NHL Hits

This couldn’t have happened at a better time. Finally, a reprieve from the dour economic news, and the horrifyingly boring election cycle.

Finally, large men with sticks will once again beat the crap out of each other. That’s right, hockey’s back!

The season is technically already underway, with the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning squaring off in Prague and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators venturing into SM-Liiga territory and playing a double-dip in Sweden.

The league saw a few changes over the off-season. The defending Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings made the biggest splash signing winger Marian Hossa. The Western Conference is stacked once again, and the East looks like a finesse league with Sid “The Kid” Crosby and Alexander “The Human Highlight Film” Ovechkin.

As far as the hometown Atlanta Thrashers… well, don’t expect much. They made few moves in the off-season, and only one move at last year’s trade deadline. And yet, GM Don Waddell still has a job. Oh well. Another year, another missed playoff.

So now, in true Right Wing fashion, we though we’d take a shot at predicting both Conferences in order of finish for the Playoffs, and then give you an off-the-cuff prediction on the Stanley Cup Champion.

Eastern Conference
1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Carolina Hurricanes
3. New Jersey Devils
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Buffalo Sabers
6. Ottawa Senators
7. Washington Capitals
8. Philadelphia Flyers

Western Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Vancouver Canucks
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Colorado Avalanche
6. Calgary Flames
7. Nashville Predators
8. Chicago Blackhawks

Stanley Cup Finals: Montreal Canadiens vs Detroit Red Wings
Champion: Montreal Canadiens

Football Future-see Week 7

This is a big weekend for college football. This week the Right wing takes on a full slate of SEC and Big XII action. Basically, we’re discriminating against the lesser conferences in favor of the two strongest in the nation. The SEC and the Big XII dominate the Top 15 in both the AP and the USA Today Coaches Polls.

Most likely, no matter how well USC or the Big Ten champion plays, the National Championship game this season will feature the Big XII champ against the SEC champ. That being said, we now go into the picks…

(4) LSU at (11) Florida
The last two National Champions square off in the Swamp Saturday. LSU has already taken down one Top 10 team this year, beating Auburn 26-21. Florida stumbled last week against Ole Miss, dropping out of the ranks of the unbeaten. Bulletin board material is already jumping for this game, as one of the DBs at LSU has said that they plan to hit Florida QB Tim Tebow so hard that he’ll feel like he’s been in a car wreck. Florida is consistent on offense; LSU shows consistency on both side of the ball. But the Swamp is not an easy place to play.
Final Score: Florida 28, LSU 24

Nebraska at (7) Texas Tech
Bo Pelini has Nebraska looking up, but they still play in a loaded Big XII. This conference game features one of the nation’s up-and-coming defenses against one of the most powerful offenses in recent memory. QB Graham Harrell is a Heisman candidate, and I think he may already have about 4 Billion passing yards this season. Nebraska is looking for a breakout game, but I don’t think it happens this week. Watch for the Red Raider offense to continue flying high.
Final Score: Texas Tech 35, Nebraska 21

Tennessee at (10) Georgia
Georgia’s coming off a Bye week after a 41-30 thrashing at the hands of Alabama. Tennessee has yet to play up to their level of expectation going into this year. Coach Phillip Fulmer is possibly on the hot seat yet again. Georgia fell eight spots after losing to the Crimson Tide, and now hold firmly in the Top 10. Tennessee has won the last two match-ups between these two by the scores of 51-30 and 35-14. But Georgia’s looking to regain their early-season swagger. Watch for a big game from Stafford, Moreno and Green.
Final Score: Georgia 31, Tennessee 14

(5)Texas vs. (1) Oklahoma
Texas is good. Oklahoma is better. The Sooners’ offense is rolling over anyone who stands in their way. But the Red River Shootout is not to be taken lightly. Oklahoma knows that Texas can beat anybody in the country. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma’s QB, has the highest passer rating in the nation. Watch for the Sooner’s to air it out early, stretching the Texas D and opening up room for the running game.
Final Score: Oklahoma 38, Texas 26

(13) Vanderbilt at Mississippi State
Vanderbilt has never been this high in the polls. They just knocked off Auburn at home, and now go on the road for two weeks, taking on first Mississippi State, and then going between the hedges to take on Georgia. And that’s the problem with this game. This meeting has “trap game” written all over it. Vanderbilt could very easily get caught looking ahead to that game in Athens on October 18th. We already know that Mississippi State has a strong defense. They held Auburn to 3 points. (Of course, they lost 3-2, but that’s because Auburn has a strong defense as well.) Sylvester Croom can coach up a team as well as anyone in the SEC. I’m going out on a limb here and calling for the upset special.
Final Score: Mississippi State 21, Vanderbilt 20

(17) Oklahoma State at (3) Missouri
These two teams have one thing in common, besides both playing in the Big XII. Both teams are averaging over 50 points per game this season. Missouri QB Chase Daniel is making a strident case for the Heisman Trophy, and if the Tigers go undefeated, he just might pull it off. This has the making of a good, close game, which means that Missouri is going to run away with it.
Final Score: Missouri 35, Oklahoma State 13

No Choice '08

So we’re less than thirty days out now, and apparently I ruffled some feathers over on ye olde Facebook the other day by proclaiming that I was not going to vote and that I was demanding a better choice. I was immediately told that my statement was “epic Fail” and that not voting just because the choices are bad would allow the “wrong choice” to walk into office for four years. I really don’t care who you think is the wrong choice, because this election is essentially Jack Johnson against John Jackson.

Candidate “A” is a big government liberal Socialist. He uses the trigger word “Change” although neither he nor his running mate has ever truly described the change they would bring to Washington. Candidate “A” has only served one full term in any political post he’s ever been elected to. Of interest with Candidate “A” is that, in subtle opposition to his “change” platform is his selection of a Senator who has served for 36 years.

