Checking the Balance

The Big Man backing the Cards

After almost a full two weeks, Super Bowl XLIII is about 48 hours from kickoff.

Playoff record: 6-4 against the spread (6-4 straight)

Arizona +6.5 over Pittsburgh

The greatest surprise over the last two weeks is the lack of a true majority favorite.  I expected the line to move up up to -8.5 to -9.5 range, but here we are and the line hasn't moved since it was posted.

ESPN has been running a poll:  Which team will win the Super Bowl?

The results (~502,000 total votes):
Arizona- 52 percent
Pittsburgh- 48 percent

ESPN also has a report on celebrity Super Bowl picks.

Out of the 100 famous folks who made predictions, 49 think the Pittsburgh Steelers will win Super Bowl XLIII; 48 pick the Arizona Cardinals. Three gave joke answers ... though we'll leave it to you to decide how funny they are.

I'm behind the Cardinals because of God, puppies and Larry Fitzgerald.  As a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh, I was lucky enough to be a freshman the same year as Fitzgerald.  He was a special, selfless player in college and there was little doubt that he would be a grade A professional.  Fitzgerald has not disappointed in his five years in the NFL.

Cardinals QB Kurt Warner has reportedly promised his kids a puppy if his team wins the Super Bowl.  This ploy seemed to work fairly well for Barack Obama.

This Cardinals team seems to be a group full of positive karma which makes me believe that they have someone else rooting them on.  (Thank you Kurt Warner)

All in all, my mind was made up when Gov. Ed Rendell pushed back his budget speech because of the "impending Pittsburgh victory."  I'm a bit superstitious when it comes to sports and Rendell broke rule number one; Don't plan a parade before there's an actually reason for one.

Cardinals 34, Steelers 24

Have a good weekend and enjoy the game! Don't forget to take off Monday and Tuesday.  Rendell recommends it...

Perks of the job

How sweet would it be to have a job where you go around asking people to support your ambitions financially?  Not only that, but it works and you have thousands of people buy into your vision and gather millions of dollars. 

Now, you managed to realize your goal of securing a high profile political position, which gives you countless connections and future opportunity.  These connections present you with a chance to purchase Super Bowl tickets at face value.  So what do you do?  The answer is easy.  You take out some of that money your supporters entrusted you with, book travel and lodging for Tampa and secure your Super Bowl tickets.

How silly does that sound?  Unfortunately, that is exactly what a handful of PA lawmakers have done.        

Reminding us, once again, that rank has its privileges, the Pittsburgh Steelers offered face-value Super Bowl tickets and travel opportunities for PA electeds who want to see the team face-off against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.Pittsburgh Boy Mayor Luke Panderstahl, Allegheny County Exec Dan "Drinks Tax" Onorato and Gov. Ed all took the team up on the offer (natch), but said they'll reimburse the Rooney clan without sticking the taxpayers with the bill, the Tribune-Review reports this morning.All three pols said they'll be dipping into campaign funds to pay their way.

I guess we can understand why Gov. Rendell HAD to postpone his budget speech a day. Seriously, how can you pass up Tampa's weather and paying face value for Super Bowl tickets when you don't even have to open your own wallet?

Fleeing to Tampa

Previews of Gov. Ed Rendell's big budget speech are making their rounds.

The meat and potatoes:

If you chew tobacco, smoke cigars or puff on cigarettes, Gov. Ed Rendell next week will ask you to pay more in taxes.

He will try to raise $150 million in additional revenue by asking for a natural gas extraction tax but will not propose an increase in any broadbased levy such as the personal income tax.

Rendell will ask for a freeze in state government workers' pay or, in the extreme, he may ask for layoffs, although not at the expense of public safety, such as corrections officers and state police.

This plan won't even begin to touch Pennsylvania's ridiculous debt.  However, I'll withhold further comment until Gov. Ed gives his speech next Thursday.

No parting gifts

The Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to remove Governor Rod Blagojevich from office.

Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges in December. Federal authorities allege, among other things, that he was trying to sell or trade the Senate seat that became vacant after Barack Obama was elected president. After the governor's arrest, the state House voted overwhelmingly to impeach him.

The Senate vote was 59-0.

Moments after removing him from office, the Illinois Senate also voted unanimously to prevent Blagojevich from ever holding political office in the state again.

One would think that this saga might be finally over, but I'm guessing we haven't heard the last from Blagojevich.  I'm sure he'll be getting a book deal, maybe even a movie deal in the near future.  We have not heard the last from Rod, that's for sure.

Fashionably late

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich decided to show up for his impeachment trial.

Blagojevich did acknowledge that the truth of his actions might not be flattering in some cases. He referred to taped conversations played earlier in the Senate trial. The tapes appeared to show Blagojevich linking legislation to campaign contributions.

He said that's something "all of us in politics do."

He told the Illinois Senate that he decided to give the closing argument at the trial because he wants to counter the evidence — including secretly recorded conversations — that's been presented against him. He says those tapes are the types of discussions everyone has to get things done in politics.

Blagojevich says he's innocent and throwing him out of office would set a dangerous precedent.

So, Blagojevich isn't denying the evidence, but he's saying what happened wasn't wrong.  Blagojevich fully believes that his actions and conversations were all part of the job, but the fact is that isn't how it's supposed to be.  There is no place for "pay to play" politics.  

I think impeaching Blagojevich for "pay to play" tactics will set a standard which, in theory, will remove more corrupt politicians from office. 

We should know Blagojevich's fate soon as the jury is currently deliberating.

