“And This Is Number 3!” March 31, 2008
Posted by justingerman in Top 10 Highlights.Tags: FIFA World Cup, USA Soccer
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The United States’ upset of Portugal during the 2002 World Cup is 4 of 10 on the list of the best sports highlights that I’ve witnessed. See the rest of the list here.
June 5th, 2002
As a fan of USA soccer, it was impossible to imagine a better first half than this against Portugal, who I think was ranked in the top 5 in the world at the time. The insane cross and header to McBride in the 36th minute I think single handedly made up for the disappointing tournament in 1998. From this video it’s easy to see that Portugal really had some horrible errors and bad luck, but that shouldn’t take anything away from the US. Also, Landon Donovan’s freak goal in the 30th minute was probably the best thing he has ever done in a World Cup. Congrats Landon.
Don’t forget that this win ultimately set up the US’ defeat of Mexico in the round of 16 and a near upset of Germany in the quarter finals.
The NBA: Where “I Don’t Remember” Happens March 30, 2008
Posted by nedd_turrley in NBA.Tags: Devin Harris, NBA, New Jersey Nets, Vince Carter
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McCain’s Powerful First Ad March 28, 2008
Posted by justingerman in 2008 Presidential Election, John McCain.Tags: 2008 Presidential Election, John McCain, TV ads
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As a student of politics I can’t help but get chills watching this ad. Just when you think the Republicans can’t create anything better they come up with something like this. I think this ad, titled “624787″ is the greatest I have every seen. But in fairness it’s true that John McCain is the perfect candidate for the perfect ad.
Amazingly, McCain simultaneously makes a compelling case for the war while also distancing himself from Bush (“John McCain, the American president Americans have been waiting for”). Kerry could have slammed Bush with an ad like this in 2004, but of course, he didn’t.
The two big questions going forward are whether or not the Democratic candidate can convince Americans that the life and money spent on this war are not worth the price and whether or not McCain will have the money to thoroughly get this message on the airwaves and on the ground to be competitive with the Democrats in terms of spending.
Surely a single ad can not win a campaign, but this message is a great starting point around which McCain can mold the rest of his campaign.
Nuclear Energy: Tru Dat March 28, 2008
Posted by justingerman in Energy.Tags: Energy Solutions, Greens, Nuclear Power
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Should Chris Paul Be This Year’s MVP? March 27, 2008
Posted by nedd_turrley in NBA.Tags: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, MVP, NBA
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Kobe Bryant will win this year’s NBA MVP – but he probably doesn’t deserve it. Not because he hasn’t been outstanding and extremely valuable to L.A.’s resurgence as a contender, but because there’s someone else who’s been having a hall-of-fame type year. And no, it’s not Lebron James.
Many sportscasters and analysts have somehow overlooked Hornets point guard Chris Paul’s remarkable numbers this season. Not only has he averaged 21 and 11 thus far, but he’s played a primary role in putting a mostly irrelevant franchise at the top of the western conference standings. There literally isn’t a legitimate argument against Chris Paul winning the MVP this season, especially since Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki have dominated the award for the last three. (more…)
“It’s A Fake Play And They’re Gonna Score!” March 25, 2008
Posted by justingerman in Football, I SAW IT ON THE DRUDGE REPORT!.Tags: Boise State, College Football, Fiesta Bowl
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The incredible finish to the 2007 Fiesta Bowl is number 5 of 10 on the list of the best sports highlights that I’ve witnessed. See the rest of the list here.
January 1, 2007
When formulating this list of highlights I knew that the Fiesta Bowl had to be on the list but the difficulty deciding where it should be ranked. On one hand, the finish was very improbable and a great David v. Goliath story but still the Fiesta Bowl was, in essence, a meaningless game and not exceptionally great to watch until about half-way through the fourth quarter. On the other hand, based on pure excitement, the end of this game is hard to top, ever. Additionally Boise’s three big plays down the stretch was some of the most gutsy coaching and execution in sports history. So ultimately I put the Fiesta Bowl ahead of a lot of great highlights, but it was difficult for me to justify a higher ranking than 5th.
The video below has the Bronco’s radio voice commentating over the tv coverage and it’s pretty awesome, but the guy seemed to think that Zabransky actually set the ball on the ground in that final play which really would have been a heck of a thing. This video also shows how horrible the Sooners played in the first half.
After the flip I added a video with the 3 plays and commentary by, I think, the Broncos’ offensive coordinator. There’s also a commercial for NCAA Football showing the two-point conversion but with a slightly different ending that shows the folkloric nature of this game. But I don’t think Adrian Peterson could have made that tackle. (more…)
I SAW IT ON THE DRUDGE REPORT (Part V) March 25, 2008
Posted by justingerman in I SAW IT ON THE DRUDGE REPORT!.Tags: Drudge Report
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There is a man in Oregon who is pregnant. That’s really all I can say. Just read the article.
The Electoral Map March 24, 2008
Posted by justingerman in 2008 Presidential Election.Tags: 2008 Presidential Election, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, the electoral map
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Any nerds out there looking for some really awesome, graphical analysis of American politics will love this site theelectoralmap.com. This map is just a little taste of what this site has to offer. The numbers for the graphic below are derived from a survey USA poll and show how the electoral map in an Obama candidacy would vary significantly from previous democratic presidential election strategies. To get a better perspective on the geographic strengths and weaknesses of Obama and Clinton check out the entire post from the Electoral Map.
