Same Division, Final Game

It doesn't happen often, but I'm almost completely in agreement with Lynn Henning. I write "almost" because I'm not near as certain as Henning (...Michigan is sure to return soon enough to its old glory...)
that it is a foregone conclusion that Michigan will return to form.

Draft Prep

Here's a few links to help with your fantasy draft preparation:

1. Rotter's Top 300 from FoxSports. We will use this as our default ranking list.

2. Rotter's Tier Rankings.

3. Funston's Big Board.

4. ESPN's Top 200.

5. ESPN's Cheat Sheets.

6. ESPN's Projections.

Rivalry Weekends?

I didn't actually have many worries about the Big (12) Ten's upcoming divisional split and schedule adjustments. Sure, it was going to be complicated and some things were going to be lost, but I figured the conference would get it mostly right. But after the talk over the past week, like these comments by Michigan AD Dave Brandon, I am concerned. It's starting to feel like 50/50 that they won't completely screw up. And that's a bad place to be.

One additional thought for UM: Before you permanently set the divisions to protect your title game with OSU, maybe you should, you know, win a few games? As they say in the financial ads, past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.

A Voice In The Dark

Comic Cover of the Week: Science Dog Special #1

Quote of the Day

Chad Johnson has been fined again. I really feel for him:

"Dear NFL I apologize for tweeting during the game but that was 2 monthsof my Bugatti payments you just took from me,I won't do it again," he wrote.

Draft Day

As our normal fantasy football draft is fast approaching, do we have a time and place set? It seems to me that the Sunday evening before Labor Day at one of the CC residences would be our traditional setting.

Also, if you haven't signed up yet *cough* Big Daddy *cough* then click on this link.

Bears?

While I was shopping earlier in the week at Target I picked up some Coke Zero. It was on sale and the box had a football theme, so since I need large amounts of caffeine to function at work I figured I couldn't lose. I saw this after I had the pop at home:


While I'm impressed that different cans are being printed for different regions (I assume), I sure could do without the Bears logo every time I open a can. However, I suppose it might be better than being of reminded of the Lions every day.

Silent Star Wars

Via Millionaire Playboy:

Maybe Ron Artest Isn't So Bad

Note to self, don't wear red.



I've actually been to a bull fight in "May-he-co" about 20 years ago. I think that crowd split faster than the Red Sea.

Twisted

Disclaimer: I nearly cried, puked, fainted, and dropped to the fetal position all at the same time reading this story, especially this portion, taken from the Huron Daily Tribune:

In February 2007, Ryan Welshans told Huron County Circuit Court Judge M. Richard Knoblock he was aware of the court order when he left his Bad Axe apartment to grab the mail on Feb. 3, 2006, leaving Stardust Welshans inside the apartment alone with their newborn. Welshans said he believes his wife threw the child onto the bed and the baby hit the wall. The child, just less than a month old at the time of the abuse, suffered life-threatening injuries. The baby was hospitalized at Hurley Medical Center, suffering from a depressed fractured skull, multiple rib fractures, clavicle fracture, multiple skull fractures and had multiple areas of bleeding on the brain. A doctor who treated the child at Hurley reported to authorities he felt the injuries “were not induced by one single event, but the injuries occurred at different times.”

The reports from the physician also noted the scrotum area of the child also was swollen and bruised when the child was admitted to the hospital.

Initially, Welshans admitted he had thrown the infant, causing the child’s injuries. He later denied any involvement, telling police Stardust had thrown the child. Welshans did, however, admit to police that he grabbed the infant’s scrotum, squeezing/twisting it out of frustration, causing the child’s injury.

Of Course He's Back

Is there anything more predictable than Brett Favre's unpredictability? Is he the only one who didn't know he'd be back in a Vikings uniform by August?

Comic Cover of the Week: Batman Beyond #3

Mad Hatters

I found a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal the other day that I thought I'd share. It discusses the confusion of the young about proper hat-wearing etiquette now that hats are making a comeback. "Hats" as in fedoras (you know, Indiana Jones) and the like, not baseball caps, which never left. Since hats have been out of style for over a generation, kids don't know how to wear them because they have no one to teach them. Add to that the fact that many are wearing hats to be trendy and so are unwilling to take them off and diminish they're style and you have the makings of a bit of a mess. Said one of the men interviewed: "I said 'I'm not wearing a baseball cap or a ski hat, I'm wearing an $80 fedora!" Well, if it's $80 it's a cheap fedora, but you still get the point.

