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. ...
Fond du Lac Reporter has an article about the influence of music lyrics on kids and how one middle school is handling CD players and iPods.
According to the article:
...students must follow rules when they bring their iPods or CD players on campus this fall. Students may bring their players but must not listen to explicit music.
A $250 iPod will put 7,500 songs in your pocket. Yeah, this policy is going to work...
Stop right there, Billy! Show me your iPod. Don't you dare hit shuffle!
"Well, they're killing me," Guillen said. "They're killing my family. They're killing my coaching staff, killing the White Sox fans. They kill the owner. They kill everyone. I hope they feel the same way we feel."
...
"You don't see this today," Guillen said. "You've seen this since April. I keep giving people a chance to succeed, a pat on the back. I wish I played for a manager like that. I swear to God I wish I could have played for a (expletive) manager like that. Every time you fail and keep putting guys out there who fail day in and day out, that's easy to play.
"A $100 million payroll and those guys don't show how much they make in the field. Well, Kenny [Williams], I don't say what he has to do, but we play like this and spend all that money on the club like that, I will shut the payroll and go with Double-A kids if we have to, because it's not easy. I know those guys go out there and they care about it."
...
"I hope somebody out there cares the way we care," he said. "Good guys or nice guys finish (expletive) last. I'm tired of seeing that (expletive), day in and day out. And I don't want to spend a miserable September seeing the same (expletive). If I have to see the same (expletive), I told Kenny, 'Bring somebody up. (Expletive) it.'"
The Chicago Sun-Times is looking into the future and speculating that more changes in the White Sox pitching staff might be in the cards:
Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez seem to be bookends heading into 2008, while Jose Contreras and his two-year, $20 million contract seem to be the book no one wants -- nor can lift. Jon Garland has set the stage to be moved in the offseason, while rookie John Danks has the inside track to being the No. 5 starter.
But if Garland is moved, that leaves a hole. The hope was that Floyd would have shown enough to allow the Sox to trade Garland and not blink. Now they are hoping that youngsters such as Gio Gonzalez and Jack Egbert continue their fast tracks and no longer are counting on Floyd.
Garland, if you're wondering, is 8-10 with a 4.90 ERA this season and 90-78 with a 4.49 ERA.
Guillen acknowledged the price and dearth of effective leadoff batters means it's possible Jerry Owens will bat first again next spring. Owens has played better than Guillen expected in center field. Owens could shift over to left if the Sox land a marquee free-agent center fielder such as Minnesota's Torii Hunter.
Your e-mail signature reflects how powerful you are. If you were profiled on 60 Minutes, you don't need no steenkin' e-mail signature.
The primary purpose of an e-mail sig is to let people know who you are and how to contact you. If you're really, really important, your e-mail recipients had better already know that.
If you're a billionaire, you write your e-mail entirely in lower-case and sign it with the one-syllable nickname you had in prep school:
get on this right away. biff
The longer your e-mail signature, the lower down the food chain you are.
Some people put a whole novel in their sig:
Their full name, including "Jr." or "Sr."
Job title, which generally includes both the words "deputy" and assistant.
Street-mail address with mail stop.
Business phone number, with different versions for people dialing from the internal corporate PBX vs. people dialing from outside.
E-mail address. 'Cuz it's not like it's in the "From:" line of every e-mail or anything.
And finish it off with an inspirational quote from Battlestar Galactica.
If that's a description of your signature, then you're a flunky. Time for a Starbucks run, Commander Starbuck.
The billionaire/powerful CEO name only or initials only signature is so true. Perhaps I'll start signing initials only...
"Mom! Sober up long enough so you can enjoy the game!"
-- Teenage daughter to her mother, as mom lead them up, then down, then almost back up and finally down the staircase leading to the wrong section for their seats.
I really hope she was giving mom a hard time, otherwise this is a sad, sad statement.
This opinion is not 100% formed, but I'm pretty sure that singers shouldn't be allowed on America's Got Talent because we already have American Idol.
How can you judge between a magician and a singer as to who is better? Or a singer and a fire breather, etc.?
I suppose this could go for any talent vs. different talent matchup, but without the singers we'd at least be left with the wacky, original and oddball performances.
Oh...but you get an exemption on the whole singing thing if you have a mullet.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Check your publicist at the boardroom door — NBC is inviting celebrities to try to wow Donald Trump in the next version of "The Apprentice." And while it would make for a marquee matchup, don't expect Rosie O'Donnell to be among them.
