30 Rock

Farewell 30 Rock, you will be missed.

Best NFL WR Ever?

Did you catch Randy Moss's comment from Super Bowl Media Day yesterday?   He said "I do think that I'm the best receiver to ever play this game."  That got me thinking, is he the best WR ever?   He could very well be, you can certainly put him in that conversation, I just can't put him ahead of Jerry Rice though, Rice holds the NFL record for catches, yards and TD's, how can you argue with that?  I would put Moss at number 2 though, when at the top of his game he was as feared a WR as has ever played the game.  After those 2, it's hard to quantify because the game has changed so much over the years, it's a much more pass happy league now than it used to be so some of the statistics you look at are inflated from where they used to be.  Anyways, I thought that I'd give it a try and put together a Top 10 list, so here goes: 

1. Jerry Rice - easily the top choice, it's really not even close.
2. Randy Moss - I think he's the easy 2nd pick at WR. 
3. Michael Irvin - very flashy, very productive, always showed up big when it mattered. 
4. Charlie Joiner - when he retired he held the NFL record for catches, yards & game played at WR.
5. Cris Carter -  adjusted to the ball as well as anyone plus 1101 catches & 130 TD's.
6. Terrell Owens - flashy and productive, he flat out dominated at times. 
7. Marvin Harrison - he holds the single season record for catches (145). 
8. Steve Largent - not very flashy but incredibly productive and durable.
9. Tim Brown - Mr Consistency, 10 straight years of 75+ catches.
10. Calvin Johnson - when all is said and done I think he'll be in the top 5.  

Others:  John Stallworth, Dwight Clark, Paul Warfield, Marvin Harrison, Don Hutson, Calvin Johnson, Lynn Swann, Art Monk, Isaac Bruce, James Lofton, Larry Fitzgerald

VS Swim 2013

POTpourri

• I must say, I'm not real thrilled the watered down version of Filibuster Reform. 
• Apparently, the GOP is of the belief that if you can't beat them, you can at least cheat them. 
• Are you familiar with Zahia Dehar?  Interesting story.  Hot girl.
• Ted Nugent talks pretty tough for a draft dodger.
• You can find the 2013 AVN winner's list here. 
• The New Orleans Pelicans unveil their new logo.  Ugh.  
• Election reform should be a top priority for congress, let's get it done!
• NBA All Star teams selected.  No Timberwolves or Suns.  
• Why do people keep getting shot at gun shows?  
• Starbucks giving their CEO an 80% pay increase is a symptom of the problems in this country. 
• Don't think GWB's stacking of the judicial system with conservative judges wasn't a problem?  
• Sarah Palin is out at Fox News.  Did they just now watch "Game Change"?    
• Thumbs up to Beautiful Women Pedia, nice site, check it out.  
• Stephen King rails against our failed gun control measures in new essay.  
• Does Bobby Jindal's rhetoric match with his practices?   Sadly, the answer is no. 
• Barack Obama has got to be the worst socialist ever.   
• Draft Nasty is a must read site if you are a fan of the NFL Draft. 
• Republicans continue to talk about rape.  They really should stop.  Just saying.  
• It's official, the 112th Congress was the most polarized ever.  Worst ever too?
  
• If you like fit women, you'll like the Buffyshot tumblr page. 

Paul Krugman is a Smart Man

“Now is the time for the government to spend more, not less, until the private sector is ready to carry the economy forward again—yet job-destroying austerity policies have instead become the rule,”

Even Ronald Reagan knew this.  I'm pretty sure that most in the GOP realize this too they just won't admit it in public, not when blaming the deficit on Obama has been much too easy (albeit incorrect) and much too beneficial to them. 

“The strange thing is that there was and is no evidence to support the shift in focus away from jobs and toward deficits. Where the harm done by lack of jobs is real and terrible, the harm done by deficits to a nation like America in its current situation is, for the most part, hypothetical. The quantifiable burden of debt is much smaller than you would imagine from the rhetoric, and warnings about some kind of debt crisis are based on nothing much at all.”

"End This Depression Now" should be required reading for all Republicans. 

