If you happened to be watching the end of The Biggest Loser on NBC last night, you would have been interrupted by an even bigger loser - Martha Coakley, Attorney General of Massachusetts. She had to concede a loss to Scott Brown for the empty Senate seat left by the late Edward "Ted" Kennedy.

The writing was on the wall weeks ago for this one. Much of the analysis from the Left has been that Coakley just ran a bad campaign and was a bad candidiate. But the Right is trying to turn this into a referendum on Obama; no surprise there. Look, Coakley was a moderate Democrat with little to no legislative experience as Attorney General and a country District Attorney before that. She had a voice that sounded more upper midwest than South Boston. She was quoted as saying she didn't need to "stand outside of Fenway park" to get votes and in an ad, her campaign misspelled the very state in which she was running. She even called legendary Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt "Bloody Sock" Shilling a Yankee fan for Christ's sake!  The "perfect storm" culminated with a disinterested electorate which had previously gone for Obama by 61% in the 2008 election, and also 3-4 inches of wet, slushy snow that basically made people who didn't care stay home. She must have known her chances weren't good when most people's first response to who they were going to vote for started with "I don't really like her but..."

However, I think there are actually even bigger losers out there than Coakley herself; the people of Massachusetts. Look, I was born and raised in that state and I know enough about local politics to know its not as liberal as most of the rest of the country thinks. But this election wasn't decided on "the issues" no matter how much someone tells you it was. Scott Brown truly is a "regular guy" who drives a pickup and has a family. But that's no excuse for the fact that he is a full fledged conservative Republican who will stop at nothing to block Obama's forward looking agenda.  I heard on a radio show last night that voters don't want to be told they are stupid, that they don't want to be lectured to.  Well, when you elect a jackass who goes against everything you previously thought right, you should be lectured. You don't get to vote for change when change is happening right now. You can not vote for independence when that guy is nothing but a tool of the Republican obstruction machine. And you don't get to stay home for this one. As a said before, a vote for Coakley wasn't a vote for her, it was a vote for the forward looking progressive policies and a vote away from the disasterous, failed policies of the late 20th Century and early 21st Century conservatives. Finally, you don't get to destroy the legacy of one of the greatest senators who ever served and then claim you were doing it all in the name of independence.

And that's why the Biggest Loser is actually the millions of people both home and abroad who will continue to be forced to listen to the Party of No. The citizens who have to give credence to people who can't seem to think about anything but themselves. The people who think because they have health insurance through their employer, thats good enough for everyone. The same people who think that tax breaks for the rich will somehow once again prove that trickle-down economics isn't the sham it truly is. We are all losers now.

p.s. There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Its that this could make the Democratic leadership wake up and realize that they don't actually need 60 votes to pass legislation. It just takes a little leadership and courage to do what the majority of Americans want to do and go in a direction we've already decided a year ago. However, quotes like this from party leaders do not inspire hope, indeed.

UPDATE: Figured I'd add some perspective to this. Some good reads:

Ezra Klein on why Obama needs to move away from Clinton era tactics.

Matthew Yglesias injects some realistic analysis.

Mark Schmitt on how the 60 vote threshold was an illusion.

And finally a quote from Ted Kennedy that's making the rounds this morning:

"If the Democrats run for cover, if we become pale carbon copies of the opposition, we will lose -- and deserve to lose. The last thing this country needs is two Republican parties."

All Decade Team

Coach - Bill Belichick

Team - 2004 New England Patriots

"The liberal agenda" is a phrase often used by conversations to scare the pants off their own supporters. And they're right! They should be scared. The liberal agenda was voted on in November of 2008 and won squarely. I'm not one to claim a mandate on political agendas, nor even willing to claim the majority gets to overun a country, but the clear, resounding result, was the vote for change and a vote for progressive policy and ideals that say to your neighbor, "where are you hurting?" and "what can I do for you today? You can argue whether that change has come about yet, but you cannot argue that is exactly what happened in the last election cycle.

