By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Mon Dec 12, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
Here are the numbers for playoff odds before the games from this weekend. Unfortunately, the new numbers have not been calculated yet, but these should give you an idea of where you favorite team stands. [Football Outsiders]
Here is the Week 14 edition MMQB. Of course, the first topic of many is Timothy R. Tebow. [Sports Illustrated]
Todd Haley is officially out as the head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. Romeo Crennel takes over in the interim. [Yahoo! Sports]
The winner of the Heisman trophy was announced last night. The award went to Baylor QB Robert Griffin III. Now the question becomes where the newly crowned Heisman recipient fall on the 2012 draft boards? Can he beat out Stanford QB Andrew Luck? [CBS Sports]
If you haven’t done it yet, now is a fine time to vote for you favorite players for the 2012 Pro Bowl. [NFL.com]
A bit of a bummer is the news that rookie phenom DeMarco Murray has a broken ankle and will miss the rest of the season. Tough luck for a kid who was looking to make a late run at Rookie of the Year. [ESPN]
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Mon Dec 12, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Here’s a video starring Jesus, addressing Rick Perry’s campaign ads. [FunnyOrDie]
Controversy ensues after home improvement store Lowe’s pulled its commercials from the reality television show “All-American Muslim.” [Entertainment Weekly]
Mary, mother of Jesus–the first punk rocker? [Patheos]
Skinny jeans are scandalous in some Mormons communities. [Religion Dispatches]
By Patrick Derocher, on Mon Dec 12, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET In New York, Assembly Minority Leader is saying nothing about his recent meeting with Governor Andrew Cuomo, but it is an improvement over the partisan bickering that New York has suffered through in recent years. It’s hard to say if this is good or bad. New York’s Assembly Minority Leader, Brian Kolb, a Syracuse area Republican, and Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo are keeping their lips sealed about a recent meeting. On the one hand, secretiveness in government is never a good thing, but Kolb and Cuomo are specifically refraining from trashing each other over the rather contentious matter of whether Assembly Republicans will be joining their Democratic colleagues for an extra session later this month, so that has to be worth something. [Albany Times Union]
In a win for civility, if not for bipartisanship, Lenny Curry, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, has called for an end to personal attacks in that party’s Senate primary race this year and next. Attacks have been brutal, especially since US Representative Connie Mack entered the race and became an automatic frontrunner based on name recognition alone. To be fair, Curry uses some rather strong language against incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson, but his plea for civility in the primary is nevertheless a step in the right direction. [St. Petersburg Times]
Because they apparently ran out of things to fight over, the Wisconsins State Legislature is up in arms over which party is more fiscally responsible when it comes to new train facilities in Milwaukee. Although high-speed rail was shot down last year, improvements still need to be made, in particular for the Hiawatha line between Chicago and Milwaukee. The brouhaha, which was set off by a no-bid contract awarded under previous governor Jim Doyle, a Democrat, is particularly pointless insofar as train spending in Wisconsin is dwarfed 40-fold by its road and highway expenditures. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Leading the country in Potemkin bipartisanship this week is Ohio, whose House of Representatives last Wednesday passed a bill that would ban the use of public funds for political purposes, after the Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority did just that in 2007. The bill passed 90-2, but House Republicans shot down an amendment that would allow the recall of public officials. [Columbus Dispatch]
The California Supreme Court is expediting its decision on whether and how to implement new State Senate maps, with a ruling expected by the end of January. It is hoped that by speeding along this ruling, the Court will be able to end the long partisan nightmare that has only exacerbated California’s already deeply-divided political world. [Sacramento Bee]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Fri Dec 9, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
The 400 Richest Americans list has been released. [Forbes]
Former U.S. Senator/New Jersey Governor/MF Global CEO Jon Corzine is shocked that his investors’ money cannot be found. [Los Angeles Times]
What would a Bill Gates comeback at Microsoft look like? [Fortune]
European Central Bank dashes hope for bolder action. [New York Times]
By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Dec 9, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET It wasn’t as hot of a year as 2010, but 2011 may be known as the year of extreme weather. [cnn.com]
In California scientists are looking at a new solution to offset greenhouse gases; carbon farming. [npr.org]
New laws in Brazil make it easier to cut down the rainforest and will make it almost impossible for Brazil to reach their emissions targets. [bbc.co.uk]
God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs… Scientists are trying to clone a Wooly Mammoth. [bbc.co.uk]
An endangered crocodile finds sanctuary near a nuclear power plant. [yahoo.com]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Dec 9, 2011 at 9:22 AM ET If you missed the Thursday night game on NFL Network between the Steelers and Browns you missed a very gutsy performance by one, Ben Roethlisberger. After suffering a high-ankle sprain near the end of the second quarter he was carted off to the locker room to get x-rays. They came back negative for any breaks. He then proceeded to play the whole second half on his high-ankle sprain, which can sometimes take weeks to heal fully. The Steelers rallied behind their injured captain and walked away with a victory. [ESPN AFC North Blog]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
A case for ending America’s giant Cable corporations – check out the system France has in place. [Americablog]
Google Chrome has officially overtaken Mozilla Firefox as the #2 browser in the world. [Stat Counter]
The Swiss government has ruled on the side of “piracy.” A study concluded that people downloading copyrighted material for personal use are more likely to spend money within those same industries. [boingboing]
There is a proposed bill in the Senate that could effectively end overtime for IT employees. [Standalone Sysadmin]
Carrier IQ: Is it totally rational to worry that our phones are tracking everything we do? [Slate]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Mikhail Gorbachev calls for a re-do of the recent Russian election. [The Daily Telegraph]
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is sentenced to 14 years in prison. [The New York Times]
Police clear out the Occupy New Orleans camp. [Fox News]
120 Pearl Harbor survivors gather to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the attack. [Yahoo News]
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Consumers of fair-trade foods beware–if the product is certified by Fair Trade USA, you might be getting goods that are less fairly-traded than you think. [Motherjones]
Wondering what get your foodie friend or family member for Hanukkah/Christmas/Kwanzaa? You can’t go wrong with a cookbook–check out the best of 2011. [Epicurious]
If you’re planning to fly over the holidays and dreading long layovers because of the lack of decent dining options in airports, then dread no more. Here’s a list of 25 airport restaurants that will make your travel a more decadent experience. [Delish]
The RP’s Recipe of the Week: Kale Chips. If you’re looking for a healthy snack to get you through the winter, try this vitamin packed, easy to follow recipe.
By Patrick Derocher, on Thu Dec 8, 2011 at 9:15 AM ET Upon reading this article, you will want to eat these. In a crave-inducing study, a Stanford University study has found potato chips to be reflective of socioeconomic, and possibly even political, divides in the United States. Researchers in the University’s linguistics department analyzed the language on 12 brands of potato chips– six expensive brands, and six inexpensive brands. Their findings indicated that more expensive brands had more words, more advanced language, and more of an emphasis on healthiness than their lower-priced counterparts. Additionally, less expensive brands tended to emphasize tradition, with the most common words including “basic,” “fresh,” and “light,” while the more expensive brands try to portray themselves as exotic, using words like “savory,” “culinary,” and “flair.” [San Jose Mercury News]
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