Super Bowl Ads Not Sold Out Yet

NBC told the press on a conference call yesterday (Tuesday) that the network still has 4 of its 67 Super Bowl spots left to sell. The network also confirmed that the most recent spots sold have been selling for “a bit less” than the $3 million price tag that NBC has been asking. Anheuser-Busch is the top Super Bowl sponsor this year, with 4.5 minutes of air time; PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have also bought multiple spots, according to Adweek. PepsiCo made a deal with NBC to block all other non-alcoholic beverages from the Super Bowl through the first half and half time. The company has not yet decided which creative it will run during the big game. It is waiting to see which brands are getting the most buzz online, having prepared work for Pepsi, Pepsi Max, SoBe Lifewater and Gatorade (now called simply G), reports Brandweek.

A Preview Of Super Bowl 2009

The Weather Is Frightful

More snow & ice tonight.

Meeks Leads KY To An Undefeated Record In SEC

I guarantee KY will be ranked in the top 25 this week. We are the only undefeated team left in the SEC. Meeks led KY in an ugly game with quite a bit of drama at the beginning of the second half, but we beat AL 61-51. Ramon Harris fainted in the locker room and Billy stayed with him and was late getting to the bench for the start of the second half. We're hoping and praying Harris is OK. Among active coaches, only Florida's Billy Donovan has worked in the Southeastern Conference longer than Alabama's Mark Gottfried. So what does Gottfried, who returned to his alma mater in 1998-99, think of how Kentucky guard Jodie Meeks has been playing? "I haven't seen anybody in 11 years do what he's been doing," Gottfried said. "You go back to '83 to '87 when I was playing, I'm not sure there was anybody then. And we had great players. "What impresses me is not just the scoring average, but the numbers across the board. Those percentages." In SEC play, Meeks is averaging 32 points a game. He's made 52.2 percent of his shots, including 21 of 40 (52.5 percent) of three-point attempts, plus 37 of 39 free throws (94.9 percent). "He's just emerged as one of the best players I've ever seen in this league," Gottfried said. When reminded that he'd seen plenty of SEC stars first as an Alabama guard and now as the Tide's coach, Gottfried said, "When you look at the numbers, numbers don't lie. I mean, they are what they are."

In Case You Missed 24

COPS - Wall Street & Washington

It would be kind of like the "Cops" show we all love to watch because it makes us feel better about ourselves. The show would take place on Wall Street and in Washington instead of trailer parks and urban areas. The first episode could feature Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch “A Deal from Hell.” It could feature Former Merrill CEO John Thain who furnished his office with an $87,000 rug, arranged $25 million goodbye packages for his own hires, and handed out billions of dollars in last-minute bonuses to his staff before the acquisition closed. Bank of America's stock was at a 52-week low of $5.50 recently. BofA’s low trading price represents a complete wipe out of Merrill Lynch’s $17 trading price before the deal and the $29 price at which Merrill was acquired. Yep...BOA bought Merrill Lynch with our tax dollars. I think the series has potential. It would be like "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" meets "COPS." Finding content for the show shouldn't be a problem but it could be because they are really really slick on Wall Street and in Washington. Rich too.

Kurtis the Stock Boy and Brenda the Checkout Girl

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy was busily working when a new
voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry-out at register 4. Kurtis
was almost finished and wanted to get some fresh air, so he decided to answer the call. As he approached the checkout stand, a distant smile caught his eye ~ the
checkout girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love. Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him,took her card, punched out, and then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn't possible. He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn't afford a babysitter, so he offered to pay for the babysitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night, he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The babysitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, "Well, let's take the kids with us." She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda brought him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, and then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Downs Syndrome. Kurtis told Brenda, "I still don't understand why the kids can't come with us." Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities ~ just like her first husband and father of her children had done. But Kurtis was not ordinary ~ he had a different mindset. That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids and went to dinner and
the movies. When her son needed anything, Kurtis would take care of him.
When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took
him, and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with. A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children.
Since then they have added five more kids. So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy at a grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Brenda the checkout girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the Super Bowl. Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person. It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI...and he has also been the NFL's Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player. He established the First Things First Foundation in the spring of 2001 with wife Brenda to promote Christian values and bless the lives of those less fortunate with projects such as trips to Disney World for ill children, building recreation centers in children's hospitals, helping single moms achieve the dream of home ownership and teaching Special Olympians the football basics. All projects are centered on Kurt and Brenda's life theme: faith and family come first. Website
Guess who I'm pulling for in the Super Bowl?

