The March '09 Book: The Reader

by Bernhard Schlink...set in 1960's Germany...the retelling of a sickly boy's preoccupation with his new female friend and lover, an older woman with a secret past. I found the story compelling and the writing style unique for its perspective. The drama is found in subtle emotions that is not readily understood by everyone. The book was made into a major motion picture, of which I have not yet seen; I have some doubts as to how the movie adaptation could accurately reflect the different levels of experiences felt by the protagonist. The first half of the book is a series of accounts between the teenage boy and the much older woman; The second half of the book is more brutal in its assessment of how the now older boy observesation changes his outlook on life. What did you think of the book?

A little perspective on Socialism...

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism.
All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.  After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little..  The second test average was a D!  No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.
 The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.  All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.

-- thanks to Mr. Victor Burek via MBS Close commentary...and well said.

What were They thinking?

There seems to be a ripple in the universe lately with the news that AIG gave out HUGE bonuses to employees, shortly AFTER receiving billions in bailout money from the U.S. Government. This in spite of constant hemmoraging by AIG within their balance sheets. Logic would dictate that this wouldn't be prudent, by any means, because naturally, people would become upset over the very idea -- how can Joe Six Pack, he of the unstable employment situation and house under threat of foreclosure, accept this TraviShamMockery? There is no disputing the fact that AIG management failed, yet again, to exhibit proper judgement in this instance, but then again, they ARE following the proviso's as set forth by the pre-bailout comp plans to their employees who met or exceeded their goals. This is an incentive-driven business, something that Wall Street is very sensitive to, something that Obama does not (nor seemingly care to) understand, and something that Tim Geitner has apparently forgotten after only having been removed from Fed Reserve of NY post just three months prior.
If anyone within AIG is to have their bonuses retracted, it should be the employees within the financial division who were so lax in their diligence so as to put the company in this predicament from the beginning. This is the consensus shared by most Wall Streeters and peers of the perpetrators. Obama and Geitner would be wise to re-think their populist hard-line drivel before they spout off about something they failed to understand or refused to associate themselves with, in the name of politics.
Memo to Congressmen who are currently spouting off their versions of "oh, the humanity" speeches regarding AIG bonuses: spare us your flow of illogic -- and where was this incredible display of concern 18 (or even 8) months ago when it was needed most? Welcome to the party, pal! And oh, by the way, when you grovel on your hands and knees next year, hat in hand, begging for political donations -- who the crap do you think will be in the better financial position to get you a donation: Joe Six Pack or Winthorp Wall Street? Good Luck with that.

Letter from The Boss

internal memo circulating the interwebs...

Fellow Employees:
As the CFO of this business that employees 140 people, I have resigned myself to the fact that Barack Obama is our President, and that our taxes and government fees will increase in a BIG way. To compensate for these increases, I estimate that our Clients will have to see an increase in our fees to them of about 8%. Since we cannot increase our fees right now due to the dismal state of our economy, we will have to lay off six of our employees instead. This has really been eating at me for a while, as we believe we are family here and I didn't know how to choose who will have to go.
So, this is what I did: I strolled thru our parking lot and found 8 Obama bumper stickers on our employees' cars and have decided these folks will be the first to be laid off. I can't think of a more fair way to approach this problem. These folks wanted change; I gave it to them. If you have a better idea, let me know.

Sincerely,
The Boss

It's the JOBS, stupid

Hey, Mr. President, here's a suggestion on how to get the economy back on track: CREATE MORE JOBS! Gee, what a concept. People aren't buying because they don't know if they'll have a full-time job tomorrow, let alone a part-time job. Many have leveraged themselves to the hilt, and now they are pulling back to stabilize or increase cash flow. We don't want a hand-out, we want to have the ability to earn our keep, to pay our own bills, to participate in the success of the country by paying our FAIR SHARE of taxes. We are not into subsidizing Joe Deadbeat because he couldn't budget his finances. Try sharing this concept with Main Street -- I have and they all say the same thing. More jobs equals more payroll taxes, which means more help to local municipalities. Most of us want to contribute to society, and not many want to be on the dole. Create incentives to hire more employees. Create joint ventures with States to get the infrastructure repaired asap. Don't let the federal government take on all the responsibility -- let corporations contribute by way of incenting new hiring policies in exchange for tax credits on contributions to their local communities and charities. Provide attractive awards to scholars of universities that promote goodwill or work in conjunction with other organizations to make the world a better place (very general statement, I agree, but it can be fine-tuned, you get the idea). Finally, leave Wall Street alone. It can correct itself. The bad will be singled out and eliminated by their own kind. Enforce the existing regulations more stringently, otherwise stay away and it will come around, it always has before. Stop getting on the air every other day with the gloom and doom talk -- you are not solving anything with that negative nay-bob crap. Bottom Line: don't openly advocate subsidizing things -- instead, promote private corporations and municipalities with joint ventures, all the while providing a safety net (for emergencies only), and sit back to watch it evolve into a brighter, shinier future...think about it.

