A new study out last week raised an intriguing question: How free is your state?

With state lawmakers in Ohio considering tougher seat-belt enforcement for civilians and shorter prison stays for criminals as two ways to balance the $54 billion, two-year state budget, the question seems both relevant and timely.

Ohio was ranked 38th out of 50 states on the index of personal and economic freedom developed by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University. In other words, only 12 states are less free.

The study ranks New Hampshire, Colorado and South Dakota in a virtual tie for first place. It ranks New York and California among the least free.

The index is wide-ranging and comes from an individual rights perspective, which defies many philosophical boundaries of the mainstream Republican and Democratic party platforms.

For example, Ohio’s prohibition against same-sex marriage is viewed as a wash in the study. Why? Because all marriage requirements amount to unnecessary government intervention. (As do blood test requirements and marriage license waiting periods, by their measure.)

Ohio’s law allowing residents to carry concealed handguns? Good.

The state’s relatively lax marijuana laws? Also good.

By the researchers’ measure, seat belt laws and sobriety checkpoints “count as notable infringements on individual liberty.” The index also issued freedom demerits for alcohol regulations, including “blue laws” against Sunday sales and taxes on beer, wine and spirits. Open-container laws and cell phone driving bans are viewed as minor nuisances.

Ohio’s ranking in the study’s so-called “paternalism” category would presumably only worsen if lawmakers pass legislation allowing primary enforcement of the state’s seat belt requirement. As it is now, a driver can only be fined if pulled over for another offense.

State lawmakers in the past have been resistant to making the switch. But money talks, particularly in this historically bad economy, and Ohio can land $26 million in federal highway money if it complies.

A “yes” vote on primary seat belt enforcement might be offset on the freedom scale by allowing certain nonviolent offenders to do less time, earn early release credit faster, or serve time in community-based settings as opposed to prisons. These are among ways state prisons officials are proposing to cut costs and reduce overcrowding.

The Mercatus Center has a whole list of crimes that it views as “victimless” for which governments are penalized for imposing in the index. Those include many drug offenses for individuals over 18, violations of liquor laws, gambling and prostitution.

Also on their list of paternalistic government activities are: bicycle and motorcycle helmet laws, regulations requiring motorists to carry personal injury insurance, home- and private-school regulations, campaign finance rules and asset forfeiture laws that allow government to take property without a conviction of the owner.

Ohio is ranked 46th of 50 in the study’s personal freedom ranking, above only Rhode Island, New York, Illinois and, the lowest, Maryland. Alaska, Maine, New Mexico, Arkansas and Texas offer residents the most liberties in this area, the study found.

Amy Hanauer, executive director of Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit liberal think tank in Cleveland, said she finds the idea that New York is the nation’s least free state absurd.

She said the study appears to give high marks to states with particularly low taxes, such as Colorado.

“You can talk about freedom broadly – being able to practice the religion of your choice, speak the language you choose, dress the way you want. But to lump that in with the freedom from paying taxes is something I’ve always found troubling and not very persuasive,” she said.

“The public sector is what enables us to pursue many other freedoms in our lives,” she said, “by keeping us safe, keeping our water clean, and giving us the ability to know that we are not surrounded by people who are in desperate want, which can also affect our freedom.”

State Sen. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican, tended to agree with the study that Ohioans’ freedom is suffering. He noted Ohio has sanctioned red-light cameras, restricted payday lenders, passed a statewide smoking ban, and voted down legalized gaming all in the past year or two.

“The Republican Party and the state Legislature as a whole would be well-advised to promote a widely accepting message of individual freedom and individuality if they want to attract people and jobs to this state,” he said.

Ohio gets its highest marks – 29th of the 50 states – in the area of regulatory freedom. This category ranks states based on their labor and utility regulations, health insurance mandates, occupational licensing requirements, eminent domain laws, land and environmental regulations, and their systems for allowing residents to recoup legal damages.