Those Whacky Hypocrites Are At It Again

"If Obama were "serious" he would announce to the world: 'We are in crisis, we are at war, people are losing jobs; we are not going to have this party. Instead, I'm going to get sworn in at the White House. I'm going to have a nice little chicken dinner, and we'll save $125 million." Tom Delay (FYI - three years ago, Mr. Delay stepped down from his role as House Majority Leader after being accused of violating campaign finance laws. Republican party rules regarding leadership and indictments required him to step down) Good point Tom. The difference with this inauguration and recent inaugurations - the economy. We're in the worst economy since the depression, right? Think of the power of the message President Obama could have sent to the world. But he didn't. Darn, I was really hoping for a cool change that could give me hope right out of the box. Strike One! BTW - Great line by Bush last night - "I'm looking forward to my new domestic agenda - mowing the grass." Just a couple of other quick thoughts. Do you really care about the gowns Michele wore? Did they cost more than the dresses worn by Sarah Pain during her campaign?

Thank You President Bush!

I wish you the best.

KY Will Enter The Top 25 This Week

KENTUCKY 68 - GEORGIA 45
Great game by the Cats today! Justin & Kacey attended the game in Athens and said UK fans outnumbered the GA fans. Amazing.
Mary had a big pot of chili on the stove while it was snowing outside as we watched the Cats cruise to victory. Fun afternoon. Go Cats!(click on pic to see snow)
UPDATE: WE DID NOT GET RANKED BUT GOT SEVERAL VOTES - MAYBE NEXT WEEK.

Crooks Giving Money To Crooks

I lost track of the total so far. What is it $700 billion? I have never been more discouraged about where this country is headed. It doesn't really impact my overall attitude that much but this country is on a direct path to socialism and none of the so-called "leaders / crooks" care. We literally have crooks giving money to crooks.
WASHINGTON -- Think you could borrow money from a bank without saying what you were going to do with it? Well, apparently when banks borrow from you, they don't feel the same need to say how the money is spent. After receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending it. Some won't even talk about it. "We're choosing not to disclose that," said Kevin Heine, spokesman for Bank of New York Mellon, which received about $3 billion. Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money, said that while some of the money was lent, some was not, and the bank has not given any accounting of exactly how the money is being used.
"We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to," Kelly said. The Associated Press contacted 21 banks that received at least $1 billion in government money and asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings, and what's the plan for the rest? None of the banks provided specific answers.
Unbelievable. I don't even care whose fault it is but I do care where we're headed. Should I contact my state crook? Do I really think that will matter? Nope - he's giving money to the other crooks he knows. They're all crooks and they're stealing from us. We have scandals happening in our state and city governments too. It's everywhere!

A Lot Can Happen In A Year.....

A year ago today I was going into surgery for the first new knee. Now - I'm walking better than I have in over 10 years. Time really does heal; a lot of things.

God Cheers

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas. It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.
Did you hear that? The other team's fans?
They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.
It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.
"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!" STORY

Terrorist Bird Strike

A US Airways jet crashed Thursday in the Hudson River in New York City after a flock of terroristic birds struck its engines, but everyone aboard survived. Don't think for an instance that this was just an accident. Muslim extremists have reportedly been training geese in secret animal training camps for years. You heard it here first.

You Just Had To See It.....

WOW!! What a win!

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Jodie Meeks now sits at the top of Kentucky's illustrious record book, just above names like Dan Issel, Cliff Hagan and Bob Burrow. Jodie Meeks drove to the basket for two of his school-record 54 points on Tuesday night at Tennessee.
Meeks scored a school record 54 points, leading Kentucky to a 90-72 victory over rival Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena. Meeks also set a school record with 10 three-pointers, breaking a record he tied earlier this season. It was Meeks' second game this season of more than 40 points. The Cats used a 15-3 run early in the second half to claim a 66-50 lead, watched it sliced to 71-64 with six minutes left and then sat back and enjoyed the show as Meeks buried back-to-back threes to put the game out of reach.

