I actually had to look for a belt tonight. I'm not a big fan of shopping because I tend to dart in and out of these stores pretty quickly. Except when it comes to belts. I like a plain one and lots of times you get these options like rack-and-pinion steering on them that ruin it for me. Shouldn't be that complicated, but for me it is. I'm glad I don't have to go to Marc's to buy them, because yesterday I was in line for 10 minutes to buy trash bags. I was there so long, I was tempted to use one as a toy.

Meal of Links

It's the 30th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Come on, sing it. "The church bell chimed, til it rang 29 times..."

What happens if Miss Manners screws up at an awards show? She didn't, I'm just asking who keeps an eye on her.

"Oh, no. There goes a big-ass croc. Go, go, Godzilla."

Exercise Yard

I do not know what's happening with the Cy Young voting this year. Clearly, Santana should have won over Colon in the AL. And Dontrelle Willis should have won over Carpenter in the NL. Prepare for the hooting if A-Rod wins the AL MVP next week over Ortiz.

Visitor

42 Down: Author Bellow (4 letters) Answer: Saul

It's Personal Karaoke Night as all of these great tunes are popping up. Right now, I get to type while swaying to "Our House", you know, "in the middle of our street". As stated earlier, I defy anyone not to sway if you hear that in your car. Or at home. Or in your head.

I also heard Gang of Four's "I Love a Man in a Uniform" and is it gay or not gay if you sing that chorus? I've oft wondered that while singing the female part during "Don't You Want Me" by the Human League. Reminder: I love NASCAR. Cool, they just put on "Take Me, I'm Yours" by Squeeze. You never hear that song, except on my iPod. Well, my playlists until I get that new iPod.

It concludes with INXS' ("Hey, Timmy.") "I Send A Message". To my friends and family...Thanks for letting me be myself (maybe I should thank the Family Stone!). My message to all those I've wronged...I apologize and hope to do better next time. Message to the Browns...Run the damn ball. Message to self...Get some rest, fool.

Meal of Links

They fired this actor from "Desperate Housewives". Something about improper conduct, which I guess was flashing. Very odd.

It's nice to relive some old columns from ESPN's Page 2. Here are the 20 most annoying fans at the ballpark.

Judy Miller retires. Management at the NYTimes finally comes to their senses.

Exercise Yard

ESPN.com has a nice account of steroids in baseball. Christ, even WallyWorld admitted he took steroids.

Visitor

8 Down: 1960s justice Fortas (not Froman) (3 letters) Answer: Abe

Who hasn't heard about the Carolina Panther cheerleaders who were arrested after having sex in a bathroom at some place called Banana Joe's in Tampa? Allegedly. Kind of an odd story, but...

Note the cheerleaders were on a road trip. Huh? I understand the Panthers were playing Tampa, but now teams bring their own cheerleaders to road games?

If they were in the men's bathroom we would have never heard of this story. Oh, there would have been some loud cheering, but I have a feeling the men could have held their liquor a bit longer. I don't think a guy would have run out and called the cops. He would have gone out and told his friends to come to the bathroom. Quickly.

Blonde appears to be hot. Brunette..meh.

The Vikings are glad they are not involved.

Meal of Links

Gary Player with a fine acting turn on "Curb Your Enthusiasm". Larry David is the funniest man on earth.

DirecTV and NBC offer more video-on-demand. Not sure of the proposed pay model (99 cents a show), but it is a step closer to what I eventually think is going to be a monthly fee that allows on-demand programming for any channel.

Tomorrow is Election Day. Do your duty.

Exercise Yard

T.O. finally got the boot from the Eagles. This is a puzzling item. I mean is this guy any worse than say an Albert Belle or Dennis Rodman as a teammate? I don't recall Owens dogging it on the field. The Eagles seem to be realize it's a tough year in the NFC East and appear to be folding their tent while offering T.O. as the excuse for the team's failings. Very unfair to their fans.

Visitor

7 Down: Harry of "L.A. Law" (6 letters) Answer: Hamlin

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

My friend Denise was today's special guest. Browns Version 2.3 is on the ropes coming in, after that dismal performance in Houston. The opponent: The incredibly inept Tennesee Titans. Therefore, a true Clash of the Titans.

The weather was ugly this morning, as the cow from "Twister" could have been sighted flying by. The sun actually appeared for a while, but it did rain during the third quarter. Then it got cooler. Make that colder.

Today's giveaway: There wasn't one. I wonder if this is an NFL rule or someone wised up, because of the related trash pickup.

