This Sounds Like Rock and/or Roll

Since Andrew Sullivan has been posting clips from The Simpsons, I think I will too.

Bon Jovi

And now you must allow me to indulge my sometimes lingering hair metal fetish from the 80's. This was and still is my favorite band from that era. And hell, they're the only ones still relevant. Here's one of their lesser-known tunes, Wild in the Streets.

2006 Season Review

With the AFC doing in the NFC one last time in the Pro Bowl, the 2006 NFL season is officially closed. How did I do on my preseason predictions? I did okay, if by okay you mean didn't get anything right. But at least I wasn't a complete dumbass and pick the Dolphins to win the Super Bowl like ESPN Magazine and Sports Illustrated.

Super Bowl
My Pick: Steelers over Panthers
Reality: Colts over Bears
I really dropped the ball here since neither the Steelers or Panthers made the playoffs, and I didn't think the Bears would.

Coach of the Year
My Pick: Nick Saban, Miami Dolphins
Reality: Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints
Let's just say given how much of a disappointment the Dolphins were this year, Saban was way off. And of course now he will be ineligeable for the award next year while coaching the Crimson Tide.

MVP
My Pick: Tom Brady, New England Patriots
Reality: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
Tomlinson put together one of the finest years, not just for a running back, but player in NFL history. His 31 touchdowns broke last year's MVP Shaun Alexander's one-year-old record. Without him the Chargers would have been nowhere. My pick of Brady wasn't that dumb though.

Offensive Player of the Year
My Pick: Larry Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs
Reality: LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
I admit I bought into the hype surrounding Johnson, even though I was skeptical he could achieve the predictions. He still rushed for almost 1800 yards and 17 touchdowns which may have been good enough a lot of years. But with the crazy numbers Tomlinslon put up, no way.

Defensive Player of the Year
My Pick: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
Reality: Jason Taylor, Miami Dolphins
Polamalu was hurt a decent portion of the year so his production dipped from 2005. Taylor, one of the league's most reliable veterans, put together a nice year with 13.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, and two interceptions that were both returned for touchdowns. He may have beneffited from Shawn Merriman's four-game suspension for steroids.

Offensive Rookie of the Year
My Pick: Joseph Addai, Indianapolis Colts
Reality: Vince Young, Tennessee Titans
I essentially saw Addai as the rookie with the best chance to make an impact on a good team, which is why I picked him. But Young came on like gangbusters and kept the Titans inexplicably in the playoff hunt. He even made the Pro Bowl.

Defensive Rookie of the Year
MY Pick: Bobby Carpenter, Dallas Cowboys
Reality: DeMeco Ryans, Houston Texans
I don't feel bad getting this wrong considering I really had no idea who would win. I just picked a high draft pick going to a good team. Houston got the defensive rookie, though it wasn't no. 1 overall Mario Williams.

Comeback Player of the Year
My Pick: Duante Culpepper, Miami Dolphins
Reality: Chad Pennington, New York Jets
Culpepper never really did come back. But Pennington got his team in as the most surprising playoff team in the league.

Division Winners
My Picks: Patriots, Steelers, Colts and Broncos (AFC). Cowboys, Vikings, Panthers and Seahawks (NFC).
Reality: Patriots, Ravens, Colts and Chargers (AFC). Eagles, Bears, Saints and Seahawks (NFC).
I wrote there were three no-brainer winners. And sure enough those are the only three I got right. With the exception of the Vikings, I don't think any of my other picks were dumb ones.

Wild Cards
My Picks: Bengals and Dolphins (AFC). Giants and Buccaneers (NFC).
Reality: Chiefs and Jets (AFC). Giants and Cowboys (NFC).
What can I say? I got them wrong.

And that's the season. In 2007 the Steelers, Cowboys, Raiders, Dolphins, Falcons and Cardinals will have new head coaches. As a Steeler fan I am of course most interested in, and rooting for, the success of Mike Tomlin. He steps into big shoes following two Super Bowl winning coaches. We'll get our first look at Tomlin on the Steelers sideline Aug. 5 when they play the Saints in the Hall of Fame Game.

I already can't wait for September.

