Showing posts with label BP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BP. Show all posts
The headline is obviously referring to the blog, which is currently under repair. I think the only thing showing right now are the actual posts. Spent most of the weekend working on it, but ran into some frustrations. Eventually (probably over the course of the week), you will see a new look, along with possibly a new URL. Stay tuned...
Lots to mention to get this week started, one that looms large in political circles. More on that later and probably in another post.
Let's start with a birthday, born of a $1.65 billion investment. That is how much Google paid for YouTube in 2007, considered a major risk at the time. Well, last October, the internet video powerhouse eclipsed some one billion page views per day, and just recently it announced that figured had doubled. Today, YouTube turns five.
It is almost amazing to think that YouTube didn't exist when I was in high school. In what is clearly a sign of the information age, it is so prevalent right now as to give the impression that it has always existed. Yes, I was born before computers were even that ubiquitous. When I was in elementary school the cool thing to do on a computer was play Oregon Trail." Now, well, on this browser alone, I have nine different tabs open (five of them are related to this blog actually).
Google as a corporation has revolutionized information, taking advantage of the internet in the same way Microsoft did the personal computer. There is no slowing this train down. What I find funny to remember is the man who is largely give credit for creating the internet (financially anyway), Al Gore, is now so widely criticized in his current endeavor (clean energy) as to think he's never successfully done any forward thinking. Even Gore could not have expected this. The internet, as you don't need to be told, has changed the foundation of just about everything in the world, including the family. Google has been by far the leader.
So happy birthday to one of its arms, YouTube.
Uplifting, yet sad at the same time, the University of Virginia women's lacrosse team opened up the NCAA tournament with a win yesterday, in its first game since the murder of one of their own, Yeardley Love. Love's mother and sister were in the stands as the entire team held up pieces of paper with the number "1" on them, a reference to the motto of both teams in the NCAA tournament, "One Love." The alleged killer was a member of the men's team, which returned to action with a win on Saturday.
BP is claiming some success today, after a pipe inserted into the 21-inch riser pipe was able to begin diverting oil to a tanker on the surface. The mile long pipe is just four inches wide, means its effect is minimal, but it marks the biggest positive step anyone has seen in stopping the leak. Late last week reports suggested that more than 10 times more oil was leaking that previously thought. At the original rate there would have been about 5.6 million gallons spilled up to today, in the fourth week of the spill. In the newer range that has been hypothesized, somewhere around 100 million gallons has already spilled. That would be about 10 Exxon Valdez spills, with the end still of in the distance.
A Rhode Island school that fired all of its teachers has reached a tentative agreement to rehire all of them, after a three month process. The school board of the district voted to fire every staff member, teachers and administrators, over low student performance. A new deal would allow the teachers to return to work in the fall without having to re-apply for their jobs.
After 40 years, the Boston University class of 1970 walked in a graduation ceremony this weekend, a chance the 3,000 graduates never got during the turmoil of the time. Final exams and the ceremony were canceled that year after the university, like so many others, became the site of strikes, sit-ins, building takeovers and fire-bombings. That spring saw President Richard Nixon invade Cambodia and National Guardsmen killing nine students at Kent State.
Attorney General Eric Holder gave the commencement speech to the entire graduating class, including the 2010 grads, saying, "I love you all," then gesturing toward the class of 1970, sitting in front him, "But these are my people."
--
Amazingly, I avoided Congress and politics for a while there, but no longer (I will be avoiding the Mariners, however, so if you want to be depressed, try the Seattle Times).
Despite being a higher seed at both the regional and the super regional last year, the Huskies were forced to travel because their stadium did not have lights, an NCAA requirement for hosting. The Huskies turned the lengthy road trip (which, unlike basically every school outside of the west coast, was in the middle of the academic quarter) into a positive and rode it the program's first national championship.
Along the way, their story was told over and over again on ESPN, leading to an influx of donations and the unveiling of lights to begin the 2010 at Husky Softball Stadium. The Huskies (45-6, 17-4) will host a regional starting Friday. Despite being the top-ranked team in the country for the entire season, unanimously for most of it, the Huskies are just the No. 3 overall seed. Alabama and Michigan are one and two, respectively.
A couple more things on this: The Huskies head into their 17th-consecutive postseason appearance coming off of the best regular season in school history. Washington missed out on the tournament in its first season of existence, 1993, but has been there in every year since.