Candidate “B” is a big government conservative hiding behind the maverick label. He served in Vietnam and spent five years as a Prisoner of War in Southeast Asia. He’s been in the Senate since 1982. His voting practices show a growing tendency to support the current administration’s policies. Candidate “B” selected a single-term governor from Alaska as his running mate. This selection could’ve been Candidate B’s moment in the sun, but campaign blunders and a lack of knowledge on her part brought that wave crashing down.

PRO: Candidate A selects an experienced member of the Washington scene as his VP candidate.

CON: The only problem is this candidate, who has been in the senate for 36 years, continually derides the opposing Presidential candidate for being in the Senate for 26 years.

PRO: Candidate B selects a woman has his running mate.

CON: He forgot to select a woman who understands politics.

PRO: Both campaigns have long-term political experience.

CON: Both campaigns have been in Washington for many years and have fallen out of touch with today’s electorate.

PRO: Candidate A claims he would cut taxes on 95% of working families.

CON: Candidate A also claims to have billions upon billions in government spending already lined up.

Candidate A, as previously stated, has only served one full term in any political position he’s been elected to. I raised this point to a friend the other day, and he countered with an interesting argument. There was once a man who ran for a seat in the Illinois Senate and lost. He ran again later and lost. He ran for a position representing Illinois in the US House of Representatives, and lost. He ran for State Senate again, and lost. Then he ran for President and won. He was Abraham Lincoln.

My friend’s point was that experience does not necessarily equal a quality job. I have nothing against Lincoln. He did the best he could under the circumstances. But the fact remains: this vaunted, well-respected President, who some call the Greatest President Ever, did something that no other President has ever done. He raised an army to invade his own country.

I’m not saying Candidate A is going to invade the United States; I’m saying that he cannot be compared to Abraham Lincoln.

The economy is in the tank. Candidate B wants both parties to suspend their campaigns and work together to fix it, which is basically saying that he wants to make face time at the Capitol Building. Candidate A says that the President should be able to handle multiple things at one time, which is his way of saying “I’d rather put myself on TV.”

The Republicans are blowing their own trumpets because they have a woman on the ticket. That may be the one positive going for the GOP at the moment. They’ve crashed and burned on the economy. They’re stubborn support of the Iraq War has caused many to lose faith in the party.

The Democrats are the party of “choice.” At least, they are when it pertains to abortion. Under pretty much every Democrat I’ve heard, you’ll find out that the party doesn’t want a person choosing how many guns to have in their own house, choosing what school their child goes to, or choosing what doctor to see. These are all issues that the government should handle for you, because you as a voter are too busy watching American Idol.

Truthfully, Americans are tired. We’re tired of a crappy economy that is the result of both parties trying to make themselves and integral part of a capitalist machine. We’re tired of a war that one side says is lost and the other side says can be won if we spend a little more money. We’re tired of gas prices going through the roof when we know that we have our own supplies but certain factions won’t let us touch them. We’re tired. Plain and simple.

The plain truth is that the Washington elite have no idea what’s happening on main street USA anymore. They don’t know what it’s like for a person to stare down this economy, and feel the threat that their own retirement might go away. Congress doesn’t have the same retirement set-up that most American’s have. They put no money into Social Security.

That’s why I’m not sure if I’m going to vote. There’s no choice in this election. It’s either one big government candidate or another.

Football Future-see: Recapping Week 6

Record
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Week 6 .... 3-2
Overall .... 23-10

It seems that the Right Wing staff will never have a perfect week. We'll always miss a game somehow. This week we missed two, but I'm hoping we go 5-0 at least once this season.

Week 7 Games
(5)Texas at (1)Oklahoma
Nebraska at (7)Texas Tech
Tennessee at (10) Georgia
(13)Vanderbilt at Mississippi State
(4)LSU at (11)Florida

Random Points:

-The economy sucks...

-I've watched more election coverage, both through serious news, comic news, and through the lens of SNL and I've come to a conclusion. John McCain is a crippled, retarded war veteran, Sarah Palin is a moron who escaped the asylum where she shoots babies after mistaking them for moose, Joe Biden is everybody's lovable grandfather, and Barack Obama is Christ incarnate come to save us all. At least, that's the portrayals I keep seeing. I really don't think I'm going to vote at all.

-Baseball is in the playof... oh, who cares...

-The economy still sucks...

Veep Debate... yeah... well...

Okay, so last night Sarah Palin and Joe Biden squared off in their first and only debate as VP candidates. Oddly enough, the moderator of the debate, who is supposed to be a neutral party, has a book coming out soon entitled "The Age of Obama." Switzerland just called you a poser, I think.

Anyway, this was supposed to be the night Palin lost it all. I'm reading other online writings, and watching various news shows this morning, and I'm growing physically ill at the duplicitous nature of the liberal aspects of the media. When Nancy Pelosi won Speaker of the House, liberals were thrilled that a woman was third in line for the Presidency. Now that Palin is running for the number two spot, they're scared. Maybe they're only proud of liberal women.

Democrats for the last eight years have complained about Bush's lack of ability when it comes to public speech. Last night I felt that Palin was more down to Earth and Biden was reading a series of liberal talking points, and yet, people are now upset that she didn't go the stiff, numbers and stats only route.

The problem for Palin is this: she can NEVER do enough to satisfy anyone on the left. The fact that she's a woman and a Republican instantly gets under the skin of some. For years it's been assumed that women and minorities would always vote Democrat, and now that women are rising to positions of power on the right side of the aisle, the left is backing off of their previous desires for powerful women.

I heard one commentator last night say that Palin came to the stage desiring to reach out of the people, and she did just that. Biden came to the stage desiring to connect John McCain to George W. Bush as much and as often as possible. And he did just that. So which would be better for a country, a VP who tried to connect with the people, or a VP who does nothing but take pot-shots at the other candidate?

Oddly enough, I've seen about ten different online polls today saying anything from Palin won 80% to 20% to Biden won 51% to 49%. This is strange to me because the pundits on ABC and CNN last night were going out of their way to praise Biden as the be all end all Vice Presidential candidate. Honestly, you would've though Palin just stood there shaking on the stage and eventually throwing up the way these pundits were handing the victory to Biden.

