The best invention ever?

Don and Michele came over on Friday for dinner....good dinner, great wine (as usual). That evening, I think we saw a demonstration of the gratest invention ever.

But before we get to that, a gambling note....after dinner, we broke out the cards and chips and we introduced Don to the Ultimate Hold 'em Poker table game. I'm not so sure if Don likes the game - he lost approximately 19 hands in a row - but his wife was on fire.

What kind of streak was she on? Well, I dealt the cards, and she passed on betting before the flop. The flop came:

3d Kh 6d

Michele put 2x her bet in. The last two cards were:

5d 7d

4 Diamonds on the board. Don swore and flipped over his cards as he folded. I flipped over...the Ace of Diamonds. Sorry for your luck! Michele just smiled and calmly turned over the 4 of diamonds for the straight flush. That would have been a $250 winner on a $5 table.

In no more than 40 hands, I dealt a straight flush and 2 separate quads.

Anyway, Don then pulled out his iPhone and showed us Shazam. This is the iPhone app that can listen to 10 seconds of music and then return the title and the artist, as well as a method to purchase that tune for your iPhone.

OK, we thought, how well does this really work? We had the satellite radio playing on our DirecTV, so we held it up to the speaker - it was a Colbie Caillat song - and it listened for 10 seconds, then "processed", then presto! It came back with the song.

I was unimpressed. How hard can it be to recognize tunes the current top 20? Let me test it with my "eclectic" music taste. (you mean "grandmotherly" taste? -ed.) Oh quiet.

So I turned it to the Broadway station. It was playing "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha. We clicked on Shazam - it listened for 10 seconds....and presto! It came back with:

Man of La Mancha

Original Cast Recording, 1956

Whoa. We may have something here.

It was dead on for 5-6 songs in a row that were not common knowledge songs. Rap, Country, Easy Listening (or, as most say, "music for the dead") - it retrieved them all.

We even turned it to a station playing bad 80s Hair Music. It was playing some unrecognizable Great White song. It reached the instrumental part - and we activated Shazam at that point. Shazam listened for 10 seconds of the instrumental part of the song - no lyrics - and it came back with the right artist and title.

How? How can it do this? How? My mind is still baffled.

Twilight

So Carol and I went out to dinner last night to a place next to the local movie theater. I got off work early so we were there around 5:00pm. While walking past the movie theater, there were at least 50 girls camping out for tickets to something at the theater. Come to find out it was for that new vampire movie Twilight. Hmmm interesting. Then I go home and watch South Park which is spoofing Twilight, and then watch some weird clip on MTV where there are about 1,000 girls going bonkers over seeing a sneak preview of just the trailer of Twilight. Then this morning, the Wall Street Journal has a big preview of the movie.

What the hell is this all about? People going this crazy over vampires? Really?

Ah yes, this is our GM

I wonder if Layup responds to customer emails in this manner?

Gambling losses

This will start a series of "Which is worse" questions. Today is the which is worse:

1. Watching on TV a last second loss that cost you a big wager. Here you get to see replay after replay of

2. Following scores for 3 hours straight on the internet and you are winning by a small margin and then the last update on CBS Sportsline shows that your team didn't cover.

3. Checking a score once or twice during the game and thinking that you won, but then later going back and finding out that somehow, someway the other team covered.

I know that we all have great stories that fit into each of these categories. I will post my painful stories in the comment section.

Health Message for the day

It is truly an exhausting ordeal to root for this team....

NFL Week 11: Pete Morelli

It was one year ago when a conscientious official decided to make sure a call on a FG attempt was right, as that call could impact a team's season. Everyone remembers Phil Dawson's ricochet FG at the end of last year's Ravens-Browns game, a 51-yd FG that would tie the game. The ball hit the upright, fell down and then hit the stachion and bounced back onto the field of play.

The idiots underneath the goalposts said it was no good, but Mr. Morelli got a bunch of people together to discuss; he may or may not have also called someone with a video upstairs (which, last year, would have been illegal). After 5 minutes, he said the FG was good, which caused mass chaos on the field. TV Reporters were interviewing players on the field when the announcement came that the game would resume. Here's a highlight clip from WBAL (see the :43 mark).

So here's to you, Pete Morelli. Can you save our season this year with a clutch call on Monday night?

Min 20, TB 17. Peterson is looking better and better.

NYG 30, Bal 21. I'm begrudingly impresses by Flacco and the controlled passing game of the Ravens.

Mia 27, Oak 10. Who is worse? 2000 Browns or 2008 Raiders? The Browns wouldn't be within 17 points for a line for these types of games. So why are the Raiders only getting 10?

NO 31, KC 20. New Orleans is desperate. Desperate teams find ways to win.

Ind 27, Hou 19. I think Indy is ready to explode.

GB 23, Chi 13. GB has had a tough last 2 games. They'll be ready for the mediocre Bears.

Phi 27, Cin 21. Why do I do this to myself? Why do I think the Bengals will show up after the bye?

Car 27, Det 13. Do I have to comment?

Atl 26, Den 16. Look, if Denver plays a half decent defense, they will lose. They are so one-dimensional. I wish the Browns had a mastermin defnseive coach that could scheme against a simple one-dimensional team like this.....oh, wait....

Sea 24, Az 20. Yes, Hasselbeck makes that much of a difference.

SF 20, StL 13. What's the over/under on the number of seconds it will take for Mike Martz to be fired after season's end?

Pit 27, SD 16. I don't see the Steelers losing this one - at home - in a game they need to win.

Ten 24, Jax 17. Jax has lost to us and the Bengals. Tennessee should dominate them.

Was 20, Dal 19. Romo will help, but Washington is the better team.

Best bets: 14 of them today (0-1 on Thursday). Last week: 9-6. Overall: 87-62-3.

(NYJ/NE under 40.5. Nice one, Eric).

Min +4

Bal/NYG over 40.5

Mia -10

NO -5.5

GB -3.5

Chi/GB under 43.5

Cin +9

Phi/Cin over 41

Atl -6.5

Den/Atl under 51

Sea +3

StL/SF under 43.5

Pit -5

Ten -2.5

6 favorites, 3 underdogs, 2 overs, 3 unders.

Sad News today

Herb Score, the long time play-by-play announcer for the Indians in the 70s, 80s and 90s, has died.

We all have our favorite baseball radio announcers growing up. I was lucky enough to be in Baltimore for middle school and high school and loved to listen to the polished broadcasts of Joe Angel and Jon Miller. When I went to Cleveland for college, however, I got Herb doing the Tribe games. I think it is safe to say that Miller and Score have completely opposite announcing styles.

I grew to love Herb and his low-key, minimalist style. It was a running joke between Janice and I when we were down here in Cincinnati and I would search the radio for the Tribe broadcast from Cleveland. We would stop on what I thought was 1100 AM and hear silence for 3-5 seconds. Was this the broadcast or jst dead air?

"Low, ball 3" bellowed a voice out of the darkness to interrupt the quiet.

Steve and I did a pretty good impersonation of the Tribe annoucing team in the 90s - me as the happy go lucky Tom Hamilton, and Steve as Herb. I'll haev to dig that tape out from a box.

I think the ultimate coincidence is that the last call Herb made on the radio was Game 7 of the 1997 World Series. The Lord could have sent Herb out on the ultimate high note, but no, that was not in the cards for Herb. It never was.

NFL Week 10: Bill Leavy

I'm still not over Thursday Night's debacle. Here's the ref for that game, Bill Leavy.....he's not responsible in any way for the collapse; this is like venting at the police officer who comes over to file the report after you've been the victim of a crime.

The quick rundown for today:

Hou 24, Bal 20

NYJ 30, StL 17

Buf 23, NE 20, OT

Min 27, GB 20

Mia 24, Sea 13

Jax 23, Det 16

Ten 20, Chi 13

Atl 31, NO 24

Car 24, Oak 3

SD 31, KC 10

Pit 27, Ind 19

NYG 27, Phi 24, OT

Az 27, SF 16

Best bets: 15 this week. Last week: 7-8. Total: 78-56-3

Hou pk

NYJ -8.5

Buf +3.5

Min -2

Mia -8

Ten -3

Atl -1

Car -12

Car/Oak 37.5

SD -15

KC/SD under 47

Pit -4.5

Pit/Ind over 39

NYG +3

NYG/Phi over 42.5

Boy, I don't like that streak of 6 favorites in a row in that list....

The Mighty Quinn!

No live blog tonight, but the phone will be on as Brady makes his debut tonight.

Great Day for Chickens!!

So some interesting things going on out here. We had 10 props on our ballot ranging from requiring farmers to have enough space for chickens to stretch their legs (passed) to a bullet train from LA- San Fran (passed) to a $10,000 credit when you purchase a hybrid vehicle (failed). But the big ticket item was gay marriage...prop 8.

