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Podcasts anyone?

3 Oct

Sorry for the long break, but I was busy doing some globetrotting around Aruba, Sau Paulo, then Bora Bora…just kidding.  Okay, I’ve really just been working a lot.  Still, I’m taking a hard look at doing a podcast or video podcast for the site.  Which would you rather have?  Something you can listen to in your iPod as an mp3, or something you can watch for breakfast or lunch on YouTube? 

Could we be the next Adam Corolla podcast hit on iTunes? Let us know you want to hear free podcasts ASAP!

Also, topically, would you prefer it center on sports or have focuses on politics, video games, TV shows & movies, etc. or something else?  Let me know, as every day is a democracy here at The Floor Seats.

Lastly, I think the most important aspect of the show is that it’s funny.  It should be informative & make you think, but it had better make you laugh or what good is the rest of it??  I’d love to hear what you all would like to get from The Floor Seats next time you log on, thanks!

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2011 NFL Draft analysis of QBs & what Panthers & Browns should do in the 1st round

28 Apr

The draft is less than 4 hours away, & the Carolina Panthers will be on the clock before you know it.  If CAR is smart, it will trade down to add depth or draft that Alabama DT Marcell Dareus.  Most people think Auburn QB Cam Newton will go there, but I think that would be a disaster! 

Newton will be a bust almost anywhere he goes, but in CAR he’ll have limited weapons, new coach (Ron Rivera…yikes!), & he doesn’t have much familiarity with being under center (like so many of these draft prospects who all come out of the gun…thanks a lot college football). 

I watched that coaches camp show with Jon Gruden & thought Newton seemed cocky when he spoke to Chucky.  Newton knew some things about Xs & Os but wow does he think he has it all figured out!  Newton seemed a little unfocused at times too. 

Is Cam Newton basically a mobile Ryan Leaf? Until he yells at a reporter "Don't talk to me alright! Knock if off!" we won't know for sure.

I also watched most of the other Gruden shows, including his interview with TCU QB Andy Dalton.  Dalton looked like a bust charisma-wise & physically unimpressive.  WAS QB Jake Locker looked like a bust due to his apparent offensive comprehension & quick decision-making on the field, laid-back attitude & injury-prone style of play.  Auburn DT Nick Fairley could be great but appeared lazy & out of shape.  Worse, we only have 1 good year of tape to look back on with him. 

ARK QB Ryan Mallett is a hard worker & coach’s son, so he could be a quality NFL backup.  His ceiling in the league seems like Drew Bledsoe 2.0 – a fiery, hulking, immobile QB who sometimes throws bad picks in big games. 

The only one who impressed me in the Gruden interviews was Mizzou QB Blaine Gabbert.  Gabbert seemed charismatic, bright & poised – with a high football IQ.  Unfortunately he spent most of his time in the shotgun formation too, so who knows if he’ll be very good in the NFL, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a poor man’s Matt Ryan or better.

As for the Browns, I’m really only interested in LSU CB Peterson or NEB CB Amukamara at #6.  Both seem like relatively clean players on & off the field, and have legit physical tools to succeed at the next level.  I would take TX A&M OLB Miller if he were available, but I presume he’ll be gone by #6.  If Big Show (Browns President Mike Holmgren) can’t get any of those players, CLE should just trade down & grab 1-2 of the quality DEs or NTs in this draft.  Quinn, Bowers, Watt, Smith, Wilkerson should be had in the 12-25 range, & maybe even lower if the Browns are lucky/patient. 

I would even be willing to roll the dice on Fairley if CLE could get him at #12 or later.  The Browns D-line is awfully thin at this point (Brian Schaefering & Kenyon Coleman are the bookend DEs right now), so why not get value in a draft filled with those types of players? 

Most of the “draft experts” want the Browns to draft A.J. Green, & if he’s gone, then go after Julio Jones!  Research suggests that taking a WR high in the 1st round is very risky: http://thefloorseats.com/2011/04/28/nfl-draft-2011-preview-why-your-team-should-avoid-drafting-a-wide-receiver/ 

I just read an article by Mel Kiper was arguing that CAR should blow the 1st pick in the entire draft on Green!  It’s especially funny considering the worst teams (Lions, Bengals, Cardinals) always seem to be drafting WRs high, while Super Bowl teams like GB (Greg Jennings) & PIT (Mike Wallace) got their stud WRs in the 2nd round of past drafts or later.

