How to begin? With sadness, I have to report that a giant aqueous mammal killed the 110-pound person that was 'training' the animal. The woman had not even begun the show yet...she was explaining to the crowd what they'd be seeing when the whale was released into the show pool, where it promptly bolted for the unsuspecting trainer and snatched her off the platform. The crowd was promptly evacuated and the park closed.
My question, while trying not to sound too callous, is: Does the liability insurance that Sea World carries cover the therapy for the children in the stands? Usually you have to tune in to National Geographic or MMA events to witness potential death, but at Sea World? Imagine if Mickey got his head lopped off while standing near Space Mountain and the trams...you think that might jar a six-year old? Maybe, just maybe, it is time for society to quit corralling wild animals for profiteering and just take an ocean cruise if one wants to go to see them.
The bigger issue to 7DB, of course, is how these folks land in these jobs. Does anyone really 'dream' of working with animals with limited personality and limited ways to express it? What college career counselor said, "So, ya wanna work with giant, slimy mammals that are held in captivity? That's what you're career profile suggests you'd be best at!" ?
Can the prospect of making $35,000 a year and smelling like fish all day seem appealing? At least underwater pier repair pays well for its high risk. There are many noble folks that work for peanuts (or smelt) and enjoy their experiences with animals and rescue centers, and they should be respected for their choice. Working with show animals, however, seems a bit to 'carny' for an intentional career move.
Siegfried or Roy (I cannot remember which) made big piles of loot, then lost his face to this 'profession'. The money cannot replace what must appear in his mirror every morning...the whole prospect of that being a way to make a living, solely off of the curiosity of people about animals that they may not see in suburbia, creeps me out. At least zoos rescue some animals. Cesar Millan teaches people how to interact with them. Sea World teaches us...how to make whales beg for food and do parlor tricks?
As an adult, feel badly for the young woman. As a person, feel like this is preventable in the future by not lighting the hoops on fire and wondering why Shamu wants human pool toys afterwards.
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For the twelve remaining Winter Olympic fans, something to ponder:
In 2006, the Olympics were in Turin, making tape delay a necessity. In 2010, they are in Vancouver, yet still tape-delayed...but only IN THE TIME ZONE THEY ARE OCCURRING IN. Some numbnuts in Podunk, VA gets the events live at 3pm local, yet they're not shown when they occur in the area they occur in. So, to the question:
Does anyone care?
Probably not, as ratings are off and people are dying at the Games. Ugh. Can we get to spring training yet?
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Tiger Woods put his midlife crisis on display with a press conference...er, live video of him reading a statement. Woods' mother was present, but his wife was not.
Thoughts on this event range from indifference to mild humor. The humor? The Golf Writer's Association of America voted to decline its three invitations to the event, citing that there was no need to send qualified golf writers to an event where no questions would be taken.
First, did you know there was a Golf Writer's Association of America? Are they union? Do they have a Collective Bargaining Agreement, or are they a trade organization? Who organized the 'vote'? We have, as a society, now reached critical mass on the First Amendment being used as a bludgening tool.
Many journalists are angry with Tiger for not taking questions, be it from them or one of their colleagues, and cite that as the reason for their 'protest'. For the first time, a blogger will come out in defense of Tiger since he started playing Hide the Cannoli with local Hooters wait staff...
The only person that Woods has to answer to is his wife, and he doesn't even have to answer to her if he's not interested in staying married. This guy, and this guy alone, created the need for the swollen press corp following golf. All of those protesting d-bags should be tithing 10% of their checks to the Tiger Woods Foundation, not trying to take potshots from their ever-dwindling newsrooms. He broke no law, yet you bloodsucking morons are hanging outside of a preschool to take pictures of his toddlers? Who owes whom?
In short, Tiger will come back, win a buttload of tournaments, get endorsements from the hypocrites who dropped him and the others who didn't, make his fellow golfers very rich and very resentful, and then do what all other golfers do...play until they are 83 years old or so.
Yes, I earlier lumped the golf press in with the tabloids. Yes, it is deserved. The behavior involved in chasing around a guy with enough of his own doing on his plate is bad enough, but to criticize how he voluntarily addresses those paycheck leeches is just outrageous. Be thankful he said anything at all...and have no fear, you'll get to take your shots at him when he plays his next tournament. Losers.
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The Old Spice commercials are still going, long after the Super Bowl ended. "The tickets are now diamonds! I'm on a horse..." True words of wisdom.
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LPBA champ Kelly Kulick made history last month, by entering the men's Tournament of Champions and walking with the winner's check of $40 grand and a two-year exemption on the Tour.
Kulick was granted entry by winning the LPBA Championship earlier in the season...oh, sorry. I should stop now and explain that this is about bowling. K. Sorry about that...
