TampaBLAB

Tweets copied by twittinesis.com

I had been to the Cheddars in Clearwater, but never been to the one in Brandon (11135 Causeway Blvd,  Brandon, FL 33511, (813) 653-7770) until recently. The one in Clearwater was acceptable, but I’d never call it “good food”. The one in Brandon managed to change my mind about that. Dustan and I decided to [...] Related posts:

1. Restaurant Review: Thirsty Marlin
2. Restaurant Review: Datz Delicatessen
3. Restaurant Review: Rock N Sports Bar and Grill
4. Restaurant Review: Bay Cafe
5. Restaurant Review: Fresh Mouth
6. Restaurant Review: Widow Brown’s Restaurant
7. Restaurant Review: Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant
8. Restaurant Review: Pach’s Restaurant
9. Restaurant Review: L’Eden
10. Restaurant Review: Kathy’s Industrial Mart Sandwich Shop

From “American Princess” to “Bridezilla,” native Floridian and local star Kirsten Stiff brings national attention to the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas with her second WE TV hit reality show. When: Sunday, September 27th from 7:30-11 pm Where: NOVA 535 at 535 Dr. Martin Luther King Street North, St. Petersburg FL 33701 Cost: Admission is [...] Related posts:

1. Upcoming Vitale Brothers “Size Matters” show at NOVA535
2. Supernova Sundays at NOVA 535
3. Francesco’s Solo Art Show In St. Petersburg
4. Want to meet local politicians? Tonight is your chance.
5. The Wizard of Oz on the Big Screen With The Florida Orchestra
6. Big Bang Thursdays at Nova535
7. Supernova Sunday Photo Post
8. 2009 Florida Strawberry Festival is almost here
9. NOVA 535 to Give Away a $50,000 “Dream Wedding”!
10. Rhino Political Action Committee mixer at NOVA535

I always try to remember the source of the "but we're in a recession" messages. These are vicious anti-tax, anti-transit, pro-selective-livability people who never support community investment. Think about the obvious here. Were these people at all likely to support rail development when times were good?

Mariella Smith, Linda Saul-Sena & John Dingfelder

Friday night, Lakeland High School defeated Venice High 27-14. Lakeland Local photographer Tom Hagerty found time to shoot the game and some of the fans…

View the full set of photos from the game…

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Football Photo Set: Lakeland High School Vs. Venice High School

Lakeland Local and Metro I4 News have a new design.
When was the last time you visited?

Originally Published as Football Photo Set: Lakeland High School Vs. Venice High School

THE FLYING TIGERS (32-32, 69-65) – Lakeland played in an amazing 17-inning game on Wednesday night with the pitching staff throwing a no-hitter through 13.1 innings. Cole Nelson worked seven hitless innings while Bruce Rondon, Matt Little and Wilfredo Ramirez each worked two innings without allowing a hit before Justin Jackson singled up the middle to break up the no-hit bid with one out in the 13th inning. Neither team scored through 16 innings with the Blue Jays scoring once in the top of the 17th while Lakeland pushed across a pair in the bottom of the frame for a walk-off win. Last night, The Lakeland defense committed four errors and managed just three hits in a 4-1 loss to Dunedin. The loss leaves the Flying Tigers at 32-32 in the second half and 2.0 games behind third place Brevard County. Lakeland is eighth in the FSL with a .255 team batting average and third with a 3.32 ERA.

THE CUBS (39-26, 73-62) … Daytona, coming off a doubleheader sweep of Clearwater last night, is battling for a playoff spot trailing the Tampa Yankees by two games. Rebel Ridling leads the Cubs with 13 home runs and 75 runs batted in while D.J. LeMahieu is third in the Florida State League with a .314 average. LeMahieu leads the FSL with 170 hits while Ridling is tops with 34 doubles. The Cubs are the second highest scoring team in the league with 598 runs scored. Daytona is fourth in the FSL with a .262 team batting average and sixth with a 3.58 staff ERA.

THE SERIES … Lakeland holds an 8-7 advantage in the series and had won four in a row in the series before the Cubs recorded a 6-1 victory in the last meeting on Aug. 29 in Daytona. Three of the 15 games have been extra-inning affairs while five games have been decided by one run and ten games by two runs or less.

CURTAIN LOWERED … The 2010 season comes to a close this Sunday with Breakfast with the Flying Tigers at 11 am.

NEW SINGLE SEASON ATTENDANCE RECORD SET … The Lakeland Flying Tigers established a new single-season attendance record at Joker Marchant Stadium with Wednesday’s crowd vs. the Dunedin Blue Jays. Kerri Koesel of Lakeland was the 61,256th fan to pass through the gates this season. The previous mark was set in 1987 when the team drew 61,255 fans. The mark also represents an increase of almost 25% from 2009 when 49,569 fans attended games.

