There he is again, our Irish friend Marty, trying to pretend like he is not conspiring to steal the other children's bisucits. Don't let him fool you, the only thought running through his mind is how can I get more biscuits and juice without the Americans stopping me, and making me share. I would just like to take this oppurtunity one more time to thank Ireland for this essential contribution to society as a whole.......

Scanning the headlines and newstories for the day, many stories jumped out and caught my attention, but none more than the article on "Kosher Phones" for ultra-Orthodox Rabbis in Israel. I am really glad to see that we are resolving one of the major problems in the Holy Lands, not he PLO-Israeli conflict, the fighting over the Gaza Strip, the car bombings, or terrorist attacks, no the main problem is obviously that cell phones (of the non-Kosher variety) allow access to sinful behavior (sex lines, explicit images, and the like), and thus they are automatically evil, like all mediums that allow for choice. This story is a perfect example of why fundamentalism is so dangerous in any form. While stories like these seem to take society back to the dark ages, I was happy to read about a progressive story about unification efforts between once rival nations Japan and China....

In sports the Red Wings defeated the Predators yesterday. Kudos the Brendan Shanahan and Jason Williams who each netted 1 goal and 1 assist in the 4-2 victory in Nashville last night. Hopefully our own CCU baseball team will fair as well this weekend as they take on Johnson and Free Will this weekend down in Tennessee minus six of our key players. The countdown is officially on to opening day, only two days left, and I can't wait.......

Thats it for me, stay tune for more of Marty

After reviewing more of everyone's pictures from N. Ireland I have decided to start each post off with a bit about Marty, the man, the myth, the legend. In this particular picture we find the wee lad posing and dancing for the camera, and for the Americans as a whole. It was around this time that Crego asked him to say "thirty-three and a third". The Marty responded with "you smell................gimme that camera you!" Finally after much gnashing of teeth, Marty eventually uttered the phrase, only it sounded like this "firty-free and a fird"......priceless. As soon as the video footage is obtained, it will be posted immediatley, and no matter how bad your day is going, you will be forced to laugh hysterically. Do yourself a favor, and never forget the image of this boy......


Now its back to the real world, which is not nearly as cool as life in Ireland. President Bush is scheduled to visit Cancun today for a two day North American summit along side Mexican President Vicente Fox and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Trade and immigration will be the top subjects discussed over the next two days. With all the controversy surronding immigration in our country, a thought hit me today. Why are all of the protesters not marching against Fox and the Mexican government to demand jobs from their home country? Not to say that Bush's guest worker proposal is without defect, fare be it from that, however it is not the duty of America to solely bare all the burdens of the western hemisphere. Across the pond it has now been about 4 days since Scotland began to enforce its smoking ban in public places. Congratulations to Scotland for joining a handful of other nations, states, and municipalities around the world in joining to make the world a healthier place in restaurants, bars, pubs, and other public areas. I hope that Scotland will prove to the rest of the UK (and Europe for that matter) that banning public smoking can be benefical to the health of the people, without the negative effects on the economy that many smokers argue......

In sports today former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell will launch a investigation into alleged steroid use by multiple MLB players. However it will be difficult for MLB to penalize anyone prior to 2003 when the offical ban took effect in the league. I just hope all of this investigation and government involvement will go away before opening day on Sunday, so that fans can once again enjoy baseball, not focus on legal issues....

-Thats if for today, stay tuned next time for more of the life and teachings of Marty

Take a good long look at this wee lad. His name is Martin, and he is no doubt one of the most influential people you will ever meet in your life. Since returning from N. Ireland almost two weeks ago, Martin has no doubt been the most discussed topics among all the team members on the trip. We can learn a lot about the world through this silly, chubby, mischevious, young man. While we saw him run about the playground kicking others in the shins, and shouting "Chicken, you smell!"... Piggy, I'm gonna fry you up into bacon and eat ya". Martin was also seen hording his biscuits during snack time shouting "don't touch me biscuits". Martin can remind us all that life should not be taken so seriously, and even with all of the Protestant-Catholic conflict in Ireland, if we could learn to be more like Martin the world would be a better place. A better, silly, silly, place.....

Now onto the hot topic in American politics for this week: Immigration. The GOP is spilt over what to do with the estimated 11.5 million "illegal aliens" that reside in the U.S., as well as our future policy regarding immigration. President Bush has explicitly said that he does not believe amnesty is an option, and therefore he introduced his guest worker program. Under this program he wants immigrants to learn English, pass criminal checks, and hold jobs in order to have citizenship. Many feel that amnesty and open borders would be the way to go, costing less money for border control, and allowing immigrants a chance to perform jobs that Americans simply don't want. The debate will remain heated for awhile at least, until the cable news networks and talk radio decides what the next crisis will be in the politcal realm.....

Now onto sports. Michigan dominated Old Dominion last night en route to the NIT championship Thursday night vs. defending champions S. Carolina. This will be seen by most (including this Michigan fan) as another bittersweet reminder that while both teams have had recent NIT success, there has been no NCAA tournament appeareances for the Wolverines since Glenn Rice. It seems that though they teased early in the season, UofM will be condemned to mediocrity for another season finishing the regular season losing 7 of 9 games.... In MLB news, Prior and Wood are both on the 15 day DL to start the season (insert mandatory cubs curse cliche here). Barry Bonds claims that his "life is in shambles" right now with the swiriling steroids controversy, and nagging health problems. It must be a tough life to play professional sports for a living. The good news is that the Red Wings have already clinched a play-off spot, as well as the central division.

-Seacrest out