The winner of the LPBA tourney had the option of entering the men's field, and Kulick maximized her opportunity, blowing Chris Barnes back into the lounge with a 265-195 thumping. Losing at bowling by 70 is bad. Losing to a girl...no different. Barnes has nothing to be embarrassed about...other than losing by 70. Kulick averaged 226 over the 60-game tournament, sharing similar conditions and the same lanes as the men she left eating mozzarella sticks at the snack bar. On equal footing, she owned her fellow keglers.
Bowling alley terminology is fun, isn't it? Congrats to Kelly Kulick. We all look forward to...not hearing about your sport again for some time to come in the mainstream media. We will have to hear about Michelle Wie again a few hundred times, though...Ugh.
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More to come in the next day or two...have slacked off in my two-or-three a week plan, but will redouble efforts here. Mazel Tov!
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
How do I get a 'Hood Pass? They sell 'em at the DMV?
There was a t-shirt, kinda popular during the early to mid-90's, that had the famous Playboy logo bunny in the middle and, in big block lettering underneath, said 'I read the articles'. If that is true now, John Mayer is either a poser or a racist. Truthfully, he's neither, but he has a history of being very candid in interviews, which causes him trouble. When one does not use a filter on his out-loud voice, one will find trouble...
An excerpt from the interview, coming in the March 2010 issue from Playboy:
MAYER: ...My two biggest hits are “Your Body Is a Wonderland” and “Daughters.” If you think those songs are pandering, then you’ll think I’m a douche bag. It’s like I come on very strong. I am a very…I’m just very. V-E-R-Y. And if you can’t handle very, then I’m a douche bag. But I think the world needs a little very. That’s why black people love me.
PLAYBOY: Because you’re very?
MAYER: Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We’re full.’"
PLAYBOY: It is true; a lot of rappers love you. You recorded with Common and Kanye West, played live with Jay-Z.
MAYER: What is being black? It’s making the most of your life, not taking a single moment for granted. Taking something that’s seen as a struggle and making it work for you, or you’ll die inside. Not to say that my struggle is like the collective struggle of black America. But maybe my struggle is similar to one black dude’s.
PLAYBOY: Do black women throw themselves at you?
MAYER: I don’t think I open myself to it. My dick is sort of like a white supremacist. I’ve got a Benetton heart and a fuckin’ David Duke cock. I’m going to start dating separately from my dick.
There is a list of comments to make here, but look at the tone. No shock value is gained, the interviewer goes on to ask him to name specific black women he finds attractive, then veers back to his time with Jennifer Aniston and their break-up. Mayer also spends much of the interview discussing his love of masturbation and how much of a 'douche bag' people find him to be. He also mentioned that he was addicted to Jessica Simpson, saying that sex with her was "...napalm. Sexual napalm." Mayer issued a tearful apology during a concert last night, admitting he hurt people that love him with his stupid remarks in this interview.
Society likes when people mess up, loves it when they apologize, then complains when their idols are not candid and 'real' enough for them. Kudos to Mayer for candor. Boo to Mayer for being a whiny douchebag with a racist appendage. The question remaining is whether he tries to date a high-profile black woman to clear his sexual resume of this blight of commentary, thus being a very 'douche bag' thing to do, or whether he just shuts up and plays guitar, finding new batches of young women going through puberty to forgive him. Time will tell...
The full interview is available here (free, with no nudie pics to mess up your work day)
http://www.playboy.com/articles/john-mayer-playboy-interview/index.html
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The NBA All-Star Game is this weekend, along with the commensurate dunk contest, HORSE contest and performers like those that should be playing the Super Bowl (Shakira, Alicia Keys) at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Er, 'North Texas', since Dallas could confuse people into thinking that it is Dallas, Arkansas or Dallas, Vermont, I suppose...
This weekend each year has attracted many celebrities, actors, artists and athletes from other major sports, leading to the NBA extravaganza being coined 'the black Super Bowl' by those in the media too cool to call it the NBA All-Star Weekend. While 7DB rests assured that David Stern does not appreciate that reference, one has to question the logic of holding it at a football stadium, even one with big screen scoreboards big enough to signal life on other planets.
The estimated attendance for the actual ticketed game is 92,000. That is disturbing, if only for the 84,000 of them that will be too far away to watch the game live, and instead will be reliant on the 60-yard long screen hanging above their heads to see it. Spending the hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on the entry fee to watch a really big TV seems out of reach for most of the NBA's fan base, and the precedent-setting nature of moving events to bigger and bigger buildings to generate more revenue must be succeeding at taking fans completely out of consideration when planning these debacles.
