On my way home from work, I listen quite a bit to Pete Domanick's show on XM. I think he has a most interesting stable of guests and allows caller questions and it's a pretty good show. Sometimes, he interrupts callers way too much, but other than that, things are fine.

Unfortunately, I missed the show on Thursday, where Rick Sanchez of CNN decided to call Jon Stewart a bigot. That line got a "Whoa." from Pete immediately, as it should, given that Stewart was his old boss. But then Sanchez decided to utter the old, tired line, "The Jews run the media." Well, that resulted in Sanchez getting fired by CNN. And, let's face it, his primetime run was ending and the timing may not have been better.

(As an aside, one of the few times I've seen Sanchez recently was when he was front and center with the Laura Schlessinger N-word story. He kept tripping over the "NAACP". He could not say it correctly and kept trying. And trying. And trying. So much so, it ruined the story because you're laughing at him.)

So, here we have this uncommonly good political show on satellite radio that no one knows of, and now everyone has at least heard of it. Just in time for Pete's new CNN show that debuts on Saturday at 2:30. Funny how things work.

Meal of Links

Matt Dillon is suing over "Crash" profits. Wants a $100,000. Seems light.

Arnold moves to decriminalize marijuana in California. So, I guess people will be loadin' up the truck and movin' to Beverly. Hills, that is.

Today's idiot. Epic.

Stephen J. Cannell died yesterday. Responsible for three of my all-time favorite shows: "Rockford Files", "The A-Team" and "Wiseguy". You always saw him at the end of the program. Note how that office changed over the years.

Stephen J. Cannell's Production Logo History



"Todd Margaret" starts tonight on IFC. David Cross, Will Arnett. Gotta be good.

Super Wi-Fi? Oh, it's coming.

Exercise Yard

It rained most of the day at the Ryder Cup. Too bad the USA's raingear wasn't exactly rainproof. They had to buy new gear straight from the merchandising tent.

Visitor

61 Across: Genesis brother (4 letters) Answer: Seth

What a sad day today. I feel like Al Bundy when his barber died and he didn't know where to go for his next haircut. In what has to be the suckiest move that ever sucked, Fox Sports Radio has dropped Steve Czaban from its lineup. The Czabe and I have been sharing my a.m. commute for the past 5 years and I even listened to his evening show for a time before that.

As a matter of fact, his show was the first place I heard Frank Caliendo, lo those many years ago. I actually thought John Madden was on the air drunk or high or concussed or something. Anyhow, XM also had a replay of the Czabe's show start at Noon, so he was also my lunch time companion for most of the past 5 years.

FSR has made some really bad moves over the years, but this one was really poor. To claim Czaban sounds like Lame and Lamer in the morning is absurd.

His replacement? Steven A. Smith. You have to be fucking kidding me. I assume Screamin' A has moved to London, so he doesn't have to be at work by 6:00 a.m. And do you really want him talking at you in the morning? And which of his friends will be up at 6:00 for a nice morning chat. Clowns.

BTW, Peter Gammons announced today that he is leaving ESPN. Gotta be going to MLB, one would think.

Meal of Links

Depressing link of the day. An interactive map of unemployment in the USA.

Hitch writes about Palin. Again. And he does it well.

The top overlooked movies of 2009. I, at least, heard of "Big Fan" and "Anvil". Didn't see either one, but I was aware.

Czech yourself! Czech government allows 5 cannabis plants for personal use starting January 1.

What the hell is going with this "Jersey Shore" program? Seems like a lot of people are in a snit. I mean, it's MTV, what do you expect?

A look back at "Pee-wee's Big Adventure".

"Dexter" has one more episode. John Lithgow talks about life as the "Trinity Killer".

Exercise Yard

David Stern is insane.

Visitor

49 Across: Brockovich portrayer (7 letters) Answer: Roberts

I have been listening more and more to Underground Garage on XM. This is the Little Steven-influenced channel. I had forgot that Kid Leo was spinning records on this channel. He sounds like an older Kid Leo. I know, hard to imagine.

But here's what I heard on the way home today:

"Please No Squeeza Da Banana"/Louis Prima
"Orgasm Addict"/Buzzcocks
"Raw Power"/The Stooges
"St. Valentine's D"/Cocktail Slipper
"Cathy's Clown"/The Everly Brothers
"Lucy in the Sky (with Diamonds)"/The Beatles
"Here Comes Mary"/Raveonettes
"I Wanna Be With You"/The Raspberries

That makes for a solid mix. Hard to figure you'd find that anywhere on terrestrial radio.

