Climbing bike lock

If you own a bike then I'm sure you own a bike lock. But even the best of bike locks can be broke or cut and your bike stolen.

But what if you were able to lock your bike to a pole, say 10 feet in the air?

Then no one could steal it.

That's the idea behind the German company, Conrad, and their new pole climbing bike lock.

The lock uses motorized rollerblade wheels to scale up a lamp post. All you need to do is attach the lock to the post, hook your bike to the lock and let the robot climb the pole.

Here's a video about the making of the lock. If you don't want to watch the whole video, you have to go to 1:20 in the video, so you can see the contraption in work. It even is complete with the familiar car alarm "beep".

Matt Lauer loses it over "size of package"

On the TODAY Show this morning Matt Lauer was interviewing Jean Chatzky about ways for consumers to handle the rising price of food. Lauer asked a question about the size of the package and couldn't keep a straight face as Chatzky explained the importance of “the size of the package.”

Singapore Polo Team's trunks

The Singapore water polo team is wearing some questionable uniforms the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Let's just say it's an interesting rendition of the Singapore flag.


The trunks were designed by the team and evidently the crescent moon was supposed to be placed more on the thigh. But instead, it jets straight up from the groin.

And to top it off, the rules indicate that uniforms cannot be changed so the team must continue to wear these for the rest of the event.

Dancing lessons

I found this video in the Just South of North video vault.

It's of Brandon dancing back in the day. The strange thing is, he still dances EXACTLY like this.

Derek Anderson explodes during interview

The Arizona Cardinals were pummeled by the San Fransisco 49ers in last nights Monday Night Football game 27-6.

After the game a reporter got pummeled by Derek Anderson.

Anderson went 16 of 35 for 196 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. However, late in the game cameras showed Anderson laughing on the sideline with a teammate. In the post game a reporter, Kent Somers οf thе Arizona Republic, asked him what the context of the conversation was because the Cardinals were getting destroyed.

And as the video shows, Anderson explodes.

I took three things from this:

1. Anderson completely over reacted to the situation. He should have just moved on to the next question. He hasn't been exactly awesome on the field and now the fans have another reason not to like him.

2. The reporter asked a stupid question. What does it matter if Anderson was laughing on the sideline during the loss? Why not ask him about his ability to run the offense? Or about the coaches gameplan for the game? Instead, Somers asked about something totally irrelevant.

3. The NFL should go back to the last two years and give Kurt Warner the MVP award. The Cardinals lost him to retirement and now the team SUCKS.

Roy G. Biv

Oh good ol' Roy G. Biv.

PS - No, this isn't about a double rainbow.

Building an igloo time lapse

With winter here why not try something new on your next campout. Just because the snow is here doesn't mean you have to stop camping. But maybe this time, leave the tent at home and build an igloo.

2011 Garmin-Cervélo team jersey design

Today Slipstream Sports, LLC released a sneak peak of Team Garmin-Cervélo jerseys. Earlier this year Team Garmin-Transitions and Cervélo SA joined forces for the 2011 season to create a new team that is known as Garmin-Cervélo.

Check out the team jersey:

What do you think of the new look?

I think the black is pretty cool. A much tougher look than the white of last year.

However I really hope that there is more argyle on the jersey than just the sleeve. The argyle is what really sets the Garmin jerseys apart from other cycling teams.

I guess we'll see once the team releases views of the full kit.

And here's what this year's jersey looked like in case you forgot:

Happy Holidays from Spokane

I have my Christmas lights up in Polson, MT but I feel like getting a little Holiday cheer from Spokane, Wash. Help me out KHQ...

SPOKANE, Wash. - Police have reopened the west end of Riverfront Park after the Water Rescue Team retrieved a body from the Spokane River. It is unclear if the body is that of a man or woman but police say they do believe it is an adult. The park is now reopened and police will continue their investigation into the incident.

No word yet if it's Boise State's kicker either...

Epic Video Zamboni almost runs over announcer

Why are they trying to run over hockey announcers when they should be trying to run over ESPN sideline reporters?

We've found a place to send the Kardashians

Scientists have to be pretty pumped about this one.

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft recently performed the closest flyby of Rhea, the second-largest moon of Saturn, ever, to discover what scientists have long suspected: Rhea, like a couple of Jupiter’s moons, has a little baby atmosphere. And while this atmosphere is mostly oxygen and carbon dioxide, there isn’t enough oxygen to be breathable by humans; and while the carbon dioxide could be cause by the existence of rudimentary life, there are a lot of other things that could cause it to appear.

