2009 NFL Season: The Right Minded Preview

NFL 2009 Predictions

The following review is a careful consideration developed using the finest research available, thoughtful analysis and logic, and an ample amount of wishful thinking, but surely we invite our readers to compare our predictions to the big shots like Peter King, Chris Mortensen, and anybody's cousin or brother-in-law who claims to know the NFL better than any of them and see who's the smartest when February rolls around. The real genius, invariably, is the dude who makes good on a real off the wall pick, the Cinderella fellah. Our weekly predictions over the past few seasons have been between 67% and 70%. We'll stake our case on that.


AFC North

Pittsburgh
Baltimore
Cincinnati
Cleveland

We’re homers and want to see the Ravens win this division which is a possibility; however, the Steelers still rule until somebody beats them and what a difference it would make if the Ravens could beat the Steelers in at least one of their matchups this year. There’s another wrinkle; however, the schedule throws the Steelers an advantage based on the two teams they face based on last year’s strength of schedule finish. The Dolphins and Titans finished in first place, thus those are the teams the Steelers face. Who do the Ravens get? The Colts and the Patriots. Few think the Dolphins will be as strong as they were last year. Further, the Titans and Dolphins are teams the Ravens can whack. How well have they played against Indianapolis and New England? The battle for the bottom suggests Cleveland will finish last. Eric Mangini (or is it Man-Genius?) does some inexplicable things like not naming who his starting quarterback for the season is going into mid-week before their first game. Be real, does the opposing team really care if it’s going to be Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson? So it’s finally Brady Quinn. Either one of them will get the old ass whoopin’. The Cincinnati Bengals have talent. They also have zero chemistry and lots of problem players whose rap sheet has more details than their stat sheets.

AFC South

Indianapolis
Tennessee
Houston
Jacksonville

Some suggest Houston is ready for the big time, but we see this division as being between the Titans and Indianapolis with Jacksonville in the cellar. The Colts are aging and need to re-solidify in spots. The loss of Albert Haynesworth will seriously hurt the Titans’ defense. Neither team has made a move to gain a clear advantage over the other. Meanwhile, deep in the heart of Texas, Coach Gary Kubiak is scheming on how to make the world see the Texans as something other than an overdue expansion club. If new defense coordinator, Frank Bush, can get his unit to play effectively, then the dreamers might be ready for reward.

AFC East

New England
New York Jets
Miami
Buffalo

They’re back!!! Yes, the New England Patriots start off with Tom Brady healthy and while they are not the overwhelming elite team of their Super Bowl runs, they are still one tight, well-disciplined unit who understand what “do your job” means. Miami and New York are rebuilding teams working to emerge from the pack, but Miami will not finish in first place and must face Pittsburgh and Tennessee as their reward. Of course New England draws Baltimore and Indianapolis. One thing’s for sure for the New York Jets, they’ll be full of a lot more surprises with Rex Ryan leading the show. He brings a hungry Bart Scott and Jim Leonard as his defense disciples from Baltimore to help design their version of organized chaos. Mark Sanchez leads the offense, inexperienced but hungry. For Miami, 2009 could be a reality check with their tougher schedule and that they will be nobody’s surprise this year. How can Bill Parcells and his lieutenants assure their fans that the team is still moving in the right direction even if they don’t finish as well as they did in ’08? The “Fish” are a rebuilding team. They’re heading in the right direction. Considering they had just barely missed going 0-16 in 2007, the critics should not be too tough on them. Buffalo is a sympathetic team. It’s one of the NFL’s smallest markets playing in an obsolete stadium without the revenue generators of the modern venues most teams enjoy. Ralph Wilson, their owner, is one of the real good guys in the game who in his 90’s is running out of time to realize his dream of a Super Bowl win. They brought Terrell Owens in to add some sizzle on offense but the spark Owens provides could burn their house to the ground. Even when he’s trying to behave himself he creates a bad aura. For the loyal loving Buffalo fans, it certainly creates a sense of paranoia of what lies ahead after Ralph Wilson is gone with one home game in Toronto again this year.

AFC West

San Diego
Denver
Oakland
Kansas City

This is the weakest division in the AFC for sure. San Diego wins by default. The once proud Broncos fired coach Mike Shannahan and traded away quarterback, Jay Cutler, now have a coach who looks like he’d be carded at the local saloon and Brandon Marshall in full flameout mode who has no room for any misbehavior having gone way over the line in training camp and the possibility of being one bad scene in public or with another woman he thinks is a punching bag before getting kicked out of the league for a long time. How quickly a team noted for discipline and stability has fallen to pieces, but the Broncos do have Kansas City and Oakland beneath them. What hope is there for Kansas City with an injured quarterback and offensive coordinator fired right before the start of the season? Oakland, well Al Davis sure doesn’t know how to build a team the way he used to. They’re a mess.

AFC Wildcards

Baltimore, Tennessee

Baltimore and Tennessee look like the likely wildcards assuming they don’t win their divisions. Houston, Miami, and the New York Jets are the long shots.

NFC North

Minnesota
Green Bay
Chicago
Detroit

Three out of four ain’t bad? The one thing is for certain, the Detroit Lions will finish in dead last. It’s reasonable to pick any of the three remaining teams to win the division and possibly be the NFC Super Bowl representative.

The case for Minnesota is that they were darned close to being playoff ready last year and Brett Favre teamed up with their receiving corps and Adrian Peterson possibly the best runner in the business could give the Vikings just the right formula to be a killer team this year. Their defense is pretty solid too.

The Packers were perhaps an interception away from the Super Bowl in 2007. Aaron Rodgers is coming into his own as the heir to Brett Favre. The Cheese Heads are a good, well-balanced team ready to begin their next era.

The Chicago Bears have one of the league’s best defense, but the rap on “Dah Bears” has long been the lack of a top notch quarterback. Jay Cutler should answer that question. If Devin Hester can develop into the wide receiver he has shown the potential to become, Chicago could be nasty.

NFC South

Carolina
Atlanta
Tampa Bay
New Orleans

For folks who think the NFL is too hooked on parity, look at the NFC South. No team is all that good. No team is all that bad. It looks like the Carolina Panthers have the edge on talent, but hasn’t that been said quite often in recent years? No one would have seen Atlanta playing as well as they did last year. Will reality set in or do they have something to build on? New Orleans was a team hitting its peak a couple years ago, but they’re backsliding now. How much magic can Drew Breeze and Reggie Bush put into their offense? Tampa Bay got rid of coach, John Gruden. They’ve been trying to rebuild a winning team since their Super Bowl win in January, 2003. Can Carolina hold it together or fall by the wayside as under achievers once again?

NFC East

Philadelphia
New York
Dallas
Washington

No division draws the media attention the NFC East does, and one could make a case for any team in this division to finish first or last, though in all honesty, we don’t see the Redskins in the mix. From there, it’s “How ‘bout them Cowboys?” Well, how about them? This is a team that will be showing off its billion dollar plus new crib, the new fancy stadium where punters can routinely hit the giant HD scoreboard display hanging from the ceiling. The challenge to get in and advance in the playoffs is daunting for the ‘Boys. Recent history shows a dreadful record after Thanksgiving. The clubhouse should be calmer without Terrell Owens stirring up a mess, but is Tony Romo for real? He still has a long way to go before he is proven as a winning quarterback. Coach Wade Phillips is on thin ice. He’s a fine coordinator but has never delivered as a head coach.

So who is really in the driver’s seat, Philadelphia who played horribly up to Thanksgiving last year but then moved on to the conference championship game or the New York Giants who looked unstoppable until late in the season when they just fell apart? Philadelphia has as strong defense but a few holes on offense. No one knows what the Michael Vick acquisition means other than a lot of angry dog lovers. How much can Donovan McNabb take with all the distractions? He could be the Rodney Dangerfield of NFL QB’s. The Giants have shed some of the pieces that helped them win the Super Bowl but their receiving corps is left shaky especially with Plaxico Burress heading for jail.

NFC West

Arizona
Seattle
San Francisco
St. Louis

Arizona returns most of its Super Bowl team with more experience and confidence. They should be stronger this year. Seattle will attempt to regain respectability with son of Mora as their head coach. The 49er’s have to be reeling from the hold out from #1 draft pick Michael Crabtree. Coach Mike Singletary will be nursing a team that simply hasn’t had much to work with since its glory days. 2009 will be pivotal in determining if they are rebuilding into a contender or falling into the category of a mediocre organization. That leaves St. Louis as the cellar dwellers. There sure isn’t much to hope for when the Rams were looking at Kyle Boller substituting for Marc Bulger though it appears Bulger is cleared to start the season. St. Louis has not turned the corner since their “greatest show on turf” team got old. By now, the rebuilding should be showing a competitive team on the field. They have not turned that corner yet.

