IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 3 Comments

by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

Toxic nepotism. Please make these two go away…

Starting Five

Open Mike

Reports are that a(other) billionaire New Yorker who grew up in Queens is planning to run for president in 2020: former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg.

When the news broke last night, it only took a few moments for the “OK, B(l)oom(b)er(g)” meme to kick off. Myself, I’m all for it. I wish he would have run in 2016. As this city’s mayor, Bloomberg improved the greatest city in North America in innumerable ways. And he did it without attempting to be a demagogue or a social cause. He just rolled up his sleeves and did the work.

After the disaster and embarrassment and corruption of Donald Trump, there are worse things to be than a pragmatist with an incomparable track record. I Like Mike.

Billionaire Bashing

You see, Baker Mayfield, this guy DOES deserve to wear a handlebar mustache

This seems to be the new popular pastime on Twitter. And as a potential billionaire, we at MH take offense…

Seriously, though, let’s begin with the fundamentals (I used to assume that everyone knew the fundamentals, then Joey Galloway said on live TV last weekend that 72 divided by 2 is 34 so now, not so much anymore): a billion dollars is $1 million times one thousand. Most of us would be overjoyed to have $1 million. Now multiply that by 1,000.

Okay, so in 2010 there were 404 billionaires in the U.S.A. Today there are 607 billionaires in the U.S., according to U.S. News, an increase of just more than 50%. Something is happening that is accelerating the rate of growth of wealth among the .05% while the rest of us continue to wallow in the mire.

Is this fundamentally unethical? Is someone to “blame?” Is there any reason those who have less should be openly hostile to those who have so, so much more? I dunno.

With a net worth north of $111 billion, Jeff Bezos is the world’s wealthiest man (related: he did it himself; also related: a full head of hair is priceless)

I’m of the opinion that the government has rarely demonstrated any responsibility when it comes to spending our tax dollars so I’d rather see billionaires be philanthropic of their own accord (the Bill Gates model) as opposed to overly taxing them. I also feel that if I had that much money I’d feel somewhat guilty knowing how many people suffer day in and day out while I have so much more than I’ll ever need. I’d like to think there’d be an empathy factor. Finally, I’m of the opinion that many (I’m not sure if I’d say most, but many) billionaires are truly exceptional people (save those who inherited their wealth) who at some point in their lives demonstrated an exceptional talent in one area of skill or had a truly revolutionary idea that helped change the world (granted, for better or worse).

But right now, on social media, a lot of the backlash towards billionaires sounds to me like sour grapes. It would be great if tomorrow every person worth even just $1 billion announced they were giving away half their wealth to improve a school district or buy the New York Jets. And some have or do, because you can still get by on $500 million. But simply leeching off billionaires as a society as if they are to blame for what you do not have, something about that seems a little off and, well, whiny to me.

Okay, Susie B., pull the ripcord…

The Bama Bowl

The latest “Game of the Century”, to take place Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa, is not. Not even with a president in attendance. It’s No. 2 LSU vs. No. 3 Alabama and many intelligent people have noted that if you’re going to put Penn State (4) above Clemson (5), then why not put both ahead of Alabama…particularly when both Clemson and Alabama have the same toughest foe/best win to date: Texas A&M.

Dig: The Tide have beaten LSU eight straight times since losing the touchdown-deprived “Game of the Century” to the Tigers in November of 2011, 9-6. It’s pretty unwise to bet against them most of the time and Nick Saban, except when attempting game-winning field goals from beyond his kicker’s range, is pretty tough to beat.

It’s early, of course, and so much can happen but we believe that the loser of this showdown between 8-0 squads will not advance to the playoff. If Oregon or Utah win out or if Oklahoma wins out, we think they’ll be a more attractive option to the playoff committee than a second SEC team who already lost its biggest game of the year to an SEC team. Would Vegas favor Alabama or LSU over Oregon, Utah and Oklahoma. Probably, yes. Does that mean that’s how the playoff should work? For us, no.

So it’s not the Game of the Century, but it’s most likely a knockout game. How effective will Tua Tagovailoa be? We don’t know.