I'm sure its national news now, but prop 8 was passed which means that it bans gay marriage. This was a huge surprise since the polling just a day before showed it being rejected by 18%. Ahhh, was it just bad polling, or was this actually the Bradley effect that was intended to hit Obama, but really it was prop 8.

Another interesting stat that was just released was the Asians and Whites were slightly in favor of voting no against the prop, but Blacks and Hispanics were in favor of passing the bill by a 70-30 margin. Hmmm, so the excitement driven by Obama and the large turnout actually hurt prop 8's passing. Terrible research by the prop 8 team.

Now on the local news you are seeing the protesters of Prop 8 are all holding up Obama signs. Um...why would they be doing this? The common comments are stating that its hatred coming from the conservative base in the state that voted this bill in. First, Obama came out against gay marriage and the majority of his backers in CA are also against it. Also, how does Obama carry the state 61%-37% but yet the bill gets passed 52%-48%? There is an easy link to make, which I don't think the local media wants to make or are too dumb to make.

President Obama

This truly is an historic night for the United States. Barack Obama has been elected as our President.

I don't want to belabor what this means for the issue of race in our country. Better writers and thinkers will expound upon this in the near future. But I'm heartened to see that idealism - in any form, liberal or conservative - can succeed even in this cynical environment.

People - probably even me, if we read the archives - said that there's no way he could beat the Clinton machine for the Democratic nomination. He successfuly read the mood and the needs of the voters, and ran a great campaign to win the nomination.

Sure, he partly benefitted from luck and the terrible environment for Republicans. But he certanly capitalized on that and seemed to be in touch with what the voters were feeling and wanting. This is at least 50% of being a successful politician - and in being a leader.

He also embodies American freedom and the notion that individuals can create their own destiny. His election validates what we tell all of our children: "you can grow up to be anything you want to be". This is a great example for all of our youth.

Some of you may remember this post from 2007 after the Red Sox beat the Indians in the ALCS. That post was, oh, 99% insincere. This post here is completely the opposite. I wish Obama well, and hope that he truly is a "uniter, not a divider".

I will continue to disagree with most of his policies and will call him (and his party) on when he is not walking the talk. But for now, I salute Obama and his supporters and hold him as an example of what makes America great.

Election blog

Here we go! I'm here in a hotel room in Boston watching the results come in. Instead of the famous multi-colored whiteboards that I create for the election, I'm tracking the election on various bits of paper.

Stay with us here for my latest thoughts on the races - all races - tonight; not just the presidency but the Senate (will the Democrats get to 60?), House, Governor, and the all-important ballot issues such as ISSUE 6 in Ohio - the Casino issue.

Let's try to have comments on this live blog, ok? I don't want to feel like I am talking to a wall...

7:05: McCain wins KY, Obama wins VT. McCain went for 2 and got it; Obama settled for a FG. McCain leads, 8-3.

7:20: NBC News projects the Democrats keep control of the House. How? How do they do that? I'm serious. How can they call that so early?

7:35: This is the slow time of the election. The anticipation is here - polls are closing - but nothing can be called. Argh. If they call Ohio soon, it's over; the longer the delay is in calling Ohio, the better it is for McCain.

One big Senate race being counted right now is the KY Senate race - Sen Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is neck and neck right now (49-49) with 15% in. If this stays tight, then that's a good sign for Democrats nationwide. However, I remember this happening in KY 4 years ago - the late KY votes to be counted are usually the rural votes, reliably Republican. If that's the same here, then McConnell may win by 5-8%, which is a good sign for Republicans.

7:40. Stop talking, Brit Hume. "McCain leads, 13-3, right now in the electoral vote, although we suspect that will change - and soon." Oh really, Sherlock? The defense won't hold?

7:45: Room service is here!
First course: Spinach salad
Main course: 9" Supreme Pizza
Dessert: Strawberry Shortcake
A glass of Pinot Grigio
and a 500 ml bottle of Pellegrino.

That's a good informal survey question. Sparkling water: justifiable indulgment or waste of money and taste buds? You decide....

7:52: Is Snoop Dogg joking here in this clip? You decide....

8:05: The 8 o'clock polls have closed; no surprises here. Obama now leads, 77-39.

Perils of Live TV: John King on CNN was playing with the big map behind him. He was look ing at Indiana and comparing the current vote vs. the 2004 vote totals. He said: "let's take a look at a random county", and clicked somewhere in the north of the state. The county came up:

"Koshiminko County"

King: "Uh, I'm not even going to try that one....."

8:11: First big result of the night from the Senate: Elizabeth Dole (R) in North Carolina has lost. This was a seat the Democrats had to have if they wanted to get to 60 - and they did.

8:20: ABC News has called Pennsylvania for Obama, but no other station has not. I will wait.

Senate: McConnell, the Senate Minority leader, looks like he will win. That's a big one to stop the Dems from getting 60.

Right now, it's hard to see how they get there. If they win the rest of the toss ups (GA, NH, CO, OR, AK), even then they may not get there. I'll run the numbers.

8:33: Most stations have called Pennsylvania for Obama. That's great news for Obama, not good news for the Rep.

Also, New Hampshire Senate is a pickup for the Dems - John Sununu has lost.

8:39: McCain has won Georgia. That's a fairly good sign for the Republicans; the fact that it was called this early (relatively early) for McCain means that it probably won't be a cealn sweep (like 350 votes) for Obama.

8:57: Well, it's hard to see how McCain gets to 270 without Pennsylvania. This means - I think - he needs to pick up a Obama state somewhere to have any sort of a chance. To win, McCain needs to sweep the Bush states still out - OH, VA, IN, FL - and then somehow pick up MN? OR?. This is becuase NH has already been called for Obama (a Bush state), and it's pretty certain that IA will go to Obama.

If Minnesota is called early, then I think that Obama will win, and it should be called right at 11 pm.

9:07: Well, the 9:00 votes are in, and there are no surprises. Obama wins Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan; McCain wins states like Wyoming and Arkansas.

Counts are all over the place right now, Fox has Obama at 163 and NBC has it at 177; once we get to 215, that's the magic number before California. California is 55 and is certain to go to Obama.

So - if Virginia and Ohio go to Obama soon, then it's all over.

Popular vote: Obama 12, 315,854; McCain 12, 232,192. Amazingly close popular vote at this point.

9:20: Fox News has called Ohio for Obama. Wow. That about does it. I wonder how this will trickle down to Steve Chabot - the rep in the 1st district in Cincinnait - and Don's girlfriend, Jean Schmidt.

But, as of 9:20, Fox is the only station to call Ohio. CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC has not yet.

9:28: Now NBC has called Ohio for Obama.
Let's take a look at the Senate:
At this time, the Dems have 52 seats. Here are the seats that are still out there:
CO (could be a pickup)
LA (Landrieu, the only Dem incumbent even reomtely in trouble)
MN (Stuart Smalley)
IA (Harkin will win)
MT (Baucus)
OR (Gordon Smith, a Rep, is in a toss up)
AK (Indicted Rep Senator Ted Stevens)
MS, 2nd seat (Wicker/Musgrove:Can they pick this one up? A long shot)

The Dems need to win all 8 to get to 60. I guess it could happen, but I think they will lose by 2 (and lose MS and OR).

9:34: I see some in the comments section are popping the martinis. I don't blame you. I think it's time for me to break into my strawberry shortcake.

9:41: Still 50 people in line in Miami-Dade county polling booths. Who thinks that Florida will be called soon? Not me. This is 1 1/2 hours after the polls officially closed - people have been waiting in line since 8:00.

9:44: I will try not to be bitter tonight about media bias, but I want this to be duly noted.

When NJ closed at 8 pm, it was immediately called for Obama.
When GA closed at 7 pm, it was called for McCain at 8:39 , almost 100 minutes after closing.

Results so far:

NJ: Obama 55, McCain 44 (+11)
GA: McCain 59, Obama 40 (+19)

both with > 50% reporting.

Watch GA and SC and how (non) close they are. These are states that were not called immeiately for McCain. Compare that to states that were immediately called for Obama.

9:57: What is with CBS News? At the bottom of the screen, they have the raw popular vote totals for McCain and Obama. It seems to be updated every second - so the numbers move very quickly. And - peculiarly - the numbers seem to move backward every once in a while....from (for example) 13, 415,679 to 13,142, 234.

Is it a random number generator? Is it the vote display that was used in the Love Connection back in the 80's? 78%-22&-15%-45%....

