This is Nuts!

http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=147088

Really? A peanut-free section at Busch Stadium? Seriously? This isn't a joke?

C'mon people. I understand that a lot of people have allergies, but are we seriously going to ban peanuts from specific sections at baseball games? I know people with all sorts of allergies . . . peanuts, shellfish, cologne, perfume, laundry detergents, pet dander . . .. I mean, I would love to sit in a section that banned people who have cats. The dander gets all over their clothes, then the wind blows it off their clothes, and the next thing you know, and it's all over me! How can I be expected to enjoy a baseball game under those conditions? Honestly, I know a guy who is allergic to beer. Perhaps Busch Stadium ought to have a beer-free section as well.

The Memorial Day Observation

This is not an overly serious website. However, there are those occasions on which seriousness is truly necessary. Today, as I go to the pool, grill out on my deck and drink a cold beer, I will be mindful of why I'm not at work today. All should be so mindful. To my knowledge, I have known one person who died serving his country. There may be others who I knew once upon a time and just didn't realize they went into the service as adults. One of my best friends on the planet is currently serving in the Marine Corps. Another good friend from college spent time in both Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Without these people, you and I wouldn't be celebrating Memorial Day at our cushy neighborhood pools and, most certainly, would not be able to post blogs regarding our thoughts on government, education and the like. Thanks to the folks who put themselves on the line so that ordinary Americans like myself can take my luxuries for granted.

I Thought it Was Just a Saying!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24740175/?GT1=43001


Picture it. You're sitting in a restaurant looking over the menu. As you scan through the various items, you notice the place is selling a burger for $175. You kind of do a double-take, thinking to yourself, "That can't be right." You look again and see that it really does say $175. You say aloud: "What does it come with gold or something?"

Um, yes, it does. The Wall Street Burger Shoppe sells a $175 burger that includes flakes of real gold. For what possible reason would you eat a hamburger that contained flakes of gold? I mean, if you have that much d@mn money to throw around, can you not think of something more worthwhile? Eating gold? Forget what it might taste like or what it could do to your digestive system (Doh!). It's just stupid. I'm thinking about opening up a more blue-collar type of place next to it where you can get a $3 burger stuffed with nickels. It might not go down as easy, but it'll cost you a lot less.

Salute to the Spurs!

Despite my previous post regarding the inability to stay awake for an NBA basketball game, I spent last night watching the San Antonio Spurs defeat the New Orleans Hornets to advance to the Western Conference Finals. I say this every year at this time, but the Spurs have to be the most under-appreciated great time I've ever seen. They've won four of the last nine NBA titles, and they've done it in an era where most experts think someone else is better every year. This season, all the talk was the Shaq trade to Phoenix and Jason Kidd to Dallas. Um, both those teams are out. The Spurs just quietly go about their business, and they just plan win. San Antonio may very well lose to the Lakers this week (they will almost certainly be an underdog). But even if they do, they've still won four of ten titles, made the playoffs every year, and gotten almost no recognition for it. Their players aren't flashy. They don't load up on endorsements. They just play great basketball, every year. Oh, and they don't wind up in mug shots either. Maybe that's why we don't talk about them. I, for one, would love to see the Spurs capture a fifth title in ten years. Maybe then we'll start thinking of them as a dynasty.

Open Memo to the NBA

I just don't understand what they're doing in the NBA. I am a basketball fan who wants to watch these games. But, I also have two kids and a full-time job. I can't exactly stay up until 1 a.m. on a Wednesday night. One of the most compelling series out there is San Antonio-New Orleans. I want to watch this series. I really do. But, at halftime of last night's game, it was already 10:30. The Spurs ended up winning and forcing a Game 7. Sweet, I thought. That game will surely be this weekend when I can watch it. Nope. It's not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not even the Sunday matinee. Instead, that series is taking three days off so that it can be when? Monday night, likely at 9 or 10 p.m. I guess I'll get to see the first half of that one too. Super.

This Airline Stinks!

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hVuRSP5uRqX1ew5mij_B0g3RZ9PQD90KOIE80


Jet Blue Airlines is the defendant in a lawsuit that claims a man was forced to sit in the airplane bathroom for about three hours during a flight from New York to San Diego. Apparently, this guy was allowed to fly standby even though there really weren't enough seats. The flight attendant, who had offered to sit in one of those fold-away chairs to accommodate the man, became uncomfortable. So, they told this guy to go sit in the bathroom for the rest of the flight.