"It will never happen in this lifetime or beyond," said Cindi Berger, O'Donnell's spokeswoman.
The network announced Monday that the game show will be back in the middle of next season with the celebrity twist, the winner donating proceeds to charity instead of going to work for The Donald.
Huh?!? So the show that is supposedly the ultimate job interview doesn't end with someone getting a job?
I guess this just means one thing, Trump doesn't want to give K-Fed a job either.
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IHOP buying Applebee's for $2.1 billion By Daniel Yi Times Staff Writer
Pancake chain IHOP Corp. will aggressively franchise Applebee's restaurants under a $2.1-billion acquisition plan announced today.
Glendale-based IHOP, which offered $25.50 per share in cash for the Overland Park, Kan., restaurant chain, said its main strategy would be to franchise the majority of the 508 restaurants currently owned by Applebee's International Inc.
Applebee's franchises about three-quarters of its 2,000 restaurants. In contrast, 99% of IHOP's 1,319 eateries are operated by franchisees. IHOP believes the strategy will save money and help boost Applebee's laggard financial performance.
...Something happened this past weekend that doesn't happen often in the world of professional sports. Two athletes in the same town looked around, decided their lives weren't going to be enhanced by more money and chose to stay put.
Presumably independent of one another, the White Sox's Mark Buehrle and the Bulls' Andres Nocioni came to the conclusion that a fellow could live quite comfortably on a huge, multimillion-dollar contract if he were frugal and kept his Maserati collection down to a workable number of, say, 10.
But when Buehrle accepted the above contract and when Nocioni agreed to a five-year, $37.5 million contract with the Bulls, it at least meant that sanity had established a tiny beachhead, that heart mattered and that happiness levels don't necessarily increase as salary numbers spin upward.
Players who view themselves as part of and are willing to sacrifice for the team. Geez, inbetween the quacking duck player of the game, the MVP awards, Gold Gloves, All-Star teams and other awards that honor the individual over the team, you would think that there might be an award recognizing these (albeit incrediably rare) types of players. Oh yeah, that's right there is...fan respect. That, and championships. Buehrle got his (with more to come); Noce, it's your turn.
Well, the New York Timesmoved its offices, so Spaulding decided to do the same. One move, a new Internet service provider, a bunch of procrastination and -- bam -- Spaulding is back. Apologies to anyone who missed this blog during its hiatus. Here's hoping our one reader hasn't found anything better to do yet.
Grey's Anatomy lost me when we had to sit through a two night season finale last year to watch all of the young doctors participate in (ultimately) helping to kill a guy under the premise of moving him up the heart transplant list. When those doctors were not reprimanded, stripped of their medical licenses and thrown in jail at the start of the next season I wrote it off and have not watched an episode since.
Since then I've been telling everyone how much Grey's Anatomy sucks. I just had no idea how much of a feminist I am. New York Times:
The New Modern Woman, Ambitious and Feeble
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY Published: May 5, 2007
It’s time to play the blame game.
Everything wrong with “Grey’s Anatomy” and its soon-to-be spun spinoff is the fault of “Ally McBeal.”
Mary Tyler Moore and Marlo Thomas were early prototypes of the quirky but lovable career girl. David E. Kelley’s hit series about a deeply neurotic lawyer named Ally McBeal marked a turning point in the devolution of women’s roles in television comedy — the moment when competent-but-flaky hardened into basket case.
...The HBO series “Sex and the City” made light of female insecurity and let its flighty heroines come out ahead. Here even the most successful women are left behind in life.
It wouldn’t matter, since the show is admittedly over-the-top escapist fantasy for women, except that it is troubling that even in escapist fantasies, today’s heroines have to be weak, needy and oversexed to be liked by women and desired by men.
...ShondaRhimes, who created “Grey’s Anatomy,” also came up with the spinoff. Somehow, even in the hands of a woman, a show about female doctors finds humor and solace in their distress. Self-deprecation has been replaced with self-denigration.
People complain that hip-hop stars use obscene lyrics and lewd music videos to demean women. Sometimes, so do even the most bourgeois women’s television shows.
The Republican presidential candidates held another debate Tuesday night. All of the "top tier" candidates and the "soon-to-be also rans" were there.
