The Day Caleb would be 5

Later this evening would mark the time of day when Caleb was born 5 years ago, stillborn into this world more than a month too soon to be able to survive the delivery process. Even though the outcome was certain, a full delivery process still had to take place.

Caleb's strong beat, present right up until birth, saw him fight - not for himself, but to illustrate how to prevent his circumstance from repeating, leading to his sister's birth two and a half years ago. She is just getting to the point where she could begin to understand her brother looking over her from above - just as he did during the nine months before she was born.

The first year was tough, the 2nd not as much because we knew he was looking out for his sister in the womb, and this now the 3rd one since she was born. It is still rough dealing with that pain, that we were denied the chance to get to know him as we have been able to watch and learn as his sister has grown.

She does him proud - all that any father can expect out of a child.

Pens stomp Flyers 5-3

Crosby went 1+1 over two periods as the Pens jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 1 and a 5-2 lead after 2 periods, allowing a goal with 2.1 seconds left to narrow the margin.

John LeClair returned from a healthy scratch with a vengeance - he scored the opening goal less than two minutes in against his former team.

Team stats update (19 team games - record 10 wins, 7 losses, 2 overtime losses - 9 divisional games, record 8-1-0):

Name	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-
Sidney Crosby	C	19	10	20	30	24	+9
Evgeni Malkin	C	15	9	9	18	18	+5
Mark Recchi	R	19	4	12	16	10	+8
Sergei Gonchar	D	19	3	13	16	24	E
Ryan Whitney	D	19	3	12	15	31	+2
Michel Ouellet	R	18	6	8	14	10	-3
Nils Ekman	R	18	5	7	12	12	-5
Jordan Staal	C	19	7	1	8	4	+2
Dominic Moore	C	19	4	4	8	24	+1
John LeClair	L	18	2	5	7	12	-2
Colby Armstrong	W	19	0	7	7	25	+3
Maxime Talbot	C	12	3	0	3	6	E
Jarkko Ruutu	L	19	1	2	3	22	-2
Josef Melichar	D	19	1	2	3	10	E
Rob Scuderi	D	19	0	3	3	2	+3
Kristopher Letang	D	7	2	0	2	4	-3
Mark Eaton	D	11	0	2	2	2	+2
Noah Welch	D	12	1	1	2	18	+2
Chris Thorburn	C	16	1	1	2	37	E
Ryan Malone	F	7	0	1	1	19	-4
Eric Cairns	D	1	0	0	0	5	E
Ronald Petrovicky	R	2	0	0	0	2	E
Karl Stewart	C	3	0	0	0	2	-1
Andre Roy	L	4	0	0	0	12	E
Jocelyn Thibault	G	4	0	0	0	0	0
Brooks Orpik	D	8	0	0	0	2	+1
Marc-Andre Fleury	G	16	0	0	0	2	0

(base figures courtesy of HockeyDB.com)

Pens beat Rags to improve to 7-1 in division play

The Pens scored two goals with a 5 on 3 advantage en route to a 3-1 win over the Rangers on Saturday, November 18th. Mark Recchi had two goals, and Sidney Crosby and Sergei Gonchar had two assists apiece. The other goal game from Jordan Staal, and Evgeni Malkin and Colby Armstrong each had an assist.


Stats update after 18 team games: (Team record 9w-7l-2otl-0sol for 20 points)

Name	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-
Sidney Crosby	C	18	9	19	28	24	+7
Evgeni Malkin	C	14	9	7	16	16	+4
Mark Recchi	R	18	4	11	15	10	+7
Michel Ouellet	R	18	6	8	14	10	-3
Sergei Gonchar	D	18	2	12	14	24	-1
Ryan Whitney	D	18	2	10	12	29	E
Nils Ekman	R	17	5	6	11	12	-6
Jordan Staal	C	18	7	1	8	4	+2
Colby Armstrong	W	18	0	7	7	25	+1
John LeClair	L	17	1	5	6	12	-2
Dominic Moore	C	18	3	3	6	22	-1
Maxime Talbot	C	11	3	0	3	6	E
Josef Melichar	D	18	1	2	3	10	E
Jarkko Ruutu	L	18	1	2	3	22	-2
Rob Scuderi	D	18	0	3	3	0	+2
Kristopher Letang	D	7	2	0	2	4	-3
Noah Welch	D	11	1	1	2	14	+1
Mark Eaton	D	11	0	2	2	2	+2
Chris Thorburn	C	15	1	1	2	37	E
Ryan Malone	F	7	0	1	1	19	-4
Ronald Petrovicky	R	1	0	0	0	0	E
Eric Cairns	D	1	0	0	0	5	E
Karl Stewart	C	3	0	0	0	2	-1
Andre Roy	L	4	0	0	0	12	E
Jocelyn Thibault	G	4	0	0	0	0	0
Brooks Orpik	D	7	0	0	0	2	E
Marc-Andre Fleury	G	15	0	0	0	2	0

Crosby leads the league in points per game, and is within 3 points of the overall lead in points, with as many as 4 games in hand on the players in front of him.

