortune, we are none too happy about it. Somehow when we cheer it's not necessarily a celebration, but something else? I don't get that. It looked like a bunch of students with nothing better to do and having some sort of meetup at the WH. I found that very strange, because frankly, there wasn't a whole lot to cheer.

I mean hadn't Bin Laden won this fight a long time ago. In terms of the human cost and dollars spent to get him. Setting aside other freedoms that were lost via the Patriot Act, travel restrictions, constant fear mongering, etc. Plus, he still wins in death, by the virtue of the war not ending, meaning more lives are wasted.

Don't get me wrong. I love the fact Bin Laden is gone and the mission was pulled off expertly. I see it most definitely as a milestone, but the job is far from finished.

Meal of Links

The story behind the FDNY photo that made the rounds after Sunday's news. Oh, that'll get awards.

Top 25 Newspapers in America. By circulation The PD is 20th daily and 15th on Sundays.

There is "Dexter" news already. He gets a Latina love interest.

Beastie Boys references. These are my favorite rhymes:

"Hey Ladies"/Beastie Boys



"There's more to me than you'll ever know
And I've got more hits than Sadaharu Oh"

"Three MCs and One DJ"/Beastie Boys



"Sweet and sour like a tangerine
Fresh like a box of Krispy Kremes
Kenny Rogers' Gambler is my gambling theme
Mix Master Mike with the scratch routine"

"Sabotage"/Beastie Boys



"But Make No Mistakes And Switch Up My Channel
I'm Buddy Rich When I Fly Off The Handle
What Could It Be It's A Mirage
You're Scheming On A Thing That's Sabotage"

The economics of fighting Bin Laden. His strategy all along was a financial one.

Here are all of your May TV finales. Not on there, but the Champions League final is on my birthday.

Finally. Deconstructing Limbaugh's act on Monday.

Exercise Yard

Bill Simmons combines "The Wire" and the NBA Playoffs. Complete with a Hebner Brothers reference.

The Hebner Brothers



Jesse Ventura: "How can there be two Dave Hebners?"

Classic.

Visitor

5 Down: Sandinista Daniel (6 letters) Answer: Ortega

I survived Dyngus Day. Yes, Mardi Gras for the Polish was so successful, it will now marked with a permanent spot on the calendar. Or should I say, drinking calendar. Locally, it joins St. Patrick's Day, Opening Day, any Browns home game, and Cinco de Mayo as an excuse to drink in the afternoon when you'd ordinarily be at work or lounging around on a weekend.

We took part in the Parkview Nite Club portion of the proceedings. Big Chuck was there in his Certain Ethnic Man outfit. There was a Miss Dyngus Day complete with a crown of sausages.

The crowds later on at Happy Dog and Reddstone were reported to be big, as well. So, I assume next year (April 9), it might be expanded or even more crowded.

Meal of Links

The President is an American. Whoo hoo! Now it's on to his college transcripts and Selective Service records for the non-believers. Where are Trump's tax returns?

"Celebrity Apprentice" has one of the largest Democratic audiences. Trump, with his "China is raping our country" shtick, is literally driving away its audience.

I think Jake Vale is funny. I laugh all the time at these.

Peyton Hillis is the Madden NFL 12 cover boy. Let the hatred begin.

Here is the Lollapalooza lineup. Thumbs up for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.

Chain restaurants with the fattest meals. I'm glad I've not had any of them.

Good stuff with Rowdy Roddy Piper. Loved that guy. Great entertainer in the ring.

Tom Durkin bows out as the Triple Crown announcer. He cites stress. I don't blame him, especially in the Derby. You got 20 horses and have to mention them all. By the time you do that and get back up front, God knows what might happen. And, heaven forbid, you call a horse late, which he has done. Not as easy as it seems.

Tom Durkin Calls a Race



Exercise Yard

I took my Dad to the Indians game last night. The opponent was the hated Kansas City Royals. The bottom line is if they pitch and hit like they did last night, they'll hang in the pennant race for a while.

Pitching good news? Justin Masterson, not at his best, gets into the 7th, allowing only three runs. Struck out 7 and walked 2. Oh, Melky Cabrera drilled a homer and got to stare it down, but that was about it. Vinnie Pestano then got out of an 8th inning, based loaded jam without giving up any runs. I said when he came in that I didn't trust him yet. I may have to change my thinking.

Pitching bad news? Tony Sipp looks like he's back on the slippery slope after dominating for three weeks.

Hitting good news? When you hit five homers in a game, almost everyone looks good. Homers from Jack Hannahan (who hit 2), Matt LaPorta, Grady Sizemore and Shin Soo Choo. All of them smoked.