The guy who many Americans don't know what he's really about but who enjoys headliner status on the GOP side due to his fundraising prowess is former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
And what did we learn about Romney from the debate? Well, if you are worried about America's increasingly diminished respect on the global stage resulting from repeated policy and moral failures, then Romney isn't your guy.
The scenario presented to the 10 Republican presidential candidates was chilling: Three American shopping malls had been bombed, producing scores of casualties. Terrorists with detailed knowledge of another imminent and deadlier attack had been captured and taken to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
The question: How far can the authorities go in interrogating the terrorists to get information to avert a fourth attack?
...Former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts said he would support “not torture but enhanced interrogation techniques." And taking a tougher line than President Bush and Mr. McCain, who have said they would like to shut down the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Mr. Romney said he wanted the facility doubled in size.
...As they went through the doomsday terrorist scenario presented by the moderators, the candidates did not offer precise definitions of what they considered terrorism, though their nuanced responses suggested differences about how far they thought it was appropriate for interrogators to go to avert a terrorist attack.
Enhanced interrogation techniques, which Mr. Romney said he would support, refer to methods outside those allowed by the Army’s code of justice or the Geneva Conventions. The most publicly discussed technique that has reportedly been used on terrorism suspects involves what is known as water-boarding, where a prisoner is strapped down, head beneath his feet, as water is poured repeatedly on a cloth covering the mouth until the person thinks he is about to drown.
Voters will have to decide what type of America and what image of America they want in the world.
For Romney, he's probably fortunate that 99% of the country didn't even know there was a GOP debate Tuesday night.
After watching this week's How I Met Your Mother -- which will hereby be referred in this posting as the Best Sitcom Currently On Television (BSCOT) -- I was certain the show was cancelled.
The episode had all the little endings, references to the pilot, and storyline conclusions one would expect if the writers of the BSCOT were told that there would be no next year and were forced to prematurely bring conclusion to the show. (A faithful reader of this blog had even heard a report on E! that the BSCOT was on the bubble).
And just as it appeared that primetime television was going to losing its most consistent source of laser tag references, Variety (well, more accurately CBS) saves the day:
Eye skeins getting better news this week include "How I Met Your Mother," which has been picked up for a third season. Eye's most buzzworthy laffer might seem to be a no-brainer for renewal, but CBS execs make producers sweat it out until the last minute.
Thank you! (It just wouldn't have been fair if we didn't get to meet the mother).
Nintendo's Wii is, as Mugatu might say, "so hot right now." The white video game console the size of a hardcover book has been harder to find than Waldo since it launched and things haven't gotten better post-holiday shopping.
But, hey, the holidays have been over for months. The Wii supply should be meeting demand in no time, right?
"I believe the Wii will continue strong growth although supply continues to be a problem," said Billy Pidgeon, video game analyst, IDC. "I’d like to see Wii hardware shipping in larger quantities or mass market consumers may cool on it. Having said that, I don’t believe supply will meet demand for the Wii until 2009."
2009?!?
Guess that is just in time to get your Wii before a Wii 2 is launched.
Reports filtering in from across the information motorway reveal that Wii stocks are on the up in the UK, with large shipments flooding into starved retailers in the last week or so. News in suggests that the arrival of fresh supplies has already seen Wii sales soar in the charts.
..."Nintendo chose to release quite a large supply of Wii stock last week, meaning that those eager to get their hands on the innovative new system would finally get their wish, thus impacting greatly on the UK charts," read a statement from Chart-Track, compilers of the official UK charts.
In multiple studies, [Alice] Isen, a professor of psychology and S. C. Johnson Professor of Marketing at Cornell University, made subjects feel happy through a number of means, including gifts of candy and words or pictures with pleasant associations. The subjects were then asked to perform tasks that measure creativity; over the course of 20 years, Isen and her colleagues regularly found that subjects exhibited much more creativity when they were in a good mood.
Interesting. Maybe fuddy-duddy workplaces should see how a little bit of happiness (and humor) could increase productivity. Perhaps David Brent was right...
Star Wars is, of course, alive and well and the toys are cooler than ever. Pirate Lego on the other hand has been dealt a tough blow. To the best of my knowledge the pirates aren't in production anymore. Why? I have no idea. With all the success of the Pirates of the Caribbean, one would think that a pirate based building set revival would be a no brainer.
Since the pirates sailed away I haven't been able to get excited about a Lego set. Hey Lego, bring back the pirates!