In order to get a good reading, Cassini had to fly within 60 miles of Rhea’s surface (for comparison, 60 miles up on Earth, and you’ve just reached the beginning of the Thermosphere, higher than meteors but below the Space Shuttle, right about where the Aurora hangs out). It turns out that oxygen makes up about 70% of Rhea’s atmosphere, but it’s still about 5,000,000,000,000 times thinner than Earth’s atmosphere. So, not an opportunity for human explorers to breathe in an alien sky just yet.

So perhaps, just perhaps, unintelligent life lives on Rhea. I'm sure they'll get their own reality TV series.

Why the SEC sucks...

I don't think anyone in the South is aware of how ridiculous this is. (From Deadspin)

Kid falls from stands at ASU game, still has better weekend than Boise State kicker

Well reports were the kid didn't cry, I'm sure that wasn't the case for BSU's kicker.

The most un-American American

Say hello to the douche of the year. This guy stabbed a Mariner during a "Toys for Tots" drive. Awesome, don't let the loser door hit you in your arse on your way to jail. Oh and don't drop the soap.

(CNN) -- A Marine Corps reservist helping in a "Toys for Tots" drive was stabbed Friday when he grappled with a fleeing shoplifting suspect, authorities in Augusta, Georgia, said.

Cpl. Phillip Duggan, 24, suffered a single stab wound. He was treated and released from the hospital later Friday, Sgt. Dan Carrier of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office said. "He's doing fine."

The suspect attempted to conceal property and was confronted by Best Buy employees, authorities said. An employee struggled with the suspect, who brandished a knife. The employees backed away from the armed man to prevent any injury to themselves or customers, Carrier told CNN.

Duggan and several other Marines wearing their dress blues were conducting the annual toy drive in the breezeway of the Best Buy when they heard the commotion and saw the suspect flee through the store entrance, Carrier said.

Duggan tackled the suspect and other Marines also moved to stop the suspect, who stabbed Duggan once in the middle of his back, close to his spine, Carrier said.

The dude is a Marine though and just walked off the stab wound (okay he went to the hospital and is doing fine). The shoplifter? Enjoy going to court for assault with a deadly weapon.

What Kyle Brotzman should do...

Poor Kyle Brotzman, he was the Boise State kicker that missed two field goals last night against Nevada and dashed the Bronco's hopes at a shot at the national championship. They were chip shots too. On national television. Against Boise State's biggest opponent of the year.

Ouch.

Something tells me that the Meridan, Id. native will not be very celebrated despite being a very consistent kicker before last night. Here's what he should probably do...

1. Have his parents move
Remember Ray Finkle's parents house in Ace Venture Pet Detective? Something tells me they don't have homeowners insurance for that stuff.

2. Move in with Bill Buckner.
Buckner lives in Idaho and he knows Brotzman's pain.

3. Blame his poor kicking on the bad economy
... and request a bailout from the government. Everybody is doing it!

4. Switch to soccer
He's already got the not scoring goals down.

5. Change his name to Jerry Brotzman and try out for punter
When has the punter ever missed two field goals?

6. Transfer to Florida State
They love kickers that miss field goals.

7. Sell the rights to his inevitable mental breakdown to Warner Bros.
Kyle Brotzman was a college field goal kicker when something went horribly wrong, now he's ready to see Gotham burn in the latest Batman installment. Beware of The Choker!

Watch Cats fight while you read my "Predators" review

I must stress that you need to watch the entire video, it's hilarious and perfectly timed to the music. You might note that the birds are being big dicks during this fight.



Now, if you're bored, here is my review of the movie "Predators."


Predators (Rated R) 2010
An action movie with Topher Grace and Adrien Brody? That doesn't exactly get me pumped and spouting off Arnie lines going into it, but this could essentially be called a smart homage the original "Predator."

Several of the world's best killers find themselves all in a strange jungle after dropping from the air. Not the most complex plot in the world, but not a bad one either. At first they try to figure out where they are and then they realize, a little to quickly for my tastes, that they're on another planet where Predators hunt them... dum dum dum!!!!!

I do feel that the acting is done quite well and Adrien Brody does a fine job as the main lead. However, I keep have this nagging feeling he was miscast. In a movie like "Predators" you should go for at least one big Hollywood Gun instead of a guy known for dancing under pianos. Topher Grace actually fits in perfectly and I actually found myself not rooting for him to immediately get disembowels. A rare feet after Grace completely bastardized Eddie Brock and Venom in Spiderman 3. He plays a docter that is seemingly out of place among all the other soldiers and baddies but a nice twist at the end keeps you on your toes. One of my favorite characters Oleg Taktarov as the Russian bad arse. Plus he had a mini-gun.

