NFL Playoffs: The Conference Championship Rounds

Baltimore versus Pittsburgh, Philadelphia versus Arizona, who would have seen this scenario in September? Surely, the Ravens and Steelers have one of the hottest rivalries in the NFL that could evolve into the kind of relationship fans think of when the Yankees play the Red Sox, Michigan plays Ohio State in college football, or North Carolina plays Duke in men's basketball. The NFC contest is more the odd-couple. Arizona has had chances to build a competitive team for years and rise above the status of the Detroit Lions. This year, they did it. Philadelphia has been an extremely strong team in the McNabb/Reid era though seldom are recognized as such as untimely injuries and other setbacks have kept a strong team from the promised land for many season.

The Steelers are between a six and seven point favorite to beat the Ravens. They've been one step better and perhaps a little luckier than the Ravens this year. That they finished a game ahead in the AFC North Standings shows that as do their two games that went down to the bitter end where Pittsburgh had just enough to win. The experts are correct to dubb the Steelers as the favorite, but one step forward by the Ravens, the Ravens win. One step back by the Steelers, the Ravens win. Winning three straight against a team like the Ravens even at home is a tough challenge. This game could well be determined by a field goal and the team that has the wind at its back and doesn't have to kick into the open end of Heinz Field in the fourth quarter could win. Go RAVENS!!!! We want the Vince Lombardi Trophy to reside just south of the Mason-Dixon line.

The Eagles are a field goal favorite in Arizona. The home team gets a three point bounce, so this game is seen as a draw to the Vegas crooks. We like the Eagles. They have more weapons and they've shown to have a much tougher defense than expected that should be able to rattle Kurt Warner and his attack on offense. Give Arizona credit. Maybe Atlanta was a pretty equal foe, but Carolina should have clobbered them. How much of it was Arizona's strengh and not a Carolina choke is up for debate. So many of the Panthers problems appeared to hinge on poor decision making and horrible execution rather than being overpowered by a greater team.

We love the notion of a Baltimore-Philadelphia Super Bowl. If we weren't Ravens fans, an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl would be fun to consider too. The "exo-burbs" of Baltimore and Philadelphia overlap on the Eastern Shore of the Susquehanna River. Each team's home field is just another exit off of Interstate 95, about 100 miles apart. Both Balimore and Philadelphia have teams with quite an attitude. What a joy it is to remember the once great Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies in five games in the 1983 World Series. Only the prospects of facing the Redskins could create more energy in Baltimore. Likewise, having to conquer Pittsburgh to get there is perhaps the most exciting rival Baltimore could face to earn the right to fight for the championship. Baltimore and Pittsburgh have so much in common, former industrial cities, baseball teams with a great history that have been nowhere to be found in the last decade plus, and a certain "blue collar" attitude toward their football teams. A Ravens win will elevate the Baltimore/Pittsburgh rivalry into being legitimized as one of the great rivalries in all of sports.

The Ravens can do it, but they will need to play their best game with some key players hurting. It will be a game determined by will and wind quite possibly needing a Matt Stover field goal to win the game. A low socring game decided by a field goal could be the outcome.

Mayor Sheila Pratt Dixon: Baltimore's Latest Shame

SELFISH BITCH!

"You owe me!"

Toxic attitude endemic in many politicians today.

We call your attention to the blog, "Sheila Dixon's 6th Sense," from the link below. While we often disagree with Dan Rodericks liberal sentiments, he captured the essence of Baltimore's indicted mayor's persona quite effectively.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/local/rodricks/blog/

In Dixon's own words, "To be honest with you, no, 2 1/2 percent, based on what I do seven days a week, 24 hours, trying to raise a family, a daughter in college."


Isn't there a sense of "you owe me" in this attitude? Considering all the perks and privileges of office and that the Mayor of Baltimore makes an attractive salary to begin with, this is one hell of an attitude for a person governing a city with so many needy and hurting people.

Rodericks is correct, Dixon has an undeniable sense of entitlement, "you owe me because I'm me." As such is it any wonder, her indictment states she would have snatched up gift cards donated by various local businesses to be given to Baltimore's least fortunate? And on what necessities did Ms. Dixon reportedly redeem her stolen loot? All kinds of home entertainment goodies for starters! Ms. Mayor deserves a Playstation III at the expense of clothing for a needy Baltimorian!?!?!?!?!?

This kind of corruption and hypocrisy cannot be tolerated. How shameful it is to suggest that since the state prosecutor is a holdover from Republican Governor Bob Ehrlich's term that this mess is somehow politically motivated. There's no witch hunt here. It's a matter of greed and corruption, period. How unfortunate it is that the city must deal with a mayor who acts above it all and would so selfishly steal from those she supposedly was elected to help.

If found guilty, let's hope she gets no more consideration than the total disregard she's shown for the citizens of Baltimore. All she's entitled to now is being forced from office, prosecution, sentencing and then fines and imprisonment. If she fulfills her debt to society, she will be given the opportunity to earn her way back into society in some capacity, but her reputation will always be tarnished. Overcoming that will take the most unselfish and focused efforts imaginable where she takes it upon herself to do well.

Blaming others is not the answer nor is believing they owe her something. Somehow, we can here echoes of the same kind of attitude in Baltimore's City Hall that is resonating in the Illinois State House as the Governor Rod Blagojevich saga plays out. It is no surprise that their political values and political behavior are so similar. Both speak of being champions of the poor and disadvantaged while exploiting them every step of the way.

Baltimore has many overwhelming problems, but it is a beautiful city with so much potential. We need leaders who recognize that potential and rally its citizens getting many of those left out in the cold involved as stakeholders in the city's future.

Radical Left Within Democratic Party Seeks to Criminalize Bush Administration's War on Terror: THE BASTARDS!!!

Misunderstood and maligned, many Democrats seek criminal action against President Bush who has, regardless of what criticisms rightly or wrongly he has endured, kept America safe and free druing the war on terrorism.

Note the following article from the Associated Press.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090113/ap_on_go_pr_wh/democrats_bush


Any American who treasures his or her liberty and believes in the rule of law must be horrified by the insane extreme conduct by the radical left of the Democratic Party. The calls are widespread from elected officials to their enablers in the Media establishment as best represented by the New York Times, their reporters and columnists, and all the other less prestigious papers who draw from them for inspiration to seek criminal probes of the Bush Administration for evidence of breaking national security laws and committing war crimes in their fight against terrorism. They cannot simply accept that they have been given the opportunity to work with in the regular legislative and executive functions with a sympathetic administration about to assume office. They seek to criminalize those whose actions don't concur with their warped radical agenda.



What has the Bush administration done so criminal? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!



Since September 11, 2001, there has not been one single terrorist attack against the United States or its major interests abroad. They have pursued strong and effective action to protect us from terrorism and maintain our freedom and liberties here at home. Has there ever been a case of any behavior where the Bush administration has gathered unlawful material on any of its critics or political adversaries?



Of course not. If anything, George W. Bush and his administration have been total wimps in dealing with their critics. There has never been a hint of obtaining FBI files as was revealed in be in the hands of Hilary Clinton under her husband's administration, no "Travel-gate," no enemy's list, no IRS audits or FBI action against any of their adversaries. There is not the slightest hint of the kind of wretched behavior Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson engaged in against anti-war foes during their tenure.



The Bush administration has been tough on those who deserve it, our enemies, radical Islamic extremists. Nevertheless, all those who have visited the prison at Guantanemo Bay report comfortable, accomodating living conditions for some of the most vicious terrorists who actively plotted to kill us as they did on 9/11/01. When one examines the transcripts of exactly what kind of behavior constituted "torture" in the minds of the Liberal press, one would hardly be upset at all in what amounts to assertive interogation. Should parents put their children on trial for torture for subjecting them to loud annoying music? Should children put their parents on trial for not serving dinner until they fulfilled a few responsibilities? Yes, it's almost that simple.



Meanwhile, the guards protecting us from these goons are subjected to constant taunts having prisoners throw their own feces at them and other vile actions they are capable of doing.



God help us our strict and assertive attention to the war on terrorism is on the verge of softening and "Gitmo" will be history sooner than later. If there's anyone on the left who doesn't believe its a matter of "when" not "if" the next terrorist attack takes place. Every effort we make to loosen our grip on the evil scum of the earth who would kill us and every attempt to make our policies less comprehensive will hasten that day.



