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This, is "Zornface."

The utterly fake, just here taking a paycheck, hmm-that-seems-interesting-but-I-don't-really-care, expression.

Jim's got it nailed.

One texter to my Fox Sports Radio show said simply: "Czabe, I did what you told me, and watched Zorn on the sidelines. My god. Walking around aimlessly, nothing to do, jotting down random notes. Like a dad at his son's game, looking for garbage to pick up."

Do I blame him? Nah. Go for it, Jimmy. You got the job by accident, there's no reason to drop the lottery ticket now. Make Vinny and Danny cash you out in full.

In the meantime, let's not get nuts and win too many more games, okay? There's currently 4 teams with 2 wins or less, and the Raiders and Chiefs are tied with us for 3 wins.

Winning just 4 games and yet still picking 7th would really suck. Just sayin.

As for the game on Sunday, well, what can you really take from it? Another road loss, now 9 in a row, tied for a franchise record. They have still yet to score 30 points in a game under Zorn. More injuries. More confusion about who really calls the plays.

Oh, the fun.

As I have said to other football friends: "If your football season is a train to nowhere, at least you want to be on the express."

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Announcer Notes

I don't write this to take a shot at anybody, but I cannot let it pass without comment. In general, the tandem of Kenny Albert and Moose Johnston (with Tony Siragusa holding up the goalpoasts chipping in...) is well regarded by many critics.

From my couch, eh. You can have 'em. Part of the problem, is that I actually LISTEN to what they say, and wonder: "Are they talking about the same team, I am watching?"

For example, at one point, Johnston points out that the Redskins have rolled out 6 different line combinations this year. True. Good stat. Shows the injury turmoil that has crippled this team.

But then, Moose unloads this whopper: He opines that maybe NOW, they have found the continuity they need up front, and that they were playing "well" so far in the game!

Are you kidding?

The o-line the Redskins rolled out there was nothing short of a nightmare. At one point it was....

LT - Levi Jones (cut by the Bengals last season)
LG - Derrick Dockery (overpaid, and cut last season from Buffalo)
C - Casey Rabach (declining free agent, prone to holding now)
RG - Edwin Williams (undrafted free agent C playing out of position)
RT - Stephen Heyer (undrafted free agent who is a finesse player)

No, noooooo! There is no "continuity" here. It's a disaster. And how can you say they are playing "well" when the line had committed FOUR false starts in the game to that point.

These are the kind of professional "observations" that make many fans crazy. I know that Moose Johnston doesn't live here in DC and he doesn't live in Philly. And as such, he can't be quite as tuned in to each team, every week, as perhaps us locals are.

However, given that its his only job to be prepared, and he has a full week to do, and he can read tons of stuff on-line, and he can call people "in the league" to find out more, then this stuff is simply inexcusable.

Plus, how can any reasoned analysis of a game where an o-line jumps 4 times, and nearly gets the QB killed, include a "good" assessment from professional "analysts."

Suuuurre. Uh.... huh. Yep. That's The Story. Yep.

The truth doesn't need a publicist.

And Tiger Woods doesn't fear the Windemere PD.

So this one, is going to the grave. Or, at the very least, marriage counseling.

Given that I was... ahem... incorrect... ahem.. in my skepticism of the Erin Andrews peephole story, I will perhaps not push "all in" on this one.

But I'm still calling bullshit. Just like everybody else.

Let's see. So what you are saying is....

Tiger Woods...
Supreme athlete...
Crashes his car...
At low speed...
Leaving his own driveway...
Hits both a fire hydrant...
AND a tree...
Not hard enough to deploy the airbags...
But hard enough to leave him bleeding and unconscious...
At 2:27 a.m....
By himself...
On Thanksgiving...
His lovely wife Elin, hears the crash...
Grabs a nearby 8-iron...
Heroically smashes out the rear window...
And pulls her hubby to safety...

Now. Go home people. Nothing to see here.

Suuuuuuuurrrrrrrre.

Tiger's stance is predictable. It's how he rolls.

“This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me,” Woods said. “I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

“Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible,” he said.

“The only person responsible for the accident is me,” Woods said. “My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.”

Translation: "Pursue this at your own peril, sports media."

The real question now, is this. How long can this story hold water, before leaking? I mean, of course, unless it's true. But assuming it is not....

Because the story in my head, like most people's head... goes like this.

Elin chases Tiger out of the house over infidelity rumors by the National Enquirer. Smashes out window in a rage. Tiger, shocked and distracted, rolls into fire hydrant and tree. Hell, it might have been her that bloodied his lip.

Soooo.....

Lest that bit of uglyness get out there, jeopardizing millions in endorsements, while generating months worth of distracting media coverage, and forever tarnishing the impossibly clean image of Eldrick The Magnificient, we'll just stonewall.

What? What are you, Windemere PD going to do about it? What? What are you, Tim Rostaforte going to do about it? What? What are you, ESPN going to do about it?

Well. Let's wait and see. In the meantime, Kobe, could you please give Tiger a call. He might find that conversation useful.

Abe Pollin: 1923-2009

As a lifelong Washington D.C. area sports fan, I can only say "thank you". And may you rest in peace.

Your impact on this market will last forever.

You purchased the Baltimore Bullets from your partners in 1964 for a then-record $1.1 million. You moved them here, because you wanted to win a championship.

You built a then-state-of-the-art stadium with mostly your own money in Landover, Maryland. The "Cap Centre" was the fond site of so many great sports memories in my youth and my teens.

You delivered an NBA Championship in 1978. You went to another NBA Finals the following year.

You took on an NHL franchise in 1974 with the expansion Capitals. They are now the most exciting, best team in town. They almost left after two years. You helped save them.

You pushed to build the MCI Center downtown. Now the Verizon Center, it is the crown jewel of a totally revitalized quadrant of the city.

You had your own skin the game, on countless occasions. And while you were sometimes ripped for being cheap, or hopelessly old school, you ponied up for players like Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison when letting them go would have been arguably justified.

You were too loyal to those around you for too many years. That's maybe the worst thing you can say about Abe. Too loyal. Wouldn't we all want that to be our biggest knock in life.

We made playful fun of you for photo ops like the infamous "Where's the cake" press conference. I have played the soundbite into the ground. We made the comparisons to you and Monty Burns.

I never felt these were mean spirited. You were ours. This is what friends do. Break balls every now and then.

You leave the basketball team to the best owner in town now, Ted Leonsis. This will be your last and perhaps best legacy.

Thanks Abe. Rest in peace.

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Matthew Stafford is a "mah-uhn!" God bless YouTube!



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The Redskins were "#1 in passing defense" going into the game against Dallas last week. I am sure you heard this a few times if you listened to Troy Aikman on Fox.

What Troy didn't tell you, that such a stat means jack squat.

For starters, when you rarely hold a second half lead, teams don't pass very much on you. Also, consider this.

