Is Our Children Learning?

As a report that has not yet been made public will show within the next week, I was a failure at my job again last year. The students at Public High School have fallen another couple of points on the Social Studies portion of their state testing and it was my job to raise the scores. This hits in the same week when I tested my students for the first time this school year and a good 80 percent or more of them failed my test. A test where I gave them a study guide listing what they needed to know a week before the test. A test where I played a version of Jeopardy with them the day before the test basically rewording every question they needed to know the next day.

And these numbers include my two Advanced Placement classes. Kids who are supposed to be the best and brightest our school has to offer and preparing themselves for college. I asked one class after I handed back the stack of 30 and 40 percent papers who had studied the night before the test. One young lady raised her hand. She had missed close to two of the first six weeks of school. More than any other student I have. Her score on the test-90. The highest of the AP group. What the hell am I doing?

It is beyond depressing when the kid who spent the least amount of time in your classroom can do better then everyone else on what has become by far the most important aspect of education--THE TEST. I spend a huge amount of my time preparing students for THE TEST and they continue to fail in unbelievable numbers. I watch my students eyes glaze over as we discuss strategies to write better answers on ORQs by using SREs to raise our scores on the CATS so we can meet our goals for NCLB, and I wish for their sake and mine I could be doing something else, anything else.

And coming up in the next few weeks I am sure will be countless meetings called to figure out what to do about this. I have no idea. Everything they have asked me to try. I have tried. But we aren't getting anywhere. And the whole system just makes less and less sense to me. Here is my biggest complaint. Why am I giving these kids grades? I give each child an A, B, C, D or U based on their knowledge of my subject and effort in my class. As the teacher I am assessing whether they know the material to a satisfactory level. So why after I give a kid a U because they won't pay attention, stay awake, or do their work to learn the material, does the state give them a test to assess whether they have learned the material so they can grade our school. What? He is novice at Social Studies--I think I told you that already when his report card said U because he didn't bother to learn in my class.

I know it is my job to get them to succeed, but have you ever tried getting a 17 year old to do something they think is useless? Frustrating. So what are we teaching them? In my room it appears we are learning you can come to work everyday prepared, enthusiastic, and with certain goals in mind and still at the end of the day be labeled a miserable failure. A tough lesson for them and me but maybe one we all need to know. In the meantime it appears we may be inadvertently achieving our goal. Could it be the easiest way to not leave any child behind is to never go anywhere?

BO KNOWS Back to You probably drops off my list after week two. The actors and the news background brought me in but the focus on the one night stand between the characters has lost me. Also I really wanted to like Journeyman but I wasn't feeling it. I will give it one more chance.

BO KNOWS Grey's Anatomy may be sentimental fluff but when it is working it is really well written, well acted sentimental fluff. When the story stays away from Meredith's personal life the show is actually enjoyable. Here is hoping that last scene Thursday doesn't drag us back to endless episodes about Meredith's indefensible poor choices.

FOOTBALL SUNDAY

Bo goes 4-1 last week for a strong showing and a record of 8-6 on the season. Week 4 here we come.

BO KNOWS The Bitches are 3-0 and LT has still to really play an LT type game in fantasy numbers. This is the week he breaks out. That combined with the Giants D playing a rivalry game for pride on Sunday night. (lowering the effect of McNabb and Westbrook) will lead to a Bitches 4-0 start.

BO KNOWS someone has to win the 0-3 battle between the James Gang and the IPS Allstars. Bye weeks and injuries have led the Gang to replace its weak line-up with its even weaker bench so we can all congratulate the All stars on their first win of the season and I will now put my head in the oven.

BO KNOWS It is a huge game between the 2-1 Griz and the 3-0 Juice. There is a big difference between 3-1 and 2-2. You would think it may be the week to get The Juice with a Leonard and one armed Alexander backfield, but Favre will continue his excellence and Harrison will finally put up numbers today to match Owens and The Juice will be 4-0.

BO KNOWS The Eye of the Tiger has 5 players in the line-up in the top 10 at their position and two more within the top 15 but 0 wins. That kind of bad luck can not continue. Tigers get it done today.

BO KNOWS he can not believe Romo and the Vikings are ranked first at their positions. But add that to the resurgence of Edgerrin James and the big game potential of Driver and Wayne and the Bs win.

Oh just in case the Gang does the impossible today and message for the IPS Allstars--Enjoy week 4

WATCH FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

So my fantasy football team is horrible and their appears to be no way to solve this problem so I must seek other diversions, so what luck that the new fall TV schedule really gets going this week. TIVO is both a blessing and a curse as it allows me to watch TV on my own schedule which would be impossible with my three year old. The problem is I record more shows than it will ever be humanly possible for me to watch so here is a quick look at the shows I will be recording that will continue to prevent me from ever seeing the many episodes of The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and PTI that already fill my DVRs memory. So here is what I will be doing until Lost returns in February.

SHOWS THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BE ON MY LIST--These are the shows I watched last year that I will continue to record and watch. Now one show I will finish is Damages. I am not sure how many episodes remain but it has my attention and I will have to see it play out. Add to that Heroes which is the only show I stay up to see on the night it airs. The Office and My Name is Earl I think are the two funniest shows on TV and the only comedies on my list. And I know it is seen as a chick thing but I was late getting into Brothers and Sisters but then watched two thirds of the season in a week or so to get caught up. It is an excellent family drama which seems to be the way my interest goes lately since I like few of the comedies on the air. Oh and don't forget Friday Night Lights. Watch Friday Night Lights Fridays at 9 on NBC.

SHOWS HANGING ON MY LIST - There are a few shows still on the old Season Pass list that have nearly lost my interest. In this group is Survivor, Desperate Housewives who I think just lost any sense of direction once its original mystery had been solved, and Grey's Anatomy which totally tested my patience with the Meredith character last season. She is just too ridiculous.

NOT ON MY LIST- Extreme Makeover Home Edition is not on my list but somehow I catch at least part of it every week. I watch it if its on and I'm not doing anything. I love the cool homes they build and I have to admit it gets dusty in the room sometimes when these families' tell their stories.

THINGS I SHOULD BE WATCHING- These shows won't make my list this year probably as I have to cut somethings, but I am pretty sure I would enjoy watching these programs if time allowed. 30 Rock tops this list. I figured I only had time for one SNL knock off last year so because of my love for The West Wing and the fact Chandler was my favorite Friend I chose Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60. Every indication is I made a terrible mistake. 60 is gone while 30 won Best Comedy and everyone I know who watches it likes it. I may catch up with it on DVD at some point but I don't know if it will be in time to get into Season 2. The others in this group are The Simpsons and Family Guy which make me laugh on the rare occasion I see them and Nashville a new Fox show which I think would interest me but doesn't quite make the cut.

NO THANKS- These are the shows that critics and networks are hyping that for one reason or another don't interest me at all. Chuck, Dirty Sexy Money, (terrible title) and the Bionic Woman make up this list. I loved Peter Krause in Sports Night and Six Feet Under and Donald Sutherland is always decent but I just can't find the motivation to give DSM a try.

NEW SHOWS- I will be trying these new programs at least once. Pushing Daisies has an interesting idea and I would like to see how it works. Back to You has a great cast although I must admit the second episode must be better than the first or I'm done. I give it a second week solely based on its criticism of live shots in front of closed buildings at 11 pm something I have been complaining about for years. Private Practice makes it because my wife will record it and since its going to be on there anyway I will give it a chance. Journeyman looks to be my early favorite for my potential favorite new show. I loved Quantum Leap and it appears to be a more serious version of the same premise which interests me. Also from what I understand the new twist to the time travel genre is if this guy is in the past for three days he is actually missing three days in his present life. No jumping back in where you left which may seem like a small detail but I thinks adds some interesting drama to an idea that has been done before.

REUNION AWARD- This goes to the show that I think will most appeal to me that will be cancelled before Halloween. Two years ago the deliciously campy Reunion goes off the air leaving me hanging in a mystery and last year it was joined by The Nine which sucked me in and then disappeared. I predict this year it will be Life about the cop off of death row who gets his job and his life back plus millions of dollars. I think they would have been better off making this a movie. Some ideas can not carry 22 plus hours of TV. This will probably be one of them.

