Song Of The Day - Kanye West (Love Lockdown)

Kanye West is becoming a polarizing figure. Either you love him or you hate the guy, but he does have talent that you can't hate on. I saw him close out the Video Music Awards on MTV with a new song called "Love Lockdown." I didn't like it when he performed it live, mostly because it was completely different from what I expected. I thought that he would jump his new album off with a club anthem, but this song sounds like something that could possibly be a cross-over hit into top 40, indie, and possible alternative radio. I heard "Love Lockdown" on the radio on my way to work yesterday and I changed my mind. I think the studio track did it for me and he'll have another platinum album.

West's new album is coming out in a few months, just a week after 50 Cent's newest release. It was last year when West put a beating on Fiddy that week. It should be about time for Fiddy to come out with an amazing club anthem if he wants to compete this time around.

Here is the audio for "Love Lockdown."

With Boston's win over Cleveland last night, the New York Yankees have officially been eliminated from the postseason picture. The Yankees' streak of consecutive playoff appearances now ends at 13, one short of the Atlanta Braves' record of 14. The Bronx Bombers got more out of their postseason appearances, however, with four World Series championships to Atlanta's one.

Pray For Dante Love

I was watching the game against Indiana and Ball State on the Big Ten Network on Saturday night and it was turning into a really entertaining game. Nate Davis and Dante Love were looking good and were looking forward to getting the school's first ever victory over a BCS team. Everything went from great to scary in the 2nd quarter.

Love caught a pass from Davis for a short gain, Love put his helmet down to get a few extra yards when the Indiana cornerback did the same and they collided helmet to helmet. Love instantly lost the ball and his whole body went limp. Indiana picked up the ball and went in for the touchdown, but no one really cared. Love laid lifeless near the sideline. He stayed there for over 15 minutes while the medical staff attended to him, they even called his parents from the stands to be with him. They took unscrewed the facemask off his helmet and put him on a board. As they took him off the field on a golfcart he never moved, not even a thumbs up from the crowd that most hoped for. They took him to a hospital in Bloomington and then they transferred him to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.

Ball State ended up winning this game and instead of an upbeat press conference after the game, Brady Hoke, Ball State's head coach, said a short statement and went to see his star wide-receiver at the hospital. There wasn't any word from the university after the game about Love other than he felt "tingling and numbness."

This afternoon more about Love's injuries came out, he is lucky to be alive. He underwent five-hour back surgery to stabilize a cervical spinal fracture. He is said to be moving arms and legs and is currently in the critical care unit.

I went to college at Ball State for a year, I loved the school, but didn't fit what I needed at the time. The football program has never done anything at all. The most famous Ball State alumni that went onto the NFL is a punter, if that tells you anything. Dante Love is a huge reason for the recent success that Ball State has seen over the last three years. No word if this ends his potential pro career, but that isn't important at the moment. He needs to focus on getting better and hopefully he doesn't have any complications from this injury in the future. I hope the best for Love and for all his friends and family who needs everyone's support right now.

Get well soon Dante Love.

I'd Rather Have An MCL & ACL Tear

I've had the flu for much of this week and I have been completely miserable. I'd rather have something manly to keep me down like a cool sports injury, but as of right now all I have to keep me comfortable is a box of tissues and the some Nyquil on ice. A lot has happened this week in sports and music, I will make sure that I comment on everything that I need to very soon.

I need to get back to my Nyquil cocktail.

Song Of The Day - Kings of Leon (Sex On Fire)

It's not every day that a band from Tennessee tops the charts in the UK. Kings of Leon haven't tops the charts in the U.S. yet and you can say that they are bigger in the UK than their own country. I've seen this one other time, Zebrahead is huge in Japan and never really quite broke into the mainstream here in the States. I think hitting it big on the UK charts is a great indication that success for Kings Of Leon is coming very soon.

I have been a fan of Kings of Leon since they released "Youth and Young Manhood" back about five years ago. Their latest release, "Only By The Night" is their fourth major-label release, but so far the band has been considered an indie-band. That moniker comes from the type of radio stations their music gets airplay from. Here in Columbus it's CD101, which on most days a good amount of Modest Mouse, The Shins, and Death Cab For Cutie. All of those bands are all on major labels and have sold a great deal of albums, but "indie music" is now considered a genre since many of the successful underground bands have been snatched up by major labels and packaged as "indie."