(now I bet you have that sound effect in your head...doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-dooooooo)

10:10: The Ohio Casino Amendment has failed. Argosy, and other Indiana casinos, have bought this election and defeated a casino for Ohio. You dumb fuck Ohio voters.

Also, the payday lending restriction issue has passed. This caps the annual interest rate for "payday" loans to 28% annually - basically, if you borrow $100 now, you will pay no more than $101 in 2 weeks. Effectively, this will put all of the payday lenders in Ohio out of business.

So 5,000 people will be put out of work by shutting down the payday lenders, and we didn't want to creat 6,000 jobs with the casino. Maybe I should move to Indiana.

10:16: Two bad pieces of news from the House: Chris Shays, a Republican from Connecticut, has been defeated; this means there is no Republican House members from New England (VT, NH, ME, CT, RI, MA). None.

John Murtha, the "fat bastard" Democratic congressman from Western Pa who called some of his consistuents "racists" and then - while apologizing, called them "rednecks", has been re-elected.

10:35: Michael Barone, the smartest political mind on television, says that Florida "looks awfully good for Obama" right now. It's not called yet, but most of the remaing precinct are in Dade and Broward coutnies - and obviously, those are going to go to Obama.

10:42: Fox has called Virginia for.....Obama. This is a signficant development, not only for this year but as a prelude to a possible political realignment for the future. There is no question that Virginia is gaining population and will continue to grow; if teh Democrats can consolidate their gains in the Sun Belt states like VA and NC, this could set the stage for Dem dominance over the next several years.

10:55: I'm sorry if this is insensitive, but why is Luke Russert on TV? His dad was great - absolutely. This does not mean his 20-something year old son is qualified to talk about "the youth vote" on TV.

10:57: Senate update: Yes, it is still possible for the Dems to get 60, but it's looking tough. Landrieu - the only D senator in a real competitive race - is only up 2 in Louisiana, and Wicker in MS (the Reupblican) has a 10% lead with 25% left. It's not called, but....if either of those go to the R's, then 60 is unreachable.

10:58: 2 minutes until Obama is pronounced President at 11:00 Eastern.

11:00. Barack Obama has been elected as the 44th President of the United States. I'll have more about this in an upcoming blog post.

ABC announced it, and loud claps were heard in the newsroom when Charlie Gibson made the statement. That was unprofessional.

Mr. Obama, that's not change...

This is!

Before we get started on election blogging, I (and many, many Browns fans) am overjoyed at the change of our starting QB.

Thursday night - 8:00 - NFL Network. Quinn 147, Denver 0.

Election Eve Prediction/Lines

OK folks, post your predictions here!

Here are the lines for tomorrow - so post your predictions or post what you think are good wagers considering these lines.

Electoral Vote Count
Obama -93.5
McCain +93.5

Popular Vote Percentage
Obama -5.8
McCain +5.8

Money Line
Obama -800
McCain +650

Popular Vote Proposition - Total of Barr and Nader Vote Combined
Over 3.4%
Under 3.4%

Total Democratic Seats in Senate - after Tuesday Night
Over 57.5
Under 57.5

(Current Total: 51. Total will include Sanders (I-VT) and Lieberman (I-CT).

Total Democratic Seats in House - after Tuesday Night
Over 264.5
Under 264.5

(Current total: 235, with 1 vacancy).

My thoughts: Obama will win, handily but not a huge landslide. Something like 310-228. He'll win by 5%.

NFL Week 9: Terry McAulay

Heading to Cleveland this weekend - no, not for the game. I'm going to a wedding, the wedding of a college friend of mine (some may remember Kevin from the 2007 Vegas trip; others may know him from college). This will be the last of the weddings that I will attend in the foreseeable future (unless Mer does something completely out of character in the future).

So, in honor of the trip to Cleveland, I'll dedicate this week to Terry McAulay, the head referree during the "Bottle-gate" game of 2001. Imagine, if you will, a city that had its team leave in 1995 and spent 3 years in the wilderness. Then the first two years of expansion resulted in teams with a combined record of 5-27.

Then - the third year - hope! The Browns are 6-6 heading into a crucial home clash vs. Jacksonville. The Browns are driving , down 5, with a minute left to play. 4th down - the catch is made by the Browns at teh Jags 10. First down. Couch gets to the line and spikes the ball. Now it is second down.

Or is it? McAulay then decides - after the spike - that the 4th down play will be reviewed. Clearly, unequivocably, against the rules, since a play has intervened.

The rest, of course, is history. The catch is overturned; bottles reign down on the field, and the game is declared "over" until Vegas calls Tagliabue; Tagliabue calls McAulay and orders him to finish the game. 45 minutes later, the teams come back on for the Jags' kneel down.

This still makes my blood boil.

Ten 20, GB 17. The Titans are due for a letdown sometime, right?

Arz 31, StL 24. I can't see the Cards losing this. If they win, they have a grip on the division.

Min 23, Hou 13. I'll believe Houston on the road when I see it.

TB 20, KC 10. I think TB's defense is just a wee bit better than the Jets.

Jax 106, Cin 13. The Jaguars will have 983 yards rushing.

Chi 24, Det 10. Seems like an easy pick, doesn't it? Hmmmmmmmm?

Buf 27, NYJ 21. I can't figure Buffalo out. Should we be impressed with the win over SD in Buffalo? Who are the real Bills? (We will find out Nov 17th!)

Den 27, Mia 20. The bye certainly helps the Broncos.

Phi 24, Sea 10. SF gave points away to the Seahawks last week - I don't think Philly will repeat that.

Oak 19, Atl 16, OT. This smells like an upset.

NYG 20, Dal 17. This is a classic letdown game -for the Giants, after the tough Steelers game.

Ind 23, NE 20. Two teams I have no handle on. You are what your record says, so the Colts turly are a 3-4 team. Would the Browns - also 3-4 - be favored by 6 at home vs. the Pats? No. Why should the Colts?

Was 20, Pit 13. OK, Redskin fans - I'm begging you - win this game.

And what a HUGE game for the Browns this week.

Best bets: 15 of them. Last week: 8-6-1. Overall: 71-48-3.

Az -3

Az/StL over 48.5

Min -4.5
Hou/Min under 46.5

TB/KC under 37

Det/Chi under 43

NYJ/Buf over 41.5

Den -3.5

Phi -6.5
Phi/Sea under 42.5

Oak +2.5

Atl/Oak under 41

Dal +9

NE +6

Was -1.5

5 favorites, 3 underdogs, 2 overs, 5 unders. I don't like it.

Zeus casts early vote for McCain and against proposition 9 year old

Gees,Jon,make_the_links_shorter

Who won Game 5 of the world Series?

As of Tuesday morning, October 28...

if you placed a bet in Vegas for Tampa Bay to win Game 5 of the World Series....

YOU LOSE!

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/33433179.html

Tax Plans for the simple man

Received this from a co-worker that I thought I would share. The story came from David R. Kamerschen, who is a professor of economics and University of Georgia.

Bar Stool Economics
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
'I only got a dollar out of the $20', declared the sixth man.
He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'
'Yeah, that's right', exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'
'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'
'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

The season is saved...

...because Matt Jones did not catch this pass with :01 left.

Hopefully you have seen the highlight of this play where Matt Jones touched this ball at least 6 times before it fell as an incomplete pass.

Rest assured it was pure panic in our house while the ball was being juggled....

NFL Week 8: Walt Coleman

I want to apologize in advance, since some people on this board would rather I refer to Walt as "His High Holiness Walt Coleman", for he was the ref that made the call in the Tuck Game that sent the Patriots to their first Super Bowl win in 2002.

Coleman overturned a seemingly obvious call of an Tom Brady fumble in the last two minutes of the Pat's palyoff game vs. the Raiders. Replay did show that Brady's arm was moving forward, and Coleman declared the play an "incomplete pass" - which, upon review, was teh correct decision. The Patriots ended up kicking the tying field goal, winning in overtime, and the rest is history.

Well, this week, I feel like Walt - I have overturned three of my picks by either not playing them at all or going the other way after thinking about it overnight. I also may credit divine intervention as I was reviewing/altering my picks during the singing of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" in church.

Martin Luther was only half right. God is a mighty fortress, but so is a great offensive line.

Anyway, the games this week:

Dal 24, TB 17. Dallas is desperate. They will find a way to win this week.

Was 24, Det 10. I have no idea how good Washington is. I do know thatthey will not make mistakes- and the Lions need their opponent to turn the ball over in order for the Lions to have any chance.

Mia 23, Buf 20, OT: I don't think Mia is as bad as they showed last week. A letdown game for the Bills?

NE 20, StL 13: It's tough not to pick a 41-3 game here; the Rams are improved.

SD 28, NO 27, in London: The NFL will not allow another 13-10 snoozer to be the marquee game in Europe. Expect a high scoring affair.

