A look back at everything, part 2

Yes, quite a year. Both personally and in the sports and media world.

Actually, looking at this past year of craziness in sports and the media, I see how its eerily similar to what unfolded in my own life.

For starters, college football. OK, nobody, but nobody, could have predicted such a bizarre and insane season. Sure the Michigan loss to Appalachian state was a precursor of things to come, but the thing is, it just kept happening, over and over again. Stanford beat USC. Stanford??? I believe the odds were 45 to 1 on that one. West Virginia didn't make the national championship because they lost to their last opponent - an unranked Pitt?? Illinois took out Wisconsin. LSU lost in 4 Overtimes. Oregon lost. So did ASU. Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Florida, Boston College, etc. This of course set up a truly woeful Bowl schedule, and its even worse now that OSU lost their two best defensive backs. I'm sure Hawaii will put up a fight, NOT. It quite literally was the season of bombs, if not Nuclear bombs, in college football.

This sheer madness in college football bizarrely coincided the unfortunate events in in the economy, which resembled nuclear bombs as well, when the credit issues widened beyond measure in November and December. Nobody still has answer of where all the liquidity and financing will come from once this crisis bottoms out, given that it seems unlikely investors will buy sub-prime, wrapped bonds.

Coming back to me though, while this was playing out, sad events were unfolding at the same time in my own life, in part brought about by my own doing. Just like college football powerhouses underestimated their opponents, and banks engaged in predatory lending, both actions which came back to haunt their owners, so it is that I brought about a fare share of the difficulty I encountered this year. Not that either of these phenomenons are solely explained as being caused by the teams or banks alone - and that applies to me as well. Far from it, but oh if I had simply not started a few things or approached situations differently, I would have spared myself tremendous amounts of grief and stress. Still the concurrence of the events in my personal life, and the other two areas I mentioned above was rather strange, and something I didn't notice until I sat down to write my final post of this year. Strange times indeed.

Looking further back...the Yankees failed to get it done again in the first round of the playoffs. The fact that mosquitoes flooded the field during game 4 should have served as an ominous warning of things to come throughout the sports world, and also in my own personal life. Problems of Biblical proportions, seriously. I mean it appeared as though locusts were preventing the Yankees from winning against Cleveland.

And of course A-Hole, I mean A-Rod, decided to opt out of his contract during Game 4 of the World Series. Sorry, but his entire 60 Minutes interview was bull shit. He did the same contract stunt once before, with the Mariners, in pursuit of his first ridiculous contract. Why did he come back to the Yankees? Because no other team would pay him what Boras and he wanted once the Yankees backed out. I'm sure he was embarrassed, as he claimed, but he could care less playing with the Yankees or not, or winning in general. If he did care about winning, he would have stayed with Seattle, who went on to win 109 games the season after he left. The interview was all about damage control after it was exposed just how selfish he really is. Fine, greed and making money are undeniably part of America, but at least be open about it, and don't purport to be a team player dedicated to winning. Just be like Barry Bonds, which is one thing you can't fault that guy for. He chose instead to blame his agent, and make up some ridiculous story about how they are not talking. Then why is Boras receiving $15 million for such poor performance as an agent?

Other embarrassments = the New York knicks. Instead of settling for under $1 million, Dolan and Thomas decided to go to court. Apparently they wanted the public to see how dysfunctional the Knicks really are. Well, the public got their money's worth, once Stephon Marbury's extracurricular activities became known, which, by the way, involves interns in SUVs outside of Costcos in Queens. And how could we forget Isaiah Thomas's references to season ticket holders, which apparently the Knicks still have a few of.

Let's not forget the Mitchell Report, which simply implicated the players who cycled through New York because the entire report relied on the testimony of steroid-dealing Met's trainer (only the suck-ass Mets could fill that role). Nobody seems to care Mitchell is an active director of the Red Sox, which, as we say in banking, is a conflict of interest. In related news, Curt Schilling claims Clemens should give back his Cy Youngs, even though the entire report on clemens contains no actual evidence.

