well, at least they didn't take away my Syesha

the fact that Katie Malloy is still around and Alexandrea Lushington was sent home on American Idol's kickoff show on Thursday is an absolute joke. Lushington (who was ranked #3 in my power rankings this week) was not as bad as the judges made her sound last night and she had the youth and charm to make some noise in the Top 12. aside from her uncanny ability to channel Britney Spears, Malloy is a no-talent hack. she can't sing. that's it, end of discussion.

the guys results weren't shocking. i don't like Luke Menard but i don't have a problem with Robbie Carrico going home instead. he sucked too.

Alaina Whitaker and Jason Yeager were booted though so TYC went 2-for-4 this week, bringing our season record to 5-of-8. not bad, but not championship material either. we need a good showing next week.

so yea, RIP and g'luck Alexandrea.

gay sex and infidelity: still kind of funny

today, i stumbled upon an excellent music video that Sarah Silverman made for her boyfriend about apparent sexual relations with Matt Damon. Jimmy Kimmel didn't take this news well and fired back this response.

both videos were great and i LOVED the "We Are The World" parody that was in Kimmel's video that starred celebs like Cameron Diaz, Josh Groban and Robin Williams and some C-listers like Lance Bass. brilliant.

FUNNY UPDATE: a great website that someone mentioned at work. who knew that in the year 2008, there'd be something funny about Garfield.

nice to see that Karen Filippelli has found work

hey, did you know that Karen Filippelli had sex with a Dave Chappelle character. she can't talk about it though... damn Confidentiality Contract.

so not too many people were heartbroken in the fall when American found out that when Jim left Karen on the Office for the Pam. Karen packed up her stuff and apparently became an office manager at another Dunder Mifflin branch but by recent promos it appears that she's switched her name to Kate and joined a new show called unhitched. but last night, we really found out where she's been hiding since Jim broke her heart: she's ended up on American Idol! turns out that Karen is actually Aish'a Epperson, or at least that's how it looked last night. seriously, did Epperson somehow wonder onto the NBC lot and raid The Office wardrobe? from the show's intro to throughout her performance, it's all i could think about... except for one small thing, which we'll get to later.

random observations: you may have been led to believe that the theme was 70s night but it turns out that it was the night where the contestants pick songs that don't fit them. at all... Syesha re-arranged a song she shouldn't have and it was kind of a safe song selection but she was good enough to survive another round... there are some scandals a brewing, so don't be surprised to see Amanda Overmyer go home next week even though she officially picked up the "Vote for the Worst" nomination yesterday.

best performance: Carly Smithson, "Crazy on You." Brooke White almost gets it for being the only one to actually pick a song that fit her but we'll give it to Smithson, who had the best vocals. even though i thought she was the best on Wednesday, she still hasn't established herself and blown anyone away which means that (a) last night was just that awful for everybody else or (b) that the other contestants should be very, very scared.

worst performance: Asia'h Epperson, "All By Myself." I really like Asia'h but Simon got it right when he essentially told her that she wasn't good enough to sing a song suited for a diva. i think Idol producers should just nix songs by Mariah, Celine, Aretha and Whitney. they can't pull it off because if they could, they'd already have a record deal. Asia'h was apparently sick and she's a good contestant so i think she's still safe (plus she gets all the votes from Scranton) but homegirl needs to pick better songs.

going home: Kady Malloy's impressive catalog of impressions can only hide her voice for so long and her time has finally run out. the second one is a crapshoot, but we'll go with Alaina Whitaker, who made the mistakes of not yet defining who she is and "singing" a Grease sing that everybody knows.

and the power rankings...

10. Michael Johns (#9)
9. Jason Castro (#7)
8. Kristy Lee Cook (n/r)
7. Amanda Overmyer (#5)
6. Ramiele Malubay (#6)
5. Carly Smithson (#10)
4. Asia'h Epperson (#4)
3. Alexandrea Lushington (#2)
2. David Archuleta (#3)
1. Syesha Mercado (#1)

dropped out: Alaina Whitaker (#8)

if you can't post racy, fire-fighting themed pictures on MySpace, where can you?

the lovely lady pictured above is Carmen Kontur-Gronquist, who posted this picture of her in lingerie in front of a fire truck on her MySpace page. the only problem? well, she just happened to be the mayor of Arlington, Ore., and these pictures got her removed from office. in actuality, it was her pissing off a bunch of community golfers that caused her downfall but it was the picture that led to the community of 500 or so to put her job up for a vote.

now there are two sides to this debate and i happen to fall on both side of the fence because i am awesome like that. now this woman is 42 so if you are that age and still rocking that type of body, i have no problem with you strutting it. however... when you are a public figure, it probably isn't the wisest idea to be putting up risque/controversial pictures on the World Wide Web. you need to act a little professional: it's hard to imagine current Austin mayor Will Wynn stripping down to his boxers or good ol' Chuck Tooley rocking the satin panties. Side note: Chuck Tooley is no longer the mayor of Billings. i did not know that.

you need to be careful with the Facebook and the MySpace these days. this summer before i got hired full-time by the Statesman and i was looking at jobs, i took down all the embarrassing pictures of myself on Facebook and MySpace. since i started covering high school sports, i, for the first time ever, put up privacy settings on my Facebook page so the young ones won't see pictures of me drinking, even though i am participating in legal activities.

so kids and mayors across the country, watch what you put up on the MySpace. you never know who's watching.

and in closing, we have to shoot out a happy 23rd birthday to Ms. Jennifer Reed. happy birthday Buttercup!

Chikezie bought it but does it really matter?

learning from the mistake that was last week's 60s night, the Idol producers are going this time around with... the 70s. yay. by my calculations that should mean we should be expecting songs by Lionel, Madonna and MJ next week and by the second week of top 12 competition we'll be in the 2000s, so David Archuleta can roll out the Flo Rida and the group song can be "Crank Dat." anyways, the guys weren't that much better than they were last week and the men's competition is quickly becoming the nights were Archuleta takes on ___ (insert number here) other dudes. onto the review...

random observations: i don't see any way that David Archuleta doesn't end up as the top-finishing guy. he's only 16 but he is just heads and shoulders above the rest. on Tuesday, fans were going crazy, cheering and giving standing ovations when his name was mentioned BEFORE a commerical break. he could honestly not perform until April and he'd still get enough votes to survive, his following is ridiculous... there are going to be four guys who make the top 12 who don't deserve to be there.

worst performance: Luke Menard, "Killer Queen." the judges liked him, but i did not. his vocals were weak and he was really pitchy. but his song wasn't nearly as bad as his intro video... ya know, the people like Michael John and Carly Smithson can get away with admitting past careers in the musical careers because they are good enough to survive the backlash. if you are a borderline cadidate, you don't want to be telling America that you've already had your shot. just a hint.

best performance: Chikezie Eze, "I Believe to My Soul." it is very difficult to go against Archuleta, who took a risk with "Imagine" and had maybe one of the best vocal performances for a pre-top 12 show ever. but Chikezie just had an excellent overall performance (vocals, stage presence) and made the classy move of recognizing a back-up singer afterwards. and since he came through with a huge performance when he was definitely on the cutting block, we'll give it to him.

going home: to me, Menard, Jason Yeager and David Cook are the same person, so i think two of them won't be back. Yeager all but got the kiss of death from the judges and since Cook gave a good performance and showed he actually has musical talent, i think Menard is the second one.

thank you.

the question of the day is are these girls too pretty to fly? the answer is no.

so, yesterday i chatted about how Seal was my new hero but the truth is, i don't really have heroes. the thing about heroes is they're human too (unless you're worshiping Spider-man, Dodger or a couple Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and the funny thing about humans is they fuck up... a lot. growing up a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys, it was a little disheartening to see your heroes in handcuffs every other week.

but, when i look at it now, i do have some heroes and most of them were dead before i was born and those that weren't, i haven't had much contact with in my life. being as it's the end of Black History Month, it shouldn't be that tough to figure out who those people are.

i don't have much to say other than "Thanks." thank you Jackie. thanks MLK. thanks Langston, W.E.B. and Rosa. thanks to the countless nameless African-Americans who marched and staged sit-ins. and thanks to people like my grandfather and father who had to grow up during these difficult times and survived. thank you all for your class, patience and foresight and for giving me opportunities that you could only dream of when you were 22.

thanks.

Seal: Giving hope to average-looking guys since '91

i think Seal is my new hero. i mean, just look at this picture. he's no Denzel Washington and yet he is still married to Heidi Klum... HEIDI KLUM!!!

anyways, speaking of Denzel, what does it say about me that i had two or three text messages within 15 seconds of D-Wash walking out to present the Best Picture award at the Oscars last night?has my man-crush become common knowledge? and more importantly, are our lives that boring that we were all watching the Oscars on a Sunday night? nobody else did.

anyways, i had planned to boycott the Oscars since Denzel got jobbed and didn't get a nomination for American Gangster. instead, i watched "Badass Denzel Theater" which included the aforementioned American Gangster and Man on Fire (probably the greatest line of all time is at about 5:07 of this clip), which both stil give me goosebumps. but i couldn't fall asleep and ended up watching about the last 90 minutes of the Oscars show.

i thought Jon Stewart was a pretty good host and i enjoyed the "80 Years of Oscars" presentations. finally, Marion Cotillard, who came out of nowhere to bitchslap Ellen Page and give one of the oddest acceptance speeches ever, is on the big board of beauties headed by Thandie Newton.

enough Kanye videos to satisfy Robyn for a week

this is dedicated to Ro Keyes, the self-annointed biggest fan of Kayne West.

i don't have much energy so we'll keep this short. on Friday, tickets for Kanye's concert stop in Austin go on sale. the concert is expected to also feature Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D. and the beautiful Rihanna. Kanye has been known to make a good song or two, but he makes even better music videos. without further ado, here's my top three Kanye music videos of all time to hold all you Austinites over until Friday morning.