NYJ 138, KC 3: No, not a typo. The Jets win by 135 as Favre throws for 16 touchdowns.

Phi 28, Atl 27: I don't think people are giving Atlanta enough credit, and I don't think the Eagles defense is that good.

Car 23, Arz 13: Have the Cardinals been tested on the road yet this year?

Bal 27, Oak 13: I fail to see how the Raiders score more than 17 points in this game.

Hou 26, Cin 21: Cincinnati is too good (talent-wise) to be this bad record-wise. And again, are the Texans a team that should be favored by 10 points?

Pit 19, NYG 16, OT: Should be a great game. Too bad I won't watch.

SF 27, Sea 21: San Fran's defense is terrible. The Niners will win, but the Seahawks will show some offensive life.

Ind 23, Ten 17: There is no doubt in my mind that the Colts will rise from the dead here.

Best bets: 15 this week. 10-5 this week; 63-42-2 for the year.

Dal -1.5

Was -7.5

Was/Det under 42

Mia +1

NE/Stl under 42

SD/NO over 46

Atl +9

Atl/Phi over 45

Car -4

Az/Car under 43

Bal -7.5

Cin +9

Pit/NYG under 42

Sea/SF over 41.5

Ind +4

To lighten things up...

It's caption contest time!

My submission:

Weekend Warrior, or WNBA Draft prospect?

Tolerance

Tolerance will become a big topic over the next 2-4 years.

Or intolerance, I should say.

A emailer to another political site put it well. The author is a conservative:

" You see, I “get” Palin. And I “get” why my liberal friends don’t “get” Palin. But my liberal friends just don’t “get” why I “get” Palin — and they never will.
“All conservatives are bilingual — we have to be. We speak both liberal and conservative. But liberals are monolingual — they don’t have to be anything else. They speak liberal, and are completely ignorant of the conservative tongue.” "

I don't think that any liberals understand - at all - what makes conservatives tick. We see that on some of the comments from the last post. In effect, Palin supporters "scare the crap out of" some people.

Why? If we are truly going to move forward in this country and work together, canwe at least try to understand each other? No one should be scaring anyone. Why do Palin supporters scare you? Even Bill Clinton "gets" Palin and why she is so popular.

Demonizing Sarah Palin gets back to the "red" and "blue" America that - I thought - Democrats wanted to get rid of. Hey, if Obama and his supporters want to have two separate Americas and run roughshod over the minority party like they think they were the victim of over the past years - fine. They have every right to. But then don't come selling you "unity" snake oil to me.

And please, let's not see more of these attacks in the future. However, it doesn't take a massive leap of faith to see how this could happen in certain areas over the next few years.

Two weeks to go...

...until election day.

It looks like Obama is leading by roughly 5% nationwide, and only needs to win one of a handful of swing states (Ohio? Florida? Virginia?) to seal the deal. On the other hand, McCain needs to sweep almost all of the swing states to have a chance at winning.

At this point, barring some unforeseen circumstances or happenings, it looks like Barack Obama will be the next President. That, in itself, does not scare me too much.

Two thoughts on this: look, McCain is doing the best he can with the hand he has been dealt. I truly believe that Palin is a net plus to this ticket. Think about it this way: in January, if you would have been told where the stock market is, received the details on the financial crisis, and the price of gas, you would have thought that the Democrat would be up 15%. He is only up 5%, maybe a bit more. That says a lot for McCain, and I think Palin has energized the party and heartland women.

My second thought is that I shudder to think what the government will do over the next 2 years. Obama himself doesn't seem too bad, but give him a possible 60-seat majority in the Senate and maybe 250 seats in the house - and look out. The floor is falling out from the Republicans in Congress. Mitch McConnell- the Senate Minority leader - is in a tight race in Kentucky. Both of the Cincinnati congressmen - Steve Chabot and Don's girlfriend, Jean Schmidt - are in dead heats. Stuart Smalley may win in Minnesota (which terrifies me).

Part of me thinks this is OK for the Republicans, as they need to learn (and re-learn!) lessons. This party is not about Ted Stevens, the corrupt Senator from Alaska, but about budget hawk Tom Coburn of Oklahoma. It is not about family-values Larry Craig of Idaho but about Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee. John Thune of South Dakota. It is not Trent Lott but Norm Coleman. Maybe it's good to clean house and get the old, power-corrupted Senators out of the way.

Then I realize that would leave us with about 35 senators.

Barack Obama has never said no to Democratic leaders before in his life. Having Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have a rubber stamp presidency is frightening. I do believe that Obama-led government will significantly raise taxes. It may not be started from Obama, but it will pass under his watch. What will our defense look like? What government programs - all with "good intentions" - will make a mess of our lives?

And what will Obama say no to?

Obama promises a new kind of politics in Washington. The idealist in me wants to take him at his word and hope we can work together in a bipartisan fashion over the next few years.

But the realist in me reads the news of a Maryland McCain supporter's house being vandalized and painted with KKK insignia. I see Obama supporters wearing T-shirts that say "Sarah Palin is a c**t". I see Pelosi wanting to bring the "fairness" doctrine back to effectively shut down any media that may be conservative.

I hope Obama has the backbone to stand up to the dnagerous elements of his party. I see some of Perot's outsiderness in Obama. I hope it's real and not just election rhetoric to get elected.

Lost Footage of BucksSuperStereo teaching Jorge to drive back in high school

http://gizmodo.com/5066128/chimpanzee-rides-segway-in-daring-escape-crashes-in-woods

How I feel...

.....sick.

A poster on the Browns board said it best tonight:

To me it comes down to this: we got (0) from the QB position today for over 3 quarters and almost beat the first place team in the NFC East.

We got (0) from the QB for 4 quarters against the Steelers and lost by 4.

We got (0) from the QB for 3 quarters and beat the Bengals.

If we had average (by NFL standards) QB play in these 3 games, we win all 3 and blow the Bengals out.


This team should be 4-2, not 2-4. And that's if Derek plays average and gives us something. A good QB probably could have won the Ravens game, too.

This defense is good - moving up to a grade of "B". Of course, we're going to squander it with this lummox we have as our QB.

Argh.

NFL Week 7: Mike Carey

After the Browns' big win, they need to come out and look good again. Well, not just look good - but be good too. Which brings us to Mike Carey.

Mr. Carey looks the part - looks authoritative, dresses nice - but unfortunately, he's not that good of a ref. I especially hate his "suspenseful" calls, where he calls the infraction ("holding"), and then seems to point against one team before pointing the other way. I hate it.

Is that what the Browns will be this week? A Mike Carey? A team that now looks good but will annoy me? We will see at 4:15 Eastern on Sunday...

Dal 28, StL 27. Yes, I buy into the "sinking Dallas Cowboys" theory.

NYG 38, SF 10. The Giants will be out for blood in a game they have to win.

Mia 20, Bal 10. I still don't like Flacco on the road - and the 1st half of the Pittsbrugh game is starting to look like the exception rather than the rule.

Ten 23, KC 13. What to say about this game? I have Bo Scaife on my fantasy team....

Pit 27, Cin 17. Look, Ryan Fitzpatrick is playing better as teh Cincy QB. Pittsburgh will go up 20-0 real early and cruise from there.

Chi 147, Min 0. Even if I am off by 50 points on both teams, I'm still ok in our suicide pool.

NO 23, Car 20. Yes, call me a sucker for taking the Saints on the road. But I think they're starting to click now and are turning into the 2006 Saints.

Buf 31, SD 20. Too many factors against the Chargers here - cross country road trip, big emotional win, Edwards now back for Buffalo.

Hou 27, Det 24. Everyone give Layup a supporting phone call at 6:35 Eastern when this game is 20-20 going into the 4th quarter.....

NYJ 21, Oak 16. The "new" "old" NY Titans uniforms are growing on me.

GB 24, Ind 17. Green Bay at home against a team that can't stop the run? Yes, I'll take it.

TB 23, Sea 17. I think Seneca Wallace is starting for the Seahawks. That's the rule now - one week per year of Charlie Frye for any NFL team, and then Frye must be pulled.

NE 28, Den 20. Again, Den is not as good as its record, and I like Cassel and the Patriots to get back on track at home.

Cle 24, Was 21. Good Derek emerges for the second straight week.

Best bets: 15 this week. Last week: 9-5; total: 53-37-2.


StL +7
Dal/StL over 44
NYG -10
Mia -3
Bal/Mia under 36.5
Pit/Cin over 34.5
Chi -3
NO +3
Buf -1
SD/Buf over 44
Det +9.5
GB +1
Ind/GB under 47
Sea +10.5
NE -3

So THAT is why we stay up to watch these games

What a game. At first I said, "well at least we didn't get shutout". Then it was, "well at least we can make it respectable". Then it was "Holy bleep JD Epidural Drew!!!".

