And so the lame, insipid, jejune 1980s band INXS is in fact making a comeback with a new singer to replace the original one who croaked himself eight years ago. I knew this was going to happen, of course, because of the "reality show" which was the means whereby the new singer was chosen.

Was this really necessary? INXS basically typified all that was Wrong With Mainstream 1980s Pop Music, and I just don't see any pressing need to bring them back from the Scrapheap of History. On the other hand, I am sure that there are at least some people who are nostalgic for this crap, so they will probably at least make something out of it.

The Detroit Lions did indeed fire coach Steve Mariucci and replaced him on an interim basis with defensive coordinator Dick Jauron. My advice to Jauron is to not take this job if it is offered to him as a permanent thing. The Detroit Lions are, with the possible exception of the Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals, the most poorly run basket case of a franchise in the National Football League. The Lions organization wastes player and coaching talent and has been doing so ever since the Ford family took over ownership in the early 1960s. It is just not worth it to get too involved with this dysfunctional train wreck of an organization, and so I would caution Dick Jauron against becoming the permanent head coach of the Detroit Lions.

The Indianapolis Colts did beat Pittsburgh, so looks like I was wrong about that one.

Michigan women's basketball will beat Central Michigan tonight. I will end up being right about that one.

The Green Bay Packers were once again just a bit short of both points and defense as they lost 19-14 to Philadelphia. This assures the Packers of their first losing season in the Brett Favre era.

This game followed the all too familiar Green Bay 2005 script. The Packers managed to keep it close and actually led 14-10 at halftime. But they were not able to generate much offense in the second half and the defense was unable to hold the Eagles off the scoreboard. At 2-9, it is looking more and more like the Packers will at least have a top five pick in the draft if not the number one pick. So many key players were injured this season, on top of several free agency losses, that it is hard to say what the Packers need most. A running back to take up the slack for Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport, both of whom were sidelined for 2005 a long time ago? A better wide receiver for Brett Favre to throw to (assuming Old Number Four comes back for another go round)? Offensive line? Defense? Who knows, but at this point there appear to be any number of weak spots that Green Bay needs to address.

Reports are coming over the news wires that the Detroit Lions have fired coach Steve Mariucci, although no official announcement has been made. What really needs to happen in my opinion is a change in ownership in Motown, as "Not So Slick" Willie Clay Ford and his cronies have been the one constant in the Several Decades of Lions Mediocrity.

Can the Indianapolis Colts go undefeated? We will see what we will see, but I have a feeling Pittsburgh might knock them off tonight. Or maybe I am out of my mind???

The Seattle Seahawks are 9-2. Maybe Green Bay should not have let Mike Holmgren get away?
On the other hand, it is possible that not even Vince Lombardi could do much with a team like this year's Packers that is riddled with injuries and free agent losses, has an average at best defense, not very good return teams (sorry, Antonio Chatman, I have never been too impressed with you) and Brett Favre trying to be a One Man Offense.

The San Francisco 49ers are, like the Packers, 2-9 and not even looking as good as Green Bay. This franchise has fallen hard from the Glory Days of Joe Montana and Steve Young and does not look to be getting much better any time soon.

That's all for now on the Current State of Things in the National Football League.

Michigan women's basketball blew 10 and seven point leads and lost at home to Toledo in overtime.

The main problem in this game was offensive production. No Michigan player reached double figures, the team shot a paltry 32 percent from the field, made only three of 20 three point shots and missed six free throws as well.

Michigan's defense, on the other hand, looked pretty good as they held Toledo to only 51 points in regulation.

The officiating in this game was quite horrible with many questionable calls going against Michigan. This has been a recurring thing for Michigan women's basketball in recent seasons and it may be that the team will have to fight the zebras as well as the opposing teams at least for the nonce.

Next up is a Wednesday game against Central Michigan. Michigan needs to work on some things and play more consistently. So far it has been loss, win, loss, win, loss with the offense struggling in all of the losses and doing much better in the two wins.

This is still a young team, but they have the talent and I for one am tired of making excuses for them. We will see what we will see...

The Crisis of Late Corporate Capitalism continues with job losses of perhaps more than 60,000 in the United States auto industry. General Motors is closing a plant in Lansing, Michigan...it seems like it was just yesterday that the Lansing State Journal (another typical corporate puppet newspaper) was running stories about the wonders of General Motors in Lansing, complete with the words "Lansing" and "Michigan" run together in all capital letters and the GM logo in the middle as the ending "G" in "Lansing" and the beginning "M" in Michigan. Somehow it made me sick back then and it makes me sick now, perhaps because I had a sneaky feeling that GM might end up doing the usual cowardly, greedy corporate thing and abandoning a community that it made a commitment to.

