What Caught My Eye Today

Kosovo - I guess the riots in Serbia weren't enough for the Serbs to get their point across about Kosovo's recent declaration of independence. Violent protests rocked Serb-dominated northern Kosovo as mobs hurled stones, bottles and firecrackers at U.N. police guarding a bridge that divides Serbs from ethnic Albanians. There were disturbing signs the riots in Belgrade, Serbia, and in Kosovo have the blessing of nationalists in the Serbian government. The government hopes somehow to undo the loss of the province. Serbian authorities have repeatedly vowed to reclaim the land, despite U.S. and other Western recognition of Kosovo's statehood. Some hard-line government ministers have praised the violent protests as "legitimate" — and in line with government policies of retaining control over Serb-populated areas. And if you think that's ominous, wait until you read this next bit. There were fears that Serbian soccer hooligans, the same ones who attacked the U.S. and other embassies in Belgrade, were among those on the buses. Some of the hooligans apparently managed to evade the blockade, leading the clashes at the bridge. Okay, so riots and burning embassies are one thing, but when you start talking about soccer hooligans, then you really have an international crisis. Those dudes are serious trouble makers.

2008 Presidential Race - John McCain may be the GOP front runner, but man, is he having a tough week. John McCain said that while lobbyists serve as close advisers to his presidential campaign, they are honorable and he is not influenced by corruption in the system. No problem so far. Sounds like a decent standard to me. The issue of lobbying and influence has arisen in published reports, first in The New York Times and then in The Washington Post, suggesting that McCain had an inappropriate relationship with a female lobbyist and advanced the interests of her clients. Yeah, but surely those are both smear campaigns...of course the Washington Post is rather conservative. But, still. McCain is still on the up-and-up. Then there was this... Federal authorities announced corruption charges accusing Rep. Rick Renzi of engineering a swap of federally owned mining land to benefit himself and a former business partner and stealing from his insurance company's clients. The indictment's 35 counts include charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, insurance fraud and extortion. Renzi is one of 24 co-chairmen for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in Arizona. McCain seemed surprised when asked about the indictment today. Bro', here's some free advise. When you are running for the most powerful job in the free world, there is a remote possibility that you might be subjected to some scrutiny. Maybe you should pay more attention to who you pick for advisors.

On the other end of the spectrum, Democrat Barack Obama is having a rather good week. His string of 11 straight primary wins are one thing, but after last night's debate with Hillary Clinton, he has more good news to revel in. The Democratic superdelegates are starting to follow the voters straight to Barack Obama. In just the past two weeks, more than two dozen of them have climbed aboard his presidential campaign. Clinton still leads among superdelegates — 241 to 181, according to an Associated Press survey. But her total is down two in the past two weeks, while Obama's is up 25. There are nearly 800 Democratic superdelegates, making them an important force in a nomination race as close as this one. Obama has piled up the most victories in primaries and caucuses, giving him the overall lead in delegates, 1,362 to 1,266.5. Clinton's half delegate came from the global primary sponsored by the Democrats Abroad. Loyal readers of this blog would know this already do to the diligent reporting of yours truly. It will take 2,025 delegates to secure the nomination at this summer's national convention in Denver. If Clinton and Obama continue to split delegates in elections, neither will reach the mark without support from the superdelegates. Okay, I have a theory about all this delegate/superdelegate nonsense that the Democratic party has come up with. Party leaders are obviously afraid that if they do nothing, they may inadvertently win this election.

Golf - Guess who's playing again this week, and leading the field? Tiger Woods was firing at every flag he could, making birdie on every other hole, and still feeling enormous pressure from Aaron Baddeley, who held his own in the Accenture Match Play Championship and twice had putts that would have sent Woods home. Woods made his 12th birdie on the 20th hole of an electrifying match at Dove Mountain, a 13-foot putt that was so true Woods began removing his cap when the ball was a foot from going into the center of the cup. It wasn't the first time Woods has made so many birdies, but those matches usually end quickly. This one stretched 20 holes, his longest match in nine years of this tournament. Next up for Woods is K.J. Choi, a 1-up winner over Paul Casey of England. So does anyone want to bet against Woods to win the whole thing...again?

Cycling - Defending champion Levi Leipheimer dominated the individual time trial Friday to increase his overall lead in the Tour of California. Leipheimer completed the windy 15-mile route in 30 minutes, 47 seconds at an average speed of 29.202 mph. David Millar of Slipstream, Britain’s national time trial and road champion, was second in 31:16, and teammate Christian Vande Velde finished third in 31:32. Millar, who began the day in fourth place 20 seconds behind Leipheimer, moved into second place overall, 49 seconds behind. Vande Velde was third overall, 1:08 back with two stages left in the 650-mile race. The event, which began last Sunday in Palo Alto, Calif., with 132 riders, is down to 102. Maybe you heard about that little flu epidemic. Apparently, this year's flu vaccine doesn't have this year's flu strain. That's got to suck for these guys. Two riders finished outside the time limit Friday and another was not present at the start of the stage. Although Leipheimer improved his lead, the remaining two stages both have several climbs, with the final stage including the race’s highest elevation at nearly 5,000 feet. The seven-stage event continues Saturday with the 109-mile Santa Barbara to Santa Clarita road race. It concludes Sunday with a 93-mile road race from Santa Clarita to Pasadena.

American Idol - That's right friends, the auditions and Hollywood week are over, and it is game on. Carly Smithson progressed on "American Idol" Thursday amid controversy over her professional past. Smithson, 24, has made headlines for having a pre-"Idol" career: The Irish crooner recorded a debut album, 2001's "Ultimate High," for MCA Records. It flopped — after the label spent more than $2 million trying to sell it. Besides Smithson, several of this year's semifinalists are not exactly rookies in the world of music. Kristy Lee Cook once had a deal with Arista Nashville, and rocker Robbie Carrico was part of the pop group Boyz N Girlz United. Just the sort of thing a 'rocker' wants on his resume. 'Boyz N Girlz United'? Dude, you'll never be a 'rocker' with that ghost in your closet. Garrett Haley, Amy Davis, Joanne Borgella and Colton Berry were eliminated by viewers getting their first chance to vote in the top-rated talent contest's seventh season. Okay, now for my biased opinion. Good call on the dudes. They both pretty much blew chow. But I have to say that the bottom two broads were two of the strongest performers in what I would call a mediocre women's pool. Borgella didn't exactly bring down the house, but there were plenty of performances that sucked more than hers did.