TOUGH LUCK – PT. I … Jacob Turner has not allowed a run in his last three starts, going five innings in each outing. He has surrendered just 9 total hits while striking out 19 and walking three in those games. However, due to a lack of runs behind him. He has three no decisions to show for his efforts. In his last five games, Turner, who is 2-0 in those starts, has surrendered just one earned run in 25.1 innings for a miniscule 0.36 ERA.

TOUGH LUCK – PT. II … New Flying Tiger pitcher Cole Nelson has started two games for Lakeland and given up just one hit over 12.0 innings pitched. He surrendered one run in his first start, a 5.0 inning affair in his Lakeland debut on Aug,. 26. On Sept. 1, he was started the 17-inning marathon for Lakeland, tossing 7.0 no-hit innings. For all his efforts, he has two no decisions.

SORENSEN STREAK SNAPPED … Mark Sorensen had won five consecutive starts to start the month of August before getting a no-decision to close out the month on Aug. 31.

FIVE-GAME HIT STREAKS … Centerfielder Daniel Fields and Jordan Lennerton each enter this series with five game hit streaks. Lennerton is 8×22 (.364) with four doubles while Fields is 6×24 (.250) with hits in eight of his last nine games.

MARTINEZ ON THE ROCKS … Third baseman Franciso Martinez is 10×41 (.244) in his last nine games.

KEEN ON McKENNA … Second baseman Patrick McKenna is 7×21 (.333) in his last four games and 11×36 (.306) over his last eight games.

WILK NAMED FSL ALL-STAR … Pitcher Adam Wilk was Lakeland’s lone representative on the Florida Southern League All-Star team as voted upon by league manager, general managers, official scorekeepers and the media. Wilk is 9-5 on the season with a 3.01 ERA.

RONDON EARNS GCL HONOR … New Lakeland pitcher Bruce Rondon has been named to the Gulf Coast League All-Star team as announced on Thursday. Rondon was 0-0 with 15 saves and a 0.70 ERA before being called up to Lakeland on Aug. 24.

PERFECT LITTLE PITCHER … Matt Little has appeared in five games since joining Lakeland on Aug. 17 from West Michigan and has yet to surrender a score to any opponent. He has recorded 10 strikeouts while walking three.

DETROIT BEST DRESSED … In a survey conducted by UniWatchBlog.com, the Detroit Tigers’s home uniform was chosen as “Best Home MLB Uni” The Tigers received 941 votes among readers – some 146 more than the second place St. Louis Cardinals. Rounding out the top five were New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.

AFFILIATE GLANCE … The Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) are 66-73 overall this season and in fourth place, 12.5 games out in the International West Division. Former Lakeland Tiger Jeff Frazier leads the club with 25 homers and 73 runs batted in. The Erie Seawolves (AA) are 62-75 and are in fifth place, 17.0 games out of first in the Western Division of the Eastern League. Former Flying Tiger Rawley Bishop is the team’s active leader with nine homers. None of the current Seawolves have played in more than 77 games of the team’s 138 games this season – more evidence of the shuffling of rosters this season. The West Michigan Whitecaps (A) was 17 games under .500 in the first half, but has made a nice turnaround in the second half taking a 34-32 record into tonight. They are in third place in the Eastern Division of the Midwest League. The Gulf Coast League Tigers finished in third place in the North Division, just 3.0 games out of first place with a 30-28 record. Current Flying Tiger Juaner Aguasvivas led the club with five homers, 14 doubles and 27 RBI this season. The Connecticut Tigers (R) are in a battle for the Stedler Division Pennant in the New York-Penn League as they are just 1/2 game out of first place behind Tri-City. The Valley Cats have a three-game series with Brooklyn which leads their Division with a 49-23 record. The Tigers open a three-game set with last place Aberdeen (32-39).

LOTSA MOVING … Unofficially, Lakeland posted 125 transactions in 2010 with 66 players playing here, three shy of the franchise record.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Mission Notes: Lakeland Welcomes Cubs for Final Home Stand of 2010

Lakeland Local and Metro I4 News have a new design.
When was the last time you visited?

