NFL Draft

Probably the second biggest weekend in football to the Super Bowl, the NFL Draft gives a reason for fans of bad teams to get excited about football again. I would have liked to have watched more of it, but I had other things on my agenda.

Bears Draft
It wasn't sexy but the Bears took who they needed to I think. Matt Forte will hopefully light a fire under Benson or take the job himself. It's not very fun to see your favorite team draft three offensive lineman in the draft but it is something they needed to address. Jerry Angelo always does a nice job, outside of the first round. Hopefully Chris Williams won't be a bust such as Curtis Enis, David Terrell, Rex Grossman and probably Cedric Benson. Jeremy always talks about how everyone thinks it is important to find steals in the late rounds when making good picks in the first round really is key. All of the Colts starting skills players were first round picks made by them (Manning, Addai, James (now at Arizona but definetely not a bust), Reggie Wayne, Gonzalez and I think Marvin Harrison, not to mention Dallas Clark. That is how they won the Super Bowl. The Bears got to the Super Bowl with their defense, mainly drafted in the late rounds but they lost becuase of their offense that included players that haven't lived up to hype.
We won't know how this draft class will turn out for a couple years but for the moment I am pleased. There was talk about getting a quarterback in the second round but in my opinion none of the quarterbacks in this class were really that great. I think they will try to sign a free agent or trade fro one if Grossman and Orton prove they are worthless this year.

Picks I liked
Dorsey to KC for the fifth pick was a gift to KC. He's a stud and it was a no brainer for KC to snatch him up although Herm Edwards wanted to trade the pick for my draft picks.

Kevin Smith to DET in the third round. Watching a couple of his games at UCF during the late part of the season last year, this guy is a stud. He could be the pick of the draft.

Rashard Mendenhall to PIT. Luckily for PIT, Jerry Jones couldn't put aside his Arkansas bias and drafted Felix Jones one spot ahead. Both will be good players but with Mendenhall and Parker, Big Ben will have even more help.

Picks I didn't like
McFadden to OAK- I hate to see McFadden go to Oakland and I think Oakland could have filled other needs. They already have Fargas, LaMont Jordon and Micheal Bush and who knows if JaMarcus Russell will pan out. I would have rather seen him go to New York with the Jets to help them compete with the Patriots.

Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn to GB- I know Brett Favre is better than Rodgers Brohm and Flynn combined but you can only play one QB at a time. I felt Rodgers looked like he was ready but now, if Brohm shows up to play the Packers have a QB controversy which can't be good for the psyche of Rodgers.

Chris Johnson in the first round to TEN- Vince Young needs a number one receiver and with no receivers taken at this point in the draft they could have taken whoever they wanted. Tennessee keeps drafting running backs when they have other needs.

Rockets 2008 Playoff game #2

THIS IS A MUST WIN FOR THE ROCKETS!!! Probably. The Jazz have been very good at home (only 4 losses) and they now have home court advantage with the win in Houston on Saturday. The Jazz' record is poor on the road for the year, but they've been good on the road since acquiring Kyle Korver. Yes, you read that right, Kyle Korver. Boozer, Williams, AK-47, Okur ... and Kyle Korver made the difference.

8:40 Kady Milloy singing the National Anthem! So you don't know who that is. If you watch American Idol you would. She's from the Houston area, she's pretty decent looking, she does a good Britney Spears impression, however, she can't sing very well. And apparently brave is a two syllable word. And the home ... of the ... ba-rave!

8:43 They're announcing the starting lineups. Scola, Battier, all of them do this flying shoulder bump thing with the bench players. Except McGrady. He went with the index finger touch. Hopefully I can find a picture of it, you've got to see it to believe it. That shoulder must be a bigger problem than people are making it out to be.

8:50 I'm watching this game on local tv. The game is also being broadcast on TNT. Not really sure why it's on local, too, but I wasn't too impressed with the announcers on Saturday night.

8:56 Somebody should try guarding Darren Williams. The Rockets miss Rafer Alston. Yes, you read that right, as well. They've been trying to give his job away for 3 years and he's still the best PG on the team.

9:01 I've already mentioned Kyle Korver - Iowa tie #1, I should also mention Matt Bullard a.k.a. Bull. You may know him from the University of Iowa teams in the late '80s. He's from WDM Valley and played for the Rockets on their championship teams. Iowa tie #2.

9:08 Mario Williams sighting!!! I wonder if he drove to the game in his orange Lamborgini?

9:22 Rockets still down 30-25, but McGrady seems to be trying, so that's a plus.

9:26 T-Mac averages 28.5 ppg in the playoffs. Good for fourth best all time. Behind Jordan and Jerry West (and somebody else). Maybe it isn't all his fault that his teams haven't made it out of the first round.

9:39 Okur (7') gets a rebound over Chuck Hayes (6'6"). Bullard says, "You can't teach 7 foot." To which Clyde Drexler adds, "You can't teach height" Uh, I think that's what he just said. I suppose if you've got a half-dozen quips stocked up, you use them when you can.

9:48 The Utah Jazz are so long! You would have thought Jay Bilas was calling the game!

9:49 Chuck Hayes has missed 3 point blank shots. And Battier just had a sweet put back dunk. Drexler dubs him "Air Battier." Original. I'm guessing he didn't come up with Clyde The Glide.

10:14 Second half and its tied on a TMac jumper, but he can't make the free throw and the Rockets can't take the lead. McGrady should be a better free throw shooter (68% !!! Not to mention his three-point shooting 29%. Ouch!)

10:18 McGrady is getting eaten up on defense by Kirilenko. McGrady has never been a great defender, but usually the Rockets hide him. Who is Battier guarding?

10:22 Rockets lead! Rockets lead! And of all people to make the go-ahead, it's Diekembe Mutumbo. That dude is oooooooold.

10:30 McGrady takes a three ... and misses! Not surprising, for those of you who have been following along.

10:35 Ronnie Price just hit a buzzer beater three at the end of the third quarter. Austin dubbed them the Utah Buzzer Beaters. Better than Drexler could have come up with, I guess. Ronnie Price is Houston-tie #1. He's from Friendswood.

10:39 4th quarter, 71-69, bad guys. Mehmet Okra just made an easy layup. Rockets should try playing some defense. Just heard that Darin Williams is not hurt, he's just chillaxin in the locker room.

10:45 Bennett Salvatore is bad at his job. One of the few things I agree with Bill Simmons about. Seriously, that guy's a turd. Well, both him and Salvatore.

10:49 McGrady goes 1 for 2 from the stripe. He's missed 4 ... of 9. 55%, that's about right. If someone like Amare Stoudemare can make 22 of 22 in a game, McGrady (a SHOOTING guard) should be able to go better than 70% from the line.

10:57 McGrady is rubbing off on the other players, and not in a good way. Bobby Jackson just missed two free throws - he's who they send up for technical free throws (81%). They needed that, too. Down by three, you can't miss two free throws.

10:59 Down by five, the Rockets get a five on four break, and McGrady is lucky to draw rim on a three point attempt (0 for 2 tonight). He just can't put together a complete game. This is the time when he needs to take the game over. He didn't score in the 4th quarter last night and only has one point in the fourth tonight. Maybe that's why he doesn't make it out of the first round.

11:06 Drexler and Bullard have been dogging on the refs all game long. I'd agree that there have been some pretty terrible calls. The last one was especially poor. Bullard doesn't think these refs belong in the playoffs.

11:09 Kyle Korver hits a shot and then ices the game from the free throw line. The Iowa kid killing us, that's what hurts. Kyle Korver makes the difference in yet another road game. We didn't get to the next two Iowa ties, maybe next time.

Beer Can House

Only in Houston ...

A Man’s 6-Pack Can Serve as His Castle

I'm proud to say I've been there. Mom came to Houston and asked me about the beer can house, I said I'd never heard about it and she couldn't believe it. When asked how long she'd known about it, she said "a couple days." Apparently somebody she works with had heard about it. Now, it wasn't much to look at when we drove past, but it's now been restored and made into some sort of a historical destination. This article might not be the best about the beer can house, but it made the NYTimes. This dude retired and drank a six-pack a day for 18 years. Dedication.

Master's Challenge

Having a hard time getting into most golf events, I decided to try a fantasy event on ESPN. The Master's best ball challenge is similar to other "challenge" events on ESPN.com, where you get a salary cap and get to choose athletes based on their performance. Having really no clue on strategy and possessing what I thought was not a lot of golf knowledge I sat down to make my picks. Of course Tiger is on my roster. No matter what is cost and it turned out to be 6 dollars more than any other golfer, I knew I had to take him. My next pick was kind of a homer pick with Zach Johnson. I chose Aaron Oberholser and Tom Watson to round out my four. I couldn't find a group to my liking, so I joined the Iowa Hawkeyes group and named my entry Cyclone Fan. After Day One I was atop the leaderboard and I really got into it. I picked up Immelman for Oberholser for days two and three and then picked up Snedecker instead of Immelman on Sunday so I could pick up a fourth golfer that made the cut. After all was said and done I finished atop the Iowa Hawkeye leaderboard and in the 99.6 percentile, 189th place overall. I guess I knew more than I thought.

Billy Butt Packer

Billy Packer just referred to Shawn Taggart as an "ISU Grad". I did not know you could graduate after finishing about two classes. I need to find out what track Taggart was on and finish up my degree apparantely. Jim Nance + Billy Packer equals brutal to listen to. I don't think I can go through another game of this crap.