Even though they were #1 in yards allowed.....

The Skins rushing defense ranked #24.
The Skins ranked tied for last in INTs.
The Skins defense has yet to score a TD this year.
The Skins pass defense has given up big plays all year.

And the opposing QB's have been dreadful. Only 2 of the 10 have been ranked in the Top 10 in passer rating.

L Eli Manning - 11th ranked QB
W Mark Bulger - 26th ranked QB
L Matt Stafford - 28th ranked QB
W Josh Johnson – (not ranked) QB rating of 50, would rank #32 with enough ATTs.
L Jake Delhomme - 29th ranked QB
L Matt Cassell - 22nd ranked QB
L Donovan McNabb - 8th ranked QB
L Matt Ryan - 20th ranked QB
W Orton/Simms – 14th ranked QB (Simms totally dysfunctional)
L Tony Romo – 12th ranked QB (Hurt in 1st quarter)

Look, there are "green shoots" with this defense. They are finally sacking the quarterback. Haynesworth, while absurdly expensive (and fat), makes them formidable up front. Fletcher continues to tackle with a vengeance. Orakpo is a certified beast.

But all in all, take that "#1 pass D" stat and shove it. If they hold Drew Brees and the Saints under 30 at home in two weeks, then I'll be impressed.

Sorry, Charlie

Charlie Weiss is about to be one big gutted fish at Notre Dame.

I’m not sorry for him. Nobody is.

The contract that he was able to flim-flam out of the Irish athletic department “brain trust” (mock air quotes intended) after just SEVEN GAMES and one close loss to USC was absurd.

Here. Have a good laugh on how it was written back then…

"Since the first day I arrived at Notre Dame as head football coach, one of my primary goals was to be able to see this job through to the time my son, Charlie, would graduate from the University of Notre Dame and to stay in this position until I retire," Weis said. "By restructuring this contract, adding an additional five years, this allows me to accomplish that goal."

Weis has led the Fighting Irish, who began the season unranked, to a 5-2 mark and the No. 9 ranking. Notre Dame also nearly upset top-ranked Southern California three weeks ago before coming up just short, 34-31.

"In a very short period of time, Charlie has clearly and impressively demonstrated the ability to take the Notre Dame program where we all want it to go," Notre Dame athletic director Kevin White said.

"We're excited that Charlie wanted to extend his commitment to Notre Dame, combined with the University's interest in furthering its relationship with him. All of us are enthusiastic about what the future holds for Notre Dame football with Charlie Weis as our head coach. We're confident that we've got the best coach in America ensconced at his alma mater for the remainder of his career."

REACT: To quote Moe Syzlak.. “Oh yeah. Not no more, you ain’t.”

If this one deal doesn’t put an end to the idiotic contracts in college football, then nothing will.

For the record, however, I’m still betting on the “nothing will.”

If I had a football program, it would go like this. New coaches get 4 year contracts. PERIOD. At the end of 3, we either re-negotiate or go our separate ways, and we only have 1 year of salary to eat.

You want an “out clause” do you? Um, no.

I believe top programs will get good, hungry, non-celebrity coaches this way. Sure, you may lose them too. But there will be more. There are a lot of Randy Edsalls, Chip Kellys, Jim Harbaughs, and Paul Johnsons out there.

Too many programs want to put their new coach ABOVE the program. Why? Your helmet, your tradition, your alumni, your fan base should come first and foremost. Big time programs should essentially tell these guys “you are lucky to be coaching us, pal. Now get to work.”

But no, that’s not how it works these days.

Guys like Weiss and Rich Rod get massively overpaid from Day Zero, and quite often the pressure to live up to the money ends up strangling them.

Right now, Virginia and Maryland suck donkey balls, and yet Al Groh and Ralph Friedgen are making nearly $2 million per year each.

There is simply NO WAY that each program would be worse off with “Un-named Assistant X” at the helm.

But I perhaps under-estimate the real driving force of these hires, and the contracts. I gotta believe that most athletic directors have brains larger than a barnyard animal. They know it’s absurd, and more often than not, a recipe for failure.

It’s the irrational, fan-like passions of the boosters that makes it happen. And most of these boosters (let’s just call them “Hoss” and “Tex”) have plenty of cash to burn, but absolutely zero patience or perspective on what makes sense.

Good thing we have an elaborate, unpopular, and corporately underwritten “Bowl System” to help fund all of this.

You may now carry on, as you were.

Back Up The Truck of Free Programming, Bitches!

I just knew that if it dragged on long enough, the stupid pissing match between the Versus Network and DirecTV was going to burn my ass.

Consider it charred.

The only game I wanted to watch on Saturday night, was - you guessed it! - Stanford vs. Cal on Versus.

Bastards!

So I called those clowns at DirecTV and asked them to ….

a. Count my number of HD DVR receivers (“oh, I have eight, do I? Well, that sure is a lot… isn’t it?”)
b. remind me how long I’ve been a DirecTV customer (“hmm. Since you began service in 1994? Un-interrupted? Wow, that’s pretty loyal, isn’t it?”)
c. Start throwin’ some free shit my way…

Predictably, the front line woman was of little use. She offered the Center Ice package for HALF PRICE plus $10 bucks off a month for 6 months.

Child, please.

So I was sent off to the “customer retention” department, where I made much better headway.

I got the Center Ice package thrown in gratis (Yea! Thrashers and Blue Jackets on a Tuesday night! Just what I wanted for Christmas!) which doesn’t really address the fact that the Caps will be on Versus A LOT this year.

I also got $20 off a month for 6 months.

I probably could have driven a harder bargain, but I only feel comfortable being a total prick on the radio. Yeah, I know. Hard to believe.

This has been repeated by many, and I am more than happy to publicize the fact that you can bang the monkeys at DirecTV for discounts and free packages if you threaten to leave.

Hell, you don’t even need a reason. Just call up, say you are out of work, and need to cancel service unless they can make it more affordable.

So what if it’s a total lie? Is this unethical? Hell no. It’s capitalism! They know damn well just how much each customer is worth, the cost off gaining new ones, the threat from other TV services.

Nobody is putting a gun to their heads on this.

Well, you are. Sorta.

Freak Show

If you haven't seen fast rising Heisman hopeful Toby Gerhart, you should take a moment to savor his act.

The dude IS John Riggins, 2.0.

At 6-1, 235, he's a true old-school throwback when it comes to big time D1 tailbacks. You rarely see guys that tall, and that big, running for so many yards.

And he's white!

It is certainly politically incorrect to bring this up, but you would be insane to ignore it. There hasn't been a white tailback of significance like this, since Craig James of and the Pony Express.

Not that it matters, but it is notable. After all, white players are able to play athletic skill positions like wide receiver all day.

Tailback and cornerback? Not so much.

This has always confounded me. Why can white wideouts have sufficient explosion and speed to play that position, but not enough to play tailback?