With the exception of hockey (for the un-initiated, it is a game played on ice by skating people trying to launch a small rubber 'puck' past a goalkeeper into a small net), no event is better live than on HDTV anymore. None. The 'experience' of going to a baseball game has been lost to these new stadiums building amusement parks in the concourses to distract the children who get bored watching the field for three hours to see 48 seconds of action take place. True fans cannot even see what pitch is thrown, nor whether it actually was a strike when the ump called it. Football is almost indecipherable from the field level if you have learned the game watching it on TV. Basketball is a great live game...if you are within about 100 feet of the court. That leaves out most of the estimated 20 million fans who watch NBA games on a regular basis on cable or local TV.
It leaves 7DB wondering, quietly in the friendly confines of Casa du 7DB, could professional sports 'jump the shark'? Will the need for a national pastime and venues funded by taxpayer subsidy be a novelty of the past? Few Americans (although fervent) embrace the passion of fans of soccer (er, 'Futbol') enough to want to spend $120 to sit six rows from the parking lot to see the green speck kick the white ball past the blue speck into the net, and no other sport in America draws a passionate fan base in enough numbers to warrant the money necessary to drive the sport into popularity. It won't happen soon, as many Baby Boomers will be spending their Social Security checks from money they 'earned' before going to while away their days at the Indians/Marlins afternoon games each summer, but soon after that there will be a void of people who will pay for something that they can see so much better from home. Yet another reason for the public to become hermits, I guess...
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Washington, D.C. has been inundated by record snowfalls these last few weeks, snowing in many folks and causing our federal government to shut down its non-essential operations for the last few days. Strangely, it seems that Congressmen are still gathering...
----------------------------------------------------------
The 2010 Winter Olympics are kicking off in Vancouver tonight. Opening Ceremonies are historically exciting and fun, then the Closing Ceremony is the usual anti-climax two weeks later. In the middle, much of the world will get to see some of what makes Vanocuver one of the most beautiful cities in the world, from the gleaming Olympic Village (built by private contractors who defaulted, then bailed out by the city of Vancouver at the potential cost of $1 billion, although that is Canadian money, so that may be Monopoly money as far as I know) to its beautiful vistas and extraordinary sporting venues. The skiing and snowboarding will be held in Whistler, B.C., about three hours away from Vancouver by bus, and that will provide even more scenic splendor for the HDTV set referenced earlier.
Connecting to an earlier thought, how do the Olympics keep happening? NBC is planning on losing $300 million, the City of Vancouver will need help from their federal government to not go bankrupt, and the athletes are not even paid. The number of folks willing to dedicate years of their lives to master the art of the luge must be waning, yes?
Civic and national pride have carried many of these sports through the technology explosion of the second half of the twentieth century, but reality suggests that these things will fade in our lifetimes, being replaced by "Survivor: Coral Gables" and a Howie Mandel-shaped robot hosting "Deal or No Deal" on Univision. Developing the fan experience in a profitable fashion is the future of sport, it seems. This realization makes the sports fan in all of us die a little each day...go enjoy the minor league baseball games and the lacrosse leagues while you can, folks.
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Will Brett Favre retire? Will he change his mind? Will he play for the Vikings next year? Yes, yes and yes. Next topic, please.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Without going too deep into the science of it, it appears that global cooling has happened this year. Or global warming has been happening for the last 25 years, or that we were in danger of an Ice Age in 1975.
Statistics have been created for three reasons: to compare Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron, to count large stacks of money and to lie. None of these three can be considered valid to the vast majority of the world, so how does society find solutions? The answer, one that does not have a Wikipedia page, is common sense.
If something smells bad, it is probably not good for the air in high doses (think cow poop = methane). If something does not occur naturally, it may have side effects (i.e., Pamela Anderson's breasts). If somebody is making a crapload of money on it, the will to make it will supercede the previous two statements (fossil fuels, anybody?).
It will remain a challenge for generations to come to determine how to advance without by-product. The solution lies in not giving up on the challenge while monitoring personal waste. Pursue the future without laying waste to what surrounds you now. Recycle what you can, don't s**t where you eat, spay and neuter animals that were 'domesticated' before awareness of proliferation, refrain from burning plastics in the fireplace...all common sense. Quite simply, use your head, and Al Gore will fade away. And he'd be happy to do so, I promise...
An excerpt from the interview, coming in the March 2010 issue from Playboy:
MAYER: ...My two biggest hits are “Your Body Is a Wonderland” and “Daughters.” If you think those songs are pandering, then you’ll think I’m a douche bag. It’s like I come on very strong. I am a very…I’m just very. V-E-R-Y. And if you can’t handle very, then I’m a douche bag. But I think the world needs a little very. That’s why black people love me.
PLAYBOY: Because you’re very?
