My Bowl Projections

I haven't done this in awhile and since its a slow news day and I've got the time to kill, here's how I think the bowls will shape up. December 20-January 9 is the best time of the year, next to the first 2 weeks of the NCAA tournament. So, here's how I see this playing out.

New Mexico Bowl - Fresno State (WAC) vs. San Diego State (MWC)
St. Petersburg Bowl - Southern Miss (C-USA) vs. South Florida (BEC)
Las Vegas Bowl - Utah (MWC) vs. UCLA (P-10)
EagleBank Bowl - Duke (ACC) vs. UCF (C-USA)
New Orleans Bowl - Marshall (C-USA) vs. Troy (SBC)
Pointsettia Bowl - BYU (MWC) vs. California (P-10)
Hawaii Bowl - Nevada (WAC) vs. East Carolina (C-USA)
Motor City Bowl (Little Caesar's) - Central Michigan (MAC) vs. Michigan State (B-10)
Meineke Car Care Bowl - Pittsburgh (BEC) vs. North Carolina (ACC)
Champs Sports Bowl - Minnesota (B-10) vs. Virginia Tech (ACC)
Emerald Bowl - Stanford (P-10) vs. Boston College (ACC)
Independence Bowl - Missouri (B-12) vs. Kentucky (SEC)
Papajohns.com Bowl - South Carolina (SEC) vs. West Virginia (BEC)
Alamo Bowl - Northwestern (B-10) vs. Kansas State (B-12)
Humanitarian Bowl - Idaho (WAC) vs. Ohio (MAC)
Texas Bowl - Navy (IND) vs. Texas A&M (B-12)
Holiday Bowl - Nebraska (B-12) vs. Arizona (P-10)
Armed Forces Bowl - Air Force (MWC) vs. SMU (C-USA)
Sun Bowl - Oregon State (P-10) vs. Oklahoma (B-12)
Music City Bowl - Florida State (ACC) vs. Georgia (SEC)
Insight Bowl - Texas Tech (B-12) vs. Wisconsin (B-10)
Peach (Chick-fil-A) Bowl - Mississippi (SEC) vs. Clemson (ACC)
Outback Bowl - Penn State (B-10) vs. Tennessee (SEC)
Citrus (Capital One) Bowl - Iowa (B-10) vs. Auburn (SEC)
Gator Bowl - Notre Dame (IND) vs. Miami (ACC)
Cotton Bowl - Oklahoma State (B-12) vs. LSU (SEC)
Liberty Bowl - Houston (C-USA) vs. Arkansas (SEC)
International Bowl - Temple (MAC) vs. Rutgers (BEC)
GMAC Bowl - Tulsa (C-USA) vs. Northern Illinois (MAC)
Rose Bowl - Ohio State (B-10) vs. Oregon (P-10)
Orange Bowl - Georgia Tech (ACC) vs. Boise State (WAC)
Sugar Bowl - Florida (SEC) vs. Cincinnati (BEC)
Fiesta Bowl - TCU (MWC) vs. USC (P-10)
BCS National Championship Game - BCS #1 Alabama vs. BCS #2 Texas

In 3 weeks I'll see how I did...

R.I.P. Captain Lou

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Captain Lou Albano, the charismatic
professional wrestler who appeared in Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just
Wanna Have Fun" video, has died. He was 76.
World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed the death Thursday on
its Web site.
Albano performed with WWE from 1983 to 1996, when he was
inducted into its hall of fame. He began his wrestling career in
Canada in 1953.
Albano expanded his fan base greatly when he played Lauper's
father in the video for her hit single on a fledgling MTV in 1983.
He later claimed to be the catalyst for her success, according to
WWE.

Captain Lou was one of the true innovators in the business. Much love and respect to the Captain and my deepest sympathies to his friends and family.

