At the top of the bad timing list sit Rudy Giuliani, John Edwards and Plaxico Burress. Rudy and John are now political footnotes in this year's presidential election and Burress will join a long list of cocky, foot-in-the-mouth football fools who've dared to predict a win over the Patriots, if he's wrong. It's one thing to predict a win but predicting a score (23-17 Giants) is the kiss of death. Add to this list of those who forgot to set their timepieces to the accurate within a nano-second, atomic clock, Kevin Martin, the FCC, Google and Verizon....
Today is D-day for the wireless spectrum auction unless bids for the "C block" of spectrum in the 700 megahertz range reaches $4.6 billion, the FCC's minimum price to trigger "open-access" bidding conditions. The gap is about a half billion short of that amount. Since names of bidding companies are not announced until the auction ends, the guess is that the $4.29 billion in bids has come from Google and Verizon. Bidding is also stalled on the service and safety piece of nationwide airwaves - the D block which is well short of the FCC's $1.3 billion minimum...
After a week of bidding things have slowed down considerably. No one has bid for C block at all during the last three rounds yesterday. The last day of January is crucial because the FCC has stringent auction inactivity rules. Bidders who don't participate in a certain number of rounds will be disqualified. While bidders can use waivers to skip some rounds, it's believed that C block may run out of waivers today. If the FCC's $4.6 billion minimum price isn't met by the end of the day, it could signal that both the C and D blocks will be dead. A re-auction will take place and chances of a new, open wireless network rising up will plummet and the auction will be DOA. As for Plaxico Burress, he has 3 more days to ponder his fate...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1865] Free at last: Slavery is abolished with the ratification of the 13th amendment...
- 1949] A little bit of soap: The first daytime soap, "These Are My Children" airs on Chicago's NBC-TV affiliate. The 15-minute show runs on weekdays in January and February of '49...
- 1958] Outta Space: The U.S. enters the "Space Age" by launching its first satellite into orbit - Explorer I...
- 1970] Record breaking Pistol: LSU's sensational Pistol Pete Maravich breaks Oscar Robertson's college scoring record with a career total of 2,974 points by scoring 53 against Mississippi. This clip features a tribute to Maravich, the greatest college basketball player in history: http://youtube.com/watch?v=swHmiNyzHPM&feature=related ...
- 1971] Fly me to the moon: Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell and Stuart A. Roosa blast off for the moon on Apollo 14...
- 1974] SOLD to the highest bidder: McDonald's founder Ray Kroc buys the San Diego Padres...
- 1984] Curtains: Edwin Newman retires from NBC News after 35 years at the network...
- 1988] Super Bowl Sunday: Herb Alpert plays our national anthem on trumpet and then the Washington Redskins led by the first black QB in SB history, Doug Williams, rout the Denver Broncos 42-10 in SBXXII...1993] SBXXVII goes to the Dallas Cowboys who win the 1st of 3 SB's in the '90s. They crush Buffalo 52-17...1999] Cher sings the national anthem prior to the Denver Broncos second consecutive SB win. John Elway stars in a 34-19 victory over Atlanta in SBXXXIII...
- 2000] Off his rocker: Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker is suspended by baseball commissioner Bud Selig for his disparaging racial remarks, mostly about the straphangers on the no. 7 to Shea Stadium. He makes the statements in a Sports Illustrated article. No longer in baseball, Rocker is now into language issues: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BysHeBPOYBY&feature=related ...
- 2005] Beats it: Jury selection begins in Santa Monica (CA) for Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. Jackson will be acquitted...
Music Memories:
- 1963] Recorded on this date: "Surfin' U.S.A./Shutdown" - Beach Boys...
- 1965] Number One on this date: "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" - Righteous Bros...1974] "The Way We Were" - Barbra Streisand...1978] "Love Rollercoaster" - Ohio Players. Great song: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y8KMC6L0CHo ...1981] "The Tide Is High" - Blondie...1984] "Karma Chameleon" - Culture Club. Boy George in action: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tzy38qbvrZk ...
- 1979] U.S. tour debut: The Clash who loved R&B acts for their opening acts, choose Bo Diddley on their first U.S. tour...
Commentary:
Thanks to Gordon Brown for this clip of comedian Jimmy Dunn, campaigning for the winning ticket in the New Hampshire Primary: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2084154007 ...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Justin Timberlake (27), Portia de Rossi (35), Minnie Driver (37), Johnny Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten (52), KC a.k.a. Harry Casey (57). That's the way, aha, aha: http://youtube.com/watch?v=v8gCsotHagM , Nolan Ryan (61), Jessica Walter (67), Ernie ("Let's play two") Banks (77), Jean Simmons (79) and Carol Channing (87). Hello and Happy Birthday Dolly: http://youtube.com/watch?v=j5nQ5vgjktg ...
Timeline Countdown: 3 days until Super Bowl XLII, 14 days until pitchers & catchers report voluntarily, 18 down and 1 to go for the Patriots and 50 days until the beginning of spring...