OK, so you're Google and you bought YouTube for a billion-plus-infinity dollars. You're probably putting all of your energy and resources into making that the greatest video site on the face of the planet, right? Right...? So what is the deal with Google Video?
Friday April 27, 6:22 am ET By Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer
Nintendo President Promises to Boost Wii Production, Increase Deliveries to Meet Shortage
TOKYO (AP) -- Nintendo's president acknowledged Friday that the shortage of the hit Wii game machine was "abnormal," and promised production was being boosted to increase deliveries by next month.
"We must do our best to fix this abnormal lack of stock," Nintendo President SatoruIwata told reporters. "We have not been able to properly foresee demand."
The comments came a day after the Japanese manufacturer of the Wii -- which comes with a wand that can be used as a sword, tennis racket or fishing rod depending on the game -- reported that sales nearly doubled for the fiscal year, lifted by robust sales of the Wii and the DS portable, a handheld video game.
...The Wii has pummeled its rivals in a head-to-head battle in next-generation video game consoles involving Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, which has been plagued with production problems, and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360.
Iwata refused to disclose the monthly production capacity for the Wii, and said it was too early to say by how much the production was being raised.
But he said efforts were under way to increase production, and more machines will get delivered to stores around the world.
"We will do our best to offer the machine for those who are waiting," he said at a Tokyo hall.
Well it's about bloody time!!!
This Wii wait has been ridiculous. Nobody should have to stand in line at a Toys R Us parking lot at 4 a.m. with a bunch of guys who sustain themselves by selling Wiis on eBay simply for the privilege of getting to play Wii Sports. I should be able to walk into my local Target, hand over $250, and go home happy.
I'm giving Nintendo until the U.S. Open to get enough Wiis to the market to ensure that I'm playing Tiger Woods golf when the pros are playing at Oakmont.
Sports Illustrated is reporting that pro wrestling might have its own steroid scandal.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!
What about the records? The integrity?!? How are we supposed to know how many pre-determined wins various wrestlers would have if they weren't on steroids? How can we know that those oversized belts were earned fair and square?!?
At least there are still body building and strongman competitions to enjoy.
Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was fined $100,000 by the NFL for wearing a cap during Super Bowl media day that promoted a sponsor not authorized by the league.
NFL rules prohibit gear that advertises any product but a designated sponsor, league spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday.
Urlacher was fined for drinking vitaminwater and wearing a vitaminwater hat during the media session in Miami leading to the title game. Gatorade is the NFL's official drink.
Um...wasn't the Super Bowl in early February? This vitaminwater revelation must have come from a "Super Bowl - The Lost Episode" tape.
Oh well, gotta give the NFL Network something to talk about in April...
Just days after Apple’s announcement that it had sold 100 million iPods, Microsoft’s Zune celebrated a milestone of its own.
According to a press release issued by the company today, its 100th Zune was sold to 13-year-old Dieter Ebersbacher in Shreveport, Illinois, and is a sign of its success in the marketplace.
“The sale of the 100th Zune is a sign that it has captured a secure foothold in the market and it totally doesn’t suck,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
Asked to explain the discrepancy between this and its previously announced sales figures, Ballmer said “Well, when you take out the units we’ve just stuffed into the channel and then you take out the units that have gone to reviewers… and the units we’ve just outright given away… you’re left with… uh… a hundred.
The outlook: This division was horrible last year. For awhile the Padres were hovering at .500 and in the lead. Lame.
As for this year, look for the reconfigured Dodgers to make strides and separate themselves from the competition. The Dodgers are -- as a reader pointed out -- filled with old Cubs, and we all know that as soon as the Cubs get rid of somebody that player takes off. (Which gets me thinking, Mark Prior make a great Devil Ray).
Spaulding prognostication: NL West champion -- LosAngeles Dodgers
P.S. Arizona, the Astros just called and they want their color scheme back.
The outlook: Ugh, the defending World Series champion only won 83 games last year?!? C'mon! 83 would have been good enough for fourth in the AL East, fourth in the AL Central, third in the AL West, third in the NL East, and third in the NL West. No one is happier with the six division system than the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals.
So what does that mean for 2007? Mediocrity or better puts you right in the hunt, and that's good news for everyone else in the division -- mainly the Cubs, Astros and Brewers. (Sorry, Reds and Pirates).
The Cubs threw money around like a yuppie bleacher bum trying to impress his waitress at Hooters, but all the money in the world can't fix Mark Prior or Kerry Wood -- both are starting the season on the disabled list.