Ohio ranks 40th for its fiscal freedom, which takes into account budget constraints and the size of a state’s government related to its private sector. South Carolina, New Hampshire and Colorado are the top three. New Yorkers have the least amount of fiscal freedom.

A state’s fiscal and regulatory freedom combine for an economic freedom score in the study. Ohio’s was 32nd.

The researchers – political scientists William Ruger of Texas State University and Jason Sorens of the State University of New York at Buffalo – note that no one area of the country nor political party appears consistently to offer citizens more freedom. Much has to do with state politics, a state’s social attitudes and ideological leanings and its institutional design.

Liberal states are more lenient on marijuana and same-sex partner laws, for example, but tougher on gun owners, home-schoolers, motorists and smokers. Conservative states also fell in the middle of the study’s pack. Mississippi, for example, has marijuana laws that are “a study in contradictions,” its taxes are high, and its liability system is one of the worst in the nation.

Moderate, centrist governments offer their residents the most freedoms, according to the study.

“As Americans grow richer in future years, quality of life will matter more to residence decisions, while the imperative of decent employment will decline by comparison,” they wrote.

By JULIE CARR SMYTH, AP Statehouse Correspondent

On The Net:Freedom in the 50 States:
http://www.mercatus.org/PublicationDetails.aspx?id=26154

Almost as soon as children arrive in detention, the state would begin discussing the best way to release some of them, under a plan announced Thursday aimed at overhauling the juvenile system.

The plan filed in federal court shifts the approach of releasing a child away from rigid sentencing requirements to a plan that follows a youth’s progress during imprisonment. The goal: to make sure decisions about releases are fair, consistent and that youth aren’t being held in prison longer than needed.

The plan is part of negotiations that followed a 2004 lawsuit alleging serious problems with Ohio’s juvenile detention system, including excessive force by guards.

The state should evaluate every youth entering the juvenile system to determine if he is eligible for a speedy release and promote opportunities for early release based on a child’s behavior and security classification, according to the plan.

Tom Stickrath, director of the Department of Youth Services, said he has heard for years from parents, lawyers, judges and others that the release system was too complex.

“There seemed to be a lot of uncertainty with the process, inconsistency with the process,” Stickrath said.

Decisions “regarding release should evaluate positive steps taken by the youth toward successful re-entry as well as factor in public safety,” the plan says.

Those steps would include good behavior and following detention center rules, and sticking to a treatment plan, such as attending drug treatment classes.

The plan announced Thursday will also spell out consequences if a youth fails to meet his responsibilities, according to the court document.

The state must also review release options within three months of a youth being returned to detention for a parole violation.

About a third of youth held in state juvenile facilities return to prison after a year and almost half within three years. And research shows time in custody can contribute to whether a youth commits another crime.

That’s why the plan pays special attention to steps the state can take to help a youth get out as early as possible, said Al Gerhardstein, a Cincinnati attorney who helped negotiate the new process.

“We’re trying to match what we know will reduce the likelihood of re-offending with what they’re doing in the facilities,” he said.

The next step is addressing mandatory sentencing laws that too often hold juveniles in facilities without proof the extra time leads to rehabilitation, Gerhardstein said.

The Department of Youth Services settled a lawsuit last April by agreeing to spend as much as $30 million in additional annual spending and hiring more than 100 extra guards.

The state also agreed to hire additional psychologists, nurses, social workers and teachers, improve its off-hours programs for children and revamp its program for sex offenders.

The settlement ended legal challenges that began in 2004 with allegations of excessive force being used against girls at the Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility.

The automatic photo counter in my iPhoto program recently hit 20,000.  Barring a few hundred classics scanned in for 40th birthday DVDs, that’s still almost 20,000 pictures taken and imported over the last five and a half years.  And I don’t even own a camera phone.

I would like to say that it all started with my son’s birth and the advent of digital photography.    One of the most important events in my life, the birth of my child, coinciding with the popularization of the easiest form of photography since its invention seems like a good reason to go picture crazy.  However, my compulsion to record everything from family holidays to finger painting began long before thousands of photos could be captured inside a one-inch piece of plastic.