FOOTBALL SUNDAY

My team is bad, my picks are worse after going 1-3 last week with a tie Bo sits at 4-5 on the season. Lets see what this week holds.

BO KNOWS The Juice has 6 players in the top 10 at their position aand The Gang's running backs can't break the top 25. It appears The Gang drafted a horrible team and that will get you an 0-3 start. The Juice will win.

BO KNOWS the 0-2 record is what I thought IPS would have on draft day but some of the most questionable picks have worked out. Cutler is top 10 at QB and how good does Randy Moss look this year? Match-ups are a problem though and The Cheese has Kitna another undervalued fantasy player and the better RBs this week. Cheese wins.

BO KNOWS H&V may love Westbrook and Ward this week but I do not. Barber and Gore are both playing well and after a disappointing tie last week Eye of the Tiger will win this week.

BO KNOWS Carson Palmer's team my have lost last week but he is the man in fantasy football so far scoring huge points last week. He won't have to do nearly that well this week because whether Burress plays or not the Bitches will defeat the Bs. (Great logo for the Bs this week though)

BO KNOWS Delhomme is a surprising fantasy scorer early in the year, but on the other side the Arizona receivers have been disappointing. With Owens in the other spot the Dullards need Boldin way morew than the griz need Fitzgerald. That will be the difference as The Griz win.

We end this week with a message for The Juice. Until next week.

WINNERS?

Let us start today with an apology to Rich Brooks. Coach I was one of the naysayers who believed you would never get it done at UK. In fact for the good of the program I love I was hoping you and your athletic director would be relieved of your duties. But today is your day so I give it to you. What a great win last night. The bottom line in sports is kept on the scoreboard and you got the job done. I thought you were too old to recruit in the SEC but you bring in better and better players with each class. I thought moving the Louisville game was a pathetic ploy, but it worked in your favor. I will now shut up and do what a fan should do, I will pull for your teams for as long as you are around. Good Luck coach.

To get off football for a moment and on to another favorite American past time. television. The Emmy awards are tonight and while as an educator I should probably be telling everyone to turn off the TV and pick up a book or something, the truth is I love television. So here are my picks for tonight's show with one rule. I will not pick anyone from a show I don't watch.

REALITY SERIES-Really do we need this category. I know it has become more and more popular and the networks love it because despite the prize money it is cheaper to produce than real TV, but do we have to reward it. Well OK I think Idol and Dancing will be dismissed by voters despite their popularity so that cuts out everything I have seen. My wife watches Top Chef marathons on the weekend so I have briefly caught pieces of it. It is not totally ridiculous so MY PICK Top Chef REAL WINNER Amazing Race

SUPPORTING ACTRESS COMEDY My wife loves Two and a Half Men, but seriously two nominees from that show. I only regularly view two of the nominees and while I love the OFFICE and Jenna Fischer is great in it Jaime Pressly is the best thing about My Name is Earl. She has come along way from The Jerry Springer Movie. MY PICK Pressly REAL WINNER Vanessa Williams I have never seen Ugly Betty but the press seems to love the show and Williams.

SUPPORTING ACTOR COMEDY Kevin Dillon is about the only thing evenly remotely entetaining about Entourage anymore but Rainn Wilson plays one of the funniest characters on TV on what I think is the funniest show on TV. MY PICK AND THE WINNER Rainn Wilson

LEAD ACTRESS COMEDY By my rules I have only one choice for my pick because Desperate Housewives is the only show on the list I have seen on a regular basis. But let me say this I totally disagree with the fact they insist during awards season this is a comedy. I think it is a strategic move to steer clear of dramatic shows they can't beat for awards. So MY PICK is Felicity Huffman who is a fine actress but I think the REAL WINNER will be Mary Louise Parker for Weeds ( I don't have Showtime so I haven's seen it but let me say I was in love with Ms. Parker when she was on The West Wing)

LEAD ACTOR COMEDY I absolutely love Steve Carrell on The Office. I think he is hilarious and he is MY PICK Carell but I think the REAL WINNER will be Baldwin for 30 Rock which is probably the one show I regret not putting on the Season Pass last season.

COMEDY SERIES MY PICK The Office may be my favorite show right now in all of television but I think I will be disgusted when the REAL WINNER Two and a Half men claims their prize.

SUPPRTING ACTRESS DRAMA Seriously what did Aida Turturro have on the last season of the Sopranos like two scenes. Why is she nominated? I always thought she was the one thing that did not work in that show. Every scene she was in annoyed me. I know Grey's Anatomy is the popular darling but three nominations is a bit much for what was their worst season by far. With that said I think it comes down to Chandra Wilson from Grey's and another actress I loved last season Rachel Griffiths from Brothers and Sisters. I believe she will have more chances in the coming years. MY PICK and THE WINNER Wilson

SUPPORTING ACTOR DRAMA I think Michael Emerson from Lost was absolutely creepy in his role as ben and then on the last episode he made me doubt whether Jack was doing the right thing by not listening to him. A good performance but MY PICK Masi Oka was the piece that made Heroes work I think. Unfortunately I predict THE REAL WINNER to be William Shatner.

LEAD ACTRESS DRAMA I love Edie Falco on the Sopranos but as a whole I think the final season wasn't her best showcase. MY PICK Sally Field returned to TV as a casting change was needed and did a great job as the tortured widow on Brothers and Sisters. For some reason I just feel the REAL WINNER will be Kyra Sedgwick for a crticaly acclaimed cable show I have never seen but seems to get more press than all of these other shows except The Sopranos. My real pick Connie Britton is not nominated for what I think was the best performance of the year on Friday Night Lights. WATCH FRIDAY LIGHT NIGHTS 9 pm FRIDAYS on NBC

LEAD ACTOR DRAMA If you want to give the Sopranos a farewell gift this is the one to give them. James Gandolfini may have ruined his career by playing the role of a lifetime and becoming Tony Soprano. Can we ever see him as someone else? MY PICK and the WINNER Gandolfini

DRAMA SERIES The Sopranos was great but this is not a lifetime achievment award. Grey's Anatomy lost its way and should not be rewarded for keeping viewers in spite of itself. Seriously was meredith dead for like two episodes while they worked to do what we all knew they had to do anyway. She is the freaking title character wake her up already and lets move on. It is not suspense when you know how it ends. I have never seen House and while I enjoy Boston Legal my DVR is so crowded it didn't even make my list. My pick iks Heroes one of only two shows I never save for another night. I have to see it on the day it airs how ever latge I must stay up. (The other is Lost) MY PICK HEROES REAL WINNER SOPRANOS

FOOTBALL SUNDAY

Bo goes 3-2 last week in a solid but unspectacular start. On to Week 2.

BO KNOWS Brady faces tougher comp this week but fantasy number wise it looks to be his best season. Jackson and Jones-Drew can't have as bad a week as they had last week so The Gang will take out the Griz who will drop to 0-2.

BO KNOWS The Giants must have looked so crappy on D last week that after seeing them live The Juice owner had to start Favre this week. That said Kitna is the most underrated fantasy QB in the league and Deuce and Marvin Harrison are seeing most of their chances go to someone else. The Cheese goes 2-0.

BO KNOWS there is no way the Vikings D puts up those numbers again but after what Manning and Wayne do to Tennessee they won't have to for the Bs to win again.

BO KNOWS the Sith swiped Ward off the waiver wire in a good move( damn you sith) but Moss, Gates, and the bears D will be the keys for the All Stars if they can continue their production all season this Cutler at QB thing might just work out. IPS WINS

BO KNOWS the key to our last game this weel is the KC-Bears game. Against KC Benson can't possibly look as terrible as he did last week and against the bears Johnson is put for a tough day. That and the fact that Palmer should shred the Browns points to a Bitches win.

We end with a message for The Griz. Have a good Week 2.

WHAT NOW?

So this week it will be six years since I stood in the front lobby of NBA City in Orlando, Florida on what was supposed to be the last morning of my honeymoon, wanting to get a picture taken in front of a blue screen where they would then place images of Shaq and Kobe, when on the TV above the gift shop counter I watched as the first World Trade Center tower collapsed to the ground. I remember the place was mostly empty. Just my wife and I and one or two employees watching that little TV and I can't remember anyone saying much of anything.

