The Civil War (Oregon-Oregon State) is tomorrow night at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. The winner is the Pac 10 champ and heads to the Rose Bowl to pummel Big Ten champ Ohio State.

The Game of the Decade! (Alabama-Florida) is Saturday. Gator DE Carlos Dunlap has been suspended indefinitely. I assume his Gator career is over.

This is an Open Thread.

I just got a new HP Mini 311 Netbook with Windows 7 that I'm trying to set up tonight. My Verizon broadband device was 2 years old and eligible for an upgrade, so instead of getting another one, I got the Netbook from Verizon for $149 (instead of $699.) I'll report back with a review as soon as I've got it all working.

My good friend Anita Thompson has a new post at HuffPo on the People cover photo of Johnny Depp as the Sexiest Man Alive. He's wearing his Gonzo medal, and Anita explains how Hunter and Johnny became friends and what "Gonzo" is all about. I hope Johnny calls her soon, because I've asked her to badger him into not abandoning his plan to star in the film version of Shantaram, which now that I've read all 900 pages of the book and loved it, I think he's perfect for. Production has been stalled for a few years, and the latest word is that it's on indefinite hold. [More...]

As Jeralyn wrote:

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This is an Open Thread.

The big crime in the news story for the day is the arrest of Florida Gator defensive star Carlos Dunlap on a DUI charge:

Florida defensive end Carlos Dunlap was arrested at around 3:30 a.m. for driving under the influence after falling asleep at the wheel. Police found Dunlap, 20 -- a key part of Florida's national title push this week against Alabama -- slumped over in his 2000 Chrysler at a complete stop through multiple green-light traffic cycles at the 200 block of Southwest 34th Street, according to the police report. Officers reached into the car to turn off the ignition while the clutch was still in gear and finally awoke a "very groggy" Dunlap, the report states.

Oy. This should end his college football career (he was going to the NFL at the end of the season anyway.) One interesting thing is Dunlap seems to have taken his cues from TalkLeft - never cooperate with the cops:

Dunlap was arrested and eventually booked at 5:52 a.m. after refusing to submit a breath test, according to the report.

This is an Open Thread.

The Third Annual ABA Jornal Blawg 100 nominations are out. Voting has begun.

TalkLeft has made it again, no small feat since 40 of the 100 are new this year and some past winners were dropped.

The A-team at TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime—Jeralyn Merritt of Denver, T. Christopher Kelly of Madison, Wis., and Armando Llorens of San Juan, Puerto Rico—take a shamelessly liberal view of crime and justice news and issues.

Quick Take: When Merritt just has to stray off topic, she spares her politics-hungry readers and posts at PopLeft.

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Derek Jeter has been named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.

The Charlie Weis Era at Notre Dame is over.

I am going to talk to Jeralyn about starting a TalkLeft Sports blog (e.g. - Did you know Cincinnati football coach (and maybe the next Notre Dame coach) Brian Kelly worked for the Gary Hart presidential campaign?)

This is an Open Thread.

A hectic day after a long weekend.

The news is filled with Tiger Woods.

The Village blogs are getting the pom poms out.

I've got the Game of the Decade! on my mind.

This is an Open Thread.

Time for the professionals again. Here are picks for today's NFL slate:

Houston (+3) over the Colts, the Browns (+13.5) over the Bengals, the Vikings (-10.5) over the Bears, Washington (+9.5) over the Iggles, the Fish (-3) over the Bills, Tenn (-2) over Arizona, the Rams (+4) over the Seahawks, the Falcons (-12.5) over the Bucs, Carolina (+3.5) over the Jets, 49ers (-3) over the Jags, the Chargers (-13.5) over the Chiefs, and the Steelers (+7.5) (Roethlisberger is out) over the Ravens.

This is an Open Thread.

Via Politico:

The chairman of the House’s top investigative committee said he will review Secret Service security practices after the agency allowed an uninvited couple into the Obama administration’s first state dinner.

Rep. Ed Towns (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform committee, said he is “deeply disturbed” that the Secret Service failed to follow basic security protocols, which allowed Tareq and Michaele Salahi into President Barack Obama’s gala for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

In shopping news, Julie & Julia will be released on dvd Dec. 9 and it's on sale today for $9.99.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Tim Tebow has been the most polarizing figure in college sports for the past few years. Of course for a Gator fan like me, it's easy. He's been a great, great COLLEGE football player (though not as great as people say he is.) Certainly one of the 20 best of all time. Tebow as a football player is great but annoying for fans of teams other than the Gators. And not just because of the worshipping of Tebow that is done by Gator fans and the Media. He is also incredibly fun to watch. He plays a tough and exciting style of football. He also does all that cheering and yelling that is annoying.

What also grates some people about Tebow is that he wears his religiosity on his sleeve (and on the black under his eyes.) Tebow really does great work. At the same time, we hear too much about it. And for a Democrat like me, knowing that Tebow is certainly a conservative Republican who will likely be a politician in the future (Governor of Florida is the least he can aspire to) is a bit dismaying. But that is for later. As a Gator fan, I am enjoying Tebow the football player, and he is a joy to watch. More . . .

Who went shopping today? Who shopped online? The more ads I see, the more I want to just hoard my money. I did succomb to a few items, one of which wasn't on sale. I hope I'm done. I think the best deals are at Amazon Black Friday Deals but they sell out fast. For the foodies among you, you can get a year of Food & Wine for $5.00.

The Christmas lights are going up all over Denver tonight, from the City and County Building, to Union Station, LoDo, Larimer Square, the 16th St. Mall and the Denver Pavillions. Our Mayor is on TV now for the ceremony, and he says when the switch gets flicked, everyone is supposed to make a wish. I'm not sure I can think of one thing to wish for on such short notice.

I hope your holiday weekend is going well, please feel free to share your thoughts. This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

So you thought the football was over for the weekend? No it is just starting. Today, there are 13 college games. Here are my picks:

Louisville (+3) over Rutgers. Temple (-3) over Ohio. Illinois (+21) over Cinncinati. Central Michigan (-13.5) over Western Illinois. Bowling Greeen (-7.5) over Toledo. Kent State (+3) over Buffalo. Akron (-16) over Eastern Michigan. Colorado State (-3) over Wyoming. Memphis (+17) over Tulsa.

The big game in the SEC is the Iron Bowl - Alabama v. Auburn. The game is in Auburn. The Crimson Tide are already in the SEC Championship game next week against Florida. But they must win this game to stay in the National Championship hunt. I like Auburn (+10.5) to keep it close. More . . .