Project OSPREY
Minnesota 78-74 Wisconsin (OT*)

After an unexpected, which is not to say unwelcome, dose of Scrubs this evening, (What? No Betty?) I took the opportunity to catch up on the episodes of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe and MythBusters (a rerun, alas) I'd taped Tuesday and yesterday nights, when I was otherwise engaged. Fast forwarding through these important commercial messages, I was finished with the sweet Discovery goodness in less than the alloted two hours. Not yet sated as a couch potato(e), I channeled surfed over to the Big Ten Network and caught the end of Minnesota at Wisconsin.

Apparently, at one point the luckless Golden Gophers trailed the pesky Badgers by as many points as fourteen. They had closed the gap to seven by the time I tuned in, and to my delight I saw Minnesota eat away at Wisconsin's lead, eventually tying the game with a last second three-pointer. And then in overtime the luckless triumphed over the pesky. Boy howdy, I love watching Wisconsin lose! It doesn't matter what sport, it rarely matters against which foe, I love seeing the agony of defeat written across their rotten faces.

Truly, we don't need no stinkin' Badgers.

*Those of you paying close attention will have noticed that I have staked a position of strong support for periods in initializations and abbreviations, such as N.H.L., N.A.S.A., and R.B.D.S.O.T.D. So often these days, you see initializations written purely in capitals, FBI and CIA instead of F.B.I. and C.I.A. (Don't even get me started on the British, who render N.A.S.A. and E.S.A. as "Nasa" and "Esa." Small wonder we rebelled.) My purpose here is not to compose a manifesto explaining my support for the humble period, but merely address the above inconsistency: why "OT"?

More importantly, why not "O.T."? Because I have only ever seen overtime written as one word, overtime, not as two words, over time. So, "O.T." is simply inaccurate, because there is no logic behind capitalizing an initial in the middle of a word. OverTime? What manner of abomination is that? And even so, it remains one word, rendering the T in O.T. completely meaningless. Overtime T. What the heck does that mean? I attended elementary school with a lad named Clay Jones. Everyone called him C.J. Even, all too often, "C.J. Jones." Even as a child, I hated this. The J is for Jones, you twits! C.J. Jones is the same as calling him Clay Jones Jones. So, I simply cannot abide O.T., since it could only plausibly stand for Overtime Time. To wit, I have opted for the imperfect and unsatisfying compromise between utility and principle, "OT."

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Reel Big Fish, "Beer" (live) from Our Live Album is Better Than Your Live Album, Disc 1: More Shtick Than You Can Shake a Stick At (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "Anyway, I hate this song and I hate all of you.... Just kidding, I don't hate this song."