Sarah Palin gives hand job to Tea Party Movement

Former Alaska Governor and Fox News Analyst Sarah Palin appeared before the National Tea Party Movement Convention in Nashville, February 6th, and gave a speech she was paid over $100,000 for. To effectively deliver the oratory, Former Governor Palin used what were once called "crib notes" scribbled in the palm of her left hand. Thus, Sarah Palin used her hand as part of the job she was hired to do for the Tea Party Movement.

The finding, noted in several blogs, took the Internet by storm on Monday. Sarah Palin wrote the words "Energy", "Tax" and "Lift American Spirits" in that order in her left hand's palm.

It was Palin's palm-up pose that allowed the photo capture of what she scribbled. All this from a person, Sarah Palin, who criticized President Obama for using a teleprompter, yet did so in the same Tea Party speech where she was using her left hand's crib notes, and also used one at the Republican National Convention.

The use of crib notes calls Palin's core beliefs into question by some. Does she really believe what she says, or is she just reading lines? While it was claimed that Palin's teleprompter broke at the RNC, some bloggers noted that it did not, meaning the lines Palin said were scripted and not off-the-cuff.

Who is Sarah Palin? Is Palin a serious 2012 GOP Presidential Candidate, or a former politician who's still so in love with the spotlight she would take six-figures to give a speech, and write notes in her hand to make sure she scored conservative points, even if she really didn't believe in them?

Sarah Palin paints the picture of the latter. In the Tea Party speech, Palin called for better understanding and care for special needs children, of which Palin's a mother to one herself. But the same Palin rejected Economic Stimulus money for Alaska that would in part help special needs kids. Fortunately, the Alaskan Legislature overruled her decision. Many observers believed Palin was posturing for national political ambitions.

Now, Here she is, taking money for giving a speech to conservatives, and using the Alaska Economic Stimulus issue as an example of her "conservative values." If Sarah Palin needs crib notes to remind her of what her conservative values are, one can assert she doesn't believe them at all, unless she's paid $100,000 to do so.

Whatever the case, the Tea Party Movement enjoyed it.

Related searches:
sarah palin hand, sarah palin crib notes, sarah palin cheat sheet, sarah palin notes, sarah palin cheat

Jack Murtha remembered as Hawk who backed Clinton, helped Obama

Congressman John P. "Jack" Murtha (D - 12th District, PA) passed away at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA. with his family by his bedside. Congressman Murtha was one of the first fiscally conservative, yet socially liberal Democrats with a military background to endorse then-Senator Hillary Clinton for President against then-Senator Barack Obama. But when Obama won the Democratic Presidential Primary in 2008, Murtha vigorously campaigned for him.

But Murtha was also known for sharing an idea that seemed to become a campaign theme: that Western Pennsylvanians were racist. "There is no question that western Pennsylvania is a racist area." The comment, controversial, was much needed at the time and arguably set the tone for Obama's now-famous speech on race "A More Perfect Union".

Murtha, the longest serving congressperson at 36 years, was known as a Hawk and became recognized as an expert on military affairs. He was a favorite of my late stepfather and military veteran Chester H. Yerger Jr., who would stop what he was doing just to hear Murtha's take on a political issue.

Murtha's legacy will be in the defense jobs he brought to Pennsylvania. “He helped provide the foundations — my company continues to build upon what he started,” said Ed Sheehan, president of Johnstown’s Concurrent Technologies Corp., hours after news of the congressman’s death went public. “I am certainly saddened by his death.”

Google, Rupert Murdoch, the SF Chronicle and Media: Phil Bronstein

In this ongoing look at the future of media, there are few in a better position to talk about it - and Google, Rupert Murdoch, and the SF Chronicle - than Phil Bronstein, the Executive Vice President in charge of Content Development and Editor-At-Large for the Newspaper Division of The Hearst Corporation.

Phil Bronstein

Phil's also known as a celebrity, but my feeling going in was that I want to focus on the more substantive issue of media's future with someone I work with, and that I wasn't interested in adding to someone's caricature of "Phil Bronstein."  

After gaining one tech point of view, that of Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark, we have a journalist and newspaper executive. We met at Phil's office at San Francisco Chronicle headquarters in San Francisco.

(The text picks up after the video introduction. The blog post breaks down the most interesting parts of the discussion with summaries in between. The video above is over 27 minutes long.

Zennie Abraham: You having fun?
Phil Bronstein: Yeah. Most days at least interesting if not fun. I get the opportunity to talk to people who are doing things that are outside the normal scope of journalism, but that may have an application for journalists. It's that intersection that interests me and probably interests everybody.
Zennie Abraham: That why I wanted to talk to you about the future of media, but also wanted to say something. A lot of people I talked to in preparation for this (interview) say you should have got the Pulitzer (Prize for his coverage of the Philippines) not the finalist. Wikipedia got it wrong.
Phil Bronstein: Well, (Wikipedia founder) even Jimmy Wales will tell you Wikepedia's not perfect. But that was a long time ago and I had a great time as a foreign correspondent. Almost 10 years. I was very happy with my experience there and had a great time doing it. I don't care at the moment; but thank you. (Laughs)
Zennie Abraham: What's the future of New Media? I kind of jumped the gun but I could not think of a better person to talk to from your perspective because you span journalism..
Phil Bronstein: I'm old.
Zennie Abraham: Nah.
Phil Bronstein: I've been around a long time.
Zennie Abraham: You're not much older than me Phil.
Phil Bronstein It's a much more complicated question than it seems. I think that everybody's grasping. There's a little panic going on; sometimes a lot of panic. I think as I told you before you started videoing, I've always been a student of insurgency. I like that.
Zennie Abraham I think I'm the insurgent.
Phil Bronstein: No. No. I mean, I think there are a lot of insurgents around. Some of them technically have nothing to do with journalism but what hey have is they have the ability to plug in what they're doing into journalism. Journalists don't necessarily have the time, even if they have the interest in figuring out how to make that happen. For instance the Twitter phenomenon.

Twitter has ways in which they can have a verification process for all of that giant pipe of information they have every second. And verify it in ways that cab be useful for a journalist.

So if you're a journalist, and you find out that 50 people are tweeting about an explosion in Lower Manhattan, Twitter has the ability or will have the ability to geocode those responses to see if those people are all part of the same social network or maybe not, which indicates that it may be a hoax, maybe not . There's a process that they can do (in) real time to analyze this data and then be able to say to journalists, out of the 50 words or so, here are the ones that are real.

Phil's working to determine what role the professional journalist can play in information technology. Bronstein sees the journalist as a fact checker of the future. A person or persons who ferret out the bad information from the good in a sea of it. Phil says that there's been a big change and that ultimately there's going to be a bigger one. The question is 'What's the future of journalism.' Not what's the future of newspaper.

Zennie Abraham What's the future of journalism?
Phil Bronstein The future of journalism is that there will always be value in someone filtering information professionally...Sort of a nose for things.

Phil says "Citizen Journalism" has been a disaster. "The idea that you go out and give everyone a flip camera", Phil says, "You can call that a journalist, I suppose. But the idea that there would be this seamless relationship between citizen journalists and journalists is not working."

Phil says social media gives citizens the chance to contribute, but the results must be verified. There was a push in the recent past to use what newspapers called "user-generated content", but it didn't work out because of the information accuracy problem.

The picture he gives is of the news organization as information shaper; "That's what professional journalists can do. That's what a lot of professional journalists do very well."

In a world dominated by opinion and issued by blogs and vlogs, and where some information consumers only go to "certain sources" that fit their political leanings, Phil Bronsteins asserts there's a need and a desire for information that's been "cleaned and verified" by pro journalists.

The nature of the interaction between the citizen journalist and the professional is where the person uses a camera to capture something happening and the news organization (like the SF Chronicle or CNN iReport) uses the video once its affirmed.

