But yes, time for a triumphant return of some Miscellaneous Ramblings. Too much stuff going on for me not to mention something about them, so here's a few thoughts...
The Kanye West breakdown
I hadn't said anything up to this point about the passing of Kanye's mother, but I'm sure you have all seen the news by now. It was due to complications from "allegedly" cosmetic surgery. It's too bad the surgeon that operated on her was a brotha because it's just a matter of time before Kanye (financially) rips him a new one. Anyway, Kanye soldiered on and kept performing during this aftermath. It finally caught up with him at a show in Paris when he was set to perform the song "Hey Momma". He broke down and started crying in front of thousands of fans. In the video, you can see and hear the fans offering their support. I never lost a parent, but I TOTALLY feel him. Sometimes when an emotion overcomes you, you have no control over when and where you breakdown. As men, we are susceptible to it as well. Prayers go out to the entire West family.
Vick Goes to jail
Michael Vick decided to get a jump-start on his sentencing by 
turning himself into authorities Monday to begin his jail time. He's looking at 12-18 months. At first, I wasn't understanding the motive behind his actions. It was just a few days before Thanksgiving. You would think he would want to at least spend that important Holiday with family and friends before heading off to the pen for so long. Then it occurred to me that what he's trying to do is get his time in now so he can hopefully get sprung before the NFL season begins next year. I'm sure he's thinking there is still a chance he can get reinstated in time to play for someone in 2008. It is a long shot, but I'm thinking NFL commish Roger Goodell could still lift that indefinite suspension if the timing does work out. Not sure who would pick Vick up though. Honestly, I hate to say it, but I hope the Chiefs are in the running.
Boys are supposed to be boys
Every now and then, I will come across a story in the news that just shocks the living mess out of me. This child-rape case in Ackworth, GA was definitely one of those. An 8-year-old and 9-year-old boy raped their 11-year-old neighbor. EIGHT AND NINE! G just turned 7. That is like him in less than year doing something like that. How in the world does a child that age even have that type mentality to do something like that?! They are supposed to be into the Transformers craze or just getting heavy into sports at that age. I can't even fathom how a boy that young would have the capabilities to do something like that, let alone the criminal mindset. One of the fathers of the one the boys is saying the girl made up the incident to cover up her own behavior. I hope for those boys' sake that that is the truth. Of course then that would mean there's an 11-year-old girl behaving irresponsibly. Either way you look it, it's a horrible situation.
No Bowl game for you!
That may be a little drastic and/or premature. There is still a possibility that the Iowa Hawkeyes will get a 7th consecutive bowl bid. There are about 200 bowl games out there now so they are likely to end up at a Castor Oil Prune Bowl or a YouTube Blueberry Bowl. How do you lose to a 4-6 Western Michigan team AT HOME?! I swore my co-worker was pulling my leg when he told me Monday Iowa had lost. That just seemed too incredulous. I don't even want to hear the argument that ISU has a worse record so we have no room to talk. We have players trying to get used to a new coach and a new system. Ferentz has been at Iowa for how long now? Looks like somebody should have been a bit more focused instead of drooling over a certain Michigan position.
Speaking of Toilet Bowls...
The man who became famous as Mr. Whipple passed away this Monday at 91-years-old. When I was coming up, it seemed like those "Please, don't squeeze the Charmin" commercials seemed to be on every five minutes. Quite frankly, they were tha bomb. Or it could just be that it's my nostalgia flaring up again. I didn't realize he made more than 500 of them joints?! I had also forgotten that he was the frequent drunk on several episodes of "Bewitched". He was one of the few mortals that always seemed to be around whenever witchcraft popped off. Nevertheless, he will always be known as the toilet paper guy and thanks to him, that saying is still all I think of when I see Charmin in stores now. And yes, I find myself squeezing it just to be spiteful. Rest in peace, Mr. Whipple.
