Creature of habit needs his morning paper

Even on a cold, blustery morning such as this, I still step bravely out onto the front step to pick up my plastic-wrapped copy of the Argus Leader. But it's not there! It's ALWAYS there! So I call the circulation department's free 800 number. Alas, a power outage prevented on-time publication of the paper. But there's good news: tomorrow I will get two papers to read instead of one! . . . . .

So I flip on ESPN2 to see what is new in the wonderful world of sports (yesterday I kept it off all day to avoid the Brett Favre love affair). So what is on this morning? Brett Favre. Again. They are still making sweet conversational love to the guy. Let him retire. Let's move on. One full day of Favre blather is enough. . . . . .

So the Sioux Falls Storm's quarterback is suspended for the opening game months and months after some incident in which he was involved. I've never been to a Storm game (football indoors in March and April?), but this sounds fishy, as if the whole rest of the league wants to stick it to the Storm. I think I'll listen to their game this Saturday. Oh wait, I can't because, even though I'm only an hour from Sioux Falls and probably 50 miles as the crow flies, I can't hear Sioux Falls radio stations at night. . . . . .

Since I will have to avoid sports talk radio and TV this morning until noon when the Twins game comes on television, let's try politics. Things changed in a hurry last night, didn't they? The Clinton clan is (are?) back in the game, and we still may have four or eight more years of the same two families in the White House for more than 20 years. . . . . .

Memo to the Democrats: Have your cameras ready today when Sen. McCain (it was funny to hear somebody call him "John W. McCain" on television last night!) snuggles up to President Bush at the White House today. Photos of the two of them holding their arms up in the air should find some place in the campaign this fall. . . . . .

I wish McCain could learn to sound as if he is speaking instead of reading word -- by -- word -- by -- word -- by -- word from a Teleprompter machine. . . . . . Without meaning any disrespect, it certainly is difficult to imagine Mrs. McCain in the kitchen scrambling eggs in the morning. . . . . . I honestly had this thought the other day when I first saw the Clinton commercial about the White House red phone ringing at 3 a.m. Then I heard a TV commentator say the same thing. So you may think I'm plagiarizing this idea, but the thing that crossed my mind was this: If the White House red phone is ringing, PICK IT UP AND ANSWER IT!!!!! On that commercial it rings and rings and rings six or seven times. . . . . .

Good luck to the Coyotes tonight! . . . . Will the DakotaDome scoreboard read "UND" instead of "Sioux" again tonight? Every other game the opponents' mascot appears up there---"Huskies," "Mavericks," "Bulldogs" etc. (except for Augustana, for some reason). But when UND played here before, the board read "UND" instead of "Sioux." A statement regarding the Fighting Sioux mascot furor, perhaps? . . . . .

My alma mater, Sully Buttes High School at Onida, has its girls and boys teams back in their respective state tournaments again this year. Way to go, Charger teams! . . . . .