ESPN (and you) are missing a potentially nifty stat, at least for us Americans with a short attention span: The team that scores the last goal usually wins!

I have no stats to back this up, and might be wrong, but what the heck. I'll let you provide the sabermetrics of soccer.

Also: Is it true that the team with the largest endorsement contracts, in toto, usually win? Size (of monetary compensation) matters.

I review a lot of music, including music for kids, archived at http://www.romm.org/CD_recommend.html . In addition to old favorites like Peter Paul and Mary, Tom Paxton and Tom Chapin, there are new(er) musicians such as Joe Scruggs and Michael Mish. As I've found out from my nieces and nephews, it's all new to a two year old.

I'm glad more and more former young people are making music for kids. I'm also happy that established musicians are turning an eye to the younger set: The Roches and Bill Staines have done good albums. The resurgence of Schoolhouse Rock DVDs and a continuing exploration of dinosaurs shows just how timeless this music is.

Here's an amendment to the Constitution that everyone can get behind:

No Flag Burning at Gay Marriages.

The time is now.

Republicans like to accuse the Democrats of "cut and run". I accuse the Republicans of being the "Sitting Duck" party. The chickenhawks want to leave our brave soldiers in a vulnerable spot without an exit strategy. I'd much rather follow the lead of the soldiers in the field and withdraw from a quagmire than to have our men and women in uniform be the playthings of election year politics.

Bob Novak is a traitor, by his own admission.

Ann Coulter is a terrorist, by her own admission.

George W. Bush broke US law and could be tried as an international war criminal, says the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

And many more. But all these people don't think they're breaking the law. They're proud to be criminals, in the Dirty Harry, "You can't handle the truth", "you're either with us or with the terrorists" sort of way.

Pathetic. Sad. Dangerous. The morals of this country are going to hell because the sphincter conservatives don't think laws or ethics apply to them. Would you really want any of these people to be a role model for your son or daughter?

"The Republicans are continuing their "Sitting Duck" troop deployment. I think the situation is difficult, but what we're doing is clearly not working. Shame on George W. Bush for lying to get us into this war, and shame on the conservatives who continue to lie to cover up their stupidity.

"We Democrats propose to "Consult with the Generals" on the most efficient use of our brave soldiers, and to watch Iraq and neighboring countries to ensure "Region Stability". We will involve the world community as well as the elected Iraqi government for political solutions. America is strong, and we are stronger when other countries are with us.

"That's my platform on Iraq. Vote for me. Thank you and good night."

I don't follow baseball all that much, unless the Twins are winning! Still, it seems that your PRV stat could be useful, but you seem to be ignoring something we baseball duffers (if you'll allow me to mix sports metaphors) are looking for: In the Grand Strategy of the Game the coach has to make a decision when the pitcher is up. The coach has to decide when to Pull For a Pinch Hitter. Less important in the AL, I suppose, but the principle is the same: When does the pitcher get taken from the game? That says a great deal about how valuable the pitcher is. The PFPH adjustment to the PRV stat tells you how valuable the coach thinks the pitcher is non-pitching situations and/or how many innings a pitcher can contribute.

How does this work? Got me. I'm the Acronym Guy, not the Baseball Guy. I'll leave the details up to you.

Okay, maybe the Mastergate scandal is just too salacious to take without a few suggestive jokes. It's hard not to titter, just a little, at the thought of a probe into Mark Foley and the people who covered up for him. Hastert is, um, just getting himself deeper into doo-doo.

I'm having a great time imagining all the right-wing preachers pounding on their lecterns, using these words, without getting it.

If Iraq is Gondor and our soldiers are fighting a distraction while the real action is on Mount Doom then that makes Cheney analogous to Frodo, Bush analogous to Samwise... and Karl Rove is Gollum. Maybe Santorum is onto something.

"Amok Time" is one of the better Star Trek episodes because it was written by one of the best science fiction writers, then or now, Theodore Sturgeon. He also wrote "Shore Leave" which isn't as good but is still fun. One of the strengths of Star Trek was the writing by guest sf authors. I'm still amused that Sturgeon, who wrote brilliant sf for decades, may best be remembered for the phrase, "Live long and prosper."

In Tolkein terms, stretched as they are, George W. Bush would be King Theoden, son of Thengel, the King of Rohan. Cheney would be Grima Wormtongue, turning Theoden away from his family and the advice of his counselors. While the analogy is hardly perfect, we do have to remove Wormtongue (ie impeach Cheney) before we can bring back a good leader to Rohan (by impeaching Bush). Oh, where's Gandalf when we need him? Oh yeah, the Balrog Karl Rove got him...