I spent yesterday gathering my pennies and walnuts for Halloween distribution this year. Contrary to popular belief, I do not have razor blades as a bonus giveaway. This will be the first time I have given out goodies in a while, because it finally lands during the week. I have plenty of time to prepare, because we move the clocks back this weekend and I am already on alert. Remember, "Spring forward, fall back." or whatever the official slogan tells us.

Tom Hamilton must be irate this a.m., what with the White Sox on the verge of winning the World Series. His contempt for this organization knows no limit and to have the Sox win before we do, must be propelling Hammy into a deep depression. Anyhow, here is why the White Sox are not the "White Socks." They didn't forget Poland, it has nothing to do with that country.

Meal of Links

The passing of Rosa Parks brings up a lot of topics. I'm afraid she's probably regarded as a footnote during Black History Month for most. But her act was such a courageous one (and I know she wasn't the first one to protest), that it shows when social change becomes the rule, lives can be impacted beyond your dreams.

The Cream reunion seems to have gone off without a hitch. Even at $355 a ticket. Still waiting for Floyd to release something. Even in download form.

Eureka! A beer that tastes like bourbon. Thanks, God.

Exercise Yard

Hey, it's Breeders Cup week. They drew post positions today. With Pat Day retired, it looks Jerry Bailey drew some good mounts. Bailey/Mott on the turf looks like the glory days. Oh, it's study time the next few evenings.

Visitor

40 Across: Director Pakula (4 letters) Answer: Alan

I was surprised that I was late with a mortgage payment last month. Not really, but I received a notice that I had. Last month, I had to go through the process of opening up a new checking account, and, of course, had the auto-pay function for my payments. Well, someone at Third Federal decided to turn off that function without my knowledge. OK, that was strange. The money was in there, but no one felt compelled to check out that part of the deal. But it's all fixed now. Or so they say.

Meal of Links

If you have a chance to listen to KEXP, do it. I can dial in via iTunes. I just heard a song from Nigeria, as I type this. Check out the website at www.kexp.org.

"Goodfellas" is named the greatest movie ever. Total Film also had "Fight Club" at 4.

Fuzzy math of the day. The show "Frazier" makes $1.5 billion during the course of its run. How does it become $200 million in the red?

Exercise Yard

Oh, yeah, I'm watching the World Series. But I am at the end of my rope with Tim McCarver. The man will not shut the fuck up. I watched the last two innings of the game on mute, because of this gem regarding the Houston closer, Brad Lidge: "Tonight, the bridge to Lidge is a wide span." Why can't Joe Buck say, "That is a disgusting act!"? Jee-zus.

Visitor

15 Across: "Fernando" pop group (4 letters) Answer: ABBA

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

My brother Jeff was today's special guest. It is my first live look at Browns Version 2.3. The opponent: The incredibly inept Detroit Lions.

The weather looks promising as there appear to be no rain clouds approaching. Indeed, it did not rain and the sun was out a bit.

Today's giveaway: There wasn't one.

The cold snap prevented many of the typical Downtown smells from surfacing, except during the fourth quarter when the first joint appeared.

The passing game today was horrible. Dilfer threw three interceptions, two of which were really bad. After the third one, the "Charlie!" chants started. I think Dilfer better produce against winless Houston next week or he is in jeopardy as starting QB. An unacceptable performance.

Chris Crocker's a hitter, dude.

The G.E. Smith Band (my favorite) is still there. Although they were treating their dugout like a spider hole and didn't come outside much. No sing-along this year.

A rather civilized crowd in Section 345. Until a fight broke out in 344 around the two-minute warning. Then people appeared to be more interested in that than watching the Browns final drive. Since that drive resulted in a 4th and 26, maybe they were right to look away.

Best line from me: (after an early Jeff Garcia streak of three incompletions in a row): "Harrington, get ready." (I guess I was wrong.)

Best line from a random (after Garcia scored the only offensive TD of the game): "Just like Garcia to sneak in the backdoor."

Best sign (at the top of Section 535): Penthouse Pound

Best defacing of a #2 jersey: Not many, but it was "OUCH".

Oddest Browns jersey (Two-way tie): 80 Rison, 29 Jackson

Best shirt: Of course, my "What Would Johnny Damon Do?" T-shirt.

The only thing I purchased was a Diet Pepsi for $4.75. Ugh! Beer is now $6.00, BTW.

The Village Idiot, Jeff Tanchak, now handles the gametime weather. Continental and Marky Nolan have been replaced by Delta and this goof. He was not playing with his Doppler on the field.

Best Browns play: Joshua Cribbs 90-yard kick return for their only TD.

Beggar solicitations: None. (Although my Dad was asked this a.m if he had a quarter. The guy said he would give it back the next time he saw him.)

A few boas today, but scarves seem to be in play this year.

Worst Halloween costume: A guy with a really large pumpkinhead.

Drunks I saw fall down: 2

Worst stat: Dilfer 10-19, 73 yards, O TD, 3 INT

2nd worst stat: Browns 3rd down conversion, 0 for 8

3rd worse stat: Browns Time of Possession, 22:43

The Browns offense has played for 38 seconds in the last 3 games. That will not win you many games. It's a struggle, but with Houston next week, we may be able to get a W. However, the Texans should be fired up for a winnable game at home.














In a game we should have won, and easily one of the five all-time worst games I've seen since the return of the Browns, the Browns lose, 13-10.

Meal of Links

George Clooney talks about "Good Night and Good Luck". I believe it is a smoke-free story.

The race for New Jersey Governor is bringing out the political heavyweights. Sen. Corzine seems like an honorable man. An incredibly rich one, but honorable one nonetheless.

Japan has no friends.

Exercise Yard

Bobby Valentine is managing in the Japanese World Series. Check that, he may be Japan's only friend.

Visitor

None, it's a Browns Sunday.

Yesterday, I was at the Winking Lizard. (Huh? What?). Obviously not for the food, but to kill time. From the corner of my increasingly bad vision, I was able to detect bottles of Witte from the Ommegang Brewery near Cooperstown. In the last month, I have asked for this beer twice at two places in town. The first time, the lady said "Water?". Yesterday, the guy said, "Whitey?". No, mensas, it is Whi-ta. At $4.60 a pop, get it right.

Of course that led to another excursion to the Happy Dog, where I continued to not eat so much while drinking. Not a good move. Plus I switched to Old Grand-Dad, because I am a dang fool. The Chris Allen Band finally starts around 11:30 and they were pretty good, but I hit the wall in a big way having consumed only popcorn and some hummus all evening. Gee, couldn't see that hangover bearing down on me.

Today, I was out at O's at Cedar Center, because (everyone) it's all about the O. So that meant more beer.

Then it was over to see the movie, "Good Night and Good Luck". This is a terrific period piece, directed by George Clooney, about the battle between Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joe McCarthy. The look of the early 50's is amazing. The sets, wardrobe, technology are accurate. It's in black and white and is easily the smokiest piece of entertainment since a Denis Leary special. Man, I bet these people's pets smoked. The guy behind us said, "I'm getting cancer just watching this thing." This movie is definitely worth seeing, as it shows how some of the internal policies of CBS were paralleling the HUAC hearings.

Then it was over to Champps, where I successfully went off the menu (once again) to order a BLT. I guess I could have ordered a club and told them to hold the ham and turkey and add lettuce, but I didn't.

Meal of Links

Phil Spector made some comments after the Lana Clarkson shooting that implied he shot her. Not so fast, says his defense team.

Here are the biggest commuter cities in the US. Hey, we have elephants theat moved downtown because the circus is here.

What the Flock?

Exercise Yard

Didn't it look like Penn State was going to score, I dunno, 80 points in this game?

Visitor

49 Across: An ex of Artie and Frank (3 letters) Answer: Ava

It looks like another hurricane, Wilma, is about to strike Florida. I'm wondering what the government response will be. It seems FEMA and the Red Cross and others have to step it up on this one and make sure this effort runs more efficiently and quickly. Unfortunately for Gulf Coast residents, they'll be wondering why they didn't rate when Katrina came through.

I guarantee we will see many more updates from the government and many pictures of the relief effort. I am not sure how high the winds will be when it gets to Florida, but I heard this was a deeper storm than Gilbert, a biggie from the late 80's. It should weaken, but my goodness, this exercise is getting tiresome.

