Postseason College Football All Star Games

You have to be employed by a professional football organization or seriously bored, ill, or incapacitated to sit and watch any of these games in their entirety.

Hula Bowl HONOLULU Saturday 12 January 4pm VERSUS

North-South All Star Game HOUSTON Sunday 13 January 10am ESPN2

East-West Shrine Bowl HOUSTON Saturday 19 January 5pm ESPN2

Senior Bowl MOBILE Saturday 26 January 2pm NFL-N

Texas v Nation Game EL PASO Saturday 2 Feb 3pm CSTV

A couple of other college football all star games are scheduled to be played around the nation, but television coverage information is sketchy at best at this point.

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NFL Predictions for Week Eighteen: The Wild Card Games Weekend

Here are the picks for this weekends NFL Wild Card Playoffs games, played on Saturday 5 January and Sunday 6 January.

Saturday 5 January

Washington @ Seattle (2:30; NBC):
Redskins (+4) 27, Seahawks 25 UPSET
X +
Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh (6:00; NBC):
Jaguars (-1) 23, Steelers 21
+ +

Sunday 6 January

New York @ Tampa Bay (11am; FOX):
Buccaneers (-3) 27, Giants 22

Tennessee @ San Diego (2:30; CBS)
Chargers (-9) 31, Titans 23

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The '76-'77 Montreal Canadiens

Everyone is in a tizzy over the greatness of this season's NFL unbeaten New England Patriots, but 31 years ago there was a hockey club that played an eighty game season with results unmatched in history. The Montreal Canadiens were a machine that season and every other club was steamrollered as the Habs marched to another Stanley Cup with little if any resistance.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/columnist/allen/2008-01-03-1977-canadiens_N.htm

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A Growing Widespread Problem: Juiced Cops

This is just but one report indicating increased usage of a criminal substance, steroids, by police officers across the nation. What can be done about it ? Until other law enforcement officials, probably judges, mayors, and governors take action, or an individual involved in a crime gets a test forced upon a police officer that is found to be positive and may play a role in a case or incident, not much. Police officers are largely allowed to be above the law unless they do something really stupid or overt.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=3745740&page=1

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Food is Going to Increase in Expensiveness

Rising fuel and energy prices, urban sprawl that claims arable and productive farmland, rising third world standards of living, conversion of food crops to alternative energy products, and out and out human population growth continuing past the point of logic and reason within the US and around the globe will only serve to force additional price increases in food.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1231/p13s01-wogi.html

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Obama Wins in an Upset in Iowa

Illinois US Senator Barack Obama is the upset winner in the Iowa caucuses with about 36 % of the vote. John Edwards finishes second, and the big heavy favorite Hillary Clinton finishes third. The Richardson, Biden, and Dodd campaigns are now done if they were not before as none of them got more than 2 % of the votes in the caucus.

Now the question is, can Barack build on this momentum and win in New Hampshire. Voters seem to be embracing change over experience at this point with these results and in polls across the nation. Obama is clearly the candidate of younger voters under age 35 by a wide margin.

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College Football Schools Needing '08 Opponents

Twenty four schools need to still add one opponent to complete their '08 schedules. The thirteen BCS schools are in red.

UPDATE: * = no longer in need of opponent(s) as of THR 2-7-8

Alabama *
Boston College *
Brigham Young *
Georgia Tech
Idaho *
Illinois
Indiana *
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana State
Louisiana Tech *
Louisville
Miami FL *
North Texas *
Northern Illinois *
Ohio
Oklahoma *
Southern Miss *
Syracuse
Troy *
Tulsa *
UAB
UNLV *
Virginia Tech
Wisconsin

Eight schools still need to add two opponents to fill out and complete their '08 schedules:

Arkansas *
Army *
Central Michigan *
Eastern Michigan *
Kent State
Rutgers (*needs one opponent)
Tulane *
Western Michigan

And Louisiana-Monroe needs three opponents at this point to fill out and complete their schedules. (* needs two opponents)

It will be interesting to see how many of these schools, particularly the BCS ones, weasel out and schedule an FCS or Division II school instead of being gallant and courageous and putting a program that is competitive.

http://www.nationalchamps.net/NCAA/college_football_2008_schedules/index_openings.htm

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Huckabee Wins Easily in Iowa

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee swept to a relatively easy win in the Iowa Caucuses, swamping favorite Mitt Romney by about 10 percentage points. This is an upset to most GOP and political observers and insideres. Fred Thompson will finish third and John McCain fourth. Huckabee still faces long odds to win in New Hampshire and the nomination. Romney may be on the ropes. A loss next Tuesday in the Granite State and his campaign may be fatally wounded.

Democratic results are inconclusive at this point as the top three are in a virtual tie with less than one-third of the votes in.

Next up is the Wyoming caucuses (Republicans only) on Saturday 5 January; the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday 8 January; the Michigan primary on Tuesday 15 January; the South Carolina primary (Republicans only) and Nevada caucuses on Saturday 19 January; the South Carolina primary (Democrats only) on Saturday 26 January; and the Florida primaries on Tuesday 29 January.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/path.presidency/

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Another Serious Consequence from Shorter Less Severe Winters

The revalation in this report concerning rates of carbon dioxide absorption or carbon sinks by trees and other flora due to changes in the climate is very troubling and throws another variable into the mix in determining how fast and extreme will global warming impact the planet, its ecosystems, and mankind.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/03/climatechange.carbonemissions

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380 Days Left of the Junta !

Thank goodness we are about into the final one-eighth of the Junta rule. Unquestionably this has been the worst presidential administration in my lifetime and rivals the worst in the nation's history including those of Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Buchanan, Peirce, Fillmore, and others.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/01/02/BL2008010201493.html

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Arctic Warming Extends High into the Atmosphere

This report signals even deeper troubling news concerning global warming in the part of the globe where it is expected to be the greatest the fastest.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/01/080102-arctic-warming.html

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Live Results from Iowa

The caucuses get underway in the Hawkeye State around 7pm CST (6pm MST) with results starting to be tabulated, compiled, and released around 8pm CST (7pm MST).

One can go to this link to see live changing results after that time.

http://www.iowacaucusresults.com/

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2007 Eighth Hottest for Billings

The climate in Billings is starting to get more warmer as each year passes by. Miles City also had its eighth hottest year ever and Sheridan its thirteenth.

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/byz/local_news/2008/BILyearsum07.php

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/byz/local_news/2008/MLSyearsum07.php

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/byz/local_news/2008/SHRyearsum07.php

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Clouds to Obscure View of Quadrantids

The Quadrantid Meteor Shower overnight Thursday into Friday 3-4 January is being touted as perhaps the best meteor shower to observe, but unfortunately most of the western US will be under cloudy skies overnight so we will not get the opportunity to take in this astronomical show.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22488764/?gt1=10755

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Good Likelihood of $4 per Gallon Gasoline

Oil Prices ended up rising 60 % during 2007 from around $62 to $100 per barrel. Many in the energy industries are projecting a similar rise for 2008. If this unfortunate scenario does eventuate, the price per gallon of gasoline fuel will rise to a point that is almost incomprehendible. While prices will get to at least $4.00 per gallon virtually everywhere, you can be sure that some places like California will see prices around $5 per gallon and other coastal areas will be deep into the $4 range. It is very disconcerting to consider a 35 to 50 % increase this year in ones fuel budget, let alone all the other cost increases to food and other goods and services effected by this sharp fuel prices increase.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/03/colo-could-see-gas-at-4-this-summer/

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