Is nothing sacred?

Because a blog just isn't a blog anymore until it has a lolsomething. And because it's looking like a slow morning. Please welcome the first (and hopefully only) installment of Willie the Lolcat.

New addition to the family!

From left to right: Dad (Al Powerbook), Son (new iMac), Mom (Dell desktop)

That's him the in middle there. He got his dad's OS, his mom's CPU manufacturer, and a combination of his parents' form factors.

OK, that was dumb. But I'm copying some user info, and I've time to kill until I get to really use him.

A New Direction for NU Basketball...Up?

According to IllinoisHSBasketball.com, the basketball Wildcats have picked up one more player for the class of 2008-9. Kyle Rowley, from Lake Forest Academy, marks the 5th in this year's line of recruits. He seems like an excellent recruit and a decent dude, but I don't think it's just me -- there's something that ties this class together. Let's look at something:

Class of 2008-9

• Kyle Rowley - 7'0", 280 lb
• Luka Mirkovic - 6'11", 225
• Davide Curletti - 6'9", 225
• John Shurna - 6'8", 205
• Nick Fruendt - 6'5", 190

Returning significance, 2007-2008

• Coble - 6'8", 190 (190? really?)
  
• Williams - 6'3", 190
• Moore - 6'3", 190 (No way he's 6'3")
• Thompson - 5'10", 185

Now, I don't think that these veterans have to worry about playing time next year, but are we looking at a change in direction? Maybe to a more physical, more defensive, less Princeton-y, more post-oriented team? Josh Eats Birds is looking forward to finding out.

Monday Night Sports Roundup or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Dancing With the Stars

The plan was to watch a little arena action -- Soul vs. Desps in a battle of unbeatens -- and a little NHL -- the Flyers taking on the Habs in game 3. That was before I remembered that my friendly neighborhood dual-tuner DVR is already pretty well taxed on Monday nights. So, even though I won't be doing a guest blog for the gents at It's Still Football, I'll give you a little insight into what I did watch!

First, what I missed:

Think the Pats still have those 19-0 shirts? The Philadelphia Soul moved to 9-0 on the season with a nice win over the previously undefeated Dallas Desperados. Just a couple hundred yards from our next item...

Some say the world will end in Flyers, some say on ice. That doesn't even make any sense! If the Flyers' 3-2 win over Montreal had ended the world, it would have been both anyway. As it was, it just allowed the Flyers to take a 2-1 series lead with game 4 at home.

Now your glimpse into my TV proclivities:

Look at me. I'm as helpless as a baby up a tree. Bones: Brennan and Booth find a baby up in a tree, following a car accident. What follows is a fairly boilerplate miss-matched non-parents have-to-take-care-of-the-kid episode of any show. Also included? Small-town folks who hate the gub'mint. And? Temperance is using her fancy author money to save the town (yay!) and for some reason Sealy thinks he automatically gets to live in any house she builds. Huh? Please don't become Maddie and David or something here.

Clap on. Clap off. House: Ok. It was syphyllis and not gonorrhrea, but we'll get there. The patient of the week is diagnosed with a terminal case of niceness. Apparently he saves the children AND the British children. First they think he has syph. Then they think House has syph. Then they think no one has it! All in all, Kumar is kind of awesome this week, and Wilson and Cutthroat Bitch are really annoying.

It takes 2 to tango (or samba, or mambo...) Dancing With the Stars: All the couples did two dances last night. For the most part the all did one pretty well and one very well. I don't feel like looking up the scores or anything, so I have no idea how they all placed. A couple of highlights include:

• Christian racking his arm during their samba. I don't know when he hurt it, but honestly, it was no great shakes from the beginning. Hope he's OK.
  
• Jason did my least favorite dance, the paso doble, to, I think, the ESPN NFL Monday Night Football theme. No really. It was completely un-musical, but somehow the judges loved it.
• Kristi slipped down the leader board for the first time, largely because Len didn't like their non-traditional choreography. NOTE TO PROS - Len hates, HATES, non-traditional choreography and non-dancy intros and codas. You've had 98 episodes to figure this out. Start getting a clue or start brushing off your seats in the front row.

Two, two, two Greg(g)s in one!

I haven't blogged for a while, so when the following thought occurred to me, I figured I should the seize the opportunity.

Is it just me, or does Phillies first baseman Greg Dobbs look a lot like phormer* Phillies first baseman Gregg Jefferies? You be the judge:



Dobbs


Jefferies

Separated at birth? Even though they were born 11 years apart? I think you know what I think.


* F -> Ph? Never not phunny.

Maybe we can all kick in our stimulus checks?

