South Bend, Indiana; September 4, 2008

Uncle Ron's Ramblings

McCain Takes Stage Tonight: John McCain will take the stage tonight at the Republican National Convention and try to regain the spotlight from running mate Gov. Sarah Palin and her son Trig.

Trig was awake in his mother's arms on the stage after her acceptance last night and checking out the crowd, but he still appeared only slightly interested. His main interests appear to be snuggling and food.

There was no word on whether Trig stayed awake for the speech but then there was no word on whether Joe Biden's children remained awake for their father's acceptance speech.

Trig's sister, mom-to-be Bristol, was also there along with the three other siblings and their dad; the family didn't feel any need to keep Bristol in hiding because of her condition. The governor introduced each of the family members.

One wonders if the pregnancy would be as much of an issue if it was McCains 17-year-old daughter. He does have one, Bridget. McCain has seven children ranging in age from 49 to 17.

Gov. Palin did get off one classic line. When she spotted signs that declared "Hockey Moms 4 Palin," she ad-libbed, "Know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick."

Palin resembled a pit bull (figuratively not literally) in her speech. She took a swipe at prospective first lady Michelle Obama, saying people in small towns "love their country, in good times and bad, and they're always proud of America." Speaking of Democratic nominee Barack Obama, she said people in the small towns like the one she grew up in "don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when the are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and their guns when those people aren't listening. We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk to us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco."

When McCain accepts the nomination tonight he will be the oldest nominee of a major party at the age of 72.

Herald Sports

Silver Hawks 5, Whitecaps 3: Sean Coughlin the Hawk offense with four hits and two RBIs as the hosts won their playoff opener.

Collin Cowgill had hits; Winston Linton and Ryne White contributed two hits apiece.

Winning pitcher Jarrod Parker pitched six innings, gave up four hits, three runs—two of them earned, one walk, and struck out five. Clay Zavada, who had been virtually untouchable during the season with an ERA of less than 1.0, did give up a hit in picking up the save.

The series moves to West Michigan tonight and tomorrow night. Both games are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

MLB NL: Astros 4, Cubs 0 (Cub lead still 4.5 games); Mets 9, Brewers 2; Marlins 5, Braves 3; Giants 9, Rockies 2; Diamondbacks 4, Cardinals 3; Pirates 6, Reds 5; Nationals 9, Phillies 7; Dodgers 6, Padres 4.

MLB AL: White Sox 4, Indians 2 (ChiSox lead Twins by one game); Blue Jays 5, Twins 4 (11); Red Sox 5, Orioles 4 (BoSox trail Rays by three games); Yankees 8, Rays 4; Rangers 1, Mariners 0; Athletics at Royals PPD.

MLS Scores: No games scheduled.

WNBA Scores: Mercury 103, Lynx 96.

NFL Notes: Correction—QB Joey Harrington was released by the Falcons not the Browns.; Patriots—Belicheck expects Tom Brady to be ready; Ravens—QB Kyle Boller out for season; Jaguars—Jags try to cope with Collier's shooting as back OT continues to fight for life; Jets—Jets name Brett Favre one of captains; Panthers—Panthers do not vote Steve Smith one of captains; Rams—Holdout RB Steven Jackson in camp; Rams expect him to carry full load.

Other Sports Notes: LSU—LSU-Troy game postponed due to Hurricane Gustav; Cubs—Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden both sitting out with arm trouble as Cub loss streak hits five.

U.S. Open Tennis: Serena Williams held off 10 set points to beat sister Venus 7-6, 7-6 and move ahead in the sibling rivalry 9-8.

Venus had prevailed at the last meeting, in the Wimbledon finals.

The other top seeds, including number one Rafael Nadal and the USA's Andy Roddick, also moved on.

Weather

Today High 74 Low 61 T-Storms

Fri High 72 Low 56 Chance Rain

Sat High 74 Low 58 Partly Cloudy

Sun High 76 Low 58 Partly Cloudy

Mon High 74 Low 56 Chance Storms

TV Schedule: 16—7-10 p.m., NFL: Redskins vs. Giants; 10 p.m., *Republican National Convention; 22—8 p.m., Big Brother; 9 p.m., CSI; 10 p.m., *Republican National Convention; 25—8-10 p.m., New 90210 (two-hour episode); 28—8-10 p.m., Kitchen Nightmares (two-hour episode); 46—8 p.m., Lester Sumrall Teaching; 8:30 p.m. Live From Studio B; 9 p.m., Harvest; 57—8 p.m., Ugly Betty; 9 p.m., Grey's Anatomy; 10 p.m., *Republican National Convention; 69—8-10 p.m., The Contractor (movie); (Note: John McCain will give his acceptance speech tonight).

