I hope I don't lose my cable or power tonight as Games 7 will rule.
There are two of them tonight in the Stanley Cup playoffs -- Carolina
vs. NJ and Wash. vs NY Rangers -- and though both channels will
likely feature the Capitals game, I'm hoping to get the double dose
of everything-on-the-line hockey.
Throw in the Yankees in town with the Tigers pushing for a four-game
winning streak, and it'll be a good night to watch sports.

Well, this one certainly takes the markets and economy off the front
pages, even as GM crumbles and Chrysler scrambles.
Swine flu.
I should resist, but I can't let it slide. One of the morning radio
show 'newscasters' had to ask who's rolling with the swines to get
this thing started. Ever hear of farmers? Maybe butchers?
We'll see if this turns into something real or is just a practice run
to show how unprepared we are, and we'll all be watching this story
and the local and national reactions to it.
But let's refrain from the idiocy.
On another note, the biggest shocker about this story was the images
from the Mexican football game played in an empty stadium. Soccer is
a big draw and for the game to be played in silence showed that south
of the border, this is a serious deal.
Not often that a 6.0-magnitude earthquake would be the secondary
story. Tough week in Mexico City; here's hoping it's just a small
deal with a big reaction.

Jeff Rossen is staying busy on NBC, doubling up today with a lead
report on the Boston Craiglist killer case and then a fine feature on
the apparent scams involving those annoying calls you get about your
car warranty.
The former Fox 2 reporter has moved up the ranks of reporters for
national news broadcasts and I like watching him work for NBC.
He also was a featured clip in Michael Moore's 'Bowling for
Columbine' film, which showcased the media reaction to the Buell
Elementary shooting near Flint, in which a kindergartner was shot in
her classroom. (The school was recently demolished, about a decade
after the shooting).
I've also seen Channel 7's Glenn Zimmerman in the background of some
of the Bernie Madoff reports from New York.
Glad to see the success of these guys, though it adds to the
impression that there is life and success after leaving Detroit.

Perhaps His Honor was on to something.

An Associated Press story today reports that the mayor Indianapolis was victimized by a pickpocket during the Final Four weekend.

The story notes that Greg Ballard did not have any body guards with him when he was robbed of his cell phone, taken during a ruse that had him trying to help someone on the ground and then surrounded by a couple other fellows. (He was visiting because his city hosts the next Final Four.)

Maybe Kwame Kilpatrick knew that walking the streets of his city required the protection of a dozen police officers acting as personal body guards.

Of course, was the the kind of guy to bend over and help someone in need? Or would he have to be lured by dropping a wallet (or a Blackberry) on the ground?

Two stories crossed the AP wires on Monday dealing with comparing current numbers to past ones, one raising alarms and the other offering a positive spin on a bad story.

First the bad news with the good ramifications.

With the struggling economy, Americans are driving less, especially after getting a taste of $4-a-gallon gasoline. While prices have fallen back to normal levels, motorists are slow to forget, helping drive the American auto industry to the brink of extinction.

But there is good news: deaths on highways are way, way down.

Officials credit less driving along with increased seat belt use, continued crack downs on drunken driving and also on improved auto technology.

I always think of auto crashes, which kill 40,000 a year, or more than 100 a day, when there's a story involving an outrageous death. People want to jump up and change laws, but there is little outrage when thinking of 40,000 people a year dying.

There's also bad news today, on the environment, though those who continue to dismiss global warming will see more evidence in today's snow fall (though some of Michigan's most intense snow and ice events have been in April, perhaps because more rain and storms).

The other news is that the Arctic ice is thinner.

The concern is that if the thinner and new Arctic ice fails to last through the summer, then more of the sun's head will go into the oceans, heating them up further and affecting ocean life (and eventually food sources) and weather patterns.

I guess I hope that a couple strong winters can help keep the ice there, but this one will have to be a wait and see. 

Of course, if the globe warms as fast as some fear, we won't have to worry about car crashes, though I still wear my seat belt.