And not only was this a big season for the team, but, as mentioned in previous posts, reigned National Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie has cemented her place as maybe the greatest pitcher to ever play the game and certainly one of the best athletes in UW history. She set the Pac-10 career strikeout record over the weekend. Lawrie heads into the postseason with, get this, a 35-2 record, 0.99 ERA and 407 strikeouts in 247.1 innings, while also hitting .322 with team highs of 14 homeruns and 55 RBI. Have the Mariners even scored 55 runs yet this season? Before last weekend she was almost out-homering that whole team.
Finally, if you can get past the blatant partisanship here, the way he presents this is absolutely hilarious. Obama was talking to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Yes, he is completely finger pointing, but tell me when he says, "No!", you didn't laugh.
Happy Monday
[More]
Lots to mention to get this week started, one that looms large in political circles. More on that later and probably in another post.
Let's start with a birthday, born of a $1.65 billion investment. That is how much Google paid for YouTube in 2007, considered a major risk at the time. Well, last October, the internet video powerhouse eclipsed some one billion page views per day, and just recently it announced that figured had doubled. Today, YouTube turns five.
It is almost amazing to think that YouTube didn't exist when I was in high school. In what is clearly a sign of the information age, it is so prevalent right now as to give the impression that it has always existed. Yes, I was born before computers were even that ubiquitous. When I was in elementary school the cool thing to do on a computer was play Oregon Trail." Now, well, on this browser alone, I have nine different tabs open (five of them are related to this blog actually).
Google as a corporation has revolutionized information, taking advantage of the internet in the same way Microsoft did the personal computer. There is no slowing this train down. What I find funny to remember is the man who is largely give credit for creating the internet (financially anyway), Al Gore, is now so widely criticized in his current endeavor (clean energy) as to think he's never successfully done any forward thinking. Even Gore could not have expected this. The internet, as you don't need to be told, has changed the foundation of just about everything in the world, including the family. Google has been by far the leader.
So happy birthday to one of its arms, YouTube.
Uplifting, yet sad at the same time, the University of Virginia women's lacrosse team opened up the NCAA tournament with a win yesterday, in its first game since the murder of one of their own, Yeardley Love. Love's mother and sister were in the stands as the entire team held up pieces of paper with the number "1" on them, a reference to the motto of both teams in the NCAA tournament, "One Love." The alleged killer was a member of the men's team, which returned to action with a win on Saturday.
BP is claiming some success today, after a pipe inserted into the 21-inch riser pipe was able to begin diverting oil to a tanker on the surface. The mile long pipe is just four inches wide, means its effect is minimal, but it marks the biggest positive step anyone has seen in stopping the leak. Late last week reports suggested that more than 10 times more oil was leaking that previously thought. At the original rate there would have been about 5.6 million gallons spilled up to today, in the fourth week of the spill. In the newer range that has been hypothesized, somewhere around 100 million gallons has already spilled. That would be about 10 Exxon Valdez spills, with the end still of in the distance.
A Rhode Island school that fired all of its teachers has reached a tentative agreement to rehire all of them, after a three month process. The school board of the district voted to fire every staff member, teachers and administrators, over low student performance. A new deal would allow the teachers to return to work in the fall without having to re-apply for their jobs.
After 40 years, the Boston University class of 1970 walked in a graduation ceremony this weekend, a chance the 3,000 graduates never got during the turmoil of the time. Final exams and the ceremony were canceled that year after the university, like so many others, became the site of strikes, sit-ins, building takeovers and fire-bombings. That spring saw President Richard Nixon invade Cambodia and National Guardsmen killing nine students at Kent State.
Attorney General Eric Holder gave the commencement speech to the entire graduating class, including the 2010 grads, saying, "I love you all," then gesturing toward the class of 1970, sitting in front him, "But these are my people."
--
Amazingly, I avoided Congress and politics for a while there, but no longer (I will be avoiding the Mariners, however, so if you want to be depressed, try the Seattle Times).
- Politico suggests that President Obama is rolling his sleeves up and taking a more hands-on approach with Congress right now, as financial reform and possibly energy work their way through. That can only be good for those efforts.
It probably also shows that, with some Democrats unwilling to campaign on a health care bill that was painted in such a negative light, the administration needs to give them something else. Cracking down on Wall Street should work every time. - Not necessarily political, but I absolutely loved this interview yesterday in the New York Times Magazine, with Alan Greenberg of JP Morgan Chase.