South Bend, Indiana; September 5, 2008

Uncle Ron's Ramblings

"Love" Takes a Holiday: Bad news for Jennifer Love Hewitt fans (I know, there's a political convention going on. I'll get to it). He show "Ghost Whisperer" is being preempted by a special called "Stand Up To Cancer." It will be shown on NBC, CBS, and ABC at 8 p.m. tonight.

If they'd had a cure for cancer in 1969 my father might have lived to see Jennifer Love Hewitt or at least the first granddaughter who was on the way at the time. He'd have enjoyed both of them, although perhaps the latter a little bit more.

McCain Pledges Chance: Like his Democratic counterpart Barack Obama, Republican presidential nominee John McCain also pledged change in his acceptance speech last night.

The oldest nominee of a major party at 72, McCain touted his experience and preached a message of bipartisanship. I remember last week when Obama did that the spirit of bipartisanship lasted until the first political ad. I'm sure it was the same way for the GOP (I didn't stay up to watch; I did read the excerpt of the speech). Elections are not about bipartisanship.

They criticized McCain running mate Sarah Palin for support or lack of same in regard to Alaska Senator Ted Steven's infamous "Bridge To Nowhere." Palin was (still is) the Alaska governor at the time the project was being funded and built. She was accused of being "not entirely honest."

Unfortunately, entirely honest political candidates are seldom elected except possibly at the local level.

McCain could not have been blamed for ignoring the first couple, but he thanked President George and First Lady Laura Bush. He did misspeak and call Mrs. Bush the president's "bride of 63 years." If that were true the couple would have had to wed in nursery school.

McCain also paid tribute to his former rivals, calling them "leaders of great ability."

Free Press Sports

Silver Hawks Playoff Game Postponed: Silver Hawk-Whitecaps playoff game was postponed due to bad weather last night.

The next two games will be tomorrow and Sunday at West Michigan. Both games are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

MLB NL: Cubs idle (Cub lead 5 games due to Brewer loss); Padres 5, Brewers 2; Reds 8, Pirates 6; Braves 2, Nationals 0.

MLB AL: White Sox idle (ChiSox lead Twins by 1.5 games due to Twin loss); Blue Jays 9, Twins 0; Rays 7, Yankees 5; Angels 7, Tigers 1; Royals 9-5, Athletics 4-6 (First game 10 innings).

MLS Scores: Colorado Rapids 1, FC Dallas 0.

WNBA Scores: Storm 70, Sky 62.

NFL Scores: Giants 16, Redskins 7.

NCAA Football Scores: Vanderbilt 24, South Carolina 17; Nicholls St.-New Mexico PPD.

NFL Notes: Retirement Announced—Daunte Culpepper retires; Jaguars—Jag backup OT Richard Collier gradually improving after shooting; Bengals—Chad Johnson changes name to Chad Ocho Cinco; Giants—Giants WR Plaxico Burress signs 2-year extension; Cowboys—Terence Newman injury could make Pacman starter; Bills—Bills to honor Kevin Everett at opener; former tight end recovering from paralysis.

Other Sports Notes: Cubs—Zambrano has shoulder tendenitis; LHP Sean Marshall to start in Z's place; Rich Harden out 15 days with right shoulder strain; LPGA—LPGA law requiring English fluency by 2009 may be illegal; OSU—Buckeye star TB Chris "Beanie" Wells out for Ohio U. game Saturday with foot injury; Penn St.—Paterno suspends three players for Saturday for misbehavior.

U.S. Open Tennis: Andy Roddick, the last American male in the U.S. Open, was eliminated 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) by Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Four-time Open champ Roger Federer advances to the semifinals in three sets.

The women's semifinals will feature Serena Williams vs. Dinara Sarina and Jelena Jankovic vs. Elena Dementieva. The men's semis will feature Federer vs. Djokovic and Rafael Nadal vs. Britain's Andy Murray.