Diamondbacks Trade Justin Upton

The Diamondbacks continue to confound me.  How do you trade away your best player, a 25 year old slugger with a team friendly contract no less, plus a serviceable infielder, for a utility player, a back of the rotation starter and a few middling prospects?  Shouldn't Justin Upton be the cornerstone you build around?  I will not go as far as to say that Prado and Delgado won't help the Diamondbacks next year but they are hardly what I'd call impact type players.  IMO, the team that obtains the best player wins the deal, in this case that would be the Braves. 

On a side note, I really have no clue what the Diamondbacks plan is anymore, they've been all over the map this offseason.  They've now traded away their best MLB player and their best minor league prospect and I don't know that they've improved themselves now or going forward.  I also question whether they maximized their return in either of those deals, they seemed to do a pretty good job of devaluing both before trading them.  The only thing I can come up with is that they are taking the 'moneyball' approach to building a team and are perhaps trying to create some payroll flexibility going forward.  All I know for sure is that I'm starting to lose faith in Kevin Towers. 


Trade:
Diamondbacks receive:  Martin Prado, Randall Delgado, Nick Ahmed, Zeke Spruill & Brandon Drury.
Braves receive:  Justin Upton, Chris Johnson

Jon Stewart Skewers Paul Ryan

More good stuff from Jon Stewart!

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Cardinals QB in 2013?

With a new head coach now selected, I think that it's a good time to begin pondering who will be the starting QB for the Arizona Cardinals in 2013?  From Bruce Arians introductory press conference, it appears that he favors an offense that will push the ball down the field, he's not a big fan of the dink and dunk west coast offense, to me that signals that he would prefer to bring someone in who's got a big arm who can stretch the field (such as Ben Roethlisberger who thrived in his offense).  So who will they/should they be looking at?

In House Candidates:

1. Kevin Kolb - Kolb was easily the Cardinals best QB in 2012, he's due $11 million next year though, and truth be told, he's really not a good fit for the Arians offense (just as wasn't a very good fit for the Ken Whisenhunt offense), IMO he's much more suited for a west coast offense.   
2. John Skelton - of all of the QB's on the roster, Skelton probably has the skill set that best matches up with what Arians is looking for, he's a big guy with a cannon of an arm.  When given the chance in to run Whisenhunt's offense though (which is not too different from the Arian's offense), Skelton struggled, his accuracy was lacking, his decision making was not good, his field vision was poor and he lacked any sort of mobility. 
3. Ryan Lindley - Lindley was horrible last year, he didn't show any accuracy, he forced his passes, he lacked mobility, he had no field vision, I honestly didn't see anything out of him that showed me any promise.  That being said, he also had no business being on the field at all last year, with a few years of development I'd guess he could develop into a capable backup. 
4. Brian Hoyer - he didn't look out of place in his limited action last year, but he is what he is, I don't see him as a starting caliber NFL QB, if he was he wouldn't have been available to the Cardinals in the middle of the season.  I'm guessing he won't be back. 

 Draft Canidates:

1. Geno Smith - he seems to be the consensus top QB in the upcoming draft, not that he doesn't have his critics though.  He's a great athlete, his mechanics are sound and he can make all the throws, if he's available when the Cardinals draft I think it may be hard for them to pass on him. 
2. Tyler Wilson - I like Wilson, a lot, probably more than Smith, he's got good size, a strong arm, he's tough, he's competitive and he's got that gunslinger mentality that you need at QB. 
3. Mike Glennon - he's my sleeper, read this description of him, that sounds exactly like what Arians described in his press conference. I'd take Smith and Wilson ahead of him but I wouldn't be disappointed with Glennon either. 
4. Matt Barkley - he's got all the intangibles you look for in a QB, nice size, decent arm strength, terrific mechanics, well coached, he did make some questionable decisions last year though and his accuracy was lacking at times.  I'm guessing he's a better fit in a west coast offense than an Arians offense.