Malkin extends goal streak to 4 games over NJ

Although the Pens allowed the first goal, the Pens stormed back to tie it at 1 at the end of the 1st period. Nils Ekman scored his 2nd of season, with the loan assist going to Mark Eaton, his first point as a Penguin.

The 2nd period belonged to the Pens, featuring goals by Crosby (3rd from Malkin and Whitney) and Staal (4th, and first even-strength of his career, from Recchi and Ekman) to go into the 2nd intermission up 3-1.

NJ would crawl back into it about 8 minutes into the 3rd, to make it 3-2, but Malkin's impression of Mario Lemieux's 1991 goal in the Cup Finals vs the North Stars, a superpurb highlight-reel goal two and a half minutes later restored the two goal lead. Assists went to Crosby and Whitney.

Coach Therrien had Malkin and Crosby on the same line for almost the whole game, and it paid dividends, with the line scoring two goals. The line of Recchi-Staal-Ekman also had two goals. All four goals were at even strength, with the PK going 6 for 6. The Pens only had 3 chances on the PP, and although they looked good, just could not get their chances to go in.

Noah Welch and Maxime Talbot were called up from WBS since the Saturday game vs Columbus. Each played their first game of the season.

Tonight's win put the Pens in sole possession of 1st place in the Atlantic Division with a 5-3 record and 10 points, leapfrogging the Devils, and also extended their win streak to 3 games, their first such streak since March 2004.

Next up is a visit to the Flyers on Saturday, October 28, followed by a three game trip out to LA, SJ and Anaheim. Next home game is not until November 8.

Stats Update after 8 team games:

Name Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/-
Sidney Crosby C 8 3 9 12 10 +4
Michel Ouellet R 8 4 3 7 2 -3
Sergei Gonchar D 8 2 4 6 12 -1
Ryan Whitney D 8 2 6 8 10 +1
Mark Recchi R 8 0 6 6 4 +3
Evgeni Malkin C 4 4 2 6 2 +4
Nils Ekman R 8 2 4 6 10 -2
Jordan Staal C 8 4 0 4 0 +1
Colby Armstrong W 8 0 3 3 17 +3
Kristopher Letang D 7 2 0 2 4 -3
Jarkko Ruutu L 8 1 1 2 12 -1
Dominic Moore C 8 0 2 2 8 -1
Rob Scuderi D 8 0 2 2 0 E
Josef Melichar D 8 1 0 1 4 +1
Ryan Malone F 7 0 1 1 19 -4
Mark Eaton D 8 0 1 1 2 E
Jocelyn Thibault (G) G 1 0 0 0 0 0
Karl Stewart C 3 0 0 0 2 -1
Andre Roy L 3 0 0 0 7 0
Chris Thorburn C 6 0 0 0 9 -2
Marc-Andre Fleury (G) G 8 0 0 0 2 0
John LeClair L 8 0 0 0 4 -4
Noah Welch D 1 0 0 0 4 E
Maxime Talbot C 1 0 0 0 0 E

can we score at even strength please?

The Pens beat the Blue Jackets 5-3 on Saturday on the strength of three powerplay goals and two shorthanded goals. Michel Ouellet's 4th on the PP opened the scoring, deflecting a shot by Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar got right back on the board, scoring his 2nd goal in as many games midway through the period.

The Jackets got a late powerplay, and converted to pull within 2-1 at the end of the 1st. The Jackets would tie it in the 2nd period right as a Penguins penalty was expiring, counting as an even strength goal against. Fredrik Modin got his first as a Jacket on the play.

The major development at 12:51 of the 2nd was Pens forward Ryan Malone coming to Crosby's defense after a perceived cheap hit. Malone got 2, 5 & 10, while Kesla only got 5. Malone in reality got 6 weeks for the effort, as he broke his forearm on the play. While the Pens were killing Malone's extra 2, 18-year old rookie Jordan Staal scored shorthanded off of a Mark Recchi rebound with 8 seconds to go in the kill. Robert Scuderi got the 2nd assist as the Pens took a 3-2 lead into the 2nd intermission.

The Pens would get some insurance in the 3rd period on a powerplay goal by Evgeni Malkin, assisted by Crosby and Ouellet, at 7:04 of the third. 24 seconds later, John LeClair took an interference penalty, leaving the Pens shorthanded once more. 21 more seconds later, Rookie Jordan Staal was awarded a penalty shot after being brought down when he was in the clear on a shorthanded breakaway.

Staal made his run, and clanged a shot off of the post, onto the back of the goaltender, with the puck crossing the goal line. At first, the referee signaled no goal, although the home horn had sounded. The play was reviewed upstairs by the video goal judge, where a goal was awarded at 7:49 of the third, giving Staal his second shorthanded goal of the game and third of his career.

The Jackets added a 5-on-3 powerplay goal of their own to close it to 5-3, but that would be the final score. Staal would later have a chance at a shorthanded hatrick when the Jackets pulled their goalie on a pair of late powerplay opportunities, but the Pens failed to get it in the net.

After going scoreless on the powerplay in the first couple games, the Pens are now at 25% (11 for 44) on the powerplay, tied for fourth best in the league. Their PK (allowing 8 of 49) is 16th at 83% effeciency. An improvement for a team who was dead last in the PK last year, but they have had their breakdowns. The biggest stat so far is zero shorthanded goals allowed versus Staal's 3 shorthanded goals for.