Weather

Today High 70 Low 52 Mostly Cloudy

Sat High 72 Low 52 Partly Cloudy

Sun High 76 Low 56 Partly Cloudy

Mon High 74 Low 54 Chance Storms

Tue High 72 Low 52 Partly Cloudy

TV Schedule: 16—8 p.m., Stand Up To Cancer; 9 p.m., 2008 NFL Kickoff Show; 10 p.m., Dateline NBC; 22—8 p.m., Stand Up To Cancer; 9 p.m., CBS Fall Preview; 9:30 p.m., New Adventures Of Old Christine; 10 p.m., Swingtown; 25—8-10 p.m., Smackdown; 10 p.m., Seinfeld (two episodes; first episode features the Soup Nazi); 28—8-10 p.m., Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader (two-hour episode); 10 p.m., Fox 28 News; 46—8 p.m., Lester Sumrall Teaching; 8:30 p.m., LESEA In Action; 9 p.m., Harvest; 10 p.m., Berean Seventh Day Adventist Church; 10:30 p.m., Joyce Meyer; 57—8 p.m., Stand Up To Cancer; 9 p.m., America's Funniest Home Videos; 10 p.m., 20/20; 69—8 p.m., The Academy; 9 p.m., Paradise Hotel 2; 10 p.m., Adventures Of Superman (1950;s version, two episodes).

South Bend, Indiana; September 3, 2008

Uncle Ron's Ramblings

Trig's Mom To Give Acceptance Speech: The Republican National Convention got so dull last night that four-month-old Trig Palin might not have been the only one sleeping.

Maybe he'll stay awake long enough to listen to his mom's speech tonight accepting the Republican vice-presidential nomination although that will probably be after his bed time.

The real big-hitters come out tonight and Thursday night.

Governor Sarah Palin, Trig's mom, will be preceded by former New York City mayor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani at the podium. Giuliani said he plans to emphasize to the convention that Barack Obama has never run a city or a state or a military unit (The Alaska governor is commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard).

Free Press Sports

Silver Hawks Open Playoffs Tonight: The Silver Hawks open their playoff schedule against the West Michigan Whitecaps tonight at the Cove. Game time is 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale. The next two games after that will be played at West Michigan.

Other Midwest League playoff teams are Clinton, Cedar Rapids, Lansing, Dayton, Burlington, and Kane County.

MLB NL: Astros 9, Cubs 7 (11 innings, Cubs lead Brewers by 4.5 games; Cardinals by 11); Mets 6, Brewers 5 (10); Phillies 4, Nationals 0; Pirates 3, Reds 2; Braves 16, Marlins 14; Rockies 6, Giants 5 (12); Cardinals 8, Diamondbacks 2; Dodgers 8, Padres 4.

MLB AL: Indians 9, White Sox 3 (ChiSox, Twins tied); Blue Jays 7, Twins 5; Red Sox 14, Orioles 2; Yankees 7, Rays 2; Angels 5, Tigers 4; Rangers 6, Mariners 4; Royals 5, Athletics 2.

MLS Scores: CONCACAF Champions League—Trinidad and Tobago Joe Public 4, New England Revolution 0; Tauro FC 1, Chivas USA 1 (Tauro FC advances).

WNBA Scores: Fever 79, Mystics 68; Liberty 90, Comets 87; Storm 83, Dream 69.

NFL Notes: Upshaw—The NFL will honor the late Gene Upshaw at all of its games this week; Upshaw remembered at memorial service; Saints—The Saints will be able to play their scheduled game at the Superdome Sunday despite Hurricane Gustav; Lions—Lions ink Rudi Johnson to 1-year deal; Jaguars—Jaguar RB Fred Taylor is handcuffed in altercation with police; Broncos, Falcons—Falcons get CB Domonique Foxworth for seventh-round 2009 draft pick; Falcons cut veteran QB Joey Harrington.

U.S. Open Tennis: The top seeds advanced including the USA's Andy Roddick. Long-time number one player (still number two) and four-time Open champion Roger Federer did need five sets to dispose of his quarterfinal opponent. No score yet on the Williams sisters match.

UFC: Randy Couture agreed Tuesday to defend his UFC heavyweight title November 15 against Brock Lesnar as the main event of UFC 91 at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas after settling all outstanding lawsuits with the company.