I come from a line of family photographers.  There was some sort of photographic gene that mutated in my mother, and my dad’s mother, actually, that has generated a solid line of amateur photographers in my family.  Although 20,000 photos seems like an absurdly high number even in the digital world, I have no doubt that there are close to that many photos of my own childhood stacked in boxes throughout my parents’ house.

Family photography back then took much more effort than the click of a button it does today.  Making sure the batteries are charged pales in comparison to lugging around extra batteries, extra film and flash bulbs.  The time it took to drop off the film, wait for it to be developed and then pick up the finished product was quite different than the luxury we have today of seeing our photos immediately on the display screen.  The pressure to encapsulate a group event for all of time was also much greater when you likely had only one or two chances to capture all eyes open and a smile on each face.

Today taking a picture of all of the cousins together on Christmas entails at least three or four cameras constantly flashing with the intensity of a group of paparazzi.  The irony is that 48 pictures by three or more parent and grandparent photographers don’t seem to yield any better a photo than two pictures taken with one camera used to.  If anything, the chaos of it all seems to grab less smiling, attentive faces than more.

Although we may not know for sure that at least one of the kids turned their head in every single photo until we see it on our computer monitor, photography of decades past was much more of a waiting game.  My family would stack rolls and rolls of film in the refrigerator (I realize now that this probably was as good of an idea as shaking Polaroid pictures) until our corner drug store had its semi-annual film developing sale.  It may have been weeks or months before my mom knew if she had even managed to squeeze everyone into the frame.  However, it was always worth the wait when we all sat together reliving the not-so-distant memories of the prior six months.

I sometimes wonder if I actually remember certain things from when I was little or if I have just seen the pictures so many times that I think I remember them.  I wonder if my children will wonder the same thing.  Maybe it doesn’t matter; I suppose it still happened either way.

I fully admit that averaging 3,500 photos per year is a little silly.  Still, there is just something about the speed of life feeling like it is constantly accelerating that makes me want to freeze as many moments in time as possible.  On the days that I can’t seem to take one more screaming fit from my three-year-old, having a picture of her so tiny behind the NICU glass pop up on my screensaver really puts her tantrums in perspective.  It reminds me that there was a day when I couldn’t wait for her to come home and scream in our house.

It’s not always the pictures of the big days, such as a wedding or a baby being born, that mean the most.  Sometimes it’s the nostalgia of seeing a favorite piece of clothing or furniture you don’t have any more. Sometimes it’s the realization that a picture you snapped of someone doing nothing at all was the last before you never had the chance to see them again.  Sometimes it’s discovering that the little things — feeding the squirrels, playing Monopoly until someone threw the board across the room, the toy closet at grandma and grandpa’s house — were the big things.  And so I keep snapping away.

Shannon Szyperski and her husband Michael are raising two children in Sylvania. E-mail her at letters@toledofreepress.com.

Supporters of the American Red Cross joined staff and volunteers for an evening of glitz and glamour as well as amazing food donated by 25 local restaurateurs at “Oscar Night 2009.” The gourmet treats ranged from chocolate dipped strawberries from the Melting Pot to a refreshing salad from Le Petit Gourmet to Beef Wellington bites from Mancy’s.

Pilkington’s Rachael Hepner and Tim Yenrick of the Red Cross at Oscars Night 2009.

Among the corporate sponsors offering monetary support of the event was Pilkington North America.

“Pilkington North America was proud to support American Red Cross’ Oscar Event 2009, but most importantly we view it as supporting a local organization geared at service and community involvement,” said Rachel Hepner, marketing and communications manager for Pilkington

“You can’t predict when crisis is going to strike, so knowing our donation could potentially help a family or community in need and keep a greater sense of hope in Toledo made us proud to be a sponsor and community contributor,” said Hepner.

The staff and board of the Red Cross were pleased with the community and corporate support of the event.