The Browns could easily trade a 2nd or 3rd pick for a decent veteran WR & that position would be tolerable for another year.  RB & TE are set & the left side of the O-line is fine, so QB Colt McCoy should have enough to work with if we give him 1-2 decent WRs (trade for a Anquan Boldin-type player & then draft a WR in the 2nd or 3rd round). 

Experts keep talking about the explosive capability of Green or Jones, & they both seem like big-play WRs from the highlight stuff on ESPN.  McCoy doesn’t have a gigantic arm, & the Browns run the west coast offense (short passes), so a deep threat WR (Braylon Edwards-type guy) is not a huge help to CLE anyway.  As a result, the impact of Green or Jones would have a diminishing return in CLE.

Now, to the big question: Who is going to go Al Davis this year & draft a guy in the 2nd round that he could’ve drafted in the 5th round or later?  I’m referencing the Raiders atrocious ’09 draft, where they inexplicably spent their 2nd round pick (47th overall) on Michael Mitchell, a safety from Ohio U. who many had as a 5th round pick or lower. 

 

We can only hope Al Davis breaks out the overhead projector in the Oakland draft war room. Most of the younger scouts may not know what this device is, but that won't stop Al from displaying his top prospects on transparency film.

NFL Network’s Mike Mayock had Mitchell projected as a 7th round pick!  Mitchell was the 1st OU Bobcat to be drafted in the 5th round or higher since 1948! 

Let’s not forget the Raiders also blew the 7th overall pick in that ’09 draft on Darius Heyward-Bey, who was regarded by many as the 3rd or 4th best WR in that draft & an eventual bust.  Can’t wait to see who the Raiders draft this year!

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African Cats (2011) narrated by Samuel L. Jackson gets 1.5 stars

26 Apr

This isn't exactly "The Lion King" in HD...save your money & just watch the next lions documentary on Animal Planet instead!

“They deserved to die, & I hope they burn in hell!”

That was Samuel L. Jackson at his best, in A Time To Kill.

African Cats is Samuel L. Jackson at his worst…no yelling, no genuine excitement, & no swearing of any kind!  After seeing the movie I really can’t fault Jackson for this narrating atrocity, but that doesn’t make it any easier to watch.  Jackson was left to read a contrived plot by DisneyNature, a brand I will avoid with a passion from now on.

African Cats is rated G, so I didn’t expect any swearing, but how about a nice relaxed tone & some interesting facts about the lions in this picture?  As a big fan of the Planet Earth series, I had high hopes for this movie & saw it the 2nd day it was in theaters, but walked away pretty disappointed.

DisneyNature butchered this production, fumbling the easiest of tasks.  All African Cats needed to be was March of the Penguins on land & Disney had it made.  Kids will think the lions & cheetahs are cute, adults will be entertained by learning stuff about nature they forgot from grade school, & the documentary will be a box-office smash.  Then, you can sell it on Blu-ray & people will love the joy of watching nature unfold in 1080p, something they currently can’t get with HD Theatre, NatGeo HD, etc. (only 720p, plus commercials to skip or sit through).

I’m sure if they would’ve offered enough money, Morgan Freeman would’ve walked into a studio & narrated the thing in a day…done!

But we didn’t get that.

Instead, the audience is force-fed this contrived story with names attached to the lions, making the film seem less & less authentic with each scene.  Worse, Jackson seems bored out of his mind reading the lines!  As usual with Disney (see Bambi, Up, etc.), serious adult/violent themes that parents probably don’t want to explain to 4 year olds are shoved into the movie (savage killings, cubs getting eaten, mothers choosing a place to die, etc.), making everyone uncomfortable.

I could look past all this if the movie were at least rated PG & we got some solid educational info about the lions, but DisneyNature is so centered on developing the storyline we never get to that.  As a result, if you aren’t interested in the storyline, you’re in for a long movie unless you walk out.  African Cats was only about 90 minutes, but felt like 3 hours!

Verdict: 1.5 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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Review: “Turistas” (2006) starring Josh Duhamel, Olivia Wilde & Melissa George gets 3 stars

11 Apr

Set in a remote part of the Brazillian coast, Turistas is a solid horror/thriller film that never got the respect it deserved.  All that could change next month when its sequel, Turistas 2: Jungle Fever is released.