Crosby and Malkin had quiet nights, with only 1 point each, giving Crosby 2+8 in 7 games, and Malkin 3+1 in 3 games. Malkin became the first player since 1995-96 to score a goal in each of his first three games. Staal's two shorthanded goals in the same game are the youngest anyone has ever done that, and it is believed that his opening 3 shorties to start a career are a record as well.

Pens standings/stats update, 10-13-06

Pens stats update (3 team games):

Name GP G A TP PIM +/-
Crosby 3 2 4 6 2 +2
Ouellet 3 2 2 4 0 E
Armstrong 3 0 3 3 17 +1
Whitney 3 2 0 2 4 +3
Ruutu 3 1 1 2 4 +2
Moore 3 0 2 2 2 +3
Recchi 3 0 2 2 4 E
Melichar 3 1 0 1 0 +4
Staal 3 1 0 1 0 -1
Letang 3 1 0 1 0 -1
Scuderi 3 0 1 1 0 +1
Ekman 3 0 1 1 0 E
Gonchar 3 0 1 1 6 -2
Leclair 3 0 0 0 0 -1
Malone 3 0 0 0 0 -1
Stewart 1 0 0 0 0 E
Roy 2 0 0 0 7 E
Eaton 3 0 0 0 2 -1
Thorburn 3 0 0 0 -1
Fleury 3 0 0 0 2 N/A




We may not be atop the standings very long, but things look good at the top:

Eastern Conference
ATLANTIC	GP	W	L		OT	PTS	GF	GA	HOME	AWAY	L10
PITTSBURGH	3	2	1		0	4	10	7	1-1-0	1-0-0	2-1-0
NEW JERSEY	3	2	1		0	4	12	9	1-0-0	1-1-0	2-1-0
NY RANGERS	4	2	2		0	4	17	16	1-2-0	1-0-0	2-2-0
PHILADELPHIA	4	1	2		1	3	9	14	0-1-1	1-1-0	1-2-1
NY ISLANDERS	4	1	3		0	2	10	16	0-0-0	1-3-0	1-3-0

wow, what a shootout - Pens beat Rags 6-5

Sidney Crosby is on fire - coming away with 4 points, 1 goal and 3 assists, as the Pens score first, shorthanded, no less, in a game where neither team had more than a one goal lead, and Crosby's game winner came with 3.3 seconds to go in regulation, denying the Rags overtime and a guaranteed standings point. The Pens went 4-9 on the powerplay, while the Rags went 3 for 9. The Pens perfect PK is perfect no more, and its 0 for 11 powerplay coming in is now a 20% clip.

18 year old Jordan Staal had his first career goal in the 2nd period, the first of the game, while shorthanded. Later on, 19 year old rookie d-man Kris Letang would get his first career goal as well. D-man Ryan Whitney had two goals, the 2nd of which came right as a Pens penalty was expiring. It was a shorthanded rush, but credited as an even strength goal. The other goal was from Michel Ouellet. Colby Armstrong and Mark Recchi each had two asists.

After three games, the Pens are 2-1 with 4 points, tied with the rangers atop the Atlantic division with a game in hand. Rangers are 2-2 with 4 points.

Pens shutout Flyers 4-0 in season opener

The Pens accomplished a first to start off their 40th Season in the NHL: They pitched a shutout in a season opener, something they had never done in a home opener, let alone a season opener.

Michel Ouellet and Jarkko Ruutu combined for a goal and an assist each in the first period, and Sidney Crosby added a goal and assist in the 2nd period, and Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stoned the flyers - stopping all 40 shots he faced. The Pens on the other hand, scored on 4 of 21 shots for. The Penalty Kill had an energy we have not seen in several years, and although the Pens gave up 9 powerplays to the Flyers, the agressive PK combined with Fleury kept the Flyers on the Run.

Missing the game due to injury were defenseman Brooks Orpik and forwards Evgeni Malkin and Ronald Petrovicky.

Stats update through 1 game:
Crosby 1 1 1 2 +2
Ouellet 1 1 1 2 +2
Ruutu 1 1 1 2 +2
Melichar 1 1 0 1 +3
Moore 1 0 1 1 +2
Scuderi 1 0 1 1 +1
Ekman 1 0 1 1 +2
Armstrong 1 0 1 1 +2
Whitney 1 0 0 0 +3
Letang 1 0 0 0 +1
LeClair 1 0 0 0 E
Recchi 1 0 0 0 E
Malone 1 0 0 0 E
Eaton 1 0 0 0 E
Thorburn 1 0 0 0 E
Gonchar 1 0 0 0 E
Staal 1 0 0 0 E
Roy 1 0 0 0 E
Fleury 1 0 0 0 n/a

Pirates avoid 100 losses, win 63rd in sweep of Mets

The Mets came into the series on Friday as the best record in the NL, and a magic number of 1 to clinch their first division title since 1986. The Pirates won on Friday and Saturday, combined with Phillies wins, to keep the Mets still unclinched going into today's game. The Pirates would not be denied, winning 3-0 and being the first NL team to sweep the Mets this year. It marked win #63 on the season, the win that keeps them from losing 100 on the season - a mark that seemed almost certain back at the All-Star break.

