you have to love any owner ...

... who keeps making roster moves even after their team misses the playoffs. Catastrophic Success, we salute you.

a great story in my very own newspaper

The short version: Rich parents go school-shopping (and buy a second home worth nearly $740,000) so their high schooler can have a better chance of being the starting quarterback.

To read main story, click here .
To read sidebar, click here .

the language of presidents

From 2007 -- then-candidate Obama, talking about his dislike of debates:

"So when Brian Williams is asking me about what's a personal thing that you've done [that's green], and I say, you know, 'Well, I planted a bunch of trees.' And he says, 'I'm talking about personal.' What I'm thinking in my head is, 'Well, the truth is, Brian, we can't solve global warming because I f–––ing changed light bulbs in my house. It's because of something collective'."

what went wrong? (in 10 words or less)

* Babs: Wide receivers never caught fire.

* Catastrophic Success: Mad scientist kept mixing chemicals until lab blew up.

* Flaming Chickens: Ocho Stinko.

* Steel Curtain: Done in by Donovan.

* Winehausfrau: Fine, owner can run her own team then.

* Your Original Champions: Lost Tom Brady. Lost all interest.

thursday games

Three of them this week:

* Tennessee at Detroit

* Seattle at Dallas

* Arizona at Philadelphia

week 12

We now have our playoff teams, but the last week of the regular season will determine who plays who. If 2 or more teams end up with the same record, total points scored will be the tiebreaker for seeding purposes.

Brash Upstarts Division -- It will be Dirty Sanchez, Shiners and Montana.

Wily Veterans Division -- Taxmen, Cavalry and Weapons.

* No. 1 seed (Dirty Sanchez) -- first-round bye
* No. 2 seed (division champ) -- first-round bye
* No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed -- winner plays #2 seed
* No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed -- winner plays #1 seed

pittsburgh, 1960

Google is putting the archives of Life magazine online. Click here to start your search. The caption for this photo says "Pittsburgh Pirate fans atop the University's Cathedral of Learning looking down at Forbes Field and celebrating winning World Series."

a bar bet just waiting to happen

The word "boycott" originated with a real person: Capt. Charles C. Boycott, a land agent in Ireland who in the late 1800s was ostracized for his refusal to reduce rents. It's an example of an eponym, a word that derives from an individual's name. Some other examples: sandwich, sideburns, quisling, maverick, guillotine, bloomers, bougainvillea, leotard and guppy.

spare change

With "change" being the running theme of the presidential campaign, here are some songs for you iPod'ers out there:

* A Change is Gonna Come -- Sam Cooke

* A Change (Would Do You Good) -- Sheryl Crow

* Changes -- David Bowie

* Changes in Latitudes Changes in Attitudes -- Jimmy Buffett

* Change Partners -- Stephen Stills

* Cool Change -- Little River Band

* Money Changes Everything -- Cyndi Lauper

* The Times They Are A-Changing -- Bob Dylan

* There'll Be Some Changes Made -- Billie Holliday or Ethel Waters or Tony Bennett

* You Can't Change That -- Raydio

another thursday game

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh. Set your rosters accordingly. (A quick check shows 8 Steelers and 3 Bengals on various rosters.)