Well, the good news is that it’s getting closer to opening day (less than 36 hours out) and it looks like the rain is out of the forecast. We hope.

(Forecast will be taken from two places: weather.com and jsonline.com)

Forecast for Monday, April 2nd, 2007

Weather.com: Sunny, high of 57°

JSOnline.com: Partly cloudy, high of 58°

Well, today’s local forecast from jsonline is the most hopeful yet. No rain, and rising temperatures…

(Forecast will be taken from two places: weather.com and jsonline.com)

Forecast for Monday, April 2nd, 2007

Weather.com: Few showers, high of 58°

JSOnline.com: Partly cloudy, high of 59°

It’s getting a little closer, and things still aren’t looking 100%. As the week goes on, it looks more and more like we might get some rain. Not cool.

(Forecast will be taken from two places: weather.com and jsonline.com)

Forecast for Monday, April 2nd, 2007

Weather.com: Partly cloudy, high of 58°

JSOnline.com: Chance of rain, high of 52°

Yuck. It’s cold. It’s windy. It’s wet. Mother Nature better get this crap out of her system now. Otherwise she’ll have ME to answer to (which I’m sure scares the beejesus out of her).

(Forecast will be taken from two places: weather.com and jsonline.com)

Forecast for Monday, April 2nd, 2007

Weather.com: Partly cloudy, high of 53°

JSOnline.com: Party cloudy, high of 50°

Well, our beautiful weather from yesterday sure took a dive today. It got cold! BUT, the weather report for next Monday also changed a tish…

(Forecast will be taken from two places: weather.com and jsonline.com)

Forecast for Monday, April 2nd, 2007

Weather.com: Partly cloudy, high of 53°

JSOnline.com: Chance of rain, high of 48°

I think the weather for opening day came a week too early. Maybe the new daylight savings method screwed things up. Either way, it’s going to be 80 today. 80! I figured for the next week, I can do a daily update on what the forecast is for next Monday. I’m not sensing good things…

(Forecast will be taken from two places: weather.com and jsonline.com)

Forecast for Monday, April 2nd, 2007

Weather.com: Mostly cloudy, high of 48°

JSOnline.com: Partly cloudy, high of 53°

Stay tuned… at least there’s no rain in the forecast. Yet.

Ok, I originally posted this picture, but it’s too gross to leave up. So, click here to see the picture that is referenced in the caption below.

Zhou Guizhen, who is 86-years-old, shows one of her bound feet where the bones in the four small toes were broken and forced underneath the foot over a period of time, at her home in Liuyi village in China’s southern Yunnan Province, February 2007. Villages in China where women with bound feet survive are increasingly rare but the millennium-old practice nevertheless took almost four decades to eradicate after it was initially banned in 1911.(AFP/File/Mark Ralston)

I suppose this is helpful to know as well. This link tells a little bit more about WHY they do this.

I don’t understand Larry Harris (GM of the Bucks). In case you don’t live in Milwaukee or don’t care about sports, Harris fired the Bucks’ coach of 1 1/2 years (Terry Stotts) on Tuesday. I liked Stotts. He was a stand-up guy with a good heart, and had a rough year with injuries that he couldn’t do anything about. People will say it wasn’t fair to fire him, but I think it is. He couldn’t motivate his players to play 4 quarters worth of basketball. They’d play for 2 or 3, but not 4, thus losing games.

The new guy they brought in, Larry Krystkowiak, was an assistant and a former player with the Bucks. Great–he’s got ties to Milwaukee and the Bucks. Time will tell if he’ll be a good head coach. But what bothers me is the contract they signed him to.

The 42-year-old Krystkowiak was signed to a four-year deal, according to sources, with two years guaranteed and the final two years considered a team option. The average salary in the deal is approximately $2 million, sources indicated.

$2 million per year for a guy who has no head coaching experience in the NBA. I did a google search on this, and the most recent salaries I could find for NBA coaches was interesting. These are figures from the 2004-2005 season, so of course, I’m sure the contracts are higher now… but still… look at how many were on a 1-year contract for $1 million.

