I think the prominence of so many bands whose best days were 20-30 years ago does suggest that there's not so much going on with rock these days. But rock just used to be everything - Guitar music was dominant for a really long period. It may be fraying into other things, and the rock label may be too tied down.

I don't know if you guys are social media people, but it was COOL being on the internet at the end of the game last night. Twitter really blew up, as did everything else, and I thought it was worthy of the controversy. To me, that's easily an interception, and the play moved me from the "yeah they're worse but not THAT much worse" camp in regards to the replacement refs, to the "this year's Super Bowl winner might need an asterisk" camp. That's a big swing. I don't think it influences the owners, most of whom simply don't care about the fans, but I do think the perceived legitimacy of the season is on shakier and shakier ground each week.

Reports that the refs won't look people in the eye or give explanations show that they've been fully stigmatized - even they have no confidence that they should be there. It sucks to see. It was a good defensive battle, too, with big implications for playoff caliber teams.

And Rex, any back-up QB can have one excellent game. Ask Rob Johnson.

After tonight's loss and last week's debacle to Arizona, NE is going to SLAUGHTER the Bills next week. Definitely bet the over.

Good day of football, though.

It's all over the place. It's not like taking it off the toys will take it out of people's sights. It's a damn common flag.

Collective bargaining is a legitimate right, so long as it's voluntary on all parties. Unions did a lot of great stuff historically, even if they are often barriers to progress now. I think the Chicago teachers look particularly bad - making well over the average CHI income, leaving 400,000 kids without school to go to right now, and refusing a $16,000 pay increase to come back? People aren't going to sympathize with that.

In Wisconsin, Scott Walker was elected on the promise that he'd do exactly what he did with public sector unions, and then he was elected again in the recall after doing it. So I think the political tides are running against unions, and the poor behavior of teachers' unions have given the whole concept a black eye.

Note on union advocacy of minimum wage historically: that wasn't benevolence. That was pure self-interest. Unionized labor makes more than minimum wage, by advocating a minimum wage they were attempting to restrict cheap labor from competing with them. If you consider the emergence of the minimum wage a good side effect, so be it, but their intention was solely to increase the opportunity cost of hiring non-unionized labor.

Tejastech makes a great point on the Fed, too. I wish that would enter the national dialogue.