Archive for August 2012

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What’s in a name?

August 10, 2012

Wonder how many men were basically ignoring the Olympics as background noise on the television tonight until they heard the name “Destinee Hooker?”

(My friend Rich invites everyone also to Google the winner of the men’s trampoline…   Would love to see the headlines if he and Destinee were ever to meet.)

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After their gold medal win today, the U.S. women’s soccer team put on Nike shirts saying “Greatness has been found.” And most of the rest of the world’s athletes said “We didn’t know it had been lost.”

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Gold medalist Aly Raisman, 18, sent, then quickly deleted a tweet about going clubbing in London. She changed it to say she was going to bed early, although 380,000 followers still got the original. Nice to see it’s not just grownups who mess up with technology.

 

As impressive as platform diving is, am I the only one who has a hard time really getting into a sport where the number one sign of excellence is minimal splash?

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Dwight Howard to the Lakers. Well, this looks either like an NBA championship team, or one of the biggest ego-driven train wrecks in sports history.

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Kobe Bryant was asked if he can learn anything form the younger players on the USA team. “No,” he replied. ”I don’t know if I know it all, but I know more than they do.” Guess Kobe feels as at home as if he were playing for the Lakers.

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The 200m men’s race was the premier event Wednesday night for NBC, even though most all viewers will already know the result. Well, I guess it works for repeat showings of “Titanic.”

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The Cowboys have apparently talked to Plaxico Burress’s agent about signing the free-agent wide receiver. Could be a good fit – Dallas has a strong quarterback, a winning tradition, and loose gun laws.

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Highly Kentucky men’s basketball recruit Nerlens Noel has finally been declared academically eligible. Great, so he can show up in the fall and play his freshman season, before dropping out 2nd semester to declare for the NBA draft.

 

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Almost eight years after the 2004 Olympics, the IOC is apparently going to strip Tyler Hamilton of his cycling gold medal for doping., and give it to Russia’s Ekimov. “Wow, fast investigative work,” said administrators at Penn State.

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Ann Romney had  tweeted Thursday that “in just a few short hours one lucky supporter will win the remarkable opportunity to meet Mitt and his VP pick in person.” Leading to speculation the choice will be announced today. But hey, maybe a “few” hours is like a “few” million, different for the Romneys than for most people.

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Lots of variations on this line,  but Marc Ragovin put it  very succinctly  – ” Did Mitt and Ann fly home from London with Rafalca strapped to the wing of their private jet?”

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From my friend Abbe Nelson:  “NASA’s robot Curiosity landed on Mars. Early pictures show no signs of ESPN, beer and porn…making it very clear that men are not from Mars.”

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Tale of the tape

August 9, 2012

Yet another tape-delayed night at the Olympics about to begin. But with all the online and other spoilers there’s more drama in watching eliminations in American Idol and DWTS.

 

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A thought about beach volleyball. Bikinis in London seem as incongruous as ads for dentists.

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Much discussion lately about if the Founding Fathers ever imagined what would happen with the 2nd Amendment. On lighter note pretty darn sure the ancient Greeks never imagined Olympic beach volleyball.

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Defending Olympic gold-medal champion race walker Alex Schwazer was kicked out of the London Games for blood doping. Cheating race-walkers? What’s next? Quick, someone set up testing for the Professional Bowlers tour.

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At a press conference after being expelled from the Olympics for blood doping, racewalker Alex Schwazer cried and said he was actually happy he’d been caught, saying he wasn’t “made to deceive people”, and “couldn’t take it anymore.” Hmm, what Alex’s next move, running for office?

 

Randy Travis was arrested for DUI after crashing his car. Officials said he was “naked, combative,” and threatened police officers. “Drunk, naked, nasty and busted…” Well, Travis is in a lot of trouble, but he’s got some great starter lyrics for his next song.

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Bobby Valentine just said he thinks his Red Sox are a playoff team. And Josh Beckett is thinking, “Hey bro, how much of my beer are have you been drinking?”