“I’m truly grateful to Pilkington and all of our financial supporters for making OSCAR Night one of the premiere events in Toledo. They have helped us raise much needed funds to assist the Red Cross in fulfilling our mission every day,” said Tim Yenrick, Red Cross executive director.

Gross proceeds of the event are estimated at $83,500 and profits will be used to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

Recently, Cornerstone Church held a community-wide “Big Bouncy Baby Shower” during its annual women’s conference. The conference, which features several international speakers over a three day period, ends with a luncheon. This year the church decided to turn the luncheon into a benefit to support several organizations that serve single pregnant women in the community.

Cornerstone’s Kathy Pitts and Tina Hicks from Mom’s House at Cornerstone Church’s Big Bouncy Baby Shower.

The church registered its baby shower event at local stores and attendees were encouraged to shop the registry and buy items on the wish list. Over 1000 items were donated, including essentials like cases of diapers and formula, as well as clothing, toys and furniture.

One of the agencies benefiting from the collection was Mom’s House. Cornerstone supports the Mom’s House regularly throughout the year with monetary support as well as with items donated from the congregation.

“The level of generosity we receive throughout the year from Cornerstone church is inspiring,” said Mom’s House Executive Director, Christina Hicks. “It communicates the powerful message that they believe in the future of our young families.”

Mom’s House helps low-income, single moms graduate from high school, technical school and college. Cornerstone Church offers on-going support of Mom’s House because of its philosophy on the lives of the people it serves.

“Mom’s House is not worried about the girls’ pasts. They are future focused.  Mom’s House is working on a positive future for the girls and their children,” said Pitts.

Upcoming Events

Mar. 26  Milestones. Join the YWCA as it celebrates the role of women as leaders in our community during this luncheon honoring 7 local women. Tickets are $45. Call (419) 241-3235 for more information.

Mar. 28  The Mix Up. It is the Arts Commission’s party for all five senses. There will be delicious hors d’oeuvres and sweets, eclectic tunes and rhythms from a variety of local acts, specialty drinks and a cash bar, a silent auction showcasing creative works from local artists, and many hands to shake and high-fives to exchange with the coolest creatives around. Tickets are $75. Call (419)254-2787 or visit mixup2009.com for more information.

Christine Senack is a Toledo-based consultant helping non-profit organizations and businesses work smarter together for the greater good of our community. Connect with her on www.facebook.com or follow at www.twitter.com/csenack.

In the past four months, the government has been an open checkbook, printing money faster than a speeding bullet, and many are taking the hit.
The stock market is at one of the lowest levels in recent history with no end in sight. In the four months since the first bailout, stock market indexes are down more than 25 percent. January was the worst January in the history of the market for several of the indexes, and it’s hard to believe that the market is back to where it was more than a decade ago.
Billions of tax dollars have been given to banks, insurance companies and automotive companies, among others.  Stocks in the financial sectors are down more than 50 percent in the past few months. AIG is broke again, Citibank is almost at the city morgue, and the government is considering nationalizing banking. No thanks.
The stocks of the automotive companies haven’t done well, either. The stock price of Ford is down about 25 percent, and General Motors is down nearly 50 percent in the past month alone.
Do you know why prices are falling so fast? Maybe it’s because the bailout companies are wrongly spending their money. They are spending money sending lobbyists to D.C.; they are using our money for bonuses and parties; they are using our money to settle lawsuits with shareholders; and they are using our money to pay shareholder dividends.
We feel terribly for many of our friends, neighbors and clients who have lost, or are at risk of losing, their jobs in this mess. We have always believed it’s a good idea to help people get on their feet, but we also believe in people helping themselves.
Remember what can and cannot be controlled. Keep focused on taking advantage of the opportunities and avoiding money traps. Don’t dwell on the past; focus on the future and make smart financial decisions.
Learn about little-know strategies to tap into retirement funds and avoid tax penalties if you are under 59 ½, and learn how to tap into your 401(k) if you are older than 55.
Consider a Roth Conversion for long-term retirement money. If you own a traditional retirement account, you can lock in your retirement tax bill and build tax-free money in the future.
Be wary of salespeople who try and switch investments without proper planning. We realize how important it is to get control of financial affairs, but rushing helps no one.
There is no one financial product or investment that makes sense for all of your money.  Take time to go through a detailed planning process. Focus on now and the goal for the future. Look at current needs, five-year goals, 10-year goals and long-term needs. Build a financial roadmap and then make a decision.
For more information about The Retirement Guys, tune in every Saturday at noon on 1230 WCWA and every Sunday at 11 a.m. on 1370 WSPD or visit www.retirementguysradio.com.  Securities are offered through NEXT Financial Group Inc., Member FINRA / SIPC.  The Retirement Guys are not an affiliated of NEXT Financial Group.  7135 Sylvania Ave, 2B, Sylvania, Ohio 43560. Neither NEXT Financial Group, Inc. nor its representatives are qualified to give tax advice.  Please consult your tax professional regarding your particular situation before making investment decisions.

