1. According to this story the state public univerisities and other state agencies would be prevented from offering benefits same-sex partner benefits thanks to a bill passed by the Senate yesterday.
When is this state going to get out of the Dark Ages and step into the 21st Century? This is embarassing. This is 2008, same-sex couple live together, sleep together, have kids together and in some progressive states (not this one) they get married - and there is nothing wrong with any of that. People should be free to share their lives with whomever they want - man or woman, same sex or opposite sex. This state SHOULD allow same-sex partner benefits. This state SHOULD allow same-sex marriage. This state SHOULD be a progressive one, and not the stereotypical "backwards" state that it is viewed as by much of the country.
2. I think Kansas State just became everyone's potential Final Four darkhorse with its win over archrival Kansas last night. In Michael Beasley and Bill Walker the Wildcats have to incredible young talents and don't be surprised if Beasley gets this team to the Final Four.
3. Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew is quickly becoming a show I don't want to miss. I'm most impressed by Daniel Baldwin. I thought he was the coked-out, black-sheep Baldwin, but he's proving to be much more than that.
4. I expect no snow again tonight and tomorrow (of course I'm hoping for a foot, though).
5. It's finally here, the season premiere of Lost! This list of 48 questions in the LA Times is the perfect warmup for tonight's first episode.

Here's my mock NCAA Tournament bracket this week.

(1) Memphis vs. (16) Alabama St.-Binghamton play-in game winner
(8) Purude vs. (9) Gonzaga
(5) Drake vs. (12) South Alabama
(4) Marquette vs. (13) Kent St.


(3) Washington State vs. (14) Northern Arizona
(6) Texas A&M vs. (11) Rhode Island
(7) Baylor vs. (10) Clemson
(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Morgan State

(1) North Carolina vs. (16) Lafayette
(8) Ohio State vs. (9) Dayton
(5) Florida vs. (12) UNLV
(4) Butler vs. (13) Cal St. Northridge


(3) Wisconsin vs. (14) UNC-Asheville
(6) Kansas State vs. (11) Arkansas
(7) Mississippi State vs. (10) Louisville
(2) UCLA vs. (15) Texas-Arlington

(1) Kansas vs. (16) Jacksonville St.
(8) USC vs. (9) Miami, Fla.
(5) Pittsburgh vs. (12) BYU
(4) Xavier vs. (13) VCU


(3) Texas vs. (14) Rider
(6) Mississippi vs. (11) Illinois St.
(7) Arizona vs. (10) Syracuse
(2) Tennessee vs. (15) Austin Peay

(1) Duke vs. (16) Wagner
(8) Notre Dame vs. (9) Arizona State
(5) Vanderbilt vs. (12) Davidson
(4) Stanford vs. (13) Oral Roberts


(3) Indiana vs. (14) Utah State
(6) UConn vs. (11) Oklahoma
(7) St. Mary's vs. (10) West Virginia
(2) Georgetown vs. (15) Cornell

Here are a few thoughts from today, and some written down by candlelight during last night's blackout.
1. The possibility of a Barack Obama-John Edwards presidential ticket began to look even more possible today when Edwards ended his bid for the nation's highest office. I declared a while back that an Obama-Hillary Clinton ticket would be a Dream Team, but it quickly became apparent during the debates that those two couldn't stand each other. Obama and Edwards, meanwhile, seemed to have a pleasant rapport during the debates. I wasn't sure if that was because they two men teaming up against a woman, or because they really respected each other. Regardless I think Obama-Edwards is the new Dream Ticket because, as Edwards himself has pointed out, he has fared the best of the three in polls against John McCain. And since McCain looks like the man to beat now on the Republican side it only makes sense for Obama and Edwards team up.
2. Did anyone else who went without power Tuesday night realize how addicted they are to media? I got home around 10 p.m. last night, and after eating a snack, quickly realized that I had nothing to do because I couldn't get online, couldn't watch TV, or do anything else that required electricity. So, I went to bed.
3. The most insane thing about Plaxico Burress' prediction that the Giants would beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl (c'mon, what's he supposed to do pick against his team?), the dumbest thing was that he said New England would only score 17 points. 17 points?!?! The Patriots could score that in their sleep. Still rooting for the Giants, though.
4. Say hello to your 2008 National League champions...the New York Mets. I don't think even the Mets could choke away an NL title if they do get Johan Santana.
5. One more day until Lost!