Revenue concerns in media

"How is all of this monetized" was the question that defined the next phase of our talk.

Phil Bronstein - Well, that is the big question that no one has answered yet, unless you're Google, Yahoo or MSM. In terms of news and information. You perform a service; people are going to be willing to pay for it in some fashion. That may not be true. I hope it's true. Ultimately I think we're relying on some truth to it. The more value we create the more we can collect on that value. The desktop screen or the laptop screen may have past us by already because we've made everything free.

Zennie Abraham - Are paysites the answer?

Phil Bronstein - Or maybe it's the handheld device. I don't know. I don't know. What the answer to that question is and I don't know that anyone have the definitive answer "(does). The Chronicle's now jumping to embargoed content - We'll see how that goes.

Zennie Abraham Can you explain to my viewers what that is?
Phil Bronstein Yeah. It's key stories in the Sunday paper. People are being encouraged to go out and buy the paper , the Sunday paper, where they would have seen it on SFGate for free - or get an e-subscription. They've seen some action. It's only embagoed for a few days then it appears on SFGate. Now I think what's going to happen is very news company is investigating some kind of paygate.

I asked Phil about the failed Newsday paygate, where it gained just 35 subscribers in three months. "Times Select is a disaster. The LA Times had a pay wall and that didn't work. There are theories that if you get enough media companies doing it at the same time people will have less opportunities."

He's not advocating for a cartel. "Rupert Murdoch has threatened to withhold or just kill Google. Not allow Google to use his stuff; the Wall Street Journal, for example. I asked a Google executive all the newspaper companies decided to kill Google, how much would that effect them; he said three percent (of total revenue). They've come up to talk to news people at the SFGate; I've went down there to talk with them. Everyone's willing to talk, but I don't think we have a lot of leverage with the Murdoch threats.

Warren Helman's Bay Area Project

Phil Bronstein and I talked about The Bay Area News Project. A new "non-profit" news organization that's financed by San Francisco investor Warren Hellman, that's upset some local traditional journalists who feel that it's taking the "news market" away from them since it relies on students in the Berkeley journalism school and partners with the New York Times (not the SF Chronicle). "It's a high end demographic. We'll see how it goes. KQED dropped out. We'll see how it goes."

The future of media

Bronstein thinks this change will, as I put it, shake out in some way in the future. "Things are happening. Momentum is there. What Murdoch's doing. They're all trial balloons he's testing Rupert just may have something we don't know about.."

On the matter of celebrity news site TMZ.com, he describes it as "a wonder" and thinks "It's great..an experiment that's worked pretty well. "We're in an interesting time" Phil says, and offers that there will be an interesting tension between the people they cover and what they do.

The future of the San Francisco Chronicle

"The Chronicle's not closing down anytime soon. I don't say that because I make the decisions, that's just my belief and my observation. I want to make that clear. And anything I tell you could be completely wrong or change tomorrow." Bronstein says that technological change may cause the Chron to "look completely different" than it does now, but it's still and institution that's been around for a long time.

The video is uncut and has more of the details behind his comments and my reaction. But it was an enjoyable experience that I'd like to create a follow-up to, especially after the iPad's been in the market for about six months.

Meanwhile, I'll talk with more interesting people about the future of media.

Stay tuned.

R.I.P. Pennsylvania Congressman John P. Murtha

Congressman John P. Murtha (PA-12) passed away peacefully this afternoon at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA. At his bedside was his family.

Murtha, 77, was Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in February of 1974, Murtha dedicated his life to serving his country both in the military and in the halls of Congress. A former Marine, he became the first Vietnam War combat Veteran elected to the U.S. Congress.

This past Saturday, February 6, 2010, Murtha became Pennsylvania’s longest serving Member of Congress.

Super Bowl Commercials: SFAMA has Super Bowl Ad Review

The San Francisco Chapter of the American Marketing Association has it's annual Super Bowl Ad Review this Wednesday in San Francisco. It's a fun event that anyone who's at least interested in what marketers and ad execs think about the Super Bowl commercials should attend.

Here's a video series from the 2007 SFAMA Super Bowl Ad Review event I attended:

Part one:



Part two:



Part three:



The event will be held at the office of Bars + Tone at 1550 Bryant St Ste 1000, San Francisco, CA, this Wednesday, February 10th 2010 from 6 PM to 8 PM. Visit the website to register and for more information: SFAMA Super Bowl Ad Review.

Super Bowl Commercials: Doritos, Google win 2010 BrandBowl

The battle of Super Bowl commercials was played out online during Super Bowl XLIV. Doritos, Google, and Focus on the Family won the 2010 BrandBowl. But what's the 2010 BrandBowl?

The 2010 BrandBowl is an online competition between Super Bowl commercials from a Twitter perspective. Ad agency Mullen partnered with Social Media measuring company Radian 6, to produce the 2010 BrandBowl. Specifically, they describe it in this way:

BrandBowl was built to gauge public reaction to the brands advertising during the Super Bowl. By monitoring Twitter, we can measure people's opinions and rank the brands accordingly. The brand with the top "BrandBowl score" on Sunday night will be the winner of BrandBowl 2010, and can date the head cheerleader.

How BrandBowl Works

First we tally—using selected keywords—the total number of tweets about each brand.
Second, we look at the opinions stated in those tweets to calculate a "net sentiment" score. The purpose of this score is to measure whether the overall public reaction to a brand is positive or negative. The net sentiment score is derived by the formula:
(Positive tweets – Negative tweets) / Total brand tweets
Finally, to rank the brands, we calculate a BrandBowl score by evaluating the non-negative share of each brand relative to all brands:
(Positive tweets + Neutral tweets – Negative tweets) / Total tweets for all brands
Rolling over any brand will show all three of these figures—its BrandBowl score, its net sentiment score, and the total number of tweets about the brand. For the true ad nerds out there (it's okay, you're among friends) we also provide a link that will display even more in-depth details on any brand:
A spark line that shows the number of tweets over a timeline
A breakdown of the tweets about the brand, to show if the tweets were overwhelmingly positive, negative, or neutral
A word cloud of the most popular terms in tweets about the brand
It is important to note that we are measuring the response to brands. We are not measuring the response to any single ad.

Got that?

Doritoes' commercial won by simply having the most tweets about it (3042), both positive and negative. This is the most popular Doritoes' commercial of the four aired:



Which brand's commercial had the most positive tweets in the 2010 BrandBowl? That award went to McDonald's, Dr. Pepper and Universal, in that order. Here's McDonalds Super Bowl commercial featuring LeBron James and Dwight Howard:



The other Super Bowl commericial runners-up in the 2010 BrandBowl were Google and Focus on the Family. Here are those commercials:

Google (Impress a French Girl or "Parisian Love"):



Focus on The Family (Pam and Tim Tebow):



If you're wondering who lost the 2010 BrandBowl, it was Budweiser Select55 "Don't bring me down", which did so. Mullen's offering free creative services to Budweiser. Here's that Super Bowl commercial:



For the rest of the results, visit the Mullen and Radian 6 site for the 2010 BrandBowl.

Stay tuned.

Oakland News - Sweet Jimmie Ward dies - [Aimee Allison | OaklandSeen]

[Aimee Allison | OaklandSeen] For much of the time Sweet Jimmies was the heart of Oakland nightlife in the 90's, I would catch glimpses of nighttime boisterous dancing and singing at the spot through the grainy lens of Soul Beat TV. Now Soul Beat and Sweet Jimmies nightclub are a decade gone, and I find myself longing for that Oakland spirit. "Sweet Jimmie" Ward died Friday night at the age of 74 - a former longshorman who was one of hundreds of thousands who came from the South to work at the shipyards or on the Army base during World War II and stayed to raise families and start businesses and shape neighborhoods. Ward made Sweet Jimmies into the place to go - dressed to the nines - where old soul from Mississippi and Lousiana and Georgia was alive.

