• If you were the biggest music star in the world, what might be a reason to promote your new album on an amateur-singing competition show? Lady Gaga appeared on the "American Idol" finale during the week of the release of "Born This Way," which has to be the most anticipated album in the past decade, maybe longer. Certainly, an "Idol" finale has a lot of viewers, but they already know about Lady Gaga and this album. Isn't she above showing up on "Idol" to promote something? It seems beneath her.



• The conundrum of the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball championship game: how does a coach thaw cold shooting? Is there anything they can say or do? It seems completely out of their hands. What would John Wooden do? What would Bo Schembechler or Chuck Noll do, or to take it to a higher level, Winston Churchill? What's a great motivator to do?
Thinking of how John Wooden used to run entire drills in practice without a ball (if you can't imagine yourself doing it, you can't do it), what if, in the 2011 championship game, Butler coach Brad Stevens called a timeout and just had each player imagine themselves making their next shot. That's all, just imagine it, see it in your mind happening. Would it have made a difference? It's anyone's guess, but I'll imagine that it would have. I need some way to erase the memory of that bad, bad game.



• When you first heard of "The King's Speech," did you not think something along this line: a World War II movie about the British king - it must not be much of a story if we haven't heard it by now. Of all the World War II stories, and the 65 years to put this on film or in a definitive book?
What if you knew the reason it hasn't been told until now is by request of the Queen Mother? (King George VI was her husband, and the father of the current queen) The movie's writer, David Seidler, was a boy during the time of the story, suffering from a speech impediment himself. Forty years later, in the early '80s, he wrote to the Queen Mother (Elizabeth) to ask permission to write the story of King George and his ailment. She replied that he could, but "please, not during my lifetime." The memories were too painful. Seidler honored her wish, and waited. She died in 2002 at age 101.
Shouldn't this be all over the advertising for this movie? It all seems three times as interesting once you know this, no?



• Was Under Armour using a little blunt-force marketing during the BCS National Championship game? Looking at Cam Newton from the shoulders up delivered five Under Armour logos.



• Moot point - see below. But it could happen for Harbaugh with the 49ers too.



• If Jim Harbaugh stays as Stanford's football coach, could this be the beginning of something rare, not to mention great? Harbaugh has personality and presence to spare and he would be leading a program which would represent to the world that you can win championships with a bunch of smart kids. It would offer a wellspring to root for, and hate too, similar to Duke and Mike Krzyzewski. Whether or not Harbaugh has ambitions to coach in the NFL could make this a moot point, but if he doesn't, he could be a new breed of iconic college football coach, to join the ranks of Schembechler, Hayes, Bryant, Osborne, Paterno, Bowden, Switzer, etc.



• Am I biased against Netflix to think that their name is a bit uninspired? Isn't that the equivalent of Blockbuster Video coming along in 1984 and calling themselves "StoreMovies?" Besides, over time, isn't the word "Net" in anything going to sound dated? Something to mull over while eating a "TV dinner?" If Netflix needs to eventually drop the "Net" from their name like Blockbuster had to drop "Video," that leaves them with "Flix." Less inspired? I'll stop now.



• It's possible that Blockbuster's future could still be bright. After all, the company shares two similarities with the state Apple was in in the mid-'90s. With a reputation for being too expensive but a beloved brand image to go with it, Apple was able to come back strong. Without that brand equity, they may not have had the chance. Similarly, Blockbuster has always been expensive, while no other movie rental operation could claim the iconic, signature feeling of Blockbuster - then or now. If Steve Jobs ran the company, they'd almost certainly be back. But for someone else, it can still be done.



• If you're a kid, seeing "Back to School" ads in July and early August must be like talking about April 15 on New Year's Day.




• Very few great albums have more than 10 songs. Just the same, a hundred good albums could've been great if the three weakest songs were cut.




• The LeBron James saga is not an issue of loyalty, but identity. When a pro athlete switches teams in the middle of his career, their identity is always weakened. If a player switches, it's best to do it early or late (Patrick Ewing is still a Knick, but Steve Nash is a ... Phoenixallas MaveriSun).




• Could the FIFA World Cup be twice as compelling if it was still termed "The World Cup?" The added FIFA moniker makes you think, is there another? What seems like a bigger deal, "the Super Bowl," or "the NFL Super Bowl?"