Grab Bag Thursday

I take it back. No witty musings about the debate last night. In fact, I dumped it off the TiVo without even watching it. Every pundit, spinner, and intraweb gasbag has declared that it was pretty much "Tenth verse, same as the first." Apparently Edwards advanced the ball down the field a little bit...but it sounds like it was yet another evening of agreeing-more-than-disagreeing and deferring to Hillary. If Edwards, who's strong in Iowa, can outperform expectations in the first few primaries, it could be over for Obama early. And that ever-hardening conventional wisdom from a couple of weeks ago, that the Obama campaign is in big trouble? That toothpaste ain't going back in the tube. Just Google "Obama campaign trouble" and see what I mean. At some point in the nearer-than-he-would-like future, Senator Obama may be forced to start considering an exit scenario that keeps his "rising Democratic star" status intact. In today's political climate, you stay in too long and you're damaged goods. There are no second acts. Just ask John Edwards, a guy who...based on his credentials and national resume...ought to be running neck-and-neck everywhere with Hillary.

Mittens, Rudy, John, Fred...there's still time to do the right thing.

Well, that was fun..for a little over a week, the Braves teased us all. They got, let's say, four cards of that inside straight they needed to draw in order to make the playoffs. But in Seven Card Stud, you have to pull all the cards...so the Bravos can go ahead and start making tee-times for next week. In much, much happier news, at least Braves fans still have this to enjoy.

The Jermain Taylor-Kelly Pavlik fight for the undisputed world middleweight championship (this Saturday night) is the best fight HBO has offered up in a decade. HBO usually shows mandatory title defenses. Fights where the champ picks some ham-and-egger from well down the top ten contenders list and pretty much phones it in. Pavlik's no bum. Jermain Taylor hasn't been in the ring with a fighter like Pavlik...a guy who's going to plant his heels in the mat and beat you relentlessly upside your head until you do something fierce to deter him. At the same time, Pavlik's never been in with a fighter as immensely gifted as Taylor. Taylor will be active and in motion...he'll make Pavlik expend energy pursuing him. He should beware, though...in knocking out Edison Miranda last spring, Pavlik showed a willingness to stalk his opponent deep into the fight if that's what it takes in order to start landing his big bombs. It's the oldest boxing cliche in the book: Styles make fights. These two fighters' styles couldn't be in sharper contrast. I can't wait.

I've been lucky enough to have a circle of friends that has racked up some serious accomplishments. I'm proud to say that I personally know a franchise-player NFL defensive end, a former WCW superstar, a Hollywood animator/anime voiceover actor, a WNBA standout, a professional golfer, a Naismith Award-winning basketball coach, and, of course, the deejay at Atlanta's hottest strip club. But, given the fantastic news posted by The Christian Agnostic, now I can finally say that I know a published author. And I have no doubt...none, at all...that I will eventually be able to call her a successful, highly-acclaimed author. Congratulations, Candace!

Finally...While I'm shamelessly dropping names, congratulations also to one of the mack daddies of my blogroll, Griftdrift, on his selection by Atlanta Magazine as the critics' pick for Best Blogger. Read him every day, as I do, and you'll end up living vicariously through him...as I do.