Kings of Leon were musical guests on Saturday Night Live last night and did a great job. I think the lead singer's voice is so distinct and the music on their new album does such a great job at showcasing it. I would put money down that "Only By The Night" will be their best-selling album in their careers so far and a few awards should be coming their way.

Here is a performance of "Sex On Fire."

Speak Before You Think Monday

After a long weekend, it is easy to do or say something that is completely insane. Your mind isn't right on a Monday. You are still thinking about how you should have gotten that blonde's number at the bar or how your team still has a shot at the National Championship, even if you lost a nationally televised game 35-3 (sorry Buckeyes, i live in your territory and I shouldn't be so ill, but it's real talk). Here is a few observations of things people are saying or what they have done without thinking things out clearly.

- The Milwaukee Brewers fired Ned Yost. Really? Before the Brewers hired him, they hadn't had a winning season since dudes named Yount and Molitor were sporting the yellow and blue gear. I know that they imploded last season, but the team was full of rookies, I am not sold that they are used to the long Major League season. You can't make much of an argument that they are tanking again this season, because they haven't been in first place since the beginning of the season. Milwaukee is realizing that they only have Sabathia and Sheets for this one season and they will not be able to sign them, so they must win now. Rickie Weeks has been a disappointment so far and J.J. Hardy is not consistent. The trade talk has already started about Prince Fielder, they realize that they can't win every game with their offense and your #1 starter cannot be Dave Bush or Manny Parra. Fielder is set for abitration soon and he will also grant a huge contract when free agency comes around. The Brewers may still make the playoffs, but now they have to combat the Phillies/Mets, whoever doesn't win the NL East, and Houston. Not a smart move by the upper management in Milwaukee, Yost will get a job next season, either as a manager or a high-profile bench coach.

- Carlos Zambrano is back. I'm a Chicago Cubs, everyone who reads this blog knows this is true. Historically, Zambrano is extremely good on a long rest. He nearly had a no-hitter mid-season this year after he took some time off for injury. He may throw another gem next time out too, but it's too soon to say he is back. Houston evacuated a hurricane and their minds were not 100% on baseball. The game was also played in Milwaukee, which is Wrigley Field North. If you go to any Cubs/Brewers game, the Cubs fans/Brewers fan ratio could learn in Chicago's favor, let alone Houston fans versus Chicago fans. Also, Ted Lilly took a no-hitter today into the 7th inning against Houston and the last few games I watched Lilly pitch, he looked horrible. Zambrano needs his last few starts to be solid for me to be sold.

- Ohio State still has a shot at that National Championship. Even if OSU runs the table in the Big Ten, the best they can do is a birth in the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, if USC loses a game or two, they will meet there. I don't see USC losing any games, but there is a Pac-10 team that usually gives them a close game or beats them (i.e. Stanford, Oregon State). The Buckeyes do have a chance to turn the season around, but that would mean Todd Boeckman would lose his job as starting quarterback. Terrelle Pryor looked pretty good against USC, but it was a too tough of a test for a true freshman to face. Beanie Wells may have made this game closer, but he wouldn't have won the game for Ohio State. Wells would have helped them have some ball control and help manage the clock. The score would have been around 27-10, still an embarassment. Ohio State has no shot at making the BCS Championship game, so I do not want to hear about a slim chance, there is no chance.

- The Minnesota Vikings will still make the playoffs. They are 0-2 and it looks like the NFC North will be very solid this year. I know that they lost to the Packers and Colts, two teams that are playoff caliber, but the way they played in those games didn't look like a playoff team to me. Adrian Peterson should have ran all over Indianapolis, which he did, but never got into the endzone. Tavarius Jackson isn't a starting quarterback in this league, yet. He may be a starter in the future, but with the kind of talent this team has, minus wide-receivers (they really don't have any #1 receiver), they need an establish quarterback to spread the defense and let Peterson run amok. The Bears are better (they play them twice), the Lions can score points, something Minnesota has trouble with (they play them twice, the Packers own them (they play them again), and they play the AFC South (which is one of the best divisions in the league). I would suggest that you look at the remaining schedule of the team before you put them in the playoffs, Mike & Mike.