I have said it before and will say it again...the people who run these corporations are nothing more than Common Criminals and they should be put on trial for Crimes Against The Public. And they would be if we had governmental leaders of real integrity like Ralph Nader instead of corporate marionettes like George Bush.

Some random thoughts on a Tuesday Afternoon...feel free to cue up the Moody Blues song by that title if you wish...

Michigan women's basketball rallied from a seven point halftime deficit to defeat Miami of Ohio in the 2005-06 home regular season opener. Michigan's record is now 2-2, with two solid wins and two relatively close losses to ranked teams. Things are looking better and better for Cheryl Burnett's team, and I see them getting better and better as the season progresses. Junior Kelly Helvey (the only junior on the team, there are no seniors) is providing solid veteran leadership and showing evidence of improved skills. She is a very hard working player who always makes a contribution of one kind or another. The five sophomores are also looking good as are this season's five frosh. Ta'Shia Walker, Stephany Skrba, Jessica Minnfield, and Katie Dierdorf are among the players who have stepped up at various times over the first four games. What really impresses me is that everyone, all eleven players, has gotten playing time and made contributions. This bodes very well for the team in my opinion, as a good total team effort is typically better than having just one or two star players carrying most of the weight. Michigan's defense held Miami of Ohio to a mere 13 points in the second half...which brings me to my next item...

Yesterday's Michigan Daily sports page tells the sad tale of Michigan football and their "play not to lose, and then lose anyway" defense. If only Jim "the Moron" Herrmann's defense could do as well as Cheryl Burnett's. Five times this season, the Michigan football "D" allowed the opposition to score late in the fourth quarter by playing a soft zone "prevent" defense. The only thing it prevents is a win by the team that employs this dubious strategy. Three of these games were losses for Michigan (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio State). Against Penn State, Michigan had to rely on a miracle last second touchdown to win. Against Iowa, Michigan was fortunate to hold the Hawks to a late field goal and win in overtime. Michigan also plays too conservative on offense late in the game, essentially handcuffing both the offense and defense instead of letting at least one (if not both) play aggressively, or in other words "play to win" instead of "playing not to lose."

The Packers lost again, on Monday night at home to the Vikings. This game bore an eerie resemblance to the Michigan games mentioned above. The Packers led 14-7, but were unable to do much on offense in the second half and wore down on defense. In the Packers' case it seems to be less a problem of coaching and more a problem of too many starters being injured on offense and a defense that is better than last year but still not good enough. Special teams are also somewhat less than what the name might imply, especially the kick and punt return units. Brett Favre had a good game with two touchdowns but (as has been the case basically all season) got little or no help from the receivers (lots of dropped passes and bad route running), the running game (a pathetic paucity of 21 rushing yards...no I am not joking, I only wish I was). Packer defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins (from CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY!!!) had another good game and in my opinion is making a case for the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately, other than a few players who are doing well (Favre, Jenkins, maybe a few others) the total team effort is not there and so therefore neither are the wins.

On the front page of yesterday's Michigan Daily, there is a christian/fascist moron holding a "God Hates Fags" sign. No, you idiot, God does not hate "fags." God(dess) thinks you are an idiot for standing there with that sign. Said idiot is part of an extreme right wing "christian" cult called Westboro Baptist Church, led by a Hitler wannabe named Fred Phelps. This cult is so far off the scale that even the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons of the world are embarrassed by them.

From Baghdad, the U.S. may have killed suspected al-Qaida leader al-Zarqawi. Meanwhile, the U.S. continues its own war of terror on the people of Iraq, while also supporting the Israeli government in its oppression of the Palestinians. Which of course virtually insures that more people will be upset with the United States and want to attack us. When will we ever learn, or, when will we elect more enlightened leaders?

Speaking of Israel, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is quitting the (right of center, somewhat like the U.S. Republicans) Likud Party and starting a new party which he claims will be truly dedicated to peace. We will see what we will see.

Finally, we have the Pot Calling The Kettle Black as the United States accuses Iran of trying to build a nuclear weapon. This from the country (the United States) that has more nuclear weapons than anyone else and is the only country to have ever used them. This is the sort of typical double standard, "do as I say, not as I do" that Uncle Sam has engaged in for years.

That's all for now...Good Night And Good Luck.

Michigan football once again fell victim to its own stodgy, conservative coaches and lost to Ohio State 25-21. It would not have mattered anyway as far as the Big Ten title, as Penn State beat Michigan State and so PSU and tOSU share the title. Michigan on the other hand looks forward to a second tier bowl bid and a chance to maybe finish 8-4.

Michigan had a 21-12 lead in the fourth quarter, and this seems to always be the cue for Lloyd Carr, Jim Hermann and Terry Malone to start playing "not-to-lose." They did this against Wisconsin and Minnesota and lost both games. They were fortunate to beat Michigan State and Penn State despite this dubious strategy. And they lost to Ohio State by playing not to lose instead of playing to win.