Originally Published as Mission Notes: Lakeland Welcomes Cubs for Final Home Stand of 2010

Francisco Martinez scored from third on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Luis Castillo to lift Lakeland to a 3-2 win over Daytona in ten innings on Friday. Martinez led off the 10th with a walk and moved to third on a sac bunt by Chris Sedon. Lakeland starter Luke Putkonen carried a one-hitter into the 8th inning facing the mininum 24 batters at that point. Greg Rohan singled with one out to spoil the one-hit bid while Junior Lake followed with a homer to spoil the shutout and tie the game. Lakeland starting pitchers now have a 0.95 ERA in their last 10 games over 56.2 innings pitched. Bryan Holaday had three hits for Lakeland while Nunez finished with two hits. The two teams continue their three-game series Saturday at 6 pm at Marchant Stadium.

recap – box	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	R	H	E
Daytona	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	4	0
Lakeland	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	3	9	0

One out when winning run scored.

Lakeland Drops Cubs 3-2

Lakeland Local and Metro I4 News have a new design.
When was the last time you visited?

Originally Published as Lakeland Drops Cubs 3-2

This will only be on the internet for a short time. Bootleg Enjoy it why you can.

The Terry Goddard campaign released this attack ad on Jan Brewer. The ad catches Brewer making false claims of illegal immigrants beheading bodies. The ad then shows Brewer claiming she never made such a statement. Very effective.

Need organization tips for back to school? Look to Command Products for easy and damage free ways to keep stuff off the floor, set up so you can find it and your home looking neat and clean. Command has Decorative Hooks, Spring Clips, Picture and Frame  Hangers. Each command product has adhesive strips that can be removed without leaving damage to your walls.

How to organize your back to school items? Place hooks where your tween or teen comes into and leaves the house for backpacks, jackets and other items that need to be brought back and forth to school. Place hooks in bedrooms for clothing to be set up the night before school, jewlery, key chains, etc. Use the Spring Clip for calendars, reminders and schedules. The picture and frame hooks can be used for art work, special test papers, report cards and more.

Check out some of the Back To School ideas from Command Products to get you motivated!

Giveaway: A pack of Command Products – Decorative Hooks (packs of 2 in various colors), Strip Clip, Picture and Frame Hangers (Sawtooth Sticky Nail and Stabizer Strips, Wire Backed Sticky Nail and Stabilizer Strips, Frame Stabablizer Strips, Picture Clips, Picture Hanging Strips). The pack may include some of these products or all of them.

The Rules:

1. Contest starts now and ends September 10 midnight EST.
2. Open to adults 18 and over from the US
3. One submission per household.
4. Winner will be chosen by Random.org.
5. Winner have 2 days to claim prize via email.
6. Have fun and tell your friends.

How To Enter:

For One Entry For Each Below: (please leave a separate comment for each entry)

1. Leave a comment about what your tween or teen needs to keep organized for back to school. (or any child that you know)
2. Follow ConnieFoggles on Twitter and leave your Twitter name as a comment.
3. Follow RobynsWorld on Twitter and leave your Twitter name as a comment.
4. Use the Share Button and share this post (for example on Reddit, etc.) Leave a comment for each place you shared. One point for each share.
5. Leave a comment on another post (not a giveaway) and let me know what post please.
6. This giveaway is part of the Back To School Connection Event! Visit the main page and grab our Back To School button and share it on your blog for an extra entry into this and every giveaway during the event!
7. Tweet this exactly. You may tweet this daily: (leave a link to your tweet or your Twitter ID)

#Win a pack of @CommandBrand hooks for Back To School @ConnieFoggles http://clicky.me/1Xgs

Disclosure: I was provided with a pack of Command Product hooks for this review. Command Products is providing the giveaway prize to my winner also. All opinions are 100% my own.

You can find all of our Back To School Connection Giveaways here.

Clergy of different faiths in Gainesville came together to speak out against the Dove World Outreach Center's plan to burn the Koran on September 11th. Below is video of the press conference of clergy leaders standing together against the Koran burning.







The Rev. John Rankin correctly warned that internet imagines of Koran burning will only endanger U.S. troops and fuel anti-American sentiment. Rankin wants President Obama to condemn the Dove World Outreach Center's plans to burn the Koran. After the poll that found 1 in 5 Americans believing Obama is a Muslim, it is unlikely the President will want to step into this issue this close to the general election.

The Dove World Outreach Center has twice been denied a permit to hold an open book burning bonfire.

Under Section 10-63, "Open burning and outdoor burning are prohibited in the City of Gainesville unless otherwise specifically permitted as provided by this article."

Mayor Craig Lowe isn't about to approve a Koran burning.

Pastor Terry Jones told Hardball host he would still go ahead with the Koran burning even if President George W. Bush asked him not to. Jones told Matthews that he is doing the Koran burning on the bizarre claim to stop Sharia law from being enforced in the United States. Jones obviously has no concept that doing away with the Constitution is an extremely difficult legislative and legal hurdle. I can't think of a single Senator who would vote for Sharia law.

