PA liquor mess

No, not Pa's liquor, though this is what he had to deal with to buy the stuff in Pennsylvania. The issue is why the good people of the state still have to deal with the arcane system and high prices that make the state of PA seem prehistoric when it comes to liquor (separate stores for beer & liquor, liquor stores run by the state, no alcohol in grocery stores & convenience stores, etc.).

So excuse me this aside but something has to be done to get PA up to modern times!!

From this morning’s Post-Gazette comes word of a new drink tax in Allegheny County. What is disclosed at the bottom is unbelievable but helps explain why PA is horrible when it comes to buying alcohol. Free markets anyone?

The new 10 percent drink tax will be on top of five other tiers of liquor taxation already in place. In Pennsylvania, all liquor license holders must purchase wine and spirits from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.

1. The PLCB charges a 30 percent markup;
2. A "bottle charge" of $1.25 per bottle;
3. A round-up to the nearest 9 cents ($21.82 becomes $21.89);
4. An 18 percent "Johnstown flood tax" that was enacted in 1936 to rebuild that city but has remained in effect ever since;
5. And the 7 percent sales tax in Allegheny County.

BTW, didn’t people go crazy when a “sin tax” was proposed to pay for the new stadiums and partly as a result that proposal was rejected? And that proposal was much less than a 10% tax. Now this gets approved without public referendum?

So, to recap, in PA a $10 bottle of liquor at wholesale prices is subject to this before anyone can buy it:

1. it is marked up to $13
2. the bottle charge brings it to $14.25
3. rounding up takes it to $14.31
4. because of something that happened in 1936, the price then becomes $16.89
5. Allegheny County wants their share so it rises to $18.07
6. the new 10% PAT tax makes the final price $19.88
   

Were/Are people aware of all these markups? That is almost double the original price! Why are people in PA still paying for Johnstown’s floods and why is there a $1.25 bottle charge and a 9 cent round up? I’m outraged and I don’t even live in PA anymore.

I’d like to think that people will do something about this, but about the only guarantee is that they’ll continue to walk into their favorite bar, order a drink and moan about the new tax and how expensive drinks are now.

The Kid Heads West

As before when Sid travels to a new town, the media goes crazy. Well, this time it's Western Canada and it's crazier than ever.

Here is The Edmonton Sun's front page today.

Inside, there are 3 articles about Sid's visit:

• The Kid Comes West
• Will The Kid Still be Hot Tonight?
• Where have all Sid the Kid's groupies gone?

The Edmonton Journal chimes in with 5 stories:

• Crosby adds his signature style to NHL
• Great One says after Sid they'll be Another
• Crosby Transforms when the Puck is Dropped
• He's the Best of Everything
• David Staples' "Cult of Hockey" blog admires Sid's relative dominance

Those is Calgary can't wait until tomorrow, they're in head first already.

From the Calgary Herald:

• Sid the Kid's Flying Circus
• Sid's just a Kid
• Echoes of Gretzky's First Trip East
• Media Horde Greets Crosby in Edmonton

The Calgary Sun:

• It's More than a Game when Sid the kid Comes to Town
• Sid Even Carries His own Luggage (!!)
• Crosby's the Real Deal

Even the Vancouver Sun is already following Sid:

• Crosby Show a Gretzky Rerun

The games haven't even been played yet!

Recchi Clears Waivers

According to TSN, the Recchin Ball has cleared waivers this morning. So no other team wants him either, eh? What now for ol Rex? Can't believe he'll accept a trip to the minors and it seems like his relationship with Therrien is beyond repair.

Darren Dreger thinks Recchi's not done and has something to prove even if he has to go to the minors.

Stay tuned.

Pitt/WVU: It Actually Happened

Pitt Blather covered it well with several posts:

• Screenshots right as the game ended.
• The scene inside the Stadium in Morgantown
  
• Summarizing the national take on the officiating

What can I add?

• This game is the biggest upset for Pitt football in my lifetime and will surely stick in my mind for the complete opposite reason that the 48-14 game in 1982 does, a game I attended and left early because it was so miserable a game (a surprisingly cold too). It's nice to have a game to balance out that game from 25 years ago.
• How can a defense play so well after it played so poorly vs Navy and Virginia? Or, if Pitt's defense is closer to what we saw on Saturday, and I think they are, how could they have played so poorly vs those two?
• Pitt played two of the top 4 rushing teams in the country (Navy is #1, WVU is now #4 but was #2 coming into the Pitt game). Against one, they allowed 331 yards rushing. Against the better team that was playing for everything, the allowed 104 (net) rushing yards. Who can explain that?
• How long is Shady McCoy destined to remain a Panther? Sorry to rain on the joy but we might have only one more year to enjoy this guy.
• Interesting that there is thought going around that Pitt needs to recruit a JC QB to fill in next year, I suppose to give Bostick a full year to improve his footwork, arm strength, delivery and defensive recognition - ok, to improve just about everything. Question: how was he the PA Player of the Year? If he's such a blue chipper, he gained enough experience this year, that when bolstered by an offseason of work and without personal issues, he should be the starter in the fall.
• Oderick Turner: how cursed was he? Two phantom holding calls vs WVU that followed the phantom offensive pass interference call against him in the end zone at the end of the Rutgers game. They lost to Rutgers because of the call, at least they held on vs the 'Eers.
• I couldn't exhale until Brytus walked out of the end zone on the final play. Too many last second failures this year made me think that somehow they would punt and give up a TD.
• Great day for Wannstedt - an extension and that signature win he was looking for. The pressure to win will be high in '08, and he's adding fuel to the fire already:
  

  "We're going to win and we're going to a bowl game. ... A couple more recruiting classes and this thing will really roll. We can get this program back to where it was in the early '80s. I truly believe that."

• For at least a year, Pitt can claim supremacy over both WVU 13-9 and PSU 12-0. How Sweet it is!
  

Recchi's Pens Career Over?

Love the Recchin' Ball but it's time he retires or plays significantly fewer minutes. And today, he's been placed on waivers, meaning any other team can claim him. His Pens career is probably over. He was a great Pen, a key part of the 91 Cup team, but it's time.

Here he is scoring a late goal in 91 vs the Devils:


And here is one last one, welcoming him back to the Burgh, but it also includes perhaps his biggest goal as a Pen, his game winner in game 6 of the Wales Finals vs Boston, a classic Recchi wrister:


UPDATE: Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail thinks this might be end of Recchi's career.