Michigan could have put the game away by going for it on fourth and four late in the game, but punted instead. Then Jim "The Moron" Hermann went with the soft zone prevent defense which allowed Ohio State to milk the clock and score the winning touchdown.

Just like what happened in the Wisconsin and Minnesota games.

And so Michigan slides further down the pike towards the Bump Elliott era of malaise and mediocrity. Bump probably did not have nearly the talent to work with that the current staff has, so at least he had that excuse. It is becoming more and more clear that Lloyd Carr, Hermann, Terry Malone and company have no excuse other than that they are stuck in the 1950s or maybe 1970s at best.

My prediction...Michigan will probably end up winning the Weed Eater or Motor City Bowl or whatever mediocre Bowl they end up in. And sadly we will probably get more of the same next season...at least two regular season losses and either a loss in a major Bowl or a meaningless win in a minor one.

Unless, of course, there is Regime Change At The Big House.

That last prediction I made in my previous post...the women's basketball one?

Well, ah, it did not quite turn out as I called it. Michigan ended up losing to Notre Dame 55-45 in a tough defensive battle.

Neither team did too well on offense, in fact Michigan finished with a slightly better field goal percentage and six three point field goals to el zippo triples for the Irish. One big difference was in free throws. Michigan only got to shoot six of them while Notre Dame got 29. The Irish made good on 19 of theirs while Michigan connected on three.

Notre Dame also outrebounded Michigan by a sizeable margin.

Ta'Shia Walker was Michigan's only double digit scorer with 16 points. She also led in rebounds with nine and Stephany Skrba had eight rebounds. Jessica Minnfield had five assists for the Wolverines.

And so Michigan heads home for an extended home stand with one win and two defeats. Considering that they played three teams that made the NCAA tournament last season and two (Temple and Notre Dame) who are currently in the top 25, they did not do too badly to get one win and keep things relatively close in the two losses. They actually led Notre Dame at several points in tonight's game and stayed within striking distance until the final few minutes.

On Sunday Michigan plays Miami of Ohio at home. I am confident that they will come back strong and get a winning streak started. This is a good team that will get better as the season progresses.

Tomorrow's college football:

The (expletive deleted) Southern Cal Hollywood Pretty Boys are favored by 24 over Fresno State. It is way beyond a doubt now that U$C has paid to Have Their Games Fixed, which is all in character for the Phony People of Los Angeles and their Phony Plastic Society. This is a tragedy and a travesty.

#2 Texas is not playing this week.

#3 Miami of Florida, who I hate almost as much as I hate Southern Cal, will probably beat Georgia Tech and may cover the 17.5 point spread.

#4 LSU will drill Ole Miss.

#5 Penn State will lose to Michigan State. They have to, for Michigan's sake.

#6 Notre Dame will run up the score on Sad Sack Sorrycuse.

#7 Virginia Tech will just barely beat Virginia.

Unranked Auburn will punk overrated Alabama and send the Tide reeling out of the top ten.

In the Greatest Rivalry in College Football, Meecheegun will beat The Ohio State and (with Michigan State's beating of Penn State) will win a share of the Big Ten title and hold the tiebreaker over both PSU and tOSU.

Oregon will Win One For Ken Kesey (a former wrestler at the school) and beat instate rival Oregon State.

UCLA and West Virginia (#12 and 13) are not playing this week.

#14 Georgia will mercilessly pound Kentucky.

#15 TCU is idle.

As is #18 Louisville.

What of #'s 16 and 17, you ask? They are Fresno State and Michigan, who are mentioned above.

#19 South Carolina will beat Clemson.

#20 Florida is idle.

#21 Texas Tech will beat Oklahoma.

#22 Florida State is idle. Or maybe the Criminoles are just out committing crimes this weekend.

Upset special...Maryland will beat Boston College.

Another upset special...Alabama-Birmingham will beat UTEP.

Central Michigan will beat Ball State.

Eastern Michigan will beat Buffalo.

Navy will hand Terrible Temple their eleventh loss in as many games this season.

Northwestern will hammer the Worst Team In The Big Ten also known as Illinois.

In a Battle of Schools That Should Just Stick to Basketball, North Carolina will beat Duke. And no one will really care.

Purdue will win, but only because they are playing Indiana.

Tennessee will win, but only because they are playing Vanderbilt.

Iowa will beat Minnesota.

California-Berkeley will beat Stanford.

San Jose State will beat New Mexico State, Or, New Mexico State will beat San Jose State, Or, Who Really Cares Anyway?

Finally, Army will beat Arkansas State.

