MichiBlogger

THIS SEEMS BIZARRE: Man Gets $122,400 for Cat Bite

An ex-Marine and Vietnam veteran from Flushing, Mich., was awarded $122,400 by a jury after his sister’s cat bit him on the hand.

Tom Pabst, an attorney for Michael Sabo, said the jury ordered his client’s sister’s insurance company to pay the sum after Sabo was bitten on the hand by the Siamese cat while delivering a barbecue grill to her home, the Flint (Mich.) Journal reported Monday.

Also see the Detroit Free Press for more details.

GO FIGURE: Shippers fight Michigan law regulating ballast water

Shipping interests in the U.S. and Canada have banded together to try to strike down a Michigan law that attempts to stop the spread of invasive species such as zebra mussels into the Great Lakes.

Four shipping companies, four shipping associations and one dock company filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Detroit asking a judge to declare the Michigan Ballast Water Act unconstitutional.

As I’ve said previously, I’m not a big one for environmental regulations. But again, this one seems reasonable and not too difficult to comply with.

The shippers are complaining that the regulations are wrong because only a tiny fraction of the ships that visit Michigan ports actually dump their ballast water.

So, um, why’s it such a hardship, then?

State Sen. Patty Birkholz, R-Saugatuck, said she introduced her legislation after the federal government failed to act against the obvious source for invasive species entering the Great Lakes.

“I am just shocked,” Birkholz said of the suit by the shippers. “If anything, we ought to be suing them.”

Got the official images and links to work:

The quotes in the text they have for you turn “curly” when you look at them in a text editor, and they’re causing trouble. Replace them with standard quotes and you’ll be all set.

HERE’S THE MSU VS. BOSTON U MATCHUP at College Hockey News. Looks like the Spartans have their work cut out for them.

Puck drops at 8:30 tonight at Van Andel Arena in GR.

AS THE NCAA ICE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT STARTS TOMORROW, here are a couple of sites to help you keep an eye on the action:

Michigan College Hockey, a group blog which looks pretty cool.

College Hockey News, which covers more than just the Wolverine State.

Again, here’s the tournament tree.

WELL, THE MSU LADIES ARE OUT. But we’ve still got NCAA ice hockey.

Spartans vs. Boston University on Friday at Van Andel.

Wolverines vs. North Dakota on Saturday in Denver.

See the full NCAA Tournament bracket.

Regarding the U-M game in Colorado, see Icers to play at altitude:

Denver’s air density is about 15 percent less than sea level, meaning each breath players take in contains less oxygen than normal.

Part of getting ready for this weekend’s NCAA West Regional is going to be adjusting to the altitude. That’s one reason why the Wolverines will fly to Denver on Wednesday night, a day earlier than normal for a Saturday game.

Michigan coach Red Berenson expects the extra day of practice in the Mile High City to make the altitude difference relatively inconsequential.

“I don’t think you notice it,” Berenson said of playing hockey at a higher altitude. “I think it’s just a matter of being acclimatized to it.”

I used to live in Colorado Springs, which has a slightly higher elevation than Denver. You don’t get “acclimatized” in one day. For the purposes of distance running, they say it takes about eight weeks. And even then you can tell the difference.

Still, getting there a day early won’t hurt.

I’m tempted to check out the MSU game and the Notre Dame vs. Alabama-Huntsville game on Friday. $35 at Ticketmaster. That’s going to be a great evening of ice hockey.

GOOD NEWS: Bill Approved to Reduce Trash Coming Into Michigan:

A US House subcommittee approved a bill to regulate imports of trash from Canada and other nations. The bill is sponsored by two Michigan congressmen- Democrat John Dingell and Republican Mike Rogers. It’s a first step in limiting the dumping of waste in Michigan and other states.

The bill would give states more power to limit the shipment and dumping of imported municipal waste until the Environmental Protection Agency issues regulations.

A similar bill was approved by the House last year but failed to advance in the Senate. Michigan gets about 350 truckloads of Canadian trash a day, and about four million metric tons each year.

(No jokes about the governor, please…)

Mike Rogers is the Congressman whose Lansing office was vandalized recently.

GLENN REYNOLDS ON AL GORE’S REFUSAL to pledge that he will reduce his personal energy consumption to that of the average American within one year : That’s the problem with moralistic, messianic crusading — people expect you to live up to it.

WOW! The Eben Ice Caves.

Unbelievable! Check out the pic at Michigan in Pictures and follow the links.

I GUESS SOMETIMES DRASTIC MEASURES ARE REQUIRED: Anti-war protesters vandalize U.S. Rep. Rogers’ office

Vandals splattered red paint on the front of lawmaker Mike Rogers’ Lansing office Monday night and plastered a sign in the front window claiming the Brighton Republican has “blood on his hands” for the war in Iraq, which marked the fourth anniversary this week.

A “Support Our Troops” sign was defaced with red paint as well as the front door of the building on Michigan Avenue being glued shut.

So I guess it appears that these weren’t “we support the troops but not the war” types, huh?

Photo at the LSJ.

What cowards.