Cruisin' the Web

According to Friedman, "It’s morning again — in Saudi Arabia," because Americans have short memories.

Sadly, the Minnesota Twins "do not have a department devoted to statistical analysis." In the last decade the Twins have gained an edge by developing talent through excellent scouting and managing at the minor league levels. Unfortunately, while the rest of major league baseball has integrated advanced metrics into their player evaluations, it appears the Twins are resting on their laurels. Perhaps this explains why one analyst ranks the Minnesota farm system 21 out of 30.

"Small-market teams love salary caps. Or rather, they think they do. " If a salary cap were implemented in Major League Baseball, 13 teams would have to spend an extra $15 million to meet the minimum.

Why is it that conservatives only fight for tax relief that would benefit the wealthy? "If the Republicans were more serious about their philosophical commitment against taxation, why not instead propose a either a long-lived holiday or a permanent reduction in the FICA (payroll) tax as the entirety of their stimulus package?...because the payroll tax is capped at about $100,000 in income, suspending or reducing it would not be all that helpful to wealthy Americans, to whom it represents only a tiny fraction of their tax burden." (Read more)

A nice chart of President Obama's cabinet (with pictures and everything).

A liberal uses the "n-word". (More people just like him.)

Greg Boyd finds it a bit ironic that Colin Powell was the keynote speaker at a Martin Luther King Jr. breakfast. Makes a lot of sense to me.

"Liberalism is not America’s problem. A comfortable Church with a tamed Jesus is." (More here)

The current free agent compensation system is screwed up. When the Brewers receive a second round pick for losing C.C. Sabathia (instead of a first) and Jason Varitek is held hostage because any team that signs him will have to give up a first rounder, something needs to change. Look for this to be a topic for discussion at the next round of collective bargaining. In the meanwhile, since the Yanks have already forfeited their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks with this year's big free agent aquisitions, Ken Rosenthal believes they should solidify their bullpen by signing type A free agent, Juan Cruz. I totally agree. Meanwhile, Yankee blog, River. Ave. Blues makes some suggestions for how to fix the free agent compensation system.

There's a lot of hype around the Cleveland Indians this offseason, but "the Twins will be a tough beat in the AL Central in 2009."

Back in October, I complained that the Twins were forced to play a tiebreaker against the White Sox in Chicago because they lost a coin flip. This, despite having won the season series. Well, looks like those coin-flips won't be happening anymore. Thanks Bud. Better late than never I guess.

Check it out, the White House has a blog!

Cruisin' the Web

Obama the most liberal Senator?

Chairmen of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, summarizes the challenges that lay ahead as we look to reform the health care system in America. A nice concise overview.

If you've listened to sports talk radio at all recently then you've probably heard the Bud Light commercial tribute to another Real Man of Genius: Mr. Roller Cooler Cooler Roller (hear it at budlight.com). Well, it turns out members of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen are also Real Men of Genius. So, does this mean Kyle McClellan is Mr. Cruzin Cooler?

A Pastor who previously supported President George W. Bush, launched a website called James Dobson Doesn't Speak For Me to refute claims made against Barack Obama by Dobson during his June 24th broadcast. After listening to that broadcast, where Dobson devotes a good portion of the program criticizing Obama's '06 Call to Renewal speech, it became very clear that Dobson was willing to take quotes out of context to suit his purposes.

An Ode to Baseball Cards, "Growing up on the mean streets of Bath, Maine, I never saw anyone riding their bicycles with baseball cards in the spokes. And if I did, I’d have shoved the ungrateful little punks off their banana-seated Huffys and rescued all the Garry Templetons, Oscar Zamoras, and Felix Millans as if they were my own cardboard children. Because that’s how I rolled, yo." I could not agree more.

Fascinating details behind the fall of Bear Sterns. Based on this account, it sounds like no one truly knows what caused Bear's collapse , but conspiracy theories have emerged.

Bishop of Durham and New Testament scholar (not to mention super smart theologian), N.T. Wright appeared on the Colbert Report and discussed heaven.