This new dynamic duo maximizes the Nintendo DS’s capabilities with quality gameplay and amazing controls. If you enjoy turn based strategy and action filled puzzlers (both with several language options), then get these all age games for your NDS library…and possibly your new Nintendo DSi when it releases on April 5.

Fire Emblem

This quality turn based strategy game jumps to the Nintendo DS (a remake of the original NES game) with a large variety and easy adventure format, ideal for first time players (for veterans, this game is the 11th in the series — you got them all?).  This remediated plot includes a nice group of prologue chapters and 25 regular chapters centering on Prince Marth’s fight with Medeus, king of dragonkin. Set in the wide world of Archanea, you manage several different combat unit classes, abilities and powers on the road to victory.

Various save options prevent any progress from being lost and the strong tutorial gets you started on the right foot. Developers fill the top screen with valuable combat information and statistics as well as battle field maps for easier and exciting gameplay. Players can use the touch control/minimal button scheme or the standard directional pad and buttons to wield weapons and spells.

The troops follow logical promotion schemes (knights can eventually become generals, etc.) and include mercenaries, pirates, freelancers (who mimic basic troops) and bishops. Flying Pegasus knights expand the ground battles a bit while you have the slightly limited power to change a troop’s class (except lords and thieves) throughout the game. Strategy always plays a role in troop selection (e.g. archers can only shoot from afar and are useless in direct combat) plus you don’t that valuable fighter doesn’t regenerate once they die, which requires more deliberate moves and possibly, some unexpected emotional attachment to the carnage.

The game starts with normal and hard difficulty levels, but eventually expands to a total of six. The 3-D graphics could be better, but other production values make up for this minor deficiency. The orchestral music score and considerable storyline provide immense entertainment, especially for RPG fans.

The online play, a first for the series, really elevates this high level game. These amazing options, through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and wireless play modes, let you play against others using your troops. You can also visit the online shop to spend your hard earned gold amassed in the single player mode. You can even use the microphone to talk to online players (****, rated E10+ for mild fantasy violence and mild language).

Big Bang Mini

This affordable action shooter has a familiar Nintendo DS game set up. Target visuals on the top screen; control your movement (in various shapes) and actions on the bottom, then blend. Sounds like fun and, thankfully, it is fun as developers Arkedo and SouthPeak execute this formula very well. The great format and incredible use of the Nintendo DS functions will blow your mind throughout approximately 90 levels of firework filled fun.

Once you destroy baddies on the top with quick upwards strokes with the stylus and other advanced movements, they turn into falling stars that you catch on the bottom for scores and/or to advance. Be careful though, the challenging catch is debris created from your shots also fall, so you have to find a balance between shooting and moving, which also changes throughout the dynamic challenges. It can be frustrating to die while trying to switch between shooting and moving, but you must…you know what’s coming…that’s right – practice.

