David Eckstein on Tonight Show

David Eckstein was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He re-iterated what I've been trying to tell folks for a while now: St. Louis Cardinals short stop David Eckstein is not Jewish.

Anyway, some notes from the appearance this evening:
Sitting next to Tim Allen of Detroit. He's talking about the late collapse. Talks about the USA Today winning in three. Tim Allen moved over and David hands him a kleenex. The sportswriters were able to give them an edge. Talking about the yellow corvette. It's a stick shift and he can't drive a stick.

Off the field, he's very uncoordinated. He drilled his head on the plane. He's cheap...

What?!? He lives with his parents? He drove a Nissan centra and Nissan Maxima. All the cars were handed over to him. He bought his mom a new car and took her Toyota.

Talking about the Jewish All American team. He was yelled at for playing on Yom Kippur. He's says he's not Jewish and the crowd laughs.

Looks like he's talking about Ashley Drane now, who looks young. Tim says 11? David says she usually plays someone around 15. He got accused of being a pedophile. Tim asks if she worked at a Nissan dealership. She got a Honda Civic two years ago.

The Daily Show invades Ohio

It's gonna be a hectic week so here are some headlines of the last 24 hours or so.

Ohio politics will fuel The Daily Show
Could the Senate be split down the middle?
Hoosiers support an Evan Bayh presidential candidacy.
Congressman Ron Lewis (KY-2) says term limiting himself was a mistake. Yea, right.
Frances and Ted Strickland have Kentucky ties.
UK was Ashley Judd's first home.
Republican PVA candidate in Kenton Co. has no idea what the office actually does.

a letter to Republicans, Davidson explained - incorrectly - that the PVA office "prepares tax bills for county and school taxing purposes."

Actually, the county clerk's office does that, note Krey and Kenton County Clerk Bill Aylor, another Democrat. The PVA merely sets assessment values for all residential and commercial properties.

"It really is sad when the candidates are running for office and they don't even know what the office does," Aylor said. "The PVA does not print or do anything with the tax bills, except provide the assessments for the properties."

Southern Florida candidates are agressively pursuing the Jewish vote.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are on the cover of Rolling Stone.
Is it an American Tragedy to sell trucks?
From Jay Leno's monologue: "In Detroit, to scare people, they are rerunning the World Series. Congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals!" Something like that.
The Daily Show phenomenon.
Max Cleland blasts Kentucky Republicans.
Ron Lewis is running scared.
Paul Patton now has a highway named after him

Uh, Anne...

When I played kickball, I don't think I ever had a do-over...

Anne did not answer the question John Yarmuth asked...

Knowing now...Anne would have planned for contigencies in Iraq.

Blogger appears to be working

I didn't blog much of anything here because Blogger was having publishing problems but that's all fixed now.

Clinton stumps for Democrats
Is KY-4 an unlikely bellweather?
Some issues over records in the 5th District of the Kentucky Supreme Court
John Yarmuth says politics played a factor in Northup's flip-flop.
Sheldon Whitehouse and Lincoln Chafee sparred in their debate.
Jim Webb is upset with George Allen's ads.
Chicago Tribune profiles Bradley alumnus Anthony Parker.
IN-9 is very muddy.
Joe Biden backs Lamont but will not campaign against Lieberman.
Will Jon Stewart weigh in on Ohio issues?
YouTube removes Comedy Central clips

Hugh Laurie hosts Saturday Night Live

Hugh Laurie of House fame hosts Saturday Night Live with musical guest, Beck. SNL has had an interesting selection of hosts this season. Next week, it's The Best of Darrell Hammond, the first TBO for a cast member who is still in the cast.

Cold Open - Lorne Michaels (real) comes in to talk about the cuts and sacrifices, yet he drinks anyway. He has sold the first five minutes to a foreign government saying times are tough. Enjoy the paid address by the Kazakhstan ministry of information. Borat (Sascha Baron Cohen) appears and says how they like Saturday Night Live. He promotes Kazakhstan and their culture. Talking about selling kids to Madonna. Live from New York, home of the Jew, it's Sascha Baron Cohen.

Monologue - Hugh Laurie is excited to be hosting the show. He's calling the audience "sweet cheeks." It looks like he is going to start a song...or a lengthy monologue with a musical background. He says he is everything (lithium). He's explaining that English is also a nationality, not just a language. "Overly elaborate puns that may take you days to understand." The forecast calls for rain and sketches served with peas.

Most Haunted - Hugh Laurie is at Chillingham Castle, and is Derek A., a pyschic. Bill Hader (Stuart), Amy Poehler (Yvette), and Fred Armisen (Jon) are in this sketch. Lots of gas being passed in the room on playback of the tape. This sketch is in black and white, by the way. Once the light is turned on, they realize that the noise was Hugh Laurie passing gas. They upset Hugh Laurie with their over-investigation and he leaves.

TV Funhouse (Address from the President) - This is not fun with real audio. It shows a RNC ad. The ads are related to October 31st. Hillary Clinton scared even the president! Al Franken helped write this cartoon.

Wold Series on FOX - Joe Buck is played Jason Sudeikis. Tim McCarver is played by a dark haired Bill Hader. Pamela Bell (Maya) sings the national anthem. She's the Schnuck's National Anthem Winner. Nice to see some love for my St. Louis Cardinals and new Busch Stadium. Buck and McCarver look stunned. We go from the national anthem to "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." This sketch, as much as I love the Cards, went down hill very fast.

The Queen's Demands - Hugh Laurie is an assistant to the Queen. The Hotel manager is Kristen Wiig. Hugh Laurie starts listing demands of the Queen. He will not be there when she arrives.

Hardball - Darrell Hammond is Chris Matthews. Joining him is Ken Mehlman (Andy Samberg). Mehlman is not worried about a Democratic takeover, and then starts asking about incumbent senators. Matthews follows up with another poll result. Nevada Rep. Gleen Beasley is the "TCBY" strangler, and shows a picture with him. TCBY means Torture, Cut, Bind, Yolk. They keep showing other pictures, one with Jack Abramoff. John Wayne Gasy, Jr. is his replacement. Howard Dean (Suds) joins in the conversation. Dean says we can't be trusted on defense. Dean says GOP leadership will go down to Guantanomo. Dean wants to fight Mehlman.

Hugh Laurie sings a protest song - He mumbled something which is barely audible.

Beck sings "Nausea"

Weekend Update - Bush no longer using "Stay the Course" on Iraq, he's using think outside the bun. Border fence approved, downside is frisbees. There is now a time table for establishing a time table in Iraq. HRC has said that it's great that Obama is considering running in 2008. London is now the world's undisputed financial capital. Elections. Discussing his campaign is senate candidate Tim Calhoun, running for Senator of America. He's happy with Pluto being a dwarf planet and proposes Jupiter to be a Mexico planet. He does not approve this message. Freshman 15 is closer to 5-7 pounds. Seattle is now Welcome to Metronational/Metronatural (one of the two), formerly drummer wanted. Panama Canal widening is approved. Meth was found in Colorado, hidden in Elmo, who shot them 30 something times. NewScientist showed a new sex study where people had sex while asleep. Shaq botched a raid in Virginia. Vendy Awards for Best Food Court, last place is Mario's Undercooked Chicken. Commenting on Jersey's new law is a couple from Jersey, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen. Britney named her kid. New Jersey ruling was celebrated across the country including St. Louis (shows picture of Yadier and Adam after the Game 5 winner. Something about a bionic dolphin.

Emergency Hospital - Hugh Laurie is in drag. Kenan Thompson has a broken leg. Will Forte is a doctor. Maya comes in, looks like she's the nurse. Kenan refuses to be x-ray'd. Hugh Laurie makes a PSA says that medicine is noble science and that people deny medical care. This is supposed to be a PSA by the American Medical Association.

The Curse of Frankenstein - Frankenstein's monster is Bill Hader. Hugh Laurie is looking for Frankenstein. Hader tells them to go across the moore. They do and find Dracula (Suds). Suds asks them for a description. Back across the moore again. Hader then calls Suds again. Hader says the bolts are from a spinal injury. He says that he's a cobbler. A hand falls off and they stampede Hader.

Beck sings "Clap Hands."

Linder and Balls - Fred Armisen and Hugh Laurie are lawyers. Amy Poehler a person named Rebecca and is applying for a job. She was a legal assistant at a firm in Schaumberg, Illinois. Okay, the "woo" is getting out of hand. Phone rings, noise continues, she's hired and reacts like them. They reconsider the application and ask her to leave.

November 4: The Best of Darrell Hammond
November 11: Alec Baldwin with Christina Aguilera. I could have sworned Don Pardo said on Monday, November 11th.

Did SI doubt us?

They were sure ready for a Tigers victory, eh? Unbelievable. Do you want this DVD set? I can put this with the Tigers-Mets World Series shirt.

RIP: Joe Niekro

as we celebrate the first Cardinals WS win since 1982, please take a moment to remember Joe Niekro's life. May he rest in peace.