Then there was the bizzare Spy Gate scandal surrounding the Patriots. I love how the New York Jets were the ones to blow the whistle. How great is that? Perhaps that is because they knew how terrible they were going to be this year. And Tom Brady can tell the media how good the Patriots are until he is blue in the face, but that will never change the fact that the Patriots had someone studying defensive plays in a truck and tipping him off to what play was coming once it was signaled. When Britney Spears's sister (more on that below) announced she was pregnant, Tom Brady had to reassure fans he wasn't responsible. Ouch, too soon?

All kidding aside, I guess I experienced some embarrassment as well, in front of my family and friends, especially twice over this past year, and both times it could have been avoided if I had played my cards slightly differently. The words live and learn are an understatement here.

Turning to the media and entertainment world for a second, 2007 was the year of the celebutards. Britney Spears was outed as the crazy, and most likely meth-addled, pop tart we all knew her to be. I actually think K-Fed was lucky, for once, in getting away from that piece of work, though its a real shame he can't form two sentences back to back. Please don't forget her umbrella incident, where it appeared Uncle Festor was attacking an SUV while flailing an umbrella. Just when you think you can't make anything else up about the gas station traveling, fast food eating Britney, it comes out her 16 year old sister is pregnant??? WTF! Huh?

Paris Hilton yet again showed how useless she really is. Its a shame the media storm surrounding her stay in "prison" isn't the same for other issues, say Iraq or Aids in Africa. Not to sound completely self-righteous, but who cares if Paris goes to jail for like, what, her third DWI? Normal people like you or I would be in jail for at least 90 days, after the second offense. I still haven't figured out what other talents she has, beyond attracting media attention for clubbing and amateur film production.

What's even more surprising is how La Lohan only served 83 minutes in jail. She actually jumped in someone else's SUV, while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol, and chased down an assistant and her mom. Cops actually found cocaine on her as well. To think, I always liked Lohan more than the others too, because in addition to being very attractive, she appears to have some talent. Oh well...

The media still fails to report all of the positive progress taking place in Iraq. That's strange, because when there was bad news coming out of that mess every day, it was all anyone ever heard about. But now that the attacks and death toll are down, the media is surprisingly silent. What's even worse, is that the Bush administration doesn't even mention it. Obviously the GOP asked Bush to remain quiet, because he is a liability to the candidates, given his record. But I don't understand why nobody running, or nobody in the White House, has the balls to stand up and say, "See, things are beginning to work, and we should stay the course." A lot of people died, and even more went through hell to get where things are over there now, and not acknowledging their efforts and the progress made is criminal.

Other bizarre incidents include: Anna Nicole Smith dying, Jessica Simpson's appearance at the Dallas Cowboys game, that Prison Break star's ridiculous initial defense of his fatal DUI accident, Rosie vs. Trump, Hugo Chavez v. the King of Spain, the Television writer's strike, the genius but perplexing ending to the Sopranos, Lance Armstrong's dating activities with the Olsen twins???, Dog the Bounty Hunter stating he's always been Black, Eli Manning's 4 interception game against Minnesota's horrendous defense, and my I-Phone's bill...

2007 was also the year I rediscovered soccer, both watching the games and playing in leagues in New York City. I used to play in High School, and some in college, and one day when I was bored, I decided to start playing again. Now I can't get enough of it, and I often find myself playing three times a week when the weather permits, and getting up to watch games at 8 in the morning. If you haven't seen it, search YouTube for the Didi clip when a fan "attacks" the French keeper. The fact that UEFA suspended the goal keeper for that acting job says enough.

