10 p.m.

• OK kiddie, gather around. It's time to play...

A man who dressed in firefighter's gear to bluff his way into a co- worker's apartment on Halloween night and then sexually tortured her over 13 hours was sentenced Monday to 20 years to life in prison.

 

Peter Braunstein, 43, stood before the judge and provided his take about what happened, saying he had a death wish as he carried out the attack in Manhattan and other crimes while on the lam in Ohio and Tennessee.

 

"I just thought I would see America and die; you know, have the cops shoot me to death," Braunstein said. He was convicted in May for kidnapping, robbing and sexually abusing the ex-colleague at Fairchild publications, parent of Women's Wear Daily and W magazine.

 

Dressed as a firefighter, Braunstein set fires in the hallway outside his victim's Manhattan apartment as a ruse to gain access inside her home on Halloween 2005. He then drugged her, tied her to a bed, stripped her naked, and videotaped her...

...what will the defense lawyer say this time?

If you said...

Braunstein's attorney argued that his client was so mentally ill that he was incapable of forming the intent to commit the crime and therefore should not be held criminally responsible. The defense showed jurors brain scans to prove their point that Braunstein was mentally ill.

You win ... nothing.

Oh, here is some more notable stuff.

During the trial, jurors heard lurid testimony, including Braunstein's musings about sending Vogue editor Anna Wintour to a hell guarded by rats. They also heard excerpts from Braunstein's journals, in which he described posing as a Hurricane Katrina victim to get free meals as he wandered around Tennessee.

 

"I think the sentence was very harsh. It was like he killed somebody," Braunstein's father, Alberto Braunstein, said after the sentencing...

 

... Last week, in a nine-page letter sent to the judge asking for leniency, Braunstein described planning the crime—conceding a key prosecution point—while arguing that he was mentally ill. In his letter, he wrote that his mental illness "casts a lingering shadow over the case that leniency could help dispel."

8 p.m.

• So what skin at TSM are you in?

Fww76: hey how do I get this queer skin off my blue TSM forums?

harbert99: Lower left hand corner

Fww76: much better

Fww76: tx

harbert99: Welcome

Fww76: ew

Fww76: i'm looking at the other skins

Fww76: wtf

Fww76: who uses this shit

Still with the old-school blue.

7:30 p.m.

• So the guy from South America won the U.S. Open. Whatever. I watched a little of the tournament this weekend. I actually so this guy play a little Sunday and thought, “Hmm, I never heard of him before. How come nobody is thinking he can win when he’s not that far behind?” What insight.

One thing I’ve been hearing on the PTIs and ATHs of the world whenever a major tournament has a course where the winning score is over par is should courses be that difficult. The people who disagree say they want to see birdies and eagles while those on the other side of the coin want to see the best golfers in the world struggle. Where do I fall in this debate? Who cares what the final score is – it’s not like half the players go on a different course while the other half have to struggle/excel on another 18 holes. Like I’ve said before, I don’t follow golf except for watching the occasional major, so I have no clue as to this sport’s intricacies. Everyone has to play the same 18 holes, although I’m sure there could be a difference in the greens from when the first guy of a day’s event gets on to the final golfer makes his putt. Nevertheless, I don’t get the whining if a course doesn’t offer up birdies every hole. If that’s the case, then go for pars. Big deal. Eh, I’m getting too far into this topic in relation to how I care about it.

• I saw an interesting segment on ESPN yesterday about these three chicks and their nudy pics, or refusal to do such photographs. One chick (Amanda Beard) is doing Playboy. Another (Brandi Chastain) didn’t go nude, but had some other risqué shots done. Then there was another who just appeared in a swimsuit (Jennie Finch). Hey, if a female athlete wants to show off what she’s got then more power to her. Sure some people might think that this “cheapens” her on-the-field successes, but so what? I’m sure most guys thumbing through a magazine to get to a chick’s centerfold wouldn’t be caring much about how she won Olympic gold or a professional title. I wouldn’t care to see some female athlete in a nudy magazine; the outfits many of them wear reveal enough to keep me happy. Actually, I’d rather have them clothed because it leaves more to the imagination. With that being said, I might as well rank in order the kinds of female athletes I like to oogle as of 7:30 p.m. on Monday, June 18.

Soccer chicks: By far my favorite, although goalies and some defenders can be a bit butch. The toned upper torsos, the powerful legs, the sweaty bodies, the ability to get on their knees at a moment’s notice … excuse me for a few minutes while I have to feed the cats. Yeah, the cats.

Volleyball chicks: What I really like about this sport is that there are several varieties. You got the short spunky ones who jump 10 feet in the air to serve or spike, and you also have the thicker ones who set and block. Please note I’m talking about indoor volleyball athletes. Those Pro Beach competitors just seem too lanky.

Swimming chicks: I feel a bit guilty about ranking this group third because they have an advantage with getting to wear bathing suits, but whatever. It’s not their fault they need to be in shape for this sport.

Tennis chicks: While I enjoy watching women’s volleyball and soccer, I probably like watching women’s tennis the most out of any female sport, especially when compared to the amount of time I spend watching this sport’s male counterparts. At least in the women’s sport they seem to volley more, and I’m not going to complain about the outfits, either, although I was never a big Anna Kournikova fan.

Softball chicks: Over the last few years I’ve been drawn to women’s softball. Much like the soccer chicks, there are some big girls on these teams, but someone’s got to play catcher. If only they grabbed their crotches more while playing they might have been able to move up a spot or two.

I didn’t include track and field chicks on this list because, well, I don’t watch this shit. Ditto basketball. I haven't seen enough golf to make a decision one way or the other. I've seen some of those women on the LPGA and ... shudder. I'm sure there are hotter up-and-comers to be had, and I'm sure they will get the publicity when the time is right.

Now what do all thewomen’s sports I ranked have in common? Surprisingly enough, they are all sports I don’t mind watching just for the sporting element itself. Yeah, I know, I just spent a few hundred words talking about T&A, but I also actually like watching each of these women’s sports from time to time. Except for swimming. I’m a perv when it comes to this one. Sorry.