We waited and paid for my silly little picture and then went back to a bus where we found out we wouldn't be leaving that day and so we hurried back to the hotel we had checked out of to see what we were going to do. In a pointless sidenote just let me say I can not say enough good things about the way Disney handled this situation. A company that to some has become THE example of the capitalist greed Bin Laden rants against, overpricing every item in The Happiest Place on Earth and cranking out crappy straight to video sequels to their films, had hundreds if not thousands of people stranded with no way home. Instead of banking the hundreds of dollars I would have had no choice but to spend they put me up in a room for three more days, unlocked my phone so I could make unlimited long distance calls, and gave me another day of tickets to the theme parks, without charging me a dime.

On the other hand some of my fellow Americans returned to the hotel complaining loudly to the staff about the theme park being closed for the day. This event was going to ruin their vacation. People make me sick.

So six years later I am sitting on my couch having carelessly folded back a NewsWeek I was reading when my three year old says EEEWWWW! What happened to that girl? And I turn the magazine over to see a little Iraqi girl with stitches all over her face and a patch on her eye in front of the rubble that probably used to be her home. And I wish he hadn't seen the picture and I have a question of my own. Why did that happen to that girl? And I wonder how we get from this three year old who showed obvious concern for what to him was just another kid, to my 17 year olds at school, a great number of whose theory on the Middle East is "nuke them all". And I wonder do they even think about what they are saying. And do they know what a nuke does, or that there are little girls there, or are they just worried some international incident will ruin their next vacation.

Meanwhile, we continue a seemingly unending war in a country that has no connection at all to the event that started this whole mess six years ago. Are there any Americans left outside the West Wing that think being in Iraq is in any way making life safer for Americans? The Democrats won control of Congress mostly based on this issue and have made absolutely no progress in resolving it. In fact they have seemed so completely impotent with their new power that they may just allow a Republican to sneak up and take the next election, something that seemed impossible at the time of the mid terms. And they have convinced many like myself that it probably won't make a difference anyway. (Prediction: if Obama doesn't swallow his pride and take the second spot on the ticket with Hilary it could definitely end up Thompson/Another old white guy in 08) Oh and the guy that started it all is safe and sound and released a new video this week. He is apparently hiding out near a drug store where he picked up some Just for Men and combed the gray out of that scraggly beard. He wants us all to embrace Islam. And looking at how this has all gone down over the last six years only one thought comes to mind. EEEWWWWW!

BO KNOWS she is hoping for a big comeback. But my prediction is Britney Spears buries her career for good tonight at the MTV awards show. She had a good run. I hope she saved her money.

BO KNOWS it is probably a useless plea but if you haven't seen the first season of Friday Night Lights it is out on DVD and I believe at a good price of 19.99. I urge you to give it a look if only because I hope you will get hooked and somehow the show will survive through season 2, but I am not getting my hopes up. If any Nielsen families see this if you are going to go out and not watch TV on Friday nights would it be too much to ask you to leave your TV turned on to NBC. It helps scare burglars away.

BO KNOWS that the media is trying to make a big deal about this competition between Kanye and 50 Cent on Tuesday, with 50 claiming he will retire if Kanye outsells him. But is hip hop officially dead when Kenny Chesney outsells them both.

FOOTBALL SUNDAY

The season has begun and it seems a little late to critique draft day but giving it a quick glance just let me say I think Ben may have come out the best. I like that he ended up with an underrated fantasy QB late, two solid wide receivers to start and three starting running backs that probably won't share their carries.

BO KNOWS Addai got them off to a good start and The James Gang's receivers look to be the problem again this year so The Cheese will win in week one.

BO KNOWS I am not sold on Jones and Westbrook at RB but both will score more than Deuce did and I think Young will struggle against the Jags so I go to the dark side and take the Sith this week.

BO KNOWS this pick shouldn't count after Thursday but after Manning and Wayne showed up and Bush didn't I have to go with the Bs this week.

BO KNOWS Ross gets bonus points for returning to his former portliness and for that logo so I will go with the Dullards this week.

BO KNOWS unfortunately for the Bitches her best weapons go against the league's best Ds this week so I will take the Griz based on the match-ups

I AM READY

After what seems like months of focusing on war, disease, and all the other ills of the world, finally it is time for a diversion. My fantasy draft is today. Of course the best thing about the draft is that it is a sure sign that we are a short time away from the return of football. For at least a few hours every week I can focus on real problems like who I am starting at quarterback and who is on bye this week.

Of course these are not the real problems of life, but you can not underestimate the value of being able to pretend they are if only for a few moments each week. This is the true value of sports, an opportunity to escape into a world where scoring a touchdown is the most pressing issue. I enjoy watching the TV for three hours straight without mention of terrorism, or decaying infrastructure, or mine collapses.

The draft is also a day to get together with old friends I don't see much anymore. To remember just for a few hours the days when we all gathered on Sundays together to eat, drink, and watch football. Before the days of mortgages, kids and careers. To tell the same old lame jokes and laugh just as hard and for just a brief moment feel like the person you were the first time it was funny.

So break out the chips, the football mags, and the player stickers because football is finally back. I am taking Stephen Jackson second in what I hope will be the BEST....DRAFT.....EVER..... I hope not to have to scream NOOOOOOO! today too often if the player I wanted disappears just before it is my turn to pick. I hope my players leave their helmets on all season, but however it goes I am just glad we are back to the time of year where there is a lot of football left to play.

BO KNOWS by the time I hit 35 in February there will be two little McCabe boys. That is why the correct answer is always "I don't care as long as they are healthy" because trust me when you have put into print that you are hoping your little boy was a girl you feel a little bit of guilt when it turns out not to be true. But once I get past that I will be looking forward to dragging my boys to ball games for the next 15-20 years.

BO KNOWS I have mentioned before my love of stand-up comedy. With that being said I must warn you not to watch the new HBO special from Bob Saget. Trust me it is an hour of your life you will wish you could get back.

GOODBYE SUMMER

The most valuable resource in the world is time. No one knows how much they are going to get and you can't make more of it. That is why you will not hear one word of complaint from me as another summer comes to an end. I will return to work on Thursday after what amounted to about ten weeks off and there are few jobs in the world where one has that luxury.

I will also never complain about the money they pay me for this job. I think anyone who works hard at their job believes they should be awarded more money, but the fact is my job is paid for by taxpayers and to think that teaching will ever get you a six figure income is not realistic. Besides money is not the only reward you get from a job. My last job paid me about as much as I made my first year teaching and I struggled most days to drag my butt out of bed by 8 to get there by 8:30. Now, I bounce out at 5 a.m. and there have been few days when I really didn't feel like it. That can not me measured in dollars.

Like anyone with a family I wish I had the options that come with great wealth. I wish all my bills were paid off. I wish my wife didn't have to work if she chose not to. I wish I could improve all the things around my little house that need improving, or just go buy a big new house. I wish I could buy my children everything I want them to have ( although my wife would claim I already do that). But how many people have all that?

What we teachers do get is time. Time to do what is important to us. Time to get a job to make some extra money. Time to work around the house. Time to read. Time to write useless blogs. Time to exercise more. Time to walk the streets pulling a little blond boy in a little red wagon. Time to ride the "firefighter" ride at the amusement park as many times as we want to. Time to snuggle up in a cool dark room with a Land Before Time video and drift off into a nap. Yes, time is a valuable resource and if we are granted enough of it a great reward awaits us, another summer. So Goodbye Summer I look forward to seeing you again.

BO KNOWS I probably upset my fellow teachers with my opinion about our compensation so I will make one point. I think the perception of teachers being underpaid has a lot to do with the amount of education required for the job. So teachers having to pay a good portion of their income to student loans probably is a problem. So what I would love to see the government do is somehow reward people who dedicate themselves to the profession by rewarding some kind of education credit. I don't know what would be exactly fair but the basic idea is you set up a number of years to be spent in the classroom and once the teacher serves # number of years they get a nice bonus of $ amount of dollars but it must be used to either pay off student loan debt or fund further education as they move up in the profession. I think this would be a useful way to improve teacher compensation. Good for teachers and good for teaching.