Meanwhile the Astros lost Andy Pettitte to the Yankees and Roger Clemens to his now yearly diva ritual where he is too cool for the first half of the season. Get over yourself, Roger. Either you want to play or not. It's baseball -- that's 162 games, of which you'd only be asked to play every fifth day. Most of us work five days a week or more in a row on two or fewer days of rest. And you don't even have to wash your own jock. Come over to my house and we'll do laundry after I've put in a day at the office. Then you'll see how easy it is to sit around for four hours spitting sunflower seeds in between starts.
The Brewers have a lot of nice pieces that if they fit together could make for a winning combo.
Spaulding prognostication: The Brewers will have the Chorizo for the entire season. Look for that to add some spice to the ballpark and push the Brew Crew into the postseason.
The outlook: Wondering why you can't find any duct tape at your local hardware store? That's because the 2006 New York Mets used every last inch of the stuff to hold together their pitching rotation. Look for the we-can't-beat-an-83-win-team-in-the-NLCSMets to take a step back this year.
Jimmy Rollins says the Phillies are going to win the NL East this year. Why not?
Spaulding prognostication: NL East champions -- Philadelphia Phillies NL Wild Card -- New York Mets
The outlook: Where does one begin? The AL West in recent memory was a good division. Now it is...well, not something I'll be staying up to watch unless my team is on a road trip.
The A's are without Barry Zito, the Mariners were a mess last year, the Angels can't decide what city they play in, and the Rangers play in a place where it is too damn hot to play anything but night games unless you're testing a new formula of high endurance Gatorade.
Look for a St. Louis Cardinals-esque just-a-little-above-500 record to take this division.
Spaulding prognostication: AL West champion -- Texas Rangers
The outlook: The AL Central is the best division in baseball -- period -- and this year's competition is going to be intense.
The please-don't-bunt-it-to-the-pitcher Tigers return basically the same lineup as the team that got them to the World Series last year, with the notable addition of Gary Sheffield. The loss of Sheffield is huge for the Yankees, as they will now have to find a different outfielder for Old-Timers' Day. Postseason innings can take quite the toll on a pitching staff (see Kenny Rogers), and it is a valid question as to whether the Tiger pitching staff will be able to hold up over another 162 game season and carry the tabbies deep into October. The Tigers will have a better first than second half -- look for them to get a slight lead, but fade down the stretch (your 2006 AL Central Champion Minnesota Twins anyone?).
The White Sox should be Detroit's main competition, and they could be a very capable or superior opponent. The 2007 White Sox team has a lot of ifs -- if Mark Buehrle can return to form, if Javier Vazquez can live up to his potential, if Scott Podsednik v.2005 not v.2006 shows up, and if John Danks can be a capable fifth starter. If all those ifs fall into place this White Sox team will be a handful. (Too many ifs? Remember 2005? If Orlando Hernandez can still pitch -- if Jon Garland can live up to his potential -- if this Tadahito Iguchi guy can play second base -- if Shingo Takatsu can remain a dominant closer without prototypical stuff -- and later, if this tall, wide guy named Jenks can take over the closer's duties).
Look for the White Sox and Tigers to slug it out all year, being pushed by the Cleveland Indians, and, to a lesser extent due to the loss of Liriano (injury) and Radke (retirement), Minnesota.
Spaulding prognostication: AL Central champion -- Detroit Tigers AL Central Wild Card -- Chicago White Sox
Tigers limp to a divisional crown, but don't get to live October to its fullest.
Here it is, your first installment in Spaulding's predictions for the 2007 baseball season. Very little (if any) actual "research" has gone into these predictions -- instead they are gut-level guesses which will almost certainly make this author look like an idiot (probably before the All-Star break). Presented for your entertainment purposes only, are a few (probably misguided) picks.
The outlook: The AL East is where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox fight their yearly war of attrition. The East is also the only division the national media pay any attention to -- assuming you're a Red Sox or Yankee. If not, you're practically in the witness protection program. Roy Halladay anyone?
For 2007, expect more of the same. The Red Sox and Yankees buy all the good names, and that's good enough to get you to the post season (but not necessarily win it -- see: A-Rod, Randy Johnson, Jason Giambi)
Spaulding prognostication: AL East Champion -- New York Yankees
Note: Don't be surprised if the Red Sox get the AL Wild Card, but with so many good teams in the AL Central, Spaulding has to give the pre-season Wild Card prediction to that division.