Pitchers are going to have to go back to the old book on Grady Sizemore, because they are pitching him using the 2009-10 book and he is just killing everything. On his second double, he was motoring around first like the old Sizemore and should have had a triple, but the third base coach, Steve Smith, held him up. They need to let him loose.

Choo's homer came off the first pitch from Lewis Jackson. It's as if Choo told the ball, "Where have you have been all spring?" Absolutely crushed it and pretty much clinched the game.

Hitting bad news? Orlando Cabrera isn't a very disciplined hitter and it's starting to show. His average is in decline. And Carlos Santana is now looking at fastballs when he has a hitter's count. A 2-1 fastball, with men on, from Hochevar and he never moved the bat off his shoulder. Uh-oh.

But it was a good win. There were only 9620 in attendance (the Monsters drew more next door) and it felt even emptier. But I got cheap seats behind the Indians dugout through StubHub and they even had the $4 concession value built in. So we opted to get super dogs. And they were good. The threat of rain was gone and it was most enjoyable to watch that victory.

BTW, SI has a feature on Choo. Very complimentary piece.

Visitor

6 Across: Texas Rangers CEO Nolan (4 letters) Answer: Ryan

The first reviews of the Charlie Sheen tour are in. Let's say, they are losing, for sure. There seemed to be two camps going into this thing. One was the "I wanna see a trainwreck" camp. The other camp, which I fell in, was the more prudent approach. I mean, how exactly was he gonna entertain me, given he doesn't do stand-up, sing or dance. Especially at the prices he was charging.

Well, I guess we found out in Detroit. And, for such a bad economy, how did nearly 5,000 people in Detroit scrape up enough cash to see this circus? Maybe they were government-funded research subjects. Afterward, no one seemed to know why they were there. Or, if they were there to see a trainwreck, they could not explain why they were disappointed. Doesn't anyone find that even a teeny bit scary? From alleged adults?

Actually, the show was kinda what I surmised it might be. A question and answer session, a comic, some music, the goddesses. The Q&A obviously needs work going forward. You need a third party asking questions, then you have them ask written audience questions. Shows a real lack of planning. What I was curious to find out was he thought his use of video was going to somehow win over the crowd. For him to be booed extensively, it must have been a truly awful experience for everyone involved. Kudos to Team Sheen for keeping details under wrap before the first show.

Let's track ticket sales going forward. If Sheen continues to sell advanced tickets at a premium, he's the modern-day P.T. Barnum. If future shows are cancelled or ticket sales, at the very least, lag, there may yet be a glimmer of hope for us all.

And I like the dude. But he thinks he's Howard Beale when he's actually as disappointing as Howard the Duck. Too bad he's going down. Hard.

Meal of Links

John Kricfalusi shows us some maps of the old Warner Bros. Cartoons offices. From a Bob Clampett collection.

AMC Stubs has finally come to Cleveland. I still have my doubts, but I do find myself going there more.

Wachovia laundered drug cartel money from Mexico. They paid a fine.

Haley Barbour's wife says her husband's presidential run horrifies her. And lots of others, I presume.

Richard Manuel would have been 68 today. Listen to him on the classic "You Don't Know Me", written by Eddy Arnold and made famous by Ray Charles, amongst others.

"You Don't Know Me"/The Band



Ten promising pilots for fall. One guaranteed bomb.

Exercise Yard

What? Wrestlemania is tonight? Here's a liveblog.

Visitor

None, on a cloudy Sunday.

Look Who's Back...The Rock!!!



Just when you think you're done with wrestling, they pull you back in.

Meal of Links

Chuck Lorre had another funny vanity card after "Two And A Half Men". It was about Charlie Sheen.

Kenneth Mars died. OK, I'll give you his "Young Frankenstein" quote. Complete with eyepatch AND monocle: "To the lumber yard!"

I heard the commercial last week. "This American Life" may have found the formula for Coke.

Bonnaroo releases the 2011 lineup. Buffalo Springfield?

Snowmobiling...in Detroit...on the Lodge!



Did anyone find it, oh, I don't know, oddly karmic that one of the guys who never missed a Super Bowl, actually missed this year's Super Bowl? Now he's dead.

Birthers. Again.

Billy Ray Cyrus is a nutbag. And David Lynch gets some blame.

Exercise Yard

The NFL is now like that Rangefinder on "Price is Right". The price for the Super Bowl fiasco keeps going up.

Visitor

35 Down: Poker Flat creator (5 letters) Answer: Harte

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

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

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

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

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

So, what did I learn?

