Despite his best intentions, South Carolina’s Rep. Joe Wilson is going to go down as a health care reform hero.  The American public is a lot of things.  We’re easily manipulated on health care reform or for that matter practically any new social programs. 

Ironically, once we have a social program in place like say social security, the American public will fight like hell to make sure it doesn’t get taken away.  So, yes, we do flip flop, especially when we  see the benefit that our admittedly imperfect government can make in our lives.

What the American public does not flip flop on is rudeness toward the president of the United States.  Sure, there are some who will see Joe Wilson as a hero for echoing what they feel, whether what he said was true or not.  And for the record it was NOT.

But, for the overwhelming amount of Americans, there’s a time and a place to heckle an American president.  During an address to Congress while you’re actually a member of Congress, is NOT one of those times.

Joe Wilson is learning that the hard way.  He also fumbled away the political football and with it very precious momentum. 

Coming into his speech last night, President Obama was the man under pressure.  There’s no putting a good face on the ugliness of August.  Clearly, the drive for health care, upon which Obama has placed so much of the future of his administration lost steam.

But, last night the game changed.  The president gave a convincing performance and got a big assistant from Joe Wilson on two fronts.  First, Wilson’s boorish behavior swung public sympathy toward the president.  We simply don’t want our leader treated that way.

Second, Wilson’s fellow conservatives (who should give him a severe beat down politically) were forced all day to answer questions about Joe Wilson.  That, of course, saps their momentum.  Every second conservatives in congress have to answer Joe Wilson questions is a second they can’t be spreading the fear and falsehoods upon which reform opposition is based.

Further, in the president’s speech and the administration’s comments since it was clearly signaled that the public option many people have been worried about is not a “must have”.

So let’s review…

Obama was calm.  Rational.  He adopted a John McCain idea.  He is also willing to go without a public option.  All while his party has majorities in both houses.  He even accepted Wilson’s apology gracefully saying we all make mistakes.  Finally, as if on cue, stats came out today that reported the number of people with out health insurance increased AGAIN this past year.  President Obama has clearly regained some momentum and is looking like the bigger (perhaps slightly) bi-partisan man. 

Joe Wilson lost his cool.  Joe Wilson spent the day apologizing as did his cronies. 

Joe Wilson made a big mistake.  And now it’s going to cost him politically. Health care reform is that much closer to a reality.

And it’s thanks to Joe Wilson’s inability to stop behaving like a jackass.  I knew that’d come in useful some day!

Yes, I’m a Red Sox fan.  Yes, getting swept in the Bronx this past weekend was pretty hard to take, but my DVR made it even worse tonight.

Earlier this evening, I was watching a show called “Baseball Seasons” on one of the many sports channels my TV package includes.  My seven year old son, who all of a sudden is getting very into baseball, loves this show.  He’s very into history too and this show combines them both.  Each episode tells the story of one season in baseball history.

The episode we watched tonight highlighted 1993, in which the Toronto Blue Jays became the first repeat World Series Champions since the late 70’s Yankees.

Anyway, there I was happily watching the show with my seven year old when I start seeing scores at the bottom of the screen.  I forget that I’m watching a show recorded days earlier on my DVR.  I see the Red Sox losing to Roy Halladay and this year’s version of the Blue Jays.  To my horror, I also see the Yankees picking up a win.

I have no idea these scores aren’t live.  I think the Red Sox have now fallen 7 1/2 games behind the hated Yankees.  I pray that my son doesn’t notice the results as they’ll break his little heart.  Luckily, he doesn’t notice a thing, but asks lots of questions about 1993.

I answer all of his questions, put him and his sister to bed, hang out with my wife, and then it’s not til just a few minutes ago that I see that the Red Sox situation is in fact exactly the opposite of what I thought it was.

Tonight, the Sox in actuality bounced back against the Tigers, while the Yankees played and lost to those same Blue Jays I thought the BoSox had lost to.  All of a sudden, the Sox are only five and a half behind the Yankees rather than 7 1/2 out.

Hope springs a new.  And that’s what’s great about baseball.  It’s a cliche, but it’s true.  The baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint.