NFLPA and Rev. Al Sharpton say no to Rush

Sharpton seeks rejection of Limbaugh


When I first heard that Rush was looking into buying the Rams, I admit laughing. I mean, seriously, Rush? Owning an NFL franchise? It was laughable. Until I found out that the rumor was true. Rush owning an NFL team would pretty much be a degradation of the league and the game. Never would the league have a more divisive and controversial owner on issues that have little or nothing to do with football. Yes, people have many varying opinions about Jerry Jones. But he knows how to run a team his way, is willing to pay to run a team his way, and usually doesn't stir up controversy outside of his sphere of football. But Rush can, does, and would. Think back to the 3-4 weeks he was on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, until he was fired for saying that the only reason Donovan McNabb was successful was because the liberal media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed. Oh, you can probably add the Michael J. Fox dust-up if you need another example of what kind of guy were dealing with.
Rush Limbaugh on the offensive against ad with Michael J. Fox

Rush Limbaugh being an owner of the Rams would be bad for the NFL. Plain and simple. It would bring even more unwanted negative attention to the league, when Goodell has already been working his ass off to reverse the image of the league in the face of the Plaxico Burress and Michael Vick situations.

T-minus 7 days

So next Monday, I start what should be, crossing fingers, hopefully, my last fall in school. Something tells me I won't be coming back to get a PhD. Granted, stranger things have happened but still... I'm actually rather excited for classes because dammit do I need something to do with myself. That was all that stuff last month was with the Streak for the Cash. I was just looking for something to do with my brain. That and trying to pad my hours at work, but in my defense, I'm working for minimum wage here. A large chunk of my friends are going back to school today and I actually envy them. Yes, I have another week of pretty much sitting around, doing very little, and most importantly, not studying, writing, and cramming. But I've discovered I need that kind of stuff. If I'm not juggling 20 million things at once, standing just 1-2 steps from the edge of complete collapse and breakdown, then I'm bored, complacent, and generally not a fun person to be around. That being said, I've got theory this semester, both communication and management, so this should be fun. Oh yeah, and my perspective Master's project timeline was shortened by 4 months last week by those up above me. At this point, this website is getting done by me whether or not it's my Master's project so I'm really hoping to find a sympathetic committee...

On the ginormous upside... college football starts next Thursday! BG hosts, and should promptly destroy, defending Sun Belt champs Troy. And Oregon takes on Boise State later that night. I really can't wait for that. It's real... damn real...

Streak Speak - July 29

Getting close to the end of the month and yesterday was less than desirable, a dismal 1-2. I seem to be doing well getting the first pick of the day on the board right. Dynamo Dresden took away a 1-0 win, but the tennis pick after that was close, but the American Isner won it straight sets. Then the favored Connecticut Sun get bounced by 15 at home. Note to self: stop picking WNBA games. The one win kept me on top of hte group for the month as Tim went 2-0 yesterday. So I'm still up, but just 47-46 today. I'm pretty sure we both have the first pick today as well...

Today the Auid cup starts in Munich and both openers start the day. I'm taking Manchester United over Boca Juniors, only because it looks like most of their starting XI will be playing today. They're expecting a competitive game, and as much as the draw scares me, I'm going with Man U. In the 2nd game, right now Bayern Munich Win is down in the picks 87-13 to AC Milan Win/Draw. Milan doesn't look the same as they have in past year, and this is a team that last week lost all 3 games in the World Football Challenge and drew with the LA Galaxy. Munich is also looking to get a lot of their normal starters into the mix, so I think I'm gonna go with the home team. Finally, I'll probably skip down to the next soccer match: the MLS All-Star game at 9:30. The MLS All-Starts are 5-0 against foreign clubs and Everton just started preseason training with their first match on Sunday, a 1-0 loss to River Plate. 3 soccer fixtures and at this point I'm hoping for a 2-1 day. Best case scenario I win the race to 50 today and don't have to try and scrape it out tomorrow and Friday. I'll worry about actually getting a streak going again next month because I'm officially back to the W1, L1, W2, L1, W1, L2 days of the beginning of the month. I would love a short streak to wrap the month up though. It would be really cool to end the month over .700.

Streak Speak - July 28

It seems I have returned to the up and down days of late June. Bringing a W1 into the day, I got my first soccer pick right as AGF Aarhus knocked off Randers FC on the road 3-2 in a Danish SAS-Leagen fixture, but went right back to the red as FC Porto shut out Lyon in their Peace Cup match 2-0. Hoping for one more win and hoping to put some distance between Tim and I in the monthly count, I grabbed what I saw as a lock. I hit the last prop on the board - Tim Lincecum vs. Felix Hernandez in who can get more Ks. Lincecum had another amazing night against the Pirates, fanning 15 in a 4 hit complete game. Hernandez only managed 2 K's in 5 and 2/3rds innings of work. So coming into today, I'm back at W1.

