I ran into the Best Buy at Steelyard Commons today. But it wasn't an ordinary Best Buy. It was like a Mini-Best Buy. They only have two cashiers. I didn't walk around too much. It seemed the TV section was comparable, and I didn't get a good look at the DVD/CD sections. Not sure if I was disappointed, as it probably meets the needs of most people in the neighborhood.

Meal of Links

It was 50 years ago today, Sputnik began to play. Actually it's tomorrow.

Go to Slacker.com. Click on Slacker Spotlight. Then click on SPIN Punk. First song I hear is "See No Evil" by Television. Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Then I skip a few tunes and there is "I'm Waiting For The Man" by Velvet Underground. OK, I'm sold.

Gene Simmons on a pumpkin. Bono, too.

Exercise Yard

The Tribe starts their playoff series against the Yanks tomorrow night. My fear is the Yankee lineup hitting and our lineup failing to hit. I think we are OK with Sabathia and Carmona pitching Games 1 and 2. What I don't like is if we split the first two games, it's Westbrook and Byrd in NYC. Not thrilled about that. I think C.C. has to start Game 4, regardless of who is leading 2-1.

And then there's Jobo to close the games. Let's start crossing everything now, saying those prayers and lighting some candles.

Visitor

40 Down: Fictional crime family name (8 letters) Answer: Corleone

I wasn't waiting for an armoire or anything, but I headed over to The Souper Market after work. Last week, I missed out on some sort of butternut squash bisque, but I noticed one of the special soups this week was Mullagatawny. Mullagatawny, yes! Oh man, was it good.

And I got my bread, but no nice face discount. Mmmmm.

Meal of Links

I am in a current sleep pattern where I'm hitting the hay about 1:00 or 1:30. Not sure why, it just sorta happened. Here is how you can cheat on your need to sleep. I'm all for taking naps during the day, but isn't that sorta frowned upon in the workplace?

Halloween is coming quicker than you think. Here are the Top 30 Greatest Ghosts. OK, Steve Fossett at #25 made me laugh.

This guy is obviously not a Canadian. However, he gives us great tips on where to store your stash. It's his gift to the world.

Exercise Yard

Who doesn't remember Johnny Utah from "Point Break"? Keanu Reeves as the ex-Ohio State QB turned FBI agent who goes undercover in the surfer community. No stretch there. But there is now a play called "Point Break Live!". Sounds cool. Especially the fact that Keanu's part is played by a randomly chosen audience member who reads cue cards, because "...this method manages to capture the rawness of a Keanu Reeves performance...".

Visitor

27 Across: Member of a popular '70s Scottish rock group (13 letters) Answer: Bay City Roller

Lo and behold, TBS in HD has arrived on my cable outlet. Just in time for the extra inning Colorado-San Diego playoff game tonight and all of the other baseball playoffs starting this week.

Or is it a playoff game? Technically, it's regarded as a regular season game, a one-game playoff if you will, to get into the regular playoffs. So, it's more like a play-in game. TBS just throws up the word "tiebreaker" on the screen and hopes we all understand it.

Meal of Links

Rolling Stone rolls out the Top 25 Music DVDs of all time. Excellent choices here and I have seen most of these titles and own several of them. "The Last Waltz" is a worthy number one, on star power alone. I won't go through them all, but these titles show up once in a while on Sundance or IFC, and view them if you have the chance: "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster"; one of my favorites is "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco"; "The Filth And The Fury: A Sex Pistols Film" is a must-see for real perspective on the band; if you haven't seen "Dig!", it's a real gem chronicling the Dandy Warhols and the Brian Jonestown Massacre. I probably need to check out "Stop Making Sense" once again. Of course, "The Kids Are Alright" could have been higher on the list. Check out the trailer with Ringo doing the honors, and especially the live stuff with Pete sliding, Roger at Woodstock, and Moon absolutely annihilating his drum kit:

"The Kids Are Alright" Trailer



Late Sunday, I got a message that Radiohead was releasing a new album. But they are allowing the consumer to pay what they want to obtain it. It's the latest experiment in the world of digital downloads. Their popularity will probably carry the day on this one.

And one last music bit.

Guitarists Who Do Comedy



Exercise Yard

Look who has a grill endorsement. It's Evander Holyfield. I dunno, George Foreman's been knocking out the fat for a long time, this is in serious catchup mode.

Visitor

15 Across: Lucy's landlady (5 letters) Answer: Ethel

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Special Guest: Gale went today. So, we were able to test how inept the Browns Women's and Men's lines operate at the checkpoints outside the Stadium. In a stunning reversal of fortune, I found a Men's line that got me through a clear five minutes before her. Quote from Mean Security Guy to all of the men who were waiting beyond the checkpoint, but not through the turnstile: "We're not gonna let anyone else in. The sooner you move, the quicker they get in." That shows how slow the Women's lines were today.

I was here two weeks ago when the Browns scored 51. I'm sure it's happened before, but I cannot remember the last time we've won two straight anywhere. At home, on the road, on the planet, or even the solar system.

Today's Opponent: Another division rival, the old Browns, the Baltimore Ravens. They come to town with two wins out of three games. But they really have not looked good doing it. For some reason, the Browns have been competitive lately with the Ravens in Cleveland. I can't explain it, but the games have been close. I'm at a loss to as how today's game will play out. Could we win? Maybe, but what gives anyone the right to be confident with the Browns.

The Weather: An outstanding September day to watch football. 77 and sunny. Hope you brought the sunscreen.

Today's Giveaway: The Browns got giddy and decided to give away nylon scarves which we could wave after all of our many scores. Mine quickly went the bandanna route for some sporty headgear.

Section 345: As calm as the lake today. The game had enough action to keep everyone's mind on the game, so nary a shenanigan was played out.






























Best Browns Play: After the Browns scored on their first drive, the Ravens march down the field. But Leigh Bodden intercepts a pass from McNair. On the next play from scrimmage, Derek Anderson hits Braylon Edwards for a 78-yard touchdown pass. Nine minutes in and the game is over!