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

Bad beats?

The late interception return by Iowa over Missouri cost me.

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

Northwestern had a late interception return against Texas Tech.

Worst games (Blowout Division)?

Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14.

Alabama 49, Michigan State 7.

Troy 48, Ohio 21.

Worst game (Non-Blowout Division)?

Central Florida 10, Georgia 6.

Total misreads?

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

Late steals?

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

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

Meal of Links

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

This will make you think. Or cry.

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

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

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

A look back at the Ravishing one. Rick Rude.

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

Jenny McCarthy and vaccines. Again.

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

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

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

Exercise Yard

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

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

Visitor

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

The World Cup is all fouled up. Remember the 2022 bid that went to Qatar? You know, it's kinda hot there in the summer? Well, now Sepp Blatter thinks it could be held in the winter. What the hell, we have 11 years to figure it out. We'll conveniently forget that all the submitted bids were for a summer World Cup.

And certainly the World Cup butting heads with Lord Football is not a good idea. And I certainly never imagined I'd have to wear a Santa hat to watch any matches.

Meal of Links

While we all obsess over Ted Williams, here's a look at those he left behind. Now this is a story that should be celebrated.

ESPN looks like it will pay $2 billion a year to keep Monday Night Football. And keep NFL draft coverage, as well.

Dead wrestlers? We got 'em! Includes Ron Martinez, local Channel 43 announcer.

Bidding help for Priceline. Not a bad little assistant.

Facebook will fade. Stay tuned.

Aretha Franklin says she's OK. Somewhere Luther Vandross sang that sentence out loud.

Another Republican nutjob has power. I'm in a dream, aren't I?

Who is the world's most dangerous terrorist? Looks like Pakistan is the major threat to the West.

Palin in Alaska. Looks like her frontierswoman aura is debunked.

Matt Taibbi takes down Boehner. "The ultimate beltway hack..."

Exercise Yard

CSU played its worst game of the year losing to Butler. Game comes at the worst possible time, when they were getting more eyeballs in their direction. Let's see where the bandwagon goes after this defeat.

Visitor

55 Across: Law partner (5 letters) Answer: Order

After bolting from work early today, a huge crowd of 8 saw Russell Crowe in "The Next Three Days". It was worth it to hear my Dad bitch about the Senior price at the Regal.

Anyhow, Crowe is a teacher at a community college in Pittsburgh. Yes he is, and they actually filmed it in Pittsburgh. He's married to Elizabeth Banks who conveniently gets arrested, charged and convicted of the murder of her boss rather quickly. This allows the appeals process to peter out, as Banks is housed at county during that timeframe. Without makeup.

After that, Russell has to decide how he's gonna get Banks out of jail and he sets up a meeting with Liam Neeson, a prison breaker turned author. Liam has broken out of seven jails. That sounds good on paper until you realize he keeps getting sent back to to the hooskau.

So, Crowe goes about plotting how he can spring Banks. He needs cash, passports, IDs, weapons, and most importantly, a plan on how to get her out. Neeson sets expectations at 15, then 35 minutes. You see, roadblocks, train stations, airports will all be set up to stop you, by those times. Now Neeson is onscreen for maybe 5 minutes but he outlines what Crowe needs to do, even telling him to pick a destination where Americans don't normally travel. "Think Yemen." Then we see Crowe for about the next hour or so do just that. Plot.

In the meantime, I get to stare at Olivia Wilde who shows up in a rather thankless role. Brian Dennehy is also here as Russell's father, but I don't stare at him. Then we get onto the prison break and the start of the lam.

Not bad, by any means, but not much potential to do much else with it. No one is great in it and no one is terrible.

Meal of Links

A slideshow of 40 people from "Twin Peaks". Of course, I read every word. Even David Lynch is sorta still acting.

Thanksgiving facts. I hate Green Bean Casserole.

Go ElfYourself! This time with a float.

21 ads from the '80s. Did Taco Bell really serve tacos that large?

It depends on what your definition of an earmark is.

Motor Trend named the Volt its Car of the Year. Rush Limbaugh didn't like that and attacked Motor Trend. Motor Trend fought back. It really is a brilliant rebuttal.

Salon just finished its list of the hackiest pundits. Definitely worth reading.

Don't Stop Believin' in Robocop



Remember when you could shop for records? Check out the Black Friday vinyl. Lots of Christmas-y stuff, including Sinatra. Local participants here.

Exercise Yard

Hustler loses the case of publishing photos of Nancy Benoit. No damages yet.

