Weekly Notes: February 21, 2008

I didn’t do any notes last week, so here’s what’s going on:

• Let’s start with a quick comment or two on today’s big NYT story about John McCain’s relationship with a lobbyist: I don’t much care about the adultery angle, nor do I think this was a sinister plot by the Times to destroy the GOP.  The most devastating timing of the story would have been in October, and because of McCain’s financing arrangement, it looks like he was going to be fine without receiving the Times’ endorsement.  So, the theory that they endorsed him to weed out the other guys, then dropped him at the first chance, doesn’t seem to hold up.
• What concerns me about McCain is his inability to avoid ethical conundrums, when he has staked his recent political career on being the Republican campaign finance reform go-to guy, even against his party’s wishes.  To me, the story is substantive enough to be damaging from that perspective, but I already disagreed with him on enough issues that I probably wasn’t voting for him anyway.  Even though the NYT conspiracy theories are still a bit too far-fetched for me to believe, I fear that the spin on this story will be about the timing of the story’s release and subsequent accusations of the mainstream media’s supposed liberal bias, thus uniting Republicans who otherwise weren’t ready to back McCain and/or Huckabee.  I’m sure we’ll find out more about this in the coming days, if not later today.
• Harding is up to #6 in the latest regional rankings, with four games to play.  I think a 4-0 finish would probably be enough to move into the top 5, which is important because a top-5 ranking in the final poll pretty much guarantees an NCAA Tournament berth (since there are 8 spots and 3 automatic bids for conference champs).  Winning the GSC Tournament is the only sure-fire way to make it, but I thought I’d throw this out there.
• Right now, based on Log5 predictions of the remaining GSC games, Harding’s most likely finish is 3-1, which should be enough to maintain first place.  The two worst teams remain on their schedule, but Arkansas Tech and Christian Brothers are also left.
• I try not to link every post from FJM, but here we go: This Is What We’re Up Against.  My favorite line among many good ones: [Referring to A-Rod vs. Jeter] “You would never, ever want a guy scientifically proven to be dramatically better at fielding.”
• Melissa and I brought home two kittens this past weekend, and we’re having plenty of fun with them.  Glance at some pictures here.
• Right now I’m reviewing some options for fantasy baseball leagues, since I’ve become dissatisfied with CBS over the last year or two.  I suppose not winning will do that to you, but what bothers me most is the roster setup, which mandates a very short bench.  CBS leagues have a 22-man active roster with just two bench spots, which isn’t enough for someone like me, who wants to hoard as many guys as possible.  More seriously, though, it’s just not as much fun when starting 2-3 injured players is a viable strategy.  If anyone’s had a good experience with a paid league, I’m all ears.  I’d rather not step back down to a free league, since those inevitably have only half the league paying attention by July.

Any other thoughts?  Leave them in the comments.