By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Mar 19, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET Aw, c’mon. Norman Mailer? Cooler than me? Did her ever win anything at the poker table?
From Sports Illustrated Extra Mustard:
The field is set for this year’s NCAA Tournament, but rather than break down the brackets like everyone else, Extra Mustard is ranking the 68 schools in this year’s field by coolest alumnus (or alumna).
68. Florida Gulf Coast: Don Carman
After 10 years in the majors, the lefty hurler went back to school in Fort Myers, Fla., and earned a degree in sports psychology.
tumblr.com…
45. Oklahoma: Olivia Munn
The Newsroom star graduated from the Norman, Okla., school in 2004 with a degree in journalism.
7. Harvard: Norman Mailer
The novelist, journalist, essayist and Muhammad Ali confidant enrolled in Harvard at 16 years old, graduating in 1943 before joining the U.S. Army.
full-stop.net
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET  Click here to display printable NCAA Brackets Already a few dozen people across the country have signed up for “No Bracket, No Pay II” — The Recovering Politician’s second annual contest for college hoops forecasting mastery. It was enough for them to try to match hoops forecasting some recovering politicians.
But some of you wanted added incentives. So we are offering at least 2 exciting prizes to the winning entry:
1. A No Labels “Make the Presidency Work” book, signed by former Clinton and Obama Chief of Staff William Daley and former Bush II Chief of Staff Josh Bolten.
2. A copy of John Y. Brown, III’s new book, “Musings from the Middle,” autographed by the author!
You can be assured that NO OTHER NCAA BRACKETS CONTEST is offering those 2 prizes.
To read up on the the latest of the “No Budget, No Pay” proposal by No Labels, and how it applies to the presidency, please click here.
And most importantly, click here to sign up for No Bracket, No Pay II, and fill out your brackets today!
Good luck!
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Mar 18, 2013 at 12:30 PM ET Click here to display printable NCAA Brackets Time is running out to sign up for “No Bracket, No Pay II” — The Recovering Politician’s second annual contest for college hoops forecasting mastery.
Last year was a spectacular success — not only did 75 people compete, but my favorite team, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, won the national championship. Better yet, several months later, “No Budget, No Pay” — the hallmark policy proposal of our co-sponsor, No Labels — passed through Congress and became law. All because of our hoops competition! (OK, maybe the cause and effect was a little tenuous.)
Anyway, you are invited to join us in No Bracket, No Pay II. Simply click here to signup, and fill out your brackets today!
Good luck!
By Jonathan Miller, on Sun Mar 17, 2013 at 2:22 PM ET Click here to display printable NCAA Brackets We are back at it for year two of “No Bracket, No Pay” — The Recovering Politician’s contest for college hoops forecasting mastery.
Last year was a spectacular success — not only did 75 people compete, but my favorite team, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, won the national championship. Better yet, several months later, “No Budget, No Pay” — the hallmark policy proposal of our co-sponsor, No Labels — passed through Congress and became law. All because of our hoops competition! (OK, maybe the cause and effect was a little tenuous.)
Anyway, you are invited to join us in No Bracket, No Pay II. Simply click here to signup, and fill our your brackets before Tuesday.
Good luck!
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Feb 21, 2013 at 3:00 PM ET Forgive the not-so-humble brag, but I’ve lived a charmed, Forrest-Gumpian existence, having rubbed shoulders with Presidents, movie stars, and my full share of the rich and famous types so adored by our celebrity-worshipping culture. I’ve also endured many extraordinarily stressful situations, ranging from national TV interviews to intense world poker tournaments.
But when I ran into my childhood hero this afternoon, I immediately regressed into a bumbling, stumbling pre-teen.
Jack “Goose” Givens was the star player on my favorite sports team, the 1977-78 national champion University of Kentucky Wildcats. In his final 40 minutes in a blue and white uniform, Goose scored a near-record 41 points to clinch the NCAA championship, forever sealing him in this then-10-year-old’s mind as the greatest human to walk the earth.
Just this afternoon, I ran into Givens in front of a Lexington restaurant. “Goose?” I asked. He warmly smiled. I can’t remember anything else I said, although I seem to recall a few mutterings about his picture still being on my wall, forever sealing me in his mind as a deranged stalker.
