So much for the comeback of Peter Forsberg – two games into the comeback, he announced his retirement from hockey. As it turned out, the chronic foot problem that robbed the former NHL MVP since 2003, robbing him of chunks of his career, was too much for him to overcome. (I commend the Colorado Avalache for giving the team’s former star a chance.)
It’s always sad – another athlete crying at a press conference when their bodies can no longer take the punishment. We always think of Willie Mays, futilely playing a game that he was one of the best at – unable to say goodbye until the sport had to do it for him.

So, the people of Green Bay, Wisconsin have a reason to continue living – their Packers won the Super Bowl yesterday. Already I’ve had people contacting me to rub it in – fine, have your fun.
It was a very good game, however. It’s interesting: some people are saying that the Steelers could have won without the three crucial turnovers, and that’s probably true. However, if the Green Bay receivers hadn’t dropped those four passes, at least one of which, perhaps two, would have been touchdowns, the game wouldn’t have been as close as it finished.
So, enjoy cheeseheads – already they are talking about a dynasty – multiple championships. Whoh, let’s take this one step at a time, Eb.
The last repeat champions were the New England Patriots in 2002-2003 and while they have been strong since (the favorite I think coming into this year’s playoffs), just being young and talented isn’t enough. And yes, this year’s team had significant injuries, but it’s hard to keep that fire in the belly.
That is what makes the Packers winning so galling. Last fall, I had a Facebook friend posting how this year’s University of Wisconsin team may be the best ever. And they did play well, but the balloon burst in the Rose Bowl when they lost to TCU, the first non-BCS conference team to win a BCS bowl. So, hyperbole is not unknown in cheeseland.
So, enjoy it now while the rest of us hope for another 15 years before you win again (at the earliest). Of course, that’s if there is a next season with the 8000 gorilla of a work stoppage lurking….

I got a lot of positive feedback on my comments about the hyper-driven act of the “Chicken Little” weathercasters.
Last week, they were right for once, calling correctly the 20 inch snowfall here in Chicago. And while we are in the middle of an Arctic blast of cold weather, the hyperbole is out in force again. “Wind chill advisories,” “dangerous outdoors,” “stay inside” call everyone from the reputable (the National Weather Service) to the town criers (the Tom Skillings of this world and every news reader on TV and radio).
I’ve been outside this morning and this afternoon, and let me tell you, it IS cold outside. But I live in Chicago and have all my life, so I do as the British called for in World War II – Keep Calm and Carry On.

It seems like every year, Peter Forsberg leaves the NHL, then at some point rumors abound that he is returning. Forsberg, a former league MVP, signed a $1 million prorated contract to play the rest of the season with his old team – the Colorado Avalanche.
The 37-year-old Forsberg has been out of the league for 3 years, and he will be adding experience to one of the youngest teams in the league. It probably won’t be enough to make them a Stanley Cup contender, but the young guys may learn a lot from him and they may be a force in the next couple of years.
Forsberg of course, has been out of the league as a result of a his chronically injured right foot. I wish him well. I also hope he doesn’t send naked text messages to reporters (of course, hockey announcers are generally grizzly old ex-players, so perhaps Forsberg is safe there.)

The big story in Chicago and around the U.S. today is the huge winter storm that is expected to bring 1 to 2 feet of snow here in the next 28 hours.
Unfortunately, due to the hyperbolic level of the local weather casters, especially WGN’s Tom Skilling, many people always low ball what the forecasters predict.
I got into an online argument with the nerdy weathercaster when I first started this site (search Tom Skilling) because I believe that weathercasters are being dishonest and actually doing more harm than good when they hype their predictions for ratings.
For example, people either treat them like “Chicken Little,” or they stay at home when things aren’t as bad as expected, which hurts businesses when people don’t come out.
Well, today on the WGN Radio website there is the following headline:

Tom Skilling: ‘Nobody is fear-mongering here’

Maybe not this time, but what about the other 364 days of the year, eh Tom? (But, if we do get less than 2 feet, you’re teetering reputation is in the crapper.)