Finally, people always say they want to move on into the new year, and forget the past year. I don't. You can't forget the past, and even if you do, you certainly can't erase it. So I chose to remember it, and learn from the hard lessons I learned this year. I had a lot of positive things going for me this time last year, and I ended up losing more than I could have imagined. Still, no matter how painful things were, the knowledge gained is invaluable and something that I'd be forever guilty of forgetting and not applying. While I intend to never forget the past, I look forward to what lies ahead with the knowledge of all that I learned this past year. Despite how corny that sounds, it be true.

Two things that recently occurred gave me hope. The first comes from the world of sports, which this blog is of course primarily focused on. Two Sundays ago, Manchester United was tied with Everton 1-1, up until the 88th minute. They had to win, or they would fall 4 points behind Arsenal for the top of the Premier League table. The entire second half had been one unbelievable scoring opportunity after unbelievable saves by the Everton keeper and defenders. Suddenly, when a tie seemed inevitable, an Everton player committed a foul in the box against Man U. Truth be told, he committed the foul because he was exhausted, along with the rest of the Everton defense, from the relentless onslaught. It wasn't a weak foul, and the call was definitely warranted. I would hate for a game to hinge upon a questionable call, which this foul wasn't. As Ronaldo lined up, the stadium was deftly silent. The blast went in over a diving keeper, and Man U won and dramatic fashion. With only two minutes left, and the game seemingly destined for a tie, despite a full-out effort for 45 minutes, they came through when they were given such an unexpected chance.

Second, in the middle of writing this post, my buddy IMd me a YouTube clip that brought back a lot of memories. The below link is from the same creators of the "I'm the Juggernaut" clip, which hearkens back to very different times for me. This clip is relatively new, and just as funny as the original. The irony of looking back over the lessons of last year, and my friend sending me this clip, is far from lost on me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN3EnanKbhM

P.S. I'm Jose Canseco @&#$@!

Una Espalda de la Mirada Despide 1

Interesting year, so why not go through it with clips of DJ shows I attended. Each one was during quite an interesting time for me, and despite what was going on in my life, I still went to these shows, no matter what. The strange thing in looking back at these highlights, is that I was actually at these shows - which I realize is a pretty cool thing. These aren't all of the shows I went to, but they are the best moments from my favorites, amid some pretty weird times:

Winter ending (note the siren):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHGV0M3LJt8

A night I won't soon forget:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES2ySt-sKIg

Getting towards the Spring:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPiWW6nirmw

The start of Summer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAfwm99Hokc

Armin, probably my favorite DJ:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_Qya4U0AMo

Tiesto, and that's all I care to say:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMs7LVOsX2w

PVD at the end of the summer, in the rain:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UaF1SpY5jY

Seeing my other favorite DJ in the fall:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuqC1gMGhBA&feature=related

Halloween:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mVclpCcmio

Eric Prydz - you had to "be there" to appreciate this energy, but clip says enough:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uS6MimBM7o&feature=related

Viking Stove

The holidays are upon us finally – which means I have to do Christmas shopping. Not that I care about the holidays much, and I never have. I mean, it’s only two days out of the year, when its all said and done. I never understood everyone's stress around the holidays either. I wait two days before Christmas, and then I do my shopping, though I buy a few people gifts I know they'll like. I could care less about New Years Eve, as I find most of the parties too loud or too crowded for my likes. Strangely, my apathy towards the holidays is shared by a lot of guys my age I've talk to recently on my soccer team. And I never understood the whole stigma over being alone or single over the holidays. Just because Television has jeweler commercials on every 5 minutes depicting some preppy couple ecstatic over a ring, doesn’t mean people have to buy into the idea of spending the holidays with someone. You’re probably wondering why I’m digressing from my usual sports talk, right? Well, look at was has been making the rounds in the office (GS = Goldman Sachs):

http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/m4w/513328535.html

The best part is, "...my parents will be in France, and will never find out." Part of me actually hopes this is real. Maybe I can try that approach next year, though the numbers may be a little different. Anyway, went on a date with a girl recently, and she told me Jason Veritek is her favorite player. I felt the vomit begin to pool in the back of my throat, and she asked why my eyes went wide. She then proceeded to state soccer was a dumb sport, and they are not real athletes. Como what??? I actually think she was serious too, and it again reconfirmed why I should never allow my friends who are girls arrange dates for me.

