Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tuesdays With Morrie 3: Tokyo Drift
Yesterday marked the release of Mitch Albom's third book, entitled "For One More Day." In the book somebody dies or almost dies or gets a second chance at dying and ends up learning/appreciating something that he otherwise wouldn't have. Regardless of the plot, the moral of the story is that Albom (aka Condescending Baggins) knows more about how to live life properly than you do. He's got everything figured out, and for 20 bucks you can try to figure it out too!
Not surprisingly, Albom has begun a media blitz to promote his latest soon-to-be-a-shitty Hallmark movie and even turned his weekly column into a full-on advertisment for his special engagement book release event. Never one to fret over ethics, he assures his readers that though his column turned into "a pitch," it is a "worthwhile" one. Phew, crisis averted!
Normally, I would've ignored this Albom press altogether. Living in Michigan, people become accustomed to certain things as just a way of life; miserable weather in the winter, a shitty professional football team, and a crappy economy. Midget Albom's holier-than-thou attitude is just another one of those things that we put up with. But when someone who runs in the same social and professional circles as Albom decides to stop putting up with him and states his opinions publicly, I decided to take note of it.
Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star did just that. After getting fired from ESPN because of comments he made about ESPN staff, including Mitch, Whitlock was interviewed by a Philly radio station. Not shying away from his comments, Whitlock added even more fuel to the fire with his blazing criticism of Albom's hypocrisy and egomania. The full interview can be heard here. Some of the juicier quotes:
"When you start talking about the lack of ethics of using steroids, we're talking about a guy who fabricated a column and got away with it...That hypocrisy bothers me."
"Mitch got away with using steroids: the Free Press gave him a slap on the wrist when he was fabricating stuff and breaking our number one ethical tenet, and that bothers me."
"Albom is just a guy who likes to have his face on tv, and being on that show creates the appearance that he actually cares about sports. Because if you read his column, you know that he doesn't....He doesn't know much about the sports world, and doesn't pretend to."
Whitlock also blasts Scoop Jackson and Mike Lupica in greater detail than he had previously, and also commented on the "shucking and jiving schtick" of black ESPN on-air talent. The stance Whitlock is taking against ESPN is commendable, entertaining and long overdue. ESPN should just be thankful that he hasn't badmouthed their ill-advised foray into the cell phone industry. Yet.
Monday, September 11, 2006
The NFL Ticket to Paradise
Some thoughts after watching a day's worth of football via the NFL Ticket.
- It took about two commerical breaks before I got sick of seeing that crying bitch, Dick Vermeil shill for Coors Light. Hey Pete, get off that mountaintop and do everyone a favor and bring back the "Love Train" commercial where the magical train turn a ghetto into an arctic dance club...it had a great beat that you could really dance to.
- On the topic of Coors Light, they should stop marketing their beer as the coldest beer ever and instead, focus on the fact they are the perfect beer for day-long tailgates/benders. Seriously, I'm convinced the average beer drinker could drink close to a case of Coors Lights and still be able to drive home afterward and wake up the next morning with a minimal hangover. Try that with almost any other beer and you'll be thrown in the hoosegow in no time.
- First lesson learned of the day: Don't bet on a bald quarterback, even if they're playing against one of the worst franchises in league history. Thanks a bunch, Hasselbeck. P.S. - Your sister-in-law is a bitch.
- Leave it to the Lions to limit the Seahawks to nine points, and still not win. Betting on Seattle was my lock of the century; instead it cost me a hundred bucks to see the Lions lose, but cover the spread. What a great way to start the betting season.
- This just in: Peyton Manning was just listed as "doubtful" for his next game due to a sore groin caused by the 3 hour blow job that Al Michaels just gave him.
- You gotta love how HDTV technology has put the fear of god in female sideline reporters. I think Andrea Kremer applied her makeup tonight with a shotgun.
- If you're unaware, the NFL Ticket forces you to watch the same "Game Break" highlight rotate through the whole slate of games. I caught the Kellen Winslow TD on three separate games and after each airing, the game announcers remarked that "It was good to see Winslow finally on the field." Is there ANYONE, outside of Kellen Sr. that actually believes that? Why exactly is it "so good"? It's not like he got hurt rescuing animals from a burning pet store. Give me a break; The Warrior broke his contract while doing his worst 2 Fast 2 Furious impression. Good try shoehorning a feelgood story into your telecast though, FOX.
- On the flip side, I noticed that Josh Lewin was announcing the San Fran/Arizona game. Detroiters may remember him as the announcer for the Tigers a few years back. Back then he was teamed with Kirk Gibson and together they made a miserable season by the Tigers a lot more bearable. Lewin was quick witted, played the nerd to Gibby's jock and always knew his stuff. He was probably the best play-by-play guy the Tigers had since the great Kaline and Kell tandem of the 80's. Eventually, Lewin left town for a better offer in Texas. Predictably, his exit caused little to no fanfare; not to many people gave a shit about the Tigers at that point, but to me his presence has always been missed. Especially with the color guy we have now. So it was nice to see him working the NFL today and doing a good job. It wouldn't surprise me to see him rise in the ranks rather quickly. Hopefully one day he can replace that dork Joe Buck as the go-to national announcer.
- Tomorrow will be a first for Detroit sports radio; they've never had to deal with a Lion's loss and a meaningful Tigers' loss/meltdown at the same time. Should be interesting to see how much time they devote to each debacle.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Springfield A&M
Some dude attributed a Simpsons' character to nearly every major college football program, with high-larious results. Truly, it is amazing how fitting a lot of these are. Here are the two local colleges and their respective Simpsons character:
Michigan: Kent Brockman Huge television draws both, and because of that, you just can't quite get away from either the Wolverines or Brockman; they demand your attention. Yet neither is quite as relevant as they think. At least three losses in six straight seasons? Now, at the risk of being unpopular, this reporter places the blame for all of this squarely on YOU, the viewers.
Michigan State: Gil the Salesman
All together now: "Damn, that felt like a Big 10 championship season!" It always begins the same with these guys, so hopeful, so full of promise, but they always manage to blow it sometime before the deal is closed. Since Gil is supposedly based on Jack Lemmon's sad-sack character from the film adaptation of "Glengarry Glen Ross," we have some advice for the Spartans: Coffee is for closers.
Click here to check out the rest of the list. It's pretty effin' sweet.
Courtesy of The Onion A/V Club, here are a bunch of Simpsons quotes for every day use: clicky
That's all I got...I'm sick and I'm bored and just want the NFL season to start so I can nerd out over my fantasy football teams.
Michigan: Kent Brockman Huge television draws both, and because of that, you just can't quite get away from either the Wolverines or Brockman; they demand your attention. Yet neither is quite as relevant as they think. At least three losses in six straight seasons? Now, at the risk of being unpopular, this reporter places the blame for all of this squarely on YOU, the viewers.
Michigan State: Gil the Salesman
All together now: "Damn, that felt like a Big 10 championship season!" It always begins the same with these guys, so hopeful, so full of promise, but they always manage to blow it sometime before the deal is closed. Since Gil is supposedly based on Jack Lemmon's sad-sack character from the film adaptation of "Glengarry Glen Ross," we have some advice for the Spartans: Coffee is for closers.
Click here to check out the rest of the list. It's pretty effin' sweet.
Courtesy of The Onion A/V Club, here are a bunch of Simpsons quotes for every day use: clicky
That's all I got...I'm sick and I'm bored and just want the NFL season to start so I can nerd out over my fantasy football teams.