That is all. At least for college football. In women's college basketball tonight, Michigan will beat Notre Dame. You heard it here first.

Well now...four of the teams in my College Football Bottom Ten won their games this past weekend so some revision is in order. Here we go...

1) Temple (0-10, last week #1)-Terrible Temple did not play this past weekend and so their perfectly awful record remains intact. As does their top spot in the Bottom Ten.

2) Duke (1-9, last week #4)-due to wins by the #2 and #3 teams, Duke moves up (down?) a couple of spots. Duke did not play last weekend. Then again, do they really play most weekends?

3) New Mexico State (0-10, last week #7)-lost to Nevada to tie Temple at 0-10.

4) Sorrycuse (1-8, last week #5)-lost to South Florida. You have got to be kidding me.

6) Buffalo (1-9, last week #2)-finally managed a win, albeit over Kent State. Sorry, I am not impressed.

7) Rice (1-8, last week #3)-also finally managed a win, albeit over Tulane. I am also less than impressed.

8) Illinois (2-8, last week #9)-lost to Purdue to fall to 0-7 in the Big Ten.

9) San Jose State (1-8, last week #10)-did not play on November 12.

10) Kent State (1-9, last week unranked)-Fell to 0-7 in the MAC with a loss to #6 Buffalo. Their only win is against Southeast Missouri State. That is just shameful.

No longer ranked: Washington (2-8, last week #8)-the Huskies escape the Bottom Ten by dint of a win over Arizona.

Since the other polls do this, so will I...Others receiving votes: Washington (mentioned above), UNLV (2-8), Mississippi State (2-7), Tulane (2-7), North Texas (2-7), Florida International (2-6), Washington State (3-7 and 0-7 in the PAC Ten).

At long last, good fortune has chosen to shine upon the Green Bay Packers once again. After suffering seven painful losses to only one win, the Packers got their second victory of 2005 over the Atlanta Falcons by a final of 33-25.

The Pack got out to an early 14-0 lead and it looked like this may be a replay of their only other win so far this season, which was a 52-3 shellacking of New Orleans. It was not quite to be, as Atlanta came back to tie the game at 14. Green Bay kicked a field goal and it was 17-14 at the half.

Two more Ryan Longwell field goals and the Pack leads 23-14 after three quarters. Atlanta cuts it to 23-17, then ten Packer points make it 33-17. The Falcons get a touchdown and two point conversion and try an onside kick, but the Packers pounce on it and run out the clock.

Brett Favre was his usual Hall of Fame self, completing 26 of 39 for 252 yards and a touchdown. He is now 29 TD passes away from bumping overrated, never won a Super Bowl Dan Marino from the top spot on the career charts. I think Ol' Number Four is going to do it! He is also getting closer to leaving Marino in the dust in all other career passing categories as well. And of course he already leads in perhaps the category that matters the most...Super Bowl rings.

Samkon Gado, a previously unknown and unemployed running back, is making quite a statement in his time with the Packers. He has gotten the opportunity due to injuries to three, count 'em three, Green Bay runners...Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport, and Tony Fisher. Gado gained 103 yards on the ground, caught four passes, and oh yeah...scored all three of his team's touchdowns. One was on a pass from Brett Favre. I can only imagine how it must have felt for someone who probably never expected to be in the NFL to catch a scoring pass from a future Hall of Famer.

The Packer defense again looked good, for the most part holding dangerous Falcon quarterback Michael Vick in check. A major contributor to the defense is my fellow Central Michigan University graduate Cullen Jenkins, who is fast becoming one of the better defensive linemen in the league. Also making some noise on D for the Pack is Roy Manning...from the University of Michigan! Linebacker Nick Barnett had a great game today, which must have put a big smile on the face of Ray Nitschke up in Gridiron Heaven. Where I am sure that he and his old coach Vince Lombardi were keeping an eye on their beloved Packers.

Although the playoffs are a big longshot at this point, it is great to see the Packers not giving up and continuing to play hard. Then again, I suppose that is to be expected from a team whose leader has the courage and competitive spirit that Brett Favre has. With Ol' Number Four at the controls, the Packers will never quit and will always give it all they have to give.

It is always Great To Be A Michigan Wolverine, and this was especially true today. Let me count the ways...

Michigan women's basketball bounced back nicely from their season opening loss and stomped St. Francis of Pennsylvania 80-52. The Wolverine Women looked good on both offense and defense in this game. Freshman center Stephany Skrba led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Katie Dierdorf (whose papa Dan is already one of Michigan's all time sports legends) had 13 points while junior Kelly Helvey added a dozen to the Wolverine ledger. Seven other Michigan players tallied at least some points which is a very good sign. Next up is the always tough Notre Dame team, but now that Michigan has a win and some momentum they will not be intimidated by the Irish and I think they will pull off the upset.