In fact, the show I watched tonight reminded me of that.  In 1993, the Braves trailed the Giants by almost double figures at one point in their race for the NL West title.  With the addition of Fred McGriff, great pitching and some luck, Atlanta ended up catching San Fran and winning the division title by one game.  104 wins to 103.  (In those days, there was no wildcard, so the Giants just got to go home despite winning 103 ball games.  Ouch!)

Anyway, here’s the point.  The DVR could not kill my Red Sox.  There is a wildcard and there’s about 50 games left.  The Yankees and the Red Sox have a lot of games left.  The Sox have been injured and are beginning to heal.  The Yanks have been relatively healthy, but are an old team.

You see where I’m going with this.  Yes, Yankee fans should be very pleased with their team.  The Bombers are going to be in the playoffs.  They’ll probably win the division.

But, they’re probably not done with the Red Sox.  And that’s what’s great about this rivalry.

Last night, I wrote a post saying that Facebook sucks.

This morning, I woke up to my first friend request. 

All is good with the world.  Facebook is awesome and clear proof of my dynamic personality.  I knew people would flock to it.  It just took a little time for the word to get out.  Maybe now that I’m validated and all, I’ll be able to stop checking it every 5 minutes.

Thanks, Facebook.  All is forgiven.

Sincerely,

Tidewater Jackson

Facebook is amazing.

Facebook sucks.

This past weekend my lovely wife joined Facebook.  So, she sent me a friend request and it got me too.  Hard to turn down the wife after all.

 OK, the truth is I eagerly asked her to send me a friend request. 

As embarrassed as I am to admit it, I was excited and confident.  I’m a fairly adaptable guy.  I write this blog.  I get the internets…

Anyway, I went through the sign up process.  There is no orientation.  Nothing.  Just confusion.  I’ve got a wall.  I’ve got a home page.  Which can people see?  You got me.

As the Facebook software guided me through the sign up process, it became very clear that the only thing Facebook really cares about is getting me to invite as many people as I know to use their service.  They’re not even subtle about it.  I’m guessing this is all about eye balls for advertisers, which is fine, but at least pay some mind to basic customer service first.

Everywhere I clicked, there was another prompt to look up people I know. Facebook can search my high school, college, company and even my address book, if I let them.  Wonderful!

Now can they please spend a few moments telling me how to use the service and what people will and won’t be able to see?

The other reason Ive discovered that Facebook sucks is shocking.  The service proves that people clearly don’t see the genius that is me and my amazing personality.

I’ve been on Facebook for just about 24 hours and NO ONE has asked me to be their friend.  Contrast this with the daily requests I used to get from complete strangers to be their friend on Facebook.

Down right odd!

I was under the grand illusion that the moment I set foot in the Facebook party, people would come out of every nook and cranny of my past to be my friend again.  Guess I’m not as magnetic a personality as I think I am.

And then it hit me.  Facebook is work.  If I want to amass a ton of friends and I’m again embarrassed to admit I do.  I’m going to have to work at it. 

Facebook is amazing.  It’s never been so easy to keep in touch.  And I’ve never been so tired.

Hey!  You seem nice?  Wanna be my friend?

Today, we said goodbye to Michael Jackson.  Again. 

Yes, the coverage has been nonstop and I do mean it that way.  But, also, I think in a sense we said goodbye to Michael Jackson a looooooong time ago. 

Despite what Al Sharpton thinks or what we’re told he endured, Michael Jackson was odd.  Long ago his behavior verved off into the kind of territory that all his friends at today’s memorial should have challenged.

Leaving aside the very real possibility that Michael Jackson hurt kids, at the very least, by his own admission, Jackson engaged in conduct that was indefensible.  Can you think of another adult male that people would actually bother trying to defend if he admitted to having other people’s kids routinely sleep in his bed?  I can’t.

The deification of Michael Jackson is of course ridiculous.  He was a terrific entertainer and a pop icon who will long be remembered.  He did not, however, save the world.  The closest he got was writing “Man In The Mirror” in which he urged us to look inward to bring change to this planet. 

Good advice.  He should have heeded it more strongly too.

I understand that people are hurting and some of them actually even knew Michael Jackson.  I wish nothing but peace and comfort to his children, family and friends, I really do.