I have to admit, I’ve had the interview sitting on the shelf for a minute or two. I was looking for a more mainstream place to post this, but after negotiations with other forums feel through, I figured I would post it here. Enjoy.

Jordi Scrubbings: How did Ethan Essex get his start in pro wrestling?

Ethan Essex: Growing up in Delaware, I had a lot of exposure to it. You had all kinds of fresh little indy shows that me and my friends would go to all over. You have ECWA in Wilmington run by legendary promoter Jim Kettner, and you had Delaware Championship Wrestling out of the Southern Delaware area. Maryland Championship Wrestling has been running all over Maryland for quite a while and it was only a 20 minute drive to Philly. Every three weeks, ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) would return to the Arena for television tapings. I would be there every taping chanting “EC’dub” so loud that my voice would be gone at school the following week. When ECW closed, that spot was filled by CZW, ROH, 3PW, and WXW and so on later on in my teen years. And of course watching WWE and WCW.

All I ever wanted to be was a Professional Wrestler. How could you not with all these great companies around me? So I began training with Jeff Rocker at DCW (Delaware Championship Wrestling, now Dynamite Championship Wrestling out of Dover, DE) and had been doing ring announcing duties. I had some issues come up in my life and had to move to Florida. Jeff Rocker recommended I continue my training with Bam Bam Mancuso and Florida Extreme Wrestling. It is there that I met and worked out with fellow Hatchet City All-Star and brother Bryan Maddox and another one of my good friends inside and outside of the wrestling world, Nooie Lee.

JS: Where are you currently wrestling?

EE: Currently, Maddox and I are wrestling for WWE Hall of Famer Afa the Wild Samoan’s WXW (World Xtreme Wrestling) and are the 4-time WXW World Tag-Team Champions! How fresh is that?

JS: Who are your wrestling influences?

EE: Owen Hart, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, Shane Douglas, Raven … I really could keep on going with guys that influence me. There is so much talent that never really got credit or pushed as main guys, but ran with it when given the right booking. They were always more over with me than the top guys.

JS: You and your partner in the Hatchet City All-Stars, Bryan Maddox, come out to Psychopathic Records Artists Twiztid and wear Insane Clown Posse garb in the ring. What does ICP and representing the Juggaloes mean to you?

EE: I love the Juggalo Fam. Straight up. It’s the one place I know I can turn when life is down and out and somebody is like, “Man, go get ya shine on in this piece”. I’ve been listening to ICP for almost as long as I’ve been watching wrestling. I’ve been a Juggalo even longer. I can’t say we represent juggalos, if anything they represent us.

JS: How accepting has the ICP community been to the Hatchet City All-Stars?

EE: We always get love from the Family when they come out to shows. Except at Gathering of the Juggalos last year. Bryan and I were tagged up with Trent Acid for Juggalo Championship Wrestling.

On a side note, Trent was a really cool guy and learned a lot from him. I’m glad he and I got to cross paths. RIP Trent. The party might be gone but it’s certainly not dead.

Back to the Gathering, we were tagged up as Trent’s Alter Boys against ICP, (former WWE legend) Scott Hall, Sid Vicious (aka Psycho Sid, Sid Justice, etc), and Corporal Robinson. Now all weekend guys like Sabu and Mad-Man Pondo and Ian Rotten were coming up and telling Bryan and I to watch out for trash flying at us from the crowd. Here are some legit tough guys and they are telling me to be careful of the fans?

Anyway, the Juggalos got rowdy and since were aligned with the top heel in the company we needed to have eyes in the backs of our heads. Well, let me tell you the Juggalos didn’t disappoint. All kinds of stuff were thrown at the ring that night. From chairs – the poor ref took a chair from a fan in the back of the head and it cut him – to hundreds of two liter bottles of Faygo Pop. I got nailed with an empty Faygo bottle and Maddox and I narrowly escaped a diaper. It was like a landfill come to life!

After that match I had a lot of Juggalos and Juggalettes come up and say what’s up and give us respect. To me, that made getting the entire festival’s trash dumped on us by 20,000 Juggalos and Juggalettes all worth it.

JS: What was your best match ever?

EE: I have had some good ones and I’ve had some bad ones. But my best singles match would have to be against a kid named Freestyle. A lot of other workers had come to that show. I felt like I had something to prove to them and we tore the house down. That match was a very important match to me – there was a lot of back story, but that’s a whole other thing in itself.

JS: What all-time wrestler would you like to have a match with? Why? What about a tag team would you like to take on?

EE: Hulk Hogan, hands down. If you’re wrestling Hogan then you’re in a good spot.