These games have been torture, starting with the marathon game 2. I was up in NH for that game, watching it with my dad. Coming into the weekend I am averaging about 4 hours sleep/night (due to ANOTHER new job with a startup - yes and then the economy cratered. great timing!). Anyhoo, since we have a major release going out next week I have been up till about 2 or 3AM every night. So I was already dead tired going into that game 2. Well, my dad and I were watching it in two recliners, and we were both fading with each inning. Each inning we were reclining more and more. Finally by the 12th, I was basically watching the game on an inversion board with a blanket and one eye open. Here is the thing, I don't mind when they keep me up if they win, I only mind when they lose! I always say that strange things happen at Fenway in October, and I am glad that 2008 didn't disappoint.


So what the hell is going to happen in game 6?? Its all about Beckett. People are talking about the oblique. THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE OBLIQUE. He hasn't thrown with the same velocity since they had him take an MRI on his elbow back in August (he had tingling in the fingers). He has been about 92-95 since that DL stint. The real Beckett is about 94-97, usually on the upper end of that range. Supposedly, the MRI came back clean, and they thought everything would be fine. But, Beckett admitted in August that he had been dealing with numbness occasionally throughout the season. So he isn't right, and the results seem to prove that. I am curious to see how he comes out, and how the Rays react. If the Sox somehow win game 6, then its staff against staff and who knowes?

How about the JD Drew walkoff happening at the same minute, the same day after the Aaron Boone HR in 2003 ALCS. Ha! My a LOT has changed since that moment....

Fun Question...

Here's a rhetorical question that could spur discussion.

In 40 years, when you are bouncing your grandkids on your knee, what would shock them the most about "the good old days" when we were "young" ?

a) That we used to pay $0.79 / gallon for gas;
b) That we used to pay $4.00 / gallon for gas;
c) That we used gasoline at one time to fuel cars.

MNF Live Blog?

OK, let's break out the live blog for the 1st Cleveland Browns MNF game in 5 years. We're camped out here with my Crystal light (down 2 pounds already, by the way), with Southern Comfort ready to be mixed if things go bad; we're also going old school with a Bartles and James wine cooler. May need to break out the magic of the late 80s for this game.

This is the first MNF game since a game vs. the Rams in 2003; that featured the QB carousel of Kelly Holcomb and Tim Couch. The last MNF I attended was the famous OJ Simpson game in October, 1995; we played the Bills the night before the verdict was read.
The last MNF win - as previously mentioned - was a game vs. San Francisco in 1993 (Week 2) in which we won.

So look for frequent updates as we try to survive another Romeo Crennel coached game!

8:20: Crennel has told Quinn to "be ready". Like, with 8:00 to go in the 1st quarter?

8:35: All right, enough sarcasm and cynicism. I wish I was there, and I need to believe. Yes, we can win this game if we rediscover our offense and our D plays well. We can. Let's do it.

8:40: Why did the opening show a shot of Ben Roethlisberger? Go ride a f*in motorcycle, toothless hick.

8:41: Well, that's a nice start. Thank God it's a touchback.

8:42: You gotta be kidding me. Illegal formation on the first play. Nice.

8:44: Nice slant to Braylon on a blitz - a catch and run for 50 yards. Browns at the Giants 30. Jamal then runs for 8. 2nd and 2 at the 22

8:47: Down to the 12; then a false start and a fumbled snap. 3rd and 15 at the 17.

8:48: FG is good! 3-0.

8:55: Giants get the kickoff, and haven't even had a 3rd down yet. 1st and 10 at the Browns 37.

8:58: 3rd and 6 at the 30 - INTERCEPTED! By Brodney Pool! Overthrown pass by Manning. Pool returns to the 30. And no flags!
Big drive coming up - we need a TD on THIS possession. We can't get this turnover and then go 3 and out. We need points, preferably a TD.

9:00: Cribbs the direct snap for 12! Then a screen to Jamal for 4. 2nd and 6 at the Cleveland 45.
9:05: Drive continues! Jamal for 4, a couple of nice short passes - and another false start! - Browns 1st and 10 at the NY 30.

9:08: Another penalty - a illegal shift - and now it's 3rd and 13. Incomplete. 4th and 13. Dawson coming on for a 51 yarder.....

9:09: And he missed it. Hooked just left. Giants now get the ball at the 41. Argh. Dammit. Remember what I said about scoring on this drive?

9:13: End of the 1st quarter. Giants are now at the Browns 35. On that last drive, Derek was inaccurate on at least 2 passes. He's showing his 2008 form now, not his 2007.
Now Ward for NYG runs for 15 - downto the Browns 18.

9:17: Touchdown Giants on a 7 yard run by Jacobs. Average teams settle for FG attempts inside the opponent's territory. Good teams score TDs.
We could/should have been up 10-0; now we are down 7-3.

Oh - by the way - 4 penalites on the BRowns in the 1st Quarter - all on offense, all procedural related (motion, shift, false start). Pathetic.

9:23: Long 70 yard pass on the 1st play to Edwards! However, he was tackled at the 4. I can see 7-6 coming right up.
Oh great - the Browns couldn't get set after the long play - we've got to call a timeout. Nice. What the f*k, Crennel?

9:28: TOUCHDOWN Jamal! 4 yard run on a cutback. Nice. 10-7, Browns.

9:31: First 4 games for Braylon: 95 yards. Today: 116 yards already.

9:38: Giants are kind of moving, but got called for a hold on Rogers. Shaun Rogers is playing well. Brandon McDonald - our CB - just made a niceplay against Plax. 3rd and 16 at teh NYG 43...and they don't get it.

9:42. That's 5 procedural penalties for the Browns....the ESPN crew is now talking for 2 minutes and counting about the Cowboys. Shut the hell up. 2nd and 13 for the Browns at the Cle 20.

9:47: Derek is warming up a bit; nice passes to Braylon and Heiden. 3rd and 4 coming up from the Giants' 45.... timeout...opened up the Bartles & James 10 minutes ago; maybe it will keep up the good mojo so far.

9:49: STEPTOE! Derek has time; pass to Steptoe for 25!
By the way, I hate the CDW guy.

TOUCHDOWN! 25 yard pass to Darnell Dinkins!! Who needs Winslow?? (ok, I'm kidding)...
17-7 Browns.

9:53: Big drive coming up. We've got to stop the Giants. No points here. The worst thing is that they kick a FG here, get within 7, and then take the kickoff for the 2nd half and get a TD. Stop here and get in the locker room up 2 scores.
2 minute warning, Giants' ball 1st and 10 at their 30.

9:59: Giants moving through the air at will. 3rd and 10 at the Browns 20. 54 seconds left.

10:01: Fumble by Manning, Browns' ball...but of course, a penalty in the Browns' secondary for illegal contact. 1st down for the Giants. A killer. I can feel a TD coming up after that dagger of a penalty...

10:05: Touchdown, Burress, with 12 seconds left. Dammit.
17-14, Browns.

10:10. Halftime. The Browns never fail to surprise me. They are up 3 at the half, and I feel sick.

10:28: Interception on the 1st play - McDonald another great play. We need to convert...

10:30: The Ghost! Jerome Harrison on a double reverse for 30 yards! 1st and 10 at teh Giants 15....cmon, we need a TD here....

10:31: And the drive stalls. A 27 yard FG. 20-14 Browns. Dammit. Two runs and a pass that went thru Stallworth's fingertips. Why run on 1st and 2nd down? Ride the hot hand.

I heard that DA was compared to sitting down at a blakcjack table....when he's cold, it's ugly, but when he's hot, you better ride him. The shoe may - MAY - be swinging back into positive territory. Ride him.

10:35 McDonald is now on Plax; Terry Cousin, our 3rd CB, was on him in the first half. Don't know why......but so far this is a good adjustment.
3rd and 6 for the Giants at their own 24...timeout.

10:41: A 5 player sack by the Browns. Giants punt - Browns ball at their own 12. A key stop there. Now we need to have a sustained drive....hopefully leading to points. No 3 and outs here...

10:45: Another false start...that's 6 by my count.

10:48: Some nice runs by Jamal and the GHOST; we're at our own 40, 1st and 10.

10:50: 7 and counting.... wow....

10:51: And a couple of big catches by Heiden, our backup TE. 1st down at the Giants 38.

10:55: A holding penalty gives us a 1st and 20; we convert 3rd down on a screen pass to Wright. 1st down.....but, of course, a penalty - delay of game. This is fuck**g unreal.

