Cin City

The sun is setting. The sky is cambridge, blending to a reddish- orange just over the horizon on the way home. The cooler in the trunk is full of ice and sea life. Four minnow- sized brim, caught by your neighbor and childhood friend, are mixed in with the six mullet your brother caught. He's worn out, asleep in the passenger seat. They were no competition for your eleven brown trouts and three carps, all oil free. Life is good. One last stop to refill the gas tank and pick up a twelve pack and chips will suffice. Arriving at the gas station, you proceed to get out of the car when suddenly a .38 revolver is pointed at your head. "You know what it is! Break yourself!"

Monday night will be forever etched in the mind of St. Louis Rams fourth- round draft pick, wide receiver, Marshawn "Mardy" Gilyard. Returning from a fishing trip with his brother and bodyguard, Gilyard was robbed at gunpoint at a gas station near the University of Cincinnati campus.

"I had that thing pointed at my head," the Cincy graduate told police. "I could have been paralyzed or brain dead or killed."

The two armed robbers got away with $300 in cash and jewelry said to be worth around $1,000. The 6'0" 187 pound native of Bunnell, Florida was truly batting a thousand Monday night, as he has his entire life, including a promising NFL career before him.

Options in Utah

In encore- esque form, if full court pressure is before you, be patient. Do not by any circumstance run into the trap. Don't tailgate. The object is to prevent being involved in catastrophe. Apparently, death row inmate Ronnie Lee Gardner of Utah felt this rule didn't apply to him. His execution date is set for June 18, 2010. Fortunately for Gardner, he had the opportunity to choose which method. He chose death by firing squad.

According to spokeswoman Nancy Volmer, Third District Judge Robin Reese asked Gardner if he wanted to be executed by the method he had chosen previously. The State of Utah offers the option, in some instances, of being executed by lethal injection or killed by a five-man firing squad. Gardner reciprocated, "I would like the firing squad, please".

Gardner apparently tried to escape custody from a courthouse where he was being held, when an attorney ended up being killed in all the turmoil in 1985. The resulted outcome was for Gardner to be sentenced to death. Gardner's lawyer advised that he planned to file an appeal, which could change the June execution date, Volmer said.

If one was to sift for a lesson here, it would possibly be if you plan on moving to Utah don't commit any crimes.

U serious?

In 2001, the Miami Hurricanes won the BCS National Championship, defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers 37-14 in the Rose Bowl. This team's roster is currently recorded as the best roster in college football history. You be the judge.

 QB        Ken Dorsey Jr

 RB        Najeh Davenport Sr

               Clinton Portis Jr

               Frank Gore Fr

              Willis McGahee Fr

  WR       Andre Johnson So

              Roscoe Parrish Fr

              Kellen Winslow Fr

              Kevin Beard So

    TE      Jeremy Shockey Jr

    G       Bryant McKinnie Sr

    DE     Vince Wilfork Fr

             Jerome McDougle Jr

    LB     Jonathan Vilma So

              Roger McIntosh Fr

              DJ Williams So

    DB     Antrel Rolle Fr

             Ed Reed Sr

             Mike Rumph Sr

             Sean Taylor Fr (RIP)

             Kelly Jennings Fr

             Phillip Buchanon Jr

Rather impressive, to say the least, would be one reaction for so many future NFL stars on one team's roster. The '01 'Canes obviously finished the season undefeated, averaging 42 points per game while yielding only 9 points per contest. Miami set a school record beating opponents at a rate of 32 points per game and largest margin of victory over consecutive ranked teams (124-7). Wow?

DMV' s Giving away Licenses

A local power company empolyee and her co-worker sit at a traffic intersection at the foot of the southbound I-165 connector when a motorist in a sedan speeds past, through the traffic light - going north.

Last Friday afternoon's commute sent this woman in a frenzy, spending the next hour trying to figure out what happened to the guy who flew past her onto the off ramp in the wrong direction. To her dismay, she discovered the driver caused a multi-vehicle accident involving two cars and two trucks. According to authorities in Prichard, Alabama, one person was trapped and one person was ejected. A total of four people were injured on the connector that joins Mobile to Prichard. All injured parties involved were taken to a local hospital and initially listed in serious condition. A portion of the I-165 connector was shut down for a few hours until the wreckage was cleared away.

Beat You to the Punch

Cleveland rocks, apparently, as a motorist tries to illude police by going to a prison.

Monday proved to be forever memorable for one Ohio motorist when he and three passengers were involved in a traffic violation that resulted in a chase which reached speeds of 90 mph in the Garfield Heights jurisdiction. According to police, after the pursuit had whisked through several communities, the driver and a passenger jumped out of the vehicle and ran toward a fence. The two men climbed the fence and landed into the state women's prison in Cleveland without realizing. All four men were arrested.

Experience vs. Youth

If full court pressure is before you, be patient. Think fast while moving slowly. Don't run into the trap. Don't tailgate. The object is to prevent being involved in catashtrophe.
This year's version of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is said to be the weakest pool of invites in recent memory, according to experts and analysts, which can only mean one thing: The 2010 tourney promises to be unpredictable, if not anything else.

#3 New Mexico 29-4 (14-2)
The Lobos finished the season ranked no. 8 in the nation behind the nearly insane play from 6'7" junior guard Darington Hobson, averaging 19 points and 9 rebounds per game. New Mexico will match up against fourteenth seeded Montana in the East bracket of the first round.

#3 Pittsburgh 24-8 (13-5)
The Panthers had a relatively strong season, finishing 16 in the national rankings with victories over conference rivals Syracuse, West Virginia, and Villianova. Questionable losses came at Texas and Indiana. Pitt will face off against Oakland in the West bracket.

#3 Baylor 25-7 (11-5)
The Bears finished ranked 21st in the country and will go head-to-head with Sam Houston State in the first round of the tournament. Baylor suffered losses to Alabama, Colorado, and Oklahoma State during the regular season.

#3 Georgetown 23-10 (10-8)
John Thompson, III and his Hoyas finished the season with a 74-47 blowout victory over Cincinnati, then advanced to the Big East Championship only to lose to West Virginia by two. With super sophomore Greg Monroe, Georgetown will continue to look ahead to face Ohio in the Midwest region of the bracket.

Most teams with juniors and seniors on their rosters show little, or no sign of excitement and take a business-like approach to each game, while underclassmen tend to perform oragami oftentimes than none against a 2-3 zone defense that doubles as the start of the set offense. Forwarding to the championship, the scoreboard should read,  Kentucky 81-76, over Syracuse. Maybe.

Smoke Break

Light one up. The only difference here is the $5.15 + tax we pay for the glamorous look. It's carbon monoxide, regardless. Let's take a look, shall we?
Without mentioning nicotine, cigarettes also contain:
Arsenic, used in rat poison.
Acetic acid, main ingredient in hair dye.
Ammonia, toilet bowl cleaner, among other uses.
Formaldehyde, used to embalm dead bodies.
Hydrazine, which is used in jet and rocket fuels.
Hydrogen cyanide, the poison in gas chambers.
Naphthalene, used in explosives and mothballs (that's right).
Phenol, used in disinfectants and plastics.
Polonium, which is a radiation dosage that is equivalent to 300 chest X-rays within a year.
Vinyl chloride, ingredient found in garbage bags (c'mon, son!).
Okay you can put it out now. Each day one goes without smoking, small hairlike, single-cell organisms called cilia inside the lungs start to sweep out germs as the body begins to repair some of the damage caused by smoking. Next, give the remaining cigarettes to the garbage bag from which they originally came. Day one.....