Get your cheer on

Buckle up, elves! Tomorrow is the first-ever Red and Green Game at St. John's! Leave your black, teal and magenta t-shirts at home. Only red, green and white shirts will be allowed on the floor. Forget good guys vs. bad guys. This week it's naughty vs. nice.

All I want for Christmas is for you to tell me you'll be there tomorrow. We tip off at 8:00 a.m., as usual.

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Stuff that's on my mind this week. Is that what blogging's all about?

On my nightstand: The Prize, by Daniel Yergen. Hoping the later chapters will shed some light on this question: Why do politicians and pundits get so hot about our so-called "dependency on foreign oil" but not about our dependency on foreign toys, foreign clothing, foreign timber, foreign electronics, and foreign maple syrup? The U.S. couldn't manufacture a clock-radio on a dare, yet you don't hear politicians thunder that we need to be "microwave-oven independent by 2012." Oil is but one of countless commodities and consumer products we import to meet demand. So why the obsession? Because oil is sourced from unstable regions? Most of ours comes from Canada.

Here's the most thoughtful endorsement of any candidate I've ever read.

What's with the guys who drive the fake police cars? You know what I'm talking about. Dude driving around in a black or blue or white Crown Vic with the plain wheelcovers and the spotlight mounted by the driver's-side mirror. I saw two on the way to lunch today. Police-academy flunk-outs? Militia freaks? Or just plain old dorks?

Listen to Frank Sinatra's 1947 version of "White Christmas." Then listen to Bing Crosby's canonical version. Then listen to Elvis Presley's 1957 version. Only then can you come close to understanding what the Elvis phenomenon was about. (There was a lot of fuss about that particular song.)

Tee-hee: Kentucky is 4-5 and has lost its last 4 games. The Gophers are 7-1.