Houston News Report - 4/4/08

There's been some interesting news in the Houston area as of late. Here are a couple links.

There's been a lot of news about these two the last week. Why are 14 year olds pregnant?!?
Juvenile Girl Will Not Be Charged for Abandoning Fetus on Airplane
Texas Police Say Baby Probably Cried Before 14-Year-Old Mom Killed Him in Flush Attempt

Maybe kids are as shocked and disappointed as everyone else
Houston teens push for better sex ed

Another example of "Texas Justice"
HPD: Convenience Store Clerk Kills Robber

72 grand doesn't seem like enough
Indonesian Woman Enslaved By Sugar Land Family For Years, Court Records Show

Not all news out of Houston has been bad - Only 78 murders during the first three months of 2008!
City Houston on track to lower homicide rate compared to 2007

Cubs Season Opener

Chicago Cubs Opening Day

1:33 PM- The game was supposed to start at 1:20, and like typical Chicago weather in March-it’s raining. The game is going to start soon, they are chalking the infield and Big Z (Carlos Zambrano) is warming up in the outfield. I am enjoying listening to the replay of Ernie Banks’ statue ceremony. His quote, “I am proud to be the only player to play his entire career in one city, Chicago, one mayor, one owner, one stadium and under one light, God’s light”

1:53 PM: Ernie Banks throws out the first pitch. Its low and just a touch inside (probably would have hit a right handed batter). Hopefully Zambrano will have better control.

1:59 PM: Zambrano throws out the first pitch, strike one! The season is under way.

2:00 PM: Three pitches, three strikes- Sit down Rickie Weeks!

2:06 PM: Top of the first in the books. Zambrano looked fairly sharp. The lone hit came on a Tony Gwynn infield single. Lets see how this new and improved lineup looks.

2:12 PM: Three up three down. This entry is being fueled by Bud Light.

2:24 PM: Kosuke Fukudome’s first at bat. First pitch ripped into Center Field for a double! Hopefully there is more of that to come. Felix Pie strikes out swinging to end the inning, same shit-different year.

2:25 PM- 3:30 PM: Zzzzzzzz’s and beers. Rain delay again!

3:32: And we are back. Baseball again. Good to see Zambrano is still on the mound.

3:44 PM: Fukudome gets a walk. He is on pace to set the On-Base Percentage record (1.000). I’m having a hard time keeping up with both the blog and the beers and my homework. After four innings its still tied at zero, could call it a pitchers duel or shitty hitters, I’ll go with the latter.

3:55 PM: It seems as though this game is dragging on. It is only the fifth inning and the game was scheduled to start two and a half hours ago. That’s what rain does I guess. Felix Pie goes down looking. Same shit, different year. Lets go Zambrano take care of it yourself.

4:01 PM: Zambrano is looking real good. He has only given up one hit so far and even that didn’t leave the infield. I would not want to be a hitter against him in this weather. Ah, hit number two against Zambrano and fat ass Fielder is up to bat.

4:22 PM: Zambrano exits the game with cramping in his forearm. His first strong opening day outing going 6 2/3 innings without allowing a run. Cubs get their first look in 2008 at their bullpen as Carlos Marmol enters the game. It’s good to see him start the year off right. Marmol strikes out Hardy on one pitch! Sing it Ernie! The Bud Lights are starting to kick in.

4:29 PM: Fukudome with another hit! He has been the offense for the Cubs thus far. He is 2-2 with a walk. Ben “I wet my” Sheets is out of the game finally. Maybe the Cubs can start something now.

4:36 PM: DeRosa just got beaned by Torres, that’ll leave a strawberry tomorrow. They have two on, one out lets see if Soto can get something started. Ah shit, Kendall gets lucky on a passed ball that hits Soto and Fukudome is thrown out. Soto walks and now Pie is up again. Pie grounds out to second base. Well, a moral victory-he put the ball in play.

4:46 PM: Marmol looks very sharp. Four hitters faced, four hitters retired. It’s nice to have a solid end to the bullpen to complement good pitching performances by the starters. Hopefully this continues for the duration of the season. Going to the bottom half of the eigth. Hopefully we can push a run across and bring in Kerry Wood for his first save of the season!

4:59 PM: The Cubs go down three up three down in the bottom of the eighth. Daryle Ward had a nice pinch-hit at-bat but “The Riot” and Soriano go down on strikes. Now we get our first look at the 2008 Kerry Wood and PLUNK! First pitch nails Rickie Weeks with a 95 MPH fastball right between the 2 and the 3. Wood had showed good command in the Spring, lets hope this is not a sign of things to come.

5:07 PM: Ah, shits. Wood hits Weeks, Gwynn bunts him to second and they walk Fielder. Braun hits a single and the Brewers take the one run lead in the top of the ninth. Not a good start to Kerry’s season.

5:10 PM: Well, another double and the Brewers lead 3-0. Kerry’s spring isn’t an indication of how he is going to do in the regular season apparently.

5:16 PM: Eric Gagne comes in to try and close it out. Lets get something going.

5:20 PM: Gagne is having trouble. Two on, none out. Fukudome is working the count as well.

5:21 PM: FUKUDOME!!!!!! THREE-RUN HOME RUN! He’s 3-3! And the curtain call!!!! Tie ball game. There is still no one out and DeRosa up at the plate.

5:27 PM: DeRosa and Soto get sat down in a row. Pie grounds to first and Gagne doesn’t cover. Fielder steps over the bag to tag Pie and he’s safe. Fielder needs a burger. Maybe this is a sign the Cubs luck is turning around.

5:37 PM: Top of the tenth starts off with a Counsell double off Howry. They bunt him to third with one out. Zambrano and Marmol looked good but Howry and Wood, not so much. Haha, weeks gets hit again! Serves him right for holding his hand right over the plate. Gwynn gets the RBI sacrifice fly, looks like we need some more Fukudome magic.

5:50 PM: Cubs go down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the tenth. Cubs fall to 0-1, Brewers go to 1-0. Sluts.

AL Preview

With the season starting tommorow night I thought I should get my picks for the AL before it was too late. I am not as confident on the AL as the NL so no quarantees. The more I think about these picks though the more I really appreciate the system the MLB has. Sports Illustrated has the Tigers winning it all, ESPN doesn't even have them making the playoffs. That doesn't happen in the NBA or NFL where a team in competition for a championship also has to fight their butts off just to make the playoffs. Going off topic for a little bit, the NBA playoff system is rediculous. Half the teams make the playoffs, including a few in the Eastern Conference with losing records. Ah, there is nothing like celebrating mediocrity. I hear all sorts of people raving about the race in the Western Conference. Just think if only four of those teams got into the playoffs. Wow, now that would be intense. Only one team will be left out in the NBA, many many more are left out in the MLB. I will write about my innovative plan to change the NBA playoffs later.

AL East
Boston
New York
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Baltimore

Summary: I really struggled whether to pick the Yankees or the Red Sox. I chose the Red Sox because the Yankees have finally begun to use their farm system a little bit. This will pay huge dividends for them in the next few years and maybe this year but I think it will result in a division crown for the Red Sox this year. Team to look for is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They have some quality young players and could make a run at .500 this year and play a huge role in who wins the AL East. They could make a run at third in the division over the Blue Jays.

AL Central
Detroit
Cleveland
Minnesota
Chicago
Kansas City

Summary:
This division in my opinion has the best two teams in the AL in Detroit and Cleveland. Detroit has one HELL of a lineup wiht Pudge hitting ninth. Their pitching is quality but not amazing. I think Detroit is built to have a great regular season but not necessarily built for the playoffs. I think Detroit will win with Cleveland right on their heels. The rest of the division is just average at best.

AL West
Seattle
Anaheim
Oakland
Texas

Summary:
My pick for this division has changed in the past few days with the injury to Escobar. Without him, the Angels aren't nearly as strong. Seattle thus becomes my favorite to win the division. Oakland will surprise a lot of people. No one knows any of their players now but they will, Billy Beane can pick out talent like nobody's business.

Division Series:
Seattle vs Detroit
Red Sox vs Cleveland

Championship:
Detroit vs. Cleveland

World Series:
Cleveland over Arizona in six games

Cleveland avenges their choke job against Boston last year. Detroit gets past a week Seattle. Cleveland behind C.C. and Fuasto get to and win the World Series.

Cy Young:
Fuasto Carmona
Dark Horse:
Erik Bedard
Best Pitcher on a bad team:
Rich Harden

AL MVP:
Miguel Cabrera
Dark Horse:
Grady Sizemore
Best Player on a bad team:
Carlos Pena TB

Im too lazy to explain these. I have to watch some basketball and admire my bracket some more.

My bad...top.8 percent of all entries and top ten of ISU fans!

Bracket Bragging

Top 11 of ISU Fans!!! Top .9 pecent of the 3.65 million entries

National League Preview +

I forget to list my predictions for individual awards.

MVP: Jose Reyes NYM
Darkhorse MVP: Ryan Braun MIL
Best Player on Bad Team: Hanley Ramirez FLA

The NL East has three of the best shortstops in the game with Reyes, Rollins and Ramirez (nickname needed). Reyes is the most exciting player in the game and the most valuable player to his team. If the Mets win the NL East, Reyes should win the MVP, but his teammate David Wright will probably steal some votes. Ryan Braun will be playing a full season for the Brewers and like the Nationals did with Soriano they moved him to Left Field so his god awful filed skills won't be as much of a problem. Hanley Ramirez, who came to FLA in the Josh Beckett trade has been putting up MVP like numbers on a bad team. If Ramirez is lucky like most Marlins, ownership will ship him out and he will be an instant MVP contender assuming he is dealt to a good team.