Fast forward to 2010 and there is a heated battle for the Senate seat left by the late Ted Kennedy. The only reason this is even a close race is because the state Democrats put forth a seriously questionable candidate in Martha Coakley. No matter, I say.  The alternate is Scott Brown, a self-proclaimed independent who is anything but.  Scott Brown should lose for the following two reasons:

1. He can't claim a campaign of change when the "other" party just won on the same idea, resoundingly, and Brown's ideals are exactly opposite of that change.
2. His whole campaign platform boils down to one word, two characters; "NO."  He has stated that he will, for all intents and purposes, fight tooth and nail and vote against everything the Democrats want.

If there are any liberals out there who are upset with the current leadership in D.C., I can tell you for sure that I feel your pain. The current health care bill is far too moderate in how it does what it attempts to do. Having President Obama publically proclaim "bipartisanship" a key point in negotiations over legislation when the other party refuses to negotiate is a sore spot for me as well.

However, a vote for Martha Coakley isn't a vote for yourself, or even for the citizens of Massachusetts. Its a vote for liberal and progressive ideals that America has been striving and moving toward all our lives. Racial tensions may not have disappeared, and people may die for lack of adequate healthcare, but on balance we are becoming a better society than we were 20, 50 or even 200 years ago.

I ask you to accept the imperfect candiate and look foward beyond your own interests. Its challenging to consider the delicate balance between "how does this help others" versus "what is in it for me," but it is high time we move toward the former and away from the latter.

Please vote for Martha Coakley on Jan 19th.

All NBA - First Team

I realize that I'm a little late to the party on the whole looking back at the last decade thing, but I wanted to do it anyway.

All Decade Team                                                                                                                 

Today, the Boston Globe officially endorsed Democratic candidate, Martha Coakley, for US Senate.  The special election, to be held January 19, will fill the seat of the late Edward Kennedy.  The Globe does a wonderful job of making the case for Coakley.

As always, these are my awards.  My biases, my choices.  In all honesty they are not much different than the real ones.  Oh well, not much I can do about that.

MVP - Peyton Manning (Indianapolis)

Coach of the Year - Norv Turner (San Diego)

Offensive Player of the Year - Chris Johnson (Tennessee)

Defensive Player of the Year - Derrelle Revis (New York Jets)

Executive of the Year - Mike Tannenbaum (New York Jets)

Well Gilbert, its been fun.

NBA Commissioner Stern has indefinitely suspended the embattled Wizards' star and there are rumblings from NBA people that we may have seen the last of Arenas certainly for 2010 and maybe forever.  Such is what happens when you bring guns into an NBA locker room and then mock the situation as if its no big deal.  Sorry Gil, it but it couldn't be a bigger deal.

I'm not going to spend much time on this because the writers at the Washington Post and ESPN have already covered this in depth.  But I will say that I have always thoroughly enjoyed the light-hearted goofball that is Gilbert Arenas.  Until now.  Until he crossed the line from light-hearted goofball to clueless idiot.  I just don't have any sympathy for someone who seems to be the only person incapable of seeing just how serious a situation this is.

Agent Zero, your time of reckoning has come.  And everyone involved is worse off for it.

Ridiculous.

I think that is the best word to describe Randy Johnson's career statistics.  The future first ballot hall of famer announced his retirement yesterday at the ripe old age of 46.  Though his last few years in the league were hampered by injury, the Big Unit remains one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

22 Seasons.  4135 innings pitched.  303 wins.  4875 strikeouts (2nd all time).  3.29 ERA.  1.17 WHIP.  100 complete games.  37 shutouts.  64.6 winning percentage.  10.6 SO/9 IP (1st all time).  2 no hitters including 1 perfect game (at age 40).

He was an all star 10 times.  He won 5 Cy Young awards, including 4 consecutive from 1999-2002.  Only the second pitcher in history to do that.  4 times he led the league in ERA and 3 more times was second.  6 times he stuck out more than 300 batters in a season.  10 times he led the league in strikeouts and 4 more times he was second.