- Denver Broncos is the best team in the AFC. They have looked impressive so far this season, but they played the Raiders and a San Diego team that haven't found themselves without Shawne Merriman. Eddie Royal has been a huge surprise, Brandon Marshall caught about a million pases this week, and Jay Cutler looks like John Elway. The NFL loves to scheme and take players out of the game, I'm guessing the next few weeks that teams will start pressuring Cutler more and make the young quarterback think faster on his feet. They will have to run the ball more, which may fall into Shanahan's lap, but this core of Denver running backs aren't Terrell Davis or Clinton Portis, it's Selvin Young and a few castoffs from other teams. Denver looks like they will win that division, it looks to be very weak, but they are not the best team in the AFC. They will have to beat New England, Indianapolis, or Pittsburgh to garner that honor.

Hurricane Ike Is Not My Homeboy

After spending all day Sunday and most of Monday without power, I would like to say that whatever was left of Hurricane Ike, really put a hurtin' on Central Ohio. I was minding my own business on Sunday, just watching Jillian Barberie or Jillian Reynolds do the weather on FOX NFL Pre-game and then I thought I saw a cow fly across the parking lot. By the way, who the heck did Jillian marry this time? I remember her ex, Bret Barberie, I actually had his rookie card when he played for the Montreal Expos. I was actually surprised to find out that he actually bagged such a dime.

Central Ohio was hit with winds of a category one hurricane and tore it a new one. I know the people of Houston and Galveston were hit much, much harder, but no national news outlet is giving us any dap. In fact, most of the region's electric personnel was in Texas helping out. This delayed us from getting back to normal. I must have went through 20 red lights that were treated as 4-way stops on my way to work today. It was a hassle and caused a major cramp in the little style I have. I actually listened to the entire album of "The Secret Handshake," and I forgot how much I like that guy.

I should be posting more, but since I didn't watch a single NFL game on Sunday, I can't really do a "What I Learned" for Week 2, unless my post is only about the Eagles/Cowboys game.

The Houston Astros, whose hotness I wrote about in the posting immediately below, have now gone cold. In two games against the Cubs, the Astros were no-hit last night by Carlos Zambrano and then were held without a hit for six innings today by Ted Lilly. To provide some historical perspective, MLB.com reported several items of no-hitter trivia. The following appears most applicable to the Astros' latest futility:

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time a team pitched or succumbed to a streak of 15 consecutive no-hit innings was June 2-3, 1995, when the Expos held the Padres without a hit for that span. On Sept. 25-27, 1981, the Astros held the Dodgers without a hit for 16 consecutive innings.

Song Of The Day - TBDBITL (Hang On Sloopy)

For the people who haven't lived in Columbus, OH, you might be wondering what "TBDBITL" stands for. The Ohio State marching band calls themselves "The Best Damn Band In The Land," which is a long acronym, but they mean their business. I picked this as the "Song Of The Day," mainly because they have little to no chance at winning their game against USC. They play each other at 8pm on Saturday night in Los Angeles, CA. I almost put USC's fight song here, but I couldn't do it, even though I do like their song.

I will leave my Ohio State/USC analysis for another post, but I thought that I could just put "Hang On Sloopy" as a sign of good faith. This song isn't Ohio State's fight song, but it is probably more recognizable than their actual fight song.

I'm not a huge fan of TBDBITL for one reason, I dislike their tuba players. I lived next door for a couple of them when I first moved here and they had tuba practice at their house. Any random saturday you would hear a stampede of tuba sounds coming out of their house. Also, they do this thing called "script Ohio, which they spell out "Ohio" in cursive on the field. It is tradition that a tuba player dots the "i', but only a few notable Ohio State alumni have dotted the 'i' that were not tuba players (i.e. Jack Nicklaus, Woody Hayes). The tuba players that I lived next to had the license plate of "IDOT08" and "IDOT09," which is too close to IDIOT in my book.

As they almost always seem to do, the Houston Astros are again pulling off a late-season hot streak. With a 6-0 win today against Pittsburgh, the Astros have now won 14 out of 15. As this ESPN.com/AP article notes:

Houston was 66-66 and 11 games back of Milwaukee, the NL wild-card leader, before the run began Aug. 27. The latest win closed the Astros within three games of the Brewers...