NFC Wildcards

Green Bay, New York Giants

The Green Bay Packers look like the number one choice with the New York Giants second. The Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons are in the picture. Perhaps the Cowboys have a shot but somehow there is just too much self destruct in that unit.

Super Bowl

Baltimore, Philadelphia

Sorry, we’re homers so we just can’t pick against the Ravens. How about a battle of the Birds with the Ravens beating the Eagles? This is the advantage of being an amateur blogger.

Champion

The Baltimore Ravens

NCAA '09 Football: Week 2

Week two of the college football season features most major schools playing cream puff ball with lesser schools to chalk up easy wins while gearing up for conference rivalries later in the season. While it's great for the small schools raising money, it's not good for competition.

All eyes will be on two games: one steeped in tradition, the other being one with BCS implications. Michigan hosting Notre Dame while their arch rival Ohio State hosts USC are the most interesting games this weekend. Here are the games we're tracking.

Clemson @ Georgia Tech (-5.5)
ACC battle Dixie style, but Georgia Tech should be strong enough to hold off Clemson at home in Atlanta.

North Carolina @ Connecticut
It’s nice to see Carolina football matters again. Going north to Connecticut to take care of business is one more building block toward becoming an ACC force once again. Carolina should cover the Huskies in black gooey tar.

Stanford @ Wake Forest (-2.5)
Stanford is not the nationally rated program it once was and Wake Forest, once considered too small to be a football school is improving as the darlings of the Greensboro/Winston-Salem area. Stanford won’t be able to digest the Carolina style home cooking and head back west with a loss.

Notre Dame (-3.5) @ Michigan
This great traditional rivalry finds both schools and their head coaches under the microscope with the Fighting Irish fielding its best team in years. Still they’re heading to the big house in Ann Arbor, and we’re hoping the Wolverines will be hungry enough to pull the upset.

Louisiana Tech @ Navy (-7.5)
Whoa, did the world see what Navy almost did to Ohio State last week? These sailors and Marines are pretty darned good and will defend the ship in Annapolis for sure this weekend.

South Carolina @ Georgia (-7)
The upstart Gamecocks under cranky coach, Steve Spurrier, will give the Bulldogs all they can handle, but Georgia’s talent playing at home should suffice to push South Carolina back over the state line with a loss.

USC (-7) @ Ohio State
Neither team started the season the way they would have hoped in less than stellar debuts. This could be a preview of January’s Rose Bowl matchup if neither team doesn’t wind up fighting for the National Championship which is possible for either team. With a rookie quarterback, the Trojans are not quite as fearsome as they would be in many recent years. Ohio State will be on a mission to undo the shame of last week’s near loss and at home in Columbus they should get the job done.

NFL 2009: Week 1 -- Let the Show Begin!!!

Are you ready for some football?

Hell yes!!!!

The one good thing about the days getting shorter and cooler is the dawn of the NFL season and for folks in Baltimore, we’re thinking PLAYOFFS!!! Here’s our picks for week one. We’re not so good at picking against the spread, but for straight up winners, we are accurate over 66% of the time.

Tennessee at Pittsburgh (-6)
Two playoff teams from 2008 kick off the season on national TV. The Super Bowl champs will whack the Titans.

Kansas City at Baltimore (-13)
The Chiefs are a team still trying to find the right rebuilding formula but are among the worst in the NFL right now. The Ravens will start off with a nice fat win.

Miami at Atlanta (-5)
We accept the conventional wisdom that Miami will fall back into the middle of the pack this year. Playing in the Georgia Dome, the Falcons should win and beat the spread.

Denver at Cincinnati (-4.5)
The Bengals should win this, no sweat. They’re going be an interesting team to watch. They have talent but such horrible chemistry resulting from some real head cases on their roster. We pity Marvin Lewis. We’re not sure his tenure in Cincinnati truly reflects his coaching skill where he’s almost had to be a parole officer. Denver could only wish they had it so good. Brandon Marshall appears intense on being a one man wrecking crew but wrecking his own team. It’s hard to believe how far this once proud team has fallen in one year.

Minnesota (-4) at Cleveland
So what’s with coach “Man-Genius” waiting so long to name his starting QB for the Browns. It doesn’t matter if it’s Derek Anderson or Brady Quinn, the Vikings are coming to town to kick their asses.

New York Jets at Houston (-4.5)
Houston should have enough stuff to make Rex Ryan’s coaching debut miserable, but if Ryan can work some magic with his defense, this could be a mild upset.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis (-7)
The Colts will use this game as a tune up. Jacksonville should pose no real threat. Why the NFL ever put a team in Jacksonville in the first place is one heck of a mystery even though the team has shown signs of brilliance at times.

Detroit at New Orleans (-13)
Well, the Lions probably won’t go winless this year, but they won’t break their streak in the Big Easy. “Norlins” wins.

Dallas (-4) at Tampa Bay
How about them Cowboys? Well, this is the team in the NFL hot seat this year, but they’re definitely good enough to have a nice Florida vacation.

Washington at New York Giants (-6.5)
We might be acting like homers and do like the Skins, but we will give them the upset over the Giants. The Giants have lost the punch that took them to the top in 2007. The Skins…what a tough team to size up. We just wish Maryland’s other team had an owner who was more in touch with on-the-field reality.

St. Louis at Seattle (-8.5)
Could be Kyle Boller starting for St. Louis. Scary thought, eh? The Starbuckers will win this one for sure.

San Francisco at Arizona (-6.5)
While the 49er’s could be a team to watch this year, Arizona has too many weapons not to win convincingly.

Chicago at Green Bay (-3.5)
This is an important division rivalry for these NFC north rivals. One could argue either one of them or the Vikings could be the top dog in January. Likewise, the NFC Wild Card could come from these three teams. Green Bay should prevail at home.

Buffalo at New England (-11)
Brady’s back and all is well in New England. They’re not quite the light’s out team of a few years back, but they are part of the NFL’s most elite. Buffalo is banking on T.O. to behave himself. Poor old Ralph Wilson. He deserves a Super Bowl trophy, but to be in his 90’s with Terrell Owens as the team’s star is scary. New England will prevail for sure.

San Diego (-9.5) at Oakland
San Diego looks like the winners of the AFC West by default and Monday night’s game will help to show why as they beat up on the Raiders.

The Beatles' Albums: Overview

Please Please Me, March 22, 1963

The Beatles early style for their first three albums was defined on this album. It also consists of a variety of cover songs which helped show the diversity of their influences from Motown and girl groups to the more pure pop of the Brill Building and Bacharach-David. How many music fans realize “Twist and Shout” was first a hit for the Isley Brothers?

Featured songs:
I Saw Her Standing There
Please Please Me
Love Me Do
P.S. I Love You
Do You Want to Know a Secret
Twist and Shout

With the Beatles, November 22, 1963

Here’s the album which defines Beatlemania style. This is the Fab Four at their cutest make the girls scream and faint style but beneath that pop glossy surface were signs of the incredible talent that was about to explode.

Featured songs:
All My Loving
Don’t Bother Me
I Want to Be Your Man
Not a Second Time

Covers:
Till There Was You
Please Mister Postman
Roll Over Beethoven
You Really Got a Hold of Me
Money

A Hard Day’s Night, July 10, 1964

Noteworthy for being the first album of all songs written by the Beatles and supporting their first film effort, while A Hard Day’s Night stays close to their “mania” signature sound, their performance and arrangements become increasingly more complex and creative.

Featured songs;
A Hard Day’s Night
I Should Have Known Better
If I Fell
Can’t Buy Me Love
And I Love Her
I’ll Cry Instead
Can’t Buy Me Love

Beatles for Sale, December 4, 1964

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This album marks the first departure from Beatlemania into more sophisticated music. Starting to embrace influences like Bob Dylan, the instrumental arrangements are far more complex and themes more varied. While not acclaimed as one of their best albums, it surely helps point toward Rubber Soul and beyond.

Featured Songs:
I’m a Loser
I’ll Follow the Sun
Eight Days a Week
I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party

Covers:
Rock N Roll Music
Kansas City
Words of Love

Help! April 13, 1965
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Though the movie, Help!, was considered far less sophisticated than A Hard Day’s Night, the album was a breakthrough on several counts. The first seven songs are all from the movie. They constituted side one of the album. Lyrics grew much more sophisticated from the angst expressed in “Help!” to the romantic melancholy of “Yesterday,” the most widely covered song in pop music history. While the last seven cuts lack any kind of connection of continuity, the Beatles go from Buck Owens’ Bakersfield country with “Act Naturally” to skillful songs far deeper and musically accomplished like “It’s Only Love” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face.” Most of the fundamentals of their later work were in play now. They only needed more time to put them to work.