Second-Best Browns Play: Kellen Winslow's 49-yard catch-and-run in the third quarter. Showed all of his strengths as a tight end in one play. The hands, the speed, the ability to break tackles, all displayed in a great sequence.

Worst Browns Play: The weekly Derek Anderson ugly interception. This one with a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Defense miraculously only gave up a field goal on the ensuing drive.

Best Line from Me: Because of the sun, there was this random we nicknamed Squinty. Apparently, his mission was to walk up the stairs of our section every few minutes, it seemed. Never saw him walk down, but there he is, all the time, going up. "Has Squinty seen one play this game?"

Best Line from Gale (noting the name, Squinty): "Nope."

Best Line from a Random (while the Browns are leading 17-3): "Shit, we're playing so well, we should be up by two touchdowns already." Uh, we were.

Oddest Browns Jersey: 39 Lehan, 53 Faine, 37 Henry.

Food Items: One soda, one pretzel, one popcorn between the two of us.

Best Fan Cam Feature: Probably the last Sunday for fans showing skin.

The Fuckin' Run: The Ravens didn't run much after falling behind early. Having said that, the Browns still managed to give up 111 on the ground. That only took 20 carries for a 5.6 average. Ugh.

Worst Stat: Jamal Lewis. 23 rushes for 64 yards. Only 2.8 per carry.

2nd Worst Stat: Raven quarterback Steve McNair threw 53 passes.

Most Interesting Stat: Browns defense gave up 418 yards and won in a laugher.

Once again, the Browns maintained their competitive edge over the Ravens in Cleveland. It's uncanny. The Ravens could move the ball between the twenties at will, it seemed. But they never posed any big play threat the entire game. And the game was decided rather early. After the Edwards TD, I never thought the Browns were in trouble. I'm not sure how to react as a fan yet, because I still sense dread around every corner. Probably DEFCON 1 for opponents, and maybe DEFCON 2 for the Browns now. After the NFL seemed to regain form in the first three weeks, week 4 provided some really odd results. The Browns now have a better record than the Chargers. And Kansas City and Oakland have also won twice. Huh?

Let's not start talking crazy yet. We have seen Browns Version 2.3 have this kind of start before. It typically ends in disaster after the bye week, which is October 21 this year. Our win this week is rewarded with a game against New England next week. Uh, that can't be good.

Anyhow, the Browns have won 2 division games this year and beat the Ravens, 27-13.

Meal of Links

After the game, Uncle F-Bomb joined us for some celebration libations on the patio of The Harp. Interestingly enough, there appeared to be a family gathering outside that ended up with a twist. Each person at the table was responsible for singing a song. Couldn't see that happening in my family.

Tom Friedman says 9/11 is over. He wants a President who thinks about 9/12.

TV in the bedroom blunts children's emotions. I guess it's OK in a minivan though.

Exercise Yard

Tractor Traylor got sentenced the other day. He tried to help a family member launder some money, that's all.

Visitor

None. It was a beautiful Browns Sunday.

I sit here wondering on another terrific September day...will the Browns ever have a CBS game in HD? Hey, at least we are on in Alaska this week.

I was back at Velocity last night. No peaches in the salad available this time. Had to go with the one that had pears and gorgonzola amongst other items. And sliders, of course.

Speaking of food, the Free Times alerts us to a bunch of new restaurants that have recently opened or are opening forthwith.

Meal of Links

One of my favorite shows returns on Sunday. Yes, it's "Dexter"! This show about a serial killer hooked me right from the start, and I'm up for the ride again this season.

"I've been hypnotized!" That is a really...cool...effect. OK, I'm back. I think.

Who knew? Canadians like pot. Check that. Canadians really like pot. In BC, it's a $7 billion industry. And this quote: "They're making a lot of money on those oil rigs, and everywhere Canadians are making decent money they are doing a lot of drugs." They must have missed this:



Exercise Yard

There were some choices for boxing this evening. Well, there was really only one choice for me. I had to watch Andre Berto-David Estrada and Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor on Home Box, letting "Bad" Chad Dawson toil in obscurity over on Showtime. BTW, HBO has some terrific bouts the next two months, including Pacquiao-Barrera, Calzaghe-Kessler, Cotto-Mosley and Mayweather-Hatton. On paper, that is a list to look forward to.

The Berto-Estrada bout was actually pretty good. I've followed Berto's career since the day Mike and I saw him live 5 years ago at a USA-Irish match. Clearly, he was the best fighter there that evening and he's had a nice pro career, thus far. Estrada proved to be just the right kind of opponent, one who would throw some shots, not go down easily, and take him the distance. Estrada won only one round, the first, but traded 84 power punches with Berto in the third, and 94 in the eighth. Berto was relentless throughout, while emptying the kitchen sink all over Estrada. Estrada will be seeing jabs in his sleep for weeks, but there were lefts, rights, uppercuts, maybe even a bolo punch or two. Berto finally stopped the game Estrada in the eleventh, who will probably sleep until Tuesday.

Next, the middleweight championship fight between Youngstown's Kelly "The Ghost" Pavlik and Little Rock's Jermain "Bad Intentions" Taylor. Somebody's "O" has got to go! (I love when Buffer says that.) Lamps, Merchant and Lennox did a really good job calling this fight. Lennox even brought out his favorite word, "disdain", when they failed to touch gloves at first, during fight instructions. And Merchant mentioned it must be a good fight, "because I have five drops of blood on my shirt".

This one was almost over in Round 2. Pavlik got hit with some tremendous shots and went down. I was amazed he lasted the round because after the knockdown, his legs were still rubbery. As Pavlik said after the fight about the knockdown, "Shit, this is gonna be a long night." But he recovered and had a nice third round to get back in the fight. The middle rounds, for the most part, were less chaotic. Taylor seemed to fight in spurts and I liked the fact that Pavlik was connecting with the jab. He actually threw it most of the fight, however, Taylor was doing a fairly good job of counterpunching early. Later on, it seemed Pavlik was connecting more often without an answer from Taylor. Afterward, Taylor thought he had tired himself out in the early rounds when he was beating on Pavlik. I don't know, that excuse rang hollow with me, because Taylor did have some moments after the second round. I thought him far fom inept.