From my perspective, Palin won the first half of the debate, and then Biden drew even with here at the end. It was a draw at best.

I try not to criticize my fellow bloggers, and Robert over at Skewed knows I have complete respect for his positions and beliefs. But I have to disagree, bud. Sure Palin didn't answer many questions they way you would want her to, if at all. But then again, Biden couldn't answer a single question about his future policies without saying something about the Bush administrations failures. He was wearing that like a badge of honor, which made it even funnier to me when Palin admitted that the administration had failed.

Like I say, it was a draw at best. Neither candidate drove their ticket forward, and neither candidate collapsed under pressure.

Football Future-see Week 6

I'm sick, so you'll forgive me if I don't go into a lot of detail...

Pittsburgh at (10) South Florida
South Florida is playing very well and Pittsburgh, after their stunning victory over West Virginia last season, has yet to find a true rhythm. Watch for Groethe to go all out against the Panthers.
Final Score: South Florida 37, Pittsburgh 10

Duke at Georgia Tech
GT is the closest school in proximity to UGA (who has an off-week). Therefore, the Jackets return to the FFS against Duke, who ran roughshod of Virginia last week. Tech is a different animal though. Their defense is ferocious.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 40, Duke 13

Kentucky at (2) Alabama
'Bama mauled Georgia for thirty minutes last week, but the Dawgs fought back and made the game somewhat respectable. The Crimson Tide is for real, as the UK Wildcats are going to find out this week.
Final Score: Alabama 35, Kentucky 14

(13) Auburn at (19) Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is good, but they've yet to be tested. Auburn has been tested, coming up just short against LSU and then knocking off Tennessee last week. The Tigers will win the war in the trenches in this game, but Vandy should keep it respectable.
Final Score: Auburn 28, Vanderbilt 21

(23) Oregon at (9) USC
USC looks for redemption against Oregon after dropping last week's contest to Oregon State. The Trojans will come out firing on all cylinders, and while Oregon is good, they'll fall to the Men of Troy.
Final Score: USC 31, Oregon 19

Rocked Like A Hurricane...

Well, it's Sunday. The weekend is almost over and work looms once more on the horizon. But this wasn't your normal, run-of-the-mill weekend.

This was GRE weekend.

For those of you not in the know, the GRE is the Graduate Record Examination. It is a test that, though not necessary for all grad schools, is definitely a help if you score high enough.

I decided about three weeks before graduation that I wanted to go to grad school. I knew it would take some time to save up money, so I talked to Robert and we decided to take the test in September. Robert entered what he called a monk-like study state. I took to the laid back approach, in an effort not to stress myself. As such, I felt the first pangs of nervousness the day before the test, after having spent months watching Robert yank his own hair out staring at math problems.

The day of the test, Friday, finally came and we made our way down to Athens and began the great "Where in the crap is Clark Howell Hall?" search of 2008. Turns out, the building was about 500 feet from where I first parked, and there was a parking deck across the street from it. Easy enough.

The test set-up is as follows: Fill out a form, in cursive, which I haven't written in cursive in about 15 years. Then go into a small room and take the test, leaving all your belongings behind in a locker. I signed a confidentiality form saying I wouldn't discuss the content of the test, so I won't. Let's just say it was quite avuncular.

The moment you finish the test, your verbal and quantitative scores are shown to you. Before these scores come up you're given the option to discard the results and act like the test never happened. I stared at that screen for the briefest of moments before deciding that I wanted to see my score. I hit PROCEED.

Verbal: 570
Quantitative: 570

That's right. 1140. My dad asked me how the test went later that evening and my reply was that I rocked it like a hurricane. I have no apprehension in sharing my score with people. I'm darn proud of it.

I finished the test a little before Robert and I waited on him outside. He wasn't happy with his score at first, but over time he calmed down and accepted it, noting it as an odd kind of reality check for his, as he called it, "ambitious ego."

Overall, I'm chalking it up as a good weekend. Sure, Georgia lost. But I made an 1140 on the GRE. I'll take that.

Football Future-see Week 5 Recap

Record
Week 1 .... 6-1
Week 2 .... 4-1
Week 3 .... 3-2
Week 4 .... 4-1
Week 5 .... 3-3
Overall .... 20-8

Well, week 5 was not our best week. The Right Wing prediction staff went 3-3, missing Clemson, Georgia, and Wisconsin. Our closest pick of the year so far came this week, though. We called South Florida to win 31-10, they won 41-10.

The new rankings are out and one thing seems peculiar to us here at the RW: Apparently USC losing to an unranked carries the same weight as (3) Georgia losing to (8) Alabama. Both teams dropped eight spots as a result of a loss. But apparently 8 was the magic number, as Florida lost to an unranked and dropped eight spots. Maybe it's just Georgia getting a bad shake.

Week 6 Games
Pittsburgh at (10) South Florida
Duke at Georgia Tech
Kentucky at (2) Alabama
(13) Auburn at (19) Vanderbilt
(23) Oregon at (9) USC

Football Future-see Week 5

Record
Week 1 …….. 6-1
Week 2 …….. 4-1
Week 3 …….. 3-2
Week 4 …….. 4-1
Overall …….. 17-5

Week five of the college football season will soon be upon us, and somehow
Southern Cal has only played twice, yet is number 1 in the nation. Georgia
went west and made a statement against Arizona State. I don’t entirely
understand how Georgia can play and win, and still drop in the polls, but
USC and Oklahoma can have a week off and maintain their spot at the
top. USC actually gained more first place votes by not playing than
Georgia did by laying 56 points on Central Michigan.

Anyway, this week is a little bit special, as the Right Wing is trying our
hand at six games instead of our usual five. Last week we went 4-1, and
that was because Florida State couldn’t come through for us against Wake
Forest.

