LAZY LAZY LAZY!

This is what I have been in regards to the blog lately. Here is a sampling of what i have been doing lately instead of posting on this thing:

• Playing with the baby.
• Feeding the baby.
• Changing the baby's wet and poopy diapers. I had one leak out the top (of all places) the other day.
  
• Trying the keep the house relatively orderly.
• Napping in the middle of the day when I get a chance.
• Listening to the neighbor's annoying little yippy dog barking at everything...hoping to god that it doesn't wake up the baby (in case you are wondering...that is what is going on right now!)
• Watching TV.
• Getting stuff ready for the swim team in the fall...which includes making a $3,000 purchase of new lane markers that we raised nearly $2,500 of on our own!
  
• Wasting time on the internet.

Here is one of the places I have been wasting time on the internet lately. It is a series of games where you kick the asses of a bunch of penguins in a battery of events...including using baseball bats, golf clubs, and snowballs.

http://www.yetisports.org/

I have also been in be regular time-killers, brewerfan.net and badgermaniac.com ...though I have made Melissa happy by not getting into nearly as many arguments about trivial things as I usually do.

Summer is almost here and I am not working for the first time in 12 years. I am going to feel like such a slacker...though I already do at times...especially during and after those midday naps! I am sure Anna will keep us busy. Speaking of...here are a couple pictures of Anna at her first of many (I am sure) Brewer game. From the looks of it, she had fun!

Final Four Preview

It is funny how the performance of one team over the last few weeks of a season can really kill your motivation to write about college basketball. This does not mean that I have not been watching.

I have actually been thriving. For the first time ever, I told myself that I was not going to enter a pool. Turns out that in the bracket that I picked for my annual battle with Melissa, I picked 3 of the final four teams correct (guess which one I missed!). Anyways, here is how I see the weekend going down.

Game #1 - George Mason vs. Florida

Simply put, George Mason is out of gas, and it takes alot of gas to hang with the Gators. Gators by 14.

Game #2 - UCLA vs. LSU

In the battle of acronyms, I have to side with the guys I picked to win the whole thing before the tournament even started. This game is going to be ugly, with the scores maybe pushing the 50's. Both teams are young, but both teams are strong-willed. I am really excited for this game.

It is also the game that will decide whether or not I beat Melissa in my bracket pick for the first time EVER!

Anna's New Tricks

Here are some of the new things that Anna has been learning in the last couple of weeks.

She has had a great teacher for the past few months, but Mom is going back to work and Dad is taking over. Hopefully he does as good of a job!

The Best of the Rest

Here are what I think are the highlights from conference tournament action today and tonight:

NOTE: These are in no particular order...mainly the order that I think of them!

1. Syracuse: I think they are making a statement by beating #1 Connecticut today. Another win and you really have to give them serious condition...especially since the committee claims to be looking for "the 65 best teams in the country". Anyone who can fight through the Big East tourney deserves consideration to be in that group.

2. A10 Games: 3 of the top 4 seeds fell today, spelling doom for such fence sitters as the entire Missouri Valley Conference. Should this happen a couple more times, there will be lots of unhappy campers on Sunday at about 5:30 (when they realize their name is not being called)

3. Marquette: I know I should really be cheering for them...since their play no longer has any "real" effect on the Badgers, but I can't help myself. I guess I can find it in my heart to "not cheer against them" next week at this time...unless they get seeded well ahead of Wisconsin.

There is much more that I can think of, but really don't feel like writing about. Look for more tomorrow as I continue to comment on the goings on across the country...to myself and my 2 loyal readers (and that is a generous number!)

Day One In The Books

I wish I could have seen more, but the first day of the BTT is complete. The big surprise of the day seems to be Minnesota beating Michigan.

Even more surprising was the way it happened. Minnesota seemed to have the game in hand, forcing Michigan to play the foul game. But...the Gophers kept missing, and missing, and missing.

Between that and some cold shooting, the Gophers were able to "survive and advance".

Big day of games tomorrow...so big that I don't think I can spend a whole day at work!

NOTE: Though my big upset team (Michigan) lost, I will stick with my previous prediction and have the Gophers beating Iowa...unless they have to shoot free throws!

