I make a few jokes about the Sports Gods hating me. When my favorite teams are the Cubs, Indians, Cavs, and Browns (combined titles in my lifetime=0), and they seem to lose in some horrible ways (The Drive, The Fumble, Jose Mesa, Steve Bartman). It's like being a Red Sox fan, only without the 2004 World Series Happy Ending. So I make jokes that I'm the cause, that I carry Sports curses to all teams that I root for.


Now I'm no longer sure it's a joke

Two sides of the same coin:

* Young
* Relatively Inexperienced (four years as a Senator vs. Two Years as a Governor)
* Charismatic
* Is considered a bright prospect for their party, who is in a position of power much sooner than anyone would have suspected
* Solid, stable families that they rely on
* Give off a feeling of being normal that reassures people, compared to most politicians
* Is considered to have rather 'extreme' political positions
* Has been associated with a church with radical beliefs (Jeremiah Wright or Jews for Jesus)
* Bring a level of excitement to their parties that was missing. The excitement I've seen from the GOP on Palin is EXACTLY the same excitement that Obama brought the Democrats earlier in the year.

No wonder people are acting so crazy talking about either one of them- they are practically mirror images of each other. The number of people I've seen who have loved one and froth at the mouth over the other is incredible.

I like Palin. I like Obama- I just disagree with his ideas. And I don't think either is ready to be President. But I'm trying not to slip into the pools of vitriol that seem to be everywhere.

OK, enough politics. Let's talk important stuff.... NFL Football Predictions!

AFC East: New England
AFC North: Pittsburgh
AFC South: Indianpolis
AFC West: San Diego
Wild Card: Jacksonville
Wild Card: Cleveland

Cleveland over San Diego (upset!), Jacksonville over Pittsburgh
New England over Jacksonville, Cleveland over Indianpolis (upset #2!)
New England over Cleveland (upset #... nope; nevermind)

NFC East: Dallas
NFC North: Detroit
NFC South: New Orleans
NFC West: Arizona
Wild Card: New York Giants
Wild Card: Philadelphia

New York Giants over Detroit, Arizona over Philadelphia
Dallas over Arizona, New Orleans over New York Giants
Dallas over New Orleans

Super Bowl: New England 38, Dallas 24

Once elected, what do you expect Obama to do as President?

This isn't trying to be a 'gotcha' question or anything- I'm being serious here.

I know people are really frustrated/pissed/annoyed at the GOP- believe me, I am as well. And that might be enough to get Obama elected.

But I honestly think that if I asked 10 different Obama supporters what they expect him to once he's in the office, I'll not only get 10 different answers... I'll get 10 contradictory answers. Which means someone is going to be very disappointed.

So tell me- what do you think he'll do once he's elected?

One of the best columns I read about Conservatives and Liberals was by Jonah Goldberg, who commented that Liberals weren't arguing with each other. They were discussin tactics, not principles, partly because they were insulated in a cocoon. The only people they ever talked to were people that agreed with them, so they never had their ideas tested.

A famous story had movie critic Pauline Kael complain after 1972 that "No one I know voted for Nixon.". Considering Nixon won 49 states, it's used to show how insular a group can be.

The problem is... Conservatives have gotten just as insular as we mocked the liberals for being.

It's been building a while. I was amazed how close John Kerry came to winning in 2004. I thought the Republicans would hold onto at least part of Congress in 2006. And reading many of the Conservative web sites, you'd think that the Obama "fad" will evaporate any moment.

It used to be that all of the networks and mainstream papers were so tilted to the left that anyone on the right side of the political arguement was constantly barraged every time they voiced their opinion. But thanks to Rush Limbaugh and Fox, the Right have created a media to combat the left. But in the process, we've become just as insulated from criticism as they are.

When the gay marriage debate broke out, I remember a split among the National Review columnists over whether gays should be allowed to marry. I could see the principles on both sides being argued. I can think of a lot of issues that should be debated, but haven't been- and aren't right now (on both sides of the aisle, but I'm more familiar with the Right-Wing).