We have a very dangerous enemy within in the form of the Radical Left in this country, vast segments of the news media, the Democratic party, the entertainment industry, and on college campuses through out the country. All policy is subject to debate but we are engaged in a war that we did not chose. It chose us. We simply chose the theaters of engagement in Afghanistan and Iraq.



Terrorism and Radical Islam is on the march as we speak in Isreal where Palestinian Terrorists from Hamas and Hezbolah are attacking unprovoked Israeli population centers within their missiles range. Rather than screaming outrage for these acts of terror and aggression against inoncent Israeli civilians, the outrage is cast upon the Jewish state's attempts to defend itself and destroy those who are attacking them.



This kind of logic is absolutely sick. Sadly, there are few sources that speak up against the prevailing media. So much of what the public knows about the world situation and the march of Islamic terrorism is seen through the prism of a corrupt and biased media whose behavior at best is a soft form of treason.

40 Years Ago Today: January 12, 1969, Baltimore's Biggest Bombartment Since Fort McHenry!

Joe Namath, an image that still haunts Baltimore football fans.

"We'll win the game. I guarantee you."

So boasted New York Jets Quarterback, Joe Namath, on the eve of facing the highly favored, Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. No one could think that the toast of the NFL could lose to the upstart AFL team, but the Jets won convincingly against an ailing Johnny Unitas and Don Shula's Colts. The Colts favored by 19 points took the 16-7 loss made more painful by the boastful antics of the free-spirited "Broadway Joe's" brash comments.

The victory gave the AFL equal status to the well-established NFL as the pace toward total integration between the two rival leagues accelerated to the NFL configuration as it would exist for many years to come, two conferences, three divisions each, made equal with Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Baltimore moving to the AFC to begin the 1970 season to complete the merger.

Ironically, the following October, New York and Baltimore would meet again in the championship to decide it all, the 1969 World Series. The Orioles were highly favored to beat the expansion, New York Mets, who were still thought of as the bumbling expansion team that struggled to do anything properly just a few years early. The Orioles won the first game, but then dropped four straight to the New York Mets.

Baltimore fans would love to have such bad luck in baseball forty years later, right?

SPRINT CUP: 2009, NASCAR's Cold Dark Winter

Much has happened since Jimmie Johnson was crowned champ in Homestead just a few weeks ago, and now that we’re in the thick of the NFL playoffs with the Super Bowl less than three weeks away, Speed Week is already almost upon us, but what will the scene be when the cars unload and engines fire. Here’s some of the changes and issues that we will be talking about when Daytona comes alive in just four weeks.

First, the end of a legend is upon us. No matter how one might spin the subject, Richard Petty’s active role in NASCAR is over. Sure, in theory, Petty Enterprises merged with Gillette-Evernham, but it’s more of a buy-out than a merger. Gillette-Evernham gets to run the #43 car and use the Petty name for marketing purposes, but the old family business is no more. Just ask an angry Kyle Petty who was all but eased out when the Boston investors bought into the company.

Bill Davis racing is history. Perhaps someone buying the team can construct something, but it looks like Dale Blaney could wind up with the new Tommy Baldwin racing.

Where will Bobby Labonte wind up? Talk is he could be in the #8 ride with Earnhardt-Ganassi. How will that shotgun wedding play out with Juan Montoya, Martin Truex, and Aric Almirola and ride allocation. Apparently, there has been little sponsor interest in the #8 ride with Almirola, hence Bobby Labonte, a good guy and former champion to the rescue.

The Legendary Wood Brothers are poised to do business by coaxing Bill Elliot out of retirement for a part time schedule of maybe twelve races. The #21 car is one for the history books. How delightful it would be to see them score a top ten or two.

The biggest excitement has to be the creation of the Stewart/Haas team with Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman establishing a new dynamic duo running Henndricks equipment. The challenges are enormous but so is the talent.

While neither the #28 or #38 cars have sponsorship for Yates racing, welcome Paul Menard in the #98 car sponsored by Menards. Yates raced respectably last year despite the constant sponsor chase with Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland.

Richard Childress has one team in growth mode going to four full time rides as Cheerios/General Mills sponsorship goes to the new #33 team which will be piloted by chase contender, Clint Bowyer. Meanwhile, Hendricks cast-off, Casey Mears, mans the Whiskey Ride, Jack Daniels #07.

Robby Gordon switches manufacturers again going to Toyota. Hopefully they’ll send the right parts unlike his switch from Ford to Dodge last year.

Lots of eyes will be on rookie, Joey Legano, who looked brilliant in Busch, but way over matched in his Cup audition. The Gibbs team will look to be stronger in the Chase considering how dominating Kyle Busch was during the regular season.

Finally, our sentimental favorite is Mark Martin racing full-time in the #5 car, the Corn Flakes Box, for Hendricks.

Make no mistake, the economy and the dark cloud hanging over the domestic auto industry will cast a huge shadow over all of NASCAR, perhaps more on the lower series than Sprint Cup. It’s not a long shot to say the Dodge brand name might not exist by the end of the 2009 season. Ford and especially general motors have tough challenges getting their corporations righted during the current recession. Even Toyota lost business in 2008. Sponsorship dollars will be harder to come by as will butts in the seats at race tracks around America.

Still, once the green flag drops to begin the Daytona 500, the competition will be what matters and 2009 should be a very entertaining season with some great stories to tell. Betting money would be on a champ from Gibbs, Hendricks, or Roush, but what will Childress have to offer as he had three cars in the chase in ’08. How will the dynamic duo of Stewart and Newman fare with a hot new team.

OOPS, ONE MORE THING.... could anyone write about Sprint Cup without mentioning “junior.” Here’s our take. Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed much potential in 2008 and got one monkey off his back winning in Michigan in June, but there were far too many races where silly mistakes and lack of communication with the pits, his cousin, Tony Eury Jr., cost the team dearly. They must iron out those problems and focus. From our standpoint, we love Junior, but 2009 is the “No Excuses” tour for the #88 car.

A Good Day For Monday Morning Quarterbacks

Sports Shorts

Wow, what a Monday for good sports talk for the water cooler and lunch room.

NFL
First, how ‘bout those Ravens, hon? It’s been said, “it’s good to be lucky, but it’s lucky to be good.” Both came into play as the Ravens beat Tennessee by a last minute field goal Saturday night. Clearly, the officials gave the Ravens a favor when time had clearly expired before Joe Flacco received the snap leading to a game-breaking pass to Todd Heap. It was a rough brutal game with names like Leonard, Suggs, and Roille injured. Tennessee fans and media seem to take the game’s loss in stride blaming their mistakes more than any lucky breaks the Ravens got. Lord knows, if they had the Baltimore fans attitude, they’d be concocting some sort of conspiracy that the League has it out for a little hick town, Nashville, which is just a bunch of rednecks and country music people. That big bad league favors those big northeastern cities: Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. Don’t you get tired of the Baltimore fans who keep feeling sorry for themselves?

Pittsburgh looked murderous after giving up an early touchdown. It will be war on the other side of the Alleghany mountains next Sunday. It’s the Ravens turn to show the Steelers whose boss as they could have easily won either of their first two games, but it will take every ounce of maximum effort the team has in every facet of the game.

College Hoops
What’s up with the North Carolina Tar Heels? 0-2 in the ACC. They looked tentative and forcing shots against Wake Forest who clearly had the upper hand in last night’s game.

Baseball
Congratulations to Rickey Henderson. Wow, was he a player to watch play in his day. Giving him a walk was as good as giving up a triple but serve him a fat strike and he could connect for a homerun. He also played quite a fine left field too. There has never been a leadoff guy like Rickey Henderson. He was perhaps the most exciting player in the 1980’s and early 90’s. How many pitchers and catchers are nervous wrecks thanks to his chaos on the base paths.

It’s about time Jim Rice got elected to the Hall of Fame. His career was short but he was at the very top of his trade from his rookie year in 1975 until his retirement. He played in one of the greatest outfields ever in the great World Series of 1976 with the magic Carlton Fisk home run. With Jim Rice in left, Fred Lynn in center, and Dwight Evans in right with Carl Yazstremski as a backup, DH, and occasional first basemen, not only were they perfect sluggers for Fenway Park, they fielded their positions magnificently. Jim Rice was one heck of a clutch RBI man. His quiet nature perhaps betrayed him in an era of lots of flamboyant superstars like Reggie Jackson.

