$1.80 Gas, Karma and lots and lots of cats

I am to fulfill my civic duty and even if you don't know who I'm voting for, it certainly will not be the editor of this online publication.

The Nation Newspaper released this story about exit polls and includes language and vulgarity I would never come to expect from an entity describing itself as a 'newspaper'.

The story is probably fiction anyway, come to really think about it.

_____________________________________________________________________

I did release the kibosh on writing editorials/columns and wrote this piece for The Star Press, published last weekend.

They were happy with it, and apparently the people of Muncie able enough to reason were happy with it, as well.

I like how one user commented using a quote from Winston Churchill:

“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”

The ones that attack for with no real evidence are my favorite, however.

____________________________________________________________________

Regarding news of late, while Americans struggle through a quagmire of an economic time, Exxon Mobil reported record profits!

Brownsburg, Ind. has gas for $1.80. I might take a little drive.

More good news for people going to, or planning on going to college.

While I battle with the killing of a little sparrow, karma, it seems caught up with one hunter in Spencer, Ind.

McCain is gaining in Ohio and Florida. Good news for those happy with having Sarah Palin as a vice president and ULTIMATELY president.

From across the pond, we find that no one knows our presidents better than the British. London Times online ranks the U.S. presidents and JFK does not make the top-10. Wonder why? Check tomorrow for the 10 top presidents. The anticipation is mounting.

The Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series last night, ending a miraculous season for the Tampa Rays. If only. . . .

Also, the Chicago White Sox will NOT resign Ken Griffey Jr. That is probably a good move.

In Richmond, the runnin' Red Devils look to take one more step toward a state championship in IHSAA AAAAA football. (chuckle)

More importantly, Frankenstein opens at Civic theater and it looks pretty well done for Richmond.

And while I'm thinking about adopting a dog, this lady thinks its OK to have 130 cats. That's disgusting.

And even the way we swagger may have changed in these bad economic times.

The Sparrow hit, well my undercarage

I hate to be paranoid or just plain childish but killing a sparrow today really bothered me.

And so I did what every person trying to deal with a horrific event does; I Googled it.

I found this story about an exhibit at the Tate Modern, one of my old stomping grounds. It did not help my situation in the least bit.

So I was thinking that killing a sparrow might seem insignificant, or maybe it isn't. And it was like anything that happens before you have time to react and when you get that initial second where you do react it is not ever what you are expecting, if you can expect anything.

I killed something today. Shouldn't that be something to feel bad about?

I guess what this really is telling of, is the fact that I could not go hunting.

I'm starting to think that if a family of sparrows finds out from the chipped paint or directory or tire marks; they might come after me.

Help.



And while we are talking about dead birds, check out this site where you can order a "That One" t-shirt.

Pittsburgh, Beaver and Inclines

For all the blog-manics out there, forgive me.

Anyway I took a trip to Pittsburgh this weekend and I just realized that Pittsburgh does have an 'h' on the end and despite the spelling I saw on some other Web site, I have been right all along.

Andi and I traveled to Pittsburgh by way of I-70 then US-22 then PA-60 then, well, you get the idea.

We traveled to Beaver, PA on a whim to see her cousin, cousin-inlaw and baby 2nd cousin. I thought of the idea earlier in the week, when I was dying for some time to get away and do something spontaneous.

We arrived about 5 p.m. EST on Friday night, just in time to have dinner and see Junior. We talked for what was about 2 hours prior to Angela's sister arriving and blowing the breaker not once but twice while attempting to cook a potato in the microwave.

The movie for the night was Vantage Point and I enjoyed it. It wasn't great but it made me nervous, a reaction. I like reactions from movies.

In the morning we lounged prior to going to Raccoon Creek State Park and taking a walk where I took some wonderful pictures and took in even-more wonderful scenery.

The Marino's, Andi's cousins, have a dog and let me tell you she was incredible. Jumping through puddles, running through the woods, Canavarro, the dog enjoyed herself and I enjoyed watching her enjoy herself.

That night we went into Pittsburgh and had a wonderful dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. I had lasagna and plenty of bread. And along with a balloon hat, a balloon artist made me we left just shy of 8 p.m.

We made our way to the Duquesne incline.

The incline is an incline cable car that has served commuters and enthusiast since 1877. It takes passengers from the bank of the river (Monongahela, Allegheny, one of them) up Mount Washington, giving you a wonderful view of downtown Pittsburgh.

After we took pictures and read about the history we headed back down and back to their house in Beaver.

We watch I Am Legend that night and it was just OK.

The next morning we went to church with the Marino's and had lunch at Primanti Bros. in Moon, Penn.

Primanti Bros. are famous for their enormous sandwiches and have been featured on Food Network and the Travel Channel a number of times.

We drove home from there and arrived in 4 hours 45 minutes.

Free Taco's for everyone!

YOU GO JASON Bartlett!

Following last year's successful Taco Bell Free Taco campaign during the World Series, It's back!

Jason Bartlett stole a base in the fifth inning of game one which gives America a free taco Tuesday, Ocotober 28 between 2 and 6 p.m., I believe. Read this story for more information.

NEW TERRY TATE!

New Video From Jib Jab

McCain's Brain #5: The Final Debate | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Petrol below £1 a litre!

I need to write more.

Anyway, here are some things to think about, or rather, read INTO.

Tina Fey said she will stop doing impressions of Sarah Palin if the Republicans win. She also has said she will 'leave earth,' is the GOP triumphs.

And dag-gummit, if I ever missed something I wish I could see. Tomorrow night in Fountain Square the National is playing for FREE! One of my newer favorite bands and I have things to do.

Here are some of the worst gifts for Christmas and I guess anytime you have a need for a decapitated teddy lamp, thanks to Esquire and my friend C. Trent Rosecrans.

AND, bravo to those who received awards for scientific research into some of the fundamental questions in our world. A few of the awards handed out to academics at Harvard University included one researcher who explained what role ovulating played in how much gratuitiy lap dancers received. This article is worth reading.

AND> AND, here are some Logos that have gone terribly wrong!

IN SPORTS

For the first time in 15 years the Phillies will represent the NL in the World Series. Just one half of the sleeper completed Tampa Bay hopes to add the final piece to the puzzle tonight.

Tony Romo might get to spend a little more time with Jessica Simpson and her dogs this week because of a 'bwoken widdle fingey."

You've got to love the Onion for so many reasons including stories like this about T.J.

