What Caught My Eye Today

Norway - Anders Behring Breivik has admitted bombing Norway's capital and opening fire on a political youth group retreat on an island near the capital last week. He told authorities that he expects to spend the rest of his life in prison. Saying he wanted to save Europe from Muslim immigration, he entered a plea of not guilty that will guarantee him future court hearings and opportunities to address the public, even indirectly. Breivik faces 21 years in prison for the terrorism charges, but he has told authorities he never expects to be released. While 21 years is the stiffest sentence a Norwegian judge can hand down, a special sentence can be given to prisoners deemed a danger to society who are locked up for 20-year sentences that can be renewed indefinitely. Amen to that. Breivik wrote a 1,500 page manifesto criticizing Norway's openness and embrace of immigrants and said his attacks were intended to start a revolution to inspire Norwegians to retake their country from Muslims. He blames liberals for championing multiculturalism over Norway's "indigenous" culture and claimed that the killings were meant to wake people up to these problems and to serve as "marketing" for his manifesto. It is tragic and unfortunate that acts of terror can happen anywhere, at anytime, by anyone. At the same time, it is important to remember, as was the case with the Oklahoma City bombings, that terrorism is not limited to any particular religion or ethnicity. Sadly, it seems anyone with enough determination has the ability to inflict great harm. Thankful, Norway refuses to compromise its values in the face such acts of cowardice. It is such steadfastness will ultimately defeat terrorism, and the terrorists know that.

Physics - Scientists hoping to puzzle out how the Universe began will find a long-sought theoretical particle, or rule out that it exists, by the end of 2012. Thank, God. Maybe then I will finally be able to get a good night's sleep. The Higgs boson isn't just any particle. It's the linchpin of the Standard Model of particle physics theory that explains the Big Bang, because it is believed to answer a fundamental question about why matter has mass. The particle itself is thought to give mass to other particles, and thus to objects and creatures in the Universe. These are the latest findings to come out of test conducted at The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. Physicists also hope the collider will help them see and understand other suspected phenomena, such as dark matter, antimatter and supersymmetry. Dark matter has been theorized by scientists to account for missing mass and bent light in faraway galaxies. Scientists believe it makes galaxies spin faster. Lest you had forgot, this is the same contraption that critics have suggested has the potential for creating a block hole that could envelop the entire planet. I think the lesson here is pretty clear. Don't piss off physicists.

Cycling- Aussie, Aussie, Aussie...Oy, Oy, Oy!!! It was a Tour de France many hailed as a classic. There were crashes, dropouts, surprises and, above all, a new champion. With Cadel Evans becoming the first Australian to win cycling's most prestigious race, the Tour de France had a completely new look this year. This year, with defending champion Alberto Contador far from his best, the race was wide open. Despite the early departure of some pre-race favorites, seven key riders were in contention halfway through the final week. And that's not counting Frenchman Thomas Voeckler, who led through the Pyrenees and most of the Alps. I'm not a huge fan of Contador, but let's not forget, due won the Giro Italia 3 weeks before the start of the Tour, and has won 6 Grand Tours that he participated in. The French went crazy for Voeckler, who expected to hold the yellow jersey for only a day or two but showed extraordinary strength to stay with Evans and the Schlecks through most of the mountain stages and finished fourth overall. The race for the green jersey, given to the best sprinter, went to Britain's Mark Cavendish. Dude has 20 stage wins after riding in just 4 events. It is also worth noting that he won the points competition despite being docked 40 points for finishing outside the stage time limits...twice. Olympic champion Samuel Sanchez, finished sixth and won the polka-dot jersey for best climber. For American fans, the top finisher was Tom Danielson in ninth place. American based BMC claimed the yellow jersey, courtesy of Cadel Evans and American based Garmin Cervelo claimed the team classification. Next up the Vuelta a Espana in August.

NASCAR - Here's a story you will only see in the world of stock car racing...God love 'em. Pastor Joe Nelms likely had folks gathered at the NASCAR Federated Auto Parts 300 race in Nashville looking around for his "smokin' hot wife," after he thanked God for her during his pre-race invocation. He thanked God for such things as "these mighty machines that you've brought before us," going on to cite the wonders of Dodges and Toyotas and Fords. Prayerful thanks then were directed to, among other things, "Sunoco Racing Fuel and Goodyear tires that bring performance and power to the track." But it was when he got to his family that he had fans and drivers unsuccessfully holding back laughter. "Lord I want to thank you for my smokin' hot wife tonight, Lisa, my two children, Eli and Emma, or as we like to call them the Little E's." But he wasn't done. He prayed and blessed the drivers and said, "may they put on a performance worthy of this great track." Then he borrowed NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip's trademark phrase in his closing: "In Jesus' name. Boogity, boogity, boogity. Amen." Seriously, this is one of the most hilarious moments in sport that I have ever seen (click here).