Now? National Review doesn't argue principles as much as tactics. We've become as bad as the people we used to mock. I think it's going to take getting our clocks cleaned in November before we shake things up. And when that happens, I don't want to be the guy who said "How could Obama win? Everyone I know voted for McCain."

When I wrote my post before, I didn't realize one piece of information: John McCain only met Sarah Palin once before deciding on her as the Vice Presidential nominee.

I'm sorry- that's not a gamble; that's stupidly reckless.

Everything I've seen about Sarah Palin, I've liked. I think she has a very good chance as a leader of the GOP- even as a President- in the future.

But for McCain to make this decision after meeting her once is reckless on his part. I would have been MUCH happier if he had picked Joe Lieberman, because I believe he really thinks Lieberman could take over as President if needed.

There's no way someone could make that decision after one meeting.

I like Gov. Palin. I hope she does very well. My comments don't reflect on her at all.

But they don't reflect on John McCain very well.

I made my comments on Obama's pick for Biden. Now it's the GOP's turn, as John McCain named Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin to be his Vice President Choice.

Unlike Obama's pick, this is hardly a safe choice. Using the same four criteria that I used before:

1- If anything should happen to the President, could the VP step into the office and take over the duties as President?

2- Does the VP help the President with any perceived weaknesses of the Presidential candidate?

3- Will the VP nominee hurt the Presidential candidate?

4- Can the VP nominee help the Presidential nominee get elected?

(1)- The biggest problem. She's been mayor of a town, and Governor of Alaska for 2 years. I'll argue she has more experience than Obama does (and in terms of exceutive experience, has more experience than all of the other three). I'd really feel a lot better if she had more than one term as governor

(2)- She'll definitely help. She's a solid Conservative on the issues, while McCain has had problems with the base. She's a known battler of both corruption and pork spending (much better than the current administration). She helps with the GOP's problem of being a party of "Old White Men"

(3)- Could she hurt? Absolutely. She could be another Dan Quayle (a relatively unknown GOP rising star who wasn't ready for Presidential politics). From what I've seen, she's been very impressive. But she hasn't been put under the microscope like the other candidates. It's very possible she will make a verbal gaffe that will haunt her and McCain...

(4)- ... but she could also really help McCain win the election. Not that the VP pick alone will help someone win. But I've been checking with my fellow members of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy... they love this pick. They've been more excitied about this pick than anytime in the last 3-4 years.

This is a high-risk but high-reward move, for McCain and Palin. For the next two months, she's going to be put through the wringer. If she can handle the pressure, she will be a tremendous asset to McCain- and will set herself up for the future (my guess- if McCain loses and she does a good job, she's the nominee in 2012).

Would I have made this pick, if I were McCain? not if I thought I'd win without her. Gov. Palin is doing a great job in Alaska, but I'd want her to have another term before I'd put her on the ticket.

But I don't think McCain can win, as things stand now. McCain needed something to shake up the campaign (Obama, OTOH, just needed not to screw up). This qualifies. We'll see if it works out.

As a Conservative, I have hopeful trepidation. I want her to do well. But it's a gamble.

Had my draft in a fantasy football league. I'm not sure how I did... I screwed up hearing one of the rules, and it affected my draft.

Out of 10 teams, I drafted 9th. 1 QB/2 RB/2 WR/1 TE/1 "Flex"/1 Defense/1 K/6 Bench

My mistake was originally hearing that the "Flex" could be WR or TE. In fact, it could also be a Running Back- which made Running backs a lot more scarce than I thought.

Anyways, getting to the draft...

1st Round- Tom Brady, QB. I was the first person not to grab a RB...

2nd round- Randy Moss, WR. ... and I followed it up with the best WR as well. The best RB available was Willie McGahee at this point

3rd round- Torry Holt, WR. OK, maybe I should've grabbed a RB here. But again, by best player, I thought Holt was better than any RB

4th round- Brandon Jacobs, RB. Starting RB for the Giants, a good pick for the round

At this point, I've got a couple sleeper RB planned. But at the fifth round, I see that the tenth team already has two RB, so I think I can get away with the 'best available' again...

