113th Edition - 3/12/07

113 - A French hip-hop group -- http://www.113online.com/ AND an inside joke in animation movies - A113 appears in "A Bug's Life," "Cars," and "The Simpsons." It is a reference is a CalArts classroom where many animators got their education.

• NCAA - dance

Sung by Mr. David Barrett ...

The ball is tipped and there you are
you're running for your life
you're a shooting star
And all the years no one knows
just how hard you worked
but now it shows...
ONE SHINING MOMENT,
IT'S ALL ON THE LINE
ONE SHINING MOMENT,
THERE FROZEN IN TIME

OK, now I'm in the mood... with the Iowa Hawkeyes not coming close to sniffing the punch at the dance, I have no hopes and dreams at all for the NCAA tournament, except of course for close games and upsets.

The four #1 seeds are no surprise (Florida, North Carolina, Ohio State and Kansas), but Florida claimed the overall #1 even though Ohio State is #1 in both polls. The Big Ten snuck six schools into the tournament, and everyone has decided Drexel got screwed.

• The Big Ten: The Hawks stand alone

Step forward if you finished with a winning record overall AND are going to the post season ... not so fast Iowa. Iowa finished 9-7 in the Big Ten and 17-14 overall and they are done. No NCAA tourney and no NIT. Michigan at 8-8 and 21-12 got the only NIT bid. The lesson as always, the Hawkeyes need to find some community colleges to beat up on before the Big Ten season starts.

• Tennis: Federer can fall

Roger Federer's win streak of 41 straight matches came to an end against Guillermo Canas in the Pacific Life Open. More importantly listen to what he said ...

"It was just a normal loss, like I've had about 100 times on tour," Federer said. "That's normal to tennis. I have no problems. He played very well. I missed my chances. I think he played very well and I didn't think I was playing poorly at all. So it's OK."

I'm starting to like this guy.

• Stuff

*Box Office Recap
1. "300" - $70 million. Biggest March opening ever. It cost $65 million to make the film, but that doesn't take into account all the marketing.
2. "Wild Hogs" - $28 million. I am truly shocked. I figured the bad reviews would affect the box office a little bit, but mainly I assume word-of-mouth from people who saw it would kill this movie. Instead, "Zodiac" fell to $6.7 million.

*Comedian Richard Jeni was shot in the head and killed. Probably by himself, but that's not official yet. I will remember this guy for the rest of my life because of Lobster Claws. In college, before a movie would start in the theater, Richard Jeni would have this little comedy bit sponsored by Coca-cola. I probably saw the thing 40 times. It was NEVER funny, but became a running joke with my friends ... I just spent the past 10 minutes trying to find the bit. Can't.

90th Edition - 1/30/07

• Forecast: Hazy

I'm not talking about the weather. It's my brain. After about 112 hours in Las Vegas and 16 hours of sleep, I'm back. My pocket is lighter but only because of expenses, I broke even in the gambling department. And the way I broke even? Making a two-game parlay on the only available NBA and college basketball games late Sunday night. Didn't even know I won until the next morning.

Craps and poker are now going to be my Vegas games 80 percent of the time, with black jack making up the remainder. For those that know craps (it was my first time), I rolled at a table for 30 minutes straight. People were happy. I was happy. Las Vegas is a great place (this time).

And our ultimate frisbee team (ihurt - Iowa Hawkeye Ultimate Reunion Team) finished 8th out of 20, going 3-2 and being content with how we played.

• Amazing: Sports

*Roger Federer is the Tiger Woods of tennis. Because of my friend John, a die-hard Federer fan, we watched the final match at a ... gentleman's establishment. Federer is just too good. He dropped something like four points in the final two sets on his serve ... I still want them to go back to wooden rackets.

*Tiger Woods is the Roger Federer of golf. He won the Buick again and also recorded his 7th straight win on the PGA tour. Second best streak of all-time.

*The Suns finally stopped winning every single game. The Timberwolves beat them last night to stop the 17-game win streak. They are 33-2 in their last 34 games.