Watching the NCAA Tournament it is unbelievable how time and time again the the teams allow their opponents to dribble down the floor and hit a big shot to tie the game or close the gap. (Worse yet, it is amazing how many of those game tying plays have come on layups).
Defense, kids. It is the other half of the game.
Seems like the only reason many of these "great games" have been interesting is because the teams don't know how to close it out.
People like to rip on the NBA for what they perceive to be a lack of defense, but watch those games in the final minutes and tell me how many easy buckets you see.
I guess we'll see if the Sweet 16 can identify any kids who know how to do more than play matador defense when it really matters.
I had the displeasure of catching an episode of MTV'sMy Super Sweet 16 today.
For the uninitiated, the series follows around a bunch of spoiled 16 year-olds as they plan their ultimate sweet sixteen birthday party. And no, they don't just rent out the local pool. These are red carpet-style affairs where the parents drop more money on a party for a bunch of hormonally frustrated teenagers than most of us will make in our entire lives. It is absolutely disgusting display of excess and bad parenting. If you want your daughter to grow up to be despicable, I recommend you start TiVo-ing this show.
Hey, MTV, here's an idea -- why don't you rename this show to what it should be: So I'm Raising a Spoiled B^%$#.
The big news in Badgerland today is that injured McDonald's All-American Brian Butch practiced with the team. Best part of all of this? Coach Bo Ryan really doesn't know much about it.
The 6-foot-11 junior has been sidelined since he suffered a dislocated right elbow and associated fracture against Ohio State on Feb. 25. He still is not cleared to play, Badgers coach Bo Ryan said. Wednesday Ryan said Butch "was on the floor going up and down with the guys."
Did he shoot the ball? "I wouldn't go that far," Ryan said at the team's hotel. "I don't know how many times he shot the ball."
Fans will be able to judge for themselves this afternoon. The Badgers have a public practice from 2:15 p.m.-2:55 p.m. at the United Center and Ryan said Butch will participate.
Butch was given a timetable of 4 to 6 weeks for recovery. It has been 2 weeks since the injury and Ryan gave no indication of whether Butch's recovery is going quicker than expected.
"I have no idea of the time schedule that way," he said.
Butch was not available for comment.
Guy with a busted arm who could help your team in the tournament? -- yeah, you wouldn't keep track of his ability to shoot or handle the basketball.
Anybody else think Bo has been watching a lot of Hogan's Heroes on DVD lately? "I see nothing..."
There will be a lot of explanations for why Duke didn't win, but let me break it down to something basic: they lost because they didn't stay true to who they are.
Duke's true colors are blue and white, yet the uniforms they wore in their losing effort had black in the piping and lettering. The use of black with Duke is forced and it looks awful.
Unnatural addition of black to your uniforms = suckiness. See, New York Knicks.
Rick Majerus is writing an entertaining March Madness blog for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Check it out here.
For those of you Wisconsinites scoring at home, that's two references to Culver's, one to Usinger's, one to Miller and one to Lipitor in the Majerus blog by my count.
Now people are going to go on and on about that -- specifically what a great finish it was. That is bull!
NEITHER one of those teams played defense in their final offensive possession. Duke sprints down and gets an easy layup to tie (anyone care to put up a hand, kids?) and then the Dukies let VCU hit the game winning shot practically uncontested at the top of the key.
That's how these teams play it out?!? Don't believe the hype -- that was not a great finish, it was a pathetic one.
CBS just cut away from the very close Duke game to go back to MSU-MU because there was an injury in the Duke game. The last thing I could hear the announcer say was "...he's bleeding from the eye," right before they cut back to garbage time in the Marquette-Michigan State game.
Bleeding from the eye?!? Isn't that the type of thing that they zoom in on and then show you replays from 27 different directions?
The MSU-MU game has been slogging along with MSU holding a 13 point or so lead for pretty much the entire second half. There are just over two minutes left in the game.
Duke and VCU are currently tied. Let's see if CBS sicks with MSU-MU or switches away before the buzzer.
Marquette just scored their first points of the game. A full :19 before the midway point of the first half. Yeah, that did take awhile (9 minutes and 41 seconds).
I realize that not everyone understands my need for, and occasional obsession with the Nintendo Wii (a video game system that I do not yet own). The interest gravitates around my belief that playing a sports video game by acting out the sport can only make the game about a billion times better.
