John Goodman's tour of New Orleans

Now that the Bush administration has unofficially given up on their Iraq venture/debacle, perhaps they could pay some attention to the major US city that was destroyed on their watch and has yet to be rebuilt or protected from a similar inundation.

Read here for Mr. Goodman's experience.

For what little it's worth, shortly after I moved to New Orleans, I happened to see John Goodman outside his wife's store on Magazine Street. I wouldn't have recognized him except that someone walking in front of me turned around and told me who he was and that the store was owned by his wife.

Oh, and my apologies to Yanni for including a post with links in it. I know that the internet is a confusing enough place as it is. However, advanced internet users often rely on the complicated and challenging process of 'clicking' on 'links' to 'navigate' to other web sites of interest. If all of that is confusing to Yanni, perhaps he could have Senator Stephens (R) explain it to him.

Fantasy Football Conundrum

For years I have thoroughly enjoyed whipping the Manning brothers in fantasy football. Whether it was a league Colin ran (before he got too stressed out by it that he couldn't do it anymore) or whether it was beating Canon in our law school league or my league - Yannipalooza - I've always enjoyed taking their money in sports knowledge games. The only exception, however, was the year that I won fantasy football money from Colin's league and Canon and Colin never paid me my winnings. But, I digress.

My main reading in posting this blog today is to ask our reader(s) a question. Who should be the first overall pick in fantasy football this year. The way I see it there are 3 choices. All 3 of pros and cons. I'd like to know what our reader(s) think. Here are the options:

1) Ladian Tomlinson - This San Diego running back has been the consensus top choice for years. He typically averages 1300-1400 yards; 18-20 touchdowns and 50 or so receptions for another 400 or so yards. One year, in fact, he had over 100 receptions. He is consistently a stud. This year, however, could be different. 2 running backs outperformed him last year statistically - Shaun Alexander and Larry Johnson. And, now Tomlinson has a new QB in Philip Rivers who has never started an NFL game. This could cause teams to put 8 men in the box and hurt his rushing totals.

2) Shaun Alexander - Seattle running back who had 28 touchdowns last year - an unbelievable fantasy year. There is no way he can match that year again, but he consistently gets 18-20 touchdowns (like Tomlinson). The downside is this: (1) The Madden Curse - Alexander is on the cover of 2007 Madden football. For 5 of the past 6 years the player on the cover has had a VERY disappointing year. The one year this didn't happen, a defensive player (Ray Lewis) was on the cover; and (2) The Super Bowl Runner-Up curse - for something like 6 straight years the super bowl runner up has had a terrible year the following year. Typically the team faces injuries and a losing record. Both of these curses could come to "haunt" Alexander this year.

3) Larry Johnson - Kansas City Running Back. In 9 games as a starter last year, Johnson lit it up and had numbers that most RB's don't get in 16 games. If he could repeat those numbers over a whole season, he could have the best fantasy football numbers in history. The downside???? He really hasn't proven himself over the long hall. Plus, KC lost their stud left tackle and don't have a strong replacement for him. Plus, Dick Vermeil is no longer coach and Al Saunders is no longer KC's offensive coordinator. Instead, Herm Edwards is now the head coach. He has to be in the bottom tier of head coaches in the NFL.

What do you all think? If you had the number one pick overall - which of these three would be your choice?

Who Da Man??? Joe Gibbs. Why the Redskins will Win the Super Bowl

Ok Ok Ok - I know that the proprietors of this liberal blog probably hate the racially insensitive "REDSKINS" name. I know that I will probably be called a few insensitive names myself for even mentioning the Washington Redskins here; however, the fact is that the NFL opening day is right around the corner. Thus, I must ask the question . . .

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???

I am for sure.