Maryland at (20) Clemson
Maryland is one of those teams that, every year, they’ll find a way to
surprise you. Clemson has yet to play as good as advertized at the start
of the year. But this game is in Clemson’s Death Valley, which is
undoubtedly one of the toughest places in the nation to play if you’re the
road team. Maryland keeps it close for most of the first half, but look
for Clemson’s running game to wear down the Terrapin D.
Final Score: Clemson 37, Maryland 17

(9) Wisconsin at Michigan
Michigan looks bad. The Rich Rodriquez era is off to a terrible
start. And now the #9 Badgers come to the Big House. The Michigan student
section might want to stay in the dorms and study instead of watch as this
debacle unfolds.
Final Score: Wisconsin 41, Michigan 14

Tennessee at (15) Auburn
Auburn hung tight with LSU last week, so much that it took a masterfully
executed final drive for LSU to leave with the W. Now a much demoralized
Tennessee team comes calling on the Plains. UT has dropped games to UCLA
and Florida, while Auburn suffered their first setback of the season last
week. Watch the Auburn spread offense quickly wear out a Tennessee
secondary that gave everything last week and still couldn’t stop Florida.
Final Score: Auburn 28, Tennessee 16

(8) Alabama at (3) Georgia
Last year Georgia knocked off ‘Bama on the Dawgs first offensive play in
overtime. Georgia’s coming off a long travel weekend after taking down ASU
in the desert. The Crimson Tide rolled over a deflated Arkansas team,
putting up 49 on the Razorbacks. Trouble for ‘Bama is: this week they
play against a real defense. A defense that held the Sun Devils to 4 yards
rushing. ‘Bama’s D is good, but can their offense produce against
Georgia’s fast defenders?
Final Score: Georgia 28, Alabama 14.

(13) South Florida at NC State
NC State, after a 34-0 drubbing at the hands of South Carolina in week one,
is apparently trying to establish a reputation as a giant killer. Last
week they took down East Carolina, and now South Florida comes
knocking. South Florida has made us proud so far to have made them our
pick in the Big East. Look for the trend to continue.
Final Score: South Florida 31, NC State 10

(24) TCU at (2) Oklahoma
Oklahoma finally faces a challenge. TCU is a good team, and they’re
starting to get noticed. But Oklahoma is a good team as well, and now they
get an opportunity to prove it. The high-powered Sooner offense has put up
50 on pretty much everyone so far, but don’t look for that here. The
Horned Frogs Defense (that’s right the TCU Horned Frogs) is a pretty
stalwart bunch. (Get it, Frogs? Stalwart? Hah, I crack me up)
Final Score: Oklahoma 32, TCU 26

Football Future-see Week 4

Well, last week wasn't so good. We correctly predicted the winner in 3 out
of 5 games. Once again, the complete disarray that is the ACC presented us
with some problems. And Fresno State didn't come through against Wisconsin
like we thought they would.

And our upset alerts are going both ways this season. We correctly picked
South Florida knocking off Kansas, but we missed Fresno State.

This week we're picking a slate of games that could potentially go either
way. In other words, this is the hardest selection we've ever given ourselves.

(4) Florida at Tennessee
Florida had a week off to prepare for this game. In fact, I think every
SEC opponent that Tennessee plays this year gets a bye the week before
playing the Vols. It's like the schedule makers sought to get Fulmer fired
this time out. The Gators have one of the best offenses in the game, but
the defense is still somewhat suspect, given that their toughest opponent
has been Miami. UT is still reeling from the upset at the hands of
UCLA. Look for the Gators offense to take control during the second
quarter, and completely take the Neyland faithful out of the game by the
end of the third.
Final Score: Florida 42, Tennessee 16

Mississippi State at Georgia Tech
The Bulldogs of Mississippi State held the vaunted Auburn offense to a mere
3 points last weeks. Granted, Mississippi State was only able to muster 2
points (Auburn's offense was flagged for holding in the end-zone, which
results in a safety). Georgia Tech's football prowess has been come and go
this year. They trampled Jacksonville State, then barely upset Boston
College, then lost by a slim margin to Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech has a
very good defense, but their offense has yet to prove that they have
"staying" power. Possible Upset!
Final Score: Georgia Tech 16, Mississippi State 14

(3) Georgia at Arizona State
Georgia needs to win this game running away. They need a landslide
victory. After barely escaping South Carolina, the Dawgs dropped to #3 in
the AP Poll. Arizona State was upset by UNLV, a loss that dropped the Sun
Devils out of the Top 25. Stafford and Moreno are out to prove that
Georgia does have a strong offense, and the UGA defense should prove more
than adept at stopping the Sun Devil attack.
Final Score: Georgia 31, Arizona State 21

Troy at (13) Ohio State
After Ohio State's less-than-stirring performance against the USC Trojans
last week, it's very tempting to call for the Troy Trojans to take down the
Buckeyes this week. The problem for Troy is: Beanie Wells will probably be
healthy enough to play. Ohio State is a different team when Beanie
plays. The Buckeyes will look to re-assert themselves offensively. Close,
but Ohio State wins in the end.
Final Score: Ohio State 38, Troy 28

(18) Wake Forest at (24) Florida State
Wake Forest is easily the most balanced team in the ACC. I said "most
balance," not "best offense." So far, Florida State has wielded a strong
offense. QB Riley Skinner will bring the Demon Deacon offense into the
hostile territory of Tallahassee, looking to prove them belong atop the
ACC. Bobby Bowden is not yet ready to surrender his spot in the ACC's
upper echelon. Upset Alert.
Final Score: Florida State 28, Wake Forest 24

Football Future-see Recap

Record

Week 1..........6-1
Week 2..........4-1
Week 3..........3-2
Total ..........13-4

Week 4 Games
Troy at (13) Ohio State
Mississippi State at Georgia Tech
(4) Florida at Tennessee
(18) Wake Forest at (24) Florida State
(3) Georgia at Arizona State

Mixed Bag of Blogging

- I’m amazed by this. There’s a strange dichotomy playing out on the
liberal side of the aisle. Some people think that Sarah Palin is going to
eventually self-destruct. They say that the pressure of running a national
campaign will eventually cause her to buckle and implode. And yet, there’s
a faction that is doing anything and everything they can to crucify her
character. Supposedly she’s a weak running mate, and yet every machine the
Democrats have is turned toward her and firing on all cylinders to destroy her.