More NFL
We note with sadness Tony Dungy’s decision to retire. He has much good work to pursue off the field and we wish him well. Will this diminish the Colts’ dominance as one of the most consistent powerful programs in the AFC?

What happened to the Carolina Panthers? It's hard not to show up for a game at home-sweet-home, but they were a mess. Who would have thought Arizona would have so thoroughly roughed them up?

Told you so!

Philadelphia did exactly what we expected against New York. Yes, maybe the Giants needed ol' "Plexiglass" afterall.

Baseball’s Shame
A grand jury has convened to investigate Roger Clemens among others. Who could be surprised if “The Rocket” winds up with a perjury rap?

Media

All-in-all, hat's off to Fox and NBC for providing good, accurate coverage of the playoffs this weekend. For all the brain power Fox has in its pregame team, it would be nice if they'd stick more to the x's and o's and less to the idiot formulaic comedy routines. CBS's team seems to be the most professional.

Chris Berman was in rare form. There is no sports figure more obnoxious than "Boomer" who should pay Boomer Essiason royalties for use of his nickname. His boorish, overbearing style, predictable idiotic schtick and ability to talk without saying much of substance makes enduring the fine coverage the resources of ESPN can provide so horribly compromised. Berman is like that loud mouth who shows up at your favorite watering hole or somebody's obnoxious brother-in-law who someone was forced to invite to the game who thinks everybody is his best friend, the crowd hangs on his every word, and even laughs at his own stupid jokes. Meanwhile, everyone else tries to ignore the jerk with polite smiles, but enough is enough. His routines were tiresome and tedious ten years ago -- the nicknames, the screams, the "wapa-wapa's," the cliches and catch-phrases, and his gift for overstatement make "NFL Prime Time" a real ordeal to get through to hear what the others have to say. Granted, you'd think Mortenson seems like some old bag with big framed glasses and a huge red dyed hairdo gossip reporter for some lady's magazine, and Keeshawn Johnson comes from another planet, still it's a good exchange of information and opinion. That's why we tolerate it inspire of the Swami Blowhard.

Teachers Refusing to Accept Pay-For-Performance are in No Position to Demand Raises in Recession

Baltimore County Teachers Out of Touch With Community

Baltimore County Teachers are in no position to be asking for raises when everyone is facing tough financial decisions and the county government is doing what it call not to furlough workers including teachers. The bottom line is, would county teachers rather keep jobs or get a raise? The truth is, most teachers will be getting raises anyway. Each year of seniority for years 1-15 provide a pay step increase. More senior teachers get steps every five years. With each advancement in degrees, 30 graduate credits, 60, and 90 up to PhD equivalent, teachers also get raises. Now this kind of advancement is the kind of advancement the public can appreciate the value of teachers receiving.

That the local teachers association called for a job action last year because the county could not afford raises for its teachers shows the kind of chutzpah, insensitivity, and out of touch from reality the rank-in-file mentality in the profession has created.

While teachers go to work each morning, they face students who might have a parent who just got laid off, perhaps faced a mortgage foreclosure, or had to make some other serious adjustments due to hard economic times. Sample the population of any classroom and see how many of the students’ parents got pay raises for nothing more than just showing up for work each day without having to demonstrate some special contribution to the company or employer. In many occupations, there are no pay raises what-so-ever aside from for the accomplishments of the employee being able to contribute to the employer’s bottom line. While even many politically liberal see the need for performance based pay for teachers, any suggestion of “merit” pay is not subject to consideration by any NEA shop such as Baltimore County.

Few would argue the teachers who accomplish the most for our children deserve tangible compensation worthy of their efforts, but those who are part of the rising tide of mediocrity, have no voice in this dialog. We should hope that schools find better ways to develop their talent to achieve good results and see to it that the teachers who truly are not doing their jobs and not driven out for their lack of conformity to the insane political climate that exists in public schools are promptly removed from service.

The public should take a look at the county school’s pay scale before they jump to the conclusion that teachers, in general, are not paid enough. Here’s the pay scale for 10 month teachers. Keep in mind, teachers receive a fully funded state pension, complete health insurance including vision and dental coverage, and tuition reimbursement for their advanced degrees.

PAY SCALE:
http://www.bcps.org/offices/payroll/pdf/scales/TABCO-10-Month-Payscale.pdf

ARTICLE FROM BALITIMORE SUN:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_county/bal-md.co.schools11jan11,0,1372028.story

NFL 2008: The Divisional Playoffs -- Path to the Super Bowl Gets Hotter

Are YOU ready for some football? In Chesapeake country, if you're a Marylander at heart, the answer is YES!! (C'mon Redskins fans, aren't the guys up the Parkway your AFC team?)

Life is good in Baltimore. Who would have expected the Ravens could be in the second round of the playoffs with a respectable chance to win to fight for the AFC title? As a three point favorite, that makes the Ravens almost a 50/50 chance to win as the home team is routinely spotted a field goal by the odds makers. However, the Ravens have much going for them. They must play flawless football and their offense must play a little stronger than they did in Miami. The formula is to get to the quarterback early. Score first, and win the turnover battle. A timely Ed Reed interception sure would be a good sign.





Fans have some fine matchups this weekend:





Baltimore at Tennessee (-3)

This is a game for those who love defense! The Ravens should prevail by at least a field goal.



Arizona at Carolina (-10)


One can argue that far west teams don't travel east well and the Cardinals have been no exception, but since this is a night game, some of the "jet lag" issues are abated somewhat. This is a matter of how the teams match up, and the Carolina Panthers are clearly the better team.





Philadelphia at New York Giants (-4.5)


The question to be answered by this game is are the Giants truly the same team without Plexico Burris? They had the division and a first round bye wrapped up pretty quickly, so it could be argued their late season softer play could be a result of that, but now they play a game that counts. When Donovan McNabb and the Eagles are on their game, they are awesome, but they can lose games that they should have won like against Washington, but if there's any hint of the Eagles being the team that the Ravens pummeled in November, they're toast. We're picking the Eagles to upset the Giants, but it won't be easy.





San Diego at Pittsburgh (-6.5)


Welcome east, fellahs. Gone from the Pacific coast warmth on the Mexico border, not only will the Chargers have to execute perfectly, they will have to smash Ben Rothlesberger and count on a game turning mistake by the Steelers. This is the one game that could be a blowout with Pittsburgh high atop of the rubble. Regardless, It's hard to imagine the Steelers not triumphing and hosting Baltimore next week.

What's Wrong With This Headline?

Which picture is Al Franken and which is Stuart Smaley? We'll never tell!!!

Here's the Liberal media doing what it does best, distorting an issue and slighting a Republican in what is supposed to be a staight forward news article.

Ruling a setback for Franken challenger
Minn. Supreme Court rejects Coleman request to count absentee ballots
By Brian Bakst The Associated Press
12:58 PM EST, January 5, 2009

Here's a link to the article as printed in the Baltimore Sun.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation/politics/bal-franken0105,0,5221256.story

Political commentator Dick Morris provides more insight into this travesty on his web site.

http://www.dickmorris.com/blog/2009/01/05/al-franken-stealing-senate-seat-stop-him/

Let's be perfectly blunt here. Listen up you idiots, Norm Coleman is the INCUMBENT senator from Minnesota and will remain so until the legal matters regarding this election are settled. Al Franken, the loud mouthed boorish little twit, who somehow managed to become the Democratic party's nominee to contest Norm Coleman is the challenger. How willfully stupid can the news media be?

This election deserves much attention as the techniques and unbelievable actions taken during the recount process reveal an election being stolen from a good and decent man who ran an honest campaign against a shameless prick, some know as Stuart Smaley, who has about as much qualification to be Senator as Caroline Kennedy. At least Caroline, you know, Kennedy, you know, has well you know, some manners and you know gracefulness. Stuart Smalley is a loud-mouthed jerk who no matter how hard we attempt to create a short impression of him, is skillful at few things other than being rude and insulting.