Meal of Links

They showed some footage of "Bruno" at South by Southwest over the weekend. Twitter comments. I like that it makes "Borat" look like Kids TV. Uh, I'm there early.

Hey, here's something we haven't heard in what, a week or so? Should "The Office" dump Michael Scott?

You can order bees on the Internets. Bees, I tell ya. for $20.

How some TV shows morphed into something different. Some for the better and some, not so good. "Mannix" and "Dark Shadows" are two oldies mentioned.

Exercise Yard

Another reason why I hate Columbus. The start times for Round One of March Madness came out overnight. BTW, the fastest ever. Anyhow, Ohio State plays Siena in Dayton at the very same time CSU plays Wake Forest in Miami, which is 9:40 on Friday.

So, the bitching and whining has started. Actually, the comments seem to be favoring CSU. But this is really all wasted effort.

Look, CSU is the HOME TEAM here in Cleveland. Channel 19 will be required to show it. End of story. They may put OSU on 43, but CSU will be shown.

I did call CSU this morning. I could have bought tickets. Flights and hotel in Florida without much notice, especially in March, doesn't really work from a financial angle. I'll go to Indy next week, if they get that far.

Visitor

44 Across: Poet Whitman (4 letters) Answer: Walt

I was touting XM again and now news is breaking out they will file bankruptcy. It's those insane deals from Sirius for Stern and the NFL. Stern has one year left and I'm sure he'll head back to terrestrial radio then, because satellite won't renew him at his current rate. But that NFL deal, wow! Because what out-of-towners LISTEN to their favorite teams on the radio? That's why Sunday Ticket exists.

I understand XM's deal with MLB is exorbitant, as well. But people still listen to baseball on the radio, I'm guessing. Anyhow, we'll see how long it lasts. They gotta sell more cars to get more subscribers.

Meal of Links

Mr. Skin has the nominations for the Anatomy Awards. I'm guessing Anna Faris and Marisa Tomei win.

The White Stripes play Conan's last show on February 20. That's next Friday and get the DVRs ready.

8 Bizarre Sexual Fetishes. Lemme say this, objectophilia is really bizarre.

America's Worst Allies. Just begging for a miniseries or reality show.

Exercise Yard

It seems that Robbie Alomar's ex-girlfriend is suing him, allegedly because he has AIDS. People say he was at the closing of Shea Stadium last fall and looked fine. So, who knows?

Visitor

27 Across: Oklahoma Sooners rival (14 letters) Answer: Texas Longhorns

I worked from home again today because of the snow. The beauty about today's snow is it was not weighty. The problem is, this morning it kept coming. Anyhow, it ended up being perfect timing. I have a portable XM device that I was letting expire next month. I was replacing it with an XM Mini-Tuner and Dock that I can hook up to my Onkyo home stereo. Well, it arrived today and within 30 minutes I opened the box, hooked it up, enrolled online and started receiving the signal. Not too shabby. Now if I'm home, I don't have to rely on only local radio to get me through the day.

Aaaah. Wolfmother. Loudly.

Meal of Links

The Beasties are releasing a 20th anniversary version of the classic "Paul's Boutique". And while you're listening to "Hey Ladies" be sure to use the dial, "Turn me up.", to take advantage of everything on the page.

David Simon has something going on post-"The Wire". Set in New Orleans and it's called "Treme". Looks like Steve Zahn stars.

Thor rolls a joint.

Looks like Live Nation and Ticketmaster will merge. Live Nation apparently butchered distribution of Phish tickets last week, so this is timely.

Shocking crimes in social media history. Lots of Facebook.

Google Latitude. I mean, I am not even on Twitter.

Exercise Yard

As soon as it appeared that Ben Roethlisberger had scored the first TD in the Super Bowl, my brother called me and said, "Whatever happened to that penalty about helping a runner?". For years now, we have seen lineman push the pile for more yardage. It happens quite often these days. But way back when we were kids, one of the whiskey or beer companies had an artist's rendering of all of the referee signals. I know it's cheap entertainment, but we didn't have the Internets. Well, the one for "Helping the Runner" looked stupid. It was moving your hands in front of you, palms up, like you were dancing. I've never seen it called.

However, the weirdest penalty signal I ever saw called was for Hurdling. Yes, that was a penalty in my lifetime. The great Harold Carmichael once leaped over a guy who was still on his feet. If his knees were on the ground, it would be OK. That's 15 yards, buddy. The referee actually had to do a little jump to call it. Hurdling has since been rendered legal.