Former major league pitcher Joe Niekro, Houston's career victory leader, died Friday, Astros president Tal Smith said. He was 61.
The two-time 20-game winner suffered a brain aneurysm Thursday and was taken to South Florida Baptist Hospital in nearby Plant City, where he lived. He later was transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died.

"It came as a real shock to us," Smith said. "He was a great guy. He had a real spark and a great sense of humor."

Smith said Niekro did not have an active role with the Astros but kept in contact with many of his former Houston teammates.

Niekro, father of San Francisco Giants first baseman Lance Niekro, won 221 games in his career but never became as well known as his Hall of Fame brother Phil.

Like his older brother, who won 318 games, Joe Niekro found success after developing the knuckleball and pitched into his 40s. They had a combined 359 major league victories, a record for brothers.

THAT'S A WINNER!!!!!

THAT'S A WINNER!! A WORLD SERIES WINNER!!! St. Louis has just knocked off the Detroit Tigers to take home the 2006 World Series Championship.

Unfortunately for us, it came at the expense of the lack of defense from Tiger pitchers.

The Cardinals got lucky with some botched key plays by the Tigers. In the second inning, David Eckstein drove in Yadier Molina on a bad throw from Brandon Inge to first.

The Cardinals led 1-0 before Chris Duncan made an error on a routine flyball which led to a Sean Casey HR and the Tigers took the lead, 2-1.

In the fourth inning, Verlander botched a play and Molina scored again when Weaver reached on a fielder's choice. Eckstein grounded out and So Taguchi scored. The Cardinals took the lead again, 3-2.

Duncan was removed in the seventh as a result of a bad play in the sixth.

In the seventh inning with two on, Pujols flied out. Edmonds, in what could have been his final at bat as a Cardinal, flied out. Rolen hit a two-out hit to shallow right field and Eckstein comes home easily. That hit may have given Rolen the rights to series MVP as he is batting .421 during the series.

The Tigers handed it to the Cardinals by way of errors, eight alone in the series so far after the two tonight. For the first time since 1979, pitchers had made at least one error a game.

In January, if I was asked, I never would have though the crowd would be chanting: "WEAVER! WEAVER! WEAVER!" He's an unlikely postseason hero. Here it is, in Game 5 of the World Series, Weaver is the starter and going deep into the 8th inning, striking out 9 batters. Jered Weaver was on hand, in Cardinals gear, rooting for his older brother. I tip my cap and salute Jeff Weaver on his amazing performance in the month of October!

Adam Wainwright gets the save and Brandon Inge is the final out.

For 1985. 1987. 1996. 2000. 2001. 2002. 2004. 2005. More importantly, for Jack Buck and Darryl Kile, who we lost en route to clinching the division in 2002.

Some highlights from Edmonds: "I think we shocked the world." On La Russa's management: "With these idiots we've got."

The World Series MVP is David Eckstein!

Afternoon blogging...

It's going to be a long night...

Anyway, be sure to choose who you think will win in competitive races for both the Senate and the House over here.

Is comedian Jon Stewart the left's answer to conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly?

Paul Mecurio highlights a week of funny in Columbus this weekend.

Paul McCartney is looking at another world tour towards the end of 2007.

Jim Belushi is not in the shadows anymore.

Mike Weaver is counting on voter angst in less than two weeks.

Apparently, the media forgot what Jerry Abramson is running for. But then, you could have said the same thing about Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley a few years ago.

Ben Chandler took some time out for a fundraiser for the UK College Democrats.

"I'm tickled to death that you all are doing this at UK," Chandler said in regard to the students in College Democrats and their efforts and involvement.

He said he understands how difficult it is to maintain an interest in modern politics, considering the nasty political commercials on television and the animosity found on different sides of issues. But he also emphasized the importance of trying to improve this situation.

"You have to look at the stakes," Chandler said. "The stakes are your future.

"You guys have a chance now to get in on what I think is a big wave in the country," Chandler said.

Chandler is currently running for re-election to his seat in the U.S. House. He serves as the representative for Kentucky's 6th District, which includes Lexington. Chandler has no Republican opponent in the race.

Since he became involved in Kentucky politics in 1991 as the state auditor, Republicans have been dominant, Chandler said. But he thinks this is about to change.

"This year, for the first time in 15 years, it's finally going back the other way," he said.

Democrats may have a chance to turn things around, Chandler said. He specifically addressed debt and education, saying Republicans have left the weight of paying off the national debt on the backs of young people.

Evan Bayh helped out Ken Lucas recently.

Indiana U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh will decide by Christmas if he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2008.

But Bayh spent part of Wednesday afternoon raising money for the campaign of Ken Lucas, the Boone County Democrat running in the 4th Congressional District against Republican incumbent Geoff Davis.

"I know Ken will be both tough and smart when it comes to defending America," Bayh said at the Edgewood law office of Lucas' son, Lance. "The threat is still there and we're not doing nearly enough."[...]

Lucas called Bayh "my kind of Democrat."

"He's a middle-of-the-road kind of guy," Lucas said. "I've always considered myself a middle-of-the road kind of a Democrat, not too far to the left or the right but sort of down the center.

Senator Max Cleland is in Louisville campaigning for John Yarmuth and Mike Weaver.

Bush signed into law a 700 mile fence along the border.

Without border agents to patrol the barrier, smugglers would blast holes in remote stretches, some critics have said. "The bill the president signed today represents the worst in election-year politics," said Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tex.). "It is an empty gesture for the sole purpose of sending a false message about the security of our nation."

Barry Welsh and Mike Pence will be facing off in the sole debate of the campaign season on Monday, October 30, from 6-7:30 in Muncie, Indiana, at North Side Middle School. The debate is sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce.

It's not everyday that you see something like this. If I read it correctly, Caryn Garber, who is a staffer for Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL), threatened to lower funding to the Tel Aviv University unless Robert Schrayer dropped his backing of Dan Seals, the Democratic candidate against Kirk this year.

According to Thursday’s Chicago Sun-Times, Caryn Garber, a staffer for Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), wanted to force Robert Schrayer, an insurance magnate, to drop his backing for Dan Seals, a Democrat challenging Kirk. Schrayer, chairman of the Tel Aviv University American Council and a board member of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, had supported Kirk in earlier campaigns.

Garber e-mailed Sam Witkin, president of TAU’s American Council, to ask him to contact Itamar Rabinovich, TAU’s president and a former Israeli envoy to Washington. “Itamar should call Bob and tell him his actions can have a very bad effect on the university,” the e-mail reportedly said. “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Kirk is on the U.S. House of Representatives’ powerful Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee.

Garber’s e-mail “does not reflect my view,” said Kirk, whose district in Chicago’s northern suburbs has a large Jewish population. “When I heard about it I was upset.” He said he reprimanded Garber and told her she would be fired if it happened again.

Why was Garber not fired in the first place?

Wow, didn't see this one coming. It goes into effect on November 30th.

8 pm/ET: My Name Is Earl
8:30 pm: The Office
9 pm: Scrubs (returning for Season 6)
9:30 pm: 30 Rock (relocated from Wednesday)
10 pm: ER

That's all for now.

GO CARDS!

Wow...

Just looked at some of the searches:
David Eckstein Jewish (Google) 147 times
David Eckstein Cardinals Jewish (Google)
Eckstein Cardinal Jewish
David Eckstein, Jewish

For the three billionth time, DAVID ECKSTEIN IS OFT ASSUMED BASED ON HIS NAME, BUT HE'S NOT JEWISH!

World Series: Cardinals vs. Tigers - Game 4

FOX Broadcasting Team:
Play-by-Play: Joe Buck
Analysts: Tim McCarver
Reporter: Chris Meyers, Ken Rosenthal

Today, assuming the game is not rained out, Billy Ray Cyrus with his daughter Miley (both of Hannah Montana) will be singing our country's National Anthem. Singing "G-d Bless America," is the band, Sugarland. Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch is Hall of Fame member and Cardinals legend Stan "The Man" Musial. Or not. It might be Bruce Sutter instead. Scratch both, it's Lou Brock. Colleen Schoendienst ended up singing during stretch time.

Lineups
Cardinals
David Eckstein SS
Chris Duncan RF
Albert Pujols 1B
Jim Edmonds CF
Scott Rolen 3B
Preston Wilson LF
Yadier Molina C
Aaron Miles 2B
Jeff Suppan P
-------------
Jeff Suppan

Tigers
Curtis Granderson CF
Craig Monroe LF
Carlos Guillen SS
Magglio Ordonez RF
Sean Casey 1B
Ivan Rodriguez C
Placido Polanco 2B
Brandon Inge 3B
Jeremy Bonderman P
-------------
Jeremy Bonderman

Lineups are corrected now. Jeff Suppan's throwing today and I feel good about it. In his career, Suppan is 3-3 with a 3-3 record with a 2.91 ERA in eight postseason starts. Suppan was the MVP was the 2006 NLCS against the Mets thanks to two very great starts. On the other hand, against the Tigers in his career, he's 8-6 with a 4.63 ERA in 20 starts. That said, this postseason, he's been fantastic. In his last 15 innings, he's only allowed one run. The key to Suppan's pitching tonight will be to shut down Magglio Ordonez (17-43) and Pudge Rodriguez (.500) in the game.