No smells today, except for the Titan offense for much of the game. It's sad to see McNair go out this way.

The passing game today was kinda OK. Consider the first Browns TD one of the luckiest you'll see. But we go through these agonizing stretches where nothing seems to work and then Dilfer pulls something out of his ass.

The G.E. Smith Band (my favorite) was there. Not much recognition until Randy Lerner put in a call during the 4th quarter to have them heard for an extended break.

A rather civilized crowd in Section 345. No fights.

Best line from me: (after it started to rain and the ponchos quickly came out): "This is like watching Superman auditions."

Best line from a random (after Jason Wright's first carry of the day): "Who the hell is Jason Wright?"

Oddest Browns jersey (Definitely an all-timer): 84 Chiaverini

Best shirt: Probably the "Kellen Knievel" T-shirt.

No in-game purchases.

The Village Idiot, Jeff Tanchak, had microphone problems for his bit. Yeah, goof, it's windy.

Best Browns play: The 31-yard reverse to Northcutt late in the game that resulted in nothing.

Boas definitely back in style today.

Best Fan Cam picture: Double Number Ones by some random.

Hats blown off heads because of the windstorm in the 345 portal: 6

Worst stat: Browns scored first rushing TD. In Game 8.

2nd worst stat: McNair, 18 for 41 passing (and it was an ugly 18 for 41)

3rd worse not-really-a-stat: The Titans tried TWO fake punts. One worked (the Browns should have called time), but there was a penalty. The other was a pass that fell short.

The Browns cannot do anything easily. Early in the fourth quarter, while my mind wandered to thoughts of how I was presently contracting pneumonia or avian flu, next week's Steelers debacle and mentally chalking up a win, who would have thought the Titans would actually get back into the game with a chance to win at the end. Incredible.

Meal of Links

I happen to like George Carlin. He was one of my favorites, as I recall him doing the news so many times when I was a kid. I can remember, "It's time for the Biff Burns Sportlight Spotlight, spotlighting the sports that are in the sportlight spotlight." And then later, with his more mature humor. However, I checked out his live HBO special last night, and I gotta tell you, he's lost it. Don't know if it's the rehab or what, but he came off as not very funny, but a whole lot of angry. Plus, his delivery wasn't that sharp. His rant on fat people, which should have been funny, came off sounding cruel. Listen to the audience during that stretch. They obviously showed up to laugh and he's making them uncomfortable. His "Suicide Cable Channel" sounded dated. I turned it off, feeling rather sorry for him.

The schedule of holiday movie releases til the end of the year. Lots to look at, but only a few stand out, at first glance.

Kickball is the District's newest aphrodisiac.

Exercise Yard

Last night on Showtime boxing, Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy punched a man in Tahoe, just to watch him die. Almost. I swear I thought he killed his tomato can opponent when he landed the punch. That idiot then complained to to the ref about the stoppage. It was laughable. I said to myself when it started, "Lacy in 2." And so it was.

Visitor

None. It's a Browns Sunday.

I was supposed to finally get my door installed today, but was informed by the installer that it was not going to happen, because of the shitty work done by the dude who installed my temporary door. That’s it for Lowe’s. No more install from them. Oh, I may get the occasional bag of fertilizer. Maybe even an appliance, but no more remodeling type jobs. They’re done.

We accompanied the youngins over to Ginza last night. The restaurant was rewarded earlier in the week by Zagat, but that didn't cause a horde of people to show up. We sat at the table where you had to take your shoes off, commonly referred to as the "pee-pee socks" area, because of a past incident.

The dinner started off on sort of a wrong foot when someone said "Thank you, sir." to our server, who I'm sure was a female. The look of horror on my face must have said it all. Anyhow, I had the usual yakatori and shrimp/chicken happy hibachi combo. I'm not much of a sushi fan, but when the big sushi boat comes floating out, well, you gotta have some. Man, it was really good.

The other note is that today's kids (at least at our table) have no idea about that old Norelco Christmas commercial. The one where Santa goes zooming along the snow atop a razor, while leaving tracks in the snow. You know, the "Noelco" one. That's kinda sad.

Meal of Links

Looks like the genital gluer got stuck with a large fine.

Somali pirates attacked a cruise ship. Maybe they thought Kathie Lee was entertaining on board.

It used to be "Bad Santa". This year, it's "Bad Frosty".

Exercise Yard

Talk about long losing streaks. The All-Blacks have beat Wales for 52 straight years. And I thought our teams sucked.