As far as tag-teams go, I think Maddox and I would agree on Owen Hart and Davey Boy Smith.

JS: What is your greatest accomplishment in wrestling?

EE: We recently captured the WXW World Tag-Team Championship for the fourth time. That’s a record for that company and we feel honored and privileged to hold that record. Also performing in front of 20,000 Juggalos with ICP will always go down as a top moment.

JS: What does the future hold for Ethan Essex?

EE: If the past four years have taught me anything, it’s that nothing is promised. It’s what you make it. So we’ll see. Good things I hope.

JS: Would you like to say anything to the fans?

EE: Thank you for the support you guys have shown us. It blows my mind. We need you as much you need us. Whoop Whoop.

JS: Where can we see more Ethan Essex? Do you have a website?

EE: The Hatchet City All-Stars page is under construction, so in the meantime fans can find me on Myspace at myspace.com/jayicon01

I wasn't aware Nancy Imperiale found our Twitter exchange so exciting. For the record: I didn't call Emily "my little soccer mom." I tweeted to Emily that Meek lacked charisma. The only way Meek would have a chance to win is if he went all Barry White on female voters.

@nimperiale I want @kendrickmeek to go all Barry White and go, "Oh baby, you know you want to vote for me. Yes you do my little Soccer Mom."

I also got shot with Emily's "internet uzi" and didn't realize it. Emily wrote this.

Now I have to get up or I fear nobody in real life would call me “my little” anything.

Seriously, I wasn't even aware I was having a Twitter fight. Emily told me Meek "rocked. I tweeted this back (with errors edited out.)

"Meek Rocks"? I'm sorry. I haven't seen his air guitar abilities to judge if he rocks.

I can't believe anyone took these tweets of mine seriously. Emily writes that she went "Real Housewives" on me with tweets such as this.

@pushingrope I can't afford to be depressed about politics. I need a leader to fight for me in Congress and am happily voting Kendrick Meek.

Emily, your candidate is running third in the polls. You should be depressed.

Emily, please don't take Twitter so seriously. I have people who have posted weird threats on public people. I have had to delete those comments. I get called stupid by conservative commenters all the time. I have learned not to take it seriously. Finally, you are safe from any perceived threats of being "my little Soccer Mom." It was a joke about Meek trying to get female voters. That is all. So relax and don't take Twitter so seriously.

Delaware Tea Party darling Christine O'Donnell is anti-masturbation.

The Huffington Post reports that O'Donnell was on a Sex In The 90s special on MTV. (Remember those?) "The Bible says that lust in your heart is committing adultery. So you can't masturbate without lust," she said, adding. "The reason that you don't tell [people] that masturbation is the answer to AIDS and all these other problems that come with sex outside of marriage is because again it is not addressing the issue. You're just gonna create somebody who is, I was gonna say, toying with his sexuality. Pardon the pun."

There goes the videogamer vote.

In rated news: Redstate.com founder Erick Erickson is pulling support fro O'Donnell because of anti-gay against Republican opponent Mike Castle.

Subsequently, a number of the affiliated individuals went and worked directly for Christine O’Donnell’s campaign. A few weeks ago they left. Around that time I began hearing rumors the O’Donnell campaign was imploding.

The gang that left resurfaced at Liberty.com. The launch day spectacular at Liberty.com was to announce that Mike Castle is having a gay affair on his wife with no proof whatsoever.

When it was pointed out that all the people behind the accusation were O’Donnell campaign staffers, the response was “not any more.”

After a year of direct and indirect advocacy for Christine O’Donnell, it is pretty doggone hard to now stand apart and say “Nope, not campaign related.”

Baloney

I disagree with Erickson's statement that there is "no evidence" that Tea Party is filled with bigoted and dangerous people. You check check posts here, here, here, here, here, here and here. I am glad Erickson went after Team O'Donnell for the homophobic attacks on Castle.

Talk about trying to stay out of the news cycle!

Fox just issued a press release at 8 p.m. on the Friday night before Labor Day weekend to admit that the rumors are true and Kara DioGuardi is leaving American Idol.

The release quotes dioGuardi as saying "I feel now is the best time to leave Idol," perhaps to counter the widespread assumption that she'd been fired from the show when rumors about the new judging panel first surfaced in mid-July. Of course, the release never really says who's idea it was that now was the right time for her to leave; I'm suspecting it wasn't DioGuardi's.

Longtime followers of the show know that returning producer Nigel Lythgoe was never a fan of the show's four-judge format and had been critical of both DioGuardi and departed judge Ellen DeGeneres before he was brought back to the show earlier this month.