All the action is done quite well and nothing is over-the-top ridiculous, all things considered. It would have been nice to see less of the Predators though. I felt that one of the biggest things in the original movie was that you didn't see the thing for very long and half of it was imagination. I understand that after a few movies, the scariness kind of wore off BUT I felt the movie was a whole lot more effective before they showed up and started ripping heads off. The build-up was great, and it was have been better to see them as a more stealthy ghost hunter to make it spooky. Just nitpicking here though.

As mentioned earlier, they figure out where they are and what's going on a little too quick. It's necessary for the movie to move along, but still felt kind of forced.

This are small things though. Overall it's a solid hollywood popcorn action movie, and the best Predator movie since the original.

This is why I'll never work for FedEx

What other job occupation other than Russian scientist would have this danger?

(CNN) -- FedEx on Friday found a package containing radioactive material that went missing a day earlier at one of its shipping stations in Knoxville, Tennessee, the company said.

The package contained a radioactive rod used in CT scans, which use X-rays to create images of patients' bodies.

The shipment was lost in transit between its origination point, a hospital in North Dakota, and the equipment's manufacturer in Tennessee.

FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz said the rod was enclosed in a metal cylinder that was itself enclosed in a rectangular box. That rectangular box had originally been placed in another box that had the shipping information on it.

"We are trying to track down how the package became detached from the original shipment," Munoz said.

They said nobody was exposed to the radiation but how would you like that little nugget of office gossip floating around. I'd call in sick for a solid week.

Casey's family photo in 20 years...

However, something tells me it will be slightly better than my family photo in 20 years...

Really Derek Jeter? Really?

Doesn't this make you fall over in laughter?

Per Bill Madden of New York Daily News: "But sources close to the Jeter/Close camp have said their starting point was six years, $150 million and that they aren't budging on $25 million per year."
150 million? Listen, the Yankees can throw money around and Jeter is a living New York Legend but that much money?

Last season Jeter hit .270, had 10 home runs and 67 RBIs. His defensive skills are fading and at 36, he would be 42 at the end of his contract.

I understand that in the grand scheme of baseball, staying with one team and having one of your best players in history stay with the team even though they're not quite up to snuff anymore is a big deal. But couldn't Jeter give his team a little bit of a discount? Wouldn't he rather have that money go to other players that could help the Yanks (As much as that would suck)? Doesn't this seem a little selfish? I mean it's not like the Yankees haven't handsomely rewarded him before, the dude makes $21 million a year!

Meanwhile, you'll have to excuse me, the grocery store is having a special on $1 coffee...

Happy Thanksgiving

From all of us here at Just South of North we wish a a very happy Thanksgiving!

Photos from the EWU-ISU football game

So this is a bit late (about a week late) and it's a bit artsy fartsy (I couldn't get close enough to the field to get real action shots), so enjoy!

By the way the photos are of the No. 1 team in the country! Go EAGS!

Lebron is hoping he can go back to the Cavs

Things aren't going well for the Heat. Check out their latest manifesto....

ORLANDO, Fla. -- First came "The Decision." Then the expectations. Now the pressure is on the Miami Heat more than ever.

Even from the White House.

Dwight Howard had 24 points and 18 rebounds, J.J. Redick scored 20 points and the Orlando Magic beat Miami 104-95 on Wednesday night to hand the Heat's All-Star trio its first three-game losing streak.

The slower-than-expected start for the Heat has resonated all the way to Washington, where President Barack Obama said before the game in an interview with ABC that it "takes some time for the team to come together."

Nobody could have imagined it would take this long.

The main problem with the Heat is that they don't appear to be getting better. That's an issue. They should show some sort of gelling by now. I don't think that's happened yet.

Snow hike

If you're not in the Northwest then you might not know about the arctic freeze that hit our area the last few days.

Well, yesterday while most of the Seattle area was scared stiff cause of the ice and the snow, the Northern Rangers headed up Poo Poo Point for a hike.

And it was very much worth it.

The weather was sunny but in the 20's. However, the view was awesome. Snow all through the valley.