NEWS

In more important news the DOW is down another 300 points today. This only mean that it may rally 400 tomorrow. And so on and so forth.

And John McCain won the debate last night according to most people on this. But Barack Obama won the debate, here, here and here. Honestly who cares who won, as one of my friends said, why can't we just listen to what each one says and doesn't say.

In British news: Petrol prices are below £1 per litre for the first bloody time in ages! It is down below one quid for the first time in 10 months.

My Strat-O-Matic Lineup

As of yesterday this is my lineup for my strat-o-matic baseball team for next year.

'Cause there's always next year, right Cubs fans?

2009 FCBL Oakland A's

Lineup Ave. HR RBI OBP SLG vs.L vs. R

Braun .285 37 106 .335 .553 .287 .284
Quentin .288 36 100 .394 .571 .246 .303
Hamilt. .304 32 130 .371 .530 .288 .313
Encar. .251 26 68 .340 .466 .292 .235
LaRo. .270 25 85 .341 .500 .242 .282
Votto .297 24 84 .368 .506 .292 .299
Peralta .276 23 89 .331 .473 .247 .285
Napoli .273 20 49 .374 .586 .286 .270
Iannetta .264 18 65 .390 .505 .271 .261
Willingham .254 15 51 .364 .470 .242 .258
Barmes .290 11 44 .322 .468 .307 .283
Winn .306 10 64 .363 .426 .289 .313
Roberts .296 9 57 .378 .450 .313 .289
Spilborghs .313 6 36 .407 .468 .326 .306
Theriot .307 1 38 .387 .359 .305 .308

VS. LEFT
1. Brian Roberts 2b
2. Ryan Theriot SS
3. Josh Hamilton CF
4. Ryan Braun LF
5. Joey Votto 1B
6. Edwin Encarnacion 3B
7.Carlos Quentin DH
8. Mike Napoli C
9. Ryan Spilborghs RF

VS. Right
1. Brian Roberts 2B
2. Ryan Theriot SS
3. Josh Hamilton CF
4. Carlos Quentin DH
5. Ryan Braun LF
6. Joey Votto 1B
7. Jhonny Peralta 3B
8. Randy Winn RF
9. Chris Iannetta C

Rotation
1. Edinson Volquez 3.21 17-6 206 1.33
2. Scott Baker 3.45 11-4 141 1.18
3. Zach Greinke 3.47 13-10 183 1.28
4. Yusmeiro Petit 4.31 3-5 42 1.05
5. Aaron Cook 3.96 16-9 96 1.34

I'm looking at grabbing another starter or two. But other than that I"m pretty happy.

Politics and a blatant lier

The way you vote depends on where you come from and mostly what your concerns are.

Bickering amongst people in regards to who is the better candidate is subjective. But it is subjective due to reasons, oftentimes, outside of one's control.

I can't help that I'm concerned with education, my financial future and equal rights, just as joe-schmoe age 65 can't help to be concerned about Medicare, social security and caring very little about education and college loans.

Realizing that we are voting for 'our' candidate due to that persons tie to us is something young people and older people need to understand. Of course you are going to vote for the candidate you think you can get more from.

OPINION

The last few years of the old have not worked. And blame can be slung all around but the real problem is in getting up and moving on, which we have been unable to do because of bickering on both sides. Realizing that wealth does not trickle down is the first fundamental thing free-marketists need to understand. Realizing that wealth cannot be given out to non-workers is something that socialists need to understand.

Look, both extreme systems are flawed and for us to deny this on either side is wrong. We need a happy medium, we need cooperation amongst different parties. No one in history has ever gotten anything done without help from someone else.

Last night's debate sealed it for me as Sen. John McCain relied on attacking remarks to which Sen. Barack Obama did not respond. McCain was the agressor but showed his anger which is not something that has been welcome on the Senate floor according to many sources in committee. Stating that Obama voted 94 times to either raise taxes or against tax cuts is false. What he is talking about is spending allocations Sen. Obama oversaw and did not change for things that have no affect on income taxes; things like infrastructure, education, etc. Looking at McCain and lumping these allocations into the heap of tax breaks or lack there of, Sen. McCain has vote nearly 400 times against these 'tax cuts'.

And this is only the beginning of the blatant disregard for the facts, as a vice-presidential candidate holds rallies where people are shouting 'kill him' in reference to Obama and 'treason' directed at the senator, as well.

Fact checking bureaus have been having a field day with her as well, as she has been exaggerating Obama's ties to former-radical Bill Ayers; linking him directly to the failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, when a top McCain aide is much closely involved with the two housing market giants. And this is just the begining from someone who in the same speach talked about 'truthfulness and judgement' as qualities to be a president.

What a joke.

The Reason for the Financial meltdown

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W.

Funny Video - Top Ten George W. Bush Moments
Uploaded by cilvana1981

Ball State No. 25 in AP rankings

Cubs lose, as they were supposed to and Ball State Cardinals win, as they should.

And then this afternoon there was this.

Congrats Ball State on your first trip to the AP top 25!

Playoff Perspective

I hate to bring it up but here it is.

Maybe it's not over but it sure looks like it from where I sit.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________-

On the subject of the playoffs; isn't it interesting the complexion of the teams that are winning thus far.

It seems to me that the teams enjoying success thus far have developed a lot of their key talent and have been patient in developing rosters and pitching.

To me, if the last few years have showed anything, it has been that the Yankee model doesn't work, at least not right now. Spending extravagant amounts of money for free agents, you end up with huge payrolls, good players in non-pressure situations, i.e. regular season and then disappointment in the postseason, which Cubs fans, is the only thing that really matters.

And I'm not trying to patronize. I feel for you. I root against you but I feel for you.

The fact is that the Cubs, and to a lesser extent only regarding what seems to be one and done trades, the Brewers and Angels, have superstar laden teams which have performed during the regular year.

I saw it coming in May, as Cubs fans for the millionth time, drank the Kool-Aid and patted themselves on the back, again, watching a team with a $100 million+ lead-off hitter, that doesn't play good defense, is oft-injured and whose strikeout to walk ration is 103-43. In my model of a baseball team, lead off hitters are supposed to get on base, not be free swingers. And for the record, for all of you that bought Fukodome shirts early in the year; he sucks.

The Brewers sold their souls to get CC Sabathia, and why not this is their only year as they have a chunk of free agents leaving, namely Ben Sheets, Mike Cameron, Gabe Kapler, Jason Kendall, Salomon Torres, Russel Branyan and said Sabathia. WOW. Hello Pittsburgh and a race for fifth place.