I cannot understand the ignorance of some people. In my opinion, if you know nothing about a subject, you should probably be quiet. One person who obviously believes in parading his ignorance for all to see is Georgia Republican Rep. Jack Kingston. A conservative, he regularly shows up on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” usually to show his ignorance and get hoots and boos from the crowd (he is brave, I’ll give him that).
On Friday night, Rep. Kingston showed ignorance in two ways. First, he stated clearly that he does not believe in the process of evolution. “I believe I came from God, not from a monkey so the answer is no,” he said, laughing, when asked if he subscribes to the theory. Later in the segment he added, “I don’t believe that a creature crawled out of the sea and became a human being one day.” (Quotes from the Huffington Post)
Ok, so you’re a moron. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about (although it scares me that African-American comedian D.L. Hugley said that he doesn’t believe in evolution either). Rep. Kingston also continued his disbelief in global warming/climate change. Of course, the completely stupid look at the major winter storms this week and say “warming – it’s snowing out.” But it appears to me that climate change is a huge issue. We have had the worst winter storms in a very long time on the East Coast and as I wrote above, Chicago and most of the country are expecting record snow. Obviously, the weather is going crazy, JUST AS THE CLIMATE SCIENTISTS PREDICTED!!
What I don’t understand is: if 93% of the world’s scientists believe in global warming, and we can do something about it, why not try to do something? I have my two Indignant Children, and since I am willing to make sacrifices for them in so many ways, why not try to reduce my carbon footprint so that they have a livable Earth to live in? Kingston has four children. Recently, Rolling Stone magazine printed the people doing their most to fight against environmental efforts to stop climate change. The ultraconservative Koch brothers are understandable since they own one of the largest energy consortiums in the world, but Rupert Murdoch has children and grandchildren. If there is even a 1% chance of the scientists being right, isn’t it worth checking it out? Or maybe, like a science fiction movie, Murdoch and other naysayers are either building spacecraft for them and their progeny to survive or have scientists working secretly to come up with a “ta-da!” last second save for the planet?
And what about the “average American,” set against change? Is that the reason? Is it like Mr. Maher said in one of his stand-up routines: Americans don’t want to sacrifice for anything? What about the survival of the planet? The survival of our species? Even the worst misanthrope would want to survive personally, wouldn’t they? What about your children? I give less than a damn for people as a whole, but I have lots of friends and family members who I love and care about as individuals. I want my girls and those people to survive, and I do and will continue to push myself, our family and our governments to get the 7 billion people on this planet do whatever we can do to make our planet livable for our progeny.

I take guitar lessons on Saturday afternoons at the Old Town School of Folk Music. The school is 6 miles from my home in Skokie. I have a great time, until it was dashed last weekend.
To get to class, I drive through Lincolnwood, Illinois, a suburb that rests between Skokie and Chicago. It is a small suburb – it has a population of 12,359 according to the 2000 Census and covers a total area of 2.7 square miles. This is much smaller than Skokie that had a population of 63,348 as of 2000.
Anyway, we have two cars and I usually drive the 2000 Volvo V40 station wagon to class (the new car is usually used by the Indignant Wife and Children). As an 11 year old car, it’s pretty old and as of last week, had one headlight out. We purchased replacement bulbs, but the first one didn’t work and we didn’t rush to fix it.
So, after class, about 6:00 PM, I was driving home on Crawford Ave. (known as Kedzie in Chicago) headed north. I was stopped at the light at Crawford and Pratt Ave, when I saw a Lincolnwood squad car make the right turn onto Crawford, go a short distance north then make a u-turn to come back south. After my light changed and I continued north, the police car turned around and then he turned his lights on to stop me.
So, doused in blinding light, I pulled out my driver’s license and waited.
The police officer, a white guy (of course) asked for my driver’s license and insurance card. I gave him the driver’s license and reached into the glove compartment for the insurance card. Seeing my Skokie license, he said he didn’t need to see my insurance card.
I hadn’t been drinking, and I think it’s pretty obvious that the “original gangstas” aren’t driving around in an 11 year old station wagon with a kid’s car seat and a booster seat for the Indignant Oldest Child.
“Do you know you have a headlight out?” was the question from Officer Obvious. People who know me know that I rail against authority and as reader of this blog, you probably get that I have a sarcastic streak. But, since I didn’t want to get beaten up or spend time in jail. I just said “yes, I know – the first bulb we put in didn’t work.” I was thinking “of course I know you blooming asshole.”
Deciding that I wasn’t head of a street gang and probably weren’t going into the Northern suburbs to deflower some young white girl, the cop said “I’m going to write you a warning and get you on your way.” Of course, he could do this without writing anything up, but he has to justify his phony baloney job.
Now, according to Wikipedia, Lincolnwood has 34 police officers for a population of 12,359 or one officer per every 363.3 residents (according to old figures, so let’s say 1 officer per 400 people). This compared to the 90 officers (not commanders or chief and deputies) for the 63,348 people in Skokie (one officer per 704 people) or the 13,500 Chicago police officers for 2,824,064 people in the city limits (one officer for 209 people).
Anyway, I get the Skokie Review weekly newspaper and I know that there is crime in Lincolnwood. I would think that the 34 police officers (not that they are all on duty at the same time) have something better to do than to stop an old car with a headlight out. I haven’t been stopped in Skokie or Chicago for my headlight – in fact, if police stopped every old car with a headlight out in Chicago, the department wouldn’t have time to arrest anyone engaged in real criminal activity.
So, Officer (Name Not Mentioned for possibility of reprisal), you’ve really done your duty – protecting the public from a busted headlight. You can go to the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts and feel like a success.