- Congressional hearings this week on the oil spill in the Gulf will focus on the federal response. Two things to watch:
- Are federal officials just as non-committal (or even finger-pointing) as their oil executive counterparts. After the speech Obama gave on Friday, for his administration to point fingers at oil companies would likely backfire.
- That said, expect to see the officials talk about how their response was appropriate and swift, even though there was very little the government could do initially. Quite frankly, what is often missed is that oil companies know best how to handle these sorts of things, which is why BP is still involved at all. If the hearing gets into how close the oil companies and their regulator are, or why BP was not required to do a full assessment before drilling the well, it could get ugly for the administration. - Here is a quick primer on what is going on in Pennsylvania, something my later post will cover. This one is far more interesting than the others, to me at least, simply because I really do think Arlen Specter is the only one that can win the general.
- Expect to see something from me on this as well, as questions loom over whether Governor Christine Gregoire will be nominated for the solicitor general position being vacated by Elena Kagan. That obviously has ramifications across Washington state politics. This next day or so of blogging is going to be fun.
Despite being a higher seed at both the regional and the super regional last year, the Huskies were forced to travel because their stadium did not have lights, an NCAA requirement for hosting. The Huskies turned the lengthy road trip (which, unlike basically every school outside of the west coast, was in the middle of the academic quarter) into a positive and rode it the program's first national championship.
Along the way, their story was told over and over again on ESPN, leading to an influx of donations and the unveiling of lights to begin the 2010 at Husky Softball Stadium. The Huskies (45-6, 17-4) will host a regional starting Friday. Despite being the top-ranked team in the country for the entire season, unanimously for most of it, the Huskies are just the No. 3 overall seed. Alabama and Michigan are one and two, respectively.
A couple more things on this: The Huskies head into their 17th-consecutive postseason appearance coming off of the best regular season in school history. Washington missed out on the tournament in its first season of existence, 1993, but has been there in every year since.
And not only was this a big season for the team, but, as mentioned in previous posts, reigned National Player of the Year Danielle Lawrie has cemented her place as maybe the greatest pitcher to ever play the game and certainly one of the best athletes in UW history. She set the Pac-10 career strikeout record over the weekend. Lawrie heads into the postseason with, get this, a 35-2 record, 0.99 ERA and 407 strikeouts in 247.1 innings, while also hitting .322 with team highs of 14 homeruns and 55 RBI. Have the Mariners even scored 55 runs yet this season? Before last weekend she was almost out-homering that whole team.
Finally, if you can get past the blatant partisanship here, the way he presents this is absolutely hilarious. Obama was talking to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Yes, he is completely finger pointing, but tell me when he says, "No!", you didn't laugh.
Happy Monday
And maybe throwing all of Wall Street into it. Okay, so maybe that is an exaggeration, but two big stories today, one much bigger than the other (despite the fact that it ought to be the reverse), one involving fire, one involving being under fire.
Republicans caved yesterday, finally allowing a cloture vote on financial reform to pass. It actually was just a unanimous consent motion instead of a vote this time, with no objection. No one is really saying they got much, other than an open debate and the ability to offer amendments. Now, that could be quite a bit if the number of amendments allowed is unlimited, but it seems that even the GOP realizes it would look bad to be on the wrong side of financial reform.
As one observer said, it is hard to justify participating in a hearing lambasting Goldman Sachs executives actions on Wall Street, then going next door and voting against financial reform.
One thing we tend to forget, with all of this focus on the Senate, is that the House has already passed financial reform. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (a job title I held in my congressional simulation class) has said that a conference is expected once the Senate completes its work.
--
To the lead story, which has actually gotten worse in the moments I have been writing this. Over the weekend, experts found two different leaks on the sea floor, related to the sunken oil rig from last week. It was estimated at the time that about 42,000 gallons of oil were spilling into the Gulf of Mexico every day. The good news was, due to the bends in the pipe caused by the sinking (imagine bending a hose too far), the leak was not as flowing as it could've been. The bad new is that workers have been unable to shut of the valve, meaning they are working on other ways to stop the leak.
Excuse me while I seemingly vent for a moment. I have taken quite a bit of time in the last few days learning about this. We are talking about BP (British Petroleum), which fought tighter federal safety regulations tooth and nail in the last few years. The rig in question was fairly new, about the size of a football field and state of the art. It was one-of-a-kind, drilling deeper than we've ever drilled before. While the clear point of the first part of the paragraph was to understate how something like this should never happen, the last sentence should illustrate just how ill-prepared we are to deal with it.
