If we always do more than we are paid to do ... we'll soon be paid more ... that's the way life is ... I'm drinking from my saucer 'cause my cup is running over!

Kevin MillwoodWell alright! The Texas Rangers fan have gotten a Christmas present with a big bright bow around it. The Texas Rangers are once again a serious team. And who would have thought that Kevin Millwood, a quality pitcher and the American League ERA champion would have chosen Texas over Boston. But he did. And who would have thought that the Rangers would do another five year deal with a Scott Boras client. But they did.

Millwood, 31, pitched for the Cleveland Indians last year and posted a 2.86 ERA while winning 9 and losing 11. The won-loss record is of no-consequence as he suffered the fourth lowest run support of any pitcher in baseball (3.8 runs per game). His career won/loss record is 107 wins and 75 losses. Millwood is a savvy pitcher with well above average control and a fast ball that can hit the low 90s. Although he has suffered shoulder and elbow problems over the past few years, he is still considered a plus pitcher who when healthy can be the ace the Rangers have sorely lacked.

The contract is reportedly for five years and $60 million, although the Rangers can reportedly opt out of the fifth year if Millwood doesn’t pitch an unspecified number of innings in the first four years of his contract. The Ranger’s main competition was considered to be Boston, but the chaos in the Red Sox front office likely contributed to his pro-Texas decision.

With Millwood the Rangers boast three starters with Vicente Padilla and Adam Eaton in the other two slots. The Rangers may chose to add two additional starters from among their young arms such as Kameron Loe and Juan Dominguez. However, there is still a good chance that the Rangers will attempt to deal for another quality starter such as the White Sox Jon Garland.

President’s pal, Don Evans, turns down Putin offer to head Russian energy company while Rex Tillerson, who sealed a deal to drill for oil in Russian territory, prepares to take over as CEO of Exxon.

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General Peter PaceOpposition forces in Iraq killed ten Iraqi policemen and soldiers north of Baghdad Monday after Christmas in a stepup of violence over the past few days. An AP story said that the Iraqi army had lost eight soldiers who were killed and seventeen who were wounded in a battle at an Iraqi checkpoint in the city of Adheim right before Christmas. More serious were the reports from an Iraqi soldier who was in that battle that his battalion of 600 had "already suffered over 250 desertions after a December 3 ambush in Adhem killed 19 Iraqi soldiers."

Meanwhile, Midnight Mass for Christmas was cancelled "because of bombing fires and curfews, but the country’s rapidly dwindling Christian minority turned out in the thousands for early morning services," according to the London Times. The Times story went on to say, "Christians once numbered between 600,000 and 700,000 in Iraq, but church officials say about about half have now fled."

Finally, in a Christmas day interview with Fox News, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine General Peter Pace acknowledged that Iraqis wanted the U.S. to leave the country "as soon as possible". Two thirds of Iraqis in a recent poll say that they are opposed to the presence of U.S. and other foreign troops in Iraq.

The Pentagon has begun the process of reducing its military presence in Iraq, but Bush Administration officials are worried as to whether the Iraqi army is up to the task of coping with the insurgents. Former Secretary of State, Colin Powell echoed Pace’s view on ABC’s Sunday show: "I think the numbers will come down".

The Bush Administration is going to have some tough decisions to make early next year in regards to our continuing U.S. military presence in Iraq.

For 30 years, Steven Spielberg has been one of the most successful action adventure filmmakers of our time. From "Jaws" to the Indiana Jones movies to "Jurassic Park" and the "War of the Worlds" remake, Spielberg has provided enormous entertainment to millions of filmgoers and reaped the benefits. Caricatured as an aging kid, Spielberg set out in the 90s to prove he could produce serious work and that has produced such fine films as "Schindler’s List" and "Saving Private Ryan." Now comes "Munich," a film that will be debated as long as there’s conflict in the Middle East.

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After the Dallas Morning News "better late then never" expose of Mayor Laura Miller which detailed her questionable relationship with Southwest Housing and its owners, those of us South Of The Trinity were expecting the city’s white mass media to leap on one of the year’s hottest stories immediately.

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They’re alive. As hard as it is to believe, they are alive. It all comes down to the final week of the season. With a victory over St. Louis and a little help from Philadelphia or Atlanta, the Cowboys are in the playoffs. The Cowboys bounced back from that incredible loss at Washington and actually beat Carolina.

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