This Just In...

The Broadway performances of The Lion King open their first run in Milwaukee this Sunday.

If you are lucky enough to have tickets and you’ve never seen The Lion King, this may just be the finest live performance you’ve ever witnessed. It is worth every penny you spent on those expensive tickets.

If I had to give first-timers one tip without giving anything away, I would strongly advise you arrive at the theater early and be in your seats before the show starts.

You’ll be glad you did.

Why?

There’s more to Super Bowl betting than who will win, the Patriots or the Giants.

There’s the over/under, who will have more first downs, who will have more rushing yards, more passing yards, more penalties, more fumbles, interceptions, etc. The possible bets are endless.

And that includes the coin toss prior to the game.

Vegas will take bets on whether heads or tails will be called. There is no strategy involved. It’s simply a matter of pure luck.

From docsports.com:

Betting on the Super Bowl coin toss is a sure sign that you are a degenerate. Thousands of you are going to do it, though. The lure of betting on heads or tails, and kick or receive will be too much to resist. The gratification is instant, and it can give you extra money to bet at halftime. Not to mention the bragging rights when you can say that you nailed it to all your drunken buddies. The coin flip is, of course, completely random. That shouldn't stop us from doing some analysis of what has happened in the past to look for an edge, though, should it? After all, we have two weeks to kill, so there's time to analyze everything.

The coin itself will be coming from Florida. A company call Highland Mint, which is based in Melbourne, Florida has been charged with making the coin. After the coin flip takes place the coin will head to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Because the coin will be minted in Florida, and Florida is considerably more humid than Arizona, you will have to factor in the different air densities and the coordinating differences in friction into your coin flip decision-making process. And no, I 'm not serious.

We haven't yet heard who will actually toss the coin, though there is a decent chance that it will be a quarterback. Four times in the last six years a quarterback has made the toss - Roger Staubach, Y.A. Tittle, Tom Brady and Dan Marino. Brady obviously won't be tossing it this year, but his presence is a very good sign for the NFC representative. The Seahawks won the toss when Brady was the flipper, and the Patriots have lost the toss every time Brady has been in the Super Bowl. On that basis alone you might want to take an extra look at the Giants. The Giants are riding a hot streak - they won the toss last time they made the big game.

The one thing that is virtually certain is that the winning team will choose to receive the kick. That's what has happened each of the last 41 years. There is a good reason for this - teams cannot defer until the second half in the Super Bowl, so choosing to kick would be monumentally stupid unless you had a ridiculously good defense and no offense whatsoever. In other words, Baltimore probably would have kicked if they had won when they played the Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.

Want more reason to choose the Giants? The NFC can't be beat. They have won the last 10 straight coin flips. There's a bit of a twist, though - the last AFC team to win the toss was the Patriots back in XXXI against the Packers. That didn't turn out well for the Pats, and winning the coin toss hasn't turned out particularly well for a lot of teams recently. Tampa Bay was the last team to win the toss and the game, and that was five years ago. The winner of the toss has only hoisted the Lombardi Trophy twice in the last decade. So much for the theory that a team wants the ball first to set the tone and build momentum. It hasn't always been so bleak for the toss winners, though - overall they are 19-22, but they were 17-13 in the first 30 games before the recent 2-9 skid. It's up to you to decide if the losing ways will continue, or if the winner is due this time.

Overall, the Giants are 1-2 in the Super Bowl coin toss, while the Pats are an ugly 1-4. The Giants are designated as the road team this year (the NFC is the visitor in even numbered games), and as such they will call the toss. The team has never called the toss before, so we can't predict what they might do. The Pats have called it twice, and they went with heads both times. We can't predict, but at least we can be confident that we are playing on a level playing field - in the first 40 Super Bowls it went heads 20 times and tails 20 times.

The last thing you need to know before making your crucial decisions - the public loves heads, so follow or fade at your own peril.

The coin flip is just one of many odd bets you can make on the Super Bowl.

Take a look.

On Thursday, a state Assembly committee will hold a public hearing on a bill to prohibit municipalities from drafting ordinances restricting where sex offenders can live. If the bill becomes law, municipalities like Franklin and many others around the state would see their restrictive ordinances taken off the books.

State Representative Donald Friske (R-Merrill) has proposed the bill, arguing that forcing sex offenders out of cities and villages will send them into rural areas where there aren’t as many law enforcement authorities to monitor their whereabouts.

Friske told the Green Bay Press Gazette, “"It also pits communities against each other. The safety and security of each community is equal. I don't know if we can start to say this community's more important because of this or the children of that community are entitled to less protection because they live there."

Green Bay has an ordinance in place similar to Franklin’s. Chad Fradette, president of Green Bay's City Council, who helped create the city's sex offender residency ordinance said, “If they keep the worst of the worst — the predators — in prison the rest of their lives, you won't need these laws. That's why this (residency) law was drafted in Green Bay. We're trying to force them to keep the predators in prison. If (Friske) was a real leader, he would solve the problem instead."

