Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Greatest Speech of All-Time & Thursday Thoughts

A couple rambling thoughts……none are really related to anything…..before getting to video of the greatest speech ever given. Better than JFK, Lou Gehrig, or anything from “Cash for (fill in the blank)” Obama.
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For the first time in its 11 year history, the Big Ten wins the Big Ten – ACC Challenge in college basketball. It was capped off by Wisconsin’s thrilling win over Duke, with the students rushing the court after knocking off the #5 Blue Devils. Trevon Hughes was a monster offensively for the Badgers, hitting a ton of clutch and difficult shots, and Bo Ryan was able to slow Kyle Singler in the second half (he still ended up with 28 points) guarding him with a freshman, Ryan Evans. I also love that Bo Ryan kind of resembles Bucky Badger when he’s angry. It’s a huge win for the Badgers, now 5-1 with victories over Duke and Maryland of the vaunted ACC.

Also key to the Big Ten victory was the 23-point second half comeback on the road by Illinois to beat #19 Clemson. It was an epic comeback by the Illini and an epic collapse by the Tigers. With Ohio State handling Florida State, Purdue beating Wake Forest, Penn State tipping Virginia and Northwestern toppling North Carolina State, the Big Ten took 6 of the 11 games. (UNC beat Michigan State, Maryland beat Indiana, VaTech took down Iowa, BC beat Michigan, and Miami beat Minnesota)
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Have you seen those commercials for Tax Masters and those other services that will work with you to lower your tax debts to the IRS? I have a couple questions about them. And now I know why they have to keep raising our taxes. A couple owes $120,000 in back taxes and somehow this bearded tool box is allowed to settle their debt for $4,600. What? Really? First, how the hell do you rack up a debt to the IRS of $120,000 from a trailer park? Have you not paid taxes for the past 5-6 years? And who are these guys and what kind of power do they have over the IRS? Are they taking advantage of loopholes? Close them!! Why the hell are you and I paying our taxes on time when we’d be better off not bothering for 5-6 years, then getting this guy to settle it for a 96% discount?
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Ron Artest says he used to drink Hennessey at halftime of games when he was playing in Chicago. Are we surprised by anything Ron-Ron does any more? I mean, this is a guy that had enough time to get “Jimmy Kimmel Live” shaved in his head, but didn’t have time to put his pants on before coming on the show. He’s doing anything he can to get a reaction from the media and make the long NBA season more interesting.
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Thursday Night NFL Pick:

Jets (-3) over BILLS (in Toronto)
The Bills are playing better under their interim coach, and just finished beating another average AFC East foe in the Dolphins. However Darrell Revis will be able to slow down the rediscovery of Terrell Owens, and the Jets linebackers will be better able to contain Fred Jackson. The game is taking place in Toronto as a test run to see if Ralph Wilson should move half of the Bills games there in the future. Even by Canadian standards, these are not very interesting teams. And I don’t think there’s any truth to the rumor that since Rex’s “Red Light-Green Light” game plan worked so well, Sanchez has asked to play “Head’s Up-Seven Up” during film sessions.
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Also going on tonight is the annual Civil War college football game between Oregon and Oregon State. And this year might be the biggest game they’ve ever played, with the winner going to the Rose Bowl against Ohio State. Oregon hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1995 and Oregon State hasn’t gone since 1965. While ESPN, Sports Illustrated and CBS focus on the USC-UCLA-Stanford trio, Oregon and Oregon State have quietly put themselves at the top of the Pac-10 Conference this year. It should be an entertaining game, as both teams have offensive firepower led by short, dynamic running backs: sophomore Jacquizz Rodgers of Oregon State and freshman LaMichael James of Oregon. Without knowing too much about either team, I think you have to like Oregon State catching 10 points, even on the road.
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The seeded teams were announced for the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa, and the results left many fearful that the US may face an extremely difficult draw in pool play. They were not among the 8 seeded teams, meaning they could get in the same group as Spain, France and Cameroon. The final pairings will come out on Friday, and while I doubt you’re here to get soccer updates, I’ll admit that this story was really just a result of stumbling past the Italian Job on television last night and wanting an excuse to post a picture of one of the most talented imports from South Africa, Charlize Theron.

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It is Jimmy V week on ESPN for their college basketball. It’s a great cause for the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research, and it’s in memory of Jimmy Valvano, the former NC State basketball coach who died after a battle with cancer. This speech was at the ESPY awards show in 1993, and if you haven’t seen it, take the time and watch it. It’s long, but time very well spent. It’s a great message about life and provides multiple great lessons, and not just the tagline “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” I’ve seen this speech too many times to count, and it’s incredible and moving every time.

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