Still, I can’t help but point out some of the hypocrisy at today’s ceremony. 

First off, Al Sharpton.  I think his telling Jackson’s kids that there was nothing strange about their daddy was understandable if he was only trying to make them feel better.  But come on.  Jackson was strange.  He did strange things.  There’s simply no disputing that.  Would Al Sharpton let his kids have a sleepover at Jackson’s house were he still alive?  I’m guessing not.

A lot of the tone of people’s comments had to do with ALL that he endured.  First off, once Michael Jackson was an adult, he brought ALL of that on himself.  Nothing bothers me more than people who are driven to seek fame only to complain about its  horrible downside.

It’s not like Michael pulled a Greta Garbo.  He didn’t leave the spotlight.  His own friends will tell you he was a genius at self-promotion.  Just before he died, in fact, we all know he was rehearsing for a 50 night stand in London.

So which is it?  Did Michael want to be famous or was it all too much for him?  I’m betting on the first option.

Finally, people speak about Jackson’s childhood and how much he had to go through that a kid just should have to deal with.  I don’t dispute any of that.  From what we hear, Jackson did have a pretty crummy childhood and was forced to grow up way too soon.  So, what would that lead us to believe?

Hmmmm…. Perhaps children are best left out of the spotlight.  Jackson, in his own wacky way, seemed to understand that keeping his own kids out of the public eye by having them wear masks.

So, who do you get to sing at the memorial?  Some 12 year old singing sensation from the UK. 

And the cycle goes on…

Let’s get this out of the way.  I vote.  And I’ve got lots of opinions.  And a little free time (not much), so that’s why I blog.

But today I did something I’ve never done before.  I actually wrote to my rep in the House.  A friend of mine is spearheading a campaign to get support for a bill coming up that would require insurance companies to pay for treatments that can really help autistic children.

My friend lept into action once his child was diagnosed.  Sadly, his is not the only family I have met touched by autism.  I’m sure you can say the same.

What the cause is we don’t know.  What the cure is we can’t say, yet. 

What we do know is that more and more cases are being diagnosed.  And while there’s not a cure, there are some things that can help.  Unfortunately, loving parents are finding out that their health insurance is not always set up to cover the expenses.  So, children and families suffer.

Now is an incredibly tough time for all of us.  Yet, I think we should all be able to agree that we should take care of kids first and foremost no matter what. 

Here’s how you can do your part.  Click on the link below for the Autism Votes website.

http://www.autismvotes.org/site/c.frKNI3PCImE/b.3909853/k.BE44/Home.htm?sid=256275368

From there all you have to do is send one little email to your representative in the House.  Took me all of 3 and a half minutes.

I thank you for your consideration.

Yup, that’s me I’m referring to in the post headline.  I’m 42, male, hetro and have a pathological hatred for all things Yankee.  Yet, today A-Rod crushed my innocence.

How was this possible you ask?  Well, let’s start with Barry Bonds.  For some crazy reason, I bought that Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa smashed Roger Maris’ season home run legitimately.  Looking at both of them, I thought they were freaks of nature who benefited from the advanced training methods available to today’s multi-millionaire athletes as well as from the decline of quality pitching.  McGwire and Sosa had always hit bunches of home runs so it didn’t seem so strange they not only passed but obliterated the mark that had taken so much out of Maris.  Plus, for whatever I think of McGwire and Sosa now, it must be said that they both handled the chase for Roger’s record with a great deal of charm and class.  I bought it all.

Barry Bonds is a different story.  Bonds was, of course, more talented than either Sosa or McGwire.  He just didn’t hit as many home runs as they did.  Until, that is, he began to in his mid thirties.  Suddenly, Bonds’ totals were skyrocketing.  No one in the whole history of the game had gone from really great to all time freaking amazing great in his mid thirties.  Usually, players slow down as they age.  Not Bonds.  Bonds was busy breaking McGwire’s home run record.  Something wasn’t right.  Players don’t do what Bonds did at his age without help.  They cheat.  It’s more than obvious that Bonds juiced.  The Feds may never nail him, but most of America could sleep at night if they were on a jury that convicted him of steroid abuse.  I hate statements like this upcoming one, but we all know he did it.