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On the pre-game show for their nationally-televised game of the week, ESPN seriously dissed most of the SF Giants lineup. Can they do this every night, please?

(for anyone who didn’t see, Giants 15-Cardinals 0)

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Personally I don’t care if Ann Romney has a whole stable of purebreds.  But can only imagine if instead of Ann, it was Malia Obama who had a expensive horse and was entering dressage competitions.

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So the GOP is running a misleading ad saying Obama will let welfare recipients get away without working, when the administration has just implemented a strict waiver program that gives states more flexibility with the rules for things like job training. The waiver originally was pushed by Republicans, including,  surprise, Mitt Romney.

(So besides the debates with Obama, this fall will we get to see Mitt Romney debate himself?)

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Horsing around.

August 8, 2012

Mitt and Ann Romney’s horse “Rafalca” did not even advance to the individual finals in dressage. Who’s more disappointed? The Romneys? Or the Democrats, who were hoping for a photo op on the medal stand.

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Any truth to the rumor that “Rafalca” is an African word for “tax write off?”

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Back on the domestic front, Mitt Romney still refuses to release his tax returns, but says that Harry Reid should reveal the source for his accusations. In other words, only the little people need to give out information.

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Have to love all this GOP condemnation of Harry Reid’s accusations about Mitt Romney’s taxes. Where were they when Donald Trump was making accusations about Barack Obama’s birth certificate?

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First it was the trustees, now a group of former Penn State players has announced they are planning to appeal the sanctions against the football team. There’s clearly something in the water in State College’s river of denial.

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This year for the first time the Nittany Lions will have names on the back of their football jerseys. Well, better than adding the Penn State name to the front.

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The Chevron oil refinery fire will apparently spike gas prices all over the West coast. That’s okay, because when Chevron makes record profits they pass those on too by lowering the rates for consumers…. Oops, wait, never mind. Rat b*stards.

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Random Olympic thought. The “Fastest Man in the World” would still end up as lunch for a pack of cheetahs.

(Nice add from Peter Crapo,  “Only if he was running alone.”

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If the S.F. Giants’ Barry Zito had pitched any better tonight, NBC would have had to tape-delay him.

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Newt Gingrich will apparently not speak at the GOP convention.  Delegates are content with the decision.  Comedy writers,  on the other hand….

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On the other side of the aisle,  Bill Clinton is speaking for the Democrats.  And Newt said “I think that will be a terrific opportunity for those of us who served with President Clinton to point out that Barack Obama is no Bill Clinton,”  Uh, except Gingrich as Speaker tried to IMPEACH Bill Clinton.

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T.C. on Michael Phelps’ decision to leave swimming  “Michael Phelps says he’s has left the pool forever.  BONG! The clock strikes 12. HOOKAH blame him?”

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In the  “Olympic event most likely to cause lasting international repercussions” pool, who had the US vs. Canada  in women’s soccer?

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High times at the Olympics:

August 7, 2012

Nick Delpopolo, who competed for the U.S, but didn’t medal in judo, has been expelled from the Olympics for marijiuana. He blames it on “inadvertent consumption of food that I did not realize had been baked with marijuana.” Brownies without the bitter taste of pot? A lot of people want that recipe.

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NBC trying to get us to embrace the pain of their Olympic coverage – retitling the broadcasts “Fifty Shades of Delay.”

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Algerian runner Taoufik Makhloufi was reinstated for Tuesday’s 1500m final, after being thrown out of the Olympics for not trying in Monday’s 800m heat. Wonder what Algeria used as evidence – Makhloufi’s favorite Chicago Cubs cap?

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Terrell Owens has signed a deal with the Seattle Seahawks. Maybe this is finally God’s payback for Pete Carroll getting off scot-free when he left USC.

(as Alex Schubert commented  –  “nothing says Nfl ready like being cut from an arena football team.)  –

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In Weymouth, England, firefighters were able to save a man after he caught his apartment on fire trying to dry his wet socks and underwear in a microwave oven. The response from most women: “Serious Darwin candidate.” The response from most men: “You mean you shouldn’t do that?”