One method statisticians use to help determine if a given team's (or athlete's) streakiness is more than just a chance occurrence is to see if the team/athlete has shown any ability to repeat the special performance year after year. I recall the Astros' having had strong finishes in recent years, so I decided to look at the numbers for the last four completed seasons. Shown for each year are the Astros' records as of the last day of July, for the month of August, and for the month of September (plus any regular-season games played in October). You can click on the year to see the Astros' game-by-game log.

YEAR........THRU JULY..........AUGUST.........SEPT/OCT

2004........52-52 (.500)......17-11 (.607).......22-7 (.759)

2005........57-48 (.543)......13-14 (.481).......18-11 (.621)

2006........49-56 (.467)......17-12 (.586).......16-12 (.571)

2007........46-60 (.434)......15-14 (.517).......12-15 (.444)

Thus, with the exception of 2007, in recent years the Astros indeed have regularly put together strong finishes in August and/or September. Brewers, look out!

Breaking News - Vince Young Likes Fried Chicken

I woke up to a lot of banter on morning sports talk shows about the state of mind of Vince Young. Chris Mortensen may have said the most absurd, semi-racist thing I've heard before 9am. He was describing the situation where the police was searching for Vince Young and worried about his state of mind. They found him at his buddy's house watching Monday Night Football. Mortensen said, "He was just at his buddy's house eating fried chicken and watching football." I think a better use of words could have been used when describing what Young was doing at a friend's house. I mean you either refrain from using "fried chicken" in reference to a African-American male or you go all out and make it like he was re-enacting a scene from the movie "Friday" or "Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In Your Hood."

Vince Young seems like a pretty weak person. The kind of person that has went through life where he's been showered with praise. I know he may have had a harsh childhood financially, but you know he had the football field to rip the local guys up when he was feeling a little down. He hasn't had the chance to do anything in the NFL yet, the only reason they were in the playoffs last year was due to Indianapolis playing Jim Sorgi and resting Peyton Manning in the final game of the year.

Yong has a few weeks to heal up physically and get his mind around the situation. I think he may need a mentor to help him through everything or he'll end up like Michael Vick. I'm not saying that he is going to be the Don King of professional dog-fighting, but he will end up being a bust and never maturing into the kind of NFL player he should become. The Titans did sign Chris Simms, he also went to University of Texas, I don't think they have much in common, but maybe he can help Young out. The best situation would have been the Titans drafting Limas Sweed, Young target at UT in last year's draft, but that didn't happen.

Kerry Collins isn't going to steal anyone's job away. Collins has had some success in the NFL, he lead a star-less NY Giants offense to the Super Bowl nearly a decade ago. If the Titans signed Daunte Culpepper or drafted another young quarterback last season, Young would have been all but out of Tennessee, but it's still his job to lose.I would have checked the clubs out first before I called the cops.

Song Of The Day - Ne-Yo (Closer)

I really shouldn't have Ne-Yo in any of my "Song Of The Day" posts for many reasons. He suffers from "gayface," which he has tried to combat rumors that he isn't gay, but the dude probably needs a sex tape or some beach shots with a hot lady to help him out. The other main reason is the dude wears a hat to hide his hairline. There are a few pictures on the 'net that shows him without a hat and he looks like Clyde Drexler. He should just shave his head if he is that ashamed of his hair crop.

"Closer" is one of those songs you can't escape from. You go into a restaurant/bar and they are playing the track, then you head home and turn on the radio and it's playing again. I think it is a perfect song for its genre. I am not a huge fan of the R&B genre, but I can respect when someone has hit a song out of the park. Ne-Yo is best known for writing music for other artists, but if there are more tracks like "Closer" on his album, "Year Of the Gentleman," he is looking at platinum status.

Here is the video for "Closer."

What I Learned - NFL Week 1

I try not to speculate on what will happen in the NFL before the first game of the season. I did have an NFL Prediction post last week, but that was just for fun and possibly bragging rights if any of that stuff comes close to coming true. I did predict that Tom Brady will not throw 30 TDs this season, looks like that will come true. Here is a list of things I have learned after watching week one.

- The Carolina Panthers are what many experts thought they would be last season, very good. San Diego will be good, but looks like the NFC South will be more competitive than the last few seasons.