Bonds cheating to pass Hank Aaron on the all time home run list personally offended me.  Hank Aaron is a gracious man.  Bonds, despite his legion of apologists, is a sour personality who really doesn’t seem to appreciate what the game has given him.  Hank Aaron endured death threats and all kinds of racism during the quest to pass Babe Ruth.  Hank Aaron did it the right way.  He didn’t cheat and he overtook the Babe with dignity.

On the other hand, Bonds would let nothing slow him down on the way past Aaron.  He added steroids to his training regime to keep up with McGwire and Sosa.  Then, as he was closing in on Hammering Hank, it all started to fall apart.  We started to hear about how Barry Bonds had been cheating.  His home runs were artificial.  They were fueled by steroids.  Bonds, wouldn’t let the controversy get in his way.  He just kept  knocking them out of the park.  MLB was weak and did nothing.  Bud Selig held his nose and attended the game in which Barry cheated his way past Hank.

You have to give it to Barry.  Nowhere along the way did he crack.  Never did he express regret.  He somehow held it all together and just kept stepping on home plate.  Too bad such determination couldn’t have been applied to a better cause.

If Barry Bonds had any conscience or class at all, he could have made the ultimate gesture.  He could have stopped.  He could have given up the chase, admitted he’d cheated and realized he didn’t want to pass a quality human being like  Hank Aaron in such a tawdry way.  Barry Bonds could have turned it all around.  I would have been writing about how Bonds had made a mistake, come clean, and punished himself by giving up the chase.  For me, that would have been enough to say let’s forgive and forget.  For me, that would have been enough to say he belongs in Cooperstown, since after all he was a Hall of Fame caliber player way before the ‘roids.

Of course, all of that is a dream, a fantasy.  The world doesn’t work that way.  Today, Alex Rodriguez taught me that.  You see, despite my 42 years on this planet, I still like to believe in things.  I believed in Alex Rodriguez.

Sure, I hated seeing him go to the Yankees.  And certainly seeing him up close now that he plays in my home market, I’ve come to see that he has some personality issues too.  Yet, I never doubted that Alex was clean.

The guy started in the game so young and never seemed very big, yet the homers were always there.  I believed he was something special.  I believed he was the best hitter of his generation.  I even heard sports talk hosts and journalists stating that he was obviously not a steroid guy.  Like Bonds, he had us all fooled.

I believed.  As much as Bonds sitting atop the all time homer list gnaws at me, I was content in my anticipation of the clean living A-Rod passing Bonds’ cheating ass in the next few years barring injury or unexpected decline.  It was poetic justice.  I’ve taught my kids that the real home run champ is Hank Aaron.  I was looking forward to teaching them about how A-Rod took back the crown that Bonds had stolen and restored baseball’s reputation in the process.  It was going to be a great lesson about how you can achieve things the right way.

So, today we find out that A-Rod flunked a test in 2003 and was on at least two steroids while he played for the Texas Rangers.  I feel like a fool.  I feel let down.

What do I teach my children now?

Thanks, A-Fraud.  Now we know Joe Torre was right the whole time.  And my kids will learn a whole new lesson from you.

It’s not always a bad or good thing when a child follows in their parent’s footsteps career-wise, but it’s not an uncommon thing.  All over America and for all different reasons, sons and daughters follow their parents into the same profession.  Everywhere that is, except the NFL.

By my unscientific count, there have been exactly four father/son combos that can proudly proclaim that each man had made it to the mountain top and served as an NFL head coach.

The four families (that sounds vaguely like a mob reference, right?) are the Shulas, the Moras, the Nolans and the Phillips.  Each man and each family had a different story and differing rates of success. 

Here’s how Full Contact ranks them on their COMBINED body of work from worst to first:

#4 – THE NOLANS – Dick (Dad) and Mike (Son)

Three Division titles total.  All from Dick’s San Francisco tenure (68-75).  Dick Nolan was about a .500 coach for San Fran, but he did manage to capture 3 straight division crowns.  After that, he had three straight losing seasons and was let go.  Next stop for Dick was New Orleans in 1978, which of course is a death sentence for any coach.  And actually, in context Dick did pretty well, going 7-9 and then 8-8 in his second year (which must have been a minor miracle).  Unfortunately, in Nolan’s third year, the Saints got off to an 0-12 start and Dick Nolan was finished as a head coach.  Interesting side note, Nolan was a master of the tie game.  During his eight years in SF, his teams tied FIVE times.  Tying that much, even Donovan McNabb would know the overtime rules!