Those in Sweet Jimmie's generation brought small town manners and blues and political organizing and art. They created a legacy and culture in Oakland that defines us today. Now, Oakland's black population has plummeted under the weight of unemployment and police sweeps and shady mortgages. But you can still see the storefront of the old Sweet Jimmies at 577 18th Street in downtown Oakland. Many people don't know that for many years it was an important meeting place for African-American political and community organizations. It was a center of influence. And while many celebrate the remaking of culture and nightlife in the city, I am taking a moment to mourn what we lost. See, Sweet Jimmies wasn't just another nightclub, Jimmie Ward just another nightclub owner. He represented an era here in Oakland. And that era is over.

The public service for Jimmie Ward is this Thursday at Good Hope Church at 5717 Foothill Blvd. The event will begin with a quiet hour at 7 p.m. A public funeral will follow on Friday at noon in the same location.

Facebook can be used for identity theft, be careful

Facebook has become one of the largest, if not the largest, social networks in the World. It can bring people together to celebrate the Saints Super Bowl XLIV victory, or mourning the Colts loss, or to talk about Sarah Palin's awful use of hand-written notes for speeches. But with 350 million Facebook members, there's bound to be a crappy person or three hanging around. Some members are on Facebook just to steal your identity.

This video shows what happened when the people at Sophos Labs created a Facebook member who was a duck:



The Sophos Labs video makes sense but leaves out an important point: it's what you put in your Facebook profile, not so much who you friend. Using my profile "Zenophon Abraham" as an example, I have a lot of friends and many I do not know, but have shared business-related information, especially about events.

I use Facebook for networking; while I have information about me there, it's not my address or personal relationship status other than who my relative is (my half-sister Amanda). I don't have my instant message handle posted, I don't give details on where I am all the time, unlike some people.

And there's another strategy, too: saturation of self. My "self" - name with photo - is everywhere on the Internet because I am on so many blog and social media platforms; the idea is that so many people will see "me" that it's all but impossible for someone else to get away with saying they're me.

Me, Zennie Abraham , at the Leigh Steinberg Party 

I got the idea noticing how "out there" tech blogger Robert Scoble was - he's on a ton of networks and has thousands of contacts if not millions of them.

Identity theft is also successful when people don't know what you are supposed to look like. But, say, with Usher, it's harder to do.

Why do I mention Usher? Because there was a guy at the Leigh Steinberg Party who others claimed was Usher, including some friends of mine. I took one look at the guy and said "He's not Usher; Usher has a baby face. This guy looks like he's in his 40s." Moreover, he signed a napkin using the name "Usher". I didn't want to think the guy was impersonating Usher, but the the napkin autograph changed my mind.

But I digress. The point is, having a ready photo of Usher that we could call up on a Google Nexus Phone solved the problem. That guy, as I said, was not Usher.

Facebook is a great social network but you don't have to put everything about yourself there.

Peyton Manning didn't choke; Colts were outcoached

The New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 30 to 17 in Super Bowl XLIV, a game Colts QB Peyton Manning would like to have back. Down 24 to 17 with just under three minutes to go and driving, Manning threw a slant pass to Reggie Wayne, but Saints Defensive Back Tracy Porter stepped in front of Wayne, intercepted the pass and raced 74 yards to score the deciding touchdown.




Now, some are saying Colts OB Peyton Manning choked. Manning didn't choke so much as the Colts were outcoached.

The Saints, under Head Coach Sean Peyton, had a daring game plan that featured an onside kick to open the third quarter, a varied passing game, and three different defensive game plans. Still, with all of that, the Saints could have lost the Super Bowl. The difference was that the Colts didn't seem to be prepared for the Saints' momentum changing onside kick, and for some reason avoided blitzing even one linebacker or back and putting the pressure on its front four to do the job most of the time.

But to say Peyton Manning choked is to ask a legitimate question: why is it that Manning seems to force the ball when the Colts are behind. The answer is, in 2009 Manning didn't, except for Super Bowl XLIV. In today's game it seemed as if Manning was determined to carry the team on his shoulders to make up for the Colts' defense' difficulty in stopping the Saints offense.

Manning was making trying to make up for strategic and performance problems earlier in the game, and let the whole of the Colts problems get to him. It was obvious every time he expressed frustration coming off the field, and most of the time after a dropped pass.

Peyton Manning didn't choke. The Colts' loss was a team effort. But Peyton Manning will be tagged with the "Great, but..." label until he returns to the Super Bowl and wins. To do that he will need more seasoned receivers (which he will have) and a more varied pass offensive attack that moves Manning's launch points with rolls and sprints. Finally the Colts will have to be better prepared for whatever could be thrown at them. That's not as hard as it sounds, because there's only so much one can do on a football field.

Stay tuned.

Saints v. Colts - Saints are Super Bowl XLIV Champions

Saints v. Colts - Saints are Super Bowl XLIV Champions. The New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts 30 to 17 in a Super Bowl game that turned on a common theme for the Saints in postseason: playing a near perfect offensive game, then holding on as the opponent made the mistakes to lose. In the NFC Championship Game, it was the Minnesota Vikings' six turnovers. In Super Bowl XLIV it was the Colts missed opportunities and errors.

Credit must be given to Saints' Head Coach Sean Payton, who once against created an offensive game plan designed to address the one strength of a defense. In this case, the Saints settled into a passing attack that had their receivers attack the hook and seam areas of the Colts defense and throw to the running backs out of the backfield to take advantage of the Colts linebackers.

Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees carried out the game plan masterfully. He was a near-perfect 32 of 39 for 288 yards, and two touchdowns.

But in most post-game evaluations it's easy to turn the analysis into what the winning team did right. In this case, the Colts did a lot correctly, but just did not take advantage of opportunities when they were given to them.

A number of normally-sure handed Colts receivers dropped passes, specifically Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon. And with his team behind 24 to 17 in the fourth quarter, Peyton Manning (31 of 45 for 333 yards, one touchdown and one interception) rushed his throws, and on a key 3rd and five with just under three minutes to go, and the Colts down 17 to 24, Manning threw for Reggie Wanye who was running an inside slant. But Wayne stopped and Saints defensive back Tracy Porter stepped in front of the pass and raced 74 yards to score.

That play was one observers would talk about for a long time. While Manning focused on Wayne, Colts receiver Austin Colley broke open on a seam route; he went unnoticed as he raced by the high safety on the opposite side of where the interception occurred.

Even with the interception, the Colts still had time to score another touchdown, recover an onside kick and perhaps score a miracle game tying touchdown again. But that was not to be, as the Colts' furious comeback drive stalled at the Saints' six yard line.

A team of destiny

This first Super Bowl win for New Orleans came at the right time for a city working to overcome the disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the exodus of much of its population to various places in America and around the World. Much of New Orleans was under water, and the Federal Government's efforts under George W. Bush were so terrible that "Brownie" became a poster child for government inefficiency in a crisis.

When Sean Peyon became the Saint's coach, it was the same year, 2006, that the renovated Louisiana Superdome reopened. The same stadium that served as a sanctuary for up to 30,000 people after Hurricane Katrina. Bringing home a World Championship became more of a mission than an athletic occupation.

I said to a friend that even though I'm a massive Colts fan, I would not be sorry to see New Orleans win Super Bowl XLIV. The city needed it, and really America wanted it. Now, the task of rebuilding New Orleans has new life.

Grammy Fashion! (a quick break from the SuperBowl...)

I break the Grammys fashion down a little bit. This is the start of a new segment that I am starting called Fashion Friday where I talk about the previous week in fashion, burgeoning trends, and who's been a hot mess. Pardon this Grammys Fashion post being late, I am celebrating the Superbowl right now, as I am sure all you're as well!

Here is the link that I refer to above where I conduct a VERY serious break down of the 2010 Grammys. 

