Read the remainder of this article at Examiner.com

With one game to go (that the computer cannot win), the MRI was at the 73rd percentile at ESPN, having been helped by a number of upsets along the way. The computer needed the help because it landed just one of its Final Four teams predicted prior to the tournament beginning.

Its solid standing is better than a number of the personalities who get paid the big bucks to spout on about sports on a daily basis at ESPN. The computer is ahead of everyone at PTI, a solid three-quarters of Around the Horn, and is hanging in there against the Editorial staff.

Not bad.

Read the remainder of this article at MRISports.com

The other day, she invited all of her contacts to visit the latest revamp of Playboy.com and comment on at least one article.

Other than the pictures of scantily clad women dominating the site, the article that stuck out for me was in the Entertainment section.

The Top 20 Books Every Man Should Read

Of the 20 books listed, I have read three and a half of them: Hamlet, Hell's Angels, The Long Goodbye, and who hasn't read Metamorphosis, the lead story of the Kafka collection.

Of those that I have read, I would agree that they meet the criteria that Playboy sets forth:

There are plenty of guy reads about war, sex and sports, but only a handful that transcend those topics. These are books that help a man discover and define his own masculinity.

Of those I have read, none meets the criteria better than Hell's Angels, a look inside the infamous biker gang based on Hunter S. Thompson's real life experience. Thompson went the distance, even getting beaten to within an inch of his life to get his story. It was a book I found after reading about his experience in another book detailing the New Journalism movement that Thompson was a part of.

The Playboy list does invite some scrutiny. What's a list of "greats" without some problems.

I wrote about this at Examiner, but here is a list of the teams that have turned recent NIT success into NCAA tournament glory the next season:

Ohio State turned last year’s championship into a No. 8 seed in this year’s NCAA tournament.

West Virginia, the 2007 champion, reached the Sweet Sixteen in 2008. The runner-up, Clemson, was No. 5 seed but ran into a hot Villanova team.

Two-time defending champ South Carolina started the 2007 season 10-3 before getting rolled by a hot SEC conference that ultimately produced NCAA champ Florida.

Ok, so Ohio State's tournament run didn't end with fireworks and parades, but they made the field. That should give Penn State a lot of hope going into next year, even with the loss of Jamelle Cornley.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Penn State's run to the title is how improbable the whole thing was.

Read the remainder of this story here.

But rest assured that will all be changing. My brain will be back with a vengeance.

“All four teams had losing records in 2008, and all four welcome new coaches for this fall. Northwestern will be favored in every game and has a good chance of running the table for the second straight season after failing to do so from 1964-2007.”

I would agree with Rittenberg on his analysis, but with new coaches are taking the helm at these schools, sometimes that has the effect of gelling a team that was just a little bit away from getting it together.

Now, none of these teams were that close.

Read the rest of this story at Examiner.com.

I am able to read the paper on the train to the newsroom for the first time. Spreading out the Wall Street Journal before this has been a little cumbersome.

I am able to carry what amounts to about 25 books with me currently, although I am only reading about two.

I am also able to see previews of a number of books that are on my Wishlist at Amazon, especially some that i haven't been able to see at a real store.

Now if only I can get all of the books that I want to read onto the Kindle. I have been clicking on the new Amazon links that tell the publisher to put their book in Kindle format.

Bring on more books.

Three more weeks until my vacation. I fully expect to see my usage of the device go through the roof.

I got to play with one a few weeks ago and that sealed the decision-making process. It is probably surprising that it took me another week and a half before actually doing it.

I will be very excited to get out from under the mounds and mounds of newspapers and book and into the technological reading world, along with the rumored 240,000 other people who have bought the device.

Go me.

More updates as they happen.

The next meeting is August 5th.

My take? They are staying pat on the Fed Funds Rate at 2 percent.

I decode the Fed Speak in my latest post for Medill Money Mavens.

Just look at the auto sales numbers for June. There is no good information there.

Even with the high gas prices, car sales normally will stay firm, especially at the high end. However, consumers are more likely to be moving to smaller luxury items these days.

Learn more about pen sales and why they might be soaring in my latest article for the Medill News Service.

A user named Econymous took Ben Bernanke's speech before Congress and turned it into a word cloud.

Anyone think that the FED isn't looking at Oil Price, Inflation, and the Financial Credit markets after seeing this?

Click through for a larger version.

And by town, I mean the Dow.

If you want a rant, you get one at Medill Money Mavens.