Syracuse and Pittsburgh, how could you?

On the very weekend that the founder of the Big East Conference and all around basketball icon, Dave Gavitt, passed away in his Rhode Island home, two of the conference's most influential members spit on Gavitt's greatest legacy and left knives in the backs of their Big East mates.  With their application to join the ever-growing Atlantic Coast Conference, Syracuse and Pittsburgh became just the latest "instututions of higher learning" to join in the sickening, money-driven frenzy that is college sports conference realignment.

Its obvious at this point that we are headed toward four, or maybe five, super conferences in college sports.  Its inevitable.  And I'm sure once its all said and done we'll get used to it like we do with all change in life.  But that doesn't mean we have to like it as its happening.  And it sure as hell doesn't mean I have to hold my tongue as it happens to the conference with which I grew up.  My allegiance to Indiana Basketball notwithstanding, the Big East is my conference.

The Big East and I were both born in 1979.  My father is Joe Woitkoski.  The Big East's father is Dave Gavitt.  His vision to create a basketball-powered conference among mainly catholic schools in the northeast proved to be one of the great ideas on American sports.  He was unquestionably the driving force behind a conference that dominated college basketball in the 1980s and has continued to flex its muscle since.  And there was also the small matter of tying the new conference in with another new northeast sports entity, ESPN.  This was just another in the long line of Gavitt's genius moves.

But he was not just an administrative visionary.  Not by a longshot.  As head coach of the Providence Friars from 1969-79, Gavitt led the school to eight consecutive postseason appearances, including five NCAA tournaments and the 1973 Final Four.  He amassed a 209-84 record during his coaching tenure and from 1971-82 served as the school's Director of Athletics.  It was in this post that he and some other Administrators came up with the idea of the Big East.  The newly formed conference having been mainly his brain-child, Gavitt was the initial Big East Commissioner and held the post until 1990.

As successful as the Big East has been lately, the 1980's were truly the league's golden age.  The Big East would send nine teams to the Final Four from 1982-89, including an unprecedented three teams in 1985.  In the midst of that run, Georgetown and Villanova would become national champions in 1984 and 85, respectively.  Georgetown, Syracuse, and Seton Hall would make the championshp game in 1982, 1985 (an all-Big East championship game), 1987, and 1989.  Gavitt also came up with the idea for the Big East Tournament, and more importantly, to play it at Madison Square Garden.  What better exposure for a fledgling conference tournament than to put it in Manhattan?  It was also under Gavitt's guidance that the NCAA Tournament expanded to sixty-four teams.  And he was crucial in securing major television contracts for the Big East and NCAA Tournament.

In 1980, Gavitt was also chosen as the head coach of the US Men's basketball team.  He would never get to realize this opportunity however, as the United States boycotted the 1980 games that were held in Moscow.  But it was his influence off the court that transformed USA Basketball forever.  As President of USA Basketball operations, it was Gavitt who came up with the "Dream Team" for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

If this is starting to read like a fictional tale, I don't blame you for thinking so.  To have one idea as good as Gavitt had with the creation of the Big East is more than most people will ever enjoy in a lifetime.  To add the creation of the Dream Team to that legacy, well, now you can see just why Dave Gavitt was so special.  And he was also CEO of my beloved Boston Celtics from 1990-94; keeping it in New England for an entire career.  His 2006 induction into the National Basketball Hall of Fame was as well-deserved as anyone who shares that space.

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Dave Gavitt did all that he did in the world of basketball.  But most importantly, he did it as one of the nicest men sports have ever known.  He is truly one of those men about whom you will never hear a bad word spoken.  He was class and vision, personified.

So he deserved better than what Syracuse and Pittsburgh did this weekend.  He deserved to die in a way that the story would be a celebration of his amazing life and accomplishments.  He did not deserve for his obituaries to have an addendum detailing the beginning of the end of his greatest basketball legacy.  And for that, for not simply waiting until today or tomorrow to announce their plans to grab at the ACC football money like rabid dogs and betray the Big East, I say to Syracuse and Pittsburgh, you disgust me.  But hey, you fit right in with the rest of the college sports world.