Free Agents / Trade Candidates:

1. Alex Smith - You know this name is going to come up, it'll come up everywhere that there is a QB opening.  I have to believe that he'll be starting somewhere next season.  I'm not sure if the 49ers would be all that willing to trade him within their own division though.
2. Ryan Mallett - Tom Brady appears to have a few year left in him, so the Pats may be willing to listen to offers for Mallett.  He's a big guy with a rocket of an arm, he's learned from the best in Belichick and Brady, he may be a good fit for the Arians offense, IMO the Cardinals should be on the phone to them pronto. 
3. Brandon Weeden - Weeden struggled in year 1 with the Browns, rumblings are that they may already want to go in a different direction.  If that's the case, the Cardinals should put out some feelers.  Much like Kolb was a bad fit in the Whisenhunt offense, I think that Weeden was terribly miscast in Cleveland's west coast offense (admittedly, he may fit in better a Rob Chudzinski/Norv Turner offense though).  Anyways, he's a big, strong armed QB, I think he would thrive in an Arians offense. 
4. Ryan Fitzpatrick - The Bills appear ready to move in a different direction.  Fitzpatrick is a solid veteran, I could see him as a short term answer, I wouldn't consider him to the long term answer though, I think they'd need to draft someone too if they went this direction.  He's a local product too.  
5. Carson Palmer - the Raiders gave up a boat load to get him, there are rumblings that they're already ready to move on without him though.  He's still got some life in him and he's got a big arm, I would hope the Cardinals would at least kick the tires on him if he's available (if they could get him to restructure his deal that is). 
6. Matt Flynn - He didn't get much of a chance in Seattle, he probably deserves a shot someplace.  He may be a better fit in a west coast offense though.  
7. Drew Stanton - He's currently Andrew Luck's backup in Indianapolis so he knows Arian's offense, he's got a big arm, it's not out of the realm of possibility.  He may just need an opportunity. 

Notes:   I don't see Joe Flacco leaving the Ravens, Philip Rivers leaving the Chargers, Michael Vick leaving the Eagles, or Kirk Cousins leaving the Redskins and I would hope the Cardinals wouldn't bring in Tim Tebow.  My preference would be that the Cards clean house of their QB's and bring in someone new, my preference would be Alex Smith, although I could live with Mallet too, this would also allow the Cardinals to use their first round pick on an offense lineman.  I suspect that the price on those 2 will be too high though, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see them restructure Kevin Kolb's deal and hope they can find a QB in round 2-3 of the draft that they can groom for the future.  

Colin Powell

The GOP needs more Colin Powell's.

"When you see that 73 percent of Asian Americans, 73 percent of Hispanic Americans, 94 percent of African Americans voted for the president and not the party, you have to ask yourself, do we have to do something about immigration? Should we tone down some of the things we’ve been doing? Should we really have gone after reducing the turnout of voters in those places where we thought it would make a difference? The Republican Party should be a party that says, ‘We want everybody to vote,’ and make it easier to vote and give them a reason to vote for the party, not to find ways to keep them from voting at all. [...] You can’t just say, ‘Well, we’ll fix our message.’ It’s not the message. You have to appeal with policies and programs to these people who are going to be the leaders of our country in a generation."

500 Greatest Songs of All Time

Did you see this list from Rolling Stone?  They selected Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" as the greatest song of all time.  It's a nice list, it brought back some good memories. 

POTpourri

• It's Harbaugh vs Harbaugh in Super Bowl XLVII. 
• More arrests for marijuana than violent crimes?  Where are our priorities?
• President Obama signs executive orders on 23 gun control measures.
• Megan Fox looks pretty good post baby.  
• Even Joe Scarborough admits that gerrymandering won the GOP the House.
• Eagles hire Chip Kelly; Bears hire Marc Trestman. 
• Laura Michelle Prestin has a nice Instagram page! 
• Mozilla's making a smart phone?  I did not know that. 
• New York state passes sweeping gun control laws.  
• RIP Stan Musial, Earl Weaver, Conrad Bain & Dear Abby.  
• Who's going to be on the cover the 2013 SI Sports Illustrated issue? 
• WTF Manti Te'o?  Seriously?  So Bizarre.  Draft stock plummeting.
• Chargers hire Mike McCoy.  Jaguars hire Gus Bradley.  
• Why didn't anybody tell me about Jessica VerSteeg?  Or Daniella Moyles? 
• Just how long is that Subway Footlong Sub?  Colbert not impressed. 
• These Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories are just insane. 
• Candice Swanepoel lingerie pictures really do heat up January.   
• Will China's smog problem be it's downfall?   
• Sensing the changing demographics, Republicans making plans to steal future elections. 
• Roe v. Wade marks 40 years!   I would say it's become the law of the land. 