Here are five of my thoughts on Tuesday.
1. UofL is now a long-shot to win the Big East title after last night's loss to UConn. If the Cards are going to be a factor they now have to win both of their games against Georgetown, and that will be very, very hard. A top-three finish is still a possibility, though.
2. Tom Brady's ankle, the Randy Moss restraining order, does anyone else think that Bill Belichick is making all this stuff up?
3. I've wondered why we haven't heard more about former flash-in-the-pan Brady Anderson (50 home runs!?!?) since the Mitchell Report, but this story makes up for it. It seems the former 90201 wannabe is trolling the internet for chicks and sending along pictures of his abs (if those really are his he must still be on The Juice).
4. Where was these Jell-O wrestling parties when I was in college, or any time since then for that matter? Of course whenever I think about any kind of wrestling like that a few words come to mind: "You're my boy Blue!"
5. Fantasy basketball - Monday night might as well have been Bigfoot or UFO Night because there were several rare sightings.
There was a Tim Thomas sighting in L.A. Thomas has always been a guy who plays when he wants to play, and last night it looks like he wanted to - he had 29 points and 13 rebounds in the Clippers' loss to the Bobcats. If he's available in your league he's a definite pickup.
We also had a Derek Anderson sighting last night too in that game. He had 12 points off the bench for Charlotte. DA isn't worth a pickup yet, but this could be a sign that he's going to get more PT.
Melvin Ely made an impact for the Hornets against the Nuggets. He had 16 & 9 in 22 minutes. Meanwhile becoming less and less rare are bad games by G Jannero Pargo off the bench so pick him up if he's still available in your league.

Here are five thoughts on Monday night.
1. A disappointing loss for Louisville. The Cards started out red-hot at UConn, then went way cold. They settled for way too many three-pointers - 20 in the first half! UofL fell behind by 10 in the second half then fought its way back into the game, but when the Cards needed a huge basket - from Juan Palacios - they couldn't get it. So far this team hasn't performed very well in the clutch - remember Cincinnati? and now UConn - and I'm just not sure the Cards' have a go-to guy in the clutch. Derrick Caracter wasn't much of a factor (6 points in 11 minutes) and Terrence Williams had a horrible shooting game (2-for-10 from the field). Since Palacios' return the Cards have gotten better, but it seems that Earl Clark has gotten worse. Clark is immensely talented (I'd rank him right behind T-Will in that category) and long-term he could end up being the best player off of this team, but he needs to be more of a force on offense and take the ball to the basket more and settle for the outside shot less.
2. Pete Carroll to the Redskins? No way. Not unless Dan Snyder is throwing money, money and more money at him.
3. It looks like Jason Kidd is going to cry his way out of another NBA town. He's a great, great player...when he wants to be, and throughout his career it's been obvious that he doesn't want to be a great player when he plays on a bad team. I've always liked Kidd's game, and I think he'll be a huge reason why the U.S. will win gold in China in '08 - but I don't like his attitude at times. (P.S. If you're a fantasy basketball player you should pick up Marcus Williams, Kidd's backup in New Jersey now before he becomes a wanted man when J-Kidd is traded in a week or two).
4. Since when is winning Ted Kennedy's endorsement a good thing? Maybe if you're a brewery it's a good thing, but a Presidential candidate? I don't think so. I'd say that's about as important as an endorsement as one from Jessica Simpson.
5. Finally saw The Prestige and I've got to say it's not too much different from The Illusionist, which I also only recently saw. I'm not sure which I like better, though. I guess I was a little more pleasantly surprised by The Illusionist, so in turn I was expecting a little more from The Prestige. So based on one thing alone - Scarlett Johansson - I'll give the nod to the latter.

