I say we change the name to "Leftywood."

Which I suppose is better than "Goofballville" or "KooKootown." Couldn't let this go by and not comment. Check Jay Leno and his version of "free speech." I'll have to refer him to the Pat in Covedale primer on Constitutional law. I'm referring to the end of the interview when he tells his studio audience to "just be polite." Yeah, Jay, this is America and if we don't like your sorry ass, we can boo. I mean, if you want to frame the argument in terms of manners and politeness, fine. Booing may not be appropriate. But if you want to throw around the First Amendment, the Constitution and other issues apparently beyond your grasp, then your audience has the right to boo any jackal you want to trot out on stage. Don't try to shame the audience with your incorrect and biased understanding of the Constitution (here's an idea, try READING the document before you try to scare people with it). Ridiculous.
This paper is kinda funny to read. It's almost like George Costanza and Mr. Opposite. I just believe the opposite of what this reporter thinks, and I'll be cool.

A friend of the Stream moves on.

Couldn't let the passing of a colleague go unmentioned. Read about Francis X. Olding. His brick at Ohio Stadium in not too far from mine. I'll stop at his everytime I'm there.

Now they're forging documents?

You've got to be kidding me? CBS actually ran and defended a story based on forged documents? Bet that doesn't make the next edition of 60 minutes. Read some of the story here (I like Horowitz and FPM, good edge to them). Isn't this getting a little weird? The obvious bias and palpable hatred are astonishing. This campaign is going to seriously damage the Democratic party for a long time, not to mention some of their best buddies, big media.

Bucks escape Herd stampede 24-21!

Whew! That was too close for comfort. What a great kick. NUUUUUUUGE!!!!
Very disappointed in the play of the defense, and the post game comments of our defensive coordinator are not comforting. The players and the coaches said that Marshall kept running the same play (it sure looked like the same play on tv, though I'm no expert). Snyder says, "I couldn't see it" or something to that effect. Well, get your ass to the coaches box and off the sideline. We're going to miss Dantonio, he seems to have been the brains behind our awesome defenses of the past few years. I hate to see our beloved Bucks get run on like that, very depressing. In fact, I was reprimanded repeatedly by my wife and mother for continued use of very foul language, words I doubt most would use in front of their mother (rhymes with Bucks, coincidentally. Call me a Cheneyite). The signature of the defense over Dantonio's tenure was the second half adjustments. We really used to dominate folks. Didn't happen on Saturday. Plus, the loss of Dustin Fox is going to hurt us, especially against pass happy teams (Purdue?!?). I know we have a lot of talent in the secondary, but losing a 4 year starter and senior depletes the leadership on an already young defense.
What an offensive show in the first half. Footballs haven't flown around like that in Ohio Stadium in a long time! I'm really starting to like Zwick. He has all the throws and seems to be very poised. Needs to make better reads and stop locking in on Santonio Holmes. We have many talented receivers, Justin, use them all. Also, just because Ginn is in the game doesn't mean you HAVE to throw to him.
Where's the run game? Do we miss the fullback that much? Let's hope Brandon Joe gets healthy soon. I like Lydell, but he's not getting the job done. Why didn't we see any other backs on Saturday? Would like to have seen more of Pittman, and even Haw. Can't live on the pass alone, we have to do more to establish the run. Just not sure what it is.
Can't somebody else return punts? Don't want to see Santonio get hurt back there. Get somebody else to do it.
We still have a long way to go this season. I'm really nervous about this NC State game. They had the week off and will have examined our tendencies. It's going to take this teams best game to win, hope their up to it.
Go Bucks!

It all boils down to this...

Krauthammer nails it here. This election IS a referendum. That's frightening because the Dems have not offered any alternative plans. Not sure it's such a great idea to let this country's foreign policy drift like a rudderless ship, just becasue you hate that guy from Texas.

Bucks de-claw Bearcats 27-6!

