Real Life Miss Congeniality

This is a big week of competition. Forget the Stanley Cup Finals (which I almost did last night), the NBA playoffs, the Memorial, or even the French Open (which the American men want to forget every year). Miss Universe 2007 last night and the National Spelling Bee Thursday night. It doesn't get any better than those two events. It's always interesting watching events like these, so here's my thought process as last night's Miss Universe took place live from the National Auditorium in Mexico City on NBC.

• Parade of Nations: My top 15 were Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, India, Japan, Mexico, Peru, USA.
• Slovenia looks just like Paris Hilton.
• With the pageant being held in Mexico City, that means altitude is a factor. Will the contestants have enough endurance to last despite the high elevation?
• The duo of Mario Lopez and Vanessa Minillo is a lot better than Nancy O'Dell and Billy what's his face from Access Hollywood.
• Mario is so old, he hosted Vanessa's 1999 Miss Teen USA win.
• The reigning Miss Universe appears for the first time without her crown?!?!?! Is it gone, is something up?
• The real top 15: Venezuela, Thailand (huh?), Denmark, Nicaragua, Angola (proudest moment other than getting beaten by the Dream Team to open the '92 Olympics), Slovenia (I guess that Paris Hilton look paid off), USA, Brazil, India (absolutely gorgeous), Mexico (when does the host country's rep not advance?), Japan, Ukraine, Tanzania, Korea, and the Czech Republic.
• The top 15 run off stage, and with running comes, well some bouncing.
• NBC introduces their new take on The Bachelor. "Tennis star" Mark Philippoussis will star in the Age of Love where he will choose between 40 year old and 20 year old women for his bride. Philippoussis won 11 career pro tennis titles, his biggest being at Indian Wells, one of the 9 biggest tournaments after the 4 grand slams. He played in 2 grand slam finals, the '98 US Open and '03 Wimbledon. Unfortunately, Philippoussis has been compared to Anna Kournikova for his good looks but disappointing results. In my opinion, Philippoussis had a solid pro career. He did actually win tournaments, which Kournikova didn't do obviously. But he did not realize his full potential. Nicknamed "Scud", Philippoussis's serves consistently hit the 130-140 mph range. However, his volleying was inconsistent and his groundstrokes were never very good. As his career wore on, he had a lot of knee problems, pretty much ending his career. Still, Philippoussis could have any woman he wanted. Why is he on this tv show? This upcoming relationship won't last.
• Asia has as many representatives in the top 15 as Latin and South America combined, that's different.
• Because Hispanics are now the #1 minority in the US, can the US be considered part of Latin America?
• Now it's time to meet the judges and see how they're affiliated with NBC. Hey, it's Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys quarterback. I wonder how Carrie Underwood feels about this. It's a long way from the football fields of Eastern Illinois to the judges box at Miss Universe.
• Hello Michelle Kwan. Michelle Kwan vs. Miss USA who would win. Mich-elle!!!!!!
• What if a certain Coach Ditka entered the Miss Universe pageant......
• Wake up Statler, here come the bikinis!!!!! Oh we better set our pacemakers..... The judges like Japan, I like India. I think India is amazing with Brazil a close 2nd.
• The background music for the Swimsuit competition: RBD? Basically a Spanish combination of the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys put together. Very corny, except the lead girl singer is attractive. These guys sold out the LA Coliseum? Guess there was nothing else going in LA that night, at all!!!!
• Another reason why I like India: I can see a little Kate Middleton in her.
• Korea's name is Honey Lee. So will she be a Bond girl or a future Austin Powers lover?
• What?!?! Already time for the top 10, after just one event? What a joke. I get 8 of the top 10: Japan, Brazil, Korea, Tanzania, USA, Venezuela, India, Nicaragua, missing Angola and Mexico.
• When revealing the top 10, one of Miss USA's interests is playing with her dog. And there's nothing else you could've thought of????
• Angola's life ambition is to be a Miss Universe judge. She really has high goals.
• I want to know who writes the script the hosts read off because it's a joke. And I wonder how many years some of the lines have been used, come onnnnn.
• Time for the Evening Gown, and nothing sets the mood better for the Evening Gown than Sean Paul playing in the background.
• Angola has really sexy eyes.
• Ohhhh, USA falls on her butt. It's all over for her now. But wait, she recovers nicely and her score gives her a chance to make it to the next round if this is the only event for the last 10.
• After USA's fall, now everyone is walking slowly in their dresses. In fact, after USA, 3 of the next 4 fail to top USA despite her fall, including Mexico. Mexico is out of it, the crowd isn't going to be happy.
• The Final 5: Brazil, Venezuela, Korea, Japan, USA. The crowd isn't happy.
• Now it's time for The Final Question. Brazil is up first and she draws Dave Navarro (yeah, that Dave Navarro). Basically, his question goes like this, "Hey baby, for a man would you like someone wild or conservative."
• Now it's USA's turn and the crowd turns on her like it's the US playing Mexico in soccer in front of 110,000 crazed fans at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The crowd is jeering her with boos, whistles and chants of "Mexico" while the question is read and while she answers the question. Very classy. USA doesn't give a great answer, but she still pays respect to the Mexican people, making them shut up and at least making them be respectful to her the rest of the way.
• Before the winner is revealed, it's time to see what Miss Universe wins. She gets a lot of stuff, including BSC swimwear. And guess where BSC swimwear is based. Thailand. Ahh, now I see why she made the top 15.....
• Donald Trump gets booed when he's introduced, the crowd is relentless. I don't think Miss Universe will be coming back to Mexico anytime soon.
• Final results: 5. USA, 4. Korea, 3. Venezuela, 2. Brazil, 1. Japan. Japan's 1st win since 1959. I was surprised since Brazil was my 2nd choice after India.