3. "Flashing Lights" (2008)
2. "Good Life" (2007)
1. "All Falls Down" (2004)

whatever that goldfish is saying can't be good news

this post is coming to you live from the lovely SpringHill Suites in San Antonio, Texas, just off of I410. a great place to stay if you are looking for a semi-comfortable bed and lackluster wireless service, although i will admit that the free breakfast was pretty good. anywho, i have another game to cover at 1 p.m. and then i get to head back to Austin.

so, i thought of something quite disturbing today. the hotel that i am staying at has the common free toiletry items: the shampoo, soap and lotion, all of which is quite nice since i usually don't pack anything other than deodorant and my toothbrush for these overnight stays. but as i was putting the "Sea Fennel lotion" on my face, arms and my ridiculously dry ankles this morning, i realized that i have no clue what ingredients are actually in this lotion. as far as i know i could be rubbing reindeer feces or the herpes into my skin. is that really soap or a bar of anthrax with a sud-like residue? that's how the terrorists are going to get us kids, not by hijacking planes but by owing a pint-size toiletry manufacturer.

now that i'm completely scared of hotel showers, i am going to start a new series called "Paranoid and Petrified," which will randomly look at things that you normally wouldn't think are scary but you should be taking a closer look at because they will probably end up strangling you in your sleep. scared yet? awesome. check back often for more series updates.

aside from the hotel, take a look at this video from CNN, about a cuddly Elmo that has apparently gone evil. granted, the kid who is the apparent victim here probably had it coming because if you own that much Elmo merchandise, it's only a matter of time before one of them starts back-talking and telling you how it wants you to commit suicide.

but still, we've already lost the goodness that was hotel soap and Elmo and it's not even 10:35 a.m., it's going to be a long Saturday.

crying!?! there's no crying in American Idol!!!

going to San Antonio today so we'll throw together an early post about American Idol and politics.

but first, i've got to start out with this article that was in the Montana Kaimin today. i am a big fan of raising breast cancer awareness and i love it when it is intermingled into sporting events. the Iowa State crowd did a really good job in a men's basketball game against Texas a few weeks ago and teams like UCLA and Penn State (pictured above) have worn pink jerseys during games. lots of kudos to Jim O'Day and the entire Lady Griz program.

well, i am 3 out of 4 with Idol guesses as Colton Berry, Garrett Haley and Amy Davis went home while Joanne Borgella was kicked off instead of Brooke White. you had to feel bad for Garrett, who, at least in Austin, had his exiting song interrupted twice by commercials.

oh, and had this been made public beforehand, i would have been inclined to root for Amy: she had posed in Maxim. Amy's exit was a little bit surprising since she was the girl picked by VoteForTheWorst.com, which encourages his readership to vote for the worst contestant and could be credited with Sanjaya staying for so long last year. but i guess the website was down on Wednesday (they picked Danny on Tuesday) so maybe people didn't know they were supposed to vote for Amy. who knows?

other quick notes: the way they eliminated Garrett and Amy was kind of brutal.... if Joanne has sung the way she did last night on Wednesday, she would still be around... Amy didn't do much to make people re-think their votes on Thursday, she was awful... Paula Abdul's music video wasn't half bad although if i ever watch it again i am going to half to mute the song... Simon's departing advice to Colton was rude and really mean but probably exactly what that kid needed to hear... even though Syesha got a nice solo, the top Top 24 performance was bad, very bad.

one last thing before i get off this subject and this paragraph is directed to the contestants: quit crying, it's a competition. if it wasn't these goofs getting the boot, it could have been you so quit crying like it's your best friend going home and crack a smile that you're still around. it was absolutely ridiculous that Ramiele was bawling over every single contestant that was voted off (what did she thing was going to happen on Thursday night?) and honestly, with all that Asia'h has been through over the past few months, you'd imagine that Joanne's departure wouldn't be something that would trigger the teardrops. i'd rather see fist pumps and backflips from the "safe" contestants than tears.

i had to watch the Idol elimination show on DVR because i got home in time to watch the final 45 or 50 minutes of the democratic debate the at was in Austin. i had a few quick thoughts.

• while i do think it's an issue, i felt that Hillary's slam on Barack's issue with copying speeches was incredibly canned and a low blow.
• i can't hear Barack say one more time that he has always been against the Iraqi war. he wasn't a Senator then, so he didn't vote on the issue so i really don't give a crap about his opinion. giving a speech against the war is very very very different than having to vote on the issue when all your peers are going to vote in favor of the war. two completely different realms.
• Barack's health care plan isn't realistic.
• i loved when the candidates went on for 4 or 5 rebuttals about health care even though the moderators were definitely wanting to move on. Barack and Hillary weren't about to get pushed around by some no-name CNN personality that wasn't named Wolf or Cooper.
• Hillary's closing speech was interesting and the way that the speech ended highlights a huge problem that the Democrats may face after the nomination is sewed up. many people might have viewed that as a concession speech (i originally mentioned to Blair that that is what i thought it was too) but i think it was more about unifying. whoever loses the nomination is going to have some bitter supporters and the other candidate is going to need those votes to get to the presidency. this primary has gone on ridiculously long, and the candidates need to recognize that their ultimate goal is to get a Democrat into the White House, not completely divide the party. i thought it was a classy end to a big night in Austin.

oh k, i should probably start packing or something, whoo road trips for work.

a presidential lesson: if you're going to play in Texas, you've got to have a Longhorn in the band

it just feels like a three-post day.

note to future presidential candidates, if you want to win in Texas, you've got to suck-up to the Longhorns. Barack Obama stopped by UT today to chill with the football team while Hillary was out and about rocking the burnt orange pantsuit. both candidates are in town for a debate that will be televised on CNN tonight. will i watch it? probably not being as it starts in 90 minutes and i am still in the office with a story to write. oh well.

the reason they don't have any pop quizzes in Utah

do you know what the state of Utah is full of? if you guessed "Mormons," you are correct but you still would have gotten an incorrect answer on this test. if you answered "out-of-place African-Americans who play for the Jazz," you score some points for creativity. but the answer that i was actually looking for was "idiots." yes, the state of Utah is full of a bunch of idiots.

apparently, it is not against the law to carry a hidden weapon on campus in Utah. now, this law maily pertains to college students since you have to be 21 to poccess a firearm and if there are a bunch of 21-year-old high school students, well, then we have other issues to address.

quite frankly, i don't think its wise to have a bunch of students in a high-stress enviroment packing heat. people can easily snap and i would hate to see a kid go crazy during the middle of a class and begin shooting and then have 24 other people who have guns start firing back, starting a battle royale in English 101.

Colorado has similar laws but for some reason, the University of Colorado is fighting the man and has outlawed guns. not surprisingly, UC is probably the best school in the state. 12 other states have legislation pending on the issue and four have had bills recently fail.

what the hell is wrong with people? i know in the wake of the tragedies at Virginia Tech and NIU, some people are scared for their safety but arming everybody is only making the problem worse, not better. guns don't kill people and hell, now i'm beginning to think that people and bullets don't kill people either. instead it seems like it's the idiot legislators without a thread of common sense that are the culprits.

SCRABBLE UPDATE: I am now 11-27-1 (28.2 winning percentage) in Facebook Scrabble play. this ship is a slowly sinking.

SOFTBALL UPDATE: i didn't get to this last week but softball season started and my team, the Beer Bustas, opened its season with an 11-11 tie. last night we lost 9-5 and i played like shit. but more importantly, i am getting to know a lot of cool kids on the team and this has been an enjoyable experience. one downside though is that i can't drink beer on the field (Lent) so i may have to start filling up water bottles with cheap vodka.

Syesha: still the best damn thing since sliced bread

i was petrified that after all my cyber-drooling over Syesha, she was going to be terrible but i think it’s safe to say that after Wednesday night, we are going to be seeing lots of her in the next few months. YES!!! she was really, really good and after finally having a chance to hear all of the top 24, i am sticking with her as my pick. oh, and i think someone needs to put Paula on an allowance of one “there’s a ‘yes’ in ‘Syesha’” comment per month. we get it Paula, most of us have higher than a second-grade education.

overall impressions: the girls were better than the guys by far and it sucks that there has to be an equal amount of girls and guys in the top 12. i'd say 7 of the top 10 right now are girls… lots of sistas doing it big as Asia’h, Alexandrea and Syesha all separated themselves from the pack… i have been relegated to just fast-forward through comments by Randy and Paula because 98% of what they say now is incomprehensible… i thought Kady Malloy was going to cry when Simon essentially compared her personality to a pencil… the final 20 seconds of Ramiele Malubay’s song saved her season. girl has some talent.

best performance: Alexandrea Lushington, “Spinning Wheel.” i love Syesha but Alexandrea was just awesome on Wednesday night. i enjoyed the vocals, the outfit and the performance although her wandering eyes were bothering me a little bit. really, one of the few times I’ve disagreed with Simon this season.
worst performance: Brooke White, “Happy Together.” the judges seemed to like it but really, i hated it. for starters, there are more than 24 songs from the 60s so don’t pick a song that a guy did the night before. i don’t like her hippie look, i don’t like her voice and i hated that she sang the musical notes. hated the whole thing.
going home: let’s go with Brooke White (“Happy Together”) and Amy Davis (“Where the Boys Are”). if anybody actually remembers their performances tomorrow without the services of YouTune or iTunes, then i’d be shocked.

after the first week, here are the updated Idol power rankings with the last edition's placings in parenthesis.

