Duck beats down Cougar in mascot dust-up!

Even though its real you can help but laugh at the sight of one mascot working over another. Here is a report and a video of the Oregon Duck beating up the Houston Cougar last week.



Oregon mascot suspended

Chronicle News Services

Oregon's Duck mascot has been suspended for a game because of an altercation with the University of Houston mascot, Shasta, in the season opener.

Apparently, the Duck became upset when the Cougar imitated one of the Duck's trademarks, pushups for total points after each touchdown in front of the student section.

Next thing you know, the Cougar was on the ground, and the Duck appeared to be punching him repeatedly. The fight ended up on YouTube.

Although some thought it was staged, it wasn't; hence the suspension. Because the Duck mascot is a role filled by several students, specific discipline was not disclosed.
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Reports: Blagojevich to bailout CTA

Governor Blagojevich may announce partial bailout for CTA
WLS By Michelle Gallardo

September 12, 2007 - Governor Rod Blagojevich may soon have a plan to avert the CTA's looming fare hikes and service cuts.

Sources say the governor is expected to announce a short-term bailout for the transit agency possibly today or tomorrow. The move will buy the CTA some time while state lawmakers work out a permanent solution.

The last-minute action is welcome news to riders who have been preparing for the worst.

"I would approve any relief at this point. It is pretty desperate times," said Daryl Wynn, CTA Rider.

"Short term is better than nothing, but long term would be optimal. It would be nice if they could figure out a way to make this happen so that we don't face this every so often," said Barbara Watson, CTA Rider.

Without the bailout, the CTA's doomsday plan would go in effect at 12:01 a.m. this Sunday. Fares will rise by as much as a dollar. Seven-hundred transit workers will be laid off and 39 bus routes eliminated.
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Click here for entire article and video.

Barz put on blast by Feder after being put on leave by FOX32

Doing the Fox trot?
Alleged 'dirty dancing' with staffer draws day off for 'Good Day' anchor

September 11, 2007
BY ROBERT FEDER Sun-Times Columnist
Two days after Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 relaunched its morning news show as "Good Day Chicago," one of its main anchors was missing in action.

Viewers weren't told why Mike Barz wasn't on last Thursday -- leaving many to wonder why he'd vanished so soon after the debut of the newly retitled show, which he co-hosts with Jan Jeffcoat.

Even the Fox station's official spokesman claimed not to know the real reason. "As far as I know, Mike just took a day off," said Dom Mancuso, vice president of programming and promotions.

Sources said Barz had been ordered off the air while his bosses investigated a complaint involving his attention-grabbing after-hours antics at a night club.

While attending a going-away party for a production assistant the previous Friday night, Barz was seen with a female staffer engaged in what was described as "dirty dancing." The staffer has not been identified.
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Click here for entire column.

I watched the VMA's and the Vibe Awards broke out

From tmz.com:
Security: Cops on the Hunt for Kid Rock After VMA Fight

Posted Sep 10th 2007 12:07AM by TMZ Staff
Filed under: Celebrity Feuds
TMZ has learned that the Las Vegas Police Department is on the hunt for Kid Rock after he allegedly "clocked" Tommy Lee at the MTV VMAs in Las Vegas Sunday night.

According to security at the Palms Hotel, where the awards took place, the LVPD has asked for Rock's room number at the hotel and any leads they might have regarding his current whereabouts.

Details as to what started the fight are still sketchy, but an eyewitness at the awards tells TMZ that "Tommy got it pretty bad."
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Click here for the TMZ story.

For those who don't understand the Vibe Awards reference click here.

Chicago Tribune coverage of Du Doan vigil

Asian-Americans label angler's death racist
Fifty people attend a vigil at Montrose Harbor, where a Vietnamese fisherman drowned within seconds after being shoved into the water

By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons

Tribune staff reporter

September 9, 2007

Authorities aren't calling the drowning of a Vietnamese fisherman a hate crime, but members of the Asian-American community who gathered at a vigil on Saturday said they believe he was targeted because of his race.

"There were a lot of people out at the harbor early that morning from different backgrounds. Why did the alleged perpetrator pick on those individuals?" said Ben Lumicao, an adviser on the city's Commission on Human Relations. "Everyone in the Asian-American community had the same reaction: That could have been me or my uncle or my grandfather."

About 50 people attended the vigil at Montrose Harbor that was put together by a broad coalition of advocacy groups, including organizations representing Cambodian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean residents. After a musical performance on the sunny afternoon, there was a silent prayer for the family of the victim, Du Doan, 62, of the Far Northwest Side.

It is important for everyone to come together to talk about the fear and outrage people are feeling, said Sharmila Kanagalingham, a leader of Apna Ghar, a domestic violence shelter for Asian women.

"As Asian-Americans, we have always been viewed as a silent, model community," she told the crowd. "We will not be silent about this."

Click here for entire article.

