Checking the Balance

Goodbye 2008

I hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year!  Here's hoping that in 2009 we find a way to avoid further recession, see a conclusion to Bonusgate and watch the Red Sox celebrate another World Series.

Bye Bye

The 34th Annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Over-use and General Uselessness was announced today.

The school's annual quest to throw lexicon logs on the fire always gets some end-of-the-year attention for the school in Sault Ste. Marie, the last stop before Michigan's northern border crossing with Canada. But the list is more about letting off steam and offering laughs than performing any verbal vanishing act.

The list:

• Green 
• Carbon Footing/ Carbon Offsetting
• Maverick  
• First Dude  
• Bailout 
• Wall Street/ Main Street 
• Monkey 
• <3 
• Icon/ Iconic 
• Game Changer 
• Staycation 
• Desperate search 
• Not so much 
• Winner of five nominations 
• It's that time of the year 

I agree with the majority of their choices.  "Desperate search" is probably my favorite.  I hear this all the time when I'm watching the news and they bring up an amber alert or other missing person situations.  If there's a search for a missing person, it goes without saying that it is desperate.  

Another good one is the "winner of five nominations."  I'm sick of hearing these promotional trailers for movies that use the above statement to boost.  Let's get this straight, being nominated for something doesn't mean you won anything.

I think the only one I use somewhat regularly is "It's that time of the year."  I don't see that stopping anytime soon.  

Crystal ballin'

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gary Rotstein provides a humorous look at what to expect in 2009.  For the sake of our nation's collective sanity, let's hope he's wrong.

May 10, 2009
The Bonusgate ethics probe in Harrisburg expands to include indictments of 128 of the state's 253 lawmakers, intensifying calls for both reduction in the Legislature's size and rapid expansion of the state prison system.

I think Rotstein has the right idea with Bonusgate, but he is definitely exaggerating with the number of indictments.  At Tom Corbett's current rate, May 10th doesn't sound like a bad over/under date for more indictments.  

June 16, 2009
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter and Penn State football coach Joe Paterno sign a joint living will declaring that if one becomes incapacitated, the other will carry on all voting and coaching duties on behalf of both.

For some reason I found that one hilarious.  What would it take to see this happen?  I think this should be Pennsylvania's top priority in the coming year...

MVP talk

The AP's NFL MVP hasn't been awarded to a player on a non-playoff team since the Buffalo Bills' OJ Simpson won it in 1973.  This makes identifying this year's MVP a lot easier; you look at the 12 playoff teams, identify their best player and you have a pool of about 12 candidates.  Put the twelve or so candidates in order and you have your likely MVP.

AFC
Titans-  They may have been the best team in the regular season, but they certainly don't have the best player(s).  The Titans best players were RB's Chris Johnson (1,228 yds, 9 TDs) and Lendale White (773 yds, 15 TDs).  Unfortunately, neither had a dominant season. 

Steelers- Another team which relies on the mantra that the sum be greater than the individual parts.  No Steeler had a real career year.  QB Ben Roethlisberger has had better seasons.  RB Willie Parker was injured for a long stretch.  The only real standout on this team is Safety Troy Polamalu (74 Tackles, 7 INT, 17 PD), but he certainly doesn't deserve the MVP.

Dolphins-  Two players had great seasons for the Fins; QB Chad Pennington (3,653 yds, 19 TDs, 7 INT) and LB Joey Porter (17.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles).  Still, neither put up numbers worthy of winning the MVP.

Chargers-  LaDanian Tomlinson was a disappointment or maybe the Chargers became a pass-first team.  QB Phillip Rivers had a great year (4,009 yds, 34 TDs, 11 INT) and is our first legitimate candidate for MVP.  However, the Chargers only won eight games and barely snuck into the playoffs, so this might move him down a few pegs.