10. Carly Smithson (10)
9. Michael Johns (n/r)
8. Alaina Whitaker (n/r)
7. Jason Castro (n/r)
6. Ramiele Malubay (n/r)
5. Amanda Overmyer (8)
4. Asia'h Epperson (5)
3. David Archuleta (n/r)
2. Alexandrea Lushington (2)
1. Syesha Mercado (1)

dropped out: Kristy Lee Cook (9), Pia Easley (7), Chris Watson (6), Chikezie Eze (4), Kady Malloy (3)

finish the lyric: you've got to stand for something...

the criticisms of Hillary Clinton are endless but probably the biggest critique of Barack Obama is the notion that he is just a dream, a great motivational speaker (although some of his speeches might not be his), who doesn't have a history in Congress to actually suggest that he could run a country. well, on MSNBC last night, Chris Matthews took to task an Obama supporter about his track record. the Obama supporter in the video? none other than former Austin mayor Kirk Watson. go team Austin.

Obama has taken a lot of shots lately and how he responds to them should be a good indicator of whether he can legitimately run for the presidency should he get the nomination. because if he thinks the Clinton campaign is mean, they are essentially the Billings Senior High football team to the New York Giants that is the Republican attack machice. how'd you like that sports/politics analogy?

kids = tax deductions and/or a ticket to Hollywood

let's start with a quick Idol recap...

overall impressions: i was wrong, it was the guys night instead of the ladies. i wish it was the girls night, the guys were just awful... i only saw like three shots of Syesha and once she was obstructed by somebody else's big head... 60s night was a horrible idea... i guess Chikezie is not only cool enough to be known by his first name only now but he's also hip enough to wear a bright orange suit... random note for you: Carly Smithson was not at the taping last night although Ryan alluded to all top 12 girls being in the crowd. and by the time the show was done, Kristy Lee Cook was gone too so i am guessing the girls couldn't stand the performances either.
worst performance: Danny Noreiga, "Jailhouse Rock." if this was the first time i'd watched this show then i wouldnt have rated this as the worst. but we've seen plenty of Danny this season and by these standards, it just sucked. it was an awful take on an Elvis song and sounded nothing really like his past performances. he will attract a big enough fan base to get him to the top 12 but with Josiah gone, this kid with his massive ego and overly flamboyant attitude is going to be what i now tune in to root against.
best performance: Jason Castro, "Daydream." simply, he sucked the least.
going home: my guesses are Garrett Haley ("Breaking Up is Hard to Do") and Colton Berry ("Suspicious Minds").

so how am i going to segway from Idol into what i want to talk about today? well, watch this video features an Idol review with a mom and a girl that i am assuming is her daughter. the duo hosts a online reality TV review called "Beyond Reality." yes kids, today we are talking about child exploitation... not the boring kind (sweatshops in random third world countries) but exploitation of the pseudo-celebrity variety.

i began thinking it this subject when i did my post last week about Michael Jackson. there is a link to a video by the Castillo kids, where the brother and his two sisters sing my favorite MJ song "The Way You Make Me Feel." the kids are good, i will give them that but if you look at their page, they have made 121 videos ranging from "I Want You Back" (hey look, they all dance and play the guitar!) to Alanis Morissette's "Ironic."

now, i am all about the children getting their 15 minutes of fame but c'mon, 121 videos? it's cute with the first 10 videos, interesting up to 20 videos, tiresome at 25... and just kind of ridiculous after that. i mean, do these kids actually go to school? has the boy picked up a baseball in his life? or are they just pawns in a sick game by their moms and pops, who are getting off with the idea that their kids will be like a cyber-Partridge family?

but in an era where the Olsen twins, Jaleel White and Macaulay Culkin have become household names because of what they did as a child, i guess you can't blame the parents for wanting to get the kids on the TV. i mean, somebody has to pay the bills and its obviously not going to be the parents because that's just crazy talk.

anyways, when i have kids, i am keeping them away from Hollywood because i am a better person. instead, i will be the dad taking my kids to the gym when they are say, 2ish, so the boy can become a quarterback for the Cleveland Browns with a $15 million signing bonus and the lil' girl can become an Olympic basketball player with her mug on a Wheaties box. if you are going to exploit the children, you should probably do it right.

Blah T. Boogerface isn't getting any until March

Idol is on tonight and the ladies are rocking out to a 60s theme and the guys will do the same tomorrow. go Syesha.

i don't have the energy to go on a rant today so instead i will give you a link to an interesting video on the CNN website. apparently some pastor in somewhere-that-i-don't-remember-USA is issuing a 30-Day-Challenge.. for sex. for married couples, he is urging those with wedding bands to sex it up every day for 30 days and for the non-married folks, he is saying do the whole abstinence thing for 30 days. i think i am going to do the 30-Day-Challenge for singles, i think i can make it.

the best part of the video is when some single dweeb is sitting there and the reporter says that Blah T. Boogerface (his name wasn't worth remembering so i made up a ridiculous sounding one for him) isn't having sex "even if a sexy lady tempts him." now, i'm no Denzel Washington myself, but c'mon, if any sexy lady is talking to this goober, she comes with a price tag. sounds harsh? life's tough, get a helmet.

an armchair quarterback's look at the AL Central

with Idol kicking off the Top 24 competition on Tuesday night and there being some other things that i want to talk about, this will probably be the last baseball preview until at least the weekend. so enjoy these "expert" views as well as the random picture of Barack Obama.

AL Central

1. Detroit Tigers: in the American League, the early favorites have to be Boston and the Detroit Tigers, who made the biggest splash this winter when they acquired Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera for a bunch of prospects. with the addition of Cabrera, the Tigers literally have an all-star at every position and boast the scariest line-up in baseball. i would hate to be any pitcher in baseball because there are no easy outs in Detroit. i actually like the Detroit starting rotations although the Tigers do have a lot of issues in the bullpen including giving the ball in the final inning to the fabulously mustached but somewhat ineffective Todd Jones. but who needs pitching when you can score 17 runs a game?
Biggest Addition: 3B Miguel Cabrera (traded from Florida)
Biggest Loss: various prospects (various trades)

2. Cleveland Indians: the Indians didn't make as much noise as their rival Tigers and are hoping that the formula that carried them last season will work again in 2008. the team remained mostly intact but did get a closer from Japan and good defensive depth with the acquisition of Jamey Carroll from the Colorado Rockies. the team still has the best 1-2 starting pitching punch in C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona but only time will tell if that's enough to get them back to the playoffs.
Biggest Addition: RP Masahide Kobayashi (signed from Japan)
Biggest Loss: CF Kenny Lofton (currently a free agent)

3. Minnesota Twins: the Twins lost their ace in Johan Santana but i think the biggest loss may be Torii Hunter who was the heart and sole of that team. Santana was a pedestrian 15-13 last season and while he is still feared (he had a 3.33 ERA in 2007), teams had begun to figure him out. the Twins still have plenty of talent in their line-up and a front line closer so they will be looking for a few guys named Boof and Francisco Liriano to carry their rotation and help keep the franchise respectable.
Biggest Addition: OF Delmon Young (traded from Tampa Bay)
Biggest Loss: OF Torii Hunter (signed with Anaheim)

4. Chicago White Sox: would Barack Obama (pictured above) give up his dreams of the White House for a chance to play for the White Sox? yea, probably not. so instead, the Sox are going to have to go with "Plan B": Mark Buehrle and Jose Contreras. yea, i'm not scared yet either. how about Javier Vasquez? shaking in your boots now? oh k, the White Sox pitchers aren't horrible but they aren't exactly the same staff that won Chicago a World Series in 2005 either. the White Sox did make some additions to the line-up but will it be enough? doubtful.
Biggest Addition: OF Nick Swisher (traded from Oakland)
Biggest Loss: SP Jon Garland (traded to Anaheim)

5. Kansas City Royals: oh k, Hideo Nomo this is an intervention. we're here because we love you. listen closely buddy. when you are relegated to sign a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals, you should probably hang up the cleats. i know you started Nomo-mania and all but not even KC little leaguers want to play for the Royals, even though they are likely just as talented. well, at least the BBQ in Kansas City is good... oh wait, you signed a minor league contract with the Royals so you could end up in such hot spots as Omaha and Springdale, Arkansas. best of luck Hideo, best of luck.
Biggest Addition: OF Jose Guillen (signed from Seattle)
Biggest Loss: DH Mark Sweeney (signed with Oakland)

an armchair quarterback's look at the NL Central

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs: The Cubs don't have a full-time closer or much of a bullpen but it doesn't matter because the Cubs are in the NL Central, the worst division in baseball. The Cubbies are looking for their first title in 100 years and will rely heavily on the arm of Carlos Zambrano, who ESPN's Peter Gammons believes is going to have a huge season. Lindsay Erickson (pictured above) also is a Zambrano fan and i like to make decisions that i might have to stand by later off of what Le and Peter Gammons say.
Biggest Addition: OF Kosuke Fukudome (signed from Japan)
Biggest Loss: OF Jacque Jones (traded to Detroit)

2. Milwaukee Brewers: the Brewers were a surprise last season and they made some off-season decisions to get better. i like picking up Mike Cameron but i wasn't a fan of the Eric Gagne signing. Gagne was decent in Texas but horrible in Boston and was rewarded for his performance with a World Series ring. the Brew Crew better pray that the Gagne, who is expected to be the team closer, they get was the first-half version of 2007.
Biggest Addition: OF Mike Cameron (signed from San Diego)
Biggest Loss: C Johnny Estrada (traded to New York Mets)