While I find the social commentary about information and being lost between generations and strange disappearance of hats (which I've seen chalked up to car seats with high backs, low car roofs, dirty hippies and their long hair, and JFK) interesting, I read the article because I'm a fan of hats, fedoras in particular. Places like CC and Davenport aren't exactly on the bleeding edge of style (I'm sure that comes as a shock), so I can't really wear one without looking like an eccentric weirdo (This would be a good time to chime in, "Look like!?!"), but it warms my heart to see men starting to bring hats back. I have to admit to sharing some of the confusion about etiquette and protocol. If you've only worn a baseball cap, which you can wear nearly anywhere, and you only take it off during the national anthem, how do you know how to treat a real hat? Anyway, I'm not looking for a return to suit, tie, and fedoras for work as I would quite literally die of heat stroke, but I would like to see the trend of greater acceptance of real hats continue.

Not a Tail

I ran across this article on gay marriage the other day, which I found quite interesting. Here's the first sentence:

Abraham Lincoln once asked how many legs a dog has if we call a tail a leg. The answer, he said, is four: calling a tail a leg does not make it so. We chuckle and move on.

It also had a line that I got quite a kick out of: "First, human beings have a powerful hankering to engage in sexual intercourse."

Fireworks 2010

If you weren't able to make it to the cottage for "the best year yet," no problem.

Comic Cover of the Week: Superman #702

Take It From Me

Comic Cover of Last Week: Gorilla-Man #2

Three-peat

Would there be a better owner for the Pistons than Mike Ilitch? I can't say I support moving the team downtown, because at least I might go to the Palace to watch a game where I'm not interested in ever setting foot in Detroit ever again, but overall I can't think of a better move for the fans.

Conditioned

I'd wager few people have ever been as happy to practice as Albert Haynesworth was today. Haynesworth missed an embarrassing ten practices because he was unable to pass a conditioning test until Saturday. Do you think your teammates will ever let you live a thing like that down?

Quote of the Day

Pedro Martinez

But, oh, on the mound.

"That's business," he said. "I'm in a jungle, and I consider myself a lion. So I'm going to kill you if I'm hungry. And I was always hungry to win."

Newsboys - Born Again

Fritz's next challenge to the band.



Sorry, couldn't get the official music video.

Down Memory Lane

I decided to click on the year "2005" of the Blog Archive, just to relive some of the previous posts. I barely scrolled down and found this. Look familiar? Guess I should start using labels.

Thor Trailer

UPDATE: Well, the trailer is gone, but you can see some pictures here if you're interested.

UPDATE 2: From a different site.

The Joker

Jack's house. I knocked on his door, but he said "Go sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here!" Then he slammed the door in my face.

Yes, that is a tennis court.

My Car

Don't take away my man card, but I don't know anything about this ride. I believe it's a Bugatti. It just looked really nice parked on some street in LA called Rodeo Drive. A street slightly different than Main St. in CC. If you can fill me in on more car details, please do. I heard it has two V-8 engines, speedometer said 280 MPH (I guess that's fast).

UPDATE: According to this site, it's pretty fast and expensive.

Comic Cover of the Week: Action Comics #891

Draft Day

Does the weekend of Labor Day work as fantasy draft day for everyone who plans to be there? I'm planning to be around this weekend and next week, so we could discuss it then if anyone has other ideas.

Avengers Assemble

Here's a photo (from Marvel.com) of the cast of The Avengers from the Marvel movie panel at San Diego Comic-Con this weekend:


Is it just me, or does Robert Downey Jr. always look like he's having a blast when he's involved in this sort of thing?

DC Universe Online Trailer

"I call it Vera."

My new car:

"Whosoever holds this hammer..."