• WSOPC: Friday

Happy Fun Ball (John, Kenzie and me) will be auditioning for the World Series of Pop Culture on Friday morning. If it was today, I would be saying, "It's on the tip on my tongue," every single question. Now, I'll probably just say it every third time.

• Stuff

*I get home at 11 p.m. last night, and decide to watch the SAG awards from my Tivo. "Little Miss Sunshine" won for best overall cast. It might be gaining speed for an Oscar run. I still can't believe "The Departed" isn't winning everything.

*Want to buy a t-shirt for charity designed by Rilo Kiley, Stars, or others? click here

*Indiana Jones starts production in June.

89th Edition - 1/25/07

• Vegas

I don't need another vacation, but one is being thrust upon me. Tonight, I leave for Las Vegas. There will be seven of us, growing to 12 for the weekend. I will come back with stories, hopefully I'll be able to share some with you. Those involving my friend Mark, probably won't be appropriate. I'll be open about my gambling (unless I lose), and of course the ultimate frisbee tournament (our reason for going). So far, I have gone through a half box of kleenex (I have a cold), my right knee throbs when I run, I haven't played in a tournament since last year, and I am trying to win enough money to pay for my fiancee's ring. It has the makings of a fantastic weekend.

I'll be back on Tuesday.

• The Weekly Bull (24-19)

There is a lot of talk about Paul Gasol, the 7 foot Spaniard who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies. The trade would definitely include P.J. Brown and would either be with Ben Gordon or Luol Deng. Deng makes sense because of the depth the Bulls have at small forward, Gordon does not. Gasol is good for about 18 points and 8 rebounds. Most importantly, it would give the Bulls a low-post scoring threat, which is something the Bulls don't have at all ... yes, Ben Wallace, I'm looking at you.

Tonight the Bulls play the Mavs in a chance to see how close they are to the top, and then they have the Heat at home on Saturday night. Both are at home where the Bulls are 18-6.

• Tennis anyone? Not so fast Roddick

It took less than 90 minutes for Roger Federer to be done with Andy Roddick, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2, though there are reports that a sweat was broken by both men. This took place in the early a.m. so I am assuming no one saw it.

• Cubs, meet Floyd

Cliff Floyd is a Cub. Chicago picked up his contract which can be worth $3 million for one year or as much as $17.5 million for two. With that kind of money on the line, it would appear Floyd will be the Cubs left fielder, moving Matt Murton to the bench. Murton had the highest batting average on the Cubs last year. Logic would dictate this young player would get better. Sitting on the bench, it's going to be tough to improve. Murton didn't hit many home runs, and that must be what will cost him his starting job. If Floyd is healthy (pesky bone spur that he had surgery on) he'll probably bat fifth or sixth in the line-up. I don't like the move. Unless of course he returns to his 2005 form where he hit .273 with 34 home runs.

• Stuff

Optimus Prime (from the movie coming this summer)

The Decemberists go on tour in March, there will be a two-night stay in Chicago.

New Music -- Bo Pepper -- http://myspace.com/bopepper (I recommend Buses). This girl doesn't have a record deal yet, so you are getting her REALLY early.

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

5th Edition - 9/11/06

• NFL

Week one is almost over, except of course for the doubleheader on MNF. If the Redskins beat the Vikings and the Chargers beat the Raiders, I will win my week one office pool.

Who was the best this weekend?
QB
Chad Pennington: 319 yards, 2TD
Donavan McNabb: 314 yards, 3TD, 1 INT
(Fantasy Note: Just a hunch, Pennington is still available in most leagues)
RB
Warrick Dunn: 132, OTD
Stephen Jackson: 121, 0TD
(FN: Everyone who owns Dunn and Jackson are annoyed right now because there was no endzone dancing to go along with the yards)
WR
Laveranues Coles: 153, 0TD
Donte Stallworth: 141, 1TD
(I have both these WR on my fantasy team, and they were both on my bench)

