Things Jack Bauer Won't Say

Jack Bauer is one of the greatest television characters of all-time. There's almost nothing he won't say or do to stop a terrorist plot. Here's a small sampling of some of the best Jack Bauer moments:

-Jack Bauer: [to Joseph Prado, after breaking every finger in his hand] This will help you with the pain. [knocks him unconscious]

-Jack Bauer: [to Saunders about putting his daughter in the hotel where the virus had been released] When your daughter is infected, I'm going to make you watch her die.

-Jack Bauer: You don't have any more information, do you, Nina?
Nina: Yes I do.
Jack Bauer: No, you don't. [shoots her]

-Jack Bauer: You probably don't think that I can force this towel down your throat. But trust me, I can. All the way. Except I'd hold onto this one little bit at the end. When your stomach starts to digest it, I pull it out. Taking your stomach lining with it. For most people it would take about a week to die. It's very painful.

-Jack Bauer: [shoots a witness in the head] I'm gonna need a hacksaw.

There is, however, some things that Jack Bauer will never say. Paul Scheer explores the possibilities.

I guess Maryland Needs to Generate More Tax Dollars

They overrode the veto of Governor Ehrlich and approved the use of cameras in Montgomery County to catch speeders in residential areas and near schools on Wednesday.

Back in the Saddle

$270 and a week later, my laptop is back in working order. Let's hope that this is the 3rd and final hard drive of this computer. I hope to have something to post other than my computer woes in the next day or two.

Blog is Going on a Temporary Hiatus

My not so trusty laptop is out of commission again (if you buy a laptop, don't buy a Toshiba), so until I get it repaired, which hopefully won't take more than a week, postings will be non-existent.

The Bears Sucked But At Least 24 Kicked Ass

If you would have told me before the game today that the Bears would score 21 points, I would have told you that the Bears should win the game easily. Sadly, that did not happen, and in fact, it was the Panthers that won easily.

The difference in the game was in the trenches. Unlike the first game where the Bears got 8 sacks from their defensive line, the Bears generated only 1 sack today and Delhomme for the most part had plenty of time to get rid of the ball. The inability of the Bears to get to the quarterback had a lot to do with the adjustments the Panthers made from the first time they played the Bears. In the first game the Panthers thought their offensive linemen could block the Bears defensive linemen one on one and they were dead wrong. But in this game you saw the Panthers' offensive linemen getting a lot more help from the running backs and tight ends, which slowed down the pass rush of the Bears front four. The Bears failed to adjust to the Panthers adjustments and they paid a big price for it to the tune of 29 points given up and over 400 yards given up.

But the defensive woes can't be all laid at the feet of a poor pass rush. The secondary was awful, particularly Charles Tillman. I don't know what happened to the Charles Tillman who ripped the ball away from Randy Moss in his rookie year, but it appears that Tillman has been spending quite a bit of time at the Clifford Jefferson School of Cornerbacks. The Bears might need to address the cornerback position in the offseason because you can not have a dominant defense and have one really vulnerable cornerback. The one thing that I did not understand at all in the Bears defensive gameplan was their strategy for Steve Smith. You know he's going to get the ball. The Panthers have no other receivers, yet it seemed like he was being single covered on a lot of the plays and that is just piss poor coaching. Smith should have been at least double covered every play and preferably tripled covered. Let Ricky Proehl beat you.

On the offensive side of the ball, there were a lot of encouraging signs. After a shaky first quarter and a half, Rex Grossman looked like a young Brett Farve, firing darts to wide open Bears wide receivers. I don't think you could have hoped for a much better performance out of Rex Grossman. Thomas Jones also ran the ball very well, though, I was surprised at the lack of carries he had early in the game, especially with Grossman struggling with his accuracy. The one big negative for the Bears offense today was the dropped passes. They just dropped too many balls and they do not have the talent on offensive side of the ball to make up for that. That being said, I think the tight end position and the wide receiver position will be two of the Bears biggest priorities in the off-season and I would be shocked if Justin Gage is starting opposite of Muhammad in Week 1.