Meal of Links

The hippie lettuce may actually help you grow new brain cells. I guess those eggs in that pan are a little less scrambled, eh?

Tom Delay answered his charges today. I dislike the man, but I'm still not sure these charges are gonna hold up.

My show sucks. But it's all Martha's fault.

A real fan of the Basketball Jesus. Felon adds three years to his sentence to honor Larry Bird.

Exercise Yard

A look at the 100 Best Sports Books. List is a few years old, but Terry Pluto's "Loose Balls" gets a mention. Any book that features Marvin "Bad News" Barnes is a great one. My favorite Bad News story was the one where he refused to board an airplane. The plane was flying a short flight from the Eastern time zone to the Central. Therefore, the ETA was earlier than the ETD. The quote: "I ain't gettin' in no time machine."

Visitor

7 Down: Rod Stewart's ex (5 letters) Answer: Alana

I saw some very strange architecture being constructed on Ridge Road. Some mensa decided to build a quick oil change business, not at Ridge Park, but across from it. In an area that would be termed residential. I kind of doubt the success of this place, simply because traffic patterns are not conducive to easy access at that location. Very strange.

Hey, at least they took down the "Kenny Chesney coming August 5th" billboard.

Meal of Links

"CSI" burnout seems to have hit the Miami version. Although all Monday night network viewership is down.

The government can determine what you print. Hey, only the Secret Service was supposed to be able to track that code.

I do not like Halloween lights. But I'm down with pumpkin carving.

Exercise Yard

Victor Conte has seen the light or is he still a huckster? It is fascinating to think that two years ago the public did not know this guy, but he ended up being indirectly responsible for baseball cleansing itself of steroid use.

Visitor

43 Down: "Finding Forrester" actor (7 letters) Answer: Connery

There must have been some sort of event at the Stadium this evening, because they were blasting the radio through the sound system. I happened to stroll by while "What's Love Got To Do With It?" was cranked. I decided Tina Turner looked a whole lot better than me shuffling around to that tune.

Speaking of tunes, here is what I have been wearing out lately:

"Five Foot One"/Iggy Pop
"Crash and Burn"/Transplants
"Teen Age Riot"/Sonic Youth (God, I ignored that band way too long)
"Take Me, I'm Yours"/Squeeze
"From a Whisper to a Scream"/Elvis Costello
"So Into You"/Les Paul & Peter Frampton (Yes, it's that song)
"All These Things That I've Done"/The Killers
"Damaged Goods"/Gang of Four
"Would I Lie to You?"/Eurhythmics
"Only"/Nine Inch Nails
"Sunshine Superman"/Donovan
"Thank You for Sending Me an Angel"/Talking Heads
"Soul Meets Body"/Death Cab For Cutie
"No Thugs in Our House"/XTC
"No More Mr. Nice Guy"/Alice Cooper
"Do You Want To?"/Franz Ferdinand
"Wacky Tobacky"/NRBQ
"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"/Warren Zevon
"Here Comes Your Man"/Pixies

A final thought. Esquire has 59 things a man past 30 should not do. No. 11 is "Skip". That made me laugh.

Meal of Links

Hal Lebovitz died today. Terrific sports editor of the PD and News-Herald. A Baseball Hall of Famer, as well. "Never Cut A Boy" is probably the most famous of his columns.

I can't hold it anymore. My neighbor has had his Halloween lights up for three weeks now. I've decided I loathe Halloween lights as much as fireworks. And that's sayin' a lot. Look at these pathetic scenes of some random's house. It's Halloween, freak.

Here are the the best magazine covers of the last 40 years. Number 7 is an all-timer.

Exercise Yard

There has been lots of talk about the new NBA dress code. I must say that during last year's playoffs, all of the Pacers stood out in the post-game conferences because of the way they dressed. To the nines. Must have had something to do with the Basketball Jesus. And it provided a stark contrast to some of the other guys, like A.I., who I happen to like very much. But I don't feel the NBA should mandate it. I'm more concerned with on-the-court play.

Visitor

59 Down: Folk singer Phil (4 letters) Answer: Ochs (Link to Chicago 7 testimony. Very funny.)

I'm waiting while my doors are installed today. We are now in hour three. Man, is it noisy. However, I am only getting a substitute door on the inside as the door I ordered had a dent in it. Arrrrrgh. I have to wait until a good one gets delivered.

My goal of not turning on my furnace in October is really getting tested. I think I have to go outside to get warm now. Damn Dominion East Ohio.

Meal of Links

Salma and her Hayeks enter the Miller-Law fray. Wait a minute, weren't they done as a couple? Not the Hayeks, but Jude and Sienna.

Bush's version of "White Lines" made me laugh. I guess "Dick is a killer".

I get a kick from the GEICO commercials. There is something about that guitar guy, Esteban, that makes me laugh under normal conditions. When he shows up in this GEICO ad, he's creepy enough to make me laugh out loud. Did this just come out? If not, where have I been?

Exercise Yard
















Hopefully, Coach Ditka will sing at their park now. Sox win. Sox win.

And Peter King band drops U2 in today's MMQB column. Is it December yet?

Visitor

32 Down: Mexican revolutionary Villa (5 letters) Answer: Pancho

Whoa, I think I had too many bloodies today. But certainly not enough to cloud the disturbing vision of today's Browns game. The offense was inept today as we did not seem to think about attempting the run in the first quarter. By the second quarter, it was too late. Lots of mistakes, as L.J. Shelton had his usual two penalties and we made Ravens QB Anthony Wright look like Sammy Baugh. Aesthetically about as ugly as last week's Bears game. Defense played reasonably well, but we did nothing when we had the ball.

One other thing. You cannot punt with 4:08 left and you are down by 13 points. What was that?

Meal of Links

In Toledo, see, there was this neo-Nazi march and then gangs got involved and then, well, let's start looting and rioting and stuff.

Riddle me this, Batman. INXS new single, "Pretty Vegas", is their highest entry ever at 37, and is their first single in the Top 100 in 12 years. How does that happen?

David Korn blasts the NYT for not giving us anything new on the Judith Miller story. Both by her and another report in the Times. This case is definitely getting stranger.

Exercise Yard

Yesterday was such a strange day for college football. I saw Michigan State blow a game they should have won against the Luckeyes. The tide turned on one of the worst attempts at a field goal ever seen. Too much confusion and Michigan State lined up only 10 men for the attempt, leaving the entire left side of the line open. The holder needs to count only 10 men and not call for the snap. Now lots of things have to happen for the worst case scenario to occur. But they all did. OK, the kick is blocked, the ball bounces right to an OSU guy, the kicker gets knocked over and the OSU guy runs for a touchdown. Ohio State, which was dead, is back in the game, and they eventually win. Unbelievable turn of events.

In the USC-Notre Dame game, it comes down to a final play in which the refs seemed too eager to continue play and offered USC a most generous spot on the half-yard line as time was running down. USC scores with three seconds left to win. I think the refs should have taken more time to determine exactly what had happened on the previous play, which was a fumble near the goal line.

Visitor

None, it's Sunday, Bloody Mary Sunday.

I think we've all been accosted with the "ran out of gas" scam. But I was down by the Stadium the other day and someone added a new twist. This car pulls up with three people in it. Two guys in the front and one woman in the back. The passenger side guy gets out of the car and asks me, "Do you speak English?" Not sure where that came from, as I was not wearing lederhosen. Strange question still. Anyhow, he tried to say his son ran out of gas, blah, blah, blah. Of course, I told him I couldn't help.

Not that I needed to analyze what just happened, but I did. I could not understand why the other two people in the car weren't "helping" the guy. It was weird. The guy got back in the car and they sped off. I was perplexed.

Meal of Links

You need to watch video number ten from Friday's "Today" program. Reporter in New Jersey in a canoe talking about bad floods. Two guys then WALK by her and the water is ankle deep. Thank God, Lauer and Couric called her on it. You had to admire the reporter for sticking to her guns, but come on, you can't invent the news.

Monty Python scripts. "New Bruce. Are you a pooftah?"

I guess folks actually thought Walken for President was legit. Oh boy.

Exercise Yard

Tedy Bruschi will attempt to come back from a stroke and play this season. Now that would be an amazing story.