Tuesday again starts kinda late with the first pick being a German Bundasliga 3 match between Dynamo Dresden and SV Wehen Wiesbaden. From what I understand, this is like the Double-A of German soccer, but the talent difference between the different leagues is not as big as in the American minor/major league baseball system. Anyway, I've got the win/draw on Dresden and they are up 1-nil at the half. So being hopeful there, I plan on moving to the 3pm tennis pick, Benjamin Becker vs. John Isner. Becker is 0-2 against Isner, but playing far better on the hard court and the 8th seed in the LA Open. I'm gonna go with the German here. I like the Connecticut Sun over the Phoenix Mercury in the 7:30 WNBA game and if there's time, I'll try to pick the Toronto/Seattle game. Still up in the air about that one though.

The group win race is still close. I now have a 2 game advantage on Tim 46-44 and we both have Dresden, so the gap won't change no matter the result. Just 3.5 days to get to 50 and beyond. Since the group record for wins in a month is 48, we'll both probably shatter that one. Armando claims he's going to play more in the coming months, but we'll see about that one...

Streak Speak - July 27

It was a long and frustrating weekend that kicked off on Friday with both of my Wembley cup picks tanking after a successful Tour de France pick. I get redeemed by Chelsea's win in the World Football Challenge, and then dashed by a featherweight boxing fight that went the distance. So 2-3 Friday. I got my last Tour de France pick in Saturday, as Vincenzo Nibali placed better than Christian Vande Velde, bringing me to 9-0 for the Tour and putting me back on a W1. The Rays came back from a 9-run deficit to knock off the Blue Jays, but Mike Bliss wrecked early in the Nationwide series race and I ended the day back on a losing streak after Hanely and Manny Ramirez pushed their total bases prop. Sunday should have started off with a win, as I wanted to take Mark Cavendish to win the final stage of the TDF, but my bleeding network went down and was not back as of 4am. But the first soccer pick of the day, a Danish SAS-Leagen fixture got me green, the US got blown out 5-0 in the Gold Cup finals and ended a lot of streaks. But The White Sox came out quick with a 4 run 1st inning and I bucked the majority and got back into the green. Overall, this weekend... 6-5-1. But the important thing was that I got one win up on Tim, who also had a rough weekend. So the race to 50 stands with me at 44 and him at 43.

As for today, it's Monday, so there's slim pickings. I've got AGF Aarhus in the first pick of the day. That's another Danish SAS-Leagen fixture, and AGF is getting the win/draw option. The rest of the plan for the day looks like this. Lyon and FC Porto go off at 4:30 in a Peace Cup matchup. I'm liking Porto for the win here. I'm thinking of skipping all the way down to the 10:10 prop with Tim Lincecum striking out more Pirates than Felix Hernandez can fan Blue Jays. The Giant's ace has 18 K's in 2 starts this season and the Blue Jays strikeout the 7th least in the MLB. It seems like this should be the lock of the day.

Streak Speak - July 24

Saved, screwed, then saved again. An interesting run of luck yesterday. Once again, I got the Tour de France pick correct as Alberto Contador seals up the yellow jersey in Paris with a time trial victory, taking the victory away from Fabian Cancellara. Then, the best team in the WNBA gets blown out, San Antonio over Indiana 84-65. But it was all Gold Cup the rest of the way with the US getting a 2-goal win over Honduras and Costa Rica tying their match with Mexico in injury time. Mind you, Mexico broke the nil-nil cap in the 89th minute and the equalizer was scored at 90'+3. But it got me another win. Oh, and a UEFA Europa League win for FC Honka for me as well. 3-0 in soccer.

So today, I picked the coin flip on the nationality of the winner of today's TDF stage. I would really like the World Champion Ballan to keep his lead on the breakaway. They're within 10km at the moment. And it look like I'm gonna take the 2 Wembley Cup props, mostly to get 5 picks in today, as well as an attempt to stay away form baseball. Not sure about the nightcap yet. I'm defiantly thinking some CFL, but there's a boxing prop too...

Tim and I both picked out streaks back up and we're once again tied at the top of the board with W3. He's still 2 wins ahead of me in the monthly race 40-38, but I think that we both will pass the 50 win mark but next Saturday and that would be another first for our group.

