Saturday

So still Winter here. At least we have a little sunshine today.

In a weekend full of a variety of sports stories, the retirement of Greg Maddux should garner lots of headlines. He will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in five years. These pics reflect his tenure with the Cubs and the Braves, although he finished his career with the Dodgers and Padres. (I wonder which cap he'll wear for Cooperstown?) For much of the '90's he defined "The Art of Pitching", living on the corners, befuddling hitters (and umpires). He's a guy in that select group of people whom I might walk across the street to meet.

The Wall Street Journal ran a story today about the health care hardships different people have encountered in the shrinking economy. When companies go into bankruptcy or just shutter their doors, benefits will often just stop. For an employee in the middle of treatment (think pregnancy), its not like the condition goes away. The financial impact can be huge. More stories are sure to follow as the economy goes further into the tank. The Big O will not have a bailout solution for everyone.

Our health insurance at work is through a major carrier, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, but we get rated as a small group. Our 2009 rate quote came in last month at a 40% increase. I think the monthly premium for a family-covered employee this year was in the $800-900 range. Do the math. (I ended up saving a couple hundo per month in 2008 by going to single coverage in the group plan for myself and buying a stand-alone policy for 4.) I agree that there needs to be reform in health care, but I don't support nationalizing the process. If the TARP and Big Three hearings are examples of Washington's leadership, spare me.

Call me old-fashioned, but can't a rich, professionally successful, good looking guy run off with a young hottie rather than some quirky over-the-hill paparazzi target? I couldn't pick a Madonna song out of a multiple-choice test with a single foil, and her look to me has always been more scary than sexy. So he leaves his wife and young kids. By Hollywood standards, its a minor offense. And I suppose there are some Boomer guys who had Material Girl fantasies. But I thought that the standard trophy wife was a generation or two younger rather than one generation older. How long will it take for A-Rod to wake up?

And exactly what is Kabballah? Do they sell sports equipment too?

Tough day for the Corps of Cadets against the Midshipmen today. (Although Army did win the fashion show on uniforms.) I like to see all of the academies win. They truly do have the Best and the Brightest. It never bothered me much when the USAF ran off those wins against ND.

I'm off to Gold's to start the drill. Now I just need to figure out a short term goal to justify going through the drill.

Have a great weekend.

BCOT