Colts-  Clearly, this team remains in QB Peyton Manning's hands.  Early in the season, when Manning was bouncing back from two knee surgeries, the Colts looked dead in the water.  Now, the Colts have won nine games in-a-row and Manning has put up numbers (4,002 yds, 27 TD, 12 INT).  However, looking at Manning's previous numbers, these have to be considered disappointing.

Ravens-  A defensive player hasn't won the MVP since 1986, when LB Lawrence Taylor was on the prowl. This might be the year where it might happen again.  Safety Ed Reed (9 INT,1 FF, 2 TDs) has been the best defensive player this year and is the Ravens strongest chance at taking home the MVP.

NFC
Giants-  No one standouts on the Giants roster and I think that's how they like it.  QB Eli Manning had a decent year.  RB's Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward shared the load much of the year because of various injuries.  The only standout player is DE Justin Tuck (12 sacks, 2 FF, 1 INT).  But, his numbers clearly don't match-up to Ed Reed's, which means the MVP won't likely come from the Giants.

Panthers-  If there were four games left in the season, RB DeAngelo Williams (1,515 yds, 18 TDs) would win the MVP.  The problem is Williams had only two 100-yard games and a total of two TDs in his first eight games. 

Vikings-  RB Adrian Peterson definitely didn't suffer through a sophomore slump.  His 1,760 yds rushing won him a rushing title and he tacked on 10 TDs.  Peterson was a model of consistency only rushing for less than 75 yards once in his 16 games.  It's safe to say that the Vikings would not be in the playoffs without AP.

Cardinals-  Four weeks ago, we could've awarded QB Kurt Warner (4,583 yds, 30 TDs, 14 INT) with his third MVP.  Now, it isn't looking like the case since the Cards lost four of their last six.  WR Larry Fitzgerald (96 rec, 1,431 yds, 12 TDs) should be considered as well.  If WR Anquan Boldin didn't miss a quarter of the season, he would be the Cardinals leading candidate.

Falcons-  A lot of credit has to be given to the dirty birds.  Acquiring RB Michael Turner was one of the best moves of the past offseason and QB Matt Ryan (who won the offensive ROY today) turned out to be the steal of the past draft.  Both deserve mentioning in the MVP conversation.  It's tough to declare the Falcons top candidate, but the numbers say Michael Turner (1,699 yds, 17 TDs) is the man.

Eagles-  Another team which doesn't have a strong candidate.  QB Donovan McNabb had an off season statistically, as did RB Brian Westbrook.  I think Westbrook (936 yds rush, 402 yds receiving, 14 TDs) remains their best chance, since I doubt they make the playoffs without everything he brings to the field.

Rest of the field

Although it's unlikely a player who didn't make the playoffs will win the MVP, it's tough not considering QB Drew Brees (5,069  yds, 34 TDs 17 INT).  Brees came within 16 yards of breaking the single season record and was in the top 5 of many important passer categories.  Brees will be one of the top three in the MVP balloting.  

My Top 13 MVP Candidates

1. Peyton Manning
2. Ed Reed
3. Drew Brees
4. Michael Turner
5. Adrian Peterson
6. Kurt Warner
7. Phillip Rivers
8. DeAngelo Williams
9. Chris Johnson
10. Chad Pennington
11. Justin Tuck
12. Troy Polamalu
13. Brian Westbrook

Creepin' toward the Burg

It seems that AG Tom Corbett is beginning his run for PA Governor.

The campaign for president began in the winter of 07. The campaign for governor of Pennsylvania is also off to an early start among republicans.

Tom Corbett was just re-elected Attorney General of Pa. He wants to be elected Governor in 2010, but former US attorney Pat Meehan, the moderate Republican from our area stands in his way for the Republican nomination.

In the last week, representatives of Corbett have contacted Philadelphia City Councilman Frank Rizzo encouraging him to seek the Lieutenant Governors nomination and work as an ally of Corbett. They have also contacted Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor with the same idea in mind.