Back in 2006, Turistas was viewed as a direct-to-DVD flop.  Unfortunately it did not pay for lunch, costing $30 MIL to make yet only grossing $7 MIL in sales.  Part of the film’s problem was it entered the market right after Hostel made some noise & the Saw series was still gaining its audience.  As a result, many horror fans passed on Turistas at their local Blockbuster Video in favor of something they’d seen in the theaters. 

Incidentally, Blockbuster is where I was able to BUY this DVD for a mere $3 today (thanks to that Blockbuster store having a massive “going out of business” sale with DVDs 80% off – the fact that so many Blockbuster stores are going under is a whole other conversation worthy of its own post at some point).  

Adding to the movie’s downfall was the fact that some horror fans who actually rented Turistas when it was a new release felt it basically stole its plot from Hostel, further discrediting Turistas (I do not think this is the case, especially based on the release timeline – Turistas came out less than a year after Hostel, so Turistas‘ script was almost certainly well in the works by the time Hostel came out). 

Will Turistas finally get the respect it deserves? Only time will tell...

Now that it’s 2011 & we’ve had some time to reflect, Turistas shows much better in a 2nd viewing.  One reason is the advent of Blu-ray players, which were uber-expensive and just coming into popularity back in 2006.  Most Blu-ray players (including my Sony PS3) come with a built-in DVD upconverter.  This magically improves the picture on your DVDs from 480p to 720p, enhancing our appreciation for all the great beach panoramas and intense underwater cave scenes in Turistas. 

A big reason why those underwater shots look so good is the effort from John Stockwell (Blue Crush, Into The Blue), who puts his experience with aquatic action scenes to good use in this film.  Stockwell also produced along with several others, including entreprenaur & Dallas Mavs owner Mark Cuban.  Yes, that’s right – The Cube had a hand in this sleeping dandy.

The acting is not great, but certainly good.  Duhamel & George add suspense with their believable performances, & Wilde had quite a few dramatic underwater moments that left me wondering how even the stunt double (assuming they used one in any of the semi-dangerous scenes) was able to come up for air.  Often it seemed the cave shots were all on location where there was very little clearance for the actors to pierce the surface to breathe.  This meant they had to make sure they didn’t pop up too high out of the water, or else they’d get a nasty head injury from the cave ceiling or stalactites hanging above!

As for the story, yes it starts out a little like Hostel, but there are several key twists that differentiate Turistas pretty well from the competition.  I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say that the villains’ goals in Turistas aren’t the same as the bad guys in Hostel.  This is a big deal, b/c it leaves you wondering what will happen to the good guys even if they can be attacked or captured.

Turistas has some great action scenes, and some fantastic special effects for a horror film.  Due to its low budget and 2006 release date, it was probably not shot with HD cameras or old school film that can be converted to HD 1080p, so a Blu-ray release is unlikely unless the sequel really drums up some serious interest in re-releasing the original.

So, if you’re looking for an entertaining horror/thriller on DVD that doesn’t run too long, Turistas is a good way to spend 93 minutes.

Verdict: 3 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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Blue chip recruit Stanley McClover says he received money & sex at OSU, then even more money from Auburn

31 Mar

O-H…

Ut-oh!

Jim Tressel spent over an hour yesterday apologizing for disappointing OSU alumni & fans after being suspended for witholding emails from the NCAA & his own athletic office in Columbus.  The emails detailed star QB Terrelle Pryor’s involvement with a tattoo parlor dealer who was at the center of an FBI probe last April. 

Tressel kept the emails private until after the 2010 regular season was over, leaving OSU to try to buy off the NCAA by imposing 5-game suspensions on Tressel, Pryor, & 4 other players who violated NCAA rules. 

Tressel’s university-imposed suspension started at 2 games, then OSU upped it to 5.  It’s unclear whether the NCAA will make OSU increase its offer.

Luckily for OSU & Auburn, no real-life equivalent to Ed O'Neill's suspicious sports writer character in Blue Chips existed on campus back in 2003 to document any of McClover's allegations, so his claims have yet to be substantiated. Still, McClover's story would make one heck of a solid sports flick!

What is certain is that Tressel may have to schedule another press conference to address a completely different matter involving players under his watch & a recruit back in 2003.