He may have been surly and grumpy.  He may not have made life easy for the media.  But by all accounts he is one of the 5-10 greatest pitchers in the history of baseball.  He pitched in the steroid era but was never once rumored to have done them himself.  With what we now know about Roger Clemens and with all due respect to Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson is the greatest pitcher of my generation and may well be the greatest pitcher of the next few.  To put it simply, there is no other pitcher I have ever watched who I would rather have pitch the one game my team needed to win.

Tim Kurkjian of ESPN, whose opinion I respect more than anyone who covers the game, calls him the third best left hander ever behind Lefty Grove and Warren Spahn.  To that I say Grove never pitched against an African American and Spahn's numbers, while remarkable too, are no better than Johnson's when put side to side.  I'll take the Big Unit as the greatest left hander ever.  And though I said above he is one of the 5-10 best pitchers ever, in my own opinion he is top 5.

His performance in the 2001 World Series remains one of the most amazing feats I have ever witnessed in sports.  He dominated the Yankees in Game 2 and Game 6, and then came back the next night to close out Game 7 as the winning pitcher.  His stats for that World Series: 3-0, 1.04 ERA, .692 WHIP, 19 K, 17.1 IP.  The fact that he had to share the MVP with Curt Schilling is laughable at best and criminal at worst.

And though his time as a Yankee was an utter disappointment, well, that's my team's fault for waiting until he was 42 to get him.  So to the Big Unit, congrats on a legendary career.  See ya in Cooperstown, 2015.

Its December 23 and we all know what that means - Festivus!

The "holiday" that Frank Costanza made famous twelve years ago is alive and well, evidenced by the fact that "Festivus" is currently the seventh most searched item on Yahoo.com.

The holiday itself is in fact much older than twelve years, probably closer to thirty-five.  It was born out of the frustration Frank felt over the commercialization of Christmas.  More specifically, the idea came to light as Frank "reigned blows" down upon another man's head while they fought over a Christmas gift for their respective children.  It was at that time Frank realized there had to be a better way.

So get out your tinselless poles, stretch out adequately for the Feats of Strength, and don't be too cruel when airing your grievences.

And most importantly, have a happy Festivus!

Its Jimmy V Week once again at ESPN.  With all of the nonsense and tabloid garbage this network spews these days, this promotion is far and away the best thing it does all year.  Its focus is to raise awareneess and money for The V Foundation For Cancer Research.

These are tough days for a lot of Americans.  There is not a lot of disposable income, especially at Christmas time.  But this is a cause for which I could not be more excited and I ask that you consider a donation.

Cancer is a disease that very likely has touched someone in your family or someone you know.  Please consider a generous donation to the V Foundation and help fight this dreaded disease.  Click on the link below to donate.

www.jimmyv.org

And if you're looking for true inspiration, a good laugh and/or cry, or just to listen to the single greatest speech of all time, treat yourself to Jim Valvano's masterpiece from the 1993 ESPY Awards, at which he accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and announced the birth of the Foundation.

www.youtube.com

Many people close to me know that I am no fan of Tiger Woods.  I don't hate him like I have athletes in the past who I have rooted against but I can say with certainty that aside from international competition, I have never, ever rooted for Tiger Woods to win a golf tournatment.  Why?  Not so sure.  Perhaps it was his corronation before stepping on a pro course, or that fact that Evil Phil Knight and Nike bought him.  Whatever the reason was way back in 1997, its stuck.  And grown.

But for the record, I am NOT enjoying nor do I derive any satisfaction from what has happened to Tiger over the past week and a half.  I don't feel sorry for him either; after all, these were his choices.  However, this is not the way I wanted Tiger to be brought down.  I wanted that to happen on the golf course, like Y.E. Yang did at the PGA last August.

So no, this sordid episode does not make me happy and I have not and will not gloat.  In fact, its quite sad.

Today is the 53rd birthday of the greatest basketball player who ever lived, Larry Bird.  He remains my all time favorite athlete (OK, its a tie with Don Mattingly) and will always be the greatest Boston Celtic of them all.