Obama Inaguration

Nice speech!  Now bring on that 2nd term!  

AZ Tidbits

• Jan Brewer sees the light, will expand medicare under Obamacare. 
• Baseball America reveals their Top 10 Diamondback prospects. 
• Arizona State releases 2013 football schedule. 
• The Suns name Lindsey Hunter as Interim Head Coach. 
• Justin Upton blocks trade to the Mariners. 
• Just who is in the Sheriff's posse that is protection our schools?   
• Former Cardinal Aeneas Williams named Hall of Fame finalist again.  
• Tucson Councilman Steve Kozachik dumps the Republican party. 
• ASU men's hoops team ranked among the 15 most watchable NCAA teams. 
• Phoenix ranked as number 3 as Most Desirable Cities to Move to. 
• Doug MacEachern's rail against dark money is worth a read.
• The Suns notch their 2000th career franchise victory. 
• The Arizona Republic took an interesting look at Arizona vs Massachusetts.  
• Former Cardinal coach Ken Whisenhunt winds up in San Diego; Horton to Cleveland. 
• Everyone should make it to the Barett Jackson Auto Auction at least once. 
• Tom Moore added to the Arizona Cardinals coaching staff.  Excellent move.  
• What are the Top 5 Hotels/Resorts in the metro Phoenix area? 

The Very Sexy Bandeau

Cardinals Hire Bruce Arians

The Arizona Cardinals hired Bruce Arians as their head coach yesterday.  I have some mixed feelings on this hire.  On one hand, I've heard nothing but glowing reports about him, he seems highly respected by just about everyone he has dealt with.  On the other hand, it also means the departure of Ray Horton and I'm a big fan of Ray Horton, I think he's one of the better young up and coming coaches in the NFL and I fear they may one day regret this decision.  Another thing that makes me a bit weary is that Arians favors an offense that is not all that dissimilar to the one that of Ken Whisenhunt ran and we all know how that turned out.  In the end though, I can understand the decision, they really had to go with an offensive guy, the offense last year was horrendous and something needed to done on that side of the ball.  As I understand it, Arians will be calling his own plays on offense, that's probably a good thing too as he has hired Harold Goodwin as his Offensive Coordinator.  Goodwin was the OL coach with the Colts last year, he has no experience running an NFL offense.  Defensively, I'm hoping they don't change things up too much, the personnel and schemes were not the problem last year, the lack of offense was the problem.  Reports have it that Todd Bowles will get the DC spot, he was the Eagles DC last year, I would hope that he doesn't change things up too much.  I'm going to give the Cardinals the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best (although that rumored Horton as head coach, Norv Turner as OC and Mike Tice as OL coach combo would have been my preference if it was truly an option). 

Suns Fire Alvin Gentry

The Phoenix Suns fired head coach Alvin Gentry on Friday.  This move has left me shaking my head.  While I'm far from pleased with where the Suns are at this point, the thought that Alvin Gentry was the problem is beyond ridiculous, I think he's actually done a decent job with the roster that he was given.  The problem starts at the top, Robert Sarver, Lon Babby, and Lance Blanks all seem to be in over their heads, the organization appears rudderless and without a plan, perhaps some of the accountability should be pointed in that direction.  If they really want to improve the team, they need to put better players on the floor.  They are in desperate need of an impact player, someone to excite the fans, someone to give the franchise some life and I'm not confident that they have the front office in place to acquire a player like that.  The timing of this move is a prime example, what was the rush?  With or without Gentry the Suns are not going to be making a playoff run this season, couldn't they have waited until they at least had a succession plan in place to replace Gentry?  I really miss Jerry Colangelo!  

Lance Armstrong Liar

Lance Armstrong has finally come clean, he's admitted to his doping.  Color me not impressed.

Ronald Reagan the Liberal

Do you think that Ronald Reagan could make it through a Republican Primary nowadays? 

Gun Control - he favored a assault weapons ban.

Taxes - he raised taxes 11 times and proposed closing loopholes for millionaires.  

Unions - he called union membership "one of the most elemental human rights" and supported collective bargaining. 

Immigration - he supported amnesty for illegal immigrants. 

Social Security - he proclaimed social security has nothing to do with the deficit. 