One thing that did surprise us was that when were up there, two paragliders showed up. They were getting set up when we headed down and we saw them land in the snow right as we finished our decent. Check it out:

How to survive Thankgiving

Listen up ladies and gentlemen, tomorrow will be a day that tests your spirits. You will be forced to either host a bunch of relatives or travel an insane distance to get to your designated dinner spot. You will eat lots of food, and just when you think you're full, you will end up having to shovel more macaroni salad in your mouth after your Aunt Ruth gave you an ugly look. Don't under any circumstances agree to take care of anyone's kids during that time, as it's a high probability that these kids are the spawn of Satan himself. Stay away from beets, because who the hell likes beets. Compliment your balding relative on their new haircut. Decline the offer to play the 8-hour family Monopoly game, and retreat to the TV-watching area for a thorough Detroit Lions butt-kicking by the New England Patriots.

OR do these things...

1. Spend Thanksgiving at the local bar, because we all know that Oktoberfest Brew is much better than marshmallow salad. When somebody asks where your family is, lie and say they were killed in a wreck. You will get free drinks for the rest of the night.

2. Fake a sickness (rub pink insulation all over your body and say your suffering from a rash) then stay home and play Call of Duty. Keep in mind the people you will be playing will suck because they're Canadian since Canada celebrates thanksgiving on a different day.

3. Pull a Bear Grylls. Erect a shelter by using avaliable materials. Use the land as your source of food and find a way to scale down a waterfall. When your mom asks you to stop stealing the gravy boat and taking it back to your pillow fort, talk to her in a British accent and make a dramatic exit by jumping out the window.

4. Move to Montana. Instead of turkeys, they have Grizzly Bears.

Under no circumstances do you want to end up like this guy...

McDonalds... that's just disgusting.

Missoula's economy completely shattered by Griz not making the playoffs

People in Missoula can't be happy about the Griz missing the playoffs for a reason more than just pride.

MISSOULA - The Griz football team is not in the playoffs for the first time in 18 years and according to University of Montana Athletic Director Jim O'Day, the greatest financial impact is not on the university, but rather on the community.

He says each playoff game is worth about $30,000 and the money goes into the UM's athletic fund. But this year the university won't have the cash while the community won't see as much business from those coming to watch the games.

"We get a lot of fans that come into town for a game. I know during the regular season the numbers that are showing out there are usually between five and seven million coming into the community on a Grizzly home football game," O'Day told us.

He added that when fans come into town some of them go to the game, others go shopping, go out to eat or find other things to do in Missoula.

It makes sense. In a city of 100,000 people, having 25,000 more people milling about for a football game is definitely a big boost to the local economy. If you consider that a large amount of people that have Griz season tickets live outside of the county, and the fans of the other team and Missoula is missing out on a whole lot of cash.

The Big Sky just go a whole lot more interesting

The gauntlet has been thrown down by the Bengals!

Oh Idaho State, I watched them last Saturday and they were TERRIBLE. Conveniently, their head coach had already been fired and it was announced earlier this week that Mike Kramer will be their new coach.

(Mike Kramer is the guy on the right, in case you didn't know)

The Big Sky Conference better look over their shoulders because Kramer is one hell of a coach. He's won three conference championships with Montana State, who stupidly fired him for something he didn't even have control of, and one at Eastern Washington University.

In 1997, Kramer led the Eags to the semi-finals of the FCS Playoffs. The last Big Sky team to make it that far other than Montana.

He's a good coach, MSU was dumb in letting him go and I fully expect Idaho State to be a power in the next few years.

It's now just adding another storyline to the Big Sky Conference which is seeing the additions of more teams, the rise of Eastern Washington, parody abound in the league and the fall of Montana being the best team in the world.

Wow. Buckle up.

Why I havent been posting

Sorry, I went home to Spokane for the weekend and watched the EWU-ISU game (photos coming soon). Driving both ways from Montana I ran into this type of weather.

Scratch the buildings, add some mountains and that pretty much sums it up. Hooray five and half hour road trips!

Dinosaurs still exist in Montana

Yep, this is the state I live in. Guy goes hunting and finds a dinosaur. I fully expect to get attacked by velocaraptors on my way to work tomorrow.

When most Montana residents and visitors think of the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, they usually think of deer, elk, antelope, and other such mammals.

But during the fall archery season, Dave Bradt, a bow hunter from Florence searching for an elk on the CMR Refuge, found something amazing: the fossilized bones of a rare prehistoric sea creature called a plesiosaur.