But going into the seventh round, all of the judges had Taylor ahead, as we found out later. I think the range was 3 to 5 points, as Pavlik was paying a high price for the 10-8 second round. It was a close fight, but as usual, the champ was getting favored on all cards. But then came the seventh round. Pavlik was working the jab, and eventually backed Taylor into the ropes. Then he hit him with a hard right. Taylor was hurt and moved into the corner, and you could see Pavlik sensing the kill. He hit him with several shots including a big uppercut and the referee didn't even count as Taylor appeared out on his feet and then sunk to the canvas during that final onslaught of punches.




















I actually leapt out of my chair on this one. I was very excited to see Pavlik win the title. He has a style that connects with the fans. He had lots of support from the live audience this evening, and maybe he can now fight a little closer to home. I'd love to see a title fight around here.

Visitor

44 Across: Actor on TV's "The Virginian" (7 letters) Answer: McClure Today's puzzle was OK. But what was that salute to Japan yesterday with: "Kirin Carpenter", "If You Knew Sushi" and "Kimono Dragons"?

Another quarter has zipped by. That means it's time to check the credit score. It's 799 this time. I like that very much. However, it seems that FICO has borrowed something from the "Big Lebowski". They compare you to the folks known as FICO High Achievers. As in, "you have a 2% rate of actual debt to allotted credit, while most FICO High Achievers average 7%". That made me laugh when I saw it.

Meal of Links

"The Office" returns tonight with a super-sized episode. Of course, that means Creed is back!

David Gilmour pretty much ends any further discussion of a Pink Floyd reunion. "I suspect that our conjunction of people and musicality and taste and intelligence has run out of steam. Roger thought it had in 1975". Uh-oh.

Michigan busts a pop can smuggling ring. No one named Kramer or Newman in the indictment.

Newman: "What is this 'MI, Ten Cents'?"

Kramer: "That's Michigan. In Michigan, you get ten cents."

Newman: "Ten cents!?"

Kramer: "Yeah."

Newman: "Wait a minute. You mean you get five cents here, and ten cents there? You could round up bottles here and run 'em out to Michigan for the difference."

Kramer: "No, it doesn't work."

Newman: "Whaddaya mean it doesn't work? You get enough bottles together..."

Kramer: "Yeah, you overload your inventory and you blow your margins on gasoline. Trust me, it doesn't work."

Exercise Yard

I haven't mentioned the Women's World Cup at all. Part of it is sexism, the other part is it's being held in China and there is that thing called the International Dateline, so the matches are typically played at 5:00 and 8:00 a.m. Eastern. But the US coach, Greg Ryan, pulled a coaching move worthy of Grady Little or Wade Phillips. His mistake? He pulled the starting goalkeeper, Hope Solo, in order to recapture the past glory of Briana Scurry.

On paper, the move looked bad. Scurry will be remembered as one of the greatest keepers in the women's game. But she had not really played that much in the last three years. Coach Ryan thought it would be good to start her because of her history vs. Brazil. Solo, besides having a cool name, had not been beaten in 41 matches and had clean sheets in her last three.

The problem is you can't just pull a keeper on a whim. Of course, this match was a disaster and Brazil won, 4-0. And Hope Solo was none too happy about it.

Hope Floats...An Opinion or Two



Visitor

48 Across: G-funk sound creator, familiarly (3 letters) Answer: Dre

Now that my Dad can see, I took him to dinner. I had a gift certificate (courtesy of Cleveland Independents) laying around for Mavis Winkle's, which was gonna expire tomorrow, so we went today. We both opted for corned beef. He for a sammie and me for a dinner. I thought it was pretty decent. Boy, they had a nice whole grain mustard sauce that was yummy.

Not bad overall. This was the Independence location, where the old Cooker once stood. We sat in the bar section, so we could see the Tribe's home game in Seattle. Nice selection on tap. I had a couple of Harps. Some Irish music in the background, and thankfully, not in my ear.

Meal of Links

Has Bill O'Reilly gone mad? Even more on Olbermann from The Nation.

Toyota recalls floor mats. That might be a first.

The Superficial notes that Victoria Beckham celebrates "The War" and dresses like a Nazi. A commenter notes: Himmler Chic.





















Exercise Yard

Why you can't name a horse Nutzapper. Or, if you can, don't brag about it. But the Jockey Club has decided that some interesting names do pass the test. Jail Bait (twice) and Cunning Stunt somehow sneaked by. I think Rock Hard Ten was the last one on the national stage that was kinda funny.

Visitor

48 Down: Immortal racer Earnhardt (4 letters) Answer: Dale

The new TV season has kicked off this week. I have to DVR some things like "Chuck" tonight and "Reaper" tomorrow. That's because I am totally digging Ken Burns' "The War" on PBS. Quite frankly, I eat this stuff up. I think it's very good, and after tonight's episode, we've already covered 1942 and 1943. You tend to pick up tidbits that I was unaware of, like how many U.S. merchant vessels were destroyed rather close to our shores in 1942 and how one division heading for Rome in 1943 had 58 straight days of combat, losing 3200 men, while covering only 50 miles of terrain between Napoli and Roma.

Told in first person accounts from four US Cities: Mobile, Sacramento, Waterbury, CT and Luverne, MN. It's interesting because you'll get stories from someone who was at Bataan, another with Patton through Sicily and Italy, another at Guadalcanal (my Dad told me that was when he bailed on watching-"too much death"), another guy aboard a Flying Fortress trying to bomb those seemingly indestructible ball bearing plants a la "Hogan's Heroes".