Featured Songs:
Help!
The Night Before
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Ticket to Ride
Yesterday
It’s Only Love
I’ve Just Seen a Face

Rubber Soul, December 3, 1965

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The Beatles truly came of age on this album. They are no longer a teenybopper hits band in any manner and are writing classic pop songs with provocative and introspective lyrics second to no tunesmith. The album features more acoustic guitar work and introduces George Harrison playing the Indian sitar for the first time. The British version of the album is far different than what was on the American LP. “It’s Only Love” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face” were already provided on Help! Four other tunes were released as singles or saved for an American compilation.

Featured Songs:
Norwegian Wood
Nowhere Man
Michelle
Girl
I’m Looking Through You
In My Life

Revolver, August 5, 1966

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The Beatles hit their creative peak with Revolver. “Eleanor Rigby” was accompanied by a classic string quartet. George Harrison’s “Love You To” featured a complete Indian ensemble with sitar and tabla. John Lennon explored psychedelic themes and music on several numbers most notably “Tomorrow Never Knows.” Paul McCartney’s ballads “Here There Everywhere” and “For No One” were written for far more mature relationships. The power of the studio became much more a creative extension of the band.

Featured Songs:
Taxman
Eleanor Rigby
I’m Only Sleeping
Here There Everywhere
Yellow Submarine
For No One
Got To Get You into My Life

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band, June 1, 1967

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Sgt. Pepper is the album widely seen as the Beatles’ ultimate creative statement but over time it perhaps doesn’t hold up to the ground explored by Revolver. Nevertheless, it was a powerful album for its time that might be more significant for its cultural impact than musical expertise. Paul McCartney sought to have the Beatles attempt to create a new image. Once even the most casual listener heard this album, he or she would never see the Beatles in the same light again.

Featured Songs:
A Little Help from My Friends
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
When I’m Sixty Four
Lovely Rita
A Day in the Life

Magical Mystery Tour, November 27, 1967

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Originally released as an EP in the UK with only the six songs for the television comedy of the same title, it was released as a complete album with singles from the Sgt. Pepper time period to fill it out to a complete album. It would be released as the full album world wide in November, 1976. Musically, the album was essentially a continuation of Sgt. Pepper.

Featured Songs:
Fool on the Hill
I Am the Walrus
Hello Goodbye
Penny Lane
Strawberry Fields Forever
All You Need Is Love

The Beatles “The White Album,” November 22, 1968

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The “White” album was a sprawling two record set which unbeknown to fans at the time showed the band members heading in their separate directions. In essence, the songs were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison songs with other band members functioning as little more than studio musicians. In fact one of the most dramatic instrumental performances on the album, though never officially credited, was not by a member of the Beatles at all. It was Eric Clapton on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” The music covers much ground from hard rock to reflective ballads to comedy to just plain weirdness. Despite its nature, there are plenty of most enjoyable songs and one that introduces Ringo as a songwriter.

Featured Songs:
Back in the USSR
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Happiness is a Warm Gun
Blackbird
Rocky Raccoon
Birthday
Yer Blues
Helter Skelter

Yellow Submarine, January 17, 1969
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Yellow Submarine features six songs by the Beatles, two previously released and the orchestral soundtrack music scored by George Martin for the animated film. The songs are likeable but of little consequence.

Featured Songs:
Yellow Submarine
Hey Bulldog
It’s All Too Much
All You Need Is Love

Abbey Road, September 26, 1969

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The Beatles final effort was named after the studio which had been their workshop for the vast majority of their material since their first album over six years previously. It’s a slickly produced, highly professional effort utilizing far improved recording technology than they had used over most of their career. George Harrison further stands up as a songwriter on par with Lennon and McCartney with their first hit, a Harrison composition, “Something” and also the highly popular, “Here Comes the Sun.” While John and Paul were going in very different directions on the “White” album somehow those differences mesh together more harmoniously on this album.

Featured Songs:
Come Together
Something
Octopus’s Garden
Here Comes the Sun
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

Let it Be, May 8, 1970

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A Beatles album that was never consciously put together as an album, Let it Be was recorded in early 1969 prior to Abbey Road as part of a poorly conceived project with movie cameras running to capture the band at work rehearsing, recording, and finally performing a short live concert atop their Apple Studios rooftop in London. Lots of material was recorded, and one attempt to compile it as an album by engineer Glyn Johns was rejected. “Get Back,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” and “Let it Be” produced by George Martin were released as singles. Bombastic legendary American producer, Phil Spector, was brought in largely at John’s and George’s urging to rescue an album from the sessions. The end result was quite a mixed bag with some songs sounding live and fresh while others got the Spector treatment including a dreadful remix of “Let it Be” with a raucous guitar solo overdubbed over the original. “Long and Winding Road” infuriated McCartney with its heavy orchestration and female choir. The album became a most peculiar swan song when truly Abbey Road provides the perfect punctuation to the band’s amazing run.

Featured songs:
Two of Us
Across the Universe
Let it Be
One After 909
Long and Winding Road
Get Back

Several compilations were issued to capture hits not appearing on original albums, the best of which was the two double album sets, The Beatles 1962-1966 and The Beatles 1967-1970; however, rather than re-issuing these which left out some singles and B sides, when the Beatles catalog was prepared for CD in 1988, two CD’s Past Masters Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 were released to provide all remaining songs not released.

Past Masters, Vol. 1 & 2, March 7, 1988

If it's not on one of the albums above and was released by EMI as a regular Beatles release, singles, EP's, some were released on American albums, they're on these compilations.

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Featured Songs:

Vol. 1

From Me to You

She Love's You

I Want to Hold Your Hand

I Feel Fine

She's a Woman

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Vol. 2

Day Tripper

We Can Work It Out

Paperback Writer

Rain

Lady Madonna

Hey Jude

Revolution

Don't Let Me Down

Health Reform: Another View

We are big fans of Diane Auer Jones, currently President/CEO of the Washington Campus but also as a person who has worked tirelessly in Washington behind the scenes in a wide variety of capacities in the past decade on science, academic, and educational policy matters, among her posts, policy advisor for the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and Assistant Secretary of Education for Post Secondary. Ms. Jones also was a small business owner and biology professor. While enjoying tremendous conservative support and having intricate knowledge of policy matters, she is refreshingly apolitical when it comes to the Washington scene.

Ms. Jones currently blogs for the Chronicle of Higher Education. In the following article, she weighs in on the health care debate adding a very reasonable voice which is neither conservative nor liberal prescribing the proper mindset for how this issue should be deliberated.

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Navigating-Health-Care-Reform/7945/

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The Beatles: Get Ready for the Big Beatles Blitz!!!

Classic shot from 1st Capitol single, "I Want to Hold Your Hand."

Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, John Lennon

Look out world, here come the Beatles again! It’s been forty years since Abbey Road, the last album they recorded was released, but with the release of their entire catalog as part of a comprehensive remastering program and the introduction of The Beatles: Rock Band, a video game capitalizing on the Guitar Hero craze, the Beatles frenzy will almost certainly hit its highest degree of intensity since the word of the band’s demise shocked the world as Paul McCartney released his first solo album and their final album compiled from the massive Get Back project, Let it Be, hit the stores.

Yes, there have been Beatle blitzes before. Before the digital age, Capitol records attempted to create some excitement through a series of compilations of the Fab Four’s work, then in the spring of 1987, the Beatles catalog was released, a couple albums at a time on compact disc. For first generation CD’s, EMI records did a respectable job. Surely, they should be applauded for releasing the original British albums for the entire world. Each album was the same song selection and titles as they were introduced with Past Masters, on two volumes, the catch all for singles and other songs never on an official album. Many found it puzzling that their first four albums were released in mono even though Hard Day’s Night and Beatles for Sale were recorded in full stereo not the format with instruments on one side and vocals on the other as their first two albums and Rubber Soul were originally presented.

1995 brought us another Beatles revival with the Anthology project consisting of three two CD sets of outtakes and alternate versions which realistically are for only the most dedicated fans. ABC also broadcast a marvelous series of Anthology television specials which then would be released as a boxed VHS and DVD set with far more material. A hug table top book was also part of this blitz.

As such, each decade provides its own reintroduction of the Beatles to another generation, and regardless of how one looks back at their material, they never fail to please.

We have our own insights on the Beatles, their music, their contributions to pop music, and to Cultural Revolution of the 1960’s. We’ll have several commentaries on the Beatles in the days ahead both examining their albums and adding some context about their release.

Yes, we will ruffle the feathers of some Beatles’ fans on some issues, but this writer was ten years old in fifth grade when the Beatlemania went wild in early 1964. He also became an instant fan of the Rolling Stones and Beach Boys, other British acts, Motown, soul, Bob Dylan, and the whole folk rock scene within the next year or so leading to a life long love of music and an insane gigantic music collection. We lived the Beatles from 1964 forward. No musical talent or other entertainers short of one’s home town sports team winning a championship could ever equal the excitement of what the Beatles created at their prime with the release of each hit single and album.