Michigan's field hockey team started off struggling this season, but improved towards the end and earned a spot in the NCAA tournament. In their first round game they came back from a two goal deficit to beat Boston University in overtime. They face Old Dominion in the second round tomorrow.

Finally, Michigan football beat Indiana to keep their Big Ten title hopes alive. Wisconsin lost to Iowa so now they are out of the title picture. Basically what needs to happen is: Michigan beats Ohio State and Michigan State beats Penn State. Then it is Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State all tied at 6-2 in the conference and Michigan would hold the tiebreaker due to beating both Ohio State and Penn State. It will be an exciting finish for sure.

Michigan women's basketball got off to a rough start in their regular season opener, losing to #21 ranked Temple in the first round of a tournament at the U of Oregon. The final score of 65-48 indicates good defense but not so good offense for the Wolverines.

Tomorrow they will play the loser of Oregon vs. St. Francis of Pennsylvania.

Jessica Minnfield scored 15 points to lead Michigan, but no other Wolverine made it to double figures.

Katie Dierdorf got nine minutes of playing time and scored five points, so hopefully this means she has recovered from the injuries that cut her rookie season short.

Michigan outrebounded Temple which is good, but also had more turnovers which is not good.

All eleven of Michigan's players got at least some minutes and all but three scored at least some points.

All in all it was probably what one would expect from a season opener matching a relatively young team coming off a difficult season (Michigan) with a nationally ranked team coming off a successful season (Temple).

I remain confident that Michigan will end up having a good season, and a great place to start would be with a win tomorrow. This team will come together soon, and then the wins will come. Despite the final score being somewhat lopsided, Michigan came back strong from a bad first half and did get as close as eight points in the second half.

On to the next game, and Let's Go Wolverine Women!!!

Oh, and I guess I shouldn't have put Temple at the top of my Football Bottom Ten...maybe that was just Asking For Trouble with the Michigan Women's B-ball team playing Temple?

How about something new and amusing? I present to you Jerrybear's First Weekly Bottom Ten College Football Rankings:

1) Temple (0-10)...these guys have scored in double figures only four times in ten games and their best scoring output is 17. It doesn't get much worse than this, folks.

2) U of Buffalo (0-9)...like Temple, this is an offensively challenged team that has done no better than 20 points in any game, has been shut out twice, and held to only one score three other times.

3) Rice (0-8)...much better on offense than Temple and Buffalo, but otherwise pretty horrible as evidenced by el zippo wins.

4) Duke (1-9)...is it basketball season yet? Why they even bother with football at Duke is a mystery to me. This year's team has only one win, over Virginia Military Academy which is not exactly a powerhouse of college gridiron.

5) Syracuse, or as I like to call them Sorrycuse (1-7)...their only win so far is over aforementioned Bad News Buffalo. I like to think that the Sorrycuse football team is paying for the annoyingness of their men's basketball coach, the Jackass Known As Jim Boeheim.

6) Florida Atlantic (1-8)...the worst of the worst conference in Division 1-A, which of course would be the Sun Belt.

7) New Mexico State (0-9)...the worst team in a middle of the road Div 1-A conference (WAC).

8) Washington (1-8)...once they were a top PAC-10 team and a regular Rose Bowl participant. Now they just suck.

9) Illinois (2-7)...the dregs of the Big Ten, with el zippo conference wins and their only success coming against Rutgers and San Jose State...which brings me to...

10) San Jose State (1-8)...hanging out with New Mexico State at the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference. These two powerhouses play each other next Saturday, so I guess we will find out who really sucks then.

Tomorrow's college football:

Michigan will easily cover the 25 point spread against always-pitiful Indiana.

Vegas says Western Michigan over Central Michigan by three...I say Vegas is out of their minds! The Mighty Chippewas will defeat Worstern and move one step closer to a Bowl Bid!

Eastern Michigan will beat Ball State, or, Ball State will beat Eastern Michigan, or who really gives a toss about these two teams anyway?

I like Auburn in a minor upset over Georgia (UGa is favored by three).

In an Epic Battle of Sun Belt Conference Titans (ha-ha!!!) Arkansas State will beat Troy State. No one will much care, though.

Minnesota will punk Michigan Agricultural, oops I mean State.

In Another Not So Epic Battle of Sun Belt Conference Titans, Florida Atlantic will beat North Texas. But if nobody is in the stands to see them win, did they really win after all???

Kansas State will beat Nebraska, sending Husker fans into an even deeper depression over how bad their team sucks.

Notre Dame will mercilessly pound the Naval Academy.

California-Berkeley will beat the Southern Cal Hollywood Pretty Boyz! You heard it here first!

Texas will have no problem with Kansas, but may not quite cover the massive 33 point spread.