The only criticism I had was that Part I ended with a pretty obvious edit. In order to satisfy the Latino "What About Us?" protests about their apparent exclusion, it was obvious that there was an addendum made after the fact. Oh, the story was great. It dealt with Carlson's Raiders, a guerrilla fighting force unlike anything the US had in its Army before. So, that was neat. But it did give the appearance of throwing a bone to the Latinos and let's move on.

Meal of Links

There's good and bad when looking at these awesome cars for 2008. I guess the good is that the price is mentioned, but the bad is, well, who can afford these automobiles? But, omigod, look at that Shelby. Someday...someday.

Mark Cuban, with his new hip, says he'll pull out all of the white man's moves for "Dancing With The Stars". Handicapping the field.

There is an alleged Meg White sex tape floating about the Internets today. I've seen it and I place the likelihood of it being her at about 0%. Oh, it's a woman. She has dark hair. That's where the resemblance ends, I'd say.

Exercise Yard

You know there's always been ridiculous announcing on sporting events. Don't get me started on Steve Lyons talking about Carlos Beltran's pet monkey during an important at-bat during a playoff game a few years ago.

But why did Mike Patrick reference Britney Spears during an overtime game when Alabama just moved ahead of Georgia? Todd Blackledge was even confused by this. Oh, it's an all-timer.



Mike: "I have an important question for you."
Todd: "Yes?"
M: "What is Britney doing with her life?"
T: "Who?"
M: "Britney!"
T: (confused) "Britney who?"
M: "Spears! What is she doing with her career?"
T: (still confused) "Why do we care at this point? Is she here?"
M: "I don't think so."
T: (even more confused) "Is she a football fan?"
M: "Oh, I'm sure she is."

Visitor

23 Across: Singer Orbison (3 letters) Answer: Roy (Mercy!)

Hey, I just realized hitting the space bar twice on the BlackBerry results in a period being typed. How did I miss that? I'm also curious as to what Marcel Marceau's last words were. Here are his funeral arrangements.

Today was the Browns first regular season road game and that meant a visit to Paul's. Today it was pulled pork sammies and they were good. I'm not really sure what to make of today's game. Actually, I do. Uh, we're not very good. Too many early penalties, the time of possession tilted heavily to the Raiders in the second half, and we had a blocked field goal at the end which would have won the game.

I am amazed we even had a chance to win. Oakland helped out by not scoring touchdowns inside the 5-yard line in the first half and settled for field goals. Once again, we could not stop the fuckin' run. Today, it was 186 yards. That is not acceptable. Derek Anderson had two Derek Anderson-like interceptions in the first half, but somehow cobbled a late drive to put us in position to win. Thanks to Kellen Winslow with two fine catches.

The killer play was in the fourth quarter, and it was the 3rd-and-23 screen pass that went for 27 yards by the Raiders. Now, that is unacceptable. Once again, the defense looked shabby and if Josh Cribbs had not run back a kickoff, I'm not sure we would have even been that close. Next week, it's the Ravens.

Meal of Links

Since it's an EPL morning, I got to have the big breakfast at home. I'm a fan of wheat bread, but I have been eating bolillo lately. I must say, it's pretty good. Nice change of pace from your normal wheat breads.

A nice contrast of movie references from "The Simpsons". Scenes from the show next to their movie counterparts. Probably more to come.

More Rove political schemes are uncovered. No surprise here.

Exercise Yard

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has a MySpace page. I laughed quite a bit at that one.

Visitor

None. Another great September Sunday.

Is there a more thankless job than cleaning your garage? I can't think of any. But that's what I've been doing lately. Fun factor kinda on the low side.

I've also been trying to sneak in a last bit of grilling, as well. Last night, it was chicken. Today, I tried the "salt the shit out of your steak" preparation I had come across earlier. I had a strip steak and thought it worked out pretty well. Fairly tender, but I am going to try it a little more on the rare side next time to see the results. So far, so good though. I'll see how a different cut works, as well.

Hey, I yelled "Jesus Christ" at some driver in the Post Office parking lot today. Just as a nun was walking by. Is that bad? She didn't say anything or look. Well, as far as I know, because I had something urgent I had to look for in my glove compartment. Didn't find anything, I mean, it, before I moved on.

Thought I'd finally watch some college football today, as I am waiting for the Pavlik-Taylor fight next Saturday. But all the late afternoon games were shitty. And what's the deal with Ohio State on both ABC and ESPN locally? Cannot think of a dumber move. Anyhow, those games became nothing more than background noise after a while. But I noticed songs by Bob Mould (which I guess has been on a while) and Emerson, Lake and Palmer were on commercials. I think Mould was on for TIAA-CREF. ELP, I have no idea, I think it was college football related. I looked up and saw a guy being tackled. Hell, maybe it was the band during a game, I don't know.

OK, we have seen Beach Volleyball cheerleaders. Pretty fans, of course, of World Cup Soccer. Can't tell if these are cheerleaders or lap dancers at the Rugby World Cup:

























Meal of Links

Finally, a country with an exchange rate so simple, even I can understand it. Not good for us, but blame Canada. Let's see, one U.S. dollar equals one Canadian dollar. I think I can handle that.

Christmas reality show, "Clash of the Choirs". Have we reached rockbottom with this one? Wow, they rocked "Adeste Fidelis", didn't they?

The guy from O.J.'s press conference. It was damn funny.

Paul forwarded me this survey of which presidential candidate you align with the closest. According to this, I would vote for Mike Gravel and run away from electing Sam Brownback. I believe Gravel is further left than Dennis Kucinich and I'm pretty sure Brownback is the furthest to the right. But we all know they won't be on the ticket.

Exercise Yard

I'm not sure if this debuted with any fanfare, but Cleveland.com has a Browns database up and running. This covers all of the game action from 1946 to the present. A very neat tool.

It helps clarify some things you may have thought you had seen at some games. For instance, when I was a kid, did Thom (the original Jhonny) Darden really fumble away an interception return when no one was within 20 yards of him against the Bengals. Yes, he did. Here is how it was described: "There was one sack and an interception by Thom Darden.

