Where's the objectivity people?

If there is one thing that this year's election has done is that it has proven the American people's recent tendency to gravitate to a media outlet that they know will repeat and confirm political beliefs/stances that they have already decided they believe to be true. What ever happened to having the media be objective and a place where a person could hear both sides of the story and then decide for his or herself what they believe. Now days conservatives listen and watch Rush Limbaugh and Fox News and liberals listen to Air America and Al Franken. Both sides then memorize and store in their little brains these convoluted and biased facts that these media outlets spew out to try and gain votes for their candidate and political party. I'm so sick of this trend that I am truly becoming a believer of the phrase "you can't believe anything you hear these days."

Special interest groups and the election

While listening to a local radio station last night, I become extremely annoyed as I listened to a man's reason for why he will be voting for George Bush next week. The man was a hunter and pro-gun and that was the entire basis for his vote. He said "I am not interested in seeing John Kerry being elected as President because I think it will negatively affect the activities I am involved in." Have hunting regulations really ever been different depending on what party the President represents?" I hate the thought of how many people are giving their vote to either candidate this year because of one issue such as this.

25 and under will make the difference

I was extremely encouraged today as I heard one political expert's take on one theory that gives the election to Kerry. The political expert speculated that this year's election might provoke a mass amount of younger voters to hit the polls. This favors Kerry much like it favored Jesse Ventura in the 1998 Minnesota governor's race.

Saturday Night "Not Exactly" Live

Ashlee Simpson was caught lip-sinking on her recent performance on Saturday Night Live which is hilarious in itself. What I find even more funny is that the singer's record label blamed the incident on a computer glitch. How about blaming it on the fact that the girl has no talent and only has a deal with a record label because her sister has a decent voice and married Nick Lachey? This incident is also just another reflection on how far SNL has fallen since its glory days.

Joke of the day

What do Michael Jackson and Red Sox third baseman Bill Mueller have in common?

They both wear a glove for apparently no reason.

And isn't it ironic...don't you think?

George Bush continues to gloat that one of the great things about liberating Iraq and Afghanistan will be that these countries will now have elections that allow the general public to choose their leader. While the United States works to get these elections going across seas, it is clear that Americans don't even have faith in our own election procedures. In a recent Time magazine poll, 48% of those polled said they think the winner of this November's presidential election will not be legitimate. Over 50% of those polled think that the Supreme Court will decide who is our next president. It's unbelievable that after the debacle in Florida in 2000, that the American people haven't demanded election reform.

Who's the SOD now?

When the Minnesota Vikings drafted running back Onterio Smith in the fourth round, Smith crowned himself the SOD - Steal Of the Draft. Now that Smith is serving a four game suspension for violating the NFL's drug policy, the Vikings have found a new SOD. Mewelde Moore has racked up over 600 total yards in his first three starts in the NFL. The Vikings have won all three of those games. Rumors in Minneapolis are that even when Michael Bennett is healthy and Smith is allowed to play again, that Moore will still be the Vikings guy. As long he continues to make big plays without turnovers, I've got no problem with that.

8 errors, 2 wins

The bats and some solid pitching by Curt Schilling bailed the Boston Red Sox out again tonight as they made four errors for the second straight game in the World Series. Normally eight errors in two games will equal at least one loss, so the Sox have to feel lucky being up 2-0 right now as they get ready to head back to St. Louis.

And this is a good thing?

Jesse Ventura, despite remaining mute for the entire news conference, pledged his support and vote for John Kerry today. A fellow Independent Party member from Maine made the bizarre announcement today from a podium with a Kerry/Edwards sign plastered on the front. "The Body" was of course wearing a Navy Seal hat and had his beard braided in an interesting fashion statement. My question is whether or not it is actually a good thing for Kerry that Ventura is supporting him. Just from judging people's opinions of Ventura these days, my guess is that most people think he is unbalanced at best. I don't know that his support is going to actually help Kerry's cause in Minnesota. Despite Ventura's support, I still think Kerry will carry the great state of Minnesota.

My new job!

Yes I went out and got myself another job! Besides reporting on high school sports for The Lakeshore Weekly News, I will also now be covering the local courts in Minneapolis and St. Paul for Courthouse News Service. This is where I am suppossed to insert the joke about how I wish I was still in college. Time to update the good old resume.

Do you believe in miracles? - Part II

Yes the Boston Red Sox have dispatched of the dreaded Yankees after climbing out of a monumentous three games to zero hole. And if you want to talk about determination, lets talk about Johnny Damon. The guy was worthless for six games and even made a stupid baserunning error in the first inning of game 7. Damon persevered though to hit the big grandslam an inning later to give the Red Sox all the momentum. MVP of the series wasn't even close though. David Ortiz was a Yankee killer, but he really just did what he's been doing in Boston for two years now and that's come up with big hits in clutch situations.