Looking at Bonderman's stats, he's 0-0 against the Cardinals in his career with a 1.29 ERA. This postseason, he's 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts. Bonderman is a lefty. A piece of trivia, he's the player that was sent by the Athletics to the Tigers as a result of a three-team deal in 2002. Cardinal hitters have rarely seen him in their career. Belliard, who as 21 at bats against him, is only .143 against him. Wilson and Miles are both 3-6, so we could see Miles tonight even though we need Belliard's defense in the game. Eckstein is 4-10 against him. Spiezio is .267 in 15 at bats. The last time we faced him, it was a game that Sidney Ponson started for us. The Cardinals went 9-35 that day.

In a piece of trivial news, former Cardinals pitcher Sidney Ponson, who was designated for assignment earlier this season, is pulling for us to win it all. Hey, anyone who played for us this season, gets a ring!

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 24 -- Don't expect pitcher Sidney Ponson to sulk over the fact the St. Louis Cardinals are in the World Series and he is not. Ponson, who signed with the Cardinals this offseason but was released during the season, is happy to see his former team in the postseason, according to agent Barry Praver.

Speaking of offseason deals, remember the J.D. Drew trade? Anyway, Walt Jocketty would not make that deal without Adam Wainwright being a part of it. Just to think what could have been.

St. Louis 5, Detroit 4
Winning pitcher - Adam Wainwright (1-0)

Unbelieveable! Words cannot express how I feel right now. The Cardinals now lead the World Series with a record of 3-1 with Game 5 at Busch Stadium tomorrow night. David Eckstein, who was slumping, had a huge night, going 4-5. Eckstein had a clutch hit in the 8th inning when Craig Monroe extended his glove but it went off the webbing. Eckstein had three doubles alone. Rolen also had a big night, going 2-4 with a run. Miles went 1-3 with two runs and a walk. Remind me to thank Atlanta for Adam Wainwright.

The Tigers made a Curt Flood-esque mistake when Granderson fell over in the 7th and Eckstein gets a double.

How we scored:
David Eckstein doubled to left center, driving in Aaron Miles (3rd inning)
Yadier Molina doubled to left, Scott Rolen comes home (4th)
So Taguchi was safe at first on Fernando Rodney's throwing error to first, scoring Eckstein and Taguchi advances to second (7th)
Preston Wilson singled to left, scoring Taguchi, and Pujols tagged out between second and third (7th)
David Eckstein doubled to left, Aaron Miles scored what would be the game winning run (8th).

The stats to note, other than Eckstein breaking out of the slump, is Yadier Molina is hitting .308 in the series and Rolen's batting .438. Edmonds is up around .308. Eckstein's hitting .333 in the series.

When Rodney made that bad throw to first, the thought going through my mind at the moment when the Tigers made an error by the pitcher for the fourth straight game was the remarks that the late Jack Buck made in 1988: I DON'T BELIEVE...WHAT I JUST SAW. I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW.

We'll see you tomorrow night.

We have a game!

At least we should have a game tonight.

In the event that we don't, Jose de Jesus Ortiz with the Houston Chronicle argues in the defense of the roof.

I don't mind a roof, as long as it's retractable. But, to keep the roof closed for most of the season, despite fantastic weather outside, that's just wrong!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

In the event that you have been sitting in a cave yesterday, Game 4 of the World Series on FOX was postponed. I'm thinking that FOX network executives wanted to get the game in so as to not mess up their prime time lineup.

On Dan Patrick's show on ESPN radio, he's feeling like it's Groundhog day considering Game 4 was rained out yesterday and it will likely be rained out again tonight. The best thing in my opinion would be for the games to be rained out tonight and tomorrow as well.

Radargate is just developing and Dan will have more on that in his show with Peter Gammons.

What's the deal with Mark McGwire and why has he not had a presence in the previous two World Series at Busch? The NY Post asks this question.

But there is no McGwire. So where is he?

"It's a very good question," Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty said. "I have not thought about it. I'm not sure our owners have thought about it."

Well, that is kind of an interesting concept, not thinking of McGwire since just about every major living Cardinal has been involved in this postseason. Bruce Sutter was expected to throw out the first pitch last night, before World Series Game 4 was called due to rain, joining other St. Louis luminaries from the past who have thrown out first pitches this postseason - Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Whitey Herzog, Red Schoendienst, Mike Shannon and even Ozzie Smith, who has been openly feuding with Cardinals manager Tony La Russa for years. The only reason Stan Musial has not been involved on the field is that he is 86 years old and the weather has been horrible.

So, have the Cardinals really remembered all these other greats and not McGwire? Or is it just that McGwire has become too toxic at this time, especially since Major League Baseball has to approve those who throw first pitches. Rich Levin, Commissioner Bud Selig's lead spokesman, said he would not participate in hypothetical possibilities for first pitches.

Larry Borowsky of VEB has a great article at Slate.

Retiring Senator Bill Frist is stressing to GOP candidates that they not use Iraq as a campaign issue.

Other than Congressman Chandler's seat, we have at least three good chances in the other districts. I can't say I am as confident about the first and fifth districts. With less than two weeks to go, I hope I'm wrong on those two districts. Don't get me wrong. I want us to win those two seats as well, no doubt there. I just don't feel so confident with one of those seats being held by Hal Rogers.

Some people just don't learn. Jon Stewart is not running and he has said that he has no intentions on running.

Stem Cell Research

I finally had the chance to watch the Michael J. Fox ad for the Claire McCaskill for Senate campaign. I knew his Parkinson's was bad but I didn't know it was that bad. Rush Limbaugh should be ashamed of himself for his remarks.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan argues against the issue. My opinion about Suppan does not change.

Political Roundup

Well, I better post this now before later with the blogger downtime tonight and the Cards game tonight as well...not to mention to the night class.

In entertainment news, SCTV returns to the small screen by way of DVD seasons.

Go behind the scenes of the hit television comedy talk show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

There's a documentary about Andrew Horne that will be aired later this year on the Discovery Times Channel.

Could the Cardinals Senate be evenly split in the upcoming season session. Baseball fever is on my mind.

AIPAC condemed efforts by Republican activists who claim voting against their candidate meant disloyalty to Israel.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee condemned Republican activists who said failure to support their candidate amounted to “disloyalty” to Israel.
Jonathan and Irit Tratt earned boos and walkouts at an event last week in Scottsdale, Ariz., when they spoke on behalf of U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth, who is fighting a tough challenge from Democrat Harry Mitchell, the mayor of Tempe.

The Tratts faced questions about Hayworth’s endorsement of the late Henry Ford’s writings on “Americanization” of immigrants, which included anti-Semitic passages.

According to news accounts, Jonathan Tratt told the audience that because Hayworth was a steadfast Israel supporter, such questions showed “disloyalty” to the Jewish state.

He also said Hayworth, a regular churchgoer, was a “more observant Jew” than those in attendance because he opposed abortion.

As audience members walked out in disgust, Irit Tratt reportedly remarked “no wonder there are anti-Semites.”

This is strange...and surprising. Congressman John Conyers has CHIDED former President Jimmy Carter for the title of his new book.

A leading U.S. black congressman called former President Carter to chide him for titling his new book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said the use of apartheid in the title “does not serve the cause of peace and the use of it against the Jewish people in particular, who have been victims of the worst kind of discrimination, discrimination resulting in death, is offensive and wrong.”

In his statement Tuesday, Conyers said he called Carter “to express my concerns about the title of the book, and to request that the title be changed. President Carter does not build upon his career as a proponent of peace in the Middle East with this comparison and I hope he and his publisher will reconsider this decision.”

Conyers, a 20-term representative, is a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Carter’s book is due to be published next month by Simon and Schuster.

The Northup Exposure has been launched.

GO CARDINALS!

Remembering Paul Wellstone

Has it only been four years since Senator Paul Wellston and his wife passed away due to the tragic plane crash?

President Bill Clinton raises estimated $700,000

WTVQ 36 reported that the party raised an estimated $700,000 tonight at the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Louisville.

"I left a surplus in case you forgot," Clinton said, referring to the increase in the national debt. "(Democrats) are the only responsible choice for conservative and progressive thinking. People are sick and tired of all the negativism, division and paralysis of partisanship in Washington."

While his speech lasted only 40 minutes, state Democrats are hoping his political prowess will carry forward beyond Nov. 7 among their constituents.

"I think he's preaching to the choir, but he has to get us energized," said state Sen. Joey Pendleton, D - Hopkinsville.

His appearance before a packed crowd of 2400 at the Kentucky International Convention Center Tuesday was aimed at not only raising money for the state party, but for stumping for local candidates like John Yarmuth, a 3rd district congressional candidate; and Col. Mike Weaver, a congressional candidate running in the 2nd district.[...]