Um, this is kind of a silly lawsuit. BUT, I think I'd sue too. I can hardly imagine being in an airplane bathroom for five minutes, let alone three hours. Poor guy. I think I'd rather be told I needed to sit in the overhead compartment.

Worst Idea Ever.......Ever

Last week, I made some remarks about how movie-makers were running out of ideas. I said that the movie "Made of Honor" was nothing more than a cheap knock-off of "My Best Friend's Wedding." It's not that I was wrong, but I have re-evaluated my position. Why, you ask?

I heard on the radio this morning a review of a movie called "Teeth." It is quite simply the worst idea for a movie I've ever heard. The premise is a young woman who, throughout the course of the movie, begins to realize that she has grown teeth in an unmentionable place. Are you kidding me? Who came up with this cr@p, and how does that person still have a job?

Movie-makers, please, I beg you. Go back to making cheap knock-offs. Your new ideas are disturbing and sensationally bad. I have to go throw up now.

13 Months Later....Wow!

When Tubby Smith stepped down as Kentucky's basketball coach, I said I was happy. When Billy Gillispie was hired, I said I was thrilled. One year later, I find myself at an absolute loss for words (well, not really).

Tubby Smith is a great man, and he is a good coach, but he was a bad fit for Kentucky Basketball. His should-be great teams always underachieved, and his should-be mediocre teams always overachieved. For that reason alone, Minnesota is a better place for him. But what truly failed Tubby while at Kentucky was his complete inability to recruit top-level players year after year. Great programs cannot just have a good recruiting class every other year. It has to be year in, year out.

Let's take a look at Tubby's last five recruiting classes at Kentucky:

2006: Derrick Jasper, Jodie Meeks, Perry Stevenson, Michael Porter (All in all, a great class)

2005: Jared Carter, Adam Williams, Rekalin Sims (A pitiful class)

2004: Randolph Morris, Ramel Bradley, Rajon Rondo, Joe Crawford (A sensational class)

2003: Shegari Alleyne, Lukasz Obrzut, Bobby Perry, Sheray Thomas (Mediocre, at best)

2002: Brandon Stockton, Bernard Cote, Kelenna Azubuike (Mediocre)

So, in five years, Tubby brought in six NBA-caliber players (Azubuike, Morris, Crawford, Rondo, Meeks, Jasper).

Let's look at 13 months of Billy Gillispie, shall we?

2007: Patrick Patterson, Alex Legion (outstanding, and he had less than six weeks to do it)

2008: Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins, Kevin Galloway, Josh Harrelson (Two Top 40 guys and two top-level junior college transfers)

2009: John Hood, GJ Vilarino (Two Top 50 guys)

2010: KC Ross-Miller, Dominique Ferguson, Dakotah Euton (Three Top 25 guys)

2011: Vinny Zollo (Top 50)

2012: Michael Avery (Top 10)

Rankings don't always mean everything. I can admit that. But if you are consistently recruiting guys ranked in the Top 50, you're chances of striking gold increase dramatically. Let's say even half of the Top 50 guys Gillispie has landed don't work out. That still leaves 4-5 top-level players in 13 months. Tubby got six in five years. Anyone out there still reading this, do you start to realize at all what UK fans were talking about? If not, give it a couple more years and get back to me. You'll come around.

One Nun, One Vote....Sort Of

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24490932/?GT1=43001

I saw this story this morning and couldn't help but make it the story of the day (well, at least on this most insignificant of websites). About 12 nuns were turned away from a voting precinct in South Bend, Ind. yesterday because they didn't have valid identification. But wait, that's not the funny part. What's great about this is that they were denied their right to vote by one of their fellow nuns, who was volunteering at the precinct. If this doesn't start a bitter feud among the sisters at St. Mary's Convent, I don't know what will.

Here's the thing. The nun who turned them away....did exactly the right thing. All 12 would-be voters were told ahead of time that they would need photo identification to vote. "Nun" of them had it. (Sorry, I just had to). Voting is a right in this country, but that right still comes with certain rules. Far too often in this country people forget about rules. It seems these nuns ignored, or thought they were above, the rules. In my opinion, that's a "habit" they'll need to break.

