The New England Dirty Tricks Committee doesn’t have much to say…     (Photo: David L. Ryan/Boston Globe)

…but Crazy Uncle Joe does:  “I like a softer ball.  That’s all I can tell you.”

Bud’s Round-up of Daily Drivel:

• VP Joe Biden tells CBS, “Having been a receiver, I like a softer ball.”  (SI.com)
• Amazon (ticker AMZN) scraps its crappy diapers.  (Yahoo)
• QE for ECB:  European Central Bank opts for €1.1 trillion of quantitative easing. (Sky News)
• PointState:  Despite dumb name, hedge fund makes $1 billion on smart oil bet.  (Huffington Post)
• Canarsie Capital is “truly sorry” for having lost all of your money.  (CNBC)
• Finally!  NY State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver arrested on corruption charges.  (Newsday)
• C’mon, it’s just flaxseed oil:  A-Rod turns to Barry Bonds for off-season help.  (NY Post)

Y a-t-il un médecin dans la salle?…I think the guy on the right is having a stroke.

Bud’s Round-up of Daily Drivel:

• Why?  John Kerry brings singer James Taylor along to meet France’s President and Foreign Minister. 
• Some theories on the Swiss franc cap kill.
• Consumer sentiment hits 11-year high.
• Here comes Chicken Little and the climate debate:  Was 2014 hottest recorded year? 
• Don’t let the door hit you on the way out:  Medicare chief to call it quits.
• Do you feel lucky?  This is the year to cheat on your taxes.
• Bud likes the favorites this weekend.

Looking for short-handed goals: Obama tells Senate Dems, “I’m going to play offense.”

The Swiss franc is uncapped and on the rise…

Bud’s Round-up of Daily Drivel…

• Target (ticker TGT) misses the mark in Canada, will close all stores.  
• Swiss National Bank kills cap and riles markets.
• Duke U ducks controversy and cancels plan to sound Muslim call to prayer every Friday.
• Calling the IRS help desk because you’re confused about tax implications of Obamacare?  Yeah, good luck.
• They just can’t sell enough potentiometers:  Radio Shack (ticker RSH) nears Chapter 11.
• GM sets company sales record but falls short of VW in 2014.  
• A new way to zap the fat:  EnteroMedics Inc. (ticker ETRM) wins approval for implant that makes user feel full.
• Portrayed by Jonah Hill in Wolf of Wall Street, Danny Porush is in trouble again.
• Part-time Lazard intern quits after colleagues find her online nude selfies (shot, where else?, at work).
• Whew, BP’s fine capped at $13 .7 billion.  

Internet drug dealers take a hit: Bitcoin off 32% in last two days.

Bud’s Round-up of Daily Drivel:

• Obama will somehow take credit (“Let me be clear…”):  2014 US budget deficit smallest since 2007.
• NY Jets show their insanity by doing same thing over and over:  Cardinals’ defensive coordinator named new head coach.
• Is this an oxymoron?  Gluten-free pizza from Pizza Hut (ticker YUM).
• If you have the audacity to downgrade the US credit rating, payback is a… well…about $1 billion.  S&P (ticker MHFI) is close to a settlement over its real-estate-bond ratings.
• Record 34 million watch national championship game.
• MetLife (ticker MET) is fighting regulators’ too-big-too-fail designation.
• Would you hire this man?  Unemployed (and perhaps mentally unstable) lawyer plans to attend every Knick game this season.
• Insufficient pig playtime:  Chipotle (ticker CMG) stops pork sales at a third of US locations.
• Internet drug dealers’ currency bitcoin drops 32% in two days. 

President Obama and his senior Brain Trust…

…played the Invisible Man at yesterday’s Paris unity march.

Bud’s Round-up of Daily Drivel…

• Hey, General, don’t post any selfies right now:  ISIS sympathizers take control of Twitter and YouTube accounts of US military’s Central Command.    
• Where’s Barry?  Team Obama pulls no-show at Paris unity march.
• 41 pounds of weed found in SUV bought at Tulsa police auction.
• Don’t worry about the meter:  NYPD slowdown has cost city $46mm in parking ticket revenue to date.  
• Kobe Bryant:  European players are better. 
• Saudi Arabian blogger gets 10 years and a fine for insulting Islam…oh, and 1,000 lashes.
•  How Meredith Whitney’s hedge fund tripped out of the starting gate.

Just like these zombies…

…Mitt might be back from the dead.

A few days’s worth of Daily Drivel…

• Is it a fraternity if it can’t throw a keg party?  A pyrrhic victory for fraternities at the University of Virginia.
• Were you duped into buying Kirin Ichiban beer because you thought it was from Japan?  Well, a judge says you deserve a refund.
• Knock out pitch:  New York Yankees’ former first-round pick knocked unconscious during argument. 
• Tallahassee Police Department breathes collective sigh of relief:  Jameis Winston leaving town for NFL.
• Dick’s Sporting Goods (ticker DKS) just might gather up all its toys and go…private.
• And Campbell Soup (ticker CPB) might follow Dick’s lead. 
• Bill Cosby makes a joke about date rape drugs during show in Canada.
• One hand washes the other:  Mueller probe says NFL didn’t see Ray Rice video. 
• Not again:  Hillary is mad at Bill.  
• Free stuff:  Obama proposes free community college.
• Ironic:  Cheating rampant in Dartmouth ethics class.  
• Harry Reid had a tough New Year’s.  
• Will he or won’t he?  Romney says he’s on the fence.

One self-aggrandizing brown-noser of athletes hopes to replace….

…same.

Bud’s Round-up of Daily Drivel…

• Down again:  S&P 500 now down 4.2% since hitting all-time high on December 29.
• Chris Christie unveils three-way Cowboy bro hug.
• Clemens and Bonds strike out again at the Baseball Hall of Fame.  
• Things turning sour for CEO of Greek yogurt maker Chobani.
• How very Old Economy:  Facebook’s CEO recommends, of all things, a book.
• Goldman Sachs analyst says JPMorgan Chase worth more if broken up.
• It was meant for the little people, not us:  Harvard faculty outraged over higher health care costs.

The Three Stooges remake is currently being filmed in Hawaii…

Bud’s Round-up of Daily Drivel…

• NFL shows backbone of chocolate éclair:  Lions’ Ndamukong Suh wins appeal.
• POTUS plays through:  Obama’s asinine golfing fetish forces Army captains to relocate wedding.
• Shake Shack files for IPO, possible ticker SHAK.
• Signs of insanity:  Clinton and Obama extend run as most admired in Gallup poll.
• Ditch your wallet, you’ll need a suitcase full of money:  Venezuela’s inflation hits 64%.
• NYPD goes on de facto strike, and arrests fall 66%.
• Tell your son to be a football coach:  U Michigan hires Harbaugh for $35 million over seven years.
• Russian economy shrinks for first time in half decade (-0.5% yoy in November).