Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Roundup

An NFL draft prospect who seems a freakish specimen:

Big Walt, as he is known, is a 6-foot-5 defensive tackle who wears a size XXXXXXL jersey. He bench presses 475 pounds and squats 800 pounds. Weight lifters at the Galveston Health and Racquet Club stop their workouts to watch him.

Football teams everywhere are filled with big men, but many of them can barely move. Thomas has run the 40-yard dash in 4.9 seconds, faster than some N.F.L. tight ends. He is the rare tackle who can catch a running back from behind...

Thomas’s flexibility has become part of his lore. He does handstands and handsprings, broad jumps and cartwheels. When he gets excited, he will do a back flip.

He sounds like Hayden ('Sidd') Finch - the former Mets great.

Wear red on Friday in support of our troops.

Lorie asks what it would take for Joe Lieberman to 'fire Harry Reid.' It's worth remembering that there's no guarantee that the Senate majority would change hands even if Joe Lieberman switched parties.

Russell Simmons of DefJam records calls for an end to the use of three words in music.

The GOP seems likely to run a noteworthy nominee for soon-to-be former Representative Marty Meehan's seat in Massachusetts. There's also talk that longtime Bills defensive lineman Fred Smerlas might make a bid. It's my understanding that the district has a partisan vote index of Democrat +12, meaning that the average Democratic candidate runs 12 perecentage points better than the Republican. Thus, you'd probably need a 'special' Republican to win here.

Bob Newhart as a psychologist with a simple approach to your problems.