The game that I've wanted to see on the Wii from the beginning was Tiger Woods golf.
Until recently I could only imagine what playing Tiger Woods on the Wii would look like, but now (thanks to the power of YouTube) you can see how to play.
EA Sports has even started running TV ads of the actual Tiger swinging the Wiimote, as if I needed anything else to stir up my excitement about this game and its March release date. In fact, I don't think I've been this excited about a video game since the original World Series Baseball game came out.
You can tell you're getting older when you realize how much you enjoy the low key, upbeat news stories of CBS News Sunday Morning. This is to say nothing of the fact that you can tell you're older because you're actually awake for CBS Sunday Morning.
Oh, and can you think of a more relaxing way to start the day than the nature scenery they leave you with every week? Ah...
Twice I have now been at a Target store where they had at least one PlayStation 3 available for purchase, but at both of those locations (and all the other stores I've visited) there was not a single Nintendo Wii available.
Lame.
How am I going to use Tiger Woods 07 to get ready for the golf season if I can't get my hands on a Wiimote?
We had a great trip and a good flight considering the weather. There was, however, one unique feature on the plane...
During the traditional here-is-how-you-fasten-your-seat-belt, secure-your-mask-before-securing-your-child's briefing the flight attendant explained that the plane was equipped with three restrooms -- one in the front, two in the back. She then proceeded to rather awkwardly explain that the restroom in the front was missing a toilet seat, and suggested that as a result the restroom in the front might best be used only by the men on board. This suggestion made it the only plane I've ever been on that was equipped with a urinal.
According to the flight attendant, the seat was stolen during the flight back to the U.S. from Mexico.
One can only assume the seat was stolen by a passenger who clearly didn't realize he was no longer on a booze cruise.
As for finding the guy who stole that seat...I'd recommend checking emergency rooms to see if they've treated anyone with any sort of odd, unexplained rash.
Just took a trip to Cancun. It was lovely, but the travel portion of the trip seemed a little out of sync with the calendar.
The in-flight movie? Deck the Halls with Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito. Deck the Halls?!? It's practically St. Patrick's Day! Very odd selection -- they must have gotten a heck of a cheap price for the rights to show that one at 30,000 feet. But hey, you've got to give the Deck the Halls folks credit for getting their film in front of as many people as possible -- more people probably saw that movie in one plane trip than the entire time it was in theaters.
Then, once we landed, it was like Valentine's Day because -- according to signs posted all over the airport-- "Love Is In The Air at the Airport Gift Shop." Hmmm...heart shaped signs. At least this holiday-related event was closer to the calendar page.
Oddly, I did not encounter any belated Groundhog Day events during the trip.
When appearing on Family Feud, no matter how bad your family member's answer is you must allow half a beat for the stupidity of that answer to sink in, and then shout, "GOOD ANSWER! GOOD ANSWER!" while clapping your hands.
This saves the family member from the embarrassment of giving a crappy answer without any emotional support, and allows the television audience to speculate that stupidity does run in the family.
Baseball is back (thank you) and the Northsiders are, um...well, back to mid-season form.
This report on the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting to camp from the Chicago Tribune:
Carlos Zambrano met with reporters and announced he's close to signing a five-year deal, though team sources insisted there's a long way to go and Zambrano has not received a concrete offer.
Kerry Wood skipped the first throwing session after hurting his ribs Monday slipping out of a hot tub, making him the first Cub to be sidelined with an injury.
Alfonso Soriano reported early. Jeff Samardzija was ordered to get a haircut. Ted Lilly insisted the blood from his fight with his former manager was "tobacco chew." Jason Marquis took Sammy Sosa's number. And manager Lou Piniella gave his opening speech to pitchers and catchers.
Wow. Keep in mind the whole team isn't even there. With this much drama the Cubs are three or four angst-filled teens away from being a drama on the CW.
...A Dutch gym plans to introduce "Naked Sunday" for people who like to huff and puff in the buff.
...Nude exercisers would be required to put towels down on weight machines and to use disposable seat covers while riding bikes. All machines would be cleaned and disinfected afterward.
There is not enough sanitizer in the world to get me on the exercise bike after a naked, sweaty hindquarters has just dismounted. I don't care how many towels they have under their backside as a protective barrier.
