Sports Shorts.

I wouldn't read too much into the fact that the US got their ass handed to them again by Europe in the Ryder Cup. The Euros just have a deeper team than the US. The US team is loaded at the top with Tiger, Furyk, and Phil but very weak at the bottom. The bottom half of the Euro team is far more accomplished. And don't forget golf is an individual sport. You can't expect players to get geared up for a team event one week out of 52 every year.

Through week 3 of the NFL season I say the Super Bowl is Baltimore vs. Seattle. Seattle looks as good as last year and the Ravens defense is as good as it was in their prior Super Bowl year. And they finally have a QB in Steve McNair.

I completely agree that Frank Thomas gets the shaft when it comes to the "best hitter of his generation debate." He put up incredible numbers before everyone went on 'roids. He hit for power, had the best eye in the MLB and hit over .330 every year. Only injury has slowed him down the past several years. He may be an ass but he can rake.

Sports Shorts.

I wouldn't read too much into the fact that the US got their ass handed to them again by Europe in the Ryder Cup. The Euros just have a deeper team than the US. The US team is loaded at the top with Tiger, Furyk, and Phil but very weak at the bottom. The bottom half of the Euro team is far more accomplished. And don't forget golf is an individual sport. You can't expect players to get geared up for a team event one week out of 52 every year.

Through week 3 of the NFL season I say the Super Bowl is Baltimore vs. Seattle. Seattle looks as good as last year and the Ravens defense is as good as it was in their prior Super Bowl year. And they finally have a QB in Steve McNair.

I completely agree that Frank Thomas gets the shaft when it comes to the "best hitter of his generation debate." He put up incredible numbers before everyone went on 'roids. He hit for power, had the best eye in the MLB and hit over .330 every year. Only injury has slowed him down the past several years. He may be an ass but he can rake.

Entertainment Notes.

Looks like Kazakhstan is going to step up their PR campaign with the Borat movie coming out. Their President has decided to pay for educational advertising in US papers in advance of his trip there later this month. I think that is a very civil and commendable approach to take. I think this article should be required reading for everyone in the mid-east. Seriously, imagine what radical Islam reaction would be if Ali G played a ridiculously exaggerrated character of Arab descent. I shudder to think.

There has been a lot of uproar about Survivor's decision to organize tribes along racial lines. I really don't see the big deal. This is a show with slipping ratings that is using an innocent stunt to reel in more viewers. I highly doubt people are watching this show for insight into the aptitudes of one race over another.

Good to see this SUNshine girl has aimed high with her life goal.

Friday Stuff.

Belinda Stronach and Tie Domi. Yeah....um....uh...Christ, insert your own comment here. This is just icky.

Good on Philadelphia Flyers GM Bobby Clarke for trying to sign restricted free agent Ryan Kesler to a contract. This of course means the Canucks can match the offer or lose Kesler. This was the first such contract tendered since 1999. That's 7 years. In what way is that not collusionary? Not offering contracts as a means to drive down salaries is the exact definition of collusion.

Sorry to hear Keith Primeau had to retire due to concussion problems. I always thought Primeau underachieved early in his career but he turned into a pretty damn good player the past 6 or 7 years.

Rachel Weisz

The lovely and talented Rachel Weisz is this month's "Pursuit of Leisure Hottie". This sophisticated Oscar winner and European import can best be described as the thinking man's beauty. Classy, intelligent, and always well dressed on the red carpet, she most certainly deserves this honor.

It is also somewhat timely because it has been announced that Dan Brown's other book, Angels & Demons, is getting the big screen treatment (for what it's worth this book was much better than The Davinci Code, though I think they are both very good books written by a very bad author). I think Ms. Weisz is the perfect actress to play strong, adventurous, brilliant scientist Vittoria Vetra.

Nope. You Can't Get Into Trouble In Cuba.

This is priceless. Apparently Thai boxing honchos have sent their star boxer and Thailand's best Gold Medal hope at the '08 Olympics to Cuba to end his party lifestyle. Yep, Manus Boonjumong has been told to stay away from girls, bars and gambling because the Bangkok nightlife was destroyng his potential. Now I have never been to Bangkok but I have heard enough stories to know that pretty much everyone there is a moral degenerate. So just what do you have to do to be sent to another country? My money says Manus did something involving live, or even possibly dead, animals and that was the last straw.

I have been to Cuba and can tell you there is plenty of trouble there for him to get into. My wife and I were at a 4.5 star hotel in Varaderro and the security guard brought us a hooker and asked if we wanted to pay $20 for a threesome (we politely declined). And that's on a well guarded resort. Stay tuned for inevitable updates in this story.

Baseball Stuff.

Albert Pujols hit a game winning 2-run double in the ninth inning last night. That in itself wouldn't usually get me to write about, but that he did it against his personal whipping boy Brad Lidge does. Who could forget the moon shot Pujols hit against Lidge in the NLCS last year that is currently in orbit around Mars. It seems that in that one moment Pujols shattered Lidge into a pile of rubble. Until that dinger Lidge was terrifying to face and virtually unhittable. Then he gave up a walk off in game 1 of the World Series and this year his ERA has ballooned to 5.21. If I were Lidge I would take out a restraining order on Pujols so he never had to face him again.

There has been a lot of debate over the race for the AL MVP this year. Although Ortiz, Jeter, and Dye are having great years they are all protected by other great hitters in their lineup. My MVP is Justin Morneau and not just because he is Canadian. He has carried the Twins offensively, especially in the second half as Joe Mauer has slumped a bit (understandable for a guy who catches every day). Morneau also leads the league in game winning RBI's and plays a solid first base.

Steve Simmons, the resident know nothing idiot at the Sun Media Sports desk, was on TV the other day ripping the Jays and talking about how great the Marlins have done this year to stay in the wild card hunt. Let's get a few things straight. I do think the Marlins are a great story this year. Their asshole owner gutted the team and stuck the manager with a $14 million payroll. Their young players are playng well and they may very well win the wild card. But it's the NL Wild Card. The NL is so bad this year I don't even think it should be included in the MLB. It's like Quadruple A or something but it is definately not a Major League. And the Marlins are only one game over .500. They Jays are two games better in the standings than the Marlins in a division that includes the Yanks and Red Sox and a league that also has the Twins, Tigers, and White Sox. So yes the Marlins are a great story but no way in hell are they a better team than the Jays.

The Islanders Are At It Again.

I'm honestly starting to think that the owners of the Islanders are secretly running the team as a comedy reality series to air back in Asia. They can't really be as stupid as they appear. Now newly installed GM Garth Snow has decided signing underachieving goalie Rick DiPietro to a $60+million 15 year contract is a good idea. The guy is no good now, how bad will he be in his late 30's? Didn't they learn anything from the disastrous long term contract they gave Alexei Yashin? Good luck getting DiPietro to play hard every night. The coach will get on him and all he has to say is "I'm here for another 14 years. You're not." Brilliant contract Islanders. It may be the voice of Garth Snow but it's clearly the words of Mike Milbury.

On Vacation

I will be on vacation in the great state of New Hampshire for the next week so no posts.