Rohrabacher Says Dinosaurs Farting Caused Global Warming

Remember this post. I singled out Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) as being the most likely to claim there is no scientific consensus on global warming, when in fact there is. And not to disappoint Rohrabacher spoke at the House of Representatives' hearing on the global warming report recently issued. Of course he said there is no consensus. But he also had an interesting theory why temperatures may have risen. Think Progress has the video.

We don’t know what those other cycles were caused by in the past. Could be dinosaur flatulence, you know, or who knows?

You scientists and your smarty-pants degrees, your scientific method and peer-reviewed studies are all a bunch of bunk. Clearly we should put the insane ramblings of a partisan hack on an intellectual level with your conclusions.

More on Global Warming

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo links to a scary Wall Street Journal story about how the UN's global warming report may not show how bad things can get.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. government scientists Friday said the long-term outlook for global warming may be more dire than suggested by this week's United Nations' report, which they say doesn't fully address the impact of clouds and melting glaciers.

Recent evidence of accelerated melting of glaciers in Greenland and the Antarctic ice cap came too late to be included in the report released Thursday by the U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Glaciers are among the largest sources of fresh water in the world and are contributing to rising ocean levels. Rising sea levels could expose population centers bordering the ocean to more storm damage and could require evacuation in some areas. But the computer models used for the IPCC report based their predictions only on the results of heating of the existing water in the world's oceans, causing the oceans to expand and sea levels to rise, said Tom Delworth, a climate modeler for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the government agency in charge of climate science and weather service.

The IPCC report predicts sea levels will rise by between one to two feet over the next 100 years. Mr. Delworth said there remains "much more uncertainty" over how much accelerated melting of glaciers might add to that.

A second area of continuing uncertainty has to do with the impact of clouds on climate change. Warming the ocean sends more water vapor into the air, and the resulting clouds accelerate global warming by trapping more of the sun's heat in the atmosphere and further warm the ocean. Jim Butler, deputy director of NOAA's global monitoring division, called this "a very scary feedback mechanism."

Have a great weekend, everybody!

An Unreasonable Man

Speaking of Ralph Nader, this weekend a new documentary about him, An Unreasonable Man, opened. I am interested to see this. I understand many being mad at Nader for his runs, but the hatred some like Eric Alterman throw his way seems beyond reason. No Eric, thank the Bush Adminstration for Iraq, the undermining of the Constitution and destruction of the environment. There's a lot of people more to blame for this than Nader. A lot.

Not Really News Anymore...

But since we still have so many who deny it, this is another slam on the people who claim global warming is a myth.

PARIS, Feb. 2 In a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the leading international network of climate scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is “unequivocal and that human activity is the main driver, “very likely” causing most of the rise in temperatures since 1950.

"Very likely" is a key phrase.

In its last report, in 2001, the panel, consisting of hundreds of scientists and reviewers, said the confidence level for its projections was likely,” or 66 to 90 percent. That level has now been raised to very likely,” better than 90 percent. Both reports are online at www.ipcc.ch.

Remember that the next time some GOP tool like Rep. Dana Rohrabacher claims there is no consensus. The White House and many Republicans will claim to embrace this report while it is new. They'll say they are going to do something. Then as this new report, one of many, is slowly forgotten they will do nothing. Remember that because it may not be too late.

But their report, released here on Friday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said warming and its harmful consequences could be substantially blunted by prompt action.

Honestly, one step I see as maybe being in the right direction is President Al Gore. I know. I didn't vote for the guy in 2000, opting instead for Ralph Nader. But, I think the few years away have been good for him, and I really want him to run next year.

I was waiting to see how the petroleum-funded right-wing think tanks would react to this report. I have my answer.

Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today.

Letters sent by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), an ExxonMobil-funded thinktank with close links to the Bush administration, offered the payments for articles that emphasise the shortcomings of a report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Travel expenses and additional payments were also offered.

Super Bowl Preview

Okay, with about 30 hours to go before kickoff, I'll make my Super Bowl prediction. I'm taking the Colts. Dah dah duh. Yeah, I know that lumps me in with, oh...everybody. But hey, I think they will, and want them to win. I always get a kick out of seeing people like Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy shut up morons who say crap like, "He's a choker" when they have no clue what they're talking about. And if the Colts do win, look for the San Diego Chargers to win it next year. It would fit the pattern with the previous two Super Bowls. I just hope Marty Schottenheimer doesn't choke.