In a story straight out of the movie “Blue Chips,” ex-Auburn DE Stanley McClover claims he was offered booster money & sex during a 2003 recruiting trip to OSU hosted by Buckeye star WR/CB Chris Gamble, who has played CB for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers since 2004.

McClover took up the offers, but then chose Auburn after asking the Tigers for “a lot” of money & allegedly getting it delivered in a backpack.

Wow. 

All we’re missing is Nick Nolte, a Lexus like Shaq’s character received in the movie, & a tractor delivered to McClover’s father & we’re all set for a “Blue Chips” sequel!

From South Florida.com, with Steve Gorten of the Sun Sentinel reporting:

McClover told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Jan. 12, 2003 that he had orally committed to Ohio State after an official visit. According to the SportsbyBrooks transcript, McClover’s decision had to do with more than a gut feeling. McClover told Andrea Kremer in the interview that during his official interview to OSU, he received money handskakes from alumni of about $1000.

“They send girls my way. I partied,” McClover reportedly told Kremer. “When I got there, I met up with a couple guys from the team. We went to a party and they asked me to pick any girl I wanted.”

Kremer asked McClover if they offered sexual services. “Yes,” he answered.

Did you take them, she asked. “Yes,” he said again.

Here’s Gorten’s full story:

FORT LAUDERDALE – Former Dillard High defensive end Stanley McClover, who reportedly admitted to accepting improper benefits from Auburn and Ohio State during recruiting, didn’t appear to have Auburn on his radar until very late in his recruitment.

McClover’s allegations were made in an interview with HBO Real Sports with Bryant Gumble earlier this year. That interview, part of an overall story on corruption in college sports, is to air tonight at 10 p.m. Three other Auburn players allege NCAA violations by Auburn and other schools. The news was first reported by the website SportsbyBrooks.com. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel received an advance copy of the show.

McClover told the Sun-Sentinel on Jan. 12, 2003 that he had orally committed to Ohio State after an official visit. In the HBO interview, it seemed McClover’s decision might have been more than a gut feeling. McClover told Andrea Kremer that during his official visit to OSU, he received money handskakes from alumni of about $1,000.

“They send girls my way. I partied,” McClover told Kremer. “When I got there, I met up with a couple guys from the team. We went to a party and they asked me to pick any girl I wanted.”

Kremer asked McClover if they offered sexual services. “Yes,” he answered.

Did you take them, she asked. “Yes,” he said again.

McClover committed to Ohio State right after that weekend. He told the Sun-Sentinel at that time that former Dillard player Chris Gamble, now with the Carolina Panthers, was his host for his official visit at OSU. The Buckeyes’ 2002 roster featured two other players from South Florida – receiver Santonio Holmes (Glades Central) and guard Bryce Bishop (Miami Killian).

When he orally committed to Ohio State, McClover told the Sun-Sentinel that the University of Miami had been his second choice and that he would not be taking a visit to UM or Florida later that month. McClover did not mention Auburn as one of the schools he was strongly considering.

McClover told the Sun-Sentinel in January 2003 that the outcome of the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, in which Ohio State beat Miami in a controversial ending for the 2002 national championship, “had a lot of effect on my decision.” In explaining why he chose Ohio State, he noted:

“I always had Ohio State as one of my top choices – you can recognize a good team – but I found some more respect for them when I saw how they played against Miami. It was, like, ‘Maybe these boys are for real.’ Instead of just being good, they’re great. And they’re bringing back the same guys next year, so we have a chance to repeat it.”

That changed 17 days later when he told the Sun-Sentinel that there was a 50 percent chance he’d sign with Auburn

“I’m still committed (to OSU), but I’m torn between Ohio State and Auburn,” McClover said on Jan. 29. “I’m going to end up making that decision on signing day with those two scholarships in front of me. I’m just going to go with my gut feeling when I wake up.”

McClover ultimately signed with Auburn.

McClover told Kremer in the HBO interview that he asked Auburn for “a lot” of money and he received that, delivered in a bookbag. The exact amount was unknown.

Kremer asked McClover what he thought when he opened the bookbag.

“I almost passed out,” McClover told Kremer. “I literally almost passed out I couldn’t believe it was true. I felt like I owed them.”

“You felt obligated to them [Auburn],” Kremer asked McClover.

“I felt totally obligated,” McClover responded.

“Because of the money?” she followed up.

“Yeah.”

