Boilers get first Big Ten victory

The Boilers won their first Big Ten game of the season today defeating Michigan in West Lafayette by a score of 84-55. Matt Kiefer had 21 points and eight rebounds and Carl Landry scored 19 as Purdue snapped their seven-game losing streak. All players on the Michigan team should be performing the ancient art of seppuku by now. They have shamed all former and current Michigan students by losing to Purude. The Boilers are now 5-13 overall and 1-6 in Big Ten play.

Cubs not done?

Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that Jim Hendry will likely contact the Devil Rays about the availability of left-hand-hitting Aubrey Huff. Huff hit .297 with 29 homers and 104 RBI last season. Huff, who played 102 games in right field during the 2003 season, will be eligible for free agency after the 2006 season, and the Devil Rays will not be able to keep him.

Sosa headed for Baltimore

According to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, Sammy Sosa is heading to Baltimore as long as everyone involved in the trade passes their physicals. The Cubs will land Jerry Hairston Jr. and at least two minor-leaguers. The Cubs will pay a "substantial" part of Sosa's 2005 salary and he will agree to void his salary in 2006. Hairston is the opposite of Sosa, he hits for average and can steal bases. Last year for the O's, Hairston played second base and all three outfield positions. The Chicago Tribune is reporting that he can only play left and second base though. I had him on my fantasy team the last two years and he puts up good numbers when healthy. Last year Hairson only played 86 games due to a fractured finger and ankle, but he still managed to bat .303 and steal 13 bases. He started the season on the DL because of a fractured finger he suffered in an exhibition game against the Marlins. He then broke his ankle trying to snag a home-run on August 17th. The fractured ankle ended his season. Let's hope the broken bones are a thing of the past, because the Cubs are woefully thin in the outfield. If Hairston went down with an injury, Hollandsworth and Dubois would start in the corner outfield positions unless the Cubs add someone else to the mix. The Cubs were said to be considering Maggs Ordonez but it looks like the Tigers are willing to overpay for his services. Left-handed hitter Jeromy Burnitz is the only other free-agent outfielder available, and the Cubs were known to have been in contact with his agent. One source said they were close to a deal with the left-handed hitter, who is 35 and hit .283 with 37 home runs and 110 RBIs in the light air of Colorado last season.

Worst. Team. Ever.

This year's Purdue basketball team has to be the worst ever. They just managed to lose to the Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers. It was the Panthers' first win against a Big Ten team since the 1991-92 season.

Man robs doughnut store with laser pen

A man with a pillow case with eyeholes cut out over his head robbed a Tastee Donut shop in New Orleans on Friday with only a laser pen. The 61-year-old female employee feared that it was attached to a gun. Other than possibly damaging the retina of the eye, laser pointers can't cause any injury, said Kristen Dean, spokeswoman for East Jefferson General Hospital.

Keady named to hair hall of fame

According to Pat Forde of ESPN.com, Gene Keady is #1 when it comes to hair in college basketball.

Sandberg's number to be retired

New Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg's No. 23 will be retired this season. It will be the fourth number retired by the Cubs. Sandberg's No. 23 will join Ernie Banks' No. 14, Billy Williams' No. 26, and Ron Santo's No. 10.

Arrest warrant issued for David Terrell

A Cook County judge issued an arrest warrant for Chicago Bears wide receiver David Terrell after he failed to show up in traffic court this morning to face reckless driving and other traffic charges.

***********UPDATE*************
Terrell, scheduled for a 9 a.m. hearing before Cook County Judge Rhoda Davis Sweeney, showed up in court at 1 p.m., four hours late and nearly three hours after the judge had issued a warrant for his arrest.

When Terrell did arrive, Judge James Ryan asked him why he missed the morning hearing. Then he ordered Cook County sheriff's deputies to execute the arrest warrant. A handcuffed Terrell was taken to Cook County Criminal Court at 26th and California and posted $250, 10 percent of his $2,500 bail, officials said.

Two spring training games on Comcast SportsNet

Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs
Monday, March 14 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Live from HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ

San Diego Padres at Chicago Cubs
Sunday, March 27 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Live from HoHoKam Park in Mesa, AZ

New Cubs announcers, Len Kasper and Bob Brenly, will call all the Cactus League action for Comcast SportsNet.

