Sen. John Kerry issues a statement saying: “I personally apologize to any service member, family member, or American who was offended” by comments he made about being “stuck in Iraq.” Visit CNN for the latest.

Now I cross my fingers!

In line for the ticket lottery.

I know there are a number of Connecticutians reading this, so I’d thought I’d ask for some help deciding how to cast my gubernatorial vote. I can’t decide between Rell and DeStefano, mostly because I don’t really like either of them. Rell is probably the best Republican we’re going to get, what with the fact she favors women’s rights and she isn’t a complete homophobe. Then again, there’s rumors of abusing her power to let her son get out of trouble for one of those crimes I think should actually be a crime. (Property destruction, though I don’t remember the exact details.) And let us not forget the dread Taint of Rowland. DeStefano I don’t know much about. All he’s got going for him so far is that I tend to vote Democrat over Republican in most cases where there’s no Libertarian. Both of them have promised to get me a job. :-) Anybody think they can convince me either way? (Keep in mind, I’m coming from a libertarian perspective. I hate taxes and I hate being told what to do, even if they’re right.) If there are any third party candidates that I don’t know about and might find pallatable, feel free to mention them, as well.

EXTRA CREDIT: If anybody could explain the attraction to Hugo Chavez, I’d love to hear it. I honestly don’t understand. Here I thought that socialist quasi-dictators were bad, and I should think any person who claims to love freedom would stand very much opposite him. If I hate Bush for taking too many powers, abridging too many freedoms, and vilifying foreign leaders to score political points, surely I should have at the very least equal contempt for Chavez, no?

Cancel the protest! We’re in! Just got this e-mail:

URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT

Wednesday, November 1st
12:00 pm

Today’s Away Game Ticket Lottery for the USC Football Game will be open to ALL University of Notre Dame Undergraduate AND Graduate Students with Valid ID.

I’m heading over after class. Fellow Domers, you may all begin rooting against me successfully getting tickets. :)

P.S. I’m reminded of the day in November 2004 when there was a planned protest against Ty Willingham continuing as coach… and then the protest was pre-empted by the university firing him in mid-afternoon. Main difference: I was in Torts when that news broke; I was in FedTax when this news did. In both cases, I got about a half-dozen IMs about it.

Anyway, full ticket-lottery details (from the SUB e-mail) after the jump.

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ESPN reports:

Michigan State football coach John L. Smith has resigned, but will stay with the school to coach any possible bowl game the Spartans would play in, ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel has confirmed.

The school has called a news conference for 1:30 ET Wednesday to discuss its football coaching situation.

Smith resigned after being told he wouldn’t be back next season, ESPN.com’s Mark Schlabach reported.

(Hat tip: Anonymous.)

The unemployment rate increases by one.

UPDATE: The latest version of the above-linked article makes it sound less like a resignation and more like a firing:

With three games remaining in another disappointing season, Michigan State has decided that John L. Smith will not return to coach the 2007 season.

The university made the announcement at a 1:30 p.m. ET news conference on campus.

Smith will coach the Spartans through the end of this season, including a bowl game. Michigan State, 4-5 this season, must win two of its three remaining games against Purdue, Minnesota and Penn State, to qualify for a postseason invitation.

“The performance on the field has not lived up to what we hoped it would be,” athletic director Ron Mason said during a news conference Wednesday. “It comes time to make a change, and that’s where we’re at.”

The university will buy out the remaining two years on his contract. His annual salary is $1.35 million. However, Smith’s buyout clause is $1.5 million.

“Coach Smith deserves to coach the rest of this season because he will coach with his heart, just like he always has,” Joel Ferguson, Vice Chairperson of Michigan State’s Board of Trustees, told ESPN’s Joe Schad. “We have respect for him and we hope he takes us to a bowl game. What we need here is more players. What we need is better recruits. We don’t make excuses. What we need is more depth and more players.”

Fifteen years ago today, the “Perfect Storm” became the “Unnamed Hurricane” — the final chapter in one of the most bizarre meteorological events in recent memory. Stu Ostro reminisces here.

Suppose Ivan Maisel’s bowl projections come true. And suppose Auburn shocks Ohio State in the BCS title game, Georgia Tech beats West Virginia in the Orange Bowl… and Boise State stuns Texas in the Fiesta Bowl, proving the doubters wrong. Leaving aside whether you think that’s plausible, my question is: if it were to happen, wouldn’t the Broncos, college football’s lone undefeated team, deserve a share of the national championship? If you’re an AP voter, do you vote for them? Discuss. :)

Here’s the Observer’s take on the Grad/Law/MBA ticket-lottery controversy.

Remember: there’s a protest this afternoon. “[W]ear your Tradition shirts to show unity. We will be meeting in front of the bullpen (inside Cushing hall) at 1:45pm…so we can all walk over together. Otherwise please meet in front of Legends at 2pm-3pm for the protest.”

UPDATE: After the jump, the text of a mass e-mail just sent out by Student Bar Association president Heather Cameron.

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