- Robert and I were talking the other day and we brought up the shared
bloodlust we had in the days and weeks following 9/11. Neither of us was
particularly proud of our actions and desires, but at the time we felt
justified as a nation. I can now remember what caused my blood to boil at
such a high degree. It was when the foreign news stations began rolling
footage of an Arab woman dancing and chanting in the streets as destruction
rained down in New York City. That made me mad. For as much ordinance as
we dropped during “shock and awe,” I never once saw an American in the
street dancing because of the destruction we were causing.

- The candidates today put aside politics to join each other for a memorial
ceremony at Ground Zero. While they decided to play nice, the media
machine was still hard at work. I saw on at least two stations a poll
asking: ”If another terrorist attack were to occur in the United States,
who would you be more comfortable having in office…” or something to that
effect. John McCain was winning this poll by a very easy margin. Nearly
two to one. Barack Obama’s leisure-like policy of discussion with
pre-condition might be starting to worry some folks.

- You know what we haven’t heard about in a long time? Global
Warming. This big, bad evil that was supposed to have killed all of us by
now has fallen by the wayside lately. Perhaps the fanatics have realized
that the planet goes through warm and cool cycles without man’s
intervention. Or perhaps only those who believe in man-made global warming
were affected by it. I just wonder… if we had lived at the end of the last
ice age, would the global warming activists had been so vocal and
outlandish in their protest when the planet began to warm up then?

- The New York Yankees are not going to make the playoffs for the first
time since 1994, I think. To hear Yankees fans talk, you’d think that the
Bronx Bombers were the worst team in the history of baseball. So you
didn’t make it this year… so what? You’re the Yankees. Spend about 700
million more dollars on team salary next year and you’ll be unstoppable.

-Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays look like a team of destiny. And oh yeah,
the Rays’ payroll is about 1/8th of what the Yankees are paying to one-half
of their infield. There’s a math problem for you, Robert.

- Back to politics for just a moment…
Apparently, the thought going around was that if New Orleans was hit by
another hurricane, it would effectively deliver the election into the hands
of Barack Obama. Well, New Orleans was narrowly avoided, it did suffer
some flooding though, and yet, the polls show the candidates essentially
tied. I really didn’t know that weather could affect your polls numbers if
you’re a Republican. I wonder why Democrat’s aren’t affected by weather.

Remembrance

Tuesday, September 11, 2001:

I’m in my third semester at Gainesville College. It’s a nice mid-week morning. The sun is shining. There’s a light breeze. I’m doing my normal morning thing. On the drive to school I listen to Neal Boortz. He’s on his usual rants. Then, as he goes to commercial, a breaking news report cuts in. This particular report states that a small plane has crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers.

I immediately get out of my car and go to the library, knowing that Fox News or CNN will have pictures of this, and while it’s a tragedy, my interest was definitely piqued.

As I pull up the picture I immediately know that it’s not a “small” airplane. I go to the librarian and tell her what’s going on. At this point, other people are finding out about it and one of my professors comes in the library and goes to the A/V Room and turns on the TV. As he changes the channel to CNN, the second plane hits.

Standing beside me is Matthew Lewis, a fellow student, a good friend of mine, and some vastly more learned than I at the time. He looks at me and tells me how badly Osama bin Laden has screwed himself this time. Of course, I have no idea who this Osama bin Laden character is.

We watch this for a moment more and I decide to go home. I tell my other professor for that day that I’m leaving. I’m still wandering about in a state of surreal shock. This was one of those things you never thought would happen.

When I get how I walk to my grandparents house next door. They, like pretty much everyone else in the country at the time, were watching the events unfold. As I walk in they ask me what’s happening. I tell them that I don’t know.

The phone rings, and it’s my mom calling from work. She says that they’ve heard about something terrible happening in New York. I say, “Yeah, two planes have…”

And that’s when the first building fell. We watched in a sort of stunned silence as the long minutes passed until the second tower went down.

I really don’t remember when I heard that the Pentagon had been hit. But I do recall that hearing that, more than anything else, made it hard for me to sleep that night. They could hit the Pentagon, of all places. That meant nothing was safe in this country anymore.

It wasn’t long after the towers fell that word became coming in about another plane down in Pennsylvania. I began to grow worried, because my house is under a direct flight path from one of the northeastern cities to Atlanta. I can literally go out and watch planes fly in single file going from the northeast to the southwest.

But for at least a week after September 11th, while all ground traffic was cancelled, there was an eerie silence in the air. That I remember.

Thursday, September 11, 2008:

Seven years have passed since that day. Airline flights have quite obviously resumed. I haven’t spoken to Matthew Lewis in about five and a half years. The Pentagon has been rebuilt.

We’ve gone to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

But the thing that bothers me most is the conspiracy theories. To this day I still get very ticked off listening to these people. History Channel Monday night ran a two-hour program of 9/11 conspiracy theories ranging from the believable (The Bush Administration knew the attacks would happen, just not exactly when) to the absolute crazy (George Bush ordered missile strikes against the Pentagon, and using a remote control flew the planes into the Twin Towers).

I don’t think about 9/11 everyday, but it still struck me as odd that I would have such a violent emotional response to these theories. After all, none of my relatives were in the towers or on the planes. I don’t personally know anyone who was in New York City or Washington that Tuesday morning. And yet, to hear people talk about these attacks as though they were nothing more than a duplicitous government inside job orchestrated from the highest levels angers me.

I have no love for the Bush Administration. I supported him when he first took office. And as the events of 9/11 unfolded, I hoped to see a leader take action. But now, after years of mismanaged war (mostly the responsibility of one Donald Rumsfeld) I’ve grown rather indifferent to the Bush Presidency.