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Penn State trustees are appealing sanctions, saying the NCAA did not give them “due process when it did not follow its usual investigation and enforcement procedures.” Uh, what about the investigation and enforcement procedures for all the boys raped by Sandusky?

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There’s bi-partisan support in Washington for a bill to make Olympic winnings tax-exempt.  But okay, maybe this sounds like a nice idea, but  does, for example the men’s basketball team really need the tax break? Or Mitt Romney’s dressage horse?

(Actually with all the NBA stars on the team, the tax break men’s basketball may really need is on child support.)

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Brazil’s Fabiana Murer, the defending world champion in pole vault, blamed the wind for not attempting her final jump. In Beijing, she blamed her exit on organizers giving her the wrong pole, (which they did, but said she should have checked her equipment.) With that much whining Murer may be named an honorary American.

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Shannon Eastin will this week become the first woman to be part of an NFL officiating crew. She will work the preseason game between the Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers. Good thing Brett Favre has retired, could be distracting for her to referee the game AND ignore his texts.

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More trenchant than funny.  But “white supremacists” do their best to make the phrase an oxymoron.

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Michele Bachmann didn’t intend for anyone to shoot up a Sikh temple when she went after Huma Abedin and her alleged ties to the Muslim brotherhood. But if we’re going to defend both the first AND second amendments in the U.S., then maybe politicians should think before they further inflame the crazies.

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Tale of the tape delayed.

August 5, 2012

Just back from a couple weeks in Europe.  Which means trading watching live Olympics in languages I don’t understand where they show the winners, to “cut and paste” late night USA highlights. Remind me to do this again in four years.

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Michael Phelps says he’s not going near the water again. Does that include water pipes?

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New Texas GOP Senate nominee Ted Cruz, said of his desire to cut the deficit, that he’d “be happy to compromise and work with anybody, Republicans, Democrats, libertarians, I’ll work with Martians.” Actually, given the polarization in D.C. these days, Martians might be his best bet.

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Lindsey Graham just called Harry Reid a liar for saying he had heard Romney had not paid taxes for 10 years. The same Lindsey Graham who after Osama was killed said, ” Why doesn’t Obama just clear the matter up? I know bin Laden is dead, but the best way to protect our decisions overseas is to prove that fact to the rest of the world.”

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President Obama’s 51st birthday was yesterday. Assume Donald Trump sent him a card saying “Prove it.

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The Chicago Cubs, who were swept this weekend by the Los Angeles Dodgers, blew multiple leads in losing today,  giving up runs in four of the last five innings. Are the Cubs trying to be the official baseball team of Olympic badminton?

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The Paterno family is demanding an appeal of the NCAA Penn State sanctions. Okay, maybe this isn’t a “quit while you’re ahead” situation, but maybe it’s “keep your mouths shut and quit reminding people” for a while? But then denial may also be a river in State College.

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Clint Eastwood has endorsed Mitt Romney. So where are Karl Rove and all the outraged Republicans who criticized Clint and accused him of being “bought” back in February for that Super Bowl “Halftime in America” ad.

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Which takes less time – the Men’s 100 meter dash, or the coverage NBC devotes to sports where the USA doesn’t do well?

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This is TCU’s first year in the Big 12. And Sunday coach Gary Patterson announced that starting QB Casey Pachall won’t face team discipline after admitting to police in February he had used marijuana and also failed a drug test. Looks like the Horned Frogs will fit in just fine in a major conference.

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Since WNBA and early Women’s March Madness blowout games get extremely low ratings, why does NBC think out of all the Olympics that what we most wanted to see Sunday morning was Team USA beating up on the Chinese?

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All these world records in swimming… Wow.    Of course, after Ryan Lochte’s comments about what he does in the pool, maybe all the athletes have an extra motivation to get out of the water as soon as possible.

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So regarding this “kiss-in” at Chick-Fil-A between same sex couples, including a lot of lesbians.  Wonder how many conservative men showed up  just “to keep an eye on what these ungodly people are doing.”

