Guess Who Must Be Reading This Blog...

The Wisconsin Badgers were found in violation of Spaulding Law the last few weeks when they wore the unitard look (matching jersey and pants) on the football field, seemingly turning their backs on the wonderful, rich football history of the school.

Spaulding, Get Your Foot Off the Boat! jumped on the team immediately and criticized them soundly for dressing like amateurs.

Then came this week versus Iowa...

Wisconsin State Journal:

Since Bielema figured it was going to be an old-fashioned Big Ten game, he had his players go back to their customary white pants, instead of the red ones they wore in the last two home games.

"I talked to our team on Thursday night, I said, 'You know what, this is an old grind-out football game, we're playing one of our arch-rivals, it's a 40-40-2 (series) split, a rivalry game, it's a trophy game, let's get back to doing what we do best, ' " Bielema said.

"They all started grinning. (Defensive tackle Jason Chapman), who never says anything, exclaimed very loudly that he likes the white pants look. We have to keep everybody guessing from here on out."

You know what this means...

...Bielema reads this blog.

Thanks for dressing your team like football players this week, coach.

We'll be sure to speak up if you bust out those red pants with anything but the white jersey tops.

Let the Speculation Begin

21.5 games out of the Wild Card lead with seven games left to play, there isn't much of interest left to follow in the White Sox season this year. Let the offseason speculation begin...

Chicago Tribune:

...But with Cleveland on the verge of clinching the division for the first time since 2001, emphasis has shifted to how the Sox and Twins will regroup, whether it's Minnesota surviving the potential loss of All-Star center fielder Torii Hunter or how Sox general manager Ken Williams will revamp his roster after a disastrous 2007.

Williams hasn't been shy about making bold changes, such as reshaping the lineup that produced a 2005 World Series championship. A retooled bullpen was 2007's major alteration, but it collapsed two months into the season.

Manager Ozzie Guillen expects Williams to make more daring moves, but he doesn't expect first baseman Paul Konerko to be involved.

"I don't think Konerko is going to be one of the guys [traded]," Guillen said. "We don't know, but I don't see that coming. I see [pitcher Jon] Garland saying, 'I'm going to get traded.' I don't think that's the right comment because we don't know that.

"One thing about Kenny, he will let you know what you need to know. If we put any one of our five starters on the market, someone will take it. You have to be careful of that and say, 'Well, why do these people want to take it and we cannot keep it?'

"I'm not just talking about Garland. I understand why he thinks about it because it seems like every year he's been [rumored to be] traded. But we're not going to play dirty with guys who were important for us. We're not going to lie to people."

The Most Dangerous Round of Golf EVER

I wasn't too too concerned that I played golf through the world's largest mosquito convention on Sunday afternoon until I saw this...

Reuters:

Bullfighter wiped out by mosquito

Fri Sep 14, 4:38 AM ET

MADRID - If the bulls don't get you, a mosquito might, as Spanish bullfighter Jose Maria Manzanares has discovered to his cost.

After surviving 57 bullfights this season with the usual share of gorings, tramplings and tossings, Manzanares dropped out early suffering from Dengue fever.

...Manzanares had been fainting and generally feeling unwell for months, but doctors could not decide what was wrong with him until detailed tests showed he was suffering from one of the milder forms of Dengue.

...The more serious forms of Dengue kill hundreds of people every year especially in Asia.

I'd better WebMD the Dengue fever symptoms...

Kind Actions Deserving of Attention

When all we seem to hear about are the tales of people in or surrounding sports that are only in it for the profit, we need to be sure the stories of the Will Stewarts of the world are shared.

MLB.com:

Fan gives home run ball to Thome

09/16/2007 8:50 PM ET
By Alex Gyr / MLB.com

CHICAGO -- Sell it, keep it or give it back?

That is the question that is left to every fan that comes away with a milestone home run ball. With the news that Barry Bonds' record-breaking home run ball recently sold for $750,000, the stakes are as high as ever.

So when Jim Thome's 500th home run ball bounced into Will Stewart's hands, it should have been a tough decision for the 28-year-old accountant. Instead, he admitted the choice was easy.

"I feel it is a part of Chicago baseball history," said Stewart, right after handing the ball back to the White Sox slugger during a postgame press conference.

...The game was actually Stewart's first ever at U.S. Cellular Field. The Austin, Texas, native flew into Chicago early Sunday morning for an accounting conference and decided to take in a game on the South Side before getting to work.

He bought a ticket in the left-center-field stands online, not knowing that Thome was nearing the historic home run mark. After coming straight from the airport, he found out about the slugger's home run chase when he got to the ballpark. When the big fly was hit, Stewart turned out to be in the right place at the right time.

...Thome has said for days as he approached the mark that he wanted the ball back and planned to drive with his father to deliver it to the Hall of Fame.

While Stewart is passing up whatever the ball could earn at an auction house, he isn't coming away empty-handed. After the game it was announced that he would receive a number of signed pieces of memorabilia and two season tickets for the 2008 season.