McClover told the Sun-Sentinel at the time that he had started to sway from Ohio State and consider Auburn because it was closer to home and had shown interest in him since his freshman year.

“I guess we get caught up in the hype at one moment,” McClover told the Sun-Sentinel of his commitment to the Buckeyes. “Everything is going good, you go ahead and commit. Then when the smoke clears you think, ‘Dang I might have rushed it.”

sgorten@tribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @sgorten

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Ohio’s annoying Buckeye fans drive Herbstreit out, moves to tax-friendly Tennessee

22 Mar

This story sounds like it belongs in The Onion, but it’s actually true..Herbie up & left Columbus for Nashville, surprising many in the 614 area code - all he was missing was the Baltimore Colts’ yellow & green Mayflower trucks.

The Buckeye football hooligans who presumably razzed Herbstreit (& perhaps his family) for Kirk’s attempt at being an objective college football analyst finally drove him away. 

Here's Herbie in front of the house in U.A. where he used to call home...why not move back to Centerville or just bunk up with Chris Fowler & Lee Corso?

It probably also didn’t help that the IRS finally decided to put a stop to the fire training deductions in U.A. (the Columbus suburb of Upper Arlington) that let homeowners there knock over an old house & gain a massive tax deduction before erecting a new mansion in its place.  Nashville is a much easier place to make a living than Ohio, thanks to no state income tax in Tennesee (though TN does have a 6% tax on income received from stocks and bonds not taxed ad valorem). 

From Bob Hunter at the Columbus Dispatch:

Kirk Herbstreit and his family moved out of central Ohio yesterday, a change that the ESPN college football analyst said he had pondered for three years. Herbstreit said the move to Nashville, Tenn., was because of the constant criticism he has received from a vocal minority of Ohio State fans who don’t understand that his job at the network demands objectivity and fairness.

“Nobody loves Ohio State more than me,” said Herbstreit, a former Buckeyes quarterback. “I still have a picture of Woody Hayes and my dad (Jim, a former OSU player) in my office, and nobody will do more than I do for the university behind the scenes. But I’ve got a job to do, and I’m going to continue to be fair and objective. To continue to have to defend myself and my family in regards to my love and devotion to Ohio State is unfair.”

Herbstreit said he and his wife, Allison, visited several cities before deciding on Nashville. He will continue to do his Monday radio show on WBNS-FM (97.1) in the fall.

“From a sports perspective, this is rough,” he said. “I love Ohio State. Love the Blue Jackets. Love the Reds. Those are my hobbies. I don’t like moving. I love living here. I don’t want to leave. But I just can’t do this anymore. I really can’t keep going like this.

“Eighty to ninety percent of the Ohio State fans are great. It’s the vocal minority that make it rough. They probably represent only 5 to 10 percent of the fan base, but they are relentless.”

Review: “Case 39″ (2010) starring Renee Zellweger gets 2.5 stars out of 4

18 Mar

I was hoping for a mystery thriller in Case 39, and the beginning of the film did not disappoint; the first few scenes immediately rope you in with suspense.  Unfortunately, the film’s major plot twist comes way too early on, making the rest of it seem like a bit of a letdown.  Had the screenwriters of this film let us wonder in anticipation another 25-30 minutes longer as to who was pulling the strings, the big surprise might have had a much greater impact. 

There are several legitimately scary scenes in Case 39 - so much so that you come away feeling the film is more horror than thriller.  It would’ve been even scarier if the storyline set up some of the scary scenes a little better.  Sometimes you have to suspend belief to buy in to the plot – this can be a lot to ask in the latter half of the film. 

Bradley Cooper goes Ryan Gosling-in-The Notebook soft in this film, incinerating Case 39's thriller credibility in the process. Bradley Cooper, really?? What, was Vince Vaughn already entrenched in another project?

I was impressed with some of the computer-generated (CG) creatures & environments, especially for a film that only had a $27 MIL budget.  Some of special effects are unforgettable; there’s one particularly priceless scene involving Bradly Cooper in his house - I’d say more but I don’t want to spoil it for you. 