Streak Speak - July 23

Well, I should have known better. After writing yesterday's article, I picked the Phillies. Hottest team in baseball, 10 win streak, veteran Jamie Moyer on the mound, facing a Cubs team that's had trouble swinging the bat, that's almost a lock, right? No, Chicago lights up the Phils for 10 and my streak goes down the crapper. Didn't stop their either. The Nationals pulled a win out of their ass to take 2 of 3 from the Mets, strike 2. Finally, Manny hits a pinch hit grand slam to shatter the 3 or less runs prop in the inning and I ride a L3 into today.

Good news for me is that is stayed a perfect 7-0 at the Tour de France with Alberto Contador's time trial win, which should lock up the yellow jersey for him all the way to Paris. So I'm back at 1, but so it everyone else in the group. Although, I may be going red again, since I picked the Indiana Fever in the noon-30 WNBA game and they're currently down 14 in the 1st quarter. At least I'm not the only one going down there. But a 5-pick day is still possible with a UEFA Europa League game and both Gold Cup semis. So, basically I'll be doing whatever I can to avoid baseball today. The national pastime is quite dangerous on a streak...

Streak Speak - July 22

Well, it's been awhile since I did this but I've been on quite a run recently and there was very little to speak of in June. July has been far more kind to me, especially within the last week and a half. I've build W7 streaks twice, including the current streak. Yesterday was my best day of the competition, as I went 4-0. The big win for me was my WNBA pick. The Indiana Fever downed the Washington Mystics 82-70, giving me my first WNBA win and snapping a 4-pick losing streak. After that, I ended up staying up til about 1am to catch the end of the 2nd U.S. Open Cup semifinal between Seattle FC and Houston. It looked bad through the first 60 minutes, but Seattle scored an equalizer late in the 2nd half and then got the go-ahead goal earth in the 1st overtime to seal their trip to the finals against D.C. United and my perfect day.

Just minutes ago, I tied my longest at 8 with another Tour de France pick. Lance Armstrong hit the line 5th, taking that prop and making my cycling record 6-0. I may stay away from tomorrow' TDF pick, mostly because it's a 40km individual time trial and a lot of things can change there. Looking at the rest of today, its a toss up for the next pick between a Swiss Super League match at 1:45 and the Brewers/Pirates at 12:35. No matter what I think I'm going to take the Mets over the Nationals in the nightcap, hopefully making a big for the blue star.

So after the first round of the day, here's how the group looks:
I'm on top of the current streak at W8, Tim's right behind at W6 with a pick selected, JRo's at W1 next, then Zack who had his streak of 7 ended last night at L1, and Nikki also at L1 having lost the Armstrong prop this morning.

Tim still leads the month at 36 wins, I'm in 2nd at 34, and Nikki is back in 3rd at 19.

Looking long term, Tim still holds the longest streak in the group at last week's W10. Although I have the substantial lead in overall wins with 146. Zack is the next closest at 89. But the race that matters now is the monthly wins and with just over a week left it will be interesting. More tomorrow.

Missing the Hill

There is a hill in Bowling Green, really the only hill in Bowling Green, on the BG golf course at the far corner of campus. It's an anomoly in the ridiculusly flat Wood County and was obviously man-made. In fact the green for the 15th is nestled into the one side. This hill and I have some history. Back in high school, the hill was the centerpiece of the league cross country meet. Yes, there was a time when my knees and ankles worked well enough for me to compete. And, I wasn't as out of shape as I currently am. The peak of this hill was the 2.5 mile marker of the course, a rather evil thing to do we thought. We just ran the last two and a half miles on flat football practice fields and gold course roughs and now when the finish line is in sight, you give us a sharp left turn and charge us up this kinda steep hill. Bit a of a dick move I thought. But I digress.

Darrow Hall is relativly close to the hill, within about a 10-minute walk directly across the IM fields and around the Doyt. I rediscovered the hill my freshmen year one late March night. My girlfriend and I at the time had recently broken up, it had been a really really really busy week between school and work, and I was kinda bummed at the excess weight I had gained while laid up with an ankle injury. So, after a lot of beer, I went walking. There were about 8 of us hanging out in someone's room, getting sloshed as was the normal Friday night ritual by then. I just rememeber being hammered and everything kinda hitting me at once after trying to hold it in for the past few weeks and I just got up and left the room, trying not to actually cry. I'm not sure that anyone else saw that, but I just kinda disappeared, grabbed a sweatshit from my room, and went wandering. I walked away from main campus towards the overflow parking lot where most of the kids in our quad ended up parking. I was passing the last of overflow and working my way around the stadium when I remembered that hill. We weren't exactly friends from high school, but I decided it wouldn't be a bad place to head for.