Visitor

50 Across: Lady who was a friend of Shaw (5 letters) Answer: Astor

The White House has officially lost its mind. Today we had our President fumble his way through an obviously scripted question and answer session with some troops in Iraq. One of the delights of C-Span is watching the daily White House briefing. To see Scott McClellan try and handle the suddenly vigilant WH press corps is one of the funniest series on TV right now. He tried to deny that the Iraqi session was scripted, when the WH released a tape of a woman actually coaching the soldiers beforehand. Amazing.

You need to watch the briefings at length on C-Span. The sound bites do not do them justice. Ever since the Karl Rove denial briefing back in August with David Gregory of NBC leading the charge, the gloves are off. Even Carl Cameron of Fox (yes, that Fox) is getting into it. You had Rove, Sheehan, Rove, Katrina, Rove, Miers, Rove and now today's debacle over the last two months. It's great to have the press back.

Meal of Links

This year's Crack Catalog, I mean, the Harry and David catalog showed up today. They have some good shit in there. And it's good for ya. I think.

A genetic link to Tourette's has been found. They are cussin' like "Deadwood" in that lab.

How to put DVDs on to your new video iPod. Can't wait to see "Rio Bravo" on there.

Exercise Yard

Last night's non-Strike 3 call in the Angels-White Sox game was a joke. Replay for baseball would have been perfect in that situation. Terrible call.

Visitor

14 Across: "Bolero" composer (5 letters) Answer: Ravel

I'm back. I think I'm entitled to at least some part of the year to have my "Fuck You" shoes on, but I feel better now. But I hate doing it, because it is so not me.

Amongst many other things, I had it out with the good folks at Lowe's. I had the measurements for my doors taken three weeks ago. I was told when I ordered the doors, it would take a while for the installation. I called yesterday to find out nothing had been done with the measurements, but that there was an extra installation charge, as well. OK, when was someone gonna call me with that info? They are getting here on Monday. Finally. Oh, it ranked as one of my better rants. The all-timer is still the infamous Labor Day weekend bashing of a Cablevision guy several years ago, that resulted in, shall we say, a better deal for me.

And my blood test for my kidney came back AOK. Again, it's one of the "That was a false read" explanations.

Meal of Links

It's the premiere of the Video iPod. Very interesting to see what kind of content will be offered, besides the initial ABC/Disney stuff. Perhaps ESPN content down the road? Such as a video podcast of the late Sportscenter for free, for the morning commute? I mean, they are a Disney network.

I thought the choice of the new James Bond was kinda dumb. He's blond and I don't think he's a good-lookin' chap.

Tom Shales has an incredibly funny review of "Freddie". The Post's TV team of Shales and Lisa De Moraes is the best in the country.

Exercise Yard

The Minnesota Vikings are officially in disarray. New owner, embattled coach, and a sucky team. Try and get that new stadium bill passed now.

Visitor

15 Across: "American ____" (4 letters) Answer: Idol

I took a detailed look at my credit score today. Jeepers, I have great credit. Who knew?

Meal of Links

Kids don't attend movies as much as they used to. I say adults probably feel the same way.

Why, David Byrne can make an instrument out of a factory. Somewhere, Reggie White approves.

Germany has their first woman chancellor. No, Geena Davis didn't move over there.

Exercise Yard

I guess Tiger beat John Daly in a golf playoff yesterday. Thanks for telling me. With baseball and the NFL going strong, who watched it?

Visitor

26 Down: Actress Penelope (4 letters) Answer: Cruz

Strolled over to the Bart last night to see the triple bill of Kaiser Chiefs/Weezer/Foo Fighters. It's all about the Foo, you know. Nice demographic mix, as there was someone who was over 70 in the crowd.

OK, so Kaiser Chiefs opened with a short set. I think this band has some potential. It's tough to be the opening act of three when most are there to see the other two, but the boys did a fine job. Sounded great on the couple of songs that get airplay, like "I Predict A Riot", so the future looks good.

I love Weezer, so I had no problem enjoying their set. Two surprises were covers of the Foos' "Big Me" and Blur's "Song #2". But they pulled out all of their hits and I thought it was good. Looks like 80 minutes worth of music. And at my advanced age, I didn't have to stand once...that pleased me.

But let me tell you, when the Foo Fighters take the stage, you know you are at a fuckin' rock concert. I know just enough of their music to be dangerous, but my God, they know how to put on a show. Dave Grohl has great mic skills with the crowd, as well. They offer loud, headbangin' music that has enough of a hook, so you can sing along with many of the tunes. You can't help but stand, shake your ass a bit and get lost in that music. Quite the terrific set, I'd say.

Meal of Links

Keep your eye on the Delphi bankruptcy. There is a lot more beyond the surface, regarding the costs of Delphi's own suppliers, lower union wages, and the potential for amazing change within the auto industry.

"The Odd Couple" starts this week with who else? Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. I guess they are attached at the hip going forward.

Say, that red carpet business is serious stuff for the entertainment shows. Dumber questions, however, have never been asked.

Exercise Yard

















Well, it looked like another dull, "we ain't gonna win" Browns-Bears game, until Trent Dilfer throws two beautiful TDs in less than a minute, and somehow, the Browns win, 20-10, over Chicago. For the longest time, this was a battle of two inept offenses against two pretty good defenses. The kind of game where "nap time" is looming large. But Dilfer hit Antonio Bryant on a well-run corner route for the first TD and tossed another nice ball to Bryant for the second one.

Yes, it was ugly, and it was only the Browns Version 2.3's 15th home win out of 50, since they've come back. But it's one we typically do not win and the next home game is the first one I'll be attending this year.

Word of caution: We still cannot stop the run. The Bears rushed 34 times for 176 yards. Ouch. That's 5.2/carry. But we won. Yippee.

Visitor

None, it's a victorious Browns' Sunday.

I had the strangest thing happen to me yesterday. After I picked up my car after an oil change, my key ring got caught between the key and the ignition. Of course, I didn't realize this until I had decided to turn off the ignition and couldn't. So, I had a choice of cutting the ring, which didn't work or uncoiling the ring, which did work. It was odd, because I had such a small space with which to uncoil. Thank goodness it worked. But it was hell trying to uncoil that thing.

Meal of Links

Wesley Snipes is not your Daddy. So quit bugging him.

There sure is a lot of talk about bird flu lately. Bottom line is no one wants to make vaccines anymore, because I don't think it's profitable. If it spreads quickly, we're SOL.

Here's CNET's stab at a Blog 100. Lots of good stuff.

Exercise Yard

The Red Sox lack of pitching finally caught up with them as Chicago swept them. Boy, El Duque is really looking great in relief, much like he did last weekend against the Tribe. Seems unhittable again.

Visitor

52 Across: "Spanglish" costar (8 letters) Answer: Tea Leoni

After work today, I zipped over to Rozi's in Lakewood. Yes, me in a wine store. Don't ask. Don't worry, I'll drink what I paid for. Anyhow, I am going on the record and saying people drive really slow in Lakewood. Doesn't matter what street, they're tourists. Damn, speed it up.

Excellent reporting by the Plain Dealer this morning on the aftermath of Tuesday's primary. For instance, my ward has a ton of votes up for grabs, because Others had more votes than Campbell and Jackson by a wide margin. I think Jackson will do it, but jeepers, it may be close.

Meal of Links

Vancouver is still the most livable city in the world. I'd love to go back there. A really nice place. BTW, Cleveland (26th) and Pittsburgh were the highest US cities. Please come here. No lines anywhere, even at the polling place.

I guess Tom Cruise forced Katie Holmes to watch "Magnolia". "Tame it."

Terror alert in NYC. Something about the subways. Why do I envision some infidel kid with a fake accent making the call? And what terrorists phone ahead? Maybe they are throwing us off and attacking elsewhere.

Exercise Yard

Michelle Wie's coach talks about her turning pro at age 16. I think it's because she left about $700,000 on the table this year, while playing as an amateur. I believe the major sponsors have already signed her up. She's got the talent, I say go for it. But win some ladies' tournaments instead of trying to compete with the men. For now.