Posted by Cat of SomeRedCat.tumblr.com

Live Super Bowl Preview show beginning at 3:30 Eastern time

By "Draftnik"

Live Super Bowl Preview show beginning at 3:30 Eastern time

Don’t forget about our 2 and a half hour live show today at 3:30!!! Great Football Talk for your Super Bowl and Prizes for trivia.

Listen at www.blogtalkradio.com/Football-Reporters

Saints v. Colts - Super Bowl XLIV will be won by Colts

Super Bowl XLIV pitting the NFC Champion New Orleans Saints v. The AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts will be a game filled with passes and trick plays. It will be one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever.

The Super Bow game features the NFL's 9th best offense (2nd in the NFL in passing for the season) in the Colts against the league's 25th-ranked Saints defense. That's the key matchup. Sports observers can write about imagined challenges between specific Colts receivers certain Saints defensive backs, but the reality is one-on-one pairings are rare because of the variety of coverages used; the Saints will try to keep everything in front of them with a zone coverage system and work to prevent the Colts from hitting the home run ball.

But the Colts will mix short passes and runs; the Saints will move away from the zone, crowd the line-of-scrimage, and blitz. And that's where the Colts big play will come from, absent a blown coverage, which the Saints haven't done much this year.

The Saints NFL number one-ranked offense will be a variety show featuring shifts, man-in-motion, and a lot of play action. Look for not just one, but two flea flickers; what will stop them is the Colts defensive speed (which was augmented by more blitzing in the postseason, making it better than its 18th-ranking during 2009). The Saints will call a number of "wheel route" passes trying to match the fleet Reggie Bush against the Colts' linebackers. But the Colts will blitz more often this game, and add to their already hard-charging pass-rush. That effort will be led by Dwight Freeney, who's played a week-long game of media possum, but is ready to turn his effort up to a super human level.

The other difference will be on special teams. This is where the Saints have a slight speed edge and the Colts will have to play carefully to stop the long kick return.

With all of this, the Colts offense will be too much for the Saints. The Colts win Super Bowl XLIV, 34 to 20.

Colts v. Saints on SFGate.com | Colts v. Saints on Twitter | Colts v. Saints on NFL Business Blog

Super Bowl: Colts blowout of Saints wanted by Indy Mayor Ballard

This Super Bowl update: Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard wants a blowout game for the Colts v. the Saints (video above).

Mayor Greg Ballard

At the Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party Saturday, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said "Everyone's predicting a close game; I'm not. Let's be honest. You know where I'm coming from." Ballard's appreciative of all of the enthusiasm shown for the New Orleans Saints and says they're a good story, especially around Miami's South Beach area, where one estimate has Saints fans outnumbering Colts fan "20 to 1".

Ballard, a 23-year Marine Vet, could not hide his competitive streak: "The Colts," Ballard says, "are on a team on a mission."

Another mission Ballard's a part of is readying Indianapolis to host the 2012 Super Bowl. Asked if the city had built enough hotels, Ballard assured all that the city was ready: "We've got the J.W. Marriott under construction," Ballard said, "That's a thousand rooms, and a big ballroom. Three other Marriotts going up around it", in addition to the other hotels and facilities that the city has made to meet NFL hotel room requirements of 24,500 rooms within an hour's drive of the stadium.

Super Bowl time: Warren Sapp arrested; hot high car spotted

Miami, South Beach, Florida - Super Bowl time: Warren Sapp arrested; hot high car spotted (video above).

It's Super Bowl time! This Super Bowl update is a mix of good and bad news. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders defensive star and NFL Network Analyst Warren Sapp was arrested after allegedly committing some form of domestic violence against his girl friend Saturday morning in Miami.

 According to TMZ.com, Warren Sapp's explanation doesn't read any better than what his girlfriend told Miami Beach Police:

According to the Miami Beach Police Department, Sapp is accused of attacking his girlfriend of two years at around 5:00 AM Saturday at the Shore Club Hotel.

According to the arrest report, the alleged victim had "a swollen right knee and bruises on the back of her neck."

She claims Sapp allowed her to sleep in his hotel room -- then came into the room early in the morning and pulled her out of bed. The alleged victim says they began arguing about guys she was hanging out with earlier Friday night.

Sapp's girlfriend told cops that during the argument Sapp "grabbed her and began to choke her." He eventually threw her out of the room, she claims.

When cops spoke to Sapp, he told them he had allowed the woman to stay in his room -- but later on decided he wanted her to leave because "he was expecting company." He told police he was trying to help her and she fell.

Sapp "..decided he wanted her to leave because "he was expecting company." is a doozy. This blogger's a big fan of Warren Sapp as an NFL Legend, an NFL Network Analyst, and a TV star (he's a spokesperson for National Rent-A-Car), but Sapp should realize he's got a higher profile now and should not even be in a situation like that, regardless of the truth. Moreover, Sapp must measure his words. What Sapp said, if its true, implies that he had another woman coming over and wanted to get rid of her.

Geez.

On a much happier note, the Super Bowl in Miami draws all kinds of interesting sights and sounds, including interesting cars, like the one in the video above. It's a converted Chevy Impala with oversized wheels and a whole new drive train and suspension system. It was cruising down Collins Avenue in South Beach at about 10 PM and stopped traffic on the opposite side of the street. The driver was by himself and enjoying the Mardi Gras-like street party. When asked who he was rooting for, Saints or Colts, he said "I'll go with Who-Dat".

Stay tuned. And follow me on Twitter!

Snow totals cause State of Emergency in Pennsylvania, Delaware

High snow totals due to a bizzard-producing Noreaster caused a State of Emergency in Pennsylvania and Delaware today. The bad weather conditions from a major winter storm that came into the Mid-Atlantic region and hit Pennsylvania caused thousands to lose electricity.

A disaster emergency was declared at 6:30 am, as 60,000 people in Allegheny County are without power, and fallen trees and downed electric lines have make road travel unsafe, and in some cases impossible.

In addition to Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and Delaware are under a disaster emergency watch. On Friday, most Federal Government offices closed.



Washington DC is described as a "paralyzed. The storm is called the biggest in the U.S. Capital's history.

Super Bowl gossip: Raiders affilate gives up on Jamarcus Russell

Miami, South Beach, FLA - The latest Super Bowl gossip has Oakland Raiders Quarterback Jamarcus Russell again painted as a person who doesn't care about being an improved player because he has his $30 million signing bonus.

This comes from a friend who's in a position to know. Late last night, I ran into him and his girlfriend at the 11th Street Diner in South Beach and we caught up. This person's a sports executive with close ties to a number of Raiders players, so he does know.

This blogger mentioned that he was excited that the Oakland Raiders brought in Hue Jackson as offensive coordinator. The response was "Let's hope he can do something with Jamarcus Russell. I doubt it." And he then went on to describe how a number of his offensive teammates like and hope the best for him, but consider Jamarcus Russell as someone who is more concerned about "his bling".

(That's earrings, and other jewelry some men like to wear.)

Frankly, what stops many young African American football skill position players from succeeding is a concern for bling and mink coats. This isn't being racist, but race conscious. It's also sending a message that black men like myself are sick and tired of such behavior and that Jamarcus Russell has to shape up, or he's going to be shipped out.

That's just a plain fact.

Jamarcus Russell is a man with a ton of talent, but he must change his look to an apparent desire to do more to improve his game. I contend, and did last night again, that a large part of Jamarcus Russell's problem is very poor coaching by the Oakland Raiders. I still make that assertion, but last night, my friend had the tone of a person who just gave up on Jamarcus Russell.

I haven't, but Jamarcus Russell has to put in the extra passing drill and film study work. Moreover, he has to do this: take off the earrings, forget the mink coat, and just go out and work. What he should do is make the calls himself to have meeting and drills with his coaches so that he can get better. Jamarcus Russell has to be proactive to counter this idea that he's got his $30 million and does not care about winning.