The Cleveland safety made his steal in the second quarter when the Bengals seemed ready to move in for another score. Darden grabbed the ball at his 3 but lost control and fumbled out of bounds at the Cleveland 30. He appeared to have a clear path to a touchdown or a long gain at the least."

We lost that game, 10-7.

Even then, the horrible plays stuck with me.

Visitor

42 Across: Uncle (4 letters) Answer: Ben's BTW, awful clues/answers today. Zodiac sign was "The Crab"? Duh-umb.

I was in one of those traffic jams this morning where you just have to suck on it and like it. It took me twice the drive time as normal. Not really sure where the accident was on 480, but there was fire, and EMS and more fire. It took me an hour to get from Ridge to 77 today. So, it was roll the windows down and crank the music time.

Oddly enough, Elvis came on with "Welcome to the Working Week". But I heard stuff from Nine Inch Nails, Sublime, The Used, the new one from Beck, Talking Heads, T. Rex, Public Image amongst others, so I was able to tolerate it.

Meal of Links

Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Jack White were at the Ryman last night? And, pray tell, who was here in Podunk last night? Damn it.

This time, it truly was a last lecture. More here.

"The View" picked another gem as a host. Seriously, if you don't know the world is round, how do you get on a nationally-broadcasted show and offer opinions? On anything. And to say it's unimportant and try to change the subject is just ridiculous.

Exercise Yard

Floyd Landis is mercifully running out of appeals. It's too bad that one of the coolest things I ever saw became tainted and has retained its joke status.

Visitor

18 Across: Journalist on ice? (10 letters) Answer: NHL Mencken

My Dad went missing this a.m. Not for a long time, but for about 90 minutes or so, no one knew where he was. Of course, like most members of our family, we have pinned inside of our clothing this message, "If found, take me to Alesci's." and that's where he turned up.

You see, he was supposed to go the Indians game via the rapid. Through some sort of miscommunication, he went to the Puritas station while his partners in crime were waiting at the Brookpark station, which happens to be before his stop. Thinking he was late, he hops on a train and goes Downtown, while the search party gets cranked up and others are still at the Brookpark station. Yeah, it's tough not to fear the worst, but it was well established he had just made two phone calls in the previous hour. It was obvious he had left home, so I was pretty convinced it was a case of going to the wrong station.

He normally has his cellphone with him, but left it home today. Imagine the nerve of that guy, going places without a cellphone. Some people! But the crisis would have been averted if he had it, so that became today's lesson. And he saw a win. Just in time for his eye surgery tomorrow.

BTW, I happened to take advantage of the half-moonlit evening and walk through the part of my neighborhood that is more hood, than neighborly. The thing that struck me is that some of those businesses around there were not doing very well. The pizza place had no one there. The bar a couple of doors down only had two customers. But they have dollar drafts from 1:00 to 7:00, so maybe that's when it's crowded. Even the funeral home had not one wake. That's hard to believe. The crazy thing was the Palm Reader was still open. That seemed odd to me. I guess you never know when you get the urge to drop in on a seer, although if she could see the future, that's probably why she was open late.

Meal of Links

Ahoy, matey, and grab a schooner of Coke. I hope you got to Talk Like A Pirate today.

DirecTV is getting closer to its goal of 100 HD channels by year's end. Pretty easy to determine Time Warner's response, because I don't see any in the article.

Ray-guns are so cool. I prefer the early cartoon version myself.

















Exercise Yard

Jose Mourinho throws in the towel at Chelsea. Only adds to my viewing of the big Chelsea-ManU match on Sunday.

Visitor

21 Across: Ring master (3 letters) Answer: Ali

It's pretty sad when a guy gets the taser at a John Kerry lecture. This scene was disturbing on so many levels. First, we have a known prankster involved who probably didn't think it would escalate into what happened. We have the student committee who sponsored the event call in security. We have students in the audience encouraging security to remove the guy. Security cannot contain this guy? And Kerry reminds me of Al Lerner after Bottlegate at the Stadium: "Carmen, did you see any bottles? I didn't see any bottles." Kerry said he didn't know until he left the building that the kid got tasered. Bullshit, I say.

Maybe, he should listen to The Clash.

The Clash-"Know Your Rights"



Meal of Links

Catching up with Sean Young. Oh man, she makes my boy parts move.

Ten funniest Internet sites. Some obvious choices here. "Funny or Die" is newer, but really good. "Overheard in New York", a timeless classic.

Tim Horton's might not be a good stock play, but I'm sensing a Butter Caramel Smoothie in my near future. Methinks I'll flip a coin for the direction I travel. I'll take Romeo with me.

Exercise Yard

O.J. hates the World Series. Remember the World Series was cancelled last time he committed felonies. Be alert, October.

Visitor

32 Across: Terrell who sang with Marvin Gaye (5 letters) Answer: Tammi

Denise asked me to go the Tribe game this evening, and you know I cannot pass on club seats. I think I did better this team by only snorting down the left side of the menu. It's good to go with someone who is familiar with this section, because you get to find out where the bathrooms are (who knew I had choices?) and I stumbled upon my new favorite activity, playing with the soda dispenser.

Anyhow, this developed into quite an exciting game as the Indians won in the eleventh inning, courtesy of a home run off the bat of everyone's favorite, Casey Blake. Other fan fave, Jhonny Peralta homered twice, including a game-tying shot in the eighth. The Tigers are not done, but this was one bitter defeat, blowing a 5-2 lead in the eighth. We are very close now. Start crossing fingers and lighting candles. The magic number is now 7.

Meal of Links

Times Select is over! Hey, if this was successful, they'd continue to charge for access, right? It's about time the NYTimes was free online again.

A Seinfeld time waster!

Even SNL staffers got tired of Jimmy Fallon's antics. I excuse his laughing on "More Cowbell" and not much else.