Critics and fans could be divided over DioGuardi, an ace singer and hit songwriter who never seemed to find a groove as a judge -- clashing with uber judge Simon Cowell in ways that weren't that entertaining. Too lucid to be the new Paula Abdul but not incisvie enough to out Cowell the bratty Brit, she was stuck for an identity at a time when change was in the air.

Toss in rumors that contracts for Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler and pop star Jennifer Lopez are signed or nearly so for next season, and it seems the burst of reporting that emerged in mid-July may be proven right -- with Idol's new judging trio consisting of returning judge (and Emmy performer) Randy Jackson, Tyler and J. Lo.

Given that the show's auditions before the celebrity judges are expected to start this month, it seems all the pieces are gliding into place just in time.

Which only leaves two questions: how wil Idol's notoriously dysfunctional  producers manage to throw a wrench in this setup still?

And who is going to be the new Simon Cowell?

Watch DioGuardi's surprise appearance during last year's Idol finale and read Fox's press release below:

<!--break-->

Kara DioGuardi is stepping down from her role as a judge on AMERICAN IDOL. DioGuardi joined AMERICAN IDOL as a judge in the series’ eighth season.

“I felt like I won the lottery when I joined AMERICAN IDOL two years ago, but I feel like now is the best time to leave IDOL,” said DioGuardi. “I am very proud to have been associated with AMERICAN IDOL – it has truly been an amazing experience. I am grateful to FOX, FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment, as well as the cast, crew and contestants, for all they have given to me. I look forward to my next challenge, and want to thank everyone who has supported me. All the best to everyone on Season 10!”

“Kara was a great addition to our IDOL family,” said Mike Darnell, President of Alternative Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. “I’ve been fortunate to get to know her well, and have always been amazed by her eye for talent and her commitment to developing and mentoring artists. She will be missed, and we wish her continued success.”

“Kara is one of the world’s best songwriters,” stated IDOL creator and executive producer Simon Fuller. “She has been passionate and committed to IDOL over the last two seasons. I will miss having her on the show, but I look forward to working with her in music for many years to come.”

“As one of the most proclaimed songwriters in the U.S., Kara brought a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to AMERICAN IDOL,” said Cecile Frot-Coutaz, IDOL executive producer. “We are very grateful for the time she spent on the show, and we wish her nothing but the best in all her future endeavors.”

“Anyone who knows Kara knows that she brings an unbelievable amount of passion, creativity and humility to everything she does,” added IDOL executive producer Ken Warwick. “It has been a joy working with her on IDOL for the past two seasons, and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next.”

Visit americanidol.com for exclusive videos, interviews and photos of the finalists, as well as special behind-the-scenes information and all of your AMERICAN IDOL news.

AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive produced by Simon Fuller, Founder, 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America, Inc.; and Nigel Lythgoe, President, Big Red 2 Entertainment.

 

Senate candidate Marco Rubio's father is ill. Rubio informed NBC and Kendrick Meek that he will have to postpone his Meet the Press debate appearance.

Rubio's campaign spokesman Alex Burgos said in a statement Friday that Mario Rubio "has significantly deteriorated in the last 48 hours." The 83-year-old suffers from emphysema and lung cancer.

Burgos said the campaign has informed NBC and Meek "and appreciate their understanding and kind words for the Rubio family during this difficult period."

Best wishes to Rubio's father.

It is time to give out the Joel Award. The award goes to any celebrity, pundit, blogger or politician that purposely contradicts himself or herself.

Florida House Rep. Jennifer Carroll has been selected as Rick Scott's running mate. Carroll had this to say about Scott's reasons for running for governor.

"He is totally committed to turning around the economic conditions of this state."

Strangely, that doesn't seem to match what Carroll had to say about Scott during the Republican primary.

“We do not need that seat to be a seat where you’re learning, to be a seat where it’s for personal gain, to be a seat where the residents and the citizens of the state of Florida will be negatively impacted because of the lack of vision.”

Congratulations to Carroll for winning the Joel award.

   A burglar in Largo bypassed the cash register and the beer at the Pizza Shack to swipe more than $1,000 in food in less than four minutes.

   He snatched 60 pounds of hamburger, 40 pounds of sausage, 30 pounds of Genoa salami, two hams, 40 pounds of provolone cheese, blocks of American and Swiss cheese, 10 pounds of grated Parmesan cheese, four pounds of butter, three quarts of half-and-half, a gallon of milk and a case of eggs.

   “A case of eggs is 15 dozen. What do you do with 15 dozen eggs?” owner Darrell Youness wondered.

"I think it would be hilariously awesome if Peter Orszag devoted his NYT column to teen pop culture."