- Matt Forte looks like Eddie George. I know the Colts haven't historically had good run defense, but they did a great job last season. If Forte keeps this up, the Bears may find the playoffs this year.

- Matt Cassel "could" be good. He hasn't started a game since high school. He should have a few good weeks since no team has any film to study on the QB. Unless they dust off some sort of high school recruiting video of Cassel, look for him to have a few good weeks coming up, after that, I'm not sure what will happen.

- The Raiders are still bad. I know this team has a few young studs and added DeAngelo Hall this offseason. Denver isn't supposed to be good this season and they completely dominated the Raiders in every area. It will be another long year in Oakland and could be headed back to L.A. after this season.

- The pre-season is still a little important. I say this from watching Peyton Manning in the Colts first game. He looked completely rusty and out of sync with all of his receivers. Anthony Gonzalez didn't help him by dropping a couple key passes, but it could be a down year for them. I am a Colts fan and it saddens me to say that, but I still expect them to win enough to make the playoffs.

- Willie Parker's job is secure. A lot of people read into this year's draft that the Steelers aren't sold on Pakers as their running back. Rashard Mendenhall was taken very high, but appears that he could be a 3rd-down back for awhile. Parker looked amazing and scoring three TDs will make his fantasy football owners approve of him.

- Buffalo looks like an AFC East contender. The Bills dominated the Seahawks and looks much-improved this season. Seattle doesn't have a great history of playing on the road and this could be a one-week wonder for Buffalo, but I think they are legit.

- Michael Turner is finally a starter in the NFL. Atlanta is going to run the ball a million yards this season with Turner and Norwood as a two-headed backfield. They will give Matt Ryan some time to throw the ball and could lead to a few extra wins for the Falcons this season.

- Jacksonville is over-rated. I have never been high on the Jaguars. I think last season they over-achieved and will fall back down to earth this year. The loss of Marcus Stroud will be too much to overcome and they really don't have much of an offense if Maurice Jones-Drew is stopped.

- Carson Palmer played like Akili Smith. I know that the Bengals played the Ravens, but this is the 2008 Ravens and not the 2000 Ravens. Palmer didn't even throw for 100 yards and Chad Ocho Cino, I mean, Chad Johnson was a ghost. Marvin Lewis could be coaching Cincinnati for the last season.

- How 'Bout Them Cowboys! Cleveland did look bad, but I think Dallas made them look worse than they really are. Dallas is already loaded on offense and having a guy like Felix Jones coming off the bench shouldn't even be fair. I will definitely watch the Cowboys/Eagles games this season, they should be great.

- Brett Favre is still Brett Favre. He is made the Jets look amazing. I know they played Miami, but he didn't look rusty at all. The Jets should be much-improved, but it is still too early to put them as a playoff team.

Song Of The Day - Metallica (The Day That Never Comes)

Metallica haven't been the same since Lars Ulrich pissed off millions of internet users by threatening lawsuits if caught downloading any of their material. Their new album, "Death Magnetic," has been leaked around the internet and Ulrich came out by saying that the more people who listen to this album, the better. He has either changed his tune or realize that their new album is a lot better than their last few.

I have received a copy of "Death Magnetic" and I enjoy it. I'm not sure how many singles will be released off this album, since 95% of the tracks are over 6 1/2 minutes long. Whatever they release will be played all over rock radio, but as far as top 40 radio goes, they tend to shy away from anything that length. A huge tour should follow the release of "Death Magnetic," and I'm sure they will have a few bands on the bill to make the tickets expensive.

I like their video for "The Day That Never Comes." It has a theme that is both anti-war and pro-troops. I think it is a good stand to take in today's very political world. Here is the video for "The Day That Never Comes."

Leave it to those L.A. Dodgers to, once again, put together an amazing cold-to-hot pattern. In 2006, as I wrote about at the time:

The Dodgers started off the second half of the season, right after the All-Star Break, by losing 13 out of 14. They've now rebounded by winning 17 of 18...

Now in 2008, beginning August 22 with a loss at Philadelphia and culminating with today's 5-3 win at home against Arizona, the Dodgers have immediately followed up an eight-game losing streak with a winning streak of the same length (game-by-game log).

Given that a team has gone 8-8 during a 16-game stretch, how likely is it that such a record has been accomplished by losing eight straight and then winning eight straight (or vice-versa)?