10:57: Illegal snap. 9 before-the-snap penalties. I am speechless.....
and then they get out of it to another pass to THE GHOST. 1st and 10 at the 11.

10:59: End of the quarter. This drive is about 120 yards long, with all the penalties.

11:01: TOUCHDOWN to Braylon on play action! 26-14. Go for 2!

11:02: GO FOR 2 YOU FUCKING IDIOT! Oh my God, it looks like they are not. Can you see a 28-27 loss coming? Oh my God.

Nope, extra point coming up.....27-14.

11:11: I'm still pissed on the 2 pt decision. 11 minutes left, Giants with the ball at their own 40.

11:16: WOW - Eric Wright intercepts a pass and runs 95 yards for a TOUCHDOWN!!! TOUCHDOWN BROWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, I can smile a bit now. Just a bit. Still 8 minutes left.....33-14, Browns.

11:19: And they go for 2 now.....and get it. 35-14 Browns. I give up. Time for some Crystal Light and Southern Comfort.

11:25: Giants now at the Browns 10, with about 5 minutes remaining. And Crystal Light Fruit Punch and Southern Comfort does not go together.

11:29: Giants turn it over on downs at teh Browns 5. Wow. Is this what winning a game by 21 feels like? I feel like I should still be tense....ass clenched.....can I relax? I can?

11:32: Amazing. We have not seen Dave Zastudil for a Browns punt yet tonight. 0 punts at the 2 minute mark.

11:39: Wow. Amazing. Where has this team been all year?
What do I say? What should I think about this team? They way they played today - they can beat anyone. Anyone. Maybe it's getting people back to health - Donte Stallworth, Russ Tucker on the line......(and no Kellen Winslow?) - does that make that much of a difference? Really?

And please, for the love of God, fix the false starts.

The Epic Matchup on Monday

Yes, there's a big matchup on Monday night.

In one corner - it's the Browns.

In the other corner - SpongeBob?

There is a battle in our house for the HD TV tomorrow - the Browns' game is on at 8:30, but there is a new SpongeBob movie that premieres tomorrow at 8.

The kids will be watching the movie upstairs while I pace in front of the TV.......but I'll have to work on my sons to get them to understand the importance of a Monday Night Browns game. They come around once every, oh, 5 years or so.

(last win by the Browns on Monday night - September, 1993, when we beat the 49ers as a huge home underdog. I was sitting in the baseball box seats in the old Municipal stadium, with the smell of pot and urine surrounding that section....)

(and that is a key literary acheivement - having "SpongeBob" and "pot" in the same blog post).

NFL Week 6: Ed Hochuli

It's simple. The Browns have been struggling: they need a stellar performance on Monday night to re-emerge as a player in the NFL.

Ed Hochuli has been struggling as well, and he needs a stellar performance this week just to re-establish himself as a solid referree in this league.

Will either happen? Both?

Was 27, StL 20. A letdown has to occur, right? That's two tough intra-divisional games on the road. Can they play 3 great games in a row?

TB 24, Car 20. This seems like an intra-squad scrimmage. Aren't these teams basically the same?

NYJ 31, Cin 15. I can't really explain how awful Ryan Fitzpatrick was 2 weeks ago for the Bengals at QB. And yet they still almost beat the Browns.

NO 27, Oak 13. The Saints are pissed after giving one away last week.

Min 24, Det 17. I don't the Vikes are that good - and can Detroit get blown out again? (don't answer that).

Ind 17, Bal 16. I Just don't like Flacco on the road.

Hou 20, Mia 17. I really have no idea. Will the Texans' meltdown last week be the end of their season? Or a rallying point?

Atl 23, Chi 20. I guess we will go with the hot team at home here.

Jax 27, Den 24. A hunch. Denver is nowhere near as good as 4-1, and the Jags are a desperate team.

Sea 20, GB 16. Will Charlie Frye get the start - and win! - for Seattle?

Phi 27, SF 13. Another desperate team. The Niners looked lost offensively last week.

Dal 28, Ari 23. I have no idea which Cowboy team will show up.

NE 27, SD 24, OT. Pssss- the league hasn't caught on yet - but the Chargers are just not that good.

Cle 24, NYG 23. Anderson to Heiden for a touchdown with 15 seconds left gives the Browns the win. What, were you expecting something else?

Best bets: 14 of them: Last week: 6-8-1, overall: 44-32-2.

StL +13

Car/TB Over 36.5

NYJ -9.5

NO -7

Oak/NO Under 47.5

Det +13

Mia/Hou Under 45

Atl +3

Jax +3

Sea -1

GB/Sea under 44.5

Phi -4.5

NE +4.5

NE/SD over 44

Ahhh...It pays off being managed by the Swiss

In steps the negotiator. At a time like this I'm proud to work for a company that is run by the conservative swiss financial firm.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122359713514921305.html?mod=testMod


And for those of you wondering, yes AIG's function was at the St. Regis next to my house. That place is so expensive that I've only been over there with my parents to have breakfast once. A simple omelet breakfast for the three of us ran $100 including tip. Carol, my parents, and I once tried to eat lunch there, but a simple hamburger was $32. I did not feel bad when we all got up and left while laughing at the prices. The place is a joke.

Just got a memo from our home office urging us to control the use of our copier machines and these assholes are going to the St. Regis. Its going to feel real good taking them over.

NY Times

Was in Starbucks this morning and read this article from the NY Times while waiting for my coffee. Thought it was a great read. Especially the all high and mighty Greenspan.

Biggest Loser

So I called Eric about his post below and threw out a challenge to him. Eric vs Layup in a Biggest Loser contest (since I couldn't do it at work). Loser has to pay for either a Columbus Blue Jacket or women's NCAA wager in March.

As always we encourage wagering on this, so below are the odds. I'm sure Lee, Jay, RRD, or Wiz will book the action.

Layup -720

Eric +600

Inside Gambling Note: My foot is healthy again and I'm starting to work out so I should be able to drop the weight pretty quickly. Also, I don't have three kids hanging all over me, so I have plenty of free time to work out. And finally, I know Eric's weakness, so Carol and I will be mailing him coupons for free Arby's roast beef sandwiches with extra horsey sauce.

Anyone else interested?

It's time to do something

I've got a lot of blogging to do - such as detailing my recent experiences with two Presidents and talking about the election and the "bailout" package that people suddenly say "it's not enough"....

but I wanted to put out something publicly that may spur me to action.

The baby and everything else going on has caused me to really neglect my health. I've now set record highs for weight - and it needs to be fixed. Now.

So - I am publicly committing to lose 15 pounds by Vegas.

(as you can see, I'm notstupid enough to put my actual weight here on the blog).

15 pounds lost in 5 months. 3 pounds a month.

It can be done, I think, with simple lifestlye changes.

1) Get more sleep. OK - scratch that. Maybe in January.
2) Eat a little better. The snacking off the kids' plate has got to stop. "Freddie? Are you going to finish that meatball? No? Well, don't mind if I do!"
3) Exercise more. Jog 3 times a week vs. the current 1-2 times a month.

Little changes - and I mean little, not these crash diet things, like " I'll eat only salads for a month!" - should be enough to lose 3 pounds a month.

We'll see how I do. If you see updates on the progress here, great! If not, that must mean I'm off the wagon.

(Maybe if I promise to run 5 miles every time the Browns lose.....that would get me to lose 30 pounds by the end of the season!)

Gus Johnson

There is one thing to listen to Gus Johnson announce March Madness or the NFL, but its another to listen to him announce MMA fighting on CBS. I really hope I wasn't the only one to hear this since it was classic. The main fight was between Kimbo Slice, the heavy heavy favorite against a nobody. Well the nobody knocked out Kimbo Slice and Gus went bezerk. I mean Gus announcing the Ohio State game two years ago Bezerk. I was so excited that I was running around the living in pure glee just listening to Gus. I ended up Tivo'ing it so I could replay for Eric tomorrow morning. Anyone who wants to hear, just give me a call.

Update: I found the Link. Enjoy the excitement of Gus Johnson.

NFL Week 5: Ron Winter

It's the Browns' bye week, so this Sunday/Monday will be a relaxing NFL weekend where all I ask is for decent games at 1, 4 and for the primetime games. No need for matinee matchups, but just a solid slate of games that I can enjoy throughout the afternoon.

Ron Winter, as an NFL referree, fits that description perfectly. He is a no-nonsense referree with no flash - he looks like an accountant - but does a solid job all around. He never seems to get the good games - in fact, I think he's done about 94 Browns game since the return in 1999 - but he always turns in a solid job. Just want I want this weekend - a solid slate of games.

