The End Is Near.........

Here's another sign that the apocalypse is near - In the Sunday paper there was a coupon for Cesar dog food's new product - breakfast food! Oh, excuse me - "Canine Cuisine!" Are you kidding me???!!! Yes, now your dog can nosh on "Grilled Steak & Eggs Flavor in Meaty Juices," "Chicken & Cheddar Cheese Souffle in Meaty Juices," or "With Smoked Bacon & Egg in Meaty Juices." Oh my, how fancy, and...... absolutely RIDICULOUS! As if a dog has a discriminating palate! The last I knew, dogs will eat just about anything, anywhere. Will the dog who eats dog bone crumbs off the dirty garage floor really be able to differentiate (or actually really care!) about what is fed to him in the morning. I think not! Hmmm, the next thing you know, they'll be demanding Sunday brunch!

And then there were......

Well, that's hard to say. I've still got a couple of hockey teams to follow, but the Maineiacs and the Fighting Irish are done. The Maineiacs were swept in their playoff series, but they did announce that they're coming back. Forgive and forget??? Well, probably. The Irish got knocked out of the NCAA's in the first round, a disappointment, but they had such an excellent season, that it's hard to be too disappointed. There are still the Bruins, Pirates, and the Steel to root for.

March Madness continues its March. The Fighting Irish women were done early on as were the Lady Vols. Sigh. The Fighting Irish men are still alive in the NIT ("Not Invited Tournament"), so that's a bright spot. The NCAA's have been pretty exciting. I've been rooting for the Big East and they have two teams in the Final Four. It would be great if it ended with 'Nova and UConn facing each other in the finals.

At the end of hockey and college basketball seasons, I'll be going into hibernation. Oh, I'll watch baseball, but much of the summer it's just too darn hot to care. Bring on the Fall weather with football, basketball, and hockey anew. Yeah!

The Madness continues....

Wow, another day of great games. First and foremost, Notre Dame's hockey team has won both the regular season and tournament in the CCHA. They beat Michigan 5-2, scoring 5 consecutive times. Way to go, boys! Now it's off to the NCAA's. Go Irish!

As happened yesterday, the NCAA saved the most dramatic "Big Dance" games for last. The 'Zags and Duke win in fine fashion. At least the games didn't go past midnight tonight. After watching yesterday's games, I was still wide awake at 2 AM.

There is one down note to report. The Lewiston Maineiacs lost their second straight playoff game to Drummondville. Tonight's score -- 10 to 1. That means that the Maineiacs have been outscored 22 to 3 in two games. Wow, that has to be some sort of a playoff record for Junior hockey or at least the Q. That doesn't bode well for Tuesday and Wednesday. There won't be much of a crowd at the games, especially since a lot of people are still miffed at Lewiston's management. They'll have some pretty big fences to mend if they intend to come back to Lewiston next year.

Economics - Let's get real!

This morning I was listening to a radio broadcast of the Today Show. They did a feature about Countrywide Mortgage and mortgage fraud. They made an example of a woman who purchased a $200K plus condo. Someone falsified her mortgage application so that she would qualifiy for a 100% mortgage. What is so stunning about this is not just the fraud but that the woman entered into a mortgage that had a payment of more than her monthly income! Hello! Reality check here!!!!!

Regarding the AIG bonus debacle..... Okay, so they say they need to pay these bonuses to keep people on board to take advantage of their expertise and experience. Hmmmmm. Let's think about this.... You need to keep a staff that was so boneheaded that they got you into this mess in the first place? That's almost as dumb as paying those bonuses. It seems to me that there have been enough job losses in the financial sector that there should be a large enough pool to fill vacancies. I'm sure that those who have been laid off would be willing to jump in feet first to do their best and be up to speed in a very short time.

Regarding Bernie Madoff.... Did anyone really think the appeals court would let Mr. Made-off get out of jail. Puh-leese! The more I read about this case, the more unbelievable it is. There is no way that this man single-handedly engineered this fraud. This investigation should keep government officials busy for some time to come.

It just doesn't get any better than this................

What a start to the weekend! Yesterday, some really great NCAA March Madness games, although there weren't any real upsets. I did get to peek at the games a few times at work. Economists have estimated that time lost at work for "working" on brackets and watching games cost American businesses $4 billion dollars. Gee, what could Bernie Madoff have done with that kind of money?????

A couple of good games this afternoon, but they couldn't compete with a two-hour nap. (It was a long and busy week at work!) Now I'm waiting for the night games while listening to the semi-finals of the CCHA tourney - ND vs. No. Michigan. Go Irish! Later tonight the Lewiston Maineiacs start their QMJHL playoff series against Drummondville. Better keep the laptop charged up! More hockey and b-ball tomorrow. On Sunday the ND women begin their March Madness dance. The ND men are still alive in the NIT (Not Invited Tournament), but not impressing anyone.

Welcome Spring!

March Madness Tune-up

While I really am not the kind of person who looks forward to Spring (mud and dirty dogs - Ugh!) or Summer (too hot!), I have to admit that I really look forward to March and its accompanying Spring madness! I love college basketball (especially Notre Dame)! Today's tune-up for the Big Dance has been a doozy. Right now Louisville and West Virginia are battling it out. What a great game the Kansas/Texas one was. And there was Pitt/UConn and Florida/Kentucky. All great fun to watch. There are already four teams making travel arrangements for the tourney. I'm ready.

Is there a better conference than the Big East? I certainly wouldn't want to be a bookie taking bets on those games. Upset after upset this year. Seems like every weekend there's a chance to go from first to worst and vice versa. That may be a bit of an overstatement, but it certainly has that feel.

My dancing shoes are ready. Are yours?