Morning Brew for 11/4

I'm still trying to get over last night's Jazz game. The good news is, I have someone to blame. Thanks Ross!

-As we exclusively reported yesterday, Tuesday was Election Day across the United States. Here is a list of some of the notable races around the country. Most importantly I will now have something to do if and when I take a trip to Ohio. Does this make Lebron's personal casino legal? Hmmmm....

-Good news for beer lovers, states around the country are nearly doubling the alcohol content in beer. Some beers will now have a legal alcohol by volume of 13.9%, up from 6%. The newer, more potent beers will cost more than a regular 6-pack however.

-The Louisiana Justice of the Peace who refused to marry an interracial couple has resigned. Keith Bardwell refused to marry the couple based on his belief that it was unfair to the couple's potential children to come from an interracial home. I thought that making my "Moron of the Week" pick was going to be more difficult. Good riddance Mr. Bardwell!

-American billionaire, Warren Buffett has taken his model train enthusiasm to a new level. Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway purchased Burlington Northern for a mere $34 billion. The company is the nation's largest rail transporter of coal and grain, also transports electronics and consumer goods as well as imported cars from both Toyota and Honda.

-Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin will share the duties of hosting the 82nd Academy Awards. The show which is scheduled for March 7th, will be Martin's 3rd time hosting, while Baldwin will be making his debut. This will be the first show since 1987 to have multiple hosts. Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan split the duties that year.

-The World Series resumes play tonight with game 6 at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx. Tonight's starting pitchers, Andy Pettitte, and Pedro Martinez are going to party like it's 1999. The two starters are a combined 75 years old. Speaking of old people, did you know Tim McCarver has a CD of great American songs? If that doesn't top your Holiday Shopping list, I don't know what will!

Weekend Update

The Links
-Mike C. sends along three videos for us today. The first may be NSFW due to language, but it is pretty freaking funny. More from Axis of Awesome, which he mentions led him to this video.

-Chris B. sent in this newspaper article highlighting what may be one of the most creative Senior Pranks of all time. Chris mentions to us that this is from a rival high school of his, so kudos to him for giving props to a rival. Good luck in Houston Chris.

Sports
-After seven overtime periods, multiple last second shots, and hundreds of Sideshow Bob jokes the greatest first round series in NBA Playoff history came to a close on Saturday night. The Celtics defeated the Bulls 109-99 in Game 7 to advance to the 2nd round. Like I said last week, you know it's a good series when my wife is planning our Saturday night dinner plans around watching the game.

-According to a report out of Cleveland, LeBron James will be named the 2008-2009 NBA MVP. James averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists in the regular season, and helped lead the Cavs to an NBA best 66 wins. I'm just going to take a shot in the dark and say that this will be the first of many for the King.

-51-1 long shot, Mine That Bird, captured the 2009 Kentucky Derby. 153,563 people crammed in to Churchill Downs to watch the race. Mine That Bird returned $103.20, the 2nd largest return in Derby history, and the highest since 1913.

Entertainment
-NBC announced their fall lineup this morning. Heroes, Southland, and Parks and Recreation are among the shows that the Peacock is planning on bringing back for the fall. They will join Celebrity Apprentice, The Office, 30 Rock, Law and Order SVU, The Biggest Loser, and Friday Night Lights as returning shows. No word on whether or not Chuck will be picked up for another season. I'm on pins and needles.

-The new X-Men movie pulled in $87 million to capture the box office crown this weekend. Matthew McConaughey's romantic comedy, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past came in 2nd with $15.3 million.

-This weekend's movie was The Soloist. Very solid movie, I thought Jamie Foxx, and Robert Downey Jr. were both fantastic in their respective parts. Highly recommend checking out this flick.

News
-A man traveling through the Texas panhandle may have found the original recipe for Dr. Pepper. Bill Waters purchased a tattered old ledger book for $200. According to estimates it may fetch as much as $75,000 at auction later this month. Dr. Pepper says that the recipe in the book is not the current secret recipe for the drink, but did not comment on whether or not it was the original recipe.

-We are all going to die. The Swine Flu is everywhere, and apparently we need to cancel all sporting events. What a joke.

Wednesday's Works

Sports
-It's such a great time of year to be an NBA fan. The Playoffs continued last night with 3 games. The Cavs tried to blow a 29 point 4th quarter lead, but LeBron James wasn't about to let that happen. The King had 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead Cleveland to a 94-82 victory over Detroit.

-One of the most underrated players in the Association helped lead the Blazers to a 107-103 win over the Rockets. Brandon Roy dropped in 42 points and 7 rebounds for Portland. Roy may be underrated, but his teammate Greg Oden continues to be one of the most overrated players in the land. Oden played 11 minutes last night and had 4 points and 4 rebounds, 3 of which were offensive. Not a bad line, one that you'd probably be happy about as a fan, but it's quite easy to get 4 boards when you record 6 fouls in 11 minutes jumping all over everyone! Ugh, I will have another rant on him one day soon.