Just how ill-prepared are we? We (or BP - it's hard to tell really) can't even figure out how big the leak is yet. Late yesterday a third leak was discovered, with the Coast Guard estimating that five times the amount of oil is spilling into the ocean than previously thought. While yesterday it was an estimated 42,000 gallons each day, that number is now around 210,000 gallons. Put in simpler numbers, in just 52 days this would be larger than Exxon Valdez. Think that isn't possible? It is. With today's measures, 52 days would seem like forever, but workers have tried just about ever short term solution they can think of, which was one thing: shut off the valve. They've failed.
Initially yesterday, the plan was to burn off some of the oil, literally setting the surface on fire, but bad weather prevented that. They will try again today. It can't all be done this way, but from their experience, a significant amount can. However, one member of the Coast Guard had a telling statement: "this isn't something we do every day." No, it isn't. Stay tuned, as this will only get worse before it gets better.
--
And speaking of getting worse before getting better, how about Arizona. Oh, Arizona. Couple things. It appears that the DOJ - that's Department of Justice people - will be suing the state of Arizona, I suppose for privacy infringement. Not really sure. But still a positive development.
Last night I actually watched some evening news shows, which, if you can take even every breath with a grain of salt, can be entertaining to say the least. My favorite had to be Frank Luntz on Hannity. I learned about Luntz way back in high school. He is an expert Republican pollster and damn good at it. He creates messaging based on focus groups and polling, something everyone does now. But last night, to listen to him say, "most Americans are against financial reform," absolutely blew me away. Not only was he blatantly lying without even changing his expression, but he knew just how dishonest he was being probably more than anyone else. It was unreal. And of course it was on Fox (yes all of my conservative friends, I also watched Maddow and, ugh, parts of Olbermann last night. Fox is more entertaining though.)
Anyway, back to immigration. Hannity also had a debate on immigration. I have never seen Michelle Malkin so angry. Thought she might punch her opponent through the television screen. Here is something everyone needs to recognize about illegal immigration: it isn't illegal. The bill in Arizona made it illegal, in Arizona. Everywhere else in the country, illegal immigration is a civil offense. We don't throw you in jail, we send you home. That's it. Which is why I found it so interesting that Hannity and Malkin were screaming about following the letter of the law, since it is two-fold against them. One, it isn't illegal. Two, the biggest fears when profiling someone is that police ignore the law of needing another reason to stop someone (criminal activity) and just do it anyway. I don't want to get into the economic argument, even though there is one. I understand where Arizona is coming from. Watch as I represent both sides at the same time.
A few years ago I watched a movie called the Thin Blue Line. I remember it very well because we were watching in a class at UW during the same week that Virginia Tech happened. It was about a black man being profiled in Dallas for a murder he never admitted to committing. If I recall correctly, there was proof he didn't do it, but he was convicted anyway. People look at that as profiling. Sure, profiling was involved, but so was a racist jury. The problems go much deeper than saying, "he's black, let me pull him over."
Not too long after that I had a lengthy conversation with a black police officer in Seattle. His words to me: profiling helps me do my job. Surprisingly, I wasn't surprised. He's right. We make this big deal out of profiling, just like we do out of mandatory minimums, but ignore that in the majority of cases, the people actually committed crimes. This isn't the 1960's. If you have drugs in your car and you're mad that a cop made up a phony reason to pull you over, that doesn't change the fact that you have drugs in your car. You're worried about the wrong thing. I do believe that profiling probably does help police work. Does that make it right? No. But what neighborhood would you feel safer walking through, the poorer black neighborhood or the richer white one? Let's not act like police are the only profilers out there. Stereotypes exist for a reason.
Now, with that said, there is this thing about a right to privacy and profiling that is great about the Republican party. They are all for forfeiting some privacy in the name of security, unless it is there own. And they are all for profiling, which makes sense, because they are vastly white. No money trail is necessary. Just look at their faces.
It is unclear what is going to happen with this immigration law, except that it doesn't appear congress will take it up soon. The ball might be squarely in the DOJ's court right now and that is fine. Gives me more time to do more learning about immigration law. What I know right now is what I've previously mentioned, and that it is a lot like gun law: fairly strict, but grossly under-enforced. Also, as was pointed out last night, drug smugglers aren't walking across borders. As long as Americans have a drug problem, smugglers will find a way to get it to us. And that is where the crime comes from.
