That referred to an ABCNews.com posting asserting that McCain appeared to confuse Iraq and Afghanistan in a "Good Morning America" interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, who asked whether the "the situation in Afghanistan is precarious and urgent."

McCain responded: "I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border." The ABC posting added: "Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do."

Unfortunately for McCain, that wasn't an isolated slip. Among the other lapses:

- "Somalia" for "Sudan": As recounted in a reporter's pool report from McCain's Straight Talk Express bus on June 30, the senator said while discussing Darfur, a region of Sudan: "How can we bring pressure on the government of Somalia?"

Senior adviser Mark Salter corrected him: "Sudan."

- "Germany" for "Russia": A YouTube clip from last year memorializes McCain referring to Vladimir Putin of Russia -- following a trip to Germany -- as "President Putin of Germany."

- This spring, McCain said troops in Iraq were "down to pre-surge levels" when in fact there were 20,000 more troops than when the surge policy began.

- Also this spring, McCain twice appeared to mistake Sunnis and Shiites, two branches of Islam that split violently.

- In Phoenix earlier this month, McCain referred to Czechoslovakia, which has been divided since Jan. 1, 1993, into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. He also referred to Czechoslovakia during a debate in November and a radio show in April.

- In perhaps the most curious incident, McCain said earlier this month that as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, he had tried to confuse his captors by giving the names of Pittsburgh Steelers starting players when asked to identify his squadron mates. McCain has told the story many times over the years -- but always correctly referred to the names he gave as members of the Green Bay Packers.

Republican John McCain pushed back on Wednesday against Democratic criticism that he misstated when the troop buildup ordered by President Bush began, saying elements were put in place before Bush announced the strategy in early 2007.

He told reporters during an unscheduled stop in a super market that, what the Bush administration calls "the surge" was actually "made up of a number of components," some of which began before the president's order for more troops.

It's all a matter of semantics, he suggested.

The NBA has decided to allow the new owners of the Seattle SuperSonics to move the franchise to Oklahoma and rename it the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Approving the move not only deprives the people of Seattle of a team they've had four decades,
it gives a team to Oklahoma City, bypassing at least a dozen larger markets like San Diego,
San Jose, Jacksonville, Austin, Baltimore, Ft. Worth, El Paso, Louisville and Las Vegas.

Since the league is awarding franchises to smaller cities and towns, it's only fair that
TopFive be allowed to name those teams, right?

Two cups of McDonald’s iced coffee (BUY!) sit on the Fox 5 TV news desk, a punch-you-in-the-face product placement (BUY!) to chase down your morning news.

They’ve been on the Las Vegas station set for about two weeks, following the lead of a few TV stations across the country, and they’re still looking every bit as frosty and tantalizing (BUY!) as they were the first day you laid your eyes on them.

But wait, here’s the best part: They’re not real. Fake coffee on the real news, two plastic cups permanently filled with some kind of bogus drink. The anchors aren’t even supposed to acknowledge them, McDonald’s reps explain.