Visitor

13 Down: Animal rights activist Cleveland (5 letters) Answer: Amory

I guess I was one of the 16(!) percent of eligibles who actually voted in the Cleveland mayoral primary yesterday. What a shitty turnout. Something has gone terribly wrong with the mentality of the Cleveland voters over the last two months. The tax levy vote had not much of a turnout and now this. It's disheartening when apathy takes root in the electorate. This used to be a town that would bitch about a lot of things, but at least would show up to vote.

Perhaps folks will wake up in a month and vote. I guess people assumed Campbell is on her way out and don't really care who takes her place. I'm not sure Frank Jackson is the right choice either, but my God, we cannot let Campbell get another four-year term. The last time we did that in this state, both Taft and Bush got another four years and we regretted it the day after that election. Wake up out there!

Meal of Links

Roses are red
Violets are blue
Nipsey Russell is dead.

I'm very disappointed that after investing 12 weeks in determining who was roit for our band, INXS, they decide not to tour here. Looks like Chicago is the closest realistic venue. Unbelievably, their new hit single, "Pretty Vegas" was #4 on iTunes today. Mayne Daphna bought it.

If you face some tough questions, ask a philosopher. As in: "If I really hate the band Interpol, and then hear a song that I like called "Evil", should I continue to speak out against them or bite my tongue til it bleeds?"

Exercise Yard

Jon Wertheim of SI is such a good writer, he may get you interested in tennis. I don't watch much of it anymore, but I always check out his columns.

Visitor

12 Down: "80's Ladies" singer (7 letters) Answer: K.T. Oslin

I was surprised to hear that Harriet Miers was the latest Supreme Court nominee. Some can't get over the fact you have a nominee without any prior judicial experience. It's like you nominated Harry Anderson to the highest court in the land. I'm sure there are advantages to having someone without a paper trail, but my sense is they would end up being a puppet.

The Dems have to put up a fight, because they promised they would. Don't they?

Meal of Links

An excellent piece detailing how ludicrous the Judith Miller case had become. Did her lawyer, the respected Floyd Abrams, not have a phone? Very strange.

Nicky Cage names his son Kal-El. The date when he will be first picked on by other kids? How about today?

There was a solar eclipse today. Please wear your safety goggles.

Exercise Yard

Alabama thumps Florida and now Urban Meyer's offense is called into question. He's only been there 5 games.

Visitor

I was too lazy to look it up today.

Well, the Indians did the unbelievable and didn't win the Wild Card. I guess they finally realized "Cleveland" was part of their name. Once again, there was no hitting today. It seems after that Sizemore error last Sunday, the team figured they would waltz in and win maybe four of the six remaining home games and that didn't happen, as they only got one.

I don't think it's that difficult to figure out what went wrong. Look at the teams in the American League that basically played out of their asses for long stretches of time this year. Chicago, Oakland, Cleveland and the Yankees. I think these teams have to stay mentally tough for so long, that eventually they crash. Chicago had their streak in the first 90 games and that's an incredible amount of time to maintain that high level of play. Don't forget, this was the team that was supposedly going to commit one of the biggest flameouts ever and they recovered nicely over the last two weeks of the season and took us to the woodshed this weekend. Unfortunately for Oakland, their streak of good play ended at the end of August and they didn't even win 90 games. The Yankees have not really stopped yet, but I expect a meltdown in the playoffs.

The Indians? Well, you can't blame the pitchers. They held up all year. It seemed that the top of our lineup was sucking wind over the last week or so. And we had no hitting with men on base. Some really eager hitting in unexpected situations didn't help things either. And our high level of play really ended with that KC game a week ago.

BTW, here is what I wrote on Opening Day for the Tribe:

Today is Opening Day for baseball and trust me when I tell ya, I think the Indians are gonna contend. Not for the whole thing, but they can make a run at the division title. Here's why:

The Royals are bad. Detroit is improved. The White Sox dumped a lot of power. The Twins had to let go of some core players for the first time in a while.

But the main thing the Tribe has this year is depth. Both on the pitching staff and the bench. Yeah, I know they are doing it on the cheap and we have Casey Blake in the outfield, but it's a solid bunch.

Starting Pitching: C.C. is OK. A healthy (key word is healthy) Millwood is an improvement. I like Cliff Lee and he should be fine. Not sold on a repeat from Westbrook. A fifth starter is a fifth starter.

Bullpen: A veteran bunch. A healthy Wickman would be tremendous. Veteran setup men: Howry, Riske, Rhodes, Sauerbeck. Not bad.

Position Players: Hafner and Martinez are very good. Aaron Boone makes me more comfortable than Casey Blake. Belliard turns the DP very well, and I think a decent-hitting Peralta would be OK at short. Sizemore and Ludwick should be an OK platoon. Not a big fan of Coco Crisp, but he's improved his offense each of the last three years, but I may have a better arm than him. And you just know the ball will find Casey Blake in rightfield, you just know it. Bench of Cora and Hernandez gives Wedge more flexibility than he's had, now let's see him earn those contract extensions.

(Maybe I should have gone to Vegas? Not after mentioning Ludwick, however.)

Meal of Links

Trouble will always find Pete Doherty. It's like it knows his forwarding address before he does.

The new Franz Ferdinand record is out this week. Lots of good buzz.

Chief Justice Roberts starts tomorrow. I wonder if he fills out paperwork for a half a day before he starts Chief Justicin'.

Exercise Yard

Was any one surprised that Rock Hard Ten won the Goodwood Handicap race at Santa Anita? I didn't think so.

Visitor

None, it was a sucky Sunday for the Tribe.

First of all, I was at the car wash this morning and the line broke down! Since my car wasn't involved, I admit it was kinda neat. Some old-timer's front end was out of alignment, so the wheel kept turning in and it jumped the track.

I was at the Tribe debacle last night. There were two main culprits in the game. And, yes, it was the two perennial whipping boys who, of course, were front and center. Apparently Casey Blake's previous 159 games playing rightfield had no bearing on the situation, as he absolutely butchered a line drive out there, allowing a triple. Then Ozzie Guillen, who I'm here to tell you, could be the worst manager I ever saw, gets him off the hook by trying a squeeze play, which ends up being a disaster, but the batter went to second. After a walk, good old .135 hitter, Russ Gload, hits a double to win it. Crap.

But Ben Broussard. Yikes! This guy whiffs on three pitches with the bases loaded in the 11th. Not only taking a called a third strike, but swinging at the first two pitches after the two previous hitters had walked. Jeezy creezy, I say. Then in the 13th, he goes after the first pitch (again) and pops up. This is right after Belliard homered. My God, Bob Wickman, Jr. (Bobby Jenks) is on the hill and this clown hits the first pitch. Boy, that was an awful game to lose.

Meal of Links

Jessica Alba is in a bikini in her new movie. Plot be damned.

I can't say it enough: God bless Roger Ebert. His review of the new Jenny McCarthy movie is an all-timer.

The lovely Kate Bush has a new album. And it seems if there's some sort of secret message involved. "Number nine."

Exercise Yard

David Ortiz is the MVP of the American League. If not, it should be tagged as a criminal case.

Visitor

23 Across: Former Canadian statesman Levesque (4 letters) Answer: Rene

I think I may have finally weaned myself off of "The Apprentice". Yeah, it took a while, but I've already missed two episodes this time around and if it happens again, well...

I had to hunt down some Browns reprinted tickets today. It figures when I arrived, the guy who is in charge of the safe was out to lunch. Then when I got back, Browns management was going to let all of their people leave at 2:00 because of the bye week. So, I'm glad I arrived when I did or I would have had to schedule another chase day.

Meal of Links

Mike Myers is going to portray Keith Moon in a movie. I am not sure how to react to this. Hopefully this flick does Keith proud.

Lindsay Lohan will supposedly get naked for Vanity Fair. Be sure she hits the Krispy Kreme on the way to the shoot.

Here's a report about the technology used in the "Corpse Bride".

Exercise Yard

Going to the Tribe game tonight. It's do or die for the boys this weekend. I think we'll gain at least a tie and maybe have to play a game on Monday to determine the wild card. I think it hinges on Boston. Their bullpen can blow up at any time.

Visitor

45 Down: Writer Ephron (4 letters) Answer: Nora

Les Paul is what, 108 years old or something. But I heard a terrific version of him playing guitar on "Fly Like An Eagle". Apparently, he taught Steve Miller how to play guitar and Steve returns the favor by doing vocals on this cut. I don't know if it's a new recording, but I heard it today for the first time and it sounded great.