Cy Young: Brandon Webb ARI (I don't want to pick the obvious Santana)
Darkhorse: John Maine NYM
Best Pitcher on a Bad Team: Tom Gorzelanny PIT

The National League Cy Young is wide open. The league is incredibly deep in pitching and some teams have more than one contender on them. I picked Webb because I didn't wnat to pick Santana and his innings will go down as he will be taken out in the later innings now for a pinch hitter. Santana, Webb, Peavy and Zambrano are front runners with many darkhorses shortly behind. John Maine moving down in the rotation with the addition of Santana and Pedro's health should get better matchups and add to his 15 win total of last year. Gorzelanny won 14 games for the Pirates last year with a 3.88 ERA. Keep in mind the Pirates only won 68 games, if my math is right, and its probably not, thats slighty above 20 percent of the teams wins. The Pirates have a surprisingly good young staff with Snell, Duke, Gorzelanny and Matt Morris, who is not young by any stretch of the imagination.

National League Preview

National League

Storylines to follow:

"Beasts" of the east?- After the NY Mets massive collapse and their addition of Johan Santana the question is how will the Mets rebound this year. The Phillies will be just as competitive this year and the Atlanta Braves, although old as hell, should always be considered. The addition of Santana makes the division tougher and the winner should win with around 94-96 wins.

Rockie Repeat?-The Rockies were a huge surprise last year getting to the World Series before getting swept by the Red Sox. The question is whether they can somehow capture the magic and once again get back to the World Series. The Rockies are going to have to battle just to get back to the playoffs. The Rockies had a nice run and I'm happy for Todd Helton but it won't happen again.


NL East:
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals

Summary: Santana is enough to prevent a second choke in two years and Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard aren't quite enough to get past Jose Reyes and David Wright. The Nationals will move to a new stadium in 2008 but will have trouble moving out of the cellar of the NL East

NL Central:
Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers
Cincinatti Reds
Houston Astros
St. Louis Cardinals
Pittsburgh Pirates

Summary: The only two teams that will really be in contention for a playoff berth are Chicago and Milwaukee. The Reds have some decent pitching and Dusty Baker, although not one of my favorite people alive, will win a few games for them although costing them many more down the road by abusing their young pitching. The Astros will have the offensive firepower to flirt with .500 but with no one behind Oswalt and Qualls in Arizona, they won't be contenders. The Cardinals, much to my delight and hope will be toward the bottom of the division

NL West:
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Diego Padres
Los Angeles Dodgers
Colorado Rockies
San Fransisco Giants

Summary: This, by far is going to be the most competitive division in the NL. Four of the five teams can compete for the division crown. Pitching will also be the story for this division. The Diamondbacks in my mind will win with a potential starting rotation of Webb, Haren, R.Johnson, and Micah Owings. The next three will all compete for a playoff berth and the Giants, well, they just suck.

Playoffs

Division Series:

NY Mets vs Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Championship Series:

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs

NL Champion: Arizona Diamondbacks

Summary: Diamondbacks have too much pitching if they reach the playoffs. The Cubs will get by the Mets on a 9th inning 3-run blast by Alfonso Soriano off Billy Wagner. Unfortunately I think the Diamonbacks will sting the Cubs once again in the playoffs. Hopefully I am wrong.

American Idol - Weeks 4 and 5

I've gone 0-2 in picking the losers so far since the top 12 started. And only 2 for 6 in picking the bottom three. Kristi Lee was my pick to leave both the top 12 and top 11. Instead, David Hernandez left last week and Overmyer left this week. They were NOT in my bottom three for either week. Hernandez could sing, even if he did overdo it from time to time and Overmyer was nothing if not for a little different. We won't get anything different or better out of Kristi Lee, Michael Johns, Brooke White, Castro, Ramiele, basically any of them. I had it as a three horse race between Cook, Carly, and David Archuleta, but since Carly was in the bottom three this week, it's evident that no one is safe.

Something seems fishy. It is unlikely, at best, that someone would be the last person to stay three weeks running, especially when the bottom three have been different every week! I've read some articles purporting various conspiracy theories. The two most prevalent: David H was let into the top 12 because of his talent, but then was kicked off because of his past; Overmyer was kicked off just before the top 10 because they (the AI producers) didn't want her on the tour. Both of these are plausible, and I think maybe explain what I see as people in the middle of the pack getting kicked off or ending up in the bottom three.

New Style?
My power poll worked well during the Top 24. Even if I started over after the top 12, I still only would have predicted Kristi Lee in the bottom three. We'll see, I'll start keeping track both using the rankings in the top 24 and a new ranking just using the top 12 ratings.

No predictions, just the facts

Picking the losers (top 12):
0 for 2 0%
bottom three: 2 for 6 33%

Picking the losers (overall):
8 for 14 57%
bottom three: 15 for 22 68%

Rockets - 22 straight!

In addition to seeing history, I'm excited about this team's chances in this year's playoffs and going forward. No team has done this in 30 some years, and I can say I was there. People want to discredit their streak, but the fact is, this is the most competitive the west has been in a while. The Rockets were 10th in their conference and under .500 well into the season, and now they're in sole possession of first place.

I've said before, and I think it's showing, the Rockets have become better playing without one of TMac or Yao. They are playing both an effective and pleasing style of ball during their streak. Tonight, they scored 58 points in the first half, 0 of which came from Tracy McGrady (or Yao). By playing without them, the 'role' players have been empowered. Playing without Yao, as they have done the past couple of years, they've been able to adapt to playing without a dominant 5 player. Playing without McGrady, as they have done this year, they've adapted to playing without a dominant 2/3 player. The result has been a multi-dimensional offense. Everybody has the green light to take to take the open shot. TMac is still there to run the offense through in the fourth quarter, but the rest of the team can pick up the slack when he's having an off night, like tonight.

Van Gundy's emphasis on defense with Adeleman's offense shouldn't be overlooked, either. The same 'role' players that are capitalizing on the offensive end are winning games on the defensive end. Shane Battier has developed into one of the elite matchup defenders in the NBA. Chuck Hayes and Luis Scola are a couple of the hardest working rebounders in the game. What Houston lacks in physical attributes, the seem to be making up in hustle and general scrappiness.

This could all collapse in a game. Houston could lose to Boston, the Lakers could win and the Rockets could lose all their momentum. However, I don't see that happening. Because they have a team of winners (Battier, Scola, Hayes, Head) I think they can keep this thing rolling. And because they don't have to rely on McGrady to win games, I think they can make a run in the playoffs. And only because I didn't do it for the Texans...

Week Eight

After 8 weeks of my routine I currently weigh in at 214.0 lbs. I've noticed that I tend to go up one week and then down enough the next week to lose weight over the two weeks combined. Having a lack of money these last few weeks has really aided my eating habits, kind of. It eliminated some eating out and beers but it also resulted in me buying 78 cent Totinos frozen pizzas at Super Wal-Mart. The pizzas have like 740 calories in them total. This is significantly less than other pizzas but they are also smaller and less filling. I have found it is easier for me just to eat them and eat the whole thing rather than try to limit myself with the larger pizzas. Working every night has also helped me not snack. After 8 weeks I had hoped to be significantly less than 214.0 lbs but it is still a weight loss of 4.6 pounds, a little over a half pound a week. I think I am going to set a new goal on Calorie Count of 210.0 lbs rather than 200 lbs just to keep focused.
Today Luke and I maxed out on bench press.
Here are the sets I did in order.
205 lbs - 2 reps
205 lbs- 2 reps =211 lb Max
185 lbs- 5 reps =204 lb Max
165 lbs- 8 reps=204 lb Max

Obviously if I would have done reps at 185 or 165 first I coudl have had a higher max but I think doing more weight tests my strength more than my endurance. Next time I max out I will do 205 lbs again, judging my growth by my increase from 2 reps.

After 8 weeks
Start 218.6 lbs
Now 214.0 lbs
Loss 4.6 lbs

Bench Max: 211 lbs

AI Season 7 - paired to the top 12

All in all, not too terribly surprising. I called Kady and Asia'h getting voted off, and it wasn't hard to see that Luke M. should be getting kicked off. The spot that I struggled the most was between Chiekieze and Danny. What's most surprising is that I'm disappointed with Danny leaving the show. He was a little over the top, but the sass and back talking he gave to Simon was a little entertaining. He wasn't a bad singer, either. Chiekieze advanced based on the strength of Week 2's performance.

I've got Carly as the overall favorite (so she gets tagged on posts from now on). She's a good enough singer that she'll give above-average performances every week, no matter the genre and she'll really connect with a song every couple of weeks or so (as she did with Crazy on You). David A. is the favorite for the boys, but David Cook is very close behind. Michael Johns bumped up three spots amongst the boys. No one really fell all that much and no one really got hosed.

It will be interesting to see how the top 12 pan out. I'm excited that the girls will be performing with the boys. The general thought is that the boys are stronger than the girls and I think that will be very evident next week. Looks like one person will be kicked off next week. Kristi Lee Cook needs to have a good performance, I think she's in trouble.