I fully appreciate the irony of much that I have said in light of the Big East having raided Conference USA five years ago to snatch up the likes of Louisville and Marquette, among others.  But come on people, Conference USA?  They have as much tradition as the idiot Teabaggers.  And I know that the Big East has already survived the departures or Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech about a decade ago.  But aside from the BC gut punch, who really felt that Miami and VT belonged in the Big East and not the ACC?  This latest exodus, one being a charter member and the other a fixture since 1982, this one hurts the heart.

But that's where we are these days in college sports.  TV contracts and BCS bowl money have thrown tradition in the trunk of the car, taken it out to the woods, and shot it in the head.  Presidents and ADs have their heads on a swivel, constantly scanning the landscape, searching for the next move that will guarantee them the most money and exposure.  Geography be damned.  To hell with history.  Its every school for itself.

Lets just all be grateful that Dave Gavitt didn't see it that way.  So RIP to one of the great men the game of basketball, and New England, have ever known.

"We made that change uptown and the Big Man joined the band." - 10th Avenue Freeze-Out

He was The King of the World.  Master Of the Universe.  The Big Man.  He was a lot of names and a lot of things.  But most of all he was, as much as The Boss himself, the heart and soul of The E Street Band.

Clarence Clemons died Saturday night from complications resulting from a stroke earlier this month.  That was just the latest in a long line of physical ailments that had plauged the E Streeter over the past few years.  In a recent interview he had admitted that the last couple tours were "pure agony" on his massive frame.  City to city, stage to stage just wasn't so easy on the Big Man anymore.  When I heard the news of the stroke I feared the worst may be right around the corner.  Saturday night proved me right.

I'm not going to write a detailed obituary for Clarence so I encourage you to find them elsewhere.  (Click here for Backstreets.com -they'll give you most of what you'll need)  There will be many.  Such a larger than life man deserves no less.  They will tell you about his finding Bruce one night in Asbury Park, 1971, and how the friendship and musical companionship was born.  They will tell you how Bruce knew exactly what Clarence meant to the band, onstage and off.  They will tell you of a brotherhood that many actual brothers may never feel.  They will surely tell you how The Big Man and his saxophone helped create the signature sound that would blast out of the clubs of the Jersey Shore and onto the national stage.  And when you read them, if you're like me, you'll say to yourself "thank God."  Thank God these two men found each other.

I became a fan of The E Street Band in 1999 (thank you, Wayne and Jeff) and I dove in head first.  I had heard the hits but I had never appreciated the band as they deserved to be appreciated.  I soaked up Born To Run.  Every note of it, over and over.  It was pure musical genius.  Then the same thing with Darkness on the Edge of Town.  The River.  The E Street Shuffle.  I literally could not get enough.  Born In The USA.  Live albums.  It was a musical awakening the likes of which only Phish had ever provided me.  My first show was June 15, 2000 at none other than Madison Square Garden.  What else could a first-timer ask for?  Bruce in Manhattan. Unreal.

By the summer of 2000 I owned every piece of music that The E Stree Band produced and I was ready to share it with all of St Michael's College.  And as my love of this band grew exponentially by the week, it was easy to see why Bruce so reveled in the presence of The Big Man.  As much as any other member of this insanely talented group, Clarence was the foundation.  He was the Derek Jeter of the band.  Never the flashiest, maybe never even the most gifted, but surely the one who tied it all together.

It goes to show you how profound his impact, how respected a member of the musical community he was , that two of today's most iconic touring bands, U2 and Phish, each paid tribute to him during their shows Sunday night.  His impact was that far-reaching.  His spirit was that pure.  And while the lights are dim and the hearts are heavy today on E Street; while there is a void that cannot be filled, it will only be a matter of time.  A matter of time until we hear that saxophone again and remember just what it was that Clarence Clemons brought to this world.  Pure joy.

Rest in peace, Big Man.  We'll miss you.

Already do.

Doesn't it seem like we always hear Republicans talking about small government?  Get out of people's lives, they say.  The Teabagger movement was pretty much founded upon this sentiment.  In many ways, small government is the only government for the GOP.

Unless, of course, you're gay and want to get married or a woman who needs to have an abortion.  Then the GOP can't keep themselves out of your life.

Bradley Whitford's character on The West Wing once said to a republican Congressman, while debating a federal bill that would outlaw gay marriage, "I like you guys who want to reduce the size of government.  Make it just small enough so it can fit in our bedrooms."