But in the Super Bowl, the Steeler center gets in front of Roethlisberger (note he has a last name and does not go just by "Ben") and basically uses the same technique he used to get flagged for a safety later, by grabbing Roethlisberger and pulling him toward the goal line for a TD. It got overturned (I think incorrectly) but the lack of penalty still bugged me. Well, I stumbled upon a recent Jerry Markbreit column (yes, that Jerry Markbreit) and it's still a penalty.

One more thing:

Jeff Pearlman, who did really good work for ESPN.com, talks about what he hates about ESPN. And, he's right.

Visitor

11 Down: Pop of Rock (4 letters) Answer: Iggy

Today is a rather anxious day in XM nation. That's because the new channel lineup, post-merger of XM and Sirius, takes hold. I always listened to Fred, Ethel and Lucy on XM. They have been replaced by 1st Wave, Alt Nation and Lithium respectively.

My first thoughts are they have effectively killed Fred. Why last night I was able to hear groups like the Charlatans. This morning, I had this stretch:

"Eyes Without A Face"/Billy Idol
"I Will Follow"/U2
"Ball of Confusion"/Love and Rockets
"Rush"/Big Audio Dynamite

I like Billy Idol in his Generation X days, not that crappy tune. The U2 song, a classic for sure, but rarely played on Fred. How about "Stories For Boys" or something like that? I get the last two selections, although "Rush" would probably be played on Lucy. The first two could be heard virtually anywhere on terrestrial radio.

On the trip home, I heard "Kinda Kute" by Joe Jackson. OK, that's an amalgam of every one of Jackson's early tunes, but not often played. Good choice. And nothing wrong with hearing "London Calling" or "Fashion" by Bowie. But, "Voices Carry"? I only stick with that so I can sing, "Hu-u-u-u-u-sh, hush...keep it down now...voices carry". I'm afraid the songs of the Fred Essentials era are going to be tossed.

Disappointing Day One, I'd say, because the "Classic New Wave" that they play is just going to cover the "hits". I don't think I'll be hearing The Damned or Nitzer Ebb anytime soon. Conversely, the little bit I paid attention to the others, I'd say Alt Nation and Lithium were truer to the charter of their old XM counterparts. Although these channels always play Green Day and Social D's "Ball and Chain" which fit into almost any format, so they can act like they have a harder edge. I'll let ya know if I hear "Ring of Fire" by Social Disorder.

Thank God though, a punk channel is back. And pick an artist, they have a channel. I now get Margaritaville, Bruce Springsteen, Jam On, Little Steven's Garage, and the Grateful Dead 24 hours a day. I also get BBC Radio One and that's pretty cool, just because it's the BBC. Sports-wise, I picked up NBA play-by-play.

The station that I got to hear all of Sarah Palin's speeches live, POTUS '08, has changed to POTUS. So, I liked it that the channel has remained. And I picked up an NPR channel, as well.

I'll be listening to see what else has changed.

Meal of Links

Dave Grohl will be a judge on a Thanksgiving version of "Top Chef". I hope he screams.

Malcolm Gladwell has another book coming out. A long read about him.

The Raconteurs have gone goofy with "From Old to Gold". Cool song from the last album, so I'm not sure what they are promoting.

Looks like HBO is hooking up with Anthony Kiedis. I could get into that story.

A short history of the bagel. I went to Bruegger's today. I ask you, why are they so expensive there?

Smoking movies. Cannot believe "Good Night and Good Luck" is not on this list. And where is "Cold Turkey"?

Old: Red vs. Blue. New: Educated vs. People Easily Fooled by Propaganda.

Nate Silver talks about his new found stardom. FiveThirtyEight was really the go-to site for all of the election polling. Plus, when you hear fantasy baseball geeks talk about PECOTA, well, Nate invented that, too. And don't forget, we still have three Senate races going, so Nate's still got it going on.

Fox cancelled "Mad TV". This show was really strange. Sometimes it was absolutely hilarious, other times it was pretty embarrassing.

Exercise Yard

Herb Score died yesterday. What can you say about Herb? The man watched more bad baseball than any human deserved to endure. Look at some of the players he had to chronicle on a daily basis for over three decades. I mean, Joe Lis? Seriously, his only claim to fame was he could sign his name twice as fast as Jack Brohamer.