Not too bad a start to the 2004 campaign. This young Buckeye team still has much to learn before the B10 season, though. Towards the end of the game, it was obvious that the Bucks had more depth and were able to wear down Cincy. My concern is that when playing teams in the B10, that advantage will be lost.
I thought Zwick looked Ok. I was surprised by his arm strength. Threw an out to Bam that was a frozen rope. Also displayed touch early, floating passes over lb's and in front of db's. I think he lost some touch later in the game and wondered if he injured his hand. Some of those passes looked awful and that last int cost us a touchdown (he overthrew Hamby around the Cincy 10). Happily surprised that Coach Tressel stuck with him, even after making mistakes. I think that's good for his confidence.
Didn't get to see enough of T Smith as a passer to evaluate. Thought his fade to Santonio was awesome! Can he duplicate that kind of touch on other passes? If so, then he's going to be hard to keep off the field (Hate that. Wish we had The Guy. Don't want "controversy").
Running game didn't look solid until later in the game. A sign that Cincy was tired or just better execution? I know the O line was concerned about pass blocking, but they looked pretty decent. I still didn't think the run blocking was remarkable. Still work to do. Lydell looked pretty good. Thought he ran with the same intensity he showed his freshman year. Could be a sign of good things to come. Also liked Pittman (except when he ran outta bounds! Don't ever do that again!). He's got what Mo Hall doesn't, the ability to bounce outside. Mo Hall did look good on kick returns, but still not able to run between the tackles.
Ted Ginn is the real deal. Did you see Coach Dantonio yelling and holding up seven fingers to his defense? They definitely keyed in on him. That should open it up for other guys, like Bam, who looked good! Man, is Bam small! Saw him in the huddle and thought he was somebody's little brother.
Defense looked really good. Although I wanted them to be tougher against the run. I think that will happen as they get used to playing together. The lack of a qb sack concerns me. We will miss Will Smith. I know the pressure was good, but you gotta get the qb a couple a times to really disturb his rhythm. Defensive secondary was really good. Youboty played well, as did Underwood. Salley and Everett also will be good.
Nuge! Kickoffs were awesome. Think he'll make that long FG more than he'll miss it. Good job.
Good times ahead for the Bucks if they keep getting better.

On a personal note....

Hello to Squeeze and his lovely bride. Had the chance to sit down to dinner with our reigning radical recently, and my wife and I said the same thing on the drive home, "That Squeeze is a good guy. I really like his wife." In our lexicon, being called a "good guy" is high praise indeed. While I secretly suspect that his wife is the brain in the operation, it was wonderful to sit and talk (mostly avoiding politics at my behest) with these two insightful and thoughtful people. Hope all is well, and let's get together again soon. Aloha.

Don't rely on the sports media.

Jim Gray is a moron. Making completely false and biased statements about the American criminal justice system. Last night on the late Sportscenter in reference to the Kobe case dismissal.
Exactly where did Jim Gray get his law degree and vast criminal justice system experience? He kept saying things like, "innocent people go to jail all the time" or "innocent people get charged with crimes all the time." (I'll try to find the segment to get the exact quotes) What? What the hell is he talking about? I've lamented this before, in the athletes as defendants context, it's exactly the opposite, Jimbo. Remember OJ? Or Ray Lewis? The guilty go free.
But in the world according to Jim Gray, our jails and prisons are full of innocent people. Well, I suppose if you ask the people in the jails and prisons, that's what they would tell you. And our police departments are so bored and have so much time on their hands, they concoct stories and chase innocent people all day.
How horrible life must be for Jim Gray. To be hounded by the cops all the time. Living in fear. Hiding in the alleys. Flying coach. Continually defending himself against trumped up charges. Avoiding those cheap frame jobs. Looking around and watching the cops lay ruin to our beloved society.
Is this system perfect? No, but it's the best in operation currently on this earth. Does the system make mistakes? Yes (Don't start on me with DNA cases, there's not enough of them to be statistically significant), but not as often as Jim Gray would have you believe. Get ahold of yourself Jim and the rest of the sports news cadre (more on them later....)

As if we needed more proof that tsun stinks!

Check this column from Jay Nordlinger on NRO. I really like this guys work (in some small way responsible for this blog). What a plus that he's conservative and from Ann Arbor!
Pay special attention to the comment regarding the UM Political Science Chairman. " Left-wing and stupid, a lethal combination." What a great quote!

How could you do it, Jason?

I have to admit I was disappointed by Jason Whitlock's most recent ESPN page2 column. Pulling out the race card to explain the American sporting public's complaints about USA basketball? As I stated earlier, I didn't think this team would win a medal, thankfully, I was wrong. Even though most people seem disappointed with a bronze medal, I think we should thank our lucky stars.
But the race card? "The only explanation." Really? Isn't it possible that we didn't think this was a good team? I mean when you're Olympic record is 109-2 (not the Tony Korheiser outrageous, make a point stat, but the real record of the US in Olympic basketball), you have to get upset by losses to Puerto Rico and other non-powerhouse teams, right? This is the same team that was destroyed by Italy in an exhibition game in July. Italy? The American culture is heavily invested in winners. See the New York Yankees, the Los Anegles Lakers, the Dallas Cowboys. We like winners. This basketball team didn't win. They didn't play like winners during the exhibition. I watched some games before and during the Olympics. The team didn't play team defense, they didn't shoot (I'm still baffled by that. The three point line is closer! These guys should have been salivating). They didn't rebound particularly well, and they looked lost on offense 80% of the time. Did I mention the defense was terrible?
Isn't that reason enough not to like them? Just as America likes winners, we still have our problems with race relations. I'm sure people out there took the racist view Mr. Whitlock describes, but "the only explanation"? Hardly.