3. Cincinnati Reds: according to a report on the team's website, the Reds are looking at my favorite player of all-time, Kenny Lofton, to fill the team's lead-off spot, so if they do that i might just lift them above the Cubs. i play favorites like that.
Biggest Addition: RP Jeremy Affeldt (signed from Colorado)
Biggest Loss: OF Josh Hamilton (traded to Texas)

4. St. Louis Cardinals: the pieces of the 2006 World Champions are slowly fading away. this off-season the Cards said good-bye to Jim Edmonds and David Eckstein, sayoonara to So Taguchi and gave a see ya later to Mr. Scott Rolen. Albert Pujous might be injured too so yikes. depending on how Chris Carpenter and Mark Mulder recover from 2007 injuries and Adam Wainwright continues his development will be key to the St. Louis rotation. side note on Carpenter, in the video game universe i have only thrown one career perfect game and i did it with Carpenter.
Biggest Addition: SS Cesar Izturis (signed from Pittsburgh)
Biggest Loss: SS David Eckstein (signed with Toronto)

5. Houston Astros: i feel kind of bad putting the Astros down here since i will be covering their AAA team this summer but the 'Stros have a whole lot of bats but not much starting pitching. outside of ace Roy Oswalt, the team doesn't have a lot in the arms department unless you are a huge fan of Woody Williams. Houston did do a good job though in picking up a front-line closer in Jose Valverde but is he that much of an upgrade over Brad Lidge?
Biggest Addition: RP Jose Valverde (traded from Arizona)
Biggest Loss: 2B Craig Biggio (retired)

6. Pittsburgh Pirates: Turns out Pittsburgh still has a baseball team. Well, football training camp opens up in August or something.
Biggest Addition: SS Josh Wilson (claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay)
Biggest Loss: RP Salomon Torres (traded to Milwaukee)

hanging out with Bill Clinton and setting new goals

somebody outside is blasting Lupe Fiasco's "Superstar" from their car stereo. i like it, it's a great song.

i will post my preview of the NL Central in an hour or so but i wanted to quickly touch on the last 24 hours. last night i went to a rally for Hillary Clinton that featured a couple speeches by my main man, William Jefferson Clinton... aka Bill. i have said in the past that my vote would probably go for Hillary but i still want to be educated about the candidates so i headed out to Hillary Headquarters to hear what Bill had to say about his wife's viewpoints. much to the annoyance of a few people standing nearby, there was no cheering from me, just listening.

i am seriously thinking about changing my residency, so i can vote in Texas. the biggest advantage to this decision would be that my vote would actually matter (i get the feeling thats just not the case in Montana) but the major con would but i'd have to officially admit that i'm a Texan. so keep tuned for that decision, which likely has to be made soon.

oh, and seeing Bill was awesome. i wasn't quite starstruck but i still thought it was pretty cool. and afterwards, Maria (my Jeep) was parked probably 30-40 feet away from Bill's getaway caravan.

here's the second thing i wanted to cover today: i completed a marathon today... and by complete, i mean ran a total of one city block and sat in the back of a press truck for the rest.

i covered the women's side of the Austin Marathon this morning, a job that had me downtown at 6:15 in the morning. the event was actually inspiring, especially the 1/2 marathoners who ranged from professionals to the slighly out-of-shape to an 84-year-old who finished the race in 2 1/2 hours.

as i'm inspired, i am setting new goals. i will be in Austin for a while so i would like to finish the Austin Marathon in 2010. i was going to set a time but i think finishing is a big enough accomplishment. to help me get there (i can hardly drive 13.1 miles without getting tired, let alone run it. ha.) i think i am going to train for the 2009 10K that the Statesman puts on every year.

so yes, updates to come. go fiesta.

an armchair quarterback's look at the AL East

AL East

1. Boston Red Sox: the Red Sox did the most by doing the least, keeping intact a team that won the 2007 World Series. Boston was able to re-sign key players like Mike Lowell, Curt Shilling and Kevin Youkilis. with Shilling’s recent injury, the Red Sox may wish that they had won the Johan Santana sweepstakes but only time will tell on that one.
Key Addition: 1B Sean Casey (signed from Detroit)
Key Loss: none

2. New York Yankees: like the Red Sox, the Yankees may have done the most nothing at all. The Yanks were able to somehow re-up A-Rod and a few other key players. the LaTroy Hawkins signing was a good one for the Yanks as Hawkins was a huge part of the Rockies’ post-season run, pitching great in the 7th inning. It’s going to be interesting to see how things end up with a new manager in place.
Key Addition: RP LaTroy Hawkins (signed from Colorado)
Key Loss: Joe Torre (contract not renewed, signed with LA Dodgers)

3. Toronto Blue Jays: the Toronto infield is going to look like St. Louis players in blue uniforms. the Blue Jays signed shortstop David Eckstein (.309 and 10 stolen bases in 117 games with St. Louis in 2007) in the winter and traded for a disgruntled third baseman Scott Rolen, who hit eight home runs in 112 games. the Blue Jays already have established stars in Roy Halliday and Alex Rios and will get a boost from the return of closer B.J. Ryan, who missed most of last season with an injury.
Key Addition: SS David Eckstein (signed from St. Louis)
Key Loss: 3B Troy Glaus (traded to St. Louis)

4. Tampa Bay Rays: the Devil Rays… er, Rays made a big splash in late-November when they acquired right-hander Matt Garza and shortstop Jason Bartlett from the Twins. Garza should give the Twins a good No. 2 starter behind Scott Kazmir and Bartlett should help solidify Tampa Bay’s left side of the infield. only problem is, Tampa is still in the loaded AL East so despite having lots of talent don’t expect a winning season.
Key Addition: SP Matt Garza (traded from Minnesota)
Key Loss: OF Delmon Young (traded to Minnesota)

5. Baltimore Orioles: as someone who has family ties to the O’s, it hurts to say this: Baltimore is going to suck for a while. it's obvious that Baltimore is going into rebuilding mode as they got rid of the high-priced Miguel Tejada, who is declining but was still a steady bat in a dormant line-up and left-handed pitcher Erik Bedard, who has the potential of becoming an ace. down the road, O’s fans are going to be pumped to have Troy Patton and Adam Jones, top prospects acquired in the aforementioned trades, in Baltimore uniforms but 2008 will be painful.
Key Addition: OF Adam Jones (traded from Seattle)
Key Loss: SS Miguel Tejada (traded to Houston)

an armchair quarterback's look at the NL East

so it donned on me that i'm actually a sportswriter so maybe i should blog occasionally about sports. with the Clemens steroid mess hopefully behind us and spring training underway, i could think of no better time than to do a 2008 MLB preview. for the next week, i will be looking at the six divisions in baseball and in the end give you my fearless World Series predictions.

this means there will probably be a good deal of two-post days because, well, i still have to get in my weekly Idol reviews. so, yea there's something to look forward to. first up is the NL East because i figure it would be neat to start this thing off by angering William Oram.

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies: the Phils won the East in 2007 and I expect a repeat in 2008. they have the most feared line-up in the NL, a line-up that includes Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, the last two league MVPs. the loss of Aaron Rowand hurts but the addition of So Taguchi (who hit .288 in his last full season in 2005 with the Cardinals) should help out a little. i like the audition of Brad Lidge to their bullpen and hopefully with Albert Pujous now 950 miles away, Lidge can regain his form.
Key Addition: RP Brad Lidge (traded from Houston)
Key Loss: OF Aaron Roward (signed with San Francisco)

2. New York Mets: i'm sorry William but i just don't see it. yes, the Mets got Johan Santana but he's only seven or eight wins better than what Tom Glavine gave them last year. the rest of the rotation includes an 80-year-old Orlando Hernandez, a falling apart Pedro Martinez and a decent John Maine. the key may be if Oliver Perez is the pitcher that went 15-10 last year or the one who was 3-13 in 2006. outside of Beltran, Wright and Reyes (who fell off in the second half in 2006), the Mets line-up has nothing special.
Key Addition: SP Johan Santana (traded from Minnesota)
Key Loss: C Paul Lo Duca (signed with Washington)

3. Atlanta Braves: who knew that Mark Kotsey was nearing his mid-30s? anyways, he's the guy who has to replace Andrew Jones in centerfield for the Braves and i have a feeling that Atlanta is going to be missing Jones a lot even though he had a down 2007 season. at least Glavine, Chipper Jones and John Smoltz have each other to keep themselves company and remind each other of seasons past.
Key Addition: OF Mark Kotsey (traded from Oakland)
Key Loss: OF Andrew Jones (signed with L.A. Dodgers)

4. Florida Marlins: Well, at least they still have Hanley Ramirez. Luis Gonzalez (.278 and 15 homers in 139 games with Dodgers in 2008) isn't expected to play much but will provide desperately needed leadership in a young Florida clubhouse.
Key Addition: OF Luis Gonzalez (signed from L.A. Dodgers)
Key Loss: 3B Miguel Cabrera (traded to Detroit)

5. Washington Nationals: i like what the Nats did this off-season in acquiring Elijah Dukes to play in centerfield and Lastings Milledge to play left field. but they are at least a few seasons away from being good, and a few seasons is a long time to expect Dukes to stay out of trouble.
Key Addition: OF Lastings Milledge (traded from New York Mets)
Key Loss: OF Ryan Church (traded to New York Mets)

it ain't V-Day without a bloody Patricia Arquette

so last night (Valentine's Day), i went out to dinner with a couple of friends that i work with who have long distance boyfriends. we decided to go to pizza at this place called Rounders and 12 hours later, its same to say that we might have been better served eating at McDonalds or out of a dumpster.