(By the way, I may have to retract my hatred of Jerome Boger - in week 4, I wrote my preview regarding him, and he ended up having the Browns' game. He called the Bengals for offsides in a critical 3rd quarter Browns' possession; on that play, Derek threw an interception that was nullified. Jerome may have saved his career - but may have prolonged this purgatory we are in).

GB 24, Atl 10. I will continue to state that Atlanta can't play outdoors on the road.

Chi 20, Det 17. Yes, I can see an upset here, but this wil go down to the wire.

Ind 28, Hou 24. Houston will win one of these games soon. They play the Bengals and Browns later this year....

Car 24, KC 13. The Chiefs will revert back to normal this week.

Mia 23, SD 20, OT. Are you really going to trust Norv and the Chargers on the road?

NYG 28, Sea 24. Something just tells me this will be close.

Bal 19, Ten 16. Tennessee seems to be the automatic pick here - but how will they move the ball? You don't rush on the Ravens. And you really thinkn Kerry Collins will solve the Ravens' D? In Baltimore? God, I hate picking the Ravens.

Phi 27, Was 17. Philly has to be pissed over last week.

Den 31, TB 20. The key here? It's at Mile High.

Buf 27, Arz 20. I give up trying to figure this Cardinals team out.

Dal 31, Cin 13. Is a comment needed? Boy, SW Ohio is already hating on the Bengals - and we aren't even at Halloween.

NE 30, SF 20. Would you believe that in my fantasy league for church, my only quarterback on my roster is...Matt Cassel? The bye week will help him.

Jax 27, Pit 16. The Jaguars can move the ball through the air. Pittsburgh has no running backs, so they will have to throw (and the Jags are vulnerable). I see more scoring here than most.

NO 27, Min 20. This should be a great game. Can Adrian please score twice again?

Best bets: Last week: 8-7. Overall: 38-24-1.

GB -3.5

Atl/GB under 40.5

Chi/Det under 45.5

Mia +6

Sea +7

Sea/NYG over 43.5

Bal +2

Phi -6.5

Den -3

Buf + 1.5

NE -3

NE/SF over 41

Jax -5.5

Pit/Jax over 36

NO -3

6 favorites, 4 underdogs, 3 overs, 2 unders.

Fantasy Football

This is why I won't let Carol play fantasy football.

About two nights ago.

So I've been meaning to add my thoughts about the VP debate but got sidetracked by a crab bite. Last Tuesday while on vacation in Florida, I got bit by a blue crab. Nothing too major, but it was on my heal and it was pretty deep. It bled for a while but after enough salt water and beer, I thought that it had healed properly.

So one week later while at work, my foot started to hurt. It hurt so much that I could barely walk on it. When I finally got home that day, I took off my shoe and realized that my ankle had swelled to the size of a golf ball and my entire foot was giving off enough heat to make an omelet. Hmmm, that's not good. I must be having a reaction to the detergent? Well once the smart one (Carol) got home, she made the decision to go to the hospital.

You would think that doctors and nurses at a hospital has seen everything, but everyone was amazed that my foot got infected by a crab bite. We must of had 3-4 different nurses come into our room and act like they were there for a reason other than to just stare at the foot. Anyway, they gave me some heavy antibiotics and told me to go to my doctors the next morning.

Well that night and the next morning, the redness, heat, and swelling was slowly moving up from my foot and into my leg. When my doctor saw me the next day he was a little more concerned that this would turn into a staph infection. He ordered for me to have two freaking shots immediately. So the nurse comes in and we have this conversation.

Nurse: OK hun, I have two shots for you. Are you ready.
Derek: Sure, no problem. I had a tetanus shot last night. I should be OK.
Nurse: Oh...yeah, this is going to be a little more painful than that.
Derek: OK. Can you at least use my left arm since the right is still a little sore.
Nurse: Oh...yeah, this isn't going into your arm. These are going into both of your cheeks.
Derek: Um..OK.

So I stand up from the bed and I start to un-button my shorts and just lowered them slightly. I will never assume how far they want the pants down due to prior embarrassment of me dropping my shorts and them telling me that I should keep them up. Nothing more embarrassing than that. So this resulted in the nurse pulling down my pants a little with this conversation:

Derek: Is this low enough.
Nurse: No, but I will take care of it.
Derek: Ow...mmmm (while the nurse caught her ring on my butt hair)
Nurse: I'm sorry about that. I'll try not to pull any more of your hair.
Derek: Yeah there s a lot of it. That's OK.
Nurse: No. Its not bad. You should see my husband.....Wow, I probably shouldn't of said that. Very inappropriate. I'm sorry.
Derek: Its OK. Just get this over with.

So for the next several days I was going into the doctor's office getting shots in my butt. I have left the band aids on my ass so they know not to stick me in the same place. Last night was so uncomfortable just sitting on the couch.

But things are feeling better today and the infection is going down.


So my opinion on the VP debate:

1. I absolutely hate how they judge the performances based on expectations. Shouldn't it be measured on equal footing? "Palin did very well since she didn't make any mistakes." Um, really? Shouldn't that be expected? Haven't we learned our lesson on lower expectations during debates? I put more weight into these debates because I think this reflects the candidates ability to communicate with the public and persuade the public on what they want to do in the future. Part of the problem with the financial crisis is that nobody can get in front of the public and persuade everyone to calm down and that this $700 billion bill is the right thing.
2a. Looks- Did Biden get botox in his forehead? Whenever he raised his eyebrows, nothing would move on his forehead, but the edges would. Very annoying.
2b. Looks- I want cleavage. Just the top maybe. Something? And was she wearing square glasses?
2c. I'm setting the over/under on Obama's lead at 15 points before seeing Palin appearing in a spring dress.
3. Things that pissed me off: Biden- blaming the economy solely on the last 8 years of Bush. Give me a break. Everyone in both parties had their hand in the cookie jar and deserves full blame. Palin- Maverick, Maverick, Maverick, Hockey Moms, Joe Sick Pack, Maverick, Maverick. Please just stop. PLEASE!!!! And you could tell when she was talking about her personal experiences compared to when she was holding the party line. It got old quickly.
4. Avoiding the questions. This happened in the Presidential debate and it happened again with the VPs. The only person who is not avoiding the questions seem to be McCain.
5. In the end I thought both Biden and Palin both came off very well. One of the more enjoyable debates I've ever watched.

Random note

Any Chinese restaurant that serves Moo Shu Pork already wrapped in the pancakes should just shut their doors. Immediately.

I don't like the pancakes; I don't like that damn plum sauce. Just give me the meat and cabbage, please. I'm not at Taco Bell.

Gimme a break

So the original bailout of $700 Billion - with a B - did not pass. So what do our lawmakers do to pass this urgent, critical bill that will save Western Civiliazation?

Add $100 Billion of additional pork to the bill.

Again, I'd like to be convinced of the urgent need for this legislation - and Micah's post and a phone call from my brother-in-law is helping - but it is so hard to take it seriously when the government treats this like any other omnibus pork project.

Must read!!

THIS is why I don't like online poker.

Um....everyone needs to calm down.

So the House takes the feedback from Flotsam and Jetsam and downs the bailout bill. Good, I thought. Until I watched the market plummet. And plummet some more. And plummet once again. And now the blame game starts...which makes me sick.

I need to make up some money, since I'm still going to Vegas and I need to enough money to play the $5 tables at the Wynn. Shit, if everyone isn't back down to $5 tables in this economy, then I'm fucked. So I'm setting the betting line for the lowest point for the Dow at 8,955.36. I will be accepting all wagers.

NFL Week 4: Jerome Boger

Argh. The Cleveland Browns. The team is 0-3, and you hope for something good to come out from teh team on Sunday....but deep down in your heart, you know you are going to be disappointed.

It's like when one of the league's worst refs comes out of the tunnel for the game. You cross your fingers and hope he won't affect the game, but in the end, it's usually one critical call (that's questionable) that will get you.

Last year, it was the pushout of Kellen Winslow in Arizona. With no time left and the Browns down 6, Winslow caught the ball in the end zone but was (clearly?) pushed out by the defensive backs. Boger's crew made no call, and the game ended as a Browns loss.

Don't ask me if it was a pushout, I'm biased. Ask a Viking fan.

Not a lot of attractive games this week, huh?

Ten 23, Min 13. Minnesota really only scored 13 offensive points at home vs Carolina - a good but not great defense. I have Peterson on my fantasy team, and am not expecting a good week.

GB 27, TB 24. Tampa shot their wad last week, and I think Green Bay will pull this one out with 600 yards passing between the teams.

Az 20, NYJ 16. Am I crazy for picking the Cards on the road?

NO 31, SF 17. Boy, did NO get hosed. Really, how good are the 9ers? They lost to the Cards and beat Seattle (eh) and the Lions (ugh).