It's a pretty bad sign when a group of Hollywood Democrats pitched in to create an advertisement to run in Minnesota urging the public to realize that "He's not one of us!" They deplored his tactics and message.

Nevertheless, slime tactics and political corruption are becoming institutionalized within some factions of the Democratic party and appear to have taken hold in Minnesota.

It will be a sad day in American History if Stuart Smalley is seated as a United States Senator. Yes, Stuart Smalley, you are somebody, but we're too polite to say what you are. We're also too polite to be able to adequately describe the news media who have willfully jumped in your back pocket.

If somehow this charade turns out in your favor, it would be an absolute oxymoron to call you the "Honorable Senator from Minnesota." We would surely be glad to call you any kind of moron we can imagine, however.

Harry Reid: A Retched Little Man Flaunts HIs Power in the Blago Mess

First, let’s be clear about something, Illinois Government Rod Blagojevich is a wretched turd. Seldom has any public official so brashly flaunted his contempt for the law, his professional standards, and any sense of moral or ethical behavior. He is a crass self-serving opportunist who has used the peoples’ trust for his own enhancement operating within the Illinois Democratic Party’s system where corruption and cronyism have both become institutionalized where special favors, play-for-pay schemes, and other criminal behavior has gone on for generations. All those old enough to remember the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago can’t help but see Mayor Richard Daley, the elder, as the face of such tyrannical abuse of power. “Blago” is just the latest cog in the dirty wheel, the incubator from which President-Elect Obama’s political career emerged. Can we truly believe Barack Obama is the rose among these thorns? That’s a discussion for another day as we will learn more once he assumes office, but his vacating the Senate provides the explosive incident that makes the Blagojevich scandal especially explosive.

As governor, it is Governor Blagojevich’s duty to appoint Obama’s successor to fill the balance of that Senatorial position until the next Congressional election. One of the charges against Blago is his attempt to sell the appointment where the appropriate candidate or his supporters would provide Blago some specific monetary or other favors in exchange for the appointment. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. allegedly was approached for consideration should he be Blagojevich’s appointment. As such, criminal complaints have been issued by Federal Prosecutor Fitzgerald as his case advances toward Grand Jury consideration.

As retched as Blagojevich’s conduct is and as obvious as his criminal activity is, he has been convicted of nothing. The presumption of innocence before trial remains in effect and his status as governor remains active until he either resigns from office or is impeached. His authority to appoint Obama’s successor is especially disturbing since he attempted to “sell” his seat, but he is governor of Illinois and it is his responsibility to make the appointment. There might not be grounds for him to defer or delegate that appointmente as this is a task specifically assigned to the governor.

The Illinois legislature could have changed the law and most likely had the margin to override a Blagojevich veto. They could have opted for a special election as the state’s means for replacing Senators who vacate their sear during their term. The Illinois Democrats found this option unacceptable realizing all the rancor brought on by this scandal could easily taint the State’s Democratic party making the possibility of a Republican successor for Obama’s seat quite likely.

While we can debate forever the motives and merits of Rod Blogojevich appointing long time Illinois political figure, Roland Burris, the state’s former attorney general, to fill the Senate vacancy, legally what Blagojevich did was exercising the responsibilities of his position no matter how much that appointment could be tainted by previous attempts to shop the seat.

Not wanting to be touched by the Illinois scandal in any way and trying to further consolidate his iron-fisted rule of the Senate as Majority Leader, Harry Reid, with strong support from his fellow Senators and Barack Obama himself, has declared his intentions not to permit Burris to be seated as Illinois’s junior senator making the following comments on NBC’s Meet The Press, today, January 4: "We determine who sits in the Senate. And the House (of Representatives) determines who sits in the House. So there's clearly legal authority for us to do whatever we want to do. This goes back for generations."

Such language is terrifying. The people of the United States vote to determine who sits in the Senate and where vacancies occur, it is each state’s responsibility to determine how that vacancy is to be filled. While a Blogojevich appointment would be abhorrent to just about every rational citizen, Reid’s intentions should be every bit as threatening. The bottom line is the people of Illinois can vote Burris out of office in the next election. For Reid to posture he and the Senate determines who sits among them is a blatant attack on the democratic system. The Senate is empowered to remove colleagues for specific reasons that justify impeachment from office. They may censure members who do not behave properly in office. The appropriate leadership can deny committee appointments. While Roland Burris is an incredibly unimpressive political figure, there is no evidence he has done anything wrong other than accepting an appointment from a tainted governor.

Like it or not, by law, Roland Burris, should be seated as Barack Obama’s successor unless there are clear legal means to prevent his appointment, but that is a decision to be made in Illinois not Washington.

Once again, Harry Reid has shown himself to be one of the most hideous contemptuous figures ever to assume a leadership position in Washington. He is a spineless little man with no guiding principles and pitiful political talent drunk on the trappings of power.

Perhaps the voters of Nevada will right that wrong in their next Senatorial election. Mr. Reid should be scared, very scared. However, being the world class asshole he is, he is surely blind to his arrogance and vulnerabilities.

NFL 2008: The Wild Card Round

Could anyone imagine a field like this year’s Wild Card round? Look at the contenders. First, the Miami Dolphins were 1-15 in 2007. Now they stand as the AFC East division winners – that’s New England’s division. Brett Favre was supposed to pull the New York Jets into the playoffs. Where are they? New England, well, they don’t usually play in this round because they have a first round bye. New England played to an 11-5 record despite losing Tom Brady in the first game of the year, but 11-5 wasn’t good enough when Miami had the tie breakers. How do Jet fans feel seeing Chad Pennington leading the Dolphins to the promised land as their Quarterback when he was not good enough for the Jets upon Brett Favre’s arrival. Indianapolis snagged the first Wild Card at 12-4, and the Baltimore Ravens had a stronger 11-5 record than New England.

The Baltimore Ravens? Hey, they were a 13-3 team with a first round bye in 2006, but they fell to a miserable 5-11 in 2007 looking like a team gearing up for a great rebuilding. There are some new faces on the Ravens most notably rookie QB, Joe Flacco, who wound up as the starter because Kyle Boller sustained an early preseason shoulder injury and Troy Smith battled a severe infection. Fans must have been thinking, “Here we go again.” with the Kyle Boller saga still cutting into the team’s fortune, but Flacco was ready. The Ravens brought in John Harbaugh to replace Brian Billick as head coach. His team approach seemed to sure up a team that was full of prima-donnas singing “me-me me-me” a yar ago. Harbaugh also brough in Cam Cameron as offensive coordinator. Yes, the guy who coached the Dolphins to 1-15 last year, but was the offensive mastermind behind building up the San Diego Chargers. Are the Ravens playoff caliber? Consider their performance against Dallas during week 16. Say no more.

Atlanta is on a roll with rookie of the year quarterback, Matt Ryan. Their horrors of a year ago are long gone. They have grown stronger and more cohesive as the year progressed much like the Ravens.

Arizona is a franchise with one of the most desperate all-time records and scant few playoff appearances not hosting a home playoff in the Super Bowl era. They might not look like much at 9-7, but were good enough to win the NFC West. Can they stop Philadelphia who has been on a roll since their embarrassing collapse in Baltimore minus one false start against Washington?

How about Philadelphia? They had a season of extremes looking like Coach Reid and Donovan McNabb were destined for the scrap heap at season’s end after getting clobbered in week 12 in Baltimore. Since then, they have looked powerful beating every team spare an embarrassing trip to Washington, DC. Dallas needed to win in Philadelphia to go on to the playoffs, but Philadelphia asserted their playoff worthiness by pounding Dallas, 44-6.

What can be said of San Diego crawling into the playoffs at 8-8? San Diego won its last four games against Oakland, Kansas City, a fading Tampa Bay, and then Denver to take the top spot. 8-8 is good enough for the playoffs in the miserable AFC West while New England sits at home at 11-5.

Meanwhile, the final contestant is Minnesota. They’ve hardly been a dominant team but just good enough to win the NFC North. They were the likely top team with Favre’s departure at Green Bay. Chicago had their successes but proved to be a .500 team while Green Bay sunk into the abyss.

Here are our picks for the Wild Card round.

Atlanta (1 ½) at Minnesota
Atlanta seems to be a more consistent and balanced team than the erratic Minnesota Vikings. Sure the roar of the Vikings’ faithful could be deafening in the Metrodome, but Atlanta is also an indoor team so they don’t have the learning curve some other teams might face.