Perhaps the easiest way to think about this problem is to imagine 16 boxes (representing the number of games) and eight cards, each of which has a "W" on it, for wins. Then we can ask: In how many ways can the eight wins be distributed into the 16 boxes? Obviously, there are lots of ways for this to happen. In addition to winning either the first eight or last eight games, a team might win games 1-2-4-5-7-10-11-12 or games 3-4-5-8-10-13-14-15, for example.

Fortunately, there's a relatively simple formula for determining how many ways eight wins can be distributed among 16 games. It's known as the "n choose k" formula, where in this case, n = 16 and k = 8. Using this online calculator, we find that there are 12,870 possible ways to distribute eight wins in 16 games.

So, indeed, the Dodgers' particular pattern is quite rare. Of course, it was the unusual nature of the sequence that drew me to analyze it in the first place, after the fact.

Support Your Local Blogger

I just watched the Giants/Redskins kickoff game tonight and I am wondering a few things. Are the Giants that good or are the Redskins that bad? Does Jason Campbell know how to throw over five yards? How long do you give Jim Zorn before they put in Colt Brennan? When did Brandon Jacobs turn into Jamal Lewis? LaRon Landry got steam-rolled and it was ridiculous. I don't own Jacobs on any of my fantasy teams, but he is the kind of guy that looks great one week and then disappears for a few games. Here's a collection of links to fellow bloggers, enjoy.

Eli Manning Loves The Belt-less Trench Coat - The Sports Hernia

Darth Vader In Phillies Starting Rotation? - Hugging Harold Reynolds

New Vs. Old 90210 - You Decide - Co-Ed Magazine

Which McCain Isn't Like The Rest? - Flatusyahu

WoW comic? - Expect Nothing

Top 10 Non-Kicking Special Teamers Of All Time - Yep Yep

Florida Championship Wrestling - WWE's Minors - The Serious Tip

Why The St. Louis Rams Won't Win The Super Bowl - The Hater Nation

Marvin Harrison Is A Thug - Sons Of Sam Malone

Jamaal Tinsley Is A Virus To The Pacers - Ball Don't Lie

Somebody Has To Win The ACC, Right? - Digital Headbutt

Tatum Bell Don't Fumble Bags - Empty The Bench

Sports Crush - Natalie Gulbis

Natalie Gulbis is an LPGA star, which means she should be slightly more of a star than your local high school's back-up quarterback. She more special than that because of her looks and the fact that she has actually won an LPGA event. She has placed in the top-10 of an LPGA major fives times, oh and she has appeared in FHM magazine.

Gulbis has been coined as "the Anna Kournikova of the LPGA." She is a cute blonde that plays sports, but she is successful in her sport, so that's the difference between her and Kournikova. She has appeared in her own reality television show on the Golf Channel, "The Natalie Gulbis Show," and wrote a monthly column in FHM.

The LPGA isn't exactly must-see television, but if there were 10 more of Natalie Gulbis, I would pay more attention to it. If Natalie Gulbis and Paula Creamer were ever in a playoff, you need to set your TiVo.

Big Z, That Was A Close Call

The Chicago Cubs should be popping champagne bottles in celebration that Carlos Zambrano won't need season-ending surgery for his shoulder. He was diagnosed with tendinitis and inflammation in his shoulder, which is much better than what the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times was hinting at the last few days. The Cubs will only go as far as Zambrano can make it.

Rich Harden is having some issues and will have a start pushed back, Dempster hasn't thrown this many innings since he was on the Florida Marlins, Lilly kind of imploded at the end of the season last year, and I will never trust Jason Marquis. The replacement starters for the Cubs would either be Sean Marshall or long-reliever, Jon Lieber. Marshall seems to pitch one good game and followed it by two awful outings. I don't think Lieber would be a sufficient addition either, he has been hurt for most of the season. Angel Guzman could possibly start a game, but he has been hurt for nearly the entire season and has yet to win a start in his limited history as a starter.