Cooper’s overall acting job as a soft-spoken shrink in this film is not bad, but he was so hilariously miscast that it’s just impossible to take him seriously at times.  To be fair, this film was shot back in 2006 and then sat on the shelf for awhile; the trajectory of Cooper’s career was uncertain then.  Unfortunately for Cooper, in the meantime audiences had the chance to see him as a renegade partier in Wedding Crashers, The Hangover (a role he’ll reprise in the sequel) & as a macho lord of war in The A-Team.  Not exactly the type of guy you want to cast as your Dr. Paul Weston from HBO’s In Treatment series.

On the other hand, Zellweger & youngster Jodelle Ferland are simply tremendous in Case 39.  Zellweger shows her strong range, handling bonafide action scenes and intense moments that prove she’s more than a rom-com/chick-flick actress. 

Case 39 has some great scenes and surprises at times, but the overal payoff of watching this thriller isn’t worth the sum of its parts.  If you love horror-thriller movies, then give this one a rental.  If that growing blended genre isn’t your thing or you have no patience for a frustrating plot, then move elsewhere down the On Demand queue.

Verdict: 2.5 stars

Here’s a brief recap of how The Floor Seats’ 0-4 star rating system breaks down:

0-1 stars: This is an atrocious movie; an insult to film & a waste of your time

1-2 stars: Bad but not awful – avoid unless you’re dying to see it for a particular genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

2.5 stars: Only worth a rental if you really like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3 stars: Definitely worth a rental unless you hate that type of genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

3.5 stars: Very good but not great – this is a film you should definitely rent & even consider buying if you like that genre/subject matter/actor’s performance

4 stars: Outstanding & unforgettable – almost certainly 1 of the top 100 greatest films you’ve ever seen.  Buy with confidence!

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Scottie Pippen calls early ’90s Detroit Pistons’ teams classless & unathletic

16 Mar

Pip didn’t mind taking some swipes at Detroit’s “Bad Boys” from 2 decades ago, calling the Pistons a “classless” organization & team.  The Pistons eliminated the Bulls 3 years in a row (’88, ’89 & ’90 playoffs).  It took the Bulls a while to break through DET coach Chuck Daly’s “Jordan Rules” defense against CHI - good thing Pippen isn’t still fired up about it.

Thankfully for Pippen the Bulls swept the Pistons in the ’91 Eastern Conference Finals, so he wasn’t called upon to make any game-winning shots (it was a different story 3 years later against the Knicks, where Toni Kukoc bailed him out). 

Also, everyone forgets that while most of the Pistons did walk off the court with 8 seconds left in 1991′s Game 4, Joe Dumars, John Salley & Vinnie Johnson did stay behind to shake the Bulls’ hands.

Pippen still calls the Bad Boy Pistons classless for leaving their bench...ironically Pippen has been called classless for staying on his in crunchtime against NY in the '94 Bulls-Knicks Game 3.

Here’s the report by Steve Schrader of the Detroit Free Press:

It was supposed to be a joyous celebration in Chicago over the weekend, the 20th anniversary of the Bulls dethroning the Pistons, but Scottie Pippen went all Bobby Hurley on the Bad Boys.

“The Pistons were a nasty team,” Pippen told the Chicago Sun-Times. “… They’d go out of their way to be mean and try to hurt you. And because we had better athletes, coach Chuck Daly just let them play the way they had to play to win.

“Bill Laimbeer was no real athlete. The same for Rick Mahorn and Joe Dumars and James Edwards. We were faster, quicker, more competitive and smarter.”

It’s enough to give you a migraine. But Michael Jordan’s caddie wasn’t finished.

“It was gratifying to see the Pistons walk off the court before that last game ended,” Pippen said. “We didn’t expect anything less because they were a classless organization and everybody saw they were a classless team.

“I didn’t care to shake their hands anyway.”

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NFL labor dispute: Union claims NFL’s offer ‘a front’; NFL fires back

14 Mar

Apparently the NFL & its owners don’t realize how replaceable pro football is.  Any Browns’ fans who followed the team prior to its move to Baltimore after the 1995 season remembers life without the NFL.  Sure, there were games on TV, but they didn’t include any teams you really cared about, so after awhile you just stopped watching.  Browns’ teams since haven’t been a whole lot of fun to watch either for the most part, but at least we have a team to follow. 

The days when Sunday was about getting homework, business work, or chores around the house done don’t seem that long ago.  The first few weeks you would remember that football was on, but be a little sad you didn’t have a team to cheer for that day.  Incredibly, within a matter of weeks, new hobbies, ambitions, and interests sprang up.