John McCain responded to criticism to his proposal for a gas tax holiday,"You know the economists?'' McCain said June 12 at Federal Hall, near the New York Stock Exchange. "They're the same ones that didn't predict this housing crisis we're in. They're the same ones that didn't predict the dot-com meltdown. They're the same ones that didn't predict the inflation that's staring us in the face today.'' Silly economists. So, does this mean McCain won't be putting his "lot in with economists"?

Two Bethel University Professors (my alma mater) wrote an article for Christianity Today, "How to Pick a President: Why Virtue Trumps Policy." An interesting perspective. Not what you'd expect given it's title.

Cruisin the Web (02/05/08)

It is no wonder these guys are such sore losers. Their coach hasn't exactly been a model of integrity lately. Let's be honest, without Tom Brady, it is impossible to differentiate Bill Belichick from other slightly above average coaches in the NFL, except that he's an arrogant jerk. He walked off the field before the game was over, said nothing to his players after the game, and once again put his arrogance on display by refusing to directly answering any questions the media asked.

The Timberwolves one chance at a sellout may disappear with the possibility that K.G. may miss the Wolves/Celtics tilt this Friday at the Target Center due to injury.

For Christians who get wrapped up in politics (like me), this is a good reminder. Politics, specifically the democratic brand, is good, but will always be polluted by human self-interest, and thus cannot be looked to as the ultimate hope for all of humanity. Plus, Christians will never agree on political solutions to the world's problems.

Maybe if Twins fans had made more Johan tribute songs like this, he would have never left town.

Trade your exercise for beer. Yes!

The worst day in Celtics franchise history, now made into a full-length documentary (all due respect to Reggie Lewis).

One thing I know, God is not a con-man. He might change His mind, but he is not a con-man.

Hard to believe that while the Twins lost Torii Hunter, they are projected to increase the amount of runs they produce per game.

Remember when evangelicals won the White House for George W. Bush? Well, things look to be changing. A segment of those evangelicals, who label themselves "Born Again," no longer favor Republican candidates according to this study by the Barna Group.

Cruisin' the Web (01/22/08)

Random highlights from my most recent travels aboard the world wide web.

• The Tom Cruse Scientology video. His stare is seriously spooky. At what point will this stuff effect his movie career? On a side note: How freakin' awesome was Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun? Easily one of my Top Ten movies of alltime.

• Speaking of movies, here's Entertainment Weekly's list, "The 25 Movies You Need to See Before Oscar Night (2008)". I've only seen four of these movies, although a great number more of them are in my Netflix queue. That's what happens when you have an 11 month old child in the house.
  

• I am "The Rich" by Heather Koerner. With below zero temps, sky-high heat bills, and a child in day care, I sure don't feel rich. Of course, 'rich' is relative isn't it? Warning: Conviction looms behind click.
  

• According to this economic evaluation of possible Johan Santana trades by Yahoo's Vince Gennaro, a trade to the Mets makes most sense because his possible future value to the Mets franchise matches that of the rumored Mets prospects the Twins are to receive. He believes the Yankees and Red Sox would not receive equal value in return for the ace.

• Debunking myths about why so many young adults tend to leave the church. Surprise, it is not because of secular universities.
  

• I've never heard of Chardon jeans, which is a shame, because they had the makings of a great ad campaign (see for yourself here): an arcade, roller skates, and Larry Bird.

• In an interview with Beliefnet, Mike Huckabee tries to squirm out of his comments that the constitution should be aligned with biblical standards. Someone needs to reminds this guy of that high school civics lesson on the Bill of Rights, specifically the first amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

• So much for Bill Clinton being the first black president. Hint: Don't fall asleep during events honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

• Steven D. Levitt analyzes the relationship between declining abortion rates and crime, "...legalization of abortion in the 1970s reduced crime in the 1990s. The logic is simple: unwanted children have an increased risk of growing up to be criminals, and legalized abortion reduces the number of unwanted children. Consequently, legalized abortion lowers crime in the future." So, what effect does the increased availability of contraception have upon this theory?
  

• Kobe Bryant holds 4 of the top 10 spots for most field goal attempts in an NBA game, having most recently claimed the 6th spot, heaving 44 shots against the lowly Seattle Supersonics. FORTY-FOUR! See for yourself here, complete with shot chart. And you wonder why Shaq left town and nobody wants to play with this guy. Apparently even professionals don't like ball hogs.