I think that Zambrano and Harden should make it to the post-season, but their ability to go on 3-days rest on a few occasions isn't an ideal situation. Zambrano hasn't been good on 3-days rest and would fear Harden would be over-worked. My theory would work and think it would be best. I know Kerry Wood has been a great closer, but he has post-season experience and seems to be pitching really well. If they were to convert Wood back to a starter for the rest of the season, they would have to start building up his arm strength right now. I know Jeff Samardzjia was a starter in the minors this season, but his ERA wasn't great and doesn't have the ability yet to get guys out the 2nd or 3rd time through the lineup.

If Zambrano or Harden can't make it through their next start, you have to think that starting Kerry Wood would at least make it through Pinella or GM Hendry's thought process. He is a free agent after this season, so Wood may not want to risk injury, but it may be the Cubs' best option to winning their first World Series since 1908.

Song Of The Day - P!nk (So What)

I don't exactly know the correct spelling of her name, either "Pink" or "P!nk," but for some reason she ends up with at least one song on every album that I actually like. She wouldn't normally be my cup of tea, but seems like she doesn't give a crap what she says, so I kind of want to see what she says. I must have heard "U + Ur Hand" about a million times at random places last summer, not my choice, just seemed to be a very popular song.

I saw the video for her new single, "So What," and my jaw dropped. She has been in a much-publicized divorce with X-gamer Carey Hart and then out of nowhere he is in the video. Not only is he in the video, but he is in the part of the song that she talks smack about him. I'm not sure if I would have been okay with that, but they still seem to be friends, but still. I wouldn't want an ex-girlfriend, let alone an ex-wife, talk all kinds of smack about me and I pose for the camera. She even talks about how she isn't going to pay his rent anymore, etc. Looks like Hart & Huntington tattoo shop wasn't as much of a success as the television show, "Inked," led everyone to believe.

I'm sure P!nk's new album will have a few songs that I actually like, don't make fun, so you should go out and get it. Here is the video for "So What."

2008 College Football - All-Name Team

Not everyone can have the last name 'Manning' or 'Montana', some of us have to go through life with a pretty ridiculous name. Most of these names are pretty rough to grow up with, but some are names you wish you may have, especially if you are named something bland like Joe Smith or Bobby Roberts.


YourHighNess Morgan - LB - Florida Atlantic
H.B. Banjoman - RB - Eastern Kentucky
Casey Dick - QB - Arkansas
Chris Smelley - QB - South Carolina
Cooter Arnold - WR - North Carolina
Baccari Rambo - DB - Georgia
Sam Spitz - FB - Wisconsin
Mighty Inyang - DB - Houston
Chubb Small - RB - Marshall
Caleb Dyck - RB - Alabama-Birmingham
Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada - QB - Navy
Stash McGuiness - OL - Cal Poly
Mike Lougee - LB - Iona
Dirk Kool - LB - South Dakota State
Heath Cockburn - G - Furman
Jeff Dickmann - CB - UCLA
T-Bob Hebert - C - Louisiana State
Fitz Bobo - WR - Miami (OH)
Prince Moody - DB - Wisconsin
Dane Cook - S - Ball State
Ryan Succup - K - South Carolina
Joker Phillips - Offensive Coordinator - Kentucky

Time To Support Your Local Blooger

I don't try and hide my love for the McRib. My mother knows this and he made it a point to call me and tell me that my hometown in Indiana now has the McRib. I have been in Ohio for over two years and we haven't had them. Looks like I am going to be making a road trip back home in the next few weeks. Now here's some links to some posts around the blog world.

Roger Clemens' Son Is In Some Hot Water - Babes Love Baseball

An Effin' Short Version of 'Good Will Hunting' - On 205th

Top 5 Most Depressing Bands You Made Popular - Uncoached

Dinner With Mike Ditka, Almost - Luol's Dong

An Interesting Note About Jeff Samardzjia - Mondesi's House

2008 Nickname Olympics - Chicago Bull

Tribute To Don Lafontaine - H8torade

Some Interesting New Orleans Saints "Dialogue" - Kissing Suzy Kolber

College Team Ends 49 Game Losing Streak - SPORTSbyBROOKS

Donyell Is A Sixer - Five Tool Tool

R.I.P. New York Yankees - The Money Shot

Sarah Palin, Alaska's MILF? - Us Versus Them

Was C.C. robbed? - Out Of Left Field

Bloggers Are Not Dorks! - The Ghosts Of Wayne Fontes

Ocho Cinco Is Radioactive - Hugging Harold Reynolds