I Liked It Better When Julia Roberts Did It....

Look, I'm man enough to admit I like chic-flics. They're often the funniest movies out there.

But, I keep seeing this ad for new one called "Maid of Honor." It appears from the previews that it's a story about a man and a woman who are very close friends. The woman has always loved the man, but the man has never felt THAT way about the woman. At long last, the woman finds someone else, and she decides to get married. The man, suddenly overcome with jealousy, tries to stop the wedding.

Now, if you're reading this and thinking it all sounds a little familiar, you are a chic-flic aficionado the same as I. You see, once upon a time there was a movie called "My Best Friend's Wedding." Change the gender roles in the above paragraph, and there you have it. Are movie-makers simply running out of ideas? Anyone who was of movie-going age in 1996 certainly realizes that this nothing but a knock off. Why not just name it the same thing and call it a re-make? I sure am glad the writers' strike is over so that they can come up with more of these gems. Geez.

Texas RBs Continue To Impress

Cedric Benson was arrested this weekend after failing a sobriety test given by the water police (Benson was on a boat). The police claim that Benson was slurring his speech and had difficulty counting to four. It's a high number, for sure, and I ofter get confused as to whether three comes before two or vice-versa. The police next asked Benson to come to shore for additional testing. Benson mouthed off, a fight ensued, and, inevitably, pepper spray was used.

Benson's version of the even is a little different. Benson claims that he had no trouble with the sobriety tests and that when asked to go to shore, he "politely asked why." The police then used pepper spray without cause. Yeah, I can see it now....

"Mr. Benson, could you come take some additional tests over on shore?"

"I do not mind, sir, but may I ask why?"

PEPPER SPRAY!!!


I'll bet THAT'S how it happened. Sure Cedric. Police frequently do that sort of thing. I mean, I myself have been pepper-sprayed six times this month already. By the way, congratulations Cedric. You've managed to steal a few votes from Ricky Williams as most ridiculous former Longhorn running back.

Billy Likes 'Em Young!

For my first post, I've got to go Kentucky Basketball. I mean, who didn't know this was coming....

I'm not sure I've ever found something so creepy to be so awesome. Billy Gillispie has landed a verbal commitment from an 8th grader to become part of Kentucky's 2012 recruiting class. Apparently, Michael Avery is 6'4 and still growing. He's been playing with a 17-and-under AAU team and doing quite well. Gillispie went to one of his games to watch the older players, and the junior high-schooler from California caught his eye. I suppose Billy then followed him to Cotillion and saw that the kid really does have moves. So, although Avery has literally not yet decided where he's going to high school, he's locked up to play ball at UK. He's ranked in the Top 10 in the nation for his class. Yeah, that's right, there are people out there placing rankings on 8th grade basketball players.

The thing I love about this is that Gillispie is already doing what Tubby Smith never could. He's getting an early jump (I'll say) on these kids and building relationships with them. Tubby always waited around until the last minute, then found himself scrambling to lock up whatever also-ran player hadn't yet found a place to play (See Mark Coury). Gillispie is doing things a bit differently. Since signing on to become Kentucky's coach a year ago, he's gotten commitments from one 2009 recruit, three 2010 recruits (who are all ranked in the Top 20 of their class, by the way), one 2011 recruit, and one 2012 recruit. So, although I find the thought of Billy G. in a junior high locker room a little frightening, I'm glad he's doing it. Let's hope the kid doesn't strain a muscle at his next make-out party.

Welcome!

I realized last night that I'm about the only person in the free world who uses a computer and doesn't have a blog. As a result of this revelation, the following inner dialogue occurred:

"Do I really need a blog?"

No.

"Would anyone read my blog if I did have one?"

Probably not.

"Then what's the point?"

Well, we're about to find out.


I actually tried this once before, but a busy schedule put my "Comments and Criticisms" blog to a quick and painful death. I think I actually have less time now than I did then. So, I hope you're not expecting much.

"The Morning Observation" started about five years ago when I used to send unwanted emails to my friends commenting on various things from sports to politics. Truth be told, I like to hear myself talk about these things. So, even if you never read this site again, you can take comfort in knowing the therapeutic value of a man, sitting at a computer, typing, and laughing at jokes that only he thinks are funny.

Enjoy!