Angels are done and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why forever and now I know. Look at their division race.
Gm. back

Los Angeles	100	62	.617	-
Texas	79	83	.488	21.0
Oakland	75	86	.466	24.5
Seattle	61	101	.377	39.0

They didn't play anyone good. They're done.

ON WHAT IS GOOD: Tampa Bay Rays, L.A. Dodgers and Boston Red Sox.

Tampa Bay with a payroll similar to our local McDonald's franchise, has developed players, i.e. B.J. Upton, James Shields, Scott Kazmir, Carl Crawford, and the enigmatic Evan Longoria. They are good, at a cheap price, real good.

L.A. has developed players like Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Chad Billingsley, Johnathon Broxton. And unlike other teams who signed flashy superstars, lowercased emphasized, they stick with players who know how to win, i.e. Derek Lowe, Rafael Furcal and Manny Ramirez.

And you know the Red Sox, they spend money but they get it done with players like Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Jacoby Ellsbury. All young, all cheap and all good.

And once again, its not over. But with Manny being Manny I have my doubts.

I'm a Celebrity!

I might be a semi-celebrity. This evening I was alerted on the fact that My face is on the Ball State Web site; deep, deep in the Web site, but there.

You can look at it here: http://cms.bsu.edu/Academics/CollegesandDepartments/Journalism/ContactUs.aspx

Markets, Procrastinating, Playoffs

IN the midst of this madness Thomas Friedman delivers an excellent piece about the market meltdown. You should read it here.

I just can't seem to get anything done. I have pushed myself to the limit, just as the credit is choking up the system in the financial markets, so procrastination is clogging up everything I have to do and I just don't have the motivation to do anything.

I think about stuff I need to do and I know that I'll feel better if I just do it, but can't. Oh well.

The baseball playoffs start tonight and I honestly don't care who wins just as long as its not the Cubs. And hear me out on this one.

When you think of the Cubs you think of 100 years of futility and fun. Disaster and disappointments juxtaposed to jubilation and positivity.

Well you won't be able to think that if they win.

It's fundamental: Some teams win and some teams lose. No one fits the bill more than the Cubs, to the latter.

It would hurt baseball, it wouldn't be right and it would change who the Cubs are.

Goodbye Loveable Losers; So long to 'there's always next year.'

'Cause next year would be this year and that will be a hard reality to take. The Cubs winners, it just won't fit.

____________________________________________________________________

Uhh, I got nothing.

Our supposed leaders

As the financial sector is sent into oblivion and the second Great Depression seems to be upon us, is it true, could it be true; are we really just a banana republic with nukes?

This idea has been tossed against the wall by NY Times columnist Paul Krugman and I think it works perfectly if you read the WIKI definition of a banana republic. In the case that we are, isn't it sad how far this country has sunk. But, we already have acknowledged that.

The bill to end all bills went to the house today, unscathed and invincible and was shot down like a duck with a gimpy wing.

And as talk-radio talks from both angles it is IMPERATIVE to listen and realize it is not just the Republican's fault or just the Democrats fault. IT IS BOTH OF THEIR FAULT.

As the lumbering pachyderms blame the jackasses for the semi-regulation of the markets that has 'led to a financial meltdown' because of a lack of free market principals; the jackasses blame the circus-trained elephants for no regulation which has led to limitless CEO pay, bad mortgages and god knows what else.

What we need to realize is that both are wrong and that if there is no compromise, there will be no economy and there will be no America, as we know it, in the long term.

George Washington, weary of what political parties were becoming in Washington warned in his farewell adress that a two-party system would be bad for the United States. He warned that party alliances and geographical distinctions would head down a bridge to nowhere (pardon the pun).

AND what you have now is partisanship that has led to the most fundamental bill in history not be passed because of a witch of a speaker show blatant partisanship just prior to the vote and a Republican group of representatives in angst and revolt stop said bill due to said comments of said witch.

STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.

And so as the economy fails, REAL and honest people lose their money and the PARTISAN POLITICIANS in washington (lower cased 'w' on purpose) squabble because of their monkey-trained political attitudes, the disgrace this country has become now makes itself more apparent than anything we ever thought possible.

The sad thing is that John McCain was right if he really meant the blue-collar workers and REAL people were what make the 'fundamentals of the economy strong'.

But even with as strong as the REAL people are, they might not be strong enough to pick up the mess the people we elected created, in what has now truly shown itself as failed leadership in Washington.

Paul Newman

Paul Newman was one of my favorite actors. And I thought this piece about him was an excellent tribute to him.

News 485 Project

Click here to see Jeff, Brittney and my News 485 project.


Click here for great travel information!

News, League, News

News comes to us from all areas but now, more than ever, news with economic ties seems to just to the front pages of newspapers, web sites and broadcasts.

Today, the BSU Daily News did a short but extremely helpful Q&A with a very common interviewee of mine, Dr. Cecil Bohanon. Dr. Bohanon is a economics professor at Ball State and one of the most delightful professors I've had in college.

The interview can be read here, and should be read by anyone with five minutes and any inkling of why is the market in a panic.

______________________________________________________________________

My fantasy baseball league has been in the process of a transition, as we have a new web site to commentate on each others problems, and 'luck' as well as check out what our teams are doing. Our league is unlike other leagues most are familiar with.

We use a system known as Stra-O-Matic, which involves the players in a simulation per se, based on last years stats. We play well over 162 games each year and MOST times the statistics are reflective of the previous year.

We play as a 'real' team, mine is the New York Yankees but will soon be the Oakland Athletics as I'm moving my 'franchise'.

The league was started a long time before I knew much about baseball, in 1994 by Erick Noland and his high school friends, many of whom are still in the league. I got involved nearly 3 years ago as I was working with Erick at Reid Hospital.

The league has been incredibly fun and is highly competitive, with no monetary involved in any aspect of the game.

I will touch more on the league later.

___________________________________________________________________

I heard an incredible story this morning on the BBC's program 'Outlook' about a deathr0w prisoner and a friendship that was created between him and a British artist. You can listen to the story here and I assure you it is good. The title of the story is 'Simone Sandelson' and it is about half way down.

AND, if you're counting on a gut-busting season of Guinness Premier League action and want to read the preview of how your Rugby Union team is looking, click here.

