Keeping with our Top Ten list theme, I submit what I view as the top ten political sites I visit regularly (or irregularly).

1. Daily Kos
2. This Modern World
3. Eschaton
4. Talking Points Memo
5. AmericaBlog
6. MyDD
7. Informed Comment
8. Bob Harris
9. Oliver Willis
10. The Next Hurrah

Super Bowl XL in Detroit will feature one team that's never made it to the championship game, in the Seattle Seahawks, and another who hasn't claimed the title since polyester pants and disco were all the rage, in the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though the Steelers made it to the Super Bowl in 1995, they walked away on the losing side, and have yet to get back. In today's games, there really wasn't much doubt who was going to win. Pittsburgh entertained a 24-3 lead over the hometown Broncos at halftime on the way to a 34-17 pummeling, while the Seahawks stymied the Carolina offense, allowing only a punt return TD by Steve Smith, and a garbage-time TD reception on their way to a 34-14 pasting of the upstart Panthers.

While the network TV folks might not be happy about Seattle/Pittsburgh, I've had just enough of Tom Brady and the boring Patriots year in and year out. I wouldn't have minded seeing Peyton Manning and the Colts get their shot, but they too had the limelight all through the regular season, while Seattle and Pittsburgh quietly prepared for the playoffs. It should be a good game, one that the odds-makers in Vegas will likely say tilts toward the Steelers, though I'm unconvinced.

As mentioned previously here, my Three And Out squad (we're talking Fantasy Football again) needed Pittsburgh to win to get a near-lock on the team's second trophy in five years. Now, it looks like we're there. At the conclusion of today's games, Three And Out is leading 229 to 207 over the nearest challenger, and has more players available than any other for the Big Game. (Matt Hasselback, Hines Ward, Pittsburgh Special Teams and both Defenses) Though I wasn't excited to see Steve Smith scuttled, he did pull off a masterful punt return for a TD, which in itself was worth 11 of his 13 points scored today. You've got to believe I was excited to see that - and doubly so as my Seattle Defense wasn't on the hook for giving it up. A great football day.

I hate it when I find out my favorite shows are being canceled.

My wife quasi-introduced me to West Wing when we were dating. I was always aware of the show, but didn't take to it until 2003, and using the magic powers of TiVo, I had it set to record all the older re-runs on Bravo, so during a regular week, I could get five older episodes and the new one from the current season on NBC.

With West Wing being moved to Sundays now, their ratings have dropped, and we were all shocked to learn of the death of John Spencer, who played the gutty Leo, running for Vice President alongside Jimmy Smits. But I still rooted for the show to go on. It's suspenseful, intelligent, and funny, all at once.

From the AP article: NBC Cancels 'West Wing' After 7 Seasons

The new president on "The West Wing" will be a real short-timer: NBC announced Sunday it was pulling the plug on the Emmy-winning political drama after seven seasons in May. NBC, struggling to regain its footing after the worst season in its history, also outlined several midseason schedule changes _ including the moves of popular dramas "Law & Order" and "Las Vegas." "The West Wing" announcement wasn't much of a surprise. Although this season's story line with a presidential campaign involving a Democrat played by Jimmy Smits and Republican portrayed by Alan Alda has been strong critically, ratings have sunk with its move to Sunday nights.

Oh well - as with NYPD Blue, I guess it was eventually time for the show to move on.

It's no secret that the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most expensive locations to live in the country, if not the world. I am agape at the "bargains" available in the rest of the country - where it's not uncommon to see billboards advertising homes in the "Low $80s to $100s" and beyond. Given it costs you more than $350,000 to get a 1 BR/1BA condo here, the difference is enough to make one consider other options. After all, with high speed Internet being a great equalizer on telecommuting and communication, and relatively cheap airfare available, then what difference does it really make whether one lives in Alameda or Albequerque, Mountain View or Montana?

Every month or so, we get notices telling us what prices homes and condos in our area have sold for, what the owners were asking, and what they received. On a back of the napkin calculation, one could easily guesstimate we could get more than $450k for our 2 BR/2 BA condo - provided we replace the carpets and hide all notice that a dog has been one of the primary residents.

Putting that in perspective, here's what a comparable amount of money will get you in other areas of the country:

Denver, Colorado: 4 BD, 3 BA, 2,700 sq ft $350,000

Billings, Montana: 5 BD, 3.5 BA, 3,000 sq ft $320,000

Kansas City, Missouri 5 BD, 5 BA, 1.4 acres $350,000

Atlanta, Georgia 4 BD, 3 BA, 2 story $350,000

Nashville, Tennessee 5 BD, 3.5 BA, 3,200 sq ft $350,000

Provo, Utah 5 BD, 6 BA, 4,800 sq ft $350,000


So, in theory, you're telling me I can trade up to a 5 bedroom, 6 bathroom, 4,800 square foot home with central air conditioning and a lake view, and LOWER my mortgage payments, and all I have to do is move to the Beehive State? Where do I sign up?