we pulled into a parking lot which wasn't really a parking lot because it was littered with random trucks and reserved parking spots for various businesses. we decided to park in a parking spot that was reserved for "Tenants of the Green Building on the Corner." the Green Building on the Corner!?! could we get any more lazy? could we at least put a name of the Green Building on the Corner? this should have been out first clue to leave.

we're feeling risky and we figure the TOTGBOTC won't demand that Katie's car gets towed so we ignore the sign and go in and wait to be seated. after waiting a few minutes we decided to seat ourselves and en route to an open table, we found a lady in a nice red dress and asked her if it was cool if we sat there. turns out she was not a waitness... sign two.

we looked around and there were lots of girls dressed in odd looking dresses like one who was in a red number that combined the risque-ness of the Moulin Rouge with the purity of being a ballerina. yes, step three.

we got our menus and drinks rather quickly but then it took us about another 20 minutes to even place our order (the fourth sign) and were then told that the people had only three people working tonight... so only three people to cook the food and serve the people on Valentine's Day, one of the more busier eating-out nights on the calendar (sign #5).

the sixth sign was given to us by Quentin Tarantino, maker of classic movies such as Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill flicks. Quick, what are some good V-Day movies? Love Actually? The Princess Bride? Jerry McGuire? well, Rounders has a nice TV that it shows movies on three days a week, so it can give that highly desired dinner-and-a-movie experience to its customers. well, Rounders decided to show a movie called True Romance, which turns out, wasn't all that romantic... or true.

the movie, written by Tarantino, did have an all-star cast (Christian Slater, Brad Pitt, Christopher Walken, Michael Rapaport, Samuel L. Jackson and Val Kilmer) but was incredibly bloody and just raunchy. as our table was right by the TV and i was facing the TV (seventh sign), i was randomly distracted throughout the night by scenes of phone booth sex and Walken washing blood off his hands in a fish tank. but by the time of Patricia Arquette's gruesome fight scene with James Gandolfini, i was hooked. we eventually had to ask them to turn off the TV which they did... only they didn't turn off the stereo so we could still hear all the gunfights and the screaming. an awesome eighth sign.

so yes, those were the eight big signs that we should have left but yet, we were still there... over an hour after we had entered the doors and at least 45 minutes after we had ordered and we still hadn't gotten our food. we had set a 9:45 deadline of walking out and we got out pizza at, like, 9:41. only problem was on the girl's side, our waiter had somehow mistaken "meatballs" for "tomatoes." so we probably should have left then but hell, by now we had devoted a lot of time, so we stayed. one of the waitresses brought out some meatballs to put on top of the pizza and made sure to add that "you are getting more meatballs than most people usually do." neat-o.

so, the pizza wasn't that bad but that might have been just the hunger talking. and don't get me wrong, i did have a great time because its always nice to go out with some of your co-workers and have some good conversations. truth be told, i think we all had fun outside of the crappy service. but if we are all still here and in the same situations next year, i think we should skip Rounders and head straight to McDonalds... it's much classier at the golden arches.

The Good Life: Kanye to do Austin concert in April

apparently Kayne West is coming to town and he is bringing Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D. with him. i honestly can't describe how excited i am. this is easily going to beat the Christina Aguilera concert i went to in 2000.

a treat for you Billings folks: A KTVQ flashback.

in honor of V-Day, i am still in love with Syesha

so yesterday, was the big final cut on American Idol and we finally have the top 24. the awesome news is that my new favorite person in the world (sorry little sister), Syesha Mercado, made it through and i am hellbent that she is going to win this whole thing. she's cute, has a good voice, a sparkling personality and a story that people will remember. i am also positive that eventually America is going to turn on the early favorites who just also happen to be Idol plants such as Michael Johns and Carly Smithson.

i also learned last night that if you drop the "S" and the "ha" from Syesha's name, you get "yes." thank you Paula Abdul for that awesome lesson.

the long nightmare is over folks, Josiah is going home. it would have been tough to see him get through because he had the potential of having a Sanjaya/John Stevens and folks, that isn't a good thing.

but yea, that's all the Idol talk until the real competition begins next week. pictures of the final 24 (including Syesha's above) can be found here.

oh yea, today's valentine's day so here are my top 15 loooove songs of all-time. have fun listening to these, i will be celebrating the holiday with some ice cream and loneliness. either that, or i am going trolling for girls who are as drunk and lonely as me. can't decide which one is more sad way to spend a thursday.

15. "Hate That I Love You" by Rihanna f/ Ne-Yo (2007)
14. "I'm Real" by J. Lo f/ Ja Rule (2001)
13. "I Can Love You Like That" by All-4-One (1995)
12. "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye (1982)
11. "Ordinary People" by John Legend (2005)
10. "Crash Into Me" by Dave Matthews Band (1996)
9. "Nobody" by Keith Sweat (1998)
8. "Angel of Mine" by Monica (1998)
7. "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams (1991)
6. "Time after Time" by Cyndi Lauper (1984)
5. "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie (1985)
4. "Back at One" by Brian McKinght (1999)
3. "Forever and Ever, Amen" by Randy Travis (1987)
2. "My Girl" by the Temptations (1964)
1. "Differences" by Ginuwine (2001)

not digging the lovey-dovey? here are the top 10 post-relationship songs of all-time. we appease all sorts of feelings here at The Yogurt Chronicles.

10. "We Belong Together" by Mariah Carey (2005)
9. "Crying" by Roy Orbison (1961)
8. "Since U Been Gone" by Kelly Clarkson (2004)
7. "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You" by Michael Bolton (1983)
6. "I Drive Myself Crazy" by N'SYNC (1996)
5. "Go On Girl" by Ne-Yo (2007)
4. "F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)" by Eamon (2003)
3. "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor (1978)
2. "U Got It Bad" bu Usher (2001)
1. "Nobody Knows" by the Tony Rich Project (1996)

a sincere letter to the American Idol producers

dear American Idol heirercy,

what the fuck? (or, as the little sister and her teenage gal pals would put it, WTF!?!?) I don't know who that Josiah kid is sleeping with but the fact that he is still alive in the competition is a joke. are you looking for another Sanjaya incident? His final performance was chalked full of arrogance and awfulness. He boots the band for a song (Stand By Me) that, unless you're great, isn't an a capella song and needs a musical background and you give him three "yes" votes? are you asking to have no credibility? his original audition in South Carolina was lame, his first Hollywood song was decent and that band-less song was one of the worst post-audition performance i have ever heard. please cut him tomorrow and don't let him go to the final 24. nothing would make me smile more than seeing this chump crying (again) as he drives off into obscurity in his car/home. ugh.

on a positive note, i am digging Syesha Mercado, the gorgeous 21-year-old from Sarasota. i picked her to win from her original audition and i stuck by it last week. she is getting my vote, at least 460 times.

in conclusion, it's time to take out the trash (Josiah) because he sucks. right now, Wednesday is a good reality TV show night as i can watch Idol and then flip over to MTV for the Gauntlet III. please don't ruin this for me.

sincerely,

somebody who cares way too much about American Idol

MJ, Idol and dog shows: just your ordinary Tuesday

today is looking like a pretty good day and there is lots to be excited about. first of all, tonight kicks off Hollywood Week on Idol and its two hours of fun, so yay. secondly, it was announced yesterday that Clinton and Obama are going to have a debate on the UT campus and they will announce later if the public is invited. if the public is invited, i am there. if the public isn't invited, i might be there anyways. are you a dog lover, well a beagle from Austin is up for "Best of Show" at the Westminster Dog Show tonight, so that's cool.

finally, i get to pick up my t-shirt for softball tonight (i am apparently on a team called "Ball Bustas") and our first game of the season is tomorrow. more on that later.

however, all of these exciting happening pales in comparisons to what is happening at Best Buys and Sam Goodys across the country. of course, today is the day that the 25th edition of Thriller is released on CD and the album will feature some remixs with Kanye West, Akon and Fergie (ugh). i believe the plan is for me and marjon to go pick up copies after she gets out of class tonight so i am really looking forward to that. go MJ.

to commemorate this event, i will list my top 10 favorite Michael Jackson songs of all time with links to YouTube music videos featuring these songs performed by people who aren't Michael Jackson. except the You Rock My World video, that really is Michael Jackson... and Christ Tucker. enjoy them all, especially the Rockin' Robin one, which could make a legit argument for a certification in Awesome.

10. Heal the World
9. Human Nature
8. Beat It
7. Rockin' Robin
6. Man in the Mirror
5. You Rock My World
4. Thriller
3. Billie Jean
2. The Girl is Mine (f/ Paul McCartney)
1. The Way You Make Me Feel

Kanye and 50 told me to "watch the money pile up"

so last night was the 2008 Grammy awards, which i will admit i didn't watch. however, i did glance at some pictures from Rolling Stone and i will give a few quick impressions. Kanye West had a brilliant performance (pictures above) and i am glad that he took home four awards (Good Life is my ringtone) and i enjoyed him telling the Grammy producers to can the "wrap-it-up" music. Beyonce was kind of rockin' the thunder thighs but i did somewhat enjoy her performance with Tina Turner, who can still move although she is nearly 70. also, i like it when these random artists that aren't really known by our generation (Herbie Hancock last night, Steely Dan in 2001) take home the biggest awards of the night.