Running out of excuses in Obama-land

At a business networking event, I was asked what I thought about the Stimulus Package. Seems there's lots of small business owners still not sure what to make of the new proposals by the Obama Administration, and for good reason. Let's start with the facts, or should I say lack of them. I hear lots of fluff and good general ideas and shameless self-promotion, but no substance of any specific kind. Hard to get behind something that carries no weight. Meanwhile, the Dow continues to fall, and sooner or later Obama will run out of excuses or people to blame, so I hope he's re-adjusting his spin. Maybe he's starting to get the point: just today, the President has sent out a message (albeit subtle) to buy stocks now because they are so cheap -- wait, what? If Dubya did that, he'd be skewered in so many pieces by the MSM it wouldn't be funny (and it wasn't funny towards the end). Here's an idea, Mr. President: put your money where your mouth is by publicly disclosing the invesments you've chosen for your daughter's 529 accounts -- I'm sure they are fully vested into the equities market, right now, today. Aren't they? Really? And today we get another slap-down by the Administration because of disparaging comments on the stimulus package, as made by another financial advisor on CNBC; Press Secretary Gibbs tells us that the audience garnered by this show is too small to be considered a fair representative of the Court of Public Opinion, yet if that was true, why bother commenting about it? Speaking of CNBC, check out the comments made by Eric Hovde today: http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1050674027&play=1

Let's hope Obama and Geitner are paying attention to what really matters and not the stupid fluff that Pelosi and Reid are promoting...get real, for once!!

Someone make it stop

Dow down another 200 plus points today. There's no end in sight. Thought we saw the bottom last week. It looks more and more like it was a Dead Cat Bounce. It's not entirely rocket science to stop this runaway train at this point, but you wouldn't know it by the signals Washington gives out. If I was President, what would I do, you say?

The Spirit of Giving

Not to be confused with The Season of Giving. This month's theme is Giving (up). OK, I can contribute: recently I gave up drinking soda of any kind, as well as using artificial sweetener. Regarding the first -- it helps to know that I was a heavy soda drinker, mostly because of my affinity for Rum and Pepsi drinks. But I constantly felt bloated and "heavy" whenever I drank soda, so I thought I'd try to kick it for New Year's, and lo and behold, I did it. Cold Turkey. Don't know what I did or how I did it, but it's done. And I'm surprised that I don't have any cravings for it like I used to (years back when I would give it up for Lent). By the way, I don't feel "heavy" as much as I used to, and I'm sure it's good for me to not drink the crap anymore, so I heartily recommend it. As for the the artificial sweetener: same MO, heard it was bad for you, and I don't use sweetener that much, so I decided to eliminate it from daily use. I still drink Aquafina fruit waters, and they do have Splenda in them, but I'm not drinking much of it, plus I wanted to kick the practice of adding artificial sweetener to my coffee and such, and I did. It's all part of the plan to drop 30 pounds by July 4th...hope it works.

The Six for Saturday List

Six People That Need to Stop Aging:

1) Bonnie Raitt. She'll always be the Angel from Montgomery. And I can listen to that voice all night long. Please don't stop singing for us...

2) Anyone from The Brat Pack. Their aging in front of my eyes makes me long for the good ol' days...and further reminds me that Time Waits for No One.

3) Chris Matthews of MSNBC. You may not agree with his politics, but especially after we lost Tim Russert, we need guys like Chris to hang around and give us more human-esque versions of political point-counterpoint.

4) David Letterman. Dave, I remember when you used to come out in dress slacks, blazer, shirt, tie, and...wrestling shoes. Stay gold, Pony Boy.

5) Dennis Erickson. I'll admit, this is a selfish pick. DE is the head football coach of my beloved Arizona State University Sun Devils. I would love to see him have more time and energy to get our program back on national prominence. If only...

6. My Wife. I don't know of anyone over 30 that likes to get old. Jo is still gettin' it done, but she's not one for having patience and dealing with gravity and physical wear-and-tear, and every year takes that glimmer in her eye down just a notch. Hang in there, lady!