Then this morning I watched the memorial ceremonies at Ground Zero, The Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA. And I was thankful. I was sad that so many had died. But my heart was lifted by knowing that, in the face of danger, and going against everything we've been taught to do in such a situation, the passengers of United Flight 93 took matters into their own hands.

They did what many others wouldn't. They gave up their lives to save others.
I know I won't soon forget.

Epic Fail? Yeah, it's Epic Fail...

You’ve heard the term before. You’ve seen the picture of Homer Simpson with a box of Corn Flakes, a carton of milk, and a bowl that’s on fire. You know that, if this conditions strikes, you’ll have absolutely no excuse.

It’s called “Epic Fail.”

Yesterday, I met up with Robert from Skewed to study for the math section of the GRE. We’re studying the math section because, frankly, we’re bad at math. Robert has a chain-smoking monkey with an abacus helping him. I think I’m using a pile of small stones at this point.

We met Ryan, the math genius of the group, for a little help. Ryan can do chaos theory, and even told me that they have fractals that prove the irrational numbers cannot be counted. I know my eyes glazed over at this point, and Robert picked up a nervous twitch that didn’t go away until the numbers were erased from the board.

Just to set the scene a little, the math lab has a clock with no numbers, only some very scary equations. That's really all I remember about the math lab, because I was very scared of the place.

The worst moment came when Ryan drew out a problem, and walked us through it. Robert nodded in agreement and went to take a drink of his coffee. I raised my hand, and then spoke one of the single most stupid sentences I believe I’ve ever said.

“Okay, the only thing I don’t get is how you did it…”

Robert very nearly spat coffee from his nose. Ryan began laughing uncontrollably, as was I. I had never intended the sentence to sound that way. I understood what Ryan had done; I just didn’t grasp the procedure. Ryan tried to say that he didn’t have the time to explain the proof to us, because it would take too long, but through the laughter all he could say was “I don’t have the time…” And I just had to cut him off with “…or the patience to deal with you two.”

I have to be honest; the math section of the GRE is looking very dangerous at this point. Simple equations I can do. Word problems I can handle. Geometry is going to be my downfall.

Thankfully, though, this unmitigated disaster of a foray into mathematics was off-set by the location.

Dahlonega is the most perfect town ever. It’s my spiritual place of Zen. It’s where I go to center myself. From the top of Crown Mountain down into the valley below is my sanctum sanctorum. It’s where I find peace.

It's the perfect spot on this planet. There's fantastic food. Wonderful scenery. A town square that most small towns would kill for. You can Times Square and Trafalgar Square, give me the Dahlonega Town Square any day of the week.

That said, the place looks even more beautiful after staring at math for three hours.

We're doomed, Robert. Doomed.

Football Future-see Week 3

Week three of the college football season is upon us, and from the first two weeks we've learned a few things:
1. Ohio State is a play-up/play-down team. They bring just enough intensity to match their opponent.
2. The SEC is, top to bottom, the absolute best conference in football.
3. Notre Dame looks like they might struggle again this year.
4. Michigan is still a year away from being an elite program once again.
5. East Carolina is for real.

We've also learned that the prognostication prowess still resides with the Right Wing. We've so far gone 10-2 in predictions.

Now, I give you Week 3...

(5) Ohio State at (1) USC
The first of what looks to be a couple of top five battles this year. Ohio
State looked bad against a vastly inferior Ohio, actually trailing for part
of the game before getting some half-way decent special teams play in the
fourth. USC has had a week off to prepare for the Buckeyes, and in the
end, rest beats a "prep game." Ohio State, though, has a tendency to
either play up or play down depending on the caliber of their opponent.
Final Score: USC 34, Ohio State 24

(13) Kansas at (19) South Florida
This is a tough call. I've been on the South Florida bandwagon all
year. But Kansas is a tough opponent, seemingly carrying over the magic
from last year. Matt Groethe's big test is this week, against a good
Jayhawk defense. Look for a good battle, but in the end, South Florida
pulls the "on paper" upset.
Final Score: South Florida 28, Kansas 26

(2) Georgia at South Carolina
Georgia enters conference play with a 2-0 record. South Carolina is 1-1
overall, 0-1 in the SEC. Georgia scored 45 in week one, then 56 in week
two. South Carolina shut out NC State in week one, then lost to Vanderbilt
in week two. South Carolina is in QB "Panic Mode" trying to find a
starter, and if Georgia's defense shuts down whoever QBs the Gamecocks this
week, expect two things to happen: 1) Darth Spurrier blows a gasket, and
2)DefConOne will ring out over SC's campus. Georgia has one of the better
QBs in the nation in Matthew Stafford. Lou Holtz admitted that he was
wrong in saying that Georgia was overrated. The Dawgs defense is scary
fast, and they will rule the field against SC's offense.
Final Score: Georgia 41, South Carolina 14

(10) Wisconsin at (21) Fresno State
Wisconsin looked bad out of the gate against Marshall, but that was before
they rang up 51 unanswered. Fresno State crossed the country and beat
Rutgers. Now a ranked team comes to their house. Wisconsin is still the
Right Wing's pick to reach the Rose Bowl, but they don't show all that
great here. Jet Lag will be the excuse, but the Fresno State Bulldogs will
out perform the Badgers just enough. If this game were in Camp Randall
Stadium, things might be different.
Final Score: Fresno State 27, Wisconsin 21

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech
The battle of unranked teams. Georgia Tech snuck past Boston College last
week and now goes into Blacksburg to take on a deflated VaTech, still
reeling from a loss to surprising East Carolina. Georgia Tech's defense
has looked fairly good so far, and the Yellow Jacket offense has averaged
30 points per game. The name of the game here, though, is defense. It'll
be a low scoring affair.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 21, Virginia Tech 14

Football Future-see Recap

Record

Week 1..........6-1
Week 2..........4-1
Total ..........10-2

Week 3 Games (with preview)

(2) Georgia at South Carolina
(13)Kansas at (19)South Florida
(5)Ohio State at (1)USC
(10)Wisconsin at (21)Fresno State
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech

The Faced That Launched Fear Into The Hearts Of A Thousand Democrats

She's an outsider. She's hasn't been corrupted by Washington. She's a
small town girl who made her way onto the political scene in one of the
most powerful energy-producing states in the Union. She's a former mayor,
and governor. She's a hockey mom with a child soon to deploy to Iraq.