Let’s revisit their wonderful music and enjoy. For those never captured by the Fab Four, the trap is set!!! For the joy and happiness the Beatles put in our heart during the darkest hours of Vietnam, maybe a little bit of that tonic would be perfect for a world that's feeling rather down and out these days.

Pittsburgh Pirates: 17 Years of Losing

Remember when poisons used to have a skull and cross bones on the label?

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Maybe sports fans can take a hint from the Pittsburgh Pirates logo. The Pittsburgh Pirates just set a record never matched in the major team sports, MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL by losing seventeen seasons in a row. How bitter could this irony be than when highlights were shown of ESPN's 30th anniversary and thirty years ago the Pirates were World Champs to the tune of "We Are Family" led by Willie Stargell. The Pirates last winning season was with a young, slim up and coming superstar, Barry Bonds, before he became the hefty hulk from steroids. There was no Internet for wide use. Few carried cell phones. Who on earth would know ".com."

The Pirates pleaded their case as a small market team that could not compete. True, such towns are at a disadvantage, but Oakland, Minnesota, Tampa, Florida and others have all made the post season. In fact, the worst supported team in baseball that has cleaned its cupboard bare on several occasions, the Florida Marlins have two World Titles.

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The sad truth is winning means nothing to the current owners of the Pirates nor did it mean anything to the McClatchy regime previously. The once proud franchise has been treated as nothing more than an investment. Speaking of investments, how much did the public support the construction of PNC Park?

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The ghosts of Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Stargell would haunt these greedy ogres to death if they had any soul of a sports fan in them.

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Look, it's very hard as a Baltimore Orioles fan to be putting the finger on the Pirates. We've set the mark for our 13th winless season just one loss away from a losing season. However, the Orioles have been more a matter of mismanagement especially during the Syd Thrift era before Andy McPhail arrived on the scene who surely has made it look like there will be winning seasons in the near future.

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Still, the purpose of sports is winning. The purpose of an automobile manufacturer is to build quality cars. There is no excuse, none, for the conduct of the Pirates owners.They are not unique; they're just the worst. Whether through greed or total incompetence, there are plenty of organizations in sports that have no clue what it takes to win. Look at the Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Clippers, and all those "start and park" NASCAR teams. Too bad in these sports there's not something like what happens in PGA tournaments where competitors must hit a certain mark to make the cut or go home.

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In Pittsburgh nothing was more certain on openning day that what they just accomplished would happen. As the season progressed, they unloaded every regular player with significant talent. Look at the outfield the Pirates put on the field to start the 2008 season. Where are they now? How many of those fellows wouldn't look great on most teams?

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Pittsburgh is one of the most passionate sports towns in America. Yeah, Ravens fans hate 'em, because we have so much in common. Who could ask for a more beautiful setting than PNC Park right on the river where splash homers can be clobbered? Put a good product on the field and PNC Park could be rocking with 30,000 fans a night. There are plenty of small towns who'd flock to their local pubs or huddle around their TV's watching Pirates baseball if their team resembled the 1979 "family."

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We note this embarassing record with disgust and dismay. All sports fans should be angry that a city like Pittsburgh should be robbed by such greedy bastards. We demand hustle and effort from our teams and if that's obvious, the true fan will be there through the good and the bad, but no bad spell can last seventeen years without some horrible motivation.

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Perhaps if the Orioles grow as they should and being close to Pittsburgh where our territories overlap in south central PA, West Virginia and western Maryland, it will help create a buzz to drive those bastards out of town and get local owners who commit to good baseball in Steel City.

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Right now, on this September eve as the 2009 baseball season winds down, we can almost guarantee the Pirates record of failure will hit at least twenty years, probably more unless the team folds.

ESPN: What's Happened in 30 Years

Here’s some things to think about that have happened since the first Sports Center broadcast on ESPN

In 1979…
Jimmy Carter was President.

No Space Shuttle had been launched into outer space.

Iran held hostages at the US embassy in Tehran.

19” was a big television. 25” for a console.

The personal computer was little more than a dream.

There was no Internet as we know it.

In 1979, the Rolling Stones were considered old – their latest album from 1978: “Some Girls.”

In 2009, the Rolling Stones are still considered old – they do plan future albums and tours.

In 1979, we listened to our music on records and cassettes. There were no compact discs yet. Disco was very popular music with punk rock and new wave bubbling under the surface.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes….

In the NFL, the Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, and Houston Texans did not exist. The Colts played in Baltimore. The Rams played in Los Angeles. The Oilers, now the Tennessee Titans played in Houston. The Raiders hadn’t moved to Los Angeles then back to Oakland. The Cleveland Browns hadn’t moved to Baltimore to become the Ravens and be born anew. The Cardinals played in St. Louis. All the teams in today’s AFC South either did not exist or played elsewhere.

The following cities have new football stadiums: Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, New England, Miami, Indianapolis (two), Tennessee (Nashville), Houston, Jacksonville, Denver, Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, Carolina (Charlotte), Tampa Bay, Atlanta, St. Louis, Arizona (Phoenix), Seattle.

Los Angeles has not an NFL team since 1994. 1979 was the era of the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty with Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann, and the Steel Curtain defense.

In Major League Baseball, the Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays, and Arizona Diamondbacks did not exist. The Expos still played in Montreal before moving to Washington, DC to become the Nationals.

There only six baseball stadiums still in use from 1979. They are Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, Kaufman Stadium, Oakland Alameda Coliseum (considerable renovation for NFL), Anaheim Stadium significantly renovated for football then redesigned as baseball only park after Rams left to St. Louis, and Dodgers Stadium. It’s hard to believe that Orioles Park at Camden Yards is technically among the older parks in the game!

Among the top players in the game: Reggie Jackson, Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, and Steve Carlton

NASCAR was just becoming a household word outside of the southeast and select gear head territories. In 1979, Dale Earnhardt was rookie of the year. Richard Petty won his 7th championship. Cars had not been downsized and truly looked like and shared metal with their showroom equivalents. General Motors fielded Chevrolet Monte Carlos and Oldsmobile Cutlass’s while Ford raced Thunderbirds and Mercury Cougars.

Happy Birthday - ESPN

30 years....it's hard to believe ESPN has been around for so many all their lives!!!


Thirty years ago today marked a historical beginning but what did folks think of it on the time?

From a tiny studio in Bristol, Connecticut ESPN signed on with its first Sports Center broadcast beginning the first 24 hour cable TV network dedicated exclusively to sports. On September 7, 1979, however, how many households much less sports fans had cable television? Sure in remote cities “pay” television had been available for a long time given only medium and large cities are likely served by all the major networks, but as the 1980’s were on the horizon, at that was about to change.

In its early days, ESPN was a rather quirky experiment. Sure Sports Center brought viewers national sports highlights several times daily with far more detail than fans typically got from the sports segments from their local news. In its early days, ESPN broadcast such things as pro wrestling, Australian Rules football, and boxing, but quickly they found a niche from which they could build a substantial audience picking up on college football and basketball not carried by major networks.

In 1980, ESPN began broadcasting the NCAA Men’s Basketball providing substantial coverage through the season then filling out the Tournament giving full coverage highlighting games from all elimination rounds giving fans access to the event as never covered before. The tournament’s success grew tremendously during ESPN’s reign which included Michael Jordan’s victory shot to give University of North Carolina the championship over Georgetown in 1982. The following year provided one of the tournament’s ultimate Cinderella stories, NC State’s run to the Championship under Coach Jim Valvano. While the finals were shown on CBS, the lead up helped create a following the sport had never seen. ESPN’s success would be its undoing as the tournament became so popular, CBS assumed full broadcasting rights in 1991 for the entire tournament, an arrangement in maintains today.

In its first year, ESPN would be drawn to quite a Pittsburgh affair with the Pittsburgh Pirates who are on the verge of setting the mark for seventeen consecutive losing seasons beat the Baltimore Orioles, now losers of thirteen consecutive seasons, in the 1979 World Series. The Steelers would win the first Super Bowl during ESPN’s reign.

1981 saw ESPN’s first NASCAR broadcast from North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. EPSN would contract with individual tracks for broadcasting rights showing the majority of races with some on TBS, TNN, and over air networks until 2001 when again their success lead to the sport being so big others would jump in with the national contract putting NASCAR on FOX, NBC/TBS. Since 2007, though Sprint Cup racing is on ESPN and ABC from the Brickyard forward and ESPN, mostly ESPN2 carries the Nationwide series for the entire season.

After the famous CBS broadcast of the 1979 Daytona 500, the sports world was ripe for NASCAR coverage and ESPN was instrumental in feeding that hunger. They covered the building rivalry between Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip who dominated the 1980’s. They saw Bill Elliot win his championship, set the speed record at Talladega, and win the Winston million. ESPN covered the meteoric rise and fall of Tim Richmond all in the first decade which concluded with Rusty Wallace winning his loan championship.