Other NFL notes:
*Joe Buck makes the NFL pre- and post game shows on FOX almost unwatchable. I had no idea how much I liked James Brown until he left for CBS. Now I will try them on for size.
*NBC has a new NFL highlight show on at 6 central. Something called, America loves football, and therefore you now have to love NBC or something like that. Kinks need to be worked out. The main one for me would be the idea of NOT immediately showing all the scores. Show the highlight, then the score in the off chance I didn't know the outcome. Trust me, it adds to the drama.
*The Giants didn't even get a endzone bomb at the end of the game. Terrible clock management. The worst offender was Jeremy Shockey who decided four extra yards were more valuable than a stopped clock. Final score 21-26, losing to the Colts. You probably didn't know the Colts and Giants were playing each other though, it definitely wasn't hyped enough.
*The Bears looked great beating up on the Packers 26-0. Unfortunately it's going to be a couple of weeks before we know if the Bears are good, or their opponents are terrible.

• College Football

The Iowa Hawkeyes survived in the most awful, most exciting football game of the weekend. The Hawks finally showed up to play in the 2nd overtime. With a lead of 20-13, Iowa stopped the Syracuse Orangmen eight times within the two yard line. Iowa is 2-0. Ohio State is 2-0. Yet they are worlds apart.

• Baseball

For the second year in a row, my fantasy baseball team lost 7-7 in the playoffs. How is that a loss you ask? My opponent had a lower ERA, that was the tie-braker. With the Cubs, and now me done, baseball better do soemthing pretty special for me to care. The Minnesota Twins are only 2 games behind the Tigers. And there are still 34 teams fighting for the NL wild card.

• Tennis

In the 3rd set of the U.S. Open Finals Andy Roddick realized he was playing Roger Federer. Roddick lost in 4 sets. The oddest moment was Tiger Woods watching with mild interest while sitting next to Federer's girlfriend. They had just met 20 minutes before the match.

• My Picks

I am not a genius. But I'm close. I missed my most confident pick this weekend, but nothing else.
j - College: 2-1
j - NFL: 3-0
mike d - NFL: 3-0
Using week one's logic, neither j or mike d will lose a game against the spread all year. Brilliant.

I will be looking for someone to go against in College Football as well. Look for mike d's NFL picks in the comments section on Friday. And you can check out more of his wacky life at mike's world.

3rd Edition - 9/07/06

• Baseball

Just as football begins, baseball is trying to remind us they still exist ... in the form of the Florida Marlins. Trying to name more than two Marlin players just got easier (Willis and Cabrera). Anibal (not Annabelle - but close) Sanchez threw a no-hitter last night, beating the Diamondbacks 2-0. How can you NOT want to be a Marlins fan right now? They are all young, three games back in the wild card race, they are led by the future Cub manager, Joe Girardi and they've won two World Series since their 1993 existence. I guess there are two drawbacks ... The team will probably relocate soon and if they don't, Sanchez will be a Yankee in the next two years. You just know there is a dad out there refusing to buy his kid a Sanchez jersey.

• Tennis

Men's tennis, without Agassi, is interesting? This is amazing. Andy Roddick is into the semi's. Blake is going to play #1 Federer (Cyborg Sampras - personality and all), and the fashion is more amusing than ever. After college football and the NFL, and perhaps a baseball game or two, and maybe golf (is Woods playing this weekend), I am totally watching tennis this weekend.

• More Madden and SNL

I know I should be done talking about this, but I forgot the most important thing about Madden hosting SNL in 1982. To introduce the show he said, "Take it, New York!" -- WHAT?! No "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!"?

So I ask you, is this the only time this has happened? Are there other cases out there? I watch a ton of SNL and can't remember, but I do have a hideous memory.

