BRIC-A-BRAC

Blacks are boycotting the academy awards because, and i quote SPIKE LEE, "one of ours wasn't nominated for a major award."  well, slickster, take a long look at this list:

MICHAEL KEATON

AARON SORKIN

RIDLEY SCOTT

JOHNNY DEPP

HELEN MIRREN

TODD HAYNES

ALL outstanding performances or technical accomplishments this year but the academy chose to NOT nominate them. AND THEY'RE ALL WHITE!!! damn those commies! 

i see no other choice but to boycott the black boycott and watch host CHRIS ROCK perform to an empty auditorium. but wait!  i can't watch ...because i'm boycotting.   which brings up an interesting point: will the black chris rock boycott with the rest of the idiots or boycott the boycott?

the bottom line is that EVERY year, someone gets left out because other than the top ten films, there's only five nominations spots for each category. you think those white 'snubs' weren't disappointed? of course they were but life goes on. just imagine if a player wasn't chosen for the all-star team and decided to sit out the rest of the season. ridiculous.

if they're really that upset, then turn down those monster paychecks you get for making a movie by saying 'no' to every white director and every studio run by a white guy and only work in all black films. let me know how that worked out for you when you're bagging groceries at the jewel.

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is DONALD TRUMP really happy that the village idiot, SARAH PALIN, has publicly endorsed him for president? palin was the surprise vice-presidential candidate for a desperate republican party in 2008 and promptly flushed away any chance they had of winning with nuggets like "i read four newspapers a day but i can't remember which ones" and "i can see russia from my back porch" before trying to walk away with loaned designer clothes that had been provided for her at various times during the campaign. it still feels like fingernails on a chalk board every time i hear her name.
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GOVERNOR BRUCE RAUNER wants to appoint a state board to take over the finances of the chicago public school system which would then allow CPS to declare bankruptcy. the system has been cash strapped for decades but chicago mayor RAHM EMMANUEL is '100% against the idea.'
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NOW does anyone want to sit down with rauner and work out a balanced budget? 
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MIKE MADIGAN needs to get his head out of his rear end and get down to business because most of the flak is going to fall on the heads of the democratic party when jobs are lost and doors are closed because they won't compromise with rauner. desperate times, desperate measures.
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i agree 100% with the governor. he promised a balanced budget and he's sticking to his guns. it's not easy to correct years of financial abuse and the dems are learning they'll have to play ball or suffer the consequences. good for the guv and boo to madigan for his personal pissing match.
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Now here's a situation to discuss at the dinner table: a convict is released from prison after serving 15 months and is promptly served with papers from the state to pay back the $30,000 cost of his incarceration. as we all know, few convicts have any education or job skills but they do know how to sell drugs and steal. how do you think he's going to pay it back? 
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in a major change from when i was a kid, millennials are taking a pass on getting a driver's license. one out of every four between 20 & 24 years of age don't have a license and the MICHIGAN TRANSPORTATION BUREAU believes it's because of ride sharing services like UBER and also because young people are in constant touch through social media and no longer have the need to 'see' their friends in person. thirty years ago, 92% of the same bracket had a license and we hounded our parents to take us to the secretary of state's office so we could take the exam. today? not so much.
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ok, i leave you to your own thoughts until april when i return from mexico. stay warm & safe. adios!  

MOSTLY LOCAL SPORTS

The BLACKHAWKS are en fuego!!!!! eight in a row and 'BIG HOSS' appears to be waking up and if marion hossa starts scoring, the good times will keep on rolling on madison.
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want to change your life this weekend?  go to the annual boat show at McCORMICK PLACE  and get a great deal on that boat you always wanted. then you can start hanging out on the chain o lakes all summer long, spend hundreds each weekend on food & drink plus buying gas at five bucks a gallon in addition to paying a thousand for the inevitable broken propeller. when you add all that up plus the price of a divorce attorney, you'll never be the same. (you'll get to keep the boat, believe me)
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can we all agree that NICK SABAN is the greatest coach of the last three decades? five national championships and all them after surviving the regular season of the SEC. incredible.
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ok, so you don't want your kid to play football? i don't blame you and i would strongly suggest you get him fitted for a nice set of golf clubs and start him off at a local par three. 

and if he's any good later in life.....JORDAN SPIETH made over 53 million dollars last year. he turns 23 in july. and he got a free education without tearing up his knee or suffering a concussion.  even if your kid turns out average like most of us, it's a game he can play the rest of his life.
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BO RYAN knew exactly what he was doing when he bailed as coach of the basketball team early in the season because now that the players from ILLINOIS have graduated from their program, the badgers are back to being a bunch of fat & stupid farm boys who lack imagination and are basically devoid of athletic skills. the badgers sit 9-9 and 1-4 in the big ten.  hello N.I.T.
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on the flip side, kudos to CHRIS COLLINS and his NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS for their early success in the big ten (3-2) and an overall record of 15-3 that could have them heading to the ncaa post season for the first time in school history.
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another local school doing well at the halfway point is NORTHERN ILLINOIS with a 14-2 record and 3-0 in the mid-american conference under the tutelage of coach MARK MONTGOMERY, who played at MICHIGAN STATE and then was an assistant under TOM IZZO for nine years, in which the spartans made the tournament every year.  it's amazing how the apples don't fall far from the trees and success breeds more success. 
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and now onto the 'we still suck' file in which you'll find the DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS at 6-11 and 0-6 as they continue to get their asses kicked in the big east.  talk about a perfect team for the mac conference...........what the hell was coach DAVE LEITO thinking when he came back to this pile of garbage?  i guess everyone needs a paycheck.
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and in the 'we still think we're good' file, let's take a look at the FIGHTING ILLINI, who stand at 9-8 with a 1-3 conference record. this team hasn't been consistently good since the BILL SELF era in the early 2000's and are still trying to recover from recruiting thugs and gangsters under BRUCE WEBER. 
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finally, R.I.P. to hall of famer MONTE IRVIN, who followed JACKIE ROBINSON in breaking the color barrier in MLB and played 8 years for the new york giants and one year with the hapless cubs. 