By the way, “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila” is the stupidest show I have ever seen in my life. First of all, who the hell is Tila Tequila? Maybe I’m getting old, but how is she famous? Look at the premise of the show, one D-list celebrity has to pick one person to fall in love with, and she can choose from a pool lesbians or males. I think MTV hired freshmen in high school to write this series.

Is anyone else not interested in the presidential race? I don’t like any of the so called “candidates.” I use that word loosely, because its ultimately the leftwing minded media that dictates who the candidates are. For some reason, Giuliani and Clinton were proclaimed front runners, although each of them is facing serious challenges in the primaries for their respective parties. I love how the candidates never take a position until the media pronounces what the general public thinks about something. For example, Hillary Clinton and the Rutgers Women's basketball team. After Imus was fired, she comes out and says how wrong he was, and how against it she was. Or even more recently, after CNN reports that most Americans would have a problem with Obama’s drug use, the Clinton camp then manages to leak out they somehow have damaging evidence regarding his past. Did anyone notice Giuliani finally announced his Iraq strategy, after a month of remaining silent. The whole thing is so ridiculous, and the actual candidates are so inadequate, its comical. The government should consider increasing the money spent on worker’s salaries, and they might just attract top talent that often lands at software companies or investment bank, instead of these retreads

Eli's Winter Wonderland

Quite a week in sports, despite the lull in college basketball due to finals week, so let's get to it:

At long last the Mitchell Report was released. I could go on for a long time about how much of a farse the report really is - Mitchell being a director of the Red Sox, the testimony only coming from one New York based trainer, and evidence that can be challenged - but why bother. The real issue is: Now What? Do you punish the players still active, or keep out the Hall of Famers mentioned (Clemens, Bonds)? If you refer to this as the steroid era, and overturn all the records set, do you overturn the world series too? And let's not forget the Players Union refusing to allow blood testing, which is the only way to detect HGH; long suspected as being the main performance enhancer of choice. Apparently they cited privacy issues.

As for the spcific players named: Chuck Knoblauch??? Are you serious. That one I can't believe. Maybe that explains why he threw the ball all those times into the stands, eventually breaking the nose of Keith Oberland's mother - surely one of the more bizarre fan accidents in the last ten years of sports.

At least the Jets put up a fight against New England, and exposed a weakness that other teams will use - confusing Brady with cloaking the defensive line up. Unfortunately for the Jets, they aren't eligble for any bowls this year.

Way to go Tony Homo, er, I mean Romo, with a QB rating of 31.5. Maybe he should have Jessica Simpson sit in his box seats more often. And I don't mean to be unkind here, but what the hell happened to her by the way? She looks like a doll now, literally, or rather, an Olsen twin. I remember her being a lot more attractive during that show Newlyweds, or whatever it was. Just saying...

And how could I not mention the New York Giants. 14 for 53 pass completion? I'll say it again - 14 for 53?? Is there any doubt that Eli Manning is clearly on a different planet. Watching the game was like having my teeth cleaned at the dentist. The second half didn't start until 10:30, and every play was drawn out and terrible. The most amusing thing - ghe was outplayed by an aging QB who made his first start after 10 years of inactivity. Nobdoy can write this stuff, including the striking TV writers, its just so completely laughable. Yes it was windy, but the other QB, Tom Collins (gotta to like that name), appeared to suffer no "Eli-like" symptons.

As for soccer, after watching Man U beat Liverpool at 8:45 AM on Sunday Morning (yes I was out then, having pre-Brunch, OK...), I then stayed and watched Chelsea crap the bed against Aresnal. So now Aresnal has a 1 pt. lead over United.