Or our doctors' offices.

Well at least the Teabaggers didn't waste any time showing us their true agenda.  Cut spending for programs people need, make abortion illegal, and continue to funnell tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires who clearly don't need them.

Now if that isn't populism, I don't know what is.

AL East - Red Sox (97 wins)

AL Central - White Sox (90 wins)

AL West - Athletics (88 wins)

AL Wildcard - Yankees (94 wins)

NL East - Phillies (94 wins)

NL Central - Reds (91 wins)

NL West - Giants (93 wins)

NL Wildcard - Braves (92 wins)

ALDS: Red Sox over Athletics; White Sox over Yankees

NLDS: Phillies over Reds, Braves over Giants

ALCS: Red Sox over White Sox

NLCS: Braves over Phillies

World Series: Braves over Red Sox

AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez (Yankees)

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez (Mariners)

AL Manager: Ozzie Guillen (White Sox)

AL Rookie: Ivan Nova (Yankees)

NL MVP: Albert Pujols (Cardinals)

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)

NL Manager: Fredi Gonzalez (Braves)

NL Rookie: Freddie Freeman (Braves)

World Series MVP: Martin Prado (Braves)

It was fifteen years ago today that my life changed forever.  At the UMASS Mullins Center on December 4, 1995, I saw my first Phish show.

I've written about this show in this space in the past so I am not going to go into major detail.  Suffice to say it was an incomparable experience and set the tone for my musical taste for the rest of my life.

Fifteeen years later the band it still at it and so am I.  On October 23 of this year I saw my 50th show at none other than the UMASS Mullins Center.  It was the band's first visit to the venue since December 1995.  Only they could unkowingly give me such an amazing gift for this milestone show.

A lot has changed since the night of 12/4/95.  Most obviously, I have gotten older.  But my love for this band and their music is as strong as it has ever been.  This band has given me some of the greatest and most exciting times in my life and I cannot thank them enough.

But I can look forward to another fifteen years of sharin' in the groove.

Today is September 2, 2010.  Otherwise known as 9-02-10.  Otherwise known as one of the greatest days ever.

I have no shame whatsoever admitting my love for Beverly Hills, 90210.  None at all.  While I was a bit too young to watch the series from the start I did catch up through reruns and by 8th grade I waited impatiently for each new episode.  The gang's college years matched up with my high school years and I stayed faithful through the end of Cal U.  But after I graduated high school and they college, it seemed like the right time to end the relationship.  College was ahead for me and television was not going to hold the same priority.  Also there was that anyone who watched could tell the show was about to do some serious shark jumping and would take a decided turn for the worse as central characters continued to leave.

But despite my not staying until the end (though I did watch the final few episodes, of course), there is no doubt this show ranks as one of my all time favorites.  Thanks to Soap Net I can still get my fill.  In fact last summer I managed to record two hours a day and made 90210 my lunchtime viewing from May through August.  The show just never gets old.  It may get a bit more cheesy, but it never gets old.

So on this day of celebration for the greatest teen drama ever produced, take a minute to recall the infamous Spring Dance.  Or when Donna Martin graduated.  Or when Kelly Talyor chose herself.  Or when Dylan lit his way with the bridges he burned.

You won't be disappointed.

By now everyone knows what happened last night in Detroit so I'm not going to rehash the details.  I just hope that this is the final straw that wakes up MLB to the fact that it needs instant replay. Yes, it needs replay.

I'm not talking about unlimited replay.  Or challenges to balls and strikes.  Take what we have now with home runs and expand it to the bases and for diving plays in the outfield.  Use the NFL model where the coach gets one or two challenges per game.  It makes no sense to ignore the technilogical capacity that we currently have in the name of game speed or tradition.

Those concerned that the game is already long enough are wrong to think replay would significantly lengthen the game.  Give the ump 90 seconds to look at the replay.  Figure 60 seconds to walk back and forth.  Two challanges per game for each team.  That is ten minutes.  Ten minutes if each team uses both in a game.  Is it that big a deal if a three hour ten minute game becomes three hours and twenty minutes if it means everyone is happy with the calls?