First Week NCAA Football Scores: Thursday, Aug. 28—Eastern Michigan 52, Indiana St. 0; Ball St. 48, Northeastern 14; Wake Forest 41, Baylor 13; Central Michigan 31, Eastern Illinois 12; Buffalo 42, UTEP 17; Vanderbilt 34, Miami (OH) 13; Troy 31, Middle Tennessee St. 17; Miami (FL) 57, Charleston S. 7; Connecticut 35, Hofstra 3; Cincinnati 40, Eastern Kentucky 7; Georgia Tech 41, Jacksonville St. 14; South Carolina 34, North Carolina 0; Iowa St. 44, South Dakota St. 17; Stanford 36, Oregon St. 28; Friday, Aug. 29—Temple 35, Army 7; Rice 56, SMU 27; Sat., Aug. 30—Indiana 31, West Kentucky 13; LSU 41, Appalachian St. 13; Wisconsin 38, Akron 17; Bowling Green 27, Pittsburgh 17; Penn St. 66, Coastal Carolina 10; Ohio St. 43, Youngstown St. 0; Northwestern 30, Syracuse 10; East Carolina 27, Virginia Tech 22; Iowa 46, Maine 3; Georgia 45, Georgia Southern 21; Florida 56, Hawaii 10; Wyoming 21, Ohio 20; Air Force 41, Southern Utah 7; West Virginia 48, Villanova 21; USC 52, Virginia 7; Oklahoma St. 39, Washington St. 13; Navy 41, Towson 13; Utah 25, Michigan 23; Maryland 14, Delaware 7; Tulsa 45, UAB 22; Marshall 35, Illinois St. 10; TCU 26, New Mexico 3; BYU 41, Northern Iowa 17; Central Florida 17, South Carolina St. 0; North Carolina 35, McNeese St. 27; Louisiana Tech 22, Mississippi St. 14; Texas Tech 49, Eastern Washington 24; Southern Miss. 51, Louisiana Lafayette 21; Oklahoma 57, Chattanooga 2; Nebraska 47, Western Michigan 24; Minnesota 31, Northern Illinois 27; Ole Miss 41, Memphis 24; Houston 55, Southern 3; Texas 52, Florida Atlantic 10; Kansas 40, Florida International 10; Duke 31, James Madison 7; Auburn 34, LA Monroe 0; Arkansas 28, Western Illinois 24; Arkansas St. 18, Texas A&M 14; South Florida 56, Tenn-Martin 7; Kansas St. 45, North Texas 6; Boston College 21, Kent St. 0; San Jose St. 13, UC Davis 10; Boise St. 49, Idaho St. 7; California 38, Michigan St. 31; Alabama 34, Clemson 10; Missouri 52, Illinois 42; Nevada 49, Grambling St. 13.Cal Poly 29, San Diego St. 27; UNLV 27, Utah St. 17; Oregon 44, Washington 10; Arizona 70, Idaho 0; Arizona St. 30, Northern Arizona 13; Sun., Aug. 31—Kentucky 27, Louisville 2; Colorado 38, Colorado St. 17; Monday—Fresno St. 24, Rutgers 7; UCLA 27, Tennessee 24 (OT).

Weather

Today High 81Low 59 Chance Storms

Thu High 74 Low 61 Chance Storms

Fri High 74 Low 58 Chance Storms

Sat High 79 Low 58 Chance Storms

Sun High 76 Low 58 Mostly Cloudy

TV Schedule: 16—8-10 p.m., America's Got Talent (two-hour episode); 10 p.m., Republican National Convention; 22—8 p.m., America's Greatest Dogs; 9 p.m., Criminal Minds; 10 p.m., Republican National Convention; 25—8-10 p.m., America's Next Top Model (two-hour episode); 28—8-10 p.m., Bones (two-hour episode); 46—8 p.m., Lester Sumrall Teaching; 8:30 p.m. Making Healthy Choices; 9 p.m., Harvest; 57—8 p.m., Wife Swap; 9 p.m., Supernanny; 10 p.m., Republican National Convention; 69—8-9 p.m., Twilight Zone (two episodes); 9-10 p.m., Whacked-Out Videos (two episodes).

Nation/World

Pakistani PM Unhurt After Shots Fired: Pakastani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was unhurt when shots were fired at his motorcade earlier today.

South Bend, Indiana; September 2, 2008

Free Press Sports

Lugnuts 4, #Silver Hawks 2 (#Second Half Eastern Division Champs): The Silver Hawks began the first half-season with a long losing streak which included four straight losses at Lansing. Their concluded the regular season with three straight home losses to the Lugnuts but the best second half record in the Eastern Division.

Despite the losing streak the Hawks (43-27) just missed out on the best second half record in the Midwest League. The Burlington Bees head into the playoffs with a 43-26 mark.

The Hawks open their playoff schedule against the West Michigan Whitecaps September 3 (tomorrow night) at the Cove. Game time is 6:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale. The next two games after that will be played at West Michigan.