AP coverage of the Oprah Obama fundraiser

Oprah Hosts Obama in Star-Studded Event

By ALLISON HOFFMAN

MONTECITO, Calif. (AP) — Oprah Winfrey rolled out the red carpet Saturday for Barack Obama at a gala fundraiser attended by high-wattage stars that was expected to raise $3 million for the Democratic presidential candidate.

The most powerful woman in show business celebrated her favorite candidate with 1,500 guests at her palatial estate in this coastal enclave south of Santa Barbara. Tickets to the sold-out private event went for $2,300 apiece, keeping them within campaign finance limits.

Stevie Wonder performed for guests, who included Sidney Poitier, Forest Whitaker, Chris Rock, Cindy Crawford, Jimmy Connors, Linda Evans, Dennis Haysbert and many others. Will Smith, Jamie Foxx and Halle Berry also were expected, though it was unclear if they were in attendance. The media were barred from the fundraiser.

Visitors were bused to Winfrey's secluded home from an equestrian center about 10 miles away. A solid line of limousines, BMWs, Bentleys and a few hybrid Priuses disgorged well-dressed guests. Some sported stiletto heels despite official instructions to wear flat shoes for walking on Winfrey's meadow.
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Click here for entire article.

Did Berny Stone Steal the election in April?

These can't bode well for Berny Stone:

Were voters steered to absentee ballots?
NORTH SIDE | Ald. Stone's organization reportedly probed

September 6, 2007
BY ERIC HERMAN AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters

The Cook County state's attorney's office is investigating whether Ald. Bernie Stone's (50th) political organization improperly steered Indian and Pakistani voters toward absentee ballots, according to sources.

Those under investigation include city employees. For now, the probe is limited to Stone's North Side ward, the sources said. Subpoenas have been issued for witnesses and documents.

Stone lashed out Wednesday at a probe he said is being conducted by the city's inspector general, David Hoffman. The investigation is said to involve charges that 50th Ward voters were promised city services in exchange for voting by absentee ballot -- a charge Stone called "absolute crap."

"I can't figure out what the hell the inspector general is doing in on this. Nobody involved is a city employee," Stone said. "He's not Inspector Clouseau."
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Click here for entire article.

City's absentee ballots probed
Constituents being questioned about election, Stone says

By Gary Washburn and Mickey Ciokajlo | Tribune staff reporters
September 5, 2007
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Stone said that a man and a woman who live in his ward contacted him separately to report they had been subpoenaed to appear at the Cook County Court complex at 26th Street and California Avenue. The man said his wife and two daughters also were ordered to appear. The subpoenas were served by an IG staff member who left his card, Stone said, but when his constituents arrived at the court complex, he said they were interviewed by two assistant state's attorneys.

The questions centered on absentee ballots and whether their votes had been solicited by anyone and whether anybody else cast their votes, the alderman said.

Stone said he offered legal help to his male constituent, whom he did not identify except to say that he is not a member of the 50th Ward Democratic political organization.

"I said, 'Don't let anybody bully you. I'll help you,'" he recounted. "I will get you an attorney."

"I said I will pay the cost of the attorney because I don't want my constituents bullied by people -- because they were bullied."
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Click here for entire article.

Will the R. Kelly case ever be heard?

5 years after charges, Kelly trial date elusive
By Kayce T. Ataiyero and Michael Higgins, Tribune staff reporters Tribune staff reporter Azam Ahmed contributed to this report

In a case that has been a saga of delays and false starts, R. Kelly's trial was postponed yet again on Tuesday, with no trial date in sight more than five years after child pornography charges were filed against the R&B singer.

The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant State's Atty. Shauna Boliker, gave birth last week, prompting the judge presiding over the case to indefinitely postpone the trial less than two weeks before its scheduled start on Sept. 17.

A spokesman for Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan cited doctor's orders in announcing the decision, a move that has added a familiar air of uncertainty to the case.

This was the closest that the trial had come to starting. But it was no secret that Boliker was scheduled to deliver a baby last week, which had led to speculation at the courthouse that the Sept. 17 date was unrealistic.
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Click here for entire article

Mark Brown: Oscar's story

Oscar a true immigration success story
Do you also want to deport someone with so much to offer?

September 4, 2007
BY MARK BROWN Sun-Times Columnist
Oscar was 9 years old when his family slipped unchallenged in broad daylight through a hole in the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border in Nogales, Ariz. Two days later, they caught a plane from Phoenix to Chicago, where they met up with relatives already living here.

That was 12 years ago. Oscar is now in his third year at Governors State University, where he's carrying a 4.0 grade average with a double major in computer engineering and computer science.

Oscar is paying his own way through school, mostly with income from a computer business he started in high school. Finding that he was helping everybody else with their computer problems, Oscar saw an opportunity to make some money. Now he does everything from simple repairs to Web design to consulting small businesses.

But don't pigeonhole Oscar as a computer geek. He's personable and well-spoken, so well-spoken that a local immigrant-rights advocate offered up Oscar and some like-situated young men and women to serve as the person I said I was seeking to replace Elvira Arellano as the face of illegal immigration in the United States.
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Click here for story