Now, they are not even last in their division, now 2 games up on the Cubs and 4.5 behind the Brewers. At 63-87, it is still possible, however unlikely, that they could go 10-2 in their last 12 to avoid losing 90. Based on their up and down streakiness, this is not likely, but they still have it to fight out for Freddy Sanchez's attempt to win the NL Batting title. He went 2 for 3 on Sunday with 2 RBI to rise back to .341 average, while his closest chaser, Florida Marlin's Miguel Cabrera, went 2 for 5, to retain a .340 average. Sanchez once led by a wide margin a month ago, but it will be a tight race to the end. The Marlins play 4 vs the Mets, 3 vs the Philles, 3 vs the Reds, and another 3 vs the Phillies to close out the season. Tough schedule. The Pirates isn't much easier, going to LA and SD for 3 each, then home for 3 each vs Houston and Cincinnati. Not a cake walk either. (And not very likely for the Pirates to go 10-2 versus that schedule)

At least there is something to watch in September this year, something to root for. It's been 9 years since the last sniff of the division, when they were in the race with Houston coming into the final series of the year, despite being barely below .500.

PSU can't crack the coaches... 1 vote short this week

PSU crushed 1-AA Youngstown State on Saturday, 37-3, in a fill-in game after 1-A Louisiana Tech backed out at the last minute (last Spring) due to a scheduling conflict. YSU gave them some fits in the passing game, but PSU found a running game, rushing for near 400 yards. The game was scoreless after the 1st Quarter, but saw PSU score 20 in the 2nd quarter and 10 more in the third, before their backup quarterback tacked on the last 7 late in the 4th quarter on a run.

PSU was 25 in the AP last week, and moved up to 24 this week, ahead of Boise State as the new 25. The Coaches, as the USAToday poll (ESPN pulled its association and now uses the AP in its broadcasts), saw PSU as the first in the list of others receiving votes after the loss at Notre Dame. This week finds them in the same spot, 1 stinking vote behind new 25th place team Boise State.

Wild night at Bristol - points even tighter

While it is becoming apparent that the top 10 will remain the top 10, with 11th place Kasey Kahne now 90 points behind 10th place Mark Martin it will be tough for the 9 team to break back into the icture, and near impossible for the 400 point window to come into play.

With 2 races to go until the chase cutoff, only 13 drivers are still mathematically alive for the 10 spots - but 12th place Greg Biffle and 13th place Carl Edwards are 251 and 261 back of 10th place, and they have to gain 100+ points on 10th at California to remain alive another week. Both are also 700+ points out of the lead, or all but eliminated from the 400 point window possibility. Kahne is the only one with a shot, but he has to hope to win each remaining race while the 10th place bar finishes 11th or worse.

The wild shows the 4th through 10th place drivers separated by only 48 points, with 3rd place Kevin Harvick 81 points in front of now 4th place Kyle Busch. The loser on the night was Mark Martin, who entered the race 4th in the points but fell to 10th place on the heels of a 28th place finish, 4 laps down to the leaders.

Jeff Burton led 263 laps, 2nd time this month he led the most laps, but like Indianapolis, he faded at the end to a 9th place finish, but that was good enough to move back up to 7th from 9th in the points. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. moved up from 10th to 9th in points on the strength of a 3rd place finish. Jr. led 35 laps, and had strong pit stops all night, turning a 40th starting spot into a top-five. The fastest stop was 12.8 seconds on the next to last caution, seeing the 8 car jump from third to first on the stops.

Streaking again

The Buccos managed a third win in a row, now with a record of 50-78 with 34 games remaining. They must go 13-21 over the rest of the season to avoid losing 100 games. Their win percentage on the season of .391 extrapolated for the rest of the season would mean 13.28 games won out of 34, or just enough to avoid losing 100.

Freddy Sanchez went 1 for 4, and still leads the NL with an average of .346.

Streaky Pirates at it again

Streaky as anything, the Pirates extended another tonight in a 4-2 win over the Brewers. This marked the 4th win in a row, building upon a sweep of Division leader St Louis over the weekend. Before the streak, the Pirates had lost 5 in a row, which had followed close on the heels of another 5 game winning streak.

They are now 16-13 since the All-Star break, and 46-73 overall. They must go 17-26 in the remaining games to avoid losing 100 games. If they can keep up their post-all star pace, they should be ok in this department.

The other thing left to root for is Freddy Sanchez in the NL batting title race. As of Sunday night, Sanchez was batting .346, with 2nd place at .339. Sanchez went 6 for 13 in the St Louis series. Sanchez went 1 for 3 on Monday, slightly lowering the average to .345 with 43 games to go.

The Pirates season is a tale of two cities. One is Pittsburgh, where they own a 32-28 record at home. The other is anywhere but Pittsburgh, where they are 14-45.

6 laps down to finish 9th!?

