Drudge still rules their world

Who would have thought to actually look at the video?

More people believe in global warming than in evolution

From the Associated Press, via @ShaunMcKinnon:

_ The public and scientists did not always see eye-to-eye. For example 87 percent of scientists believed that humans and other living things evolved naturally, compared with 32 percent of the general public. And while 84 percent of scientists say the Earth is getting warmer because of human activities, just 49 percent of the public agreed.

Scientists who study this sort of thing for a living and have expertise in the field believe in evolution and global warming by huge margins. But it is the people who are listening to the anti-science propaganda that had the loudest voice in the last eight years under the George W. Bush administration.

Wouldn't it be better policy to listen to people who are experts on that issue?

BCS official: Everything's fine with the system!

Harvey Perlman, chairman of the BCS oversight committee went onto Mike and Mike in the morning today to say that everything is fine with the BCS, no one should complain, especially not the Utahs and Boise States of the world (teams who went undefeated but never came close to the national championship).

His argument was that the schools from the smaller conferences "have more access" to the big bowls than they ever did before. He is correct, but this doesn't address the criticism.

Utah went undefeated last year, including beating Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Yet they didn't get to play in the national championship. There is nothing more that Utah could have possibly done, yet they didn't win the national championship.

Perlman said that it is better than it was in the past, but that is, again, missing the point. It shouldn't be said that the current system is better, but rather that the system in the past was even more flawed.

He even criticized college basketball, saying, "even when you're picking 64 teams, you have major controversies about who's numbers 65 through 68." This is different -- getting the NCAAs is the goal for the teams on the bubble. They don't expect to win the national championship.

When the problem is with the number three team, that's a different story.

South African World Cup stadium strike gets violent

Workers who are building the stadiums for the World Cup in South Africa next year have gone on strike. And now some of those on strike are "stoning cars and passers-by" as they ask for more money, the Associated Press reports:

There are fears that a prolonged strike could derail already tight schedules for construction projects supposed to be complete by mid-December. The monthlong 2010 World Cup, beginning in June, is the first on the continent. It is expected to attract up to half a million people and be seen by hundreds of millions worldwide.

South Africa's minimum wage is about $200 a month but the unions complain that some workers earn only about $1.50 an hour and others $5 a week.

If South Africa doesn't get the job done, the U.S. may step in and host -- the U.S. already has dozens of stadiums that can house the World Cup, even on short notice.

Tapes of LeBron James being dunked on confiscated

LeBron James was dunked on by a top high school basketball player at a camp run by Nike. Video of the dunk was confiscated by Nike.

Nike responded to the confiscation:

"Nike has been operating basketball camps for the benefit of young athletes for decades and has long-standing policies as to what events are open and closed to media coverage. Unfortunately, for the first time in four years, two journalists did not respect our no videotaping policy at an after-hours pickup game following the LeBron James Skills Academy," said Nike spokesman Derek Kent on Wednesday.

Tarnishing the image (even a little bit) of their top star (though Tiger Woods would give hima run for his money on that count) probably isn't what Nike envisioned when they held the camp.

Tour de France stage winner: "I dedicate this victory to myself..."

Via @drywall.

Thomas Voeckler of France won the fifth stage in the Tour de France and said:

"I dedicate this victory to myself, my son and my wife, who actually didn't see me win as she was returning home in a plane," the 30-year-old Voeckler said.

"Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row"

From the Los Angeles Times:

Andy Roddick's career-long frustration against Roger Federer reminded New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica of the time Vitas Gerulaitis ended a 16-match losing streak against Jimmy Connors and opened a postmatch news conference by announcing, "Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row." . . .

Andy Roddick has won just 2 of the 21 matches against Federer, and none of the eight matches at Grand Slam events.

Roddick lost a remarkable match against Roger Federer, arguably the best tennis player of all time, in the Wimbledon final. The match went five sets and the fifth set ended up 16-14, the longest Grand Slam final in history.

Google may be developing an operating system (updated)

Oh, it's apparently already announced. Carry on...

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Internet giant Google may be developing an operating system, according to the New York Times. The Times says that Google is expected to announce it tomorrow.

So what will it look like?

In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google is expected to announce on Wednesday that it is developing an operating system for a personal computer based on its Chrome browser, according to two people briefed on Google’s plans.

The details of the technology could not be learned, but Google plans to make the announcement on a company blog on Wednesday afternoon, this person said.

Solution to California's problem of minors buying alcohol in self-serve lanes

There's a pretty easy solution to minors buying alcohol in California, as the Los Angeles Times reported is a big problem. There is an easy solution to it.

Here in New Mexico, if you buy alcohol in a self-serve lane at the grocery store, the register beeps and you need a cashier's approval to purchase the alcohol (there is one cashier at the front of every four self-serve lanes).

So what is California's solution?

California already forbids cigarettes, spray paint and some over-the-counter medications to be sold in self-service checkouts to make it tougher for minors to obtain them. The bill, AB 1060, would add beer, wine and spirits to that list, according to its author, Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (D-South Gate).

Doesn't seem as smart.

Lance Armstrong: I thought it would be easier

From VeloNews, a more humble and contrite Lance Armstrong. He currently is in second place in the Tour de France by thousandths of a second (seriously).

“Here’s a confession: I expected it to be easier,” he said. “I expected it (12 months ago). Six months ago, I did not expect it. I realized – oh shit – this is harder than I thought. That’s the truth.”

A humbled Armstrong also took the opportunity to publicly apologize to riders he slighted in an interview published in John Wilcockson’s new Armstrong biography, calling last year’s Tour “a joke.”

“The Tour was a bit of a joke this year,” Armstrong told Wilcockson. “I’ve got nothing against Sastre or Christian Vande Velde. Christian’s a nice guy, but finishing fifth in the Tour de France? Come on.”

On Tuesday, Armstrong said he regretted those comments.