Exercise Yard

It's O.J. again. Time to call the lawyers again. Let's see, Johnnie's dead. Kardashian's dead. Shapiro is still around, I see him on some commercial. Scheck does great work with The Innocence Project and I don't think DNA tests are part of this case. Hey, there's always F. Lee Bailey.

Visitor

18 Down: Journalist Bly (6 letters) Answer: Nellie

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

















Chad Johnson jumped into the Dawg Pound today, but they seem to be telling him his circle's gotta go.

Special Guest: I took Shaun, attending his first Browns game at Cleveland Browns Stadium. When it comes to the NFL, I subscribe to the theory that you're never as bad or good as you showed the previous week. Browns Version 2.3 cannot be this bad, can they?

Last week's pessimism was spot on and did we have a week of "lack of institutional control" or what? The starting QB, Charlie Frye (who I was never sold on), just declared the starter, is now traded after one of the worst performances I've ever seen. So, now we are left with Derek Anderson to drive the bus, while Brady Quinn gets familiar with the owner's manual. Not sure how good Anderson will be, but I thought he was clearly better than Frye, but the coaches seem to have a mistrust about him. I look for better things today, but not great.

I expect "Brady, Brady!" chants early and hopefully there isn't a riot at the game.

Today's Opponent: Another one of our division rivals, the Cincinnata Bengals. As old Browns coach Forrest Gregg used to say, "The Cincinnata Bengals are a fine football team." They had a big win against the Ravens on Monday night. Most people use the Monday Night Hangover theory to say the Bengals may not be that good today. But aren't the Browns the hair of the dog for everyone these days? This should be a revenge game for the brutal shutout they put on us here last year. Strangely, I don't think anyone on the team mentioned it this week. The Bengals defense seemed better last week, causing lots of turnovers, reminiscent of 2005. Carson Palmer leads a really good offense. We have kept Chad Johnson in check lately, and Rudi (Rudi Can't Fail!) Johnson normally runs all over us, except for that shutout last year. If the Bengals have no one arrested on the way here, they will probably win today.

The Weather: A little bit cloudy early. But the sun came out, the temperature was about 65 and it was a very nice day to watch a game.

Today's Giveaway: The Browns gave away some sort of flag item today. The sponsor was my mobile carrier, AT&T Mobility.

















Is this a dream? Is it still Sunday morning? Pinch me.

Section 345: Let me say this. This game was like finding a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk. No, make that $500. Absolutely unexpected. It was nine years of frustration coming out in one glorious afternoon. Crowd into it in a massive way, even though the bathroom by our section was starting to flood by the end of the third quarter. No fights in our section, no defense from either team and the guy from Home Depot was seen delivering lights because the toteboard was starting to run out of them.

Best Browns Play: Probably not seen on TV. But after Jamal Lewis scampered for a 47-yard gain in the fourth quarter, Kellen Winslow did a cartwheel on the field. A cartwheel! That's how giddy everyone was getting.


















Second-Best Browns Play: I loved the Browns first TD to Joe Jurevicius. Quite simply, Anderson threw a pass for the score that Charlie Frye cannot.

Worst Browns Play: The score is 41-38, Browns. They run Lawrence Vickers on a fourth-and-1 on the Bengal 49 for his only carry of the day. No gain, of course. Sick feeling returns immediately to my stomach.

Best Line from Me: "I think hell is chilly today, because we're back in the playoff hunt." by a nose over "Derek Anderson has thrown for five TDs today." Not a gem, but I like typing "Derek Anderson has thrown for five TDs today." a lot.

Best Line from Shaun (after the win): "You may want to keep in mind, I AM the good luck charm." by a nose over "Hey, I just heard Peter Jennings died."

Best Line from a Nostradamus (while waiting for the escalator, taunting Bengal women): "The score is gonna be Browns, 33-31, late. And you're gonna be mad when your boy throws an interception and we win." I thought him an idiot, but props to him, you drunken sage, you.

Oddest Browns Jersey: 66 Zukauskas, 57 Bentley, 84 Chiaverini. My God, a Chiaverini!

Food Items: Shaun said two beers and two hot dogs totalled $22. Twice.

Best Fan Cam Feature: Anyone yelling for the Browns. I'm telling you, medics were called, because people were in pain from smiling too much. It was so stupidly euphoric.

The Fuckin' Run: The Browns gave up 137 yards on the ground. Miraculously, they ran for 226 with Jamal Lewis getting 215.

Worst Stat: It took me 55 minutes to get home. Because most people stayed at the game, for once.

2nd Worst Stat: Today? Dwell on any negatives? No fucking way.

Most Interesting Stat: The Browns had a 300-yard passer, a 200-yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers. They had never done that as a member of the NFL.

A game that was one for the ages. Both teams combined for over 1,000 yards in offense. There have been MONTHS where the Browns have not gained that many yards. This was a game where the Bengals did this:

Carson Palmer, 33 out of 50 for 401 yards and 6 TDs

Rudi Johnson, 23 rushes for 118 yards.

Chad Johnson, 11 catches for 209 yards and 2 TDs

and incredibly, the Browns still won. Somehow, the football gods smiled upon our little hamlet today. And the guy I saw today with this t-shirt: "Cleveland: A Drinkin' Town With a Football Problem" may have to get a new tailor. Or at least he can buy a Derek Anderson jersey and not rent one. I am reminded of the old Raider broadcaster, Bill King and his call of the infamous Holy Roller to describe today's game.

"It's not real! A man would be a fool to ever try and write a drama and make you believe it. And now, this one will be relived - forever!"

Browns win, 51-45, in what may have been the most improbably delirious game I'll ever see.

Meal of Links

I probably won't camp in Alaska.

Lots of sites about movies. You may want to find out something about an actor, perhaps. Someone like Russell Crowe, for instance.

Lloyd Carr knows Russell Crowe. But Jim Tressel knows how to beat Lloyd Carr. Can't figure out which is more important.

Exercise Yard

The Tigers are coming to Jacobs Field this week. These three games are the whole season right here.