Meanwhile, BREAKING NEWS: Ohio State defensive end Chase Young, whom many (raises hand) consider to be the most outstanding player in college football, will sit out tomorrow’s game versus Maryland. Young may be facing an indefinite suspension beyond Saturday due to something that occurred in 2018. Remember, the Buckeyes are currently No. 1 in the SelCom rankings.

Story unraveling by the minute. Stay tuned.

The annual preemptive retirement of an All-World Ohio State defensive end (Nick Bosa last season, now this): a tradition like no other.

Debt Relief

Watching this you can’t help but wonder if Rhys thinks to himself, If only I attended a more expensive college.

Five Films: 1951

No, A Streetcar… did not make the cut because I don’t remember enjoying myself much watching it. A Place In The Sun came thisclose as did The Day The Earth Stood Still and Cinderella (we haven’t really done right by animation or Abbott & Costello films thus far; apologies).

Ava Gardner wearing your mom’s drapes
  1. The African Queen Strangers On A Boat (See No. 3) It took until 1951 for Hollywood to finally say, “Hey, he’s the greatest living actor and she’s the greatest living actress—let’s put them in a film together.” This is an African adventure as well as one long and well-scripted metaphor. “Oh, Mister Allnut…” 2. An American In Paris Gene Kelly’s signature film and introducing Leslie Caron as the lover interest/dance partner. Man, did he have all of the tools. Best Picture winner. 3. Strangers On A Train One of Hitchcock’s weirdest, with a premise so simple and yet so dark. Robert Walker as Bruno is wonderfully creepy and psychotic and today we’d probably suggest he’s also gay 4. Ace In The Hole Billy Wilder’s savage takedown of tabloid mass media stars Kirk Douglas as a disgraced big-city reporter out to find redemption 5. Showboat Ava Gardner in the role that Lena Horne was born to play, but there are few, if any, better title tunes: maybe only Julie Andrews’ opener in a later film outdoes this one and even then I’m not so sure.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 4 Comments

by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

NBA officiating has gotten truly lax, but still not yet this lax. We wonder if Bledsoe did this on a dare.

Starting Five

Massacre In Mexico

What happened?

It appears to be something out of an episode of Breaking Bad. In northern Mexico, along the north-south border of the states Chihuahua and Sonora (the boundary roughly coincides with that between Arizona and New Mexico), a convoy of three sport-utility vehicles carrying Mormon women and children was traveling in a remote area.

Now, unfortunately for them, a shootout between two rival gangs had taken place not long before and nearby. And there’s a good chance that one of the gangs identified this caravan of SUVs as carrying members of the other gang. So the caravan came under attack.

Six children and three women, all members of the same family (we might refer you to read Under The Banner Of Heaven at this point), were killed. At least four children were permitted to flee, which suggests the gunmen may have realized their mistake and for some reason showed mercy. The vehicle above appears to have incinerated from a gunshot that struck the gas tank.

The important thing is that nothing will change. Drugs will still be trafficked illegally, the cartels will continue to exist, the DEA will fight a losing battle, your local stoner or cokehead will not consider him- or herself part of the problem (nor will pols who continue to demonize these drugs but not opioids or hard liquor), and innocents will be caught in the crossfire. Hooray, capitalism!

Cole-Powered Tar Heels

Last night North Carolina freshman guard Cole Anthony, the son of former NBA’er Greg, scored 34 points in his college debut as the Heels ran away from Notre Dame in the second half and won by 11. That mark, 34 points, is the most ever by a UNC freshman in his debut. This at a school whose alumni include Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Bobby Jones, Vince Carter, Tyler Hansbrough, Jerry Stackhouse, Billy Cunningham and Phil Ford.

We watched the second half. The 6’3″ Anthony, who grew up in New York and attended high school in Queens, didn’t look so much like an unstoppable force as he did a dude who can bury the open jumper and has lots of energy (he also finished with a team-high 11 boards). Pops was in the house to watch.