Cubs to remove names from jerseys

The Cubs have decided to remove the names from the backs of their home jerseys this season in an effort to revisit early baseball tradition. It's probably because they don't want anyone to know that instead of Beltran they will be starting Jason Dubois in the outfield.

Cubs to sell bracelets

The bracelets are blue and feature the Cubs' logo and the word "BELIEVE" stamped on the band. The bracelets will sell for $2 each with proceeds benefiting Cubs Care, the charitable arm of the Chicago Cubs. Fans will be able to purchase the Cub bracelets at the Cubs Convention all weekend. Plans for further distribution of the wristband will be announced at a later date.

No more fantasy baseball on Yahoo?

The Major League Baseball Players Association awarded exclusive rights to the league's fantasy games to MLB.com. I believe that this means no free Yahoo fantasy baseball unless MLB.com decides to sublicense the league marks and players to other organizations. Even if Yahoo is able to gain rights to the players, it may not be able to offer free fantasy baseball.

Purdue loses another

Normally I would have "forgotten" to post another Purdue loss, but I have to mention Carl Landry's 31 points in the losing effort. Purdue lost to Michigan State by a score of 71-64. I'm not good at math but I think I have this right, Landry scored 31 and the rest of the team came up with 33. Purdue would have zero wins if Carl wasn't on the team. Purdue's record is 4-11 overall and 0-5 in the Big Ten.

Cubs sign four players

The Cubs Tuesday avoided salary arbitration with outfielder Corey Patterson, pitcher Kyle Farnsworth and catcher Michael Barrett.

Patterson and Farnsworth signed one-year deals, while the Cubs and Barrett agreed to a three-year contract.

The Cubs also signed Scott Williamson to a minor-league deal. Williamson went 0-1 with a 1.26 ERA in 28 relief appearances for Boston last season. He held opponents to a .115 average and struck out 28 batters. He missed most of the season, including the playoffs, because of an arm injury.

Williamson was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1999 after going 12-7 with 19 saves and a 2.41 ERA in 62 relief appearances with the Cincinnati Reds.

When to refinance

Refinancing can be a good idea for homeowners who want to get out of a high interest rate loan to take advantage of lower rates. This is a good idea only if you intend to stay in the house long enough to make the additional fees worthwhile. Have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) and want a fixed-rate loan to have the certainty of knowing exactly what the mortgage payment will be for the life of the loan. Want to convert to an ARM with a lower interest rate or more protective features (such as a better rate and payment caps) than the ARM they currently have. Want to build up equity more quickly by converting to a loan with a shorter term. Want to draw on the equity built up in their house to get cash for a major purchase or for their children's education.

If you decide that a refinancing is not worth the costs, ask your lender whether you may be able to obtain all or some of the new terms you want by agreeing to a modification of your existing loan instead of a refinancing.

Purdue loses heartbreaker

Purdue lost to IU today, 75-73 in double OT. IU had a chance to ice the game in the first overtime, but Strickland made both free throws with only .9 left on the clock to give IU a 63-61 lead. Had he missed the second free throw, Purdue would not have had enough time to score. After the made free throw, Andrew Ford threw a pass the length of the court to Carl Landry, who caught the ball in between two IU defenders, was fouled and made a layup. After reviewing the play, officials determined that Landry was fouled before the buzzer sounded and gave him continuation on the layup. Landry missed the free throw and the game went to a second OT. Purdue did not have enough left in the tank defensively and they fell short in the second OT. Purdue's record is now a craptastic 4-10.

Company puts chip in soccer ball

Cairos Technologies has developed a radio chip that fits inside a soccer ball. The purpose of the chip is to help referees determine whether or not the ball has crossed the goal line. The chip transmits 2,000 signals a second to a receiver network of 12 antennas, placed around the field, including on light fixtures. The receivers then send information about the ball's location to a central computer, and because it works in real time, it can instantly tell the referee whether a goal has been scored. My million dollar idea is to put something like this in a baseball so that umpires can get some help with foul balls.

NorthWood 8th Boys Roll

8th grade Boys' Team dismantled the Grissom Guardsmen tonight by a score of 71 to 14. The Guardsmen scored seven points in each half.