As I was leaving the establishment, and walking towards the movie theater to watch I am Legend, two girls were approaching as I walked down a side street. I couldn't really see them clearly, because I didn't have my contacts in or my glasses on. I thought nothing of it, but then one actually kicked a chunk of ice at me from 10 feet away, which nailed me in the shin really hard. She actually wound up and kicked it, like toeing a soccer ball, and I saw it fly at my shin from ten feet away. I yelled, "Ow, what the $&#^," and they simply laughed. When they passed, I looked at them closely, and saw they were both in their 20s, and they appeared to art students or something liberal-arts minded, based on their hippyish garb. As I was bending over, grabbing the newly created whole in my uber-expensive Lucky Brand jeans, with my Man U jersey on, and my Barbor Thornproof coat, I looked up at them, and said, "What the hell was that?"

Now I thought this was deliberate, given my preppy, deuchebag appearance, and I guessed they probably deduced I had been out all morning watching soccer games. This seemed logical, given their "earthy" clothes and crunchy hair. The they stared back at me blindly, and I saw very clearly on drugs, given how diolated their pupils were. I then realized I could have been an 80 year old man instead, it wouldn't have mattered. These two people were out of their minds, literally, probably on mushrooms or LSD, and they thought it was funny to kick an ice chunk at someone. I doubt they could manage to rip my jeans again if they tried. I then wondered what time they took the whatever-it-was-they-were-on, as it was around 1:30 in the afternoon, and I wondered why they would want to walk around the Upper East Side in the middle of freezing rain.

By the way, I highly recommend I am Legend - its very well done.

Speidi

Saw that movie Alpha Dog, cracked up. Sorry, but Justin Timberlake's supposed breakthrough performance wasn't hardly great. Despite the fact that he's not a tough guy actor, that ridiculous smile amid all of his tattoos is comical. However, that hotel party scene with the kids reminded me of high school in CT, in an eerie way. The lessons of a misspent youth I suppose, though nothing anywhere near close to that movie's conclusions. I wonder if Andy Reid's kids have similar parties. Donovan McNabb probably attends them too.

Speaking of which, way to go Eagles, and way to go Eli Manning - the marquee game (according to Fox) this past Sunday was so boring, it actually made me go to the gym. But that's OK, at least those teams didn't display sheer stupidity the Jets showed. Why in God's name did they kick a field goal instead of going for the touch down with 1:42 left. It honestly was the stupidest thing in the NFL I have ever seen, and I've been watching the NFL since I was 8. They were lucky enough to recover an onsides kick prior to their field goal, and then they managed to get to 4th and 5 on the 20 yard line, and they elect to kick a field goal? They then expect to recover a 2nd onsides kick??? I almost kicked in my plasma TV at that point. I'm glad Baltimore promptly scored a touch down after the Jets failed to recover the onsides kick for a second time. Truly Unbelievable.

Its quite possible the Patriots will score 100 points against them this weekend. Though I hope the Jets pull another Drew Bledsoe, and end Brady's season by injury. Oh the irony, as it was the Jets who gave Brady his shot years ago, thanks to their destructions of Bledsoe. Then Brady can go in front of TV cameras and explain how great of QB he is, when he "doesn't" know the defensive plays coming. On second thought, have you heard him speak in public before?

Continuing with football, Greg Schiano declined to go to Michigan and decided to stay at Rutgers. Haha, two years ago few people outside of Northern New Jersey knew Rutgers had a team, let alone cared about it. Perhaps he is aware of the fact that Michigan is going nowhere anytime soon, and they no longer have a network in place to recruit the best players (USC anyone?). They need to rebuild from the ground up, thanks to Lloyd Carr, who I think is getting off way too easy. I just can't help but be amused at the irony over the coach from Rutgers turning Michigan down. Has anyone else seen other signs of the apocalypse yet?

