What I Learned This Week...

This is what I learned this week:
1. Love Bill Clinton or Hate Bill Clinton, our Country had a $2.5 Trillion Surplus, not a $2.5 Trillion Deficit
2. Maybe Jim Brown should put himself in Tiger Woods Shoes' for a few weeks
3. Ron Paul makes more sense than the other Republican candidates combined
4. Roger Federer is human
5. Maybe we should give Eli Manning a little more credit and Brett Favre a little less
6. Al Davis is senile and should probably leave the Raiders to someone who is a little more in tune with 2008
7. Pitchers and Catchers Report in a month
8. I wish the WGA and the Studios would settle their strike
9. Big Companies really don't like the little guy and want to take advantage of us any and every way they can
10. If I see someone lying in bed dead, don't call Mary Kate Olsen or for that matter her sister

The Mighty Dolphins

Today is the 35th anniversary of the Miami Dolphins capping off their 17-0 perfect season. Any time a team wins a championship, its a tremendous feat. But a team going undefeated in any sport is special.

In sports, a lot of time it comes down to dumb luck and it's generally even, you make a play, you miss a play. But to have everything go your way, is an incredible thing. Were the 72' Dolphins the best football team ever? Who knows, but they have the resume to stake their claim.

The 2007 Patriots are flirting with destiny. Some are arguing they are the best team ever. All of the bounces have gone their way. Their mistakes have been minimal compared to the other teams'. I still think they will lose either this week against San Diego or in The Super Bowl. I just believe the law of averages will catch up with them.

Until than, It's been an incredible journey. Much like it was in 1972 for the Dolphins.

The Process Begins...

Today is the Iowa Caucus, the first step in electing the new president of the United States. I don't understand what a caucus is and why we still have it, but for whatever reason, this is what Iowa does to nominate their parties' representation.

I look at all of the candidates and its pretty easy to find faults with each. Some of the faults are warranted and some are just ludicrous. But there is no one who stands out as the next President of the United States.

So let the democratic process take its first step and I can't wait to see how this all plays out.

Outdoor Hockey

Happy New Year! Hoping 2008 is better than 2007

On January 1st, NBC and the NHL played their hopefully annual "Winter Classic" featuring Sidney Crosby and The Pittsburgh Penguins and The Buffalo Sabres at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. There was something about watching a hockey game in the elements that made the game a little more fun. Both NBC & The NHL did a great job in the broadcast. But the atmosphere stole the show. 70,000+ screaming fans, falling snow and ski-caped goalie made a lasting impression and reminded me what the NHL has to offer.

Hockey isn't for everyone. But if the NHL can carve more of a niche and get more casual fans to tune in, they will be on their way to better fortunes. If you missed this game, you really missed out on something different. And as for the hockey itself, the elements added to the excitement. When The Penguins scored in the first minute, to my surprise, I thought it could turn into a scoring-fest, but just one other goal in regulation was scored, which is what I thought what was going to happen.

The NHL couldn't ask for a better outcome - 1-1 tie in regulation, scoreless, exciting 5 minute 4 on 4 overtime period and the game ended with a shoot out, Sidney Crosby beating Ryan Miller to win the game.

The Worse People of 2007

Well it's the end of another year and it's time to celebrate the worse people of 2007. Before I reveal the list, I would like to give a special shout out to Britney Spear's 16 year old sister, way to keep your legs spread wide open. I am sure you are disappointed it took you this long to get knocked up, but none the less you did it. I know big sis is proud, more on her later.

Here we go:
10. Kathy Griffin.
She is the most annoying person on television. I see her mug or hear her voice and I cringe. She reminds me of someone who's parents told her she had talent when she was younger and they had connections and sold their souls to the devil to get their little Kathy famous.

9. Michael Strahan
I wonder how many other closets he hid in taking pictures of unsuspecting naked women? I wish he would have never come back to the NFL this year, but his fat ego couldn't stand not being in the news. I predict he will go OJ Simpson on some poor woman in the next 20 years.

8. Amy Winehouse
I don't think I have ever heard one of her songs, yet she is always in the news. Her 15 minutes of fame is ticking away. Too bad it's not ticking fast enough.