The NCAA made the correct decision.

I'm sick to death of the sports talking heads telling me to feel sorry for Mike Williams. They keep lamenting the fact that he "followed the rules" and the cold and heartless NCAA denied his reinstatement. I was really surprised to hear that Bill Curry also had this same reasoning. Coach, I think you're wrong.
The popular argument is that Williams, upon learning that the NFL had won in the Clarett case, did everything necessary to become an amateur again. He severed ties with his agent, he gave back the money (likely story) and he re-enrolled in classes at USC. See? He wants to be a student-athlete again. He did everything he was supposed to, didn't he?
Uh, not really.
Actually, Mike Williams did NOT follow the rules, and it's shocking to hear all these people that appear to be knowledgeable claim otherwise. The NCAA has delineated steps that players can take to test the NFL draft. These are often called "rules." If Mike Williams had stayed in school at USC, he's permitted to contact agents, NFL personnel experts, NFL coaches and others to help him determine his draft position. If Mike Williams had not taken the money from the agent, he doesn't have to give anything back and he's still eligible to play in the NCAA. I mean if we learned one thing from the Clarett case, it's that you can't take the money if you want to play college ball. Everybody knows that. To claim that he gave the money back is disingenuous, not to mention, impossible to prove.
So, the rules that he could have followed if he wanted to play college football are simple: 1. Continue to go to school and make progress towards your degree. 2. Consult with the necessary professionals and experts to determine your likely draft position (a no-brainer in this case, obviously this guy is going to get drafted in the first round and probably in the first five picks. I'm not even an expert, and I can figure that out). 3. Don't take money from any agents or for endorsements. Following these simple rules would have allowed Mike Williams to maintain his college eligibility when the NFL won the Clarett case (also very likely, if you get even half-way decent legal advice). Mike Williams did NOT follow the rules and therefore, he should not be re-instated.
Maybe you can argue that the NCAA's timing in the release of their decision stinks, but you cannot fault the decision itself.

Coincidence? I think not.

Here's a quote from a recent Michael Novak article:

Most of the bloggers seem to me to be lawyers, to think clearly, and to have a very sharp eye for conflicting evidence. Most of the mainstream press, perhaps because of their editors, seem hemmed in by blinkers. It frequently startles me to discover how far behind the story they really are. The mystique of the mainstream press has self-destructed.

Find the full text article here.

The rest of the article deals with the Vietnam aspect to this election. Why wasn't this important in 1992 and 1996? As much as the 9/11 Commission whitewashed the Clinton administration's policies and actions, it's obvious that the planning and implementation took place during that administration. Wouldn't a veteran (Dole?) have been more in tune with this impending crisis? It seems that's what the Democrats of this millennium want us to believe. The hypocrisy of the Democratic party would be laughable if this weren't a serious issue. I can't fathom how the media gave such a pass to Clinton, yet wants to split hairs regarding the qualifications of "war presidents" during this election. At the very least, W served in a military capacity (much the same capacity as many of the troops currently in Iraq).
Even with Kerry's dubious heroics during his four months in Vietnam, I don't doubt the fact that he served and it doesn't lessen the respect I have for him as a veteran. (I am having a hard time reconciling the purpose of the home footage he took, and the apparently distorted facts behind his commendations. Why won't he release those records?). But since the day he returned home, his life speaks volumes. Not the kind of volumes that demonstrate his abbreviated tour of duty transformed him into a preeminent world leader, prepared to handle the domestic and foreign agenda of the United States of America. Why is this issue the centerpiece of his campaign?

Stop it! Nothing was "Stolen!"