Kiefer is horrible

In addition to his pathetic first half, Kiefer managed to miss a wide-open lay-up with 5:00 minutes to go that would have cut the lead to four points. Minnesota grabbed the rebound and nailed a three to extend the lead to nine points. Then with less than two minutes to go, Kiefer allowed a Gopher to drive around him for a lay-up. That lay-up put the Gophers up by nine again and represented the final nail in Purdue's coffin. I an definitely not a Matt Kiefer fanboy. Purdue lost the game by a score of 63-52 and falls to 4-9. The lone bright spot for Purdue, happened before the game when Gene Keady received a putter from Minnesota in recognition of his coaching career.

Worst. Half. Ever.

I don't know if this was Purdue's worst half ever statistically, but it is the ugliest half of "basketball" that I have ever seen the Boilers play. Purdue has 22 points and at least 14 turnovers, I lost track at the end of the half so they could have more. I'm having a hard time decided who was the worst player of the half. I'm going to select Kiefer because he managed to play craptastic on both ends of the court. He has 3 points and has played Darmetrius Kilgore-like defense. At least Darmetrius scored once in a while. Next up is David Teague. Teague managed to score 6 points but has turned the ball over countless times and played Kiefer-like defense. Brandon McKnight also gets his name mentioned but I won't be as hard on him because he actually played decent the last 2 minutes of the half. That isn't enough to make up for his poor shot selection and craperrific ball handling. He is the senior point guard who is supposed to lead the team, but instead decides to rush shots without starting the offense. At least he won't be around next year, too bad I can't say the same for Kiefer and Teague.

Tenacious D tsunami benefit

NEW YORK (Billboard) -- Tenacious D will be joined by such rock heavyweights as Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Beck, Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl and Queens Of The Stone Age principal Josh Homme at a January 17 benefit in Los Angeles for the victims of the Asian tsunami.

The Wiltern Theatre event will also boast an appearance by actor Will Ferrell. Tickets are $60 and $100. The show is being organized via the new collective Music for Relief, with proceeds to benefit the American Red Cross.

eMachines are the suck

Just a little post to show that maybe eMachines aren't as good as eMachine fanboy Mark thinks they are.

Computer expert "Dave" brought to my attention that eMachine offers a wide array of four different computers that can't be configured at all. You probably can't configure them because once the parts are duct taped in you can't take them out.

The following is taken from ConsumerAffairs.com:

It is possible -- but not all that easy -- to build an inexpensive computer that is not a candidate for the shredder. eMachine does a nice job of packaging and marketing but as the complaints in this section illustrate, there are many who would argue that the company has not achieved the right mix of affordability and quality. Nor does it do a sterling job of processing rebates. Sadly, things have not improved since eMachine's merger with Gateway.

Expert Testimony
Vern, a computer science instructor in the Northwest writes:

As a computer science teacher I am getting flooded with cries for help from people who bought eMachines. I bought one to have a look and the phrase "you get what you pay for" comes to mind. In my opinion, the Etower 366c that I bought is built from proprietary junk.

The poor little power supply hasn't got a chance of running for long. The motherboard has sockets that are not supported or even listed by the industry (AMC PORT?)still looking. I wonder what resources that component is trying to grab, since it has no drivers that I can find.

After a week of installing patches from Microsoft, searching for documentation on the web and begging for assistance from Trigem-USA, my conclusion is that the students and I, owners of these expensive paper weights, will be forced to change the motherboards and saw holes in the cases to install proper power supplies.

My machine locks up regularly and complains about system resources being critically low. That is not a surprise since they are trying to run W/98 and all the web goodies on 32 MB of ram.

What should we tell the students that purchased these machines for a special project and can't use them the way they are, or get information to upgrade them? This is a tough lesson to learn when these kids are struggling to eat.

I use terms in my classes -- "evil skippy" that refers to dishonest computer techs, and "stupid skippy" refers to those techs that have no clue but do the work anyway. My opinion of eMachines is that they underpriced and underbuilt their product. The end result is that they can't provide the support needed to correct the problems.

Kurt Angle on Made Thursday night

Kurt Angle will be the Made Coach for some scrawny kid who wants to be on his high school wrestling team. The episode will air Thursday night at 10:00 Eastern.

Cubs pull off a blockbuster

The Cubs acquired...wait for it...left-handed pitcher Stephen Randolph from the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday! In return the Diamondbacks get a player to be named later. Stephen was 2-5 with a 5.51 ERA in 45 games last season. He did hold opponents to a .235 batting average. Sounds like the Diamondbacks got the better end of the deal.