And now, all those options are better.  There are more sports, more TV stations, most everything offered in high definition too.  We’ve got games to play on the Internet, and on our cell phones for that matter.  There’s MMA, competitive eating, amazing online gaming, and movies in 3-D…all things that practically didn’t exist back when the Browns left in 1995.

Yeah, we're not too excited about the work stoppage either. Attention owners & players: The average fan does not like to watch millionaires bicker about how to get even more millions.

Want a more current example?  It wasn’t that long ago the NHL had a big labor dispute, and the sport is still trying to recover.  Their games used to be played on ESPN, now you have to hunt around to find them on Versus.  ESPN replaced the NHL games with college & NBA basketball, & seemingly upped its reporting for the latter two while diminishing its NHL coverage.  Hockey would love to be relevant, but people are so used to life without it on a major channel several nights a week that it’s hard to be a factor anymore.

So now NFL owners apparently want a “safer” league where players play more games.  The more games you play, the more chances for a concussion.  This does not sound like a plan to make the game safer.

We all know the owners want a bigger slice of the pie, b/c they’re taking all the financial risk.  Nevermind the players are taking all the health risk.  Adrian Peterson runs “all day” now, but in 15 years he may struggle to walk into a room.  Worse, once he gets there, he might forget what he went in the room for in the first place.

Hopefully at some point the NFL administration, its owners & players will come to a new labor agreement & we’ll have a normal draft, training camp period, and regular season.  If they don’t, they’ll likely be shocked at how quickly everybody just moves onto something else. 

After all, some of us have better things to do than spend 3+ hours watching 4-5 minutes of live game action (when you add up the few seconds each play takes – the rest is mostly just talking heads & commercials).

I happen to be watching some great NBA basketball right now & enjoying it.  NFL what??

Here’s a nice story on the NFL labor dispute from ESPN.com: 

WASHINGTON — Had enough of the he-said, he-said rancor between the NFL and players? Don’t expect it to go away anytime soon.

The outcome of the league’s first work stoppage since 1987 could be decided in court; the first hearing on the players’ request for an injunction to block the owners’ lockout was scheduled for April 6. In the meantime, there probably will be more of the same as Monday, when Kevin Mawae — president of the NFL Players Association, the now-dissolved union — accused the league of spreading “complete falsehoods and complete lies.

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, on the same conference call as Mawae, said the owners’ final offer Friday “was all a front.”

“I think it was all a show, with no real intent to get a deal done, other than just to say they made a proposal — that was no different than anything else that they proposed over the last couple years, couple months, couple weeks,” said Brees, a named plaintiff in the players’ antitrust lawsuit against the league.

Brees and Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, also a member of the players’ executive committee, complained that the players were not given enough time to assess and ask questions about the proposal owners made Friday morning.

“It just seems odd you would wait until Friday to put out a 20-point proposal, when each point has a number of different details in it,” Saturday said.

The NFL’s lead labor negotiator, Jeff Pash, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that Friday’s proposal contained various new provisions. He said owners offered a 10-year deal.

“I was frankly surprised that the [owners' labor] committee supported an offer as forthcoming as that was,” Pash said.

He also said the league would have been willing to agree to a third extension to the collective bargaining agreement, which originally was due to expire at the end of March 3, before two delays. But another extension, he said, “wasn’t really discussed in a serious way, because it was perfectly obvious they weren’t interested.”

By the end of Friday, talks broke off, the union announced it no longer would represent players, Brees and others filed suit, and the owners imposed a lockout at midnight.

“If they were saying they were not going to negotiate, under any circumstance, after 4 p.m. on Friday, don’t you think you have to ask yourself: Who was it who was in Washington putting on a show?” Pash said.

“We answered all the questions they had at the time, and we never put a deadline on it. We’re not the ones who were filing a lawsuit at 5 o’clock,” Pash said.

For all the things the owners and players disagree on, the two main sticking points are clear: how much money owners would get up front before dividing the rest of $9 billion in annual revenues with players, and the union’s demand for full financial disclosure.

“If we’re going to talk about ‘trust,’ maybe you should ask the owners if they trust each other to see each others’ books,” Mawae said. “I think that’s a greater issue than the players trusting the owners.”

Under the old CBA, owners received more than $1 billion to cover certain operating expenses, before other money was split with players. When negotiations began on a new deal, the owners sought an additional $1 billion off the top. Both sides acknowledge there was movement in that area.