Climbing the hill, I just stood at the top, staring out. I-75, a darkened golf course, and some buisnesses across the highway is not exactly the most scenic of outlooks, but it did it for me that night. I let myself cry for the first time in about a month, letting weeks of frustration out. The good thing about the hill is that it is far enough away from campus and the city that the lights don't blur out the stars. I laided down on that hill and just stared up at those stars. I can't remember how long I was up there, but the party was over when I got back and almost everyone had passed out. But I felt better and I found my place.

I kept going back to the hill over the next 5 years whenever I needed a time and a place to get away from everything and everyone and just think. That's where I decided to change majors. The whole mistaken process of getting back with said HS girlfriend and the fallout of that one drove me there a lot. I figured out a couple of different situations at work there. I managed to talk myself down off the ledge so to speak there once as well. I toasted from the top of the hill the weekend that I finally graduated. I wrote my best man's speech on that hill. Long story short, almost all the serious thinking that I had to do, I did on that hill.

The last time I was on the hill was the night I before I moved home, before I officially left Bowling Green. I went up there to reflect on the last 6 years, on who I am, and who I was when I got there. Now, I find myself missing that hill as I sit between years in a master's program. I want that place to be able to push everything else out of the way and think deeply. And try to cope and understand and figure things out. There is no place like that out here. Granted, I spend plenty of time alone in my apartment but there's more destructive than constructive thinking there. More mourning memories that trying to put memories and feelings in perspective, coping, and hopefully healing. There's a very good chance that I'll find my way back to the hill this weekend. I think more than anything else that's really what the brain and heart need right now.

R.I.P. Mitsuharu Misawa

Japanese wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa passed away Friday night in the ring of an apparent heart attack. Misawa was a 5-time All-Japan Triple Crown champion, 6-time AJPW Unified World Tag Team Champion, and 3 times was the GHC Heavyweight Champion in the company he left All-Japan to found, Pro Wrestling NOAH.
The Sun's story is here: Japanese legend Mitsuharu Misawa dies in ring.
For more about the career of Misawa: Misawa's Wikipedia Page.

Vick gets released by the Falcons

Michael Vick released by the Falcons


I had thought they had already done this. Although, I think he should get the opportunity to play again should he meet the requirements, whatever they be, set forth by Commissioner Goodell. I know Goodell wants to be seen as the tough guy who will clean up football and the best way to do that may be to hold Vick up as a sacrifice and he may play out the next could of years in the CFL. Was what Vick did despicable? Yes. Should he have spent time behind bars? Absolutely, although part of me thinks that the jail time was more for all the illegal income that was coming with the dog fighting as much as the dog fighting itself. But in the pantheon of sports crimes committed, this is not the worse and probably will not be. Taking Benoit out of the picture, there are guys that did far worse and didn't even go to jail but should have. If he they you or me, Steven Jackson, Ron Artest, and Jermaine O'Neal would have spent months behind bars. Hell, Todd Bertuzzi never went to jail (although he may still be on probation) after breaking Steve Moore's neck. Which has to beg the question: If Michael Vick had committed a crime against another human being would the punishment (legally and professionally) have been as severe? I know there's more to the question than I've covered here, but it seems to me that one of two things happened. Either A. dog fighting is a much larger problem amoung NFL players than once thought and taking down a figure as large as Vick may have been a way to attempt to control that, or B. the NFL is terrified of PETA and the negative press that comes with the abuse and killing of animals because for some reason, we as a society seem to be used to people beating on each other to the point that the only people that ever make an uproar are the victim and their families. Now when similar treatment is given to animals, there are nationwide protests staged. Now before you get the wrong impression and label me a horrible person (and I am, just for many other reasons) for not caring about the horrible actions of Vick, let me say that his actions were horrid. I really have to question what type of person could do what he did to his dogs. And I know that he personally killed dogs. So don't think there is no moral outrage here against Vick's actions, there is. But what I question is a the attitude of PETA and other animal rights groups holding animals above humans and whether that societal attitude doomed Vick here where other athletes have been able to get out of serious trouble for doing similar things to people. I was going to mention how Ty Cobb literally got away with murder, but that's still kind of considered legend. Although he did go into the stands and beat a heckler stupid. And now that I've gotten this far, I've forgotten what triggered this rant initially, or even what the point was...