Visitor

39 Down: Aniston's ex (4 letters) Answer: Pitt

It was almost 4 years to the day since I had seen Roger Waters in town. Last time was 9/27/06. This time, Gale and I went to see his presentation of “The Wall”. Waters had performed this barely thirty times in the past. This tour will at least double the amount of performances when he’s finished with this round.

But what I saw on Tuesday was easily one of the best I’ve seen. Part rock concert, mostly stage show, but certainly all spectacle. But it seemed right to dust it off now. Thematically, it’s a good time to stage “The Wall”. And it did not disappoint.

The Venue: The former home of LeBron James, the Quicken Loans Arena. Big enough to have a wall constructed. I’m glad I’m not Asian, as signs posted at the entrances read: “Pyro and Strobes in use during show”. In a pricing quirk, I saw beer ($7.25) priced higher than cocktails ($7.00). Although I didn’t see any booze, only wine. BTW, t-shirts were going for $40 and $50. Needless to say, I did not buy anything.

Roger Waters: Waters is one of the most politically overt entertainers out there. At 67, he hasn’t backed down one bit. But, if you check your politics at the door, the stuff he says should not be favored by one party or the other. For example, during “Mother”, he asks, “Mother, should I trust the government?” Then, on the portion of the wall that was built up to that time, the answer appeared in bright red letters read: “No Fucking Way”. Later on, during the song, “Bring the Boys Back Home”, those words appeared on the wall, and spontaneous applause broke out while there was a pause in the lyrics. Man, it was a moment that was truly lump-in-the-throat time.

I’ll contrast Waters with what you see at a U2 show. When Bono gets on the soapbox, you know it’s coming and, at times, you roll your eyes and realize OK, it’s a timeout for the political bullshit. But with Waters you know he doesn’t speak as an American, or a Briton, but as someone who understands what it means to be a citizen of the world. The message is bold and heartfelt and I like it very much.

One other thing. Waters is very appreciative of the crowd. He is serious when he has to be, but not afraid to smile and wave to the crowd when appropriate. At the end, he said this, “Thank you so much, from the bottom of all our hearts. You’ve been a fantastic audience, and it means a lot to us.”

Tickets: We went full fare this time (cost ticked over the $100 mark—think of it as a Broadway show, if it’ll make you feel better) and were in the Club seats. We had Section 109 in the Clubs, which was the second section from the stage. Aisle seats with a perfect view.

The Band: There was an array of eleven musicians and vocalists with Waters this time. Roger barely plays his bass, but remains in front of the wall most of the time. So, when they were building the wall, he had his Gilmour sub, Robbie Wyckoff, to the left, with four other backup singers in the middle. Drums were to the left, not on a riser. Plenty of guitars in the back, including my favorite whipping boy from the Browns games, G.E. Smith, on one of them. Yes, there was a G.E. Smith sighting at “The Wall”! Keyboards were on the right.

Of course, there were local kids who got to sing, “We don’t need no education…” Had to be from Cleveland, because maybe they need that education. They were supposed to sway together, but some were going one way and the others, the opposite direction. And they couldn’t stay in a straight line to save themselves. But their shirts read, “FEAR BUILDS WALLS” and that makes up for a lot.

The wall is finally constructed right before intermission. So, the first song afterward, “Hey You”, is done behind the wall. Waters is the focus for the next several songs. During “Nobody Home”, the wall folds out and there is Roger sitting in an easy chair in his hotel room, with the crowd chiming in to sing, “Got 13 channels of shit on the TV to choose from.” This leads up to what is one of my favorite songs.

"Comfortably Numb"/From Chicago



For “Comfortably Numb”, Waters is on the stage, while separate scaffolds carry Wyckoff and another guitarist to the top of the wall. Yeah, it takes two guys to replace David Gilmour! Talk about wishing you were here. I absolutely love the way Gilmour sings the chorus on this song. But they did an awfully good job on this song on Tuesday. Gilmour is rumored to make one appearance on this American tour. If he does it for this song, without any intro, and rises above that wall, I swear people will crap their pants.

After that, all of the songs are performed in front of the wall, until the wall comes tumbling down after “The Trial”. We all chanted, “Tear down the wall!” Sort of like “Let them play!” from that hideous “Bad News Bears” sequel. For the finale, ”Outside the Wall”, the lights go up and the band is dressed colorfully for the first time, dumping the black.

The Crowd: No chaperone hat, because this was truly an all ages show. Aw, these kids today. They didn’t seem to appreciate what they were seeing. My God, the row in front of was a revolving door. And, of course, there was a helluva lot of smoke with the hippy lettuce debuting by the end of song two. But, it was well-behaved and we saw only one person carried out by stretcher. He seemed to be, ahem, comfortably numb.