I'm sick to death of this garbage and it has to stop. The democrats insist on claiming that the 2000 presidential election was "stolen." Continuing this fallacy is detrimental to our government, country, and political progress. The democrats must believe that our system is so unsophisticated, rudimentary and worthless, that an actual presidential election can be swiped like a pair of socks from the local Goodwill. As if the electoral process can be manipulated by some third rate Doug Henning and sleight of hand. Why, those damn Republicans should be sent packing so they don't "steal" another election this year! As if stealing an election is even possible. I suppose Republicans are smart enough to steal one election, but only that one time.
Yet, they keep perpetuating this myth and cheapening our Federal Republic and damaging the very political process they seek to control. Why? Do you want something so bad you're willing to damage it, just so you can control it. It's anathema to their supposed position of caring and sensitivity. Can I draw a convoluted analogy? I love my dog, but do I have to beat him until he's crippled because I can't control him? Whew, that analogy is out there, but I'm seeing the parallels. Remember Martin Lawrence in Boomerang? It's like a pool table is the earth, and the game is not over until the WHITE ball..........Yeah, that's where I am with this ridiculous tripe. (Not that it's important, but a letter from my beloved union leadership is the catalyst for this rant) This type of rhetoric is moving to political process backwards and degrades our country. Check this recent article (the interview with Seif Khadafy)to see what I mean. Khadafy’s kid is an idiot. That line about democracy burns me up. Freakin’ snob. See what the democrats are doing to the greatest country on earth? Half the people think the current administration is illegitimate? We should be shaping our ploughshares into swords. Better yet, our democratic colleagues should demand better from their representatives.

It's the team AND the coach.

I've never been a Larry Brown fan. I've tried. Since I've been hoodwinked by Tony Kornheiser's charm, and I Tivo PTI, I've tried to believe that Larry Brown is a good guy. I'm not arguing coaching. I think he's one of the best. Even while he was in Philly, I felt sorry for him because he had to deal with Iverson everyday. Don't even get me started on that guy. Uh, yeah, we are talking about practice. It's where championships are won and lost, and every championship team will tell you it's true. See? Now I'm started. If the NBA is left to Allen Iverson and his ilk, the league is in major trouble. Wait a second, the league IS in major trouble. Oh well, no enamel off my teeth. I'll take any college hoops game at any time.
Back to Brown. Check this article ripping him from ESPN.com. ( I'm happy for him that he's won the NBA championship, but I gotta believe the clock is ticking in Detroit. Joe Dumars better start scouting a new coach, and realtors in the Detroit area should begin to solicit Brown.) Now I'm contradicting myself and arguing coaching, because I haven't seen any coaching in these Olympic games. It doesn't seem as if the Olympic team is coached at all. It's almost as if Iverson is running the team. It's Brown's job to get these guys to understand what they have to do to win, and so far I haven't seen it. I can't accept that this team can't win because of its construction. People say we need shooters, but the 3 point line is 3 feet closer, right? That's like a mid-range jumper for all the guys on the team. They should be money. They just look awful, especially on defense. My prediction is that we don't even medal, much less the gold.

What's wrong with Sammy?

Is this the end for Sammy Sosa? Did Dusty just move him to 5th in the batting order? Tim Kurkjian said it's the first time he's batted below 4th since 1994. Wow. If the Cubs want to make a run at that wildcard, they're going to need Sammy's bat. Found this article at ESPN.com. Is there something else going on, or is it the decline of skills due to age?
As an aside, I still like the wildcard. This season is very interesting because so many teams still have a chance. Purists probably don't agree, but I think it's the right format. Maybe this year, the Cubs and Red Sox can be wildcard teams with a chance to advance in the postseason. Both teams have pretty deadly rotations for a short series, right? I'll pay closer attention to baseball as the fall approaches because of the wildcard. I guess that's why MLB is using it.

Insightful commentary from the West Coast?

Wonder what this guy's classes are like? Suppose he doesn't spend as much time teaching as chairing. Still, an interesting view..
Find the full article here.

Why would USA Today kill this story?

Read this article and give me a legitimate answer. I have the feeling that people that don't make an effort to find this stuff will be left with meager fare from the mainstream press, like USA Today.
It will be interesting to see if plain hatred of Bush can carry this election. I know it didn't work for Clinton, cause man, I hated that guy and he still won a second term. Let's hope the second term trend continues.

Anyone from the Prairie State following this?

Haven't paid much attention to the Illinois senate race, except to make Homer Simpson noises at Jeri Ryan, but was recently asked about this Obama fellow. No real knowledge, but wondering what the locals report? Interesting article here re the GOP choice for the race.

Further commentary on the GOP choice here.

Back from the Northwoods.

Sorry, just got back from vacation. Minnesota in the summertime. Nothing like 42 degrees at night, throw in a little rain, and you've got yourself a party! At least it kept the mosquitos down. Didn't catch a damn thing. Walleye aren't as stupid as they look. Beautiful country. Bald eagles are pretty cool to watch in flight. Didn't see any bear, but I suppose that's a good thing.
It'll take a few days to get back up to speed. Hope all is well out there.

The dead horse rises.

Hadn't heard of this guy before, but this article makes me want to read his books. Interesting perspective.