“OK, Boomer”

Here’s where the “OK, Boomer” phenomenon began. Green party MP Chloe Swarbrick was speaking in the New Zealand parliament about a zero-carbon emissions rate when at least one of her middle-aged colleagues began heckling her. She immediately cut him down with this comment.

(I assume it’s a him. C’mon.)

Mary Cain’s Odyssey

We’ve always liked Mary Cain, since we first wrote a piece on her when she was in high school back in 2012. We liked that her name was two cosmically polar opposite figures from the New and Old Testament, respectively. We liked that though she never quite looked the part, she was the fastest American teen female middle-distance runner since another Mary, Mary Decker. Cain set high school records in the 1,000, 1,500, 3,000, 2-mile and 5,000, most of which she still holds. And we liked that she was highly intelligent—a straight-A student— and had an ebullient personality.

Then it all changed. Instead of signing with any college she might’ve wanted, the Bronxville, N.Y., native, the daughter of a physician, signed a professional contract with Nike and moved 2,900 miles west to Portland to train under Alberto Salazar. It all went horribly south from there and Cain never discussed the details of how or why.

Until now.

In a video opinion piece in The New York Times, Cain discusses what happened to her once she fell under the tutelage of Nike Oregon Project czar Alberto Salazar (who has been banned from the sport for 4 years). I always thought it was a mistake for Cain to bypass college. She was built for the college environment, athletically, academically and culturally. It’s a small tragedy that she bypassed it. It’s a crime what Salazar and Nike did to her.

Five Films: 1950

Hello, Norma Jean

It was a very good year. In fact, TCM’s Eddie Mueller suggests it was every bit as good as 1939. We’ll leave you to judge.

  1. All About Eve: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night. This Bette Davis classic, with a cameo from a very young Marilyn Monroe, crackles with the best dialogue since Casablanca (written and directed by Joe Mankiewicz, Ben’s great-uncle). 2. Sunset Boulevard: Like the film ahead of it, another dark-side-of-Hollywood tale with yet another unforgettable line (“Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup“) 3. The Asphalt Jungle John Huston directed this nourish thriller; think Ocean’s 11 set not in Vegas and not for fun. Another Marilyn Monroe at-the-outset-of-her-va-va-voom-dom movie. 4. Rashomon: We had this Akira Kurosawa classic DVR’ed and watched it last night in order to avoid, um, reader harassment. So, yeah, it’s a film school essential and the film that inspired the Academy to begin handing out Best Foreign Picture Oscars. 5. Annie, Get Your Gun: A musical based on a terrific song by Squeeze that would come out about 35 years later. No?

*****

Eighty-Six Happiness note: We served Kenneth Langone, co-founder of Home Depot yesterday. Very down-to-earth guy. You’re wondering: he tipped well. Not exorbitant, but well.

*****

Good line from Seth Meyers’ comedy special: “I’m not Jewish but given my name and how I look and behave, I’m Jewish enough. In fact, that’s the only religion where you can sort of be thought to have assimilated by other factors. That’s also why it’s the only religion that ends in “-ish.”

Music 101

Falling Slowly

This is precisely the moment you know you’re going to fall in love with the film Once. That’s Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. From 2007. The tune would deservedly win the Oscar for Best Original Song.

Remote Patrol

Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland Raiders

8 p.m. Fox

I won’t be watching, but you may want to. In which one franchise that foolishly relocated to Los Angeles faces another that once made the same mistake, only to relocate back to its original California city home, only to then decide to pack up and re-relocate to Las Vegas before long. And they’re both going to be wearing obnoxious color-rush uniforms. Idontcare.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 3 Comments

by John Walters

Starting Five

Lev And Let Die

In the past 48 hours everyone’s first or second favorite Ukrainian henchman, Lev Parnas, is cooperating with impeachment investigators. So you have to wonder how many hours or days it will be before Lev “hangs himself” in jail. Meanwhile, ABC correspondent Amy Robach, who is married to Andrew Shue (the cute but dumb one from Melrose Place) was caught on a hot mic basically saying that Jeffrey Epstein was murdered.

I agree with you, Amy.