MAYER: Someone asked me the other day, “What does it feel like now to have a hood pass?” And by the way, it’s sort of a contradiction in terms, because if you really had a hood pass, you could call it a nigger pass. Why are you pulling a punch and calling it a hood pass if you really have a hood pass? But I said, “I can’t really have a hood pass. I’ve never walked into a restaurant, asked for a table and been told, ‘We’re full.’"
PLAYBOY: It is true; a lot of rappers love you. You recorded with Common and Kanye West, played live with Jay-Z.
MAYER: What is being black? It’s making the most of your life, not taking a single moment for granted. Taking something that’s seen as a struggle and making it work for you, or you’ll die inside. Not to say that my struggle is like the collective struggle of black America. But maybe my struggle is similar to one black dude’s.
PLAYBOY: Do black women throw themselves at you?
MAYER: I don’t think I open myself to it. My dick is sort of like a white supremacist. I’ve got a Benetton heart and a fuckin’ David Duke cock. I’m going to start dating separately from my dick.
There is a list of comments to make here, but look at the tone. No shock value is gained, the interviewer goes on to ask him to name specific black women he finds attractive, then veers back to his time with Jennifer Aniston and their break-up. Mayer also spends much of the interview discussing his love of masturbation and how much of a 'douche bag' people find him to be. He also mentioned that he was addicted to Jessica Simpson, saying that sex with her was "...napalm. Sexual napalm." Mayer issued a tearful apology during a concert last night, admitting he hurt people that love him with his stupid remarks in this interview.
Society likes when people mess up, loves it when they apologize, then complains when their idols are not candid and 'real' enough for them. Kudos to Mayer for candor. Boo to Mayer for being a whiny douchebag with a racist appendage. The question remaining is whether he tries to date a high-profile black woman to clear his sexual resume of this blight of commentary, thus being a very 'douche bag' thing to do, or whether he just shuts up and plays guitar, finding new batches of young women going through puberty to forgive him. Time will tell...
The full interview is available here (free, with no nudie pics to mess up your work day)
http://www.playboy.com/articles/john-mayer-playboy-interview/index.html
-----------------------------------------------------
The NBA All-Star Game is this weekend, along with the commensurate dunk contest, HORSE contest and performers like those that should be playing the Super Bowl (Shakira, Alicia Keys) at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas. Er, 'North Texas', since Dallas could confuse people into thinking that it is Dallas, Arkansas or Dallas, Vermont, I suppose...
This weekend each year has attracted many celebrities, actors, artists and athletes from other major sports, leading to the NBA extravaganza being coined 'the black Super Bowl' by those in the media too cool to call it the NBA All-Star Weekend. While 7DB rests assured that David Stern does not appreciate that reference, one has to question the logic of holding it at a football stadium, even one with big screen scoreboards big enough to signal life on other planets.
The estimated attendance for the actual ticketed game is 92,000. That is disturbing, if only for the 84,000 of them that will be too far away to watch the game live, and instead will be reliant on the 60-yard long screen hanging above their heads to see it. Spending the hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on the entry fee to watch a really big TV seems out of reach for most of the NBA's fan base, and the precedent-setting nature of moving events to bigger and bigger buildings to generate more revenue must be succeeding at taking fans completely out of consideration when planning these debacles.
With the exception of hockey (for the un-initiated, it is a game played on ice by skating people trying to launch a small rubber 'puck' past a goalkeeper into a small net), no event is better live than on HDTV anymore. None. The 'experience' of going to a baseball game has been lost to these new stadiums building amusement parks in the concourses to distract the children who get bored watching the field for three hours to see 48 seconds of action take place. True fans cannot even see what pitch is thrown, nor whether it actually was a strike when the ump called it. Football is almost indecipherable from the field level if you have learned the game watching it on TV. Basketball is a great live game...if you are within about 100 feet of the court. That leaves out most of the estimated 20 million fans who watch NBA games on a regular basis on cable or local TV.
It leaves 7DB wondering, quietly in the friendly confines of Casa du 7DB, could professional sports 'jump the shark'? Will the need for a national pastime and venues funded by taxpayer subsidy be a novelty of the past? Few Americans (although fervent) embrace the passion of fans of soccer (er, 'Futbol') enough to want to spend $120 to sit six rows from the parking lot to see the green speck kick the white ball past the blue speck into the net, and no other sport in America draws a passionate fan base in enough numbers to warrant the money necessary to drive the sport into popularity. It won't happen soon, as many Baby Boomers will be spending their Social Security checks from money they 'earned' before going to while away their days at the Indians/Marlins afternoon games each summer, but soon after that there will be a void of people who will pay for something that they can see so much better from home. Yet another reason for the public to become hermits, I guess...
---------------------------------------------------------
Washington, D.C. has been inundated by record snowfalls these last few weeks, snowing in many folks and causing our federal government to shut down its non-essential operations for the last few days. Strangely, it seems that Congressmen are still gathering...