Today was a day to catch up on all the comedies I missed the last few days. I believe the funniest line I heard from the 4 shows (and you know what they are) was from "My Name Is Earl".

Question at a garage sale: "How much is this Quit Smoking tape?"

Old man puts a cancer kazoo up to his throat and says: "45 cents."

Meal of Links

I really love the work of Johnny Cash. Seems like a no-brainer that the musical, "Ring of Fire", goes to Broadway.

I actually thought Laura Bush was going to appear on "Extreme Makeover". I mean, you glance at that headline and say WTF? Then you realize it's that weepy house show that I cannot watch.

"Here come those Santa Ana winds again."

Exercise Yard

Darren Rovell from ESPN cranks out consistently good stuff. Today he tackles Mark McGwire.

Tribe has to thank Toronto for not letting Boston get ahead of us. The White Sox magic number is 2. The weekend may be for the Wild Card.

Visitor

23 Across: Allen who played a toolman (3 letters) Answer: Tim

I was Downtown this evening and saw the "Coleman for Governor" bus parked at 9th and Prospect. They had a sign where you could place your signature for support, but I didn't have a pen. Considering the Cleveland mayoral primary is one week away and all I've got so far is Del Donahoo polling me, assorted literature in the mail, and a glimpse of a truck with loudspeakers for Bill Patmon, I took it as a sign of encouragement that maybe the Dems are serious for governor this time.

I had to put on my Frosty Hat with our friends at Adelphia cable. It's the biggest Tribe game of the year and my cable was out. Damn them. So, we tried a couple of phone fixes. They didn't work. I had to make an appointment for a house call. Damn them. Then I discovered the cable leading from the TV to the cable box had fallen out. Uh...never mind.

Meal of Links

What is wrong with the world? Remember that courtroom fugitive who surrendered because his hostage talked about God to him? Seems that he wanted weed, she didn't have any, so she gave him meth. Then wrote a book about it.

The Getty Museum knew that it had acquired artifacts from plundered sites. That's not good.

In case, you didn't know, we're in the middle of a pennant race. Too bad, it's during "Banned Books Week".

Exercise Yard

The MLB Players Union offers up a 20-game supension for steroid use. Bud wants 50.

Visitor

15 Across: "Diana" singer (4 letters) Answer: Anka

I happened to catch "Extras" on HBO and it was just offbeat enough to really capture my attention. Kate Winslet, dressed as a nun and talking dirty, was choice. And Ricky Gervais lying to a priest about being a Catholic was extremely funny. He said his priest was Michael O'Flatley, an Irish priest who was dead and untraceable. I am keeping that on the list.

Meal of Links

Director Judd Apatow has some funny thoughts on TV these days.

The Dylan doc is tonight.

When the Red Sox play, ER visits drop. By 15 percent. "It's only a flesh wound."

Exercise Yard

Speaking of Father Michael O'Flatley, did anyone see Chad Johnson's TD dance? A hilarious sendup of "Riverdance". Then pushups after TD No. 2. I love that guy.

Visitor

52 Down: Mary-Kate and Ashley (6 letters) Answer: Olsens

Short format once again, because I got way behind on what I was gonna do today. Hey, the Browns looked pretty good against the Colts. I am not your typical the "refs cost us the game" kind of guy, but there were some really strange calls that went against us.

I've looked at that block-in-the-back call that Frisman Jackson got nailed with. The pisser was that Dennis Northcutt had his second punt return for a TD called back. Twice in three weeks. Arrrrgh. But, it appeared to me that Frisman held up and barely touched the guy. Maybe there was something I missed, but I thought the call was questionable.

The taunting call on Antonio Bryant after a first down catch was, I felt, horrible. Sure, he probably barked at the guy, but the replay indicates although he may have shown the ball to the defender, he flips the ball TO THE REF! But, no, he gets nailed with an unsportsmanlike call. WTF? We did keep the first down, but got backed up 15 yards.

But it appears that Browns Version 2.2 (Palmer 2.0, Davis 2.1, Robiskie 2.1.1) is gonna play hard for 60 minutes. Quite frankly, that is a major upgrade from the previous regimes. Very enjoyable game today, with not a lot of points by either club. We really didn't have that many yards either, but they hung in there. A very physical game.

At least it wasn't as bad as Grady Sizemore dropping that ball against the Royals. Man, are things getting tight. Saw the White Sox game on INHD and Buehrle threw a helluva game. The Sox (both Boston and Chicago) may have revived themselves this weekend, when both teams appeared to be going down in flames.

We cannot afford to stumble against the Devil Rays.

Visitor

None, it's Sunday.

I like Jodie Foster. There, I said it. But what is going on with "Flight Plan"? Is that the type of movie she should be in? Or do we just figure she needed an addition on her home and this was the easiest way to pay for it. One review I saw mentioned she could have used her cellphone to call someone about her kid. But I guess you can't make that a 90-minute movie.

Meal of Links

The first casualty of this year's TV season was "Head Cases". Maybe the fact I hadn't heard of the show, its network, or its time slot, was common with everyone.

I happened to catch a live interview with John Irving on Book TV today. He had a great line about contemporary criticism. Something along the lines of "...when you've written as many novels as I have, you open yourself up to contemporary criticism, which is basically the condesention of inferiors." Oh, yeah.

The Airbus 320 has a history of landing gear incidents. Still surprised the passengers could see it unfold on TV.

Exercise Yard

There have not been as many who have fallen quicker than Rafael Palmiero. A whole career of goodwill seems to have been derailed by a series of unwise moves.

Visitor

36 Across: 1986 Indy winner Bobby (5 letters) Answer: Rahal

I finally got to see "My Name Is Earl" with Jason Lee. And I liked it. A lot. It is a very funny show and it steals many elements from "Raising Arizona". Narration, hayseeds, etc. A very nice hour of comedy with this one and "The Office".

This morning's commute was ungodly. Took me over 90 minutes to get to work. I heard something about a steel coil in the road. I was thinking that was one big coil, because at times, we were parked. It's those times when you want to tell your neighbor, "There better be dead bodies ahead." So, all I could do was eat my breakfast in the car, which was cantaloupe, and listen to XM.

I had this experience coming back from Cooperstown that sometimes XM gets these blocks of really dumb music. That time it was on the 70's channel. This time I had the new wave channel on and outside of "Ready Steady Go" by Generation X, it was a struggle. I had to listen to the MLB channel, it was so bad.

Meal of Links

The Dutch have a talk show where the host shoots heroin, right there on your TV. Will there be a drinking game devised by viewers while watching this? Sort of a "High Bob"?

Sony cuts 10,000 jobs. Jeepers, that seems like a lot. I predict the company will survive.

The best complaint letter in a long time. I do not even care if it's a phony.

Exercise Yard













Looks like the Cadillac Williams Fan Club is forming. Do you think the editor really understood this sign?

Visitor

1 Across: "Ghostbusters" actor (5 letters) Answer: Ramis

Steve Carrell is still busting me up with his rendition of "O.P.P." on "The Office" last night. That is one funny show.

So, I'm sittin' here watching "Degrassi:The Next Generation"...of course not, I was watching the Tribe. Travis Hafner, good ole THaf, is just killing the ball again. His second home run tonight was a monster. His first one made me laugh, because John Sanders gets that really high-pitched voice goin' when he gets all excited. It loooks like there is going to be some October baseball this year. Scott Elarton is 3-0 with an 0.91 ERA in September. Things are really going your way when that happens.

BTW, they had that speed limit machine across from my house for three days and then they took it out today. Apparently, we are more worried about speeding in this ward, instead of burglaries.

Meal of Links

Let's see...Kate Moss had been with the notorious bad boy Pete Doherty for how long? And her advertisers just figured out how she might be using the booger sugar? Gimme a break.

I wonder what David Lynch, the director, is up to? Fascinating dude, I've always thought. Here's an older essay on Lynch.

Early Christmas present suggestion.

Exercise Yard

The 10 most gruesome sports injuries. Trust me when I tell you, Clint Malarchuk is at No. 3 on the list and it should be a clear-cut (so to speak) No. 1. Key phrase: "sliced jugular".