Finally, Gordon Sondland, the Trump donor from Oregon with no foreign affairs experience who was then thrust into the role of ambassador to the European Union and put in charge of affairs with Ukraine, which is NOT in the European Union, but follow along, kids, this is The Worst Wing, after all…even he, EVEN HE, is turning against Trump.

In testimony to the impeachment inquiry, Sondland admitted that he recognized Trump’s maneuver with Ukraine to be “illegal” and always assumed it was a quid pro quo offer.

Meanwhile, Lindsey Graham has decided to put his head in the sand and told reporters that he will refuse to read the testimony. One can see that Graham, his fellow Republicans in Congress and a helluva whole lot of Americans brandishing red baseball caps simply refuse to shave with Occam’s Razor (i.e., the simplest solution is usually the correct one, i.e, either everyone is making up tales about Trump, or you know, Trump is).

Clemson’s On The ROY Bus

The initial College Football Playoff rankings were released last night, and they’re essentially meaningless, since the top four teams—Ohio State, LSU, Alabama and Penn State—are already set up as semifinal games this month. That is, LSU visits Bama on Saturday and Ohio State hosts the Nittany Lions on Nov. 23rd.

The minor surprise is that defending national champ Clemson, which has scored at least 52 points in four of its eight wins, is fifth. The Tigers have the 65th-toughest schedule in the land, however, and it’s not about to get more difficult. If Dabo’s Demons continue on to 13-0, they’ll be in. But playing Wofford AND Charlotte won’t earn you any respect.

La La Lanes

Oh, and my quasi-hometown of Phoenix is making the same error. And why is this happening? Because developers gonna develop (and there’s big money in it for both them and the pols who okay the zoning) and then they need a way to accommodate the influx.

This is why I hope everyone visits the Hamptons at least once in their lives. Those city fathers flat-out refuse to expand the main road beyond one lane in either direction. The result is massive traffic snarls on weekends but also it’s an impetus for many to stay away, and that keeps everything there manageable. It’s not just a coincidence that these are some of the wealthiest people in the U.S.A. They know what’s up. And how to handle it.

And Now A Word About Executive Pay…

Yesterday morning I saw a quote from hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones, who was speaking at the Greenwich Economic Forum: “How many employees do we have not making a living wage relative to what I’m paying the CEO? Hopefully we begin asking that in every damn boardroom.”

Before proceeding, let’s just put it out there that Jones himself is a billionaire.

Anyway, I sent this quote out into a group chat with some old friends who know my feelings about executive pay. And basically, they are this: Yes, the CEO should make the greatest wage at a company, but unless he’s the guy who actually founded the company or invented the product, there’s no reason for him to be earning between 50 to 100x that of the average employee salary.

Anyway, I sent that quote out and one response, from an entrepreneur who is a self-made success, was, “Maybe I’m just becoming cynical, but it sounds like Paul Tudor Jones may be considering a future in politics.”

Maybe, but it also sounds as if Jones is onto something ethical, too. I imagine when Abraham Lincoln proposed freeing the slaves that a few detractors pointed out that he would be able to count on the black vote going forward.

LeBron is the product, not the CEO

Another respondent, well aware of my being a sportswriter, used the old “How do you justify paying athletes so much?” argument, which is incredibly lame, a straw man, and also shows a fundamental lack of understanding. Getting past what pro athletes actually earn for a moment, the analogy between LeBron James and a CEO is inherently flawed because LeBron is not the CEO, he is THE PRODUCT. LeBron, or any pro athlete, is analagous to the Tesla, not to Elon Musk; to the Popeye’s chicken sandwich, not the CEO of Popeye’s.

No one buys a ticket to a Laker game because of Jeannie Buss. They buy one because of LeBron (and Anthony Davis). So that analogy is flawed.

Yet another friend, who operates a small business that would not exist without his expertise (which he acquired through four years of strenuous graduate school studies), said of executive pay, “It’s just the system.” Sounds like the title of a Bruce Hornsby song I remember, and you may remember what that song dealt with.