As ESPN grew, soon there was no room for quirky sports like Australian Rules football, but it was fun while it lasted. ESPN also showed society was overcoming many limitations of the past as female anchors joined the team from Gayle Gardner in its early years, then Robin Roberts and Linda Cohn just to name a few. Sports Center anchors and other ESPN personalities became as well known as sports commentators with the traditional networks. Chris Berman (ugh!) and Bob Ley have been with the network since its beginning.

In 1983 an upstart football league, the USFL which had spent big bucks on big talent became another one of ESPN’s big draws feeding fans’ year round appetite for football. In hindsight the USFL did a better job of promoting ESPN than ESPN did helping the USFL become a legitimate sport, but bigger fortune was on the horizon as in 1987, ESPN began its Sunday night football coverage shared with TNT during some of the early years but expanding the extent to which the nation watched select games.

Jon Miller and Joe Morgan were teamed together as a broadcast team in 1989 marking ESPN’s start broadcasting Sunday night baseball. EPSN would maintain a schedule of weeknight telecasts which continue to the present.

ESPN had a brief run with the NBA in the early 80’s before their current engagement and covered the NHL at times as well.

The 1990’s saw ESPN’s popularity explode as cable television had spread to become almost a household necessity. In 1992, they launched ESPN radio which would start grabbing up events held by the traditional networks eventually providing 24 hour a day sports programming to local stations. ESPN2 was born in 1983 originally attempting to target a younger hip audience with such programming as the beginning of extreme sports, largely an ESPN creation. ESPN Classic became a sports oldies station – some games just being days old. ESPN provides instant sports highlights and news 24 x 7. Soon ESPN was worldwide.

ESPN.COM began operation in 1995 quickly becoming one of the web’s most popular sites with scores, team rosters and information, player biographies, and commentary.

By 2000, ESPN was truly a cultural institution.

It’s hard to imagine how any sports fan can avoid a steady diet of ESPN thirty years after its beginning. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, ESPN personalities like Dick Vitale, Chris Berman, Stuart Scott, and many others while stirring up pro and con passion have added their share of catch phrases to the sports vocabulary.

As popular as sports programming is, it’s remarkable to note that ESPN remains the only long lasting nationwide sports network with both ESPN and ESPN2 providing full coverage of live events and original shows. Turner attempted to launch CNN-SI, essentially the same concept as ESPN News. It was short lived. Now Comcast is attempting to make the former Outdoor Life Network (OLN) network into a legitimate sports network branded as VERSUS which carries the NHL, IRL motorsports, some college events, and even the Davis Cup tennis which helped launch ESPN. VERSUS also got on the map with extensive Tour de France coverage. Ironically, they moved their headquarters from Comcast Corporate in Philadelphia to Stanford, Connecticut not far from ESPN’s domain in Bristol. As VERSUS attempted to go primetime, they could not seize ESPN’s Major League Baseball.

Love ‘em, hate ‘em, or a little bit of both, sports fans are drawn to ESPN every week. ESPN served as one of the networks that originally helped make cable television such a desirable commodity along in the early 80’s. We admit we love them, but GADS CHRIS BERMAN, we’ve been sick of him since around 1990!!!

NFL: Another Star Player Arrested for Beating Up Female Companion

Real men don't hit girls.

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Former Maryland Terp, San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested for choking and restraining his girlfriend, reality TV personality, Tila Tequila as she attempted to leave his home in Poway, California, a San Diego suburb. Her statement indicated Merriman had choked her and thrown her to the ground.

A/P report from NFL.COM: http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8126bbe6&template=without-video&confirm=true

Okay, Merriman is due his day in court, mandatory disclaimer, but this adds to the tarnished reputation of a player who looked to be one of the rising defensive stars in the league. He was suspended four games in 2006 for testing positive for nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. Merriman’s claim was he must have ingested a tainted nutritional supplement.

The issue of pro athletes, all too often football players, being involved in abuse and battery episodes with their female companions, wives and girlfriends, is most disturbing. In an artificial world where the stars seem to have plentiful quantities of whatever they want creates a mindset where women become little more than a commodity, just another disposable plaything and given the number of groupies and hangers on who stake out the hotels where players stay and the clubs they attend, there’s no shortage of women willing to throw themselves at the feet of these modern gladiators.

These associations can, of course, be hazardous to players as well viewing the tragic death of Steve McNair, murdered by a crazed mistress; however, let’s not let that issue detract from the shameful, inexcusable behavior of athletes, physically powerful men beating women and all the breakdown in discipline and values that represents.

Brandon Marshall’s misbehavior became big news when he completely went nuts on his teammates refusing to engage in a recent team practice resulting in his suspension from the Denver Broncos. While he recently beat the rap on a girl beating charge, earlier episodes stand. In 2008, the Ravens suspended Fabian Washington for an incident. While O.J. Simpson and Ray Carruth are the most extreme examples, all these episodes reflect a mindset, a psychology of a predatory sadistic state-of-mind civilized society cannot tolerate or excuse.

Team front office personnel and coaching staffs are challenged to find the best players available to produce winners on the field, but CHARACTER DOES MATTER. We believe a team should never knowingly sign a player who engaged in behavior a father would have trouble explaining to his children should they question what they’ve seen in the media.

We applaud Commissioner Roger Goodell’s guidelines and strict penalties for inappropriate and illegal behavior by NFL players. Given in 2006, the Cincinnati Bengals had over a dozen players facing charges with other episodes popping up around the league, the ever public relations conscious league knew it faced a situation demanding strong action. Rather than waffling and making a lot of chest pounding statements, Goodell went right to work addressing each episode with a firm hand.

Still, as much as Goodell and the NFL brass attempt to deal with the situation after terrible things have happened, we are challenged to develop a culture where such wicked behavior would not be contemplated in the first place.

Van Jones

NO EXCUSES, PERIOD, SHAMEFUL REFLECTION ON OBAMA

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The sickly bias or "slobbering love affair" as Bernie Goldberg calls it between the mainstream elite media and Barack Obama has never been clearer than their lack of coverage of Van Jones, a convicted criminal, a self-professed communist, vicious race baitor, and committed radical who served as the Obama administration's "Green Jobs Czar." Remember, the stimulus package was supposed to create thousands of "green jobs." While the notion of "green jobs" in itself is not a bad thing, considering the administration's ideology combined with a detestable figure like Jones being in the driver's seat is very disturbing.

Over the past couple weeks, the alternative media: Internet sources, blogs, Fox news, and talk radio have provided example after example, many simply You Tube video recordings of Jones' speeches, of intense hatred, extreme radicalism, contempt for the free enterprise system, and radical ideology. Further, Van Jones is yet another signature on a 9/11 "Truth" petition supporting the contention that the Bush administration had advanced knowledge or was complicit in the 9/11 attacks by radical Islam.

Anyone can simply enter Van Jones in for a Google search and VIOLA!!!

What every American needs to consider is how and why would the Obama administration appoint someone so vile to such a high profile or any post. If somehow they thought he was a qualified fellow and were unaware of his baggage how shoddy can their hiring procedures and background checks be? It is an almost impossible stretch to believe they could be that horrendous. More likely, they had some strong motives for wanting this fellow on their team. We hate to think what those motives are.

This should be front page news, but has received almost no press whatsoever among the top news papers and network nightly news. These same news sources do cover his resignation with headlines like the Washington Post noting, "Resignation Reveals Vetting Lapses."

Further adding insult was the way Jones resigned taking parting shots all the way on a holiday weekend when nobody would be watching. This fellow is one angry, committed radical whose rhetoric is more consistent with the Black Panthers than Franklin Roosevelt or Martin Luther King.

Given his spoken words are every bit as inflammatory as Jeremiah Wright's, this must be a wake up call that there is no denying, no hiding, no sugar coating that the President of the United States is a committed and dangerous radical who we must do everything to prevent from having his influence spread any further or for his radical agenda to succeed.

It Hurts

Did any realistic Orioles fan think this day wasn't coming as far back as opening day? The Orioles would hit their 81st loss assuring another year without a winning record. Tonight's lineup was shaken and stirred dropping Brian Roberts from leadoff to 3rd for a little RBI pop, but the results were familiar, a 5-1 loss to the much improved Texas Rangers.

On September 5, 2009, the Orioles hit the point of no return. In contrast, last year the Orioles waited until September 13th.

This was the season fans were supposed to see an upsurge going down the stretch?

It hurts.

Ernie Harwell: WE LOVE YOU!!!

We were heartbroken to see the news that Hall-of-Fame broadcaster, Ernie Harwell, 91, suffers from inoperable cancer. Harwell was the voice of the Detroit Tigers for most of 32 years from 1960-2002 always noted for his friendly laid-back delivery, knowledge of the game, and loads of stock expressions. Living on the east coast, baseball fans cruising the dial could often pick up Tigers’ broadcast on open channel WJR-AM, but he was also frequently called upon to call post season games to a national audience.