Sad news today in alterna-football. According to ESPN.com, The All American Football League may have to postpone its inaugural season for a year due to extreme financial iffyness. I don't know how much the league needs (other than a TV deal) to get and stay afloat, but I'm thinking it needs more than the $300-600 per person ($600-1200 for married couples!) each of its coaches and players will be getting this spring.

Fortunately AFL and MLS are starting up. Oh, and baseball too, if you count that as a viable football replacement.

At least I may not have to weigh the pros and cons of the AAFL Sunday Ticket package (watch all 35 games!).

All-American Football League may scrap season for lack of funds [ESPN.com]
All American Football League [allamericanfootballleague.com]

Synergy!

Just wanted to give the Josh Eats Birds bump to a guest post I wrote for the guys over at It's Still Football. If you are (a) a person who reads this blog, and (b) not one of the guys who writes ISF, you should go over and check it out.

Also, you should introduce yourself in the comments, because I didn't know you existed!

Guest Post! In Re: Chicago Rush Sartorial Choices [It's Still Football]

Cat wins!

No, I'm not referring to the kitten-filled halftime show for The Puppy Bowl. This is my official pick for tonight's Super Bowl. I just want to get this on record, so that if it turns out that I'm right I get to gloat (more) fully.

I'm picking Giants 31, Patriots 27.

Exotic picks:
First TD: Barry Cofield - NYG (fumble recovery)
First Offensive TD: Barry Cofield - NYG (receiving)
MVP: Barry Cofield - NYG

Hmm. I can't remember where he went to school. Little help?

Terminator: SCC

I have a confession to make: I have never seen any of the Terminator movies. "I'll be back" - I know of it. "Hasta la vista, baby" - I think it comes from one of them, but if you told me it was from Total Recall, I wouldn't be so sure.

Does this make me less of a man? Maybe. Less of a techie? Almost certainly.

Here's the point. I just watched the pilot episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, and you know what? It was kind of awesome. Here's what I thought, roughly in order of thinking things:

• Pretty exciting action
• Decent dialogue
• Occasionally funny
• Pretty hot chicks.
  
• John was Claire's friend Zach, from Heroes

I'll watch the second ep tonight, and we'll see what that brings.

I'm sure that Terminator movie fanatics (terminuts? termaniacs?) will have a million problems, but I couldn't tell you for one second if this show fits well with the mythology of the films. If it stays interesting, I've got one more show to add to my vast menagerie.

The one that got away?

So, it's my first Cats hoops post of the year. I think. Let me start by saying that I think Carmody et alii are doing a pretty good job of recruiting. There's a really decent mix of foreign players (always looking for the next Vedran) and US talent (Coble, Moore), and there's a special emphasis on competing for the best guys in Illinois.

But, in watching some highlights for the UNC/UNC-Asheville game, I can't help but feel like we missed out on someone. See if you can pick him out of this picture.

Yes, that's junior center Kenny George in the middle. He's 7'7", 360. I'm not doing the math, but I think he weighs more than any two Wildcats combined. He averages over 5 blocks per game for the Bulldogs, and I swear he blocked 10 shots in the one-minute highlight I just saw on ESPN. Against North Freaking Carolina!

AND he's a Chicago native, having attended Chicago Latin HS. I have no idea if he was recruited here. Maybe he's a bad shooter, and a bad fit. Or maybe the academics aren't there. Or maybe there's a personal connection to UNC-A.

Mostly, though he's really big, and I wanted to write about that!

Close, but not quite

Ah, the holidays. That magical time of year when people start emailing me to ask if I created this:

http://www.thecompassgroup.biz/merryxmas.swf

For those not link-inclined, it's a very cute animation of Santa and his reindeer singing. The music is the totally awesome cover of White Christmas as performed by The Drifters.

Why do people ask if I made it? Because at the end there's a signature that reads "Joshua Held 2002." Yes, his name is my name too. But, no, I didn't make it. Although I kind of wish I had. I'm a little confused how some random people find my email address, but I guess it can't really be that hard for the people with free time on their hands...

...unlike busy people like me who blog about Christmas animations?

Merry Christmas!

IFAF: You can stop holding your breath...

...the IFAF final between Japan and the US will be aired Thanksgiving Day at 12pm (CDT) on the NFL Network.

In case you need a reminder, this is the world championship of American football. It featured 6 national sides. It happened back in July. The US pretty much waltzed through the group stage, beating Korea and Germany by a combined score of 110-7.

The championship game was a lot closer, so I won't ruin it for you!

Illinois Preview

I'm kind of sneaking this in under the wire, so I'll be brief:

Offensive keys:

• Good mix of run/pass
  
• Bacher - good decisions (get a little more help from his WRs)
• Sutton - do what he does
• Don't get frustrated if J Leman makes 25 tackles.