I Survived... I think...

One year of grad school down. I'm thinking I'll walk away with an A and 2 B's this semester. Fingers crossed there, because I really don't want to retake any classes. Especally ethics. I just don't get it but apparently to understand professional ethics, you have to have some personal ones, and well...

Anyway, it is going to be weird to be able to read for myself for the first time in a long time. I don't know where to start. I've got plenty of things to look over.

I'm registered in the fall for a class called "The FM DJ" and I'm very curious about this one. I don't know if it will be a how-to production class or more of an intellectual examination of what the FM DJ does and how they learn to become a personality that people what to listen to. Does it fit into my plan? Hell no. But it seems interesting and the other 2 management classes I need aren't being offered in the fall. I'm hoping this doesn't mean I get to stay over an extra semester. I'm already clueless enough when it comes to my Master's project.

And if you haven't, run out and get the new record from Kings of Leon "Only By The Night". Bleeding awesome stuff.

I suppose I should get back to work and find something productive to do for the next 45 minutes. As much as I'd like to call it so, checking up on the Milton Keynes Dons v. Scunthorpe United game sin't really vital to our newsroom activites...

So close and yet...

Almost done with a year of grad school. I still have one more project that's due on Thursday and I'm sure I'll be up till all hours Wednesday night trying to get it in. Because that's how I roll. But I'm spending the next 4 days in BG and I'm not touching anything related to that site.

This weekend will literally be the last big bash in BG for everyone. Susie and Tim are moving to El Paso at the end of the month, (I get to drive a Uhaul to Texas!) leaving Lew as pretty much the only member of the VOS inner circle still in the area. I mean, he just bought a house. Knowing my luck I'll end up back there after they toss me the hell out of here, but that's besides the point. Anyway, its going to be fun as hell and a needed break from this place. But at the same time, it will be very emotional. I made a VOS power hour last night and ended it with Leave The Memories Alone by Fuel. And the chorus is pretty much my refusal to let the last 6 years just fade away, and almost is a refusal to move on, which I've been trying to overcome for most of the last few months.

So leave the memories alone, I don't want to see
The way things are, as to how they used to be
Leave the memories alone, don't change a thing
And I'll just hold you here in my memory.

OTR Notes - April 27

Good Lord were we busy last night. Color in December joined us for the first hour. A really cool group of guys, so if you're in Kent Satruday night check them out at the Robin Hood. They'll also be playing at the May 4th Commemeration on Monday.
Their MySpace is here and they've got some good tunes up right now as well.

Then Sarah Steimer of the Daily Kent Stater joined us to talk about the College street riots this past Saturday night since she was there. The more and more details that come out, the more and more this looks like a case of the police overreacting and making a tense situation even worse which led to the chaos that happened. If you haven't heard about all of this yet, check out Kent News Net Head to the opinion section for an editoral called That's All Mr. President? about our president Lester Lefton's total lack of response and rebuking of a DKS report when she called him for comment at 10:30 on a Saturday night. And as I said last night, your job does not end at 5pm on Friday, and just because there was no activity on your campus property, it involved your students who are paying you a rather handsome salary. Apparently, that much money doesn't buy a concern for your student's safety or support in the community. As far as I know, there still hasn't been any other statement made by the prez's office since the very PR'ed presser Sunday. That and more and more details are coming to light about the police trying to sway some public opinion in this case. There was a report that an officer from a nearby jurisdiction have been called in to help Kent police, and then passed away of a heart attack later on at his home. Well, truth is the guy never come to the scene, possibly because of the heart attack. So this will be interesting to see how community and university reaction plays out over the next few weeks. So, I have to reiterate the question... is that all Mr. President?