Franklin Alderman Steve Olson who helped write Franklin’s tough ordinance will submit testimony to the committee Thursday. Representatives from the Franklin-based group, Citizens for a Safe Wisconsin will also testify. They will offer a sound argument that the solution is not to wipe away restrictive ordinances like Franklin’s. The answer is for each municipality in the state to take in their own sex offenders once they’re released from custody. That way, offenders from Milwaukee could not be dumped in Franklin, or in Friske’s hometown of Merrill.

Friske’s bill is flawed because it has the state taking away local control from municipalities.

Meanwhile, Franklin’s ordinance, the model for so many others around the state, is working.

So why should you care what they do in Jersey or Indiana or Maryland or anywhere else?

There is a building full of lawmakers in Madison who do pay close attention to the actions of their colleagues in other states. Smoking bans, tax increases on alcohol, banning cell phones in cars, eliminating plastic bags in grocery stores, you name it. Legislator X hears about a tax increase in Nebraska and suddenly lights up, proclaiming it’s a marvelous idea, and before you know it, the bill is drafted and introduced. Unfortunately, the really good ideas being formulated in other states never seem to see the light of day in Badgerland.

Somehow, someway, legislators who still haven’t learned the Twist do find out about the newest and most creative ways to raise taxes.

That’s why you should care.

It’s becoming clear that John McCain has the momentum to be the Republican nominee for President.

Here are two distinctly different views on John McCain by two conservatives.


Pro.

Con.


John McCain is scary, an unpredictable maverick who delights in stabbing true conservative Republicans in the back. I fear many conservatives who hold true to their values will stay home in November rather than vote for a RINO. That helps Democrats immensely.

There were early reports that Amazon.com was taking orders for books about the New England Patriots’ perfect season.

There is a reason they play these games, folks. Even though New England is the better team, is highly favored and should beat the NY Giants in the Super Bowl Sunday, they still could lose.

It is highly premature to start taking orders for a book with a theme of a team’s perfect season before they even achieve a perfect season.

Amazon.com smartened up, and is taking orders for Super Bowl books, no matter who wins.

But at first, they only were ready to market a book based on a Patriots victory.

I had been leaning toward the Giants but now I really hope New York spoils the Patriots’ perfect season.

Go Giants!

If an elected official misses a vote, is that a big deal?

That depends.

Did he/she have good reason to not be in attendance?

A family or personal situation?

There are circumstances where an absence is understandable.

Now suppose an elected official attends meetings, but when it comes time to make a decision, doesn’t vote yay or nay, but instead abstains. Let’s say this individual abstains from voting again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

When Barack Obama was in the Illinois Legislature, he abstained an astounding 136 times!

I agree with Obama’s critics who say that’s just like being absent.

Some very liberal friends of mine (Yes, I have them) are defending Obama’s abysmal voting record in the strangest way.

My leftie friends say Obama was merely doing a service for his legislative colleagues. By refusing to take a stand, any stand on certain tough issues, he was bailing out colleagues from both sides of the aisle who were in tough spots on some bills.

I kid you not, that’s their argument in support of not voting up or down 136 times. In their minds, essentially not voting makes Obama a statesmanlike hero.

Kathryn Jean Lopez, editor of National Review Online lasers in on one of those times that Obama voted, “present,” in the Illinois Legislature. This particular vote was on a “Born-Alive Infants Bill.”

The issue was clear. Obama was faced with taking a position on babies who survive abortions and are left to die. He took none, refusing to even offer these babies protection.

Lopez writes in a column for the Newspaper Enterprise Association:

His reason: He didn't want to cede ground to crazy pro-lifers. He warned: "Whenever we define a pre-viable fetus as a person that is protected by the Equal Protection Clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we're really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a -- a child, a 9-month-old -- child that was delivered to term. That determination then, essentially, if it was accepted by a court, would forbid abortions to take place."

Obama wouldn’t even support the requirement that when a baby survives an abortion, at times for hours, that a second doctor be on hand to care for the child.

No wonder Obama received a 100 percent rating from the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council.

Obama might be the candidate of hope for many, but that certainly doesn’t include the unborn or any young infant who somehow survives an abortion.

And the more we learn about his left of Ted Kennedy record, the more dangerous he looks.

Could you find this nonsense.

God, please get us out of January!

A few weeks ago, I attended a luncheon meeting at one of Milwaukee’s Mexican restaurants near National Avenue.

A politico from the area told me he was concerned about an increase in crime in the neighborhoods, escalating even though temperatures had gone below freezing. The restaurant we sat in, one frequented by many city and suburban whites, was suffering from a 30% drop in revenue. People are simply afraid to venture into the area or, if they live there, afraid to come out at night.

The area had its eye blackened again this past weekend when a Miller Brewing Company executive was shot and killed at 2^nd and Walker early Saturday morning.

According to jsonline.com, two suspects approached 43-year old Lodewikus "Vic" Milford and three women in a parking lot around 1:10 a.m. Saturday. Milford and the women gave up their valuables, but a suspect still shot Milford after Milford was in his car. His friends survived and have given their stories to police.