Are they discouraged from playing the position early on in the youth-prep-college progression? Or is there something missing? I really don't know.

I do know this: Gerhart is the real deal. He once set the CALIFORNIA prep record for rushing yards in a career with nearly 10,000!

So relish the freak, while you can, and let's just see if he can become Riggins 2.0 in the pros.

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Jimmy Masterlock Week 11

LAST WEEK: 2-2

Jacksonville -8.5 vs. Buffalo
New England -10 vs. NY Jets
Baltimore -1 vs. Indianapolis

BARKING DOG: Oakland +9.5 vs. Cincinnati

Bill's "Get In The Trunk" Moment of Decision

The Bill Belichick 4th down call has been like a slain woolly mammoth for us in sports talk radio. It's a beast that will feed the tribe for months.

What is funny, however, is the level of utter VITRIOL some people have on the subject.

For the record, I think it was a decent percentage-play call by Bill. Not a no-brainer. And certainly not "idiotic."

I liken it to getting into the trunk of a mafia sedan. When the burly goombah's in the black suits say "get in the trunk" you are in deep trouble.

Belichick felt that Peyton Manning from 70 yards with 2 minutes and a timeout, was his own "get in the trunk" moment. He had to make a move. He tried to wheel-kick fat Tony with the gun, just missed, and got shot in the back.

Still might have been his best chance.

If you want some mildly confusing math (it's all confusing to me) you can read this entry from Sports By Brooks.

Those that disagree however, fall into a class of folks I like to call the "Righteous Punters."

These fans don't just think it was a bad strategic call, they are CERTAIN that Belichick is an arrogant IDIOT for attempting it.

Folks, punting isn't the answer to all of life's problems.

THE YELLOW ZONE

I would like to coin a term for the plus-45 to plus-35 yard line. "The Yellow Zone." Unlike the "Red Zone" this is to describe the cowardly zone where NFL coaches routinely punt the ball away, instead of going for 4th down conversion. If I was making a laminated chart, it would read like this: Any 4th and 5 or less in the "Yellow Zone" you go for it. Period. Punting for what usually ends up being a paltry 25 yards of field position, isn't worth shying away from 4th and 5 or less.

As if anybody needed one more reason to fire Eric Mangini, this past Monday night provided it. Gregg Easterbrook of Page 2's "Tuesday Morning Quarterback" pulls the pants down on cowardly coaching decisions.

On Monday night, trailing 16-0 on the game's final snap, Cleveland attempted a ridiculous Stanford Band play (which should now be called a Trinity of Texas play), for no apparent purpose other than to keep "we got shut out on 'Monday Night Football'" from being on the agenda at Eric Mangini's year-end performance review. In an extreme display of poor sportsmanship, Mangini called all his timeouts in the final moments, when Baltimore led by 16 and was not trying to score but just trying to exhaust the clock. The motive was protecting Mangini's résumé, and the result of the ridiculous final play was a concussion for the Browns' Josh Cribbs. Exposing players to injury on a meaningless final down, just to improve your own employment prospects, is a serious coaching offense -- the football world should be mad at Mangini, not Belichick.

REACT: Easterbrook also slammed Wade Phillips for pushing so hard for the late TD against Green Bay while there was clearly, no chance at all for a 17 point rally in the final 2 minutes. It was a classic: "I don't want the word 'shutout' on my year end review" kind of move. Again, not like you need THIS to justify canning Wade Phillips at the end of the year.

IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT... "MESSAGING"

I love how politicians never think that they are doing something the public is enraged about, they only think that they need to do a better job of lying about what they are doing which is making the public outraged.

Pat Waak, the chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party, said the party had so far failed to convince independent voters of the steps it had taken to improve the economy.

“I think the economy is at the base of the tension,” she said. “Quite frankly, we’ve got to do a better job of messaging. There’s a lot of work to be done to get independents more comfortable with what we’re doing.”

“Listen, it hasn’t been an easy time,” said T.J. Rooney, a former state legislator and the chairman of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. “It’s almost like we’re a victim of our own success. When you’re governing, that changes the political dynamic.”

Andrew Myers, who polled for Democrats in Virginia House of Delegates races this year, said his analysis of exit polls indicated that voters had come to see Democrats as a party of high spending — too willing to make a rush for the pocketbooks and unable to effectively articulate how their health care reform push benefited independents, many of whom already have insurance plans.

“This is what’s particularly heartbreaking: There is a real sense that no one in Congress is standing up for them,” said Myers. “It’s a real problem for messaging for us.”

Translation: You, the public are stupid. We plan to step up our efforts to lie to you. Stay tuned. God, I cannot WAIT until next November.

Adventure, Excellent

Had a sensational trip to Wisconsin this weekend. I might even add, I brought some great karma! Brandon Jennings for 55 on Saturday night. Then Packers (virtually) shut out the hated 'Pokes on Sunday.

All that, plus I got to meet a lot of seriously obsessive former Boy Scouts at Milwaukee Harley and their 1st annual "Adult Pinewood Derby." (Photos/Czabecast coming on that front).

Thank you to my man Jim Reichart at Midwest Airlines, for getting me safely and efficiently from Washington to town. Thanks to Bob Madden and his lovely wife Deb for letting me crash at the bungalow. Thanks to the Lynch Boys (all three!) for letting me come on the party-RV up to Lambeau. Thanks to Greg "The Grinder" from Palermo's Pizza for the awesome courtside seats at the Bradley Center.

And thanks to everyone who came up and said hello along the way, making me feel like an adopted son of Milwaukee.

Now... on to the photos.

As you can see with the above picture, I proudly displayed the ONE sign of support for Ted Thompson in the entire state on Sunday. My boy Eric Gitter (head pro at Currie Park, please play a round, and tip him generously... ding ding!) is standing next to me. The guy who looks back must think I'm nuts!

I also held the sign aloft on the steps of Lambeau, a veritable sacriledge. Sorry. Luckily I was not stoned and pelted with rocks and garbage.

The day was not without its horrors, however. Here, a woman spilled a full beer. She was given a fresh one. Outrage. I took a moment to grieve.

Here, I take a moment to tell a nice Cowboy fan from Iowa, that he sucks. And Romo's a homo. Have a nice game.

Me and the great one, Vincent Thomas Lombardi.

Finally, me rubbing it in to Bob and Brian, those hand-wringing nellies on Monday morning at 102.9 The Hog.

"Lawn Ornament Fight, Lost"

This might qualify as story of the year....

A love-struck buck ran out of luck a week ago. The seven-point buck was killed when it rammed a 640-pound concrete statue of an elk in the backyard of Mark and Carol Brye's home in rural Viroqua.

Bucks often fight during the breeding season, commonly called the rut. Dominant bucks defend breeding territories and female deer by sparring with subordinate bucks. Antler battles sometimes result in the death of one or both deer, but usually end with the biggest buck winning and the smaller buck high-tailing it out to another area....