BO KNOWS it was nice to see Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn enter the baseball Hall of Fame. Two great players who stayed out of trouble and played their entire careers for one team. We won't see many like that in the future.

BO KNOWS I have all but given up dodging potential cancer causes as now a new report says my ink jet printer could cause cancer. Lets face it. There is nowhere to hide.

BO KNOWS our government has serious problems when a grade of "structurally deficient" makes a bridge still OK to travel on. I think at the very least we need different classifications just for morale.

BO KNOWS that Entertainment Weekly has made a list of the top 50 films that ESPN.com's Bill Simmons would say makes it "dusty" in the room. The list at http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20041669_20041686_20048641,00.html will probably bring back a lot of memories for movie fan's but what about those that didn't make the list. No Empire Strikes Back? Come on for all we knew that was the last time we were going to see Han Solo. And what about Armageddon. Bruce Willis stays on the asteroid so Ben Affleck can survive. It doesn't get much sadder than that does it.

BO KNOWS unintentionally it seems there has been a Star Wars reference in nearly all of my posts. I am a fan but I don't seek to mention it every week it just seems something related catches my attention almost every week. That being said I am going to make one more point and then no Star Wars for awhile. I need some advice. While I have promised my wife to wait at least another year to introduce my son to Star Wars. (she wants him to stay a little cartoon fan at least that long and she knows he will love it.) I am confused on how best to introduce a new generation of children to Star Wars. Do they watch them as we did starting with IV and ending with III? Or do they watch in order from I to VI or do we show them IV,V and VI and pretend the prequels do not exist? I can't decide.

BO KNOWS fantasy football is just around the corner so here are some clips to get you in the mood. See you next week.

CON-VICK?

I swear the one time I myself contributed to the death of an animal it was entirely unintentional and I felt horribly about it. But for some reason I can't get my outrage going for this story about NFL quarterback Michael Vick operating some sort of dog fighting ring on his Virginia property. It surprises me a little with all the terrible things that happen every day in this world that this particular action has provoked such passion from people and attention from the media.

Don't get me wrong. I do understand that this activity is cruel to animals. I agree that it should be stopped and there should be penalties involved, but I don't know if I need Michael Vick to lose his career and his freedom for this action. This is probably the wrong thing to say since everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to throw the book at Vick, but that seems a bit harsh maybe.

What this does show me, if it is true, is that Vick is probably a man of little character and from that viewpoint it will be no great loss if he is thrown in jail for his crimes. I just won't be all upset personally if he isn't.

I do agree with the companies like Nike and Donruss and others that are dumping him as an endorser as I no longer believe he is useful as a commercial spokesperson. No one wants to hold up the dog killer as a person you should emulate by using their favorite products. And there should no doubt be criminal penalties involved if the charges are proven. My feeling is a fine equal to the value of the property he used for this plus the amount he profited from the activity. Then he should of course do some sort of community work for some animal related cause, the Humane Society or something. And give him probation for a lengthy period where if he does anything else that warrants jail time you could add on some. I am all for double punishing any fool who would piss away a multi-million dollar career twice.

But in the end it doesn't really matter to me and I am not sure why. I feel like I should be more upset by this but I'm not. Michael Vick could get six years in prison and if he killed those dogs in the cruel way described in some reports I would be OK with that. I would not protest or anything. But at the same time the NFL could allow him back on the practice field tomorrow and I would be OK with that also. If the penalty doesn't end up with him incarcerated, why shouldn't he play football if a team wants him. But Senator Byrd would probably disagree with me.

But keep in mind this is what the good Senator does when not speaking in Congress.


BO KNOWS when I first read that there was something called the One Man Star Wars Show coming to one of the local theatres I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. I liked Star Wars, but the idea of a guy on stage basically recreating the scenes from the first three films over the course of a little over an hour, by himself, didn't seem very entertaining. It seemed so silly I had to look into what it was about and I have to admit after seeing some reviews and clips on the internet now I just want to round up some Star Wars geeks have a few beers and check it out.

BO KNOWS I was excited when I first read about a large new state of the art regional library going in near my house. I use the library system frequently and my son likes to go and having a nice new larger library would be nice. But it now appears the project is dependent on the approval of a new library tax district. And while supporters did manage to get enough signatures to force the issue onto the ballot the decision will now be up to voters. Hmmm ...voters will decide whether to raise their own taxes. Good-bye library.


BO KNOWS there a many places I would like to see in my life but only a few specific events. I want to attend at least one Super Bowl. I want to be in Vegas during the first weekend of the NCAA tournament at least once. And now I want to go to Comic-Con. The title suggests it is a convention for comic book geeks but it has grown into this huge celebration of comics, movies, and video games which attracts thousands of visitors and more and more mainstream press attention. Many of the "geeks" go all out with costumes of their favorite characters and such. It looks like a lot of fun. Where else could you see sights like this.






OR THIS....

BO KNOWS in all the Simpsons hype I have come across an interesting internet site promoted by Burger King called http://simpsonizeme.com/# the idea is they will take a photo of you and make you a Simpsons character. Problem is the site is frustrating me by refusing to Simpsonize me despite repeated attempts. If anyone can get this thing to work let me know how you do it. If not talk to you next week.

WARNING: NO SPOILERS ALERT

Don't waste your time reading this entry today. There will be no mention of how the final Harry Potter book ends. There will be no leaks on who is nominated for any upcoming awards show. I will not be informing you how the next season of your favorite television show is going to end so you should simply leave this page and seek information on your entertainment future elsewhere.

What is wrong with people that when a book becomes so popular that they make twelve million copies available in the United States people will take it upon themselves to publicize the end before readers can even get a copy much less finish it?And who has time to photograph 700 plus pages and post them on the internet?

Why must we know who might be nominated for an Emmy award days before they announce the nominations for the Emmy awards? Why does every popular TV show have numerous web sites dedicated to telling fans what is going to happen before they have a chance to watch the show? Do we really need this information ahead of time? What is the rush?

And this need for speed of information is present in the news business too. Every local station who gets a reporter on the scene of some meaningless event first, advertises it for weeks believing our viewing habits can be swayed not by which reporter gets the story right but who drives the fastest. This leads to endless speculation and misinformation as they rush to get us something even if it is wrong. Why can we no longer wait for information to be gathered before it is presented?

Someone always has to be first in everything, but sometimes you should just keep your advance knowledge to yourself. I like my news correct, I like to watch my own movies and read my own books even if I can't beat you to the midnight showing/sale because I have other things to do. Put your digital camera away. I get it, you got the book first. Now keep your jpegs to yourself so the rest of the world can enjoy it just as you did.

This newest race doesn't even concern me as I missed out on the whole Harry Potter craze until the movies started so I haven't read any of the books. At this point I have decided to just wait until the final book comes out in paperback and buy whatever box set makes it on the market. Then I can enjoy these stories with my children when they are old enough to get out of picture books. I wonder if they will love these stories as much as millions of kids who are working their way to the end of the story today. I can't wait to find out. Oh wait, yes I can.

BO KNOWS that I have wanted an XBOX 360 for sometime, but my wife discouraged it correctly pointing out I have little time for video games. But now she fell in love with the Wii from Nintendo and decided we could get one of those. After a little research I found that the few games I like to buy each year will be available on the Wii so I was in. Then they were impossible to find, but now I have it and the system is pretty fun with the new controllers getting rave reviews on the video games sites. One complaint though since I am now an owner. There is a preview for an unbelievable looking Star Wars game coming out next year which for some reason will not be made for Wii. Please George Lucas the one thing I must do with my Wiimote is swing a light saber. Please get on this.

BO KNOWS I am a news junkie and read a lot of web sites and watch TV news daily, and I enjoy a good story about something strange and unusual even if it isn't of importance. If you like this sort of thing you must go to Fark.com. Good for at least two or three laughs a day. Guaranteed.