7. Tony LaRussa
For someone who is suppose to be old and wise, Tony LaRussa is neither. He always seemed insincere and phony and that's just the impression he gave me. When he was pulled over for DUI last March, I figured this would be a good time for him to show some humility. Maybe he could have showed some class and admitted fault, but we got No Comment. His Silence spoke volumes.

6. Ann Coulter
I am all for the The First Amendment and what it means, but listening to her talk, there is serious fodder against it. I would love to see every time she is on television or the radio and she is about to talk, they bleep out what she says, maybe play a Beatles song over it or something. I am embarrassed for her to be classified as a human being.

5. Pacman Jones
If I ever walk into a bar and Pacman Jones walks in, I will walk out, no run out. Pacman Jones doesn't get it. He was born with a gift, but because he doesn't know right from wrong, people get badly hurt when he is around. When he comes back to the NFL, I give him another year before he screws up again and is gone. Hopefully, someone will make it rain on him in the clink.

4. Bush
Did you ever feel like some rich person bet another rich person a $1 that any schmuck could be President of the United States of America, ala Trading Places? That's the only thing that makes remotely sense when I think of Bush's 2 terms in the Oval Office.

3. Britney, Paris, Lindsay The Skank Trifecta
I prayed 2007 we wouldn't hear about them, but that didn't happen. Between their stints in Jail and Rehab the pantiless trio was in every magazine, newspaper and television and for what? So I pray once again, they will all disappear in 2008.

2. Hulk Hogan.
The Hulkster has my vote for the worse parent of the year, even worse than Skank Trifecta member Britney Spears. When I was much younger, I adored this guy, but as I got older, I learned he cares only about himself and his ego. Who buys his underage son Beer, leaves him unsupervised and the kid for all intent and purpose, kills the passenger. Yep, Good Ole Nick Hogan has a problem with drag racing on the streets of Tampa Bay. And the sad part is the kid never learned right from wrong.

The Hulkster also did a bang up job raising his talentless daughter. Yes the seed of loins is so good as a singer, Hulk let her get implants at the age of 19. Now Mrs. Hulk Hogan has filed for divorce, even though I think this is all a set up. I wish I could go back 24 years and tell 12 year old me what kind of person Hulk Hogan is, I definitely wouldn't have had his poster in my room.

1. NRA
The NRA is directly to be blamed for The Virginia Tech and The Omaha Mall Massacres. When our fore fathers felt we had the right to bare arms, I don't think they had shooting innocent people in school or shopping in mind. Hey Charleton, Guns Kill People!


Here's a list of Dishonorable Mentions in no particular order: OJ Simpson; Don Imus; Michael Richards; Al Sharpton; Isiah Thomas; Nancy Grace; Judge Judy; Mike Vick; Tim Hardaway; Isiah Washington; The BCS; Jim Tressell & Ohio State; Bobby Knight; Barry Bonds; Mel Gibson; Rush Limbaugh; Paula Abdul

See ya in '08

Steroids

A day after the George Mitchell report came out, everyone is still trying to piece together exactly what was found out. Some 86 current and former ball players have been named, but what does it prove.

All sports are in disarray, it's a business where the owners and players want to get paid and to do this, they have to be better than the best. They will take any advantage they can. I am convinced in any sport, where their is a winner, someone will always true to gain an advantage.

Let MLB and the Union come up with a way to police this particular problem, because I am sure in another 10 years there will be another problem will occur. As for the people who were named, they have already been convicted in the court of public opinion.

Bobby Petrino and the harsh realities of the NFL

A day after getting crushed on Monday Night to New Orleans, Bobby Petrino resigned his position as Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons to take the Head Coaching job at the University of Arkansas. Petrino is taking a lot of slack from people for quitting after 13 NFL games, but this is not what he signed up for.

Things began to fall apart shortly after he took this job, They traded their back up QB, their star QB was running a Dog Fighting Ring and would not be playing this season. His team cried out Mutiny and tried to show up the coach, players were not playing up to their potential and it seemed they didn't even try.

Petrino has to do what is best for him and his family, that's the bottom line. His job in Atlanta was not secure. He would have been let go in three years, his players wouldn't respect him and he would have been hard pressed to find another job like the one available in Arkansas.

Petrino was pushed out the door by the system. Unlike Nick Saban, he showed class in not holding a team hostage, he left early to give the Falcons a head start in finding his replacement. When the Falcons would have fired him in a few years, they would have done so after all the coaching vacancies were filled.