I don't know if Marvel's upcoming film Thor is going to be a success like Iron Man, but based on the picture below from USA Today (via Spinoff Online) Chris Hemsworth is sure taking it seriously:


Those are some pretty serious guns. For reference, here's what he looked like before he was cast as Thor:

Comic Cover of the Week: Batman Beyond #2

Big (12) Ten Championship Game Site

Angelique S. Chengelis has a short article in the News discussing venues, Ford Field specifically, that could host the eventual conference championship game. Despite the obvious drawback of being in Detroit, I think Ford Field has proven to be a viable location of major events, but I had a few other thoughts:

-Chengelis thinks it's a no-brainer that the game should be played indoors given that it would be the first week in December. I'm not so sure. I wouldn't want it to always be played at Soldier or Lambeau, but what better way to live up to the conference's reputation for toughness and smash mouth football than playing in freezing temperatures? Show those hothouse flower teams down South how it's done.

-Rotating the game between a few different locations makes sense once you've determined the locations. I don't think I'd want the game to be tied to any particular stadium, even Ford Field.

-The Metrodome shouldn't be an option because the Metrodome sucks. It's not as bad for football, but still... it sucks.

-I'd rather the game not be played on a college field.

Coming to Detroit

Next month Superman is coming to Detroit. Not literally, though for all I know there may be someone walking around Detroit in a Superman costume in August. The comics have Superman currently walking across America and he's making a stop in Motown. Which I guess is safe if you're the Man of Steel, it's just a little dicey for the rest of us.


Any thoughts as to what he should encounter? A former mayor on the way to prison? The post-apocalyptic scene that makes up much of Detroit? Maybe he could give a pep talk to the Lions?

Blood Stone

It's been a while since I wanted to play a Bond game. Could this be the one?

The Bard's Song

Get Fuzzy on Soccer

All last weeks strips were on soccer, all hilarious.







Probably my favorite:

Comic Cover of the Week: Daredevil #508

Quote of the Day

In one of those weird ironies of nature, being surrounded by a bunch of soapy-sponge-wielding attractive University of Alabama female zoology students in wet t-shirts is an excellent plot device for a late night cinemax movie when the subject "victim" getting a bath is a sensitive-yet-jocular ski instructor, but it's terrifying if you're a brown pelican.

-Jonah Goldberg, post on The Corner

You think?

The lead from an AP article on Terrell Owens: "Terrell Owens says he’s concerned teams are swayed by the perception that he’s a troublemaker and that’s why none have signed the free-agent receiver." Really, you think just maybe that might have something to do with it?

Cop Out

Okay, I may have have taken a shot at Bill Simmons the other day, and I still think his judgment is suspect after all the World Cup love, but sometimes he really nails a point. A quote from his pre-"LeBronocalypse" column, as linked by Stephen Spruiell at The Corner:

I think it's a cop-out. Any super-competitive person would rather beat Dwyane Wade than play with him. Don't you want to find the Ali to your Frazier and have that rival pull the greatness out of you? That's why I'm holding out hope that LeBron signs with New York or Chicago (or stays in Cleveland), because he'd be saying, "Fine. Kobe, Dwight and Melo all have their teams. Wade and Bosh have their team. The Celtics are still there. Durant's team is coming. I'm gonna go out and build MY team, and I'm kicking all their asses." That's what Jordan would have done. Hell, that's what Kobe would have done.

In May, after the Cavs were ousted in the conference semifinals, I wrote that LeBron was facing one of the greatest sports decisions ever: "winning (Chicago), loyalty (Cleveland) or a chance at immortality (New York)."

I never thought he would pick "HELP!"

There's also this observation on Cleveland fans and Bill's feelings towards LeBron:

This stomach-punch moment? Calculated. By a local kid they loved, defended and revered.

It would be unforgivable. Repeat: unforgivable. I don't have a dog in this race -- as a Celtics fan, I wanted to see him go anywhere but Chicago -- but LeBron doing this show after what happened in the 2010 playoffs actually turned me against him. No small feat. I was one of his biggest defenders. Not anymore.

Comic Cover of the Week: Shadowland #1

Comic Cover of the Week Runner-Up: G0DLAND #32

Baseball Stadium Tour

Matt Stairs is cheating. Not only is he getting to all the baseball stadiums, he's PLAYING for all the different baseball stadiums. He's played for 12 different teams in his career. Twelve. He played for three different teams in the year 2006 alone. Larry Brown thinks that's ridiculous. Last night he hit his 20th career pinch hit homerun, which ties the record.

RE: Kitten Cannon

From Adam's post, I smashed your 896 ft (24 degree incline) record.