Bill Cosby dead? No. Bill Cosby is alive and performing

Bill Cosby dead? Like Johnny Depp, Kayne West, and a host of other celebrities, Bill Cosby is the newest victim of an Internet hoax. Bill Cosby dead? No.

Bill Cosby's last tweet on Twitter was February 2nd. He tweeted:

Did you know I have an iTunes play list? Well I do! - http://bit.ly/d3fS0d
2:08 PM Feb 2nd from Power Twitter
Retweeted by you and 42 others

From all accounts, Bill Cosby is alive and scheduled to perform at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Stamford, CT March 13th. The announcement reads:

Few entertainers have achieved the legendary status of BILL COSBY and on March 13, he’s coming to Hartford. From his groundbreaking NBC sitcom, The Cosby Show, to his sidesplitting stand-up routines, Mr. Cosby has more than proven to be one of the most influential stars of our time. Bill Cosby is sponsored by Aetna and produced by Ed Atamian Presents.

Tickets for BILL COSBY are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting The Bushnell Box Office at 166 Capitol Avenue in Hartford or by calling (860) 987-5900. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.bushnell.org. Tickets prices start at $49.50. Ticket prices do not include all applicable fees.

Bill Cosby's then visiting Casper, Wyoming for more performances on April 18th.

Anne Hathaway sexy photos channel Heidi Baron in Penthouse

Anne Hathaway, who last week was the toast of Harvard, is now hot again because of her sexy photos that heat up the Internet. It's a goof thing because her nerdy side was starting to hamper her pop-culture image. Anne Hathaway is a nerd. Who else would have this take on kissing:

"You have to leave your mouth open a little bit. Open up. More, more, ever so lightly…Otherwise you're going to be getting smoothy. Now, slow it down...just a little bit."

Whatever happened to just doing it?

Just as Bill Cosby is not dead, Anne Hathaway can steam up the internet. Hathaway's frankly had a bit of a nerdy, goody-two-shoes image that was in need of a makeover to give it some bite. GQ to the rescue in this March 2010 sexy photo shoot that isn't quite Heidi Baron level in exposure but does the trick.

In this way Anne Hathaway's channeling her inner Heidi Baron.

Stay tuned.

Urban Dictionary Week on Facebook users changing their images

Urban Dictionary Week on Facebook. Urban Dictionary is taking the Internet World by storm. Already the breakout buzz word on Yahoo Buzz, Urban Dictionary is the website where you can find out the "street" meaning of words and names. It has over 4 million words.

But apparently it's also used to give to terms and meaning to words, or make up new ones like "Street Creep":

1. A new perjorative term for Wall Street executives who raked in huge bonuses while plunging the world into economic chaos.

2. A financial advisor who sells Wall Street products on commission.

Or "The time":

Giving the time to someone means having sexual intercourse with that person.
Salinger uses this phrase quite often in his novel, The Catcher in the Rye.

"I don't think he gave that girl the time that night-but damn near."

Check out Urban Dictionary.

Super Bowl in Miami means parties and the art of party-crashing

Miami, South Beach - The 44th Super Bowl is just two days away, but Miami is buzzing with parties. Some parties have had the name of someone like P Diddy on it. So people come to the event expecting to see him and he doesn't show up.

Frankly, I've attended about 24 Super Bowl parties in my time, so I know the formula: free drinks, free food, celebrities, all in a large space with dancing optional but preferred.

There are an estimated 150 Super Bowl parties held during Super Bowl week, but the "go to" events are on Friday and Saturday Night.

The list (this is not a list, just a discussion) is paced by the NFL Commissioner's Party, or what is called the NFL Friday Night Party. It's at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center, and is underway as I write this.

The NFL Commissioner's Party is a huge affair with several tons of food, celebrities, and generally "human art events". The main reason to go - if you can and I've been to one of these - is to see the people and sample the monstrous selection of food. If you have a ticket to that, cool, but leave early and head to the ESPN Party.

The ESPN Super Bowl Party is at The Fountainbleau Resort on Miami Beach. The ESPN Party layout brings celebrity athletes with patrons and a lot of cocktails in an interactive setting. An ESPN Party is nothing without video games, and they're all over the place. It starts at 9, but really gets going at 10 PM. I don't have a ticket, but the last time I did and still crashed the party.

How?

The guy never looked at my ticket! He just let me in. That's the art of party-crashing: acting like you belong there and walking in. It also helps to know someone or be willing to drop cash. Not saying I've ever done it, but I've seen it happen.

I had this wry idea of making a video of how to crash or not crash a Super Bowl Party. I still may do it just for grins. If so, you saw the idea first, here.

Of course, it's raining now. Hmm...

Stay tuned

Taylor Swift Grammy Controversy: Kelly Clarkson v. Scott Borchetta

The "Taylor Swift Grammy Controversy" is one for the books, but given Taylor Swift's wild success, she was bound to be attacked for something small. In this case, the small something is her off-key singing performance with Stevie Knicks at the Grammy Awards Sunday night as well as why Stevie Knicks would "stoop so low" as to work with Taylor Swift.

It kicked off a reader-sparked comment controversy on MTV.com, and took off from there.

The controversy has gotten so deep, Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta, who's label features Taylor Swift, jumped in, saying "This is not 'American Idol.' ... This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."

Well, that got American Idol Star Kelly Clarkson really pissed off. On her blog, Clarkson writes:

Wow .....Dear Scott Borchetta,

I understand defending your artist obviously because I have done the same in the past for artists I like, including Taylor, so you might see why it's upsetting to read you attacking American Idol for producing simply vocalists that hit 'the high notes'. Thank you for that 'Captain Obvious' sense of humor because you know what, we not only hit the high notes, you forgot to mention we generally hit the 'right' notes as well. Every artist has a bad performance or two and that is understandable, but throwing blame will not make the situation at hand any better. I have been criticized left and right for having shaky performances before (and they were shaky) and what my manager or label executives say to me and the public is "I'll kick butt next time" or "every performance isn't going to be perfect" ......I bring this up because you should take a lesson from these people and instead of lashing out at other artists (that in your 'humble' opinion lack true artistry), you should simply take a breath and realize that sometimes things won't go according to plan or work out and that's okay.

Sincerely,
One of those contestants from American Idol who only made it because of her high notes ;)

Here's the performance that's caused so much chatter:



But what's really off are the priorities of those who complain about Taylor Swift's singing. Where were they when she did this:



Well? Well?

Geez.

Taylor Swift's a great talent who had an off night. Give her a break.

Super Bowl XLIV update: On Michael Irvin and Miami's South Beach

South Beach, Miami, FLA - Super Bowl XLIV in Miami is really the story of what's happening on South Beach. Right now, it's not yet this blogger who's totally exhausted. Still, the sound of music and people call, and the desire to be among them is strong. Which will happen later - a trip to the beach and the NFL Network area where Michael Irvin hangs - after this Super Bowl XLIVL update is done.

This blogger arrived at the Miami airport and was met by my good friend Steven Schnitzer, who with his brother Ray owns the nationally-known 11th Street Diner on 11th and Washington in South Beach (1065 Washington Avenue Miami Beach, FL), where Rosie O'Donnell is one of his favorite customers.



From the airport, we wound up going to the Home Depot, where I met a couple of women who talked about producing Saturday's Celebrity Beach Volleyball event at South Beach, then going to get stone crab, and finally home to freshen up.



On the matter of Michael Irvin, that's awful news that he's the focus of a civil lawsuit claiming a rape of a woman that allegedly happened in 2007; but now it's 2010. Moreover, the Broward State Attorney's office has reportedly been investigating a case that's without physical evidence: no photos, bruises, or video. Not surprisingly, no charges have been filed.

While it's too early to tell if Michael Irvin's situation is indeed a false rape claim, they are unfortunately quite common and take years for the person accused to overcome. But the question is, did Michael Irvin even know the woman? According to the LA Times, the answer isn't "no" but that nothing ever happened between them, "there was no encounter".