Props: When any Floyd member is involved, you have lots of visuals and, obviously, they did not disappoint. We had balloons representing Mother, the Teacher and the Wife. The actual wall allowed all sorts of graphics and film to be shown.

Once again, he had pics of his father who died in WWII during “In the Flesh”. This morphs into a photo of a new American soldier, then an Iraqi boy, a Somali woman, a New York City firefighter, all dead. At the conclusion of that song, a war plane crashed into the wall. We were on that side and it was cool to see.

He had photographs of fallen heroes, in war and peace, from all sides that he rotated during intermission. I even spotted Gandhi. It had a picture, when they were born and when they died as stats. Really an amazing visual.

The circular screen that Floyd seems to favor was also on hand. It showed a lot of the animation from the film version. Flowers having sex, marching hammers, etc.

"Run Like Hell" (with the Pig!)/From Chicago



Guess who else made an appearance during “Run Like Hell”? The pig!!! Yes, that old warhorse was put into service again. I love that pig and his red eyes that blink on and off. He has it labeled with RUN and "Trust Us". Plus, it displayed a Shell Oil logo, one of Roger’s favorite targets.

Also there were shots on the wall during “Run Like Hell” that mocked Apple. For instance, sheep (with their iPods) appeared followed by the word “iFollow”. Plus creepy terrorist-looking guy with an “iTeach” immediately followed by kids with “iLearn”.

During “Empty Spaces”, the animated bombers dumped out corporate logos among nation logos (Stars of David, Crescents, Dollar Signs), as well. I saw the Mercedes and Shell Oil (again) logos.

And the wall collapsing was something to see. I think the people in Row 1 may not have been completely sure it was safe, as it came hurtling at them. But it piled up in the pit between them and the stage.

The Music: I’m quite surprised at some of the early reviews that say Waters is sounding pretty good. Um, I think there may be some behind-the-scenes dubbing going on that make it sound that way. And I’m OK with it. As a matter of fact for “Mother”, he played a duet with an old film of himself that had the vocal tracks from 30 years ago. So, who knows? His voice was shot 4 years ago and I’m skeptical now. But, again, I don’t care.

Highlights were what you think they would be. “Comfortably Numb”, “Run Like Hell” were both stellar.

All in all, a fantastic effort.

Setlist:

“In the Flesh”
“The Thin Ice”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 1”
“The Happiest Days of Our Lives”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 2”
“Mother”
“Goodbye Blue Sky”
“Empty Spaces”
“What Shall We Do Now?”
“Young Lust”
“One of My Turns”
“Don't Leave Me Now”
“Another Brick in the Wall Part 3”
“The Last Few Bricks”
“Goodbye Cruel World”

(20-Minute Intermission)

“Hey You”
“Is There Anybody Out There?”
“Nobody Home”
“Vera”
“Bring the Boys Back Home”
“Comfortably Numb”
“The Show Must Go On”
“In the Flesh”
“Run Like Hell”
“Waiting for the Worms”
“Stop”
“The Trial”
“Outside the Wall”

Next stop...Boston.

Meal of Links

I happened to see "Wall Street 2" at the Capitol on Monday. This surprised me. It was much better than I thought it would be. I don't know if it's Michael Douglas near the end, but to revive Gordon Gekko was pretty sweet. Basically, he still loves the game, knows how to play, but he doesn't have a stake. That's where his daughter, Carey Mulligan comes in. Good job by Shia Lebeouf and Josh Brolin, once again, steals the show. New York is beautifully photographed and you get a score with Byrne/Eno tunes, with "Naive Melody" over the closing credits, as in the first movie.

When Der Bingle met the Thin White Duke. Or "When Crosby Met Bowie". Even more Bowie.

Mick Foley reveals Tori Amos changed his life. And this is why Mick is still the most beloved of all wrestlers.

Thermos probably has your favorite lunchbox displayed. Pretty cool site.

The MacArthur Genius Grants were announced earlier this week. David Simon got one. Deserved, I may add.

Finally. It took the Senate, of all places, to lower the volume on commercials. It was unanimous and they agree on nothing.

Quentin Tarantino's longtime editor, Sally Menke, died the other day. She was the only editor he worked with. Cast and crew always had time for a "Hi, Sally!" as she edited.

"Hi, Sally!"



The Flintstones turn 50. This, on the day Stony Curtis died.

Pee-Wee Herman will host "Raw". Now that could be funny.

Today's WTF?