Despite another disappointing Bears playoff defeat, the future looks bright for them. They have only one starter that's an unrestricted free agent: offensive lineman Terrance Metcalf. They're also going to have a lot of cap space, which gives them all kinds of flexibility to address some of their big needs like another wide receiver. Most importantly, this team is still real young. This was one of the youngest teams in the league and with the recent strong drafts of Jerry Angelo, this team should only get better.

On a side note, the season premiere of 24 helped get rid of the bad taste in my mouth of another disappointing Bears playoff performance. Just an absolutely thrilling 2 hours and the potential is there for this to be the best season of 24 yet. Hopefully, the plot won't become nonsensical like last season.

What a Surprise

President Bush's Medicare prescription drug plan is so far a mess. I thought this bill was one of the biggest blunders of Bush's first term and it looks like I've been proven right to this point, though I should point out that my problem with the bill had more to do with the costs than potential incompetent execution of the bill, but I'm not surprised by the government incompetence.

Today Is Going To Rock

First, my beloved Bears are taking on the Carolina Panthers, in the Bears first playoff game since 2001. My prediction is Bears 13 Panthers 10, as the Bears defense harasses Delhomme all day and stops the running of DeShawn Foster and the Bears offense does just enough to win the game.


Then right after the game. Jack is back! That's right, the best show on television, 24, is back for its 2-hour season premiere, and from all indications, season 5 is going to rock.

I don't think I'm getting off my couch all day today.

Fasano Goes Pro

In serious NFL draft news, junior Notre Dame tight-end Anthony Fasano declared himself eligible for draft today. This was not a surprise, though, it was thought Fasano might stick around for his last year of eligibility with Notre Dame being strong contenders for the national championship next season and the large number of good tight ends being available in this year's draft. The loss of Fasano should not hurt Notre Dame that much as they have two pretty talented tight ends already on the roster in Marcus Freeman and John Carlson and they have the top high school tight end in the country coming in the fall. Fasano should be a 2nd or 3rd round pick. Best of luck to Fasano and he would look awfully good in a Bears uniform.

With the First Pick in the 2006...

...Virginia Department of Corrections Football League Draft, the James River Correctional Center Roughriders select... Marcus Vick.

Via ESPN.com:

RICHMOND, Va. -- Former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick, booted from the team last week for his behavior on and off the field, was charged Monday with pulling a gun on three teenagers during an altercation in a restaurant parking lot.

Vick surrendered at the Suffolk magistrate's office after three warrants were issued for his arrest Sunday, Magistrate Lisa Noel said.

The 21-year-old Vick was charged with three misdemeanor counts of brandishing a firearm, and was released on $10,000 bond.

Police said the parents of a 17-year-old boy reported that Vick pointed a weapon at their son and two others during an altercation at a McDonald's in Suffolk, a southeastern Virginia city where Vick's mother lives, Sunday night.

If convicted of all three counts, Vick could be sentenced to up to three years in jail and a $7,500 fine, police spokeswoman Lt. Debbie George said in a statement.

According to local TV reports, the dispute between the 17-year-old boy and Vick may have been over a girl:

Police say after 9:00pm Sunday they received a call from the parent of a 17-year-old. The parent stated that Vick had pointed a gun at her son and two others during an altercation in the McDonald's parking lot. The incident allegedly happened at the McDonald's on Townpoint Road in Suffolk.

Police responded to the scene, interviewed witnesses, and issued three misdemeanor warrants. Police say the altercation may have been over a girl.

I know you love the young teenage girls Marcus, but it's going to keep getting you into trouble.

UPDATE: The always great House that Rock Built has a very funny post on the latest legal woes of Marcus Vick.

The Recruiting Picture Begins to Clear Up

In unsurprising news, Matt Carufel announced at the Army All-American Bowl that he will play for the Fighting Irish next season. Carufel is the 26th known verbal commitment for the Irish. Carufel is a 6'5", 280-pound lineman out of Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Minnesota, the same school that produced offensive lineman Ryan Harris, tight end Marcus Freeman and fullback Rashon Powers-Neal. Unlike the previous regime, Weis is having no problem recruiting offensive linemen. Carufel is the fifth offensive lineman to commit, which is huge for the Irish because Notre Dame only has four, that's right, four offensive lineman in their freshman, sophomore and junior classes combined. There is no question that Carufel has the potential to be a special player, as evident in his participation in the Army All-American Bowl and being named as a Parade All-American.