Coach, team Average yearly salary Total contract Signed through
Rick Adelman, Sacramento Kings $6.9 million 3-yr; $20.6 million 2005-06
Jerry Sloan, Utah Jazz 5.5 million 2-yr; 11 million 2005-06
Larry Brown, Detroit Pistons 5 million 5-yr; 25 million 2007-08
Doc Rivers, Boston Celtics 5 million 4-yr; 20 million 2007-08
Jeff Van Gundy, Houston Rockets 5 million 4-yr; 20 million 2006-07
Rick Carlisle, Indiana Pacers 4 million 4-yr; 16 million 2006-07
Mike Fratello, Memphis Grizzlies 4 million 4-yr; 16 million 2007-08
Jim O’Brien, Philadelphia 76ers 4 million 3-yr; 12 million 2006-07
Gregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs 4 million 5-yr; 20 million 2007-08
Byron Scott, New Orleans Hornets 3.3 million 3-yr; 10 million 2006-07
Bernie Bickerstaff, Charlotte Bobcats 3 million 4-yr; 12 million 2006-07
Mike Dunleavy, Los Angeles Clippers 3 million 4-yr; 12 million 2006-07
Eddie Jordan, Washington Wizards 3 million 4-yr; 12 million 2006-07
George Karl, Denver Nuggets 3 million 3-yr; 9 million 2006-07
Mike Montgomery, Golden State Warriors 3 million 4-yr; 12 million 2007-08
Stan Van Gundy, Miami Heat 3 million 4-yr; 12 million 2006-07
Nate McMillan, Seattle SuperSonics 2.7 million 4-yr; 10.8 million 2004-05
Lawrence Frank, New Jersey Nets 2.5 million 4-yr; 10 million 2007-08
Scott Skiles, Chicago Bulls 2 million 3-yr; 6 million 2005-06
Mike Woodson, Atlanta Hawks 2 million 4-yr; 8 million 2007-08
Mike D’Antoni, Phoenix Suns 1.8 million 3-yr; 5.4 million 2006-07
Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors 1.6 million 3-yr; 4.9 million 2006-07
Terry Porter, Milwaukee Bucks 1.5 million 4-yr; 6 million 2006-07
Frank Hamblen, Los Angeles Lakers 1 million 1-yr; 1 million 2004-05
Chris Jent, Orlando Magic 1 million 1-yr; 1 million 2004-05
Avery Johnson, Dallas Mavericks 1 million 1-yr; 1 million 2004-05
Kevin Pritchard, Portland Trail Blazers 1 million 1-yr; 1 million 2004-05
Brendan Malone, Cleveland Cavaliers 1 million 1-yr; 1 million 2004-05
Kevin McHale, Minnesota Timberwolves 1 million 1-yr; 1 million 2004-05
Herb Williams, New York Knicks 1 million 1-yr; 1 million 2004-05

What would have been wrong with a 1 year, $1 million contract to “test the waters” to see if he’s a fit. Why sign him to a long-term deal?

Really? A dart gun? Who has a dart gun in their car??

Cats Invade Neb. House, 3 Injured

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) - Two stray cats got into a house and attacked three people inside, then were euthanized and checked for rabies, authorities said.

The cats entered Melissa Breva’s house through an open front door on Monday, and attacked two women visitors and a boy, authorities said.

“I thought I had seen it all, but I have never seen anything like this,” Chief of Police Martin Gutschenritter said.

Animal control officer John Pettit responded to a call for help, Gutschenritter said.

One woman was scratched and bitten on her legs; the other woman was bitten on her right calf, authorities said.

After talking to them, Pettit went to his truck for snares, then heard screaming from inside the house.

“When he ran back, he saw a young male with blood over his face,” Gutschenritter said. “He was bitten on his forehead, nose, left ear and right cheek.”
After some first aid from Pettit, the three were taken to Great Plains Regional Medical Center.

When investigator John Stadler arrived and opened the bedroom door, “he saw a gray and white cat baring its teeth in attack mode,” Gutschenritter said. “He shut the bedroom door and returned to his car for a dart gun.”

Both cats were shot, tranquilized and taken to the animal shelter, where they were euthanized.

The bodies were sent to Lincoln for rabies checks, Gutschenritter said.

Authorities want to find out who owned the cats. Under a city ordinance, cats may run free if they don’t become nuisances.

UPDATE: looks like these are just that–rumors. G.M. Ted Thompson mentioned over the weekend that they’ve had no contact with the Raiders about acquiring Moss. Ah well…

Sounds like the deal that everyone has been talking about for the last month or so might finally come to be fact. Here’s the latest rumor…

Source: Packers close to deal for Moss
By Michael Felger
Boston Herald Patriots Beat Columnist

Thursday, March 15, 2007 - Updated: 10:37 AM EST

For those holding out hope that the Patriots [team stats]’ plans to revamp the wide receiver position included trading for Randy Moss, we have some bad news for you.

A source in Wisconsin said today that the Packers and Raiders are on the verge of announcing a trade that would send the troubled receiver to Green Bay in exchange for backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

There are expected to be other particulars in the deal. According to the source, Green Bay would also give up a seventh-round pick in 2008, while the Packers would receive Raiders tight end Courtney Anderson as part of the deal. The Packers would also receive a conditional pick from the Raiders in the 2009 draft which would be based on Rodgers’ production in Oakland the next two seasons.

The source indicated that Moss has agreed to restructure his contract, which calls for $20 million in base salary the next two years. Moss and Packers quarterback Brett Favre are said to have been talking on the phone throughout the process. Press conferences could be held as early as Friday.

I think I’m ok with this. Yes, Moss comes with his fair share of baggage and I’ll be the first person to warn our traffic cops to watch out. But, I can’t help but think this is going to give us a pretty darn good wide receiver corps. He’s showing some flexibility already, by agreeing to restructure his contract. Tha’ts a good sign, isn’t it?

Rodgers never looked that stellar, so I don’t see why we can’t take our chances on the next “heir apparent” that comes out of college football. They can have him.

Added benefit–we get a tight end, which is another position that we need some improvement on. Doesn’t look like the guy produced much in Oakland (25 catches, 2 TDs in 16 games last year), but hey–who DID produce for Oakland last year?

What do you think? Good move?