A single break of concentration can spell doom, but also produces great excitement. You can easily get tense excitement when making circles in a specific area to attract enemy fire. Coordination is key. Once you find the right technique for the basics, then you progress to expanded controls and power ups like pressing the L or R button (great for lefties or righties) while flicking the touch screen up for guided missiles (weaker than your normal shots) that destroy the main targets.

Slow moving goop, clouds and other obstacles assist the bosses and their minions in slowing your progress. Still, you have unlimited ammunition, so you always have a good chance to get out of seemingly impossible situations. The arcade mode levels (listed in order) include appealing animated settings in Hong Kong, Aurora, Kamakura, Luxor, Savannah, New York, Rio De Janeiro, Paris and, finally, the Abyss. Each level has 10 stages with a boss stage at the end. Each stage features a special bonus zone, which, if you complete them all successfully, unlocks the relax mode. Beat the Luxor boss to unlock the challenge mode which keeps scores.

Time limits don’t come into the forefront until you unlock the mission mode by conquering the arcade mode. In mission mode, you’ll find you must defeat certain level bosses in less than 30 seconds plus other various quests involving accuracy, skill and some very challenging limits. Developers keep the rewards coming with even other unlockable once you beat the incredible mission mode.

Luckily, you can get others to participate in the versus mode. Two players can go head to head with one game card in DS download play, turning the console vertically in battle through more limited settings. You can also post your high scores on leaderboards.

This game has great all around strengths in every area, even a hilariously written manual, which provides helpful summaries of the 10 arcade mode levels. You can also unlock a custom alarm clock that allows you to set a wake up time to the music tracks in the game. Worth a try, even if you haven’t previously used your Nintendo DS as an alarm clock.

Big Bang Mini also has a special 3D depth box art printing (a.k.a. lenticular), which you’ve probably experienced from cereal box or Cracker Jack toys. This additional publishing wonder adds special appeal to this high value game priced at… (drum roll) $19.99! An outstanding addition to your Nintendo DS library, especially for puzzle/action fans (****, rated E for everyone).

Two former rival casino groups are working together on a November ballot proposal that would bring four resort-style casinos to Ohio, the fifth time in 20 years voters would be asked to consider statewide gambling.

The plan backed by MyOhioNow.com and Penn National Gaming Inc. would build casinos in Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo and Cincinnati that would include hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues, The Plain Dealer, citing unnamed sources, reported on its Web site.

Organizers are preparing a signature-gathering campaign in an effort to qualify the proposal for the November ballot. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and Cleveland businessman Jeff Jacobs are also behind the plan, the newspaper reported. Jacobs has operated casinos in Colorado and Nevada.

Penn National spokesman Richard Land told The Associated Press the company has had ongoing discussions with a number of people about a potential casino ballot proposal. But no decisions have been made, he said. Telephone and e-mail messages seeking comment from MyOhioNow.com were left after business hours Wednesday.

Ohio voters have rejected statewide gambling four times since 1990, including last year’s ballot initiative that would have placed a casino in southwest Ohio. Cleveland-based MyOhioNow.com was behind that proposal.

Penn National, the nation’s third-largest gambling company, spent more than $45 million to defeat the initiative. The Wyomissing, Pa., company argued that the deal would create a monopoly by authorizing only one casino statewide.

Sources told The Plain Dealer that Penn National and MyOhioNow.com realized it would be better to work together during the next campaign.

The Columbus Dispatch reported last month that Penn National had drafted a proposal to build casinos at Ohio’s seven racetracks and at stand-alone sites in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus.

The Plain Dealer reported that the proposal to build four casino resorts doesn’t appear to involve racetracks.

Organizers said the casinos would create thousands of jobs in each city. Each casino would hand over a $50 million startup fee and pay a 33 percent state tax on all receipts, the newspaper reported. The casinos would be open 24 hours a day and each would have table games as well as a minimum of 5,000 gaming machines.