For the second straight week, a Hendrick Motorsports driver receives multiple "lucky dog" passes to get back on lead lap, this time in the #5 car of Kyle Busch, who was 6 laps down early in the race. He was credited with 5 lucky dog passes, two more than #24 Gordon got the week before. The last one, putting Busch back on the lead lap, occured on lap 63. Resulting problems by many other drivers between there and the end (most of the field had already pitted for the final time) found Busch scored 9th at the end. The TV coverage was not clear how the #5 got the 6th lap back, can only assume that he had stayed out on the first round of green flag stops and got one back the old fashioned way.

The race itself was a jumble. The 9th and 10th place cars in the Chase (#24 Gordon and #8 Earnhardt) both spun in turn one between laps 67 and 73, neither bringing out the caution. The caution would later fly for other incidents, and both drivers would make use of it by pitting late. This helped both drivers climb back up from around 30th to finsih in the teens, combined with the 11th place driver (#9 Kahne) spinning on the last lap and finishing behind them.

It's not yet clear, but the original unofficial results had Gordon 15th, Johnson (#48) 19th and Jr. 20th, but now they show 13th, 17th and 18th, with former 9th and 10th place finishers Ryan Newman and Ron Fellows being put back to 31st and 32nd, bumping each car between 11th and 32nd up two spots each. (Without this change, the #5 would have finished 11th) [11pm UPDATE: NASCAR has revised the finish order again, moving the #12 of Newman back up to 8th, and moving the former sixth place finisher #60 Boris Said to 31st.]

The #29 of Kevin Harvick, 3rd place driver in the points, won the race, passing Tony Stewart (#20) at the line with three laps to go. Stewart would finish 2nd, with Jamie McMurray (#26), Robby Gordon (#7) and Carl Edwards (#99) rounding out the top five.

The Malkin soap opera

Time is running out on Evgeni Malkin making it over in time for the 2006-2007 NHL season. Malkin was the 2nd overall pick in the 2004 draft, but has been prevented from coming over to the US by Russia's failure to sign the IIHF transfer agreement that the other European nations signed in the Summer of 2005.

New Russian Hockey Federation president Vladimir Tretiak had announced on June 9th that the Russian Federation had agreed to sign the IIHF-NHL transfer agreement, yet dragged his feet on producing the signed, ratified document for two months. This past week, he announced that Russia would not sign after all.

The transfer agreement allows players to come to the NHL, with the NHL teams paying into a fund for every player brought over. The funds are used to support hockey development in those countries. Russia believes they are deserving of more money per player than the rest of Europe, but the real reason for their balking is Malkin himself.

Malkin's Russian Superleague (RSL) team wants $2M US to let him cross the Atlantic, and the NHL is unwilling to let member clubs negotiate directly. Malkin's contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk runs through 2008, and does not contain an out-clause, such that Russia vetoing the transfer agreement means Malkin stays in Russia. Metallurg this week has announced a renegotiation with Malkin that pays him more, but only keeps him under contract until May 1, 2007, at which point the Penguins could sign him without giving any compensation, except a season of his services lost. He would not be able to play in the 2007 playoffs without clearing waivers, something the Pens would not subject him to.

Texas incongruities

Scotusblog has this post dealing with the 5 redrawn Texas congressional districts on the heels of SCOTUS's 2006 decision on the Texas redistricting, where although the plan won overall, a single district, the 23rd, was found unconstitutional by the Court. The District court, on remand, has changed five districts to make the 23rd "legal". The Court has done this a mere 90 days out of an election, changing the election dynamics in such a way as to harm all the candidates in these 5 districts.

The Constitution leaves it to the States to decide the manner of election, yet a Federal court has stepped in and drawn a map of its own, rather than that chosen by the elected members of the Texas Legislature.

Earlier this week, a Federal Court ruled that the State cannot define its elections, declaring that the State GOP had no proof that Tom DeLay would not be a resident of the state on Election day, even though he provided a Virginia drivers' license, employment forms bearing a Virginia address, and other documents proving a Virginia Residency. Texas state law allows the party to "declare ineligible" any candidate that is not a resident per public record. (To the federal court, a Drivers' license is not a public record now) Although the Texas GOP has said it will appeal it to SCOTUS, as noted in this post on Scotusblog from Thursday, August 3rd. The 5th circuit opinion can be found here (ht: Scotusblog)

The panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reasoned that the Democrats suffered actual harm in having to change their election strategy to run against someone other than DeLay, who resigned from Congress in June, and publically announced his moving to Virginia. This is at odds with the redrawn map adopted by the District Court, where that "actual harm" is akin to what the Democrats had claimed in the DeLay case.

Coincidence? Where at once both decisions are in sync, but are also at odds with each other? Not a chance.

The DeLay decision stands in stark contrast to the Torch - where AFTER the mandated deadline, Sen. Robert Toricelli withdrew from the race, and was replaced on the Ballot by former Sen. Frank Lautenberg. The Court in NJ saw fit to ignore the ballot rules, on a matter of "fairness" that the voters be left with a choice.

DeLay may be forced to run for (re)election this November, and given the meddling of the courts, the chances of DeLay winning have likely improved. The Democrats may get what they want - DeLay on the ballot - but still lose big.

