From everything I hear and read...

...all signs point to a big Obama victory this Tuesday. Don't believe the hype about the race tightening or McCain gaining ground in the final days. All the best minds on cable and the Internet (Charlie Cook and Matthew Dowd are just two that come immediately to mind) are describing in great detail just how difficult McCain's path to victory is. Obama might even be trying to run up the score (and get to that all-important number of 60 Democratic Senators) by buying TV ad space in Georgia, South Dakota, and get this, Arizona. McCain, meanwhile, is spending much of his time in Pennsylvania, where Obama has a double-digit lead.

A good product I have found...

...is Trident Pubhouse Battered Halibut. It is the best deep-fried frozen fish I have ever had. I don't want to oversell it, but it's really good if you like that sort of thing. You'll find it in your grocer's freezer.

All five schools in the Catholic Blue...

...St. Rita, Mt. Carmel, Brother Rice, Loyola, and Providence are in the playoffs.

The quarterback facing Loyola this weekend...

...is six-foot-six, 230-pound Evan Watkins. He's a Northwestern University recruit who reminds Loyola head coach John Holecek of Daunte Culpepper. Watkins led Glenbard North to a runner-up finish at the state championship last year. Although North enters the post-season with three losses, they were all close decisions to strong opponents. Should be a good game!

This just in...

...GBS running back Mike Schroeder will miss this Saturday's playoff game against Schaumburg due to a broken leg suffered in the New Trier game. Greg Benz will be his likely replacement; it's a big loss for the Titans.

I guess I started another trend...

...first taking the sticks off of suckers and now blogging. My brother Tom has informed me that he'd like to start one. I hope he does; it's been lonely these last two days. Good luck, Tom; remember to use spell check...

Two good restaurants...

...I just went to are Sabatino's in Portage Park (what realtors now call "Old Irving") and Twin Anchors in Old Town (?). I had never been to Sabatino's before but was assured that it was an old-time Chicago Italian restaurant replete with lots of goodfellas and wiseguys. In fact, I told my two brothers not to be too surprised if one of the guys at the next table excused himself to go to the bathroom and returned with a gun and BA-DA-BING! blew his dinner partners' brains out all over his nice Ivy League suit. Actually, the crowd was quite tame (no gunfire while we were there) and the food was outstanding. We had to wait a little for our table but it was well worth it. Next time my brothers come in town we'll try Abruzzo's in Melrose Park. Maybe we'll see some dark shirts and white ties there.

As for Twin Anchors, it is always a safe bet, although we had to wait two hours on a Saturday night for a table (they don't take reservations). I've been there many times and of course we all had the ribs. If any readers out there know of better ribs in the Chicagoland area (and northwest Indiana) please let me know. I'm willing to entertain challengers.

I'd recommend both establishments, but remember to get to Twin Anchors early as there is almost always a crowd.

Key high school matchups this weekend...

...include no. 1 Maine South (9-0) vs. Stevenson (5-4); no. 11 Glenbrook South (8-1) vs. Schaumburg (5-4); and no. 17 Loyola (7-2) vs. dark horse Glenbard North (6-3). If Maine South and Loyola are victorious Saturday they will meet up next week in Park Ridge. I can think of at least one blogger who will be in attendance. Bob Sakamoto of the Chicago Tribune is calling for Maine South to play Glenbrook South in the semifinals. Who knows? Stay tuned.

As an aside, rising star Minnesota should handle Northwestern easily with the injuries to two Wildcat starters, Tyrell Sutton and C. J. Bache. The Gophers would have won anyway due to home field advantage and their much improved play. Like Michigan State, they are a notch below Big Ten powerhouses Ohio State and Penn State. Keep your eye on that team!

Midwestern college football fans will have to content themselves with Texas-Texas Tech or Florida-Georgia. Dartmouth-Harvard? Maybe it's a good weekend to get outside and rake those leaves.

Sarah Palin is nothing more...

...than a female Mike Huckabee. Yes, she'll be the darling of the Religious Right for the next four years, but she'll never get the Republican nomination. She only appeals to the twenty-something percent that still approves of the job George W. Bush is doing (who are those people, anyway? Does anyone out there know any of them?). After Mike Huckabee won the Iowa caucus and was enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame, David Brooks was asked about his chances of winning the nomination. Brooks, who comes across as a truly nice man, essentially dismissed him by saying that "he doesn't believe in evolution." This is the same sort of thing that will ultimately do in Sarah Palin. She's kind of a modern-day Charles Lindberg and will go down in history as an asterisk.

I just finished a good book...

...called "Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger's" by John Elder Robison. I am currently reading "Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties" by Robert Stone. Last summer I read "The Ride of Our Lives" by Mike Leonard. All good books.

I just saw Obama's infomercial...

...how could you not vote for this guy? What a breath of fresh air...

While I'm waiting for Obama's infomercial...

...I thought I'd jot down a few thoughts on the death of my former colleague, Joe Luizzi. As readers of this blog know, Joe committed suicide a week or so ago. Joe and I worked together for a year at HSBC. Actually, I was brought in to be his boss and I don't think he ever got used to it. I don't blame him; I would have resented me, too. Anyway, I grew to admire Joe and respect him as well. He had a good feel for the market; his morning comments were often very prescient. I shouldn't be surprised that he achieved so much success trading. But Joe also had a good heart; he was a good guy. A day or so ago I visited his guest book on the Trib's obit site. I was struck by many of them. Some were written by friends of his parents, others by high school classmates who hadn't seen him in years. The ones from the Merc hit me the most. One in particular lamented that he and Joe hadn't jammed like they had planned. (Joe was an amateur musician; I don't know what instrument he played, but he was very into music.) He finished the post by saying that they'd "meet again some day, ZaZa"(Joe's nickname). That touched me. It sounded so "Merc." Do people really believe they'll see each other again some day, somewhere? The other thing that struck me was Joe's actual death notice in the Trib. Before reading it, I had felt so sorry for Joe's wife, his parents, and the rest of his family. But in his obit he was remembered, among other things, as the "fond master" of Stella and the rest of his dogs. I had forgotten that side of Joe, the dog-lover. It was another example of his big heart.

Joe's death is a tragedy for his loved ones and friends. But it's also a loss for all of us, because he was a truly special human being. He will be missed.

My New Blog

This is the first edition of my new blog. I just learned how to start it from Andrew Sullivan. It's mostly a test; let's see where this thing goes.