Well, there you have it. Who knew there could be so much drama in a beauty pageant. For 15 seconds, it turned into a soccer game.

Where Did All The Jobs Go?

The Michigan economy is still stuck in the mud. Another 4,600 jobs were lost last month, the unemployment rate is 7.1% (national unemployment rate is 4.5%), and the state budget deficit is $800 million, $400 million more than previously thought. And it really all can be traced back to the problems GM, Ford, and Chrysler are having. The Big 3 continue to lose market share, so they produce fewer cars. And with higher gas prices, consumers are buying smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, which are primarily made by foreign imports. Cutbacks in production lead to cuts in employment, and over the last 2 years, there have been big cuts in employment. Employment cuts mean people's incomes are lower, which lowers their tax expenses, which has contributed to the state's budget deficit. If the budget deficit continues to grow, spending on schools and hospitals will be cut. Lower incomes lead to lower consumer spending, especially on big ticket items such as housing. The housing market here is great if you have the money. But for those living here who are struggling and trying to sell their home, it is rough to say the least. Housing market troubles have led to decreases in construction-related employment.

When the autos finish restructuring, the state's fortunes will turn for the better. But this summer, the United Auto Workers union will renegotiate their contract with the Big 3. Big 3 union workers, in total compensation (wages + benefits), make between $35-$40 more than their non-union counterparts who work at a Toyota, Honda, Nissan plant . That extra compensation is due to the pension plans the union workers receive, which amounts to about $1,600 of the total price of a car. It is thought by many that the union will have to give up some of their compensation, but will they after they've been receiving these benefits for so long? That's the wild card in the whole equation.

Does Michigan have to diversify its economy, yes. Will the auto industry always have a presence here, yes. That presence needs to focus more on the technological, innovative side. In a couple of weeks, I'll have the privilege of touring a state of the art auto supplier plant. This plant could've located anywhere in North America, but they chose Michigan because of the knowledge base here and the skill of the labor force.

In short, the auto plants will be just as big but will employ more technology and fewer people. Those people need to get 2-year degrees in a skilled trade so they can secure their futures because the days of high school diplomas followed by 30 years in the plant are over. And if Michigan can develop a climate that retains all of the talent attracted here by the colleges and universities present, then maybe Michigan will never have to go through a restructuring period such as this one.

While the economy struggles, the sports teams continue to do really well. Even the Lions may show some signs this year (hopefully not against Da Bears).

• Tomorrow is the pivotal Game 5 in the Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals between the Wings and Anaheim. If you want to know how important hockey is in this town, just ask the dismissed police officer who wanted to know the score of a Red Wings game in April of last year even though his wife had apparently overdosed on marijuana brownies and was lying on the floor of their house barely conscious.
• The Pistons have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the 5th consecutive year. (How the Red Wings are in the NHL West and the Pistons in the NBA East, I don't know.) I don't like the Pistons because they don't play hard all the time, they coast. As a fan of the game of basketball, I feel not playing hard all the time is the biggest sign of disrespect for the game. Why wouldn't you want to play hard? I don't get it.
• If the Pistons/Cavs series is anything like last year, it's going to be brutal to watch. The Pistons don't play hard and the Cavs can't shoot from the outside. If I'm Cleveland, I have to play Daniel Gibson more, the rookie from Texas. He's a very good player, just young, and he gives them a jump shooter.
• Back to hockey for a second. Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals between Ottawa and Buffalo in which Ottawa led the series 3-1 coming in, was upstaged by prerace coverage of The Preakness. Ottawa was 1 win away from the Stanley Cup finals, but Buffalo had pushed the game to overtime, and NBC cut to their 1 hour buildup of the Preakness. Ouch. Horse racing and boxing were the only two sports more irrelevant than hockey, until today.....
• I bought a 3 DVD set of Michael Jordan's best, which includes all the personal highlight videos of him, plus 5 full length games: his 63 pointer vs. Boston, 69 pointer vs. Cleveland, double nickel vs. Phoenix in the '93 Finals, the flu game vs. Utah in the '97 finals, and Game 6 of the '98 Finals (the shot). It's been fun to watch to say the least.