-This never happened. It's a good thing I spent 4 hours in a sports bar watching what didn't happen last night. That may need to be my destination for all future Jazz Playoff games.

Entertainment
-The Govenator may make his return to the Terminator series. With the 4th installment of the movie series coming out in May, the California Governor doesn't have the time to film any scenes, but the producers of the movie are working on using him image from the earlier Terminator movies to put into Terminator: Salvation. Good work California.

-American Idol judge, Paula Abdul told Dateline that she has never been drunk in her life. Eh.... so you're telling me that you are just that stupid naturally? I'd rather think you were drunk on the air as opposed to just being a moron. I'm just saying.

News
-The CFO of struggling financial company, Freddie Mac, was found dead of an apparent suicide at his home in Virginia. David Kellerman was 41 years old, married with a young daughter. Truly just another sad story of our economic problems. Police are investigating Kellerman's death.

-President Barack Obama is in Iowa today to discuss his alternative energy plan on Earth Day. Obama is expected to tour a wind energy plant and also take a look at trying to create more jobs based on the plant which was closed down in 2007.

Wednesday's Works

Sports
-Anyone need a QB? Apparently Jay Cutler is available. After a rough off-season between the Broncos and Cutler, the team has finally decided to officially put the disgruntled quarterback on the trading block. According to his agent, Cutler has no desire to be the starting quarterback for the Broncos anymore.

-Just how good is LeBron James? I still don't think that we know. This guy is going to take over the Association like no one ever has before. Not even Michael Jordan. James led the Cavs to their 13th straight victory with a 79-73 win over Detroit on Tuesday night. James scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Cleveland, who has the best record in the East all but wrapped up for home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Good luck to all the other teams in the league, Lakers included, in beating LeBron in a Game 7 at the Q.

-Like I mentioned yesterday, John Calipari is headed to Kentucky. Coach Cal has accepted an 8-year $31.65 million deal. Calipari will try to lead the Wildcats back to the NCAA tournament which they missed for the first time since 1991.

Entertainment
-Ahhhhh yes. It's still nice to have a BlackBerry. Quickplay is set to offer BlackBerry users the ability to watch full length TV shows on their BlackBerry device. There will be a $7.99 subscription fee per month, and the device will need to be connected via a WiFi connection to download, but this should be something that is very highly downloaded when it is made available, which may be as early as today.

-NKOTB. New Kids on the Block. They're back! The original boy band is set to embark on another tour starting in May. The band reunited last year for a brief tour, and have announced that they will be back on the road for a 34 stop tour in the summer of 2009. Tickets go on sale as early as Monday morning.

Business
-Pending home sales have risen during the month of February. The National Association of Realtors reports that pending sales of homes rose 2.1% in the 2nd month of the year. The number was at a record low coming into the month, so I guess it had nowhere to go but up. Any news is good news right now about the economy though.

-President Obama has stated that world leaders need to agree on some tough new rules to help stimulate the world's economy. Speaking at the G-20 summit the US President stated that they "cannot afford half-measures" as they are trying to address the global financial crisis. The President says he is absolutely confident that the meetings will help lead to the up turn of the economy.

The Links
Haven't had many links sent in this week, remember anything that you find interesting on the internet, I'm sure other people will appreciate it as well. Send the link to 8hourstokill@gmail.com and we'll get it posted with full credit to you.

Wednesday Morning's Are Like...

-It appears that Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers have agreed to a two-year deal, worth $45m. I'm still a little shocked that the Dodgers were willing to pay that price for Manny when it appeared that there were no other suitors for his services. But then again when you have the best agent in the business on your side things tend to work in your favor.

-Speaking of Boras clients. It appears that the Yankees may ask Alex Rodriguez to skip the World Baseball Classic. A-Rod has been experiencing some stiffness in his hip which has developed a cyst according to an MRI. Now I don't claim to be a doctor, but can't a cyst develop after receiving injections? Hahahaha. Oh boy.

-The Coast Guard has suspended the search for 3 people missing on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent Corey Smith, and former South Florida player William Bleakley have been missing since Saturday. Just a sad, sad story.

-According to Giants GM, Jerry Reese his team would welcome back troubled WR Plaxico Burress, assuming Burress' legal problems were all cleared up. Is there ever going to be a point where a team in any sport is going to tell a player to just stay away? We don't want to be associated with known felons, who shoot themselves in the leg. I understand that Plax might be able to contribute to your club, but at what cost? I think we will see some of this when Michael Vick is released from prison this summer.

-It was a happy senior night at Cameron Indoor last night. Big game coming up this weekend against North Carolina where the ACC Regular Season title will be on the line.

-The NBA writers over at Sports Illustrated have handicapped the NBA's awards season with a month and half to play. Call me a homer, but if the Jazz finish in the top 4 of the Western Conference and Jerry Sloan doesn't win Coach of the Year it will be a travesty.