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

The first game of the BTT is inthe books, and I was right with 2 of my 3 predictions:

1) Penn State beats Northwestern. CHECK!

Final score was 60-42.

2) The game was going to be ugly. CHECK!

NW shot 31% from the field, Penn State missed 11 free throws, and the winner only scored 60 points.

3) The over/under I suggested was 114 1/2. NOPE!

It actually went under, but you should expect that when Northwestern and Penn State meet.

On to the next game...Michigan vs. Minnesota

Big Ten Tournament Analysis

I will add more thought to this Thursday morning, but I want to get my thoughts out there before the games start, so that when I pick all 10 games correctly, people cannot say that I cheated.

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THURSDAY'S GAMES

Game #1: #8 Penn State vs. #9 Northwestern

People like to talk about it being so difficult to beat a team three times in one year...I say hogwash. It will be ugly...if I had to handicap the game, the over/under would be 114 1/2.

WINNER: Penn State

Game #2: #7 Michigan vs. #10 Minnesota

Minnesota's season can be broken into two sections...the part without Vincent Grier and the part with Vincent Grier. Unfortunately, Vincent Grier will not be able to neutralize the inside-outside game that Michigan can play when they use their big men (Brown, Sims, Petway) effectively with their guard play (Horton and Harris).

WINNER: Michigan

Game #3: #6 Michigan State vs. #11 Purdue

The rest of the conference got a little gift when Michigan State was forced to play a Thursday game. I see no reason why the Spartans will not dominate a continually depleted Purdue squad.

WINNER: Michigan State

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FRIDAY'S GAMES

Game #4: #1 Ohio State vs. #8 Penn State

Again, this is another classic mismatch. A rested Ohio State team should be able to dismantle a physically weak Penn State team

WINNER: Ohio State

Game #5: #4 Wisconsin vs. #5 Indiana

This game is the biggest wild card so far. Both Indiana and Wisconsin have played Dr. Jeckyl and Hr. Hyde all season. Indiana seems to have pulled it back together after Mike Davis announced his resignation, but ahve looked pretty awful at times, including a terrible loss at Wisconsin. The Badgers are very similar. They started hot but are only 5-8 after losing two of their big men (Landry and Stiemsma) to academics. Someone has to win, and the team that decided to show up in the correct incarnation will do it. I really hope if is Wisconsin (for obvious reasons) but I think Marco Killingsworth is starting to re-emerge and will dominate the physically soft and depleted Wisconsin big men.

WINNER: Indiana

Game #6: #2 Iowa vs. #7 Michigan

Every tournament needs an "upset", and I think Michigan is the team to pull it off. Some out there think they need to make a strong showing in order to get a bid to the NCAA tourney. I think Coach Amaker will be able to sell the team on this and will come out and surprise an Iowa team that has some great history in the BTT.

WINNER: Michigan

Game #7: #3 Illinois vs. #6 Michigan State

I commented before that the rest of the Big Ten should be thankful that Michigan State has been forced to play on Thursday, and I think Illinois will be the big benefactor of this "extra" game. I see a very close, well-played game, with the power of the Illini overtaking the Spartans in the waning minutes.

WINNER: Illinois

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SATURDAY'S SEMI-FINALS

Game #8: #7 Michigan vs. #3 Illinois

Michigan will meet the same fate that their rival from East Lansing met the day before. They will hang with the Illini, but in the end, the big men will cancel each other out and the superior outside shooting of the Illini will prevail. This game and this result hinges on Dee Brown re-emerging from the "slump" he has been in (if you can call it that!)

WINNER: Illinois

Game #9: #1 Ohio State vs. #5 Indiana

The "home crowd" of the Hoosiers will play a factor, but I see the Buckeyes negating this advantage early in the second half. I see a close game throughout the first half, but the Buckeyes should be able to take over and handily win, being able to ready themselves for the big match-up on Sunday with the Illini.

WINNER: Ohio State

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SUNDAY'S FINAL

Game #10: #1 Ohio State vs. #3 Illinois

I see no real reason to preview this game, since the likelihood of me actually being correct is slim to none...probably closer to that latter! But...I will still at least pick a winner for this game. And the 2006 Big Ten Tournament Champion is...