Six People for Who It's Already Too Late:

1) Robert Redford. Wow, what happened? The world needs more people like you to raise the level of awareness about injustice and affairs of the heart.

2) Dyan Cannon. I can't believe that she recently turned 71. Wow. I loved her enthusiasm, especially seeing her courtside at Lakers games.

3) Madonna. Sometimes it's better to just let go and accept the aging process. I admire that you got yourself in GREAT shape, but you're still a 50-yr old lady playing in a 20 yr old world -- is that really working for you?

4) Joe Elliot / Simon LeBon. Boys, I admire that you still want to Rock On. God knows that if anyone wants to trade places with you, it's me. But have you looked at yourselves on camera? Either see Madonna's training regimen or step aside -- we want to remember you for who you were, not what you are now.

5) Mohammad Ali. Life can be a cruel thing. You represented a generation, and you will always be The Greatest. May the rest of your years be easy on you.

6. Me. What the hell happened? Who is that guy in the mirror?

The Bush Legacy

One of the more amusing quotes I've read this weekend was on the topic of how Bush 43 will be remembered by historians. When it was mentioned that critics see the POTUS as clueless and stubborn, former Bush speechwriter Kasey Pipes says Not So Fast, My Friends: (anti-Bush supporters) "suffer from the same flaws the critics say they see in the President: They're too lazy, they're too simple and they're too lacking in nuance."
As most well-studied historians know (and as Obama and his team are quickly learning), the job of POTUS leaves no room for error, and every move is scrutinized and questioned, if not from the opposite party, then certainly by the partisans. No POTUS in recent memory has escaped brutal second-guessing and constructive criticism. Obama will be no exception. Bush 43 left much to be desired, and there were many times that many Republicans felt abandoned and perplexed by the administration's perspective, but it's no different than any other POTUS we've seen in our lifetime. JFK had youthful exuberance and the New Frontier -- he also gave the green light to the Bay of Pigs fiasco soon after taking office. Johnson was instrumental in pushing forward the Civil Rights movements, but he couldn't control the massive anti-war movement at home, resting so heavy on his conscious that he refused to run for re-election. Nixon was a giant in shuttle diplomacy but succumbed to the psychotic strains of paranoia to the point of making a major lapse in judgement, which ultimately forced him to resign. Ford was the right man at the right time to guide America's healing process, but could not overcome the economic recession and double-digit inflation strangling the country. Carter brought hope of being an outsider that was needed to break up the malaise, but only made it worse. Reagan was the pillar of strength our foreign policy needed, and he brought down Communism, but he, too, made a lapse in judgement with Iran-Contra that some say was attributable to his age. Bush 41 rode in on incumbent coattails and the jury was out until he was unable to win re-election. Clinton was an engaging populist and took full advantage of the prior administration's diligence in revamping the economy, but his reckless and callous libido overshadowed any positive influence he may have gained and remains forever tainted. Bush 43 came in as an independent thinker, a governor of a large US state, fully capable on paper, but quickly lost steam with his questionable cabinet appointments to key positions, not to mention his devil-may-care attitude about massive increases in federal spending and imperialistic policies, but on that last note, I will argue that history will show him to be more correct than most give him credit for. Unfortunately for Bush 43, his communication skills and ineffective talent for spin-doctoring has left us yearning for more, and time will be the only solution. But shame on any amateur or myopic critics who are only too quick to mouth off against the man for what they see as a weak leader. As I always say, There's Two Sides To Every Story, and history will soon tell us all of it. I only hope I'm around to see it...and the subsequent washing of egg off many faces.