Gamble sees Jr climb to a 6th place finish

When the caution came out with 19 laps to go, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. sat in 30th place on the track, looking to end the day there with leader Jimmie Johnson running away from the field. Johnson and the leaders came in for four tires, others came in for two tires, while Kyle Busch (7th), Jr. (6th), Ryan Newman (15th) and Joe Nemechek (24th) stayed out.
Kyle Busch led on the restart, with Jr in 2nd, where the two got away from a crazy field - where eventual 2nd place finisher Matt Kenseth led Johnson and the other four-tire cars around the two tire stoppers, which included Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer. On lap 150, Jr. passed Busch for the lead going into turn 1, but Johnson was able to get by Busch as well, and passed Jr in turn 4 of the same lap. So while Jr led, he would not get any bonus points for leading.
Jr gave little difficulty to Kenseth, Harvick (3rd), Bowyer (4th) or Martin (5th), but was able to hold off Busch (7th), Carl Edwards (8th), Tony Stewart (9th) and Kurt Busch (10th) for the last 6-7 laps until several incidents happened on the white flag lap, which saw Robby Gordon and Greg Biffle spin, saw Tony Raines (11th place finisher) involved, and saw Kasey Kahne clip Stewart hard into the wall. Biffle finished 33rd, Gordon 35th and Kahne 36th. This kept Biffle in 12th in the points, dropped Kahne from 7th to 11th in the points.
Jr. improved one spot to 10th in the points, some 512 behind leader Johnson, but is only 26 points out of Denny Hamlin in 7th, 15 behind Jeff Gordon in 8th, and only 3 behind Stewart in 9th, but also improves to 37 points ahead of 11th place, in the last transfer spot in the Chase with 5 races to go: Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, California and Richmond. Jr is now 115 up on 12th place Biffle, and only 100 points back of 6th place Martin, and 121 back of 4th place, which sees Harvick tied with Kyle Busch, some 391 points back of the lead.

Today's result perhaps steals back some points lost in New Hampshire three weeks ago, where a strong car suffered a blown engine en route to a last place finish. Jr was 3rd in points before that race, and fell four spots each of the two prior races on the heels of consecutive last place finishes. Today goes to show that it is far easier to lose points quickly than to gain them back.

The other story of the day was the comeback by #24, Jeff Gordon, who fell almost 4 laps off the pace in the first 15 laps, and through three lucky dog passes (and the rest of the field cooperating by staying on the lead lap) was able to get back on the lead lap, and finish a respectable 16th, far better than the 40th place he looked doomed to finish.

PSU gets no respect in preseason coaches poll

Penn State finished last season ranked #3 in all polls, with an 11-1 record and a big ten conference championship.

Today saw the 2006 preseason coaches poll being released, with PSU being dropped to #19, with 406 points. #18 Clemson (8-4 last year) has 493 points, while #20 Oregon (10-2 last year) has 373 points. Reportedly there are 63 voters, with a 1st place vote being worth 25 points, and a 25th place vote being worth 1 point. In that scale, the average vote for PSU is somewhere between 19 and 20.

CBS's poll page: http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegefootball/polls/coaches
ESPN's story: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2539278

We know PSU has a tradition of being panned in the preseason polls, and having to earn their way up the ladder. This is a good thing, makes the kids work harder, and not get complacent.

It should be noted that the preseason polls are often meaningless - 6 teams received 1st place votes, while 27 teams are among the "others receiving votes", including four of which averaged better than a 25th place vote.

Poetry: Sonnet #11 by "glenn"

I am considering republishing some old poetry on this forum, written under the pseudonym "glenn", the first being written on September 25, 1996:

Sonnet #11

These events have opened a flood, a stream
deep in thought of your beauty, of your eyes
I am melted by their luminous gleam --
a green brown to make jealous the blue skies

On top of that, your voice mesmerizes
makes the day easier, takes the mind away
from worries and pains; it emphasizes
a pinch back from dreamland, the real McCoy

Who could call it insanity? Not I!
And the soft touch, ever so sensitive
throws me into a realm, I know not why,
I thought was only imaginative

your beauty goes unacknowledged by you,
which confuses me, as I can't help but view.


9.25.96-1  glenn

AIRlessness is Over!

A near week with no AC is now over!

Seems pretty weird to have to "camp out" in ones own house, but that's precisely how we managed 6 full days without AC in the warm July of Virginia, residing on air mattresses in the basement.

The new AC was completed about 6pm Thursday, with the actual in the house reading of 88 degrees around 6:30pm - by 9 it was still 83 degrees, and by 11:30 only down to 79 degrees, so one more night in the basement it was. It wasn't until 7:30 AM this morning (Friday) that it cooled down to the programmed temperature.

And it has been wonderful ever since. And best part yet - tonight I get to sleep in my own bed for the first time in a week!

July with no air

"England is closing in, cutting off our air; there's no time, there's no air" - Ceasar Rodney (Delaware)

Figures it is a hot July day that the compressor would fail - when the actual temp is higher inside than out... should be interesting to see what the $$ damage will be...

A foray off of PDT

Not that many would know it, but I used to blog under this name on PDT - pleasedrivethrough.com - a board community with all the news that's fit to abuse. It's a real happening place - with some very left members and some very right members, and quite a few in the middle too.