Happy birthday, Larry.

Daa-gum it, the Bobby Bowden Era is over at Florida State.

The iconic coach announced today that this would be his last season at the healm for the Seminoles, ending a legendary career that saw him win 388 games, second only to Joe Paterno.  In his 34 years at Florida State, the Seminoles won two national championships (1993 & 1999) and twenty-one bowl games.  However, it was the recent mediocrity of the program that led to Bowden's departure.

Before I go too far with the sentimentality, I must admit that I am a fan of the Miami Hurricanes, a blood rival of Florida State.  There is only one football program in this country I despise more than FSU (Notre Dame) and some of my happiest moments with college football have been Bowden's most heartbreaking.

My deep seeded hatred of his team certainly tainted my feelings about a coach who seems to be a genuinely pleasant, jovial man.  I'm not proud to admit it, but I still get immense satisfaction when I see the clip of Bowden's reaction to "wide right" in 1991.  Click here to see the clips (Bowden's reaction is at the very end, right at 2:00 minute mark).  Of course, 1991 was only the first time that Bowden would live this nightmare; it would occur again in different forms in 1992, 2000, 2002, and the 2004 Orange Bowl.  I enjoyed each one more than the last.

But today is a day to step back from the rivalry and acknowledge the man for what he was and did.  Bobby Bowden quite simply is Florida State football.  The program was essentially nonexistent when he got there and he turned it into one of the most consistenly great teams in any college sport.  Florida State's dominance from 1987-2000 is unprecedented; each year over those fourteen seasons the Seminoles finished ranked in the top five, and two of those seasons ended in championships.

Bowden was not without controversy while at Florida State.  His players had their share of transgressions, most famously leading then Florida coach Steve Spurrier to refer to FSU as "Free Shoes University."  There was also the infamous "Bowden Justice," when it seemed star players would receive no punishment for actions that would cost lesser players their scholarships.  But it never dragged Bowden down too far, probably because the mix of winning, southern charm, and iconic status was too much for any scandal to overcome.

But the positive far, far outweighs the negative when looking at Bobby Bowden's career.  He is one of the greatest college football coaches of all time.  This simply cannot be denied, or even debated for that matter.  And his place on the Mount Rushmore of coaches is secure, alongside Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno (we'll leave that fourth spot open for now).  The disappointing final seasons may have forced him out a little earlier than he would have liked but they cannot change one fundamental truth.

Bobby Bowden is and will always be Florida State Football.

We need to stop this Michael Jordan jersey nonsense before it goes too far.

Last night in his post game interview, LeBron James said that starting in 2010 he was going to change his jersey number from his current 23 to 6.  He is going to do this in honor of Michael Jordan, who made 23 famous and in a way, part of the Air Jordan brand.  James said that Michael did so much and has meant so much to basketball that no one should ever wear his number again.

I love that a super-duper star like LeBron has enough humility and appreciation for those who came before him to make such a sacrifice.  It shows just how much he "gets it."  But as great as Michael was, he did not do anything that makes his jersery worthy of retirement across the league.  When Major League Baseball retired Jackie Robinson's number 42 in perpetuity back in 1997 they did so because Jackie may be the single most important American athlete ever.  He broke the baseball color barrier in 1947 when this country was still heavily racist.  He endured unimaginable hate and humiliation with class and strength that was equally as unbelievable.  And he did it so that those black players who came after him would be able to realize their dreams of playing major league baseball.

Michael Jordan was just a great basketball player.  He may well have been the best who ever played but in the end he was just a great basketball player.  He was not a pioneer (one could argue Jordan was in the business aspect of the game, but not socially).  He was not Jackie Robinson, not even close.  And Michael would agree.

So the notion that the NBA should retire Michael Jordan's jersey number is nice but misguided.  Lets leave the league-wide retired jerseys to those who not only brought their sports to a new level, but our country as well.  Number 23 should be available to anyone in the NBA who wants it.

Except, of course, for those playing in Chicago.

Congratulations to the 2009 World Champion New York Yankees!