Message Board Oddities: Volume I March 24, 2008
Posted by nedd_turrley in Message Board Oddities.Tags: Duke, Message Board Oddities
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Today’s message board oddity comes from “naclsean” of the ESPN.com message board community. “naclsean” is up to 109 total posts and is apparently a hard-core Duke Basketball fan.
As they always will be, the most comical and irrational points are in bold with commentary provided afterwards.
In a post entitled “I’m Happy With Our Season”, naclsean writes:
“First let me say this post is for Duke fans only (the ones that SBD gives shout outs too. Sorry, I’m not as cool as SBD to mention all of you). You trolls just don’t understand the persecution and hatred that we deal with on a daily basis [1], so you will not truly appreciate my opinion on this matter. So please leave this one for the Duke fans only. I am still recovering from what looked like a very tired Duke team we watched play today. I did not even want to come on the boards because I knew the trolls would be out at full force. And although I am sad that I have nothing to look forward to in March Madness anymore, I am not disappointed with my Blue Devils this season. (more…)
Major Update From iapprovedthismessage March 24, 2008
Posted by nedd_turrley in Uncategorized.add a comment
iapprovedthismessage has a new running feature entitled “Message Board Oddities”. Click the tab at the top of the page to find out more.
2008 House Elections Overview March 23, 2008
Posted by justingerman in 2008 Election.Tags: 2008 Elections, DCCC, House Of Representatives, NRCC
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Raising Kaine has a great post today outlining what will be the most competitive races this time around in the House of Representatives. They mention 41 vulnerable Republicans (8 highly vulnerable) and 30 vulnerable Democrats (9 highly vulnerable). This election will be distinctly different from 2004 because, while the electoral environment will continue to strongly advantage Democrats, there will be a high number of Democrats who are very much at risk due to the Democrat’s 2006 gains in moderately conservative districts. In 2006 not a single Democratic seat turned red.
Look for Democrats to win nearly all of the highly vulnerable Republican Districts in coronation-like numbers, and to take 50-60 percent of the vulnerable seats. I think it’s very possible to see Christine Jennings win in a rematch and to see Renzi’s former seat go to a Democrat. It would also be great to see that scumbag Don Young go down in Alaska.
“She Fires, Got It!” March 22, 2008
Posted by justingerman in Top 10 Highlights.Tags: Krist Toliver, Maryland Basketball, Women's NCAA Tournament
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*Kristi Toliver’s shot in the NCAA National Championship is number 6 of 10 on the list of the best sports highlights that I’ve witnessed. See the rest of the list here.
April 2, 2006
This highlight has a little of a personal twist for me (Kristi used to be my neighbor) but either way I don’t think it’s possible to make a more clutch shot than this. With just a few seconds to go, Toliver ran off of two perfectly timed picks to get her enough space to drain a three-pointer over 6 foot 7 inch Allison Bales to send the game into overtime. The Terrapins would ultimately beat the Blue Devils in overtime 78-75 to win the national championship.
This is the best quality of the live version that I could find, but I put a better quality one with Maryland’s coach Brenda Frese explaining the play after the flip.
Dick Cheney Has No Feelings March 20, 2008
Posted by justingerman in George W. Bush, US Foreign Policy.Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Dick Cheney, Iraq
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In an excerpt from an ABC News interview today in the Washington Post, Martha Raddatz asks Vice President Dick Cheney about public opinion and the war in Iraq.
Raddatz: Let me go back to the Americans. Two-thirds of Americans say it’s not worth fighting, and they’re looking at the value gain versus the cost in American lives, certainly and Iraqi lives.
Cheney: So?
Raddatz: So you don’t care what the America people think?
Cheney: No, I think we cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in the public opinion polls. Think about what would have happened if Abraham Lincoln had paid attention to polls, if they had had polls during the Civil War. He never would have succeeded if he hadn’t had a clear objective, a vision for where he wanted to go, and he was willing to withstand the slings and arrows of the political wars in order to get there.
Frankly, this is so infuriating I’m not sure where to start.
To me the most troubling part about this is not necessarily his lack of respect for representative government but the hypocrisy of the Bush administration when it comes to this idea of a “culture of life.” Cheney wins elections by talking about protecting life, but when a reporter asks him about the soldiers who have given their lives to the war he helped start he barely bats an eye. “So what,” he says. Also keep in mind Cheney was differed from military service five times during Vietnam.
Major Endorsement From iapprovedthismessage! March 20, 2008
Posted by justingerman in 2008 Election, Virginia Politics.Tags: 2008 Congressional Election, Bob Goodlatte, Drew Richardson, Sam Rasoul, Virginia Politics
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After intense debate we have decided to endorse Sam Rasoul over Drew Richardson for the Democratic nomination to serve Virginia’s Sixth Congressional District in Congress. Sure Sam has sort of a strange website, but we think he is the kind of young and inspiring candidate to help the Democrats become more competitive in the valley. Go Sam ‘08!
This is seriously the best photo I could find of the man.