Saw Tim Tebow pick up the Heisman over the weekend. Good, he did deserve it. Unfortunately for him, he didn't red shirt as a freshman, so he cannot go to the draft this year. His body is already wearing down from his style, and it would be suicide for him to run like that in the NFL. Look for him to become a passer next year, far more than he was this year.

Arsenal's unbeaten streak was snapped by Middlesboro over the weekend, reducing their lead to only 1 point over Manchester United. Unfortunately this great news was overshadowed by Mayweather's utter, and boring, destruction of Ricky Hatton, which I covered in my last post.

I'm glad the NBA has followed the path of the NFL, and tried to clean up its image. Apparently the Indiana Pacers' Tinsley was involved in a gun fight this weekend with an Assault Rifle in downtown Indianapolis.

The Mitchell report on steroids is due to be released tomorrow. Fantastic, fans can finally see what $20 million of private investigation by a former US Senator has yielded: Nothing. The players listed will simply deny, and why not, it's not like one can go back and take second tests. And MLB still does not test for Human Growth Hormone. Maybe that's par of why A-Rod was so eager to sign his new contract, because its been going around the blogosphere (yes I said that), that the mystery Blond in Toronto is connect to steroid dealers. Gasp, no, really?

Led Zeppelin performed again in London. Now I happen to be a huge Zeppelin fan, and have dozens of bootlegs, besides all of their released albums. If a tour is announced, it could be one of the biggest of all time. But I don't think I would go. These guys are almost senior citizens now, far removed from their days at the L.A. Hyatt (where they threw TVs out of windows and drove tractors down the hall way) and the energy they brought to the stage. Eventually people just need to hang it up and retire. Is Mariano Rivera listening? Maybe he can "consult" like Roger Clemens, after his ridiculous contract extension expires.

I also caught the season finale of the Hills, which is something I'm ashamed to admit I watch. Yes the girls on the show are very attractive, but its still pathetic I watch it. However, I found it hilarious in the end when Paris became this mythical place that Teen Vogue was sending Lauren Conrad to at the end, while Heidi was shown driving down the LA freeway in an Audi. I almost vomited.

Blahhh

Well the Mayweather v. Hatton fight passed, and the result was hardly surprising. I give Hatton some credit for trying to get inside, but when he was there he couldn't find the space to land damaging punches. Yes, I would have liked to have seen Mayweather knocked on his ass, and I don't like his self-created image of a rap star carrying cash in a fanny pack, but he is the best fighter in the world, hands down. Good thing I managed to wake up in time for the fight, because the undercard was a complete dud. The 15,000 British fans were so drunk, they kept cheering for Hatton after he lost.

Speaking of the UK, I'm taking my show on the road, and traveling there in January. I'm also going to Brussels, Luxembourg, and Germany too. My employer asked me to pick a date, so I'm checking the fixures for soccer, as I've always wanted to go to Premier game. Sadly I won't be able to make it to Manchester. My employer is also not aware that I'm extending the trip and going to Paris and Amsterdam. They don't need to know, do they? This was a nice surprise, though it interfered with my plans to spend New Years in Montreal, and my planned trip to South America in March.

Eli Manning and Donovan McNabb are supposedly playing for their jobs this weekend. Why? They should both be fired. Michael Straham is on TV, acting like a disabled four year old as he travels around the world. Man the writer's strike is taking its toll. He had no comment on Eli though. Vinny T is returning next year, which is hilarious. Tom Brady sounds retarded too, at least when he is asked to speak on something other than football.

Detroit is a threat now to win it, thanks to a great trade. However, has anyone looked at Dontrell's numbers lately? Just asking.