MORE....

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And here's your depressing Redskin photo of the week!



Oh wait, one more.



I have total confidence in this administration. I really do!

(**throws up in mouth**)

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The NFL season embarks on the "official" second half (even though two teams, Texans and Giants, have played 9 games already) and there are several records in the crosshairs.

Peyton Manning is on pace to clip Dan Marino's single season yard mark by 6 yards (5,090). Last year, Brees had multiple shots at this mark, but a few drops late, and a series where they ran the ball, prevented it.

Dallas Clark (not coincidentally) is on pace to shatter Kellen Winslow Sr's TE yardage mark of 1,290 (pace = 1,406). A mark that has lasted 29 years.

Darren Sharper has 7 INTs for New Orleans and 3 pick-sixes. He could break Night Train Lane's record of 14 INTs in 12 games in 1952 (where it was legal to leg whip, clothesline, AND shove receivers right up until the instant the ball arrived) as well as the record for DFT's (3 players have 4 on the season).

And Eric Mangini has a chance to break the record for most blatant lies in a season by a head coach, the most recent one being that he had no idea Brady Quinn has a massive bonus clause in his deal for next season based on 70% of snaps played. Uhhh huh.

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Okay, I post these only because people keep asking. And lest I be accused of shilling for a product that I do not actually use, or does not work, let this set the record straight.

Here are my 60 day progress pics for the P90x exercise routine. Personally, I still think I'm fat and weak, so this is nothing. I plan to have much more impressive pics on Day 120, when I cycle through the program a second time.








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Jimmy Masterlock Week 10

Last Week: 4-0! BITCHES!

Denver -3.5 at Washington
New England +2.5 at Indy
Cincinnati +7.5 at Pittsburgh
BARKING DOG: Seattle +8 at Arizona

Planetary Death By 300 Million Titleists

Three hundred million golf balls are lost every year, or so they say. Me, I swear I don't have any more than 178 which are un-accounted for from this past calendar year, so don't look at me!

Research teams at the Danish Golf Union have discovered it takes between 100 to 1,000 years for a golf ball to decompose naturally. A startling fact when it is also estimated 300 million balls are lost or discarded in the United States alone, every year. It seems the simple plastic golf ball is increasingly becoming a major litter problem.

The scale of the dilemma was underlined recently in Scotland, where scientists -- who scoured the watery depths in a submarine hoping to discover evidence of the prehistoric Loch Ness monster -- were surprised to find hundreds of thousands of golf balls lining the bed of the loch.

It is thought tourists and locals have used the loch as an alternative driving range for many years. The footage shot by underwater robotics team SeaTrepid, can be seen below.

With an increasing number of golf balls discarded each year, the Danish Golf Association devised a number of tests to determine the environmental impact of golf balls on their surroundings.

COMMENT: Reader Rich Morrical asks: This might be a dumb quetion but if the millions of golf balls being lost every year are not bio degrading, than aren't they just like rocks? Are they really hurting the environment?

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Manlaw #176: More Power is Always Better. Always.

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I have good news, and bad news for the fine citizens of River Creek in Northern Virginia. Good news: Greg Blache was NOT the dumbell wielding “psycho” that challenged a dog walker to a fight as my email “source” implied here on Friday.

My apologies to Coach for the bad intel, although I sort of had admiration for an ornery ol' coach if that story was true.

The bad news: there apparently IS a guy who power walks with dumb-bells in River Creek and he IS a psycho. Give him wide berth. He's just not a Redskins coach.

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John Witzke is on Billick Brian's ass. Good work...

Czabe,

Our favorite EXPERT color analyst referred to Dwayne Jarrett as "Jarrett Smith" *twice* today, and that was just while under Redzone Channel surveillance. Who knows how many times he did it all together.

Which makes me wonder at what point do we start tracking the buffoonery of the White Gumbel?

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Peter King can't resist talking about the Fort Hood shootings. As usual, his take is one dimensional, illogical, and purely liberal at heart.

My heart goes out to the victims of the Fort Hood and Orlando shootings and their loved ones. Senseless, senseless incidents. I will not go quietly into the night on this one. America needs to do something about idiots with handguns. How many more Fort Hoods and Orlandos do there have to be before our political leaders have the guts to severely restrict access to murderous weapons?

National Review Online comments: “Good point. An Army base is no place for weapons.” And, to add insult to injury, we know what the Associated Press reported, here: “Packed into cubicles with 5-foot-high dividers, the 300 unarmed soldiers were sitting ducks.”

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While we are pissing off liberals..... John Hinderaker at Powerlineblog makes a great point about self described "Democrats" vs. self described "liberals." Writes Hinderaker...

The basic asymmetry of American politics is that there are more conservatives than there are Republicans, while there are more Democrats than there are liberals. This is why Nancy Pelosi wasn't able to persuade anything like a unified caucus to vote for her government takeover of health care, and why Democratic Congressmen were competing for permission to vote against the bill.

Why is it, though, that while conservatives outnumber liberals by anywhere from one and a half to two to one, depending on the poll, there are significantly more Democrats than Republicans? There are a number of answers, but one of them is that conservatives, as a group, are insufficiently loyal to the Republican Party.

Back in our far-left days, we used to claim that there was no difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. ("Don't play good imperialist/bad imperialist" was one mantra.) That was stupid. Today, there are some on the right who say there is little or no difference between the parties--you hear this, for example, from some in the tea party movement. This is equally stupid. There are important differences between the parties, and the most practical thing conservatives can do in the political realm is try to build up the Republican Party.

Of course the Republicans aren't perfect. Of course they spent too much money when they controlled Congress. But the history of the Republican Party is, on the whole, a proud one--far more so than that of the Democratic Party. This is a theme to which I intend to recur in the months to come.

In the meantime, let's leave it with this: we were often critical of President George W. Bush. When he left office, I gave him a B- grade overall. But President Bush would have vetoed Pelosicare. This is the stark difference between our political parties: the Democrats are hell-bent on dismantling free enterprise and advancing government power over every aspect of our lives; the Republicans are not.

Conservatives cannot afford to be neutral or indifferent as between the parties, nor can they afford the narcissism of third-party vanity campaigns. Conservatives must work every day to strengthen the Republican Party--it's the only hope we have. And, yes, strengthening the party will sometimes mean drawing the line at a Dede Scozzafava. But purity is not our object here; victory is.

REACT: On this I agree. Voting Republican is an imperfect, but necessary act. And like any sports team you root for, they disappoint nearly as often as they play to their full capability. As for "democrats" who are conservative, I know many of them. It drives me nuts. They live their lives, conservatively. They believe in conservative priciples.

