So the big controversy with the Oklahoma football program right now concerns the lyrics to the National Anthem, the song that commemorates our freedom by reminding us of the musical notes we can never hope to achieve. Ironic that when the typical person hits the most inspiring portion of the song –“and the rockets’ red glare …” — it’s at a pitch that only dogs can hear. Man’s best friend must be very patriotic by now.

OU President David Boren has asked fans to discontinue yelling “home of the Sooners” at the end of the anthem, in place of “home of the brave.” Because it’s unpatriotic, or whatever. It’s been a long-standing tradition at Oklahoma for fans to change the last four words of the anthem, and that’s not sitting well with some people. I would think that folks in Stoopsville would have other things to worry about, but this is evidently a big deal.

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As if Iraq didn’t have enough problems to deal with, now they can’t even get their correct national anthem played:

REUTERS reports how the Iraqi soccer team was treated to the wrong song at a tournament match in Thailand.

Before their game at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Iraqi players & officials expecting a patriotic piece heard something completely different on the stadium speakers. As the mistaken melody went on, one Iraqi official stood up & shouted, “This isn’t our anthem, what is this song? Where did they get this from?”

Tournament organizers blame the Iraqis themselves, claiming that the team gave them the wrong CD.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to properly label any music you burn.

STEELERS SKIP STAR-SPANGLED BANNER BEFORE MNF GAME With all the preparation done for Monday night’s game, the Steelers forgot about one thing - the Star-Spangled Banner:

The PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE reports that the national anthem was skipped over, after lightning concerns caused a 15-minute delay before kickoff.Vince Neil of Motley Crue was all set to put on his patriotic performance. But both ESPN and the NFL told Steelers officials that they didn’t want the anthem to interfere with the broadcast, saying the delay had closed the “window” for the song.

For Vince, it wasn’t the Same Ol’ Situation, and he missed out on his chance to relish in the attention of the Heinz Field audience.Steelers President Art Rooney II apologized for the omission, saying it was the wrong decision, and adding, “It’s unfortunate and certainly something we hope never happens again.”

PLACIDO DOMINGO TO SING NATIONAL ANTHEM AT MLS CUP: Placido Domingo is ready to hit the high notes for Major League Soccer:

The league has announced that Domingo will be singing the national anthem to help kick off the 2007 MLS Cup.Best known as one of the Three Tenors that isn’t Luciano Pavarotti, Placido will be belting out “The Star Spangled Banner” at Washington’s RFK Stadium on November 18.

For your further enjoyment, Jimmy Eat World will chew up time, as they perform for the halftime festivities. They’re scheduled to play tunes from their latest album, but we bet if you ask nicely enough, they’ll do one of their classics - whatever they are.

We’d love to party with Placido, but we might be spent after watching Lenny Kravitz get his groove on at the Grey Cup.