While there was no official tally on how much money was raised from Clinton's appearance Tuesday, several key legislators told Action News 36 the figure could be upwards of $700,000. Clinton has already made previous campaign stops in 27 states including New Jersey, Iowa and Ohio.

Here's the CJ recap. The H-L recap is here.

Good night.

Wow

Wow, I just read this. How did MLB let them get away with it? I mean, it's the rules. I'm not complaining but still...rules are rules.

World Series: Cardinals vs. Tigers - Game 3

FOX Broadcasting Team:
Play-by-Play: Joe Buck
Analysts: Tim McCarver
Reporter: Chris Meyers, Ken Rosenthal

Trace Adkins will be singing the National Anthem and Jo Dee Messina will sing "G-d Bless America" during game 3. For Game 4, it's Billy Ray Cyrus and Sugarland, respectively. All this per Tim McKernan.

Lineups
Cardinals
David Eckstein SS
Preston Wilson LF
Albert Pujols 1B
Scott Rolen 3B
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Jim Edmonds CF
Yadier Molina C
So Taguchi RF
Carpenter P
-------------
Chris Carpenter

Tigers
Curtis Granderson CF
Craig Monroe LF
Placido Polanco 2B
Magglio Ordonez RF
Carlos Guillen SS
Ivan Rodriguez C
Sean Casey 1B
Brandon Inge 3B
Nate Robertson P
-------------
Nate Robertson

Chris Carpenter takes on Nate Robertson in the first of three games to be played at Busch Stadium during the World Series. Carpenter is 3-4 in 11 starts against the Detroit Tigers with a 7.03 ERA. I'd wager to say that most of those starts were while he was with the Blue Jays. Fungoes has the career OPS records against each pitcher. Nate Robertson has never faced the Cardinals although he has faced David Eckstein, Preston Wilson, and Ronnie Belliard in prior years. Preston Wilson will likely start in the game today given his numbers against Robertson (5-5 with two home runs).

Tiger hitters vs. Carpenter:
Pudge Rodriguez 9-26
Magglio Ordonez 5-18
Neifi Perez 3-14
Sean Casey 6-13
Carlos Guillen 3-11
Placido Polanco 2-7
Brandon Inge 3-5
Curtis Granderson 2-4
Craig Monroe 1-3
Marcus Thames 1-3
Vance Wilson 1-2

Carp has to be the most careful with Pudge, Mags, and Casey.

That's a winner and the St. Louis Cardinals take a 2-1 series lead as Chris Carpenter and Braden Looper combine shut out the Tigers 5-0, thanks to some bad defense on the Tigers part.

We'll see you tomorrow night!

How we scored tonight:
In the bottom of the fourth, Jim Edmonds doubled to right, scoring both Scott Rolen and Albert Pujols scored.
In the bottom of the seventh, Albert Pujols reached on a fielder's choice but Joel Zumaya bad a bad throw to third, scoring both David Eckstein and Preston Wilson.
In the bottom of the eighth, with bases loaded for Albert Pujols, So Taguchi scored on a wild pitch.

We've managed to shut down Curtis Granderson (0-13), Pudge Rodriguez (0-11) and Placido Polanco (0-10) during the World Series. Carp was dealing, going 8 strong innings, fanning 6, and giving up 3 hits and no runs. Carp only through 82 pitches the whole game.

In the World Series, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen have brought their bats with them and are batting a combined .429 through three games. Rolen has an 8 game hitting streak. Jimmy Hollywood's career is definitely winding down and it would be sad to see him retire after this season, or sign with another team. I'd like to see another season or two from Jim Edmonds as a Cardinal but check out this article from Yahoo.

Jim Edmonds' nickname is "Hollywood," a reference to the 36-year-old center fielder's uncanny knack for coming through when everybody is watching.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa surely had that in mind when he kept putting Edmonds in the lineup against lefties this year, despite a puny .156 batting average against them.

Sure enough, facing Detroit Tigers southpaw Nate Robertson in Game 3 of the World Series, Edmonds put his name in lights yet again.

The St. Louis Cardinals' elder statesman, prone more to musing about retirement in a season plagued with injury and struggles at the plate, lined a key double down the first-base line off Robertson in the fourth inning Tuesday night for the first runs in St. Louis' 5-0 victory.

Here's a line from his press conference after the game: "I knew it might be one of the last times I played here."

In the post season, Carp was 2-1 with 3.70 ERA and 17 K. I'll have the stats updated tomorrow on here to reflect the new numbers.

St. Louis 5, Detroit 0
Winning pitcher - Chris Carpenter (1-0)

The last World Series shutout by Cardinal pitching was 1985's Game 4 against the Royals. Gibson shut 'em out in 1968 and Dizzy Dean did so in 1934.

We can win this thing. I know it. You know it. Cardinal Nation mot definitely knows it. Especially with the defense of the Tigers, or lack there of.

Political news this morning...

An update to this post, I've been informed by a source that Steve Henry is in the race but no LG candidate is selected as of yet. The Herald Leader has much of the same.

More on the loan.

Northup for Congress? pulled a Dave Letterman the other day and lists a top ten.

Lance Armstrong was at UK the other day as a part of his participation in the President's Cancer Panel.

Also in Lexington, the UK College Democrats debated the UK College Republicans and drew an "overwhelming turnout" according to UK Dems president Richard Becker.

Senator Tom Daschle is still waying a 2008 run for the Oval Office.

They're serving sno cones in Idaho as hell froze over.

The suddenly competitive race is a delicious development for Larry Grant, a Democratic candidate for the House who finds himself transformed from sacrificial lamb to reason for worry among national Republican strategists.

His Republican opponent is Bill Sali, an eight-term state representative with a corrosive reputation for irking his fellow Republicans. The Republican speaker of the Idaho House, Bruce Newcomb, said this spring of Sali: "That idiot is just an absolute idiot."

Interesting news from JTA. American Jews are more supportive of a preemptive strike against Iran than they have been in the past.

American Jews are less supportive of a U.S. military strike on Iran than they were a year ago, but they remain overwhelmingly convinced that the Arabs want to destroy the State of Israel.

Those observations emerge from the American Jewish Committee's annual survey of U.S. Jewish opinion, which was released Monday.

Thirty-eight percent of respondents say they support U.S. military action to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons, down from 49 percent last year. However, 57 percent support an Israeli strike against the Islamic republic.

Non sports news

In case you are tired of reading about Kenny the Cheater Rogers, here's some goods news. There are exactly two weeks til the election day that could change the country.

South Dakota is the first test of a certain "wedge" issue. I've made my stance on this issue perfectly clear.

No idea what Mitch McConnell's on but he still thinks the GOP can win.

Yet another article on politicians and facebook.

Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., is not on the ballot, but his Facebook page is held up as a model of how to do it right.

Everyone who joins Bayh’s Facebook profile gets a welcoming e-mail, and members who have included their birthdates in their own profiles get a birthday message from Bayh.

“It allows you to begin a conversation with college students in an environment they’re already comfortable with,” said Dan Pfeiffer, spokesman for Bayh’s political action committee.

Because Facebook and other social networking sites are organized so that contacts are to the politician, not from the politician, Pfeiffer said, there’s no sense of being hounded.

The people who use Facebook expect to have a relationship with candidates the way they do with other friends in their networks, said Lauren Miller, a strategist with Blue State Digital, which advises clients on Internet strategies.

“I don’t think kids think candidates are on the page,” Miller said, “but they like to think that Ted Kennedy or Ted Strickland or Barack Obama is really their friend.”

People younger than 25 vote at much lower rates than other age groups, and no one has found a way to change that. But Pfeiffer said the Internet is opening doors to politicians.

“We’re beginning to see real-world, tangible benefits,” he said.

Young people have turned up at events they learned about through Bayh’s Facebook profile and other online avenues, Pfeiffer said.

“It’s not a lot of people right now,” he said, but Facebook and the other sites “have potential.”

In some news from the Yarmuth campaign that broke last night, we learned that John will indeed introduce the former President.

With control of Congress about to shift into the hands of the Democrats, the party's big names are pulling out all the stops in the hottest races from coast to coast. So when the biggest name of them all, President Bill Clinton, speaks in Louisville on Tuesday, he will be introduced by Louisville's great hope for change: John Yarmuth!

Comedian Seth Meyers is an alumnus of Northwestern. Oh, really?

"I wake up every morning, call Brian Williams, and we talk for three hours," Seth Meyers jokes about his gig as the new Weekend Update anchor alongside Amy Poehler on "Saturday Night Live."

The 32-year-old Northwestern alum with the trenchant wit now sits in the chair formerly occupied by fellow Chicago performer Tina Fey, and he's hoping to make it his own.

"I will say my life has shifted from ESPN to CNN," he says, "so I sort of feel like I have to call ESPN and explain my recent behavior." Plus, "It's amazing how if you watch an hour of CNN, you hear every news story five times. You catch up pretty fast."