Those concerned with tradition please come join us in the 21st century.  There is little at all in today's game that resembles any kind of MLB that Babe Ruth knew.  For instance, the teams fly around on chartered jets.  There are six divisions and three rounds of playoffs.  And I think most would agree that today's players are a bit more fit than those of the early 20th century.

So come on, MLB.  Join your major sport bretheren and lets get instant replay in baseball.  Not just because you can.  Because when the entire viewing audience and those in the clubhouse can see a replay then the umprires should too.  I would think they would welcome the chance not to end up in a situation like Jim Joyce found himself last night.  Lets just get it right.

On another note, it has to be mentioned that both Armando Galarragga and Jim Joyce handled that situation about as well as anyone could possibly hope.  It was actually quite amazing.  Kudos to both for showing that there is still a lot of class in pro sports, even though we sometimes seem to forget.  If everyone who screwed up or got screwed handled it that well then the world would me a much better place.

In what can only be described as the greatest moment of the 2010 French Open, top-seeded Serena Williams was beaten by seventh seeded Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-7, 8-6.  It marked the seventh consecutive year that the insufferable crybaby, Williams, was not able to make the semifinals.

I don't care that she is an American, there are few people in sports I detest as much as this woman.  Good riddance.

The following took place between 2001 and 2010.  Events ocurred in real time.

Thank God there is going to be a movie.

If I had not known that there will be a 24 movie some time in the (hopefully near) future I probably would have taken the end of this series much worse than I did.  But with that knowledge and with last night's ending leaving a lot open for the movie, I was able to keep it together.  Of course there was a little dampness in my eyes as Jack said goodbye to Chloe.  I am human, after all.

The phenomenon began November 6, 2001.  Two days after my Yankees were defeated in their bid for a fourth consecutive world series championship.  I remember walking around November 5 in a total daze, replaying the ninth inning in my head.  How could Mo have blown the save?  How could a such a weak little bloop be the hit that dethroned the greatest dynasty in 30 years?  November 6 was not much better.  Still stunned by the loss, I needed something to snap me out of my haze.  Little did I know that this show would snap me out of one and throw me right into another.

The funny thing is that FOX so overpromoted 24 during the MLB playoffs that I had actually started to resent the show before it even aired.  I remember thinking to myself that if I saw one more preview I would boycott the show on principle.  But then my roommates and I decided we would give it a shot.  We had to give it a shot.  The show planted its hooks in us from the first hour; we could not wait for the second.  Jack Bauer was now a part of our lives.  It was also around this time that I became a full time viewer of The West Wing and thus my holy trinity of television was born.  Seinfeld, The West Wing, 24.

Never before had a show combined the quality of writing, acting, and suspense that was the hallmark of 24. By the fourth week I was literally watching on the edge of my seat, much like I had recently done during the world series.  Week after week we were amazed as the story kept getting better.  How were they doing this?  How were they topping themselves?  How were they misdirecting me so badly that when a plot twisted I felt like I had run into a wall?

It didn't stop in season 1 and sure didn't stop as the seasons passed.  You will find a lot of critics and even "fans" that say the show lost its edge over the last three or four seasons.  They're entitled to their opinions.  And they may even be right.  I have been known to be a bit of a 24 apologist.  But I don't care.  To me, the show could do no wrong.  It entertained me every week until the very end, regardless of what the naysayers said.  And while I'm sad to see it end, I feel the time was right.

When the news broke that this would be the final season I felt both sadness and relief.  Television shows are a lot like athletes.  Some are never good enough to make the bigtime.  Some make the bigtime for just a little bit only to find they are not good enough to stay.  Some have solid careers and peform well but when they retire are for the most part not missed.  And some turn out to be superstars.  The ones whose names and numbers we wear on our backs and whose performances we cannot miss, for the simple reason that you just never know what they're going to do on a given night.

But the harsh reality is that time is a relentless foe and even our superstars reach a point at which they are no longer what they once were.  And as hard as it can be for fans to admit or accept, no one can play forever.

24 gave its fans eight great seasons and a multitude of characters we'll never forget.  It gave us countless moments that shook the foundation of what network television could be, both in structure and in content.  It gave America its first African-American President, six years before it happened for real.  But most of all, it gave us Jack Bauer.