Picking the losers:
8 for 12 75%
including the bottom three: 13 for 16 81%

AI Season 7 - 8 girls

The girls just haven't been getting any better. The pack here is scrunched together, too. Questionable song choices are hurting some good singers and "good" choices are helping some of the poorer singers.

1. Overmeyer - gave her top spot because the judges did
2. Carly* - the best singer, I'd agree she still hasn't found a song she can hang her hat on
3. Syesha* - pretty good singer, I think she's found her niche (Alicia Keys-ish), which should do well later on in the competition
4. Brooke White - weak singer, good song choice again
5. Ramiele - 2nd best singer, hasn't been picking good songs
6. Kristi Lee - judges are contriving her country gimmick
7. Asia'h
8. Kady

Kady should have been voted off last week. She basically had a second chance, and she squandered it. Asia'h isn't terrible, but I don't think she's going to get any better. I'd rather hear someone with a bigger voice, like Ramiele, sing some Whitney. I think Kristi Lee gets another week (and a makeover) to fit into the role of the country songstress. Otherwise, I think everyone is safe.

Idol Season 7 - 8 guys

Everyone was pretty close this week. No one stood out. Nobody was really terrible, either. It's going to be a close vote this week. Still confused by the song choices, there's got to be some better songs. Cook did something unique, which definitely helps. Michael sang INXS, which is his (very small) niche.

1. David Cook* - this week helped him
2. Michael - this week helped him a lot, but i don't feel like he's getting any better
3. David Archuleta* - came back to the pack a little, still the favorite
4. Castro - judges loved it, but it was a strange song. don't think the public will appreciate it quite as much
5. David H - Celine?
6. Danny
7. Luke M
8. Chiekieze

Luke should finally be done this week. I think Chiekieze is probably out. Danny is close, too.

Stadiums and Public Support

A response to Joe's post.

The study that Joe referenced is pretty good. That publicly financed stadiums don't really add to a city's economy isn't all that surprising. I doubt that most tax breaks for private endeavors ever realize any gain for the public as a whole. As the article points out,

A demonstration of a significant, positive economic effect on a host area
should not be seen as a prerequisite for allowing private sports
investment. Most investment in private businesses - even very
successful ones - would fail to demonstrate this kind of impact.

Another good point brought up by the study, but not really addressed,

Large conventions utilize stadiums and arenas, and super-stations and cable
television broadcast games nationally, increasing the likelihood that stadiums
and teams are successfully marketed to the rest of the country.

Joe's point about the Iowa Events Center is right on. The study was written in 1988, and in the 20 years since then, probably all of the stadiums and arenas are specific to the sport and team they host. Very few pro sports arenas are central to an metropolitan or state's major activities. Indy's RCA dome had an impact because they use it for all major sporting events in the state. They get NCAA tournament games every year, they use it for all divisions of state football championships, the Colts play there and it isn't a monstrosity, meaning it is a versatile venue. The new stadium will not have the impact that the RCA dome had. The Alamodome in San Antonio is the same type of deal. Although no pro team calls it home, it holds a similar importance.

The most prominent example I can think of is the Houston Astrodome - the "eighth wonder of the world." The first and only revolutionary stadium design, the Astrodome was central to the biggest events in the Houston area for over 30 years. The original multipurpose venue, the Astrodome was home at one time or another, four professional football teams, an MLB team, the University of Houston sports teams, nearly 20 years of bowl games, along with a final four. The Houston rodeo was held there for 37 years. Perhaps most importantly, the Astrodome was a Houston landmark. The idea of an air conditioned, indoor stadium was parallel with the over-the-top, booming persona of Houston during the 60's and 70's. The construction of the Astrodome made a lasting impact on the city that few, if any, stadiums have been able to replicate since. The builder and owner of the Astrodome - Harris County, TX.

Seattle shouldn't have to put up money for a new stadium, especially if they build it in the suburbs. It is their right to say no, and for everyone to paint them as the bad guys is ridiculous. The Sonics attendance is poor and there is no reason to think that a new stadium will help that. Besides, the current ownership wants to move the team to OKC, where there seems to be demand. The NBA should be okay with this. The city of Seattle supports the Seahawks fanatically, perhaps there just isn't enough support there for the Sonics, too. One would think that OKC will be supportive of the team for no other reason than there is no competition in the city or in the state. Any pro franchise should do better in a region without any other pro franchises. The OKC Sonics should be a "state team" much like the Indianapolis Colts are. Durant, the good young talent they have and the multitude of draft picks they have in the next few years should provide some additional excitement. If the demand isn't there in Seattle, why would the NBA force them to stay?

Public financing of stadiums and tax money spending

This post is being made based on Bill Simmons' recent article about Seattle losing the Supersonics. Normally, I don't read his stuff cause I'm not a big Boston sports fan, but I find it utterly ridiculous that owners of sports franchises demand the city pay for new stadiums or else. I mean, the current trend in the United States is to let schools, roads, electrical grid, parks and everything else completely go to shit while a city will drop 300 million for a stadium to promote economic development. I'm assuming they mean economic development for some already ridiculously wealthy white guy. I had suspicion that no economic development really occurs when an existing stadium that is already bringing in money is replaced with a modern facility. So I did what all good grad students do and I went to journal articles. I found this. I'll summarize some of the finer points in this post. Essentially, the data (which has several flaws that the author discusses, but has some strengths also) states that no metropolitan area really benefited in terms of per capita income growth by having a new stadium, and actually, three cities had negative impacts. The shocking thing to me was that having a professional sports team didn't help growth either in most cases. So the findings from the study are that its not a sound civic investment to invest in stadiums. I'm not going to explain anymore of the article, but its worth the read, it is interesting.

Don't get me wrong, I love watching sports, I love going to sports, I love playing sports, but why is our tax money going towards stadiums that are used in a for profit company? The idea of giving tax breaks to companies is that your city will benefit if they move a plant there by gaining jobs, hence economic growth. Maytag pulled some bs in Newton, IA where they essentially asked for so much tax money, the return of them being there wasn't worth it, so Iowa told them to go fist themselves. They gave small tax breaks to a few companies that are producing wind turbines, to move into the old Maytag plant, now Newton is gaining some of their jobs back.

I can understand building venues in places like Des Moines, where they have multiple semi-pro teams using the arena, host high school state tournaments, have concerts, and whatever else you can think of. Speaking of the Iowa Events Center, good for them for not using Ticketmaster. I'll explain my dislike of them later. I digress, sorry. I can also understand if the city chunks in some money cause it is a large investment. But I don't feel that tax payers should have to pay for something that a person is going to use to make exuberant amounts of money off of.

So in an era when public money is slim we buy stadiums. Good for us, we like luxury items more than things that actually encourage economic growth. It's messed up, and thats why the Seattle Supersonics moving makes me so angry. Them leaving because the city of Seattle wouldn't pay half a billion dollars for a new stadium is going to put other cities in the same situation. Do we vote it down cause we can't really afford it, risk losing our team to some crappy town like Oklahoma City, or do we just pass a tax increase and pay for the damn thing? Then theres the Yankees. They're paying 1.1 billion for their own stadium. The MN Twins are $140 million out of $450 million, the county is paying the rest. I guess we'll see what the Vikings do. Detroit did it right with Comerica, they added a rental car and hotel tax to pay their 40%. I could research this forever, but I think the point is, cities shouldn't pay for stadiums specifically designed for one sport team only.

American Idol - Season 7 - Four more voted off

Well, I'm surprised. Even though I picked two of the four voted off, I was caught off guard by the other two. I had Alaina and Robbie right in the middle of the pack. Kady (Houston native) just barely made it by in the bottom 3, which is where I had her. And Luke M. made it through again when I didn't think he should have. Looks like he was in the bottom three as well.

David Archuleta remains the overall favorite. After two weeks, I think Carly is the favorite for the girls. Brooke White was the big gainer over last week, bumping up 5 spots amongst the girls. Alexandrea was the biggest fall, dropping from where I had her as the 3rd best performance last week to being voted off (9th place) this week. Hosed was Alaina, who I had as the 4th best girl before she got voted off.

There's still a lot Idol left for the year and Idol voters can be fickle.

Picking the Losers:
5 for 8 62.5%
including bottom three: 7 for 10 70%

American Idol Season 7 - 10 chicks

Well, the 10 girls were tough to rank, but not because they were good. The first two started off strong, but it quickly got worse after that. It's going to be a while before we get strong performances out of all the girls. The boys sound pretty good comparatively. Again, these decade weeks should be lending themselves to the girls. A * is a lock to advance, anyone marked with an -x is in the danger zone (note how many more x's there are)

1. Carly* - good performance, got after it, didn't look real comfortable, though
2. Syesha* - better than the judges gave her credit for. could get really annoying though
3. Alaina
4. Ramiele - bad song for her, but she's definitely in the top 3 for female contenders
5. Brooke White -x - good song choice, mostly because she looks like 70's Carly Simon
6. Kristi Lee Cook -x - didn't think she was good enough to advance, but then four other people performed
7. Overmeyer -x
8. Kady -x
9. Asia'h -x - very, very bad, but I think she'll move on
10. Lushington -x - was stoked for some Chicago. she picked the lamest Chicago song ever. I thought they only came out with good songs in the 70's. Turns out I was wrong

Based on my own American Idol - Season 7 Power Poll, I think Kady and Alexandrea are out this week but wouldn't be surprised if Kristi Lee Cook or Overmeyer got bumped.