I highly recommend a visit - drop in, register, and post some too, new members welcome.

Steelers win XL 21-10, ONE FOR THE THUMB!

Steelers win, Steelers win!

Alito clears penultimate hurdle

Judge Alito today cleared the penultimate hurdle on his path to becoming the 110th justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

We should be cheering on the streets that 19 democrats were brave enough to vote to end debate:

Akaka (HI)
Baucus (MT)
Bingaman (NM)
Byrd (WV)
Cantwell (WA)
Carper (DE)
Conrad (ND)
Dorgan (ND)
Inouye (HI)
Johnson (SD)
Kohl (WI)
Landrieu (LA)
Lieberman (CT)
Lincoln (AR)
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Pryor (AR)
Rockefeller (WV)
Salazar (CO)

Source: US SenatRoll Call

Tom Harkin (D-IA) did not vote, and neither did John Ensign (R-NV), and Chuck Hagel (R-NE). Ensign was involved in a traffic accident earlier in the day and spent much of the day in the hospital. I don't know about the other two. It is telling that the two "home state" senators both voted against the cloture motion, and have both indicated they will vote against the nomination itself tomorrow.

The bottom line is that Alito will be confirmed in the morning, likely by a 58-42 margin, and that his confirmation is a good thing for America. He represents replacing a mostly conservative voice on the court with a solidly one. What was the Rehnquist-Scalia-Thomas block will likely become the Robers-Scalia-Thomas-Alito block, and all hope is not lost for Anthony Kennedy, who is more right than wrong.

The stage is set for a third vacany for Bush later in 2006 or in 2007. It remains to be seen whom that will be, but chances are it will be a much greater shift than O'Connor to Alito was. That fight will be even bigger than Alito, but Bush has shown that by picking the best person for the job, that candidate will likely run rings around the Democrats yet again, as Alito and Roberts before.

Lemieux retires a 2nd time

Penguins Owner/Captain Mario Lemieux made it official today, that due to health reasons, he is retiring from the game of hockey.

In a move that many saw as inevitable, given his age, he steps away from a role as a player, to contentrate on being owner and securing a new arena for the team.

It turns out his last game was December 16, 2005, at home vs the Buffalo sabres. He and Sidney Crosby assisted on Ziggy Palffy's last goal as a Penguin that night. His last goal scored was at home on November 10, 2005, in a dramatic shootout win over his hometown Montreal Canadiens.

Most will still remember his last goal as being in the playoffs in 1997 vs the Flyers before he retired the first time.

Lemieux is already in the hockey hall of fame, so unlike the others who retired just this year (Scott Stevens, Brett Hull, Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Al MacInnis among others), he won't have to wait to resume his spot in the Hall.

Some of the lingering questions involve who will wear the "C" now that Mario is again retired. Unlike the first time, when he was not yet 32, he is 40 now. The "A"s are currently being worn by Mark Recchi, Sidney Crosby and Sergei Gonchar, although John LeClair and Brooks Orpik have also worn the "A" at some point this year.

It is no secret it is Crosby's team, but I would not be surprised to see Recchi or Orpik become captain first. Recchi seems a better fit, as his would be transitional. Conventional wisdom suggests that the Pens will carry three "A"s the rest of the year rather than elevating to a "C" so quick after Mario's retirement.

AFC Championship: Steelers at Denver

Today marks the Steelers' 13th AFC title game, the most in league history. Coming in, they are 5-7 in such games, 1-4 under Cowher, and 4-3 under Chuck Knoll.

Game thoughts in an update... but the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl!

Ziggy Palffy suddenly retires at age 33

Pens forward Ziggy Palffy suddenly retired today at the age of 33. He had played 42 games for the Penguins this season, scoring 11 goals and 31 assists for 42 points, along with 12 PIMs (Penalty infraction minutes) an a +5 plus/minus rating.

The team gave the reasons as "personal" but some wire reports out of slovakia said it was "shoulder" related.

It is a shame, for Palffy was by far the Pens best defensive forward, at +5, although he had been +9 just a few games ago. He was also the 2nd leading scorer behind rookie Sidney Crosby's 51 points.

Steelers stun Colts 21-18

The Steelers built up a 21-3 lead after three quarters that would not be exceeded, despite a major officiating gaffe that gave the Colts new life, being down 21-10 with 5:26 to go.

On the field, Steelers Safety Troy Polamalu was credited with an interception, fumble and fumble recovery near midfield, an incerception that would have all but iced the game.

Inexplicably, this call was erroneously overturned by Referee Pete Morelli on a Colts' replay challegenge. Polamalu had possession for some 6 seconds before knocking the ball out of his hands with his knee as he was getting back off the ground. The NFL would later admit that the original call on the field was the correct one, and it should have been steelers ball.

The Colts made the most of the error, taking the ball down to score a TD and a 2-point conversion, to draw within 21-18, but that's as close as it would get. The Steelers went three and out, and punted, but the Colts were sacked twice in four plays, including on 4th and 16 at their own 2 yard line. Steelers only had to punch it in, and retake a 10 point lead to seal the game. The Steelers don't kneel on it due to the colts having all three timeouts left (they should have lost one on the challenge), since that would still have left a minute.