"Death Wish 3" really sucks. Trust me, it's bad.

Roger Waters already in trouble over "The Wall". ADL not liking those "Stars of David" dropping like bombs.

Being Glenn Beck. Kudos if you get through it.

Exercise Yard

Reds win division. Reds celebrate in locker room. Reds smoke cigars. Uptight fans call smoking ban complaint hotline.

Visitor

1 Down: 1997 Depp title role (6 letters) Answer: Brasco

Well, the Browns are getting closer, but still do not have a win after three games. That is three straight years and four of the last five that the Browns have lost their three games. So, when we say we've seen this before, we have. Once again, they grabbed a lead in the 4th quarter, only to have the defense fail again at the most important point of the game.

Good things today:

Peyton Hillis ran for 144 yards. Doubly important because it was against the Ravens.

Phil Dawson nailed his first field goal of the year.

Bad things today:

Eric Wright was bad defending Anquan Boldin today. Very bad. Boldin had 8 catches for 142 yards and 3 TDs, mainly against Wright. Wright will be the whipping boy this week.

Joe Flacco had his best game for the Ravens this year. Beautiful throws on all three TDs.

8 penalties this week. I'm sure everyone has noticed. No laps being run in training camp equals more penalties.

4 of 11 on third down conversions.

Seneca Wallace with 5.5 yards per pass attempt. QB rating be damned.

Browns lose, 24-17.

Meal of Links

Deal News has posted their Black Friday predictions. This isn't exactly a primer on what to buy, but helps you plan for the deals you will probably see come November. You know, that 52-in. TVs will see better prices than 55-in. TVs.

F-R-E-E. That spells free. As in free stuff.

Polls:

Jack Conway pulls close to Rand Paul.

Ted Strickland is within the margin of error with John Kasich.

Reid ahead of Angle in Nevada.

A history of malt liquor. Plus, a look at the advertising.

Exercise Yard

Another dead wrestler. This time it's El Gigante.

Wrestling is real. The Browns are fake.

Visitor

None, on a cloudy Sunday.

Time Warner may have solved its fee struggle with Disney. We've been getting that creepy ad played more often that Time Warner customers may have to do without all of the ESPN and Disney channels, if there were no agreement.

One would hope ESPN3 is included in these negotiations, which Time Warner still does not provide access.

Meal of Links

The billionaires behind the Tea Parties. Maybe it should read "puppeteers".

This is interesting. Were we born on the wrong continent? A look at life in Germany vs. the US.

How President Obama got rolled by Wall Street. From Newsweek.

This is kind of amazing. Five years out and still no major Katrina movie.

The secret of Silicon Valley engineers. It's all about age.

Luna Vachon is dead. I swear the streets are full of dead wrestlers.

Doc directors who move into feature films. The list continues to grow. Speaking of docs, the Maysles Brothers great "Salesman" is now on Hulu. One of the first docs I remember seeing. Of course, it hooked me.

Exercise Yard

I absolutely loved this Dimitar Berbatov goal for Man U. yesterday:



Visitor

None, on a sunny Sunday.

Happy 4th of July
























The World Cup finished up the quarterfinals yesterday and now takes a break until Tuesday. Yesterday's matches were fairly entertaining once again.

In the first match, it was Germany and Argentina. The Germans stepped up the trash talking before this match. They have been at each other soccer-wise for a while now and last time they met, it ended with a fight.

But it was a total dismantling this time by the Germans, As many Argentine critics have pointed out, if they ever ran into an opponent where they would have to play some defense, it could get ugly. And it certainly did. Score it, 4-nil to the Germans.

Argentina Gone. Should We Cry For Her?




















But we bid adieu to Diego Maradona. Who certainly livened things up during his stay.

In the second match, it was Paraguay and one of the pre-tournament favorites, Spain. Spain finally got a late goal by who else, David Villa. In the middle of the second half, it went from a missed penalty at one end to a made then recalled penalty at the other end, followed by a miss on the rekick. Insane.

Paraguay Missed Penalty



Spain Missed Penalty



Villa Goal (with Eminem vocals)



Next up:

Holland-Uruguay on Tuesday.
Germany-Spain on Wednesday.

Our Shaun




















Yes, that's our Shaun, on the right, being a productive member of society. I must admit, "I have LeBron's pajamas" is a very funny sign.

Meal of Links

Eat broccoli. Although, is it nutritious as it once was.

The real story of the Boston Tea Party. You Morans!

Smoke 'em if you got 'em. Well, maybe not in NYC. Cigs are now $14.50 a pack.