Gov. Ted Strickland has opposed expanding gambling in Ohio, but recently said he would consider new proposals because of the state’s dire budget situation.

Land said Penn National is aware of Ohio voters’ unwillingness to allow casinos in the state.

“We would need to demonstrate that the state and its communities would benefit in terms of revenue, economic development and job creation,” he said. “We would need to present a proposal that voters will understand and support.”

Toledo Astronomical Association to host lecture
The Toledo Astronomical Association will host Bernard W. Bopp, a professor of astronomy at UT, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. in the McMaster Hall at UT.
Bopp’s talk is titled “Seeing the Unseen: The Discovery of Dark Matter and Dark Energy” and will summarize the current understanding of dark matter and energy.
This program is free. For more information contact Frank Merritt at frank.merritt@utoledo.edu or (419) 535-8775.

Say “good-buy” to winter at Toledo Children’s Hospital event
Cheap & Chic For Charity, and event to benefit Toledo Children’s Hospital, will be held March 7 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Courtyard at Navy Bistro.
The event has a $5 entry fee, which will go to charity, and a cash bar. Merchandise will be 60 to 80 percent off and from stores such as Red Envy Boutique, Michael David and Elegant Rags. All sales will be final.

Serving for scholarships
The UT College of Business Alumni Affiliate is hosting its third annual Celebrity Waiter Night to raise money for the Lawrence V. Conway Business Scholarship Fund.
The event takes place at Ciao! on March 16. It starts with a cocktail hour at 5:30 p.m. and dinner starting a 6:30 p.m. The event is open to the public.

The reason I lose interest in sports video games quickly is the sheer ease by which I beat the computer opponents.
I’ll play a season of baseball, have 12 All-Stars, win every award, sweep the World Series and only have one superstar suspended for steroids.

Lauren Prochaska of the BGSU women’s basketball team.

I’ll play a college football season as, say, Eastern Michigan, go 12-0 and win the Orange Bowl. Dominance, as impressive as it can be, usually defaults fans’ interests. This is why Roger Federer, Jimmie Johnson and sometimes Tiger Woods can be classified as boring.
It’s also why I’m having a hard time rallying around this extremely dominant BGSU women’s basketball team.
There’s no other explanation for this. After all, any other women’s basketball squad would be another lame footnote in my personal sports world, but these girls are attending my alma mater. Usually that’s supposed to help one’s interest.
It’s not like they’re underperforming, either. Coming into the last weekend of February, the Falcons are 24-2, with those 24 wins all happening after a 0-2 start. Three more wins and they finish the MAC regular season undefeated. And yet … I’m only sort of excited over that feat.
If our reality is God’s Xbox, he accidentally set BGSU season’s difficulty on “easy.” No, check that, he set it on “cakewalk.”
It was fun and exciting watching their overtime wins over Northern Illinois and Western Michigan. It was even more thrilling seeing the intensity around the team as they beat Toledo on Feb. 12. Then they had a couple more routs against MAC opponents. Then it was … yawn, I think I’m going to get some sleep now.
Perfection — or at least a long stretch without a loss — can really inflate a team’s ego to dangerous proportions. But BGSU coach Curt Miller, much like New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, knows how to wield the psychological Ginsu knife and pop any possible overconfidence swelling in the locker room.
That’s nice for the team, but —and I really hate saying this — I really hope they lose one of their final games before the MAC tournament. Any kind of defeat after the regular season and a certain supernatural being might change the game difficulty to “WNIT.”
Or maybe it’s not the perfection. Maybe it’s the magic from the 2006-07 team that is still fresh in my mind. I vividly recall, while on a business trip, driving 30 minutes out of my way to an almost empty sports bar with satellite TV just so I could watch the Falcons’ second round NCAA tournament win over Vanderbilt. It may not be fair to compare this 2008-09 team to the Sweet 16 girls, featuring Kate Achter’s endurance, Ali Mann’s leadership and Liz Honegger’s incredibly catapult-like shooting technique, but unfortunately that’s the yardstick against which they’ll be measured.
Again, it’s not that this team is bad. Or lazy. They’re highly motivated, well-disciplined and watching them should give any human with a central nervous system the chills.
But I’m sorry that two-year memory is just shining brighter. I guess the Falcons are just going to have to advance further in the NCAA tournament this year, assuming they qualify for it.
And once the Falcons reach their eighth straight Final Four in 2017, I will again grow weary and recycle this article for you to read, while updating all the names, numbers and dates. Please plan accordingly.