Visitor

7 Down: Director Lee (3 letters) Answer: Ang

How could you not watch the debut of Season 3 of Arrested Development last night? The show has not lost its excellent writing touch or really cool references. You have to DVR it, so you can catch everything. Even Uncle Oscar has his own website from prison. It's been done before, but Uncle Oscar has Jean Valjean's prisoner number, as well.

The one joke that made me laugh uncontrollably was a conversation between Michael and his sister, Lindsay. Lindsay was sitting atop a copier in the office, telling Michael she was going to buy a new car. At one point, she grabs some copies from the tray and shows them to Michael.

Lindsay: "We did it, Mikey. We're super rich again! And I'm going to buy a car! The Volvo."

Michael: "Lindsay, you're not going to start spending money."

Michael: "And this is not a Volv...oh."

Lindsay: "Oh, that's from sitting on the copier."

Ba-rum-bump.

Big week for comedy. Tonight was "My Name is Earl" and "The Office" (They handed out a "Busiest Beaver Award" to an office worker. "Michael, this spells Bushiest.") on NBC. And Sunday, it's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Extras" (cannot wait for this one) on HBO.

Meal of Links

Our band, INXS, finally chose a lead singer tonight. To start, they brought all of the previous contestants to come on stage one more time. Daphna (sigh). And then there was more recap. Each of the final three (Mahtee, MiG, J.D.), chose a song that had been performed on the show. Mahtee chose "Wish You Were Here", MiG "Bohemian Rhapsody". J.D. "You Can't Always Get You Want". MiG was up first and, quite frankly, I get bored with this song unless it's Freddie singin' it. Not impressed, especially since the dude was in some sort of London stage play about Queen. J.D. was next and I think he did a pretty good version of the song. I dunno, the chicks would dig this guy if he sang "Conjunction Junction". Mahtee basically had that song teed up since the last time he sang it and, of course, he hammered it into the upper deck. The boys huddled and it was determined that MiG was not roit for our band INXS, and he got the boot.

Next, our band, INXS, gets on stage and performs one of their own songs with each of the final two. Mahtee performed "Don't Change" and I think he did OK (it seemed the mix was left over from that fine program "Hit Me Baby, One More Time"), and J.D. performed "What You Need", which was right in his wheelhouse. Looks like an easy choice. I choose J.D. Mahtee will do fine on his own.

After weeks and weeks of competitive reality nonsense, the winner is...J.D. Probably not a bad choice, as the women were going crazy over the guy. And it's all about sales, isn't it? Now, I guess it's waiting for the upcoming tour dates to be announced, my participation in said tour by helping our band, INXS, back on their feet, and then seeing them at the Rib Cookoff two years from now.

The show ends with our newly completed band, INXS, performing their soon-to-be (ahem) worldwide smash, "Easy Easy". Looks like the tour starts in February. Hallelujah.

Speaking of music, Sleater-Kinney's "Entertain" is a very catchy tune.

I just got polled by old fart, Del Donahoo. The Folksmobile must be in the shop. I'm not sure I liked it. Anyhow, it was about the upcoming mayoral primary. Hard to believe, but that vote is less than two weeks away and I'm not sure I've been around such a silent campaign leading to a primary. I am leaning towards James Draper at this point. Hopefully, the citizenry realizes it is approaching fast and turns out.

The Bob Dylan documentary by Martin Scorsese is on PBS next week. Consider this a must-see. I'm hoping for some footage from the 1976 TV special, "Hard Rain", which was the Rolling Thunder Revue Tour. If I recall correctly, a fantastic version of "Maggie's Farm", with that ex-Spider from Mars, Mick Ronson, on guitar.

Exercise Yard

The Tribe played another thriller in Chicago. Aaron Rowand (who might still be cussing) of the Chisox misplayed a Victor Martinez line drive in the ninth, setting us up to tie it. Riske pitched a drive-you-to-drink ninth inning and we went to extra time. However, Crede homered off Riske (his 11th given up this year) to start the 10th and the Indians lost a tough one to the White Sox. Things are getting even tighter, as the Yanks don't seem to lose anymore.

Visitor

60 Across: Hall of Famer Mickey (6 letters) Answer: Mantle (Mom said he was fast.)

Thanks to Paul for all the grub yesterday. It shows that the preseason does help as the timing was superb on bloodies and pregame food with the coup de grace arriving at halftime. With the Browns on one TV and "Demolition Man" with Sandra Bullock on the other, how can you go wrong?

Well, wasn't that a surprising game yesterday, as the Browns beat the Packers at Lambeau. Before we start greeting the team at the airport after roadies and book reservations for Detroit in February, what did we learn from the game?

You always have a chance in the NFL, especially if your opponent is coached by a guy named Mike.

Our defensive coordinator resembles George Costanza from certain angles.

Green Bay is even worse than we thought. And we thought they were bad coming in.

Braylon Edwards is a soldier, dude.

It was the first time in a while that the Browns played hard for 4 quarters.

Offensive line permitted no sacks and no picks from Dilfer. That'll keep you in the game. We beat up the Pack's defense pretty well.

How did the No. 1 announce team from CBS get stuck with that game?

Did Bonnie Bernstein have gray streaks in her hair or what was that?

Can Romeo transfer some of that anti-Peyton magic for next week's game or are the Colts gonna be a bunch of ornery cusses and whip our ass? They only scored 10 yesterday.

Meal of Links

Come back to Nawlins. Never mind.

Boy, if you didn't have another reason to feel old. Terry Fox ran across Canada 25 years ago. Oh, and Rex Smith turned 50 today.

OK. Who talked like a pirate today? Bueller? Anyone?

Exercise Yard
























Hopefully, not this year.

Visitor













68 Across: Merlin Olsen teammate Grier (5 letters) Answer: Rosey

I was by the Stadium this morning and it's a great time to walk there. No one else around. Weather is fine. You're by yourself, slightly hungover, with your thoughts as the sun starts burning off some of that morning mist. I was so inspired, I stopped at Mazzone's Bakery and had what I think was my first donut of the year. A jelly one. And I only ordered one. Donuts are like Lay's potato chips to me, so I've learned not to eat them. It was good and I recommend it heartily.

So, I'm feelin' pretty good today which contrasts with the Indians game last night. I think I have to go to confession, because we bought the cheapest tickets and oops, we didn't sit in them. Must have been a hard section to find. The game was fine, we won and all, but it was the post-game that killed me. I have become Bob Feller, Bitterman. It's because of the goddamn fireworks. It was the first display I observed in eons. And it was a personal hell. See, I don't dislike fireworks, I loathe them. And I'm not exactly Bruce Springsteen's number one fan, so to have his music playing during a fireworks display felt like I was battling flesh-eating bacteria. This town has some freakish cult-like attachment to fireworks. At various places during the show, especially when it's loud or there is a pause, folks start automatically clapping like barking seals.















You would think, with all that is going on in this world, that the money used for those displays could be put to a better use. I believe every Saturday is a fireworks game for the Tribe, but my God, I think it's a stupid exercise.

(Housekeeping note: Due to comment spam, if you wanna comment now, you'll have to do a word verification (like when you order from Ticketmaster). It's only one more step, but a necessary one, I'm afraid.)

Meal of Links

A review of Apple's new products. The phone idea doesn't make any sense to me, but the Nano looks pretty cool.

Tom Waits is suing again for a soundalike. Contrast his stance against his music in commercials with that new commercial with Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changin'". I am mortified about that one.

Here are all of the SNL Celebrity Jeopardy classics. These are funny.

Exercise Yard

10 players who have to play better due to teammates' injuries, their own bad play, or just because they have to.

Visitor

None, it's Sunday.

Last night was kind of a tour of the possessive places Downtown. First, we were at Alesci's and decided to grab something to eat elsewhere. Someone suggested Otto Moser's, but Otto must have closed after the curtain rose. Anyhow, we cut through the walkway and ended up on 17th, where we went to Moe's. Like Modell's Sporting Goods, you "Gotta Go to Mo's".

I thought Moe's had a good vibe goin', as the first song I hear is "TV Party" by Black Flag. It's kind of a small joint, but it appeared that the kitchen was closed early. The bartendress had an impressive chest, but the cook appeared to be a cross between Little Steven, an unbelievably high Howard Hessemann and that hillbilly from the Simpsons. That caused the line, "I am not eating anything cooked by that man."