My brother and I saw Brave Combo at the venerable Beachland Ballroom last night. They have a new CD and played a lot of the old faves, as well. Always a good time.

This guy speaks up. Vampires are annoying.

Exercise Yard

Not really much happening. So, kill some time with Hawk, the Dead Wrestler of the Week at Deadspin.

Visitor

None, on a hot Independence Day

I had not been to First Watch before. Originally, S. and I were gonna go to the one at Crocker, but all the kids out there must play, "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey" on Saturdays, as it was crowded. So, we went to the one in Rocky River instead.

Not bad. I had some pancakes, which are huge, so I only had two. Had a side of sausage, although good, you only get 2 for $2.99. I like that V8 is an option. It looks like they are big on omelets, as well. Like I said, decent grub, but you may do better by supporting the locals. For instance, we passed Herb's (who has Saturday and Sunday breakfast) on the way and that place was jammed.

Meal of Links

The Big Picture posted Part 2 of Olympic photos this week. I am telling you that Crosby/Niedermayer picture is a classic. The timing involved with having Sid's gloves and sticks out of the picture and the Canadian captain Niedermayer coming over to start celebrating is awesome.

Lilith Fair. It's back. "Police Academy". It's back.

Did you ever wonder what music is popular in strip clubs? Funny you should ask. Weezer is extremely popular. I wonder if they play "Dope Nose".

"Dope Nose"/Weezer



Late-Period Steve Martin. He's into everything, and hosts the Oscars tomorrow.

The European Poker Tour was in Berlin this week. And they got robbed today. On live TV! Six gunmen took 800,000 euros.

You are more likely to be sentenced to death for offing someone of high status. So much for justice.

"Dexter" updates.

30 favorite opening lines in literature. The one from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is especially good.

Exercise Yard

I think it is cool when they name schools after people we've actually heard of. For instance, in Milton, Canada, they have named a new elementary school after the wrestler, Tiger Jeet Singh.

Visitor

38 Down: Actor who often said, "Sorry about that, Chief." (8 letters) Answer: Don Adams (Two weeks in a row with clean Saturday crossword sheets, as he pats himself on back)

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Special Guest: No one. In good conscience, how can you ask someone to go to a game like this one? Uh, it's cold, we are gonna get killed and, by the way, I'm probably leaving at halftime. And that's about how it went. Arrived home just in time for the second half kickoff. Perfect.

Today's Opponent: The San Diego (Super) Chargers. The Chargers have looked awfully good lately and Philip Rivers should now be regarded as one of the league's elite quarterbacks. LaDanian Tomlinson is a mere shadow of his former self, but against the Browns, any runner is still a threat. Surprisingly, the Charger defense is getting some pub as a better unit this year. They come in riding a 6-game winning streak.

The Browns are coming off a game where Brady Quinn looked like the Quinn who got benched earlier this year. More defensive starters are out this week, the secondary especially hit hard.

As for this game, the Browns do not even come close. The Chargers have too much offense and with a defense playing better, the Browns will be lucky to be in this one.

Parking: East 6th northbound in a Delivery Zone at the corner of 6th and Superior.

Pre-Game Festivities: I arrived about a little more than an hour before the start of the game and was surprised at the lack of people walking around. Very eerie. I was able to see the Browns Spirit Flag. Do you realize this is the largest Browns flag in the world, spanning 40 yards? The national anthem was sung by some local "American idol" contestant from Beachwood. Not the horrible singer, I think it was Scott, who everyone hated.

Today's Browns Old Timers in attendance were Al "Bubba" Baker" and Erich Barnes. Baker, of course, runs Bubba's Q out in Avon. Had not seen Erich Barnes in quite a while and he looked great. Barnes, if you recall, was locally considered a dirty player when he played for the New York Football Giants. But once the Browns got him, he was merely "aggressive".

Worst Feature (For Me): Today was a tribute to the NFL's "Play 60" program. I have no idea what it is. However, it got its own video as one of the Browns dopey mascots was running around downtown to the strains of "Rocky". He eventually ran onto the field and then the kids in the program all ran out to greet him.

The Weather: Marky Nolan handled the solo reins today. Strano not there. Wind was out of the west, so the scoreboard was our friend. Temperature was 28 degrees and it didn't feel that high.

Today's Giveaway: None. Yes, the sponsors have fled this year.

Section 345: Really quiet today. Lots of muffled clapping and not much else happening. Too cold to fight, too many newbies, many season ticket holders were no shows and not much drinking going on. I am skipping the Steelers game, but will see the Raiders and the Jaguars.