BcS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErCyddk1kks&feature=related

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uS6MimBM7o&feature=related

To take a break for just a moment from Sports: Eric Prydz was amazing that night, which, yes, happened a few weeks ago. But that show reminded me of what going to "shows" used to be about. No bullshit stage productions like Tiesto, and no pop-influenced trendy house songs, like Morillo or Sasha now play sadly. It was as hard house and trance as you are going to hear anywhere, and the songs won't come out for another six months at least. And he didn't come on til 2, and went til 5. I was there with my buds S, R, and K, and we stayed the whole time. He's not as big as Armin or PVD, so it was not too crowded to the point where we couldn't move. Obviously the shady Asians appeared and fights occur ed, but it was quite a party. I can stil hear most of the songs from that night. Look closely, and you can see us in the videos.

My group of friends has expanded exponentially now. Every night I have something to go to, or partake in, if I want to. It never used to be like that. And this is all in the face of something bad happening recently to me too. Anyhow, that was for lest it be said I only talk about ridiculous paradoxs in sports in a cynical matter, which I must confess, I enjoy doing. So, without further ado:

The BCS season is upon us again. Despite all the complaining, I think they got it as right as they could have this time. All West Virginia had to do was beat an unranked Pitt, and they would have faced LSU. Instead they choked, and now get to face the other best team in the country: Oklahoma. OSU should send them Christmas ham, because their loss gave them the shot at the title, which they will lose of course. LSU, on the other hand, never lost in regulation this year, hence why they got the nod, and why they will destroy any team from the Big 10.

I especially liked Pete Carroll responding to how he felt about the "dynamic"
Illinois being assigned to face USC in the Rose Bowl. "It's the system we have." Ouch. He actually looked more upset than when his team lost to STANFORD, of all teams. Only the Appalachian State meltdown surpassed that in terms of upsets. In all fairness, Kansas should be in the Rose Bowl, and Va Tech should be playing Oklahoma or Hawaii. Oh well.

It's nice that Michigan has to play Florida, they should be able to handle that spread offense Florida employs, no problem. NOT. Lloyd Carr probably wants to send a proxy now to coach his last game. It's possible Tebow could run for five TDs and throw 10 more against that shoddy secondary Michigan employs. And thankfully, Les Miles is not retarded. Of course he's staying at LSU, all he has to do is show up and collect a check because perenial deuchebag Nick Saban built LSU, and then coached the Miami Dolphins for four games before leaving to go to Alabama. Why would he want any part of Michigan's tired program? Let's run the ball up the middle 40 times, and ask an immobile QB to loft passes to overrated receivers. Henne and Hart watched the dollar signs evaporate right in front of their eyes this season. Ouch. That's the "Michigan Style" that the Wolverines don't want to part from, and were worried about Les Miles fitting in with???

Next year USC will dominate, with the 9 1st round tailbacks thay have waiting, and now that Oregon is finished without Dixon.

And yes, Andy Pettite has decided to return to the Yankees. One word: Huge. With either Santana or Haren acquired for Melkey and Hughes, their rotation is now in line to match the Red Sox. Santana or Haren, Wong, Pettite, Chamberland, and then Mussina as the 5th Starter? Forget about it. The Red Sox know this though, and their attempts to drive up the price of Santana, and by default, Haren, by counterbidding the Yankees have failed. They were hoping Robinson Cano would be thrown in the mix too, but once the Red Sucks refused to include Eldsburry or Lester together, with a pitcher, their wet dream of the Yankees shipping both Cano and Melkey went off the table.

Eli Manning still continues his NFL odyssey, throwing an interception on the first play of the game. I thought Coughlin was about to have a spontaneously combust after that. I'm sorry, but Manning should be forced to give up one of the Ns in his name, as punishment for embarrassing Peyton and his father. (I can't take credit for that one, my friend came up with it). He should definitely give back some of that $52 million to the fans too. I actually thought he was high at the press conference. The Giants don't trust him enough to throw a TD pass from the 5 yard line, and instead ran three running back plays. Maybe that's why.

Finally, why is Lance Armstrong suddenly dating the Olsen Twin(s) and and other pseudo celebrities around Manhattan? Is he trying to change the slogan on those yellow wrist bands from "Live Strong" to "Live Horny"??