And for some reason she is frightening to the left.
She is Sarah Palin, Republican Nominee for Vice-President of the United
States of America.

To get an idea of the level of fright and hatred this woman has inspired on the left, look no further than the covers of US Weekly. A few months back they ran a cover story featuring a lovely picture of Barack and Michelle Obama with the title "Why He Loves Her." Then, after Palin was announced as John McCain's VP candidate, and the news came to light that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, US Weekly ran a cover story with a picture of Palin and the headline "Sarah Palin: Babies, Lies, & Scandal."

Of course, no one has mentioned the fact that Obama's mother was a teenager
when she had him.


Sarah Palin is a reformer, also. And not just one in name only. Palin's first few acts as Governor of Alaska were to cut back the perks entitled to the highest office in the state. Perks that, of course, were paid for by tax-payers. Palin didn't bow to the pressure of the oil companies, either. Instead, she worked diligently to return power to the hands of the tax-paying populace, something the left seems to have forgotten about.

Obama and Biden have strove to evoke the spirit of Franklin D. Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, but they failed to realize that the Democratic Party is no longer the party of FDR or JFK. Sure, the name is still the same, but the ideals and convictions have changed. The Republicans have their own heroes to idolize, but unlike the Democrats, Palin actually seems more in line with the Reagan model of conservative politics.

Oddly enough, the candidate espousing "Change" as his message chose one of the longest-serving Senators as his running mate. The candidate who is supposedly "out of touch" with America chose a governor who is untouched by Washington politics as his. Joe Biden has been involved in the corruption, such as pork barrel spending. In at least one case, Sarah Palin refused such spending when Washington passed the memo along to Juneau.

Obama's message lately has been that a McCain-Palin administration would merely be another term for George Bush, because according to Obama, McCain votes with Bush 90% of the time. Here's a question that I have: Since when does the President get a vote in the Senate? That's right, he doesn't. And by the way, most Senate votes are unanimous. That means that if Obama and McCain vote on the same issue, then Obama is, in his own words, voting with George Bush.

Obama even mentioned that in the last 30 years Washington has done very little on energy production. His big point was that McCain had been in Washington for 27 of those years. He failed to mention that his running mate, Joe Biden, had been in Washington for all 30 of those years.

Sarah Palin called out Barack Obama by saying that, going back to his start in the Illinois State Senate to the present day, Obama has written two memoirs, but not a single piece of legislation or reform. Her best line turned Obama's own message against him. There are those who use change to promote their careers, and there are those who use their careers to promote change.

Obama mentioned raising taxes on the wealthiest people, typically the top few percent of wage earners, and while I agree that if you make more money you should pay more money, the wealthiest one percent is already paying more than ten percent of the tax burden. As Palin pointed out, under Obama's plan taxes would go up on this group. A large majority of the wealthiest one percent are business owners. If taxes go up on them, thus shrinking their profit margins, then they are forced to either downsize, or outsource in order to remain profitable. Yet, we're told that Obama's plan is good for America.

I'm not one hundred percent sold on Sarah Palin just yet, but it speaks volumes about her character that, at the moment McCain announced her as his running mate, the liberals in the media went into full attack mode, using anything and everything they could find to tear her down. Going so far as to attack her family, and causing their own nominee to say "Enough. Families are off limits."

I'm interested to hear why Palin scares them so much...

Football Future-see Week 2

Last week was an impressive opener for both college football and the Right
Wing prediction staff. We went 6-1, giving us a winning percentage
somewhere near .850. Not bad, considering we knew next to nothing about the
teams going in. Opening week was also special for us in that we predicted
7 games instead of our usual five.

The top 5 were impressive. Each team put up at least 40 points. USC
jumped Georgia for the top spot thanks to putting up 52 against a weak
Virginia team while Georgia played a Div II power in Georgia
Southern. Georgia went up 38-0, and then pulled all the starters, and most
of the second string, which allowed Southern to tack on 21 points over the
span of their final four drives.

But I’m kind of glad Georgia isn’t number 1 anymore. There’s a lot of
pressure associated with that spot, and with the injuries piling up, a
little relief is a good thing for the Dawgs.

Now, we get ready for week two, with our standard slate of five games.

Oregon State at (19) Penn State
Penn State annihilated Coastal Carolina, or was it Charleston Tech?, or it
might have been Carolina A&M… Anyway, the Nittany Lions pounded out 66
points against a vastly inferior opponent last week. This week they get
more of a test, mainly because Oregon State is an actual Division I team.
Final Score: Penn State 48, Oregon State 21

(8)West Virginia at East Carolina
East Carolina made a statement last week in taking down Virginia Tech. The
only problem facing the Pirates this week is that West Virginia is just
plain better than the Hokies. WVU is looking for another BCS run, while
East Carolina is eyeing a chance to bust the BCS party. Sadly, the Right
Wing doesn’t think that ECU has enough magic for two ranked opponent in two
weeks.
Final Score: West Virginia 37, East Carolina 24

Central Michigan at (2) Georgia
Central Michigan’s quarterback is supposedly one of the best “run-pass
threat” QBs in the nation. His only problem is that he plays for a
“directional” Michigan team. Georgia dropped to #2 in the AP Poll because
they decided to rest the starters and the second string after a 38 point
lead of Georgia Southern. Expect much of the same.
Final Score: Georgia 48, Central Michigan 20