Mike Nolan has the unique pleasure of actually having coached the same NFL team as his dad.  Not only that, but Nolan, coached San Francisco in a suit much like the coaches of his dads’ generation did.  Unfortunately for Mike Nolan, his three and a half years with the Niners much more closely resembled his Dad’s last three years in Frisco rather than Dick’s glory days.  Mike finished with nothing but losing records and a .327 winning percentage.  In fairness to Mike Nolan, he is still young and he may yet coach again in the NFL as a top man.  If he does, perhaps he can improve the Nolans standing on this list.

#3 THE PHILLIPS – Bum (Dad) and Wade (Son)

Two Division titles.  One by Bum and one from Wade.  Both coached multiple teams and both sport over .500 records during their combined TWENTY years in the head spot (yes, I know two of those years Wade was a head coach for only a few games on an interim basis).

Bum Phillips was a charismatic character who in the late ’70s built his Houston Oilers into a serious threat to Chuck Noll’s Steeler Dynasty.  The Oilers never quite managed to “kick the door down” as Phillips insisted they would, but they did have good success.  The Oilers won 10 or more games in four of Phillips’ six years in Houston with only one losing season.  In ‘78 and ‘79, they won two playoff games each year before ultimately being booted from the tournament.  Plus, the Oilers had Earl Campbell and Phillips has to get some points for that alone.  I’ve never enjoyed watching anyone else run as much as Campbell.

Anyway, in ‘81, Bum Phillips left Houston after ’80’s 11 win campaign, to take over…  New Orleans.  I think you know how the rest of this story goes.  After two four win seasons, Phillips got the Saints to mediocrity by going 8-8 in ‘83 and 7-9 in ‘84.  But, it didn’t last.  In ‘85, Phillips left with the Saints at 4-8.  He too, like Dick Nolan, never coached in the NFL again after handling the ‘Aints.  It’s a pity cause the guy could coach.  He won at a .611 clip in Houston and still managed to end his career about .500 (82-77) despite coaching the Saints. 

While it took his dad some time to get his first top job, Wade got his first opportunity at a much younger age and it was courtesy of his father.  He went 1-3 in 1985 finishing up for Bum in New Orleans.  Wade’s first real opportunity wouldn’t come around until ‘97 in Denver.  A respected coordinator, the move to the top spot was a bit bumpy, but he did manage to go .500 in his two seasons in Denver.  In, ‘98, Wade took over in Buffalo and went 10-6.  He followed that up with an 11-5 campaign the next year.  In 2000, he went 8-8 and was gone.  Not a bad run, but he’s probably still most remembered in Buffalo for needlessly pulling a successful Doug Flutie out of the starting QB role come playoff time for Rob Johnson, who flopped.  In ‘03, Wade was the interim guy again in Atlanta and went 2-1.  Then, came Dallas and we all know how that’s working out.  His great first regular season (13-3) in ‘07 ended in crushing playoff underachievement.  And this past season, the Cowboys who were favored by many to reach the Super Bowl, went 9-7 and didn’t even make the playoffs.  Yet, Jerry Jones still has back.

Our conclusion?  Dad was the real deal, he just shouldn’t have gone to New Orleans.  Wade?  He’s a great coordinator, but no more.  No matter what Jerry Jones thinks…

#2 – THE SHULAS – Don (Dad) and David (Son)

This one was the pick that was toughest for us.  Clearly, by the numbers, the Shulas own this competition.  There’s back to back Super Bowl Championships.  A perfect season.  Several other Super Bowl appearances and about a gazillion wins and division titles.  But remember this was about the best father/son combo.  We’re looking for a father and son team who both could coach.