BO KNOWS I don't care much for the summer reality series that fill the TV void until the new season, but there is one I truly enjoy and that is "Last Comic Standing." Stand up comedy has always been one of my favorite forms of entertainment and there are enough good jokes in an episode to keep you laughing. I think this is the one form of entertaining I secretly dream of doing but will never have the guts to try.

BO KNOWS the race for the White House seems to be heating up a lot earlier than usual, but I was going to wait until a few Democratic primaries had actually been held to float out an idea I had for the election. It appears I have been beat to the punch by Anna Quindlen of Newsweek. She writes a nice article on the back page of the magazine this week about what the Democrats should do about the ticket and she probably does a better job of explaining it than I would have, so give it a read if you get the chance.

BO KNOWS the NBA is quickly losing popularity and relevance in the sports world and now we have a referee allegedly fixing games for gamblers in an organized crime ring. It can't get much worse for the league that had its lowest ratings in years even before this scandal broke. Now even the gamblers won't want to watch it as they can't trust the results. I don't know where the league goes from here, but they need some good press and fast.

Chasing the GOOAALLLLLLLLL !

I don't think it is going to matter. The Los Angeles Galaxy of the MLS is bringing in one of the most famous athletes in the history of their sport and paying him a potential 250 million dollars and I don't think it is really going to change anything. Not long term. We are going to see more people wearing MLS gear. We are going to see a short term boost that probably quadruples the previous audience for soccer on TV in America. But long term I still don't believe soccer is going to become a major sports draw.

I love sports. I read anything I can get my hands on about sports and during a month where there is almost nothing else to divert my attention I can name exactly one MLS team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. And I will give you a wild guess where I have heard of them. My guess is I am not alone among sports fans.

I can not tell you why the U.S. largely ignores a sport that seems to ignite such passion in most of the rest of the world. I do think it doesn't translate as well on television which is where a great number of American sports fans enjoy their games. Much like ice hockey my guess is it is a lot more fun in person, but I will never be able to tell you for sure because I will never attend a live soccer game. I am just not interested.

The conventional wisdom for the last decade has been as more American kids join soccer leagues the sport would gain ground in exposure and popularity. But while it is true more and more kids are trying it on the field that has not translated into success in the stands. It doesn't always work that way. I used to love to go bowling. I would go once a week and have a great time but I still wasn't going to watch it on TV.

Every once in awhile there is something that sparks America's interest that the soccer followers hope is going to ignite into a passion for the game. Of course the Women's World Cup was one of those events but my guess is the hype that followed that would have died down a lot quicker had Brandi Chastain kept her shirt on. So Becks ( is that what we are calling him) begins his American career by taking his shirt off in a magazine with his wife. My guess is in ten years he will be a lot more famous for that than for anything he does on the soccer field, at least in America.

BO KNOWS Pete Sampras is well deserving of his spot in the Tennis Hall of Fame. What I didn't know until this week was that there was a tennis Hall of Fame. Seriously, tennis and soccer. I hate July.

BO KNOWS Budweiser is not going with Dale Earnhardt Jr. to his new team next year. All the little NASCAR shops in the world are ecstatic as now all the freaks will have to replace all their jackets, license plates, car flags and scale race car models. NASCAR? Aren't their any real sports in summer? I should have written about politics this week.

BO KNOWS baseball attendance is up more than three percent this year but they lost me a few years ago. As a kid I collected every Topps baseball card from 1980-1989 and now I don't even follow the sport. I could care less. The most revered record in what was once America's most revered game is getting ready to be broken and I won't even be watching. Just a few years ago I would even attend a few games in Cincy a year but I haven't been since they opened their new park. The bad thing I don't even know why I quit paying attention. I just lost interest.

BO KNOWS by the next time I post the most anticipated book release in years will be over and many will finally know the fate of Harry Potter.What I can't believe is that people are so anxious to know they would buy a book to tell them what might happen in the book they want to read.

Until next week . Take care of yourselves and may the force be with you.

I CONFESS

I don't remember when it happened but at some point in my life this video went from the thing I most dreaded seeing on Saturday mornings to the thing I waited impatiently to see. It went from being the image that ended my morning in front of my beloved cartoons to being the image that announced the beginning of my favorite hour of the week. Yes my name is Bo and I am a professional wrestling fan.

I do realize that fewer things can destroy your credibility quicker in some circles than this admission but I am coming out. I can not deny who I am. I still sneak a peek at what is going on in the wrestling world when I get a chance despite the not so subtle judgement in my wife's voice when she asks, "What are you watching?" (I knew I should have put that TIVO in the basement)

There is no doubt that wrestling in not the highest intellectual form of entertainment. Many of the stories are way over the top or just plain stupid but that is true for a lot of the world's popular entertainment and you don't have to worry about people thinking you are a complete idiot if you admit you watch American Idol. But tell them you watch wrestling and wait for the reaction.

Doesn't matter. I can not deny that many of my absolute favorite memories of my childhood that did not occur in a Disney Park occurred near a wrestling ring. I will never forget the night Hulk Hogan came to Commonwealth Convention Center and pointed to the sign we had made to taunt his opponent as we sat in our ringside seats. Of the many Tuesday nights we spent at Louisville Gardens the one I will never forget is when Randy Savage first became a "good guy" back when those things really mattered and teamed up with Jerry "The King" Lawler against King Kong Bundy and Rick Rude. It was a great night ending with Lawler piledriving Rude on the stage as Savage dropped the elbow on Bundy in the ring.

My fond memories of wrestling are the reason why I hate when something happens to bring the mainstream media into the "sport". It always ends up being a full scale attack to condemn the activity and belittle its fans. This has been the case with the tragic death of the Benoit family. I think every station on TV settled for the same headline after it happened "Roid Rage?" Why I don't dismiss the idea that the drugs could have played a role in Benoit's actions should we dismiss all other explanations even before the toxicology reports are in. I have no doubt it will show Benoit had steroids in his system, but does that mean they caused him to kill? I am pretty sure Benoit has looked about the same the last ten years I have seen him in the ring, meaning he has probably been abusing steroids for a decade, why now do they cause him to murder his family? Plus if you pay attention to the news at all, how many murder suicides do you hear about a week? Are all these people on steroids? It was the easy story so the media jumped on it.

My favorite ridiculous media attack was committed by an ESPN Page 2 columnist named Jemele Hill. Her first criticism was of a WWE story line where they had killed off the owner Vince McMahon. She tries to connect a press release promoting the death in the WWE storyline to what actually happened. She writes, "The WWE got its wish, all right. The pro wrestling world was indeed leveled by a major death, creating the nationwide buzz it so desperately sought. Only this death wasn't staged, it wasn't McMahon's and it pointed to a much more significant problem in the "sport." WHAT? First I am going to guess that when the McMahon story line was introduced they had no idea one of their own was going to commit a gruesome murder-suicide. And I am prety sure they were not happy with their new "nationwide buzz". And to its credit the WWE immediately abandoned the fake death when real death became the story. Second it is entertainment. What is wrong with them killing a character on their own TV program. Ms. Hill does realize that even hardcore wrestling fans quit pretending this was real years ago doesn't she. That means everyone who knows the deal realizes it is just a story. Law and Order has stories "ripped from the headlines" all the time, killing off people in episodes that are "fictional and does not depict any actual person or event."(yeah right) But when WWE does it on their ENTERTAINMENT program something is wrong.

Then Ms. Hill makes one more arguement I can not ignore when she thoroughly researches an entire industry involving hundreds of people by watching a two hour documentary. She writes " Based on the things in "Beyond the Mat," we should almost be surprised when a pro wrestler doesn't die tragically." REALLY ? Based on one film about three wrestlers, one of whom was an idiot crackhead slowly killing himself in crappy hotel rooms, we should make this conclusion. Using that logic we could watch a few episodes of "Hogan Knows Best" and be completely shocked that all wrestlers don't live in multi-million dollar estates and help their children become pop stars. Either conclusion is ridiculous.

The one point we can agree on is too many wrestlers die at a young age. It is a physically demanding profession with too many nights spent away from home. One list I found shows 80 deaths before the age of 60 since 1985. That seems high and McMahon and his company should look into how to help reduce that problem among the people he makes millions of dollars off of each year. But here is another fact. Before Benoit killed his wife and child and then himself that number would have only been two less. (his wife worked in the ring at times as a manager) Where was the outrage then? Only when they had a sensational story to tell did the media suddenly care about the well being of professional wrestlers.