1262 ft (20 degree incline)

Decisions, Decisions

So, LeBron James' future plans are going to be announced tomorrow night. On ESPN. This is everything I hate about the NBA. Okay, not quite everything: Apparently the money raised from the advertising during the 60-min (!) special is going to charity. But still, here's lots of ego, hype, and, uh, no basketball. I understand why people are interested since this is a relatively rare event in the sports business, but it seems to me like a line is being crossed that we're going to regret later. And ESPN is complicit, as they have been all along with LeBron. Remember his high school game on ESPN? Maybe they should get his official sponsorship?

Quote of the "Day"...sort of

After reading Adam's post of Bill Simmons: World Cup's 20 Questions:

Question No. 13: If you could change anything about soccer, what would it be?


I hate how teams milk leads in the last 15-20 minutes by faking injuries and taking forever to sub players. When that Ghana player had to be carried off on a stretcher at the tail end of the America game, then hopped off like nothing ever happened as soon as the stretcher was out of bounds, I thought that was appalling. Actually, it made me want to go to war with Ghana. I wanted to invade them. I'm not even kidding. That's another great thing about the World Cup: Name another sport in which you genuinely want to invade other countries when you lose.

Nightfall

1812 Overture

Quote of the Day

About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.

-Calvin Coolidge, Address at the Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Philadelphia, Pa.

Dre Bly returns...

...to the Lions with a two-year deal. I didn't know the Lions were in the market for a locker room cancer.

Kitten Cannon

Now this is a timewaster. My best score so far is 896 ft (that was at 24 degrees inclination). Via Jonah Goldberg's G-file.

Sigh

Well, I can officially say I've lost all respect for Bill Simmons.

Comic Cover of the Week: Batman Beyond #1

"Owned Up."

William Clay Ford Sr. said yesterday after Lions president Tom Lewand was arrested for drunk driving that "Tom made a very serious mistake and he appropriately owned up to that mistake." Can you really call it "owning up" to a mistake after the cops have arrested you? Once you're in cuffs and blow a .21 on the breathalyzer I don't think you get extra credit for admitting you screwed up.

A Thought

I haven't watched any of the World Cup, but I did catch a little of discussion about all of the noise caused by the vuvuzela and wanted to comment. Noisemakers suck. Whether it's the vuvuzela, thunder sticks, or whatever other contraption you come up with to artificially make noise, it has no place in the stadium. It's cheating. If fans can be loud enough to distract the opposing team, go for it. Yell your head off. Clap. I'm even okay with a little shaking of keys. But devices made solely for making noise should be kept outside the stadium.

Good

Quote of the Day

Truth is, these losers offer no solutions – they’re just misery engines bent on destroying the achievements of others.

-Greg Gutfeld, Daily Gut

Walkin' on the Sun

Comic Cover of the Week: Incorruptible #7

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Star Wars: Force Unleashed II

City of Scars

Destroyer

Movie Review

Okay, this obviously isn't worth anything, but I'll give my take on "Avatar." I saw it this weekend. Didn't come in with too much expectation. All the buzz was too long ago to be washed into the hype. I thought the movie was worth seeing ($3). However, I don't think I'd pay $10 to own it. In fact, if I never see the movie again, I believe I'd be fine. So, I didn't hate it, it's just not "Dark Knight."

"Oh be careful little eyes what you see..."

I never thought this day would come. I'm deeply disappointed in myself as a man, as a father, and as a citizen of the United States of America. My worst nightmare happened yesterday. I should have been more cautious. I should have been more prepared. But instead I was negligent. I let my guard down. I let my family down. My daughter, whom I am responsible for, saw something no child should ever see. She may be scarred for life. I tried to apologize...but the tears had already started forming. Then the moment of silence before the violent screams. It can't be undone. What's done is done. There is no going back. Only pain. I will never forget that day. That moment. There is no excuse. No explanation.



My daughter (deep breath) saw a goal during a soccer game of the World Cup yesterday while at The Whole Foods Market in Utica. There, I said it. Send me hate mail. Threaten my life. Punish me.

Utes Going West

If the Pac-10 hadn't been so close to adding Texas and Oklahoma, then today's announcement that Utah is joining the conference would really seem like a big deal, instead it's more like an epilogue to all of the action last week. The appeal for the Utes is obvious, they could potentially get a chance to play in a BCS title game which they've been complaining about missing out on. The benefit for the rest of us is that Utah would actually have to prove they can earn their way into said title game when playing in a real conference. Maybe now would be a good time to call of the antitrust lawsuits against the BCS though? That's just lame.