As for me, if I watch any "news" other than sports, it's on MSNBC or NBC. That said, if my TV is on during the day, it's on ESPN. I usually never miss PTI or Around the Horn unless I have class or work.

Another Mike Weaver press conference is online.

Senator Bayh is in town this week. Due to class and financial reasons, I will be unable to attend.

As the 4th District congressional race between Democrat Ken Lucas and incumbent Republican Geoff Davis heats up, Lucas is getting some high-profile help this week.

Sen. Evan Bayh, a potential 2008 Democratic presidential contender from Indiana, will be the special guest at Lucas' fund-raiser Wednesday at the Fort Mitchell Country Club.

The event will be from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Tickets are $100, or $250 for special seating near Bayh.

Kenny Rogers: You're being placed on notice

Umpire confirms it was pine tar

JxMetal makes a comment at VEB that he knows an umpire in Double A ball. The AA umpire called the home plate umpire to find out what went on last night. The umpire confirmed what everyone else has been speculating: Kenny Rogers had pine tar on his hand and only recieved a warning.

So I have a guy in my class who is an umpire. This season he was in double AA ball. To protect his privacy I guess I'll just give his first name, Mike. Anyways, he's friends with the home plate ump from last night.

So last night he called him up and asked him what was on the hand and the ump said it was definitly pinetar and told Rodgers to "f***ing clean his hand" He said this to him as Rodgers was walking off the field after the first inning. I didn't catch his whole conversation, but he didn't kick him out because he said it to Rodgers before LaRussa talked to the umpire.

There ya go, because Tony La Russa did not come off the bench sooner, Kenny stays in and we don't have a bullpen game for game two.

Around the Horn Coverage of Smudgegate

Due to a night class, I won't be able to focus on coverage on Pardon the Interruption unless it's in the first five minutes of that show.

On Around the Horn today is J.J. Adande, Tim Cowlishaw, Woody Paige, and Jay Marriotti. According to Jay, Obama flies coach.

The Rogers story leads off. The arguments:
Jay - Accuses MLB of covering up the story and brings up ESPN's coverage. Credits McCarver and wants to know why TLR let it go. Wonders whether we can trust baseball again. Where's Bud Selig in all of this?

Cowlishaw - Not calling it cover up. Doesn't know if it is dirt. Not a huge scandal. Gaylord Perry.

Adande - Have to ask why is cheating a part of baseball. Throw out all the players in the HOF who violated any rule. Says we shouldn't be so upset. Says he should have been ejected and that baseball is hypocritical.

Woody - Hid the pine tar, which is sticky, and when he held the rosin bag, it stuck to the hands, so he had to wash it off. He was cheating. Woody even illustrates the thing.

On PTI:
They start off with Kenny Rogers so it looks like it's dinner after this. Wilbon says it should have been important since it's the World Series and that Tony La Russa should get into his head.

Tony Kornheiser says to check his hat and glove. He says to get into Kenny Rogers' head.

Kenny Rogers caught with Pine Tar

Photo provided by Hardcore Legend at VEB.

MLB better do something about this since the umpires should have ejected him.

Postgame updates:
Kenny Rogers is clearly a liar that's gotten in trouble once and when he gets in trouble again, he gets away with it. He states that it was just a "clump of dirt."

Any foreign substance should have been cause for ejection. Why, oh umpires, why did you not eject Kenny Rogers when he CLEARLY cheated it not 1, not 2, but 3 series now!!

When all that is Steve Phillips states that this was a missed opportunity by the Cardinals, you know something is up. I'm surprised that Tony La Russa did not make any charges of the pine tar during the press conference after the game.

Here's an article from ESPN on the issue of whether or not it was pine tar.

"It was a big clump of dirt," Rogers said after the game. "I didn't know it was there. They told me about, but it was no big deal."

When asked how he could have a big clump of dirt on his hand, Rogers replied, "It was dirt and rosin put together. That's what happens when you rub it up. … I just went and wiped if off. I didn't think it was an issue. After the first inning, it was fine. I felt I was pretty comfortable after that."[...]

After the substance was noticed, ESPN reviewed tapes of Rogers' pitching performances earlier in the postseason. The tapes revealed that, in starts against both the Yankees and Athletics, a similar-looking brown substance was spotted on Rogers' hand.

It's most likely pine tar and not a clump of dirt as the lying Rogers states.

MLB Rule 8.02
(b) Have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance. For such infraction of this section (b) the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended automatically for 10 games.

Kenny's post-game press conference:
Reporter: What was it on your hand in the first inning? How did you take it off? And, why?

Rogers: It was a big clump of dirt. And, I went and wiped it off after the first. I didn't know that it was there until afterwards. And, then they told me, and I took it off. No big deal.

Reporter: Did somebody complain?

Rogers: No. I just saw it. No. I saw it. I didn't it was there until after the inning. And, then I went and took it off. And, it was good.

Reporter: So the umpire didn't mention it all to you?

Rogers: No

Reporter: Kenny, you say you had a clump of dirt on your hand. How can you have a clump of dirt on your hand?

Rogers: Well, it's dirt and rosin and all that stuff. Whatever is put together. So, when it's moist out there, you're going to rub up the baseballs, and it left on my hand when I rubbed them up.

World Series: Cardinals vs. Tigers - Game 2

FOX Broadcasting Team:
Play-by-Play: Joe Buck
Analysts: Tim McCarver
Reporter: Chris Meyers

Lineups
Cardinals
David Eckstein SS
Scott Spiezio DH
Albert Pujols 1B
Scott Rolen 3B
Juan Encarnacion RF
Jim Edmonds CF
Preston Wilson LF
Yadier Molina C
Aaron Miles 2B
-------------
Jeff Weaver

Tigers
Curtis Granderson CF
Craig Monroe LF
Placido Polanco 2B
Magglio Ordonez RF
Carlos Guillen 1B
Ivan Rodriguez C
Sean Casey DH
Brandon Inge 3B
Ramon Santiago SS
-------------
Kenny Rogers

Taking a look at the pitching matchups, it should be noted that Jeff Weaver is a former Tiger. Kenny Rogers was knocked out by the Cardinals back in June during interleague play, a game the Cardinals would have won had it not been for Isringhausen's hip condition. In two career starts against the Cardinals, Rogers has a 9.72 ERA with no wins in only 8.1 innings pitched. In Weaver's career against Detroit, he is 1-2 in three starts with a 2.53 ERA. From 1999-2002, Weaver played for the Tigers where he accumulated a 14-24 record with a 4.01 ERA. However, neither have fared so well in the World Series being that Rogers pitched only two innings when the Yankees faced the Braves in 1996. Weaver is 0-1 in only one inning pitched (2003 Game 4). In this year's postseason, Weaver is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA. Rogers is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA.

Lineups are up. I don't like the idea of Jimmy batting in the 6 spot. He needs to be batting clean up.

Kenny Rogers was most definitely using pine tar. Or some other substance. The umps have spoken with TLR, Leyland, and KR. No idea why he has not been ejected yet.

Wow, what a late inning comeback. It just was not meant to be. I just watched TLR's press conference. He doesn't want to talk about it.

St. Louis 1, Detroit 3
Losing pitcher - Jeff Weaver (0-1)

Major Flub

An announcer really makes a mistake and drops the F bomb

Looks like Henry is in

Lt. Governor Steve Henry is likely a candidate for the 2007 elections as a governor. Rumor has it that State Senate Minority Whip Joey Pendleton is his running mate. An announcement will be made in Novemmber, and sources close to The Kentucky Democrat are saying it may be made on November 9th.

In a few short weeks, we will know for sure who is in and who is out. I'll be following the 2007 races closely. So far, the 2007 rumored candidates can be found here.

Here's yet another article on Jonathan Miller's book.

The folks over at CBS have ordered a full season of Shark.

Geoff Davis needs to get his facts straightened out. Davis is now saying he transposed the numbers in his head. Yea right.

Former Congressman Carroll Hubbard is looking for a second chance in his bid for a seat in the state senate.

Hubbard asked former Gov. Paul Patton to reinstate his civil rights in 2000, at the time claiming he had "no intention of seeking public office again." Less than a month later, Patton gave Hubbard back his rights to vote and hold public office. The Kentucky Supreme Court reinstated Hubbard to legal practice the following year.

Patton, also a Democrat, said he restored Hubbard's voting rights because he believes people who completed their sentences should be allowed a chance to become responsible citizens.

"People know what Carroll Hubbard did," Patton said. "His record is pretty open and if they want to elect him to represent them again I think it would be perfectly appropriate."

The Democrats have a strong chance of taking back the United States Senate in November. It will be very close though.

Democrats in the past two weeks have significantly improved their chances of taking control of the Senate, according to polls and independent analysts, with the battle now focused intensely on three states in the Midwest and upper South: Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia.

Democratic challengers are in strong positions against GOP incumbents in four states -- Pennsylvania, Montana, Ohio and Rhode Island -- a trend that leaves the party looking for just two more seats to reclaim the majority. The main targets are states where Republicans in recent years have dominated but this year find themselves in hotly competitive races.[...]