As far as style goes, Rihanna and Alicia Keys looked goooooood. digging something in the white variety? Carrie Underwood wasn't looking bad either although Underwood's fellow American Idol alum Fantasia looked like trash though. i know that if Jen Reed was watching the Grammys, she would have been excited to see Ne-Yo, who sings her favorite song ever. also, does anybody else think Hannah Montana is growing up a little too quickly? i don't remember 15-year-olds dressing like this back in my day.

on a side note, some of my co-workers think that Hannah Montana is a great new nickname for me. i do not.

oh k, enough of that drama. today i want to talk about the cash money.

this summer is going to be an expensive one as i have tentatively scheduled four trips over the span of 10 weeks. i will be heading to Missoula in mid-May for Le's graduation and on the first weekend on June, i will be in Salt Lake for Cuz's wedding. i am going to Chicago in July for the UNITY conference and will hopefully get to DC for a Statesman intern reunion. needless to say, i am going to be spending a lot of money as the UNITY trip alone is going to cost me around $2,000.

so my big goal today is to put together a long-term budget. don't get me wrong, i am pretty good with money but i usually only plan for the short-term. like, i know exactly to the penny where my money is going for the month of February but i really have no clue what is going on in regards to the month of March. i am going to have to have a more concrete idea of what's going on in the bank account if i am going to make things work this summer.

i also am going to have to be a lot more cautious with my spending habits. i need to quit eating out as much as i do and taking random trips to Best Buy to buy obscure random items like the Bad Boys two-fer DVD pack. it should be an interesting 6 months for the wallet.

some things are just more addictive than meth

i have mentioned this before but i do love me some Facebook Scrabble. it's probably my newest obsession and i think that it would have been a better item to give up for Lent although i am positive that i would have lasted roughly 13 hours. i mean, it's just a great game... it's not Trivial Pursuit or Monopoly but it's definitely a few steps above Hungry Hungry Hippos. it's also like an online learning tool because you get to learn new words!

now i really do hate Facebook applications as i believe becoming a vampire or announcing my political compass is just kind of lame. but over the past few months i have relented and added one that tracks the status of Hollywood's very own Lindsay Lohan and the aforementioned Facebook Scrabble, or Scrabulous. since i've added the latter of those two applications i've become addicted and when they finally do take down the Facebook Scrabble, i will be one depressed human being.

it's ironic though that playing a word game has dumbed down my vocabulary. sometimes when i play the Facebook Scrabble, i simultaneously chat online with my board game rivals Robyn and Wallace and our conversations switch from school and jobs to simple one-syllable words that includes the word "go" is many different languages.

however, as Robyn will attest, i am an overly-competitive person when it comes to the Facebook Scrabble, which is kind of a problem since i'm not that great at the moment. currently, i have a career statline of 7-13-1 which gives me a winning percentage of .333. if i was in the NFL this season, i would have been worse than the Detroit Lions (.438) but slightly better that the San Francisco 49ers (.313). this isn't a good thing people!

looking at my Facebook stats, it appears that i am ranked 1139th in the Facebook universe. 1139th!?! according to rateyourmusic.com, the 1139th album of all-time is ZZ Top's "Tres Hombres," a 1973 collection of songs that nobody could name. do you know who isn't ranked 1139th? a winner.

in the end, i aspire to be Nick George, who belongs to the Japan network. According to the 'Book, Mr. George has completed 2,941 games and holds a stellar record of 2551-385. an impressive feat but not nearly as awesome as the "private" user who leads all of Facebook with 35,431 games played (a 2,683-32,748 record). over 35,000 games!?! that takes the probable lack of a girlfriend/boyfriend and an incredible amount of perseverance. even though i am guessing that guy/girl doesn't have much time to shower, i would imagine he/she reeks of sheer awesomeness.

anyways, i need to finish this blog and get to practicing so i can be ranked #1 in the world. this means an intense amount of training (memorizing a dictionary and playing with colorful refrigerator letters). hasta.

UPDATE: a well-done Scrabulous music video is on the YouTube.

realistically this counts as a Saturday post

not really much to report but i'm going to put up a post anyways. i feel like i owe the two or three people who actually read this blog.

does anybody understand the need for so many types of paper? you have your yellow legal, the schoolbook notebook paper with the ruffled edges, the white lined sheets as well as computer plain. too much. we should just have a universal sheet of paper and go from there.

so there's a random rant for you. see you tomorrow (technically, later today) for the highly anticipated post about Facebook Scrabble.

i am better judge of talent than Simon Cowell

this morning, i finally got around to watching my DVR copy of Wednesday's American Idol leftover auditions. overall, it was a waste of time except for Chikezie Eze, who was pretty good and could be a top 24er. but luckily, the auditions are over and its off to Hollywood which is where the show really begins to take off. i was commenting about the show on my MySpace blog and i wasn't going to write any more about AI until the top 24 but i am an addict so i probably will continue to keep commenting.

Hollywood week (the above picture is taken from a Hollywood week from years past) is awesome, only because you have to have so much luck to get through. not only do you have to be great vocally but you have to have good vocalists with the group you're put into and you have to have a good deal of vocalists in your final group. you could be the best vocalist on the show but if you get stuck in a crappy group, you are done. this sets up for some good drama and i really hope they don't cut the group singing part because that's the only part where they really show contestant interaction that isn't incredibly corny and pre-rehearsed.

not sure how much i'm going to like the musical instrument aspect of the show, but i guess we'll see. actually, i'm sure i'll hate it but, we'll see.

here is my top 10 of who i liked with the show they auditioned in in parenthesis. its girl heavy because, honestly, the dudes weren't that great although the judges said in pre-season interviews the guys were better this season. according to a website that the Statesman TV blog linked to last week, out of the top 24 (everything before the live shows has been taped already and this guy apparently has some inside knowledge), eight of my top 10 make it through. i'm not saying which ones didn't make it (look for yourself) but this just proves that i should be a talent scout... i could be Randy, only without the "dawg" talk.

10. Carly Smithson (San Diego)
9. Kristy Lee Cook (Philly)
8. Amanda Overmyer (Atlanta)
7. Pia Easley (Dallas)
6. Chris Watson (Philly)
5. Asia'h Epperson (Atlanta)
4. Chikezie Eze (Leftover)
3. Kady Malloy (Dallas)
2. Alexandrea Lushington (Atlanta)
1. Syesha Mercado (Miami)

enjoy your weekend.

chatting about idiots with first amendment rights

with a sports reporting job in a major city, you get the opportunity to meet a lot of famous people. over the past two years i've gotten to talk to Jason Varitek, Jason Witten and Marion Barber III and held one-on-one interviews with Terry Francona, Patrick Crayton and Matt Holliday. honestly, i rarely get starstruck... but that wasn't the case yesterday.

at a banquet for my new side-beat, the Round Rock Express, i got to meet and shake hands with Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson. if you aren't sure who he is, Wikipedia him. i shook his hand and was just so taken back by being in the presence of an African-American legend that i think i rambled on for about three incoherent sentences about how much of an honor it was to meet him.

aside from the hours of boring-ness the preceded him, it was fun being able to hear Jackson and Nolan Ryan reminisce about the good ol' days.

but this blog isn't about baseball, it's about the Internet. more specifically, it's about the idiots who surf the internet.

sometime either this week or last week, the Montana Kaimin (my old college newspaper) omitted presidential candidate Ron Paul from its election scorecard and failed to write an article on him either. well, on Super Tuesday Paul had the most votes in Missoula county for the closed primary in Montana and the Paulinites are pissed.

in today's edition, Kaimin editor Sean Breslin published an apology for the oversight, which was picked up by journalism watchdog Romenesko. still, that wasn't enough for the Paulinites and at the time this blog post was written, Sean's apology had garnered 75 comments on the Kaimin website that were publishable, most of them stinking of rage and outright lunacy.

Some people threatened to boycott the Kaimin advertisers (poor sperm bank and UC theater) while some decided to make up their own definition of what treason and yellow journalism are. One comment, which has been erased, screamed "FUCK IT KAIMAN! TWICE" which just reeked of credibility since the first words was a swear word and they misspelled the entity that they are hating on.

all i have to say on this particular subject is the Kaimin is a student newspaper and they are occassionally going to make mistakes, it happens. that and Ron Paul is a joke.

but the Kaimin isn't the main subject of this blog, its the subject of message board, a topic i touched on often with the Kaimin in regards to eGriz.com. i hate message boards because they give people the right to say whatever they feel like under the sheets of anonymity.

at the Statesman, individual stories are not allowed to be commented on but people can post comments on our various blogs. i pretty much moderate the blog for high school sports and it is pretty ridiculous how many blogs i have to erase because they either bash 16-year-olds or are profanity-laced tirades against other schools.

i personally like the idea of Letters to the Editor because only civil people can write them. any idiot can type up a few swear words and hit "post" but it takes someone with an IQ of higher than 68 to actually write up an e-mail/letter clearly discussing their ideas. plus, things tend to get a lot more civil when you (like the author you are bashing) have to put your name on something. 95% of the crap that people put on message boards aren't things that they'd actually say face-to-face to the person they are bashing. man up.

so in conclusion, message boards are lame and people who post garbage anonymously are even lamer. now if you want to post positive things anonymously, on say, this blog, feel free. ha.

1 out of every 5 Nevada teens is an incredible liar

yea, so that story i told you a couple days ago about the Nevada football player who was tricked into thinking he got a scholarship. turns out he's a liar. still feel pretty bad for the kid.

