Take the Money and Run

Check out this one. Soccer refs in Nigeria have been told it's cool for them to take bribes, but to be fair anyway. Yeah. This'll work. Like the Edsel. I particularly like the quote, "Referees should only pretend to fall for the bait, but make sure the result doesn't favor those offering the bribe."

Funky

To answer J C-win's ?, Funky is Paul, a good friend of mine from high school, who now resides with his wife in the great state of Minnesota, which allows him to be a double threat to the hated White Sox -- a Cubs fan and a Twins fan...

Another Reason I Don't Like Cats

Have you heard this one, about Lewis, the insane Connecticut bushwacking house cat? Animal control officials in Connecticut have issued a restraining order against the cat for stealth attacks on neighbors, friends and even the Avon Lady (well, she at least probably had it coming). Seems to be a bit o' species discrimination going on. If this was a dog, it would have been destroyed. But because cats have a higher proportion of equally insane owners (you never hear about the crazy old lady with 100 dogs, do you?), the cat gets off with a questionably enforceable rap. And Lady Justice weeps...

Bracketology Update

Man is it ugly in my NCAA brackets. The annual ritual of tearing them up while cursing under my breath (only mildly) lasted a little longer into the tournament this year, but I, like a lot of other March Madness-keteers, owe our pain (and some joy) to George Mason for knocking out prohibitive favorite U Conn. Speaking as a true Cubs fan -- there's always next year!

Cool It Now!

In a nod to Jeff C-win -- they're back, or should I say, Bobby is back! Mr. Telephone Man, is there something wrong with my line? Not at all baby, New Edition to re-unite for one night only. !

And the Slope Gets Slipperier

Not a good day concerning Iraq. The Administration finally copped to the obvious -- that U.S. forces will be in Iraq past the end of the Bush Administration, with no end in sight.

Personal Responsibility?

Whatever happened to the idea that people should be held accountable for their actions? All indications are that plaintiffs' attorneys are ready to launch a full-out attack on the fast food industry, blaming Mickey D's among others, for the fattening of America. Can't we just say no? I've got some chunk to me, but that's my fault -- it's my enjoyment of all things sweet and relative lack of exercise that has made me delightfully love-handlely, not the fast food or sweet snack industry. Certainly, if there's some element of fraud, or danger, such as McDonald's only recently disclosing that its fries contain wheat and milk (allergens to many) as well as being wrong in its caloric count -- it's reasonable for consumers to rely on such information from providers. But for people to say that they are obese because they have a proclivity for Big Macs and somehow didn't know Big Macs were bad for them -- that's like smoking -- at some point, it's just not reasonable. Here's hoping that the courts recognize the difference, and refuse to allow the system to be abused by potentially frivolous claims.

R.I.P Coach Ray

Former DePaul University Basketball coach Ray Meyer died at 92 today. Coach Ray presided over the golden age of DePaul hoops, and coached George Mikan, Mark Aguirre, Dave Corzine and Terry Cummings among others. DePaul made the Final Four in 1979 under Coach Ray and was ranked No. 1 for a number of weeks in the late 70s and early 80s, only to disappoint with early NCAA exits. He was a class act, and I had the privilege of attending his basketball camp as an 8th grader. He loved kids, loved to coach and was a great teacher. Godspeed.

98 Years, Soon to Be 99

So let's take stock of the Cubs halfway through spring training. Kerry Wood -- rehabbing his shoulder and knee. Derrick Lee -- sore shoulder requiring a visit to a specialist. Mark Prior -- shoulder "stiffness" sounding strangely similar to last year's elbow "stiffness" which cost him the first month of the season. I feel like the Job of baseball cheering for these guys...

It's Time

My favorite event of the sporting year approaches -- March Madness, the Big Dance, the NCAAs. Particularly awesome are this Thursday and Friday, with 16 games each day, 12 straight hours of non-stop thrills and bracket bustin' goodness. I'm certain I'm not alone when I say these two days should be a national holiday. I can hardly wait to fill out multiple brackets!

Spring Is In The Air

Got spring fever here in Chicagoland -- the mercury has cracked 50 the past few days and it's pushing past 60 today -- we'll have another few days of this before we plunge back into the 30s. The first days of 50+ weather are always superb -- it seems like 70s after being stuck inside for so long. It's amazing what weather like this can do for your morale after the long winter -- I'm ready for baseball, shorts, and hanging out outside with the family and our neighbors.