But because they have been browbeaten by friends, family, and social circles to be good "democrats" they simply cannot come to grips with where their true political ideology lies. Thus, they usually pick one or two supposedly "deal breaking" aspects of a broader Republican platform (abortion, gun control, e.g.) and use that as their excuse to vote the other way.

"Rooting For Isaiah?" WTF!

I must confess, I did not hear the actual conversation between Wilbon and Kornheiser on PTI, but the on-screen headline stopped me in my tracks.

“Rooting For Isaiah?”

Of course, this was a discussion keyed off of Isaiah Thomas and his D-1 coaching debut for Florida International.

I'm sorry. “Rooting” for him?

Are you fucking crazy?

Let's root for penis cancer while we're at it?

What is it, exactly, about this smiling charlatan Isaiah, which makes such a discussion even possible? Root for him? Fuck him.

Isaiah Thomas is a certified shitbag. He's a lying, salary stealing, convicted sexual harasser. He's a bully, a fraud, a team wrecker, and a downright bad person.

There is nobody, repeat NOBODY, who publicly calls themselves his friend.

And yet.....

PTI somehow trotted out the question. Perhaps I should go back and listen to the conversation. But even if I did, I don't think it matters.

The answer, is a loud, unequivocal NO! You can't root for him. Not in any way. He's a walking lottery winner to even have this job. And who cares how little it pays, or how he agreed to give back much of that salary thanks to his robbery of the Knicks.

Personally, I am rooting for Isaiah Thomas to go 0-32 this year, get ejected from a dozen or more games, and to land Florida International on 10 year NCAA probation.

Seriously. Fuck him. Please stop putting him and his garbage basketball team on TV because it is somehow a “story.” This is the biggest dead-end, non-story, since Greg Paulus decided to play QB for Syracuse after a mediocre point guard career at Duke.

How's that media fascination going these days? Uh huh.

Okay. Rant over.

Let's Figure Out How We Can Lose This Game!

Great to see a coach of a football team, have some BALLS with the line on the game. Paul Johnson of Georgia Tech, is in a overtime struggle with Wake. Down 3 points in OT, he's got 4th and 1 at the 4 yard line. He could easily kick a chippy FG and then keep playing in OT.

Nah! Let's go for it.

Jackets convert – despite being 0-3 prior to that on 4th down in the game! - and go on to punch it in the end zone a few plays later for the win.

Huzzah, huzzah, Coach Johnson! If only more coaches had your attitude.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

On the flip side, I don't know exactly how the NY Giants fell apart against the Chargers. The game was burning away on one of my “wing” TV's in the 5-Hour energy dome and I wasn't paying much attention.

Suddenly, the Chargers have a shot at the end zone with 20 seconds left, and sure enough, they stick the dagger in!

Rewind to the key play. On 1st and goal at the 4, up by 3 points, with 3 minutes and change left, Chris Snee gets called for a hold. The Giants then throw to the flat to Hakeen Nicks for no gain on 1st and goal from the 14. Predictably, they run safe Brandon Jacobs draws on 2nd and 3rd down from the shotgun formation.

Field goal. 20-14.

So what's the big deal? Being up 6 is better than 3, right?

Most of the time, actually, no. As I like to say: if only a touchdown can beat you, then it WILL be a touchdown that beats you.

Predictably, the Chargers were able to operate smoothly in the 2 minute drill, and move quickly into Giants territory. Why? Well, of course. “Only a touchdown can beat us.”

And so it was.

Had the Giants thrown boldly into the endzone in attempt to score, even an INT wouldn't have been that bad. The Chargers would have then only needed a FG to tie, and thus, the Giants D would have played furiously to keep them out of FG range.

I would have liked their chances very much to succeed.

Also, if the Chargers had moved into FG range, their own aggressiveness to score the game winning TD would have been blunted, likely resulting in a field goal attempt (hell, it's Norv we're talking about!) which may well have missed. Worst case, you end up in OT, not losers.

But.... this won't be the last time you see this game ending dynamic in the NFL. Some things seem to never change...

Put On Your Zorn Face, Skins Fans

“Look, we lost the game today. I GET that.”

- Jim Zorn, pumping the breaks on his selective post game enthusiasm over what went “right” in the Skins 31-17 loss to the Falcons.

Okay then, that's a start. He does “get it” that losing is bad. We can build from here.

But there's a ton of work still left.

Where to start?

Well, let's start with Zorn. Is it me, or does watching him on the sidelines make you cringe? I mean, I have never, ever, ever, seen an NFL coach who has been so thoroughly drained of “coaching life force” like this.

Sure, I've seen awful coaches, who were almost CERTAIN that they were soon to be fired.

But they still stalked the sidelines, ranting, raving, tilting at imaginary windmills and yelling at the refs on occasion.

Zorn? It's surreal. Nothing.

In fact, he has what I am simply going to call from now on: “Zorn Face.”

Zorn Face: adj. - A facial expression of false interest, concern, or thoughtfulness. Usually highlighted by a steadily furrowed forehead. Used to conceal the fact that you really don't give a crap either way, since you get paid the same just to stand there.

(Example: “You know, Bill, that all-staff meeting on email etiquette was a real waste of time. Still, I just put on my “Zorn Face” and made it look like I was totally engaged.”)

That said, there's only three things I see wrong with this team.

1.They aren't that talented.
2.They don't play very hard.
3.They have poor or non-existent coaching.

Other than that.....

Has anybody else noticed that the guys who keep saying “we've got talent here...” are the guys with the biggest contracts? Haynesworth, Portis, Hall...

Zorn told Sonny on the post-game show that he was “impressed” with how his defense “popped” Michael Turner a few times. Sonny, non-plussed, then said: “Yeah coach, but 168 yards....” Parried Zorn: “But most of that was just on two runs....” Right. Let me say it one more time: THOSE YARDS GET CHARGED TO YOUR ROOM TOO, UPON CHECK OUT!

Is the running attack better – at this point – without Clinton Portis? Well, duh, yeah. But only marginally. Betts gives a quicker chop-chop with his legs through the hole, but he's only a slight upgrade over CP. Plus, just look at the line...

Speaking of..... how great is it (insert sarcasm before “great”) that our line now includes... Mike Williams (plucked off Derrick Dockery's couch at 410 pounds with 2 years of rust), Will Montgomery (who is only playing because 3rd round pick Chad Reinhardt is a total bust), and former Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings and Edmonton Eskimo D'Anthony Batiste. Fun times!

PS: Center Casey Rabach can't play anymore. Pssst. Keep it quiet. We've got 8 games left still.

This great defense we have, once again failed to produce a score. The last DFT for the Skins came in 2007! For perspective, consider this: the Saints have 5 pick six's this year alone! You would need to go back to the Lavar Arrington pick-six against Carolina that turned around the one Marty year to cover the last 6 skins pick-sixes.

Albert Haynesworth came off the bye week and promptly committed an off-sides penalty. Added another one when Matt Ryan all but shouted out: “Let's make the fat kid jump!” Fabulous.