A day in the life

Yesterday I awoke to the smell of coffee and the chill of the sub-60s temperature outside, seeping through my bedroom windows.

I left for Muncie about 8:45 a.m., coffee in hand and realizing as I left, I had forgot to study for my photo quiz. However it was OK because I got all but one on the quiz anyway.

BBC on XM had a story on the way to Muncie about Hari Puttar, a Bollywood film coming out this week that was sued by Warner Brothers due to their feeling that the title was too close to the boy wizard Harry Potter. WB's case was shot down as the producers of 'Puttar' say the movie is nothing like 'Potter' and more like Home Alone.

After arriving in Muncie I walked from my new parking spot, no more parking at Walmart.

(as i write, i'm wondering why I thought it was a wild day)

Anyhow, I won my fantasy football match this week and am excited about that as I walk across Bethel on my way to campus. I took pictures of buses, bikes, walkers and commuters for my commuter story.

Just prior to class I read in the DN, Carole King was to make an appearance at Vera Mae's Bistro in downtown Muncie this afternoon. Ahh, the 'Locomotion' lady.

Any how we had class, and that's all i remember that I walked in and listened for 50 minutes. After class I sat here in the lab, checked email, headlines, ESPN and of course my Facebook.

After my news class I left campus and realized my stomach was rumbling, so I headed to the Heorot, again, for pizza, again.

After pizza and writing my name on a note card, listing all the beers I have had there and realizing how much money I've spent in the dingy place that resembles something from 'Beowulf', I left bid Brenda adieu and soon realized the crowd next door at Vera Mae's.

I squeezed in said Hey! to comrades from the Star Press and made my way up to get an autograph and handshake from the lady, rallying for Barack Obama, who I knew all of one song from her career. I said hello asked for an autograph before she said to me:

"This is why we are doing this," in some politically charged exhale, I was not intersted in the least bit about."This is for you, you are the future."

WOW, I couldn't have cared less for that 700 club-esque brigade of verbiage that did not apply to me at all.

I left, drove to Andi's had SOS and helped her with a busy-work assignment before heading home.

Upon entering Spring Grove I could smell burned popcorn and what seemed to be Clinique grotesquely attempting to cover the smell. Bad idea.

I stepped out of my car and realized the popcorn had been cooked inproperly and left on the doorstep, awaiting me as Forrest Gump does for little Forrest when he is to be coming home from school.

I was instantly disgusted with the smell, my cousin had created. I don't understand the attempt to cover the smell that only made it worse. Two things that don't mix among others, are burned popcorn and men's cologne.

I watched the rest of the Reds game before hitting the hay and realized I would need a shower in the morning to clean the stench from my hair.

My procrastinating heart

The interesting thing is, I didn't even seen it coming when I chose the two topics I was to write about for my first two assignments this semester.

First, I'm in J280 magazine writing, J230 intro to photo-journalism and News 485 Advanced News reporting (or something like that).

My first assignment in J280 had to be a 'calendar content' story upon a topic of our choice about an anniversary or celebratory week or month coming up. For my choice I stumbled upon the the second week in March which is known as 'National Procrastination Week'.

It caught my interest as National Pet Affection day would for my dog-obsessed girlfriends sister.

Switching directions, in my News 485 class I chose to do a story about commuters and gas prices at Ball State. Interestingly, that is me.

What I didn't realize was I am a chronic procrastinator, perhaps the reason the topic caught my interest. I began my research, read stories about psychological analysis of procrastinators, called sources mentioned in stories and read specific analysis research published by the foremost expert on procrastination.

In this essay completed by a Bryn Mawr College student debating whether procrastination is a habit or disorder, Jenny Maryasis writes:

"Chronic procrastinators avoid revealing information about their abilities, prefer menial tasks, make poor time estimates, tend to focus on the past and do not act on their intentions. These characteristics have been related to low self-esteem, perfectionism, non-competitiveness, self-deception, self-control, self-confidence, depression and anxiety."

Even more interesting is. . . THAT IS ALL ME!

Now, on to figure out how to fix it.

Thank You AC/DC

Thanks a lot AC/DC. All I wanted was one more tour and I got it but I can't pay nearly $100 dollars for a ticket.

The show set for Conseco Fieldhouse on the night of Nov. 3 has one price for tickets: $91.50.

I enjoy them but not for that.

Thanks a lot. I won't be listening to your station for a week or so out of rebellion.

News Desk

APPARENTLY, thousands of people discovered they did not get their government stimulus check in the mail as a 'deadbeat' result of their status. People everywhere are discovering the check W. promised them was witheld by the government for back child-support.


ARTHROSCOPIC knee surgery may not be as effective as once thought. According to the Canada Globe and Mail, the surgery that has been relied up by thousands of Americans every year may be not as effective and "doesn't provide significant benefits for osteoarthritis patients."

In a couple of plans a new regional pollution plan starts next week that will be enforced in 233 utility plants across the country.

An interesting take on urban trees vs. power lines. Several people hate the loss of trees that have been used as shade for hundreds of years. You know of that big old tree that provides shade to hundreds of cubic feet. Well those trees don't exist well with power lines but it is important to remember we seldom see winds of Hurrican Ike's capability in this part of the country.

In sport, the Ryder cup starts today. The American's are huge underdogs. Here is an interesting way to cover the event, with live bloggers at the course right now.

Eddie Vedder, the disillusioned lead singer of Pearl Jam has written a song for the Cubs that begins with 'all the way'. Hmm. . .Ok

Could they really be trading Prince? According to the Sacramento Bee there could be a trade in the works that sends Prince Fielder and J.J. Hardy to San Fran for Matt Cain? Hmm. . .we'll see. Seems like a lot for Matt Cain, but they've sold their souls already, why not?

MSNBC News Quiz

I awoke and took MSNBC's weekly news quiz. You can do so here.

I got 80 percent, not any pressure but see what you can do and comment to show your results. And no cheating.

Pictures, poems and youth hostels

Where do I go with a blog when everyone is wanting to hear about different things?

First off I took this picture of my cousin Alizah last night, and messed with it in photoshop a bit. However panning to get focus on the subject in an image is a hard thing to do and I was lucky enough to get her face. As my teach said today, "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes."

In the spirit of the markets down turn I think of Don Kings hairdo, which was similar to my grandmothers the other night. I have no idea why that is relevant or how it makes sense but whatever.