Whither Das Cubs?

It's been real quiet out in Arizona, which may be a good thing after all of the whispering and hand wringing about Kerry Wood and Mark Prior. Woody appears to be set to start putting pressure on his cleaned up knee, and Prior is set to throw in a Cactus League game next week. Still, as a Cub fan, I'm fully expecting Wood's arm to fall off about 1-2 starts into the season, and for Prior to get hit by something about 5-6 starts into the season. It's probably a good thing that the Cubs have such trouble winning, as a I believe it was Nostradamus who made the following prophecy:

When the little bears from the windy place raise the flag of triumph, know ye that the end of days come.

Time Running Out for Ex-Governor?

I've been following former governor George Ryan's trial with much interest. Closing arguments are scheduled to end tomorrow and the it will be interesting to see what the jury does with the evidence. The federal government has produced a case largely based on circumstantial evidence -- but the circumstances are pretty damning -- less than $7,000 in bank withdrawals over his time in the governor's mansion -- strange for a man who loved the high life, sweetheart deals with political allies, probable fundraising violations, thwarted ethical investigations and the coup de grace, what Ryan knew about the bribes for licenses scandal that played a part in the fiery death of a minister's children (though rhis has been glossed over so as not to inflame the jury). Ryan's defense team has pounded on the fact that the governor has been unfairly and maliciously persecuted by the government that the circumstances of the disputed events, while seemingly damning, are in fact merely coincidental, and that the governor is in fact a man of high character, evidenced by his freeze on the death penalty in Illinois shortly before his term of office ended.

I think he's guilty. I find it impossible to believe that a man who not only survived, but thrived in the world of Illinois politics for 40 years was a mere dupe of his benefactors and political allies. Guilty or not, it's unfortunate that his legacy will be one of corruption instead of taking a necessary stand on the death penalty.

Basketball

I usually play hoops on Wednesday night at the church I go to with an over 30 crowd. I played last night for the first time in about a month -- I expected to be extremely rusty, but actually was en fuego -- I could do no wrong offensively or defensively. Boy it's fun to have a few games like that! I'm not a good player, but competitive in the crowd I play with. I've noticed that when I take a few weeks off, my first week back is usually pretty good -- it's generally downhill after that. Maybe I'll take a couple weeks off before I play again to test the theory...

Karl Rahner

Karl Rahner, S.J.'s, interpretation and expansion of Catholic theology influenced the Second Vatican Council and is considered essential to a modern understanding of Catholic faith. Rahner's theology is also rejected by many dogmatic Catholics for his theory concerning the "Anonymous Christian" -- non-believers who may attain salvation through the grace of God and their earthly works. I have never been comfortable with the idea that moral, spiritual people who live good lives will be denied heaven. Nor, however, had I been able to square that idea with the gospel teachings that the way to heaven is through Jesus alone. When I studied Rahner in high school and college philosophy, it suddenly made sense.

Here are some of his thoughts:

Anonymous Christianity means that a person lives in the grace of God and attains salvation outside of explicitly constituted Christianity... Let us say, a Buddhist monk... who, because he follows his conscience, attains salvation and lives in the grace of God; of him I must say that he is an anonymous Christian; if not, I would have to presuppose that there is a genuine path to salvation that really attains that goal, but that simply has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. But I cannot do that. And so, if I hold if everyone depends upon Jesus Christ for salvation, and if at the same time I hold that many live in the world who have not expressly recognized Jesus Christ, then there remains in my opinion nothing else but to take up this postulate of an anonymous Christianity.

In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable we eventually learn that here, in this life, all symphonies remain unfinished.

How often I have found that we grow to maturity not by doing what we like, but by doing what we should. How true it is that not every 'should' is a compulsion, and not every 'like' is a high morality and true freedom.

Grace can and does have a history.

In death the relationship we have with the world is not abolished, but is rather for the first time completed.

Here Comes Trouble

Kerry Wood, currently rehabbing his shoulder, has arthroscopic knee surgery set for Tuesday. Cubs claim it's no big deal, but it's all a big deal with Woody. Says here that a problem with the wheels leads to continued problems with Wood's arm mechanics as he tries to compensate for a weak knee by overthrowing with that arm across the body motion. Not an encouraging start to 2006...