----------------------------------------------------------
The 2010 Winter Olympics are kicking off in Vancouver tonight. Opening Ceremonies are historically exciting and fun, then the Closing Ceremony is the usual anti-climax two weeks later. In the middle, much of the world will get to see some of what makes Vanocuver one of the most beautiful cities in the world, from the gleaming Olympic Village (built by private contractors who defaulted, then bailed out by the city of Vancouver at the potential cost of $1 billion, although that is Canadian money, so that may be Monopoly money as far as I know) to its beautiful vistas and extraordinary sporting venues. The skiing and snowboarding will be held in Whistler, B.C., about three hours away from Vancouver by bus, and that will provide even more scenic splendor for the HDTV set referenced earlier.
Connecting to an earlier thought, how do the Olympics keep happening? NBC is planning on losing $300 million, the City of Vancouver will need help from their federal government to not go bankrupt, and the athletes are not even paid. The number of folks willing to dedicate years of their lives to master the art of the luge must be waning, yes?
Civic and national pride have carried many of these sports through the technology explosion of the second half of the twentieth century, but reality suggests that these things will fade in our lifetimes, being replaced by "Survivor: Coral Gables" and a Howie Mandel-shaped robot hosting "Deal or No Deal" on Univision. Developing the fan experience in a profitable fashion is the future of sport, it seems. This realization makes the sports fan in all of us die a little each day...go enjoy the minor league baseball games and the lacrosse leagues while you can, folks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Will Brett Favre retire? Will he change his mind? Will he play for the Vikings next year? Yes, yes and yes. Next topic, please.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Without going too deep into the science of it, it appears that global cooling has happened this year. Or global warming has been happening for the last 25 years, or that we were in danger of an Ice Age in 1975.
Statistics have been created for three reasons: to compare Babe Ruth to Hank Aaron, to count large stacks of money and to lie. None of these three can be considered valid to the vast majority of the world, so how does society find solutions? The answer, one that does not have a Wikipedia page, is common sense.
If something smells bad, it is probably not good for the air in high doses (think cow poop = methane). If something does not occur naturally, it may have side effects (i.e., Pamela Anderson's breasts). If somebody is making a crapload of money on it, the will to make it will supercede the previous two statements (fossil fuels, anybody?).
It will remain a challenge for generations to come to determine how to advance without by-product. The solution lies in not giving up on the challenge while monitoring personal waste. Pursue the future without laying waste to what surrounds you now. Recycle what you can, don't s**t where you eat, spay and neuter animals that were 'domesticated' before awareness of proliferation, refrain from burning plastics in the fireplace...all common sense. Quite simply, use your head, and Al Gore will fade away. And he'd be happy to do so, I promise...
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
The Saints went Marching, yada yada...
Usually the build-up to the Super Bowl and all of the requisite excitement would have warranted many, many blathering posts by now. Instead, that was left to those who will have to shut their cake holes for the next five months, since they can speak out loud of nothing that does not tie in to the status of Dwight Freeney's ankle without sounding like they live in their mother's basement and blog from a table next to their comic book collection and pricing catalogs. Instead, a playoffs-in-review:
J-E-T-S! Jets, Jets, Jets!
They played well. They have a rookie QB (Mark Sanchez, from USC). That rookie QB has a cutesy nickname (The Sanchize). That QB will probably go the way of Scott Brown, pose nude for Cosmo and run for governor of California in fifteen years. Nonetheless, it gave New Yorkers (er, New Jersey residents, since the team plays and practices in New Jersey) something to cheer for between shovel loads of icy sludge being flung from their driveways.
The Jets had the NFL's top-rated defense during the regular season, proving them to be a very good football team coached by a rather obese man (Rex Ryan) who casually mentioned in a recent interview that his daily caloric intake is 7,000. Per day. By himself. Holy s**t. It is very possible that we will see a cardiac episode replayed from multiple camera angles in the not-too-distant future...
In any event, that great defense and rotund coach got smoked like a pack of Kool's in the second half of the AFC Championship game by Peyton Manning and the Colts. Number one defense, meet Peyton Manning. Peyton, meet the Jets suddenly porous secondary and non-tackling linebackers and safeties. Enjoy each other.
Vikings, Favre, cut out hearts in the Heartland...again.
Malcolm Gladwell, renowned author of books like 'The Tipping Point' and 'Blink', is, among other things, an avid sports fan. 7DB wonders how he would 'thin-slice' the 2009 Minnesota Vikings season with Brett Favre at quarterback and Brad Childress as the head coach. With all apologies to Mr. Gladwell in advance, allow me to speculate:
The Minnesota Vikings have a long history of coming up just short in the Big Game, having lost the NFL's championship game four time since 1969, as well as having come up just short on three other notable occasions (1987, 1998, 2000). With this in mind, a reach out to a veteran field general makes good sense, as the assembled talent is on par with other premiere teams in the sport in all aspects other than quarterback.