Famous and wealthy people have to be careful who they come into contact with; Super Bowl week is a great example. Miami's South Beach is known for its parties, but all of the lovely women here aren't just in town for the scenery and the game. Some are here just to meet a guy with money, or who they think have cash.

The untold Super Bowl story is of women who come to Super Bowls as the guests of married, or to meet married men, who often live in different parts of the country. The reason I know this, is I met one such woman at a party at the Super Bowl in Arizona. She's what I would call a "player's groupie" who goes to training camps with friends - one of them being her married boyfriend.

Now, before you get the wrong idea, this woman's a professional executive who makes a decent living for herself. She's not involved in the sex business.

But she seeks out players or former players to get to know, and they're just as willing. If this reads like a "Tiger Woods situation" you're getting the picture. It's not the best activity to take on, but some people just don't think about that when they're doing it. Then, when it all heads South, it can end in terrible ways, like robbery, extortion, or rape.

Now, how I know that detail is because she told me. Straight out, full and clear coughed up the story over dinner on the Monday after the Giants v. Patriots Super Bowl game in Glendale, AZ. Did she think I was a football player? No, and I gave her no reason to think so. Did we have relations? No. Friends? Yes. But some women see you at events like this, and figure you're into something interesting, else you wouldn't be at an exclusive Super Bowl party.

If you're a single guy, this is a great place to be, but even it's more fun to bring your girlfriend. At least you know what you're getting into. What's great about this is networking with business people and celebrities. If you can keep the Super Bowl experience at that level, you'll love it. If you've got to get laid, make sure it's someone you know and your friends know, too.

Why do gun-rights advocates trust the GOP?

That was one of the big deals during the campaign, and it continues to echo through the Teabaggers sites, and on the signs at Tea Party rallies. You'd think the Democrats had "abolish the 2nd amendment" as a platform to hear the NRA and their lobbyists talk.

It's true, the President has some concerns he's been up-front with relating to assault weapons - the sort of rifle that has no place in the sport of hunting.

But when was the last time the government actually took away people's weapons in any sort of mass sweep of the citizenry, such as Obama's opponents seem to fear he'll do?

Oh, right, it was back in 2005. September of 2005, according to ABC news; it was under a Republican administration, of course, so it didn't provoke the outcry it might have.

"Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job!"
After all, former President George Bush is nominally a Texan, and if a Texan says you should give up your guns, that's different - right?

I mean, after all, Bush's Vice President was even a hunter - right?

It makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Thomas Hayes is an entrepreneur, journalist, and political analyst who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Super Bowl XLIVL: Zennie in Miami for Leigh Steinberg Party

Miami is hot. Miami is also the city host of Super Bowl XLIVL. That means parties, people, food, and fun, and my second time here. I'm here for The Leigh Steinberg Party Super Bowl Party more than for the Saints and Colts battle. My game plan, if you will, is to fly to Atlanta Sunday to watch the Super Bowl with my Mother. Miami's stadium is, OK, but this is my seventh Super Bowl and I'm not a fan of that facility. Plus, this trip is virtually free for me.

Super Bowls should be played in dome stadiums, under the lights; not outdoors. The last time I was here in 2007, the stadium was hard to get to, it rained like you've never seen before, and I got waterlogged and saw the game from a stadium TV.

But that written, everyone should experience the Super Bowl at least once.  The giant pulse of human energy that's emitted at kickoff is a drug worth the price of admission, and doesn't come through on television.  But I've felt it six times.

As this is being blogged, I'm siting at Miami International Airport's "J" Terminal, totally exhausted having traveled all night long to get here. My flight was crawling with Colts fans. Two flights, three cities - San Francisco, Washington, and Miami - and not enough sleep. I'm wiped.

The Super Bowl is an almost annual pilgrimage for me that started with my work to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland between 1999 and 2001. Seeing - and this is an unfortunate truth - how terrible the City of Oakland treated me as I was working to form the bid, NFL execs I will not name said "If there's anything we can do to help you build your business, we will." That's how the Super Bowl trips and the annual NFL Draft press pool came about.

Ok, an aside: What did Oakland do? Well, everything from then-Mayor Jerry Brown and City Manager Robert Bobb calling the NFL (or having others do so) with questions I'd already given them answers to; or refusing to cooperate with me in preparation for our Super Bowl Bid presentation to the NFL Owners; having meetings behind my back with Oakland business representatives who should have been on our sports commission; Oakland economic development heads who were so angry that I was working on the Super Bowl that they 1) would not cooperate, and 2) worked to deliberately harm my work in some way, either by inaction, lies, or character assassination.

This was the case from Brown, to Oakland Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente, and a number of people I could name. When I left Oakland, I silently vowed I'd succeed in a way they'd never forget. I've done that.

The NFL was, and has been, a better friend to me than the City of Oakland. Regardless of what's said and whatever idiot chimes in with some lie, the bottom line is Oakland will stumble all over itself to prevent anyone from succeeding at something large scale that calls for the City's involvement. Why this is, I don't know, but I see it all the time. Oakland can't seem to work together to achieve much.

That's why, even with three sports teams, there's no one major sports event that Oakland has consistently hosted or formed a bid for more than once. That's the culture of Oakland. In Jerry Brown's case, some observers in the media would say "Well, he's an intellectual, so he's not interested in sports", which is about the dumbest comment I've ever heard of. First, he's the Mayor, or was. Second, a Mayor's job is to serve the people, not his own tastes. Third, sports is an export industry that generates job in Oakland.

I pray the Oakland Marathon is the start of the end of that problem of Oakland's working against itself. I think it may be.

But all that's in the past. Now, I'm in Miami and looking forward to seeing my friends and attending Leigh Steinberg's great party. Leigh has been a friend since 1998, when he came to help me with Oakland Athletics issues while I was Elihu Harris' economic advisor.

This is my seventh Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party. I've met all kinds of people, from Jacksonville Jaguar Head Coach Jack Del Rio, to Steven Baldwin, Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, Bay Area Sports Writer Art Spander, former Oakland Raiders Exec (now Washington Redskins GM) Bruce Allen, then-Tampa Bay Bucs Head Coach Jon Gruden and his wife Cindy, ;and a group of people that are still my friends to this day - some of them who helped me on the Super Bowl: Oakland work, and all from the private sector.

For me the Super Bowl is a celebration of people who like to make things happen.  That's why I'm here.  For me, it's more than the game, but that written, Go Colts!

Stay tuned.

Brittany Murphy's death called an accident

The case of Brittany Murphy's death is now officially closed for now, after the L.A. County Coroner called it an accident. According to TMZ.com Brittany Murphy's death was caused by "community acquired pneumonia," iron deficiency anemia, and multiple drug intoxication.

But Brittany Murphy's death could have been prevented if she were taken to the hospital in time. Murphy was found in the bathroom of her home by her Mother. She had "multiple drugs" in her system, not illegal, and all either doctor-assigned or over-the-counter. Still, it was the pneumonia and iron deficiency anemia that worked to engineer Brittany Murphy's death, December 20th, 2009.

Artie Lange doing better says Rosie O'Donnell

Artie Lange, the famous sidekick on The Howard Stern Show doing better says Rosie O'Donnell. A guest on Late Night with Craig Ferguson, last week, Rosie O'Donnell said "He's doing better. He's got a lot of trouble with addiction and depression in his life, and his dad when he was young and he tried to take his own life, and it really really was so painful to everyone who loved him including Howard (Stern)."



Artie Lange tried to commit suicide in January, although the news of his attempt wasn't immediately reported until the New York Times Page 6 article surfaced. Artie Lange's friends and co-workers have expressed love and support for Lange and he's welcome back on The Howard Stern Show.