Take a 30-second timeout and get 30 names to know this week in fantasy basketball.
Four-gamers: Guys on the Knicks, Lakers, Clippers, Jazz, Wizards and Bobcats are scheduled to play four games this week, so make sure if you have members of these teams on your roster you play them. The no-doubters are obviously Kobe Bryant, Chris Kaman, Deron Williams, Caron Butler and Gerald Wallace. A few others you might want to take a look at are G Antonio Daniels (Wizards), F Kyle Korver (Jazz), G Jamal Crawford (Knicks), G Nate Robinson (Knicks), G Jordan Farmar (Lakers), G Cuttino Mobley (Clippers) and G Matt Carroll (Bobcats).
Two-gamers: The Celtics, Suns, Sixers and Blazers only play two games this week, so make your roster moves accordingly. Obviously this hits some marquee fantasy guys, including KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire, AI and Brandon Roy, so take note.
Gs Daniel Gibson and Damon Jones and Fs Drew Gooden and Ira Newble could see increased minutes with G-F Sasha Pavlovic out up to two months with a sprained left foot and F Anderson Varejao's ankle injury.
G Jameer Nelson (Magic) is on his way back, so G Carlos Arroyo owners take note.
G-F Antoine Wright (Nets) has been coming on of late and he could continue to get more minutes as New Jersey tries to develop its younger talent.
Keep an eye on G Damon Stoudamire too. He recently worked out his departure from the Grizzlies and could be a pickup of some team looking for point guard help, especially the Celtics.

Here are five of my thoughts on Monday morning.
1. Tiger Woods got off to a good start on his way to golf's Grand Slam this year. If his performance this past weekend is any indication he could be on his way to the best season ever by a male golfer.
2. Wouldn't it be funny if Tom Brady really was hurt and he wasn't able to play in the Super Bowl. What if his interceptions against San Diego were a sign that he really was hurt. What if all this TMZ crap is worthwhile.
3. What's going on with the Redskins' head coaching job? Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams got a couple interviews for the head job, then he gets fired, what's up with that? I've got to say that Daniel Snyder is the worst owner in the history of the NFL.
4. Finally saw American Gangster last night. Good, but not great. It lasted a little too long and I wanted to see a little more action and a little more shared screen time between Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.
5. The Cards have a tough one tonight, but the suspensions may finally catch up with UConn. I like DC and T-Will to have big games and UofL to win 74-68.

Here is the top news of the week to me - this past Tuesday marked the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion in the United States.
It is one of the most controversial issues and judgments in the history of the most powerful court in this country. It is, without a doubt, one of the most polarizing subjects in our country today. It has brought about violence. It has brought about hatred.
Is it right? That's a personal opinion and one that I think is up to each individual person. Where do you stand?
Here's my personal opinion - I'm very much in favor of a woman's right to choose. Let's face it there are some people out there who are parents, who really shouldn't be parents, and there are people out there bringing kids into the world who have no right to do so. But my own beliefs come from reasons more personal.
Sadly I've known several women who have been raped. On one such occasion one of the women became pregnant. She had an abortion. She should have. It was the absolute right decision, and a decision that she was able to make because of Roe vs. Wade. And, that's why I am in favor of a woman's right to choose.

Watching IU play pitifully against Connecticut, then watching UofL cruise over St. John's on Saturday, I thought that the day would have been much better if the Hoosiers and the Cardinals would've been playing each other instead. It's a rivalry that would probably produce better games than the current UK-UofL and IU-UK serieses. The two schools played as recently as a few years ago with UofL coach Rick Pitino taking one of his first teams up to Bloomington to play Mike Davis & Co. at IU. The schools also played each other in the mid-1980's - why don't they revivie the Big Four series too! - and again in the 90's (who could forget Calbert Cheaney dunking on Dwayne Morton in the 1993 NCAA Tournament?), so why can't the two renew that rivalry again? It would be fun to see the two schools lock horns again, especially this year with IU's stud freshman Eric Gordon. Plus it would be fun to see D.J. White matched up against David Padgett and Derrick Caracter. UofL-IU would be the matchup of the best local teams this year and it would be great to see two preseason Top 10 teams battle on the court.

