John Cochran, Humor Guru

Cheers:
Pope Benedict XVI: Certainly not a cheer for his resignation but rather for his service to the Catholic Church.  Contenders to succeed the Pope hail from around the world, and one frontrunner is believed to be Ghanaian Cardinal Peter Turkson.

Notre Dame Lacrosse: Another sport, another top ranking. The men’s team ascended to the top of the rankings after a big win over Duke last week in Durham.

Bengal Bouts: While not as entertaining as the hundred-plus round, bare-knuckle matches of fisticuffs I enjoyed in my youth as a London street urchin, Bengal Bouts actually raises money for Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh. If you need any more incentive, our very own Editor-in-Chief is fighting in the heavyweight division, and, to quote him directly, “I’m a big ol’ bear.”

Jeers:
Saturday Night Live:  Did you catch last week’s airing of SNL? Me neither. Apparently exhausted of both pretense and material for attacking Sarah Palin, Lorne Michael’s stable of writers aimed at comedy with a combination parody of Django Unchained and Christ. I wasn’t a fan of the skit, but then again, it may have been a hit with their targeted demographic—those sitting home alone on the couch watching TV on Saturday night.

Harlem Shake Videos:  Haven’t watched one, and will not watch one. Not sure what it is or why it’s popular, but I’m drawing the line here. My adherence to this stance precludes me from image searching “Harlem Shake,” so if there is an accompanying picture, thank the editors.

The International Olympic Committee:In a baffling decision, the IOC has elected to remove wrestling from automatic contention at the 2020 Olympic Games, though there is a chance it could still be included. I can only imagine the reasoning: “an ancient and original Olympic sport testing a combination of strength, power, flexibility and endurance? …nah we’ll stick with synchronized swimming, table tennis and race walking.” I give up. Was wrestling just too strong an embodiment of the Olympic ideal?