Miracle in 1980 vs. Miracle in 2004

So the begging question is which was the bigger miracle? The USA hockey team defeating Russia and taking gold in 1980 or the Red Sox beating the Yankees after being down three games to zero. Sorry Boston faithful, despite the fact that I'm merely a bandwagon hockey fan, I'm going to stick with Al Michaels and the 1980 squad.

A big sigh of relief

Somewhere tonight on some couch, former Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner let out a little sigh of relief. No, Red Sox fans will probably never forget Buckner's crucial error against the Mets in the 1986 World Series, but if the Sox do go on to win it this year they might forget and forgive Bucker just a little bit.

Closed Circuit to Girl Who Knits:

My days of slumber and unemployment have come to an abrupt end. I've beaten you to the courthouse. Call me.

I've been thinking lately...

Is it just me or is it a tad bit strange that newspapers across the country come out and publically endorse candidates every election year. It's almost as if they are saying "We know that this is where you are suppossed to be able to come to read about the truth and facts about major events occurring in the world, but here is your fair warning that we might be a little biased about this guy until November 2." And secondly, do these endorsements mean a damn thing? Who is like, gosh I just don't know who to vote for so maybe I'll just put a check by the guy who the Star Tribune likes. Yeah, he seems like a likeable guy. What a pointless formality.

Have you ever thought about...

Walking into class on the first day of law school with a boombox on one shoulder blaring the Law & Order theme song? Just curious. Life is all about first impressions you know.

Not seeing 20/20 Joe?

During tonights broadcast of the Yankees and Red Sox game, ESPN radio announcer Joe Morgan said multiple times that he didn't think the umpires could call A-Rod out for swatting the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove. Morgan though A-Rod had a legitimate claim that the swat was part of his normal range of motion while running. C'mon Joe! We know you had the luxury of replay in your booth, what the heck were you watching? They guy took a swing Mike Tyson would've been proud of. If A-Rod was called safe I think the Red Sox should've petitioned to make sure A-Rod would have to run like that the rest of the series. Now that would be entertainment.

Pick your battles 101

This story comes from the file labeled pathetic. After a high school cross country race in Virginia this past week, 30 racers were informed they had been disqualified for wearing a Livestrong bracelet. The bracelet, which in reality is more like a rubber band, is being sold by Lance Armstrong's foundation in order to raise money in the fight against cancer. Virginia league officials disqualified the runners because it is against the rules to wear jewelry during a race. Minnesota State High School League officials have also been quoted as saying that runners will not be allowed to wear the bracelet in its state meet this year. Whether the Livestrong bracelet is even a piece of jewelry is a whole different argument. What gets me is that teenagers in this country are chastised daily for drug use, underage drinking and pre-marital sex. Now you're telling me that you are going to punish student athletes for wearing a bracelet that symbolizes strength, determination and beating the odds, not to mention the fight against a deadly disease. These league officials need a serious dosage of reality so they can come back down to earth from their planet called "I love having power." What are these idiots possibly thinking?

We didn't need him

David Oritz, who was basically allowed to leave the Minnesota Twins organization without anybody noticing, has become quite the clutch hitter for the Boston Red Sox. Two nights, two extra inning game winning hits to send the ALCS back to New York. Chalk Ortiz up on the loss column for Twins GM Terry Ryan. Ortiz sure would look nice in front of Justin Morneau in the Twins lineup.

Show the game already!

Fox is really making a major effort to show shots of the Boston fans in this New York/Boston ALCS. In fact I'd argue that Fox spends more time showing the crowd than they do the actual game. We all get it ok? The Boston fans are very anxious and there are many cute kids in the stands who really, really want the Red Sox to win. Just show the damn game. What I don't get is that Fox tends to show twice as many crowd shots in New York, Boston and Chicago as if these fans are more interesting to watch during the game than in other cities.

No Daunte haters this year

Daunte Culpepper continued his amazing season tonight with his third five touchdown pass game of the season. With this performance Culpepper should move ahead of Peyton Manning in anybody's "who's the best quarterback in the league this year" discussion. Manning is considered by most the best quarterback in the league because of his numbers, but more importantly his ability to read defenses at the line of scrimmage. Culpepper appears to not only be putting up the big numbers like he always has, but his poise and decision making skills have been almost perfect this year. The fact that he continued to play like the best quarterback in the league in the second half against the Saints without Randy Moss on the field even goes further to prove Culpepper has stepped up his game this year.

