Another Whitehurst begins the longest possible march toward History

 I don't usually have much to say about the Seattle Seahawks.  They're an increasingly irrelevant organization with a largely witless crowd that I've seen make complete fools of themselves up close and impersonal at Qwest Field on a few occasions.  But they've just done something that makes me feel a weird, sentimental attachment to them.  Tinged with knowing sadness.  They traded for an unproven quarterback that some of the more especially uninformed are calling their future starter.  Charlie Whitehurst.  Son of David.  Yes, Packer fans - that David Whitehurst (occasional starting QB from '77 to '83).  As far as I know, David was a mute.  Maybe even borderline mentally handicapped.  That's not to say that he was a terrible quarterback.  He was just, well, bad.  Yet apparently his offspring is worth $10M for 2 years, even though he's 28-years-old and has never thrown a pass in an NFL regular season.  When I mentioned to Sarah this morning that he was born in 1981, she rightly noticed that he's "old" for a young quarterback.  In fact, he was drafted in 2006.  Did he spend a few years before college in prison?  That's my guess.  I realize that there's no salary cap this year (which will lead to a work stoppage next year if contracts like this continue for free agents this off season).  But, seriously, who is holding Paul Allen's purse strings for the Seahags?  On one level, I hope Charlie succeeds so I get the chance to see David dug up and asked to speak with the media about the utter absurdity of his son's ascendancy.  But on all other levels...well, like I implied, I feel kind of sorry for them.

One minor fresh recommendation - the newly-released album by Titus Andronicus - a clear-sounding, punky, anthem-driven band of clevermeisters from New Jersey.  A concept album ("The Monitor") derived from Civil War narratives might sound pretty unlikely to anyone but Ken Burns.  The comparisons of their sound to The Replacements, The Hold Steady and just about everyone from Jersey aside from the cast of "Jersey Shore" make them a slam dunk worth at least a cursory listen from my point of view.  But I've found them seriously growing on me over the past few days.  My rating - a solid B thus far.  Maybe further ascendant, especially if I see them in a few weeks here in Seattle (playing at the tolerably all-aged venue, The Vera Project on 3/30).  Regardless, if you search for such things, you can do a helluva lot worse.

Finally, I didn't do a single NCAA men's basketball tourney bracket this year.  And I've actually got plenty of horses in this field.  So I'll offer up my Final Four here - just between you and me.  Georgetown, Butler, Wisconsin and Louisville.  Georgetown over Louisville for all the shiny marbles and immortality following the most surprising tournament in history.  No, no - don't thank me.  This is just what I do.

Hope your own longshots also aren't the least bit influenced by Obama's picks today.  Rock on.