Lebron to the Nets? pt2

Note: this started as a comment, but quickly evolved into a dissertation; hence, the separate post.

One thing is undeniably clear, LeBron James is the most business savvy basketball player that has ever played in the NBA. I think Jordan took what was given to him (to use a terrible cliche). Nike came calling, and he obliged. So did Fruit of the Loom, and so on and so forth. But he really didn't do much other than play basketball and take his money. He was pretty quiet, and let the marketers define him. This was a wise move on his part - to let professionals build him into a global icon. However, the other ventures he's led weren't maximized in a business or marketing sense (baseball, team ownership, team management, etc). LeBron came out of the gate and took a shorter contract in order that he might make more money in the long term. Unheard of, but pure brilliance, none the less. Most in the NBA business were surprised by it. Something so simple yet so obvious is a mark of business genius. Everyone else in the class (Wade, Bosh, Carmelo) obviously thought so. The Cleveland Cavaliers know LeBron has a different mindset. They know he's about more than basketball. I'd bet they've talked with him about it. The Cavs haven't won anything relevant in a really long time. Getting to the finals proved to LeBron and the team that they can get close. I would not argue that LeBron wants to win a championship for his "hometown" team. Immediately elevates the legacy. However, I don't think he needs to win multiple championships there. The Cavs and LeBron have decided to pull all the stops for him to win a championship in Cleveland and then see what happens from there (see: Brooklyn Nets). Cleveland is happy (kinda), the front office can say it tried, and LeBron won one for the home team. He'll might be vilified by Cleveland for jumping ship, but the national media will love the move.

All these articles give great reasons for him to go, now a couple, small, reasons it might not work.

1. Cleveland can give him more money.

One of the best parts about the NBA. Allow the team that has a player give him a larger max contract than anyone else. Every other pro sport allows a player to get poached from the team that drafted him, but the NBA gives a player's current team the upper hand. It's why Kobe stayed in LA, it's why Carmelo will stay in Denver. Some smaller markets can't afford the max contract, but Cleveland would for LeBron. He wouldn't make more money in NY unless he had a stake in the operation ...

2. Players can't own part of the team.

This is one way that the NBA is similar to other pro sports. A stake in a franchise would make a lot of sense to someone like LeBron who already makes more money off other sources than basketball. It would also allow LeBron to capitalize on the marketing money that his name would draw in NY. Unless, of course, Jay-Z would go 50-50 with LeBron on his new marketing company and get in on some of the advertising revenue the new stadium would bring in with the game's biggest star. Let's not forget ...

3. Jay-Z is not the Nets majority owner

Bruce Ratner is the principal owner. And as such, would probably want as large a chunk of the LeBron pie as he could get. He's a developer, the one who initially floated the idea of bringing the Nets to Brooklyn. Landing LeBron makes his investment increase ten-fold. The 'new' New York team, with LeBron? Shoot. Good luck prying any of the marketing money out of his hands. LeBron and Jay-Z could try some auxillary marketing opportunities, but without NY, they'd have the same opportunities in Cleveland as they would in Brooklyn.

4. What would he do with that house?!?

American Idol - 10 dudes

The guys started really slow last night. There wasn't a standout performance until David Hernandez halfway through the show. Four out of the last five were really good. Again, the * designates a J.Meeks lock to advance.

1. David Archuleta* - Still the favorite. Really, really good rendition of Imagine. People always sing it, but he made it his own. He's had the two best performances so far.
2. David Hernandez* - I've liked him from the beginning. Simon's criticisms have really driven him.
3. Chiekieze* - I liked his performance last week. We'll see how he does after the decade weeks.
4. David Cook*
5. Noriega - again, unfortunately, he passes to next week
6. Robbie
7. Castro - I like the guitar, not the strongest performance, but he'll pass on, too
8. Michael Johns - he's middle of the pack at best. seems to have lots of potential. he'll get by on that for at least one more week, should do well if next week is the 80s (INXS!!!)
9. Yeager - didn't think he did that bad of a job, judges harsh and he was towards the bottom last week
10. Luke M. - weird performance. I had him at the very bottom last week. its over this week.

New Jersey "King James/Jay-Z" Nets

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=Aj9mhzgQwwaMH.KAZNa3gx28vLYF?slug=aw-lebronjayz022508&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

This is the link to an interesting article on the close relationship between Jay-Z and LeBron James. Cleveland had better start planning ahead as the Nets currently are if they want to keep their franchise from falling back into the dump. Jay-Z and LeBron together in New York could be huge. With the plans for a new arena in the works and Jay-Z's guidance, LeBron could be one of the biggest stars, sports or not, this country has ever seen. On the basketball end....remember that trade the Nets just made? Well, they dumped some salary, picked up some younger players, and old balls Van Horne, and two first round draft picks in 2008 and 2010, the year LeBron is due for free agency. Could these be the complimentary players James is looking for? Expect the Nets to do something with Carter if they are serious of this pursuit of James. That free agency class could be huge with James, Wade, Bosh and I think Carmelo. Can you imagine James in New Jersey, Wade in Chicago, Bosh just in the US and Caremlo inside of a Hershey's bar? Sounds tasty. Read the article it makes more sense than me.

We're on Google!

We've finally made it! Someone out there found our blog somehow and that was it! We exist in the world of Google!!!




We also got our first comment spam. Such an exciting time!

Bonds

Sorry, I am really bored and just hooked up our wireless so I can sit on the recliner in the living room.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2008/news/story?id=3264187
The latest news links Bonds to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I think Bonds would be a good fit in Tampa. They could sign him for cheap and he would improve their offense. This is a team that will be fairly competitive this year without him and could make some noise with him. By DRays consideration, noise mean over .500. It would bring some fans to the Devil Rays and be good for baseball. His troubles will be overshadowed now by Santana and the Tigers and most of the buzz around the Devil Rays should be positive.

Baseball Season Again!

I have been looking forward to baseball season from the time the Cubs got swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cubs first Spring Training Game is this Thursday and although I am filled with much anticipation for the Cubs season, there are many intriguing storylines I look forward to following throughout the year.

Same Faces, New Places

It is always fun look at the same players in different uniforms. This offseason has been fairly active and has made some teams and divisions much different.

1) I am most looking forward to watching the 2008 Detroit Tigers. Dontrolle Willis and Miguel Cabrera are key additions. I don't look for Willis to be a dominating pitcher, especially in the AL where the hitters are better, and he can't hit. He will add some depth to their staff that has been oft injured the past few years. To me, Dontrolle Willis was free for the Tigers, the key to that trade was Miguel Cabrera. I have always been a big fan of Cabrera and I seriously believe he has the ability to win the American League MVP maybe not this year but possibly in the next few years, especially with this lineup in which Pudge Rodriguez could be hitting 8th or 9th! Oh yeah they improved at shortstop where they added another former Marlin Edgar Renteria.
2) The second best pitcher in the game has been traded to the National League. Johan Santana, who most refer to as the best pitcher in the game will undoubtedly change the National League and the Mets. To me, Josh Beckett is the best pitcher in the game right now. Santana had a down year by his standards last year (15-13, 3.33 ERA, 219 IP) and I look for him to improve on those numbers this year being in the NL and with the Mets. However, I don't think this move is as huge as everyone says. Santana's innings I think will be right around 200 this year because there will be games when he must be replaced in a game for a pinch hitter. The move will certainly improve the Mets and put the NL East winner at around 93-94 wins. I look for Santana to put together a season of around 19-7, 3.01 ERA and roughly 200 IP. He will get a few wins with poor performances simply because the Mets will score some runs and they have the Cabrera/Willis-less Marlins and the Nationals in their division.
3) Fukudome could be a great addition for the Cubs. Or he could turn out like the rest of the Cubs additions. I think he will have a good year after a slow start adjusting to the MLB. It makes the Cubs lineup more of a threat and adds some speed. It sounds like Pinella will use him in the third spot followed by Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. Pinella wants to add some speed to the top of the lineup with Soriano, Theriot and Fukudome followed with the power of Lee, Ramirez and rookie catcher Geovany Soto. I still would like to see Lee in the third spot, he is the best pure hitter the Cubs have and his power numbers were down last year. It will interesting to see it play out.

Players to Look For:

John Maine (SP NYM): With the addition of Santana and the health of Pedro Martinez, Maine will no longer be opposed with front-line starters and will have a chance for more victories. Maine still managed 15 wins last year couple with 10 losses and a 3.91 ERA. I look for him to add a few wins and subtract a couple losses with the Santana trade and lower his ERA just a titch. Maine is a young solid pitcher and will be overshadowed by Santana most of the year which could be an advantage for him. I look for statistics around 17-8 with a 3.75 ERA.

Hanley Ramirez (SS FLA): Ramirez will lose some protection and runs with the loss of Cabrera but Ramirez who came to FLA in the Josh Beckett trade is one of the best young players in the MLB. Ramirez is another guy I look for to potentially win an MVP if placed on a good team. His statistics last year (.332 BA, 29 HR, 81 RBI, 51 SB) from the leadoff spot were very solid. The Marlins are considering moving him to the three hole which I think could hurt his BA and SB but improve his HR and RBI. I look for him to have about the same statistics if left in the leadoff spot with fewer RBI's. His teammate Cameron Maybin could be a candidate for NL Rookie of the Year along with Cubs catcher Geovany Soto.