Now, let’s say that the CEO of a publicly traded company earns $5 million annually (most earn much more) and that the average salary among employees is $50,0000. That means he earns 100x the average. I proposed to my friend that if he earns $500,000 annually he certainly could not propose to his small staff that they each earn $5,000 (also a 100x difference) per annum or he’d have no more staff.

So what is the difference here? Scale. The large company makes a lot more revenue so they can still do the 100:1 ratio, but here’s the important thing: what the company is paying its average staffers isn’t exactly a fair wage, it’s the very lowest they can pay them without these workers saying “Take this job and shove it.”

And there are some very sinister ramifications to such a wage. First, the staffers have little ability to save money and thus create a better life for themselves in the future. Second, if they are married it means that both parents will likely have to work, which means that the development of the children will also suffer.

But mostly, there’s simply no justification to that salary. McDonald’s fired its CEO, Steve Easterbrook, this week due to a “consensual” relationship with an underling at the company. Is Easterbrook’s dismissal going to affect your decision to visit the drive-thru for a quarter pounder this week? Nope. But if LeBron left the Lakers, that would probably impact attendance or ticket prices.

CEOs should be rich. Sure. But just how rich? It’s flat-out unethical to be paying one man a king’s ransom while thousands of others are being paid a wage that allows them to barely scrape by. And let’s not pretend that the only people who might know how to run a business are grads of Wharton or Harvard MBA. If you think that, you may want to watch The Wire.

Even I, a dumb sports journalist, did okay with my one major entrepreneurial experience. I put in less than $20,000 of my own money to self-publish a book and through a little ingenuity and common sense made better than a ten-fold return. Running a business is simply good common sense and a lot of hard work and attention to detail. The idea that someone in that position deserves to be paid 100x that of the people who actually make the widgets is asinine. And arrogant.

Five Films: 1949

  1. White Heat It’s Jimmy Cagney, see, and he’s a tough guy, see, he’s a gangster, and he’s gonna plug you coppers full of lead. With Virginia “Hold The” Mayo. 2. Adams’ Rib: Comic classic with Tracy and Hepburn as spouses and lawyers. One of their best together.
  2. 3. On The Town Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra on shore leave again this time in New York, New York (a helluva town, the Bronx is up and he Battery’s down, the people ride in a hole in the ground) 4. She Wore A Yellow Ribbon John Wayne directed by John Ford in Monument Valley. And a love triangle. 5. In The Good Ol’ Summertime Judy Garland and Van Johnson in a musical remake of The Shop Around The Corner which would later be You’ve Got Mail. That baby in the final shot is Liza Minnelli.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 1 Comment

by John Walters

Starting Five

Sweet Home

The president intends to travel to Tuscaloosa to watch No. 1 LSU play at No. 2 Alabama on Saturday afternoon and if you are wondering why, remember where this photo was taken in 2015. Donald Trump was booed at the World Series in Washington, D.C., and he was booed at a UFC in Madison Square Garden last Saturday, but he likely won’t achieve the sports boo trifecta when he visits Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Now here’s something to chew on, when considering Tuberville’s tweet. The former Auburn coach would likely concede that “the liberals up north” are more educated while emphasizing that the SEC has much better football. And he’d be right.

But the SEC only has the best college football programs in America because it takes advantage of being in the backyard of the richest crop of football talent in America: namely young, rural, under-educated African-Americans. Now what would happen on Saturday if every African-American player on both Alabama and LSU opted to sit out of the game in protest of Donald Trump’s presence? Suddenly you’d have something looking very much like Northwestern at Rutgers.

And what would that do to MAGA-merica’s inflated image of itself, built on college football prowess and yet actually on the sweat and labor, mostly, of young men whom it would want nothing to do with in any setting outside of Saturday afternoon or evening? The aura, in other words, in which MAGA-football enjoys enveloping itself is really a false narrative.

It won’t happen, but what if it did?

Cat-Life Stadium

A rogue kitty scampered across the field at Met-Life Stadium during the Cowboys-Giants game last night, marking the first intriguing moment in Monday Night Football since the introduction of the Boogermobile. You have to wonder how many fantasy teams the cat finds itself on this morning. Also, can it play quarterback for the Jets?

