The Players Championship

This is going to be a fun weekend for sports...the NCAA Dance continues and golf will be equally entertaining as the feudal lords of golf gather at Sawgrass...squires will be hustling about preparing the weapons of war for their lords...attendants will be bringing the ale and grub forward so that the patrons will have the best time with the least effort...Cialis and Viagara commercials will be flowing...and hopefully the weather will be in good order so a new champion can step forward Sunday...

I am having th e hardest time picking a favorite...Harrington is the odds on because of his runner-up finish last year...Mickelson, Singh, Woods and Els (in order of money) will be strutting around as some un-heralded knight comes forward and displays his quality...who will it be ?

Banking on Wolfowitz

President Bush nominated Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank...this move compliments his nomination of John Bolton as Ambassador to the U.N....the Empire Strikes Back theme music keeps chiming in my head...Bush elevates neocon Kevin Martin to head the FCC.

While the liberal objections and cool reactions from "old Europe" countries has caught my attention, the activity of this Administration has just become amusing to me.

The World Bank apparently does not "measure up" to standard when its track record is judged over the past ten years. This, still, is a quite disturbing trend of the present Administration applying policy techniques across boundaries of expertise.

I guess you don't need a law degree to be nominated for the Supreme Court, eh ?

Welcome to the Nation !! 

Person of the Year...Loser of the Year

Talk about success stories....i have two nominations for "Person of the Year"...first, the leading lady among corporate czarettes...crashed and burned Lucent Tech and was fired...then crashed and burned Hewlett Packard and was fired...yes, that lady of style and grace whom Dubya will nominate for the top job at the World Bank....drums please...Carly Fiorina !!

Ok...our next contestant needs no introduction...why ? Because i know more about her stocks than i know about my own...the queen of bedroom patterns..that wizard of kitchen tricks...the heir apparent to Bob Villa’s handy-dandiness around the crib...ladies and gentlemen, i give you Martha Stewart !!
Honestly, i don’t think a guy out there stands a chance of topping either of these ladies...

Now...for the top candidates for LOSER OF THE YEAR....no introductions...just the list please...Jacko....Kobe...Barry...Chaney...Artest...Jose...and the perennial nominee...O.J.
Notice a trend beside two syllables ??
Rack Me....I Am Out...

By the Numbers...Bracketistics

Ok fellow blog-a-tiers, here is are some March Madness numbers to chew on....taken from "by the numbers" by Allen St. John, WSJ 20050304...17 teams have entered the Dance with no losses and only seven closed the deal (sidebar: Wooden and his Bruins cornered the market here, so to speak, by taking 4 of 7 slots in this category)

since 1982, 10 teams have come to the Dance with one loss and none made it all the way (sidebar: only Duke in 1999 got to the Final Four)

how about #1-ranked teams entering the Dance? Only once in the last nine years, Duke once again in 2001, has that team closed the deal

finally the latest indicator to enter statistical geekdom is RPI ranking...Kansas comes in first in that category and Illinois comes in a distant 91st...so put that pen down and pick up your #2 pencil when filling in your brackets!!

BTW...fear the Rajun Cajuns !!

Beisbol Has Been Very,Very Good to Me

March 17...the Congressional hearings on steriods in beisbol...a day of infamy? Nope....Bud Selig will call Dubya and this will be handled from behind the scenes...the former owner and leader of the free world is not a lame duck yet !!

Word is that no one involved with BALCO will be touched, for fear of damaging an ongoing federal case...Sammy Sosa....oh my...only if you were Irish, my boy...Mark Maguire...oh my...put that HoF speech away, kid...Palmero ?...hey, he’s already said it is his wife’s birthday, so cut the guy some slack...and finally, your boy, Canseco...yo holmes...sell those books, esse !!

Rack Me...I’m Out !!

El Tigre !!

Now that El Tigre is back, questions abound...why now ?

A thought worth pursuing.....

Rich Hofmann
The Tiger to the Rescue
Philadelphia Inquirer
20050308
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/11078325.htm

The Empire Strikes Back

the Yanks to control early in the first game of the year between the Nation and the Empire...but more fun was had trashing Giambi...that's until he crushed a 410 footer...er...uhhh....cold beer, anyone ?

Coach John Chaney

this is a tough one for myself...the match-up zone is bread & butter for me...

but the court of public opinion will weigh heavily against him...

we may have to bid Coach a solemn farewell at the end of the day...

here are some opinions:

Gwen Knapp

Stephen A Smith

Drew Sharp

feel free to add your thoughts...

The Roosevelt Institution

this is being heralded as the "nation's first student think tank."

i do not know about all that, but it is an inspiring idea whose time has come.

as they say in the newspaper bizz, follow the link and "read all about it."

rooseveltinstitution.org