Brett Favre is a quarterback who has won before, having won more games than any other NFL quarterback, including the 1997 NFL championship while employed by the Green Bay Packers. His devil-may-care style at quarterback is a high-risk/high-reward gambit, and it is one that the Vikings would be well-justified in taking on. So, why shouldn't they?
In the last two seasons coming into the 2009 season, Favre has ended his team's season with poor play during the playoff season. The 2007 Packers and the 2008 Jets both began making reservations for golf course tee times after Favre threw ill-advised passes that the opposing team caught to advance to the league's ultimate game. The high-risk/high-reward model brought these two teams that far, yet ended identically.
The Vikings have their own history with these types of defeat (Darrin Nelson's unfortunate fumble against Washington in 1987, Gary Anderson's first missed kick of the year in the 1998 game to qualify for the Super Bowl) and, if history can be quantified, these two entities match up perfectly to create another sad ending for their mutual seasons.
While very few of the players are the same from these examples, the one holding the football last seems to be the same. Viking fans should beware of this tendency.
Once again, I thank the mythical version of Malcolm Gladwell for his appearance.
As a Viking household, Casa du 7DB kept a skeptical distance from embracing this year's squad, despite a strong regular season and a rather efficient season from Favre (his best statistical season ever). The 'tipping point' came in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game against the eventual champions from New Orleans. After a solid showing by the Vikings defense, Favre and the offense began driving the ball at the end of the game, needing only a few yards to be in position for their reliable kicker to score the game-winning field goal. Some unfortunate play calls from the coaches left Minnesota with a third-and-two from about the 35 yard line of the Saints. A 52-yard field goal, while no gimmie, is very makeable for a veteran like Ryan Longwell.
This is the point in time. When a fan believes that everything in the balance can be changed by their behavior, despite being far removed from the field of play. No trips to the kitchen were allowed. The remote had to stay in the left hand. All of the anti-jinx behavior was in full effect...and then...
There is a picture in my wallet, taken at the holiday work picture day that big companies like my father's employer ran in the 70's. This one was taken in December 1976, coincidentally the last time the Vikings went to the Super Bowl, and the year Family 7DB attended a pro football game for the first time. All the images of being able to replace that photo in the wallet with one of Mr. and Ms. 7DB taken at the wedding filled the mind. 2009! Maybe this was the year, since all we did this year was so exciting and wonderful...wedding, moving into a big, new house...good luck charms, all of that...
Ms. 7DB says "Don't do it!", knowing of jinxes as a lifelong fan of the Michigan Wolverines football program.
.............of course, you know what happens now, right?.........
The Vikings promptly call a bad time-out, then send too many players into the huddle before play resumed, causing a five-yard penalty. Then Favre, who killed the Vikings for years as the QB of the Packers, kills the Vikings as the QB of the Vikings by throwing back across his body while running, making an ineffective pass that was easily intercepted by the Saints. If Favre fell down where he threw from, Longwell kicks for the win from 56. Damn.
Game was still tied, but momentum was in motion. Overtime was inevitable. Woulda bet all future earnings that New Orleans wins that coin flip and makes a field goal after driving 30 yards. Ugh. Stomach Punch.
I could go on for a long bit about whys and whats, but it is the destiny of that team. Ugh.
Saints and Colts turned out surprising, but heart-warming. Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees holding up his 18-month old son wearing itty-bitty headphones to not deafen him in that atmosphere will be the enduring image of that game, despite Peyton Manning looking like the bully down the street kicked him in the groin and stole his Bomb Pop. 7DB hopes that those who worked so hard to help rebuild New Orleans and the area after Hurricane Katrina were able to take time to savor some positive press about their city for awhile, before they have to go back to mopping up vomit from college kids during Mardi Gras this week. They deserve it.
--------------------------------------------------
Barack Obama is a record-setting President. He has made more speeches than the last 23 Presidents combined (rough estimate), and took shots at the Supreme Court during his State of the Union Address.
While admittedly playing a tough hand dealt to him by circumstance, the self-glorification tour of a populist President selling snake oil...er, health care...is not what those who supported a more moderate Democrat than Hillary in the primaries bargained for. Obama has proven to be an activist President with a liberal bent, and this will not serve the Congressmen and -women well when they run again after backing this dude. Sadly for the Republicans, the party is dominated by severely right-leaning people in the eyes of the media, so no apparent countermeasure is available at this time to dream about in 2012. Which leads us back to our 2012 naked Presidential candidate, Scott Brown...
(...more to follow on the pending Scott Brown / Sarah Palin videos being produced in the San Fernando Valley as we speak...)