The Reds finally lost tonight and how fitting that it was off the bat of one Albert Pujols. He was 0-8 prior to tonight in the series and like that squirrel, well I guess Pujols would not be a blind squirrel; more likely an intensely muscular squirrel with a Dominican accent.

I wrote a poem in the spirit of, well, just read it.

Dish soap and a t-shirt

I awake to see stars
flies without buzzes in my room.
A ghost in the hall way
deer outside my chamber window.

I drive and see gypsy's
kamikaze's darting toward me
little girls in the middle of the road
wolves under my dash

I walk to class and see comets in the sky
escaped psycho's charging with knives
Terrorists with blank faces, dynamite strapped to their chests

and then, I realize it is probably time to wash my glasses.

And then there were pumpkins.

Standing at the bus stop in Muncie today (i.e. WalMart, all one word now) I noticed the arrange of hundreds of pumpkins at $4.38 a piece.

I couldn't contain myself as I talked to them as if they were old friends. I discussed the state of the union, travels to England and what temperature meatloaf should be cooked at.

After getting no where with the orange-squash lookalikes, I made my way onto the bus which by the way was 5 minutes late.

Randomly I started thinking about the hostels I stayed in, in Europe and here they are:

Plus Alba D'Oro Camping in Venice, Italy
Emerald Fields in Florence, Italy
Ivanhoe Hostel in Rome, Italy
John's Cozy Little Backpacker hostel in Berlin, Germany
Ashfield House in Dublin, Ireland
Barnacles Temple Bar House in Dublin, Ireland
Nomad in Cardiff, Wales
Pagration Youth Hostel in Athens, Greece

and that is it for now. . .

I just saw a mouse run across the floor. How ironic as I talk about youth hostels.

John McCain Endorsed by. . .his jailer?

According to this story in the Daily Telegraph, London the man who was in charge of jailing McCain when he was in the Vietnam war.

According to the story:

Tran Trong Duyet, the commandant of Hao Lo prison in Hanoi from 1968-73, recalls Mr McCain "as a typical child of a traditional military family. He was conservative and faithful to his country's policy of the Vietnam war".

"In a talk between men we shared many things about girls and love and so on," said Mr Duyet, who claims Mr McCain helped teach him English.

"I think John McCain is a very smart man."

NO-NO for Big Z

Carlos Zambrano pitched 9 innings of 10K 1 Walk and NO-HIT ball last night.

I had the opportunity to listen to the last few innings and it was incredible. Although the advantage was opportune in Milwaukee, the Cubs and Zambrano enjoyed their first no-no in 36 years.

Excellent work big man.

Basketball Season is Just Around . . .

This is the worst team I've ever seen.

I could not have lead with anything more to the point. As a rookie QB Joe Flacco dismantled the Bengals last week, a rookie RB Chris Johnson and backup QB destroyed them this week. And speaking of the Ravens only Hurricane IKE stopped them this week.

Fans began leaving, as I'm told, early in the third quarter. I was lucky enough to lose my power, so I didn't have to see the game.

I don't even want to talk about them anymore. Simply put, the Bungals are back.

Greenspan says it, he must mean it

According to the AP, former secretary of the treasury Alan Greenspan said, the United States cannot sustain spending offsets and more importantly tax cuts that McCain plans to continue.

According to the story, Greenspan responded to a question regarding the tax cuts and whether the United States can sustain itself if they continue:

"Unless we cut spending, no," Greenspan said Friday when asked about the proposed tax cuts, estimated at $3.3 trillion.

"I'm not in favor of financing tax cuts with borrowed money," Greenspan said during an interview with Bloomberg Television. "I always have tied tax cuts to spending."

Read the entire story above.

Rosey Red On Channel 12

The season is over but this is worth watching. It was posted on RedLegNation yesterday.

My Car is Fixed

I got my car window fixed after years of it falling at inopportune times and allowing my seat to be wet every early morning I had to drive after a thunderstorm.

I also figured out how to stop the annoying beeping of my seatbelt light. To clarify on dashboard between the RPM meter and the speedometer there is a light that stays on if you do not have your seat belt plugged in. It will beep when you get in the car to remind you. However on Tuesday it decided to beep every 2 seconds. I searched online and found this which led me to unplug an unknown plug from a Grey box under the dash. And VOICI, the beeping stopped!

AC/DC ON TOUR!

With the arrival of their new album 'Black Ice' Ac/Dc will be touring for the first time since 2001.

Dates are as follows:

October 28 Wilkes-Barre, PA Wachovia Arena
October 30 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
November 3 Indianapolis. IN Conseco Fieldhouse
November 5 Auburn Hills, MI Palace of Auburn Hills
November 7 Toronto Rogers Centre
November 9 Boston, MA TD Banknorth Garden
November 12-13 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
November 15 Washington, DC Verizon Center
November 17 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
November 19 East Rutherford, NJ IZOD Center
November 21 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center
November 23 Minneapolis, MN Xcel Energy Center
November 25 Denver, CO Pepsi Center
November 28 Vancouver General Motors Place
November 29 Seattle, WA KeyArena
November 30 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
December 2 Oakland, CA Oracle Arena
December 6 Los Angeles, CA The Forum
December 10 Phoenix, AZ US Airways Center
December 12 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center
December 14 Houston, TX Toyota Center
December 16 Atlanta, GA Philips Arena
December 18 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena

Gone With The Wind

Maybe we can't claim it to be our national pastime anymore. According to reports in London, a diary was discovered of a late lawyer, dated 1755, referencing 'Base Ball'. That would the description of the game in context nearly 50 years prior to our first reference of the game being played in the Elysian Fields of New Jersey.

In other news Hurricane Ike is doing its best to see that the people of South-eastern Texas have a bad day. Experts are predicting waves as tall as 50 feet and more than 10-inches of rain for the coastal areas which include Galveston and parts of Houston.

I watche Gone With The Wind in its entirety last night. Yes, all 233 minutes. I had seen parts but never the entire movie from start to finish. Although I was quite impressed with everything in the film, ESPECIALLY that the two main characters (i.e. Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh) do NOT end up together. Too many movies end on notes with false-happy kisses and the prospect of perfect love. Anyhow, the movie was good and I'm glad I watched it, however it is still not as good as Wizard Of Oz. 

Oh and by the way, a bit of trivia, the reason I compare the two is A. Both classic films came out in 1939 B. Victor Fleming directed both and C. Heather Blewett is irrationally stuck on Gone with The Wind, thinking it better than Wizard of Oz.