In four other states, Republican incumbents -- Conrad Burns (Mont.), Lincoln D. Chafee (R.I.), Mike DeWine (Ohio) and Rick Santorum (Pa.) -- are all running behind in the latest public polls. Assuming that Democrats hold New Jersey, where Sen. Robert Menendez (D) hopes the state's traditional Democratic tilt will carry him past hard-charging Tom Kean Jr. (R), they would need to grab two more Republican-held seats to gain a 51 to 49 edge. (An evenly split Senate would remain under GOP control because Vice President Cheney would break the tie).

Here's a review of Senator Obama's lastest book.

Move Along

I've been told that this song by the All-American Rejects is the playoff anthem for the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2006 postseason. I've been playing this and several others, including all the Paul Harris songs, in my media player since the postseason began in early October.

Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall everyone sins
Another day and you've had your fill of sinking
With the life held in your
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold

Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
Move along

So a day when you've lost yourself completely
Could be a night when your life ends
Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving
All the pain held in your
Hands are shaking cold
Your hands are mine to hold

Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)

When everything is wrong we move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
When everything is wrong, we move along
Along, along, along

When all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
[x3]

(Move along)
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
Right back what is wrong
We move along

2008: Barack Obama for President?

It's true. Illinois Junior Senator Barack Obama is considering a run for president. Obama is a centrist and with Mark Warner exiting the race, Obama is considering a run for President in 2008. Obama is a freshman senator but he served a few terms in the Illinois State Senate. He was unknown until 2004 when he was the keynote speaker at the convention.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama on Sunday said he has thought about running for president in 2008 and will give it more serious consideration after the mid-term congressional elections on November 7.

"I have thought about the possibility but I have not thought about it with the seriousness and depth that is required," the first-term Illinois Democrat said on NBC's Meet the Press. "After November 7, I will sit down and consider it."

Obama is less than two years into his first term in the Senate. He has previously said that he planned to serve his entire six-year term, which expires in 2010. But in recent days, he has acknowledged that he has informally considered a bid for the White House.

Obama, 45, is currently promoting his new book "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream."[...]

"I am not sure if anyone is ready to be president before they are president," he said.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats losing candidate in the 2004 presidential election, said on Sunday he would make a decision about running again after the November 7 election.

Obama's prominence in national politics grew rapidly after delivering an address at the Democratic National Convention, where Kerry accepted the party's nomination to run against Bush.

Asked on ABC's "This Week" program how he would feel about running against Obama, Kerry said, "Whatever he wants to do. Look, this is a free country. If he thinks he's ready to run for president and wants to run and ... I've made a decision to run, then we'll go out and have a great contest. If I'm not in it, good luck to those who are."

Bayh, Obama, and Kerry will make announcements as to whether or not they are running after the 2006 elections.

John C. Reilly hosts Saturday Night Live

It's week three of the new season and current word has it that John C. Reilly has brought SNL alumnus Will Ferrell with him. John C. Reilly hosts with musical guest, My Chemical Romance.

Cold open - Fox News Channel Special Report with Brit Hume - Darrell Hammind is Brit Hume. Talking about midterms and Iraq. He has an interview with President Bush (Will Forte). They are talking about the casualties, Condaleeza Rice, midterm elections, foreign policy. Bush keeps saying stuff like "That's what he said," "I've heard that," etc. He asks Bush if we can win in Iraq. Bush says "absolutely." Brit walks out. Live from New York, it's Will Forte.

Monologue - John C. Reilly comments how amazing and unbelievable it is to be there to host the show. Will Ferrell shows up as James Lipton after John C. Reilly comments that he's been in 40 films and that no one knows the name. Ferrell thanks him for a body of work. Ferrell plugs Pulp Fiction, The Sound of Music, Chicago (he actually was in that one but not as Roxie Hart). John C. Reilly then sings a tune. Ferrell joins in. Who is Sean. C. Reilly? I thought it was John?

Colinal Williamsburg - Gary (John C. Reilly) is an employee at Colonial Williamsburg while Suds is his boss, Mr. Morrison. Morrison is impressed with Gary's enthusiasm but the tourists have been complaining. The building with the town hall sign is actually a gift shop. It's not slaves, British, but African-American employees complaining him. Maya Rudolph plays one of the employees who complained. Lamar Paulson, who works in corporate, has been offended. He's offended the Asian population. Gary's racist behavior is in appropriate and he gets fired. Darnell (Kenan Thompson) rings the bell and then threatens to jump Gary.

Doug Frangelo - Terry James (Will Forte) asks Andy Samberg for somone by the name of Doug Frangelo (John C. Reilly). Terry wants to go to the 2008 Olympics as a swimmer. He's intimidated. Terry wants pooltime and he threatens to quit.

Korean Central TV Presents Kim Jong Il: Amy Poehler plays KJI in an address to Korean citizens. It must be belt eating time if you have a leather belt. Families must make compromises.

Two A-Holes work out with a Trainer - The trainer is Matt (John C. Reilly). They had a 2 appointment and just showed up at 2:55. The two A-holes are Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig. They don't sell boxes. Now that they have a trainer, they want to own a horse. Kristen wants to lose 45 pounds. She then decides on a horse. She slides back on the treadmill and doesn't actually walk. Yes, we know who the Jetsons are. Jason then does a Shaggy impersonation. John C. Reilly doesn't know how to feel. He's mad but mostly embarrassed, and now he has to go.

My Chemical Romance sings "Welcome To The Black Parade," off their new album The Black Parade.

Weekend Update - North Korea's nuclear test is a threat if they can lower enemies. US population hit 300 million, "that's so cute, said China." Cheney will shoot a lame duck. Tony Blair joined a controversial debate. NBC is making cut backs and will air cheaper reality and game shows so get ready for "Who wants a roll of pennies?" Bush will consult generals. Six million joined into "Flavor of Love. Flava Flave is played by Kenan Thompson. He's apparently into politics. The DEA is seeing a new drug trend rising in the south with regards to a cough syrup and a sports drink. Harry Reid is making contributions from a campaign fund. CBGB's is closing down and will not recieve their security deposit. Madonna defends her adoption. Minks in Spain were set free. Another stingray made an attack in Florida. Nevada and Colorado voters will vote to relax legalization laws. Amy decides to move to Colorado...she steals Seth Meyers' wallet, car, and crashed his car. Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey are not having a fling. Mike Tyson has proposed a new boxing bout. Fabolous shot. Ford Taurus discontinued.

Jennifer Loves Robert - Amy, Maya, and Kristen are all hungover. John C. Reilly is in drag. He's starting to break character. He's ordered a beef burrito and taco. He's crying over someone named Robert. The other three leave while the host is not there. Robert (Fred Armisen) shows up. They just kissed on national television.

House of Carters - Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg are the Carter brothers. Suds is the oldest one. Kenan Thompson shows up as somone needing a check.

Digital short - Harpoon Man - A whaler in Alakska moved to the big city. Bill Hader is a victim. John C. Reilly is Harpoon Man. I think Andy is singing. He stabs Andy at the end.

McMillan Family Moment - John C. Reilly teaches Andy Samberg how to eat an Oreo. Andy wants to just eat it without dunking. Reilly throws the Oreos at him and gets very upset.

Operation Bearshark - Scientists were brought together to create a new species that is half bear and half shark. Reilly is the leader. Maya, Fred, Darrell, Bill, Jason (who lost an arm and is bleeding) and Andy. Reilly lost a hand. Jerry (Suds) says the DOD has ordered them to be shut down. Reilly starts singing again and Maya joins in. Forte is the voice of the bearshark. Suds says we felt gipped because the sketch was about nothing when it could have been about Iraq or Human Embryo cloning. Suds advice: say in school, dummies.

McMillan Family Moment - Kenan Thompson is a "little brother." Kenan drinks the milk first instead of eating the oreo and dunking. Reilly is upset like the last time.

My Chemical Romance sings "Cancer."

McMillan Family Moment - John C. Reilly's character asks his father (Jason Sudeikis) asks his father about the dunking of Oreos. These sort of sketches come in threes.

On October 28, 2006, High Laurie hosts with musical guest, Beck.

World Series: Cardinals vs. Tigers - Game 1

FOX Broadcasting Team:
Play-by-Play: Joe Buck
Analysts: Tim McCarver
Reporter: Ken Rosenthal

Lineup
Cardinals
David Eckstein SS
Chris Duncan DH
Albert Pujols 1B
Jim Edmonds CF
Scott Rolen 3B
Juan Encarnacion RF
Ronnie Belliard 2B
Yadier Molina C
So Taguchi LF
-------------
Anthony Reyes P

Tigers
Curtis Granderson CF
Craig Monroe LF
Placido Polanco 2B
Magglio Ordonez RF
Carlos Guillen 1B
Ivan Rodriguez C
Sean Casey DH
Brandon Inge 3B
Ramon Santiago SS
-------------
Justin Verlander P

That's a winner, and the St. Louis Cardinals have won game one of the World Series. One down, three more to go.