Bradt notified the Refuge Headquarters in Lewistown of the discovery right away. The find is scientifically significant and promises to expand knowledge about the remote past in what is now Montana.

Actually the remote past isn't much different from now, so I'm pretty sure you can send an intern with a digital camera and you should have ancient Montana pretty much wrapped up. 

Seattle Superheroes

Apparently Seattle is now the home of vigilante superheroes.

These "superheroes" have been roaming the city protecting it from bad guys.

The seattlepi.com reports they call themselves the Rain City Superhero Movement - part of a nationwide movement.

Police say they don't mind people calling 911 and being good witnesses, but it's not a good idea to put themselves in danger.

In one case on Nov. 4 police found a man wearing a Batman costume and calling himself Phoenix the Guardian of Seattle. He was with four other men and one woman all in costumes.

Wow. Just wow. All I can think of is this running around the streets of Seattle:

If you've ever seen "The Dark Knight" then you know that things didn't work out good for the "copycat" heroes in that movie. Mainly thanks to this guy:

So superheroes of Seattle. Be careful.

Epic Video: Great rants by Montana Tech's head football coach

Head football coach Bob Green from Montana Tech is retiring after 24 years, and he's had a few great quotes during that time...

Soon ESPN will employ all newspaper journalists

You can't blame Mike Wilbon for leaving the Washington Post. Heck, any journalist in America would jump at the chance to work for the World-Wide Leader. ESPN actually needs more respected writers like Wilbon instead of athlete analysts that have no real teeth when it comes to what a media source should do.

In fact, more people like Wilbon should be working for ESPN. In the past decade, have you felt like the sports leader has become less and less of a sports writing entity and more and more of a flash in the pan? They've thrown ethics out the window (Read: The Mike Leech saga with Texas Tech), they shamelessly plug and promote the sports they carry on their network and they've replaced journalists with Michael Irvin and Steve Young. Sure they may know more about the minute specifics of a game, but what they don't know is how to be a valid and fair news source.

Wilbon worked for the Washington Post for over 30 years, and he knows how to do that. But who else at ESPN has the same credibility? Bill Simmons might actually be the winner of that question because even though he blatenty plays the role of a homer, he still lets you know where his loyalties lie.

Who else would you trust? ESPN is notorious for nabbing stories from other entities and then saying their own writers broke them.

I'm fine with the World Wide Leader getting bigger, they promote sports well. However, I can't remember the last time I watched SportsCenter and took it seriously. Heck, I may watch SportsCenter a handful of times a month. It's gone from a highlight reel from the best of sports that day to a weird collage of graphics, promotions and talking heads. No real substance.

(You should have seen this abomination of an article on ESPN.com about how Kobe Bryant's appearance on the latest Call of Duty commercial sends a bad message to kids. I wonder how often that commercial runs on ESPN. A horribly written and logically bankrupt article.)

I compare it to the cable news channels. Instead of talking to sources and people who are actually involved in a story, they talk to analysts, or studio people who don't really have a grasp of whats going on. They're the Fox News of Sports.

My three favorite people at ESPN are Wilbon,Simmons and Cowherd. I'm glad Wilbon is moving to the WLL full-time and wish more credible writers would work for them.

One-way trip to Mars

It's a pretty simple premise. It's cheaper to go somewhere one-way. Apply that to traveling to Mars and you're probably saving billions of dollars, right? A professor from Washington State is saying that we should send out astronauts with no real intention of coming back home...

Colonization of Mars would be faster and cheaper if astronauts behaved like the first settlers to come to North America - not expecting to go home, according to two scientists.

Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a Washington State University professor, and Paul Davies, a physicist at Arizona State University, argue that humans must begin colonizing another planet as a precaution against a catastrophe on Earth.

"The main point is to get Mars exploration moving. You would send a little bit older folks, around 60 or something like that," the Daily Mail quoted Schulze-Makuch as saying.

I hate that cost has come into the realm of space travel. Apparently we only want to continue exploring space if it doesn't cost us too much green. Somebody needs to figure out a way to make money with this space travel thing and then we'd have the solar system colonized within a decade.

One thing about the cost thing. Keep in mind we'll have to figure out how to have a self-sustainable colony on Mars, and that might be more costly than just strapping on another rocket for the return trip. Also, do we even have the know-how to create a colony on a hostile planet? Is that even possible at this juncture? We're not talking about a year or two. We're talking about a permanent settlement.

Why don't we focus on the Moon first and do the Mars thing when we're ready.