I Like To Rock

This is the one-ton “Wizard Rock,” which sits in Arizona’s Prescott National Forest off State Route 89. Last week it mysteriously vanished (or someone with a crane and a big ass truck took it) and then yesterday it magically reappeared. And that’s today’s lost-and-found mineral news.

He Who Rips Others Also Rips…

https://twitter.com/BackAftaThis/status/1191370941256871940?s=20

The biggest controversy is sports radio yesterday: Did WFAN’s Mike Francesa fart on-air? The alleged gas passing takes place at about :18 here. You be the judge.

The fun part is that The Daily News quickly turned around a story on the incident and then, once apprised of it, Francesa devoted about five minutes in denial of such. This is PEAK sports radio, folks.

Is this our second “To Air Is Human” item in as many days?

Sun-sational Start

First, the Phoenix Suns whiffed by passing on Luka Doncic in favor of Deandre Ayton last year (Ayton’s good; Doncic will be a Hall of Famer). Then they fired their coach. Then they traded down and passed on the likes of Coby White in favor of his teammate Cameron Johnson (again, a good player but a lesser talent). Then Ayton was suspended for 25 games for use of a diuretic.

All bad, right? Wrong. First-year coach Monte Williams has a team of one legit All-Star, Devin Booker, and a cast of cast-offs at 5-2 after they defeated the previously unbeaten Philadelphia 76ers (minus Joel Embiid) last night. The Suns also have already beaten the Los Angeles Clippers, too.

Williams has the Suns believing

Booker had 40 last night and his supporting cast includes Kelly Oubre, Ricky Rubio, Frank Kaminsky, Aron Baynes and Dario Saric. And yet Williams has this group playing together. I don’t understand it, either. But the Suns just went three games over .500 for the first time since in more than four seasons.

Next up? The Eastern Conference-leading (now that Suns knocked off Philly) Miami Heat on Thursday.

By the way, Booker has already gone over 6,000 points in his career and he’s still only 23 years old.

Five Films: 1948

Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda
  1. Key Largo: Bogey, Bacall and a very dapper and evil Edward G., as opposed to Eugene, Robinson. 2. Johnny Belinda: A deaf girl, a rape, and a Nova Scotian fishing village. The exterior landscape shots underscore the ravaged wilderness that is inherent in the tale. Unforgettable 3. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre: More Bogey and of course, “Badges? We don’t need no stinking’ badges!” 4. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House: Myrna Loy finally got sick of playing William Powell’s wife and trades him in for Cary Grant. Upgrade (but not by much). 5. Rope: There are three, by our count, Hitchcock films that take place almost entirely inside one apartment. This was the first. The others? Dial M For Murder and Rear Window.

Music 101

Late For The Sky

The title track from Jackson Browne‘s 1974 album that has been hailed “a masterpiece” by many (though casual fans will recognize no songs on the album). And this give us an excuse to add Bruce Springsteen inducting Browne into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (“Meanwhile, Jackson is drawing more women than an Indigo Girls show”). As good as Bruce is at everything else he does, he’s the best Hall of Fame induction speaker.

Remote Patrol

College Football Selection Show

9 p.m. ESPN

Clemson may be 4th in tonight’s rankings, but the Dynamite Dabos are the prohibitive favorite among these four to be in the playoff

Preceded by Kansas versus Duke in a sterile NBA arena setting (7 p.m., MSG), this will be kinda fun and yet we all know the big match-ups remain on the horizon. LSU, Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson will be in the top four in some order, then Penn State will be fifth. The Tigers and Tide will meet this week and then the Nittany Lions will visit Columbus on Nov. 23 (Penn State also visits 8-0 Minnesota this weekend; who knows, maybe the Fighting Flecks will surprise us).

When the dust from those two (3) games settles, you’ll likely have the winners of those two games, plus Clemson and the loser of the Tiger-Tide matchup in the Top 4. But Bama must still travel to Auburn and Ohio State to Ann Arbor and if you don’t think an upset will happen in either game, you must be new to the sport.