People say this team is “un-disciplined.” Well, yeah. No players ever get ripped by the coaches. No players ever get benched by the coaches. No players ever get cut from the team. (Okay, they benched Horton, and cut Mason. Otherwise, have fun boys!)

The first snagged fabric of the Magicolor Dreamcoat that is the “Bingo Lewis” Offensive Play-Calling Relay Team has appeared. Near the goal line, you could see Zorn mouth the words “I wanted to throw” when they ran. Later, they called timeout on 4th and 1 inch (waste) and threw un-successfully to Mike Sellers. When asked, Zorn said: “Stump Mitchell designed the play, Sherm Lewis called it. And I made the decision to go for it.” With costume credit to Angela Silverstein, script enhancement by Bert Rossman..... They showed Zorn on the sidelines right after that. Zorn Face. I really wanted him to sheepishly point his finger up in the air. Psst. Sherm's call. Not me.

How is DeAngelo Hall working out for Redskins fans? Uh huh. Not like I didn't try to warn everybody. Aside from his crap tackling, he's really not shutting guys down either. His team-hi three picks included two pop-ups off deflections.

LaRon Landry is regressing. That is sad. He was one of my favorite players. I think back to how insanely devastating he and Sean Taylor were together. He seems lost now. One caller said on the post-game show, that ever since the opening night trucking he took from Brandon Jacobs in 2008, Landry hasn't been the same. Hmm. Interesting theory.

The fake coaching, and weekly mini-dramas begin continue with Denver coming to town Sunday. Should be fun.

Greg Blache Will Whip Your Ass!

For those that don't know, the pieces of the Redskins keep flying apart like Skylab coming back to earth. The latest is Hall of Famer John Riggins calling Snyder a fundamentally "bad guy" and someone with a "dark heart."

Riggo, for all his rugged charm, may be right. I don't know Snyder. Yet I think "dark heart" is a bit much.

Riggo himself admits he has an axe to grind. He was formerly the most overpaid radio host in the DC market. "Stolen" away from us at Sportstalk 980 by the upstart Snyder Radio Regime, I had heard Riggo was making nearly $1 million a year.

He was given his own afternoon radio show, opposite me and Andy on The Sports Reporters.

In a word, fail.

Riggo was engaging and nutty when he was with Andy and I for 2 hours a week, back in the day. Riggo bloviating and rambling on his own was death by a thousand radio cuts.

When Sportstalk 980 was purchased by Snyder's Red Zebra in July of 2008, they had to make a choice: us or Riggo. It wasn't a hard one.

So Riggo got paid for the last 6 months of his contract to just go away, while we went on about our business on The Reporters. I don't have any hard feelings toward Riggo - no axe to grind, like he admits - but he's more than just a little delusional about his own radio talent.

He is also no doubt frustrated by now being mostly shut-out of relevant commentary on all things Redskins. Brian Mitchell has a prominent perch on Comcast's post-game show. Doc Walker still does mid-days on ESPN980 here, Joe Theismann is doing more with the station and elsewhere, and Sonny still rules gameday on the radio broadcast.

So what's Riggo to do?

Film al-Qaeda like videos from the woods near his home, lobbing one more incendiary diatribe after another.

Sad, really.

It did get him enough traction, however, along with his HOF status, to appear on Inside the NFL.

So that gets you up to speed on Riggo. He's a guy desperate to revive a failing football media career, and admittedly bitter about the way he was bum rushed out of here. Okay, fine.

As for Blache, I only thought one thing when he spoke up in defense of Prince Dan: "Dude, you're still here?"

This is the guy who decided a single, simple media session once a week to discuss defensive football matters on this team was too much. So he passed the buck to Jerry Gray.

Oh, NOW he's talking? That is rich!

Well, turns out, that was hardly the most scintillating piece of Greg Blache "news" to come across my desk this week.

TO: Czabe
FROM: Name Withheld
RE: Skins D-Coordinator, Greg Blache

I know that you probably receive e-mails similar to this one, all of the time, but I can assure you that this happened. One of the guys that I work with lives in River Creek (nice golf course!). He has a circle of friends that he plays golf with there. He received the following e-mail from one of these friends last night. I kept their names off to protect their privacy.

"Dudes? Does Greg Blache live in River Creek? If so, I think I ran into him literally today, I think, this am, while walking my dog, He was power walking with 25 # dumbbells in his hands, and he literally bumped me off the sidewalk, I turned around and said ‘what was that’? He then told me to fuck off, to which I replied ‘you fuck off’. He then told me to go lose the dog, and he would ,and I quote, “fuck me up”, I was literally shocked. I then said I will lose the dog, but he had to lose the weights. He then threw them on the ground and said ‘lets go’ and threw some other threats at me.

I ,being prudent, told him he was a fucking psycho with anger management issues, but that I would go drop off the dog. Now the dog had yet to drop his load, so I had to get that out of the way first. When I got back to the house, I looked out the window, and that psycho was still standing at the stop sign on Olympic waiting for me to come back and duel.

First, I am generally not one to run from a fight, but he is a big mf, clearly with a bad temper. He runs a good 240+. The stress of losing must be eating him alive. I may have to engage counsel and call the police. This guy is seriously whacked. I will now hate the redskins forever!

PS: I googled him. That grumpy psychotic MF does live in River Creek". I guess the Redskins' problems go deeper than we all think..


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jimmy Masterlock Week 9

Dallas +3 at Philly
Miami +10.5 at New England
Cincinnati +3 vs. Baltimore
BARKING DOG: Houston +9 at Indianapolis

Sun Set Long Ago on World Series Tradition

Here, see this picture of the sun?

Well, ol' shiny hasn't seen the World Series with its own eyes since 1984! Can you believe it!

At least this season, Fox scooched up the start times.

The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies will open the Series tonight at 7:57 p.m. EDT — about 30 minutes earlier than usual — and will end each game when most children, at least those living on the East Coast, are sleeping.

Rather than catering to kids, Major League Baseball and Fox are shooting for the highest ratings they can get to help sell the commercials that pay the bills.

“World Series games, for more than 20 years, have been played at a time when the greatest number of fans can watch, from coast to coast,” Fox Sports president Ed Goren said in a released statement. “This year, we worked with MLB to move postseason start times 30 to 40 minutes earlier, and we would be very willing to consider televising World Series games played during the day if the fee to acquire those rights reflected the smaller audiences that day games would naturally produce.”

When Goren’s comments were relayed, Selig wouldn’t close the door on lowering rights.

REACT: A major sports commissioner, willingly taking LESS money for almighty television, would be something to behold. Of course, I don't see it actually happening. But the thought is intriquing.

Forget "the kids" as an argument for making World Series games start at a better hour. It really should be about us. The adults! You know, people who work for a living!

