What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq, Part I - The Iraqi government defended its efforts to stabilize the country on the eve of a key U.S. progress report but said it needs more help and was not ready for a timetable on the withdrawal of American forces. Iraq also issued a new appeal to neighboring countries to step up assistance at a conference that drew delegates from across the Middle East and representatives of the U.S., the U.N. and the Group of Eight industrialized nations. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said bordering countries had been slow to fulfill promises to stem the flow of fighters and weapons into Iraq. He urged Syria and Jordan to ease restrictions on Iraqis trying to enter those countries, with Damascus due to begin imposing the requirement on Monday. Iraqis near the border with Syria boarded buses and crammed their belongings into the luggage holds as they tried to beat the deadline. Let me see if I've got this straight. The Iraqi government claims that it is making progress on stabilizing their country but cannot say when U.S. troops may begin to withdraw. then it goes on to chastise neighboring countries from letting to many of their people into Iraq while at the same time not letting enough Iraqis cross over to their borders. Yeah, I'd say these guys have things well in hand.

Iraq, Part II- President Bush's war strategy is failing and the top military commander in Iraq is "dead flat wrong" for warning against major changes, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joseph Biden said. Sunday. "The reality is that, although there has been some mild progress on the security front, there is, in fact, no real security in Baghdad or Anbar province, where I was dealing with the most serious problem, sectarian violence," said Biden, a 2008 presidential candidate who recently returned from Iraq. Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker are scheduled to testify before four congressional committees, including Biden's, on Monday and Tuesday. Lawmakers will hear how the commander and the diplomat assess progress in Iraq and offer recommendations about the course of war strategy. Officials familiar with their thinking say that the advisers would urge Congress not to make significant changes. Their report will note that while national political progress has been disappointing, security gains in local areas have shown promise, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal deliberations. Petraeus and Crocker will say the buildup of 30,000 troops, which bring the current U.S. total to nearly 170,000, is working better than any previous effort to quell the insurgency and restore stability. Like it or not, what these guys are saying is basically true. And frankly, the military isn't the problem here. Hell, they should be commended for doing a tremendous job despite the lack of an coherent political solution to clean this mess up.

Taiwan - Tensions have ratcheted up over an ambitious political gambit by Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian that has rattled both China and the U.S., Taiwan's closest ally. At issue is Chen's plan for a public referendum next year on Taiwan seeking entry to the United Nations. Beijing views the referendum as a direct challenge to its claim that Taiwan is part of China. The referendum would ask whether the territory should apply for U.N. membership as "Taiwan." The Mainland Affairs Council, which implements Taiwan's China policies, published a poll in August putting support at more than 70 percent. Any name would be symbolic. The U.N. Security Council would have to approve Taiwan's membership, and China has a veto. Chen's move worries U.S. officials enough that they have publicly criticized it. The United States is wary of getting dragged into a scrap between a democratic friend and its giant neighbor across the Taiwan Straits. China hardly wants war either. That would cast a giant shadow over its economic leap forward and next summer's Beijing Olympics. But ignoring Chen would give new impetus to Taiwanese independence — a prospect Beijing abhors. Any conflict that has the potential for pitting the U.S. against China would pretty much suck for everyone. Some question the timing of Chen's announcement as thousands of protesters demanded that Chen step down over suspected corruption. In November 2006, Chen's wife was indicted for corruption involving suspected misuse of $14.8 million Taiwan dollars from a presidential office state affairs fund. Prosecutors have said they will indict Chen once he has to quit the presidency next May, ending eight years in office and of immunity from charges. Though I have to say, for lack of a better term, this is a welcome change of pace from the never-ending debacle that is the Iraq War. And while you have to question his motives, given the scandal he's facing, you have to admit Chen has moxie.

The Pope - Pope Benedict XVI has appealed for renewed respect for Sundays as he celebrated Mass at St Stephen's cathedral in the heart of Vienna. He was speaking on the final day of his three-day visit to Austria. In his sermon, the Pope said leisure was a good thing amid the mad rush of the modern world, but warned of the dangers of it becoming wasted time. Say what? Maybe I'm missing something here. Isn't the whole point of leisure time is that yo can do with it what you want? If you want to spend it going to Church or watching paint dry on the side of a building, that's your prerogative, right?