Signings that were worse than the Donovan McNabb extension

The Washington Redskins thoroughly screwed themselves after extending Donovan McNabb's contract until 2039 for roughly a gazillion dollars. But I guess Dan Snyder figured that an aging quarterback with diminishing physical skills and questionable choices at times on the football field was the perfect fit, especially after he looked like garbage for most of this season. (Is Jason Campbell still available on speed dial?)

I haven't seen a signing that bad since...

1. "John, we need you to sign the declaration against the King of England but we have a buttload of people that need to sign it, so don't take up too much room... oh wait, no John... oh, oh, dammit."

2. "Of course, Mr. Hitler, we'll let you take over this country as long as you don't take over any other land in Europe. We don't want any global war or anything like that. I mean what are the chances of having TWO world wars in a half century? No chance."

3. "So what you're saying is that if I sign here, I'll have money for the rest of my life, everything I ever wanted and a hot wife and all I have to give up is my soul, which will burn in hell for the rest of eternity? I'm so in. By the way, what are those red pointy things on your forehead."

4. "You want the island of Manhattan for a box of those beads there? Perfect! And you'll throw in those blankets that all your sick sailors used? We'll take it!"

5. "We're proud to announce Ryan Leaf will be playing quarterback for us..."

6. "So Chuck, you took a look at that ol' Service Module on Apollo 13 right? Good to go? Okay, I'll sign off on that."

7. "A book about how you would have committed the murders if you did it? That sounds great Mr. Simpson. This will be a New York Times best seller!"

8. "Trust me, Jay Leno is not coming back, the Tonight Show is all yours. Forever. Welcome to Prime-time!!"

9. "Stephen Maybury, you just signed on to a championship team."

10. "Adam Morrison, we know you'll be the greatest Bobcat in team history."

A look at the last week of Big Sky Conference football...

At the end of a crazy season, there's still no clear cut champion. Montana, Eastern Washington and Montana State could all be co-champs once things are all said and done. Let's take a gander...

Idaho State (0-7 conference, 1-9 overall) @ No. 3 Eastern Washington (6-1 conference, 8-2 overall)
Let me quote Admiral Ackbar...



ITS A TRAP (Game)! Eastern Washington has got to watch out in this game for several reasons. First, the way things have been kicking around in the media, it seems like everyone already assumes they'll beat Idaho State. Sure, they're the worst team in the Big Sky Conference but they gave Montana State all they could handle and remember, the Bobcats beat the Eags. Secondly, they just fired their coach for after the season and you could see that emotional "win one of the gipper" performances.

Weber State (6-4) @ Texas Tech (5-5)
Whats with all these late season games against Div. I-A opponents? When I saw Idaho State was playing Georgia, I nearly fell out of my chair.

Portland State (1-6 conference, 2-8 overall) vs. Northern Arizona (3-4 conference, 5-5 overall)
Northern Arizona has won three straight against Portland State and you know they'd like to finish the season above .500. I can't really come up with any motivation for the Vikings.

Sac State (6-4) @ UC Davis (5-5)

Sac State is the best team in the conference that isn't EWU, Montana and Montana State. I think they roll UC Davis in this one. Hey NCAA, you should take FOUR TEAMS from the Big Sky. Just saying.

Montana State (6-1 conference, 8-2 overall) @ Montana (5-2 conference, 7-3 overall)
Better known as ...



This game is going to be riveting. This is one of the best MSU teams to roll into Missoula and you know that even though the Griz are having a "down year" this is going to be one heck of a rivalry game. Better strap on your helmet, and get ready for WWIII.

Dirty Jobs meets Brew Masters

I love the Discovery Channel. It's the best channel on tv if you ask me. And they have a new show called Brew Masters. It's about Sam Calagione he travels the country and the world looking for exotic ingredients and discovering ancient techniques to produce beers.

And I saw this awesome intro for the show:

UW to "blackout" Husky Stadium

On Thursday, November 18, the University of Washington football team will "blackout" Husky Stadium in their nationally televised game against UCLA.

And Just South of North will be there.

The team will be debuting black jerseys and black pants for the game. The photo to the right is an idea of what the Nike designed jerseys might look like.

Also, reports have it that the endzones will also be painted black.

And fans are invited to join in on the "blackout."

Game starts at 5 p.m. Look for me in the stands. I'll be wearing black.

Kyle Singerl trick shots

Kyle Singler of Duke would be one heck of an opponent in a game of HORSE.

Snowstorm time lapse

Report has it that Polson, Montana got snow today. Welcome to Montana Brandon.