UPDATE: good little blog on Deadspin today about this kid and the animal that is high school recruiting.

nothing like a little self-degradation before Lent

what should we talk about today? well, i figure we should touch on Shaq and Super Tuesday but first, i'd like to chat about boobs. boobs are pretty awesome but boys, and i can't stress this enough, all girls have them.

this is why i don't really understand the whole Mardi Gras holiday which has to be Latin or Spanish for "94% dudes, 4% chicks, 2% undecided." i spent last night down at the sausagefest that was 6th street and Christ, you would almost be led to believe that a couple thousand Austin males had never seen a pair of breasts before. people were running around with purple, green and gold beads trying to get a woman to flash them in exchange for craptastic neckwear. when these aforementioned flashings would occur, suddenly a couple dozen cameras (still and video) would be whipped out and it was like being on the set of Girls Gone Wild.

of course, it wasn't the hot girls that were going topless. not even the cute/average ones. no Tuesday night was a parade of the uggos with very little self-respect. i was once nearly trampled by a hoard of guys who were running to a spot where a girl was about to show off her goods. they hooted and hollered and when i was finally able to get out of the stampede, i saw the girl... and honestly, i (who admitidly is not much of a looker myself) wouldn't talk to this girl if i was 7 beers...er, wait, i gave up beer for Lent... 7 shots of tequila deep. i mean, i know boobs are great and all but why break an arm in an attempt to see nothing special?

all in all, i just don't get Mardi Gras and it made me uncomfortable enough to get me on the road back home by 12:30. i just don't see the appeal in watching women degrade themselves for a set of beads when they could instead walk five steps to a street vendor and buy those same beads for a couple dollars. maybe, its since i was essentially raised in a house full of women and i'd freak out if i ever heard of my sisters pulling off that nonsense. i feel the same way about strip clubs... man, i need to find myself a nice wholesome Christian girl.

anyways, after Super Tuesday i'd be pretty happy if i was Barack Obama. even though he is trailing Hilary in delegates, it's a close race and the rest of the states play out well for him. over the course of the month states with big delegate counts like Washington (97), Maryland (99), Virginia (103) and Wisconsin (93) are all places where he should be favored. and then things will get interesting on March 4 when Texas (228 delegates) and Ohio (162) go to the polls, so i am looking forward to two or three weeks of fun attack ads. awesome.

as for yesterday, i was surprised with how well Huckabee did and that Obama took Conneticut.

a one-word analysis on Phoenix's big trade today for Shaq O'Neal: dumb.

and i'm done. i'm here all week, don't forget to tip your waitress.

1 out of every 5 Nevada teens is incredibly gullible

two blogs today, it's like Christmas in February.

as somebody who has been doing a lot of of recruiting write-ups over the past couple of months, this article was very intriguing to me. essentially it's the story of a football player in Nevada who had a huge ceremony over signing to play college football at Cal-Berkley. only problem was Cal never made an offer and it appears the kid might be a victim of a prank.

now one of two things happened...

1. this kid was badly duped and you have to feel pretty bad to see his dreams shattered like this. apparently somebody claiming to be from Oregon called too but the Ducks say they haven't contacted the kid either. there is a criminal investigation going and if somebody really did prank call this kid, there is a certain division in hell reserved for that jackass.
   
2. the kid is desperate for a scholarship and is willing to tell a bold-faced lie to drum up some national attention. he may be hoping that somebody just feels bad enough for him to take a look. even if this is the case, i still feel incredibly bad for the kid.
   

either way, blame the kid's high school coach. as the University of Montana will surely attest, background checks are kind of important and there is no way that any legit program would offer a kid a scholarship without talking to his high school coach multiple times. and trust me, Cal is a pretty legit school. the coach should have figured out that something may be wrong as this whole story just reeks of foul play.

should be interesting to see how this one plays out.

better reason to drink: Super or Fat Tuesday?

today in honor of Super Tuesday, i will write the first in a series of random political blogs leading up to the presidential election in November. i don't follow politics religiously but still i feel just as qualified as some of those idiots that are getting paid on Fox News.

first, i have to address the people in charge of the Montana primaries because i am still a registered voter in the Treasure State as i am not becoming a Texan until i absolutely have to. mostly, Montana is irrelevant on the political scene since we all of three whole electoral votes but on Super Tuesday, half of the state gets to think it matters as the state republicans will hold a closed primary. so if you're a registered republican head on over to your local church/school gym and vote for somebody.

so (to borrow the phrase from the man who made it famous, Patrick Duganz) big ups to the state republicans and some backhands to the state democrats who, along with South Dakota, will hold the party's last primaries... on June 3. June 3!?! really!?! this is either really dumb (the race will likely be pretty much over after today) or genius as it could possibly be a close race that comes down to the last delegate (an unlikely scenario). i guess we'll see.

let's talk about Super Tuesday, which falls on Fat Tuesday. are people drinking to debauchery or politics? who knows? i just expect lots of drunks.

anyways, who would have ever thought that one day, a black man, a woman and a Mormon would be three of the four front-runners for the White House? how's that for progress? i don't even know why they are holding democratic primaries in Illinois and New York or a republican one in Utah (where CNN reported over the weekend that Romney was pulling 84 percent in a recent poll with 12 percent undecided).

although i like the 93-year-old McCain, i am likely going to vote democrat in this upcoming election. i have a lot of republican and conservative values but i don't believe that what always works for me works for everybody and i don't believe that my ideals should be forced on everyone. i feel the the republican party likes to shove values down the throats of the people (abortion, gay marriage, etc.) while the democrats tend to be more liberal and embracing of the "to each his own" motto. that's just how i feel about it.

when it comes to Hilary and Barack, there are a lot of negatives and positives to both.

i feel that Barack is energetic and refreshing and after eight years of the same old white men running the white house while silencing the token black members of the cabinet, it would be nice to see something new. i think Barack is a great public speaker and has charisma like ol' Bill Clinton. i also think he has good and innovative ideas.

however, Barack is young and very inexperienced in terms of foreign policies and well, we are kind of submerged in a lot of foreign issues right not and that scares me. a lot. for those who don't think that experience matters, just look at last year's vice-presidential debate where Dick Cheney, who the democrats hate and i can't believe that anyone on the republican side is madly in love with either, absolutely embarrassed the young and very inexperienced John Edwards. Barack also doesn't have the best and most consistent track record when it comes to how he's voted. he preaches a lot about change but what significant bills has he authored and pushed through over the last four years that represent that desire of change?

Barack also really annoyed me with how his staff handled the recent flap over Hilary's MLK comments, which were in fact, exactly on the money. it kind of angers me that he says he's not playing the race card, but let's face it, that's what his campaign is based on. a white guy can't preach about change the way that Barack does. if he was a white dude, he would be nothing more than your ordinary congressman (i can't say the same about Hilary if she was a man) and there's nothing to be ashamed of but don't act like you aren't playing the race card but pull it out at convienent moments in an attempt to bash your rivals.

now let's talk about Hilary. i am partially biased because i love Bill and i find it kind of funny/sad to see how quickly the African-American community has forgotten all that he did for our race during his eight years in office. but that's how life roles in the "what have you done for me lately" society that we live in these days. anyways, Hilary has a lot of experience through her years in the Senate and she was also an incredibly active First Lady. i think she actually has a legitimate record that we can judge, which isn't the case with Barack.

however, Hilary has a lot of baggage and because of the chances of Bill becoming the First Pimp... er, Gentleman, some people are afraid of her ability to pull in a good vice-president, which is illustrated in this article by Roland Martin. there is a good deal of animosity within the republican party towards Hilary so it might be tough to get unity within Congress and it might just end up like the past eight years all over again. also, because of that republican hateration, it would be difficult for Hilary to maybe sway some republicans to vote for her and i think Barack would have an easier time reaching across to isle to grab some votes.

not really sure who i am going to vote for (sadly, i am one of those people who has my mind made up more about American Idol) but if somebody had a gun to my head, i am probably checking the box for Hilary. however, luckily for me i have until the beginning of June to figure it out.

Purple Parrots suck, i want to be a Blue Barracuda

so let's wrap up my "intensive" coverage of Super Bowl 42... which has been done from 1,000 miles away in Austin.