Don Shula is clearly the most accomplished head coach on this list.  He had success in both his stops – Baltimore and Miami.  He got his first shot at the young age of 33 and made the most of the opportunity to coach the Colts from 1963-69.  He went 11-1 in ‘67 and ‘68 saw him go 13-1 before losing Super Bowl III to Joe Willie and the Boys.  In Miami, it only got better.  The Fins were AFC Champs three years running from ‘71-73 including those two back to back Super Bowl titles.  Shula coached for 33 years, 26 of them with the Dolphins.  He won over 300 games.  Won at a .678 clip for his career (surprisingly he was more successful in Baltimore at .725 versus .659 during his longer stint in Miami).

It’s fair to say that Don Shula’s last ten years in Miami where his most mediocre despite the presence of one Dan Marino.  It’s perhaps even fairer to point out that at the height of his relative mediocrity, three of Shula’s last ten teams won ten or more games.

Speaking of mediocrity, some hate to fall to that level while others curse that they never managed to attain it.  Such is the case with Don’s son David.  Like his father, David Shula got his first coaching job at a really early age.  Unlike his father, David was clearly not ready.  In five years in Cincinnati (92-96), David Shula’s teams went 5-11, 3-13, another 3-13 and then jumped up to 7-9.  In his last year, the Bengals started out 1-6 and that was the final nail in the coffin.  David Shula never got another shot.  My guess is that he never will.  The only defense I can give is that Cincinnati in the early 90s was probably as bad for your coaching career as New Orleans was in the 70s and 80s.

Don Shula is one of the great coaches of all time.  David Shula, well…. He probably got his first shot too young cause of his family name and was also put into an losing situation in Cincy.  No one was going to win in that town with those teams.  But that all taken into consideration, the Shulas must go down as the second best father/son duo.  David simply did not do enough to merit ranking them number one despite all of his father’s achievements.

So who’s # 1?  How about these guys!

#1 THE MORAS – Jim (Dad) and Jim (Son)

Four Division titles.  Jim Mora (the Dad) is probably most remembered for his classic line “playoffs?!  You’re talking about playoffs?!” that is nicely re-purposed for comedic effect in a current beer commercial.  But, Dad Mora could flat out coach.  Sure, he had a tendency to overload himself and implode which resulted in self-inflicted wounds to his career, but the guy was a winner (at least in the regular season).  AND, he won in places where people just didn’t win.

Going through this post, New Orleans has come up several times as a coaches grave yard.  Jim Mora WON in New Orleans.  He did so at a .557 rate no less.  In Mora’s ten plus years with the Saints, his teams routinely made the playoffs.  In fact, by the early ’90s, some viewed the Saints as likely Super Bowl material.  This was astounding stuff.  No one had ever had that much success in the Big Easy.  Mora lead squads won 10 or more games four times between ‘87 and ‘92.  The Saints were actually a force in the NFL.  After ‘92, the Saints got decidedly mediocre until a 2-6 start in ‘96 and Mora’s unbalanced reaction got him removed.

In 1998, Jim Mora took over the Colts and went 3-13.  In year two, Indy went 13-3 and won their division.  In 2000, Indy went 10-6.  They followed that up with a 6-10 season and that was it for Mora’s head coaching career.  (Check out the pattern of Mora’s Indy W-L record, it’s oddly dyslexic from year to year:  3-13, 13-3, 10-6, 6-10). He finished up with 125 victories at a .541 winning percentage when you factor in his time in Indy.

Of the sons, Jim Mora is tied with Wade Phillips for the most divison titles: ONE.  Jim Mora (the son) took over the Falcons in 2004, another franchise that destroys good coaches, and surprised everyone by going 11-5 and winning their division.  That’s as good as it got, year two was 8-8, and 2006 was worse at 7-9.  Then, Mora made some noise about other coaching jobs he’d be interested in and Arthur Blank let him go for the very wise choice of Bobby Petrino.  Then, Michael Vick, went to jail and the whole think collapsed.  (Shockingly the Falcons have recovered very quickly from all this).

Anyway, back to Jim Mora the son.  Many people felt he got kind of a raw deal and that he was actually a quality coach.  Apparently, the folks in Seattle felt that way and named him the Seahawks coach in waiting.  Now that Holmgren is gone, we’ll find out what Jim Mora can do in his second stint at the top.  For the sake of the Mora family honor, let’s hope he keeps them at the top of this list…

Hope you enjoyed this post and would LOVE your comments on our rankings!