Chesapeake area fans have a special affection for Harwell since he was the voice of the Baltimore Orioles from the team’s beginning in 1954 to 1959 with Chuck Thompson, the legendary Orioles voice and Hall-of-Fame partner, working with him for part of that time before a short gig with Washington before becoming the Orioles lead announcer until Jon Miller’s arrival.

Ernie Harwell hails from Washington, Georgia and would begin his as career a play-by-play announcer working for the Atlanta Crackers, a minor league team in the Southern League where he had been a bat boy since being a young child. His service impressed Brooklyn Dodgers owner Branch Rickey, who traded catcher, Cliff Draper, for the broadcast contract for the young Harwell in 1948. For trivia freaks, Harwell is the only broadcaster ever involved in a trade!!!

Harwell was broadcasting for the Dodgers in the famous 1951 sudden death playoff game between the Dodgers and Giants for the National League Pennant. The game known for Bobby Thompson’s homerun, the shot heard ‘round the world, with the Giants’ announcer frantically screaming, “The Giants won the Pennant!!! The Giants won the Pennant. The Giants won the Pennant!!!” Harwell was broadcasting for the Dodgers, the victim of the famous homerun so his call is far less significant being on the losing side.

While his other accomplishments add spice to an illustrious biography, it’s his work for the Detroit “Ti-guh’s” for which he will always be most remembered.

Let us celebrate Harwell’s remaining days. Few of the legendary great broadcasters of the Great Generation are still with us. Harwell is part of the unique fraternity that includes Vin Scully, still alive and well calling a limited schedule for the Dodgers, but many more who are just a memory now: Red Barber, Mel Allen, Chuck Thompson, Harry Kalas, Jack Brickhouse, Harry Caray, Curt Gowdy, Herb Carneal, Jack Buck, Russ Hodges, and Bob Prince just to name a few. Before cable television when radio was the main source for baseball, we all learned the game through our hometown storytellers and none did it better than the humble Georgia Gentleman, Ernie Harwell.

Sprint Cup 2009, Race 25: Hot 'Lanta Sunday Night Style

Labor Day weekend, NASCAR Cup racing fires up in Dixie, and that’s a good thing, at least for now. Given the experiment of replacing the traditional Southern 500 in Darlington with a second date at Fontana California turned out to be a total failure, it might seem like a step in the right direction to see the race in Hot ‘Lanta, but Atlanta has its own set of problems which could make this a limited time deal.

Consider this, Bruton Smith is red hot for a date at Kentucky Motor Speedway, southwest of Cincinnati opening up a territory loaded with race fans. Atlanta has had attendance problems for years. One rumor has it that Smith would give his Infineon date to Kentucky, move the Infineon race to Atlanta’s March date, and eliminate that race in Atlanta. If one of Smith’s racetracks is likely to be cut a date in favor of Kentucky, Atlanta is the most obvious target. Surely, his other tracks with two dates would not be likely moves: Charlotte, Texas, Bristol, and New Hampshire.

The first night race at Atlanta is one loaded with consequences as it’s the next to last race before the Chase field is set. Kyle Busch stands 34 points behind Matt Kenseth in 13th place one spot below the cutoff while Brian Vickers is just five points behind Busch. It wouldn’t take much in just the normal conduct of a race for these positions to flip around, but add to that, in 11th, Kasey Kahne is only 18 points ahead of Kenseth, while Mark Martin, despite his courageous 2nd place finish at Bristol holds down tenth eight points ahead of Kahne. If that’s not enough, Juan Montoya, Greg Biffle, and Ryan Newman are all a bad finish away from disaster with Newman, the best of that trio only 14 points ahead of Martin or put another way, Newman is 84 points ahead of Busch. Eight drivers are fighting for six spots with Clint Bowyer a long shot to get in.

To make things more interesting, though Kyle Busch is outside looking in, were he to get in the chase, he’d go to the top of standings with being tied with Mark Martin with four wins assuming he doesn’t win Atlanta or Richmond. Essentially, it’s feast of famine for the #18 team just as it would be a dreadful disappointment to Mark Martin fans should he somehow fall out of the top 12. While all this plays out, it looks like the battle for the championship is most likely a duel between Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart.

Bobby Labonte, as reported earlier in the week, will be missing from the field, not even eligible to use his past champion’s provisional given he’s squeezed out of his ride with Yates/All Star. Can anyone argue Yates is still a top flight Sprint Cup garage? They’re just a cut above the park and ride brigade and have had next to nothing to show other than a couple bold qualifiers since the Dale Jarrett/Elliot Sadler combo broke up. Labonte did wind up getting a break from Kevin Buckler’s TRG racing who will employ Labonte for his seven races where Ask.com sponsorship is off the 96 car. With this playing out, it looks all the worse for the instability of the Yates operation.

So now David Gilliland is the guy on the rocks, another casualty of the mess at Yates not being renewed for 2009. He’ll be racing with the Wood Brothers filling in for Bill Elliot in their part-time effort for the legendary (a term we are obliged to use in any reference to the Wood Brothers) #21 car. He apparently will race three events as a 4th entry for Joe Gibbs and another as a 2nd ride for Robby Gordon.

Folks they don’t call this the “silly season” for nothing, but now the game of checkers is playing out in real time on the track.

Last off season was rough due to the tough economy and auto industry difficulties seeing teams evaporate and difficult mergers such as DEI/Ganassi and Richard Petty/Gillette-Evernham. We’ve seen teams vanish during the year including famous numbers like #8 and #28. Now’s the time teams start shaping up things for the following season. Where might there be more cutbacks? Corporate America will be under increasing pressure to justify sponsorship dollars. Fans find the cost of a weekend at the track out of reach. We see it in the “park and ride” entries too, teams with no intent on competing who run just a few laps and cash it in. Would NASCAR be better off with a smaller, but more competitive field?

Let’s leave the bigger questions for conversation later on. Right now, after a rare late season week off, the competition is ready to fire up and race in Hampton, Georgia. The Atlanta track provides fast, lively racing though can often come down to fuel mileage. With the final Chase selection getting near, what better than eight reasons, the eight teams fighting for the final spots in the field, to watch Sunday night’s race.

Glenn Beck: Who Needs Him?

Finger pointing is one skill Glenn Beck has mastered.


Glenn Beck: Bad for Conservatism

Glenn Beck shouts, rants, raves, calls names, and breaks down crying every weekday afternoon on Fox News. He’s held that time slot since January 19th.

While Mr. Beck can be most perceptive at times, his extreme emotionalism, obsession with some issues, vicious overstatement, and tendency to see the world in apocalyptic terms destroy his credibility on REAL issues. His outlandish emotional outbursts show at very least a lack of maturity and possibly much more.

How can anyone take him seriously on REAL environmental issues when he goes crazy over false issues and then makes sweeping insults about environmentalists in general as among other things being pot smokers? The REAL issue involves the government cutting off water to a valuable stretch of California’s best farm land to preserve some dinky little minnow type fish species. This is a subject that people should know about and debate. He then launched into a rant even dragging out Joni Mitchell’s song “Big Yellow Taxi” for its line, “Hey Mister Farmer put away the DDT now…” then launched into a tirade about how much good DDT used to provide and spoke of studies that as far as he was concerned no human had ever died from DDT exposure. Okay, fine, maybe DDT did help eradicate malaria for instance, but were there not alternatives that were safer pesticides? The answer is yes. Further, in Beck’s eyes, is something only an environmental issue if it kills humans? If so, the man is a total fool. For those of us who grew up along the Atlantic coast, we know that in the 1960’s the pelican population had been all but eliminated. Now they thrive along coastal Maryland and the Carolinas where they were once a very rare sighting.

You’d have to be pretty stupid to suggest environmentalism is a bad thing. Yes, we do question the radical fringe of the movement, those who try to create global warming hysteria, or attempt to integrate attempts to preserve the environment with far left wing politics. It should be every society’s goal for mankind to leave as small a footprint on the environment as possible but all environmental considerations need to be thought through in careful risk/rewards analysis that accounts for both short and long term results and at what economic and social costs.

Beck is obsessed with tracing modern liberal and radical politics to the progressive movement that exploded at the dawn of the 20th century. While surely that is true in many ways, it’s not as if there was some master conspiracy launched by leaders like Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson crossed the Atlantic to create Mussolini’s Fascist state and the Nazis, created the philosophy behind FDR’s “New Deal” and is the secular faith of both Republicans and Democrats alike today.

Yes, there were many “progressive” ideals that grew in the early 20th century, some beneficial, some bad, and some that have long been dismissed as ridiculous. However, in Beck’s world, the Progressive movement is presented as this monolithic threat as if all today’s leaders from Barack Obama to George W. Bush secretly study their progressive playbook to determine how to corrupt society. This is all part of his bizarre apocalyptic vision which becomes a paranoiac delusion to where even John D. Rockefeller’s artistic flourishes in his New York architecture are secretly coded with socialist messages. Talk about overstatement and grasping at straws.