However, above all of this, if you really want to curb illegal immigration, I've got three words: punish the companies. But that will never happen, because that would be against free market policies, right Republicans? Make up your minds. Oh one more note: Malkin yesterday said that border security is no safer than it was on September 11, 2001 and that is the fault of Democrats. Ummm....
--
Notes:
- Two coal miners are missing after a wall collapsed in Kentucky. This is not a Massey mine and it is a developing story.
- I refuse to link it, but I should mention that Tiger Woods is playing again today. No word on whether anyone else is involved. Real question though: should there be a fantasy league, just like a sports one, that takes bets on who is "meeting" Tiger at each tournament? Too soon?
- The Washington Capitols pulled a major choke job in game seven of their first round series last night, losing to Montreal. As Bill Simmons said, it is quite possible that Washington has surpassed Seattle as the nation's most depressed sports town. Also as Simmons said, at least the Emerald City has Pete Carroll for comedic value.
- Finally, in a surprising development, a formula created to identify the most despised team in baseball came up, not with the New York Yankees, but the Cleveland Indians. As they said on SportsCenter, "wait, what?"
- A late addition: a New York subway train was stopped, and all passengers fine, after an operator died in the cab yesterday during rush hour. The "Dead Man Feature" (its real name) was employed, the first time anyone can recall it being used, to stop the train. It is a lever that motormen hold throughout the day, that when released will stop the train. It is designed to prevent runaway trains. Sadly, it was proven yesterday that it works.
[More]
Republicans caved yesterday, finally allowing a cloture vote on financial reform to pass. It actually was just a unanimous consent motion instead of a vote this time, with no objection. No one is really saying they got much, other than an open debate and the ability to offer amendments. Now, that could be quite a bit if the number of amendments allowed is unlimited, but it seems that even the GOP realizes it would look bad to be on the wrong side of financial reform.
As one observer said, it is hard to justify participating in a hearing lambasting Goldman Sachs executives actions on Wall Street, then going next door and voting against financial reform.
One thing we tend to forget, with all of this focus on the Senate, is that the House has already passed financial reform. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (a job title I held in my congressional simulation class) has said that a conference is expected once the Senate completes its work.
--
To the lead story, which has actually gotten worse in the moments I have been writing this. Over the weekend, experts found two different leaks on the sea floor, related to the sunken oil rig from last week. It was estimated at the time that about 42,000 gallons of oil were spilling into the Gulf of Mexico every day. The good news was, due to the bends in the pipe caused by the sinking (imagine bending a hose too far), the leak was not as flowing as it could've been. The bad new is that workers have been unable to shut of the valve, meaning they are working on other ways to stop the leak.
Excuse me while I seemingly vent for a moment. I have taken quite a bit of time in the last few days learning about this. We are talking about BP (British Petroleum), which fought tighter federal safety regulations tooth and nail in the last few years. The rig in question was fairly new, about the size of a football field and state of the art. It was one-of-a-kind, drilling deeper than we've ever drilled before. While the clear point of the first part of the paragraph was to understate how something like this should never happen, the last sentence should illustrate just how ill-prepared we are to deal with it.
Just how ill-prepared are we? We (or BP - it's hard to tell really) can't even figure out how big the leak is yet. Late yesterday a third leak was discovered, with the Coast Guard estimating that five times the amount of oil is spilling into the ocean than previously thought. While yesterday it was an estimated 42,000 gallons each day, that number is now around 210,000 gallons. Put in simpler numbers, in just 52 days this would be larger than Exxon Valdez. Think that isn't possible? It is. With today's measures, 52 days would seem like forever, but workers have tried just about ever short term solution they can think of, which was one thing: shut off the valve. They've failed.
Initially yesterday, the plan was to burn off some of the oil, literally setting the surface on fire, but bad weather prevented that. They will try again today. It can't all be done this way, but from their experience, a significant amount can. However, one member of the Coast Guard had a telling statement: "this isn't something we do every day." No, it isn't. Stay tuned, as this will only get worse before it gets better.
--
And speaking of getting worse before getting better, how about Arizona. Oh, Arizona. Couple things. It appears that the DOJ - that's Department of Justice people - will be suing the state of Arizona, I suppose for privacy infringement. Not really sure. But still a positive development.