This is still extremely early, so expect a lot of names to be floated around in the upcoming months.  However, I would be quite surprised if the Republican Governor nomination is not won by either Corbett or Meahen.  

I expect Corbett to announce his gubernatorial intentions early in 2009, before anything else is released in his Bonusgate investigation.  This makes sense for Corbett's potential campaign, but is quite unfortunate for voters. 

I'm sure that after Corbett announces his plans for Governor, he'll start coming down on Republicans.  He'll do this because he'll be in the PA limelight and voters will see that a Republican is "vigilantly" going after his fellow GOP members.  Corbett will basically take his mess-of-an-investigation and use it as a powerful campaign tool. 

Laughing the year away

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review compiled some of the year's more-inappropriate political quotes.

Some of my favorites:

"That's OK. I'll tell it more slowly."

-- Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Philadelphia, delivering the punch line to one of several Polish jokes he told at a luncheon in New York. Specter later apologized for the remarks.

"If it was in our interest to hush him, I think we would have hushed him before he wrote that letter."

-- Mayor Luke attempting to hush speculation that the city's large financial settlement to former Urban Redevelopment Authority executive director Pat Ford -- who resigned alleging unspecified corruption in Ravenstahl's administration -- was hush money.

"The error was in the record-keeping and in the bookkeeping."

-- Former Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle, blaming a lack of accounting acumen for her acceptance of $43,000 in kickbacks, at her February sentencing of up to two years in prison.

The best quote by a PA politician:

"First, they are going to have to carve my heart out with a butter knife."

-- State Rep. Bill DeWeese, D-Green County, telling The Philadelphia Inquirer what it would take to get him out of office -- even after being implicated in the ongoing "Bonusgate" investigation by his former top aide, Mike Manzo. A butter knife?

Year in and year out, you can always count on a few unintentional, yet highly comedic quotes from politicians.  I guarantee soon-to-be Vice President Joe Biden has his own list this time, next year. 

Holier than thou readers

The Philadelphia Daily News offers a preachy editorial claiming that we should have seen the events of 2008 coming.

But the fact is, we did know everything that was to come to pass. We should have seen it coming.

Didn't we know that Detroit shouldn't keep building ever-larger vehicles, especially as gas prices rose?

Didn't we know that house values quadrupling over four years made no sense?

Or that sales clerks and mechanics and even those who had no jobs could not afford a $1 million house?

Or that multi-million-dollar bonuses on Wall Street made no sense?

Didn't we know that government was far too lax in its regulation, its attention to consumer protections too compromised by corporate interests?

Well, yeah, we did know all of this and it still happened, but it didn't occur overnight.  It's been a long time coming with everyone being part of the problem.  We can point fingers at who is mostly to blame all day, like I think the Philadelphia Daily News and all writers in general (me included) are to blame because we failed to protect the public by incorrectly informing them.  But, the fact of the matter is no one person or entity is overwhelming responsible for the economic mess.  We screwed this up as a nation.

It isn't going to help bellowing in the thousands of reasons why we're in this situation today.  We need to take more of a Mark McGwire approach and say "I'm not here to talk about the past."  Instead, we should focus on the future and possible ways to right this ship. 

From now on, this blog, when dealing with the economy, will only have articles pertaining to possible solutions.  There will be no more linking to economic stories like the above.  I realize that it doesn't mean much, but at least it's a start.  Time to bring out that forward thinking...

Looking toward the new year

The Morning Call's Tim Potts looks at what legislators should focus their efforts on in 2009.

The highlights of Potts' plan:

Gerrymandering: Legislative leaders, especially House Democrats, last year ran out the clock on an amendment to our Constitution that would have taken Pennsylvania from second-worst to first in the fairness of our legislative districts. But all is not lost. Lawmakers can make substantial improvements by law, and the League of Women Voters, as it did in 2008, will lead citizens and the coalition of integrity advocates toward that goal.