Spending - he proclaimed that "deficits don't matter".

Bob Schieffer Asks a Fair Question

Bob Schieffer asks a good question of John McCain.  He didn't get an answer either.

POTpourri

• Do you think the GOP realize that Ronald Reagan favored an assault weapons ban?
• Cleveland Browns hire Rob Chudzinski as head coach. 
• 2013 Golden Globe winners can be found here.  I thought Katherine McPhee won the night.
• If the GOP wants to choose the Cabinet perhaps they should have won the election. 
• Katherine Webb to appear in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.  She's hot!
• Is it finally time for Tim Tebow to convert to Tight End?  
• GQ names Beyonce Knowles the Hottest Woman of the Millennium.
• The GOP just can't stop talking about 'legitimate rape' for some reason.
• Have you seen the 2014 Corvette Stingray?  It looks pretty sweet!  
• Paul Krugman opines that the debt crisis is already "mostly solved".  He could be right.
• The AP NFL All-Pro team named.  PFW's picks here. 
• Clarence Thomas speaks?  WTF?  Can we just impeach him already? 
• Business leaders tell the GOP to stop with the debt limit hostage taking. 
• Are the Sacramento Kings headed to Seattle?  
• Isn't it about time we do something about our gerrymandering problem?
• Irina Shayk in a bikini!  Hot!  GQ pictures here not bad either. 
• Is the conservative media establishment made up of a bunch of grifters?  Please beware. 
• Who's to blame for the expiration of the payroll tax cut?  
• It's official, Glenn Beck has finally lost his mind.   
• How did California clean up their fiscal mess so quickly?  Hint, the GOP had nothing to do with it.

Minnesota Twins Offseason

The Minnesota Twins finished the 2011 season with the worst record in the American League (63-99).  What did they do to improve themselves after that 2011 season?  They cut salary, because apparently they feel that's how you improve your ball club.  They went from a $112 million payroll in 2011 to a $94 million payroll in 2012.  The results?  Pretty predictable, a 66-96 record and the worst record in the American League for the second straight year.

So what do they do after the 2012 season to improve themselves in 2013?  More of the same of course, cut more salary, because apparently they felt it worked fine the previous year.  At this point, they are projected to have a payroll in the $80 million range in 2013.  For the mathematically challenged of you out there, that's a decrease of $32 million over the course of 2 seasons, all the while playing in a brand spanking new stadium that was built so that the team could remain competitive.

They can't possibly expect different results in 2013 can they?  They're still missing a top of the rotation starting pitcher (or two), they've weakened themselves defensively (trading away Span & Revere), they lost a lot of team speed (trading away Span & Revere and not bringing back Alexi Casilla), they weakened the top of their batting order, their middle infield is still shaky, third base is still a question mark and they have no closer.  I smell trouble ahead. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely opposed to the Span & Revere trades, I think they got good value in return for both of them, outside of Vance Worley though you won't see the benefits of that trade for another year or two.  Free agency certainly hasn't helped either, were Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey really the best they could come up with?  Correia didn't even end last year in the Pirates starting rotation and Pelfrey is coming off of Tommy John surgery.  It's not like they didn't have the cash to spend either (see above, they've cut payroll by $32 million over the past 2 seasons), and apparently they are done making major moves this offseason.  You cannot convince me that more could not have been done to improve the quality of the product they will be putting on the field in 2013. 

At this point, I'm predicting another 90+ loss season, on the bright side though, that will come with another high draft pick in the 2014 MLB Draft.  My advise to Twins fans, save your money (just as the Twins are) until they show a commitment to putting a quality product on the field again. 

The Sky Is Pink

Have you seen the anti-fracking documentary 'GasLand'?   If not, I highly recommend, it's very informative and terrifying at the same time.  'The Sky Is Pink' was then subsequently made to counter some of the natural gas industry's attempts to discredit the film in their attempt to get fracking legislation passed in the state of New York.  Give it a watch!



 

2013 All Minnesota NCAA Basketball Team

How do you think this team would do?  