A stellar performance from Anthony Reyes. One can only wonder what in the world Steve Phillips is thinking. Rememember him? He's the GM that got fired by the New York Mets and now he's a talking head on ESPN.

Tonight's victory was not just a victory for the Cardinals but a moral victory for the National League given that the NL had not won a World Series game since the 2003 World Series when the Florida Marlins (who had Braden Looper and Juan Encarnacion) defeated the New York Yankees (who had Jeff Weaver) four games to two.

But you know what? I feel good about tonight's victory. We're up 1-0 in the series and even though it's still anyone's game, we've got Weaver on the mound tomorrow, and he's been superb as of late.

St. Louis 7, Detroit 2
Winning pitcher - Anthony Reyes (1-0)
HR: Scott Rolen (1), Albert Pujols (1)

Keep the Faith

Baseball is America's favorite past time and just like March Madness, anything can happen in October. You saw it the past two years when Boston and Chicago won the 2004 and 2005 World Series, respectively.

Look at ESPN's so-called expert, no one thought the Cardinals would be in the World Series. This is a team that only won 83 games when they were expected to win 100 games this season. There were many times that the Cincinnati Reds were trailing us by one or two games in the standings. When we had that bad stretch against the American League in interleague play, fans thought that the Cincinnati Reds would take first place but the National League did terrible in the American League this summer. At the end of the season, the Cincinnati Reds started fading and the Houston Astros were starting to make a comeback at the end of the season. The Cardinals did not clinch the division until the final day of the regular season when the Atlanta Braves defeated the Houston Astros.

No one thought Gary Bennett would be MVP of the series against the Cubs of all teams when Yadier Molina was injured with a sore throwing elbow.

No one thought that the Cardinals would get to the World Series with not one, not two, but THREE seven-game losing streaks that had us at the edge of our seats each time that we watched, listened to, or followed a Cardinals game. Sure, I'm an optimist but I had no idea that we'd actually beat the New York Mets. After the year we had, I thought it would have been a 4-0 sweep. Oy, was I sure wrong.

Who would have thought that Jeff Weaver would play a big role in getting the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series? Certainly not me. No one thought that Ronnie Belliard or Preston Wilson would be on the Cardinals when they won the NL pennant this past Thursday.

Nobody expected Mark Mulder and Jason Isringhausen would be lost for the season.

Nobody thought that the Cardinals would go without Jim Edmonds, Albert Pujols, David Eckstein, Mark Mulder, Scott Rolen, Jason Isringhausen, Chris Carpenter, etc. for weeks at a time due to them being placed on the DL for injuries....and still win the NL Pennant.

Nobody expected that Tony La Russa would trust a rookie pitcher, Adam Wainwright, to close games in September and October after Jason Isringhausen was shut down.

I have faith in my Cardinals. I hope you do, too, because we're going all the way!!

It's gonna be a long night...

Geoff Davis had a George Allen moment when he was at the debate sponsored by WCPO this past Thursday. Here's a link to the video at YouTube. When asked how many American troops died this month, Davis responded by saying "17," when in fact it was 71. Here's the article from the Enquirer.

You can watch the entire debate from Thursday over here.

John Mellencamp will be singing his new song, "Our Country," before Game 2 of the World Series between my St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers.

John Mellencamp will perform his new single "Our Country" before Game Two of the 2006 World Series at Comerica Park. The song, which will be broadcast live on FOX, is Mellencamp's first single from his forthcoming 2007 album release, Freedom's Road. Mellencamp will be joined for the performance by Little Big Town, the country music group that also provides backup vocals on the recording of "Our Country."

"Our Country," written over a year ago, has been part of all of Mellencamp's concert performances of late and is part of the marketing campaign promoting the new 2007 Chevrolet Silverado. Chevrolet, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, will debut a new commercial featuring "Our Country" during Game One of the 2006 World Series.

Seriously, there's no way that they could consider Alex Rodriguez being traded to the Chicago Cubs?

Chicago's most obvious selling point, of course, is new Cubs manager Lou Piniella. That would be the same Piniella who managed Rodriguez in Seattle, where he had some of the best seasons of his career. You know, the ones that got him that monstrous $252 million, 10-year contract in the first place.

Senator Joe Lieberman now leads Ned Lamont by 17%.

Speaking of Lieberman, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, running for re-election, found a way to endorse both candidates recently by way of the NY Times.

"In a written question from an audience member, Mr. Menendez was asked why he supported Mr. Lamont. Mr. Menendez said that his support of Mr. Lamont was a "mischaracterization," adding that he supported Mr. Lieberman's run as an independent candidate. "I wish him well and hope he returns," he said.

The Harvard Crimson recently spoke with Paul Mecurio along with a few other comedians.

By the way, this would scare me too.

Just so you know, there are Cardinal fans in Tiger territory too.

Cardinal audio calls

Yadier HR - http://www.sendspace.com/file/6e6ld2
Cards clinch - http://www.sendspace.com/file/w721wn

We'll see you late tomorrow night.

Long day...

It's been a long day. I have to admit that I am still recovering from last night's Game 7 clincher. The fact alone that hardly so-called "playoff expert" said that the Cardinals would be in the LCS, let alone, the World Series, is unbelieveable.

The St. Louis Cardinals are red-hot right now and so are the Detroit Tigers.

My posting on MLB's goof has been picked up by several blogs and forums in the past 12 hours or so.

Congressman Tom Allen (D-ME) expects a DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY in January 2007.

YouTube is getting a rise in political videos.

Larry Sabato recieved a heads up from Governor Mark Warner before Warner exited the presidential race.

The following is from the Yarmuth campaign and sent to their listserv:

Northup’s claims:
“Yarmuth and his family own 150 restaurants.” -FALSE
The restaurants pay “5.15 an hour.” -FALSE

THE TRUTH
● John and his brother own 16 restaurants, all in the state of Florida.
● Florida’s minimum wage is $6.40 per hour, 20% more than Northup’s claim.
● The only employees who work for $6.40 per hour are servers in training, the others make at least $7 per hour.
● Anne Northup has seen the polls (Yarmuth 48%-Northup 47%) and desperate to keep her job, she’s not letting the truth stand in her way.

Whether she doesn’t understand the law or is simply lying, Anne Northup absolutely cannot be trusted, and she has no business representing this community.

You can find the truth at www.NorthupExposure.com

Evan Bayh is going to be speaking at an event in Bedford, New Hampshire.

Is Obama riding the momentum?

Is President Clinton eligible to serve as the Vice President?

Ben Cardin recieved the WaPo endorsement for his Senate bid.

Go here to see Geoff Davis and Ken Lucas debate.

Mike Huckabee should be ashamed of himself for saying he lost weight at a concentration camp. My cousins died at those camps during the Shoah.

The National Jewish Democratic Council said Huckabee, a likely contender for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, "ought to think about the people who he might offend with such insensitive words. At the very least, he owes all of us an apology and explanation for his tasteless comments."

I used to be a big fan of President Jimmy Carter but now, not so much. There's articles like these about a certain book coming out that really make me mad.

Virginia Law School's magazine focuses on Senator Bayh.

Bayh was not the only son of a famous political leader to enter the law school in the fall of 1978. Robert Kennedy Jr., Bobby Shriver, and Thurgood Marshall, Jr. also started that year.

But Bayh never acted in a way that suggested his father was a U.S. Senator, said Bob Turner, a member of Bayh’s section.

Turner, now a law professor at UVA and, like Bayh, a graduate of Indiana University, described his classmate as “diplomatic and personable.”

“(Evan) was always a very thoughtful, considerate, and easygoing fellow student,” Turner said. “I had been out of school for a decade, but what set him apart from the average 23-year-old law student, I think, was his maturity and poise. He was a class act.”

In recalling his time in law school for the spring 2006 issue of UVA Lawyer magazine, Bayh remembered “the collegiality, and rigorous, but not destructive, competition. It was all within the parameters of friendship. I liked that. There was that feeling that people were very bright but also good, decent human beings and well-rounded.”

World Series Schedule

Sat, Oct 21 – at Detroit, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX)
Sun, Oct 22 – at Detroit, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX)
Tue, Oct 24 – at St. Louis, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX)
Wed, Oct 25 – at St. Louis, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX)
Thu, Oct 26 – at St. Louis, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX)
Sat, Oct 28 – at Detroit, 8:05 pm EDT (FOX)
Sun, Oct 29 – at Detroit, 8:05 pm EST (FOX)

GO CARDS!

Even MLB was shocked

In the event that the picture is changed over at this page, here's a graphic of it.

ESPN is thinking this right now:
"You can't go with the World Series you do want, you have to go with the World Series you have."

Welcome readers from Deadspin, Detroit News

THAT'S A WINNER!!!!!

The CARDS win! The CARDS win! The Cardinals go back to the World Series for the second time in three years!!

GO CRAZY FOLKS, GO CRAZY!!

Oy, vey

Congresswman Anne Northup has stooped to an entirely all-time low level.