OTR Notes - April 20

Last night was possibly one of the best shows all semester. We spent pretty much the entire show talking about teabagging...er, tea parties. I had audio. We made a lot of fun of Glenn Beck. John Oliver made every point for our side and against most of the protesters in 2 minutes of interviews. He's brilliant by the way. It was great.
The next few weeks are going to be interesting, as we should have the official May 4th band in next week, Color in December. And then we are actually on the air May 4th, so there may be some very interesting guests that join us from the remembrance ceremony.

Lockdown looks pretty good

I wish I was in a place where I had access to see it because it doesn't look too bad. I've always liked Lockdown because of the concept of an entire card in the steel cage. Also, since TNA doesn't use the cage match much throughout the rest of the year, it doesn't end up being overkill. But Sting and Foley headline for the TNA title, a Lethal Lockdown match between Team Angle and Team Jarrett, Title for title tag match between Beer Money and Team 3D, an Xcape match, a three-way dance for the Knockout title, Abyss/Morgan in what promises to be a bloodbath, and a three-way NJPW Jr. Tag Team title match should make this one of the best cards of the year. I'm anticipating catching this one throughout the week, and am really really dissapointed that Spike got moved and I don't get it anymore, because from what I hear Impact has been pretty good too recently...

The Sad Shape of News

I just have to wonder about the state of television news outlets. Not their reputation, Fox News shot that over a decade ago, but them being the source that newsmakers go to when they want to reach an audience. Jon Stewart had Anwar Sadat's wife on last night and will have the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tonight. Steven Colbert had H.R.M. Queen Noor last night and the editor at large at Hearst tonight. Damn good lines up, but this is COMEDY CENTRAL! This is the network that produces Reno 911, one of the dumbest shows on television, even if you include everything on VH1. News... you are screwed if this is where audiences are going for real discussions about issues. Just saying, it's pretty fucking sad when the guy with some of the highest journalistic principles, is the guy who hosted "You Wrote It, You Watch It" on MTV.
After this came to mind, I am seriously reconsidering my entire Masters degree. And I only wish that was a joke...

So this is what hell looks like?

I should be used to this whole sleep deprivation thing by now. I only did it for 5 years to get through undergrad. It's one of the costs that I have to willingly pay as part of being an habitual procrastinator. But I think that it's finally getting harder. Fucking aging...

Long story short, I'm beginning to hate my decision to return to school. I mean, I am a masochist. I can admit that. But this is a whole new level. I never thought that I would sit considering the physical punishment that I would rather take than work on the stack of papers, write-ups, surveys, and web development staring me in the face right now.

For reference, the current list of in-ring spots that I would rather take than work is:
Cop Killah from Homicide
Muscle Buster from Samoa Joe
Super Contra Code from the Age of the Fall
Burning Hammer from Kenta Kobashi
Randy Orton's thumbtack spot from Backlash 2004 vs. Foley
8-12 Low Ki kicks

This list however, will most likely grow much longer by the end of the week...

A Stupid Bet and This Time I Didn't Take It...

So in a string of e-mails going back and forth between Zack and I, an odd conversation began. It ended with his making a strange prediction, and I quote it because I don't have the time to make this shit up anymore...
"I’m almost willing to bet on when that will all happen. I’d say this:



- Engaged: end of this year

- Married + house + bun in the oven: end of 2010

- 1st kid out + 2nd on the way: end of 2011



I’ll even give you straight-up odds on it – that’s how confident I am."

I laughed so hard, I had to leave the office. When I could breathe again, I sent him back that I'd give him 3-to-2.
Would I put off or even ruin any romantic relationship just to win a bet with my best friend? You're Goddamn right I would. And he acknowledged that, and said he'd do the same thing. He said I could only blog about this if I spoke of his impending victory. So here goes: Zack... you're...heh heh....you're going.........you're gonna win AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! You're fucked buddy, I'm sorry.

Naked Rock Band!

I've missed having the time to write, not that my opinions are worth much. But still, some random thoughts from the past few weeks...

• Yes, as the title states I actually have been playing Rock Band naked tonight. Hey... don't judge me. There are some advantages to living alone, plus the guitar strap is of appropriate length that it tastefully conceals inappropriate parts. It would be worth taking a picture of for humorous purposes...if I had a body worth looking at.


• I have felt like a huge nerd because I'm currently downloading Season 2 of BattleBots...because there is nothing better than robot combat.