Visitor

57 Across: Early Diana Rigg role (8 letters) Answer: Emma Peel

Another Thursday, so it must mean no water pressure. This is truly annoying. They ripped out all the temporary hoses and once again, someone forgot to do what they were supposed to. The result: No wa-wa. I had to rely on my friend from the Water Dept. to come over and do that blowback thing and get my water pressure back. That sucked.

BTW, the BPs along Route 8 by the Turnpike and 303 have been charging $2.03 for gas this week. It's like having a fire sale.

Meal of Links

Yesterday, I had the Rackhouse Ale from Great Lakes Brewing. That's the beer that has the bourbon taste, you know. Only 10% alcohol content in that one. They serve it in a brandy glass and limited us to three. Not sure if everyone is limited, or they had us pegged early as keg drainers, if given the chance. By the end of the long evening, yours truly was in need of sleep. Desperately.

So, they threw a bash at the White House last night for the Prince of Wales. Guests included Kelsey Grammer and Lynn Swann. And I say, WTF?

The riots outside Paris continue. The poor are rising up.

Exercise Yard

Former hockey coach, Jacques Demers, admits he is illiterate. It boggles the mind how he was able to function in high-profile positions without anyone knowing.

Visitor

53 Across: Tubb of country music (6 letters) Answer: Ernest

FYI, my neighbor has his Halloween lights lit again this evening. Maybe he celebrates Orthodox Halloween. Jeezy creezy, this dude dressed up last night as a monster and not one kid was terrified. I heard one kid tell him, "Hi. My name is Nathan." Very scary. He had some sort of lab coat and big shoes on. It was dark, maybe he was Ghoulardi.

I just saw the skunk that has been terrorizing the neighborhood. It was waddling up a driveway about four houses from me. Man, it was as big as a dog. I'm not kidding. OK, not like Bigfoot, but I'm tellin' ya, it was huge. Someone must be feeding it. Feeding it little kids or something. I couldn't wait to get back inside. Could it have been my neighbor's pet?

Meal of Links

I hadn't heard a Frank Marino song in a long time. Now I heard two within a day. The power of XM Satellite Radio.

Early Christmas list entry: The MC Hammer catalog. Here is the scoop on his old filly, Lite Light. Lite Light was really good. A Kentucky Oaks winner, as well.

Looks like the rules for calling organic food, "organic", may change. As usual, money is the culprit. Let's bend the rules, because it's too expensive to produce under current guidelines. So they say.

Exercise Yard

A tale of two horses. One, a three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner dies on the track. While the other wins the Melbourne Gold Cup for the third time in a row, conjuring up visions of Phar Lap.

Visitor

34 Across: Thurman of "Kill Bill" films (3 letters) Answer: "Uma, Jerry. Uma."

If it's Standard Time, it must be Halloween. For the first time in three years, I am distributing candy to all the rugrats who happen upon my palatial estate.

Tonight's rules were:

All kids old enough to shave get Almond Joy.

Heath bars are at the bottom of the bowl, in case of leftovers.

The over/under on kids taking a header over the temporary hoses is three.

Here is what happened:

The good news is only one kid took a header and virtually every kid was polite this evening. I am not kidding, most everyone said "Thank you." No explanation for it, except the kids must have known who they were dealing with.

The only sass I got was from Zorro. I flipped him a Reese's cup and he said, "I don't like that." So, I told him to look in the bowl and find something he liked. He picked Almond Joy! Change that "Z" to an "L", pal.

One of the kids passed the leaking valve of the temporary hoses and said, "Hey, a sprinkler." Not quite.

One of the accompanying adults took this opportunity called Halloween to walk his pit bull. That was a first.

Some older kid dressed as the gayest pirate I've ever seen. And it looked intentional. Very scary.

I'd say I gave out about 130 pieces of candy (Kit-Kat, Reese's, Reese's Stix, Almond Joy, Heath, Hershey chocolate) and I bet maybe 20 went to locals. If you charged for parking for all of the interlopers that showed up, I'd have made up for my betting disaster of Saturday. Maybe.

Meal of Links

"Boondocks" makes it to the little screen.

So much for fence-mending. The Supreme Court nomination of Alito will be a battle. (Watch ad, read text)

Waco pastor dies during a baptism. Somehow, he stood in a baptismal pool and grabbed a live microphone. Shocking.

Exercise Yard

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein chooses the trick, instead of the treat. I wouldn't worry about him. He and DePodesta will hook up with some sorry team. Maybe Philly.