Tebow - Opening A Can Of Worms?

Do the scripture verses on his eye blackening open the door for anyone to promote whatever they want? I predict that at some point the NCAA will rule that's it's not allowed.

"LARGE" Game Day

SEC Play Opens - VANDERBILT at KENTUCKY
When: 2 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 10
Where: Rupp Arena; Lexington, Ky.
TV: Raycom
Radio: Big Blue Radio Network
Mike's Pick - KY 61 - Vandy 55
UPDATE: Ky WINS 70 - 60!

Late to the Party

The Shack is a great book! I highly recommend it.
(Pretty darn good basketball player too)

I Think This Is Really Odd

The story of Roland Burris' appointment as a US Senator from Illinois is bizarre in itself. But I think the fact that the man has already had his tombstone made and put his resume on it is even more odd. STORY

Ky Could Have Used Jimmy Sunday - Louisville Wins On A Last Second Shot - Bummer.

105 Hours?

Doug, a new neighbor of ours down the street is doing his residency at UK Medical Center and is planning on being an anesthesiologist. He and his young wife moved here back in the summer from Georgia. He needed to borrow a ladder. We were talking on our front porch and when I asked him how things were going at the hospital, he said he worked 105 hours the week before Christmas. That's an average of 15 hours per day for 7 days although he mentioned he put in 19 hours 1 day. He said it's not uncommon for him to put in ridiculous hours and that he doesn't see it improving because of the crunch the economy is putting on the medical community. I had to ask myself: "How safe is that?" I know pilots are limited as far as how many hours they can work in a week and even truck drivers are limited too. But apparently, medical professionals responsible for taking care of people, don't have limitations. I can only imagine how mentally exhausted you would be at the end of a 105 hour work week. My orthopedic surgeon I saw when I was in high school had a nickname of "Midnight Sam." He performed surgery during the day and his office hours were from 5pm - 10pm. He made his rounds in the wee hours of the morning. I can remember him waking me up many times when I was in the hospital around midnight to check on me. Sure doesn't seem safe to me. I have trouble operating the TV remote when I'm sleep deprived, I can't imagine having to make life & death decisions in that condition. BTW - Doug brought the ladder back a couple of hours later; a sign of a good neighbor.

Happy Birthday Mary!

Happy Birthday to Mary! Love of my life! She’s done soooo much for me, her family and friends and she deserves a great day. So, we’ll be watching KY beat Louisville today – 4:30 on CBS. That's why I got her the UK vest. Go Mary and go Cats! Also - we had a very nice dinner out Saturday night AND one of my presents for her was a certificate for dance lessons at Arthur Murray. (I'm standing on her foot in this picture)

Pitino Regrets Leaving KY

Huge Game Sunday!

KY at Louisville - Sunday 4:30 - CBS.
Billy Clyde Gillispie vs Dr Evil. I am predicting an upset win for the Cats.

HUGE - I MEAN HUGE WIN!!

UK's E.J. Adams, left, and Mike Hartline carried off the Liberty Bowl championship trophy after the Cats defeated East Carolina University in Memphis on Friday. UK won its third straight bowl game with a 25-19 victory. Somewhat of a rebuilding season with a lot of injuries. The program needed this one in a big way. Way to go Cats!
(I predicted a 7 point victory for the Cats)

GAME DAY - Liberty Bowl - KY vs East Carolina

Friday - 5:00pm - ESPN.
Mike's pick - KY 17 - E.Carolina 10 - in KY's third bowl victory in three years.
Go Cats! LIBERTY BOWL INFO
By the way - the basketball Cats destroyed Central Michigan Monday night 84-53 to go to 11-3 going in to face Louisville on Sunday - 4:30pm - CBS.

Celebrating the New Year

Happy New Year!

Proof I stayed up...