Hannah Montana On Steroids

Wait a minute, I think I got those headlines mixed up. The airwaves and blogwaves around Houston have been buzzing today with the news that Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte were named among others on the infamous Mitchell Report.

I was listening to Mike & Mike on ESPN this morning around 8:30am when Greeny read the breaking news bulletin about Clemens. I was not surprised in the least that he was accused of taking 'roids and HGH. The man is 45 years old. He is large. He still brings heat that rivals pitchers 20 years his junior.

Look at him in old ESPN SportCenter spots from his Blue Jay days. He's thinner than I am. He's just as plump as Barry Bonds now.

Guilty? Who knows. But he immediately went out and hired superlawyer Rusty Hardin, who got some nice facetime on this evening's national newscasts. (I still associate him with Anna Nicole Smith's hilarious line to him while she was on the witrness stand..."Screw you, Rusty!).

It is a very sad day for baseball but sadder for R*cket fans, Astros fans and UT fans. Clemens has always been a major supporter and vocal proponent of the Longhorns. He's not alone in this scandal but he's the biggest story today and that was by design from the Mitchell people to make an impact.

Guilty or not his name will now be synonymous with this report and the MLB steroid era. Maybe this will finally clean the game up. (and I don't plan to get rid of my R*cket autographed paraphernalia just yet).

Even bigger local news today (at least to parents and young girls) is that the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo announced a random drawing opportunity for the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert during the 2008 Rodeo. Lots of rules but beginning this Monday anyone can register ONE TIME ONLY (duplicate entries will be discarded) to win the right to buy 4 tickets to the event. Kind of a mini-PSL thing.

Check out these rules:

• Enter Monday, Dec. 17, 8 a.m., through Friday, Dec. 21, 2007, midnight
• Internet only: randomdrawing.rodeohouston.com
• One entry per e-mail address
• No more than four entries per household
• Duplicate entries will be discarded
• Drawing held Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2008
• Winners notified via e-mail Thursday, Jan. 3, 2008, by 3 p.m.
• Non-winners will NOT be notified
• Notification e-mail will provide winners with instruction on how to purchase tickets
• Tickets start at $16, plus handling and service charge
• Winners must purchase four tickets between 8 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 5, and 5 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, on ticketmaster.com
• To purchase tickets, in the event that you are a winner, you must have an account with ticketmaster.com. If you have an existing ticketmaster.com account, use the e-mail address and password associated with that account. If you do not have an account, to expedite your purchase, we strongly recommend that you create an account prior to 8 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 5, 2008.
• Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served, best-available basis, and are not guaranteed to be four tickets together
• Once all seats are sold, a limited number of Standing-Room-Only tickets will be sold
• Season and Mini-Season tickets still are available at 832.667.1080
• Odds of winning are dependent on number of entries
• For an online listing of these rules and regulations, visit randomdrawing.rodeohouston.com
• This is the only opportunity to purchase individual tickets for the Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus performance that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Ticketmaster will offer.

Good luck and I'll see you on eBay if you get them.

Gphone and Hannah Montana

Surprise. Google is developing a free cell phone software package so users can more easily reach the ubiquitous search engine and its many services. Rumors have been everywhere for the past few months.

According to MSNBC.com:

Google will not be making the phones, nor does it plan to stamp its prized
brand on the devices. Instead, it will work with four cell phone manufacturers
who have agreed to use Google's programs in their handsets. Consumers will have
to buy a new phone to get the Google software because the bundle was not made
for existing handsets.

Because Google's software will be free, it could undercut rivals who charge
handset makers to install their operating systems. It also promises to make
smart phones less expensive since manufacturers won't have to pay for
software.

Google's system will also be based on computer code that can be openly
distributed among programmers. That, Google hopes, will encourage developers to
create new applications and other software improvements that could spawn new
uses for smart phones.

So far, Motorola Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., HTC and LG Electronics Inc.
have agreed to use Google's software in some of their phones. Both Motorola and
Samsung already buy Microsoft's Windows Mobile in some of their phones.

The list of wireless carriers that have agreed to provide service for
the Google-powered phone in the United States include Sprint Nextel Corp. and
Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile in the United States. China Mobile, Telefonica in
Spain and Telecom Italia are among the carriers that have signed on to provide
service outside the United States.

Don't expect to see this app on phones until next year.

But is that bigger news - at least in Houston - to this announcement today from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo? Hannah Montana is coming to the 2008 Rodeo!!! Imagine how thrilled I would be if I had little girls to go but I'm sure almost every other parent is jockeying to snap up tickets for the March 9 show.