GO ARMY, BEAT NAVY!!!!!!

WEST POINT, N.Y. – One of the most storied rivalries in all of sports resumes on Saturday when the Army-Navy contest will be played in Philadelphia for the 81st time in the 109 games between the two service academies.

It is the fifth time that Lincoln Financial Field will host the rivalry. CBS will broadcast the game to a national audience for the 13th consecutive season. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.

Army is looking to snap a three-game losing streak after a 30-3 defeat at Rutgers on Nov. 22. The Black Knights last victory came on Oct. 25 against Louisiana Tech. LINK

Yup, I was yelling at some Midshipmen yesterday as I was leaving work. I spotted the pack of landlocked seamen wandering up 10th street taking pictures, so I couldn’t resist. Actually, I wished them well but gave them an Army cheer for good measure. They laughed and said Army didn’t have a chance. Silly Squids!

Anyway, the Army-Navy game is back in town this year and hopefully no one will be leaning on any railings at the stadium. *YIKES* Although I’m not the biggest college sports fan, I REALLY like it when Army wins. That way I have family bragging rights over my sister and brother-in-law. Howard is a Navy Flight Officer, Gulf War Vet and BIG sports fan. So hopefully, Big Green will make me proud! GO ARMY!

GAS UNDER $2.00

Crude oil prices sank below the $42 a barrel level, a near-four year low, as commodity markets marked a new stage in their retreat, with US petrol prices falling below the $1 a gallon mark and copper dropping to the $3,000 a tonne level. LINK

The huge fall in US employment in November, announced, underlined fears that the world’s biggest economy was heading for a deep recession and prompted renewed selling pressure across commodity markets. Nymex January West Texas Intermediate fell $2.86 to a low of $40.81 a barrel, its lowest level since January 2005, down 25.02 per cent this week.

WTI was on track for its largest weekly decline since January 1991, when the International Energy Agency released strategic stockpiles of oil after the US and its allies invaded Kuwait at the start of the first Iraq war.

I wonder if the Democrats in Congress are still talking about “Nationalizing BIG OIL” anymore? (Probably.) After all, wasn’t it just a few short months ago we were being told how EVIL BIG OIL was? Well I haven’t seen any OIL EXECUTIVES hat in hand in front of Congress begging for a bailout lately, yet their product price has been cut in HALF recently. Just goes to show you how well run the oil companies are. Can you imagine what a catastrophe it would be if Congress started meddling in the oil industry to the extent they have screwed up the auto industry? Holy smokes! Not only wouldn’t we have any cars, we wouldn’t have any gas to put in them.

Maybe it really was a war for oil after all!

A GUNG HO BAILOUT FOR GM

For me the worst part of the Big Three’s cries for cash is that EVERYBODY could see it coming. Despite the sappy “We are Americans and we can do anything you can do but better” tone of this movie, Gung Ho had a prophetic message at the time. Back in the 1980’s when this film was made American companies were on notice that competition was coming and they had better be prepared for it. Sadly the Big three didn’t pay heed to these very simple lessons. Now the executives are boo hooing and Congress is poised to nationalize the industry. This will only put them further away from becoming viable, sustainable, profitable American companies.

There is a scene in the movie (I couldn’t track it down) where Michael Keaton explains that the American workers and management have fallen behind the Japanese. No one wants to hear the truth but he is forced to deliver the bitter pill. That speech could be read out loud today and be every bit as relevant today. Maybe we can get him to come to Congress and set them straight too.