Still Trying to Wind Down on Sunday Night/Monday Morning

Why is it that Ted Koppel can examine Iran and its place in the world in reasonable ways, but no one in our government seems to be able to do so? (Do yourselves a favor-watch Koppel on Discovery; this program is Iran: The Most Dangerous Nation)
The only thing better than baptizing one person in morning worship is baptizing two, which we did this morning. And the best part is, in our church that's a fairly frequent occurence!
So it seems that the Cubs are about to win the Soriano sweepstakes. After the last three years (Red Sox in '04, White Sox in '05 and Cardinals in '06) about the last remaining mountain-top experience for a baseball fan is seeing the Cubs win the World Series. Alfonso is a good step in that direction. But the Cubs are still the Cubs, and there are reasons why they are approaching a full century since winning a World Series. Three years at $13 million for Mark DeRosa? Mark's a good guy-he came up with the Braves-but one good year (and that in the Ballpark at Arlington!) makes anybody a $4.3 million a year player? And signing Kerry Wood again, at any price, even for one year? Memo to the Tribune Company: the fantasy is over; Wood and Prior aren't going to win you anything but Workman's Compensation claims. I can see a Derrek Lee-Aramis Ramirez-Soriano order going nuts with 81 games in Wrigley, but somebody's still got to get the other side out. After Zambrano, who ya got?
While my interest in football is minimal-a severe handicap for a southern guy-I do think that there is a baseball parallel: just as baseball is better when the Yankees are good, so do I think that the NFL is more interesting when the Chicago Bears are good. And this year, they are very good. The Colts' loss today leaves them even with the Bears for the best record in the league. The Colts are all offense, and the worst run defense in the NFL. The Bears, however, are passable on offense and tremendous on defense. That formula has won an awful lot of the Super Bowls that I have seen.
If I know little of pro football, I know less of college. Heck, my school didn't even have football with I was there. That said, if the NCAA wants a great game for their pretend championship, I can't see them doing better than a repeat of the Ohio State-Michigan game. And by the way, if Ohio State is number 1, shouldn't they beat the number 2 team by just a little bit when the game is played at #1's home field? I don't get the polls; I prefer a game where you have earn the championship on the field every year. You know, "There's no voting in Baseball!" But if you play number 1 tight at their place, your ranking shouldn't take a beating. I am no Michigan fan. I thought Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler were both awful people with all their tough guy posturing and football-as-war talk. What nonsense! But Michigan deserves a rematch, especially if the football muckety-mucks want a competitive game for their joke of a title.
Is there anything better than satellite radio? I have both brands, courtesy of the family's Christmas generosity over the last few years. XM has the baseball package. Sirius has basketball, and, yes, Howard. XM could make their service indispensible if only they understood baseball. They do pick up every game. But only the home broadcast. They clearly don't understand or care that in the free agent era, the baseball fan's connection to their team is through the announcers. I feel like Jack Buck was another beloved uncle; Skip Caray and Pete Van Wieren, life-long friends; Joe Castiglione and Jerry Trupiano, daily companions. Cardinal baseball is as much about Mike Shannon's peculiarities as it is about who's batting or on the mound. Having to listen to the loathsome Jerry Coleman when the Cards are out west, or the wretched John Sterling when the Sox visit The Stadium should be chargeable offenses under the Constitution's cruel and inhuman punishment clause. Even more than Papi and Manny, Albert and Chris, Chipper and Smoltz, the guys behind the microphones make the game, every day, for six months a year. Give us our guys! Play both broadcasts of each game! Or, actually, all three with the Spanish announcers.
Which leads, finally, to one more question: just what the hell is wrong with posting signs in English and Spanish? Are we so jingoistic that we won't lift a finger to help those new to our country make their way? The obvious stupidity of this attitude is that we ALL came from somewhere else. By the last anthropological studies I saw, even the Native Americans are actually Native Asians. I am grateful that when the first Pierces or Pearses or whatever it was originally were busy having their names misunderstood and misspelled like everybody else upon entering this country, there was opportunity for them to figure out life in this new place. How big an ass must one be to deny that opportunity to others whose only sin is getting here a little later? As shared before, recipients of grace must be very, very careful when considering whether to extend grace to others!