I have been a HUGE Redskins fan since I can remember - dating back to 1979. But to me, my coming of age in football started in 1981 with the arrival of the best coach of the modern era - Joe Gibbs. He started that first year 0-5. But then, his team finished strong and ended the year 8-8. The next year, Gibbs would win Super Bowl 17 over the Dolphins with probably one of the most memorable football plays ever - John Riggins running off left tackle on 4th and 1 over the "killer bees" defense and 40 or some yards later into the end zone. GAME OVER.

Over the next 10 years, Gibbs' Redskins would dominate. In addition to winning the Super Bowl in 1982, they went to the big game in 1983. They won it in 1987 and again in 1991.

Gibbs then left football to go undertake a new challenge: NASCAR. He dominated there as well.

2 years ago, Gibbs came back to football to rescue the Skins from Norv Turner and Steve Spurrier - probably 2 of the worst NFL coaches of all time. The first year was rough. Last year, the Skins made it deep into the playoffs. This year, they are ready to roll.

The Skins already had one of the best defense in the NFL. This offseason, they added a pass-rushing defensive end in Andre Carter. On the offensive side, they added serious firepower. Already stocked with Santana Moss, Clinton Portis, and Chris Cooley, the Skins added Brandon Lloyd, Antwan Randel-El and now TJ Duckett. On top of all this, they added the best offensive coach in the game to their staff - former KC offensive coordinate Al Saunders. If Mark Brunell can stay healthy - nothing should be able to stop this team.

Some may point to the fact that the Skins haven't won a single game in the preseason to date as a reason for concern. Look back at history though. Every year the Skins won the Super Bowl under Gibbs, their preseason record was terrible.

Sorry, Colin - I know your beloved JETS are trying hard. But they look to have another bad year. But, maybe we can all be happy if the JETS turn it around and can meet the Skins in the Super Bowl. (with a broken down Curtis Martin and a QB with no shoulder and another one with poor judgment I don't see how this is going to happen though).

Finally - Tim - I was going to post a link for you with this post to some news story that is hard to find, like you normally do- but I thought I'd spare our reader(s) the pain.

HAIL TO THE REDSKINS! HAIL VICTORY. BRAVES ON THE WARPATH. FIGHT FOR OLD DC!!!

Where are you eating out on August 29th?

Help support the revitalization of New Orleans at one of these participating restaurants.

I will be eating that day here in Houston at the Mockingbird Bistro, an excellent restaurant that is acting incredibly generously by donating 25% of its sales that night to the cause.

Apparently, in Tulsa you are limited to Red Robin Gourmet burger restaurants. Well, I expect a full report from our Tulsa readers about how the burgers are there. Curiously, there are also Red Robin Gourmet Burgers restaurants in the DC area so it may be possible for our DC correspondents to do a comparison test. Fortunately, in DC there are many other options available (e.g., the Clyde's group (i.e., 1789, Old Ebbit, and of course, Clyde's)).

Food porn? I guess so...

Apparently, one of the trends in blogs is to post pics of your latest meal course by course.

I can't say that I object to this. I do like to look at food that I might eat afterall.

On the other hand, when I eat out, my inclination is to direct my focus towards enjoying the food and my company to the maximum extent. As much as I love to take photographs and, as much as people seem to like the pics on this blog, I would not choose to take pictures of the food, no matter how beautiful, before I ate it. I believe it is not in keeping with my intentions when dining out.

The lord works in mysterious ways

I think whenever one of my more biblically addled in-laws tells me something along the lines that God has a plan for everybody and everything happens according to his will, instead of nodding my head with a tight smile, I'll send 'em this link...

His will be done...

Update: Apparently, the G-man has it in for baby turkeys too.

The Human Genius

The lighter side of mixing solids and liquids...

No, this has nothing (or at least not a lot) to do with terrorists... This blog has disabused itself of any pretentions to being serious for the time being...

I saw a show on 'Mythbusters' about this and then came across this link on a political cartoon by Nick Anderson of the Houston Chronicle about the attempted attacks.

Two thoughts:

1) Canon's not the only one who can post goofy youtube links

2) I love how people can take a simple idea and run with to absurd degrees of complexity--I believe this is the foundation of human genius.