Already struggling

First off: a belated Happy New Year to all. As we reach the mid-point of the 3rd day of the year, I am already behind on my New Year's resolutions. One of my resolutions was to blog every day for at least a month -- a couple of months ago, I joined this "club" that gives your blog web-wide recognition but the only requirement is that you blog every day for a month. Well, so much for that one. There's always next month, and hey, isn't February a short month? Next on the list is a regular regimen of diet and exercise. So far, no good. Can I use this weekend as my "transition stage" and go legit on Monday? That works for me. But I still have to "transition". OK, haven't had breakfast yet today, so doesn't that count? Playing cards tonight with the boys, so I'll be indulging in cocktails, but I could help myself by not eating or snacking during or after the drinking hours. A couple of years ago, I was on a strict daily run/walk/weightlifting routine and it worked very well. I'd like to restart that program, but it's been difficult for me to get motivated enough to get up early for the walk/run. Doesn't work after work or after the kids go to sleep -- my work hours are too uneven to rely on for a steady program, and by the time the kids go to sleep, I'm exhausted, too. The "crack of Dawn" routine is the only one that works for my schedule, but it's so difficult to implement because of the cold and dark of the pre-dawn hours -- who wants to get out of a warm bed for that? Sounds like the first thing I need to do is to overcome the objections instead of the weather or hours.
Yes, it's a psychological battle that I fight every day. I just have to suck it up and deal with it. My goal is to lose 30 pounds by Easter, then keep it off to at least July 4th. If I can stay with it, it will stay with me. Anything you do on a daily basis over a 30-day period is more likely to be incorporated into your daily routine for the rest of your life, all things being equal, so I'd like to see if I can push myself enough to make it happen.
What's on your resolution list? Feel welcome to share your thoughts and ideas. I need all the motivation and help I can get!

"close" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades

It was so close. It was right in front of us -- and by "us", I mean all die-hard AND bandwagon Carolina Panther fans. We were 15 minutes away from home field advantage throughout the NFL playoffs. The spotlight would be on the Queen City. The announcers of the game had suddenly changed their pro-Giant bias to the other team, and even waxed eloquently on the current owner of the team (a former NFL star who is currently awaiting a heart donor for transplant). Charlotte was feeling special -- imagine the spotlight! the glamour! the stars that would be coming to us! Sure, in terms of the game, the formerly no-name cast of players and coaches would receive more national exposure. Even better is that the networks would have had to acknowledge us and pile on heaps of praise for all the world to see. The latter is what I was focusing in on as the clock wound down. Players can play anywhere -- unlike baseball or hockey, the playing fields in the NFL, like the NBA, are absolute and never change due to venue or arena, so there's no excuse other than fan support for home field advantage. What really matters is the map of where the road travels. And we were almost in complete control of it. I don't blame the loss too much on the miss from the usually reliable kicker -- the distance on the kick was good, but the wind pushed it out at the last 10 yards. Should the kicker has adjusted the angle for better percentage? Perhaps -- after all, he is a highly paid professional, and this is his only job requirement, so I'm sure he's being skewered right now on various sports talk shows, especially in Panther Nation. Then again, the coaches knew what elements they were fighting against, so they could have played it better in moving the ball closer to the goal line instead of taking the safe way out. But that is so typical of this coaching staff: they live (and die) on erring on the side of caution. In the end, the defense did not hold and the game was lost in overtime. Even worse than the loss was the fact that the Giants covered the betting line, so all the Vinnies in Brooklyn and Mad Dogs and Czabans in sports media could remove their thumb from their mouth and loudly proclaim (in their best Dice Clay voice): "fuggetaboutit -- I knew it all along -- right here! Oh!"...and the beat goes on.

Where you goin' with that UB-40 in your hand?

Something is not quite right here. I constantly hear that's there's a LOT of people out of work these days. More than usual. Much more than expected. And worse yet, there's more to follow in the coming months. Most companies that are planning massive layoffs are only waiting until after the holidays so as to not appear like Scrooge, but you know they would prefer to do it now and close their books on this year asap. Tonight on CNBC they were talking about a guy in California that is at the point of losing his house to foreclosure, and it's mostly due to him losing his job earlier this year. He also owns three rentals, and all three tenants have lost their jobs, too, so he's getting no relief. He's appealed to his state and local government for assistance, and what do they do? They establish a public hearing to listen to his story and the plight of other similar Sad Sacks. Needless to say, the poor guy is not expecting much to come out of it for another 8-10 months, and he's at a loss as to what's he's supposed to do while they talk amongst themselves.
You may be aware that California is not exactly raking in the revenues right now; the Governator is appealing to anyone that will listen that the state is in need of some type of bailout funds. Of course, this went over well with other states in similar straits, so they quickly chimed in with their hat in hand, too.
What concerns me is that we seem to be heading into the Perfect Storm: A very high debt service, thanks to allocated bailout funds, but less-than average revenue sources due to unexpected high unemployment. And the POTUS-e is concerned that the Fed has played all remaining trump cards prior to his coming into office, which doesn't help him with his plans to resurrect the economy, thus firmly establishing his legacy as the Savior of the Country. Are you saying that the 'publicans are purposely not going out of their way to help Obama get a running start to cure the nation's ills? What a surprise. But hey, that's the way the game is played. The Clintonites did the same if not worse to the incoming Bush administration, and so on down the line. I'd suggest to Obama that he not get so hot under the collar about the current administration's agenda for the next 30 days, and instead focus on how to fix or mend it all on January 21st.
I predict that this holiday season will see a surprise surge in spending, but it could be due to people thinking they need to go out with a bang. Then again, I see many people every day in my job that have great credit, great equity established in their homes, and great income, so I'd say that most Americans are getting it right. The challenge will be to not allow the tail to wag the dog, i.e. not let the 4% or 5% "less-than" perfect Americans sway the rest of the nation into a deeper recession. There are many ways to reduce the unemployment numbers, but it takes courage to implement them. Who's going to blink first?