In the wake of recent scandals involving sports icons Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez, Ray Lewis, and now Oscar Pistorius, there’ve been plenty of agonized news stories like this and this that highlight the danger of placing too much faith and confidence in our near-worship of talented athletes, who too often fall far short of the idealized vision we have of their character and integrity.
But in my sophomoric glee in my brief encounter today with my own childhood hero, I was reminded of how important a role sports plays in our own sense of innocence, even for a cynical, middle-age recovering politician. In an otherwise hectic, stressful day, I was transported to a special time in my life, one that I shared closely with my beloved late father, when superheroes did exist, and magic was possible. And I will endure all of the stories of steroids and sexual escapades, if but just for a few more brief moments of that special brand of nostalgia for myself, my daughters and their children.
By John Y. Brown III, on Thu Feb 21, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET  If next Pope is Italian, it will be the first time ever that someone of Italian descent has held all three of the most coveted and rarified job titles in the world.
1) Pope (Vatican)
2) University of KY basketball coach
3) University of Louisville basketball coach.
Both Calipari and Pitino deny interest in new post and say they are focusing on basketball for now and not interested in trying to “move up” again after NBA experiences.
By Jonathan Miller, on Wed Feb 13, 2013 at 1:55 PM ET From Jon Hale, KY Forward:
UK forward Nerlens Noel will miss the remainder of his freshman season after tearing the ACL in his left knee Tuesday against Florida, UK announced in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
Noel is expected to undergo surgery on the knee within the next two to three weeks. Normal recovery time for the injury is six to eight months.
Noel’s injury occurred with 8:03 remaining in UK’s blowout loss at Florida when he appeared to collide with the base of the goal after blocking a shot on a fast-break.
Noel leads UK in rebounds per game (9.5), blocked shots (106) and steals (50). His 106 blocks lead the country and are second most by a Wildcat in a single season, trailing only Anthony Davis‘ NCAA freshman record 186 blocks from the 2011-12 season.
Click here for the full piece.
By Jonathan Miller, on Thu Nov 8, 2012 at 9:12 AM ET New Electoral College Map 2012
Even more than the actual tallies of Tuesday’s elections, the world has been anxiously awaiting the results of the First Quadrennial Recovering Politician Electoral College Contest.
Well, it is your lucky hour….
Just under 100 official entrants and contributing RPs submitted their predictions of:
- The 2012 Electoral College tally. I.e., Obama 269, Romney 269
- The partisan composition of the Senate for the next session of Congress. I.e., 50 Democrats, 48 Republicans, 2 Independents.
- The partisan composition of the House for the next session of Congress. I.e. 230 Republicans, 205 Democrats.
As discussed here in the official rules:
Because recounts are very likely, particularly in Congressional races, to calculate the winners, I will use the vote tallies that are listed in the print edition of Thursday morning, November 8 New York Times. While these tallies will undoubtedly be incomplete for many races, and winners will not be declared in several campaigns, whoever is leading as of the Thursday morning tally will be the winner for the purposes of determine our champion.
November 8 has arrived. And according to the latest New York Times tallies, these would be the final results of the 2012 elections, should those who currently lead in the vote tallies prevail:
(Drum roll, please…)
Read the rest of…
First Quadrennial RP Electoral College Contest Results
By Jonathan Miller, on Tue Nov 6, 2012 at 5:00 PM ET
The 2008 Electoral College Map
Here are the official entrants into The Recovering Politician‘s first quadrennial Electoral College prediction. Winner received 2 tickets to the University of Kentucky men’s basketball home opener on November 16. Read the rules here. And good luck to all entrants!
- Obama: 333. Romney: 205. Senate: Dem: 53. Rep: 46. 1 Ind. House: Dem: 215. Rep: 220
- Obama: 256, Romney 282. REP 53, DEM 44, IND 3. REP 195, DEM 240.
By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Nov 5, 2012 at 8:30 AM ET  (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
If you haven’t entered the First Quadrennial Recovering Politician Electoral College Contest, you’ve got until tomorrow, Tuesday at 6:00 AM EST. Here are the details for your chance to win 2 FREE lower-arena tickets to the defending national champion University of Kentucky Wildcat basketball team’s official home opener at Lexington’s Rupp Arena, versus Lafayette University, on Friday, November 16 at 7:00 PM. Remember, the first step is to become a member of the RP’s new Facebook page, Facebook.com/RecoveringPol, and provide your predictions in the post marked “Designated RP Electoral College Contest Post.” The award will be presented to the individual who most accurately predicts the final Electoral College vote, with tiebreakers of predicting the Senate and Housr partisan compositions after the election.