Visitor

45 Down: John who played Basil Fawlty (6 letters) Answer: Cleese

My water was restored yesterday. The explanation for not having any water pressure for three days was "You done weren't hooked up." Well, thanks Sherlock. But I got affirmation while I was cooking chili when he stopped in, because on the way out he said, "That smells go-o-o-o-d."

Anyhow, today was the semi or is it tri-annual meeting of the self-appointed "Single Losers Club". These are days where my uncle and his wife host the unmarried cousins of the clan, because we can't cook or something. Not really, but it does afford us the oppportunity to have a nice meal and let's face it, I don't have the chance to dunk vanilla wafers in pumpkin dip every day. And it afforded a nice distraction from the Browns-Texans game. Oh, I got to see that debacle, and man, we suck.

Meal of Links

Stallone says he'll do another Rambo. What's next? "Judge Dredd II"?

The buzzwords of the White House scandal. It was a beautiful Fitzmas day on Friday.

I know pennies and walnuts are cool, but would you consider handing out Play-Doh for Halloween? Seems like a rad giveaway, but would the rugrats hate you?

Exercise Yard

The Browns game was a tough game to swallow today. 325 yards resulted in only 16 points. Once again, terrible red zone performance, awful third down efficiency, bad punting (Richardson should be cut this week. A gesture to the rest of the team.), a couple of turnovers. We let Houston hang around in the game and it cost us. Defense gave up too many rushing yards up the gut in the second half, but played well enough for a win. The offense had 325 yards, we ran for 156 (a rarity and why did William Green become featured all of a sudden?), and didn't play that badly for a team that stinks. Except when it counted, especially inside the 20. And obviously, Dilfer must not take a sack with 1:03 left...just cannot do that. I guess we were right to be the underdog, as Vegas always knows. One of those games they'll watch afterward and say "How could we lose this one?".

Visitor

None. It was a nice, sunny Sunday.

We are at Day 3 of having no water pressure in this war-torn city. The boys from Utilicon and the Dept. of Water have ignored my pleas. They are supposed to come into the house to perform something called a "blowback" procedure, which sounds cool. But I think someone shut a valve somewhere and this is getting old. Took a break last night to go down to Becky's, where the crab cakes were pretty good.













Our traditional family excursion to Thistledown had to be aborted this year, because they really didn't offer anything great, as far as the package this year. The pisser of it all is I'll probably have to bet the Breeder's Cup from home. In HD, of course. And I have to admit this year, I am wa-a-a-a-y behind in my handicapping. Here is what I slugged through pretty quickly as far as my bets:

Juvenile Fillies: Folklore (Lukas horse)
Juvenile: Sorcerer's Stone (Why not?)
Filly & Mare Turf: Wonder Again (Soft turf a big bonus)
Sprint: Lost In The Fog (Cannot see anyone beating him)
Mile: Leroidesanimaux (No idea what it means. Hopefully, it means "I win.")
Distaff: Stellar Jayne (I look for her to run away)
Turf: Gun Salute (The other Mott horse...at a price)
Classic: I'm trying Suave, but Borrego probably wins.

Keep in mind, these picks were made without the full-court press I usually do for this event.

Meal of Links

iPod clothes. And I thought dog apparel was insane.

It says "Libby, Libby, Libby on the label, label, label" of these indictments. "Scooter, you're doin' a heckuva job."

The Gateway Arch is now 40 years old. You have to go. At least once.

Exercise Yard

With the NBA season looming, 82games.com gives you a large amount of data.

Visitor

10 Down: "99 Luftballoons" pop group (4 letters) Answer: Nena (not ABBA)

I currently have no water. And, no, I didn't go to FLA today. They are doing some water main cleaning around here and I guess this is part of the process. At least I think so. I hope I don't have to do the "make arrangements to shower elsewhere" routine.

I was at the Rocky River Brewing Co. last night. I drank a schooner of Pirate Light Ale. It was pretty good. Matey.

Meal of Links

Halloween Yard Display Alert: Names on tombstones have the citizenry near the Twin Cities irate. Up in arms, I tell you. The quote from the kid about Hugh Jass slays me. Check out the video.

Dead Elvis has left the building. With pockets full of cash.

"Psst, Harriet. We are withdrawing, I mean, you should withdraw your Supreme Court nomination today. You see, we have these indictments coming down on Friday and need a distraction."

Exercise Yard

Men want to play in women's golf events. Why? If they win, it'd be easy money. Of course, while making a stand.

Visitor

10 Down: Storyteller Myron (5 letters) Answer: Cohen

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.