Then comes the play with a finish on par with the Immaculate reception in 1972 and the deflection in 1995... Bettis hits the gap, and a Colts defender gets a direct hit on the ball with his helmet, knocking it out. A colt defender picked the ball up and began to run, apparently clear to the Steeler endzone for a winning score. Out of nowhere was a heads up and gutsy play by QB Ben Roethlisberger, who had retreated in Safety mode after he realized he couldn't get the loose ball. He out-faked the defender, making a shoestring tackle on the Colts 42, making the Colts have to drive on the Steeler defense to win or tie.

The colts quickly got down to the Steeler 29/30, and had a 2nd and 2, but threw for the endzone on 2nd down, defended perfectly by rookie CB Bryant McFadden, and McFadden almost made a pick on third and 2, leading to a 4th and 2, and a 46 yard attempt by Mr. Automatic, Mike Vanderjagt of the colts, who had not missed at home all year. THis time, he was way right, and the Steelers move on to Denver.

Alito hearings - Day 2: The Questions begin

The real fireworks start today, as Judge Alito gets to banter with the Senators, and set them straight, as opposed to being forced to sit politely and listen to the diatribes the Dems gave yesterday.

I did not have the opportunity to provide updates during the opening statements yesterday, and I may not get the opportunity today, but I will attempt to do so.

Final polls; Texas 1, USC 2, PSU 3

The final human polls are in, showing Texas, USC, PSU and OSU the top four almost universally, as do several computers already out (Wolfe, Colley, Sagarin)

The margins are close between USC and PSU across the computers, but USC edges them in all, for straight averages of 1 for Texas, 2 for USC, 3 for PSU, and 4 for OSU. The human poll margins are far wider than the computer, as they work out close to a unanimous 1-2-3-4 ballot for the four.

AP: 65 voters, all of which voted Texas #1. USC is 65 votes behind, so we assume all 65 voted USC #2. PSU is some 76 votes beyond USC, so at least 11 voters DID NOT VOTE PSU #3. OSU is 56 votes behind PSU.

Coaches: 62 voters, all of whom voted Texas #1. USC was 67 votes behind, so not all voters voted USC #2. PSU was 62 votes behind USC, for an average of one spot behind per ballot, with OSU coming in 64 votes behind PSU.

Harris is not yet out.

Orange Bowl 2006: PSU 26, FSU 23 (3OT)

Penn State plays Florida State in the Orange Bowl in Miami, 8pm on 1-3-06

FSU opened with a punt. PSU punted. FSU punted again. PSU drove 85 yards for a 1st Quarter TD to take a 7-0 lead. Fast forward into the 2nd quarter. FSU gets an 87 yard punt return for a TD to tie the game at 7. FSU forces PSU to a 3 and out. First play after punt is a screen that goes 57 yards for a TD, but FSU misses the extra point wide left, to lead 13-7. PSU punts from midfield after, with the ball downing at the FSU 2. First it appears that FSU is tackled in the end zone for a safety, but a review gives the ball outside the end zone. PSU takes their timeouts, and gets the ball back on a punt at the FSU 40 with 17 seconds to go. Two plays later, Ethan Kilmer catches a 24 yard pass in the right corner of the endzone for a TD, tying the game at 13, and PSU makes the extra point to take a 14-13 lead with 0:06 to go in the half.

PSU leads at the half 14-13. No third quarter scoring. Heck, no 3rd quarter first downs until PSU got one on a penalty with a minute remaining in the quarter. Even the fourth quarter scoring was a safety for PSU and a field goal for FSU. After the Safety and free kick, PSU drove down to the FSU 5, but fumbled the snap on first and goal, and FSU drove back to get a long tying field goal that was barely inside the uprights. PSU got the ball back with 4:40 to go in regulation, and drove down the field to the FSU 15, but PSU missed a 29 yard attempt at the end of regulation to leave the game tied at 16.

The first OT saw no first downs, and long field goal attempts by both teams, first FSU missing wide right, and PSU missing wide left. The 2nd OT saw PSU drive and score a TD by Austin Scott, and FSU followed suit to tie it at 23. The third OT saw FSU go first, and fail to get a first down, missing the field goal off of the right upright. PSU getting the ball got a first down, then kicked a 29 yard field goal that was inside the right upright to win the game 26-23.

PSU dominated statistically, both in numbers of plays run, yards, first downs, and decisively so in rushing yards. But in the end, PSU failed to take advantage of the early time when they had FSU on the run, or late in teh fourth quarter when they were on the run again.

Paterno now leaves with 21 bowl wins, ahead of Bowden with 19, while Bowden still leads the overall I-A win list 359 to 354, although Bowden's were at several schools (40 seasons total, 30 at Florida State) while Paterno's have all come during 40 seasons at PSU.

Penn State finishes 11-1 and will hold on to the #3 ranking overall. Chances are good that the loser of the Rose Bowl will only fall to #2.

The big negative in the game was Junior PSU linebacker Paul Posluzny was hurt in the middle of the 4th quarter during FSU's tying field goal drive, and FSU converted a 3rd down after he was hurt. He was carted to the locker room for x-rays, and carted back out to watch the rest of the game.