C - Mike Muscala - Bucknell - Rosevill, MN - SR
C - Jared Berggren - Wisconsin - Princeton, MN - SR

PF - Trevor Mbakwe - Minnesota - St Paul, MN - SR
PF - Sam Dower - Gonzaga - Brooklyn Park, MN - JR
PF - Mike Bruesewitz - Wisconsin - St Paul, MN - SR

SF - Rodney Williams - Minnesota - Minneapolis, MN - SR
SF - Trent Lockett - Marquette - Golden Valley, MN - SR
SF - Ethan Wragge - Creighton - Eden Prairie, MN - JR

OG - Joe Coleman - Minnesota - Minneapolis, MN - SO
OG - Raymond Cowels III - Santa Clara - Minneapolis, MN - SR

PG - Nate Wolters - South Dakota St - St Cloud, MN - SR
PG - Jordair Jett - Saint Louis - St Paul, MN - JR
PG - Siyani Chambers - Harvard - Golden Valley, MN - FR

2011/2012 Team
2010/2011 Team 

Some promising young guys on the way up too:
Tyus Jones - Apple Valley, MN
Rashad Vaughn - Robbinsdale, MN
Reid Travis - Minneapolis, MN
Alex Illikainen - Grand Rapids, MN

As The Rush Comes

....I'm not sure who these ladies are or what they are promoting, but I approve. 



You can find more similar videos here. 

POTpourri

• Alabama routs Notre Dame to win BCS Championship. 
• NHL strike ends, games to begin 01/19/2013.  Should we forget?  
• The 2013 Academy Award nominees named.  
• A cheaper iPhone?  Sounds intriguing.  
• Nobody elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.  Why no Mike Piazza?  
• Why are we allowing Gerrymandering to kill American Democracy? 
• Buffalo Bills hire Doug Marrone as new head coach. 
• Have you seen GQ's list of the Best Breasts of 2012?  
• Tea Party hits record level of unpopularity in latest public opinion poll.  
• Alabama QB A.J. McCarron is doing alright off the field too. Just ask Brent Musburger.
• Remember when Bill Kristol wanted Chuck Hagel to be Vice President? 
• Should the U.S. mint a trillion dollar coin?  Paul Krugman makes a good point. 
• Teen Mom Farrah Abraham is looking good these days!
• Please read up on the conservative money making machine.  
• Why aren't 'fiscal conservatives' outraged by wasteful defense and drug war spending? 
• Perhaps some psychological testing should be in store for Alex Jones.  Just saying.  
• It's official, 2012 was the warmest in U.S. recorded history.   
• RIP Ned Wertimer.  
• How is that "Austerity" thing working for you Europe? 
• Sapphire Strip Club in Las Vegas unveils plans for a new adult pool.
• WTF AIG, you've got some big balls. 

2012 Year in Review

AZ Tidbits

• The Suns are apparently in trade talks with Memphis for Rudy Gay.  Pull the trigger!
• Gabrielle Giffords and Mark Craig launch 'Americans for Responsible Solutions'.   
• The Cardinals name Steve Keim as new General Manager.  Good call.  
• Is it too early to begin the recall proceedings for Matt Salmon?  
• Sun Devil All American DT Will Sutton announces that he will return for his Senior year. 
• Are you familiar with the Phoenix areas Top 5 wealthiest zip codes? 
• RIP Jeff Lewis.    
• Is Richard Carmona going to run for Governor of Arizona?    
• It appears that the Diamondbacks are still shopping Justin Upton for some reason. 
• Be careful of those PediCabs in Old Town Scottsdale. 
• Cardinals set to draft number 7 in the 2013 NFL Draft. 
• Arizona's American's for Responsible Leadership "Non Profit" runs afoul of the IRS. 
• Not cool Darnell Dockett.   There are plenty of single women out there for you. 
• Is Jeff Flake going to be more moderate than his history suggests?  Probably not.
• Should Arizona gun owners have the right to destroy their legally obtained guns?  
• Arizona is about to hit a population milestone, 6.64 million residents. 
• Valle Luna in Phoenix ranked as 14th best eatery in the country. 
• Asian-Americans say Latinos not the only ones hit by Arizona immigration law. 
• The University of Arizona to offer a minor in hip-hop. 
• Arizona law could make online impersonation twitter parody accounts a felony. 

New David Bowie

David Bowie is back, finally, after 10 years with "Where Are We Now".   It's not the most uplifting tune but I'm guessing his fans will be happy with it. 