There's a story in the paper today that says the Ohio River Bridges likely won't be built without tolls. But let's be honest, these bridges aren't going to be built for another 20 or 25 years. They will him-haw around for years before construction even begins, then once it does there will be a snag or two that will delay the project even more. So with that in mind, here are my predictions of five things that will happen before the bridges are built.
1. Britney Spears gets full custody of her kids. Barring a miracle these kids will be K-Fed's until they turn 18.
2. Donald Trump goes bald. There's no way the Donald goes bald as long as he has a hair to comb over, so I've got two words for him - never happen!
3. A man, or woman, walks on Mars. And if that happens, then what do we need a life out of Total Recall then?
4. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will win the World Series. The Devil Rays are the definition of laughingstock, they are the absolute worst professional franchise in all of the major pro sports right now. So although they have a lot of young talent it will probably be at least a generation before they contend for a world title.
5. Rosie O'Donnell switches teams. The chances of Rosie going back in the closet are astronomical, but I still say they are better than the chances of Louisville having two Ohio River bridges within the next 20 or 25 years.

Here are five for Friday morning.
1. Bad news for Andre' Woodson, his bad performance in practices for the Senior Bowl may have dropped him out of the first two rounds of April's NFL Draft. That makes Brian Brohm's decision to pull out of the Senior Bowl even smarter. He's generally regarded as the No. 2 quarterback, so why would he want to do anything do damage that status? Poor performances in practices or a game would just damage his status, so he's doing the smartest thing possible for his future by just partaking in private workouts and not playing in the Senior Bowl.
2. Congrats to IUPUI coach Shoeless Ron Hunter, who last night helped a great cause (going sans shoes for children from impoverished homes) and won a basketball game last night. Here's hoping the Jaguars make the NCAA Tournament too this season.
3. Who else likes watching the Winter X Games?
4. I thought Roger Federer might be in trouble in the Australian Open final, but it turns out he didn't make it that far. I'll take Tsonga to win it all.
5. Why should Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez be wished "good sex" in the Big East? Need an explanation? You have to visit the link and hear Gonzalez's post-game interview after last night's game against Providence.

Let's rally some more support for disabled Kentuckians. According to this article over 1,000 people attended a Wednesday rally in Frankfort to show support for the disabled across the state to Governor Steve Beshear. What a great, great thing! But unfortunately Beshear couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't cut programs like Medicaid, which covers most of the low-income or disabled Kentuckians. As someone who has worked with disabled individuals for the last four years I've got to tell you that it would be a great travesty if any of that money gets cut. It doesn't seem like there's enough money to go around as it is for the services needed for the aforementioned population, so any cut into that could leave hundreds, or even thousands, of people without services, and that would be very sad, and very bad. If anything, there needs to be more money in the state budget for disabled Kentuckians.