Indianapolis (-1) at San Diego
Sure there is a lot of buzz that San Diego matches up effectively against the Colts, but the Colts have been on a roll since week six. Payton Manning is one of the best money performers in the game. The Manning game plan is to score early and score often. They can do it. San Diego would have to play the perfect game to move on to round two.

Baltimore (-3 ½) at Miami
Call this the upstart bowl as few would have thought either team would be close to being ready for postseason honors in 2008. Since the Ravens whacked the Dolphins in week seven have only one loss – hotter than Indy? Granted they played a soft schedule outside of their division, but teams don’t finish 11-5 by accident. The Ravens will be well prepared to deal with Miami’s creative offensive schemes but must realize few QB’s get rid of the ball faster than Brad Pennington. The Ravens should score early and score often to secure this game. Once the Ravens take the lead, it would be hard to imagine Miami overtaking them. Ed Reed could be the Pennington neutralizer who will make the difference in this game, but few quarterbacks survive the Ravens’ organized chaos.

Philadelphia (-3) at Arizona
If the Eagles show up as the team that beat Dallas last week, Arizona doesn’t stand a chance. The Eagles biggest problem in the last half of the year has been their own inconsistency, but given the stakes are high as they were last week, needing a win to stay alive, Andy Reid’s boys should be ready.

All four visitors win this weekend and will be visiting again next week.

It's Bowl Season!!!

Welcome to Bowl Season

The news is that if your favorite school fields an NCAA Division I football team, and your school isn’t going to a bowl, you must from Duke. We’re expecting that next year the California Medicinal Marijuana Growers will announce their sponsorship of the Bong Bowl to be held somewhere around the San Francisco Bay. Yes, it’s almost getting that bad. While the argument remains that the means of selecting a National Championship is arbitrary and unfair no matter how the BCS gang tries to tweak its formulae, there will be plenty of whining even in seasons where there seem to be obvious contenders. Regardless, the final matchup between Florida and Oklahoma features two strong teams that could create an incredible matchup for the grand prize.

Barack Obama has thrown his weight behind a playoff system for college football. That is his number one sports issue. Watch ESPN or listen to sports pundits across the land, and it would appear the media favor a playoff system.

Here’s how the argument works and could play out. First, the argument about adding extra games is mute. Most players are used to playing more games at the high school level so the additional games would only bring NCAA football more in line with the pros and high school. Second, there is the lag time between the end of the season around Thanksgiving and New Years providing ample time to have a decent playoff bracket system play out.

Here’s what would appear to be the solution. The playoffs would likely consist of the nation’s top eight teams and follow the conventional bracket format where the seedings would be #1 vs. #8, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6, #4 vs. #5. That would lead to a four game second round that would be roughly analogous to today’s big bowls, Orange, Sugar, Rose, and Fiesta Bowls, but at this point, these games would lack the gravitas and glamour those bowls have today and they would probably be played in mid-December. If this round could be deemed suitable for the traditional bowls, then that would place the championship game in Mid-January that would put it up against the NFL Playoffs and would compromise the college campus environment which would be in the heat of the college basketball season by then. How would the teams be selected? Just go with the appropriate top eight rated teams using the BCS type of system or poll and seed the top eight teams? Go with the champions of the power eight conferences? The arguments would persist. The second possibility would preclude independent schools like Notre Dame when and if they become a national powerhouse again and the less powerful conferences.

The old bowl system is full of tradition and while the format might not accurately present a true championship, the intrigue and debate itself was part of the appeal. Suppose the top Big 12 team played the ACC in the Orange Bowl, and the SEC played another conference in the Sugar Bowl this year. Mostly likely, Florida and Oklahoma would win. Who’d be the champ? Those situations played out in the past and created a lot of buzz on the sport even if it was not accurate.

The argument, like practically everything else in sports, comes down to money and the power of the television networks as the driving force. The sponsorship groups for each bowl have way too much at stake to give up the elite status they have now. The only thing that made the BCS Championship possible was the guarantee that it would rotate each year between the four big bowl facilities in Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, and Pasadena. The four traditional bowls then are essentially runner-up bowls allowing some semblance of the old traditions to be maintained such as the Pac-10 facing the Big-10 in the Rose Bowl.

So far, when the playoff concept is discussed, what is never accounted for is the operational side of making it work. Consider the logistics: selection, scheduling, location, and oversight, even something as simple as the traditional elimination bracket isn’t as simple as it appears to be.

Why not keep things the way they are or revert to something more like the good old days? It makes every bowl interesting and the debates are part of the fun too. Besides that, anything that can screw up the odds makers in Las Vegas is a good thing from our perspective.

Here are some interesting bowls to watch this year.

West Virginia (-2 ½) v. North Carolina (Meineke Car Care Bowl, Charlotte, NC, 12/27/08, 1:00 pm., ESPN)

This game represents a bit of disappointment for West Virginia but is the first step toward regaining respectability for North Carolina whose football program has been dormant for years. It’s hard not to like Carolina’s chances playing in their backyard in Charlotte.

Wisconsin v. Florida State (-6) (Champs Sports Bowl, Orlando, FL, 12/27/08, 4:30 pm. ESPN)

The former ACC powerhouse has fallen on hard times as they attempt to regain national status in Bobby Bowden’s twilight years. They’ll win this game, but this is hardly a bowl that matters much.

Miami (FL) v. California (-10), (Emerald Bowl, San Francisco, CA, 12/27/08, 8:00 pm., ESPN)

So what happened to the great Miami Hurricanes? In the late 80's and early 90's, they represented the kind of dominant power many ascribe to USC today. Years later, they moved to the ACC where they were supposed to contend with Florida State for which team would go into the Bowl scene to contend for the National Championship. This year, Miami is just a middle of the pack ACC team. At least they're not banished to the "Smurf Turf" but they will be playing in AT&T Park in San Francisco where the short porch in right field would form one of the end zones. Today's baseball only stadia are not designed for football. Catch a little bit of this one on television and see for yourself. Miami will surely lose to their west coast rival.

Maryland v. Nevada (-2). (Humanitarian Bowl, Boise, ID, 12/30/08, 8:00 pm., ESPN)

This is the fate Maryland earned for falling apart in the last weeks of the regular season. The good news is they play in a Bowl. The bad news is they are banished to Boise, Idaho to play on the “Smurf Turf.” Who knows how this game will turn out. If the boys show up and mean to play, they could win this game. Given Maryland’s character recently, this looks like Nevada’s.

LSU v. Georgia Tech (-4), (Chick-Fil-A Bowl, Atlanta, GA, 12/31/08, 7:30 pm., ESPN)

LSU comes into this game feeling they’re not getting much success. Perhaps the most dominant team in the SEC since 2000, they are regrouping in 2008 but did beat Florida for the Gators’ only loss. This is a home game for Georgia Tech. We give the Yellow Jackets the nod.

Penn State v. USC (-9.5), (Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, 1/1/09, 4:30 pm., ABC)

Surely, there are many football fans who’d dream of this game being the National Championship game. If there is an “Evil Empire” in college football, it’s Pete Carroll’s Trojans of USC. Meanwhile, good old Joe Paterno, is football history still guiding one of the nation’s top programs. Hearts were broken all around the country outside of Iowa when Penn State’s run at perfection was upset. The Rose Bowl is close to a home game for USC, and they probably should be the favorite, but how can we not pick Penn State, their ugly uniforms, and all their tradition?

Cincinnati (-2) v. Virginia Tech, (Orange Bowl, Miami, FL, 1/1/09, 8:30 pm., FOX)

Virginia Tech’s Beamer Ball proved to be the ACC’s best afterall in 2008 securing the ACC Championship in a year where several teams were running for top honors going into November. We feel they’ll have just enough extra power to beat Cincinnati, but we confess to knowing nothing about Big East football.

Mississippi v. Texas Tech (-4.5), Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX, 1/2/09, 5:00 pm., FOX)

Here’s more proof of how much the Big Twelve and SEC dominated the 2008 College Football season. Texas State has arrived as a major contender in the Big Twelve and has beaten some tough teams. Give them the edge over Mississippi.