What comes around, goes around

By now, most of you have heard of the scandal in Illinois regarding the arrest of the Governor on graft charges. This is the type of story that reaffirms my belief in karma (or a facsimile thereof), in that the party of the recent national elections is now the recipient of the taint that they were so quick to throw to the losing party just two months earlier. The President-Elect (should he be referred to as POTUS-e? TPE? That last one sounds too much like a popular reference to bathroom tissue, we can't have that. But I digress...) is involved because this is his home state, and the scandal involves the Governor's legislative responsibility to designate a successor to the POTUS-e's Senate seat. Governor Blagojevich ("Blago") has been caught on voice recordings with many direct statements about how he (was) planning to sell the seat to the highest bidder, which is clearly against the law. The fact that he comes off as arrogant and aloof doesn't help. But equal to all of this is that Blago is a Democrat that is tied to the POTUS-e, and suddenly the POTUS-e's image is not so golden. Immediate reaction from the media is shock and awe -- Blago wasted no opportunity to voice his opinions, and most of them were caustic -- and it's been interesting to watch the Matthews and Olbermanns and Maddows of the world bob and weave while trying to get a grip on it all. "Surely this cannot be happening to our guy? He's not like one of them! This is so...so...(gasp) Republican!" Ah, that's the beauty of it. You see, kids, there's scum on both sides of the aisle. And yes, there's good people on both sides, too, but let this be a lesson to those who were so myopic that they failed to acknowledge this until now. Nobody's perfect -- we learned that long ago, first during the Kennedy election, and soon after with Watergate. Hey, it goes farther than that: Lincoln appointed his campaign manager to the Supreme Court (so there was a Harriet Myers before Harriet Myers). American politics in general, and POTUS history in particular, is littered with this type of thing. What makes it all worthwhile is to see the squirming of the mainstream media and devoted followers who never saw this coming and never expected their guys/gals to fall prey to this corruption. It just shows to go ya: it can happen to anyone.

First

Welcome to the First Day of the Last Month of the Year. There's plenty to reflect on -- and regret about -- as the month moves forward. There will be plenty of "Best of" lists, plenty of "the year in pictures/video/audio/Hollywood/politics/TV/etc.", and plenty of good tidings and cheer (a/k/a work parties). There will be moments of rememberance, and enthusiasm for resolutions. There will be opportunities to Pay It Forward, and there will be calls for charitable giving. There will be happy family gatherings, and a chance to make amends. There will be shameless self-promotion, and (seemingly) endless ad pitches for diamonds, toys, last-minute ideas, and must-see holiday programs. It's as if the whole nation is ready to take a slow break from reality and recharge for the New Year. Just remember: Actions speak louder than Words. Are you ready?

Office of the President-Elect?

Doesn't even exist. There's no mention of it in the Constitution. One thing's for sure about the new guy: he likes his spotlight time. He got a lot of flak early in the campaign for making speeches in front of a podium with the now-famous "O" seal -- in fact, McCain make a joke about it in one of the debates. You didn't see that seal much after that, until the night of the election. Now his podium is ordained by the sign proclaiming "Office of the President-Elect". OK, whatever. If that's the worst thing to complain about, then I'm good with it. Just one thing, Mr. President-Elect: I hope your arrogance and pomposity is strong enough to protect you during those long lonely days and nights of struggling to keep things together....