One other thought: Wouldn't it be kind of disappointing to get to the Rose Bowl and have to play Utah? Multiply that by a factor of ten if we were to have a Nebraska vs. Utah Rose Bowl.

Comic Cover of the Week: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? #11

Should I stay or should I go?

Katrina Hancock of WDIV 4 in Detroit is reporting that Tom Izzo will stay at MSU. There's a press conference scheduled for 8:30 pm ET.

UPDATE: Trustee George Perles says Izzo is staying.

UPDATE 2: He's staying. Izzo's statement:

It's been an agonizing week as I tried to make a decision about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I apologize for the time the process has taken, but sometimes there are opportunities that come about that must be thoroughly examined. I'm no different than any other successful coach in that I've had multiple inquiries before, but this one was uniquely intriguing. There was a lot of information to gather and consider and some of it wasn't easily obtainable. But when making a life decision, I owed it to myself and my family to do my due diligence. From that I never wavered. And I'm pleased to say I am here for life at Michigan State.

Throughout the entire process, Dan Gilbert and the entire Cleveland organization has been nothing but class. His professionalism and caring nature for me, my family and Michigan State have been impressive. I wish him nothing but the best in his quest to win a world championship. Just as I decided to stay home, I hope a 6-8, 270-pound forward in Cleveland decides to stay home.

We have a great team returning next year with incredibly high goals. I've repeatedly said I have greater goals for our program and that remains unchanged. Tops on that list is becoming one of just seven schools with three or more NCAA Championships. I'm also driven to continue to raise the perception of our program to an elite level.

The entire Michigan State community has been terrific. I'm almost embarrassed by some of the acts of support, but I'm certainly touched. I tried to approach this decision in a rational manner, but my heart was always at MSU.

My goals are not limited to Spartan basketball. I want to do whatever I can to make our entire athletic department and university better. Most important is helping Mark Dantonio and his football team attain its goal of winning a Big Ten Championship and playing in the Rose Bowl.

Soccer Sucks

I was going to avoid writing anything about the World Cup entirely, but I just can't hold out any longer. For one thing, even though it's Game 6 of the NBA Finals tonight (which I also don't care about), ESPN has World Cup coverage all over the front page. I'm often willing to side with ESPN against its critics, but they are absolutely trying to push soccer on viewers and it's pretty ridiculous. I'm glad I don't watch SportsCenter any more, because I'd probably throw something at the TV.

The second thing is that Andy McCarthy at The Corner shared a link to this article in The Washington Times. The conclusion:

There were a few enjoyable things about watching soccer. No commercials, it looks good in HD and I was able to get some things done around the house since there was no real danger of missing anything.

Stayin' Alive

Texas decided today that it could make enough money in the Big 12 for it to be worth sticking around, so Oklahoma, OSU, and A&M decided to stay as well. So the Big 12 (?) survives for now and the Pac-10 is thwarted in its quest for college football supremacy.

Crazy Talk

Lynn Henning of the The Detroit News is crazy. 99.9% of MSU fans would be absolutely thrilled to have Izzo continue to coach the team and, despite all of this with Cleveland, wouldn't question his dedication to the job.

"Hope"

For once...

...I agree with Terry Foster completely. Tom Izzo is a college coach.

Not Superman

The Washington Post has an article today entitled "Don't expect Obama to be Superman." It's not much more than a list of excuses for Obama not living up to his rhetoric, but I found it especially amusing in this case. Why? Maybe the author hasn't seen this picture?



Or this one?


If you let yourself be sold as a superhero, don't complain that people expect too much of you.

Moving On

The shakeup of college football continued today as Nebraska officially announced they will apply for membership in the Big Ten. Assuming they are accepted, which they should be, they would begin play in 2011.

Also, remember how the MWC wasn't making any moves? Well that went out the window today as Boise State left the WAC and joined the MWC for the 2011 season.