So the Benoit story is sad but don't use it to paint every wrestler as a roid rage maniac who lives a life of lonely drug abuse waiting for his tragic death. I hope the sport takes measures to stop some of these tragic deaths because it is sad to know that Rick Rude, Hawk, Junkyard Dog, Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig and many others who entertained me as a child are already gone. I wish they were still here. I am a wrestling fan.

BO KNOWS I have never wanted to be a black French guy named Tony so much in my life. Multiple NBA titles and Eva Longoria. My teachers were right life is not fair.

BO KNOWS naming a baby is a big decision but I saw a story this week that people now pay hundreds of dollars for consultants who choose a list of potential names for them. How ridiculous is this? I guess it does keep you from naming your child ridiculous things like Apple, or Kal-el, or 4real or my favorite Autumn Sullivan Corbett Fitzsimmons Jeffries Hart Burns Johnson Willard Dempsey Tunney Schmeling Sharkey Carnera Baer Braddock Louis Charles Walcott Marciano Patterson Johansson Liston Clay Frazier Foreman Brown. What did happen to Mary?

BO KNOWS I was never really a comic book fan but more of a lover of the cartoons made using comic book heroes. So I wonder when they will quit messing around and make the film I really want to see.

BO KNOWS most of you on the internet have already seen the last clip here, but if you haven't give it a look and have a good week.

STATE OF THE UNION


I heard someone make a comment the other day that struck me as funny. Now I am taking this out of context but in the midst of a conversation the line was " That is what we do, watch television and eat yummy food." It occurred to me that this is the kind of quote one could take and put in a very negative light. Many people would want to say that is what is wrong with America these days we watch too much television and eat too much yummy food. But why does everything have to be negative. Why do we hate ourselves so much.

The way I see it 1,270,987 men have given their lives in American military uniforms to fight for a way of life. In one way or another in places all over the world they have sacrificed so that Americans could (insert your favorite leisure activity here) and eat yummy food. Or whatever else makes you happy. This figure includes men from every conflict from the Revolutionary War to the War in Iraq. (including both sides of our own bloody Civil War). The problem is not that we do these things but that we have lost all appreciation for what it has taken to have this lifestyle.

There is a growing movement to focus too much on the negative events in our history and I believe it is clouding young people's perspective on America. Sure Washington and Jefferson owned slaves, but they also helped craft a document that when interpreted through time made it possible for all men and women to be free and equal. Franklin Roosevelt had Japanese Americans put in internment camps, but he also guided us through the Great Depression and a World War after which we were the most prosperous country in the world. Nixon lied to the American people and brought shame to the White House but he did bring our boys home from a war they could not win, and Reagan left us the burden of a great national debt but he helped end the Cold War and brought us together in a way that is hard to remember in this age of Red and Blue States.

I once scolded some students for sitting and talking during the national anthem and their answer to me was " I don't love America like that." Now I am not saying we should go back to blindly teaching a history where America does no wrong. We have made mistakes. Big ones. But look at the histories of every country that would criticize us and you will find crimes equal to or greater than our own. We should agknowledge our mistakes but at the same time we need to realize in just over 230 years we have created a great country where people have many opportunities not available to most of the world. We need to appreciate that. And we need to stand quietly during the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance because over a million people have died and sacrificed their opportunity for ours.

A promise was made a long time ago to all Americans. That we should have "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And the effort to create a more perfect union is not easy as has been shown by people like Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King Jr. Change comes only through great effort. We have many problems in America today but the pursuit continues. So celebrate what we are today and do what it is you enjoy with your family and friends and eat yummy food. And then remember the promise says the PURSUIT of happiness. You have to chase it yourself.


BO KNOWS a lot of you don't enjoy country music, but if you do and you are looking for a really fun album to listen to you should pick up Fifth Gear the latest from Brad Paisley. He has some really entertaining stuff on there. My favorite was a song called "A Letter to Me" which was about writing a letter back to yourself at age 17. I even thought this would be a cool idea to write about until I realized most advice I would give to 17 year old me I wouldn't want anyone else to see.
BO KNOWS this case of the pregnant woman murdered in Ohio has brought out some disturbing statistics. According to Fox News the other day the second leading cause of death for pregnant women is homicide. Are you kidding me? I couldn't believe it. In fact i so doubted it I did my own research to disprove it and according to what I found not only is it true but in Maryland it is number one. Apparently they are really safe drivers there.
BO KNOWS President Bush finally made a decision I agree with. The Democrats are giving it to him for keeping Scooter Libby out of jail but in my opinion he did the right thing. Libby may have broke the law, but you know he didn't come up with this scheme on his own. Even if Bush didn't know about it you know Cheney did. You can't let your boy go to jail for doing what you asked him to do, not if you have the power to stop it. W did the right thing.

WHY?

Two year old Avery Denzinger is going to grow up without her daddy. Her father Frank was buried yesterday after being shot and killed while trying to do his job. Frank was a sheriff's deputy who responded to a domestic violence call and was gunned down by a 15 year old kid, who shot Deputy Denzinger in the back from his bedroom window, and then reported his deed on his myspace page before killing himself. And the only question anyone can ask is WHY?

Why did a kid who was scheduled for a hearing in court the next day on a drug charge still have a computer and internet access in his bedroom? If my children ever are required to appear in court on any kind of charge while they are still under my roof they are going to be hoping for jail because at least there you have cable television.

Why in a house where arguments became so intense that officers had to be called to the home to calm disputes several times, did a teenager have access to a loaded weapon? If you have so little control over your kid that you sometimes have to have police back-up don't you think perhaps it would be wise to disarm them.

I don't mean to pile on the family of this kid who I am sure feel awful about what happened and will be burying their own son soon, but it just happens too often that innocent people and their families are being destroyed by these troubled souls and I am not sure feeling bad after the fact is enough anymore. Why can't we stop this?

Why do these people who for whatever reason decide to end their own lives have to destroy other lives along the way? Why do they find it so easy to throw away human life? No reason is good enough for me anymore. They make the choice to kill and especially in cases where they have no relationship with their victims we need to stop justifying it. I don't care if kids picked on them. I don't care if their daddy didn't love them. I just don't care.

I think what made me so angry was when I was reading about this story on courier-journal.com they had a link to the shooter's myspace page and on it were all these messages from kids writing about what a great guy this kid was and how the media was getting it all wrong. The only mention of the incident seemed to be references to the "choice" he had made. The "choice" he made was to shoot an innocent father in the back and then inform his friends about it on the internet. When he made this "choice" Tyler Dumstorf became a murderer. And then he took the easy way out so that when Avery Denzinger grows up there won't be anybody to answer WHY?

BO KNOWS that prior to any marriage a full season of 48 Hours Mystery should be required viewing. I think if more people watched this show they would realize when you kill your spouse/significant other you will get caught. How many times is this going to happen before people wise up? I knew the first time I saw the story of missing Jessie Davis the boyfriend would end up the killer and today they arrested him. How stupid can you be? You can't get away with a crime where you are automatically the #1 suspect. Haven't these people ever heard the old saying " Women, can't live with them, Can't kill them without getting arrested."

BO KNOWS despite attempts to create some drama for this Tuesday's NBA draft Greg Oden is going to be the first pick.

BO KNOWS how to solve the Lakers problems. It is obvious now that Kobe is running down his teammates to complete strangers in mall parking lots that this is not going to work. ESPN's Ric Bucher who seems to have become the accepted authority on Bryant said on a Podcast the other night that there was zero percent chance Kobe would open the season as a Laker. So I say we blow the whole thing up and start over. We trade Odom, Bynum, and Farmar to the Nets for Jason Kidd. (I know the Nets say they are keeping him but teams always say that). We trade Kobe in a three way deal that sends him to Chicago, sends a package of Bulls and our number 19 pick to Minnesota and brings Kevin Garnett and the number 7 pick to LA. (I would really like to deal him and 19 straight to Minnesota for KG and 7 but what Kobe fails to mention in his trade demand is that he has a no trade clause which allows him to veto any deal. So why he claims to want out of LA, really he is only going to accept deals that send him to Chicago, Phoenix or Dallas making it almost impossible for the Lakers to get fair value.) With the seven pick the Lakers take Cory Brewer. This would give us a starting line-up of Kidd, Brewer, Walton, KG and Mihm/Brown. It gives us two superstars to sell tickets and we can make a three year run at which time we would have two aging veterans with huge expiring contracts and if they can't win we hold on to the cap room to sign free agents. There will be some big names available around this time, LeBron, Wade possibly Durant and Oden.