MLB NL: Astros 3, Cubs 0 (Cubs lead Brewers by 4.5 games, Cardinals by 11); Mets 4, Brewers 2; Nationals 7, Phillies 4; Rockies 4, Giants 0; Diamondbacks 8, Cardinals 6; Dodgers 5, Padres 2.

MLB AL: Indians 5, White Sox 0 (ChiSox, Twins tied); Twins idle; Red Sox 7, Orioles 4; Yankees 13, Tigers 9; Mariners 12, Rangers 6.

MLS Scores: Saturday—Fire 1, Chivas USA 0; Houston 2, Columbus 0; DC United 2, Kansas City 0; Sunday—San Jose 3, Los Angeles 2; FC Dallas 2, Toronto 0.

WNBA Scores: Friday—Sky 79, Mystics 75; Shock 83, Liberty 69; Sun 98, Dream 72; Saturday—Fever 87, Dream 72; Monarchs 80, Comets 65; Lynx 92, Mystics 78; Sparks 58, Silver Stars 53; Sunday—Sky 82, Shock 81; Sun 80, Storm 76; Monday—Sparks 82, Lynx 58.

NFL Notes: Colts—Peyton Manning will start in opener vs. Bears; Ravens—Joe Flacco, rookie QB from University of Delaware, will start season as number one; Patriots—Tom Brady says he'll be ready to play in team's opener; Saints—Engineers say Superdome looks good in wake of Hurricane Gustav.

Williams Sisters To Meet Again at Forest Hills: Venus and Serena Williams will square off against other for the 17^th time as professionals in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

The sisters each advanced with straight set victories in this weekend's action at Forest Hills.

Rafael Nadal will try to make his already successful season more so on the men's side. The Spaniard advanced along with the other top men's seeds. Nadal has already won his fourth French Open title and first Wimbledon crown this year. He has never reached the U.S. Open final.

Golf: PGA Deutsche Bank Cham-pionship—Vijay Singh -22 (Singh leads Sergio Garcia by 12,225 points), Mike Weir -17; LPGA—No events scheduled; Champions Tour Wal-Mart First Tee Open At Pebble Beach—Jeff Sluman -14; Fuzzy Zoeller and Craig Stadler -9.

Johnson Remains In Contention For Three-Peat: Two-time defending Cup champion Jimmie Johnson remained in contention for the third straight with a convincing win in the Pepsi 500 at Charlotte Sunday night.

Johnson led 228 of the 250 laps. Greg Biffle finished 2.076 seconds behind.

Points leaders Kyle Busch (1) and Carl Edwards (2) retained their spots with seventh and sixth place finishes respectively. Johnson is in third place and Biffle sixth in the Sprint Cup standings.

South Bend native Ryan Newman's Cup dim Cup hopes faded even more with a 16^th place finish Sunday. He also stands 16^th in the standings.

NASCAR Pepsi 500 At Charlotte: 1. Jimmie Johnson (48 Chevy); 2. Greg Biffle (16 Ford); 3. Denny Hamlin (11 Toyota); 4. Kevin Harvick (29 Chevy); 5. Matt Kenseth (17 Ford); 6. Carl Edwards (99 Ford); 7. Kyle Busch (18 Toyota); 8. Kasey Kahne (9 Dodge); 9. David Reutimann (44 Toyota); 10. Clint Bowyer (07 Chevy); 16. Ryan Newman (12 Dodge).

Sprint Cup Standings: 1. Kyle Busch 3755; 2. Carl Edwards 3547; 3. Jimmie Johnson 3386; 4. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 3323; 5. Jeff Burton 3234; 6. Greg Biffle 3159; 7. Kevin Harvick 3132; 8. Tony Stewart 3110; 9. Matt Kenseth 3081; 10. Jeff Gordon 3074; 11. Denny Hamlin 3065; 12. Clint Bowyer 2989; 16. Ryan Newman 2789.

IRL Standings (No Races Scheduled Labor Day Weekend): 1. Helio Castroneves 626, 2. Scott Dixon 624, 3. Tony Kanaan 516, 4. Dan Wheldon 496, 5. Ryan Briscoe 452, 6. Danica Patrick 389, 7. Oriol Servia 360, 8. Marco Andretti 355, 9. Hideki Mutoh 351, 10. Ryan Hunter-Reay 350.

Jaguar Lineman Fights For Life: Jaguars reserve offensive tackle Richard Collier is fighting for his life in Jacksonville's Shands Medical Center after a Tuesday shooting.