Dominoes Falling

Those people who said there weren't going to be any conference moves? They were wrong, as Colorado announced today they are joining the Pac-10. That doesn't necessarily mean the end of the Big 12, except that Nebraska is reportedly ready to move to the Big Ten (Excuse me while I vomit). That doesn't mean the conference has to fold, as you're only talking about adding two new teams, but it certainly puts the Big 12 on shaky ground. Baylor especially is in a bad position. They were hoping to replace Colorado on the list of schools that could potentially move to the Pac-10, now they could be left out in the cold with the Kansas schools, Missouri, and Iowa State. Missouri was supposed to be a team the Big Ten was interested in, but apparently they are now "getting the cold shoulder" from the Big Ten.

The Pac-10 needed some good news to announce today as USC just got hit with a 2-year postseason ban.

To the gound.

ESPN says sources claim Izzo is close to taking the Cavaliers coaching job. Apparently he's meeting with the team today, so he's obviously interested.

Two thoughts:

- Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert is an MSU graduate. If he does this he should never be welcome on campus again. If he's in any alumni associations, they should throw him out.

- I need to go buy gas cans.

Comic Cover of the Week: Batman #700

Cleveland Sucks

ESPN reports that the Cleveland Cavaliers have extended an offer of their head coaching job to Tom Izzo. Izzo previously said he wouldn't be interested in the NBA until he won another championship. I think it's pretty unlikely that Izzo would take the job, but the sheer horror of the idea does leave me just a little nervous.

Conference Expansion Roundup

- Pac-10 commissioner Larry Scott has been given the power to make decisions regarding expansion.

- An announcement could come as soon as 7/27.

- Conjecture is that an expanded Pac-10 could make $20 million per year in TV money for member schools. This surprised me, as I would think with all those teams they could at least match what the Big Ten made last year.

- The Big Ten presidents and chancellors met today. According to MSU president Lou Anna K. Simon, council chair, "It's possible that the timeline may be altered, but not the process."

- To join the Big Ten, a school has to submit an application, then receive votes from at least eight presidents or chancellors. This vote could happen electronically, so another meeting wouldn't necessarily need to happen.

- Anyone else notice that every time Big Ten expansion is mentioned academic standards come up, but when Pac-10 expansion is brought up no one says anything about academics? AAU membership is often cited (list of members here) when talking about the Big Ten since every school is a member, but out of the Pac-10 Stanford, Arizona, Cal, UCLA, Oregon, and USC are members as well. Sure, it's not everyone, but I'm surprised it isn't a bigger part of the conversation.

- The Mountain West conference isn't changing for now. I'm sure that's a relief for everyone.

Inside Out

Another 90's song:

Deadline

The Big 12 has reportedly issued an ultimatum to Nebraska and Missouri: commit to staying in the Big 12 by 5 pm Friday or... well, it's not like they're going to be kicked out at the end of the week, but presumably there will be consequences. But, hey, Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe is still comfortable that the Big 12 will remain intact. Right.

The most interesting bit of information in the article? An actual measure of the difference in TV money between Big Ten and Big 12 teams. Big 12 teams each made $7-10 million last year, Big Ten teams made $22 million.

Also, I did some research and poked around ND message boards, trying to get an idea of the overall feeling about how all of this will affect Notre Dame. There's surprisingly little talk that I can find, and what there is suggest they aren't worried, as you would expect from the most arrogant fans this side of Ann Arbor.

Heating Up

Last month there was speculation about how Big Ten expansion could cause tectonic shifts across college sports. Apparently the Pac 10 got the message, because there is now a report that they're offering invitations to Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Colorado, who would play in a division with Arizona and Arizona State. This would swell the Pac 10 to sixteen teams, making it the first mega-conference. Obviously, this changes everything. The Big Ten was planning on waiting through the summer, but they may have to act sooner rather than later before the feeding frenzy starts.

Will the Big 12 break up? Apparently Missouri and Nebraska are very serious about joining the Big Ten, even eager. Texas could go pretty much anywhere it wants, but would prefer to move with some of the other Big 12 teams to keep rivalries intact. Texas apparently is also looking in to starting a TV network of its own, which could complicate matters. As for the other teams, right now it sounds like they want to see what Texas does.

A few other issues:
- When are we going to see the SEC make a move? They can't be planning on just sitting back and watching this unfold.

- If the Pac 10 expands to 16 teams, does that the other major conference are going to try and get to that number?

- Notre Dame hasn't been interested in the Big Ten's offer. Are they starting to get nervous? Being independent is workable in the current landscape, but if mega-conferences are going to emerge in 2011 things will be much different.

