September? Already?

I'm working extra hours at work this week, so I'll have to keep this short:

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) was an eloquent statesman, no friend of the conservative think-tank yet respected for his negotiation skills and many years of hard-fought service to the American government. A lot of people have argued in the past week that his death at age 77 has been blown out of proportion by the media, a criticism that isn't completely invalid. If Teddy wasn't part of a legendary political family, or the last living reminder of a halyconic dynasty frequently beset by tragedy, coverage of his passing would've been incredibly basic: "Breaking News" status on all the cable and internet news outlets, a handful of mournful blurbs from those who knew him closest, and a proper funeral that would've merited (at most) 30 seconds of attention on the 10 o'clock news. Alas, Kennedy was no ordinary public servant; he carried the burden of his older brothers' premature deaths --not to mention his own unfortunate youthful discretions-- to become the face of the Democratic party and one of the most crucial liberal movers-and-shakers of the past 50 years. Whether you liked him or not, there's never going to be anybody quite like Teddy blustering through the U.S. Senate ever again.

Other notes:

+ I somehow managed to draft Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson onto my fantasy football team this season. Even though my league has just six teams, I still have no idea how I pulled that off.

+ Meanwhile, in fantasy baseball I dropped Johan Santana following his bone chip injury and picked up Randy Wolf, who'd been a workhorse on my other team. From the looks of it, both of my fantasy teams will make the playoffs this year (one has already clinched).

+ Did the Associated Press completely forget that Utah is a dry state?

+ Scientists have discovered the coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth... on the other side of Gov. Mark Sanford's bed.

+ Happy 70th anniversary, World War II!