Cats Win Music City Bowl

A few years ago I wrote an editorial that appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal's Sports section. In the piece I suggested the University of Kentucky was fortunate to have Mitch Barnhart as AD and Rich Brooks as the head football coach. Of course, Brooks endured innumerable challenges resurrecting the program he rescued from the depths of NCAA sanctions.

Many thought I was crazy. But today I feel vindicated. The University of Kentucky Wildcats handily defeated the Clemson Tigers in a well-played Music City Bowl matchup.

Clemson, of course, was a heavy favorite. Odds meant nothing to the Wildcats, though, who brought the University of Kentucky its first bowl win in 22 years. The win was the team's eighth of the year, also very much a rarity for the Wildcats who must contend each year in the (everyone remove hats) Southeastern Conference.

Well done, Wildcats. Rich Brooks can pronounce his resurrection complete. Kentucky's back to fielding a competitive (and programmatically clean) football team.

Windows Exploits Beat Vista To Market!

How secure is Microsoft's newest client operating system? Keep in mind Redmond developers took a few extra years in delaying the release to bolster the new OS' security and make it the most impenetrable Windows version yet.

Well, it's back to the drawing board, it appears. Before Windows Vista was even released to consumers hackers have published dangerous exploits revealing just how vulnerable the new Windows release is. The exploit code, posted publicly on the Web overseas, has triggered Microsoft's emergency response team, even though the OS isn't even yet available (to consumers)!

Apparently the new OS is subject to a csrss.exe vulnerability that enables anyone with the posted information to leverage memory corruption by targeting Windows' notoriously weak APIs (in this case the MessageBox interface). Particularly concerning is the fact that csrss.exe is Windows' main executable.

Once the exploit is in place, a hacker could elevate their privileges on the target system. Presumably, the potential exists for an unauthorized user to take control of your Vista system (and all its data). This before the OS is even released.

While embarrassing for Microsoft, it's to be expected. With 95 percent of the market, coders will continue targeting every product Microsoft releases. Still, to have your new flagship OS hacked before it's even released doesn't bode well for all the new security improvements supposedly integrated within the new OS.

Reds Adding To Roster

Under the direction of new Cincinnati Reds CEO and Owner Bob Castellini, the club continues making aggressive roster moves. Beginning last summer, when the team traded popular stars Austin Kearns (OF) and Felipe Lopez (SS) and pitcher Ryan Wagner to the Washington Nationals for a wounded middle-reliever (Gary Majewski), pitchers Bill Bray and Daryl Thompson, shortstop Royce Clayton and infielder Brendan Harris. While the trade failed (the goal was obviously to bolster pitching in an attempt to gain post-season play), Castellini deserves credit for at least being willing to shake up the roster.

Recognizing the pitching problems haven't been solved, this off season the club's again at work. The Reds have added veteran outfielder/first basemen Jeff Conine to the mix. Rather than being attracted by his low price tag ($2M, one year), the Reds claim to have been attracted by his professionalism and durability.

Last month the Reds also traded for Alex Gonzalez, a World Series-winning shortstop, and Mike Stanton, a left-handed late-innings reliever. Further proving last summer's massive trade initiative is a confirmed flop, this week the team designated Harris for assignment to make room for the new players.

Only time will tell if Castellini's latest moves prove successful. In the interim, critics should at least respect the new owner's attempts to right the ship. If he could just get behind the effort to enshrine Pete Rose, I could like him all the more.

Vegetarians More Intelligent Than Meat Eaters

A scientific, statistically valid study of thousands of men and women reveals that vegetarians are more intelligent than meat-eaters. The results, published in the British Medical Journal, tracked 8,000 test participants over 20 years.

Not only are vegetarians' IQs higher, but they are significantly higher (about 5 percent). Further, vegetarians are much more likely to have gained degrees and held down "high-powered" jobs.

Vegans, it might be added, scored significantly lower than vegetarians eating dairy products. And, anyone who knows me knows cheese constitutes the first layer of my personal food pyramid.

The results are no surprise to me. Since turning vegetarian in 2000 I've found I feel lighter, eat more, weigh less, possess significantly lower body fat, get sick (colds, flu, etc.) much less often, think more clearly and generally feel better overall since eliminating red meat, chicken, pork and turkey from my diet.

What I'd like to see next is a study showing the intelligence levels of vegetarian Mac users. As I've reported before, Mac users, too, have been statistically shown to be more creative, and more intelligent, than Windows users.

;-)

Cards' Williams Speaks Truth

Following a tough loss against a competitive UMass Minuteman team, Louisville forward Terrence Williams shared what might be the perfect sports quotation. In describing why a young U of L team suffered poor shot selection for a second game, the sophomore spoke these candid words:

"We're old enough to know what a challenged shot is," he said. "But we're still young enough to keep doing it."

Nothing wrong with a little honesty.

This Card team is young. Several players are new. It's going to take a while for this group to gel. But when they do, likely next year, the results should be enjoyable to watch.

In the interim, cut this group some slack. There will be some growing pains.

Stern Gives In! NBA To Return To Old Ball

I though NBA Commissioner David Stern was going to stick with his new microfiber composite basketball to the very bitter end. Apparently the very bitter end has arrived, as ESPN is reporting the NBA will return to using the old school leather balls beginning January 1st.

While Stern had spoken numerous times and adamantly against reverting to the old ball (despite repeated player requests), injuries are apparently triggering the switch. He deserves credit for reversing course, but the question I leave you with is why did Stern or the NBA ever feel the need to switch, anyway?

Louisville Wins Big East Title

Fueled by a blowout victory over Connecticut, the Louisville Cardinals yesterday won the Big East 2006 title. The Cards are conference champions. Best of all, by virtue of the win, Louisville earns the Big East's automatic bid to the BCS' Orange Bowl.

While the Cards needed West Virginia to knock off Rutgers, a feat the Mountaineers were barely able to complete in a triple overtime win, Louisville finally secured a prestigious BCS bowl bid. Gone are the days of competing in the Motor City and Liberty Bowls. There's no doubt the Big East move is proving fortuitous.

And, Big East critics, ponder this. At one point this year the Big East placed three different teams in the top ten (or 12), two different teams in the top five and three teams in the top 15. Not bad for a conference some suggest doesn't deserve an automatic BCS bid. Compare the Big East versus the Big 12 or even Pac 10 this year and it's clear the Big East's automatic BCS bid is well-earned and deserved.