Toyota Prius recall has Toyota in big legal trouble

The Toyota Prius recall has Toyota in big legal trouble. It was announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation is now looking into the braking problems surrounding the Toyota Prius recall issue as the problem of "uneven breaking" is now reported Worldwide.

Now, reports of Prius problems are surfacing in Australia. The Toyota brand, once associated with safety, quality, and reliability, has taken a massive beating.



Before the Prius braking problem, Toyota was already the focus of a massive recall effort. Toyota recalled the RAV4, Corolla and Matrix 2009-2010, Sequoia 2008-2010, Tundra 2007-2010, Avalon 2005-2010, and 2010 Highlander, and stopped sales of those cars.

Toyota has issued the following statement:

"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company. This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."

Now the Prius, its new flagship, is being recalled. Before that, over 2 million Toyota cars were impacted. Now the number is much higher.

Stay tuned.

Scott Brown can wait his turn; Scott Brown supports can wait too

Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown is scheduled to be officially sworn in February 11th and after a long process that includes overseas vote counting and Governor and Secretary of State Certification, that date is set for February 11th.

Even with this, there's the irresponsible idea that all of the official procedures should be skipped over and Scott Brown should be seated today. The Scott Brown backers are still a bit too drunk with the cocktail of special-election victory over Democratic challenger, Mass Attorney General Martha Coackley and need a major dose of reality: Brown is a U.S. Senator that is now bound by traditional legal procedure; Brown didn't just win a city council seat. It's bigger than that.

That then is the problem. The emergence of "activism creep" and Couch Potato Conservatism has battled against intelligent thinking and statesperson discourse. With organizations like Fox News and at times CNN helping, and add to that Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, that dangerous and rouge fringe point of view has a voice much louder than it should be.

Still, such intellectually vapid voices are dampened by procedure. Scott Brown's title is Senator-Elect, and it's clear he and his office understand their new role in Washington. It's just too bad his supporters can't do the same.

Stay tuned.

Hayward and Calpine will get first plant with Greenhouse Gas limit

Hayward, California and Calpine will have the first the plant with a Greenhouse Gas limit, ending years of talks, battles, and controversy. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District approved a "Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit" which is the final federal regulatory approval needed for the Calpine energy plant to be built.

"Once again California is demonstrating leadership on greenhouse gas related issues. We applaud the BAAQMD and Calpine for going beyond existing federal law and being the first in the nation to require an enforceable greenhouse gas limit," said Linda Adams, California State Secretary for Environmental Protection. "This action furthers efforts at a statewide level to balance our economic needs while meeting our environmental challenges. Aggressive and early action like this is needed to fight global warming and is critical to our economic recovery."

Hayward, California will get a new energy plant that will result in 650 union construction jobs, a number of part-time and permanent jobs, and an estimated $30 million in one-time tax revenue and $5 million annually in property tax revenue.

This is a project I've long advocated for because we have never seen a plant that was created from the start with a Federal Greenhouse Gas Limit. The Calpine Russell City Energy Center will be a supplier of energy and jobs to the San Francisco Bay Area.

The approval ends a process that saw the California Energy Commission grant a license for the plant in September 2007, California Public Utilities Commission approval of a 10-year power purchase agreement in April 2009 under which PG&E will purchase the electricity generated by the plant, and a major public hearing on the plan on September 2, 2009:



But what's more, the natural gas powered plant will reportedly use 100 percent reclaimed water from the City of Hayward’s Water Pollution Control Facility for cooling and boiler makeup. The process conserves water and prevents nearly four million gallons of wastewater per day from being dumped into San Francisco Bay.

It's also a process that was first used on a major scale at Walt Disney World in Florida, when its power plant systems were built.

Calpine reports that Russell City Energy Center also will donate $10 million to help build a new library for Hayward.

Stay tuned.

Draeger Construction Set to Help Haiti

Draeger Construction is going on a big push to let everyone know it's involved in Haiti.  The earthquake damaged country has a problem in that many of its buildings were far less than quake safe.  

Now, faced with what could be the largest private construction project in the World, Haiti needs to remake its country.  That's where Draeger Construction comes in.  

Draeger Construction is a San Francisco Bay Area builder.  The SF Bay Area is one of the World's most active quake zones.   What Draeger Construction will do, with the introduction of something called "The Freedom Builders Initiative" is announce their interest in rebuilding Haiti where they've already been involved for years.

More on Draeger Construction's new Haiti "FBI" effort soon.

Posted by Cat of SomeRedCat.tumblr.com

ESPN robs Cal Football on National Signing Day with sloppy work

According to Rivals.com, The University of California had the 11th best recruiting class in America on National Signing Day, but to read ESPN, you'd think Cal did totally nothing.

There's no mention of the switch Keenan Allen, the nation's best defensive back, made from Alabama to Cal. But what's weird about ESPN's post rankinga by Tom Luginbill is that he states "One way to climb in the ranking is to surprisingly land an impact player."

Keenan Allen is just that, which makes ESPN's work on National Signing Day questionable at best. Or maybe Rivals.com just does a better job of giving justifiable data on players signed by colleges.

And they don't make mistakes. Keenan Allen's ranked as the best DB in the USA but ESPN reports Cal did not sign a five-star player. Keenan Allen is just that.

This is an outrage. Rankings on signing day are the way America knows how well college football programs are doing. They help command alumni donor dollars and sell season tickets. What ESPN did was borderline criminal. I wonder if ESPN's Tom Luginbill is punishing Allen and Cal because Allen snubbed Alabama? And if that's the case, why does Luginbill care?

Keenan Allen is a five-star player. Scout.com and Rivals.com say so; ESPN has no reason to go against them and others and should explain its answers. ESPN has the bigger broadcasting reach so it should handle National Signing Day more responsibly.

This must be explained.

Stay tuned.

Demar Dorsey, snubs Florida State for Michigan on signing day

Star high school players Demar Dorsey and Christian Green go to Michigan and to Florida State on National Signing Day, pushing Florida State to the rank of best recruiting class in the country while being snubbed at the same time.

Coming off a season which saw the loss of legendary Head Coach Bobby Bowden to retirement, Florida State came back strong with Demar Dorsey and Christian Green, but then Dorsey switched today. Demar Dorsey is a Miami Boyd Anderson star defensive back who decided he was more comfortable away from home. But I think there's something more to this unprecedented wave of big school snubs that I will explore later.

Christian Green was penciled in at Georgia, but then dropped the Dawgs for Florida State. And Georgia feels like it's being picked clean: Da'Rick Rogers dumped them for Tennessee and DB Nickell Robey was reportedly headed to USC.

More on this crazy National Signing Day. Stay tuned.

Cal's Tosh Lupoi credited with getting Keenan Allen to Cal from Alabama

Ask how the University of California managed to get the nation's best defensive back Keenan Allen to commit to Cal, when as recently as at the Shrine Game Allen was all set to go to Alabama, and ESPN will point to Tosh Lupoi.

Tosh Lupoi (BearInsider photo)

Lupoi's Cal's second year defensive coach and 2005 Cal graduate, is considered an ace recruiter and has the numbers to prove it. Lupoi's landed six commitments, two of them, including Allen, are five-star players. (The other was defensive end Chris Martin in 2009 who put down Notre Dame for Cal.).

In addition to Allen, Lupoi basically mined the state of North Carolina. Cal landed QB Zach Maynard, Keenan Allen , and Linebacker Chris McCain. All from Greensboro, NC.

As I write this, Coach Tedford's holding his press conference, which you can view live here:

National Signing Day: Cal Football gets Keenan Allen, best defensive back in USA.

Not to be outdone by its San Francisco Bay Area NCAA college football rivals The Stanford Cardinal, the University of California has formed what Rivals.com calls the 11th best recruiting class in America and got the best defensive back in the country.