TPSG Top 10 Movies of 2012

The critics may not agree with all of these picks but I enjoyed them, that's all that matters.  For the record, I like smart movies, I like action and suspense, I like to laugh, I like good acting and good direction.  Keep in mind, I haven't seen everything, not by a long shot, so this list could still be subject to some updating.  

Top 10 Movies of 2012: 

1. Zero Dark Thirty - Jessica Chastain, Jason Clark - I think Kathryn Bigelow has become my favorite director, this was a fantastic movie.  Jessica Chastain should win an Oscar for this one.  
2. Django Unchained - Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz - great cast, great acting, lots of violence and suspense with a few laughs mixed in, I absolutely loved it.  
3. Argo - Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston - a smart thriller that does a great job of building suspense even though anybody with any knowledge of U.S. history already knows how it's going to end.
4. Silver Linings Playbook - Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence - Great cast, great performances, great direction, just a great all around movie. 
5. The Dark Knight Rises - Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway  - Not quite at the level of the "The Dark Knight" but still an excellent movie. 
6. Ted - Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis - Who would have thought that a talking/walking Teddy Bear could be so funny?  This was easily the funniest movie of the year. 
7. Lincoln - Daniel Day Lewis, Tommy Lee Jones - I predict an easy Best Actor win for Daniel Day Lewis for this one, he does an absolutely remarkable job as Abe Lincoln.   
8. End of Watch - Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Pena - Gritty movie about cops patrolling south central Los Angeles.  Action packed, horrific, tragic and edge of your seat.  
9. Life of Pi -  Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan - really a remarkable movie to watch.
10. Skyfall - Daniel Craig, Judi Dench - Daniel Craig has really revitalized the Bond franchise. 

America Voted for Divided Government?

. . . at least according to Mitch McConnell, here's his quote from this past weekend's "Meet the Press":

" the United States chose a divided government to tackle difficult economic issues facing the nation."

Really?  Apparently, he's overlooking the fact that America just re-elected Democrat Barack Obama as President, increased the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate and won a majority of the popular vote for U.S. House seats.  If not for the gerrymandering of House seats we'd have a Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives too.  Republicans at this point have absolutely have no mandate, they should not be dictating anything to anybody.  

Ray Lewis

I'm going to miss the Ray Lewis entrance dance!

Packers 24, Vikings 10

NFC Wildcard Playoffs 

The Packers throttle the Vikings 24-10 tonight in the first round of the NFL Playoffs.  The Vikings had a nice opening drive, after that it was all Packers. Joe Webb started in place of an injured Christian Ponder and put to rest any thoughts that anybody may have had of him being a starting caliber NFL QB, he was pretty awful. Given that the Vikings won 10 games this year I fear they may be stuck with Christian Ponder at QB going forward, I am far from sold on him, he really didn't have that good a year himself, make no mistake though, Ponder is better than Joe Webb. As disappointed as I am with the loss, you cannot be unhappy with the season as a whole, they improved from 3 wins to 10 wins, they had a great draft class, Adrian Peterson returned from a devastating knee injury to possibly win the MVP Award, they made the playoffs, no doubt about it, things are looking brighter moving forward.  Some tweaks are needed though, they need to resolve the Percy Harvin situation, they could use a WR who can stretch the field, they need to at the very least find a veteran QB who can push Ponder.  

Observations:

• Nothing went right for the Vikings tonight.  Nothing.  
• The Packers did a nice job of containing Adrian Peterson. 
• The Vikings are a much better team indoors than outdoors.
• I don't think there's a better QB in football right now than Aaron Rodgers. 
• If the Vikings bring Joe Webb back next year I would hope it's as a WR not a QB.   
• The limitations of the Cover-2 defense were on full display tonight. 
• Why didn't the Vikings try an onside kick after their last TD?   
• Draft needs for the Vikings in 2013:   DT, WR, LB.  
• Faith Hill was probably the highlight of the game for me.  
• Up next for the Vikings?  NFL Draft.  April 25, 2013. 

