I just returned from the Chicago Auto Show. It’s the world’s largest consumer attended auto show. This Ford Shelby Mustang was named Best in Show. My favorite by far though there were plenty in the running. Click here or on the picture to see my Flickr photostream of the shots I took there today.

The 2006 Winter Olympics began in Torino, Italy last night with the opening ceremonies. I enjoy watching the Olympics for the most part, though there are some events I wonder why they are even an “olympic sport.” Luge for one. Jerry Seinfeld has a classic routine on the luge. It makes me laugh every time I read it:

“And that other one that I love is the luge. You know the luge, where the guy wears the slick suit. This is on the bobsled run, but it’s not even a sled. It’s just bob. It’s just a human being hanging on for their life, this is the whole sport. Just ahhhhhhhhh… “oh he pointed his toes… oh, this guy is a tremendous athlete”.

The luge is the only sport I’ve ever seen that you could have people competing in it against their will. And it would be exactly the same. You know, if they were just picking people off the street, “hey hey hey, what is this ?! I don’t wanna be in the luge”. You know, you put the helmet on them, you wouldn’t really hear them screaming, just:

- purrrrrr -
“you’re in the luge, buddy”
“ahhh ahhh ahhh ahhh… aaahhh…”
“World record. Didn’t even wanna do it”
I wanna see that event next year, the involuntary luge.”

Ha! Good stuff. Go USA!

1. Aretha Franklin should have sung the “Star-Spangled Banner” by herself. Aaron Neville’s singing made me wonder if his mic was broken.

2. Why in the world was Tom Brady doing the official coin flip? Aren’t there plenty of other famous people to do this? Did the NFL think the ratings would stink if they didn’t have the Patriots there?

3. Watching the Super Bowl on an HDTV is good. Watching Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in HD is bad. Really bad. Downright disturbing. One of the few drawbacks of HDTV. Plus did anyone understand what he was singing most of the time?

4. Any high school football team could manage the clock better that the Seattle Seahawks did at the end of both halves. They looked better overall in the game, but its the scoreboard that matters.

5. MacGyver is back! Here is the commercial. One of the better commercials last night.

6. Other good commercials included the Careerbuilder.com Monkeys in the Office, the Caveman FedEx commercial. More Commercials here at Google Video.

7. The game did have its moments. The Steelers habit of throwing in a few gadget plays is always fun to watch, especially when it ends in a game breaking touchdown to Hines Ward.

8. Yet again the officiating crew made some horrible calls that seriously effected the momentum of the game.

9. Steelers owner Dan Rooney grabbed the trophy before they even got to the official presentation. Mike Tirico had to make him put it back.

10. In the end the NFL got what they wanted a storybook ending for Jerome Bettis’ career.

The recent injuries suffered by ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt in Iraq have been all over the news this past week. All of the networks, cable news, and even local news channels were making it a top story.

I certainly hope they both make a full recovery and am glad that their families did not lose them. I have great respect for anyone who puts themselves in harms way when they are not required to.

That being said, I have been frustrated to see the obsessive over-coverage of this incident. I realize Bob Woodruff is a recognizable face to many because he is a national news anchor. But what really irked me was how the media gave relentless coverage of this for days on end. What about the our brave military soldiers over there? Did they cover the incidents where our soldiers died that day?

Bob Woodruff is not any more important or any more brave than our great military personnel there in Iraq and around the world.

In fact, he’s not even in the same league as our troops. But with the coverage of this incident, it seems the media thinks that Woodruff is more important. He is not. Our military faces those incidents and attacks every day! He travels over there to cover the war, for a very short time and some how he’s a hero? Yet again proof that the media has no clue about what is important. Their self-important mindset is sad and disgraceful. I really hope and pray that they will change someday.

I came across this article the other day and I completely agree with it. It really echoed what I have felt since this story broke. Our troops deserve better recognition for their efforts and sacrifice.