Travelling from Richmond to Muncie everyday allows me to sit back, listen to left-wing-talk radio, and think about things I need to do and things I want to do. I come up with get-rich schemes that after I begin on, I lose interest. I think about how I'm going to get my car moved and sold, how I can make money writing at home and how I would love to be a reporter that travels around with a laptop and camera and writes stories about people across the world. 

Fish: "Stop the inner tubing"

This is hilarious. Check out the full story here.

According to MSNBC.com

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas - A teenager's jaw was broken when a fish flew from the lake where he was riding in an inner tube and smacked him in the face.

Seth Russell, 15, was cruising Lake Chicot in Arkansas on a large inner tube towed by a boat when a Silver Asian carp leaped from the water and hit him in the face. Seth was knocked unconscious.

"He doesn't remember anything at all," the boy's mother, Linda Russell, said last week. "He was laughing, and the next thing he remembers, he is waking in a hospital."

Bengals Lose/Suck

A very colorful letter (post) on one of my favorite blogs:

Dear Cincinnati Bengals,

Today I changed my diet and I will no longer be consuming orange and black kool-aid.
I have just completed my witness of what you would have me believe was a professional football game vs the Baltimore Ravens. Since the fall of 1968 there have been very few games that you have played that I have not seen or heard. I didn’t think it was possible but you have finally convinced me to turn off the NFL. Like many fans, I look forward to and make preparations every Sunday to be entertained by outstanding athletes. But no more, I refuse to invest my time and sanity in an organization that only takes and rarely gives. The ownership of your team is just as arrogant as the few players that make a bad name for the game. You put a lousy product out there for consumers and I for one refuse to accept it any longer. I am leaving the NFL because I cannot bring myself to cheer for any other city but my home city. I am willing to take the risk that this is an impulse decision and your successful season will prove me wrong. I’m sure you will not miss me and yet I will be the greater for having broken this habit. I have reclaimed my weekends and in doing so I have ensured myself of quality time with my family, better health and additional savings because I can cancel that anger management course. Thank you for giving me my life back.

Graduate of the Fool me 18 Seasons 12 step Program.

I could not have said it better if I could say that. An awful football team which should cause me to have an awful day. However I'm not going to let it.

Spring Grovians stunned by attempted murder

Residents of the small Indiana town awoke to find one of their newest members stabbed and left for dead.

The perpetrator was spotted around 5 a.m. attempting to flee the scene. However by 9 a.m. the suspect had not been able to escape the carnage.

Exhibit A. (The apparent stab wound)

The perpetrator was taken down around 9 a.m. and was held for questioning.

It is unclear what Spring Grove Police will do, although crimes of attempted murder usually carry capital punishment; death by chain saw.

The perpetrator.

Gobbly Gook

I feel as if theres nothing to write about but here are a few things that have been of interest in recent days.

Upon the election coverage, I am about as sick as anyone can be with it yet I continue to watch. If it weren't such a 'pivotal' time in U.S. history I could care less. However as much as it seems, I haven't put my support behind any one candidate yet. I do have an idea on the entire thing however. Why don't we go back to the way presidential elections used to be. The runner-up, Democrate, Republican. . whatever was the vice president. It would have been like W being president and Al Gore vice president. Wouldn't that be interesting.

But anyhow, here is a true way to track what each senator has done while in office. This site has a record of every vote that has come up and how each senator has voted. You can now see how Barack Obama voted during his tenure in the U.S. Sentate. Or how John McCain voted.

In other entertainment news. . .

Ghostbusters III has been announced by aintitcoolnews.com. Yes, with the original cast. But I'm more excited about this and this.

Oh, and its Bob Newhart's birthday. I love Rescuers and Rescuers Down Under. The golden eage with a 40-foot wingspan is a bit comical however. It's also this his, his, and his birthday.

The first NFL game was last night and it was delightful. However my lone running back did not score. :(

I have been discussing 'minced oaths' a lot lately and for more go here. Trust me on this one, it is worth it. It is rather interesting and it makes me want to say 'Gadzooks' more.

I will touch more on that later.

In other news McCain delivered a heart warming speech last night but it didn't carry the weight of Obama's or Sarah Palin's speech, which was downright entertaining. And with the discovery that she has a degree in journalism from the University of Idaho, I became more of a fan of her last night. Oh and that school is located in Moscow, no this Moscow.

And one last thing, check out Twitter if you get a chance.

Ball State plays host to Navy tonight and it's on ESPN at 8 p.m. Check it out.

Barack Obama

Say what you like about Barack Obama in regards to policy and experience but at no time can you challenge his ability to rivet an audience, both on television and live, as he did tonight.

In regards to the now Democratic candidate, his speech not only was riveting but also answered questions his critics have been asking for months. Laying out plans and policy for his presumptive presidency was not only brilliant but perfectly delivered. Rationalization and understanding will sweep away naivety upon how he will carry out the plans.

I think of myself as an intependent and attempt with all of my ability to not attach myself in any way to the two major parties. I despise the ridiculousness of partisan politics in America and believe that it is the single biggest reason we, as Americans, see very little getting done in Washington and in our respective regions.

I hope for an election where we don't have to play a game, voting for someone who for all intensive purposes, is only out to win the election. I hate the direction the parties have taken this country in and hope for it change.

In Obama I do see a difference. But I am not naive in realizing that he is a Democrat, with a capital 'D'. Obama is a politician but has not had the 'pedigree' of a politician, as he said tonight. I respect his upbringing, his background and the initiative he has taken in his life to serve rather than gain from people.

I am a fan of John McCain, as an American and as a war hero. I am eager for a debate between these two contrasting characters. I have no idea who the protagonist is, let alone the antagonist if there is one.

I am only addressing Obama tonight because of the eloquent and dazzling speach he gave tonight. It was a speech that was planned but at the same time carried out with heart toward the American people, whom I felt he truly cares about. I saw a difference in him tonight from the others that have graced the stages in the past few years. I saw someone who has a plan, is ready to carry it out and is grateful to be in the position he is. He was a breath of fresh air for non-partisan politics and I can't wait to hear more.

How to tie a turban

Ocho Funny-o

Some choice quotes from Chad Johnson courtesy of my friend C. Trent Rosecran's blog.

I especially like the one in bold.

Thanks again Trent for the great stuff. Well, I guess I should thank Chad.