• i've said it before and i'll say it again: Tom Brady is overrated. i could throw for 50 touchdowns with those receivers and the amount of time he's given by his offensive line and my spirals dies out at about 25 yards. in his four Super Bowls, he has thrown for only seven touchdowns and in two of those games he only threw for one touchdown each. also, none of those TD tosses have been for more than 10 yards. so he's supposed to be the greatest quarterback of all time!?! please. the Giants were able to put pressure on him and made him look ordinary, which is what he would look like on any other team in the country.
• although her arms are probably bigger than mine, Jordin Sparks looked damn good last night. she also sang a pretty good anthem. and talk about having connections, Jordin had plenty on Sunday as she was from Arizona, has a father who played for the Giants, and was connected to Fox through American Idol.
• speaking of Idol, they kept showing promos for Hollywood week, although i am positive that there is still one audition show remaining. guess we'll see on Tuesday.
• Fox showed 390 promos but i am still not going to watch House.
• halftime wasn't that bad. halfway through "Free Fallin'" i had to text Le to tell her how much this reminded me of UM football games.
• for today's example of good journalism, i am going to direct you to a column by Bill Simmons of ESPN.com. not so much, because it's great writing but Simmons is a notorious Patriots homer and it was nice to read a column that you knew he wrote while crying.
  

oh k, enough with the Super Bowl, here are things to look forward to on the next three Tuesdays. tomorrow, in honor of Super Tuesday, i will be posting my first political blog. next Tuesday, Michael Jackson's 25th anniversary edition of Thriller is released and the Tuesday after that, American Gangster comes out on DVD. put it on your calendars, people.

i was originally going to talk about Facebook Scrabble but i was reminded of something more important this morning, so that topic will have to wait until later in the week. i was in one of those groups that your friends put up when they need your phone numbers and i glanced to the side and i saw this group name: "I HATE When Kids Suck At Putting Together the Shrine of the Silver Monkey." i immediately i knew what this group was talking about... Legends of the Hidden Temple!!!

before i go on, i will give a quick definition of the generation we grew up in. most of the kids my age are young enough to remember floppy disks (Oregon Trail, yay) but too old to talk about Hannah Montana without beginning their conversation with "I have a little sister/niece." however, right in the middle of our lives was the golden era of Nickelodeon, which meant we got to watch such great shows as Doug (the good version, not the jr. high nonsense), Rugrats, the Secret World of Alex Mack, and All That when good people like Keenan and Kel were on it. and then there was Legends of the Hidden Temple.

before the reality TV show craze set in, this was the show all the kids would want to be in and i remember religiously watching this show and rooting for/against the teams. my theory in picking the teams were simple, i either rooted for the teams with black kids on it or the Blue Barracudas. i was always convinced that i could have been on the show because while the moat may have given me some issues, i could have easily worked the steps of knowledge and put together the aforementioned silver monkey. but alas, mom and dad never sent me down to Florida to compete in the show and i was stuck playing little league baseball and street hockey with my friends.

also while we are on the subject of retro TV, did you know that stars like Fergie (ugh) and Jennifer Love Hewitt got their starts on the variety show Kids Incorporated? now you do.

anyways, it's nice to know that with all the crap on TV these days (has anybody actually watched Survivor since like season 17?) that there was an era when the television was good and the living was easy.

Keyshawn looks like a feminine Tracy Morgan

i am watching some highlights on ESPN right now and i must say that from a quick glance, Keyshawn Johnson looks a lot like what Tracy Morgan would look like if Tracy was a woman. apparently Key's stylist thought a multi-colored scarf with a purple shirt was a good football look.

anyways, i'm sure i will write more about this tomorrow but wow, what a game. the last two Super Bowls kind of sucked but this game was incredible and, with all that was on the line, i am thinking that this might have been the best Super Bowl of my lifetime. better than the Pats' first Super Bowl in 2002 and better than Rams v. Titans.

Eli won me some mad money and was on one end of perhaps the greatest post-season play of all time (damn, who the hell is David Tyree?). the Giants had an incredible game plan and kept the Patriots from that elusive perfect season. excellent.

oh, and for the most part, the Super Bowl commercials sucked. i heard that Michael Jackson was supposed to be in a commercial but alas i did not get my 30 seconds of Michael. but if i was going to pick a commercial that i did like, it was the Lizard Thriller (for Life Water) that ran, i think, in the second quarter. The Pepsi spot featuring Justin Timberlake was good too and although i didn't care for the entire commercial, i laughed pretty good when some character Will Ferrell was playing uttered "Bud Light, suck one."

they say distance makes the heart grow fonder

with Fat Tuesday on well, Tuesday, i have been dwindling down my choices for what i am giving up for Lent this year. although i am not Catholic i have practiced Lent since my sophomore or junior year in high school. at first, i did it just because Cameron was doing it and i figured to share in his misery but now it serves as a much-needed practice in patience and self-discipline.

my first Lent i gave up soda and pizza has been a common item to give up over the years. last year, i gave up spending money on items that weren't necessary like bills and gasoline. giving up money wasn't the hardest thing i've ever done because i knew a lot of people so my social life didn't necessarily suffer (it's amazing how many people bought me stuff) plus i didn't have to buy groceries because i was a RA. needless to say, i couldn't give up money this year because if i wasn't allowed to spend money down here in Austin, i would just sit in my apartment more than i already do.

this year, i am really trying to get healthier and my Lent sacrifice will reflect that. this year i will be giving up beer, fast food and red meat, so i am pretty sure that i might not last 40 days but i am definitely going to try. as usual, there are some loopholes as i will be able to get some non-beefy fast food if i am on the road for my job and i don't have time to grab a sit-down dinner... i'm not going to starve myself. also, giving up red meat won't start until Thursday as i didn't plan ahead well and i have a media dinner on Wednesday and my pre-ordered dinner involves red meat.

so yes, the next few days will be pretty damn unhealthy for me as i will be purging the fridge so i can clean out all the beer and meat. should be fun. also, if you see me on Tuesday night, i will probably be unable to shake your hand because i will likely have a beer in one hand and a bag of McDonald's in the other. it's going to be a lonely 40 days without my old friends.

whatever happpened to 7 Up and Christine Lakin?

if you paid any attention to my Facebook page yesterday you would have noticed that my status read "Danny Davis is possibly going to be on TV tonight. watch Friday Night Lights." well, if you watched FNL you would have realized that my beautiful face was not on TV, which probably would have been enough to ruin your night. sorry. but the game that the Dillon Panthers were charging out to at the end of this week's episode was one of the "games" that i was an extra in (i played the role of "random insignificant fan" and got paid $62.45 for my services), so maybe next week i will be on the TV. maybe.

couple of things to get to today...

first, i must give a happy birthday shout-out to Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll who is known on the pop scene as just simply Shakira. now, while, i admit my obsession over Shakira has waned over the years (i stopped putting up my 4 or 5 posters of her last year) but she will always hold a special place in my heart.

secondly, i must give another shout-out, this one to Ms. Allison Squires. Squires, commas and capital letters are overrated.

and finally, let's talk about the Super Bowl. the Giants will go for the "giant upset" this week when they play the 18-0 Patriots in Glendale, Ariz., which is where my grandmother lives and my brother used to go to school. true story. honestly, the only reason i care about this game is for fantasy football purposes, which highlights one of the growing problems with being a fan today... you are now essentially rooting for two teams, your real one (go Browns) and your fantasy one (go The Thandie Newton Appreciation Society). but more on that later.

needless to say, i "own" Eli Manning, the Giants defense and Joe Nobody, the Giants kicker. I am currently in second place and should i hold my position, i will win a nice $50 check on Monday. however, two of the teams breathing down my neck respectively have Tom Brady and Giants running back Brandon Jacobs so it's going to be a nerve-wrecking three hours. i am hoping for a 35-34 Giants win with Eli tossing for four touchdowns.

unfortunately, until the Browns make it to the Super Bowl (we're aiming for the year 2040) i am probably going to care more about the commercials/fantasy football stats than the actual football. don't get me wrong, i love watching the game but i hate seeing my friends happy that their team won while i wallow in misery thinking "well, maybe next year is our year!!!" last year, i wrote a piece about how to make the perfect Super Bowl commercial and this year around i will share with you my top three Super Bowl commercials of the past four years (the drunken college era):

honorable mentions: Bud Light pilot (2005), Referee Training (2004), Jackie Chan ditches Chris Tucker, doubles with Pepsi (2006)
3. the axe that doubles as a bottle opener (2007). this was a Budweiser spot from the last Super Bowl (2007) and while i probably laughed more at the auctioneer wedding commercial, i am going to give "The Axe" the nod because the commercial starred the pretty hot Christine Lakin, a Texas girl whole played the role of Al on the 90s sitcom "Step-by-Step."
2. 7 Up slam dunk (2004). i feel old saying this but i remember the days when 7 Up used to have brilliant commercial spots, Orlando Jones was a C-list celebrity and people actually drank 7 Up. Whatever happened to 7up? i see Sprite all the time, but where is the original lemon-lime beverage? you don't see kids playing "heads up, Sierra Mist." anyways, this commercial is pretty funny.
1. cats shouldn't eat spaghetti (2005). sadly, something about murdered cats apparently makes me laugh. this Ameriquest commercial about not jumping to conclusions was excellent.

i also found a website that has an archive of all the Super Bowl commercials so check that out. oh k, enough writing for today, see you all later.

Duganz's reign in the blogosphere is in jeopardy

so here was go... once upon a time there was a blog called "The Yogurt Hut" where i shared all my thoughts with the world. however, the blog ended up being just a couple posts about American Idol before i got bored with it and abandoned it to forever roam the realms of cyberspace by its lonesome. but then one day, i read a blog by a Patrick Duganz and i thought well, if this kid can have a blog, then so can i!

but really, i think i am doing this because i kind of miss having an arena to voice my opinions, which tend to be awfully sporadic and rather diverse. having my column in the kaimin for two years was an excellent form of self-expression and since i have yet to find a way to insert Cosby Show references and Bush disses into my high school football stories, this blog is going to have to do.

in short, this blog is just going to be about whatever i am feeling like talking about. it may be updated once a week or four times a day, depending on my mood/if they take away Facebook Scrabble and thus free up a lot of my down time.

one thing i am going to post frequently are examples of what i perceive to be good journalism. you will get to read some awesome stories and i will, in turn, be forced to start reading more, which is something i need to do. a lot of these stories are going to be about sports though so don't get annoyed... sometimes i will mix it up.

my first two articles come to you from the Seattle Times and Sports Illustrated. the link to the Seattle Times will take you to an astonishing series that William Oram pointed me to about the 2000-01 Washington Huskies and the madness that went on off the field. The second link is about a former Dallas Cowboy who has a somewhat depressing rags-to-riches-to-rags story.

so, enjoy the writing and feel free to come back and visit my blog anytime you want. Duganz, you are going down... KA KAW!