Den 27, KC 10. Something here smells fishy.....

Jax 27, Hou 13. Houston has to get off the schnide sometime, right? Is this a trap game for the Jaguars? If so, I'm falling in the trap too.

Car 23, Atl 13. Can Matt Ryan play on the road?

Buf 30, StL 20. I'm not sure why I think the Rams will score 20 at home - maybe the new quarterback (Green) will help them.

SD 28, Oak 13. Did the real Chargers finally show up last Monday? Boy, I'm scared of this pick now.

Dal 31, Was 17. Dallas looks unstoppable. And Washington may actually be a good team !

Chi 20, Phi 17. Just a hunch - Chicago pulls out the home win on a punt return.

Pit 24, Bal 17. Atleast 14 of these points will be from turnovers - one side or another.

Best bets this week: 15 of them. Last week: 9-6. Overall: 30-17-1.

Ten -3

GB +1.5

GB/ TB over 42.5

Az +1

Az/NYJ under 44.5

NO -4

Den -9.5

Den/KC under 47

Jax -7

Car -6.5

Buf/Stl Over 43.5

SD -7.5

Dal -10.5

Chi +3

Bal/Pit over 33.5

7 favorites to 3 underdogs. I don't feel very good about that.

Terrible

Just a quick comment from last night's debate. I thought that the question of "What are you going to cut from your wish list due to the financial question" was probably the best question I have ever heard in a debate. And both candidates sucked it up on that one. Obama side stepped the question, not once, no twice, but thrice, and McCain kept on going back to ear marks? This tells me that Obama will just say whatever is needed to get into the White House (like his nuclear comment), and McCain really doesn't know what to do and will turn it over to his advisers to handle.

And one last annoying comment. Both guys totally butchered so many names and words during the debate. Um...what is the Tollybon? And Paukistun?

As Eric and I discussed, I really didn't learn anything. How does that happen?

Quote of the day

Is here.

Quick Political/Economics Thoughts

I want to be honest on this blog....

1) McCain's idea to suspend his campaign and push for a postponement of the debate is a bad idea. It seems like a stunt in itself. I don't want to accuse McCain of ducking Obama, but....

I understand the concept. The nation is in crisis! We must provide leadership! However....

a) When did this become a crisis? Why now? Why is it immediate?
b) I would like to think that if it is truly a crisis, then all politicians on both sides of the aisle would act that way. I don't even see half the Republicans acting in crisis mode, let alone Pelosi & co.

2) McCain could certainly make a good commercial out of this - and a good point. Where is the Democratic Congressional leadership on this? You have Harry Reid out there last week saying "We don't know what to do". Great...these are the people currently in charge.

3) And hell if I know what to do. The bailout, to me, just seems wrong. If P&G made a bad decision and our stcok plummeted (like, say, IN 2000!) - no one would ever bail us out. Why these banks? Why should I care? I pay my bills, I have a responsible mortgage - part of me says screw them - let them fail.

I can see Wiz blowing his top here.......so make the case. Why should $700 Billion of taxpayer money go to saving some banks?

As long as FDIC doesn't go under - which, from all indications, it won't - then why should I care?

You can probably guess I didn't take an economics class in college....

Caption Contest?

Found on the Browns board tonight: This picture.

Caption:

"This man needs a real job."

Please - I agree. When is Romeo going to be released? What a disaster today. 0-3, with more tough games coming soon.

(oh, we are an early 4-point underdog to Cincinnati coming up. Oh joy).

I can't believe this season has gone down the toilet so fast.

NFL Week 3: Carl Cheffers

Well, with the electricity (and Internet) outage here in Cincinnati, combined with my Ryder Cup hangover - up at 4:30 am, home at midnight - I'm too tired to put any thought into these NFL picks. So - I'll use up my last freebie and introduce you to the other new NFL referree this season, Carl Cheffers. Coming soon to a NFL game near you! Prediction: He'll be doing the Detroit - San Francisco barnburner today.

Today's games:

Was 20, Az 17. Layup and I were talking - doesn't every Redskin-Cardinals game come down to a 54 yard field goal at the gun?

Min 24, Car 17. Gus Frerotte is an improvement. How does that sound, Redksins fans?

NYG 31, Cin 16. This is the suicide pick for the week.

Ten 21, Hou 20. I think the Texans are better than people think - they are the NFL's forgotten team right now.

Atl 20, KC 17. There is no reason why Atlanta should be favroed by 6.5 over any one!

NE 24, Mia 13. I'm very interested to see how Cassel progress this week and the next. If any one can get a read on him, now is the time to make money on the Patriots before Vegas catches on.

Buf 27, Oak 19. This game would scare me, if I was a Buffalo fan.

TB 20, Chi 13. Remember last week when I said Chicago was for real? Can I take that back?

SF 31, Det 23. Why don't I have J T O'Sullivan on my roster yet?

NO 31, Den 27. Upset of the week. Psssst - I don't think Denver is that good.

Sea 24, StL 20. The Rams will stay close. I think people are still overvaluing the seahawks.

Ind 20, Jax 17. Feels like a Vinatieri FG game at the end, no?

Phi 27, Pit 23. I have no idea what could happen here.

Dal 23, GB 20. Green Bay should try to keep the ball on the ground and the clock moving.

SD 27, NYJ 17. How can you top last week's MNF? By having a Favre-a-palloza.

Cle 24, Bal 13. This week, CNN Si had a list of the top 10 coaches that cold be fired at the end of the season. Romeo was not on it. IF the Browns lose here, he could be gone for Janice's birthday, Oct 6th. Then I won't have to get her a present.

Best bets: 15 picks this week: Last week: 10-5-1; overall; 21-11-1.

Az/Was under 43

Min -3

Car/Min over 37

Cin/NYG over 41.5

Hou +5

KC +6.5

Oak/Buf over 36.5

TB +3

SF -4.5

Det/SF over 46.5

NO +5.5

NO/Den over 51

StL + 9.5

Pit/Phi over 44

Dal/GB Under 51.5

2 bonus Ryder Cup picks:

Ben Curtis +130 over Lee Westwood

JB Holmes -110 over Soren Hansen

Week 2: Jeff Triplette

Well, this has been a strange NFL week, hasn't it? The fantasy fans out there had no idea what was going to happen with the Bal-Hou game until the last minute - and then once they made an annoucement, we're all left scrambling to figure out how to adjust our plans.

Kind of like a Jeff Triplette-officiated game! I consider him to be one of the worse officials out there. I may be biased, however - he was the official who threw the flag into Orlando Brown's eye in 1999 and knocked out our offensive lineman for the year.

Anyway, he did last monday night's game with the Packers-Vikes; I see that his crazy, flag-happy days aren't behind him yet! I believe there were 21 penalties called in the game.

On to the Week 2 picks:

Jax 24, Buf 13. Jacksonville is too good to fall to 0-2, aren't they?

Chi 19, Car 17. I now have a feeling that the Bears are for real.

GB 31, Det 20. Maybe I'm thinking this is like a 2002 NFC North shootout in the dome. However, Rodgers looked good against a good defense - how will he look vs the Lions?

Min 24, Ind 20. Indy looked off, and Minnesota showed they could play on offense in the 2nd half of the GB game.

Was 27, NO 23. The Saints are a terrible road team. That's the only reason why I'm picking the Skins.

NYG 23, Stl 13. I hope - for our suicide pool's sake - that the Giants lose.

KC 20, Oak 10. This may take the cake as the "Most Unwatchable Game" of 2008 - until the Bengals and Redskins play in Cincinnati later this year.

Ten 16, Cin 13, OT. This will be close, but Cincinnati will fall apart in overtime.

TB 31, Atl 13. Oh please, Mr Gruden, bring the kitchen sink against Ryan.

Sea 24, SF 16. I'm not so sure how good the Seahawks are anymore after last week's bomb.

Arz 27,Mia 17. Miami will lose a lot of games this year by 6-12 points (but not more).

NE 23, NYJ 20, OT. If Favre and the Jets pull this one out - hoo boy, look out for that Media Bandwagon.

Den 27, SD 24. I can easily see the Merriman-less Chargers falling to 0-2. When should we set the line for Norv's firing date? NOvember 9th?

Dal 24, Phi 23. This should be a classic.

Cle 27, Pit 24. I'm going through the motions in picking the Browns until they give me something to be fired up about.

Best bets: Last week: 11-6.

Jax -4.5

Chi +3

GB -3

Min +1.5

Was pick

NO/Was over 42

NYG/Stl under 42

KC -3

Oak/KC under 36

Ten +1

Ten/Cin under 37

TB -7

Atl/TB Over 37.5

Az -6.5

NE pick

Phi +6.5