Hiatus

Back March 10th. Try not to shoot anyone in the face while I'm gone.

Alan Smith Update

Amazingly, after surgery to repair his broken leg and ankle, the doctors are now predicting that Alan Smith may be able to return in six months:

FERGIE: SMITH WILL BE BACK IN 6 MONTHS

Without Smith, Manchester United won the Carling Cup today, pasting Wigan 4-0:

United dedicate win to Smith

and the Mancs wore shirts during the post-game celebrations which said "For You Smudge".



Smith is nicknamed Smudger, a nickname originally held by the Alan Smith who played for Arsenal from 1987 to 1995. Apparently all soccer-playing Alan Smiths are nicknamed Smudger.

Previous posts:

He Knew He Was In Trouble When

Comeback Trail

Get Well Alan Smith

Bush Go Boom

The Scotsman: US leader crashed by trying to 'pedal, wave and speak at same time'

HE MAY be the most powerful man in the world, but proof has emerged that President George Bush cannot ride a bike, wave and speak at the same time.

Scotland on Sunday has obtained remarkable details of one of the most memorably bizarre episodes of the Bush presidency: the day he crashed into a Scottish police constable while cycling in the grounds of Gleneagles Hotel.

[]

The official police incident report states: "[The unit] was requested to cover the road junction on the Auchterarder to Braco Road as the President of the USA, George Bush, was cycling through." The report goes on: "[At] about 1800 hours the President approached the junction at speed on the bicycle. The road was damp at the time. As the President passed the junction at speed he raised his left arm from the handlebars to wave to the police officers present while shouting 'thanks, you guys, for coming'.

"As he did this he lost control of the cycle, falling to the ground, causing both himself and his bicycle to strike [the officer] on the lower legs. [The officer] fell to the ground, striking his head. The President continued along the ground for approximately five metres, causing himself a number of abrasions. The officers... then assisted both injured parties."

The injured constable missed 14 weeks of work.

Must-See Video

Jason McElwain is the student manager of the Greece Athena (Rochester, NY) High School basketball team. He is autistic, couldn't speak until he was five years old, but has been the team manager for two years, never missing a practice or a game. So the coach put him into the game, the last game of the season, with four minutes remaining.

He missed his first two shots, then amazingly, went on to hit 7 shots in a row, 6 of them three-pointers. 20 points in 4 minutes for an autistic kid who never played before. You have to see it to believe it. I get choked up every time they re-run the tape on TV.

ESPN: Autistic teen's 20-point night touches all

CBS video: Boy With Autism Scores 20

Incurious George

More proof that incurious George Bush does not read newspapers. He was probably out riding his mountain bike. Who's in charge here? Not Incurious George.

Bush's Response To the Ports Deal Faulted as Tardy
By the Time President's Political Team Took Notice, Controversy Was an Uproar

It was not until Feb. 16 that Bush was informed by aides of the controversy -- and that his own administration had approved the port deal a month earlier.

The controversy was covered on February 12, 2006 in the Washington Post in a story on Page 17 of the A section. I know this because I read it & linked to it on February 13th:

Privatization Gone Wild - Bushco Puts Terrorist Funders in Charge (Feb. 13, 2006)

Ding Dong, The Witch Got Caught

Katherine Harris Plays Dumb

Defense contractor Mitchell J. Wade pled guilty yesterday to election law fraud, among other charges for making illegal campaign contributions, including $32,000 in illegal contribution to Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL).

Katherine Harris claims she had no idea there was anything amiss when she received the contributions. In a statement she said the incident “demonstrates the perils of a process in which candidates are sometimes asked to determine the intent of a contributor.”

Her story isn’t very credible, for three reasons –

1. The illegal donations arrived on the same day. []

2. MZM was Harris’ largest campaign contributor by far. []



3. Wade told Harris his intentions. He took Harris out to lunch and told her MZM wanted an earmark for a defense project. According to the Washington Post, Harris asked for it but wasn’t able to get it. []