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Some may have noticed that Seven Dollar Bill added a Support Haiti button on this very page. Hopefully, many of you have chipped in with a text to 90999 (write 'Haiti' in the text, and it sends ten bucks to the Red Cross for support) or via other means. Let us not make the mistake we have made in other lands, and forget about this catastrophe in the next news cycle.
This is a rare opportunity to rebuild a country known more for its flawed governments, corrupt business and civic leaders, and violent criminal history than for its natural beauty and passionate citizenry. Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier were probably the only things most people between 25 and 70 thought of when the name Haiti was mentioned. Now the thought of 200,000-plus dead people and a country's capital lying in ruins with no war involved dominate the images.
As a policy, 7DB does not endorse foreign aid for most soveriegn counrties. Low-interest loans and trade deals can be good, but handouts generally do not work. In Haiti's case, however, the international community has the power to free a people trapped in poverty and political oppression with money and technology, and we as a global citizenry would be foolish not to seize the opportunity. Scratch the check, people...especially you folks in Iceland. You made us listen to Bjork, and this is a good way to pay us all back.
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In closing, the differences between Northern and Southern California are multiple and stark. The biggest difference? Northern California suffers through four months of crappy weather and constant (albeit mostly mild) precipitation, then Southern California thieves the water to grow lush grass on their lawns while they go roller blading on the Strand. This makes SoCal feel and act entitled and makes NoCal (oops, it's called 'NorCal') bitter like Boston sports fans. No wonder they wanted to split this state in two...
J-E-T-S! Jets, Jets, Jets!
They played well. They have a rookie QB (Mark Sanchez, from USC). That rookie QB has a cutesy nickname (The Sanchize). That QB will probably go the way of Scott Brown, pose nude for Cosmo and run for governor of California in fifteen years. Nonetheless, it gave New Yorkers (er, New Jersey residents, since the team plays and practices in New Jersey) something to cheer for between shovel loads of icy sludge being flung from their driveways.
The Jets had the NFL's top-rated defense during the regular season, proving them to be a very good football team coached by a rather obese man (Rex Ryan) who casually mentioned in a recent interview that his daily caloric intake is 7,000. Per day. By himself. Holy s**t. It is very possible that we will see a cardiac episode replayed from multiple camera angles in the not-too-distant future...
In any event, that great defense and rotund coach got smoked like a pack of Kool's in the second half of the AFC Championship game by Peyton Manning and the Colts. Number one defense, meet Peyton Manning. Peyton, meet the Jets suddenly porous secondary and non-tackling linebackers and safeties. Enjoy each other.
Vikings, Favre, cut out hearts in the Heartland...again.
Malcolm Gladwell, renowned author of books like 'The Tipping Point' and 'Blink', is, among other things, an avid sports fan. 7DB wonders how he would 'thin-slice' the 2009 Minnesota Vikings season with Brett Favre at quarterback and Brad Childress as the head coach. With all apologies to Mr. Gladwell in advance, allow me to speculate:
The Minnesota Vikings have a long history of coming up just short in the Big Game, having lost the NFL's championship game four time since 1969, as well as having come up just short on three other notable occasions (1987, 1998, 2000). With this in mind, a reach out to a veteran field general makes good sense, as the assembled talent is on par with other premiere teams in the sport in all aspects other than quarterback.
Brett Favre is a quarterback who has won before, having won more games than any other NFL quarterback, including the 1997 NFL championship while employed by the Green Bay Packers. His devil-may-care style at quarterback is a high-risk/high-reward gambit, and it is one that the Vikings would be well-justified in taking on. So, why shouldn't they?
In the last two seasons coming into the 2009 season, Favre has ended his team's season with poor play during the playoff season. The 2007 Packers and the 2008 Jets both began making reservations for golf course tee times after Favre threw ill-advised passes that the opposing team caught to advance to the league's ultimate game. The high-risk/high-reward model brought these two teams that far, yet ended identically.
The Vikings have their own history with these types of defeat (Darrin Nelson's unfortunate fumble against Washington in 1987, Gary Anderson's first missed kick of the year in the 1998 game to qualify for the Super Bowl) and, if history can be quantified, these two entities match up perfectly to create another sad ending for their mutual seasons.
While very few of the players are the same from these examples, the one holding the football last seems to be the same. Viking fans should beware of this tendency.
Once again, I thank the mythical version of Malcolm Gladwell for his appearance.
As a Viking household, Casa du 7DB kept a skeptical distance from embracing this year's squad, despite a strong regular season and a rather efficient season from Favre (his best statistical season ever). The 'tipping point' came in the fourth quarter of the NFC Championship game against the eventual champions from New Orleans. After a solid showing by the Vikings defense, Favre and the offense began driving the ball at the end of the game, needing only a few yards to be in position for their reliable kicker to score the game-winning field goal. Some unfortunate play calls from the coaches left Minnesota with a third-and-two from about the 35 yard line of the Saints. A 52-yard field goal, while no gimmie, is very makeable for a veteran like Ryan Longwell.