U.S. Rep. Anne Northup lashed out at her Democratic opponent Thursday, accusing John Yarmuth of a slew of ethical and legal violations as Election Eay draws near and both campaigns acknowledge a tight race.

Northup, R-Ky., said Yarmuth lacks the ethical standards to serve in public office because he repeatedly misled voters about how his campaign signs and door hangars were made, failed to pay taxes on his campaign workers' salaries, then dismissed questions about both.

"John Yarmuth is a congressional scandal waiting to happen," Northup said at a news conference at her campaign headquarters in Louisville. "This race is about ethics."

What is up with the REPUBLICANS saying that their Democratic opponents lack the ethics to serve in Congress? First, Lewis attacked Weaver. Now Northup attacks Yarmuth.

If I recall, didn't Anne use her congressional powers to help her husband's business out with an FCC regulation.

This race is about ethics: the lack of ethics of Anne Northup and other Republicans. It's about wanting two more years of the same rubber stamp leadership in Congress, or a change in leadership altogether.

Anne Northup, give me a break!

In only a few short weeks, we will elect a DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY.

What are you doing?

I often get accused of spending too much time on my computer but that's farthest from the truth. True, my laptop sits right next to my television set but that's all due to the setup of my dorm room.

Another thing I often get asked is: when will you volunteer for the campaigns?

Frankly, I don't have an easy answer for that. The way my schedule is this semester, I don't know when I will have time. It doesn't help that my weekend availability for the rest of the campaign season is pending. I work in athletics. It's the playoffs starting this weekend and my availability for the rest of the campaign season is all pending how the teams do during the tournament. I may be free to campaign next weekend, and then again, I might not.

Another thing I am often accused of is posting one-line comments over at Bluegrass Report. I'm a college student. I have to study. I have to balance my time between class, homework and have time to study. I appreciate Mark's site but if I were to put all my time and effort into commenting there, this site would be dead and I'd have very little time to do other things. On average, I probably spend up to 45 minutes a day blogging here, but that all varies. If I'm liveblogging a game, like I did last night at Redbirds Fun, that's three hours.

Finally, I want to talk about political contributions. Unlike the fall of 2004, my budget this year has just not allowed me to financially contribute much, if any, to the campaigns. That, and I have to pay off my tuition by the end of this month, or it will delay my class registration for next semester. If I had my way, I would have maxed out to all the political campaigns that I could. I'm not rich. I don't make a lot of money off this blog as people tend to think (I'm at least another ad or two away from being able to get paid for the blog ads on this blog).

I think I've said my peace. Time to study for this CLEP test tomorrow in American History II.

Just a reminder

If you saw the article in Political Wire or the Hotline, you may want to take a look back at this post.

2008: Mark Warner for Vice President?

It's been a week since former Virginia Governor Mark Warner announced that he would not seek election to the Office of the President. Now, the Washington Post reports that the former governor may instead seek the number #2 spot as Vice President. It's less campaigning on his part in that he would only have to campaign from the end of June 2008 until November 4, 2008.

But one thing seems certain: We haven't seen the last of him. One person close to Warner said this week that he might just spend the next year campaigning quietly to be the Democrats' pick for vice president. It would be a low-risk, out-of-the-spotlight kind of campaign that has none of the downsides of a presidential bid.

We will know sometime in the spring or summer of 2008 whether that succeeds. In the meantime, we'll all just have to wonder why.

Maybe we will indeed see the Bayh/Warner ticket that a lot of us Bayh supporters were hoping for. My list was originally Bayh/Warner as my number one choice followed by Bayh/Clark and then Bayh/Obama. Maybe we will get that Bayh/Warner ticket after all. We shall see.

Getting back to the Washington Post, they have endorsed James Webb in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat.

This is big news and I have to wonder as to how it will effect his bid for the Senate. Not that there's anything wrong with it to me but Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. has endorsed Senator Joe Lieberman's bid for re-election.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. said he supports Sen. Joe Lieberman as he runs as an independent for his Connecticut U.S. Senate seat.

"I support Joe Lieberman. He knows that. I've made that clear from the very beginning," Ford said Monday on the radio talk show of conservative host Steve Gill.

Ford's U.S. Senate campaign confirmed Tuesday that Ford was endorsing Lieberman over Democratic nominee Ned Lamont.

Ford supported Lieberman as he ran in the Connecticut Democratic primary, but after Lieberman lost that race to Lamont, the Memphis congressman would not say whether he supported Lieberman as an independent.

I would imagine that there are a lot of folks that are still silently supporting Joe Lieberman in his re-election bid. Granted, I wanted to stay neutral online in that race but I just couldn't stay neutral. I'll say it right now if you need me to and hope that it doesn't affect my future political career within the party. I've endorsed Senator Lieberman for re-election. There's nothing more to it. He's still a Democrat and he'll caucus with the party. Unlike what the bloggers say, he's still a Democrat, albeit a moderate one, and his ACU rating is closer to zero than say someone like Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska. As a matter of fact, in the 2005 session, Senator Russ Feingold's rating was HIGHER than Joe Lieberman.

Moderate Republicans feel like they no longer belong to the Republican Party. In fact, some are starting to switch over to the Democratic Party while I think others prefer to go independent. In Kansas, one former Republican is running for office...as a Democrat.

Paul Morrison, a career prosecutor who specializes in putting killers behind bars, has the bulletproof résumé and the rugged looks of a law-and-order Republican, which is what he was until last year. That was when he announced he would run for attorney general -- as a Democrat.

He is now running neck-and-neck with Republican Phill Kline, an iconic social conservative who made headlines by seeking the names of abortion-clinic patients and vowing to defend science-teaching standards that challenge Darwinian evolution. What's more, Morrison is raising money faster than Kline and pulling more cash from Republicans than Democrats.

Nor is Morrison alone. In a state that voted nearly 2 to 1 for President Bush in 2004, nine former Republicans will be on the November ballot as Democrats. Among them is Mark Parkinson, a former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, who changed parties to run for lieutenant governor with the popular Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius.

"I'd reached a breaking point," Parkinson said, preparing for a rally in Wichita alongside Sebelius. "I want to work on relevant issues and not on a lot of things that don't matter."

Former President Bill Clinton gave a speech yesterday at Georgetown University in which he listed differences with the GOP and the Bush administration.

Former president Bill Clinton said yesterday that the governing Republican majority has abandoned the common good in favor of ideologically driven politics that demonize its opponents, has forced ordinary Americans to fend for themselves and has too often left the United States isolated internationally.

Speaking three weeks before the midterm elections, Clinton used a lengthy speech looking back at his own administration to offer sharp contrasts between the approach of Democrats in the 1990s and that of Republicans since President Bush took office more than five years ago.[...]

Clinton went on to say that while Democrats "believe in mutual responsibility, they believe that in large measure people make or break their own lives and you're on your own." He continued: "We believe in striving, at least, to cooperate with others because we think there are very few problems in the world we can solve on our own. They favor unilateralism whenever possible and cooperation when it's unavoidable."

Clinton was critical of various Bush administration policies. Noting that there are no easy solutions, he said the administration has undermined its efforts to stop North Korea and Iran from developing nuclear weapons by seeking funds for two new nuclear weapons for the U.S. arsenal.

The pretext for yesterday's address was to reprise a series of speeches Clinton gave at Georgetown 15 years ago as he was launching his first campaign for the White House. Those speeches set out Clinton's centrist New Democrat philosophy with what he then called a "New Covenant" of opportunity, responsibility and community. That framed the campaign message he used to win the White House in 1992 and the blueprint he used through much of his presidency.

Speaking at a conference sponsored by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank that has become home to many of his former aides and advisers, Clinton also decried the state of political discourse, arguing that it has become far more rancorous and destructive than when he ran a decade ago.

In other news, a former concentration camp guard was freed by the American government because NO OTHER country would take him in.

The Zionist Organization of America has condemned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for a speech that they say is "the most pro-Palestinian speech in memory."

The ZOA was referring to the U.S. secretary of state’s speech last week to the American Task Force on Palestine.

The ZOA statement particularly criticized Rice for saying that Palestinians should be "forever free of the daily humiliation of occupation." "For Rice to say that Palestinians deserve a life free of occupation misstates the facts, ignores Palestinian culpability for their present situation and confers legitimacy on PLO and Hamas victimhood propaganda," the statement said

The Foley Case

I had an editorial published in the C-J today. However it was web-only.

It is embarrassing that our leadership in Congress, knowing something of this nature [the Mark Foley case], let it go on without intervention until the end of September 2006. When the story did break, all we got from Anne Northup with regards to Dennis Hastert resigning was a "No comment." Pathetic.

I expect better from our leadership. That's why I believe John Yarmuth will make a great congressman when he gets elected on Nov. 7 in a Democratic Majority.

The end of the Republican control in Washington is coming soon and it starts with states like Kentucky where Ben Chandler, Ken Lucas, John Yarmuth, and Mike Weaver will get elected.