Sports - Talk about an action packed weekend. So much to cover, so little time...

Gymnastics - US star Shawn Johnson became the most successful competitor at the world gymnastics championships in Germany when she claimed her third gold. She added to the all-around and team gold she won earlier in the competition as the United States finished second on the medals table behind China with four gold to five for the Chinese.

NASCAR - The Chase for the Nextel Cup is set, and it does not include Dale Earnhardt Junior. Jimmie Johnson hit his stride at exactly the right time, winning two straight races to roll into the Chase for the championship. Dale Earnhardt Jr. never had a chance, the victim of five faulty motors when his season was on the line. Now Johnson will run for a second consecutive Nextel Cup title, while Earnhardt watches from the sidelines for the second time in three years. Although Jeff Gordon dominated the standings all season long, his points lead is gone because Johnson, his teammate, won two more races than he did. Tony Stewart, the two-time series champion, will be 30 points back in third. Carl Edwards is seeded fourth, followed by Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, Jeff Burton, Harvick and Clint Bowyer.

Indy Racing League - Dario Franchitti squeezed out half a lap more than Scott Dixon on their final fuel load Sunday and that's all it took for the Scot to win his first IndyCar Series title in what might be his farewell to open-wheel racing. The two leaders came into the season-finale at Chicagoland Speedway with Franchitti leading the standings by just three points. Sources say Franchitti will sign with Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 40 Dodge in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series beginning in 2008. He will join Juan Pablo Montoya, another former open-wheel star, a heralded rookie with Ganassi's NASCAR Nextel Cup team this season.

Golf - Tiger Woods won his 60 tournament and took the lead in the inaugural Fed Ex Cup standings with an 8-under 63 that shattered the scoring record at Cog Hill and gave him a two-shot victory in the BMW Championship.

Tennis - Roger Federer came through, beating Novak Djokovic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 for his fourth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 12th Grand Slam title overall. Federer became the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the American Grand Slam four years running, and he moved within two of Pete Sampras' career record of 14 major titles. On the women's side, Justine Henin overwhelmed No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 Saturday night to win her second U.S. Open title and seventh major championship overall.

Track and Field - Jamaican Asafa Powell cruised to victory in the 100 meters final of the Rieti IAAF Grand Prix in Italy on Sunday after breaking his own world record in his heat. He set the record of 9.74 seconds and then was back on the track some 90 minutes later to run 9.78 in the final.

College Football - Less than 24 hours after wowing a national audience, Louisiana State apparently impressed the voters as well. LSU remained second in the latest Associated Press poll. However, the Tigers (2-0) received 25 first-place votes - 20 more than last week - thanks to their 48-7 rout of then-No. 9 Virginia Tech. Idle Southern California (1-0) maintained its spot atop the poll, garnering 1,594 points and the remaining 40 first-place votes. Oklahoma (2-0) climbed two spots to third following a 51-13 thrashing of Miami. West Virginia (2-0) and Florida (2-0) each fell one spot to fourth and fifth, respectively. Texas (2-0) moved up one spot to sixth courtesy of a 34-13 triumph over then-No. 19 Texas Christian. Wisconsin (2-0) dropped two spots to seventh, followed by California (2-0), Louisville (2-0) and Ohio State (2-0). There is good news on the horizon for either Michigan fans or Notre Dame fans, both coping with 0-2 starts. One of your teams will get its first victory of the season next week. I say this with a high degree of certainty, give the fact that you guys play each on Saturday.

Let's see did I miss anything...oh yeah, one more thing...The NFL season kicked off this week.

NFL - Okay here we go. Here are my early season picks for the playoffs (by the way, if you have not yet noticed, my prognostication skills suck the big tamale):

AFC: East - New England; North - Baltimore; South - Indianopolis; West - San Diego; Wildcards - Pittsburgh and Buffalo

NFC: East - NY Giants; North - Chicago; South - New Orleans; West - Seattle
Wildcards - Dallas and San Francisco

AFC Winner: Indianapolis; NFC Winner: New Orleans

Superbowl Winner: Indianapolis