-Maybe LeBron should have followed Dwight Howard's advice before the game. It would have made Anderson Varejao happier.

Tuesday's Trip Around The World... Of Sports That Is

-What a ball game last night in Miami. The Cavs rallied down 11 in the 4th quarter to win by 7 in South Beach. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade put on a show. James finished with 42 points, Wade finished with 41. There is nothing like it in sports when a player decides he is not going to let his team lose, and just absolutely takes over the game. D-Wade did that Saturday night against the Knicks and King James did that last night against the Heat.

-TJ Houshmandzadeh has agreed to a 5-year deal with the Seahawks. The deal is for $40m and calls for TJ to receive $15m guaranteed. No word yet on whether or not the Seahawks will play this commercial over and over on the JumboTron at Qwest Field.

-Seriously? Just go away Barry.

-Greg Oden continues to prove me right. You know it's never a good sign when your coach sees you running up and down the floor and says "it doesn't look good."

-Carmelo Anthony shows why he will never lead a team to a championship. Anthony has been suspended by the Nuggets for what the team is calling an "in-game transgression". You stay classy Carmelo.

TGIF

-Albert Haynesworth is going to be loving the next 13 months of his life. Haynesworth signed a deal with the Washington Redskins that will pay him $100m over the next 7 years. Included in his deal is a guarantee of $41m, $32m of which he will receive over the next 13 months. Not a bad deal in my opinion. Unless of course you are a Redskins fan.

-In other contract news, San Francisco Gians fans should be thanking their lucky stars that after paying Barry Zito $14.5m per season, they will have the regining NL Cy Young winner under contract in 2009 for $650,000. Tim Lincecum agreed to the deal with the Giants last night. He will be eligible for arbitration following the 2009 season where he will cash in.

-When LeBron James has 1 rebound, and 0 assists you probably aren't going to win very many ballgames. That was the case last night as the Rockets pounded the Cavs at the Toyota Center in Houston. Does anyone else realize that the Rockets are really "taking off" since McGrady announced he would be out for the season? M-V-P, M-V-P!

-Tiger Woods fell to Tim Clark at the Accenture Match Play Championships yesterday outside of Tucson. After waiting 8 months for his return to play, I'm sure the PGA Tour would have liked to have seen Woods advance further, but Clark had other plans. Just my thought, but after getting back into the swing of things on tour this week, Woods is going to dominate in his next stop. He will be over answering all the questions about whether or not he is nervous to be back on tour. Whether or not he thinks the knee is going to be able to hold up. Whether or not he is coming back to early. The only question for his next tour stop: how many strokes will he win by?

-Manny Ramirez has rejected the Dodgers contract offer of 2 years and $45 millon. Apparently both sides agree on the amount of money and the length of the deal, but they do not agree on when Manny will receive the money. The Dodgers hope is to defer a large amount of the contract over the next 5 years without interest.

-Maybe I need to re-think my support for President Obama.

-Hahahaha. This is where I will be spending my Friday night.

Weekend Update... Only Not As Funny

First before we get to any highlights from the weekend, I wanted to address the passing of Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller. Obviously being a Jazz fan, and living in the state of Utah I have seen first hand what this man has meant not only to the Jazz, but to the entire state. Without him we wouldn't have the ESA, we wouldn't still have the Jazz, and who knows what else.

So much has already been written throughout the local papers and blogs that I figured I'd just link to a couple of my favorites:

Doug Robinson had a fantastic piece in the Deseret News on Sunday.

Ross Siler covered numerous things in regards to the death of the Jazz owner in his blog for the Salt Lake Tribune.

The Jazz will be wearing a memorial patch for Miller on their jerseys for the remainder of the season. Even the folks over at the Uni Watch Blog like the patch.

The official release sent out by the Miller group can be found here.

RIP Larry, you were a great man.

-LeBron did his thing Friday night in Milwaukee. James scored 55 points on only 29 shots against the Bucks. Maybe Kobe could take notes since he took 30 shots to score 39 points in overtime against the Hornets on Friday.

-Dwayne Wade had the crowd chanting MVP on Sunday. The only problem was, the game was in Orlando. Wade scored a career high 50 points in a loss to the Magic. Dwight Howard had 32 and 17 in the win. The Magic are going to be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time. A lot of people are talking about where a potential game 7 would be between the Celtics and the Cavs, don't count out JJ's boys come June.

-Very sad story out of the NFL combine in Indianapolis. Brian Mandeville was told by doctors to retire before his professional career even started. Apparently during a routine exam prior to working out doctors found an irregularity with his heart that could be life threatning if he continued to play football.

-Matt Kenseth turned left better than anyone else on Sunday to win the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Race at Fontana.

-Slumdog Millionaire was the big winner at the 81st Academy Awards last night in LA. Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, and Heath Ledger were among the winners.