The star of the class is Keenan Allen, a 6-3 195 lbs defensive back from Greensboro, NC. He' considered the best defensive back in America by Rivals.com and is the fifth best player in the country. Allen runs a 4.56 40 and is described as a tall, rangy athlete with the moves of a jungle cat.

Keenan Allen dropped the Alabama Crimson Tide to sign with Cal. Here' a video on Allen:



More soon on Allen's jump from Alabama to Cal.

National Signing Day 2010: Stanford lands 4th best QB in Nottingham

National Signing Day 2010: the Stanford Cardinal lands the 4th best high school QB in America in Brett Nottingham. In doing so, The Cardinal is in the same conversation as BYU, Alabama, and Texas, all of which secured the top three quarterbacks in the U.S.A according to Rivals.com.

Brett Nottingham

Fresh off a 2009 season that saw the Cardinal go to its first bowl game since 2001 and present a Heisman Trophy runner-up in Running Back Toby Gerhart, Stanford is poised to have its best recruiting class in years.

Brett Nottingham is 6-4, 210 lbs and is a local-to-Stanford San Francisco Bay Area product from Monte Vista High School in Danville, CA. Barry Every of Rivals.com compares him to Tim Tebow in size and build. (Let's hope he doesn't cry after big bowl losses!)

Here's a video view of Stanford's newest QB:



Stay tuned.

Will Comcast fire NBC's Jeff Zucker? Ad execs hope so

The word on the street, according to Nikke Finke, is that Comcast will fire NBC NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker "within minutes" of Federal approval of the Comcast takeover of NBC.

That news could not come sooner for advertising executives, who are still really in a snit over Zucker's decision to green-light the failed Jay Leno Show, and the awful way Zucker handled Leno and Conan O'Brien.

On AdAge, the ad industry news publication, negative articles about Zucker are common, the most recent one calling for President Barack Obama to fire Jeff Zucker. And this article has bite:

...the man who engineered this fiasco and the general demise of NBC, Jeff Zucker (president and CEO of NBC Universal), still, bizarrely, has his job. In fact, he doesn't even really seem to fully grasp that he's at fault. When the New York Times, in a page-one, above-the-fold story, declared that "the network is in shambles" and that its "overall finances are crumbling" (from $1 billion in profit less than a decade ago, to a projected $100 million loss this year), Zucker offered the paper this defense: "We live in a society today that loves a soap opera. Three months ago it was David Letterman. Six weeks ago it was Tiger Wood's problems. Today it's NBC's problems."
Um, sure, Jeff. Tell yourself that. All of us who think you're blindingly incompetent, and have been for years, are just serial bitches and bullies who pick our targets for sport. It's merely NBC's turn, is all; this, too, will pass. Suuuure.

Ad execs blame Jeff Zucker for what they refer to as the "destruction of NBC" and most important what they see as the terrible Jay Leno Show. When it was announced that NBC would move Leno back to his old place, AdAge reported that anyone would be better than Jay Leno at 10 PM.

Ouch.

And MediaLife doesn't pull any punishes either. In a blog post that is a view of NBC from an ad buyer's perspective, Louisa Ada Seltzer writes:

The pain NBC has suffered through its mismanagement of the entire mess will remain a scar on the brand, and in the end it's really accomplished nothing in the way of fixing its primetime problem by moving Leno from the 10 p.m. timeslot, where his weeknight strip had done so poorly.

The post is followed by an unflattering survey and quotes of media buyers telling Zucker to resign or calling him an idiot, and all for his bungling of the Jay Leno Show.

But in fairness, all of this is happening in the storm of a terrible, and just recovering, economy which has been weak for two years. Zucker's actions would have been judged critically in a good economy, but in a bad one, they look like career suicide.

Stay tuned.

Oscar Nominations: Hitler's pissed off about Star Trek

Oscar Nominations: Hitler's pissed off about Star Trek.

Star Trek, Director J.J. Abrams widely acclaimed "reboot" of the popular television and movie science fiction series, was widely expected to be one of ten Oscar "Best Picture" nominees. Instead it was snubbed for the competition, causing a loud, Worldwide outcry from Star Trek fans. The movie was marketed as "Best Picture Material."

Still, it didn't win. Avatar, Hurt Locker, District 9, and the surprise entry, The Blind Side, were named to compete for Oscar, Best Picture.

What happened and why Star Trek didn't get a nominations is anyone's best guess. But one thing is clear: Hitler's not happy. Just as he was unhappy about a number of life's happenings, lets just say he was more than a little worked up about Star Trek's miscue:



Stay tuned.

2010 Academy Award Nominations - Oscars Social Networking Grade = D

In evaluating the 2010 Academy Award Nominations announcements from a New Media perspective, Oscar gets a social networking grade of "D". The criteria is based on reach, Twitter top tag entries, and search trend impact.

Considering the collective movie audience and television and marketing exposure, the 2010 Academy Award Nominations Announcement Event should be the top news of the day, dominating Google Trends, Twitter top hashtags, live stream views, and with all of that, total reach. Instead, Oscar's outdone by "Punxsutawney Phil 2010" or "Groundhogs Day".

That today, February 2nd 2010, is "Groundhogs Day" is no excuse for Oscar to be punked by a couple of groundhogs, but that's what's happening.

The seeds of this problem are various, starting with the fact the Oscar telecast is on one station, ABC early in the morning. If you missed ABC's telecast, or weren't forced to look at the Oscar Nominations by it being on, say, ABC, NBC, and CBS, you didn't know what happened until an hour or so after the event was done.

If three networks had the Oscar telecast, the resulting search activity, and thus the trend metric, would have been greater. But even with that, Oscar's New Media platform was too small to carry the search trend, and still is. Why?

The Oscars are not on Twitter.

That's right. A simple visit to The Oscars website shows what The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thinks about New Media. It's stuffed down in the lower right corner, where it reads "Connect with the Academy" and has a link to its RSS feed, Facebook page, and YouTube account.

That's it.

Heck, I'm all over the place - Oscar should be too. AMPAS does a massive disservice to its members and sponsors with this awful online production. A well-done Twitter account could gain as much as 1 million followers and cause a total hashtag domination, pushing Phil the Groundhog to second place or no place. But if Oscar's not on Twitter, it's at the mercy of other organizations to push its message and some of those, like Sony, don't have enough Twitter followers themselves.

At just over 7,000 followers as of this writing, Sony has less than this blogger on Twitter. So, it can't really carry its message in such a way as to impact a hashtag list in seconds, and it can't do it for AMPAS' to as wide an audience as is needed to create a lasting buzz that carries for days.

And when Oscar does have a New Media platform to use, it does not have the right strategy. The live stream was such that the chat was on Facebook, so your updates became the chat. Great. Now, my friends are wondering how much coffee I had to produce a pinwheeling set of updates. But beyond that, the live stream had only 15,000 viewers at best.

What Oscar should have done is worked with YouTube on the live event. That would have gained hundreds of thousands of viewers and netted a high search trend impact. Didn't happen.

On YouTube, Oscar's presentation is much better, but again, it has just 29,000 subscribers, when it should have several hundred thousand.  The problem is AMPAS doesn't upload enough videos considering the material it has, and it prevents video from being embed on websites.  Frankly, that's really a bad decision.

There's not a good, metric-based reason for AMPAS decision to basically prevent its own brand from being presented across the web.  None, not one.

Did you see the Steve and Alec video?  Only 908 people did as of this writing.  If it were embedable, that number would be in the thousands.  It would gain more video views that Oscar could then convert into YouTube Partner revenue.

To close what could have been a book, Oscar's dropped the ball on the one event that can and should serve as a catapult to high ratings on Oscar night.  The problem is AMPAS does not take New Media seriously and may very well be the reason why I didn't get the press credential AMPAS sent for me to fill out.

Beyond me, AMPAS needs to fix its New Media problem for 2011.   It's harming Academy members and sponsors and will continue to do so unless it turns this around ASAP.

Stay tuned.