An Open Memo

To: Stock Market
From: Johnny Lunchpail
Re: Bear market

OK. You made your point. We took you for granted and you got us back in spades. No one is laughing anymore. Even the talking heads on CNBC are looking dazed. How many times do I need to see Cramer throw up his hands? No one can explain it now, other than it's just pure correction against pure greed. Lots of folks are seeing their savings wiped out, and every time they try to double down via dollar cost averaging, they get wiped out even worse. Citi is under $5/share -- what is UP with that? They're yelling at each other on Fast Money and on Hardball. It's like there's nowhere to turn. Everyone is looking for the magic door out of this hell hole. Buy bonds? Can't afford to live off of that ROI. Buy more stocks? There's no value there anymore, cuz there's no bottom. Christmas is coming and everyone's freaking out because they no longer have any money to buy their honey expensive jewelry or Junior the GI Joe with the Kung Fu Grip. As Scotty would say, "we're losing power in the engines and I don't know why".
In a strange way, this is creating an artificial cleansing, like we need to be shaken so hard to get us back to reality of what's really important.

Irrational Exuberance, The Next Generation

As I awaken from my unexpected writing slumber...
The election is over, and we have a new President-Elect in the midst of transition. There seems to be a plethora of writings out there waxing poetic about what the future holds with this breath of fresh air. It was wise to hold emotions in check so as to take it all in without being jaded from the rose-colored glasses being freely handed out. Let's start by saying that the country is well-served by this change in administration -- the past 6 years in particular have weighed very heavy on the conscious of America. There is no argument that change is needed; both sides were very aggressive in their message, and it's safe to say that either would have been more aggressive in their approach to solving problems than what we've seen to date.
What needs to be understood is the incredible complexities of every major issue -- these problems will not be going away any time soon, no matter who is in charge. The POTUS-elect is starting to see just how big these issues are, so don't be surprised if it takes time to unwind the problems that were so easy to target and ridicule just two weeks ago. It was good to see Obama make his make his election night speech in somber overtones, as if he was suddenly saddled with the weight of world (and he is, and will be for at least four more years, starting now). There are many pundits out there that should take this "hint" equally as serious. The last thing this nation needs is to be overwrought by a new stream of irrational exuberance over the change in political direction without fully comprehending the ramifications and scope of the problems at hand. Deeds, not words, are what is needed today. The question remains as to whether both sides will put aside their differences long enough to solve the problems instead of engaging in more partisan bickering. Your move.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em

Dow just opened 5 minutes ago and is already down over 600 points. We are now below 8000. This is looking more and more like a crash instead of a major correction. Panic is starting to overtake fear. It's like we're swimming in a pool of black water and we know there's a bottom to it, we just can't see it and therefore we don't know if we're in the shallow end or the deep end. The talking heads on CNBC are dazed. Business professionals know that the first rule of the markets is to keep your emotions in check and never let them see you sweat, but there's lots of people on the floor that are very testy today. Seven negative days in a row, working on number Eight! In one way, it's a good thing that it's Friday because there's no open market tomorrow. On the other hand, Friday is always used as the day to break bad news and let emotions cool a few days before starting up again on Monday. Speaking of Monday, it's a holiday, so we could see major settlements by the end of the day. Keep an eye on the markets around 3pm -- that's the magic hour lately when the markets turn south. Will GM survive today?

And then there were four...

Congrats to the Sawks for taking out the Halos last night. By the way the Angels' players are reacting, you would think there's a bunch of sour grapes being served in their clubhouse: "We lost to a team that's not better than us," growled pitcher John Lackey, who gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings. "We are a better team than they are. The last two days, we shouldn't have given up anything." "I'm [ticked], I'm upset, this one's going to be with me for a while," Torii Hunter said. "It doesn't feel good, because we're a better team than they are. But they're moving on." I agree that the Angels underachieved. As for the Cubs, well, they just choked in the limelight. Usually the Dodgers are the chokers, but I think that they've been so far removed from the playoffs that they didn't feel the pressure of high expectations that the Cubs felt. Funny how the two teams with the best regular-season records are bounced out of the playoffs, 6 games to 1, and 4 of those 6 were on their home fields.

The Rays are a breath of fresh air, but sometimes that air is filled with pollen that we central air breathers are not used to and it makes us sick. I would not be surprised to see them crumble under the weight, but then again, they could be this year's Florida Marlins and steamroll thru the playoffs before they wake up and realize where they are. Given that they're playing the hard-charging in-your-face Sawks, I foresee a few smackdowns in thie ALCS, so grab your popcorn....The Phillies are dangerous with their plethora of big-hitting left-handers. The Dodgers do not have a deep pool of lefty arms and this could be the turning point of the NLCS. But the Dodgers are playing a lineup that's NEVER played together in the regular season, and the Cubs couldn't figure it out.

I say Dodgers in six; Sawks in six.