Visitor

None. It's another Browns Sunday.

The folks at Purple Heart did it again. They ask me if I'll have a bag of clothes. I say yes. Then they insist on calling back to confirm. Why do I need to call back. My word is good. Sure enough, two bags ready and they aren't picked up. Unbelievable.

"They know the bags are here, they know the number, they know I want to give. Why do I need to call back, just take the bags."

Meal of Links

Check this out. You can check out what people are editing the most on Wikipedia.

Bourdain does a holiday special with Queens of the Stone Age. Should be a classic.

Why MTV hates you. They really do, you know.

Exercise Yard

The life of a long snapper.

Visitor

42 Across: Wilson of "La Femme Nikita" (4 letters) Answer: Peta (But what about this clue? 59 Across You might hit it if you're tired. Hey now!)

I've got some major cable modem trouble this evening. I need to make this quick. Is our President coloring his hair? Seemed darker during his speech tonight. Hey, it's "CSI Song".

Meal of Links

Add The Cure to the list of bands who have rescheduled dates for a tour. Strangely, they are not here until June 2008. Looks like Quicken is anticipating the Cavs playing late in that month next year, as the venue was not announced. BTW, the AT&T Blue Room has the Austin City Limits Music Festival on this weekend.

Marc Bolan died 30 years ago this weekend. This guy was always very interesting.

Do not mess with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. To borrow a phrase from "Dragnet", he's got balls the size of churchbells. He brings the hammer down hard on the Patriots.

Exercise Yard

Lewis Hamilton lives another day to fight for the F1 drivers title. But his team, Mercedes McLaren, gets the Dr. Evil-like fine of $100 million dollars. They lose all of their constructor championship points, too. You see, they were cheating.

Visitor

20 Across: One who ran a Mickey Mouse operation (6 letters) Answer: Eisner

Hey, my old friend from the Purple Heart called. So, I got to get a couple of bags together. Geez, they used to give you more warning, I thought.

I also received my first bill from AT&T Mobility. Not a book, but they keep track of everything.

BTW, is that Iggy I hear on that Vera Wang Kohl's ad?

Meal of Links

The White Stripes have cancelled their American tour. Meg White has "acute anxiety" and cannot travel. Therefore, I am very glad I saw them when I did. Looks like the UK portion is still on...we'll see. And it's Zeppelin, man, for one show.

If you salt your meat, you better be aware of who you serve it to. It might mean jail.

I hate young people.

Exercise Yard

After watching the Browns preseason, I was still surprised how Charlie Frye was rated better than Derek Anderson. I understand that's like picking between dumb and dumber, but to have Frye drummed out of town so quickly shows the organization does not know what the hell it's doing. I wonder of they are renting Anderson jerseys at the team shop this week.

Rating all of the NFL unis.

Visitor

67 Across: "The Bathers" artist (6 letters) Answer: Renoir

I'm wondering what the protocol is when you meet a dog. I'm talking about the four-legged variety, of course. Sometimes when I am walking around the neighborhood, a much quieter place since the departure of Future Felon, there are people out with their dogs. Tonight, there was an old-timer walking his Scottie dog. So, I see him up ahead and sure enough the dog comes over by me.

I like dogs, so I don't ever ask the owner, I just go ahead and start petting the dog. I haven't lost any flesh yet, so I keep doing it. I mean, I'll always ask the dog how he's doing. The owner says, "You always like to meet people, don't you?" I said, "Oh, you must have me confused with Cousin Ron.". Then I realized he was talking to the dog. Not really, but do I need to ask for the dog's name or is there some sort of small talk obligation to the owner. I need to know these things.

I also saw a skunk later on. Now, what kind of a pact do we have with them?

Meal of Links

The life of a Fact Checker. Bill Murray stars. Mel from "Flight of the Conchords" also drops in.

Hey, the new "Crosswords" show is on. I was not happy with last Saturday's puzzle, BTW. Many stupid answers.

Paul Byrd, author. The part about struggling with pornography on the road should be fascinating. I'm sure his disputes with the front desk about ordering porn are classic.

Exercise Yard

The Browns have have only won 20 games at home since their return. They have lost 45. In 2006, San Diego won all 8 of their home games, 40% of the Browns home win total of 8+ years. Another Fun Fact to know and tell. BTW, this Onion article from last week on Brady Quinn was really funny.

The man who fired Joe Tait, former hated Cavs owner Ted Stepien, died today. Stepien was known as "TS", as in "Too Stupid". During his period of ownership, the Cavs were the laughingstock of all sports. Every damn one of them. I can remember Stepien being consistently blasted by Pete Franklin on 1100 and Doug Clarke in the Cleveland Press. He sued both of them.

This article pretty much sums it up on Stepien as NBA owner.

Visitor

40 Across: Dwarf who gets blessed a lot? (6 letters) Answer: Sneezy

Randomness from today's Browns home game:

Ah, Opening Day Pageantry for the Browns:

















Special Guest: My brother Jeff, along with his uncanny Browns winning percentage, is in attendance at today's game. The Browns ("Here in Cleveland? I didn't know they still had a team!") Version 2.3 seems to be teetering on the brink.

It could be the brink of a disaster or the start of something good. Knowing the Browns as I do, I lean heavily toward the former. Why the pessimism? We have a coach who may be fired, if there are no wins on this early schedule. Which includes our division rivals in the first three home games. Our starting quarterback seems to be in the position of keeping the seat warm for the heir apparent. Our new O.C., "Chud", showed absolutely nothing in the preseason, and the new offense looked a lot like the old offense, except for some motion packages. Is he a poker player or a genius? Time will tell. We have no suitable backup at running back. And, by God, what is my epitaph? "We still can't stop the fuckin' run."

Usually, Opening Day should be teeming with optimism. The grass always looks greener, the Browns look browner and the hot dogs are, well, hot doggier. But these appear to be the perennial SOBs (Same Old Browns) they've been since their return.

