In another truly altruistic move, Stewart elected to donate the two season tickets to the charity of Thome's choice. The tickets will be auctioned off during the Joyce Thome Benefit for the Children's Hospital of Illinois, an event named in honor of Thome's late mother.

"As I'm from Austin, Texas, and not from the great city of Chicago and not able to use the season tickets, I've asked to donate the season tickets to your charity for use," Stewart said. "That's the best thing I can think of to give back to the city of Chicago."

Looking beyond yourself to the larger picture -- that's a lesson that bears remembering even when you're not at the ballpark.

Mr. Stewart, you're welcome on the South Side anytime. Thanks.

As Heard at Miller Park

"I like night because I get to play NOCTURNAL!"

-- A 4 year-old girl leaving the Brewers game

As Heard at Camp Randall

"Up yours, Michigan!!!"

-- Shouted by a 10-year old girl, who was previously disinterested in the Wisconsin-Citidel game until the Badgers scored their final touchdown.

Uniform Blasphemy

The photo at the top is a Miami (Ohio) University football player. The photo at the bottom is a University of Wisconsin football player. Anyone else see a problem here?!? When a football school like Wisconsin starts dressing like a not-known-for-our-football school like Miami (O-h-i-o) you know you're not doing something right.

Why this hideous (matching colored pants and colored jerseys) uniform decision?

AP:

[Badgers coach Bret] Bielema broke with tradition for the Badgers' home opener two weeks ago against Washington State, dressing the players in all red instead of red and white. While the new uniform drew a mixed reaction from fans, the players loved it, and Bielema said it will be back against The Citadel.

"I love to see just red swarming the football," Bielema said. "As this thing hopefully gains momentum, it will have a huge effect at Camp Randall."

While time will tell if Bielema's color scheme catches on, the Badgers are riding an 11-game winning streak that is tops in the nation.

Memo to Bielema -- the winning streak started back when your team dressed like football players, not wrestlers in a unitard. Bring back the white pants.

[Note: Before my reader asks, yes, the all white road uniforms are A-OK because that is a classic football look. The unitard, on the other hand, is something that a high school team would wear when the school district can't afford to buy both home and road pants].

The Problem with Apple TV

Forbes has a big article about Apple TV, Apple's computer-to-TV video streaming box, that the publication declares an "iFlop."

Apple TV may be an underperformer now, but it doesn't have to be.

As an avid Mac user who is ordinarily easily pulled into the Steve Jobs reality distortion field, let me tell you the problems with Apple TV:

1) Requires a flat screen TV

Most people still have standard televisions -- not the flat screen beauties. And for whatever reason, Apple TV doesn't play with regular televisions.

Flat screen TV prices may be falling, but that still doesn't mean that everyone has them. Apple seems to overlook the fact that it is the college crowd which made the iPod the most recognizable media player on the planet (after all, look around any college campus and all you'll see are white headphones). The catch is that for the early adopter, college crowd a flat screen TV of any size worth purchasing is still out of reach. $300 bucks for a top-of-the-line iPod? Sure. But $2,000 for a TV? No way.

Limited early adopter pool = no momentum.

2) Poor quality

For those that can afford a flat screen TV there's a reason that they bought one -- because the picture looks amazing. How does the Apple TV look? Well, not so good. Go into an Apple Store and even the demo doesn't look compelling (and the TVs they are using for the demos aren't even that big). That's because Apple's iTunes store doesn't sell any high definition content. The video you get on iTunes looks great on an iPod, acceptable on your laptop, and downright mediocre-to-poor when blown up on a large TV.

The content quality hasn't caught up with the technological capabilities Apple TV appears to be presenting. The result is a sub-par, very un-Apple-like experience.

3) It's not a TiVo

Apple TV has a hard drive in it. What do we want to do with a hard drive connected to our television? Use it a digital video recorder (DVR) a.k.a. TiVo, of course.

Apple TV has zero, zip, nada TiVo-like capabilities. It is a svelte box for streaming the content you have in your iTunes library (video/music) to your TV and that's about it. (True, it can access movie trailers online, and display your digital photos but these features aren't going to make you run out and buy an Apple TV).

4) It's too expensive

The problem is Apple TV does so little (stream content from your computer to your television) for such a big price. [The price is "big" because the Apple TV content doesn't look spectacular, it doesn't satisfy those other "needs" we all have -- it's not a TiVo, it is not a DVD recorder, it's not a video game player -- and it will require most people to buy a flat screen TV if they want the Apple TV experience].

The Forbes article says that the components of Apple TV cost $237. On a $300 product, that doesn't leave a lot of room for profit. So it is true that the company isn't making much off these things, but that offers minor consolation for the consumer.

Solutions

Apple TV needs to be overhauled and replaced with "Apple TV 2" (for lack of a better term). Here's what Apple TV 2 should offer:

• Works with all TVs, not just the new flat screens (make Apple TV an option for all who are interested in it)
• DVR capabilities (enabled by a bigger hard drive) -- this would truly lay the groundwork for tearing down the barriers between our TVs, DVDs and downloaded content
  
• Ability to stream DVR'd content back to your PC so you can "save it" by burning it to a DVD
• Ability to transfer television content saved on your Apple TV 2's DVR to your iPhone, iPod Touch or notebook computer so you can watch your shows on the go
• Same $300 price tag
  

If Apple gives us this (and any other whiz-bang ideas that Apple can dream up like no other) then Apple TV will be a success. Whether we get there or not is simply a matter of whether or not the company believes in the product.