Utah v. Alabama (-10), (Sugar Bowl, New Orleans, LA, 1/2/09, 8:00 pm., FOX)

Facing the top team in the PAC-12 this year, has to be a minor letdown for the Crimson Tide fans who maintained a perfect season going into the SEC Championship game against Florida where Florida proved the better team. This was a magical season aside from that for ‘Bama and they should win easily close to home in New Orleans.

Ohio State v. Texas (-8), (Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, AZ, 1/5/09, 8:00 pm., FOX)

This might have looked like the likely match up for a National Championship beginning the season, but it turned out to be the Bride’s Maid Bowl instead. Given the intense competition Texas faced in the Big Twelve and that many think them superior to Oklahoma who competes for the Championship and that Ohio State played a rather week Big Ten this year, the Fiesta Bowl looks like it belongs to Texas big time.


Ball State (-2.5) v. Tulsa, (GMAC Bowl, Mobile, AL, 1/6/09, 8:00 pm., ESPN)

Ball State’s Cinderella season was broken when they played for their conference championship and were wiped out in Detroit to Buffalo. Here’s a chance for their amazing team to take a curtain call playing in a minor bowl opposite the big game on another network.

Florida (-3) v. Oklahoma, (BCS Champtionship, Miami, FL, 1/6/09, 8:00 pm., FOX)

The way Florida handled its opponents looked far more convincing a look at this year’s possible champ than the big shootout in the Big Twelve southern conference. This could be one hard fought game, but given the proven leadership Gators’ QB, Tim Tebow, provides, the Gators should win this game and playing in their home state will help their cause too. This could be a close game or a Florida blowout. Watch the game and find out!

NFL Week 17: Lots to Be Decided

The Detroit Lions are poised to make history as the first 0-16 team!

The 2008 season actually concludes in 2008 this year and what a year it’s been! From just minutes into the season with the severe knee injury suffered by New England Quarterback, Tom Brady, NFL fans knew this year would play out very differently from last. On “Judgment Day” New England will probably find itself outside looking in unless they win and Baltimore loses for the final wildcard berth. However, they could win and the New York Jets could defeat Miami then New England would assume their customary spot atop the division regardless of what the Ravens do.

The Steelers won the AFC North just as most rational fans thought they would; however, the team that will likely finish one game behind them or could even their record but lose due to tiebreakers is not the Cleveland Browns, it’s the Baltimore Ravens who with rookie coach, Jim Harbaugh, rookie Quarterback, Joe Flacco, the usual defensive bully tactics lead by Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, and then supported by a cast of improbable with a huge number of players out for the year could face them again at Heinz field having played them close in two loses earlier in the season. Meanwhile, Cleveland will have to win and hope Cincinnati loses against a weaker Kansas City at home to stay out of last place. Whom does Cleveland play? Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh. There will be dawgs put to sleep from Cleveland’s “Dawg Pound” on Sunday for sure.

The AFC South looks different this year. Many would have seen Jacksonville, the team that dominated Pittsburgh last year as the team that could knock off the Colts for that division’s top spot. Instead, it was the Tennessee Titans under the leadership of veteran journeyman Quarterback Kerry Collins instead of Vince Young who freaked out early in the season. Jacksonville is nowhere to be found scrubbing up the bottom of the division while Houston struggles for a win on Sunday to break even. The Colts will head to the playoffs as the fifth seed. Early season chaos and Peyton Manning far from 100% found the Colts not doing well in September, but after obliterating the Ravens who had far from proven themselves yet, the Colts have been one of the most dominant teams in the league.

Out west, the AFC is a disgrace. Odds are this division will be won by a team with only a .500 record. How does that make teams in other divisions with better marks feel that don’t get a wild card berth. The bottom line is that Oakland and Kansas City, two horrible teams, played even worse than expected. The San Diego Chargers expected to run away with the division stated off horribly and never hit stride becoming more and more like just another mediocre Norv Turner team, while the Denver Broncos at 8-7 had one hell of a flimsy defense and offense that was madly erratic. San Diego wins today in San Diego, they win the division at 8-8!

In the NFC, the New York Giants have dominated everything in the east but have turned a little soft in the final month of the season. Could this be partially due to star receiver, Plaxico Burris’s misdeeds and banishment for the season or just getting soft from being on top all year? Meanwhile, Dallas, who looked given up for dead after a stunning defeat in their last game at Texas Stadium against Baltimore last Saturday night had everything turn in their direction in Sunday to restore them to the last wild card seed. However, they will have to face the other team that has had the wildest soap opera going this year, the Philadelphia Eagles to contend with in Philadelphia to secure that bid. Given how poor they looked last week at home with some obvious weaknesses on both sides to be exploited, Tony Romo’s December record, and the new life shown by the Eagles aside from a stupid loss against Washington since all seemed to be lost in Baltimore in late November, this game belongs to the Eagles as does the final playoff berth. Meanwhile, what to make of the Washington Redskins who must win to maintain a winning season? They started off like gangbusters with Jason Campbell looking brilliant but in the second half of the season, they looked like they couldn’t beat an egg.

The most exciting division in the AFC turned out to be the AFC South where all four teams were in hot competition for most of the season before New Orleans faded and Carolina seemed to take some measure of control. Many would have picked New Orleans to runaway with this division, but they must win to assure themselves a winning season. Meanwhile, Carolina needs a win to stay atop the division. The winner of the South will be the second seed in the playoffs, but who is that possible division winner or number one wild card team? The Atlanta Falcons are! Here’s another story like Baltimore where a rookie coach and rookie quarterback have proven to be successful from day one. So much for the Michael Vick saga. Playing the bridesmaid roll is Tampa Bay who could be the final Wild Card team if Philadelphia beats Dallas. If they lose, it’s Philadelphia’s game should they win.

The story in the NFL North is not about who will win the division as much as it is about who is losing. The Detroit Lions will probably become the first team since the league went to a sixteen game season to lose every game. The Lions have lived up to their reputation as the worst franchise in professional sports where they play in a parity crazed league where it’s almost impossible not to look good every once in awhile. Though they fired General Manager, Matt Millen, who was obviously not suited for the job, nothing has shown any sign of better things ahead since then. The theme of losing also crosses Lake Michigan to Green Bay where the most drama was in the preseason as to whether Brett Favre would be retained. Brett’s gone to be Brett the Jet, and Aaron Rodgers has had mixed results at best. Green Bay will have a losing record regardless of how the last game turns out. They have been particularly weak in the second half of the season. That leaves the winning to either Chicago or Minnesota looking like Chicago facing Houston has a better shot than Minnesota who must travel to face the Giants. If all the other wildcard contenders lose, and both teams win, Chicago goes to the Wild Card game as Minnesota has the tiebreaker.

The NFC West has belonged to Arizona practically all season long but they are limping into January requiring a win to maintain a winning season. San Francisco will finish with at best a 7-9 mark if they beat Washington. Seattle has turned into a sad embarrassment in Coach Mike Holmgren’s last year while the St. Louis Rams have been part of the pack of worst losers this year.

A sad reflection on the 2008 season might be a matter of how bad the bad teams were more than how good the best teams were. There is no clearly dominant team this year. Pittsburgh and Tennessee might be a bit stronger than the field in the AFC, but things look much wider open in the NFC unless the Giants return to the killer status they enjoyed earlier in the season. On the losing end, the late season boost in Cincinnati does not disguise what a miserable failure they’re franchise truly is. The Cleveland Browns have rejoined the bottom feeders showing an operation that seems to respond more to talk show abuse in Cleveland than sound football judgment. The Oakland Raiders have become so desperate fans can only hope for the day Al Davis relinquishes the team for better days while Kansas City has been rebuilding its organization since the death of founding owner, Lamar Hunt. They’re going nowhere until new proven leadership is in place. The Detroit Lions are beyond any kind of intelligent conversation for establishing a blueprint for what it will take for them to ever compete again. This organization needs to do better in every facet of the game and its operation. So much for their fancy new downtown home at Ford’s Field. Of the miserable, St. Louis is probably best poised to escape as their needs are more a matter of finding a new head coach and continuing to reassemble what was the “Greatest Show on Turf.” A team to keep an eye on who could fall into the abyss is Buffalo. Owner, Jack Wilson, is in his 90’s. His guidance for the team’s future is limited, but the plans for the future have not been well established. Ralph Wilson stadium is an obsolete dump that still attracts decent local crowds but lacks all the goodies like luxury suites that are a part of today’s football picture. That they played one game in Toronto earlier this month could be an omen for the future. There’s lots of money in Canada’s richest and largest city that could care less about loyalty to the CFL. The Rogers Center is the perfect spot for millionaires to rattle their jewelry. Meanwhile, what other teams might be in worn out stadiums with no team in Los Angeles?