Browns Spirit Flag: The Browns unveiled a Spirit Flag today. They also played "Smells Like Teen Spirit" after their only TD. I said, "It smells like team spirit...like crap."

Today's Opponent: Our hated rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Stillers come to town with a new head coach, one of the youngest in the league. They also have a mascot for the first time in their history, one Steely McBeam. The QB, Ben Roethlisberger, is healthy once again. Last year, the unhealthy version torched us in a 4th quarter comeback. They run the ball well and it seems like a typical Steeler team.

The Weather: Not looking promising early Sunday morning. However, as the morning progressed, it appeared most of the rain moved out. And it did, until the 4th quarter, when it rained pretty hard for several minutes.

Today's Giveaway: The Browns gave away orange towels that were supposed to counteract the Terrible Towel of the Steelers. I didn't get one, but I believe the towel read, "Here we go Brownies, here we go!"

Section 345: Hey, you could tell the Steelers were in town. The "Asshole" chants were prevalent and, of course, the gendarmes were called at least three times to quell any disturbances between fans of the rivals. Obviously, it was the Steelers fans fault, as it always seems to be.

Yes, I did forget that one of the people escorted out was probably our favorite jersey of the day. An orange jersey with the number 7&7 and the name "Drunken Monkey".

Best Browns Play: The flyover at the beginning of the game. I just loves me those flyovers, with real military jets. Later on, there was a Modell flyover, when a commercial jet was headed for Hopkins.

Second-Best Browns Play: Gene Hickerson was presented with his Hall of Fame ring today. For the veteran fans of the Browns in the crowd, it was an extremely nice gesture. Randy Lerner does a lot of these things the right way.

Worst Browns Play: Browns get the opening kickoff. Everyone excited. Let's start the season right, men. First play: 2-yard run. Like "Deal or No Deal", that's OK. Second play: Incomplete pass. Mmmm, that's familiar. Third play: Sack. Uh-oh. Bring on the punt team.

Our new punter, Paul Ernster fumbles the snap, picks up the ball, runs to his left, kicks, then gets drilled. Ball only goes 15 yards. In the meantime, flags are flying everywhere. Then, like a scene from a CYO game, the ref tells us there are four penalties, all on the Browns. Just when you think you've seen it all, like the year under Marty Schottenheimer, when the Browns used anywhere from 8 to 13 players on a play, this occurs. I'm not sure I've ever seen three, let alone four fouls on one team. There was an illegal formation, two holdings and a bunch of illegal men downfield. A microcosm of all that ails this team.

Oh, and the Roethlisberger-to-Holmes 40-yard pass was a thing of beauty to watch. But that play was bad for us.

Best Line from Me (after we get the ball trailing, 24-0): "There's a gleam, men!"

Best Line from Jeff (after another stupid replay challenge): "Maybe he needs a Challenge Coordinator." This now makes Romeo zero-for-a million on replay challenges. Jeff thinks he needs to throw the beanbag like a man, so the refs treat him with respect.

Best Line from a Random (after another Derek Anderson incomplete pass): "You suck, too."

Oddest Browns Jersey: Again with the extremely poor choices. The typical: 2 Couch, 5 Garcia, 10 Holcomb, 31 Green (can you think of anymore reviled players here?) But these were the oddest: 12 Strock, 38 Langham, 57 Rudd (the most peculiar, by far), 81 Morgan (in orange and white) and a bizarre trio of people wearing 81 Bryant (very strange).

Food Items: Brat $4.75, Dr. Pepper $3.50. My brother, apparently on his way to the electric chair, had 2 hot dogs, a pretzel and a pop. OK, I shared some of the pretzel.

Best Fan Cam Feature: I have had it with these halftime highlights the Browns present. Today, "Baghdad Dave" Chudowsky delivers the news through some sort of Browns Filter. Please note, we are getting our asses kicked, 17-0, at the half. But you wouldn't know it from the highlights. Once again, they refuse to show any Steeler scores. It gets worse, as they show a pass completion from Charlie Frye, who was unceremoniously yanked as QB early. WTF? They show random Browns plays that actually gained yardage, and there were not many. Then, looking for some sort of silver lining, he utters what may have been the most preposterous thing I've ever heard: "The Browns are looking good on Time of Possession." I mean, seriously, can this guy right now. Unbelievable. Amazingly, they only had the ball for about 2 minutes in the second half.

The Fuckin' Run: The Browns gave up 206 yards on the ground. Ugh. They ran for 46. Yikes.

Worst Stat: Charlie Frye was sacked five times and lasted only 23 minutes as the Browns quarterback before he was benched. 23 minutes! Amazing.

2nd Worst Stat: Charlie Frye's QB rating was 10. You need to be really bad to get a 10. Makes you yearn for the halcyon days of Doug Peterson.

Most Interesting Stat: The Browns had five turnovers (2 interceptions, 3 fumbles)



















Why, oh why, do I continue this torture? A game of high hopes for most people, dashed so quickly. Sarcasm enters the building in record time, two minutes and one second into the game, with the botched punt. Shouts of "Brady! Brady!" echoing throughout the stands. Frye lasts 23 minutes as quarterback. Winslow with a bad penalty, Cribbs with a bad penalty. Anderson throwing behind his receivers. Frye getting sacked. Sacked again. Again. Again. Again. Jurevicius with a drop. Carter with a drop. Romeo bungling both of his replay challenges. Defense not doing much of anything. Punter will be cut this week.

Browns lose, 34-7.

Yep, this is our team:

















Welcome to the 2007 season!

Meal of Links

A look at some really bad cars. None of mine are on here.

What Congress thinks about the surge. I actually like Gen. Petraeus, but he's in a tough spot.

People can be kicked off of airplanes because of what they wear? When my Dad told me about this, I thought, boy, her outfit must have been rally racy. But now I don't think so.

Exercise Yard

The secret signs of beach volleyball. Looked at this a long time and still couldn't figure it out.

Visitor

None. Are you ready for some football? Hey, the Browns are playing, too.