• NFL

When the Dolphins and Steelers meet tonight, you can throw out the record books, mainly because they are both 0-0. Starting tomorrow, I will attempt to select three college and three NFL games. The goal is to simply finish over .500 - I don't think j has a chance though. (First time I have referred to myself in 3rd person)

Jason Whitlock of ESPN said Michael Vick needs to become a pocket passer to get the Falcons to the Super Bowl. This is like dating a model because she's hot, and then leaving her home all the time. The Falocns need to SHOW VICK OFF. That's the reason you take him on the team. You gamble that his body will hold up. Period. The QB position isn't the only thing that can get a team into the playoffs and making Vick into something he's not is just ignorance. Look for the Titans to try and change the throwing motion and ability of Vince Young as well.

• Stuff

There will be the occassion when I don't talk sport. In fact, it's happening right now.

Watch Conan O'Brien in the opening of the Emmy's. The TV world will be much funnier when O'Brien replaces Leno on the Tonight Show.

Ok Go is a Chicago band - they give great video.

1st Edition - 9/05/06

• Football

College Football is back. Which means the NFL is moments away, and men everywhere finally can start ignoring their families/yard work/the rest of the world on the weekends ... Monday nights, some Thursday nights and random moments during the week while they are updating their Fantasy Football teams.

So what did we learn?
*Texas has the greatest name for a quarterback ever (Colt McCoy - 177 yards passing, 3 TD).
*Ohio State is potent on offense and impotent of D. And either THE Ohio State University or Texas will be out of the national championship picture after they play next weekend.
*Notre Dame is perhaps, just perhaps, slightly overrated. They eeked out a victory over Georgia Tech, 14-10. Next week - Penn State.
*It's always amusing to listen to local guys. During the Iowa vs. Montana game, they were talking Drew Tate as a Heisman candidate. The only way this is happening is if Iowa doesn't lose a game all season, and if Tate's new receiver Brodell actually hangs on to the ball. He dropped four by my count.
*Miami's season is now dependent on playing perfect football for the rest of the season and hoping that everyone else messes up at least once. Perhaps playing a highly ranked opponent early in the season isn't the smartest path, even if it's more entertaining for the viewers. The rest of college football knows this. Which is why only two ranked teams (Miami and Cal) lost this week.

• Baseball

The Cubs are a half game away from being the worst team in the worst league ... But, if Dusty had his horses healthy, I'm sure it would be a completely different story. Zambrano might be done for the season, so they can stop pretending he had a chance at the Cy Young. With less than a month left in the season, it's time to make some pointless predictions that are sure to go wrong ... But if they're right, you won't hear the end of it.

AL MVP: Derek Jeter
NL MP: Ryan Howard
AL playoffs: Detriot, Chicago, Oakland, New York
NL playoffs: St. Louis, New York, Florida, Los Angeles. World Series: Yankees vs Mets. Yawn.

• Golf

Tiger Woods won his 5th in a row at the Deutsche Bank Championship. He is tied for second with Ben Hogan for 6 in a row. Byron Nelson won 11 in a row. This streak is just as impossible as Joe DiMaggio's 56. But here's the difference, NO ONE in baseball is as good as Tiger is in golf. The sport is fairly boring when Tiger is winning every third tournament, but this streak is now becoming must watch for sports fans.

• Tennis

Andre Agassi is done with tennis. I can't imagine a reason I watch the sport now. He lost to Benjamin Becker in a four-set match that was much closer on paper. Agassi was a shell of his former self. I was just hoping he could pull a Jimmy Connors and make a run. After the match, Agassi sat and sobbed in his chair, soaking up the center court moment for the last time. That was a much better moment than his prepared speech to the crowd. But he deserved whatever he wanted to do after his final match. If it wasn't for his personality, tennis would have been very boring the last 21 years.

Good Day: Andy Roddick rolled over Becker and gives hope to America tennis, for at least one more day.

Bad Day: QB Jeff George was cut by the Raiders after just six days. Making this article, from ESPN Page 2's Jason Whitlock VERY pointless.

Worse Day: Cubs Catcher Michael Barrett was hit in the groin by a ball. He had bleeding inside his scrotum. Amazingly, he took an at-bat before stopping play. If you were curious, a bleeding scrotum takes about two to three weeks to heal.