Stories like the Los Angeles saga and many more keep NFL talk going year round. Meanwhile, the focus is on the field for this final week of the 2008 season with three divisions and two wild card spots up for grabs. Let’s look at the games and pick some winners and losers.

St. Louis at Atlanta (-14)
Atlanta will crush St. Louis requiring Carolina to win to stay atop the AFC South.

Oakland at Tampa Bay (-13)
Oakland will do its part folding to their former coach in Tampa. Now other teams must fall just right for Tampa to get the final Wild Card spot.

New England (-6.5) at Buffalo
New England will cream Buffalo and do its part to stay alive for a play off spot. The rest depends on Baltimore losing and the outcome of the Jets versus the Dolphins.

Kansas City at Cincinnati (-3)
Cincinnati will win to give them a three game winning streak to finish the season. Some will take comfort in that but given of the three teams beaten, only Washington was a sure pick to beat them, it means nothing. Both these teams suck.

Detroit at Green Bay (-10)
C’mon, does anybody think Detroit, regardless of how well they’ve played in the first half of some of their games could pull an upset. They are an accident waiting to happen and their rendezvous with football history is secure.

Chicago at Houston (-2.5)
That Houston is a slight favorite to win this game shows how little confidence football experts have in “Dah Bears.” They must play with all they’ve got to beat the Texans. We’ll pick Chicago to win, but it won’t be easy.

Tennessee (-3) at Indianapolis
Both teams have secured their post-season spots so it depends on which team still wants to win the most and which coach sticks with his starters the longest. We’ll go with Indy since Peyton Manning doesn’t know what “let up” means.

New York Giants at Minnesota (-7)
The experts pick the Vikings to cash in on home field advantage and that New York doesn’t have as much to play for. Don’t count on it. The Vikings need to continue to build momentum for January and the Vikings can’t be counted on when games count. We’re going with the Giants.

Carolina (-3) at New Orleans
Carolina needs this game to stay atop their division and the number two playoff spot. It won’t be easy as New Orleans is a tough home team, but Carolina has more at stake in this game. If they win, they’re resting pretty next week. They lose and Atlanta wins, they’re just another wild card.

Miami at New York Jets (-3)
The externals would support the Jets as the home team to win; however, the Jets have lost all momentum in the last few weeks of the season while Miami following Jets’ castoff, Chad Pennington, continues to develop as a franchise. Miami has more life left in them so they are the pick to host being clobbered by the Baltimore Ravens in round one of the playoffs.

Jacksonville at Baltimore (-12)
Doesn’t it feel good to see the Ravens a double-digit favorite for once? Jacksonville is so full of turmoil it will be remarkable to see if a full team reports to Baltimore on Sunday. As long as the Ravens don’t take this game too lightly which seems against the personalities of their leaders, Coach Harbaugh, Ray Lewis, and Joe Flacco, the hometown faithful will enjoy a love fest with their home team on Sunday.

Dallas at Philadelphia (-1.5)
Dallas had the life snuffed out of them on their home turf last Saturday night. They don’t seem like the kind of team that can pull itself together after a terrible embarrassment. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is a team that can bounce back from an unpredicted loss as they looked horrible in DC last week. The Philadelphia fans, those guys who once tossed snowballs at Santa, will be taunting Dallas from their warm-ups onward. The Eagles are a slight favorite but if they have the momentum early in the game, this could be a blowout.

Cleveland at Pittsburgh (-10.5)
The Steelers will treat their fans with a chance to get in fine cheering shape for the playoffs as they face their long time rivals, the Browns, in a game the Steelers should win with ease. Cleveland lost any life it had when Baltimore slaughtered them several weeks ago. They couldn’t even find the spark to beat their cross state rivals in Cincinnati.

Washington at San Francisco (-3)
Two teams that can only dream of what could have been square off in one of the few antique stadiums left in the NFL. To think, a post-season bowl will be held up the road in their baseball stadium! This game comes down to motivation and Mike Singletary probably can instill more in his boys than what’s left in the Redskins. Which team shows up to play wins this stinker. We’ll pick the home boys.

Seattle at Arizona (-6)
Arizona needs this game to secure a winning record. So what if they’ve had a lock on the playoffs since the end of the baseball season? Yes, it is a huge accomplishment for them to win their division, but from this point forward, every game counts again. They need to beat Seattle to show they will have any life in the playoffs.

Denver at San Diego (-8)
Here’s a grudge game if there ever was one. A blown call by an official gave their first game to Denver. San Diego has shown it can play well in the second half of the season. Both these teams are notorious choke artists. Still, San Diego has more to prove than Denver and it is in the Chargers’ house. Only some kind of insane moves by Norv Turner could ruin this game. However, Norv Turner is a bad coach for his lack of leadership and motivation not his play calling. Good-bye Denver.

Our choices lead to a post season that starts like this next week:

AFC
Baltimore at Miami
Indianapolis at San Diego
Pittsburgh, Tennessee stay home.

NFC
Tampa Bay at Arizona
Atlanta at Chicago
Carolina, New York stay home.

It looks like a good setup for all the visiting teams to win, more so in the AFC than NFC. The Divisional round could consist of three teams from the NFC South while the AFC would consist of three teams from the old AFC Central. Strange karma,…

Apollo 8: America's Christmas Rendezvous With the Moon 40 Years Later

Forty years ago this Christmas, astronauts Commander, Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot, James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot, William Anders became the first men from earth to rendezvous on the moon as they orbited the moon for twenty hours on Christmas Eve and Christmas day of 1968. They were the first astronauts to ride atop the skyscraper sized Saturn IV booster whose third stage would reignite after achieving earth orbit to break from earth’s gravity and send the Apollo 8 Command Service Module (CSM) on a trajectory to the moon. Upon reaching the moon three days later, the CSM would fire its rocket engine to insert their spacecraft into lunar orbit. Soon humans would see terrestrial sights never viewed by mankind before as their space craft looped around the back side of the moon. While on the “dark” side of the moon, of course, radio signals could not reach earth creating a little bit of anxiety until all ground crew members were assured their mission had been executed properly.

While in orbit around the moon, Americans and people all around the world watched and listened in awe as the astronauts read the story of creation, the first ten verses of Genesis. For many, the spiritual experience was profound seeing the earth as never seen before while on the holiest day of the Christian faith our astronauts read the Biblical account of creation back to a world of anxious listeners.

As significant a landmark it was to see the far side of the moon for the first time, equally fascinating and far more stimulating was the sight of the earth getting smaller and smaller as the spacecraft approached the moon and then witnessing an “earth rise” with each orbit as the spacecraft came around from the dark side of the moon to the part of the moon visible to earth.

The mission was a huge success leading to two more test flights before Apollo 11 would land on the moon the following July. Many doubted if President John Kennedy’s mission to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade could ever be realized especially after three astronauts were incinerated atop a Saturn IB rocket their Apollo I spacecraft. The next 18 months, NASA scientists and engineers would work feverously to make up for lost time, correcting flaws in design eliminating the need for the astronauts to inhabit a 100% oxygen atmosphere in their space craft where the smallest spark, simply an electrical connection arcing over could cause a massive blaze.

Today, it’s hard to believe that it’s been four decades since man first rendezvoused with the moon and the last trip to the moon would be just four years later in December, 1972 with the launch of Apollo 17. The remaining CSM’s were used for Skylab missions and plans to build additional Saturn V boosters were cancelled. NASA’s budget was cut back to misery amounts as the manta as the Vietnam War wound down was that how could society spend money on space exploration when there are so many problems on earth. That led to the budget spacecraft which still flies today, the Space Shuttle, whose mission should conclude next year with hopes of Project Orion and possibly more moon missions after that.