I could probably write about 10,000 words on this team and this season but I am going to keep it brief.  This team was a pleasure to watch and root for and this championship, after so much frustration over the past five years, is easily as sweet as any of the previous four I have been lucky enough to witness.

Congratulations to all of the first time champions - 17 in all - and especially to the "core four" who now have their fifth title.  As enjoyable as it is for a fan of this team to see all of the new guys and first timers get their championship, its that much sweeter to see Jeter, Posada, Pettitte, and Rivera get number five.  If their careers and their first four championships ever needed validtion, this was it.  Nine years in between championships shows the sustained excellence of this group.

Also congratulations to Brian Cashman, who had as much as anyone riding on this season.  Some will say that this team bought their title and they should have won.  Well, a lot of times that is when it is the hardest - when everyone expects you to do it.  And Cashman's off-season moves certainly paid off and have given the GM much reason to enjoy #27.

Finally, congratulations to the Steinbrenner family.  Especially George.  They continue to open the checkbooks and commit to putting the best possible team on the field.  We all know that George has not been well for some time and who knows how much longer he will be with us, so for him to get to see his team raise the trophy one more time is very special.

The Yankees are world champions again.  The trophy has returned to its home, Bronx, NY.

Start spreading the news.

First the ever-wise right wing criticized President Obama for his speech to America's school children on the importance of staying in school.  They said it was an attempt to "indoctrinate" children with his politics.  Maybe they were right to do so.  Few issues are as partisan as young children getting an education and its certainly not the President's place to encourage our nation's youngsters to maximize their potential.  And I'm sure countless presidential elections have been swung based on the 6-10 year old voting block.

Now the GOP is on the President's case regarding his trip to Copenhagen to lobby the IOC on behalf of his home city, Chicago.  The RNC Chairman, Michael Steele, said it was a distraction to the more pressing business at hand, such as Afghanistan and health care.  Irony over the latter notwithstanding, it just shows how clueless and desparate the GOP is at this time.

Look folks, just because our last President was a complete moron doesn't mean this one can only handle one thing at a time.  I'm pretty sure he didn't sleep the entire flight overseas and was dealing with our nation's business.  And to borrow a phrase from SNL's Seth Meyers...really, Michael Steele?  Really?  You really want to criticize the President for trying to help the nation's third largest city get the Olympics?  Would you rather those jobs and economic boost go to Rio?  Madrid?  I wonder how Michael Steele would feel about the President lobbying the IOC if it was Baltimore who was up for consideration?

We can all expect Republicans to continue to torpedo meaningful health care reform but can't we all agree that it would be great for Chicago to host the Olympics?  Apparently not in 2009, when cutting off the nose to spite the face is the GOP's only play in the playbook.

With the off season and Tom Brady missing all of last year, I honestly forgot how much I hate the New England Patriots until about forty minutes ago.  I truly despise this team and everyone associated with them.  I know some of my best friends and family members are Pats fans but I just can't help it.  Not after that finish.  Not after they should have lost the opener at home to a ridiculously inferior team.

Only the Patriots could see an opponent fold so abruptly and by so much of their own ineptitude.  Now we have to listen to how Brady led the comeback and all of the subsequent falatio ESPN personalities will line up to give him and Belichick when everyone who watched knows quite simply it was the moron on the Bills who lost this game.

Unfortunately the underlying story is really what matters.  That, once again, appears to be that this insufferable team and their loathesome head coach still benefit from some of the best luck in pro sports.  So for anyone like me that hates this team with every fiber, and don't kid yourselves, Pats fans, we litter this country, this year is not going to be pretty.

Ted Kennedy is going to be eulogized in a lot of places today and by writers a lot better than me.  But I would be remiss if I did not use this space to say goodbye to one of the most influential lawmakers in United States history.