Fill'er up

Charles Thompson took a look at how the proposed emission rules would affect Pennsylvanians.  (Hint: keep your wallet open.)

New automobile fuel-efficiency rules -- sought by California and 13 other states, including Pennsylvania -- would require automakers to cut carbon dioxide emissions by nearly a third by 2016, four years ahead of the current federal timetable.

The proposed rules could add $2,000 to $7,000 to the sticker price of a new car or truck if carmakers decide to produce two sets of vehicles, industry analysts said. At least one observer wonders if the proposals are regulatory overkill when carmakers and dealers can least afford it.

I can't see this legislation passing any time soon.  If people aren't buying cars right now, what makes anyone think that they'll buy them at an increased price?  Let's not forget, automakers are hemorrhaging money, so I don't see how they could even think about creating a new, costlier vehicle.

Chalk it up as another piece of well-minded legislation that couldn't have been brought up at a worse time. 

Well, this doesn't look promising

The Philadelphia Daily News' John Baer has a terrific piece on why we're all doomed.

Nationally and in Pennsylvania, all-too-common partisanship appears in play even as the state and nation suffer jolting job losses amid alarms that the economy continues downward.

We hear that the sky is falling, it's a huge crisis and we need urgent action, and it's time for a new bipartisanship; real people with real problems need real help, no more fooling around.

But what we get is a dunking in our deep and familiar political culture known for distracting, stalling and evading while playing the same partisan roles and pushing its own self-interest.

A small example: Rendell's budget address next week was pushed back a day because many lawmakers plan to attend Sunday's Super Bowl in Tampa, and because a Steelers win means celebrations Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Baer goes on to spout off a few other terrific examples and makes his message is clear, it's not Republicans or Democrats causing the problems; it's all politicians.  

He's absolutely right and the only way to stop this vicious cycle is to have every politician be completely selfless (I wouldn't put money on that happening.)

There are no clear solutions, but one has to think it starts with enacting term limits on all political positions. 

A lot of politicians come into office with good intentions of change and reform, but after a few terms it seems this novelty wears off and they change positions.  I believe this change happens because they've had to appease too many "special interest" in order to remain in their position of power.  I think that if we limited every political position to a maximum limit of eight years, we would see a vast improvement in how voters are treated.

Essentially, we need to eliminate the archaic seniority system.  I'm sick of hearing about how a 28-year incumbent won re-election because he can guarantee his district extra funding due to his seniority.  It's time to treat all political voices equally, and to stop rewarding for seniority. Most importantly, by putting a cap of eight years for any one political position, we'd be encouraging a constant shift in ideas and reform.  

Smart investing

The Detroit Red Wings continues to show why they are the NHL's model franchise.  Today, they signed forward Henrik Zetterberg for the next 12 years. 

The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to a contract extension with forward Henrik Zetterberg worth slightly more than US$72 million over 12 years.

The team has called a news conference for Wednesday afternoon in Detroit.

Zetterberg, a 28-year-old native of Sweden, is in his sixth NHL season, all with Detroit. He has 43 points in 45 games this season.

Zetterberg is one of the premier two-way players in the league and has potential to be the Wings' next Captain, once defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom hangs up his skates.

Some people will argue that signing a player to a deal until he's 40 is a poor choice, but I think this deal is brilliant.  GM Ken Holland realizes that his team has a legitimate shot at winning the Cup every year for the foreseeable future, and this deal keeps the Wings' foundation together while giving them significant salary cap flexibility.  

Zetterberg's new contract gives the Wings' a cap hit of six million.  Zetterberg's cap number would put him as the 32nd highest in the league, which is an absolute bargain since Henrik is easily one of the top ten players skill wise.  Basically, the Wings' will be getting a great deal for the first eight years of Zetterberg's contract (before age catches up).  So, why the last four years of the deal will probably make Zetterberg's contract look bad, the first eight will give the Wings' a chance to add complimentary players, which should lead to three or four Cups over that period.

Of course, that is in a perfect world.  There still is significant risk in such a lengthy deal.  Zetterberg has avoided major injury thus far, but he still has suffered from back problems over the last few years.  Although these "back spasms" shouldn't be considered serious now, they could be down the road. 

Two minute offense

President Barack Obama is doing everything he can to convince his colleagues that his proposed economic package needs to pass immediately.

In a final push before the House votes on an economic stimulus package, President Obama said Wednesday that the country needs immediate action to solve rampant job loss.

Obama spoke after meeting with a dozen CEOs including Sam Palmisano of IBM and Dave Cote of Honeywell.

"The businesses that are shedding jobs to stay afloat ... and all those who live in fear that theirs will be the next job cut -- they need help now," Obama said from the White House. "They are looking to Washington for action -- bold and swift."

"[W]hen it comes to rebuilding our economy, we don't have a moment to spare," he said. 

My money says that the package won't pass this round.  Still, the ball is moving, so we're probably a few tweaks (and weeks) away from a new stimulus package that will appease most.

Wednesday Snowy Wednesday

Gov. Ed Rendell projects that the state will have to lay off between 1,000 to 2,000 employees. 

Gov. Ed Rendell today said the work to date on his 2009-10 budget cuts leaves him expecting between 1,000 and 2,000 job cuts across state government later this year.

The cuts, an administration spokesman later said, will come through a variety of program cuts as Rendell tries to close a projected $2 billion budget hole, and will likely be achieved through a mixture of attrition and layoffs.

Well, this would explain why Ed wants to delay his budget meetings as long as possible (Thank you Super Bowl XLIII).  No word yet on whether or not the recently hired secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will be keeping his job.