he wasn't allowed to play in the majors until he was thirty but was one of the finest defensive outfielders of his time. monte also played in two winning world series and then after retirement, he worked as a scout for a few years before taking an administrative position with MLB. touch 'em all, monte.
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gotta go comb my 9 hairs and get ready for the powerball interview tonight. FYI--if i'm the sole winner, i'm renting a jet and everyone is going to ceasar's palace in las vegas for the kentucky derby so get your fancy hat ready. or better yet, i'll buy you one.

odds & ends

Congratulations to ALABAMA for securing yet another national championship for the SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE by beating clemson 45-40 in one of the more entertaining title games in recent history. the SEC continues to dominate college football with their ninth championship in 15 years but at least this time around, clemson gave 'bama all it could handle, unlike the notre dame debacle a couple of years back.
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moving to the other end of the spectrum, the CHICAGO BULLS are proving that their recent 6 game winning streak was nothing but smoke and mirrors as they got drubbed for the second time in 3 days, losing AT HOME to the last place WASHINGTON WIZARDS, 114-100, despite the return of JOAKIM NOAH, who provided 9 rebounds & 4 assists in 19 minutes of play after missing eight games with a shoulder injury.  

the bulls play ole!  defense and most nights get a great view of the opponent's backside as he repeatedly beats them off the dribble. this team has to get an inside presence via a trade if they're serious about this year. and some heart.
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best team in chicago top to bottom is of course, the CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS, who continue their winning ways and despite the all-star snub for COREY CRAWFORD, this team seems to be well balanced both on & off the ice and maybe destined to go deep in the playoffs. if they start to get consistent scoring from the other lines, maybe.............
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why is CINCINNATI BENGAL coach MARVIN LEWIS still employed? football wise, he's 0-7 in the playoffs and that should be enough to fire him right there but his continued employment AND SUPPORT of criminal behavior continues to be an embarrassment to both cincinnati and the NFL. 

long time bengals quarterback and CBS announcer BOOMER ESAISON is calling for VONTAZE BURFICT to be analyzed by a psychiatrist and then receive the professional help that he 'obviously needs' and many members of the media are calling for lewis to be fired.

burfict is the linebacker who started the bengal meltdown on sunday when he took a run at the head of a steeler's receiver and drew a 15 yard penalty. lewis, however, continues to support burfict loud & proud and defend his actions in the game. lewis conveniently forgets that burfict is a ghetto thug whose had nothing but trouble on & off the field since his time at arizona state. FYI--it should be noted that burfict has already been suspended 3 games for next year for this incident and lewis is 'amazed' that the league acted that harshly.'    mr. lewis should be happy that i'm not the commissioner.............
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are the WHITE SOX going to pull the trigger on high priced free agent outfielder JUSTIN UPTON? probably not because the sox rarely give contracts longer than 3 or 4 years and he wants six. same theory applies to YOENIS CESPEDES but they need a professional outfielder so they can move AVISAIL GARCIA, who's a disaster defensively.
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the CUBS also need a center fielder so they can move JASON HEYWARD back to right, which is his best position.
one month til spring training.  we'll see.....................
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ok, that's it. happy powerball to you! 

all sorts of sports

Boy, when you mention the bowl games this year, you're talking major suckage. blowout after blowout kept me asleep on the couch for hours every day until.............
POINTS-A-PALOOZA arrived saturday night. 
holy touchdowns, batman! 
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OREGON proved that it is possible to be in a coma the entire second half as TCU stampeded them with 47 points
in ten possessions to beat them in overtime and then WEST VIRGINIA & ARIZONA STATE played pinball with each other for three hours before a late touchdown decided it, 43-42.
an absolutely great 4 1/2 hours of football. but most of the bowl games..............ugh.
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NOW are the powers that be going to realize the NOTRE DAME doesn't belong in prime time games? beaten like a rented mule on new year's day by OHIO STATE only reminded everyone of that national embarrassment suffered by the irish just a couple of years ago at the hands of ALABAMA when the tide beat them by forty points. 

notre dame has been inconsequential in college football for the last twenty-five years and now that the backroom BCS boys (wink-wink) are a thing of the past, ND can take their 'mystique' status and stick it. 

and then they go hide in the ACC plus schedule army, navy & nevada. and now they want respect? blow me.
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just how good is COREY CRAWFORD? six shutouts already and we're not at the halfway point of the season yet.
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JIMMY BUTLER has whisked away DERRICK ROSE (MR. SOFTEE) like a fly on his shoulder and simply taken over the team.  butler has erupted into a dominant player at his position while softee has missed three more games with hamstring issues and knee soreness. hey jerkwad, listen up! when you have a couple of knee surgeries, it's going to hurt sometimes. suck it up, you candy ass.
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is it possible to bundle mr. softee and JAY CUTLER in a trade deal to anywhere? they both have expressions that i would love to slap off their faces.
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COACH JOHN FOX says "we still have a lot of work to do to get better."   REALLY? they have the 11th pick in the draft and if they don't take a defensive player, it's time to jump off the roof.  but knowing the bears and their draft history, they'll probably choose an offensive lineman who can't play in front of crowds.
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are the cubs going to make a trade?
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are the white sox going to sign one more free agent?
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off to the movies. later