Chad Qualls (RP ARI): Traded from the Astros to the D-Backs for Jose Valverde, Qualls is one of the best set-up men in the league. Put on a good team in the Diamondbacks he will have an opportunity to record the oh-so valuable hold quite often. The Diamondbacks were smart in realizing how overrated the save statistic is and just rewarded themselves with an 8th inning shut-down man. He had a 3.04 ERA with 84 K's last year in just about 85 innings pitched last year. He could post an ERA below 3, very good for a set-up man, and compete for the prestigous Rolaid's Relief Award.


I'll include my predictions for the season as Opening Day comes closer.

Week Six

I haven't reported for awhile. In fact, not since my Super Bowl blow-up. You probably have figured I quit after that, or you probably don't care. I managed to back down to normalcy after a week or so following the Super Bowl. I regret eating so much because it put me back at least one week and if you really think about it, more like two because I could have lost weight that week instead of gaining, a double edged sword. However, it is behind me and I have continued my decline. I don't really report what I eat anymore, I use the site to look at healthier options and to report my weight to keep track of my progress and goals. This morning I weighed in at 214.4 for a total loss so far of 4.2 pounds. I have hit a low of 213.2 in the past week. I like to keep track of my lows overall as well as my weekly weight because it gives me more motivation and confidence. Water can fluctuate(sp?) my weight but as long as those fluctuations keep going down I am happy. I have noticed tremendous gains in the weight room too. I orginally started my bench press at three sets of ten repetitions at 115 pounds just to ease my way back into lifting. After six weeks I am currently doing three sets of ten repetitions at 165 pounds. I wouldn't say my bench has gone up 50 pounds because I could have probably started at more than 115 but it has improved dramatically. Part of this may be due to my regime in which I do two different excercises for the main upper body areas and make sure to lift the opposite muscles ex: (tricep and bicep or chest and lat). Almost all of my lifts have gone up at least 20 pounds in just six weeks. My goal is to get to 200 pounds and hopefully 185 pounds by Opening Day (March 31st).

Starting Weight: 218.6 lbs
Current Weight: 214.4 lbs
Total Loss: 4.4 lbs

Average weight loss of a little more than 2/3 of a pound per week.

American Idol Season 7 - First Vote Off

I did pretty well. 3 of my bottom 4 were voted off. And the one dude who wasn't in my bottom four was in my danger zone. Obviously, I have an eye for this. Or I've just watched way to much AI in the past. No surprises yet, either good or bad. The group song sucked - which is to be expected. Don't know what next week's theme is. Look for David A. to do well again, look for David Hernandez to get a little more face time. I think Alexandrea Lushington is one to watch, even if she isn't the most talented. Again, I say the top of the dude pool is strong, even if the girls might be a little deeper top to bottom. If we're counting advances, I'm 19 of 20. Should hav started an AI pool.

American Idol Season 7 - 12 Girls

The girls started out slow. They picked up towards the end. Same format as with the guys. No one really stood out. There's a lot of potential with the girls, but the top guys had better performances than the girls - not good, considering the genre nights generally lend themselves better to the females.

Ramiele*
Carly
Alexandrea Lushington* - fun performance, gets props for singing Amy Winehouse during Hollywood week
Asia'h
Syesha - maybe thinks she's better than she is
Alaina Whitaker
Kady Malloy
Overmeyer
Brooke White
Kristy Lee Cook
Joanne
Amy Davis - yawn

American Idol Season 7 - 12 guys

For the real American Idol fans, the season has finally begun! Just got a chance to watch the 12 guys perform for this season's American Idol. You can find recaps anywhere else on the internet, so I'll just drop my rankings from the first show. Looks like 10 will advance, and I didn't see 10 worth advancing. With the rankings, some comments. Also, the * designates a J.Meeks lock to advance.

1. David Archuleta* - got after it while singing, immediately knew he didn't nail it, favorite so far
2. D. Hernandez
3. Cook - good take on familiar song
4. Jason Castro* - AI finally caught on to let people play an instrument. They probably wish they would have with Chris Daughtry.
5. Robbie
6. Michael Johns - he thinks he's a little better than he is. liked the beginning of the song, lost intensity/focus
7. Chiekieze
8. D. Noriega - unfortunately he'll move on
9. Colton - ditto
10. J. Yeager
11. Garrett - not good
12. Luke M. - didn't even listen to the whole song

Week Three

I would first just like to say that the Super Bowl killed me. My approach going in was not conservative by any means and I decided I would eat and drink all that I wanted to and I did. Was it worth it? The drinking yes, the food no. One of the best football games I have watched was the culprit of a weight gain this week. For the first time I gained weight and I did it in one day. I was 215.6 going into the Super Bowl day. If I could have maintained it would have been a loss for the week but instead I ended up at 217.4 the next day for a gain of 1.6 pounds for the week. Some of this hopefully is water weight. This helped me realize though that I can't eat and drink whatever I want and I have to watch myself. Here is to a better week, gotta go to class.

The lending 'crisis'

If I had money, I could offer to loan it to an individual. In offering that loan, I would evaluate the probablily that said person would repay the loan. Depending on that evaluation, I would request that they pay it back in a manner that is front loaded, based on how I evaluate their ability to repay the loan. Should I give a loan to said person, I am taking on the risk that the loan will not be repaid. However, I have assumed the risk that my loner will not repay me. And with that, I apologize for all those whom have take an elementary economics course.

My point comes now! This is the state in which many lenders (read: huge, huge banks) find themselves. Big banks, along with the investment houses that bought consolidated loans, assumed huge risks through giving loans to individuals and families that perhaps could not have paid them.

My point is that banks, not the federal government, should shoulder the burden of loans that have defaulted. These banks, which have posted incredible returns, should be assuming the burden of these defaulted loans. There is no reason why the federal government should be bailing these companies out. Banking is a for-profit endeavor. Or for-loss endeavor.

Patriots Song!

I found this on youtube. It is pretty sweet. Pretty much sums up how I feel about the whole thing. Enjoy!

Bush's Last Tax Cut

Bush's last tax cut just took effect at the beginning of this year. It doesn't apply to me, as I own no stock, and don't have the deductions to get under the earned income limit. If either of you know someone who has stock, this would be a good year to sell. The article didn't say, but I'd assume this only applies to long-term capital gains. Otherwise this would be a great time to dabble in some daytrading.

Side note: What percentage of people in this tax bracket do you suppose own stock? What percent do you suppose have a savings account? I'd guess more have a savings account, as should every American. So why does long-term capital gains get taxed at 0% whereas interest gets taxed at the normal rate? This to me, is a joke. Just like the reduced tax rate on dividends. Tax cuts for the top 10%!

Side side note: Why is bank interest taxed, anyway? The government should be promoting savings, rather than penalizing it. At the very most, interest should be taxed at the same rate as dividends, 15 percent. With the tax "rebate" and reduced interest rates, the government is telling us to take our money out of the bank and 'invest' it in $600 LCD TVs. Good for Wal-Mart, bad for Americans.

Week Two

Another week, another drop in weight. Although not as good as last week's loss of 2.4 pounds, this week still resulted in a loss which puts me closer to my goal. I idled around my previous weight most of the week. I managed to lose .4 pounds over the weekend. Oddly enough I think I need to consume more calories than I did last week. Many times I was well below 2,000 calories and the site recommends 2,650. This stopped my metabolsim and I think inhibited my weight loss. In the weight room I am making significant gains and my workout routine seems to be working and is easy to follow. I considered moving my weigh-in day to later in the week because Monday's can be pretty brutal at times. I decided not to, to help limit my intake on the weekends. This next Monday should be interesting being the day after the Super Bowl, but if nothing else it may keep me from super bloating myself. My goal for this week is to get below 215 pounds. My rate in weight loss has declined but I am still making progress and as I have learned before patience is weight-losses best friend.

Week Starting Weight: 216.2
Week Ending Weight: 215.8
Week +/-: -.4 pounds
Total +/-: -2.8 pounds

Jay Borschel

Jay Borschel, a high school friend of mine, has finally got the respect he deserves. After losing only one match his entire high school career he was recruited heavily but was still not even the best recruit in his Virginia Tech recruiting class. After Brands jumped ship for Iowa, so did his recruits. All of them lost a year of elgibility for the move. Now Jay, a third year Sophomore, is in his first season of collegiate wrestling attached to a university (the last two years he spent wrestling in collegiate tournaments unattached). After beating two wrestlers ranked in the top five at the National Duals the other weekend in Cedar Falls, Borschel has climbed up to 2nd in the nation. It was always fun watching Jay in high school prove his doubters wrong. When I would go to his house to play PS2 or plan something for our tailgating club his wall was covered with inspirational quotes and newspaper clippings of people who doubted him. Jay was not once ranked pre-season #1 in his weight class in high school. He proved everyone wrong winning 4 state titles at 103 lbs, 125 lbs, 152 lbs, and 171 lbs, the first to ever win four titles at four different weights. I am happy for Jay after the troubles he has faced between Virginia Tech and Iowa. Now that he is finally getting a chance to prove himself at the college level he is taking full advantage of it. How sweet would that be for him to add a National Championship title to his resume? Best of luck to Jay, the #2 ranked wrestler in the nation.