Iowa will beat Wisconsin. They have to, for Michigan to have a shot at the Big Ten BCS bid.

South Florida is favored by eight over Sorrycuse at Sorrycuse. South Florida will win by at least that much. Sorrycuse is living up to that name more and more lately. They still have not beaten anyone this season besides the University of Buffalo, who would probably lose to any credible high school team.

Speaking of Bad News Buffalo, they will go to 0-10 on the 2005 season with a loss at Kent State.

Purdue will drub the Worst Team In The Big Ten Right Now (that would be Illinois, folks!).

Upset special! Memphis will beat reeling Tennessee! Am I out of my mind???

LSU will beat Alabama by more than the three point spread. Sorry, Tide fans, you are a strange bunch of people and I am not impressed with your team. No bizarre flag dancing ritual for you tomorrow, unless you do that when you lose too.

Miami of Florida is One of the Crookedest Programs in College Football and I Do Not Like Them. Nevertheless, I do not see them losing to Wake Forest. What the hell kind of name is "Wake Forest" for a university anyway???

Another Upset Special! Northwestern will punk Ohio State! Again you may ask if I am out of my mind.

In a Battle of Average Big 12 Teams, Oklahoma will beat Texas A & M.

In today's Detroit Free Press...

Kwame Kilpatrick gets re-elected as Dictator, er, Mayor of the Motor City and says he will try to mend fences in his second term. We will see what we will see but as is usually the case with Mainstream American Corporate Funded Politicians, I am not expecting that much will change. The Free Press reports that corporations contributed heavily to Kilpatrick's campaign, so I question whether he will do much to better the lives of Detroit's poor and downtrodden. Possibly, challenger Freeman Hendrix would have been better but possibly he is just as in debt to the Very Rich And Powerful as Kilpatrick is. Which just brings me back to my often made point that people need to join a real alterative movement like the Green Party instead of choosing between one Sold Out, Corrupt Corporate Puppet and Another.

Three United States based hotels were bombed in Jordan. This is a tragedy and I feel for the families of those who died and those who were injured. Nevertheless, we cannot mourn for them without also mourning for those who have died due to United States military action in the Middle East, or due to similar actions by the U.S. allies in Israel. If we want our people to be safe from terror, then we need to demand that our government stop participating in the terrorizing of other people. We cannot have a double standard whereby other people's "terrorism" is our "noble fight for freedom" or something like that.

More deaths of United States soldiers in Iraq, as that war looks more and more like a sad replay of Vietnam. Once again we have a power hungry government sending young people off to kill and die for no good reason. Maybe some day we will learn not to elect greedy cowards like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton and etc.

Also more Fun and Games from Our Local Corporate Greedheads...Delphi executives blame "labor costs" for their $788 million third quarter loss. Of course, said executives never think to blame themselves for being way overpaid and incompetent to boot. General Motors, Delphi's former parent company, is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for overstating its 2001 profits...more Typical Corporate Crookedness.

Some good news at the bottom of the Business Page...Ralph Nader (who should be in his second term as President of the United States and would be if our Electoral System was not Hopelessly Corrupt) continues his tireless work for the people. He is pressuring the government to implement stronger standards on vehicle roof strength and to advise consumers on replacement windows. Ralph Nader is truly a person of integrity and honor, who could have sold out to the corporate world but instead decided to work for the public good. We should be electing people like him to office instead of the corporate shills who for the most part end up running the government.

One step closer to the Number One Draft Pick...the Green Bay Packers did just that yesterday with yet another painfully close loss, 20-10 to Pittsburgh at no-longer-so-intimidating Lambeau Field.

Once again the Packers defense, which was supposed to be the team's weakness heading into the season, did relatively well, holding the Steelers to 213 total yards and allowing them only one offensive touchdown.

And once again it was the injury and free agency depleted offense that came up woefully short. Tony Fisher, Green Bay's third string running back who was filling in for injured first stringer Ahman Green and injured backup Najeh Davenport, was not able to play. So the Packers had to turn to a totally untested guy named Sam Gado, who managed to score a touchdown behind the pathetic Packer offensive line and generally did well considering he was a longshot to ever play in the NFL to begin with.

The Packer offensive line, I repeat, is totally pathetic. They have not done nearly well enough all season either in terms of creating space for the Packer running game or protecting Brett Favre and giving him time to make plays.

The Green Bay receivers also leave much to be desired, with many dropped balls including one that Donald Driver could not catch that ended up being picked off by the Steelers. Not Brett's fault at all.

I have to wonder what is going through Old Number Four's mind right now. I hope he still has the desire to play at least another season after the fiasco of 2005 has run its course. Knowing him, he will probably want to give it at least one more shot. At this point he is about the only thing the Packers have going for them on offense, and what can he do when a) the receivers suck, b) the running game sucks, and c) the offensive line sucks???