Open Records: 2009 is the year when our new open records law shows what it's made of. It finally applies to the Legislature and should give citizens a chance to see how upwards of a billion dollars is distributed through discretionary programs. Already, though, lawmakers are balking at providing the kind of information that would allow taxpayers to hold them accountable.

Pay to Play: Pennsylvania has among the weakest laws in the nation to control how political campaigns are financed. Contributions are unlimited, and when combined with lax rules for awarding no-bid contracts, they lead to a political culture of rewarding donors with government business. Look for a proposal to prohibit donors of more than $2,500 from getting contracts with state government. Then see what happens.

Constitutional Convention: Upwards of three-fourths of us believe we need a constitutional convention. We believe the General Assembly is incapable of making the changes we want in our government. Looking at the past three years, we are right. In 2009, lawmakers could authorize a referendum on whether to have a constitutional convention.

These are all solid ideas, but lets be honest, nothing can get done until AG Tom Corbett concludes his Bonusgate investigation. There are still many corrupt legislators in PA, and I realize that Bonusgate won't likely remove all of them from power, but it should oust the majority.

Have a good weekend.

Cutting the kids off

Rep. Todd Eachus continues to make the right moves. Eachus announced that the he would stop paying legal fees for the legislators and staff involved with Bonusgate.

Rep. Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, elected as the new House Democratic leader a month ago, said this includes a halt to legal fees for former Rep. Mike Veon of Beaver, who was the second-ranking House Democrat until he lost re-election in November 2006.
"The House Democratic caucus will not assume the legal fees of former Rep. Veon," Mr. Eachus said in a letter yesterday to Pittsburgh lawyer Robert Del Greco, who represents the once-powerful Mr. Veon.
In a phone interview yesterday, Mr. Eachus added that once House Democratic members or staffers are arrested or indicted, they "are no longer eligible for legal support" paid by the caucus.

This is something that should've been done some time ago, but then-Majority Leader Bill DeWeese didn't deem necessary. My faith in Eachus continues to grow and I have no doubts that he will be an essential cog in righting Harrisburg.

What recession?

It's quite apparent that the New York Yankees have not been impacted by any of the current economic woes.  After signing 1B Mark Teixeira to an 8 year/ 180 million dollar deal, the Yanks have now handed out a total of $423.5 million to three players for 20 years of service.

Something tells me the Yanks really want to open the new Yankee Stadium with a World Series win.

If the season were to start today, I 'd project this as their opening day line-up and rotation.

Line up

DH Johnny Damon (L)

SS Derek Jeter (R)

1B Mark Teixeira (S)

3B Alex Rodriguez (R)

RF Nick Swisher (S)

LF Xavier Nady (R)

C Jorge Posada (S)

2B Robinson Cano (L)

CF Melky Cabrera (S)

Bench

DH/OF Hideki Matsui

OF Brett Gardner

IF Shelley Duncan

C Jose Molina

Rotation

CC Sabathia (L)

Chien-Ming Wang (R)

AJ Burnett (R)

Joba Chamberlin (R)

Ian Kennedy (R) or Phil Hughes (R)

Bullpen

Closer- Mariano Rivera (R)

Phil Coke (L)

Brian Bruney (R)

Jose Veras (R)

Damaso Marte (L)

Edwar Ramirez (R)

Clearly, the Yankees will be fielding the most talented baseball team in the Majors, but the beauty of baseball is the most talented team doesn't usually win it all.  After all, the Yanks still have the Rays, Red Sox and Blue Jays in their division, so I doubt that they'll be able to run away with it.  

It'll be interesting to see how the other teams in the division respond.  I expect the Red Sox to go after either Ben Sheets or Derek Lowe and to also resign C Jason Varitek.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them trade for an additional catcher either.  

The Rays will be probably bring in an additional bat.  I'm thinking either Adam Dunn or Pat Burrell.   I don't expect the Jays to make any other significant moves this offseason.

The AL East should be the most competitive division this year.  Spring training can't come soon enough.