His legislative record is legendary and quite possibly beyond compare.  And not the cheap stuff either.  We're talking civil rights, voting rights, poverty, education, health care- the kind of legislation that has a profound effect on our society.  His passion for the causes for which he fought was matched only by his ability to make friends and cut deals with those who called themselves his political enemies inside the chamber and his friends outside it.  Ted Kennedy was a bastion of liberalism, but he also knew full well that nothing can be done in the US Senate without a willingness to take into account the other side's fundamental beliefs.  That is why you see his name on over 2500 pieces of legislation.

Ted Kennedy's life was also filled with more personal tragedy than one should ever have to endure.  He lost all three of his brothers, one of his sisters, two of his sons were stricken with cancer, and of course there was more death.  His nephew among others.  After his brothers' assassinations the weight of a family empire fell to him when he was only 36 years old and still in his first full term as Senator.

The pressure to fulfill the promise of John and Bobby; to have their presidential destiny thrust upon him had to torture Ted.  For he was never an ideal Presidential candidate.  Yet the Kennedy name and the legacies of his brothers hounded him until at last he gave it a shot in 1980.  And though he had accomplished so much up to that point I believe it was after running in '80 that he became more comfortable as Senator.  The United States and Massachusetts were better off for it.

Of course, the man had his flaws too.  Who among us does not?  Were his magnified because of his stature?  Possibly, but they cannot be overlooked.  He relentlessly drank and womanized as a young man.  The Chappaquiddick incident is a stain on his legacy that will never be removed, and well it should not be.  But he overcame these flaws by the sheer force of his personality and by the intense passion with which he went about his job.  The causes for which he fought never had a more determined advocate.  The downtrodden and working class never had a better friend.  And the Commonwealth of Massachusetts never had a more beloved public servant, which is why we sent him back to Washington every sixth year since 1964.

Being only 30 years old., I was not here to witness much of Senator Kennedy's historic career.  That said, the time I did have to watch and listen to this extraordinary Senator was more than enough to make him one of my political heroes.  He stood for every political ideal that I hold dear.

As a resident of Berkshire County in western Massachusetts I will never forget how Senator Kennedy always made time for our oft-forgotten part of the state.  Being two-plus hours west of Boston and having a small share of the state's population have never afforded the Berkshires much attention from the state house.  But Senator Kennedy's visits would always serve as a reminder that he never overlooked any part of his state or any group that needed his attention and energy.

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy's senatorial accomplishments are historic, his personality legendary.  While our country is a lesser place today because of his death, it is also infinitely better because of his life.

My deepest sympathy to the Kennedy family.  Ted will be sorely missed.

6.2 IP  3 H  1 R 3 BB 8 K

7 IP  2 H  1 R  3 BB  6 K

8 IP  3 H  0 R  2 BB 5 K

5 IP  6 H  4 R  7 BB  5 K

6 IP  5 H  4 R  2 BB  5 K

5 IP  7 H  4 R  3 BB  2 K

4 IP  9 H  7 R  3 BB  5 K

The first three lines of stats are the three starts Joba Chamberlain made prior to the Yankees making him take extra rest between starts and the last four are his starts since the extra rest.  Doesn't exactly take an actuary to interpret the results.

I am all in favor of taking care of a young arm, especially one with as much potential as Joba.  There is plenty of evidence to support the theory that increasing a young pitcher's workload too much from one season to the next has a real detrimental effect.  That is why I am fine with him having an innings limit for 2009.  What I'm not in favor of is how this limit was implemented.

If the Yankees brain trust, and do I ever use that term loosely, knew from the beginning of the season that Joba had an innings limit, then why did they not use caution at the start of the season?  Why did they wait until August, after he finally found a groove, to start having him skip starts and take double rest?  Would it not have made more sense to skip starts in April and May, when pitchers could use the extra rest anyway?

The baseball schedule has built-in off days at the beginning of the season to account for weather and thus many teams only use their fifth starter a handful of times.  The Yankees could have used that to limit Joba's innings early.  That way he would be pitching every fifth day at this time of the season when he has found his rhythm and, ya know, they're trying to win the division.

Another great decision by the Yankee brass in regards to Joba.  I just wonder how many times they can screw this kid up?