BO KNOWS despite brutal reviews Evan Almighty will be a huge money maker. Steve Carrell (shown here as depicted in the Office video game) is one of the most popular stars around and the animal angle makes it seem like an OK movie for kids, That combination should guarantee success although I still question 175 million dollar budget for a comedy.

BO KNOWS people are desperate to lose weight without doing the required dieting and exercising, but what risks are they really willing to take. There is a multi-million dollar ad campaign going on to promote some new diet drug called Alli. The drug stops your body from absorbing much of the fat you consume. There is however according to some reports the small chance you will experience a side effect they are calling "leakage". Now I think two of the major reasons people want to lose weight is to look good or to feel more confident. I think any benefits I would get in either area would be negated by the fact that I could crap my pants at any moment. I think this will be a problem. Talk to you next week.

FATHER'S DAY

My son is 3 years old now, but somehow this still doesn't seem like my day. It still feels like a day reserved for much older men for whom there is no gift they need so you give them some piece of crap they neither need nor want hoping they understand what it means.

I suppose I am just in denial. In some ways it seems like yesterday I was swigging Wild Turkey like it was water and barely feeling bad about it the next day. But at the same time that young man living in UK dorms and dreaming of a career in sports television seems like a completely different person. Like some story I read or show that I saw.

It is probably time to get a grip on reality. It is time to quit seeing myself as the kid and come to accept the Diet-Pepsi drinking, Khakis wearing, cartoon watching, sidewalk chalk drawing Dad I have become. I make my living teaching about places I've never been and coaching a game I never could really play. But it feels right, so it is all good.

I know one thing, Father's Day does make you reflect on just how much your life has changed. I remember camping out all night on a Lexington sidewalk for tickets to a Garth Brooks concert and coming away from the window so excited to be in the lower level, and recently I was offered a chance to buy PlayHouse Disney LIVE! seats before they go on sale. I did it with my credit card over the internet and I think I was just as excited. We are in row A.

I remember going to King's Island and riding every roller coaster in the place as many times as I could get through line until they closed the park down. I took my son to the local amusement park on Friday. We rode two merry-go-rounds about five times each,sat on a ferris wheel that went up about 12 feet, and watched the Bugs Bunny show three times. I had a blast.

The weirdest part about being a Father is how to a good part of the world I have lost my identity other than in relation to my son. That became apparent the other day as I was leaving day care after dropping him off and a little girl on her way in stopped to say, "Hi Evan's Daddy."

And now I can confirm that there is another little one on the way. We are hoping for a girl. So that old guy I thought this day was for, hell, I guess it is me. So to any other Father who may see this, enjoy your day.

BO KNOWS the Sopranos Finale has been done to death this week but I feel the need for a few comments. I think people have to understand in general the population doesn't view paintings, or admire sculptures, or even read a damn book. In general we have rejected any form of art that requires thinking and discussion. So if our most popular medium, TV, wants to throw in something every once in awhile that requires these things I am OK with that. I would even encourage it. I have read a lot about the show this week and what makes me mad about the finale is how much brilliant work was overlooked because of the preoccupation with that last scene. I thought it felt a little rushed and the editing a little choppy but we learned a lot about these characters from some of these scenes and what was amazing was in many cases they didn't say a word. You have to love actors who can really say so much without speaking. My three favorite moments.

1. The look of disgust Carmela gives Tony as he goes into his sob story at the therapist's office.

2. The look of sadness Tony gives Meadow when he finds out her career choice was guided by the fact she felt he has been wronged in some way.

3. And my favorite moment was the look of relief on Tony's face when he realizes maybe in the end you can just forget all the shit you have done like Junior.

As for that final scene I think it is good they left it up to us. By not showing Tony's death they didn't cheat us out of the ending. They let us have the ending we wanted. Maybe it says something about us as people whether we need Tony to die for all his crimes or whether we want him somehow to survive all this and continue his life. Or maybe it's just a TV show.

BO KNOWS I seem to live in a nice quiet neighborhood. The kind of place where I always forget to close my garage and all my shit is still there in the morning. But the local news did a story this week about my area where they showed cops riding around five minutes from my house looking for drug dealers and prostitutes. Particularly scary was the fact they showed cops going into an apartment complex that I frequently entered in my pizza delivery days. I would go there at midnight with 300 dollars in my pocket. The cops now won't enter it alone at 2 in the afternoon. I think this is a problem.

BO KNOWS I can't remember a single thing I learned from Mr. Wizard, but I do remember watching him as a child and it was sad to hear that he is gone.

BO KNOWS I can't wait to see how this Randy Moss story plays out in New England. All the press this week was good, but it will be a good story either way. Either we are going to see one of the great career resurrections in football history or I am going to be able to joke on whoever in the fantasy football league thought we were going to and took this guy in the first round.

BO KNOWS the NBA Finals were boring. Bill Simmons of ESPN.com's Page 2 brought up a great point this week. For the few NBA fans left, and by the ratings there aren't many of us, the off-season player moves and the draft have become more interesting than the actual competition on the floor. I think this is a problem, but I have no clue how to fix it.

BO KNOWS pro athletes seem like nothing but self centered money grubbers these days but if you need a nice story about sports check out Rick Reilly's column on the last page of Sports Illustrated this week. I was going to link it for you but for some reason SI's most recent Reilly post is a column from May. That is stupid.

BO KNOWS those of you seeking motivation to diet should go to an amusement park and play the guess your weight game. Nothing brings how fat you are to reality quicker than watching that four foot red needle spin towards 250 on the face of that 20 foot scale. I got two things from the experience a plush snake and the desire to lose 60 pounds. I think I'll start tomorrow. Talk to you next week.

It has been a long time since I have posted any thoughts but I thought it would be good to get back into the swing. Since I created this blog to write to my fantasy football crew and I will get back to doing that once the season starts it will be my intent to post something each Sunday morning. If you would like to check it out please do so and if not that is OK too as I really just feel an urge to get back to writing something even if only I read it. I think I will write about one main idea each week and then put a few random thoughts at the end keeping with the BO KNOWS theme so here we go with a topic I must address even though I am late ---KOBE BRYANT

As most of you know because it was all over the news a few weeks back Kobe Bryant demanded a trade or declared he never wanted to leave LA depending on what time of day you were listening to the radio. I know he is probably the greatest talent playing the game today, but I have had enough of this guy. Let us face the truth, ever since he got away with rape you have to feel a little dirty pulling for this guy. Not to mention what is more important to me as far as watching basketball is he is just a bad teammate who plays the game selfishly and takes a lot of the fun out of rooting for a team I have loved since way before he came around. Things just haven't felt right since Dr. Buss traded an upstanding citizen to another city where he won a title, and kept this piece of shit who can't get us out of the first round and now after wanting so badly to be the man wants out to play for a better team. Are you kidding me? I have just one comment to that. Good Riddance. I would offer him to Portland or Seattle for the number one or number two pick and when they wisely decline the offer I would trade him straight up to Minnesota for Garnett. We won't be any better but we will be better off.

BO KNOWS the Soprano finale will be great tonight, but I really have no clue what they will do. I am a little upset I will be away at a basketball camp and won't get to see it. What are the chances I can make it home without finding out what happened. Everyone is making predictions so I will make one on the big questions. I think Tony lives.

BO KNOWS I am probably about three years behind the rest of the world which makes sense since my son turned three this year, but I finally got around to seeing the SAW movies this week and even though I went in wanting to hate them I must confess they were very entertaining films. I was expecting a slasher film and was surprised. They are not as bloody as I thought and way more interesting than I anticipated.