5th round- Roy Williams, WR.

And the guy in tenth place takes both of the sleepers I had planned (Michael Turner and Darren McFadden). GAH!

6th round- Kevin Smith, RB. Here's hoping he developes

The rest of the draft is a collection of good backups at other positions, along with a total of 6 running backs, hoping 2 of them will pan out. Here's my total team:

QB- Tom Brady, Brett Farve
RB- Brandon Jacobs, Kevin Smith, Rudi Johnson, Selvin Young, Jason Wright, Kolby Smith
WR- Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Roy Williams, Santana Moss
TE- Owen Daniels
Def- Dallas
K- Adam Vinatieri

So, if you've got any good tips on sleeper running backs, send them this way.

Since the only pick the Presidential candidates make before the election is the Vice-President pick, I end up putting a lot of emphasis on it. A BIG part of the President's performance is based on the people he surrounds himself with. (I think the American public would be better off if we insisted the candidates announce their choices for the Cabinet before the election)

With that in mind, Barack Obama selected Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate.

It's a good choice. Maybe not an inspired choice, but rock-solid. A Vice Presidential candidate should fill four qualifications for the Preisdential Candidate:

1- If anything should happen to the President, could the VP step into the office and take over the duties as President?

2- Does the VP help the President with any perceived weaknesses of the Presidential candidate?

3- Will the VP nominee hurt the Presidential candidate?

4- Can the VP nominee help the Presidential nominee get elected?

With Biden, his experience definitely hits the "He can take over" criteria. He also helps with (2)- Obama's biggest weakness is experience, and Senator Biden has been around for years.

He doesn't help with (4)- Delaware was already going Obama's way. (3) is the question mark- Biden has a reputation for running his mouth off. He withdrew as the Presidential nominee in 1988 based of accusations of plagarizng a speech, but I don't think the public will hold that against him. On the other hand, if you have to pick a flaw, "Constant talker" isn't the worst one to pick.

Thinking it over, I think Senator Bayh might have been a better pick, just because he had the same advantages and could put Indiana in play. But overall, a good pick for Senator Obama.

Went to the Ring of Honor show in Cleveland on Friday.

The good news- a good show. Not as great as some of the 2006 shows, but the main event was fantastic, and the crowd was into the show.

The bad news- not a big enough crowd. Maybe 400 people at Gray's Armory. The rumors were that this was a "Do or Die" show- if Cleveland didn't sell well, they wouldn't be coming back. Doesn't sound like they will.

I can't blame Ring of Honor- they put forth a good effort, both in 2006 and now. There wasn't an audience here- not enough to make it a regular stop. As a ROH fan, I'm annoyed. But it's a business, and they make more money at other venues.

It was a good show, and I've enjoyed the four ROH shows I've attended. Best of luck to Ring of Honor.

I don't like Obama's economic ideas at all. When the chips are down, I'd rather have McCain in the White House than Obama. I think it's ridiculous to put a man with such a thin resume into being Commander-in-Chief. With the Democrats sure to keep control of Congress, Gridlock is a good thing.

But damn, McCain makes it hard to support him:

Quoting from him:
=========================
In the interview this morning, McCain suggested that Ridge would be more palatable to social conservatives than Bloomberg.

"I think it's a fundamental tenet of our party to be pro-life but that does not mean we exclude people from our party that are pro-choice. We just have a--albeit strong--but just it's
a disagreement. And I think Ridge is a great example of that. Far moreso than Bloomberg, because Bloomberg is pro-gay rights, pro, you know, a number of other issues."
=========================

So now being anti-gay is such a big part of the GOP that it trumps being pro-life?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. And wrong on so many levels.

Look- Conservatives ought to be encouraging gay marriage. Stable, monogamous relationships are a GOOD THING.

If this is what the GOP has come to represent, then yeah... we deserve to get slaughtered on election day. Give us four years out in the wilderness to remember what we are and what we should believe in.

1) My only comment on the John Edwards situation- I really, really thought he had bad ideas about the country, and I'm glad he won't have a job in the administration. That being said, my best wishes to him and his family during this time.