Duncan Black (aka Atrios)

Sadly, an Orszag column on teen pop culture would probably garner more readership than missives about economic policy.

Florida Senate Minority Leader Al Lawson has endorsed Charlie Crist. How this hurts Kendrick Meek is Lawson is one of the highest level African Americans in Florida government. The Team Crist press release on the endorsement.

"Florida desperately needs an independent Senator in Washington who will fight for good jobs and economic opportunity, a quality education for every child, and Social Security for all of our seniors regardless of what the political party bosses want," said Senator Lawson. "Charlie Crist will be exactly that Senator, and I am proud to endorse his candidacy."

“I am honored by the support of Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson,” said Governor Crist. “Senator Lawson has been a champion for working families for his entire career, whether it be fighting for jobs, the environment, or good schools. I look forward to working with him when I’m elected to the United States Senate."

Further undercutting Meek is Crist's ad buys in Democratic-leaning television markets.

The Charlie Crist campaign has bought $517,000 to run from 9/7-9/19, we're told. All but $7000 in Tampa Bay cable time was for broadcast in the Miami (434 points), Orlando (430 points), Tampa (292 points), and West Palm beach (278 points) markets.

Hat tips to Peter and Joy-Ann.

In the previous two posts in this series (here and here) I looked at the first 12 interceptions Freeman threw last year, so naturally I'll look at the final six in this post. Initially Freeman's interceptions were only in part his fault, more frequently they could be blamed on the receiver. However, the second set of interceptions were almost entirely his fault though, and especially the 5 interceptions against the Panthers looked really bad. So, does the pattern continue and do we see him actually get worse over his final games, or does he return to his earlier form? Let's see.

#13: Week 14: New York Jets

Situation: Down 26-3, 1st and 10 at the Bucs 45-yard line. 4:15 left in the 4th quarter.

Personnel: 3WR, 1TE, 1RB

Play: Freeman takes the shotgun snap, receivers go down field, RB stays in to block. Freeman throws deep to Stovall, but the ball is overthrown and Kerry Rhodes has an easy pick. 

Analysis: The game basically over, Freeman has to push the ball down the field quickly. Stovall was ahead of his man and could've been in position to catch a ball. However, Freeman likely missed Kerry Rhodes being in position to make a play on the ball from the middle of the field. It's tough to say if this was a bad decision: the window was really tight, but Freeman has to make something happen at this point and he's giving Stovall a chance to go up and make a play on the ball. Unfortunately, Freeman doesn't help Stovall by overthrowing the ball, and all Kerry Rhodes has to do is be where he is supposed to be to get the pick. Stovall should've done a better job tracking and adjusting to the ball to interfere with Kerry Rhodes' interception. 

 

#14: Week 15: @Seattle Seahawks

 

Situation: Tied 0-0, 3rd and 6 from the Seahawks 40-yard line. 11:37 left in the first quarter.

Personnel: 3WR, 1TE, 1RB

Play: Freeman takes the shotgun snap, RB stays in to block. RB picks up a blitzer for half a second, but the blitzer gets by him and Freeman lets go of the ball with a defender hanging on him. He throws it over the middle to Sammie Stroughter, but the ball is overthrown and Deon Grant gets the easy pick. 

Analysis: Stroughter was running in traffic, but there was a window there. The problem here was that Freeman overthrew the ball, probably caused in part by having a defender draped all over him. So: decent decision, I don't mind him throwing it to Sammie there instead of taking the sack, but the throw was really bad. 

 

 

 

#15: Week 16: @New Orleans Saints

Situation: Down 7-0, 1st and 10 at the Saints 44-yard line. 4:50 left in the first quarter.

Personnel: 3WR, 2TE

Play: Freeman takes the shotgun snap, receivers and tight ends go out on routes. The pocket stays clean as the Saints only rush 3, Freeman lets the ball go over the middle to Antonio Bryant, but Antonio Bryant stops his route and Darren Sharper has an easy interception

Analysis: As the play ends you can see Freeman screaming at Antonio Bryant, and for good reason. The only reason this ball is picked off is that Antonio Bryant doesn't finish his route. Bryant ran a 10-yard dig/crossing route but stops his route just as the ball leaves Freeman's hands, who was expecting Bryant to continue on his route. Now, this could be Freeman's fault if he was wrong on what route was supposed to be run, but given the way Freeman and Bryant react after the play that seems very unlikely. 

 

 

 

#16: Week 16: @New Orleans Saints

Situation: Down 3-17, 2nd and 3 from the Saints 12-yard line. 7:50 left in the third quarter. 