For every factual assertion Beck is able to present, one must first endure long rants and raves about how important his findings are and how overwhelming and terrifying the consequences are, then once his true tidbits are made clear comes the name calling and overstatement sometimes leaping way out-of-bounds such as on the DDT issue that his whole presentation becomes pointless.

The problem for serious conservatives is how the Democrats, media, and left-wing bloggers seize upon Beck’s insanity and through similar approaches to those which Beck himself employs attempts to portray him as a true spokesman for all conservatives when as time passes and we get to know him better, he is coming across much more like a nutcase like Michael Savage and not like more mainstream figures like Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.

Finally, a common assertion is how Beck lumps the Democrats and Republicans together asserting there is little difference between the two. Perhaps if one is standing as far from the reality of the American political scene as Glenn Beck such an assertion holds true for him. While the Republicans deserve substantial criticism particularly how quickly they became entrenched big spenders looking out for special interests who they rewarded with rich earmarks and how in its final months, the Bush administration went too far too the left in supporting some economic relief measures, they are far better alternatives for the United States than the Democrats.

First, can anyone imagine a Republican attempting to seize private health care for the government? There is no question the Republican Party is strong on supporting anti-terrorist activities, effective intelligence, and strong defense. The notion of “an overseas contingency plan” or “man caused disaster” would be unthinkable in GOP circles. While excessive spending hard part to do with the deficit Bush ran up, look at where the Democrats have spent money in the name of “bailout.” Examine the programs funded, how ridiculous many of them are, and think would this ever happen on the Republicans’ watch.

To lump Democrats and Republicans together as pawns to a secret doctrine of Progressive values which Beck applies from various sources as they are convenient contrivances to support his notions is absolutely out of touch with the hard realities our nation faces right now.

For a fellow who promotes “common sense” what’s most obvious about Glenn Beck’s world is how lacking “common sense” is as a vital commodity.

He’s far more useful as a whipping post and signature stooge for the left to exploit than he is as a source to stimulate productive pragmatic and realistic solutions to the hegemony of the elitist left.
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NCAA '09 Football: Week 1

College football 2009 starts tonight with a full state of games and by Sunday night there will be folks already crying their season’s ruined and in truth one loss can cost a team a chance at BCS Bowl so it might be a little more justified than some would think.

First, our disclaimer, we profess no expertise on college pigskins. We’re only in it for the fun. Second, there are some network big shots who are going to be every bit as off target as this humble amateur presentation. So strike up the band, smile for the cheerleaders, and let the games begin.

We’ve picked seven games this week. Here are our picks and a little commentary.

Oregon State (#16) at Boise State (#14) [-3]
Do not adjust your set, this is for real. Bronco stadium really does have blue artificial turf and it’s very annoying when watching a game. The game will be televised nationally on EPSN tonight. We’ll go with the dominant mascot theory and consider Broncos stronger than Ducks, but the home field advantage should prevail enough to give Boise the slight edge.

Towson at Northwestern
Hooray for the local alma matter, Towson, playing a big conference, the Big 10, but a team not figured to go anywhere. No point spread is posted for this game. We’ll go with the Towson Tigers because we love ‘em.

Georgia (#13) at Oklahoma State (#9) [-5 ½]
This is a hot one matching the SEC against the Big 12. Oklahoma State got lost in the shuffle with Oklahoma and Texas last year and should prevail over a good band of Bulldogs.

Brigham Young (#20) at Oklahoma (#30) [-22 ½]
Oklahoma will win this game with ease seen as a possible contender for the National Championship, but they’re not three touchdowns plus better than a decent Brigham Young.

Virginia Tech (#7) at Alabama (#5) [-6]
Virginia Tech is the ACC’s best hope for a BCS bid this year and Frank Beamer is one heck of a resourceful coach up against the dominant defense of ‘Bama. We’ll give the Hokies the upset win.

Maryland at California (#12) [-21]
This is the kind of game that Maryland usually falls down on playing but occasionally looks brilliant. While they should beat the three touchdown spread, California wins this.

Miami FL at Florida State (#18) [-6]
This is the game conference brass were dreaming of when the ACC raided the Big East expanding to 12 teams with Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. Since moving to the ACC, Miami has lost its Mojo and Bobby Bouton’s boys have been far from dominant as well. It used to be Florida State and everyone else in the ACC. Not any more. While both programs try to establish their dominant ways, Florida State is clearly better than Miami and will win by a touchdown at least.

Obama "Lesson Plan" Stirs Outrage

We reported earlier that President Obama intends to address every possible student this coming Tuesday, September 9th and that the White House has provided a worksheet of suggested activities, assignments, and questions for discussion to guide teachers on what should be covered as follow-up to his address.

Consider these suggested questions for 7-12 students: Why does President Obama want to speak with us today? How will he inspire us? How will he challenge us?"

Implicit in this line of questioning is that students should find Barack Obama inspiring and challenging and if the questions are presented in this manner it is also a clear student should find his presentation inspiring and challenging. In this context, this is a not so subtle attempt to indoctrinate students to buy into whatever Obama presents. For students in the early years of this range, this is the time in life young people start to truly understand the political process and begin to develop legitimate informed political opinions. Young teens are also quite impressionable and subject to peer influences. How is the student who has developed doubts about the President or comes from a family background with conservative parents filter this? For students closer to graduation, some will be old enough to vote before they graduate. Some might not just find Obama uninspiring and do not welcome his attempts to challenge them, but they might already be politically involved working for political outcomes completely different from the President's ideology.

How about tasks like, "Explain why you agree or disagree with the main points President Obama made in his address." "Cite examples from the President's address where he attempted to sway you to agree with certain positions or beliefs. What are your beliefs on those issues? Explain how your beliefs conform or vary from the Presidents."

Critical times demand critical thinking.

The following article from Fox News presents some concerns critics have raised so far.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/02/critics-decry-obamas-lesson-plan-students/

Surely, as the upcoming address and how schools are supposed to frame it become better known, many educators, parents, and those who find Obama's ideology and methodology repugnant will add their voices to the opposition of this unwarranted intrusion into the instructional process at community public schools across the nation. Neal McCluskey, associate director of Cato Institute's Center for Educational Freedom is one authority cited in this article who argues effectively about why Obama's efforts step over the line in the President nosing into public school instruction.

Concerned parents should address their grievances with their local schools, ask if their kids can be excluded from the broadcast and whether any of the activities related to it will count towards a student's grade for the subject in which it is presented. Maybe it would be a good day for parents to protest by keeping their children home as a powerful display of disagreement with the President who increasingly finds more ways to get way too involved with our lives.

ABC Nightly News: Gibson to Retire; Sawyer to Replace

POLITICO reports Charles Gibson will retire in January and be replaced by Diane Sawyer. Sawyer (63) has been a major fixture on network news related programming since she started as a 60 Minutes correspondent in 1984 after serving as a co-anchor on CBS Morning News and as a political reporter with the network since 1978.

While ABC, like the other networks, has a distinctly liberal bias demonstrated most conspicuously for hosting prime time programming on the Obama Health Plan that critics insist was little more than a White House infomercial, ABC is the one network that has some distinctly independent voices such as investigative reporters, John Stossel and Brian Ross while Jake Tapper is one of the most persistent and hard-hitting correspondents in the White House press room clearly not one who parrots the party line asking hard-hitting questions with tough follow-ups.

How much editorial influence the evening news anchors clearly have these days is difficult for viewers to know. It’s not like the days of Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, and Chet Huntley who were in control of the true bottom line for their broadcasts. One gets the impression that Brian Williams of NBC can’t possibly be as idiotic as the content that passes through on his broadcast. Dan Rather had substantial control over his CBS broadcast, but it’s difficult to ascertain what rolls current CBS and ABC anchors have on their content.

Diane Sawyer has always come across as a true professional. She is by no means a party-line liberal. How much of her professional judgment will come into play remains to be seen, but in the declining business of nightly news, surely Diane Sawyer’s elevation to ABC’s prime anchor is welcomed. Now two of the three network nightly broadcasts will feature woman anchors. It seems like such a short time period since Barbara Walters co-anchored with Harry Reasoner in 1976 or the contentious paring of Connie Chung with Dan Rather from 1993-1995.

Ironically, Charlie Gibson, who retires, worked with Walters, Chung, and Sawyer.

Charlie Gibson has provided the most reliable of the three network’s coverage during the Obama coronation. His low key, sober approach comes across as credible and professional. Some accuse him of being heavy-handed in his interview with Sarah Palin, asking the infamous, “Bush Doctrine” question which was more a question of Palin’s awareness of media speak than foreign affairs, but on balance, given what the networks are today, Charlie Gibson has served responsibly.

Hey Obama -- LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE!!!!