Miami(FL) at (5) Florida
Ten years ago, maybe even five years ago, this would have been one of the
most compelling match-ups of the season. Now, it’s just another game for
Florida. Miami has lost much of its swagger and confidence when it comes
to big games. Remember, this team lost to Virginia 48-0 in the final game
in the old Orange Bowl. Last week Tebow and Company posted 56 points on an
overmatched Hawaii team. Look for Florida to dominate early, and often in
this one.
Final Score: Florida 51, Miami 21

Western Carolina at Florida State
Florida State was off last week, and they start their season with the
Catamounts of Western Carolina. Last year WCU went to Athens to play
Georgia and lost 45-16. They’re a good football team, when they stay in
their division. But Florida State, sad to say, could be the class of the
ACC this year… if given the chance. Seminoles Win, but I’d like to think
the WCU makes it respectable.
Final Score: Florida State 37, Western Carolina 20

Football Future-see Record

As a means of clarification on Football Future-see, I take my record from picking the winner correctly. The "predicted" Final Score is merely a way of having fun.

So this year, after every college football weekend, the Right Wing will update it's record. Week one was very good, except for one glaring miss (I'm looking at you Tennessee!)

Week One 6-1

Total 6-1

Games up-coming this week: (Note: the new AP rankings are not out yet, and the AP Poll is what the Right Wing follows)

Oregon State at (22) Penn State
(8)West Virginia at East Carolina
Central Michigan at (1) Georgia
Miami at (5) Florida
Western Carolina at Florida State

Football Future-see Returns

College Football fires up Thursday night. We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. It means one thing for the Right Wing:

The Return of Football Future-see
Opening Week Super-Sized Edition

Hawaii at (5) Florida:
The Warriors, coming off their best season ever, have lost their head coach, their quarterback, and their receiving corp. Now they start over in the Swamp, where Florida is looking to return to the glory of two seasons ago when they won the BCS National Title. Tebow might not be Superman, but the Hawaii defense isn’t exactly kryptonite, either. Florida wins, by a lot. Final Score: Gators 63, Warriors 17.

(24) Alabama at (9) Clemson (in Atlanta):
Pre-hyped as one of the better match-ups in week one, the Crimson Tide takes on the Tigers at neutral ground, the Georgia Dome. As an interesting aside, this game will draw more fans than each Falcons pre-season game combined. Clemson has one of the nation’s softest schedules. They’ve been hyped as a dark horse National Title contender. But Clemson has a history of choking in the spotlight. The Right Wing is calling it here. The Tigers leave week one with a loss. Clemson, go on upset alert. Final Score: Alabama 24, Clemson 21.

Georgia Southern at (1) Georgia:
For the first time in the history of history, the Dawgs start as #1 in both pre-season polls. The last time Georgia played Georgia Southern, UGA won 48-28. Look for much the same this time out. Georgia may have lost some players to injury, but GSU has suspended 8 players for this game, including their starting running back, effectively ending their hopes of winning. QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno lead a Dawgs offense that hung 40 points on Florida and Auburn and Hawaii last season. I don’t see the GSU defense being any better. Final Score: UGA 51, GSU 10.

(20) Illinois at (6) Missouri:
To me, this is one of the most intriguing week one games, only because Illinois is ranked far higher than I ever thought they would be. Illinois was crushed in the Rose Bowl they last time they took the field as a team. Missouri was a bit ticked at the end of last year when Kansas went to a BCS bowl and they didn’t, even though Missouri played for a conference title, and they play in the same division as Kansas. Missouri is so much better than Illinois, though, that the Fighting Illini really will looked overmatched in this game. Final Score: Missouri 31, Illinois 13

(3) USC at Virginia:
Virginia is trying, you have to give them that. They aren’t afraid to let the big boys come into their yard. At least, they aren’t afraid yet. Just wait. USC is coming off yet another Rose Bowl victory, and is already eyeing the National Championship. They might get caught looking ahead, though, to Ohio State. Maybe, just maybe. But probably not. Final Score: USC 41, Virginia 17.

(18) Tennessee at UCLA (Monday):
Monday Night College Football. Tennessee takes SEC-style football across the country to PAC-10 land. We keep hearing the question “Who is better: the PAC-10 or the SEC?” and you can’t answer that question by pitting Tennessee against UCLA. And this question comes up every year. And all we the fan get is a match-up like Tennessee/UCLA, or USC/Arkansas. At least in week three of this season we’ll get something a bit more definitive (UGA/Arizona State). I really don’t even think this one will be close. Final Score: Tennessee 38, UCLA 16.

Appalachian State at (7) LSU:
Appalachian State pulled off the biggest upset of the year, maybe of the century, last season when they went to Michigan and shocked Big Blue. This year, they come to SEC Country, where an LSU team awaits. LSU looks to be down a bit this year, and they’ve yet to settle on a Quarterback, but it won’t matter. AppState won’t do it again. Final Score: LSU 32, Appalachian State 18.

Jacksonville State at Georgia Tech (Thursday):
There are two reasons that this game appears on this list. 1. Georgia Tech is a local team, so to be fair I have to include them every now and then. 2. Jacksonville State might not have a lot of household value as a name, but they do have a quarterback, former LSU starter Ryan Perrilloux. Georgia Tech is an enigma team this season. They’ve got a new Head Coach. They have reloaded on both sides of the ball, so there isn’t exactly a scouting report on them. JSU puts a scare into Tech. Final Score: Georgia Tech 27, Jacksonville State 25.



Formula One Update:
Did anyone else see the race last weekend? Valencia was an absolutely gorgeous track, with very fins racing occurring on it. Felipe Massa took the win, but as Robert said, it was only because he got pole position and was never really challenged. Had Lewis Hamilton been a few seconds closer, Massa would likely have screwed up in some way.

And Kimi Raikkonen nearly killed half his pit crew by jumping the gun while refueling. To the best of my knowledge, the crewmen involved weren't too badly injured.

Also, Valencia is in Spain, home of Fernando Alonso, who, as it just so happened, crashed out on the very first lap of the race.