Quotes from the open locker room:

Chad Johnson was asked if he was concenred, he said no and was asked if it's just because it's preseason:

"Because it’s preseason and we don’t have all the key factors in there right now."

How long will that take?

"For us? With the factors we have? Two or three days. It’s like riding a bike, once you get on you figure it out real fast."

It was noted that the three hadn't been together on the field since the end of last season:

"That’s no different than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie off filming a movie and they’re apart that long and when they get together they’re having kids. It’s the same when we get back on the field together, we’re going to produce."

As for his shoulder:

"It’s good. There’s nothing wrong with me. I need surgery. But there’s still nothing wrong with me."

You need surgery, you’ll have it when?

"I’m not going to have it. For what?"

You need it but you’re not going to have it?

"For what? I’ve got a season to play."

He joked that he was back to full strength because of steroids and HGH.

Johnson was also in a protective harness.

"Precaution. It makes me look sexy. I like it. I have to. I’ve talked to a lot of people who have played with this injury. Kellen Winslow, Dante Stallworth, Westbrook, maybe about 10 guys I’ve talked to, they didn’t get surgery, they played and had a successful season. So I’ll be fine."

On his challenge with Michael Phelps:

"I was playing around and he took it on himself to call me back out, which was not very smart. I’m sure we’ll have something in the works after the season ends. It’s not set. I have other things to focus on besides Phelps, like Baltimore."

He said he wanted to play Thursday:

"I asked Marvin to play Thursday, just to not to prove a point, but to show that I’m ready to go and he told me no. There’s no need. I already got hurt in one preseason game, there’s no reason for another. I will be ready for the opener and it’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a good Ocho day."

And asked if he could re-injure his shoulder:

"The risk of it happening again isn’t much." And as he said that, he knocked on his wooden locker.

Oklahoma! songs and bad football teams

This song will not get out of my head for some reason or another.

And speaking of Oklahoma!, the performance at RCT was excellent and I can't get the music out of my head. I had only seen parts of the movie and was pleased with the performance of the actors of which all are amateur, of course. The young man playing Curly, a recent graduate of Guilford College with a degree in vocal performance, was the highlight and I'm sure he will be doing much bigger things one day soon.

In other news, I have had both my fantasy football drafts. Neither of which are any good, like last year, which should leave me to repeat my underdog performance of last year when I made the playoffs with a team highlighted by Kenny Watson and Kevin Curtis.

Speaking of football, the Cincinnati Bengals are building up to the opener and unlike everyone else, I am reserving judgment of the defense and, well offense. Bad performances are abound in the pre-season every where, even from this team, I mean this team, sorry.

The Olympics are over and although they were quite exciting highlighted by Michael Phelps, I was growing tired of the Chinese divers and their 14-year-old tumbling counterparts.

Borgman says it better than I ever could

Adam Dunn: Home Run King?

Pouring over stats and noticing the progression of Adam Dunn's career I can't help but wonder if he might have a chance at that record that in my opinion is still held by our friend Henry.

Now I know what you are saying, there is no way Adam Dunn could break the all time home run record. But I beg you to look at many factors attributing to Dunn's ever-building pile of homers.

First Dunn is only 27 years old, soon to be 28 in November. As it stands right now he has 272 HR's and will probably close the year with close to 280.

Second Dunn is working on his fifth year in a row of at least 150 games and has had only one trip to the DL at the end of last year.

Third of all the players in baseball, Dunn is one who can be predicted in Lindy's guide perfectly before every season. Dunn posts 40 HR, 100 RBI, 100 runs every year at least and you can count on him doing that for another 8 years at least.

So say in eight years Dunn's HR total will be at least 600. And he will only be 35. Now guessing from his size and how much of a liability he is on defense now, he may deteriorate faster than a smaller player. But he may not and it is not out of the question for Dunn to have over 600 HR 8 years from today.

And assuming he is a Jim Thome-DH type by then Dunn should seemingly play for a much longer time and with the way players are playing later and later into their lives (ex. Jamie Moyer) who's to say Dunn can't play into his 40's.

To think the Reds traded him now makes me a little sick if they expected him to be something he wasn't. He is without a doubt due for a big pay day and coupled with the let down of Dunn's 'attitude' the Reds were destined to not keep him.

But think about how reliable Dunn has been and yet again how consistent he has been. Consider that within a couple weeks the Reds may have traded two of the top five HR sluggers of all time.

Flapping Fish and More choice photos

Dear Fans: We Suck, Sorry

Just because everyone else on these blogs has written about it, I guess I will. Look at more here, here, here, and here.

If you didn't know, a letter was issued by Reds owner Bob Castellini and Walt Jocketty apologizing for the season of Cincinnati Reds baseball that has been like last year, and the year before and the year before, etc.

The letter screams of absurdity to me and my comrades and whats worse is the snide little comments the owner and his pawn put in the letter asking for continued support and 'patience'.

Below is said letter:

Dear Fans,

Thank you for your loyalty and support of the Cincinnati Reds. You are extremely vital to the success of the Reds, and it is important we share with you the thinking behind our recent personnel decisions.

Since taking ownership of this franchise, we have aggressively tried to improve our Major League roster for the purpose of restoring championship baseball to Cincinnati. We have sought and signed proven players. We have extended the contracts of select current players. We added Dusty Baker, a proven winning manager. And, we have capitalized on our burgeoning younger players like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Johnny Cueto.

We had high expectations for the 2008 season. Unfortunately the team has not played up to our expectations and we have sustained injuries to key players within our starting lineup and rotation.

We opted to trade Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn at this time because we believe it provided the best outcome for the long-term success of the organization. By executing these inevitable changes now, we secured more players as part of our focus towards building a deeper, stronger inventory of young talent.

We are pleased that the trades allow Griffey and Dunn the opportunity to play for teams in tight division races. Both Ken and Adam made significant contributions to the Reds and we are extremely proud and grateful they wore the Reds uniform.

While the run production generated by these two veterans will not be quickly replaced, we chose to endure the short-term ramifications for the sake of building a strong, competitive team for 2009 and many seasons to come.

The vast majority of our 50 draft picks were signed, culminating last week with first-rounder Yonder Alonso and a pair of talented pitchers. Our expanded scouting operations also signed
Juan Duran from the Dominican Republic and Yorman Rodriguez from Venezuela, who are arguably the best amateur free agent position players from their respective countries.

