Quick Hits

- Readers of USA Today are familiar with the "snapshots" the newspaper provides from time to time--usually graphs and charts which answer a question to provide a piece of quick data on a topic of interest. The question yesterday was "How is your spouse aging?" 39% of men answered "better than I expected" compared to 30% for women answering the question, and 49% of women answered "as I expected" compared to 46% for men. Interestingly, 18% of women answered "worse than I expected" compared to 11% for men. Wow! It seems women either have a higher standard for their hubbies or we men are just not doing our best in the aging process. The study did not address which particular feature was most troubling to wives in their analysis.

- Quote of the week: "It's like the Battle of Stalingrad. Any sensible person would want them both to lose." Andrew Ferguson, Editor of the Weekly Standard, on the series of debates between Bill Maher, liberal comedian, and Ann Coulter, conservative author.

- Another one bites the dust: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer becomes the latest victim--another daily newspaper which is shutting down operations. They will continue a streamlined online edition.

- Statistic of the week: In 2008, over 148,000 stores closed in the U.S.

- Spotted at Shutters in Santa Monica: Paul Rudd, Shawnee Mission West and University of Kansas grad and star of new movie, "I Love You Man."

- Happy Anniversary: This year marks the 25th anniversary of Miami Vice, the show which forced viewers in the pre-DVR days to stay home on Friday nights. Michael Mann's pastel-ridden, neon-driven TV series changed the way we watched and was the forerunner for crime shows, recurring characters and set design that are now staples of our television diet. Fast cars, hot women, colorful South Beach locations, cutting-edge fashion and Jan Hammer's soundtrack, along with Mann's signature style, all combined to make Vice a hit in the mid-1980's. (Plus, who can forget Kansas native Don Johnson sporting the Kansas Jayhawk t-shirt in the final episode?)

- The business of sports: March Madness starts tomorrow. And, last year’s winner—the University of Kansas Jayhawks—scored big away from the court. KU earned more than $600,000 in royalties for merchandise tied to the national championship, the most ever in the three-month post-championship period. But, in case you’re wondering, Kansas’ royalty take pales in comparison to the $600 million from television advertising on college basketball this season.