In happier news, Michigan women's basketball won their second and final exhibition game. Although it is never easy to know what to make of the results of exhibition games, I just get a really good feeling from what has happened. I believe more and more that this will be a season of definite progress for the Wolverine women. They will at least get back to better than .500 overall, at least get close to .500 (and maybe better than it) in the Big Ten, and they will at least make the postseason NIT (and maybe the NCAA). This is a team with a lot of talent and potential and they will show it...starting immediately.

How about tomorrow's college football, then?

Michigan is not playing this week, due to the fact that there are Now Eleven Schools in the conference Still Known As the Big Ten. Therefore someone has to not play on any given Saturday and it is Michigan's turn this week. Next Saturday they will hammer Indiana.

Purdue will get their first Big Ten win of 2005 at the expense of Michigan Agricultural, oops I mean Michigan State.

Western Michigan will beat Eastern Michigan, if anyone really gives a hoot.

Central Michigan is gonna beat Northern Illinois as the Mighty Chippewas continue their March To A Bowl Bid!

Penn State will take care of Wisconsin...I think by more than the eleven point spread.

Upset special! Indiana will beat reeling Minnesota! Or maybe I am out of my mind!

Upset special number 2! Northwestern will punk overrated Iowa!

Ohio State will definitely beat Illinois, the only question is will the Buckeyes cover the 34 point spread. Red Grange must be rolling over in his grave with how horrible his old team has become.

Rutgers vs. South Florida...Vegas says Rutgers by three, I say WHO CARES???

Virginia will easily hand Terrible Temple yet another defeat, quite likely by at least the 35 points that Vegas is giving Temple. Have I mentioned yet how utterly horrible Temple is?

Florida will have no problem with Vanderbilt.

Clemson will win, but only because they are playing Duke.

I like South Carolina in a mild upset over Arkansas.

Miami of Ohio will clobber the hapless U of Buffalo.

Notre Dame over Tennessee sounds about right...I have not been too impressed with what I have seen from the Vols this year while the Irish have at least somewhat exceeded expectations.

Texas is gonna hammer Baylor. Baylor seems like another one of those teams (like Duke, Temple, Buffalo) that have no other function than to get routinely routed by better teams.

Nebraska favored by one over Kansas. Flip a coin to choose between two mediocre teams.

The Southern Cal Pretty Boys are favored by 33 and a half over Stanford. It all seems like a cruel joke now, and I am convinced that U$C has paid someone off to Fix Their Games. Nevertheless, I hold out hope that they will finally get beat.

Possible upsets...Mississippi State over Alabama (Bama favored by 16) and North Carolina State over Flawiduh State (Criminoles favored by 14). In both cases I would at least take the underdogs and the points.

I see Air Force easily covering the 11 point spread against Army.

Have another Happy College Football Saturday!!!

Michigan women's basketball pulled out a tough 65-64 exhibition win over the Athletes In Action traveling team at Crisler Arena last night. The winning score was delivered with seven seconds left as sophomore Krista Clement made good on a three point shot.

As might be expected with a team like Michigan that is still on the youngish side, there were both some signs of potential and some definite improvements that need to be made.

The team showed lots of guts and desire in this game, keeping it close all the way and then finishing strong. Sometimes, these exhibition games end up being routs but perhaps it was just as well that the Wolverine women had to fight to get the win. The last thing they need is to get overconfident, and also there were many games last season where they kept it close at least for a while but were not able to sustain or finish. They will need to do both of those things to improve their record and a close game like this can teach valuable lessons in not giving up and finding a way to win.

Clement was the obvious hero with her last second game winner, and she had a fine all around game with 12 points including three of six three pointers.

Ta'Shia Walker is the leading scorer among the returnees, and she was also topped the charts in last night's game with 20 points.

Freshman Carly Benson looked good in her Michigan debut with 10 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals.

The most experienced player on this year's team is Kelly Helvey, and she contributed five points, five rebounds, four steals, three assists and the Wolverines' only blocked shot.

Rookie point guard Jessica Minnfield had six assists, five points and four rebounds.

Another first year player, Stephany Skrba, tallied eight points and four boards in only 11 minutes of playing time.

Janelle Cooper, Ashley Jones, Jessica Starling and Melinda Queen all got some PT and made some contributions.

Sophomore Katie Dierdorf was in uniform but did not play. I spoke with her after the game and she indicated that she should be ready to go soon. My guess is that the coaches probably just don't want to take a chance in an exhibition game with a player who is coming back from injury.

Field goal shooting was not too bad, but free throws and rebounding need to improve. The "scramble" or pressing defense looked really good at times and will get better as the players get more experience. As will all other aspects of the game.