Here are 10 things for fun Thursday night.
1. Brian Brohm hasn't played an NFL game yet and already he's getting pegged as an All-Pro in 2017. And there are some familiar faces on the team too, including ex-UofL lineman Amobi Okoye. Also on the team at running back LeSean McCoy from Pittsburgh, UofL fans might remember him as the one who blew the Panthers' game against the Cards this past season when he fumbled on the UofL goal line.
There are high expectations for Brohm as he gets ready to enter the NFL, but can he live up to them? The bar is being set high already and he hasn't played a down yet, heck, he doesn't even have a team yet.
2. The Golden State Warriors are great fun to watch, do they even have a center? After the Phoenix Suns the Warriors are my second favorite NBA team to watch play.
3. Magic Johnson is the biggest man alive! How much does that guy weigh now, 250? 275? He's huuuuuge! Watching him on TNT, he's bigger than Charles Barkley, and that's saying a lot.
4. And speaking of Magic he's a big backer of Hillary Clinton and it looks like two Clintons are better than one Barack Obama. My only question is, when will Chelsea get into the Barack-bashing too?
5. Obama is pulling out all the stops, though, doing the Top 10 list on Letterman. Here's my question, is Obama overexposing himself with things like this?
6. Huge win by Xavier tonight! The Musketeers absolutely destroyed Dayton by 26 points. IU's lone loss sure doesn't look that bad now.
7. Speaking of lone losses, how quiet has Duke's 16-1 season been so far? The Blue Devils are just quietly going about their business and rolling along. Duke doesn't have much inside, but the Blue Devils have a great deal of talent everywhere else, don't sleep on this team.
8. I love late Thursday Pac-10 games, they are such fun to watch. UCLA and Oregon are playing a great, entertaining game as I write this right now (I really like Kevin Love and the Bruins). I began watching these games in college (when Jason Kidd was at Cal and UCLA had the O'Bannon brothers) and
9. Caught some of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's domination of Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open semifinals. The hulking Frenchman overpowered Nadal and I wouldn't be surprised if he gives Roger Federer a run for his money as long as he doesn't get overwhelmed by being in his first Grand Slam final.
10. Sorry to see Jennie Finch go from Celebrity Apprentice, she didn't do or say a whole lot when she was on the show, but she made it worth watching. And what's the deal with Omarosa? How is she still on the show? Is Donald Trump in love with her, or what?

Tiger Woods begins his 2008 golf campaign today in the Buick Invitational and I'm saying it's going to be his best year of golf yet. Here are five reasons why I think Woods will win golf's Grand Slam this year.
1. He's the best, ever. Tiger's talents are second to none. He is the best golfer in the history of golf and when his career is finished he will hold every major record in the sport.
2. He's coming off a year in which he only won one major championship. Woods only won one major last year (the PGA), for anyone else that would be a big accomplishment but for Tiger that's a disappointment. And there's one thing that's very scary - a Tiger with something to prove.
3. Because all four Major courses are tailor-made for Tiger. The Masters is a given and the PGA Championship is quickly becoming the Tiger Invitational since he's won the last two. That just leaves the British and U.S. opens. Tiger won the British in '05 and '06 and he's likely to win there again. Tiger last won the U.S. Open in '02, that's too long of a drought for him, because of the law of averages he's due to win it.
4. He closed out '07 strong. Woods won four of the last five PGA events he entered last season, it will be easy for him to pick up where he left off in '08.
5. Controversy. Tiger loves controversy, he thrives on it, he laughs at it, he stomps on it. The recent remark by a TV commentator, followed up by Golfweek's offensive cover are enough to light a fire under Woods - and that's like fanning the flame of a four-alarm fire.

Here are five thoughts/things for Thursday.
1. I think that Terrence Williams could easily average a triple-double the rest of the season. He's at his best when he's driving and dishing and creating shots for his teammates and shooting second. He's always going to grab rebounds because he's usually the most athletic player on the floor and he's capable of scoring whenever he wants but he just can't settle for the three-pointer (which has always been his weakness). Pass first T-Will is the one that everyone seems to love.
2. Tom Brady's Ankle-Gate is the biggest joke, ever! I can't believe the frenzy building about a boot...a boot?!?! I can't believe that TMZ.com is now a primary news source.
3. I don't know what's crazier, reports of Tony Romo dumping Jessica Simpson, or the Minnesota Timberwolves beating the Phoenix Suns last night.
4. Here are two interesting things at SI.com. First is a midseason college basketball report by Seth Davis that mentions Courtney Lee, UK, Eric Gordon and D.J. White. The second is another mock NFL Draft by Don Banks. It's pretty similar to his last one with Brian Brohm going eighth to the Ravens and Andre' Woodson going No. 14 to the Bears.
5. One week until Lost! ONE WEEK UNTIL LOST!