JaBbA's Hut

Update to Left at the Altar: Boozer isn't innocent in this thing, but get this...Boozer is technically correct that there was no "deal" - BECAUSE THERE CAN'T BE. According to the CBA (collective bagaining agreement), the team could NOT agree, even in principle, to a deal at the time. If they did, then they will be fined and lose draft picks. So they HAVE to agree with Boozer and say there was no deal.

BUT - if they'd have exercised the $700k option, they could have renegotiated a 1-year deal for him, paid him to keep him happy, and then used the Larry Bird exception to pay him WHATEVER HE WAS OFFERED as a free agent, without any salary cap problems. He could have gotten his $68M deal and stayed in Cleveland, and we wouldn't have had to rip the team apart to do it.

Paxson needs to lose his job over this one. Not that this is his first blunder.

I've been meaning for a long time to watch Network. Had it on my Netflix list since the beginning, but I finally got around to bumping it up to the top. I'd heard that it was even more relevant today than in 1976.

What must have seemed outrageous in '76 seems incredibly true today. Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Savage - they have a different message, but the form and the function is the same.

I'm not sure what disturbed me more..The Communist and the "Ecumenical Liberation Army" leader arguing over distribution rights with a bunch of lawyers, or Ned Beatty (Jennings) proclaiming "You have messed with the PRIMAL FORCES OF NATURE".

There's a lot more to this movie than just Peter Finch yelling "I'm Mad As Hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!".

JaBbA says check it out.

Carlos Boozer, All-Star power forward for the Cavs and Olympian, was signed for $700k next year. The Cavs agreed to waive it, and Carols said he'd immediately sign a 6-year, $42M deal - the largest deal the Cavs are allowed to offer.

So as soon as he's a restricted free agent, he agrees to a 6-year, $68M deal with the Jazz.

How the hell can you spend $42M, much less $68M? What's the difference?

All of Cleveland thought Boozer was different. But he's said "Show me the money" as soon as the Cavs did the Right Thing (tm). Never again will I criticize a team for holding on to a player, rather than giving him a raise.

And people wonder why Cleveland sports fans are the most pessimistic people in sports. Other than LeBron, this is what happens to us EVERY TIME.

With the VP debate happening a 10 minute walk from my house, at my Alma Mater CWRU, now I've gotta find a way to get there.

It's going to be fun watching a charming trial lawyer make mincemeat of Mr. "Go **** Yourself!".

Paul Krugman gets it. And he can write it a hell of a lot better than I can.

There's a new blog fighting the repeal of the CH-UH levy we just passed - Stop The Repeal. Information on the Anti-Tax group's lies, and how to fight them.

I don't think it'll make $23.8M it's first weekend, but I'm looking forward to OutFoxed anyway.

I haven't had a chance to see F-911 yet, but I took my older sons and some friends to see Spiderman 2.

I was a huge Marvel Comics fan when I was younger - just pulled my old X-Men out of the attic and tried to throw them away 2 weeks ago, but they were intercepted by my oldest - like father, like son I guess. Daredevil, X-Men and Spidey were it for me. I always felt for Peter - what picked-on geek didn't dream of getting bitten by a radioactive spider?

What can I say about this movie? It was AWESOME. Great villain, awesome fights, and the pain that Peter Parker feels just grabs you. There are scenes in this movie that were twisting my emotions inside out - Raimi has set a new standard for "comic book" films.

Oh, and I was surprised but oddly pleased that I caught the glimpse of Stan Lee and recognized him on my first viewing

To an old friend of mine - I had no idea there was a Timroff blog.

Why Timroff?

Because he played spaceman RiffRaff when I played Tux RiffRaff.

God, that was a long time ago.......

Well how about...$21M in one weekend.

Bowling for Columbine, the highest-grossing documentary of all time, got $20 Million dollars...in SIX WEEKS.

People are noticing.

WashPost has a review of The Hunting of the President: The Ten-Year Campaign to Destroy Bill Clinton.

Focused on the "Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy", this film makes a well-researched case that Hillary might have been lied to, but it doesn't make her wrong.

Today is the 35th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River Fire. The image people have is of an inferno fueled by a river so heavily polluted that toxic chemicals could easily burn.

The truth is much less interesting.

The fact is that the Cuyahoga River caught fire from debris that collected in the crooked river's bend. The short-lived fire was out before the local press reached the scene to record images of its blaze. But it was a fire that followed ones in 1868, 1883, 1887, 1912, 1922, 1936, 1941, 1948 and the most devastating of all--the 1952 blaze that resulted in nearly $1.5 millions in damage.

Nor was the Cuyahoga River the only fire to burn during that era. Pollutants fueled fires on a river into the Baltimore Harbor, the Buffalo River in upstate New York and the Rouge River in Michigan.

But Johnny Carson got ahold of the fact that a river had burned in Cleveland...and a legend was born.

The river today is an amazing success story. The Cleveland Flats area is a hot nightspot where boaters and land-based partiers meet, and the Cuyahoga River is used for many water sports, including Western Reserve Rowing, which share the river with the giant ore boats.

From the Levy@list.chuhschools-yes.org list:

As reported today in the Plain Dealer, this past weekend levy opponents
began circulating petitions to repeal the 8.5 mill levy passed this March.

We are still researching the law on repeal petitions and will update you as
soon as we can send you accurate information.
While repeals are rarely successful, we would still need to run an
aggressive campaign to keep this one from becoming so. So much for our
vacation from levy campaigning.

When talking with friends and neighbors, it is important to alert them to
the serious nature of this petition. Because we failed to pass a levy in
2003, the school board has cut $6 million permanently from the school
budget--cuts that have caused real pain in losing good teachers, increasing
class size, and decreasing vital services such as school social workers.

I still don't get how people can refuse to support our local schools. The public schools serve everyone who comes through their doors - long time residents, transients, kids with special needs. I guess many people just don't realize that we're all in this together. Our American me-first mentality is going to kill this country.

Mean people suck. Do not sign the petition, vote against repeal if it comes up. And let's turn over the Ohio State congress, get some people in there who will address school funding instead of worrying about keeping marriage safe for straight people.

Deep education cuts, plus the unfunded mandates of the No Child Left Behind act, have left CHUH with a $9 Million deficit. Among the cuts being considered are the media teachers (who have built one of the best middle-school high-tech curriculums in the country) and the Journalism teacher. The kids involved in the High School newspaper are asking for help in saving their teacher's job.

JaBbA says check it out.

Here's something you can get behind ... It's Poop For Peace Day!.

Thanks to Blah3