While citizens criticize the space program for a variety of reasons, the benefits to society from our space missions are incalculable. Whether it’s powdered beverages like (yuck) Tang, Velcro, miniaturized television cameras and computers, and all kinds of technologies and electronics which would benefit everything from medical science to consumer products. The space program also had intangible benefits, giving the American people a chance to band together behind a common purpose continuing the pioneer spirit seeking to extend the known universe and knowledge base of humanity tremendously.

The memories of Christmas with Apollo 8 are hard to forget for baby boomers and their parents. It’s hard to believe two generations have largely passed since America’s missions to the moon. How hard it is to believe that children born on that fateful morning when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded are almost 23 years old.

America needs the space program. The benefits are overwhelming in so many areas. Those who weren’t born or old enough to remember the space race and Project Apollo would learn much by studying those missions. The commitment to excellence, the “can do” thinking, and the clear dominance of American “know how” all could use a little bit of a recharge as 2009 approaches.

Let us use this historical window, the 40th anniversaries of the various lunar missions to stimulate learning and understanding of the wonders and benefits of space exploration. We should never take such bold accomplishments for granted.

Christmas, 2008

For many, 2008 has been a terrible year. It’s hard to watch the news and not become depressed. Thousands of American soldiers will spend another season over seas. The economy is hurting and many have lost jobs or economic security. The ability to afford health care is out of reach for many. Schools are failing to accomplish their mission like never before but how quick some schools are to worry about things like who might be offended should a teacher display Christmas cards on his or her desk or God forbid any “holiday” song that mentions Christmas might be deemed inappropriate for fear someone might be offended. Many advertisers seem to treat mentioning the word Christmas in their barrage of advertising during the peak retail season more controversial than using one of those seven words George Carlin once cautioned could never be said on radio.

In Washington, the governor issued an edict that a placard harshly critical of traditional religion has every right to be displayed right next to a traditional Christmas display in the State House leading to a barrage of other attempts of seeking expression for off-the-wall beliefs and other expressions all mocking an event that the overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate. Christmas has been a Federal holiday since the Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant as our society’s values are founded as much in the teachings of the Bible as they are in any legal scholar’s work. The very essence of what entitled the people of America to declare their independence from the British crown was the belief stated in the Declaration of Independence that we are endowed with certain inalienable rights by our creator.

It is from that recognition that our freedoms in the Bill of Rights derive their authority and provides the moral and ethical foundation for our sense of human rights. Yet some in our government use the First Amendment as the basis to ban reasonable religious expression from the public square interpreting that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” in ways never intended by the philosophical genius of our founding fathers. What is being forced upon us by judical activists, those representing the radical secular humanism of the extreme left in our society, the embrace of an extreme concept of separation of church and state that many such proponents use to mandate that all forms of religious expression be curtailed in any form in any government sponsored activity where when analyzed how it has been forced upon us essentially makes only those who have no religious beliefs what-so-ever empowered while others are coerced to carefully take care to say nothing referring to traditional customs such a small minority insists upon. In the world of the secular humanists, the extreme left, and paranoid corporate lackies and HR directors fearing legal action is the notion that the 1st amendment guarantees little more than freedom from religion.

Sure Christmas has become grotesquely commercialized over the years, but even most atheists exchange Christmas presents. The many messages of Christmas including giving to the less fortunate ring as true today as they ever have. If there was ever a time for Christians and all those who partake in Christmas traditions to band together and reflect on the transcendent messages the birth of Christ symbolizes, that time has come today. We must maintain our highest moral values while we cannot ignore we are engaged in a war we did not initiate against the forces of pure evil who would kill us for our freedom, our faith, our values, and our rights guaranteed to all citizens. When radical Islam which pretends to be a religion of the Children of Abraham stirs up mad fervor in the name of Jihad where the most extreme would kill themselves in the act of killing many more of us for those beliefs we hold dearest, we must stand united, embrace and celebrate the goodness and virtue of what our society aspires to be while never failing to be diligent against those blind servants of false prophets and their doctrine of hatred and death.

These are difficult times, but as we awake on Christmas morning, most Americans have slept in a comfortable bed, live in a secure home warm enough to combat the cold of winter, and have plenty of food to eat. While some might feel depressed and angry some of the lavish trappings of holidays gone by in years gone by might be out of reach this year, we can be thankful we live in a culture that still values our basic goodness and provides living conditions that even for those living the most modest life styles among us would be the envy of the vast majority of the overall population of the world.

In 2008, Christmas is a time to celebrate what we have and not dwell on what we don’t have. Economic conditions and the threat of war can never restrict the love and devotion we feel for others around us. We can collectively join together to provide for better times for all in the very near future.

Notre Dame hasn’t won a bowl since 1993. Eighty-nine teams have won bowls since Notre Dame’s last win! Does something seem fishy that the Mackerel Snappers would accept an invitation to play Hawaii in the Sheridan Hawaii bowl? Call it audacity. No one would question that this year was a disgrace for Notre Dame, so voyaging to the tropics for a Christmas Eve playing an absolutely non-contending team, this is supposed to make everything right? A win spares them from a losing season. It would break their long streak of failure in bowl competition. Let’s face it. These are all contrived solutions putting lipstick on the pig (as a popular 2008 expression would describe it) to conceal the obvious, what was once the team that defined college football success is a dysfunctional program sinking into irrelevance.

The world of college football has changed tremendously since Lou Holtz led the Fighting Irish into contention and quality bowl bids every season. The power conferences have become stronger where the battle for conference supremacy overtakes the significance of many of the legendary rivalries from through out the years. Being an independent was a badge of honor, a team good enough to line up games with the toughest competition nationwide and still have a near perfect record. However, another great legendary independent program, Penn State, saw the wisdom of conference play and joined the Big Ten where they would have to earn their reputation with teams already having a storied history like Ohio State and Michigan. Who could Penn State play that would create the prestige and rivalry of the Michigan/Ohio State game?

Perhaps it is time for Notre Dame to seek membership in one of the power conferences. It would make for sloppy math for them to become the eleventh team in the Big Ten, but they surely could add substantial gravitas to the Big East still reeling from being raided by the ACC for football powerhouses, Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. The Big East will be the a lesser entity in the power conference scheme until they once again have ten committed teams fielding football programs in a world where the SEC and Big Ten, for instance, have negotitated very lucrative national television contracts.

It’s time for Notre Dame to step up and deal with the reality that they are playing in the 21st century and the rules for success have changed. How quickly conversation will become, "Notre Dame was one of those great teams before the turn of the century." Time marches on and South Bend, Indiana is no longer the incubator it once was for the NFL. Aside from Brady Quinn, what big name players have come to the pros since 2000? They have immediate needs that must be addressed before they can look at some of the bigger picture issues like conference play. Charley Weiss is a failure as a head coach. Still, the Notre Dame brass have decided to give Weiss one more year to get his house in order. Notre Dame also needs live bodies on the field who can play. That’s pretty much the head coach’s responsibility to sell the program.

The clock is ticking. Big improvements are long overdue. Realistically, the Fighting Irish might have two or three more years to get their program headed in the right direction before they become totally irrelevant and “win one for the Gipper,” “touchdown Jesus,” and all the other Notre Dame legends become ancient history with no relevant connection to modern times. Winning an irrelevant bowl on Christmas Eve is hardly a token gesture toward getting their football program headed in the right direction.

One more thing, Hawaii is no push over.

Texeiria HA-HA-HA - By the Time You Read This the So-Called Home Town Boy Could Be in Pinstripes!!!

Ten years, two hundred million!!! That's what the Washington Nationals supposedly have on the table, though that was never confirmed. Now Sports Illustrated has just reported the Yankees have put in a bid for his services. To picture the kid from Central Maryland remaining in the mid-Atlantic is getting dimmer by the moment.

Go up I-95 and cross the Hudson River. It's just a question of how far up I-95 beyond that his new home will be.

Baseball's salary structure is a joke. The clout the select few mega-market teams have over all the rest is absurd as is the refusal to compete in some small markets like Pittsburgh.

Baseball has been an embarassment for how to run a sport for decades, but the game itself is so good Bud Selig, the idiotic unions, and big ego owners haven't been able to destroy it even when trying to give the game lethal injections through the recent steroid era, but at what point do fans like us in Baltimore say enough is enough and not just stop going down to Camden Yards but tune out the sport all together?