ILLINOIS

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We will see how I do. As the games progress, I will attempt to continue to prognosticate the results, as well as what will happen when the brackets are announced on Sunday after the BTT.

Let The Madness Begin

When I looked at my watch this morning, I noticed it said "29"...then I smiled.

I realized that I got to set my watch ahead to "1", which means that my favorite month is about to start...MARCH!!

March is my favorite month for one reason, college basketball. Hearing things like the folliwing send shiver down my spine:

• Championship Week
• Brackets
• Buzzer Beaters
• Cinderella
• Selection Sunday
• Final Four

I am so pumped. Look forward to some analysis of the tournament, both before and after the bracket come out.

When Will This Woman Stop?

Hasn't Cindy Sheehan realized that nobody cares about her anymore? Does she know what a news cycle is? Does she know that her news cycle is up? Turns out now that her newest idea is to challenge Dianne Feinstein for her Senate seat.

LINK

Sheehan says, "She voted for the war. She continues to vote for the funding. She won't call for an immediate withdrawal of the troops."

Maybe this is because there are actually people out there that support our troops and what they are doing. Everyone doesn't have your one-track mind. Or they actually realize that if we pull out troops now, we have just wasted the last 3 years of work in Iraq.

Why do this? Haven't you made your point?

Does she really think people will vote for her? Probably not.
Does she really think she has a chance to win? Probably not.
Does she have any idea about any other part of our country, besides how to protest a war? Probably not.

At least she admits it.

"If I decided to run, I would have no illusions of winning, but it would bring attention to all the peace candidates in the country," she said.

You have made your point Cindy, you do not support the war. You do not need to waste the time of the voters and taxpayers of California by running for Senate.

Now find your way back into everyday life. Get a job. Contribute to society positively. We have had enough of you.

For Your Baby Fix

Here are a few more pictures of Anna taken by Grandma Rhoda while they were babysitting last night. As you can see, Anna is starting to talk and smile more and more. I think she will start belting out sentences sometime next week!

She has also found a new friend. The first picture is of her and her friend. She loves it. If she ever gets sick of that piece of paper, we are in trouble!

For those who haven't heard, Anna's echo test and her hip ultrasounds both came back negative, so she has a clean bill of health until the next barrage of tests gets ordered (just kidding). She goes back in about two weeks for shots (boo!).

More Government Waste

While some cities have decided that they need to voice their opinion on the Iraq war on a separate ballot, the city of Milwaukee has decided that they need to follow suit and put a referendum on the November ballot that asks about the withdrawl of troops from Iraq.

Did we really pay our aldermen to discuss whether or not this should be out on the ballot? Is the result of this vote binding? Is this just a way for people to feel good about themselves? What is the point?

The answers to the above questions...NO, NO, YES, and I DON'T KNOW!

What an absolute waste of time. Never mind the real problems in our city. Let's focus our efforts on something that we essentially have no say in.

Pissing Time Away

I'm not quite sure how I got to this site, but while wasting time today at lunch, I found "The Best Place To Piss Away Your Time on the Internet"

This site is urinal.net.

If you do enough searching, you can find a picture of the troughs at Camp Randall Stadium. I am not sure if these still exist after the renovations of the past couple years, but they sure were fun!

I still marvel at some of the stuff I find my way to on the Internet!

More Pictures

These are the rest of the pictures that I have been able to upload and host on the internet. Some are bigger or smaller than others...I am still learning the host I use.

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/5373/annabackfromdoctor8rw.jpg
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/5579/annahiding4ip.jpg
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/4688/anna0237hp.jpg
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/7051/annachristmas8ov.jpg
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/1787/towelhead1sx.jpg
http://img359.imageshack.us/img359/1204/annainswing65yv.jpg
http://img316.imageshack.us/img316/4826/anna0646do.jpg
http://img485.imageshack.us/img485/6255/anna0311uv.jpg

Hopefully I can get some more up in the next couple of days!