2) The situation regarding Russia and Georgia is dangerous, and I'm not sure what the proper response should be (or if there's even a 'proper' response, as opposed to just a series of bad choices). I worry that things will get much worse there before they get better.

3) One thing I wish we would insist on both of our Presidential candidates- announce your nominees for the cabinet before the election. One of the most important qualities of a President is who they pick to work with. I want to see who Obama picks as his Secretary of Defense, who McCain thinks is a good Attorney General. Even better, demand that they both suggest three names they would consider for a Supreme Court Justice.

We don't- in fact, the only position we really require of them to pick is their Vice President selection. More names would give us a better idea of what both men would be like as President, and I wish we would insist on getting some ideas from our nominees on who THEY think would make a good cabinet.

Ring of Honor is returning to Cleveland after a two year absence.

I don't really watch the WWE or TNA anymore, but this will be my fourth Ring of Honor show. ROH is an independent league without a television contract, but they do an outstanding job. The wrestlers put on excellent matches, and while there are angles, they fit in with the league. I don't feel embarassed watching Ring of Honor, and I can't always say that about the WWE and TNA.

Unfortuantely, this might be the last Cleveland show for a while. Ticket sales have never been good here, which is why it's been so long since the last ROH show. Rumors are if the show doesn't sell very well (as in 4-500 people), they probably won't come back. That's unfortunate. I'm including the lineup for the show below, and will let everyone know how the show went. In the meantime, check out some of the guys listed below on Youtube. And if you're free on the 15th, consider coming to the show. If you are a wrestling fan, I think you'll really enjoy the show.


========================================================
Cleveland, OH- August 15th
Friday, August 15, 2008


Cleveland Gray's Armory
August 15th, 2008- 8:00 pm belltime
1234 Bolivar Road
Cleveland, OH 44115

Tickets are now on sale at www.rohwrestling.com, www.tickets.com, or by calling (215) 781-2500.

ROH World Title Match
Nigel McGuinness defends vs. El Generico

Grudge Match
Austin Aries vs. ROH World Tag Team Champion Tyler Black

FIP World Heavyweight Title Match
Erick Stevens defends vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Grudge Tag Team Match # 1
Jay & Mark Briscoe vs. Jimmy Jacobs & a mystery partner

Grudge Tag Team Match # 2
Roderick Strong & Brent Albright vs. Go Shiozaki & Chris Hero with Larry Sweeney

Special Attraction
Bryan Danielson vs. Kenny King

Rematch From Virginia
Delirious vs. Rhett Titus

Special Challenge Match
Kevin Steen vs. Jigsaw

There's no show on tv screwed up more than NBC's Last Comic Standing.

It's a simple idea for a show- take a bunch of comedians, have them perform, eliminate one by one until there's a winner. People like to laugh, it can't cost much money to produce, comedians desperately the exposure- seems like an easy winner.

But for a simple concept, NBC screws it up so badly, time and time and time again:

* They spent five weeks, at two hours a pop, on the 'tryouts'. The tryouts were mainly an excuse for judges (stars of other NBC shows) to mug for the cameras as they showed the 'worst of the worst', going for a William Hung effect.

* After that, they spent 2 weeks whittling from the 30 invites to the final 12. Only they didn't invite 30- they invited about ~45 comics, and then un-invited 15. Which REALLY pissed off some of the comics involved.

* They seemed to be going for archtypes instead of the best comedians. I know that's just my opinion, but I can't see how Bob Biggerstarff and Jackie Kashian didn't make the house over Ron G and Ester Ku.

* So they get to twelve, and have two hour shows where they end up with eliminting two comedians per show. But it's basically throwaway gags (Comedians posing for a calendar! Comedians at a car wash!) for an hour and twnety minutes, with one immunity challenge, before voting (which takes forever). Total time of actual stand-up performance: Maybe 10 minutes, tops.

* And couldn't they just split up to one hour shows where it a one-on-one showdown, instead of three people competing at once? Show two in a row to fill up the timeslot.