Truth be told, kids aren't going to be jostling in front of the ol' wooden fence knothole on their walk home from school. That Norman Rockwell painting isn't real. Kids are buried in their iPhones, XBox's, and the like.

So forget the kids. Just move the start of World Series games up to 7:25 latest in the east. That would be perfect! If you can trim the length of post-season games down about 10 minutes, then the (hopefully) thrilling conclusions would happen at 10:45 or so in the east.

Day games? Eh. I'm not as romantic about that as Selig. Especially if that game has to fight tooth and nail with football.

But imagine a restaurant that only opened at 8:30, not 7 p.m. While maybe you can attract diners with more money at that late hour, how are you going to grow the overall number of people who might eat there on a regular basis?

That, and maybe we need to give each manager a booklet with only 3 "vouchers" for "mount visits" each game. When you are out, you are out. Period.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



Totally random side note. While google-image-searching for this lovely sun picture, I came across this blog thread. It is a flight sim nerd's screen-capped account of a computer flight from Beijing to Seoul.

Whooo. Hah. Exciting stuff. Just look at all that intense computer game action!

It rained on the landing in Seoul! Incredible!

But hey, I'm a nerd in my own right (see Ryder Cup, President's Cup, and Solheim Cup obsessions in golf) so I sorta dig the fact that there's a group of wanna be commercial aviation jocks out there pouring hours into their Pentium III's flying Chinese 737s.

Whatever stiffens your joystick.

"Nobody's Going To Complain..."

Lest anybody think I would miss the Tim Donaghy book story, rest easy.

With a quick pause in the World Series, let me loop back to the news of last week that was akin to Christmas for all of us David Stern haters.

The disgraced former NBA ref has penned a book from prison. And …. it... is.... awesome!

Heheheheheheh!

The original publisher got cold feet, and pulled the project. Thankfully, somebody with a rough copy got a very salacious chunk of it to the boys at Deadspin.com. Allegedly, several other publishing houses are in negotiations to pick up the book and run with it.

You can read the devastating chapter-and-verse of NBA refereeing shennanigans here. Don't believe him? He's a crook? What about his credibility?

Please.

Just because a guy is a gambling degenerate scumbag, doesn't make him a liar. Besides, the roid dealing creeps who took Pete Rose's gambling action on baseball, were scumbags.

They also told the truth about Rose.

Even if only 20% of what Donaghy says is true, it's a devastating enough barrage to cripple the league's credibility. Not until David Stern has slipped into a wealthy retirement, and many of the high profile crony refs we all know by name – Bavetta, Javie, Delaney, Crawford et al. - hang it up, will we ever feel like the league has returned to being roughly on the up-and-up.

People always called me a “conspiracy theorist” on the NBA. Not true. I never claimed conspiracy. You didn't need one.

The NBA simply “massaged” outcomes, and manufactured excitement any way they could. The refs caught on, that calling “rules” and “fouls” when they were not needed, wasn't going to get them in the good graces of the league brass.

This is exactly what gave rise to guy like Dick Bavetta. He was, and is, a professional brown-noser. He knew what made the bosses happy, and went about helping make it happen. There were no grand conspiracies needed. No memos, no meetings. No guys in trenchcoats waiting outside the arena.

Here's the key exerpt on this point from Donaghy...

In the pregame meeting prior to Game 6, the league office sent down word that certain calls-calls that would have benefitted the Lakers — were being missed by the referees. This was the type of not-so-subtle information that I and other referees were left to interpret. After receiving the dispatch, Bavetta openly talked about the fact that the league wanted a Game 7.

"If we give the benefit of the calls to the team that's down in the series, nobody's going to complain. The series will be even at three apiece, and then the better team can win Game 7," Bavetta stated.

As history shows, Sacramento lost Game 6 in a wild come-from-behind thriller that saw the Lakers repeatedly sent to the foul line by the referees. For other NBA referees watching the game on television, it was a shameful performance by Bavetta's crew, one of the most poorly officiated games of all time.

Well. Duh.

We watched the game. We saw it. But it's nice to see it in black and white. Finally. There it is.

“Nobody is going to complain...” Exactly. Except the fans whose team (usually small market) gets screwed.

Bavetta's crew that night should have been suspended, if not fired. It was such a travesty, it did not pass the smell test on any level.

But it gave the league another game (more product!), controversy, hype, and ratings. Win, win, win.

If this game was an isolated outlier, that would be one thing. But you combine it with the fact that Jordan almost never fouled out of a game despite playing pit bull like defense, the Sixers over the Bucks in the Eastern Finals in 2001, the frothing at the mouth Mark Cuban tirade as Stern left the court in Miami, Cuban's repeatedly fined crusade for more officiating research, improvement and transparency, and on and on and on....

It is a shame. The NBA has super-freak athletes. The game could – and should – be so much more at that level. But the instinct of Stern to be a marketer first, league commissioner second, has stained the league. It won't go away, until he finally does.
There's a reason why the NBA used to pull 17-18-19 ratings for the Finals, where now, even a Lakers v. Celtics “dream matchup” with stars-a-plenty, wheezes to crack a 10 share.

Casual fans may enjoy the sizzle, but genuine sports fans don't take the league at face value. And too many fan bases of lesser markets, now never feel they will get an honest chance if the stars align to deliver them a championship caliber team.
Tim Donaghy is, according to the court of law, a convicted felon.
To me, he's a hero. May his full story in the league, yet be told.

Penalties? Pfffffttttt... Big Deal, Sez Cupcake Wade

Cowboy correspondent Mike McGowan sends this angry dispatch via email this week...

This is my coach. Cowboy fans are in good hands with him at the helm. Godspeed, Wade Phillips, Godspeed.

From Cowboys website:

People always want to blame Wade Phillips for not being a taskmaster as relates to team discipline, particularly with penalties. Well, the reality is Phillips isn't completely sure penalties are the deciding factor between good teams and bad teams.

"To me, I've never seen one," Phillips said. "There's no direct correlation between the teams that are penalized and the teams that win and lose. There's no direct correlation there. The more mistakes you make I think it hurts you, certainly. The pre-snap penalties are the ones that bother me. We work at the other ones, obviously, not holding, doing all those things. But pre-snap you can do a lot about, I believe. And we haven't done enough on those, so we're going to keep working on those."

Denver game. Romo makes key pass for a first down at mid-field. Penalty takes it off the board and puts them at third and twelve from their own 20 (or so). Next play, Romo sacked, fumble, recovered by Broncos. Next play, Broncos score TD. Broncos go on to win by seven.

But Cupcake says penalties don't impact games.

I think I told both of you this, but if not: I was ranting to my girl Janice about what a buffoon Philips is (I'm sure that was a pleasurable conversation for Janice), and she asks me, "Is Philips the worst coach in the entire NFL?" I started to respond with an emphatic "yes," ready to pile on with more bashing, but I stopped myself. I replied, "No, he's the second worst coach in the NFL."