Did you Ever Know that You're My HERO: Why Subway Sucks

Heros, Subs, Grinders, Cheesesteaks, Italians, Hoagies - wherever in America you are from and whatever you call them, I think we can all admit that this Americana delicacy is absolutely delicious.

For years I have been a lover of deli. I've thought many times of even opening my own sub/sandwich shop. Whether I would dub it "The New Deli" or the legal sandwich shop "The Subpita" the shop would undoubtedly be a success. In the DC-Metro area I can tell you about the best sub shops around. Canon can attest to the fact that I can take you to a place for a good cheesesteak if that is what you like or a sandwich that will make you say - "this thing is f'ing stacked."

All of this is a round about way of saying, quite simply, that my love of deli meats takes second chair to no one. NO ONE!!! I may not be a participant in the annual Sammie award, but I should be part of that too. That is my next endeavor. Win over the Manning family first to get on the blog and then next be invited to the Sammie awards and dominate that too. After that, I'm onto the Academy Award game.

But I digress!

Back to the main point. I'd like to take this opportunity - my second post ever on this blog - to take down subway and that bastard Jared.

Admittedly, I do like Subway's tuna subs. But, have you all ever tried their ham? turkey? or roast beef? I bet if you were blindfolded, you couldn't taste the difference between the three. Because all three meats taste the same, I have started a protest here in the DC Metro area. Whenever I go to Subway, I don't even talk about ham, turkey, or roast beef. I simply refer to them as "pink;" "white" and "brown." I encourage you all to do the same. I'm convinced that they are actually all the same meat - just colored differently.

"Madam - I would like a pink on wheat with lettuce, mayo, and onion."

Madam - the brown looks delicious today. I'd like that hot please with regular white"

Will you join me in this protest?

Now, as for Jared - give me a break. If all you ate was pink white or brown you'd lose weight too. I mean, the shit sucks. It makes you lose your appetite.

Thanks for endulging me.

Cherry Blossoms in DC at Dumbarton Oaks

Sure the Cherry Blossoms bloomed in the spring but I wanted to walk Colin through how to post pictures.

This pic was taken using the Canon Powershot S2 IS.

My Initial Post - The U.S. Senate - Who will Have Control in 2007

First and foremost, let me thank Mr. Colin Manning - co-proprietor of this blog - for FINALLY giving me posting rights on this blog. (By the way, happy 30th bday. I hope people buy you alot). I've tried to obtain said rights for years. But, my nemesis, Tim, has always blocked my efforts. Finally, a deal was struck. If I would travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and dance in front of 300 people in a Carol Channing like wig, I would be granted rights. Well, I'm posting now, so you can be sure I did it. IT IS GOOD TO BE HERE.

Now, there are many things I could type on here for my original post. I could endorse my friend J. Staley Heatly. I could talk about how NOT to make Colin turn into the incredible Hulk. I could talk about Tim's love of Native American gaming rights. Or, I could talk about Canon's fetish of cuff-links - which he refers to as Cuff-i-Link-us.

But, I will take my first post seriously and talk about an issue I know well - The U.S. Senate and politics.

Much has been made of the possibility of the Dems taking control of the Senate. But, let's look at the facts. Today, the Senate has 55 Republicans and 44 Democrats and 1 Independent who is in fact a Democrat (Jeffords). For the Dems to win control of the Senate, they have to win 6 seats. 6 seats is alot. And, the truth of the matter is that the Republicans only have 5 vulnerable seats. Meanwhile, the Republicans challengers in a few states could actually win.

Here are the vulnerable Republican seats.

1) Senator Rick Santorum (Pa)- he is down in polling by double digits to Bob Casey. Santorum may be down, but he is a very strong closer. This race seems like the most likely for the Republican's to lose - but don't count Santorum out.