Obama, Audacity in the Classroom

On Monday, September 8, 2009, Barack Obama will be presenting a telecast for presentation at all willing schools in the United States in what will surely be presented from his standpoint as a teachable moment, but in reality follows Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals thinking about getting recruits as young as possible.

Make no mistake about it, Obama being the sleazy opportunist he has proven to be will not simply use this occasion as a chance to greet America’s school children and give them a little U.S. History or Political Science lesson on the Presidency. This will be nothing like first ladies’ Barbara or Laura Bush’s attempts, for instance, to promote literacy and the enjoyment of reading.

Here’s a link for readers to study the lesson plan worksheet the Obama propaganda machine has cranked out. This is a real joke, but give them credit. They know the language and format of wishy-washy liberal teaching methods.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10582301/President-Obama%92s-Address-to-Students-Across-America-September-8-2009

The White House propaganda agents have published a suggested lesson plan with worksheet suggestions that are quite revealing. The scheming mind of an activist organizer is clearly evident. One suggestion as a follow-up activity for students after watching the speech encourages students to:

“Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.”

Oh isn’t that nice? What kinds of help does El Presidente have in mind?

As if that is not enough, the document also provides discussion questions which also appear to be viciously agenda-laden.

“Students could discuss their responses to the following questions:
What do you think the President wants us to do?
Does the speech make you want to do anything?
Are we able to do what President Obama is asking of us?
What would you like to tell the President?”

Dear readers, your humble writer is loaded with possible smart-assed school boy responses to these questions including what he’d like to tell the President, something like inviting him to have sex with himself for politicizing the classroom in such a blatant, self-serving manner.

This could be another example of Obama hubris. Knowing that the NEA and AFT, the nation’s two largest teachers’ unions endorsed his election enthusiastically through their PAC’s and contributed to his campaign, perhaps he is mistaken to think that teachers fall in line the way some factions of his favorite gang of union thugs, SEIU, would. Sure public education is the crucible of secular humanism and many school systems have insanely politically correct, madly liberal curriculum and policies, but it’s hard to imagine how this tact would be welcomed across the heartland, down south, and in all that “fly over” territory the elites pretend isn’t really there.
Parents should be encouraged to involve their kids in Town Hall meetings and have frank discussions with their children about being critical thinkers, not just assuming something is right because “teacher says so” or “that’s what was on the news.”

We must work together to make this latest Obama display of audacity become a teachable moment for the good guys.

Sadly, the Obama administration and Democratic congress will miss no chance to make it more difficult for parents to remove their children from the government monopoly of failing public schools and the current economic conditions make it more difficult for parents to afford alternate options which a thoughtful voucher program could help address.

You Scream, I Scream, I DON'T WANT THAT ICE CREAM

Turn about is fair play. While radical lefties are boycotting Whole Food Stores because the store's CEO, John Mackey, wrote an op-ed critical of the government seizure of health care and spelled out his own options, here's one that conservatives should consider. Go for the Haagen Dazs!!! Ben and Jerry's ice cream, whose founders have been outspoken left-wingers from Vermont, have introduced a new "flavor" specifically to call attention to their support of Same-Sex Marriage.

Here's the company's product annoucement: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/benjerry/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090901005358&newsLang=en

While we clearly support that sexual preference is a private matter and one should not suffer any discrimination or negative social consequences for his or her sexual orientation, the institution of marriage recognizes the obvious -- that a man and woman have unique characteristics which provide the essential foundation of the family and continuation of the species where children are raised responsibily and effectively to their fullest potential.

Surely, the consequences of blantantly secular and radically left agendas have taken their toll over the past several decades as we see the enormous difficulties the collapse of the traditional family has had on school children.

What could be more American than enjoying some yummy ice cream this weekend, Labor Day, the last weekend of the summer season. So let's celebrate the American spirit of protest and boycott Ben and Jerry's and maybe "buycott" supporting Whole Foods for being subjected to the intolerance of the left.

Labonte Out for Seven Remaining 2009 Sprint Cup Races

Fans have to wonder what's in Ford's Sprint Cup future as all rests with Rousch/Fenway as Yates Operation is far from even second tier status.

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What could have been? A former champion, Bobby Labonte; a former champion crew chief, Todd Parrott, and a championship ownership group, Yates. When Hall-of-Fame racing joined forces with Yates, switched to Fords, gained Ask.com sponsorship, and brought in Bobby Labonte, former champ for Joe Gibbs Racing who was displaced by the uncertain status of Richard Petty's operation what was there not to like?

Having struggled with inexperienced drivers since Dale Jarrett’s departure, Labonte’s presence had to bring great things. For Bobby Labonte, having worked with an under resourced Richard Petty team, he’d now be travelling with first class equipment and once again have the equipment to rack up top 10’s effortlessly.

The record of futility speaks for itself: The #96 Ford has only one significant finish, fifth position in Las Vegas. Beyond that, the situation is absolutely gruesome with only three top twenty finishes the best of which was 12th in the Coca Cola 600. That puts Bobby Labonte 30th in driver standings, the same mark as owner points for the team.

Roush Camping World Trucks driver, Erik Darnell will drive the #96 entry in the seven races in question bringing with him his truck sponsor, Northern Tool and Equipment, closing the gap for the races not covered by Ask.com.

While this decision surely makes it look like Bobby Labonte is in the twilight of his career, what are Sprint Cup fans to make of the Yates operation? From the ladder days of the Dale Jarrett/Elliot Sadler driver tandem, the operation looked like under performers, but since Dale Jarrett’s departure to help Mike Waltrip get Toyota’s NASCAR program started, drivers like Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland, and Paul Menard have only achieved very limited success. The team has failed miserably finding sponsors a situation that closed up shop for the #28 ride when Travis Kvapil could not make the cut to put the ride in the top 35 after the first four races earlier this year.

With NASCAR’s mandate that no ownership group can race more than four full time rides taking effect next year, the Roush-Fenway operation must shed one team. Hopes were that the #26 car could transfer seamlessly to Yates.

With the Wood Brothers being a nonfactor for years cutting back to part time status this year, Ford’s presence in NASCAR leans almost exclusively on the shoulders of Jack Roush and his drivers Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and David Ragan. The pressure on the Ford/Roush wedding grows more intense as even Dodge has Penske and Richard Petty racing able to shakedown the Dodge package in separate environments.

We wish Bobby Labonte all the best and thank him for his contributions to NASCAR. We hope he has a legitimate comeback in his future. Meanwhile to Ford and Yates, SHAPE UP! Ford needs a team that competes with operations like Childress, Earnhardt-Ganassi, Michael Waltrip Racing, and Richard Petty Racing as the second tier beneath the Hendricks, Roush, and Gibbs level, the teams that win races but perhaps aren’t quite championship ready. If there’s an operation on this level unhappy with its manufacturer’s support, Ford should be prepared to jump right in and grab a team for its NASCAR stable.

Has anyone else noticed that since Robert Yates has eased into retirement, Doug Yates and Max Jones just aren't getting the job done?

Cold September in Baltimore

Three more games, then four more games. Three more losses and the Orioles are locked out from having a winning season. Four more loses, and it's twelve consecutive losing seasons, a dirty dozen. Who would have thought when the Orioles 79-83 mark in 1998 after running the table in 1997 only to lose to Cleveland in the American League Championship series that they were witnessing the beginning of a proud franchise descending into pure chaos scoffed as one of the worst organzations in baseball until recently when Andy McPhail took over the team in July, 2007.

The 2009 Orioles are a very different team from the losing team from 1998 to 2007. The starting rotation right now has only one veteran pitcher, Jeremy Guthrie while rookies Matt Wieters, catcher and Nolan Reimold, left fielder are every day starters.

The Orioles play two more games against the New York Yankees before the Texas Rangers looking for an easy pushover to keep their post season hopes alive come to town this weekend. Right now, the Orioles are barely a rumor in Baltimore sports' fans minds having surrendered our hometown field to a horde of New Yorkers converging like a swarm of locusts on our folksy, comfortable home field. "Yo Vinnie, doncha have a new Stadium up in da Bronx?"

Given Baltimore fans are more interested in getting ready for the Ravens' upcoming schedule, why not welcome the Yankees and Red Sox fans. They're spending money that helps the club's bottom line and local economy, right? It's better than 20,000 or less locals with lots of hunter green seats left unoccupied.

Nobody was realistically expecting the Oriole would break through into winning territory this year so what awaits us shortly will surprise no one, but losing always hurts and being a loyal hometown fan is sure a bittersweet love affair.

For those of us who were growing up during the era of Boog Powell, Brooks and Frank Robinson, Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and many more then the Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken days, this is especially hard. "The Orioles Way" was synonymous with baseball excellence.

With a rebuilt farm system all within the Chesapeake region, a proven architect rebuilding the team, and the fruits of that labor starting play at the major league level, success is coming. Perhaps at this time next year, we'll be telling a very different story.