Now for the thank you's.  Thanks to the villians for providing Bauer with his motivation.  Ira Gaines, The Drazens, Peter Kingsley, Ramone & Hector Salazar, Nina Meyers, Stephen Saunders, Habib Marwan, Christopher Henderson, Vladimir Bierko, Phil & Graem Bauer, the Chinese, Abu Fayed, Dmitri Gredenko, Ike Dubaku, General Juma, Jonas Hodges, Alan Wilson, Mikhail Novakovich, President Yuri Suvarov, and of course, President Charles Logan.

Thanks to all of the characters who did not make it to the end of Day 8, not including of course, those who deserved the incomparable wrath of Bauer.  Edgar Stiles, Milo Pressman, Teri Bauer, Richard Walsh, Curtis Manning, President Kessler, Ryan Chappelle, President Omar Hassan, George Mason, Michelle Dessler, Bill Buchanan, Tony Almeida (deserved of his own category), Renee Walker, and President David Palmer.

A special thank you to Chloe O'Brian who for the last six seasons never disappointed Jack, or the audience.

And a final thank you to Jack Bauer, the greatest patriot and hero in American history.  You have simply been one of the greatest television characters of all time.

Goodbye and good luck, Jack.  We all look forward to seeing you again.  Wherever you may be.

Before getting into the meat of the discussion today I should acknowledge the fact that its been close to four months since posting anything in this space.  In that time we have seen the Saints win their first Super Bowl, a fantastic Winter Olympics (despite the tragic death of the luger), capped off by the one of the greatest hockey games of my life, the conclusion of a college basketball season I refuse to acknowledge ever happened, the beginning of Major League Baseball, the return of Tiger Woods, and more importantly another Masters championship for Phil Mickelson.

Why, you may ask, have I been silent since January?  Some of it had to do with studying for an insurance exam in early March (I passed).  But since the test most of it has to do with laziness.  My apologies.

--

Until yesterday I was no fan of Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver.  This is not because of him as a person.  It is strictly because of the way he chose to run his basketball team.  Over the past six years Sarver has consistenly sold draft picks and refused to sign or resign crucial players.  These penny-pinching decisions have sabotaged the Suns chances, ensuring they were just good enough not to win the western conference.  In the process he has essentially wasted the best years of my favorite player, Steve Nash.

But today and for the foreseeable future Robert Sarver is one of my favorite people in sports.  By now everyone is familiar with the absurd anti-immigrant law in Arizona. Tonight, for Game 2 of their series against the San Antonio Spurs, being played in Phoenix, the Suns will wear their special jerseys that read "Los Suns" in a show of support for the hispanic community that has been targeted by this racist and fearmongering law.  Sarver gave his team the chance to vote on whether or not to wear these uniforms and the team voted yes.  Here is what Sarver said in a news release from the team:

"Our players and organization felt that wearing our 'Los Suns' jerseys on Cinco De Mayo was a way for our team and our organization to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation."

Unlike so many people in the sports world with the platform to speak out who choose not to do so, Sarver has.  And he should be commended.  He did this without knowing the repurcussions it may have on his business and that is a legitimate concern.  Recent polls have suggested that up to 70% of Arizonans support this law and you have to believe that there will be more than a few people in his seats tonight that are among that 70%.  But he felt that  as the owner of a team in a city with a major hispanic population it was the right thing to do.  In his press release he went on to say:

"The frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the issue of illegal immigration resulted in the passage of a flawed state law.  However intended, the result of passing this law is that our basic principles of equal rights and protection under the law are being called into question, and Arizona's already struggling economy will suffer even further setbacks at a time when the state can ill-afford them."

It is extremely rare to see an owner take such a puclic political stance and that is why I feel so strongly that Sarver be commended.  I am also proud of the Suns players for not shying away from this issue of such great attention, both national and even more local.

I have heard multiple people say today that sports and politics should not mix.  That's just the easy way out for people who don't want to offend anyone on any side of an argument.  That's their choice and it has to be respected to some degree as well.  But athletes are among a rare group of people in this world with a vast platform and they owe it to themselves and the causes for which they believe to speak up when they feel strongly enough.  Does anyone believe it would do real harm to the relationship between fan and team?  Does anyone think that the Suns fans at tonight's game who are in favor of this new law will root for the Spurs because of the Suns jerseys?  I guess here would be a good place to mention that many Spurs players said that had there been enough time to make the jerseys, they would have gladly worn "Los Spurs" across thier chests tonight.