It was really nice to see a couple of recently graduated Michigan superstars at the game. Tabitha Pool was sitting just one section over from me and I got to chat with her a bit. Jennifer Smith is going to be broadcasting the games for an Ann Arbor local radio station this season...perhaps we will be seeing Jenn on ESPN some day! I also got to talk with Sheryl Szady who was one of the original Michigan players in 1973-74. It is great to see the current team get support from those who came before them, and this is a key part of what the Michigan Tradition is all about...Once A Wolverine, Always A Wolverine!

Coach Burnett has this team working hard and believing in themselves, and when you put those things together anything is possible. We will see what we will see, and I am looking forward to a successful campaign.

Some random stuff from yesterday's Michigan Daily:

John Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, was on campus in Ann Arbor recently. Among his not-so-bold (but oh-so-typical of the Republican-lite Democrats) proposals was raising the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour! Which would still be Well Below What It Takes To Live In The United States. Like most Mainstream Politicians from the Big Two Parties (Republicrats and Demublicans) Edwards is unwilling to do too much that might upset the very wealthy corporate donors who bankroll both major parties, making them mere Servants of Late Capitalism.

The Green Party USA is in my opinion the best alternative to Politics As Usual, and I would encourage all to join their nearest Green Party group or start one if one does not exist where you live.

A small group of staff and residents of Stockwell Hall (a residence hall at U of Michigan Ann Arbor) gathered Sunday night for a vigil in memory of recently deceased civil rights leader Rosa Parks. Somehow I get the feeling that Mrs. Parks would have felt more at home and more honored by this than by the Establishment Political Bigshots who gathered in more prominent places to shed (mostly empty) tears for someone who probably did much more in one typical day of her life than most of them will ever do in their entire time here on Planet Earth.

In other News of Sold Out Democrats, Dems in Congress urge presidential adviser Karl Rove to resign! Of course, Rove won't resign just because the Dems asked him pretty please to do so, and of course the Dems probably will not push too hard to get rid of him along with impeaching the president and vice president he works for.

A conflict is brewing between different groups who support the University's affirmative action policies, with the more moderate NAACP criticising the far left BAMN for being, well, too far left and confrontational.

There are reports of problems with absentee ballots in Detroit...this comes as no surprise to anyone even mildly aware of the Grand Corruption of Kwame "Baby Doc" Kilpatrick and his city administration.

Republicans in the Michigan Legislature want to cut business taxes again! Oh goody, let's give the corporations more breaks so they can turn around and screw us even more!

Just in from Gaza City...the Israelis and Palestinians agree to halt the violence. Ho hum...haven't we heard this before? We will see what we will see, but based on past experience I would not be surprised if tomorrow's paper brings more news of Bombings and Shootings.

The Daily corrected a reference from a previous edition's article where they stated that the U of Michigan's first varsity women's basketball season was 1977-78. They should have called me...I could have told them it was actually 1973-74, and even looked up the scores for them.

That's all for now...I will be in Ann Arbor later this evening (Michigan women's basketball has an exhibition game) so I will see if I can pick up today's Daily.

The nightmare proceeds in Titletown USA, where the Green Bay Packers have little chance of adding to the trophy case this season. Brett Favre was picked off five times in a 21-14 loss at suddenly good Cincinnati. The Packers are now 1-6 in 2005, with all of their losses being by seven points or less with the exception of the opener against Detroit where they lost by 14. And in that game, the Packers only scored three points so if the offense had managed much of anything that one would probably have been only one score away from either a tie in regulation or a win as well. The one win was a very convincing one over New Orleans, so although Green Bay has only one win and six defeats they have outscored their opponents 158-139...such is the case when you lose a lot of close games.

I really can't blame Brett Favre too much despite the five picks. He is about the only proven veteran player left on the offense due to all the injuries and free agency departures. To review: the Packers lost both of last year's starting guards to free agency, have had some injuries on the offensive line, have lost their first string (Ahman Green) AND second string (Najeh Davenport) running backs for the season, lost their #1 receiver (Javon Walker) for the season in game one, and have had other injuries at WR and TE.

So, with a makeshift offensive line, a third string at best running game, and an injury depleted receiving corps, Brett Favre can only be expected to do so much. I just hope that this season does not discourage him from coming back for at least one more season. Knowing Old Number Four, it is more likely that the opposite will be the case and he will want to give it at least one more shot in 2006. Former general manager Ron Wolf really knew what he was doing back in 1992 when he snatched Favre away from the Atlanta Falcons where he had been lost on the bench for his rookie season. All he needed was someone to give him a chance, and Packer Nation is forever grateful that it was Green Bay who gave him that chance.

We will see what we will see the rest of this season. It is certainly looking grim right now, but with Favre On Our Side you never know what might happen.