AND GOOD RIDDANCE: Within eight hours, Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium will be no more.

I said my goodbyes back in September, which you can read here.

Of course, before this city wins another professional championships, there's a few more things that need tearing down.

OH DANCE WITH ME... Late update on Pixies anticipated North American stops.

04-13 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line Music Cafe
04-14 Winnipeg, Manitoba - Burton Cummings Theatre
04-15 Regina, Saskatchewan - Doris Knight Ballroom
04-17 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Prairieland
04-18 Edmonton, Alberta - Red's
04-19 Calgary, Alberta - MacEwan Hall
04-21 Victoria, British Columbia - Victoria Curling Club
04-22 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
04-23 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom
04-24 Spokane, WA - Big Easy
04-25 Boise, Idaho - Big Easy
04-27 Eugene, OR - MacDonald Theatre
04-29 Davis, CA - Freeborn Hall
05-01 Indio, CA - Empire Polo Field (Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival)

Props: Pitchfork Media, where good people write good things about good music.

DON'T KID A KIDDER. Or do. Your choice, really.

AFTERWARDS, THEY DO THE HOMPTY-HOMP: Okay, so most of the fun is gone from the Bush-Cheney poster generator, but, still, you'd think that a website promoting Our Education President could spell everything correctly.

But: American Somoa? Really?

For what it's worth, American Samoa has representation in the U.S. Congress, sends delegates to the Republican National Convention, and is also the home of a lot of athletes you know and love. How hard is it to spell-check?

Gee. It's almost as bad as having your official campaign pullovers being manufactured in a repressive regime whose imports we banned because of human rights concerns, but no one could be that stupid, right?

WHAT WE NEED: I've promised to keep these to a minimum, but I want to talk for a minute about the Hoeffel for Senate campaign, because we're at an important point where we need your help.

A new Quinnipiac poll came out yesterday regarding our race. Here are some highlights:

1. After seeing him for four terms in office, only 49% of Pennsylvanians approve of the job Arlen Specter is doing, with 36 percent disapproving. Among independent voters -- his alleged base -- the percentage of those who disapprove of the job he has done has shot up by 11 points in a month.

2. Only 36 percent of Pennsylvania voters want to see Specter reelected this year. 44 percent want someone new. Among independents, he has gone from up 48-38 to down 30-47, just in a month.

3. In a head-to-head, we trail Specter 45-29, closer than last month, and without our having aired a single ad yet. In fact, 70% of Pennsylvanians still don't know who Joe Hoeffel is. With time, and with your help, that will change.

4. Only 35% of Pennsylvanians have a favorable opinion of Arlen Specter. After 24 years, that's it?

Even among Republicans, Specter's primary lead has shrunk to 47-37 among likely voters.

I can tell you that even in comparison with every incumbent senator who has lost in the last two election cycles -- Hutchinson (AR), Cleland (GA) and Carnahan (MO) in 2002; Roth (DE), Abraham (MI), Grams (MN), Ashcroft (MO), Robb (VA) and Gorton (WA) in 2000 -- Arlen Specter's numbers are worse. Their "favorable" numbers were higher than Specter's, their "would you re-elect" numbers were higher than Specter's, and each of them lost, many by wide margins. No one had a "would you re-elect, or would you like to see someone new" number as low as Specter's is now. It's unprecedented.

We can win this race. To do so, to put it bluntly, we need your money. Money means ad buys, money means name recognition, money means respect, especially in advance of the March 31 FEC quarterly reporting deadline.

A number of you have already been generous with your support. Everyone reading this blog can afford to give something -- every $10 or $25 makes a difference, and the more, the merrier we all can be. (And, I'll stop asking.)

So click here, share some love our way this morning, and tack on an extra $0.72 so they know it's from my readers.

Thanks. Back to the nonsense.

MORE ACCURATE THAN THE SLEEK28 SPOILER: We went 4/7 yesterday; for Friday's bracket, will The Method demonstrate its strength?

WEST Regional

Lousiana-Lafayette v. N.C. State: The Cajuns are Ragin', but they'll roux the day they faced this pack of wolves. The Pack smells dinner, and they'll stuff guard Antoine Landry inside of guard Brad Boyd inside of forward Antonie Hamilton for a tasty first-round turducken. (Roast at 250 degrees for 18 hours for best results.)

Western Michigan Broncos v. Vanderbilt Commodores: The Commodores might think this game will be easy like Sunday morning, but it isn't being played during the night shift, and the Commodores will be once, twice, three times an upset as their three-point shooting turns into a brick house. Nothing will bring them up when they're down, and the Broncos will sail on to the second round by a margin wider than the gap between Nicole Ritchie's fame and her accomplishments in life.

MIDWEST Regional

Pacific v. Providence: Anyone else remember that challenge in the first Amazing Race when they had to walk the gauntlet of tigers that had been trained by monks? Thankfully for the Friars, these Tigers are equally pacific, so God yeve yow right good lyf, Providence.

EAST Regional

Richmond Spiders v. Wisconsin Badgers: Wilbur and Templeton aren't here to protect the spiders this time, and the badgers will pester and annoy their way to a first-round win.

Central Florida v. Pittsburgh: Which knight's fate will the Golden Knights follow: Galahad's? Lancelot's? Bob's? (He did win yesterday.) No, unfortunately, it's ER's Lucy Knight, as the panthers will cause gaping, inoperable wounds, leaving the knights bleeding to death in an empty room, and there's no way for Carter to save them now.

And a DIII prediction: Ephraim's cows will fall to the smallpox blanket once more in Salem tonight. GO JEFFS!

SOMEBODY GET THIS FREAKING DUCK AWAY FROM ME!! Take this link to the homestarrunner site and run your cursor over the choices on the menu screen. It's full of old Atari parodies, with a curiously high number of Activision titles represented. (Okay, it's got two.) If you had a 2600, and played lots of Adventure and River Raid, you'll wet yourself. Then, if you've never been to homestarrunner before, check out some SB Emails!