“No candy for Obama supporters!”  This is hysterical!  You must see no matter who you are voting for.

Here’s a woman who takes politics wayyyyyy too far.  You know somewhere John McCain is praying that she’ll just stop trying to help…

PS – Technically, can you call a woman a D-Bag??

It’s been crazy at work, so I , thought I’d just jot down some quick thoughts that have hit me over the head lately…

Being a Cowboys Fan is like being a soap opera fan – Myself, I hate hate hate the ‘Boys.  But even I can see that this week, has been one crazy ride for the Dallas faithful.  Losing to the Cardinals the way they did, only to suffer a bigger loss with Romo going out for a month or more.  Pac gets into a fight.  Jerry Jones chickens out of doing anything about it only to have the NFL banish Pac yet again.  And then, Roy Williams comes gift wrapped courtesy of the Detroit Lions.  Oh, and the Phillips guy is still your coach.  If I was a Cowboys fan I wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry…

The Giants Loss Is A Good Thing – I AM a Giants fan (and now you know why I hate hate hate the ‘Boys).  Never like to lose, but I think this loss will serve them and their fans well.  A respected NY area columnist actually wrote before the loss that the Giants were one of a precious few legitimate Super Bowl contenders.  I hope he’s right, but the football guy inside me tells me that there’s a good chance they got on a fantastic role last year and that Eli is not better than his bro just yet (which a lot of locals are claiming…).  Time for Big Blue to stop worrying about defending their crown and just get back to play good team ball.

Manny & The Sox – The Sox got rocked again tonight and now face big odds in their fight to banish the upstart Rays.  That series against the Yankees in ‘04 not withstanding, it’s REAL tough to come back from 3-1.  And last time I checked Manny and his Dodgers were in the same hole as his former team.  Why is it that people don’t realize when a breakup will mean bad things for both?  Manny and Sox remind me of countless bands and a few romantic couples who just can’t seem to realize that when they’re together they’re magic and when they’re not, they are something less.

As a big time Sox fan, I want to believe that we got a great younger & cheaper player in Jason Bay who will ultimately prove less of a clubhouse distraction than Manny and allow the Sox to use some of the Manny money in other needed places.  Tonight, my faith is a little shaken, but I’ll still be rooting for a miracle in this series.

Parenting – what a great job.  And what a tough job.  My kids are great.  I love them.  And I don’t think I’ll ever stop worrying about them.  I’m sure many of you feel the same way.  No new news there.

The Bail Outs – As a center left kind of guy, it’s amazing to me how quickly so many free market Republicans have quickly become socialists.  How is it that their unending faith in the power of free markets has crumbled so fast?

I, like John McCain says, don’t know that much about the economy.  But, I do know this…  While it’s probably true that not addressing it would’ve eventually effected a lot of us on “main street”, it’s interesting to see politicians only move fast when the fate of millionaires in on the line.  Maybe that’s cause that’s who is really paying their salaries.  As I said, I’m for the buy out, but I’m distressed that rather than just talking about temporary measures on taxes, the discussion isn’t focusing much (as far as I can tell) on putting back in a few “dreaded” regulations to make sure this doesn’t happen again.  And who out there doesn’t believe there’s some people getting mighty rich off of this?

John McCain – another day and another promise.  To be fair, Obama is going at about the same rate.  Now, McCain is going to guarantee ”all savings” for six months once he gets in office.  This is after, he buys up a ton of bad mortgages and god only knows what else.  We can’t afford all this from him or Barack Obama.  Where’s the straight talk?

Bail Out – Part Deux - As a guy feeling the pinch like many of you, I do have sympathy for people about to lose their homes.  That said, while I do think predatory lenders had a lot to do with getting people into houses they couldn’t afford, I can’t quite shake the feeling that when we bail out individuals on their mortgages, we will certainly be bailing out some people who clearly took advantage of the broken system.  I can’t help but think, what about me and millions like me and my wife?  We struggle to pay the mortgage each month, when do we see a rate reduction??

Grammer – mine is bad so late at night.  Deal with it!

Good night to all!

Tidewater J