88th Edition - 1/24/07

• Tennis anyone?

The Australian Open is going on, and I find myself paying attention because Andy Roddick is still alive. I don't know why my interest drifts toward American tennis players. After all, Roger Federer is considered the greatest tennis player of all time, yet I barely pay attention. Maybe it is because I grew up with Andre Agassi, Michael Change, Jim Courier and Pete Sampras. I even remember Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe making runs late in there career. Maybe I just read what was reported when I was little, but now I find myself not paying attention to tennis unless an American (right now, Roddick or Andy Blake) makes a run.

Long story short, I finally get mildly excited about the Australian Open and now Roddick has to face Federer, which no one expects to happen. Oh well. My friend John on the other hand loves when one individual destroys all the others, he must have been a big fan of Stalin as well.

• Vegas is coming

What started out as an enjoyable vacation, has turned into pain. I am leaving for Las Vegas on Thursday night, returning Monday afternoon. The main reason is for an ultimate frisbee tournament. Once a year, Iowa Hawkeye Alumni get together to play one tournament together. We've been to Kansas City, Washington D.C., Atlanta and now we are adding Vegas to the list. Normally we have 18 guys. For some awful reason, we only have 11 this year. Plus, most of us haven't been keeping up in the "active" department. And I just got a bad cold (as opposed to a good one), which means I would like to be left alone and have nine hours of sleep a night. Not happening. Clearly, the only good that can come of this trip is winning. And no, I'm not talking about the frisbee. I plan on sitting down to my first poker table in Vegas. I'd have to be an idiot to assume the money wouldn't be following shortly after that.

• Tank (not a reference to the James Garner movie from the 80s)

Tank Johnson is allowed to go to the Super Bowl. He's currently on house arrest, awaiting trial for gun charges. It's his third arrest in 18 months. Johnson has been allowed to go to work (practice and games), but only in Illinois. This helps the Bears, and it helps the Judge's chances of securing season tickets for next season. If Johnson thinks about it, he's been more "disrespected" than anyone else at the Super Bowl. Neighbors, cops, judges, lawyers and coaches have all "disrespected" Tank. Hopefully that will continue and he will channel this disrespect into an MVP performance in Miami ... unless alcohol and guns get to him first.

• Stuff

*I'm not looking forward to the movie, but "Ghost Rider" has set up a Web site, where you can have your head burn just like in the movie. You have to have a web cam. And please, don't try this without the special effects. Click here

*The band James is getting back together. Unfortunately, you probably only know them as they guys that did "Laid," but trust me, they are amazing. What's not amazing is, at this point, no U.S. dates. Click here

*Want to see Estelle Getty ("Golden Girls") working out? The correct answer is yes. Click here

*Ewan McGregor will be playing Kurt Cobain in a bio-pic.

*Here's a list of the top ten most annoying kid performances by Cracked. Click here