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Gold medals, leaden coverage:

August 3, 2012

Bizarre watching the Olympics on a European channel: No tape delay, no “up close and personal,” just nonstop sports. What a concept.

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Understandable that NBC wants to show Olympic events in prime-time. Less understandable that some Americans are probably falling asleep at work because they stayed up until nearly midnight to watch an event that happened over 8 hours ago.

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If NBC can only wait a little longer they will have one day’s events shown after the next day’s events actually happen/

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Got to love headlines you only see in the Olympics – as in “Archery upset.”  Or as Augie says “Badminton scandal.”

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Americans are getting so excited about the USA swimming team that a few people are even thinking of watching a post-games event or two before the next Olympics.

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But really, if they made hot-dog eating an Olympic event  where the US had a good chance for gold, Americans would tune in.  And NBC would tape-delay it.

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Re that record breaking 16 year old Chinese girl swimmer: Any truth to the rumor she’s trying to enter next year’s Home Run Derby?
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From Bill Littlejohn: Vanessa Bryant is reportedly upset at Kobe for a photo taken of him at a Team USA party. Which means that he has just gone from playing for the gold to playing for the diamond.–

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Mitt Romney said today that Harry Reid needs “to put up or shut up” with his accusations that Romney didn’t pay taxes for years. Gosh, if there were only a way to settle this once and for all…..

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Okay, I think I understand Romney’s position of the day on the economy. The 163,000 jobs created last month were in spite of Obama. The 8.3% unemployment rate is all his fault.

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Mitt Romney’s website is selling decals saying “Government Didn’t Build My Business, I Did.” Is Mitt also saying that government can’t do a thing about unemployment?

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For any of you who are tired of reading about Olympics results featuring professional athletes playing at amateur sports, the first USA Today college football poll shows LSU and Alabama 1-2…. Oops, never mind.

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Chicago’s O’Hare Airport Terminal 2 was closed and then reopened due to an unspecified “possible suspicious item.” What, did some airline actually try to give away something free?

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From Marc Ragovin: Scandal at the Olympics, as the Chinese and South Korean women’s badminton teams have been accused of tanking early round games to ensure more favorable matchups after reseeding. Word is the authorities were tipped off by a little birdie.

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Spoiled?

August 1, 2012

NBC has apologized for spoiling swimmer Missy Franklin’s gold medal race with an ad DURING their coverage for the Today show featuring her win. Ah, how about forget the apology, start showing things live?

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But really, at this point with Twitter, Facebook and the rest of the internet, what is NBC thinking?  At this point the results in Olympic events  are less of a surprise to savvy television viewers than who gets the final rose on the Bachelor.
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Of course to be fair, by the middle of August, all these folks who are upset about various Olympic related issues will have moved on to more relevant sporting results.  Sort of like Cubs fans.
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Eight women badmnton players from China, South Korea and Indonesia were kicked out of the Olympics for alleged match throwing. (Trying to lose early matches, for easier matches later.) And who says women are not as competitive as men?
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A United Airlines 737 from Dallas-Fort Worth to Denver ended up with a hole in its nose after apparently striking a large bird. ABC News said no injuries were reported. Well, except for the bird.
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Don’t get me wrong, Michael Phelps is amazing. But best Olympian ever? It kind of helps to pick a sport where you can enter a whole lot of events …
(comment encouraged on this one… and how about Steve Redgrave, for example?)
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The sanctions are so strong against Penn State that two top players have transfered to USC and LSU. Good to see the NCAA’s actions are benefiting such admirably clean programs….
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In England, they are celebrating the Queen’s granddaughter winning a silver medal. And some in the U.S. are saying, “wait a minute, I didn’t even know Elton John had grandchildren.”
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Jerry Sandusky’s lawyer says the former Penn State assistant coach is “distraught” over the NCAA  penalties issued to his former team.  “What a shame” said absolutely no one.
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Women baseball fans have a little extra fun in the MLB trade deadline  – for a week or so some  players on losing teams find out that men too can be regarded basically as  pieces of meat.

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