This is the point in time. When a fan believes that everything in the balance can be changed by their behavior, despite being far removed from the field of play. No trips to the kitchen were allowed. The remote had to stay in the left hand. All of the anti-jinx behavior was in full effect...and then...
There is a picture in my wallet, taken at the holiday work picture day that big companies like my father's employer ran in the 70's. This one was taken in December 1976, coincidentally the last time the Vikings went to the Super Bowl, and the year Family 7DB attended a pro football game for the first time. All the images of being able to replace that photo in the wallet with one of Mr. and Ms. 7DB taken at the wedding filled the mind. 2009! Maybe this was the year, since all we did this year was so exciting and wonderful...wedding, moving into a big, new house...good luck charms, all of that...
Ms. 7DB says "Don't do it!", knowing of jinxes as a lifelong fan of the Michigan Wolverines football program.
.............of course, you know what happens now, right?.........
The Vikings promptly call a bad time-out, then send too many players into the huddle before play resumed, causing a five-yard penalty. Then Favre, who killed the Vikings for years as the QB of the Packers, kills the Vikings as the QB of the Vikings by throwing back across his body while running, making an ineffective pass that was easily intercepted by the Saints. If Favre fell down where he threw from, Longwell kicks for the win from 56. Damn.
Game was still tied, but momentum was in motion. Overtime was inevitable. Woulda bet all future earnings that New Orleans wins that coin flip and makes a field goal after driving 30 yards. Ugh. Stomach Punch.
I could go on for a long bit about whys and whats, but it is the destiny of that team. Ugh.
Saints and Colts turned out surprising, but heart-warming. Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees holding up his 18-month old son wearing itty-bitty headphones to not deafen him in that atmosphere will be the enduring image of that game, despite Peyton Manning looking like the bully down the street kicked him in the groin and stole his Bomb Pop. 7DB hopes that those who worked so hard to help rebuild New Orleans and the area after Hurricane Katrina were able to take time to savor some positive press about their city for awhile, before they have to go back to mopping up vomit from college kids during Mardi Gras this week. They deserve it.
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Barack Obama is a record-setting President. He has made more speeches than the last 23 Presidents combined (rough estimate), and took shots at the Supreme Court during his State of the Union Address.
While admittedly playing a tough hand dealt to him by circumstance, the self-glorification tour of a populist President selling snake oil...er, health care...is not what those who supported a more moderate Democrat than Hillary in the primaries bargained for. Obama has proven to be an activist President with a liberal bent, and this will not serve the Congressmen and -women well when they run again after backing this dude. Sadly for the Republicans, the party is dominated by severely right-leaning people in the eyes of the media, so no apparent countermeasure is available at this time to dream about in 2012. Which leads us back to our 2012 naked Presidential candidate, Scott Brown...
(...more to follow on the pending Scott Brown / Sarah Palin videos being produced in the San Fernando Valley as we speak...)
-----------------------------------------------------------
Some may have noticed that Seven Dollar Bill added a Support Haiti button on this very page. Hopefully, many of you have chipped in with a text to 90999 (write 'Haiti' in the text, and it sends ten bucks to the Red Cross for support) or via other means. Let us not make the mistake we have made in other lands, and forget about this catastrophe in the next news cycle.
This is a rare opportunity to rebuild a country known more for its flawed governments, corrupt business and civic leaders, and violent criminal history than for its natural beauty and passionate citizenry. Papa Doc and Baby Doc Duvalier were probably the only things most people between 25 and 70 thought of when the name Haiti was mentioned. Now the thought of 200,000-plus dead people and a country's capital lying in ruins with no war involved dominate the images.
As a policy, 7DB does not endorse foreign aid for most soveriegn counrties. Low-interest loans and trade deals can be good, but handouts generally do not work. In Haiti's case, however, the international community has the power to free a people trapped in poverty and political oppression with money and technology, and we as a global citizenry would be foolish not to seize the opportunity. Scratch the check, people...especially you folks in Iceland. You made us listen to Bjork, and this is a good way to pay us all back.
---------------------------------------------------
In closing, the differences between Northern and Southern California are multiple and stark. The biggest difference? Northern California suffers through four months of crappy weather and constant (albeit mostly mild) precipitation, then Southern California thieves the water to grow lush grass on their lawns while they go roller blading on the Strand. This makes SoCal feel and act entitled and makes NoCal (oops, it's called 'NorCal') bitter like Boston sports fans. No wonder they wanted to split this state in two...
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