So, off we went to the familiar venue called Becky's. Oh, they have Grand-Dad there and we got to see the last half of the game. And I scarfed down a chili dog that was great.

Meal of Links

This is a well-written article on how the airline industry in America is a disaster. Points out how fuel prices, lack of concessions from workers, and competition have driven four of the seven major US airlines into bankruptcy.

Maybe Renee Zelleger finally opened her eyes. And, I mean that in a very nice, not fraudulent way.

A look at the new sitcoms. With "Arrested Development", "The Office" and "Weeds" coming back, I think there's room for a couple of more and the Jason Lee and Chris Rock shows are getting lots of buzz.

Exercise Yard

Looking for a Halloween costume? How about going as Randy Moss?

Visitor

23 Down: Astro's family (7 letters) Answer: Jetsons

Best Friend and I went to see The White Stripes at the State Theatre last night. We missed the opening act, the Greenhornes. Not really sure how that happened, because I didn't think we got there that late. But after asking a few people about it, we figured they must have played 6 or 7 tunes or more. Hell, I saw everyone in the lobby and assumed the show hadn't started yet. Hey, the stolen tickets did not come into play. I got some reprinted tickets and wherever the originals ended up, they never surfaced.

The White Stripes kicked major ass with their set. There is virtually no conversation between Jack and the audience. They come on stage and start playing the heaviest rock you can get from two instruments. Meg pounds those drums really well and I think Jack is terrific. No one sat at all during the show. I mean everyone was into it. I dunno, maybe 20 to 25 songs were played in total. They closed up with killer versions of "Hardest Button to Button" (I LOVE that tune) and "Seven Nation Army". It was fantastic.

Good mix of old (OK, I guess that's me, but I like this thing called rock music.) and young in the crowd. I would find it hard to believe that anyone walked away from that show feeling cheated. Good times.

Meal of Links

Keith Richards is still the No. 1 Hell Raiser. BTW, Keith is not in the sequel to "Pirates of the Carribean".

It's a long, long way from July to September, as the days are dwindling down to a precious few on RockStar: INXS. Mark Burnett's editing did have us in suspense, but Sweet Suzie McNeil got the boot after she was told she wasn't roit for our band, INXS. Lots of filler on the show. Bottom three were Suzie, J.D., and MiG. And, of course, they were all so talented and dynamic and the choice was agonizing, but that was the sixth time for Suzie in the bottom three. But she was surprisingly calm and didn't turn on the waterworks. The thing that bugged me was Daphna (hey, I haven't forgotten her) got drilled on her dance moves, and I swear Suzie's been doing the same "Groucho Marx" steps for weeks, along with "C'mon everybody" all the damn time.

So, the final three are Mahtee, J.D. and MiG and they are guaranteed 2006 Honda Civics. That's odd to me, because the show has been sponsored by the Honda Ridgeline the whole time, but that vehicle isn't good enough for the winners. That seems strange. By this time, next week, our band will be whole again.

As I had said earlier, it looks like John Roberts will sail through to his Supreme Court nomination. But the Battle Royale is the next one.

Exercise Yard

The trade of Westbrook for Justice may bite the Yanks in the ass. The Tribe is en fuego right now. A stretch that is easily their best since 2001 and probably one of the best runs in the Jacobs Field era. Seemingly, they can do no wrong.

Visitor

8 Down: Mrs. Chaplin (4 letters) Answer: Oona

Let’s take a break from the local, gone national story of “Kids as Pets” and have some fun.

Had to mention I saw Sharon Reed walking to her “Brownstown” gig at the Stadium on Monday. Lemme say this, TV does not do her justice. Very beautiful woman. Her newscasts stink, but she’s incredible.

I did not attend the Browns game this week, so I don’t have much to say. The 3-4 defense obviously needs work, and once again, we cannot stop the run. Too many gaps in that pass defense, too. Offense looked OK in the first half, but fairly inept after the half. It’s gonna take some time. Lots of time.

Thought I would get back into the swing of posting with a recap of Cooperstown, which is basically in the middle of nowhere in the Adirondacks. Past Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. Even past Utica. I believe the closest bigger city is Albany. It’s about 7 hours from Cleveland, with a couple of short stops.

We stayed at a place called the Tunnicliff Inn. Our suite had two bedrooms and two baths, with individual TVs in each room. It’s located about 500 feet from the Hall. I could not stomach the summer prices, but since we arrived on Labor Day, the suite was 50% off, because of the off-peak season. The rooms were OK. They were clean, and had good air conditioning. However, my bathroom was right out of “Tiny House” from the GEICO commercial. I still have the bruises. But it’s in a great location to stay in the town, maybe the closest of any lodging.

The town itself is camped right next to Lake Otsego and it’s a gorgeous spot. And, of course, James Fenimore Cooper patrolled the area. I think I saw Daniel Day-Lewis and his left foot there. I already have my house picked out, which stands right on the lake, for when I become mayor of the town. The city, in addition to housing the Baseball Hall of Fame, is kind of a resort area during the summer. There remains this uneasy alliance between the outsiders and the townies, who I am sure, wish the visitors would leave quicker than they do. We arrived on Labor Day, which signals the end of the summer season.

The Hall of Fame itself is a neat place. They have a film presentation at the beginning, which is pretty cool. Then you advance chronologically through all of the memorabilia. They have a good mix of the old with the new. In a display of all of the current teams, they run a film of web gems from the current season, and there are a lot of great defensive plays on that one. Babe Ruth is probably the person featured most prominently in the exhibits. The Hall and town seem to be obsessed with “Who’s on First?” for some strange reason. I think the plaques need to be made better, because some guys didn’t even look like themselves. I’d say six to seven hours is probably enough time to get through the hall. We split that over two days, because if you show up two hours or less before closing, you do not have to pay for re-entry the next day.

Many people asked before I left, what else is there to do besides visit the Hall? Well, it’s strange that I would find this out, but they actually serve beer in several establishments around town. There are some local breweries pumping out some pretty good stuff. When we arrived, we went to a place called the LakeFront Motel which had an outdoor patio, near the lake. Really good view. By no means extravagant, they served cold beer. I had something called Witte which was pretty good. And I think I ate a bucketful of shrimp.

Breakfasts were very good. We ate at both the Doubleday Café and Cooperstown Diner. At the Doubleday, I had a broccoli, ham and pepper omelet and had pancakes at the Diner. The only day we were there for lunch, we ate at a place called the All-American Café. It was a strange location down an alley, behind many businesses with their air conditioning cranked. So, in addition to hearing many Abba songs and Hall and Oates greatest hits, you had the constant droning of this equipment. But I had a ribeye sandwich that was good.

In New York State, you cannot smoke inside of the bar. We found this out at a place called Cooney’s (or was it Cooley’s?) which just opened in 2004. Cheap beer for happy hour. Definitely a townie place at night, especially after Labor Day.

The problem with arriving on Labor Day is that it is really difficult to find place to eat at night. Sal’s Pizzeria does a nice job with a New York style. When the Hall closed at 9:00, Sal’s was maybe the only place that was open. The best place we found, however, was the Hoffman Lane Bistro. This was an oasis, compared to all the schlocky souvenir places and restaurants that were closed. Kind of an upscale feel, it definitely meets a niche market there. Nice outdoor patio and really good food. I went for the meat loaf. By far, the best place we went to. Yankee game on the tube, small bar and a chance to eat outside. Could not beat it.

I would recommend going. It might be better to fly to Albany and get a rental car. But the drive is straight out 90 on the Thruway to 28 South in New York. Lots of cops were out on Labor Day, but only saw one coming back on Wednesday. Gas was $3.45 in New York State at the time. Cooperstown is probably a place you could go to every year for a few days to do other stuff besides the Hall. They seem to be obsessed with apples and ice cream and “Who’s On First?”, if you favor that stuff. There are other things to do (Soccer HOF nearby) and places to eat in the general vicinity of Cooperstown, but we stayed local for this effort. I liked it, because it served its purpose as a nice getaway.