POTpourri

• Nothing like some Xenia Deli pictures to kick off the new year.  
• USA wins the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship! 
• Jon Huntsman calls the GOP 'devoid of a soul'.  I concur.
• Sean Hannity's ratings take a tumble.  Is sanity finally prevailing?
• Maxim ranks the Top 100 Sexiest Russian women.  Here's another list.  
• Just when you think House Republicans couldn't sink any lower, they deliver.  
• Johnny Manziel is doing alright for himself off the field too.  
• Al Jazeera acquires Current TV. 
• It's confirmed, Michele Bachmann is still crazy. 
• RIP Patti Page & Wren Blair. 
• John Boehner re-elected for a second term as Speaker of the House. 
• Jessica Alba is looking mighty good these days.  
• The myth of the 'Fiscal Conservative' lives on.  
• Senator Barney Frank?  Works for me.   
• Andy Reid named head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. 
• Hello Veronica Pliego, how come I've never heard of you? 
• Is Peter King finally wising up to the far right?  It sure looks like it. About time.
• North Dakota State repeats as FCS football champions. 
• Why is the estate tax going to be adjusted for inflation but minimum wage is not?
• More evidence surfaces on the GOP's "War on Women".  It's real folks. 

Arizona Cardinal Coaching Candidates

Andy Reid - it looks like he's headed to the Chiefs.  I'm honestly not too broken up about that as it sounds like he wants a lot of control over much of the football operations.  I'm a firm believer that you need to keep the coaching duties and front office duties separate, when any one person gains too much control things start to get a bit off kilter (as they did with Ken Whisenhunt when he gained more player personnel say the last couple of years). 

Ray Horton - he's done an outstanding job with the Cardinals defense and seems to have a lot of respect in the Cardinals lockeroom.  I could live with him as head coach, only on the condition that he bring in an experienced offensive coordinator to run the offense though (and rumor has it that he does have ties to Norv Turner from his playing days with the Cowboys).  The big downside to hiring Horton as the head coach is that you'd lose him as the defensive coordinator as he was already said he wouldn't be calling the defensive plays if he's named head coach.  It's probably safe to say that they'd be running the same defensive schemes though. 

Todd Haley - the Bidwells apparently are big fans of Todd Haley and given his offensive pedigree (and the Cardinals offensive struggles), he might make sense with the Cardinals, especially if they would be able to retain Horton as the Defensive Coordinator.  If hiring Haley as head coach meant losing Horton though, I think I'd probably just as soon see them go with Horton. 

Mike McCoy - he's the current offensive coordinator for the Broncos.  He won last year with Tim Tebow and this year with Peyton Manning and those two couldn't be more different, that would bode well for him with whoever ends up at QB for the Cardinals next year.  He's in demand, the Bills, Bears and Eagles will also be interviewing him.  I think it's only a matter of time before he's a head coach somewhere.

Bill O'Brien - he seems to have impressed a lot of people with how he's handled the mess at Penn State, he's also got NFL experience with the Patriots.  He's also an offensive guy too so that would be a plus for the Cardinals. 

I haven't heard many rumblings about Lovie Smith or Chip Kelly, I doubt that they go in that direction though.  At this point I'm guessing they'll be going with Horton or Haley, but you never know, a darkhorse could certainly still emerge (Bill Cowher?  Doug Marrone?  Bruce Arians?  Mike Holmgren?).  Don't scoff at the big name suggestions, the Bidwells have brought in Buddy Ryan and Dennis Green in the past, they're not afraid to go big when the situation calls for it.

January Flavor of the Month . . . . .

. . . . . is Karlie Montana.  Check her out!

AZ Tidbits

• The Arizona Cardinals fire Ken Whisenhunt and Rod Graves. 
• Is Andy Reid in line to replace Ken Whisenhunt?  
• KTAR's list of the Top 25 Arizonans to watch in 2013 is interesting. 
• Let the Alex Smith to Arizona rumors commence.  
• Patrick Peterson is sole Arizona Cardinal named to the NFL Pro Bowl.
• Sure enough, Arizona state leaders want a gun in every school.  
• The Arizona Republic names Jon Kyl 2012 Arizonan of the Year.
• UA knocks off Nevada 49-48 in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. 
• Joe Arpaio wants armed posse members in schools.  
• Former ASU Sun Devil Cain Velasquez wins back the UFC Heavyweight title. 
• New Times lists the 13 Phoenix Artists You need to Hear in 2013.  
• Arizona increased access to guns and decreased funding for mental health services in 2012.