The 2008 Electoral College Map
As a service to all of you procrastinators out there, our experts — contributing RPs and friends of RP — have weighed in on their predictions. You can choose to go with one of their picks, or stick with your own and feel smarter than a recovering politician.
So here goes. Feel free to comment below, but remember according to the rules, only comments at the Designated RP Electoral College Contest Post at the RP Facebook page will be qualified for the grand prize.
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The RP: Obama 303, Romney 235. (Obama wins WI, NV, IA, NH, CO, VA and OH; Romney squeaks out the narrowest victory in FL); Senate: 50 Dems, 48 GOP, 2 Indy; House: 239 GOP, 196 Dems
Contributing RP Rod Jetton:
President– Romney 277 and Obama 261. Romney takes the true toss ups of NH, CO, IA and WI, while holding the safer states of FL, NC and VA. Obama keeps OH, MN, MI, NV and PA. The auto bailout keeps Obama with Ohio, but Ryan and the debates help Romney hold WI which Ohio is not required on their path to victory. PA will be close but O will hold on there. R wins popular vote 52-48. With unemployment at 7.9% and even worse, gas prices up over $3.50, it is amazing that any incumbent could even keep it close. When we add in how Obama seemed to have a bit of the Bush 42 attitude of not really wanting to mess with a re-election campaign plus the Libya debacle it is hard to see Obama winning. Romney is a solid steady campaigner that nobody loves, but he has a good resume and seems to be up to the job of fixing the economy.
Senate– D-52 and R-46. (I-2) The Republicans will pick up a few seats but the weak candidates will keep them from taking the majority. My state of Missouri is a good example of that. McCaskill was in bad shape and should have been defeated in 2012 but with all Akin’s messaging problems she is poised to survive.
House – R-237 and D- 198. There will not be a big change in the House and Romney’s debates and October surge will help Republicans down ticket in many of the battleground seats.
Jordan Stivers (Friend of RP): Obama 280, Romney 258; Senate: R-47, D – 51, I-2; House: R-237, D-198
Contributing RP John Y. Brown, III: Election Day will be followed by Wednesday….and, if all goes as planned, followed by Thursday. Short of cataclysmic fallout on Tuesday night, Thursday more than likely will be followed by Friday. And then we will probably see something resembling what we used to call “the weekend.”
Friend of RP Zac Byer (traveling with VP GOP nominee Paul Ryan): My head still says Romney tops out at 256, but after visiting 6 swing states in the last 56 hours, and my gut says otherwise: Romney: 277, Obama: 261; 51 D, 47 R, 2 I; 238 R, 197 D
Contributing RP Jeff Smith: Obama 277, Romney 261; Senate: R-48, D – 50+2I; House: R-240, D-195
Ron Granieri (Friend of RP): Obama: 280, Romney: 258; Senate: 51-49 Dems (with independents); House: 245-190 Reps
Contributing RP Nick Paleologos: Obama 275. Romney 263.
Steven Schulman (Friend of RP): Whatever Nate Silver says.
Contributing RP Jimmy Dahroug: Obama 275, Romney 263; Senate: Dems 51 GOP 47; 2 Indy; House: GOP 241 Dems 194
David Snyder (Friend of RP): Obama wins 290-248. Senate – 51 Democrats 47 Republicans, 2 Independents. House – 234 Republicans, 201 Democrats
Contributing RP Greg Harris: Obama: 332, Romney: 206 (Polls indicate presidential race is neck and neck among “likely” voters. Obama’s lead is greater among “registered” voters. These votes, under-represented in polling, will redound to Obama’s advantage in states like FL and CO.); Senate: R-44, D – 54, I – 2; House: R-232, D-203
Robert Kahne (Friend of RP): Obama: 332, Romney: 206. Senate: D:53 (inc 2 IND) R: 47. House: D: 205, Rep: 230
Contributing RP Jason Grill: Obama gets 294 and Romney 244; Senate – 52 D 46 R 2 I; House – 234 R 201 D.
And watch this for more of Jason’s analysis:
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