Johnnies lose

While yesterday's slate of college football games was soured for me because the University of Minnesota laid an egg the size of the Metrodome, I was happy to hear about one final score in Collegeville. St. John's lost 21-20 to Concordia on their home field which hurts their playoff chances. That means there is a good chance that I won't have to read the annual sappy feature story about head coach John Gagliardi in the Star Tribune this fall.

Cheney's Prove Republicans Ignorance On Homosexuality

Coming into this election I thought that the issue of gay marraige would get a lot of attention, but it has not. That may change after a seemingly harmless comment made by Kerry in the third and final presidential debate. Kerry made a reference to the fact that Dick Cheney's daughter is a lesbian in order to suggest that being gay is something a person is born with versus a choice. The Cheneys have now publicly reacted to the comment and claim they are angry that Kerry mentioned their daughter's sexuality during the course of the debate. The fact that the Cheneys are angered over the mention of their daughter's sexual preference proves that they are embarrassed by it and that's just sad. Furthermore, what I don't get is the difference in reaction to the comments made by Kerry compared to the one's Edwards made in the Vice-Presidential debate. Edwards mentioned Mary Cheney's homosexuality in much the same way Kerry did and Dick Cheney thanked Edwards during the debate for being respectful to his family on the issue. Now Kerry says something along the same lines and all the sudden the Cheney family is outraged? Another hypocrisy is that many high profile republicans like Illinois senate candidate Alan Keyes speak out on homosexuality and call gays sinners. Where is the outrage from the Cheneys when other republicans basically call their daughter a sinner.? I think gay marraige is an issue that the Republicans are vulnerable on and that Kerry should continue to try to bring it the forefront. Both Bush and Cheney appear to be uncomfortable talking about the issue for different reasons.

Robin Williams on Jay Leno

John Kerry should perhaps consider having Robin Williams stump for him at local comedy clubs. Williams appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight and spent a good ten minutes poking fun at "W" and his debate techniques. Williams did a dead on impression of "W" during the second debate when he constantly winked and nodded at members of the crowd in St. Louis.

Fair & Balanced My A$$

I caught a showing of the documentary Outfoxed today at the University of Minnesota Law School. The documentary points a critical finger at Rupert Murdoch and the Fox News channel for being exactly the opposite of their trademark claim: that they are fair and balanced. The film includes several interviews from former Fox News employees who make it abundantly clear that the station has a clear agenda that favors "W" and his entire administration. It's a film worth checking out and shouldn't leave you wondering how many of the facts were sensationalized like many claim Michael Moore's films do. One of my favorite clips was when Fox News had a reporter interviewing "W" who's wife happened to be campaigning for Bush. Can we say conflict of interest?


No Longer Irrelevant

Ryan Hoag - the NFL's Mr. Irrelevant in 2003 - has been signed to the Minnesota Vikings 53-man roster. Hoag, who played collegiate football at my alma mater of Gustavus Adolphus College, was signed due to the shoulder injury sustained by punt returner Keenan Howry in the overtime victory over the Houston Texans.

Hitch 'Em and Ditch 'Em

After the Yankees ended yet another Twins postseason run, baseball talk in the Twin Cities must turn toward next year. The Twins have some big decisions to make with several key veterans and will likely lose at least two players who have been cornerstones in the Twins success the past three years.

Hitch 'Em:

Brad Radke - Despite a so-so record, Radke had a solid season with little run support. Word is he only wants a two-year contract which the Twins should give him to keep a solid one-two punch in the starting rotation with him and Santana.

Christian Guzman - While I haven't always been Guzie's biggest fan, I think he's an important part of the Twins success. His hitting approach is frustrating, but his fielding was top notch this season. Plus, I don't think any of the Twins youngsters are ready to become everyday short stops.

Corey Koskie - This is the tough one, and the player who many think the Twins should let go due to injury problems and erratic hitting. He still remains one of the best defensive third basemen's in the league and he led the team in homeruns this past year with 25. Unless the Twins plan on replacing his power in the line-up with a free agent I think they need to resign Koskie.

Ditch 'Em:

Jacque Jones - The Twins have plenty of talented outfielders including Shannon Stewart, Torii Hunter and Lew Ford. The team is high on Jason Kubel and is out of minor league options for Rochester native Michael Restovich. If they want to keep Resto, they have to get rid of JJ. Besides, I won't be too sad if I never see Jones again in a Twins uniform swing and miss at a high fastball out of the strike zone.

Luis Rivas - For years we've heard this guy was going to blossum into one of the best second basemen in the game and we continue to see .240 next to his name in the stat sheets. I'll give up a little defense with Michael Cuddyer starting there next year because Cuddyer can hit if given the chance to start on the regular basis.