Miller Brewing has now offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of the suspects.

The near South Side is infested with crime. I grew up there and have blogged about how the Mitchell Street area has literally gone to hell. I still attend church there very Sunday and have friends and family living in the area who I worry about.

Crime is, by far, the most important issue affecting the city of Milwaukee. Hopefully, the new police chief, the Mayor, and other city leaders will embark upon an aggressive campaign to reduce the violent crime that is plaguing Milwaukee. So far, I don’t see it happening.

It’s also time that Wisconsin become the 49^th state to enact a conceal-carry law. If Wisconsin had such a law, it’s entirely plausible that those punks, upon seeing Milford and his friends early Saturday morning would have thought twice about confronting them, unsure if one of the four was armed.

The lack of conceal-carry is actually causing deaths in Wisconsin, not preventing them.

I did like this exchange in the press at the 1984 Super Bowl between the Raiders'  DL Lyle Alzado and the Redskins' RB John Riggins.

From thehogs.net:

After the Raiders won the American Football Conference title, Lyle Alzado talked about ''tearing off'' John Riggins's head if the opportunity develops. When the Redskin fullback was reminded of that threat yesterday as he stood at the lectern in his only public appearance this week, he smiled.

''Over at the stadium yesterday at photo day I was looking for a nice soft spot on the grass, so that when he knocks my block off, it won't bounce too far,'' John Riggins said. ''I hope he's enough of a gentleman so that when my head falls off, he'll hand it back to me.''

Told later of John Riggins's response, Lyle Alzado laughed.

''I'll put his head back,'' the bearded Raider said, smiling, ''as long as he takes the cleat marks out of my chest.''

It is officially Super Bowl week......without the Green Bay Packers.

As a football fan, I will pay attention all week. And I will watch the game. But my interest level is not very high. I have no strong affection for either team.

The New England Patriots are cheaters. Even worse is they’re so good, they don’t have to cheat. They are heavy favorites to win, AGAIN, so in game situations like this, I generally support the underdog.

That would be the New York Giants. With the Giants, there are no great story lines, no captivating angles, no player who guaranteed a victory to a dying child in a hospital. Plus, they beat the Packers. No Giants paraphernalia in my house or anywhere on my person or car.

Patriots.

Giants.

Ho-hum.

Yes, I’m aware the Patriots are undefeated and the Giants could end that streak by winning the Super Bowl.

Yawn.

There is one variable that could get me excited about next Sunday’s game:

A bet.

A pool.

Putting money on the contest.

Last year’s Super Bowl saw $93 million bet in Las Vegas. Vegas is hoping to crack the $100 million mark this year and the thought was a New England-Green Bay match up between Tom Brady and Brett Favre would have all but assured that size of betting total. Because Green Bay didn’t advance, there is the conventional wisdom that there will be less interest, and less money bet, or at least less than $100 million.

I just want to get into one of those friendly, innocent, paltry pools that the authorities seem to take so much glee in uncovering and shutting down.

Not at my office, of course, because there couldn’t possibly be wagers, as small as they might be, in the state Capitol.

Somewhere, somehow, I need to….let me re-phrase that…I would like to place a few dollars into some, how shall I put it……game of chance.

At some churches in town, they call that BINGO.

And no one’s arresting those nice little old ladies, are they…

Getting into a pool of some sort might be the only way to heighten my interest in a game that, for me, is quite unusual. Normally in a game of this magnitude, I want one team to tear the other team’s heads off. Last year it was soooooooo easy to root for the Indianapolis Colts against the Chicago Bears. This year, I don’t like either team.

But if, say, 5, 10, or 20 dollars is at stake, suddenly, I might actually like Eli Manning.

In the mid-90’s while at WTMJ, I interviewed an expert on problem gamblers.

Suffice to say that the vast majority of Super Bowl bettors are not gambling away their homes. Yes, some gamblers make huge, irresponsible decisions. That’s about one to three percent of Super Bowl gamblers, making the law enforcement effort to clamp down on such games rather silly.

What about all that lost productivity at work because of the ultra-hype?

Last year, the Associated Press reported the week before the Super Bowl, “A consulting firm estimated that lost wages could exceed $16 million a minute as millions of Americans chat about the game, plan parties, organize betting pools or research big-screen TVs. That's more than $820 million from the week before the game alone. Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. based its estimate on an anticipated audience of 90 million tuning in to the game, along with figures about the national employment rate and average pay. Its analysts calculated that employers around the nation will pay football fans $162 million for every 10 unproductive minutes they spend discussing the game or reading about it online.”

That’s not to say all the attention paid to the big game is bad.

The AP also reported, “John Challenger, the firm's chief executive, emphasized that his firm isn't trying to put a damper on the fun or suggest that companies ban betting pools. He acknowledged that some productivity gains can come from a friendlier workplace and higher employee morale.”

So there.

It’s going to happen. Lighten up everybody. What’s a few bucks between friends.

For guys like me, it might be the only way to truly get into and enjoy this year’s Super Bore.