Baseball HOF Thoughts

The inductees (check that...inductee) to the Baseball Hall of Fame was announced today. The big news to me is not that Bruce Sutter got the call for the Hall. It isn't even the fact that he was the only person to get the call. The part about the Hall voting that intrigues me the most is the bottom of the list.

Here is a small sampling of players who received votes to get into the HALL OF FAME...the highest honor a baseball player can receive:

Walt Weiss
Gregg Jefferies (Who's name was actually spelled wrong on ESPN.com's list of votes)
Doug Jones
Gary Gaetti

How can you even think of putting a guy like Walt Weiss in the same category as a player like Ozzie Smith, Joe Tinker, and Honus Wagner. He was the 1988 Rookie of the Year though, I guess.

And I guess Gregg Jefferies led the league in doubles in 1990. He was also an all-star.

I hope these votes were jokes...because if they weren't, I have some serious questions to ask of these voters.

For the record, I would vote for Sutter and Goose Gossage (a little too similar to pick one and not the other) and possibly Andre Dawson if someone convinced me enough.

Ask and You Shall Receive

I have heard through the grapevine that some people are looking for pictures of the baby. I have posted a couple of pictures here.

If you are itching for more, check out the web pages at the end of this post. There should be some links that will lead you to more.

This Made Me Chuckle

Some people may not find this in the best taste...or even funny, but I did.

WHY YOU NEVER QUESTION A DRUNK

A woman was shopping at her local supermarket, where she selected:

A half-gallon of 2% milk,
A carton of eggs,
A quart of orange juice,
A head of romaine lettuce,
A 2 lb. can of coffee,
And a 1 lb. package of bacon.

As she was unloading her items on the conveyor belt to check out, a drunk standing behind her watched as she placed the items in front of the cashier. While the cashier was ringing up her purchases, the drunk calmly stated, "You must be single."

The woman was a bit startled by this proclamation, but she was intrigued by the derelict's intuition, since she was indeed single. She looked at her six items on the belt and saw nothing particularly unusual about
her selections that could have tipped off the drunk to her marital status.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she said "Well, you know what, you're absolutely correct, but how on earth did you know that?"

The drunk replied, "Cause you're ugly."

Is There a Better Way to Waste Money?

This was just reported on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's website:

Businessman to seek Kohl's Senate seat

Madison - Business owner Dave Redick announced Thursday he will run against Democratic U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl on an anti-war and anti-tax platform.

Redick, who moved to Wisconsin from California in 2004, said he supports a phased pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq because the “real reasons” President Bush invaded the country was to control oil, defend Israel and establish permanent military bases.

“I’m a Republican, and we’ve got a problem - it’s Bush,” he said. “He has betrayed us and it’s time to stand up to him.”

In California, Redick ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House and state Assembly as a Republican and Libertarian.

Redick, 70, is a semi-retired telecommunications salesman and owner of Badger Ventures, a venture capital firm.

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Hmm...where to start? I will just make a list of why this is one of the most ridiculous ideas I have heard in quite a while. The reasons go in the same order as the article

1. Who? We need some name recognition here. People knew who Russ Darrow was and look how he did!

2. Anti-war and anti-tax are not going to get you very far...especially when we have a Senator in Wisconsin that is very outspoken against the war.

3. Redick moved to Wisconsin from California. Carpetbagger?? You really think you are going to beat a man who is vested in the state by owning a professional sports franchise (which he won't sell unless he finds a buyer who will keep the team in Milwaukee) and has also donated money ($20 million) to build a sports arena at the state's largest university? Get real!

4. He's a Republican...enough said. Republicans do not fare very well in Wisconsin.

5. He says President Bush is the problem. I have a feeling people who agree with him are squarely on Senator Kohl's side.

6. He ran and got beat for a California House seat AND a state assembly seat. Both of these are less prestigious than being a Senator.

7. He lost those elections.

8. He is 70 years old. Nobody is going to elect a 70 year old man to a 6 year term for the first time. If it is an incumbent, it is a different story.

9. He ran as a Libertarian AND a Republican. Make up your mind.

10. You don't unseat a 3-term incumbent in the Senate.They die or retire.

Here is my idea. Drop out, let the Senator run unopposed, and save everyone money.