Week One

After one week my resolution is still intact. Even with using Monday as a marking point, I was still able to lose 2.4 pounds. My goal is to keep this pace up so that every 4 weeks I will lose 10 pounds. This would result in a loss of 20 pounds by Spring Break, not that I am going anywhere that will require less clothing than four shirts, long johns, a hat and mittens. However, 20 pounds is a nice "milestone" if you will and it would put be under 200 pounds for the first time in awhile. Cutting calories has been easier than I imagined. The website told me to shoot for 2,650 calories per day. I have been keeping it under 2,000 calories except for the weekend. I am pleased with week one's results after a weekend that included 50 cent draws, Hickory Park and Old Chicago. I will try to keep a weekly tab on my progress, not that anyone really cares.

Week One Start: 218.6
Week One End: 216.2
Week One +/-: -2.4 lbs
Total +/-: -2.4 lbs

Another reason why Time Warner sucks

Apparently, Time Warner wants to charge users for total data transmission. I'm not sure if this is in addition to the bandwidth rates they charge for now. In any case, they are trying to get their piece of the content-on-demand pie. Essentially, they are going to tax anything you don't get through their set-top box. (Assuming they offer video on demand)

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/time-warner-download-too-much-and-you-might-pay-30-a-movie/

Here's my comment,

Data networks are RATE limited. Therefore, providers current process of charging for Mbps is appropriate. Even at this, they are apparently over selling their bandwidth, because I've heard that cable companies do not provide the rates they advertise. This would contrast with power companies. They charge per kilowatt-hour because they have to input coal, natural gas, whatever to generate the electricity. Some of the charges are going to transmission costs, sure, but the majority is to the creation of energy. In essence, Time Warner is taxing content that they did not create - or even provide!

This is not the first questionable pricing scheme by TW. When looking into cable service, I was informed that TW would charge me $25 per outlet to have analog cable installed. I attempted to discover what this charge was for. Of course the sales rep did not know, but she switched my call to a technical service rep. She said that the charge was to "turn on" the service. I told her that I didn't think the service needed to be "turned on" for each outlet individually, that it needed to be hooked up at the box, then all my outlets would work. We didn't get anywhere, and I didn't get the TV service (I did, however, get cable internet). It turns out that the "installation" consisted of the technician making a coax cable and screwing one end into the wall and the other into your TV. That's something I probably could have handled.

New Year's Resolution to Look Like Zach Morris

Roughly five years ago I hit my pinnacly of obesity. Standing around 5'10 and weighing in at 25o pounds I was just about as wide as I was tall. I finally decided to put an end to it. Over the next year and a half or so I changed my lifestyle and transformed myself into a 6 ft tall 175 pound 21st century Zach Morris. I vowed to never get hefty again. Half-way through my third year in college I have once again turned into a chubster. Fully equipped with sugar tits, a flat tire and two chins, I have decided to change my lifestlye once again. Five years ago I didn't enjoy some of the greater pleasure life has to offer, namely Keystone Light and Jack Daniels. That is one more obstacle I am going to have to overcome this time. To help me in my quest to once again look like Zach Morris I found a site (Calorie-Count Plus) that keeps track of your daily allotment of calories taken in and calories burned. It gives you healthy alternatives for a variety of foods and also can serve as a poor man's facebook. It is my latest craze and hopefully it will last. To hold myself accountable I will try to keep updates of my progress.

Week One
Started January 14th
218.6 pounds

If done right I should lose approximately 1-2 pounds per week. I will use Monday's as my weighing date although I weigh myself daily. Wish me luck.

2008 Presidential Nomination Season Heating Up

A quick thought, isn't it interesting that all the candidates keep saying they are running for president. Technically, they are running for their party's nomination. It's hard to argue that we wouldn't be better off with more choices when it actually comes down to ballot box time, but the truth is there will be two presidential candidates: one representing the democrats, one representing the republicans. The current candidates seem to have forgotten this. One step at a time, and if one of the players (especially on the Democrat side) stepped up to say they wanted to lead their party, I think it would resonate with a lot of voters.

Well that wasn't that quick, at all. Here's what I wanted to include in the blog. USA Today has a Presidential Nomination Poll Tracker. It gives a neat look at where public opinion is headed and where it has been. Also, its about the only practical application of regression analysis I've ever seen.

Roger Clemens

Roger Clemens is slimy. The tape released at today's news conference reeks. McNamee seems like he's upset about something. Clemens sounds like he's acting. When Clemens says "I don't know who's on the line." He lies to him. Then Clemens talks about a press conference, but doesn't say that he's going to throw McNamee under the bus. McNamee starts breaking down at the end of the call and asks Clemens what he wants him to do. Clemens asks McNamee why he would tell everyone that he did steroids. Clemens didn't ask McNamee why he lied and McNamee didn't say that he lied. It sure sounds like McNamee is at the end of his rope. Someone who has everything to lose has nothing to gain by lying.

Clemens and his lawyers came across as pretty greasy, taping a phone call without the other person's knowledge and exposing that person's raw emotions to the world. If Clemens was really "pissed off" like he told Mike Wallace, why wasn't he screaming at McNamee, the person who started this whole thing?

Republican caucus

I'm deeply concerned about the caucus coming up in a few weeks. As a pretty liberal person, I don't normally follow republican politics too closely. I currently am following it in Iowa, since I heart Huckabee is making a big run. I really want that guy named Mitt or Mr. 9-11 to win, since they will both get crushed in the general election by any of the democrats. I'm worried about I heart Huckabee since he can probably win every southern state with his Christian ways, and will probably pick up a couple northern states as well (Possibly Iowa, Ohio and maybe Florida). Losing those states again would be detrimental towards Democrats goal of gaining control again. I think he would be an awful president who would blur the separation of church and state lines (he was a minister) and would decrease social programs and cut taxes all while heavily funding the military. Anyway, just a quick thought. Also, Mitt Romney's commercial is really funny. He says "I believe marriage should come before children because every child deserves a mother and a father." However, apparently he doesn't believe that every child deserves health care. Ah, the good, core values of a multimillionaire. Here's his health care policy:
Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all, government-run system, we must recognize the importance of the role of the states in leading reform and the need for innovation in dealing with rising health care costs and the problem of the uninsured. By expanding and deregulating the private health insurance market, we can decrease costs and ensure that more Americans have access to affordable, portable, quality, private health insurance.

Putting health care in the hands of states isn't the best idea. It decreases buying and negotiating power that the federal government could have with a single payer system. The medicare reform did something similar thing where there are a bunch of private companies that people can chose from. Taking choice away from people sucks, but it also gave the government no power to decrease medicine costs that the single payer system is useful for.

Texans Win!

Texans had a big home win against the playoff bound Bucs. Tampa Bay was without Jeff Garcia, and their best WR, "Old Man" Joey Galloway was probably a step slow coming off an injury; however, Houston wasn't at full strength either. Ahman Green has been placed on IR, and Ron Dayne went down with an injury early in today's game. The Texans were able to manage the clock through short, controlled passes by Sage and a decent running game from rookie Darius Walker. They always seemed to get just enough for a first down. The Texans were effective on third down (10-17, 59%) which allowed them to keep the ball for most of the game.

Sage and Matt Schaub have been around for about the same length of time in the NFL. Sage had a few starts and some relief appearances before this year, whereas Schaub hadn't had much experience at all. Still, Schaub is supposed to be the man. So why do I have more faith in the Texans when Rosenfels is starting? He seems to manage the game a little better, has thrown more TD passes and seems to put up more consistent numbers than Schaub. Joe asked whether anyone was talking about Sage starting instead of Schaub. I haven't heard any talk yet; the Texans believe Schaub is their starting QB of the future, and they will play him when he's healthy. However, it has to be reassuring to the Texans coaching staff and front office that they have a backup QB that can win games both as a starter and in relief.

The Texans' Record Setting Season
Best record through 13 games: 6-7 (.452) 2007
Total team TD passes: 17, 2007

Are libraries still relevant?

An article in last Sunday's Houston Chronicle spoke of the deficincies of Houston's school's libraries. The state of Texas has established benchmarks (9000 books with an average age of 15 years or less) to measure libraries. Many of the schools in Houston's school districts fall short. The funding necessary to update these resources would be large. Even larger would be the funding necessary to staff these upgraded libraries. My question is, are libraries outdated? Over Thanksgiving, my grandfather was lamenting Monticello, Iowa's building of a new public library. He made a remark that most people are getting information from the internet. This made me think on a couple levels. One, I was unaware that he knew what the internet was. To my knowledge, neither of my grandparents have been exposed to the information superhighway, and two, he was on to something. I haven't been to a library since I moved to Houston. I can't remember the last time I went to a city library, and I don't believe I had ever checked out a book from the library at Iowa State. Are libraries still relevant?

Books are important. They continue to remain an important part of education. The state of Texas has differentiated between elementary school, middle school and high school libraries. I'd agree with them. Real books are more important for younger children, who are more likely to read fiction stories front to back. High schools students are more likely to use books as resources, and are looking for specific information. This information is more easily accessed digitally, however the "whole picture" that reading a book on a subject would give you would be lost. Certainly, there are different needs for different groups of users, but how can we adapt to provide the best resources for each group at a reasonable price?