Degree Men Chain of Adventure: Task 3

Degree Men teamed up with adventurer Bear Grylls to market their new deoderant Degree for Men Adventure. We've showed you Bears first task and his second task.

Now it's time for his third:



What challenge would you send for Bear to do?

Snuggie Christmas song

With the snow starting to fall today in Polson, Montana, Brandon texted me that he sure is glad that he has his Snuggie. Since it has sleeves he can wear it around town and at the office. He can even type while staying...well....snuggie.

Well Snuggie must have thought of Mr. Hansen when they made their latest ad campaign with holiday songs.

And boy does the Snuggie family look comfy in those dumb blankets with sleeves.

Eastern Washington football number 3 in FCS

The Eastern Washington University Eagles football team are number three in the top 25 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision poll.

This is the highest the Eagles have ever been ranked.

Previously the 1997 team reached number six in the polls and finished number four at years end.

The 1997 team went on to win two playoff games before falling to eventual champion Youngstown State 25-14 in the semifinals. That EWU squad, coached by Mike Kramer and led by Big Sky Conference Players of the Year Harry Leons (offense) and Chris Scott (defense), finished the season 12-2 and ranked fourth in the final poll following the playoffs.

The Eagles finish the regular season this Saturday, November 20, at home vs. Idaho State. Idaho State is currently in the cellar of the Big Sky at 0-7 in conference play and 1-9 overall.

But the Eagles can not afford to overlook the Bengals.

The reason is that in Missoula the Bobcats and Griz will be battling the 110th Brawl of the Wild. And Eastern fans will have to hope that the Griz pull of the win.

The reason is simple. With an Eastern victory and a Montana State loss, the Eagles are the outright champs of the Big Sky.

And the FCS playoffs will be a bit different than previous years. Here's how they'll work:

This year's field for the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs will include 20 teams for the first time. The Northeast and Big South Conferences will both send their regular-season champions to the postseason for the first time.

Those two leagues join the Big Sky, Colonial, Southern, Southland, Patriot, Ohio Valley, MEAC, and Missouri Valley as leagues with automatic bids to the playoffs. Two conferences choose not to participate in the football championship, the Ivy League and the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

The other 10 bids will go to at-large teams. Eight teams will play first-round games on Saturday, Nov. 27. Twelve teams will receive first-round byes, and play in the second round on Saturday, Dec. 4. The quarterfinals are Saturday, Dec. 11, with the semifinals the following week. Five teams are seeded, meaning they will play home games unless playing a higher-seeded team or if they did not meet the NCAA's minimum guarantee to host.

Tyler Farrar interview in Portland

Tyler Farrar, of Wenatchee, Washington, was in Upper Echelon Fitness in Portland. Here's a video from the interview:

Farrar's season will start in January 2011 with the Tour Down Under. Which is the opening event of the 2011 ProTour season.

Farrar, who is with Garmin Transitions, was a stage winner in the Giro d'Italia and Spanish Vuelta last season. The event runs from Jan. 16-23.

Farrar joins Lance Armstrong in the field. The seven-time Tour de France winner will compete in the event for the third straight year.

The race will be Armstrong's last professional event outside the United States.

I've noticed something about Charlie Whitehurst

Observe... Charlie Whitehurst....

and now, from The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn...

The Seahawks have been going at it all wrong. They just should put some hobbits in at running back and they'd be set for a Super Bowl.

Seahawks Live Game Blog

What the heck, I want to make fun of the Seahawks for two hours. Here we go....

Read the blog now

This is how brutal the fight was last night...

So I didn't get to see the Margarito-Pacquiao fight last night, because boxing has the smart idea of not allowing anyone watch their fights without paying, but I did read the live blog (yipee skipee!) and Margarito got hammered. Apparently really hammered by Pacquiao...

Antonio Margarito, the Mexican super welterweight beaten badly by Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night, suffered a fractured orbital bone to his face and was expected to stay in the hospital for observation through at least Sunday night, an executive with Margarito's promotions company said.

Margarito, who lost in a lopsided, 12-round decision, was taken directly to the hospital via ambulance after the fight to have cuts to his face examined.

That is when the injury to his eye socket was discovered, Top Rank executive Carl Moretti told ESPN.com's Dan Rafael in an e-mail Sunday.

Margarito had skipped the postfight news conference at the request of the fight doctor and people in his camp, an unusual move for such a big fight.