A New York Times article claims that the war in Iraq was lurking just below the surface of all those Super Bowl commercials:
No commercial that appeared last night during Super Bowl XLI directly addressed Iraq, unlike a patriotic spot for Budweiser beer that ran during the game two years ago. But the ongoing war seemed to linger just below the surface of many of this year’s commercials.
More than a dozen spots celebrated violence in an exaggerated, cartoonlike vein that was intended to be humorous, but often came across as cruel or callous.
For instance, in a commercial for Bud Light beer, sold by Anheuser-Busch, one man beat the other at a game of rock, paper, scissors by throwing a rock at his opponent’s head.
In another Bud Light spot, face-slapping replaced fist-bumping as the cool way for people to show affection for one another. In a FedEx commercial, set on the moon, an astronaut was wiped out by a meteor. In a spot for Snickers candy, sold by Mars, two co-workers sought to prove their masculinity by tearing off patches of chest hair.
There was also a bank robbery (E*Trade Financial), fierce battles among office workers trapped in a jungle (CareerBuilder), menacing hitchhikers (Bud Light again) and a clash between a monster and a superhero reminiscent of a horror movie (Garmin).
It was as if Madison Avenue were channeling Doc in “West Side Story,” the gentle owner of the candy store in the neighborhood that the two street gangs, the Jets and Sharks, fight over. “Why do you kids live like there’s a war on?” Doc asks plaintively. (Well, Doc, this time, there is.)
During other wars, Madison Avenue has appealed to a yearning for peace. That was expressed in several Super Bowl spots evocative of “Hilltop,” the classic Coca-Cola commercial from 1971, when the Vietnam War divided a world that needed to be taught to sing in perfect harmony.
Coca-Cola borrowed pages from its own playbook with two whimsical spots for Coca-Cola Classic, “Happiness Factory” and “Video Game,” that were as sweet as they were upbeat. The commercials, by Wieden & Kennedy, provided a welcome counterpoint to the martial tone of the evening.
Those who wish the last four years of history had never happened could find solace in several commercials that used the device of ending an awful tale by revealing it was only a dream.
This analysis is probably correct. Iraq malaise could be affecting TV commercials. But rather than probe the commercials that closely, Spaulding prefers to just state the obvious -- this year's Super Bowl commercials just flat out sucked.
Here is a look at five commercials Spaulding can't believe the company spent $2.5 million for 30 seconds to run:
Emerald Nuts
So, lemme get this straight. If I eat nuts nobody messes with my desk... What if I eat raisins, or an apple? Will some obscure celebrity come and clean up my workspace?
Bud Light
Bud reminds us that apes aren't as smart as humans...something only their consumers would need to be reminded of.
Bud Light
You throw a rock at somebody's head just so you can get a bottle of beer. You know who isn't getting any beer? The guy who threw the rock while he does eight to 10 at the county pen.
Snickers
Homophobia...great, such a modern mindset. Does this mean you'll be selling your product at 1968 prices?
Bud Light
Break down everyone into stereotypes and then making fun of immigrants! What a great way to sell beer!
These ads are deplorable. Someone just make them stop. Bring back animated frogs, tell me where the beef is, have Michael Jordan sell me something -- anything -- just don't make me sit through more of this crap.
I'm sure it tested well with the dim witted, but we deserve better. Madison Avenue -- take a do-over during March Madness. Get to work.
WASHINGTON - Calling Sen. Hillary Clinton a "panderer and a flatterer," consumer advocate Ralph Nader said yesterday he'd be sorely tempted to mount his own 2008 presidential campaign if she wins the Democratic nod.
Really, Ralph, you might run for President?!? Didn't you do enough to keep our country moving forward by taking momentum away from Gore in 2000?
If you're going to spend $2.5 million on a Super Bowl ad, shouldn't you have to actually create a "new" ad? I don't want to see a $2.5 million re-run. Yes, I'm talking to you T-Mobile Wade/Barkley commercial.
Therefore, effective next year's Super Bowl, all advertisers must create new content in order to be eligible to run an ad during the game. Spaulding Law.
Spaulding, Get Your Foot Off the Boat! is a zany assortment of serious commentary on the news shaping our world; well-, ill-, or half-informed criticism; and sarcastic ramblings. Please don't take its attempts at humor too seriously, or dismiss any potential good ideas that could make a positive difference in our world too quickly.
A critical eye, interest in a healthy debate and sense of humor should be applied when reviewing this blog's (or any blog's for that matter) postings.