As we near September, we will continue to provide valuable playing time to our young players and new acquisitions who we feel can become significant contributors at the Major League level. We ask your continued trust and patience as we build the roster that will get us back on top. We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at the ballpark.

Sincerely,

Bob Castellini
President & CEO

Walt Jocketty
President of Baseball Operations & GM

Patience. Hell, if I have had patience, people that have cared longer than me must have had something much more than patience.

As much faith as I had going into this season, I soon realized that even though I wasn't happy with Griffey and Dunn, my faith was built on them. And the reason I now recognize this is that after they traded both, even though the team was under-performing already, I soon realized I had no hope for this season. Or next year, or the year after that.

Getting young players can only do so much, if they perform. And most times they do not.

In religious terms the Reds have been in purgatory for the last 13 years. They are now in Hell and are a long way from crossing the river Styx.

Once again I now see no hope for anytime soon. The team is so poorly constructed, there isn't a team in the National League I wouldn't trade straight up for, aside from Washington.

The other night, Paul Daughtery, columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer compared the Reds starting lineup to the Cubs and noted only one player in the Reds starting lineup would start in the Cubs lineup. Brandon Phillips would start over Mark DeRosa. But no one else.

That got me thinking and thinking. I thought about how in even my biased mind, I wouldn't take anyone but BP over the Cubs starters. It's sad, really sad, because even when the Cubs were bad a few years ago, they still had players to build around and money to work with.

NOW, the Reds have neither.

On Golden Pond

Is this guy unreal or what?

Six events, six gold medals and six world records.

At this point with one individual event (100 butterfly) left I don't see anything stopping him from taking home what he sought out to get.

At this point I'm in awe every time they talk about Phelps and as his name fills up talk radio across the country I know I'm not the only one who is watching. Heck even Ocho Cinco is watching but he thinks he can beat Mr. Phelps.

In other news, baseball season is over. Oh, it is still going on, well I forgot after that baseball team in Western Ohio decided to cash in their chips at Argosy before August even started.

But from death there is life and with the prospect of football on the horizon, I can rest assured the Bengals won't let me down as much as the Reds did. You expect it from them.

Fantasy Football Preview

It's football season again and more importantly its fantasy football time.

I've taken the time to pour over stats and projections, sleepers and can't miss rookies and I think I have some advice that might be beneficial to your draft no matter what type of league you are in.

The running back world has been taken over by LaDainian Tomlinson for the past few years but with an influx of talent the gap is diminishing between some of the top level backs. With the emergence of Adrian Peterson and this years version Darren McFadden along with others including Steven Jackson (Rams), Joseph Addai (Colts), Brian Westbrook (Eagles) and others, this will be an interesting year with the RB field being plentiful.

Even more plentiful may be WR with Randy Moss again leading the pack after a 23 TD year last year. Don't expect a repeat performance but with a little luck he could get near 17 again. Last year Braylon Edwards (Browns) lived up to his no. 3 overall selection out of Michigan and caught 16 TD and looks to be dangerous enough to perhaps catch 20.

Targets like Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals), Terrel Owens (Cowboys) and Reggie Wayne (Colts) are almost guaranteed studs, while Andre Johnson (Texans), Marques Colston (Saints) andBrandon Marshall (Broncos) to move up to the next level of elite receiver status.

Even the TE field is deeper than previous years with different projections coming from all over the place. The largest consensus is that Antonio Gates (Chargers) is still the top of the heap but with guys like Jason Whitten (Cowboys), Tony Gonzalez (Chiefs) and Kellen Winslow (Browns) there are more options than in previous years.

Quarterbacks remain about the same with a few exceptions including the emergence of the potent Cleveland offense and the surprise arrival of Derek Anderson, which many will pay a lot for. But with plenty of targets including newly signed Donte Stallworth the Cleveland offense has the potential to be the best in the NFL.

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the only elite QB at this point with Carson Palmer (Bengals), Drew Brees (Saints) and Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers) being very viable options.

As far as kickers go none should be better than Stepen Gostkowski (Patriots) but Nick Folk (Cowboys) should get plenty of opportunities.

Sleepers

A few guys to keep your eyes on and perhaps pay a round higher than you would normally think are below.

RB

Ronnie Brown (Dolphins) has the potential for huge numbers but can't stay healthy. Is healthy now and poised for a big year despite lackluster team. (watch for Ricky Williams as well)

Julius Jones (Seahawks) Will probably become premier back after leaving Marion Barber III's shadow in big D. Will battle through the remainder of training camp with Maurice Morris.

Michael Turner (Falcons) Finally out of LT's shadown Turner has poster very high numbers in yards per carry forever and should be watched very closely. Could be a superstar.

Ryan Grant (Packers)
Earnest Graham (Buccaneers)
Thomas Jones (Jets)
Brandon Jackson (Packers)
Chris Perry (Bengals)

WR

Bernard Berrian (Vikings)
Nate Burrleson (Seahawks)
Anthony Gonzalez (Colts)
D.J. Hackett (Panthers)
Jabar Gaffney (Patriots)
Jerry Porter (Jaguars)
Donte Stallworth (Browns)


Can't Miss Rookies

With all the hoopla surrounding Darren McFadden he is set up for failure even if he plays moderately well. However, there may be some sleeper options in terms of rookies and many think that McFadden might NOT even be the best rookie rusher.

Darren McFadden (Raiders) -- the backfield in Oakland will be crowded but McFadden seems to be the next heir to the bulk of carries but watch out as there are many options for the Raiders.

Johnathon Stewart (Panthers)-- Perhaps the best rookie rusher and someone that will get a large bulk of carries with the under-acheiving DeAngelo Williams alongside. Stewart is a power back and will get a lot of goal line carries.

Kevin Smith (Lions) -- Even though he went to a small school is stats were impressive (2,567 yds 30 TD, last year) and has the tools to be a rookie-of-the-year candidate.

Matt Forte (Bears) -- has the inside line at the starting job and averaged 200 yds per game last year in college.

Rashard Mendenhall (Steelers) Could be the heir apparent to a declining Willie Parker in Pittsburgh. Was a stud at Illinois last year in big games and had 19 TD.

Felix Jones (Cowboys)
Chris Johnson (Titans)
Ray Rice (Ravens)

I'm Back

So, after a long break, I'm back and ready to report.

Just wanted to let you know that I didn't forget about this.

Watch the Olympics tonight, not the Cubs game.

Phelps goes for Gold no. 2.

More to come. . .