- What are Kansas, KSU, Iowa State, and Baylor going to do if the rest of the conference abandons them?

First word: Diesel.

Shaquille O'Neal challenged last year's spelling bee champion to spelling contest on Friday. Kavya Shivashankar, 14, responded with a little trash talk: "Are you sure you want to do this? I did win the national spelling bee last year."

Apparently there are people that dislike Shaq, but when I hear of something like this, I can't imagine why. He'll follow through on this, and get killed, but everyone will have a good time. What's not to like?

The Way

More 90's music. You know how songs sometimes get connected to certain moments in your brain? My enduring memory of this song is listening to it while drinking Mountain Dew during a break from picking up stones with Big Daddy. Probably heard it a hundred times that summer but that's the one that sticks in my head.

The (Mostly) Perfect Game

A few thoughts on the blown call last night:

- Jim Joyce, by all accounts, is a good guy and great umpire. But he screwed this one up badly. Criticism is deserved.

- Threats against his family though are just stupid.

- Everyone involved acted with class. A shocking amount of class really. It speaks well of everyone involved.

- "Blown calls are part of baseball." "Human error is part of the game." I've heard that all day. It's garbage. I'm not really a baseball guy, but one of the things I do appreciate most about baseball is the history and tradition. Still, to keep technology out that could avert many mistakes is foolish.

- "Instant replay would make the game too long." Who could tell the difference? There's plenty of ways to cut more time out of MLB games, and replay can be done quickly if handled right. College football has an extensive replay system, but the overall amount of time added is minimal, especially compared to the impact of major blown calls.

- The bottom line for me: It is intolerable that thousands of fans at home can easily see that a call is wrong and nothing can be done to change it.

- I'm glad the MLB isn't stepping in and reversing the call. Yeah, it was bad, but I think that would be worse. And set an awful precedent.

- That Corvette sure is shiny.

- Armando Galarraga will probably be remembered better and longer because the game ended this way. Maybe he should change his number to 28 though.

- Politicians "declaring" it a perfect game and trying to score cheap political points? That's lame.

Comic Cover of the Week: Superman/Batman Annual #4

Closing Time

All this graduation stuff has got me in a 90's mood:

Now that's a sinkhole.

You think you've seen sinkholes? Not until you've seen the one in Guatemala City after Tropical Storm Agatha:

Nuke the leak?

Well, this is certainly a novel idea. And potentially a good one.

Captain America

According to AICN, this is the costume from the upcoming Captain America movie:

Going Home (Live)

I'll be in CC this weekend for Graduation Madness Part IV: The Big Weep. Things are going to be pretty busy, but I might be able to get away for a while if anyone is around.

Also, since I used the title, I might as well post a music video:

Comic Cover of the Week: Detective Comics #865

Quote of the Day

My grandmother always said: 'God has a plan for all of us.' I should have went along with his, not mine, my plan sucked!

-Mickey Rourke

Mass Effect: The Movie?

According to Spinoff Online, the Mass Effect series of video games is being adapted into a feature film by Legendary Pictures. Since Mass Effect 2 is the best game I've ever played, I'm pretty excited. And worried. I don't think a video game has ever made the transition to successful film, and Mass Effect could be a real challenge to adapt. A thorough play-through takes around 50 hours, so there's potentially 100 hrs of story to be mined so far. However, while Mass Effect has more character development than most games, much of the plot going from point A to point B to find clues that propel you towards the final showdown. That's less interesting in a film than in a game. But if you can manage to adapt the story the studio would have a hit the size of Star Wars on its hands, and at least two sequels.

Please don't screw it up.

Solomon Kane

10-3?

David Goricki of the Detroit News thinks the Spartans will go 10-3 this season. He predicts losses to Wisconsin, Iowa, and Penn State and wins over Notre Dame and Michigan.

I'm not so sure about this. The bronze in the uniforms is worth a loss on its own. I think he's right in picking the three losses he does, right now those are the toughest games on the schedule. But I think there has to be at least one more loss in there somewhere, maybe Purdue or NU, or even one of the high-profile games against ND or UM. The fact that they might wear an alternate uniform puts the ND game at risk before they even step on the field. Goricki thinks the defense will be much better, I'm going to have to see them prove it on the field before I have any confidence in them.