Houston out of the picture

Beltran let his signing window with the Astros close last night. Don't expect him to sign with the Cubs, however. The Chicago Trib reported yesterday that the Cubs do not think he's worth the kind of the money that his agent, Scott Boras, is asking. It looks like he'll be going to New York, to join the Mets not the Yankees. At least he will be out of the NL Central division. Look for the Cubs to go after Maggs Ordonez once Beltran signs.

**Update** - Beltran has agreed to a deal with the Mets.

Bears Sign Turner

Ron Turner has agreed to return to the Bears to be the offensive coordinator once again. Turner lead the Bears offense from 1993-1996. He will be charged with developing a run-first identity that Smith stated Tuesday he wants, as well as develop Rex Grossman and an unproven group of wide receivers. His scheme will be a big change from Shea's Rams/Chiefs philosophy. Turner was fired by Illinois in November after going 35-57 in eight seasons. I think we all know how great that Illini offense was. I can't wait to see that same high powered "O" next year for the Bears. To be fair I should mention that he was the offensive coordinator the last time the Bears won a playoff game. Also in 1995, with Erik Kramer behind center, the Bears set a team record for passing yards per game with 233. They amassed 5,673 yards of total offense—third highest in team history.

Judge rules against Pfizer

Finally dentists and makers of floss can sleep easy. A judge ordered Pfizer, the maker of Listerine, to stop the advertising campaign that states Listerine is as effective as floss at fighting tooth and gum decay. The lawsuit by a Johnson & Johnson company that makes floss.

Jessica's little sister booed

While I was writing the post about Purdue winning the FedEx Air Team of the Year award, I overheard Ashlee Simpson "singing" on the TV in the bedroom at half time of the FedEx Orange Bowl. I thought I heard booing when she was done but I was not sure. This morning they were talking about it on the radio and Tony and Mike mentioned it on PTI this evening. Whoever decided that Ashlee Simpson would be a good choice to entertain men from the ages of 18-40 should no longer have a job. I would have rather watched the marching bands perform. Actually, I would've only watched the bands if they played Mr. Roboto.

Whaaaaat?

Why would Heidi Klum agree to marry Seal? I guess if Julia Roberts could marry Lyle Lovett, Heidi and Seal doesn't seem too outrageous. FYI, The scars on his cheeks come from having discoid lupus as a teenager.

Purdue Football wins award

Purdue was voted the FedEx Air Team of the Year by the fans. The results of the poll were announced during the FedEx Orange Bowl tonight. Other nominees were USC, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Utah, Arizona State, and Georgia. Purdue will receive $25,000 for their general scholarship fund on behalf of FedEx. Maybe they can use some of that money to pay for good players like Ohio State does.

Bears fire Shea

The Bears fired Terry Shea today. Shea lead the Bears to the NFL's worst offense. The Bears, who finished 5-11, also ranked last in six major statistical categories, including scoring and total yards. The Bears had more lost fumbles (21) than offensive touchdowns (19).

Sandberg gets into Hall

Ryne Sandberg was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame today. In his third year on the ballot, Sandberg was picked by 393 voters. He made the cutoff by six votes. Sandberg was a 10-time National League All-Star and winner of nine consecutive Gold Gloves from 1983-1991.

Purdue wins a game!!!

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Carl Landry had 24 points and six rebounds to lead Purdue to an 87-67 win over Eastern Illinois on Sunday.

David Teague had 13 points, and Matt Kiefer added 12 points and five rebounds for Purdue (4-6), which won for the third time in four games.

Emanuel Dildy scored a season-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, and Josh Gomes added 16 points and five assists for the Panthers (5-6), who fell to 0-5 on the road this season.

Purdue junior Charles Davis, the starting tight end on the football team, made his career debut with the Boilermakers after practicing for the first time Saturday afternoon. He played in the football team's 27-23 loss to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl on Friday, finishing with three receptions for 17 yards.

Davis, a 6-6, 263-pound forward, made an immediate impact after entering the game with five minutes left in the opening half.

His first points came after grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring on a putback, giving Purdue a 23-19 lead. He then fed Landry for consecutive baskets on the Boilermakers' next two possessions.

Davis finished with four points and two rebounds in eight minutes.
END AP REPORT, START MY THOUGHTS

It's obvious that Charles Davis is the missing link. Purdue is 1-0 since he joined the team and will probably go undefeated the rest of the season. I see no problem with this logic.