My loyalties to the New York Yankees are well documented and acknowledged.  I accept the fact that some of those guys, though I am not sure who, are Republicans.  My general feelings toward Republicans are also well documented and acknowledged.  Its not going to have an effect on how I root for the Yankees.  Would I rather my favorite players were politically like-minded?  Of course.  But I have friends and family members with whom I vehemently disagree about politics and we get along just fine.  If I find out that Mark Teixeira voted for McCain I'm still hoping he hits a home run in his next at bat.

These are politically emotional times in our country and I understand why high profile people don't always want to speak out.  Lots of money is at stake.  That's why Robert Sarver and the Phoenix Suns deserve so much credit for voicing their opposition to the immigration law.  They said what they believe.  Sounds simple, but never really happens.

When given the chance, sports can help push politics in the right direction.  We've seen it happen before and will again.  All it takes is the for someone to swing at the pitch.

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I do appreciate the fact that there is a major illegal immigration problem in Arizona and why some people in that state would tell me that I have no idea what I'm talking about and to shut the hell up.  It would be a fair point.  All I'm saying to the good people of Arizona is there has to be a better way than this.  There just has to be.

If you happened to be watching the end of The Biggest Loser on NBC last night, you would have been interrupted by an even bigger loser - Martha Coakley, Attorney General of Massachusetts. She had to concede a loss to Scott Brown for the empty Senate seat left by the late Edward "Ted" Kennedy.

The writing was on the wall weeks ago for this one. Much of the analysis from the Left has been that Coakley just ran a bad campaign and was a bad candidiate. But the Right is trying to turn this into a referendum on Obama; no surprise there. Look, Coakley was a moderate Democrat with little to no legislative experience as Attorney General and a country District Attorney before that. She had a voice that sounded more upper midwest than South Boston. She was quoted as saying she didn't need to "stand outside of Fenway park" to get votes and in an ad, her campaign misspelled the very state in which she was running. She even called legendary Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt "Bloody Sock" Shilling a Yankee fan for Christ's sake!  The "perfect storm" culminated with a disinterested electorate which had previously gone for Obama by 61% in the 2008 election, and also 3-4 inches of wet, slushy snow that basically made people who didn't care stay home. She must have known her chances weren't good when most people's first response to who they were going to vote for started with "I don't really like her but..."

However, I think there are actually even bigger losers out there than Coakley herself; the people of Massachusetts. Look, I was born and raised in that state and I know enough about local politics to know its not as liberal as most of the rest of the country thinks. But this election wasn't decided on "the issues" no matter how much someone tells you it was. Scott Brown truly is a "regular guy" who drives a pickup and has a family. But that's no excuse for the fact that he is a full fledged conservative Republican who will stop at nothing to block Obama's forward looking agenda.  I heard on a radio show last night that voters don't want to be told they are stupid, that they don't want to be lectured to.  Well, when you elect a jackass who goes against everything you previously thought right, you should be lectured. You don't get to vote for change when change is happening right now. You can not vote for independence when that guy is nothing but a tool of the Republican obstruction machine. And you don't get to stay home for this one. As a said before, a vote for Coakley wasn't a vote for her, it was a vote for the forward looking progressive policies and a vote away from the disasterous, failed policies of the late 20th Century and early 21st Century conservatives. Finally, you don't get to destroy the legacy of one of the greatest senators who ever served and then claim you were doing it all in the name of independence.

And that's why the Biggest Loser is actually the millions of people both home and abroad who will continue to be forced to listen to the Party of No. The citizens who have to give credence to people who can't seem to think about anything but themselves. The people who think because they have health insurance through their employer, thats good enough for everyone. The same people who think that tax breaks for the rich will somehow once again prove that trickle-down economics isn't the sham it truly is. We are all losers now.

p.s. There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Its that this could make the Democratic leadership wake up and realize that they don't actually need 60 votes to pass legislation. It just takes a little leadership and courage to do what the majority of Americans want to do and go in a direction we've already decided a year ago. However, quotes like this from party leaders do not inspire hope, indeed.