2) Senator Lincoln Chafee (RI) - Chafee has to win a hard fought Republican primary first to get the chance to face the Democrat - Whitehouse in November. This is no easy task. Chafee's Republican primary opponent, in polling, seems to get crushed by the Democrat. Chafee - on the other hand, is pretty much in a statistical deadheat with Whitehouse.

3) Senator Mike DeWine (Oh) - he is an outstanding Senator from Ohio. I don't know why everyone wouldn't vote for him. Nevertheles, a far left wing liberal is taking this moderate Republican on and the democrat is up in the polls now. As of now, Dewine is down about 6 points.

4) Senator Jim Talent (Mo) - he is down in the polls - but only by about 2 points in polls I have seen. This promises to be yet another close race.

5) Conrad Burns (MT) - he is down in the polls too, but not by double digits.

These 5 are the only 5 Republican seats in serious jeopardy. So, for the Dems to take back the Senate, where do they get their 6th pickup seat? John Kyl in Arizona isn't going to lose. No way will George Allen lose in Virginia. The only chance the Dems have in addition to these 5 is for Harold Ford Jr to win in Tennessee. The Republicans just nominated Chatanooga Mayor Corker to take on Ford in the race to take Bill Frist's Senate seat, who is retiring. Corker is polling nearly 10 points ahead of Ford.

But, not only are the Dems unlikely to pick up 6 Republican seats, they may not hold onto all of their own.

1) Senator Paul Sarbanes is retiring. Who will Maryland choose to run as a Democrat - Congressman Cardin or former Congressman Mfume. Mfume is leading in the polls. The problems with him are many. But, most problematic for the Democrats is that polls show that Cardin easily defeats the Republican Lt. Gov. Michael Steele while Steele beats Mfume.

2) Senator Mark Dayton is retiring. The Republican candidate is Congressman Mark Kennedy. This race is going to be very, very tight.

3) New Jersey - Senator Menendez is being challenged by Tom Kean - a state senator and son of one of New Jersey's favorite politicians. Another very tight race.

4) Washington - Senator Maria Cantwell's race could seriously tighten as well.

So, while I will say this with a caveat because much can change in the months before the election - the facts now appear to show that the Democrats have very little chance of winning back the United States Senate. And, for this, all Americans should be grateful.

Tim/Colin/Manning/Mom-Martha - does this meet your standards for a first post?

People Powered Victory

The Daily Kos has a list of the winners and losers from last night. I would say that the winners are the People of CT and America. It is time for real people who stand up against the DLCs and the lobbyist money to take power in this election. On top of that Lamont was standing with 2/3 of Americans when he says that it is time to find a way out of the war. If you wish to contribute here is Lamont's Website. We are less than 100 days to election and now is the time to fight for the future of this country.

The Lost City?

perhaps...

I found this section particularly galling:

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Indeed, Katrina's aftermath has not proved that congressional Republicans are devoid of empathy, but rather that they reserve it for states run by former party chairmen. As of late spring, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour had wheedled his old friends in Washington into giving his constituents roughly the same sized block grant as received by Louisiana--even though Louisiana suffered more than three times the number of seriously damaged homes and lost one more major city than its easterly neighbor. The Democrats, meanwhile, have been disappointingly silent, preferring to focus on GOP incompetence abroad rather than at home.
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Drew Brees loves New Orleans

For that I will give him a pass for all of the years he spent making the Fighting Illini look like chumps while he was at Purdue....

Hot? Get in the pool to cool down...

I thought this was an exceptionally cool pic in today's Chicago Tribune...

College football season is coming!

Are you excited?

Well, I'm not. The only articles I'm reading about Illinois indicate that we are recruiting guys who are, to put it generously, questionable character wise. When you add that in to the fact that we are still going to most likely get our asterisks handed to us in the Big 10, it takes a little bit away from the festive feelings college football ought to inspire.

For myself and other Illini fans?

Bring on The Freak!

Okies are tough...

Hilarious...