* After only two showdowns, NBC suddenly realizes the Olympics are showing up, and decide to go from eight comedians down to the finals, eliminating three (who didn't even get a chance to perform until this show). This, after wasting all that time with the early nonsense.

* And, to top it off, they announced the winner last night, only it was the start of NFL Preseason football, so half the country (including here) didn't see it.

Look, I can make LCS work easily. Pick 32 comedians, have an elimination tournament. Each show is eight minutes of person's A act, 8 of person B's act, and the rest is setup/discussion/commercials. Get to the final 8 or final four an lengthen then time, so the final 2 have 20 minutes apiece. Viola- Last Comic Standing, 20 hours of tv, no garbage.

It's not that hard. And NBC spends a lot of time screwing up a show it shouldn't.

I'm a Republican. I admit it. And most of my friends are liberal. OK, fine.

There's trash-talking on both sides. This year, I'm getting hit pretty hard, because the GOP has screwed up.

And most comments, I can roll off my back without getting angry. Hell, it's just politics- it shouldn't be that important. Whoever the President is will screw up 1,000 ways- hopefully they'll get 2-3 rights in the process.

The GOP-Democrat arguements should be like Red Sox-Yankees. Lots of trash-talking and venting about the other side, but you go home afterwards and forget about it. Or even have a beer with the person afterwards.

But last night one of my left-winged friends made a comment that sent me off- as in venting, railing, cursing (which I try not to do). The comment (paraphrased):

"If Obama loses, it's because of racism"

Bullshit. Absolute bullshit.

I'm not planning on voting for Obama, and racism has nothing to do with it. I disagree with his ideas, and I don't think he has enough experience to be President.

The thing about 'racist' is that it kills arguements. You can't sway an opinion or make a reasonable exchange, if the other person is convinced you're a racist. It's an evil, low term and not worthy of intelligent discussion. And the fact that's it's thrown around so casually REALLY pisses me off.

Like I said, I'll let most things roll off my back. But not this one- I hear this comment, I'm getting in people's faces about it.

So Senator Ted Stevens has been indicted.

Good riddance to bad rubbish. A rotten Senator who wasted the taxpayer's dollars (Bridge to Nowhere, anyone?)

Is it too much to ask that the GOP not be both corrupt AND incompetent?

This November's going to be a slaughter for the GOP. And they deserve it, too. Maybe a term or two out of office will help them rethink their priorities.

Thanks lurkerwithout for starting this meme. I spent my entire lunch hour coming up with the answers.

Basically, starting with the year your were born (for me, 1972), come up with your favorite movie from each year. I went to Wikipedia to find out which movies were available. Without commentary, here's my list, along with other top contenders:

Year Top Choice
1972 Godfather
1973 The Sting: beating out Day of the Jackal, Live & Let Die, and Charlotte's Web
1974 Blazing Saddles: beating out Man with the Golden Gun and Godfather Part II
1975 Jaws: beating out Rocky Horror Picture Show and Monty Python and the Holy Grail
1976 Rocky: beating out Mother, Jugs and Speed and Bad News Bears
1977 Star Wars: beating out Oh God! and Kentucky Fried Movie
1978 Animal House: beating out Superman
1979 The Muppet Movie: beating out Apocalypse Now, The Warriors, and Star Trek
1980 Empire Strikes Back: beating out Blues Brothers, Airplane, and Caddyshack
1981 Raiders of the Lost Ark: beating out Stripes and Clash of the Titans
1982 The Dark Crystal: beating out Star Trek II, Tron, and Rocky III
1983 Return of the Jedi: beating out The Right Stuff and Wargames
1984 Ghostbusters: beating out This is Spinal Tap and Terminator
1985 Real Genius: beating out Silverado and Breakfast Club
1986 Highlander
1987 The Princess Bride: beating out Broadcast News, Evil Dead II, and No Way Out
1988 A Fish Called Wanda: beating out Bull Durham, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and Midnight Run
1989 Say Anything: beating out When Harry Met Sally…
1990 Goodfellas: beating out Flatliners
1991 Silence of the Lambs
1992 Reservoir Dogs: beating out Diggstown, Death Becomes Her, and Noises Off
1993 Groundhog Day: beating out Army of Darkness
1994 Pulp Fiction: beating out The Mask and Forrest Gump
1995 The Usual Suspects: beating out Braveheart
1996 Fargo: beating out Bottle Rocket and Swingers
1997 LA Confidential: beating out Chasing Amy, Fifth Element, and Grosse Point Blank
1998 Dark City: beating out Big Lebowski, Saving Private Ryan, and Rounders
1999 Fight Club: beating out Blair Witch Project, Matrix, 13th Warrior, and The Sixth Sense
2000 O Brother, Where Art Thou?: beating out Chicken Run, Almost Famous, and Space Cowboys
2001 LOTR: Fellowship: beating out Ocean's 11 and Shrek
2002 LOTR: Two Towers
2003 LOTR: Return of the King: beating out Pirates of the Carribean and Kill Bill volume 1
2004 Shrek 2: beating out Shaun of the Dead and Anchorman
2005 Batman Begins: beating out Chronicles of Narnia
2006 Casino Royale
2007 300: beating out Mr. Brooks
2008 Iron Man: beating out The Dark Knight