Collier and recently released former Jaguar defensive end Kenneth Pettway were sitting in a car outside a Jacksonville apartment waiting for some women when the shooting occurred.

Pettway was not injured in the attack. Jacksonville police have still not discovered a motive for the shooting.

The Jaguars still believed before the shooting that Collier could be a future starter; they signed him to an extension in the off-season.

Collier, 6-7/345 pounds, is a third-year player who came to the team as a rookie free agent. He helped lead Valdosta State to the 2004 NCAA Division II Title.

Weather

Today High 92 Low 65 Clear

Wed High 81 Low 58 T-storms

Thu High 72 Low 58 Chance Storms

Fri High 77 Low 58 Chance Storms

Sat High 79 Low 56 Chance Storms

Nation/World

Calls For Palin To Drop Out: Democrats and Republicans are calling for presumptive Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin to drop out of the race prior to this week's GOP convention after the announcement that Palin's 17-year-old unmarried daughter was pregnant.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain was aware of Bristol Palin's pregnancy before he chose her mother, the Governor of Alaska, as his running mate, a top advisor to the Arizona senator said.

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack O:bama said that families should be off-limits in presidential campaigns after learning of the news. "Let me be as clear as possible," Obama said. "I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits."

iReporter Darla Jones of Roseburg, Oregon, who supports McCain, agrees that the media and public should leave Bristol and the Palin family alone.

"I had a daughter very young," Jones worte on iReport.com, explaining that being a young mother made it difficult to get jobs and complete her education. "This should not affect the presidency in any way."

Sabrina Lee of Laveen Arizona, a previously undecided voter, had a different opinion.

"Personally, I have a right to know anything and everything about the next president and vice president," Lee wrote on iReport.com. "I want to know the truth. "I feel as a voter I have the right to know everything about each nominee. This is just my opinion, but it's also my vote and its precious."

Lee said she now plans to vote for Obama.

"Family values are a Republican platform," Lee said, describing the news of Bristol's pregnancy as "a travesty."

Arizona resident Alicia Summers, an Obama supporter, suggested that Palin drop out of the race out of respect for the privacy of her family.

Another women wrote on iReport.com, "An unmarried 17-year-old pregnant daughter is not consistent with conservative principles.

Gov. Palin had been charged with faking her recent pregnancy to cover for her daughter. The governor gave birth four months ago to son Trig, who has Down's Syndrome.

Gov. Palin and husband Todd have three other children: Track, Willow, and Piper. The grandchild will be their first.

Bristol plans to deliver the baby and wed the father. The family did not release the name of the young man.

Japanese PM Resigns: Taro Aso, a man described as a "hardliner" and "controversial" appears to be the front-runner to replace Yaluo Fukuda as Japanese prime minister, who resigned yesterday.

Fukuda is the second Japanese prime minister to resign this year.

TV Schedule: 16—8-10 p.m., America's Got Talent (two-hour episode); 10 p.m., Republican National Convention; 22—8 p.m., NCIS; 9 p.m., Big Brother; 10 p.m., Republican National Convention; 25—8-10 p.m., New 90210 (two-hour premier); 28—8-10 p.m., House (two-hour episode); 46—8 p.m., Lester Sumrall Teaching; 8:30 p.m. Paid Programming; 9 p.m., Harvest; 57—8 p.m., Wipeout; 9 p.m., Wanna Bet?; 10 p.m., Republican National Convention; 10 p.m., Republican National Convention; 69—8-9 p.m., Street Patrol (two episodes); 9-10 p.m., Jail (two episodes).

Uncle Ron's Ramblings

Veep "Scandal" Already For GOP: I may not be in whole-hearted agreement with Barack Obama but I am on this issue.

Children should not be used as political pawns in their elders' campaigns, especially four-month-old babies. Presumptive GOP vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's fourth-month-old son Trig wasn't letting the commotion bother him at the announcement of his mother's selection by presidential candidate John McCain; he appeared oblivious to all the commotion as he slept peacefully in his sister Bristol's arms. Maybe he had the right idea.

If the rumors were true that Gov. Palin faked her recent pregnancy and that Trig is really Bristol's son, then that would demonstrate a lack of integrity. It appears that only soap opera aspect of this situation is in some reporters' imaginations and the names of the Palin children: Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper, and Trig.

In regards to the names the Palins probably believe their children are not common and don't deserve common names; parents could be forgiven for feeling that way.

And leave Trig out of politics. He's obviously disinterested. That's his privilege.