Have a good rest of the weekend.

Cleveland Rocks

This past weekend, I found myself in Northeast Ohio for a mini-college reunion, the setting being a wedding between two fellow Miami University graduates, or what we like to call a Miami Merger. For the life of me, I didn't remember the bride, despite the fact she was an RA in the residence hall next to mine which shared the same theme as my hall. But I was a member of the same service fraternity as the groom, a great, upstanding guy who does everything the right way (and he likes basketball). Yes, Alpha Phi Omega was out in full force this weekend in Cleveland and I quickly felt like I was transferred back in time to an APhiO formal.

Admittedly, I was very nervous about seeing old friends because it had been a long time and I drifted away from APhiO after a couple of years because of other commitments. At the beginning of my junior year at Miami, I was an RA for freshmen, I was vice-president of Hawkheads, the spirit group, getting ready to become President, and there was APhiO, plus school (oh yeah, school). Unfortunately, APhiO didn't make the cut in terms of getting my time and commitment. Did I plan it that way, no. And I'm sure people understood, but I still felt bad because joining APhiO opened a lot of doors for me and helped me become the person I am today. And the people that had a huge influence on me in APhiO would be at this wedding, the same people I guess I turned my back on at a certain point even though I didn't mean to.

I won't use their names, but I can describe them. I already mentioned the groom, but the other three people I'll mention were very good to me and I hope they know how appreciative I am for all they have given me. First, there is a young woman who is Ms. Who-Dey, the female ambassador of all Cincinnati Bengals fans out there. In fact, she even sang the Bengal fight song after the reception last night. She's always fun to hang out with; she and I did every stupid old person dance on the dance floor last night, which was tons of fun. She's kind and caring, and best of all, she's a teacher. What more can you ask for?

Second, there's my Miami basketball buddy who loves basketball as much as I do. In addition to her high basketball IQ, she is very knowledgable about the banking industry in which she works (I learned quite a bit from her last night). She also has this sweetness about her that makes you feel comfortable and allows you to feel good about yourself. I think that's very important.

Next is another teacher, but she has the pleasure of teaching gifted students. The first word that comes to mind when I think of this person is passionate. She does nothing halfway, it's all or nothing. She was an RA with the bride in the same hall when I was a freshman, but she and I quickly became good friends. She taught me to be passionate and to show it, especially when doing service. She always has a smile on her face and she's absolutely wonderful.

And last, but certainly not least, one of my best friends. I think what makes us great friends is that we appreciate each other's perspective on life. When we put our respective perspectives (try saying that 10 times fast) together, we complement each other well. Before this weekend, I knew we would be best friends forever; after this weekend, I now know our relationship is special and that we will definitely be best friends forever, nothing more, nothing less. And I am thankful for that.

It was a very good weekend. Here are some other tidbits at least I found interesting:

• I had one of the best chocolate milkshakes of my life on the way there Friday night. Vermillion travel plaza, Ohio Turnpike, TCBY Yogurt, heaven I swear.
• I-90 in Cleveland was one big speed trap. There would be 2 highway patrol cars every several miles, one manning the gun, the other ready to chase the offender down.
• It's hard to not be distracted by Jacobs Field staring you in the face as you drive through downtown Cleveland. I'd really love to see a game there sometime.
• The only thing I wasn't crazy about (of course) was the DJ. Everything else was perfect: the ceremony, the reception, the food. But he did partially save himself with blaring Livin On A Prayer at the very end.
• Kudos to the people at Damon's Friday night for getting dinner out to my best friend (who suffered through a 9 1/2 hour car ride) quickly and for making a perfect prime rib for me, at 9:30pm of all times.
• You know the Toledo-Sandusky portion of the Turnpike is dead flat when the Canadian soft rock station is coming through loud and clear from the other side of Lake Erie.

And now for the sports portion of the program:

• Good to see Lefty win The Players by striking the ball beautifully. I wonder how Tiger feels when he sees Lefty and Butch Harmon hugging after Lefty wins "the fifth major".
• Memo to Rory Sabbatini: Stop talking smack about Tiger. Last week, you wanted Tiger. Well you got him, and he beat you, with his B- game at best. This week, you said you think he's as beatable as ever. Well, despite his poor performance this week (tied for 37th), you still couldn't beat him, despite sharing the 1st round lead.
• I'm kind of excited for the French Open tennis tournament. Can Federer beat Nadal and become arguably the greatest player of all time?
• As far as the NBA playoffs go, I've really enjoyed the Golden State/Utah series. Very entertaining and good offense. But I'm getting the feeling we're heading for a Pistons/Spurs finals, which means another unwatchable finals.

That's all I got for now, talk to ya later.