Elementary schools should have large, fully staffed libraries. Especially in Houston, where many students don't speak English as a first language, libraries should have many books of varying difficulties. The librarian is important in stimulating students' interest in books and finding books that would be of interest to the student. However, the age requirement doesn't make much sense to me for younger students. My book about big cars, small cars probably still has relevance. High schools are a somewhat different story. I believe there should be a determined effort to digitize much of what is contained in libraries. Access could be restricted to computers in the school to protect copywrite laws. I enjoyed the traditional method of research - looking through indexes and reading large portions of books to find relevant material. However, I think that may be a little outdated. While real books will continue to be an important part of research, online searching should be appreciated as a larger part. Aside from the digital editions of books, another logical step would be to link the collections of all libraries in HISD. As one of the largest school districts in the nation, HISD could spread the burden of a complete library over many different schools and campuses. Keep an online record of all the books and allow students access to books at other sites. There are probably trucks travelling between the schools anyway, why not put books on them? This makes sense because students are there everyday anyway, so they are more likely to order a book from another site knowing they won't have to do much to pick it up and return it.

I feel libraries are still relevant, but they need to adjust to technology. Maybe they don't need the resources that they once did, just a little more innovation. Large school districts can benefit from distributing the burden and allowing students to check out books from any location. Finally, older students should be able to conduct research through digital access to collections. Google has begun an effort, and I believe most authors and publishers would be receptive to having their books available in an electronic format to students and educators.

$100 laptop and Amazon digital books

The rise of Amazon's new digital book, combined with the "$100" laptop ($188 is current cost of manufacturing) has big implications in world education if we can get past the cost. I find it interesting that schools in third world countries are buying laptops when they can't afford chalk, pencils, or anything else. However, with internet access, computers are far more important than any of that other stuff. Especially if you can download books on line, especially text books. Now there just needs to be someone with the courage to offer free downloads of old textbooks. I noticed in Mali, they just don't have any way to learn, since there aren't enough books for everyone. I think the combination of the $100 laptop, a few generous professors who say screw it, I'm open sourcing my textbook could revolutionize the bottom of the pyramid's education system. This will never happen, since professors make huge profits off of textbooks, hence the "revisions" of editions every few years. I would love to write some simple textbooks, like basic math, basic science, etc, and not copyright them and make them available for download. There would be no profit, but if you could get a bunch of people working on it, it wouldn't be too big of a deal. The problem is, with higher level of courses that are changing, it would be difficult since not having any financial incentive to advance the field could hinder development. But basic k-8 science and math aren't really changing as far as I know. Anyway, just a quick thought for the day.

Thoughts from Week 10

The Packers are the real deal. They seem to have found a running back in Ryan Grant. Donald Lee looks like a fine replacement for Bubba Franks. Brett Favre still has something left. His wide receivers look pretty good and spreading the ball around makes it tough for the defense to defend the pass.

The Vikings are terrible. Brooks Bollinger is not a NFL quarterback. He looks tentative in the backfield, can't complete a pass when necessary. They'd be better off lining up two left tackles and Peterson in the backfield. I understand now why Peterson doesn't get the ball as many times as he should. Minnesota can not convert third downs and their offense can't stay on the field. On the flip side, it looks like the way to keep AD from dropping 300 on you is to keep him off the field. The Packers have been running the ball, converting third downs, chewing the clock.

Fox just switched to a different game! We're now watching the Eagles play the Redskins. Washington missed a PAT: bad. They then chased the points after their second TD and missed the two point conversion: worse. Philly just scored, and what do they do? Chase the points. Of course they missed it. This wasn't as bad of a call as the Redskins, but I'd take the free point in the third quarter.

After ups (win vs. Colts) and downs (2 losses vs. Texans) last year, Jacksonville seems to have figured it out this year. Garrard seems comfortable with his position as starting QB, Gray has played well with Garrard hurt. The RB tandem of Taylor and Jones-Drew seems to keep both fresh and effective. Maybe most of all, the mood on the sidelines seems to be positive. Garrard congratulating Taylor on a TD run, Taylor congratulating Jones-Drew on a big run. Playing as a team is what it will take to win in the AFC.

The Vikings got the ball 1st and 10 inside the redzone. Sounds like AD time, right? I guess not. 1st down: B. Bollinger pass to TE, 7 yards. 2nd and 3rd: AD? nope, B. Bollinger pass to C. Woodson. Charles Woodson plays for the Packers. Who is calling these plays!?! You have three yards to gain and three plays to gain them. Perhaps you should give it to the NFL leading rusher / offensive ROY / best rookie RB of all time. Just a thought. (Editors note: Editor just read that Peterson was hurt in the third quarter and didn't return to the game. Editor still thinks Vikings should have run the ball instead of letting Bollinger pass.)

Eagles just missed another 2 point try. They now lead by 1 point, instead of three, with a little over 3 minutes left. The Redskins let Philadelphia score after giving them the ball back. The Redskins get the ball back with a little over 2 minutes to play and it's still a one possession game. If Philly kicks in the third, they could have kicked in the fourth to go up three and now they'd be up 10 with two minutes left. Take the free points early in the game!

Brian Westbrook accounted for 183 of the Eagles 379 total yards (48%) and 18 of the Eagles 33 points (54%). My guess is that he accounts for more total offense than any RB in the NFL. Andy Reid is probably overrated as a coach, but one thing he knows: giving his best player, Westbrook, the ball a whole bunch gives him the best chance to win the game. Coming into today's game, Westbrook had 1036 of the team's 2950 total yards (35%) and 36 of the team's 156 points (23%). That's a pretty sizable chunk of the offense.

A quick look showed that Adrian Peterson had 44% of the Vikings total yards and 32% of their points. Brad Childress should attend the Andy Reid school of coaching.

This just in ... Childress was the offensive coordinator for the Eagles before taking the Minnesota job! 2003 through 2005, while Childress was the offensive coordinator, Westbrook averaged 15.5 touches per game. The last season and a half? 22.3. Maybe it isn't so surprising that Peterson is only averaging 18 touches a game.

Does anyone suck the life out of a telecast quite like Joe Buck? He's got an uncanny way of making even the most exciting games nearly unwatchable.

I just noticed that every article on espn.com has a comment section except for Bill Simmons. Here's the comment I just submitted to Page 2.

Why is there a comments section on every other article on espn.com except for Bill Simmons'? Jemele Hill gets constant harassment, TMQ gets railed for his articles but Simmons gets a free pass? I think readers would appreciate the chance to let other espn.com readers know how they feel about The Sports Guy.

We'll see what they have to say.

21 Tags! A very productive Sunday.

Sage Wins!

This post is about a week late, but with the Texans on a bye, I get one too.



Sage looked pretty good in his first start with the Texans. The Raiders aren't much of a team, but there are not gimme wins for the Texans. Rosenfels did some work with his feet, including a 14 yard scramble on the Texans' first offensive play of the game and a fourth down QB sneak. Kubiak has confidence in Sage and his ability to run the offense, going for it on fourth down from the Oakland 5. That decision was rewarded with a TD, only the second touchdown on an opening drive all season.

The one issue that Rosenfels has is under throwing deep balls. He also has a tendency to lead the receiver into the middle of the field, allowing DBs to make a play on the ball. The second play of the second quarter was a deep pass that was intercepted. Walters, the WR, was uncovered and had a lot of ground. If Sage throws the pass so Walters straightens his route out and puts the pass 5 yards deep in the endzone, it goes for a TD, or at the worst, an incompletion, because the DB doesn't have a chance to make a play on it. This quote, about his 4th quarter TD pass, pretty well sums up his hesitancy to air it out.

"Andre' ran a great route," Rosenfels said. "I saw that he had 3 yards on him
and threw it. I thought I overthrew him, but he ran that sucker down."

Overall, Sage had an effective day. The Raiders had been allowing about 175 yards passing, and had allowed 6 TD passes through 7 games. Sage's numbers were 180 yds and 1 TD, which is pretty good for a backup QB making his third career start.

Look for Matt Schaub to start next week against the resurgent Saints.

The Texans' Record Setting Season
Best record through 9 games: 4-5 (.444) 2007, 2004

Coal - the first step in energy independence

A coworker brought up an interesting point. Oil is valued in US dollars. As the dollar continues to decrease in value, oil becomes cheaper for other countries. This increases the demand worldwide and increases the price for the US. Specifically, the Canadian dollar has increased in value 26% against the US dollar since the beginning of the year. That means more and more US dollars are needed to purchase a barrel of oil. The same would be true for natural gas, a source of energy that is increasing in favor in the US.

Burning coal is a major source of pollution, yes, however, coal is cheap and plentiful within the United States. A major part of any energy policy should be the continued work toward energy independence. This, as shown above, would be good for the economy, as well as international relations.

That's a long introduction to what I found in the Houston Chronicle on Friday. Thad Hill, president of NRG Texas had this to say,

"Coal is our most abundant energy resource, and there's no way for the U.S. to get anywhere near energy independence without finding an acceptable way to use coal."

That's an expected statement from a company that operates a coal power plant, but it makes it no less true. Coal is a national resource and we should be looking for ways to use coal in a cleaner manner. Check out how NRG is working toward that in Friday's Chronicle article.

Sustainability

I recently looked in this magazine called Dwell. Its an architecture magazine, and the thing I found interesting was that a lot of the "trendy" products in there were popular because they were sustainable. This has a major implication that "green" things will become a very profitable future (Therefore many people will start working that area) and also will help the environment significantly. People in the developed world love trendy things and if going green is the new thing, we could make significant strides reducing our carbon footprint. It seems like architects are on the fast track to become green builders, while engineers seem to not care. Obviously this is a generalization, but seems to be true on the whole. However, engineers are the key to developing environmentally friendly buildings, cars, and whatever else. See this article for something about using fly-ash from power plants to create bricks. I think its pretty interesting and hope engineers get fully on board.