Apple TV right now is half a product. Here's one customer who hopes Steve Jobs and Co. will make it a whole.

More How I Met Your Mother Awesomeness: Greatest Pickup Line of All Time

Barney's Top 10

If you watch TV and you don't watch How I Met Your Mother, what is wrong with you?

How great is this show?!? Did you see the one where Barney turned a moving truck into a bachelor pad?

Guillen Contract

If you're looking to purchase a White Sox jersey this offseason, your only safe bet up until tonight was Bobby Jenks (after all, it is not certain that any of this year's White Sox team will be back). Now, it appears you can add Guillen to the "safe" list, as he has received a contract extension though 2012.

AP:

"The problems that we are having right now, I simply do not believe that they are problems that are with our coaching staff or with our manager," general manager Ken Williams said, calling the contract extension an easy decision.

"I already said previously that I put all that weight on my shoulders. I'm the one that has to put them in a better position to win baseball games and that means going out and making the necessary adjustments to get this team where we are better and get guys back up to their normal level of production."

Williams said he wanted the players, Guillen and the fans to know that the White Sox -- who had 99- and 90-win seasons before this year's debacle -- would engage in an offseason plan to ensure there would not be a repeat of this year's record.

..."This is the worst summer I've had in all my career because I was too soft. I was kind of worried about what people were going to say about me," Guillen said. "I could care less what people say about me as long as I win."

Guillen was voted AL Manager of the Year in 2005 but the White Sox slid from contention early this season and were 61-83 entering Tuesday, tied with Florida and Tampa Bay for the poorest record in the major leagues.

...Now Guillen will be a major part of the restructuring and there certainly will be some criticism of his new deal after such a horrible season.

"I respect that because everybody has their own opinion," Guillen said. "I think I should be criticized for the way we played this year. ... Believe me, after this year and last year what I went through, I'm bulletproof. I've been taking a lot of heat. I don't blame people for putting me on the spot because of the way played."

San Francisco 49ers Uniforms

San Francisco is wearing their "alternate" uniforms tonight. If you're wondering what those look like, they look exactly like the classic red, gold and white uniforms that you see every time you see a Joe Montana-Jerry Rice highlight. In other words, its the uniform you would always picture the team in, not some trying-too-hard-to-be-cool look that they've been wearing. The 49ers look great tonight.

The 49ers "regular" uniforms in recent years have used a darker red, more metallic-ish gold pants, and (the marketing-gurus gone wild inclusion of black). In other words, a downgrade -- not an upgrade -- from the classic uniforms.

The 49ers equipment manager would be wise to "lose" the black and crimson stuff. Keep the Montana jerseys!

As Heard at the BMW Championship (Golf Tournament)

"Look at that. These guys all hit it so close [to the hole]! I mean, we'd hit it over there (motioning to a part of the green far away from the hole) and have an orgasm."

Playing to the Lowest Common Denominator

A movie called Shoot 'Em Up is coming to theaters soon. Then, this fall, ABC is bringing us a new TV series called Dirty Sexy Money.

OK, that's it. I can now tell you that shows/films are being approved based solely on how their titles perform and appeal to focus groups.

How do I know?

Well, I just got the green light for 15 episodes of a new TV show I'm developing called Wet Firearms Poker.

This Is Just Cool

3,000-Year-Old Beehives Found in Israel

By MATTI FRIEDMAN

JERUSALEM (AP) — Archaeologists digging in northern Israel have discovered evidence of a 3,000-year-old beekeeping industry, including remnants of ancient honeycombs, beeswax and what they believe are the oldest intact beehives ever found.

The findings in the ruins of the city of Rehov this summer include 30 intact hives dating to around 900 B.C., archaeologist Amihai Mazar of Jerusalem's Hebrew University told The Associated Press. He said it offers unique evidence that an advanced honey industry existed in the Holy Land at the time of the Bible.

Beekeeping was widely practiced in the ancient world, where honey used for medicinal and religious purposes as well as for food, and beeswax was used to make molds for metal and to create surfaces to write on. While bees and beekeeping are depicted in ancient artwork, nothing similar to the Rehov hives has ever been found before, Mazar said.

The beehives, made of straw and unbaked clay, have a hole at one end to allow the bees in and out and a lid on the other end to allow beekeepers access to the honeycombs inside. They were found in orderly rows, three high, in a room that could have accommodated around 100 hives, Mazar said.

The Bible repeatedly refers to Israel as a "land of milk and honey," but that's believed to refer to honey made from dates and figs — there is no mention of honeybee cultivation. But the new find shows that the Holy Land was home to a highly developed beekeeping industry nearly 3,000 years ago. ...

Read entire article

As Heard on a Lake Michigan Beach

Girl 1: "I want like a really gay, gay friend."

Girl 2: 'Oh, yeah. Totally. Me too.'