BO KNOWS if you have kids you should go see Surf's Up. If you have to watch kids films anyways this one was pretty good. I thought it was better than Happy Feet or Shrek the Third.

BO KNOWS he is tired. The family was on vacation this week so we took a series of day trips. I have been to King's Island, Holiday World, and Kentucky Kingdom this week. And now I am off for three days at Transylvania University for a high school basketball camp. I am looking forward to a few days around the house next week, but I can't complain too much as I will only have 8 more weeks off after this one and BO KNOWS that is a good thing. Have a great week.

Hello

Just a quick one to see if anyone is still visiting this space. I apologize for the lack of updates the last few weeks but a weekend trip to Gatlinburg a few weeks ago has left me hopelessly behind in all matters home and school and so I have been working what seems like non-stop to catch up. Note to self --no trips during the school year. Too much to do.
Steve Young would say I have been "laissez-faire" about keeping up with my column. Young has been taking some heat in the press this week for making comments regarding the upbringing of Chris Simms. But that does not bother me nearly as much as him throwing around the term "laissez-faire" on a football pre-game show. This guy is Dennis Miller without the jokes. We get it Steve. You went to college. You are not a dumb jock. Now stop using out of date French economic terms to describe the personal lives of people you know nothing about just because you like to sound smart.
With a 2-9 record it appears the season has hopelessly passed me by. And now I am fearing the game has passed me by altogether. I haven't made picks in a month and the Bs are cracking jokes I no longer understand. What a strange season this has been.
I do know this, the playoff race remains tight with two weeks left in the regular season there are many tewams that could still sneak in. And what sweet revenge for Eye of the Tiger, who all season was questioned about going manning over Tomlinson and who recently defeated the Bs and stands with two weeks left with the best record in the league.
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving and you enjoy the holiday season. It would be nice to have one get together before the season is over but I know with everyone's schedules it is difficult to do and with basketball season starting Monday my schedule is one of the tightest. But I would like to throw out the idea of either a football Sunday or a game night in a couple of weeks. The best weekend for me would be after school breaks for Christmas on the 16th. I suggest we either gather for games, appetizers and frosty beverages on Friday night the 16th OR have a Football Sunday with football, lunch and frosty beverages on the 18th. If either of those sounds good drop me a call or an e-mail and I will see what more people are interested in.
If I don't see you over the next few weeks Happy Holidays to everyone. Good luck those of you still looking for the trophy. GO TROJANS (not USC)

Welcome to Bo Knows

Half way through the season and it looks like a bunch of teams left to fight over one playoff spot unless something drastically changes in the next couple of weeks. A few sports notes first.
-I know most UK fans join me in hoping the football team doesn't somehow scrape a few more wins and give Barnhart an excuse to give his buddy another season. He should be looking over the country to find a new, young, energetic up and comer to build a program and keep the fan base entertained.
-The NCAA continues to drag its feet on the Randolph Morris case. The kid either took money or he didn't. Can we get a decision on this soon please. It would be great to have another big man for this season but I am not sure it would be great to get your team rolling into the conference season used to playing a certain way and suddenly drop Morris in the mix. It would be best for everyone concerned to know his penalty before the first game. ( and by the way. The idiots who advised this kid owe him an apology. It is too easy to blame a cocky 20 year old kid for a bad decision, but think about it, any 20 year old kid who is told he is good enough for the pros is probably going to like what he hears. But the people telling him this info had a responsibility to make sure they were correct about his first round status. If they weren't well connected enough to get assurances from a team or two that they would draft him if he was still available they should have played it safe and sent him back to school.)
-The NBA season starts this week so a few short notes on my favorite sport.
-Despite all the hype and big names Miami will not win the title.
-The Lakers will be much improved and will make the playoffs. They will be back in the top tier of teams before Phil's deal is over in 3 years. Kobe will make this work because he has to. If Phil blames him again this kid is painted as the punk who wouldn't play team ball forever. Especially if Miami gets a ring.
ON TO FOOTBALL........

KITCHEN BITCHES (6-1) The Bitches are set up well for the second half of the season. Despite his team woes Favre is FFL QB number 3. Her back-up Leftwich is being written about as a player to have in the second half because of his week schedule. The RB trio of Holmes, Barber and an underused Dunn is impressive. Plaxico was a steal in the late rounds of the draft. She keeps the number 2 ranked D on her bench. She can start a line-up of all players in the top ten at their position except one. MID-TERM GRADE A PLAYOFF CHANCES 99.9%

EYE OF THE TIGER (5-2) The "Manning mistake" on draft day becomes less and less obvious each day as he slowly climbs the QB ratings into the top ten. The problem is she is most vulnerable at RB with the starters barely holding in the top twenty. The rest of her line-up has been a pleasant surprise with three receivers in the top ten and Shockey finally becoming the TE he was expected to be when he was drafted. Mid-Term Grade: A- Playoff Chances 85%

THREE WIDE MEN (4-3) I would say with the big names on this roster Three Wide was expecting to be in a much better position at the mid point. Harrison has not put up the numbers of earlier seasons. Injuries to Burleson and Bruce have reduced the WR corps to weekly waiver pick-ups. The QB tandem of McNabb and Eli should be solid and at least one of his write-in draftees Heath Miller has been a pleasant surprise. Cadillac looked like he was going to be the man until injuries forced him out. If he can sneak a few wins until his team gets healthy he may be in a good position to take that playoff spot. MID TERM GRADE B Playoff Chances 60%

I Hate People (2-5) The Colts D and Lamont Jordan have been the only highlights of a miserable season for People. It doesn't look like a turn around is likely with the weapons he has, but he scored 106 last week and he has surprised us before. Mid Term Grade C (credit for working with a team he didn't choose) Playoff Chances 30%

Fromunda Cheese (1-6) Proof that you can't always go by the rankings the Cheese line-up this week features 5 players in the top ten at their position and a RB just on the outside at 12. Despite that he has 1 win this season and I don't see it getting much better. Mid Term Grade D- Playoff Chances 5%

King Bs (6-1) My only concern early in the season was Collins but he has been serviceable at QB. Tomlinson and Gates are 1 at their position and Bengals are two. T.O. has topped 90 points for the season and will probably only do better down the stretch. Jerry Lawler is his logo this week. What an amazing first season in the Football Sunday League. Mid Term B+ ( I couldn't resist) Playoff Chances 100%

The Grizz (4-3) A quick look at the line-up makes you think this team should be better than 4-3. Palmer and Johnson are the best combo in the league. The D and kicker are in the top five. Edge has worked his way back up into the top 3 backs in the league. But still the Grizz barely hang on to a chance for the last playoff spot. If Brown can emerge as a average RB for the rest of the season this team could have what it needs to grab that spot and cause trouble in the playoffs, but he needs to move now. The problem for the playoffs will be unless the Colts lose some games Edge could be watching a lot the last two weeks of the season. Mid Term Grade C Playoff Chances 70%

SITH HAPPENS (3-4) He has been the only one to upset the Bs run at perfection, he has the top WR group in the league with surprises Smith and the other Moss. Brunell has turned into a great pick-up, BUT everyone knows the key to a fantasy championship is usually in the running game and this week he goes three wide with Willie Parker as is only RB. To sum up he doesn't have Sith. MID TERM GRADE C Playoff Chances 40%

James Gang (2-5) Only three players ranked in the top ten on the entite team and one of them kicks field goals. Bad coaching decisions cost at least two wins he could have stolen, but lets face it the players just aren't there to win every week and make a real run. And with Bulger and J.Jones on the shelf things look really bad.
Mid-Term Grade D Playoff Chances 10%

WHOs the Man (2-5) Bledso turned into a nice find to replace disastrous draft pick Culpepper, but the only reason he even has two wins is a 25 point game by his top rated kicker. His only pleasure for the second half will be playing spoiler to some other teams trying to gain that playoff spot. Mid Term grade D+ Playoff Chances 5%

Picks Speed picks this week after a 2-3 week last week the season record is 20-15.
Bo knows these teams get closer to the second season this week
King Bs
I Hate People
Kitchen Bitches
The Grizz
Sith Happens