• So... the GOP is busy kowtowing to Rush for speaking out against him. Damn, their eyes. RNC Chairman Michael Steele, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, and Georgia Congressman Phil Gingery have made comments pointing out that Rush is nothing more than entertainment and not the leader of the party and have since kissed the pinky ring of El Rushbo and apologized. The DNC has set up a beautiful piece of satire at http://www.dccc.org/content/sorry. It wouldn't be so funny if it wasn't true. The GOP is in so many pieces that a radio host is legitimately the only guidance that the party's base has. Now, I would like to dismiss this as the DNC trying to set up Rush as the main guy in a small attempt to do to the Republicans what they've been doing to the Democrats for years, but this one's pretty much true. Less dirty campaign and more spotlight on the sad state of the Republican party. The GOP's backed off of Rush because they know they can't lose the base that makes up his listening audience, but also knows that they have to reach out to other segments of the electorate before they completely implode in 2010. It may be a sign of the times and the results of 20+ years of the most dirty politicking in the country's history that more Americans claim themselves to be Independents than anything else. If you ask me, it's a good sign. Americans may finally be voting on issues and not party affiliation. I know that's probably not the case, but I can dream can't I?


• Anybody know anything about philosopher W.D. Ross? Me either...but at least I've got until next Tuesday to figure it out and write a paper on his ethical theories. I came back to school why again?

Ok, that's about it for now. I have to find something else to keep me up while I wait for work to roll around at 5am. Some things never change...

P.S. I'll have to write about my summer project soon...

Finally...an answer

I have finally received an answer to the conundrum that's all but consumed me for more than 2 months. Granted, it is far from the answer I was hoping for although it was the answer I expected. I just would have liked it from the source and not a facebook status message. But I have at least gotten conformation on where we stood and knowing is half the battle. Believe me, I knew I wasn't going to win here, but there was hope dangling there. Since that's gone, I can try to start healing and working on doing it the healthy way this time, i.e. not by spending the next 6 months in the bottle. Especially since I will be waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too damn busy this semester for that. Apparently, I can't stumble drunkenly through Master's coursework. BUT, there are several days that I will be out of commission, hopefully this Saturday in BG will be one of them. Feb. 14 will be another all-day boozefest, so don't even bother.

Inauguration Day!

As I write this, it is quarter to noon. Barack Obama's term as President of the United States will begin in 45 minutes. This moment is something that we, that I have waited for for 8 years. This is a day that many thought would never come, the day we elect a black man to lead us. This is a country which at it's founding only counted a black man as 3/5's of a person. And now we have elected a black man to the highest office in the land. If you are not inspired about the potential that this country has, then I don't know what will get your blood going. We, however, must temper our expectations of this man. Obama has been hailed as a savior of some sort, but we cannot allow hype to overshadow reality. Obama takes this office with a country in its worst shape since the 1930's and there will be much hard work to get done. There will also be much resistance to his work. Overall, we cannot allow hope to get out of control. The economy will still suck at 12:01pm. Iraq will still be a huge drain on our resources and on the people of our armed forces. The Middle East will still be ready to explode. But the culture that will accompany the Obama White House will be far different and far more conducive to diplomacy and peace. Zack and I were talking earlier and he made the comment that he was watching CSPAN this weekend and he saw Bill Clinton's inauguration from 1992 and if there were 5,000 people there it was an estimate on the high side. I damn sure know there was not this many people present in 2000 or 2004. They are estimating that 2 million people will show up for the Inauguration. 2 million. That's like emptying Cuyahoga county and sending them to Washington. Take into account the amount of people who will be watching this around the world. The thought is just awe-inspiring.

Happy New Year... a week late!

Yayyyy!! 2009!

Big fuckin' deal. Same shit, different letter.

But being depressing is not why I started writing today. I have a bunch of stuff backed up and really need to blog more often. Fuck, that's a great resolution! I resolve to blog more this year, even though it'll be rough when the semester starts up again. But fuck it! Now to the reason for the first post of 2009.

Achievements.
When I have very little else going on right now, the seemingly small things are rather large achievements. Like today. While at the gym, I leg pressed more than twice my body weight. See, doesn't sound that impressive at all. It was to me, but that's not saying much. Leg pressing 460 pounds is really nothing to those who lift regularly I suppose. But to my tubby, out-of-shape ass, I was impressed. They say it's the little things in life, my penis, and in this case, I guess they're right.