I'll let you two draw your conclusions from there.

MY TWO CENTS: You are correct, Mike. Zorn WAS the worst coach in the league, but now that he's only "fake coaching" with a plastic steering wheel next to Sherm Lewis, I would say Eric Mangini has surpassed him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>



Let it be known: if you try out for America's Got Talent, then David Hassellhoff and his lawyers HAVE YOU BY THE BALLS!

Decked out in sequined black and gold dresses, Anne Harrison and the other women in her Bulgarian folk-singing group were lined up to try out for NBC's "America's Got Talent" TV show when they noticed peculiar wording in the release papers they were asked to sign.

Any of their actions that day last February, the contract said, could be "edited, in all media, throughout the universe, in perpetuity."

Lawyers for years have added language to some contracts that stretches beyond the Earth's atmosphere. But more and more people are encountering such everywhere-and-forever language as entertainment companies tap into amateur talent and try to anticipate every possible future stream of revenue

.

But if you think that's bad, then how about this gem, forwarded to me by emailer John Dreiser.



Call that... an "Apocalypse Clause".

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



For those who missed it, I spoke last Friday about how overboard the NFL's “Breast Cancer” sponsorship has gone. One week? Fine. No problems. A month? Get outta here. This stance, of course, was unpopular with some, because of course, I am actually PRO breast cancer. Right.

FROM: Jonathan French
RE: Breast Cancer "Awareness"

No doubt, Czabe is being hammered by emailers and callers for the breast cancer comments yesterday. Well, he was absolutely right! Tons of charitable resources are wasted on the expenses associated with putting on events like Race for the Cure. For every dollar donated, I would imagine that very little actually goes to research or helping those with breast cancer. On top of that, breast cancer, while horrible, has a very high survival rate, and almost always impacts adults who are at least capable of attempting to acquire and understand their treatment options. I wish professional sports and the public in general spent as much time raising funds for research into cures for terminal illnesses for kids, like childhood lymphoma. Facilities that provide treatment for children with potentially terminal illnesses pro bono are much more worthy causes. Forget the ta-ta's, save the kids!

REACT: While I don't know the actual dollar return rate on events like Race For the Cure, I concur with the rest of his points. Skin cancer has a similarly high survival rate. But how many special months do we have for that?

Furthermore, I have a hard time thinking that cancer research (of all stripes) is under-funded. I gotta believe major foundations, universities, government programs and such, all support “research” in spades.

Awareness is a different story. I would respect the NFL a lot more, if once a year, they made us all “aware” of a public health issue that maybe – wait for it.... - we are ACTUALLY NOT VERY AWARE OF!

Rotate this “horrible-thing-you-don't-know-about” on a yearly basis. At this point, I am afraid some men think that breast cancer is the ONLY kind of cancer women ever get.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



On the political front, I don't understand the thinking of anybody who looks at a 1,990 page deathtrap of government health care regulation and says: “You know, THAT is going to make my life, better.”

But, sadly, some do.

I had the following (paraphrased) conversation with an earnest suburban Maryland liberal housemommy. When I asked her if she REALLY thought Obama's health care reform was a good idea that would actually work, she said: “It may not be perfect, but if it helps some people get insurance they can't afford, then I'm all in favor of it.”

My follow up efforts asking her about unforeseen complications, failed assumptions, runaway costs, end runs on the new system, fraud, and all the other inevitable horrors of this statist manifesto... well, they fell on deaf ears.



She was stuck. Stuck on the glow of a warm, fuzzy, good intention.

Facts, logic, or past history of such attempts were simply no match.

These things can lead freedom loving, rational people to despair. If you have no chance to sway folks of this mindset, then what will prevent them from blissfully voting away our freedoms one-by-one, with each new warm and fuzzy idea that comes along?

The unemployment rate shows no signs of abating, despite the genius idea of just printing ourselves some money for new “jobs” back in February. I squealed like a stuck pig in this (mostly sports) blog back then, for no other reason that I felt I just had to speak out.

Holy shit, what a waste of money!

Some of you, said I was wrong. Well....

The numbers are coming in, and they ain't pretty.

Chip Reid of CBS News took the O-ministration to the woodshed over the stimulus and its so-called “saved” jobs count.

At a small college in Georgia, $100,000 in stimulus funds paid for trucks for students to practice for commercial driver`s licenses. Another $100,000 went for a modular classroom. The school reported to the government that 280 jobs were created. In reality, not even close. That’s the number of students who benefited. It has nothing to do with jobs. In Cocoa, Florida, a childcare center reported 129 jobs created by a stimulus grant. In fact, no jobs were created. The money was really used to increase the compensation and benefits of 129 existing employees.

And on, and on, and on.....

If the stimulus was a good idea, then another one – even bigger – would be an even BETTER idea. Right? Well, I guess even that's too hard a sell for Democrats at this point.

Yet if I asked my suburban liberal democrat housemommy she might totally agree! Yes, let's keep trying HARDER to vote ourselves rich, and spend our way out of a recession!

The only way any of this gets turned around, is if small business starts feeling good about the political tides shifting enough to thwart Obama's socialist agenda. Right now, that sector is hunkered down in survival mode.

Hiring? Ha! If they hire somebody now, who knows if Obama will pass a law forbidding companies to fire anybody, for any reason in the near future.

I know several doctors who own their practice (small business) and several other entrepreneurs with a business and they could tell you exactly how worried they are that Obama's agenda on a variety of fronts will simply wipe them out.

They have told me.

But hey, don't believe me. Believe somebody else. Caroline Baum of Bloomberg.com paints a full picture of this liberal fantasy.

Actual hiring seems to be lagging behind the model’s land of make-believe. For small businesses, which are the source of most job creation in the U.S., the government’s increased and changing role in the economy isn’t a confidence builder. Businessmen have no idea what health-care reform will mean for their cost structure or what whimsical tax policies the government might impose when it realizes those short-term deficits are running into long-term unfunded liabilities. No wonder capital spending plans were at an all-time low in the third quarter, according to the NFIB monthly survey.

And so it goes. You don't come here to read about politics. I know that. I won't be changing any minds. I know that.

But I feel like I must at least get my voice on record. Its crap. Its depressing. I pray it all gets stopped. And just because I'm a “sports guy” doesn't mean I can't have an opinion on politics or business. Just like you, in whatever field you make a living in, are certainly entitled to speak up wherever and whenever you can.

I am just one voice. But perhaps it'll make you feel better to know that I feel the same was as you. There are many more voices like us out there, you just sometimes don't know it.

Now, back to sports and other stuff ....

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



I have been skeptical of fan "boycotts" and or "walkouts" to protest the Snyder Regime with the Redskins. Most of these things fail, miserably. But this idea.... well... it might just be crazy enough to work.