Best Browns Play: I actually liked the Browns first TD. They looked like a professional team. Brady Quinn was patient in the pocket, waited for the pattern to develop and hit Mohamed Massaquoi with a spiral over the middle.

Best Chargers Play: Philip Rivers dumping a pass to a fullback, Mike Tolbert, who rumbled 66 yards for a touchdown. A perfect example of how inept the Browns are at downfield tackling. An absurd demonstration.

Although that long pass from Rivers to Antonio Gates in the third quarter was sweet. He boxed out two defenders for the long catch and it led to a Charger TD later in the drive.

Worst Browns Play: Another red zone turnover by Brady Quinn in the second quarter. This one a fumble that sucked the life out of the place. After two horrible formations/play calls on 1st-and-goal from the 2, Quinn rolls out, stalls for time trying to make a play, but a lineman hits him from the backside, causing a fumble which the Chargers recovered and the Browns never recovered from. Sadly, Quinn got sacked later in the game on the same type of play.

Second Worst Browns Play: After the Tolbert touchdown, the Chargers kick off goes out of the bounds, giving the Browns the ball on the 40. Wait a minute, a second flag was dropped. If there is a weird rule or penalty, the Browns usually find it. You guessed it, the illegal wedge penalty was called on the Browns. First time, with the new rule changes, I've seen that one called.

Best Exchange: This was earlier in the day on "Tailgate 19". Bob Golic shows up 15 minutes late. I texted them "Hey, Golic, get a better alarm clock" and they ran that. First time all year they ran a text of mine.

Oddest Browns Jersey: With all of the winter apparel today, I did not see much. For some reason, a guy wearing 9 Frye stuck out.

Food Items: Pretzel and a Mountain Dew.

Worst Scoreboard Feature: The Browns always show clips from an old Browns game featuring today's opponent. Apparently, the Browns don't play the Chargers much or beat them often, because a game from 1976 was shown. Greg Pruitt had 100 yards in the first quarter before he got hurt. Larry Poole must have had his career day as he then ran for 119. The highlight for me was Oscar Roan catching the game-winning TD from Brian Sipe and being congratulated by Gary Parris.

But it goes to show you, when you think the Browns had glory days in the '70s, they didn't. Just look at many of those names.

The Fuckin' Run: The Browns actually held an opponent to under 100 yards rushing. Mainly because the Chargers insisted on having L.T. do a Jim Brown Tribute in the second half. If I was a Charger fan, I would be pissed off, because Rivers could have thrown for 500 yards, the way the Browns were playing. And they seem d to be content to have Tomlinson do some personal tribute to Brown, who when they kept showing him, seemed disinterested in what was happening.

Worst Stat: Defense gave up 477 yards. Time of possession went to the Browns. Toss the tired defense excuse, please.

2nd Worst Stat: Probably Dink II's 6 yards per pass play.

Most Interesting Stat: The Chargers punted once.

Penalties: While the illegal wedge call was a definite highlight for the Browns, the Chargers committed one penalty for five yards. And that was late in the 4th quarter.

The Browns surprised me a little bit today. Some tight end I never heard of, Evan Moore, is making Kellen Winslow-type catches all over the field. Mainly because the Browns hadn't showed that capability all year. It reminds of the game Massaqoui had against the Bengals. And Brian Robiskie had a few catches but was not on the field a whole lot. Let's see how it plays in the future, now that there is film on these guys.

But the Browns were actually in the game until that Quinn fumble. But really, the San Diego offense could do whatever they wanted, especially through the air. The score was clearly not indicative of how the game was played.

But it was the first home game of many down the stretch and I think the players wanted to demonstrate to the home fans they still care. We'll see if that attitude carries over through the next 4 games.

Certainly, the no-shows started today. I'm guessing the crowd today was probably 55,000 with many people arriving late. Hell, there were people walking in as I was leaving at halftime. I expect the Steeler game to be better attended with dismal showings for the final two games.

The Browns lose to the Chargers in a not so close game, 30-23. They are now 1-and-11.

Meal of Links

Time has listed the Best Chefs on TV. Kind of an old-school list, it seems.

This guy decided to take a walk. All along the Amazon.

Another woman with Tiger. Jeezy creezy, I think we are up to 6 now.

This made me laugh uncontrollably:



Another wrestler, Umaga died this week. With the ubiquitous list of wrestlers who have died before the age of 50.

Bionic lenses. The alternative to LASIK.

Exercise Yard

Could the new Comcast-NBC Universal be a threat to ESPN on air and online? It is a popular topic.

Visitor

None, on a chilly Browns Sunday.