Speaking of the Army All-American Bowl, I happened to catch some of the game (hoping Butch Lewis would put on a Notre Dame hat), and I was extremely impressed by the play of Notre Dame commitment, Rashon McNeil. He's big, he's fast, has excellent technique and he actually looks for the ball, which a lot of young corners don't do. If he can play like he did on Saturday this fall, he will see significant playing time.

Carufel's commitment wasn't the only recruiting news yesterday. Two of Notre Dame's prized targets made it known that they will playing somewhere else other than South Bend in the fall. Defensive lineman/offensive lineman Butch Lewis announced he will play at USC, and defensive lineman Gerald McCoy announced that he has narrowed his school choices to three: USC, LSU and Oklahoma. Lewis and McCoy spurring Notre Dame especially hurts considering the lack of talent and depth on the roster at the defensive line position and the lack of defensive linemen recruits (John Ryan and Kellen Wade are the only defensive lineman commitments).

With the commitment of Carufel and the loss of Lewis and McCoy, the recruiting picture becomes much more clearer. Notre Dame has two more spots left in this year's class after George West officially decided to join Chris Stewart and James Aldridge as early enrollees. Those two remaining spots could go to Sam Young, the top offensive tackle in the country, Mitch Mustain, the top quarterback in the country and the Parade Player of the Year, or Jason Kates, a solid defensive tackle out of Pennsylvania. I would be very surprised if one of the two remaining spots went to Mustain because I doubt Charlie Weis wants to have three quarterbacks in one class, especially if he wants a shot at next year at Jimmy Clausen.

I Can't Wait For September

CNNSI's Stewart Mandel shares my optimism about the Fighting Irish's chances in Fall.

Notre Dame-OSU Postgame Thoughts

I'm back from Columbus, OH, where my car was not flipped over and set ablaze, but was towed yesterday at 5 AM (whoever is responsible for that is permanently on my shit list). My car being towed just added injury to insult to what was a very disappointing Fiesta Bowl. I got so many thoughts on the game that I'm going to do this post Larry King style.

In a rare occurrence, Charlie Weis was outcoached...

With Notre Dame's starting front four inability to rush the passer and the average secondary of the Irish, why did defensive coordinator Rick Minter almost never call a blitz?...

Who was making the defensive calls, Rick Minter or Kent Baer?...

Almost any quarterback is going to look a Heisman trophy winner if you give him 15 seconds to throw the football. I don't care how good your secondary is...

If you're going to give a receiver a 10 yard cushion, you better be able to tackle him as soon as he catches the ball. Not to mention, there's no reason why he should blow by you on a fly pattern...

Relax Irish fans, let Charlie Weis recruit some talent on the defensive side of the ball before you ask for Minter's head...

If Gerald McCoy commits to the Irish, he will be starting at defensive tackle when the Irish travel to Georgia Tech on September 2...

Sorry Irish fans, Anthony Gonzales never had possession of the ball...

Brady Quinn had one of his worst games of the season and missed several open receivers...

Quinn struggled with his accuracy at times...

It didn't help that when Quinn found an open receiver that several of his receivers seemed to be allergic to the ball...

As the season wore on, Jeff Samardzijia's hands seemed to get more slippery...

You know Ohio State is going to blitz, so why did Notre Dame struggle to pick up blitzers?...

Darius Walker had to have been nicked up most of the season because for once Darius was decisive when he ran the football...

Why did Charlie Weis abandon the run when Walker was having surprising success against the Buckeye defense?...

Charlie Weis's decision to go for it inside the 10 yard line of Ohio State in the 1st quarter made no sense...

Maurice Stovall showed Monday that unless he runs a 4.6-40 or worse, he should be a late 1st round draft pick...

There wasn't much that myself and the OSU fans I watch the game with agreed on, but the one thing we did agree on is that Brent Musburger sucks...

Did you know that A.J. Hawk is dating Brady Quinn's sister?...

Did you also know that Tom Zbikowski was a Golden Gloves boxer?...

Did anyone else catch Jack Arute's comment that he was going to "hook-up" with Brady Quinn's sister?...

Call me crazy, but I think the 2006 schedule sets up nicely for Notre Dame to make a National Championship run...