Legendary Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach was critical of the late-round decision-making of Margarito's corner, saying they should have forced a stoppage.

Read that article: Pacquiao broke Margarito's face. Wow.

Things that lasted longer than Chad Pennington's comeback

Coming off shoulder surgery in 2009, Chad Pennington had a total of two plays against the Titans today before injurying his shoulder again. Ooos.

His comeback was short and who knows when we will see him again, but for now this has to be the shortest comeback ever. The only thing shorter would be...

1. Casey and I's NFL careers.
2. The hit TV show "Joey"
3. Kevin Federline's acting career.
4. MySpace's reign as the ultimate social network.
5. My time spent in math classes at Eastern Washington University.
6. Quality minutes of local TV provided in Western Montana (Another goat sighting?! swell!)
7. Time that Randy Moss was on the Vikings this year.
8. How long it took for Seahawks fans to realize Charlie Whitehurst is terrible.
9. The invasion of Iraq (Remember the press conference from the Iraq head of state saying American forces had been vanquished as an American tank rolled up behind him?)
10. The average time people are entertained on this blog.

Hope you guys like Chad Henne.

Shocking news ladies and gentlemen, WSU wins!

We're very stunned to report from the Just South of North newsroom that the Washington State Cougars have, indeed, won a Pac-10 football game. In other news, Hell has frozen over in Cleveland, pigs have been spotted flying around Canada and there's hope for the Chicago Cubs next year.

Washington State 31, Oregon State 14 - I really do apologize to all the Oregon State fans out there, please keep all sharp objects away from your wrists because that's just not a whole lot of fun. Those strides they've been talking about making as a program down in Pullman are starting to set in. It might even mean that Paul Wulff keeps his job! The team has been decidedly more competitive in games and I can't wait for UW to eat crow in the Apple Cup.

Now lets move on to Big Sky football...

(That's a photo of me hanging out with Montana's hope for a Big Sky Championship)

The Griz, who have to beat MSU next week for EWU to win the conference championship, defeated North Dakota but continued to look their same hapless selves.


Montana 27, North Dakota 17- Look, I'm glad they won and got some momentum going into the Bobcats game but there's a bunch of stuff that bugs me about this team. The coaching is terrible, the offensive line is terrible, their quarterback is easily rattled and their special teams is an abomination. It's a very un-griz like team.

Eastern Washington 31, Southern Utah 24 - It wouldn't have shocked me if the Eags lost this game, so it's good to see them come out and beat a very good Southern Utah team. Ranked No. 5 in the country and with two teams ahead of them losing, this is going to bump them up a bit in the rankings. I know they've won close games all year but they still have a good shot at a Big Sky Championship.

Oh yeah, and that red turf is freaking awesome.

EWU Women win season opener

Last year's Big Sky Champions got off on the right foot with a 80-70 victory over Cal-State Fullerton. It's a good sign considering that the Lady Eags won their season opener last year as well.

Tatjana Sparavalo came off the bench to score 16 points and grab 11 boards. In other words, she did the basketball equivalent of Ivan Draco-ing it to Cal-State Fullerton.

Brianne Ryan had 11 points as swell.

And you be Just South of North will follow the Lady Eags as they try to go back-to-back.

What should I do? Go 30 and 30

Wait, we're talking about the Minnesota Timberwolves? Not the Heat, not the barely above .500 Heat, not the Boston Celtics, we're talking about the Timberwolves.

Why? Because Kevin Love is a beast. Probably one of the best young big men in the game, banished to Minnesota. Last night he had 31 points and 30 rebounds. The last time it happened, it was 1982 and Moses Malone was the one that did the feat.

Could we be seeing the emergence of a new big man superstar? We sure do need it, Shaq is getting up there in years.

Bacon baby formula

After posting about the bacon flavored soda, it was brought to my attention that there is another bacon product out there.

Bacon baby formula.

Bacon flavored soda

We at Just South of North have told you about baconnaise and bacon salt. But how about bacon soda.

J&D Foods, based in Seattle, is the company behind the bacon-craze. Well, the company has teamed up with fellow Seattle company, Jones Soda, to produce the special edition bacon soda just in time for the holidays.

But does it taste good?

The soda was featured on the TODAY show this morning. I think that Hoda and Kathie Lee's reactions speak for themselves:



For best results, the drink is recommended to be served chilled or over ice and its said that it improves with age.

Boy can't wait to get my hands on some of that!

Cam Newton to Auburn

So this is how Cam Newton went to Auburn.