Last night I actually watched some evening news shows, which, if you can take even every breath with a grain of salt, can be entertaining to say the least. My favorite had to be Frank Luntz on Hannity. I learned about Luntz way back in high school. He is an expert Republican pollster and damn good at it. He creates messaging based on focus groups and polling, something everyone does now. But last night, to listen to him say, "most Americans are against financial reform," absolutely blew me away. Not only was he blatantly lying without even changing his expression, but he knew just how dishonest he was being probably more than anyone else. It was unreal. And of course it was on Fox (yes all of my conservative friends, I also watched Maddow and, ugh, parts of Olbermann last night. Fox is more entertaining though.)
Anyway, back to immigration. Hannity also had a debate on immigration. I have never seen Michelle Malkin so angry. Thought she might punch her opponent through the television screen. Here is something everyone needs to recognize about illegal immigration: it isn't illegal. The bill in Arizona made it illegal, in Arizona. Everywhere else in the country, illegal immigration is a civil offense. We don't throw you in jail, we send you home. That's it. Which is why I found it so interesting that Hannity and Malkin were screaming about following the letter of the law, since it is two-fold against them. One, it isn't illegal. Two, the biggest fears when profiling someone is that police ignore the law of needing another reason to stop someone (criminal activity) and just do it anyway. I don't want to get into the economic argument, even though there is one. I understand where Arizona is coming from. Watch as I represent both sides at the same time.
A few years ago I watched a movie called the Thin Blue Line. I remember it very well because we were watching in a class at UW during the same week that Virginia Tech happened. It was about a black man being profiled in Dallas for a murder he never admitted to committing. If I recall correctly, there was proof he didn't do it, but he was convicted anyway. People look at that as profiling. Sure, profiling was involved, but so was a racist jury. The problems go much deeper than saying, "he's black, let me pull him over."
Not too long after that I had a lengthy conversation with a black police officer in Seattle. His words to me: profiling helps me do my job. Surprisingly, I wasn't surprised. He's right. We make this big deal out of profiling, just like we do out of mandatory minimums, but ignore that in the majority of cases, the people actually committed crimes. This isn't the 1960's. If you have drugs in your car and you're mad that a cop made up a phony reason to pull you over, that doesn't change the fact that you have drugs in your car. You're worried about the wrong thing. I do believe that profiling probably does help police work. Does that make it right? No. But what neighborhood would you feel safer walking through, the poorer black neighborhood or the richer white one? Let's not act like police are the only profilers out there. Stereotypes exist for a reason.
Now, with that said, there is this thing about a right to privacy and profiling that is great about the Republican party. They are all for forfeiting some privacy in the name of security, unless it is there own. And they are all for profiling, which makes sense, because they are vastly white. No money trail is necessary. Just look at their faces.
It is unclear what is going to happen with this immigration law, except that it doesn't appear congress will take it up soon. The ball might be squarely in the DOJ's court right now and that is fine. Gives me more time to do more learning about immigration law. What I know right now is what I've previously mentioned, and that it is a lot like gun law: fairly strict, but grossly under-enforced. Also, as was pointed out last night, drug smugglers aren't walking across borders. As long as Americans have a drug problem, smugglers will find a way to get it to us. And that is where the crime comes from.
However, above all of this, if you really want to curb illegal immigration, I've got three words: punish the companies. But that will never happen, because that would be against free market policies, right Republicans? Make up your minds. Oh one more note: Malkin yesterday said that border security is no safer than it was on September 11, 2001 and that is the fault of Democrats. Ummm....
--
Notes:
- Two coal miners are missing after a wall collapsed in Kentucky. This is not a Massey mine and it is a developing story.
- I refuse to link it, but I should mention that Tiger Woods is playing again today. No word on whether anyone else is involved. Real question though: should there be a fantasy league, just like a sports one, that takes bets on who is "meeting" Tiger at each tournament? Too soon?
- The Washington Capitols pulled a major choke job in game seven of their first round series last night, losing to Montreal. As Bill Simmons said, it is quite possible that Washington has surpassed Seattle as the nation's most depressed sports town. Also as Simmons said, at least the Emerald City has Pete Carroll for comedic value.
- Finally, in a surprising development, a formula created to identify the most despised team in baseball came up, not with the New York Yankees, but the Cleveland Indians. As they said on SportsCenter, "wait, what?"
- A late addition: a New York subway train was stopped, and all passengers fine, after an operator died in the cab yesterday during rush hour. The "Dead Man Feature" (its real name) was employed, the first time anyone can recall it being used, to stop the train. It is a lever that motormen hold throughout the day, that when released will stop the train. It is designed to prevent runaway trains. Sadly, it was proven yesterday that it works.