Personnel: 2WR, 1TE, 2RB

Play: Freeman under center, takes the snap, as the receivers, the tight end and one RB go out on patterns. Pressure on Freeman as he throws the ball on a fade route to Bryant in the end zone, but Bryant fails to make a play on the ball as Tracy Porter picks him off. 

Analysis: Freeman lofts it up to Bryant, but Bryant can't make a play on the ball and isn't aggressive to get to the ball. Throwing the ball to your #1 receiver in a 1-on-1 matchup on a fade route is a routine play, and Bryant should at least be there to break up the interception - in my opinion he does a poor job of fighting for the ball and tracking it in the air. However, the ball was underthrown somewhat and the commentators note that had it been thrown deeper into the corner of the end zone Bryant could've gotten behind Porter to make the catch. I don't agree with that, though, as the only reason Porter stopped running was that he saw the ball coming. I'm blaming this on Bryant's failure to adjust and fight for the ball in the air - this is the kind of catch you saw Benn make twice against the Texans last night. 

 

 

 

#17: Week 16: Atlanta Falcons

Situation: Tied 10-10, 1st&10 at the Bucs 45-yard line. 10:09 left in the 4th quarter.

Personnel: 2WR, 1TE, 2RB

Play: Freeman takes the snap under center as the receivers go out on routes, play fake to Cadillac who drops off as an underneath receiver. TE Kellen Winslow stays in to block early but leaks out a bit later as an underneath option. Freeman rolls to his right, and throws the ball just before he gets hit to Stovall, who is covered by about 5 Falcons as the ball gets picked off by Chris Owens.

Analysis: This is just a terrible decision by Freeman. Stovall has no chance at all here and there are a lot of white shirts around the ball. This ball should never have been thrown, instead Freeman probably should've chucked it out of bounds or gotten it to Kellen Winslow who could've gotten a couple yards. 

 

 

 

#18: Week 17: Atlanta Falcons

Situation: Down 17-10, 1st and 10 from the Atlanta 35-yard line. 4:24 left in the 4th quarter.

Personnel: 2WR, 1TE, 2RB

Play: Freeman takes the snap under center as the receivers go out on routes, play fake to Cadillac who stays in to block, as does the TE. He sees Antonio Bryant 1-on-1 deep down the left sideline and throws it to his inside shoulder. However, Brent Grimes is tracking Bryant step for step, has inside leverage and wins the battle for the ball. 

Analysis: Antonio Bryant has little chance to get to the ball, as the ball was thrown to the wrong spot. Had it been thrown outside he could've made a good play on it, now he has no real shot to get to the ball. Good decision by Freeman to test the 1-on-1 matchup, but the ball is poorly placed. 

 

 

So, this set of interceptions tells a different story: a few caused by Freeman, a few caused by receivers. Next week I'll recap and take a look at the whole group interceptions, and see if there are any tendencies that stand out.

Back when my boys were six years old. Parents prepare for certain questions when their children begin elementary school. My husband and I were no different, role-playing routines for the inevitable “Where do babies come from?” and “Who is this Santa character?” However, nothing prepared me for last week’s inquiry. “Mommy, do you know what [...]

Conservatives and tea partiers say they don't want to talk to the media because it is too liberal. It actually is because conservative candidates have to explain their previous statements and policy stances. The latest case in point is Gov. Jan Brewer.

Brewer said there was a series of beheadings committed be illegal immigrants coming over the border. The problem with Brewer's statement was that no Arizona law enforcement officer or medical examiner could confirm Brewer's claim. Brewer's general election opponent Terry Goddard asked Brewer to recant to claim. Brewer dodged the question. Brewer also claimed that the state budget was balanced when Arizona is facing a revenue shortfall.

After the debate, Brewer repeatedly avoided answering questions about her claims that headless bodies were found. Brewer abruptly walked out of her own press conference. Brewer has announced she will not paticipate in another debate.

"Why would I want to give Terry a chance to redefine himself?" she said.

How about Brewer giving Arizona voters the chance to judge which candidate will be the better governor.

Politicians such as Brewer and Sarah Palin are circumventing the media so they can make questionable claims that can go unchallenged. The Fourth estate exists to give Americans information about government. The media was more worried about appearing patriotic and gaining White House access than asking hard questions about pre-Iraq war intelligence. 4,287 U.S. military personal have died in Iraq. It is unlikely these men and women would have died if the American public knew there were no weapons of mass destruction and the war was not going to be several years.

Brewer wants to be governor. The Arizona taxpayers are providing her salery. It isn't asking much to expect her to actually answer questions. People whom usually avoid explaining previous statements know they have been busted in a lie. Arizona citizens deserve a governor that is willing to have an open dialogue with constituents. Not a governor with Nixonian behavior traits.