I have a new obsession... I joined Pokerstars, an online poker community. I threw in $100.00, and have been playing a lot of tournaments and sit-and-gos in the past couple of weeks. A couple of thoughts:

- I'm not nearly as good at playing as I thought. I've won one single-table tournament out of the dozen or so I've entered. Some I've lost because of bad luck, but a lot have been because of really play.

- Normally I'm able to handle losing prety well- but it's a different story when my money's on the line. Not a good thing.

I've made a vow. That $100 (currently down to about $20) is lasting through the rest of the year. I won't be putting any more money in until next year. If I lose it all (very possible given my recent play), then I'm stuck on freerolls.

Meanwhile, pray to the poker cards that next time I'm the one with Aces against Ace-King *grin*

The speaker of the House wants to revive the 'Fairness Doctrine'.

I hate this bill. Let me count the ways I hate this bill.

1) It's anti-Constitutional. No, we won't prevent free speech. We'll just force everyone who wants to have an opinion to pay so that 'all sides' can be heard.

2) It gives an obscene amount of power to whoever decides what 'Fairness' means. In a Democratic administration it could mean fining radio stations that play Rush Limbaugh. But in a Republican administration it could mean fining tv stations that have shows that portray viewpoints they dislike.

3) It's useless. In the internet, anyone can find any type of political opinion. No one is having any viewpoint shoved down their throat against their will. It might have made sense in the days of three tv stations and no other opportunities to speak your thoughts, but now?

4) War in Iraq. High gas prices. Falling dollar. And THIS is high on the agenda?

Any elected official who believes that the Fairness Doctrine is good for America shouls say so with the words "I resign".


UPDATE: Sen. Obama does NOT want to bring back the Fairness Doctrine.

I'm really happy about this. Not only is it (in my mind) common sense, but I'm glad to see that Sen. Obama is willing to buck with his party leadership on a matter of principle.

This weekend I bought and watched The Maltese Falcon. I'm not an old movie buff, but I love Casablanca, and Falcon always struck me as one of those movies everyone should see at least once. A few (spoiler-free) comments from someone who saw it the first time:


* I liked it very much. Not one of my all time favorites, or even one of my favorite mysteries. But well worth the time.

* It's one of those movies that has been referenced to so many times that, even if you haven't seen the movie, you've know where they are going. It's like Casablanca or Monty Python and the Holy Grail. You know so many lines that even when you're seeing it for the first time, you feel like you've seen it before.

* Sam Spade, as played by Humphrey Bogart, is one of the most morally ambiguous characters played on film. Whereas I knew Rick Blaine was a hero, at the end of Falcon I couldn't tell you if Spade was a hero, a villain, or what. A very well-written character.

* The plot's got a few holes in it, but this film is less about the plot and more about the characters. And everyone does well here- especially Bogart and Greenstreet.

I definitely recommend seeing it at least once.