But as the NFLPA’s lead spokesman, George Atallah, put it Monday: “The perception is that we were really, really close. The reality is we really, really weren’t.”

Because the NFLPA says it no longer is a union, but rather a trade association — a distinction the NFL calls a “sham” — Atallah said any decision to return to negotiations would be up to the lawyers representing the players, rather than NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith. Asked whether there would be talks before the April 6 hearing, Atallah replied: “As of now, no.”

An NFLPA source seconded that notion to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter on Monday afternoon. The source expects a ruling on the players’ injunction request within a week of the hearing.

“No chance whatsoever,” the source said when asked if a settlement was possible. “There is no union anymore so it is impossible for collective bargaining to occur and there will be no settlement or even the discussion of it before this injunction is ruled on.”

The league, meanwhile, would prefer to return to the negotiating table. Starting Feb. 18, the sides met 16 times at federal mediator’s office.

“We would get back together with them tomorrow if they wanted to. We’re not the ones who walked out. We’re not the ones who renounced our status. We’re not the ones who filed litigation,” Pash said. “So we would get back together with them tomorrow. And if they have questions about our proposal, we’d answer them. If they have alternatives they want us to consider, we’d consider them.”

Mawae said that if the NFL contends the union walked away from mediation, “that’s a fabrication and a lie. We sat in that room … Tuesday and Wednesday of last week for 16 hours. … We met face-to-face a total of 30 minutes.”

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Sights from The Arnold Classic in Columbus, OH this past weekend featuring Ray Lewis & Jay Cutler

7 Mar

The 2011 Arnold Classic was filled with its usual bevy of fitness babes & bodybuilders, plus a few A-listers & top-flight athletes.  This year’s headliners included “The Governator” Arnold himself, Ray Lewis, Tony Gonzalez, Carmen Electra, Franco Harris & Kurt Angle. 

While it consistently rained just about all of Friday & Saturday outdoors, indoors the climate was wildly different from 1 day to the next.  Friday afternoon had the lightest amount of foot traffic I’ve ever seen at The Arnolds – it was a relative piece of cake to get where I needed & make my way around almost all of the main aisles in under a few hours. 

Saturday was a horse of a different color – purely wall to wall visitors, at times making it almost impossible to get where you needed to go in a timely fashion.  In fact, it was the most crowded I had EVER seen the EXPO (& that’s saying something).  Despite the packed environment on Saturday, Day 2 of The Arnolds was worth experiencing as well due to surprise photo ops in the EXPO hall with Franco & Kurt, who had otherwise only been available at the adjacent Hyatt hotel on Friday afternoon. 

Take a look below to get a slice of the action!

The Arnold Classic is about the only place not titled "The Rhinestone Cowboy" where a guy looking like this can have girls looking like that who are all too happy to wrap their arms around him for a photo.

 

The main competetion stage at the EXPO featured bodybuilding's elite coming out to their theme music (the "Gladiator" movie score was popular) along with 2 silver screens showing their highlights. That will get your adrenaline pumping!

 

Ravens star linebacker Ray Lewis had crowds waiting over 75 minutes for a photo op with him. Thanks to his supplement sponsor, Twinlab, fans came away with a free picture in protective plastic plus some free samples/gear. Even if you hate the Ravens, it was tough not to respect Lewis, the off-field gentleman.

 

Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler had fans lining up for hours at his Muscletech command center, & appeared totally engaged & thrilled to meet every one of them! This is a Jay Cutler whose toughness cannot be questioned.

 

This is a fitness expo, not a car show...still, I didn't see any guys complaining about the presence at this booth.

 

BSN had quite the outpost for the 2011 Arnolds, but didn't seem to be giving away quite as many free samples. If you wanted their super-durable bag to haul your supplement loot in this year, you had to buy something from their kiosk to get it.

Here's some man candy for the ladies just to keep things fair - this guy looked familiar, perhaps he's in the Bowflex ads or hawks TotalGyms with Chuck Norris.

 

Bodybuilding legend Dexter Jackson had his usual table set up near BSN's headquarters.Here's some man candy for the ladies to keep things fair - I think this guy does the Bowflex ads or hawks TotalGyms with Chuck Norris - he definitely looked familiar from TV but I couldn't place him.

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