UPDATE: Figured I'd add some perspective to this. Some good reads:

Ezra Klein on why Obama needs to move away from Clinton era tactics.

Matthew Yglesias injects some realistic analysis.

Mark Schmitt on how the 60 vote threshold was an illusion.

And finally a quote from Ted Kennedy that's making the rounds this morning:

"If the Democrats run for cover, if we become pale carbon copies of the opposition, we will lose -- and deserve to lose. The last thing this country needs is two Republican parties."

All Decade Team

Coach - Bill Belichick

Team of the Decade

2004 New England Patriots

Player of the Decade

Peyton Manning

"The liberal agenda" is a phrase often used by conversations to scare the pants off their own supporters. And they're right! They should be scared. The liberal agenda was voted on in November of 2008 and won squarely. I'm not one to claim a mandate on political agendas, nor even willing to claim the majority gets to overun a country, but the clear, resounding result, was the vote for change and a vote for progressive policy and ideals that say to your neighbor, "where are you hurting?" and "what can I do for you today? You can argue whether that change has come about yet, but you cannot argue that is exactly what happened in the last election cycle.

Fast forward to 2010 and there is a heated battle for the Senate seat left by the late Ted Kennedy. The only reason this is even a close race is because the state Democrats put forth a seriously questionable candidate in Martha Coakley. No matter, I say.  The alternate is Scott Brown, a self-proclaimed independent who is anything but.  Scott Brown should lose for the following two reasons:

1. He can't claim a campaign of change when the "other" party just won on the same idea, resoundingly, and Brown's ideals are exactly opposite of that change.
2. His whole campaign platform boils down to one word, two characters; "NO."  He has stated that he will, for all intents and purposes, fight tooth and nail and vote against everything the Democrats want.

If there are any liberals out there who are upset with the current leadership in D.C., I can tell you for sure that I feel your pain. The current health care bill is far too moderate in how it does what it attempts to do. Having President Obama publically proclaim "bipartisanship" a key point in negotiations over legislation when the other party refuses to negotiate is a sore spot for me as well.

However, a vote for Martha Coakley isn't a vote for yourself, or even for the citizens of Massachusetts. Its a vote for liberal and progressive ideals that America has been striving and moving toward all our lives. Racial tensions may not have disappeared, and people may die for lack of adequate healthcare, but on balance we are becoming a better society than we were 20, 50 or even 200 years ago.

I ask you to accept the imperfect candiate and look foward beyond your own interests. Its challenging to consider the delicate balance between "how does this help others" versus "what is in it for me," but it is high time we move toward the former and away from the latter.

Please vote for Martha Coakley on Jan 19th.

All NBA - First Team

I realize that I'm a little late to the party on the whole looking back at the last decade thing, but I wanted to do it anyway.

All Decade Team                                                                                                                 

Today, the Boston Globe officially endorsed Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley, for US Senate.  The special election, to be held January 19, will fill the seat of the late Edward Kennedy.  The Globe does a wonderful job of making the case for Coakley.

As always, these are my awards.  My biases, my choices.  In all honesty they are not much different than the real ones.  Oh well, not much I can do about that.

MVP - Peyton Manning (Indianapolis)

Coach of the Year - Norv Turner (San Diego)

Offensive Player of the Year - Chris Johnson (Tennessee)

Defensive Player of the Year - Derrelle Revis (New York Jets)

Executive of the Year - Mike Tannenbaum (New York Jets)

Well Gilbert, its been fun.

NBA Commissioner Stern has indefinitely suspended the embattled Wizards' star and there are rumblings from NBA people that we may have seen the last of Arenas certainly for 2010 and maybe forever.  Such is what happens when you bring guns into an NBA locker room and then mock the situation as if its no big deal.  Sorry Gil, it but it couldn't be a bigger deal.

I'm not going to spend much time on this because the writers at the Washington Post and ESPN have already covered this in depth.  But I will say that I have always thoroughly enjoyed the light-hearted goofball that is Gilbert Arenas.  Until now.  Until he crossed the line from light-hearted goofball to clueless idiot.  I just don't have any sympathy for someone who seems to be the only person incapable of seeing just how serious a situation this is.

Agent Zero, your time of reckoning has come.  And everyone involved is worse off for it.