INXS

We are down to the Final Four. Brooke comes out wearing a skirt that barely covers her padonkadonk. Suzie kicks off the proceedings with a set consisting of an STP song and that damn “What’s Goin’ On?” tune, which I cannot stand. I guess she did OK. And, of course, she tried to hump Dave Navarro and any available guitarist during her set. But she did not cry live, only on tape, when she played the “woman” card. Ty got beat up for playing the race card, so she dropped a few notches in my eye with that one. J.D. came out and did his original song “Pretty Vegas” and I must say, I think he was channeling Hutchence with that tune. Really good job. J.D. also sang Pink Floyd’s “Money”. They had the cheesiest cash register effects that must have come from the “Transporter 2” set. But I thought his version was good.

Mahtee was next with his original tune, “Trees”. I kinda dig the lyrics on that one and it was an acoustic version with Dave. His next tune was “Creep” by Radiohead. No doubt, it was “a swing and a drive” and he definitely homered on that one. MiG finished up and I’m not sure if it was song selection or what. His arrangement and performance of “Paint It Black” was pretty bad. Then he sang a Seal song. Yes, a Seal song! You may as well tell the audience to fluff their pillows before you start that one. It was a buzzkill.

And the early voting proved it and I can’t disagree. Mahtee, J.D., Suzie, then MiG. I sense MiGgy won’t get out of fourth, unless Oz carries him. It may be the old Mark Burnett magic working here. I think MiG had to be considered a favorite coming into tonight’s show. The band gives him some tough choices, he doesn’t deliver, ends up in the bottom three and gets voted out tomorrow by the band, who doesn’t think he’s roit for our band. It could happen and I predict that it will.

For all the J.D. hate out there, he’s got great range. Suzie doesn’t have a prayer and is lucky to be this far. I have stirred the packet of Kool-Aid in a tall pitcher of water for Mahtee, but haven’t sipped it yet. That’s your final three.

For the uninformed, my ability to post was further complicated by a break-in I suffered at home on Thursday night. Yeah, it sucks. But on the bright side, no one got hurt and I got to see CSI guy do his job up close. Thankfully, I was not home at the time. Everything they took is easily replaced. But it was the normal runthrough and taking of things they could carry. Small electronics (use your imagination), a whole bunch of change and some credit cards and checks. And believe it or not, some tickets to various events. Those are in the process of being replaced, as well. I'm not a big jewelry or watch guy, and don't keep cash around, so that wasn't an issue.

But I'd like to send major thanks to all that have chimed in with their good thoughts and I'll let you know how the process goes.

I get back from Cooperstown and my modem at home blowed up real good. Needless to say, I don't have home e-mail or Internet access presently. The call to the fine folks at Adelphia revealed no one can come out until the middle of next week to fix the damn thing.

That means the posts are going to be sporadic (more like half-assed) and of a different format for the next little while. Lots of events happening over the next week such as:

The recap of the Cooperstown visit.

A return to the Club Seats as the Tribe plays Minnesota on Friday.

The Browns opener vs. the Bengals on Sunday.

White Stripes in on Wednesday.

So, check back every once in a while. Can't say it will be updated every day, but I'll try to get some of these things up as they happen.

The Taste of Cleveland was not that bad yesterday. The roster would not rank with the best we've seen, but the food was pretty damn good. Each food ticket was still $1.25 this year. Admission was $5.00. Parking was $6.00. Next year it may be a carpool or I will walk.

Food for me:

Once I figured imported bottled beer was the same price as plastic-bottled Bud Light, I was OK.

Roast pig from Grovewood Tavern was awesome.

I had stuff from two soul food places, Just Like Mom's and Real New Orleans, but I forgot who sold what. I had chicken wings and cornbread from one place that were really good. I had jambalaya from the other, which enabled me to have that cajun sweat going, as it had a wonderful kick. It was extremely tasty, but I know where I can get better jambalaya.

Pierogi Palace did their usual good job with, what else, pierogis.

Mango Sorbet from Woo City Ice Cream was good, as well.

The entertainment was Michael McDonald, who basically sits on a stool, sings, and plays keyboards now. He didn't sing one Steely Dan song. Some Doobies, especially good on "It Keeps You Runnin'". Lots of solo, including "Ya Mo Be There". And tons of Motown, which butters his bread these days, I guess. Sure we mock, but it wasn't that bad and his backing musicians were good.

Good friends, Chuck and Maggie, were in town this weekend from FLA. So, Mr. Mix and I headed over this evening to see..."Transporter 2", baby. Of course, believability was suspended for many stunts. Sure, instead of shooting the good guy, they always delay it so he can get away. And why have a storyline interfere with the action? They even had perhaps the cheesiest airplane special effects since "Air Force One". It looked like it wasn't even Matchbox quality, but more like TootsieToy. Having said all of that, we are back for "Transporter 3"!

Jason Statham beats up a bunch of bad guys and his fight with a hose as a prop was excellent and had me rolling because it was so funny to watch. He beat up ex-boxer Shannon Briggs in one scene. It had elements of "Man on Fire". At the beginning, I thought he was gonna say his name was Creasy, because he had to pick up a kid at school and drive him home. Of course, the parents were fighting and the mother had the hots for Jason. She obviously forgot one of his rules, "Don't get involved."

Tomorrow, I get to play a real-life Transporter (and I have rules, too), as I'm off to Cooperstown, NY for a few days. Full report when I get back.

Meal of Links

The news has been really crazy lately. Just when I thought the Roberts Supreme Court nomination hearings would take a backseat to Katrina coverage, Chief Justice Rehnquist dies. That puts the focus back on the hearings, and they do deserve scrutiny.

Carnival Cruise Lines is sending three cruise ships to Galveston to house displaced citizens from the hurricane. They should allow those Astrodome people to move in. It seems the people who signed up late get treated better.

I hop you got to see the Sunday morning talk shows this a.m. They were incredible.

Exercise Yard

James Blake beat the No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal at the US Open. Blake is a rarity in tennis, a Harvard student, and has a nice story to tell. A really good guy.

Visitor

None, it's Sunday.

It is the start of my vacation...finally.

Pretty much abandoned the Miami game at the half today. Note I didn't say Ohio State game. 20-0 at halftime and they didn't look good at all. I'm anxious to see how the Gund looks for the boxing on Showtime later.

Last night, we made it to Fournos Cafe on the patio. Boy, they have really tasty pita chips there. I had a corned beef panini that was pretty good. Also, I had some stuffed grape leaves that I'd never had before. They were OK, but I'm not sure about the attraction of that item.

Tonight, it's Taste of Cleveland with Michael McDonnell. I'm hungry already.

Meal of Links

Kanye West rips the government during the telethon special for the hurricane. "George Bush doesn't care about black people" was apparently not from his NBC script. Omigod, Mike Myers looked as if his face walked right into a shovel. The clip is an all-timer!

The media get testy with politicians and they way they've handled the aftermath of the hurricane AND the flooding.

You know it's bad in Nawlins when Fox reporters snap back at their spinning anchors. (It's a really big file)

Exercise Yard

ESPN is sticking with the same anchors on the big shows, instead of rotating people in and out. No Stuart Scott. Thank you!

And do the suits there actually watch News? My God, half those guys on that channel can't deliver a line without some inane stab at humor.

Visitor

41 Down: _____ (5 letters) Answer: H. Ross

Lemme get this straight. Harry Connick, Jr. can fly in to Nawlins and stroll down to the Convention Center and calm some people down. But they can't get food and water in there?

As predicted, Ty was not roit for our band, INXS, and got the boot yesterday. Then he played the race card. I thought he was too showy and theatrical for the band. Powerful voice, but the people were not buying his act. Down to five.

Meal of Links

CBGB's lease will not be renewed. Oh, if those walls could talk.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune had a terrific series on a hurricane's potential for Nawlins back in 2002. Makes for interesting reading now, as many predictions turned out to be true.

Olive oil acts as a painkiller. I like regular olives and have no idea if that counts.

Exercise Yard

Witnessed perhaps the baserunning blunder of the year at last night's Tribe game. Provided by the one and only Casey Blake. Seems Casey decided to tag up from second on a ball hit to left field. Unfortunately, he was halfway to third when he decided he was out by a mile if he continued. So, he was out by a mile as he tried to get back to second. A bad move of historic proportions.

Visitor

44 Across: Ward of "Once and Again" (4 letters) Answer: Sela