Here are some of the funnier things I remember about Herbie. I once heard some local wag, after hearing Score for probably the millionth time, claim his first words out of the womb were probably, “Throw to first, back safely.” I recall driving back from Columbus one time and tuning in the Tribe on the radio. Channeling Feagler, you kinda did that sort of thing back then. Anyhow, the Indians are playing the Oakland A’s and had the catchers, Mickey Tettleton and Terry Steinbach, at the time. Herb called the Oakland catcher, “Mickey Tettlebach”, for only about six innings before correcting himself. (I believe that was in the PD today, I actually heard that as it happened.) And finally, his call in the 1997 ALCS of the go-ahead homer by Tony Fernandez in extra innings against Baltimore, “And the Indians are going to the World Series…Maybe.” Herb forgot they were in Baltimore and had the bottom of the inning to get through. But everyone loved the guy.

It was a crime the liner off the bat of Yankee Gil McDougald that hit him in the eye started his downfall from what, early on, looked like a surefire Hall of Fame career, as this SI cover story from 1955 attests. He was really that good, piling up the strikeouts at a record pace and being mentioned with the all-time greats at a young age. Here’s a look at the early comeback in 1958 and a quite painful read of when it’s obvious he had nothing left as a pitcher in 1961.
















Truly a sad time for all Tribe fans.

Visitor

30 Across: "Seinfeld" stumbler (6 letters) Answer: Kramer

Over the years, I have rarely listened to NPR. So, I missed the glory days with Bob Edwards in the morning. But, I must say, I find myself drifting more and more to his XM show and he's got some interesting topics.

Yesterday, he interviewed an author who wrote a book on the history of the lie detector. I thought it cool that that guy played himself in the movie "Call Northside 777" with Jimmy Stewart. Well, he played himself testing a guy, it's not like he was the star or anything.

Meal of Links

The Webby Awards nominees for 2007 are announced. Good opportunity to visit some sites you may not be familiar with. And, of course, winner's speeches are limited to five words.

I haven't watched Don Imus much lately, but this is not the first time he's said something not very nice. I recall several years ago when people really got on him for having whites imitate black voices. As a strange mea culpa, all of a sudden Clarence Page is doing a guest spot and he brought on the two guys who did "Snaps" for a time. Then he went back to his regular shtick. Why this comment at this time got him into hot water, I have no idea. I imagine the show gets dialed down a bit for a time after he serves the suspension.

Could Tom Hanks bank $110 million for "Angels and Demons"? Hopefully, he has better hair in this one. Keep 12/19/2008 open for the debut.

Exercise Yard

A reminder that, yes, Roger Clemens may have been on Performance Enhancing Drugs. It is amazing Bonds gets all the heat, but Roger escapes with minimal scrutiny. No question, it's a black-white, slugger-pitcher issue. I don't know how many people insist a pitcher can't take steroids. Idiots.

Visitor

29 Across: Journalist Nellie (3 letters) Answer: Bly

One of the things I enjoy about having XM Radio is the variety of programming. I was listening to the Christmas podcast of Harry Shearer's "Le Show" when Harry told everyone that his show was now on XM, Sundays at 3:00. That's good news. It gives another outlet as WCPN airs this at 1:00 on Sundays. He played some cool Christmas tunes, including "Jesus Was A Dreidel Spinner".

"Le Show" is one of my favorites and his "Donald Rumsfeld Christmas Special" was really funny. It had special guests Yakov Smirnoff and Al Franken. Al was Santa and he was dropping in on Yakov, who was living in Iraq. Al bitched about not having a chimney to enter the house, so he had to knock on Yakov's door. Yakovisms: "In Russia, starlets put panties ON." and "Iranis remind me of my brother-in-law...come for two weeks, stay for two years!"

Meal of Links

I can account for the iTunes Store being all fouled up earler in the week. I wasn't even trying to buy anything. I wanted to redeem some gift cards and had major troubles until late Tuesday.

I applaud the Gordon Square Arts District effort. This is the type of vision that is sorely lacking in the city. Note that neither Mayor Jackson nor any City Hall official are quoted. Detroit-Shoreway is quickly becoming the coolest place within the city limits and it's all because of the local (non-Downtown) input. Outside of Tower City, this will be the only movie house in the city. I can't wait for "Happy Dog and a Movie Night". Perhaps, one day, we'll be like Dubai.

They are piling on the Bears fans this week. First, the Packer game gets moved to the evening for NBC. Next, no beer after halftime.

Exercise Yard

Mike Tyson in trouble. Again.

Visitor

22 Across: Major character in the bestseller "Disney War" (6 letters) Answer: Eisner