Save the Senator's money.
Save our money (by not having to stage an election)
Save the government's money by not having to use election campaign funds.

PLEASE!?!?!

Another Perfect Transition

It seems like this is too good to be true.

Just like the transition out of college basketball season, the transition into it is nearly perfect. Here is why I say this.

As I have said in the past, I am always intrigued that the NCAA Basketball Championship is played on the exact same day that the Major League Baseball season starts.

Now to add to this...the college football season ended on the same day that conference play started in the Big 10. After watching a fabulous Rose Bowl last night, I get to turn around and watch the Badgers start the Big Ten season against Iowa.

How sweet it is!

Moon Away...in Maryland

I guess I am making up for lost time over the past month...when I got lazy on here.

While reading Drudge today, I saw an interesting headline about the legality of "mooning".

Long story short, neighbors get in an argument, one moons the other, the mooner gets a ticket for indecent exposure.

The mooner fights the case in court and the judge acquits the man, claiming that showing the buttocks is not indecent. Here was his explanation...

"If exposure of half of the buttock constituted indecent exposure, any woman wearing a thong at the beach at Ocean City would be guilty,"

How true...though it would be nice to see some people who wear thongs at the beach be punished.

Sharing the Blame?

The more I read about this ridiculous coverage of the West Virginia mine incident, the more I wonder who is really to blame.

I still lay most of the blame sqaurely on the media. From what I have read, it seems that the media seemed satisfied using "an unnamed source" to report that 12 people who were presumed dead were actually alive. Sure, you can use "unnamed sources" when reporting less important news...but not when reporting living vs. dying!

As I read more about it, it seems like the mining company made some terrible mistakes. The head of the company supposedly knew that the information about people living was false 20 minutes afer the first report came through. Yet he waited for almost 3 hours to break the news. Here is what he said this morning...

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At a news conference today, Mr. Hatfield said that he waited to correct the false impression even after a second call from the rescuers made it clear that the first call had been misunderstood. He said he waited because it was not clear then whether all 12 were dead or just some of them.

"Let's put this in perspective," he said, explaining his state of mind at the time. "Who do I tell not to celebrate?"

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Here is what you tell people:

"People, it seems like the first report we got was incorrect. We misunderstood what was told to us by the rescuers. We aren't sure about how many are alive and how many are dead. We will let you all know for sure as soon as we possibly can."

In short, you tell EVERYONE not to celebrate. You tell them that you are unsure of what the real story is and that the situation will be cleared up as soon as possible.

By doing this, you take away some of the anguish of the families and friends (though not much!) as well as stop the news media from filing stories with misinformation...thus taking the egg off the face of such credible news sources as the New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today ;).

If everyone would have waited for an OFFICIAL word, this mess could have been avoided.

The Media is Out of Control

I copied and pasted this from a message board that I posted on. I don't have the time to revise or re-type. Sorry!

But...I am still royally pissed about how this stuff went down! This is my summary of how the media covered the mining accident in West Virginia last night...

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9:30 pm: all are still assumed to be dead...rescuers very close
11:00 pm: 12 are reported to be alive. only 1 casualty. press conference to follow
sometime between 11:00pm and 7:00am (i was sleeping!): all but one are dead?

the leadership of the mine owners blame a miscommunication. what?!?!? how can you miscommunicate "dead" and "alive". they seem like black and white to me.

this is just another example of the media throwing integrity out the window to "break the story". whatever happened to checking your sources...or getting the information from more than one credible source...especially when we are talking about people's lives! this isnt lyle overbay supposedly getting traded for shea hillenbrand, then getting traded for someone else. this is life and death...you dont take this stuff to air unless you are 100% sure of your sources. you dont report rumors when it comes to life and death. this is getting really annoying. is it the media's job to report the news...not make the news.

with this incident, the story is now how the media misreported the information...not that fact that 12 people are dead.

i can believe how the families and friends of those killed feel. i would be out for blood.

Final Thoughts:

How ridiculous. How the hell are we suppsoed to believe anything we see/hear/read on the news anymore??? It seems like so many stories are inaccurate these days. Dan Rather...Hurricane Katrina stuff...and now life and death. Utter ridiculousness!!!