T.D.

Boog Powell Dudley "Booger" Dawson Ibis Hakkalugi

I've been a BMG member for over a decade, but haven't ordered from them in ages (essentially switched to yourmusic). Recently got a "Your credit card is about to expire" e-mail from BMG (yourmusic already has my updated info). If BMG is about to be shut down, maybe I shouldn't bother to update.

I'll stick with the strategy of picking favorites, which has practically made me "Mr. Irrelevant" in the standings, and take Pittsburgh. Now all the smart guys can pick AZ... Whoa, I just noticed, guys who have a shot at winning the pool should pick a total # of points as a tiebreaker. FWIW, I'll use the last over/under line I saw, 47.

Never thought about the politics (they're both made by huge corporations, which probably donate to both parties), but count me in as preferring Coke / finding Pepsi too sweet. Not dogmatic, though, and will drink either. Have seriously cut down on soda, except in the summer during/after exercise (bike riding), for which purpose my preferred brand is Mountain Dew, a Pepsi product.

PM sent on Kirk.

Raymond "Poupou" Poulidor Jacky "Dudu" Durand Kaka

Good point. Don't forget that Arizona defeated the Steelers last year @AZ. I remember watching the game. It was a tough big hitting game. This Super Bowl might be more interesting than we imagine. On paper, the Steelers should be big favorites, but Whisenhunt knows the Steelers very well. Whisenhunt will be super-motivated to beat the Steelers, since they passed him over as HC candidate in favor of Tomlin. But I dunno how much of that he'll be able to transmit to the players... Back to Warner, I always found his vitriolic outbursts when other QBs (Manning, Leinart) were given playing time somehow inconsistent with his Christian blathering. (And I'm a churchgoer, though certainly not of Warner's denomination.)

Good point. A lot of NFL QBs would have rung up big numbers throwing to the Rams (in their heyday) or current Cardinal receiving corps. McNabb, OTOH, has been saddled with mostly pedestrian receivers. I've always kind of liked McNabb (considering that I'm a fan of a divisional rival club), but have to concur with the popular assessment that his passing accuracy is not at the highest NFL level.

Yeah, you're right, the Giants were bad that year. Warner had some good games early, but seriously faded. The club only went to Eli when they had pretty much written off the season. I guess I shouldn't have ripped Warner's play in NY, but he did react very badly (not a "good teammate" at all) when they benched him. I also saw some of that behavior in AZ at times during the QB competition with Leinart, but I suppose Warner was right: he is better than Leinart.

I've been up and down on Warner. Dug the Arena League story, turned off by the religious outpourings and by a certain tendency towards whining about playing time (both by Warner and his wife). Speaking as a Giants fan, he didn't light it up in NY, lotta fumbles and picks, and whined when demoted from the starting lineup. Gotta give Warner a lot of credit this year, though. Perhaps the whining just stems from confidence, but I'd prefer it if he kept his mouth shut.

I picked against the Cards in all 3 playoff games, lost every time. You could've made good money if you made a preseason bet in Vegas that AZ would go to the Super Bowl. I wonder what the odds were...100:1?

Yeah, according to "The 2-Point Conversion Chart", they should have gone for two.

Corus tournament, Wijk aan Zee (NL) starts today. Already some good games. There are three sections, A/B/C in declining order of ratings. A will receive most attention (Carlsen), but the B lineup is very interesting IMO.

Yeah, quite a cold snap here. Last night was around -10 F. Today barely got above zero. Tonight'll probably be at least -15. It's around -10 already. Things should improve slightly starting tomorrow, but there's snow forecast Saturday night into Sunday.

John D'Amico Ray Scapinello Matt Pavelich (NHL Hall of Fame linesmen )

Not sure about those specific composers, but there's a lot of contemporary music available via Internet. Unfortunately I can't give specifics, not having broadband. There are definitely good programs from BBC (Radio 3?) and Radio France, among others. Less certain about Stateside; if your tastes happen to align with Kyle Gann's, for instance, he puts out a "Postclassic Radio".

My eyes glazed over long ago, but Team Bonds just fired a big shot in the PR war.

Funny thing about the Eagles last week. They were on the cover of Sports Illustrated, with the headline PHILDELPHIA IS DANGEROUS: Bring on the Giants. Having won convincingly after incurring the dreaded SI Jinx, this may be the Birds' year. Picks: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia

I've been ordering from BRO for over 10 years. They are slow, but reliable. They also have a reputation for being rather, er, gruff with "pesky" customers, so I wouldn't complain unless they exceed stated deadlines. Only problems: a couple of times I got shipped an incorrect disc, but they were very accommodating with exchange/correction. A lot of jewel cases wind up being cracked/busted, but that doesn't bug me. I also have almost always ordered classical, though my purchases have really fallen off in recent years. BRO was very helpful when it came to exploring contemporary classical. If you diligently search the site every week or so, tremendous bargains can be found. I've found the jazz offerings far less compelling, though I suppose there are occasional finds. Re. Andorrans, yes, there are a lot. And in the classical realm, there are shitloads (really ridiculous numbers) of assorted Italian pirate labels. But lots of legit labels, too. BRO always has a certain number of ECMs. In classical, Hyperions among others.

Noah Beery James Garner Stuart Margolin (time to quit, as I'm over-referencing old US TV shows)

Quincy Troupe F. Murray Abraham Larry Storch

Pain in the rear for Patriot fans. These coaches haven't exactly had a terrific record after leaving the Pats. I'm kind of high on McDaniels though. The latest trend in the NFL is to go young with your coaches, and we've had several fine ones recently. I think of Jim Harbaugh, Ken Wisenhunt, Mike Tomlin, and the Dolphin's coach as good examples. Mangini is also young, but he sucks! Lane Kiffin (ex-Raiders, now U of Tenn.) was really young, even younger than McDaniels iirc, when he got hired by the Raiders. I honestly don't know where he fits in, as it's difficult to assess the performance of coaches in the bizarro Al Davis environment. Kiffin did get rehired by a major college, but then so did Bill Callahan...

Despite missing playoffs this year, the Patriot coaching/management aura hasn't lost any luster: Broncos hire 32-year-old (!) offensive coordinator McDaniels to replace Shanahan as HC.

According to Wiki, which is probably reliable for this sort of thing, Bidwill is still owner, dating from 1972. [Added] Steelers win and cover. I heard on the radio that 3 out of 4 road teams won in the divisional round, "for the first time since 1971."

Damn. Home teams 0-3 straight-up so far in the Divisional round, where home clubs have traditionally dominated. As a Jints fan, I gotta give credit to Philly for a deserved victory.