Defensive keys:

• Keep Juice contained, hit him hard when he runs
• Don't get frustrated if Mendenhall or Benn hurts us
• Don't let them BOTH hurt us

My pick: Northwestern 34, Illinois 28
Bonus pick!: Northwestern (bb) 65, DePaul 60.

Let's go Cats!

Indiana Preview

Well, I've been way off for a couple weeks now. So, it's time to stop trying to actually pick the game, and just have a little fun.

You may or may not remember that our last two games against Indiana have been settled in overtime. Yes, even when the Loosiers were pretty damn bad, we tended to need extra time to finish them. I see no reason why that should not continue in '07, especially because our seasons are often either OT-filled or OT-free.

I'm picking the Cats, in a home upset: Northwestern 37, Indiana 34 (OT)

Let's go Cats!

Speak to Me II: Electric Boogaloo: Redux: Iowa Edition:

I think this Saturday's game against Iowa is our first broadcast on the ESPN/ABC family of networks (ESPN2 tomorrow) since the OSU game. I don't count the Eastern Michigan game on ESPNU, because that can hardly have been considered a "broadcast."

Therefore, we're looking at the second opportunity for a bubble-encased authority to introduce our offensive and defensive starters. After it was shamefully omitted from the OSU game on ABC, let's hope ESPN2 gets it right. Check out my post from September to refresh your mind on the possibilities.

Speak to me from your tiny bubble [Josh Eats Birds]

Also, on the Iowa side, I'm putting all my money on Dallas Clark, TE of the Indianapolis Colts. You might have heard that they have a game on Sunday!

Iowa Preview

Well, my guess proved to be approximately wrong. Alas, 4 1st-quarter turnovers and a bad day of run defense can do that. Not to be deterred, I am picking in favor of NU this weekend. Not because of any statistical comparison or strategic benefit. Not because of an advantage in personnel or coaching aptitude. Rather, it's because I saw Chris Malleo at the barber-shop yesterday, and he told someone that the ApostroCats are gonna win. Works for me!


My Pick: Northwestern 27, Iowa 10

Sorry, little Hawkeyes.

Let's go Cats!

Purdue Preview

I'm taking a time-out from thinking about the firing properties of medium spiny neurons. I know it's hard to believe that I can tear myself away, but I didn't want to miss out on making a pick.

Conventional wisdom suggests that current trends (the two most prolific Big Ten offenses this year) and past performance (we tend to lose at Purdue, except in 2005) point toward a big loss for the Cats tomorrow. Personally, I think this is one of the two hidden-but-important games of the year for NU. The first was the MSU game that started us on this current winning streak.

I think the ApostroCats and the ApostroCoaches know this, and they'll be ready with a couple of guys back from injury (Sutton and Simpson) and some big plays to change the game for us.

My Pick: Northwestern 35, Purdue 31.

Let's go Cats!

EMU Preview

After two thrilling OT wins in the last two weeks, let's all hope and pray that the ApostroCats don't have a let-down at Ford Field on Friday. Detroit is as close to a home game as they will get in this series. NU is not going to Ypsilanti. But I really wanted to type "Ypsilanti."

The Eagles have a pretty balanced offense, and they have been able to score some points lately. Also, they played us pretty close at Dyche last year. I think we'll pull it out, but it's not going to be the kind of blow-out that could get us a little national dap.

Northwestern 31, EMU 13.
NU gets a little ground game going, which means a slightly lower score than the last two weeks.

Minnesota Preview

Hey! I guess my prediction of a shutout didn't quite come true last week? Perhaps I overestimated John Gill's ability to stop all 11 Spartans at once. Ah well, everyone makes mistakes, and obviously I'm quite pleased with the final result.

Looking ahead to Minnesota tomorrow, I think the ApostroCats will have reasonable success on offense (not 48 pts worth), but don't expect that Minnesota has no scoring potential. I'm going with....

Northwestern 30, Minnesota 14.

Let's go Cats!

Michigan State Preview

Is it bad that I get less and less excited about writing these as we keep losing? I guess that's why I'm not a professional sports columnist; I can't write 12 columns per day like Jay Mariotti.

For tomorrow's NU game at Michigan State, I think the Cats will have to look to their most consistent performers to keep on doing what they've been doing. Everyone on all sides will have to pitch in to get the win, and last week they showed that they can do just that for a while.

So, I'm picking two Cats to make major impacts tomorrow: John Gill and Amado Villarreal. Gill is in charge of stopping both of MSU's running backs (Ringer and Caulcrick). Amado is in charge of offense.

My pick: Northwestern 21, MSU 0.

Let's go Cats!