I’m going to take a break from bureaucrat bashing this week and write about a little novelty that I’ve been introduced to.
Facebook: A great way to rekindle old relationships and make new ones. An even better way to get very little done while you’re at work.
Online social networking sites are not something that I’d naturally be attracted to. I kinda like the give and take of normal “meet ’em for breakfast, get to know ’em through work, joust with ’em at the gym” type relationships. But a bunch of my cousins persuaded me to get on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. And life as I know it might never be the same.
The sign-up process was simple. My name, some other stats, and an e-mail address to (sort of) confirm I am who I say I am. Then came the usual questions, which I passed on for the moment; my zodiac sign, marital status and whether I’m looking for women or men. (That last one wouldn’t have been a question back when I was a teenager.) Just for the record, single and definitely not looking for men.  Not that there’s anything wrong with anything else.
Here’s where the job inefficiency thing comes in: I’m in the office maybe half of any day, and I have all of my e-mail programs going. When I hear the BONG-bong of an e-mail coming in, I check it out right away. Since my introduction to Facebook, I’ve been getting e-mails out the wazoo. “So-and-so added you as a friend on Facebook.” Then you have to click on the link to confirm them as a friend, or ignore it and cast this “friend applicant” into a cyber-self-esteem wasteland. What’s a nice guy to do?
By the time I view the e-mail, click on the link, then “confirm them as friend,” I’m only maybe two minutes past what I was working on. But my momentum is stunted and my mind miles away.  Might as well take an early lunch.
But no, I’m already on the Facebook site, so I might as well go ahead and see who my “friend’s friends” are, right?
The cascading slide into insanity has begun. I find other people I know, and I send them friend requests. And they’ve got hundreds of friends I have to sift through. I have to. I’m stuck, and nothing short of a squad of Navy SEALS can release me from Facebook’s unrelenting grasp. And I know I’m not alone. When I ask someone to be my Facebook friend (in the middle of the workday), I get their “friend confirmation” (in the middle of the workday).
Sound like an addiction? You bet.  Within a couple of days, I began to get requests to be “friends” from people I knew, people I didn’t know and a whole lot of people who probably don’t know me. Hell, who doesn’t want more friends? I began to feel the satisfaction that comes only from the meaningless six-digit scores you chalk up playing pinball. “How many ‘Friends’ do you have? I’ve got more than 2,000!”
John Glenn had 1,452 friends when I was added to his friends list on Facebook last week. (Yeah, that John Glenn. Is that cool or what?) I don’t believe for a minute that this former astronaut, U.S. senator and all-around American Hero remembers me or our interviews years ago. My guess is that the former senator’s staffers handle his Facebook friends applications.
Even as I write this, my inbox is filling with more “Facebook Friend” invitations and confirmations. Four in the last half-hour.  If my Facebook-friend constituency continues to grow at the current rate, I’ll be at one degree of separation from Osama Bin Laden in no time at all.  We’ll be scheduling tea in some cave. “Hey, OBL! As Facebook always asks, ‘What are you doing right now? Or better, where are you doing it?’ ”
It was worth a try.
Now that I’ve revealed my Facebook membership in this publication with a circulation of 130,000, I might be getting a whole lot more “friend” invitations in the coming days. Bring ‘em on. Getting work done when I’m at work is overrated anyway.
Or maybe I’ll just duck and run to Twitter.

E-mail columnist Jim Harpen at letters@toledofreepress.com.