Then there’s conference championship game weekend. The season’s just getting started, really.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 1 Comment

by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

Tyreek Hill is basically at a dead stop at the 40 and his teammate 10 yards ahead when he begins chasing him. And now you see why so many teams are able to overlook his off-field “issues.”

Starting Five

Passing The Torch

Two potentially landmark games this past weekend—time will tell—in the NBA and NFL that saw a next-generation star challenge the greatest player of his generation. In the NBA, Luke Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks took LeBron James and the Lakers to overtime before succumbing. In the NFL, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens completely outplayed Tom Brady and the Patriots and handed them their first “L” in nine games. Only the 49ers remain unbeaten.

(Dude on the left was taken with the first pick in the first round and dude on the right was taken with the last pick of the first round. Scouting!)

The lines from the hoops game were both triple-double. Luka went 31, 13 and 15 while LeBron went 39, 12 and 16. Sounds as if both were amped for this one.

Has Michigan Found Its Mojo?

We still hate the white road trousers, though

As we printed in “The Bubble Screen”, and I quote: “It was a weekend for fans of Justin Timberlake as the top three ranked teams went “bye bye bye” and “College GameDay” made its first pilgrimage to J.T.’s hometown of Memphis. Florida got jobbed on a crucial video review miss while Georgia fans said, “Cry me a river.” And is Jim Harbaugh bringing sexyback to Michigan football in time for November showdowns in Ann Arbor versus Michigan State and Ohio State?

So let’s talk Michigan. At halftime in Happy Valley two weeks ago the Wolverines trailed 21-7 and it looked as if their whole season, if not Jim Harbaugh’s tenure, was headed sideways. Since then MGoBlue has outscored opponents 97-28 and while they lost that Penn State game, found themselves. They’ve crushed Notre Dame and Maryland on consecutive Saturdays.

What’s coming up? Home games in Ann Arbor versus Michigan State and the team we feel is the best in the land, Ohio State. Harbaugh is 0-4 against Ohio State and the Wolverines are 1-14 versus Ohio State since 2003. Is The Game suddenly looking like it might be a close one (last year the Buckeyes walloped the Wolverines in Columbus, 62-39)

You Deserve A Break Today

McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook is stepping down after admitting a “consensual” relationship with a fellow McDonald’s employee. There is now a sign outside Easterbrook’s home that reads “Over 1 Served.”

To Air Is Human

This is the smog situation in New Delhi, India, right now. When we spent a month in Beijing in 2008, we often saw days like this (and it depressed the hell out of us, I gotta say). India and China are the two most populated nations in the world. Any questions?

Conan The Destroyer

We’ll say it: It’s refreshing to see someone named Conan be funny again.

Five Films: 1947

  1. The Bishop’s Wife: Set in London, Cary Grant is an angel who’s come down from heaven to inspire a minister (David Niven) and help his lovely but neglected wife (Loretta Young). A Christmas classic. 2. Out Of The Past Fantastic film noir starring Robert Mitchum (as a good guy with a shady past!), Jane Greer and Kirk Douglas 3. Black Narcissus We’ve never seen but it stars Deborah Kerr as a nun (most of her characters possessed this quality) and takes place in the Himalayas 4. Miracle On 34th Street Another Christmas classic. 5. Gentleman’s Agreement The year’s Best Picture winner starring Gregory Peck and dealing with anti-Semitism on a social class level. Was this the original “woke” film?

Music 101

Rhinestone Cowboy

There’s been a load of compromisin’/On the road to my horizon/But I’m gonna be where the lights are shining on me...

Is there an artist in the music business who cannot relate to that lyric? Glen Campbell had a monster hit with this song in 1975, and deservedly so. It hit No. 1 on both the pop and country charts. The tune was written a year earlier by Larry Weiss, who did not have much success with it. Campbell heard it while on tour in Australia and decided to learn it. Weiss, by the way, would later perform the theme song for “Who’s The Boss?”

Meanwhile, if you go see Bruce Springsteen’s new film, Western Stars, he covers it at the end of the film. Beyond symbolic. We changed our mind and decided to put it below. You can feel the years of experience in every word the Boss spits out.