- Aside from two underachieving teams fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive, Sunday’s NFL showdown between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Minnesota Vikings could have an added level of intrigue: a potential post-game throwdown at midfield between Jaguars receiver and ex-Viking Troy Williamson and current Minnesota head coach Brad Childress. It seems Williamson, a former first-round draft pick of the Vikings who never really got along with Childress in Minnesota and never panned out on the field, seems to be harboring a smidge of bitterness against his old coach. A different conference and a relocation over a thousand miles away haven’t dampened Williamson’s hatred for Childress, with the receiver saying Wednesday that he lost respect for his former coach last year and would like to "duke it out" with him when the Jaguars host the Vikings on Sunday. “We can meet on the 50-yard line and we can go at it,” Williamson said. Duke it out? Who talks like that, anyhow? This is 2008, my man, duke it out hasn’t been a viable phrase in at least a decade. Even so, I like the concept of a coach and player squaring off at midfield after a game, but before that can happen, we need to specify what kind of fight we are talking about. Williamson didn't say whether he wanted a traditional boxing match, something more WWE-style like a boiler room brawl, a ladder match or cage match or maybe to get down inside the octagon, MMA-style. The style of fight may not have been specified, but regardless of what he has in mind, T. Williamson says he likes his chances against Childress, especially with a few inches and at least 10 pounds on the coach. In the ultimate “I’m tougher than you” cliché, Williamson even said he would fight with both hands tied behind his back. Childress tried to first be tactful in responding to the comments, then tried (unsuccessfully) to be funny. “Do you need my reach?” the coach quipped. “I'm not like a woman; I'll give you my weight. It's 190 pounds of twisted steel and rompin', stompin' dynamite. Is that enough humor for you?” Hilarious, coach. I liked it better when you want no comment. But if this fight does go down, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen knows who he would back. “Coach Childress is a tough-minded guy,” Allen said. "And he has a bad ... mustache.” See, coach, that was funny. However, maybe Williamson should drop all of this nonsense and actually figure out how to not be a colossal disappointment on the football field. For a guy who was the seventh overall pick in 2005 and chosen as the heir apparent to Randy Moss in Minnesota, those 79 receptions for 1,067 yards and three touchdowns he turned in during his three disappointing, drop-filled seasons in Minneapolis were a huge letdown. This year in a new city, it hasn’t been any better; a whopping four receptions for 27 yards, one touchdown. Perhaps I should take my thoughts back; fighting might be the only sport where Troy Williamson has a legitimate future……
- Thank God for reality TV, because without it we wouldn’t have regular visuals of people eating bugs and slugs, aging former hookers trying to seduce over-the-hill rock stars…..or transgender models have sex-change operations. Yes, the first transgendered contestant on everyone’s favorite show to inflate Tyra Banks’ ample ego, er, um, pick the world’s next big runway-walking bimbo, America's Next Top Model, will undergo surgery soon to become physically female. Isis King, the trannie in question, appeared on another of Banks’ train wreck shows, The Tyra Banks Show, in an episode that aired Tuesday. Banks surprised King with Dr. Marci Bowers, who offered to evaluate Isis and perform the surgery. “This is not happening," Isis said, adding that she felt "”ike I'm about to wake up.”
Adding an interesting twist to the story is the fact that
Bowers has undergone the procedure herself. Well, I guess no one would know something like this better… and wouldn’t you know it, Bowers is the star of a new reality series, Sex Change Hospital on We TV. What are the odds that someone looking to generate buzz for their new reality show would make such a spontaneous, public gesture to help someone out with the very thing that is the subject of said new reality show? I’m not doubting that a successful surgery will help King, I just think it’s a total circus the way this was done and with Tyra Banks involved, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Allegedly, the surgery will take place early next year, at which time King, who was born Darrell Walls and has described herself as "a woman born physically male,” will officially be batting from only one side of the plate. One other positive from all of this is that King/Walls was living in a Maryland homeless shelter before she appeared on Top Model and now hopefully he/she will be able to have a much better life. I guess that ultimately, in spite of being more than a little repulsed by the whole thing and how it was handled, the possibility of a changed life is something good that could come from this…..
- What’s wrong with this picture? CEOs of the Big Three auto companies flying private jets to Washington Wednesday so they could then appear before Congress to request taxpayer bailout money. Hypocrisy defined, I guess you could call it. I don’t know whether Congress was appalled at the blatant hypocrisy or just that they were face to face with someone would could match and even exceed their capacity for waste and excess, but rest assured, they were pissed. “There is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hand, saying that they're going to be trimming down and streamlining their businesses," Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-New York, told the chief executive officers of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. “It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo. It kind of makes you a little bit suspicious.” Reading between the lines there, I’m going to say that Rep. Ackerman was not very happy. Maybe someone took the last bagel in the committee’s break room or left the coffee pot empty, I don’t know. But he did add a bit of levity when he added, "couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here? It would have at least sent a message that you do get it." Jet-pooled? Can't you just see billionaire executives like Alan Mulally of Ford, Robert Nardelli of Chrysler and Richard Wagoner of GM, calling each other to set up a ride to D.C.? Y’know, Nardelli and Mulally sitting out on the tarmac, tapping their watches and bitching about how Wagoner is late AGAIN…..good times. But no, these three a-holes were in the nation’s capital seeking support for a $25 billion loan package. I’m guessing the hearing didn’t go well overall, what with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reversing plans to hold a test vote on the measure later in the day Wednesday. That was because became clear the measure would fall well short of the 60 votes needed to pass. A big part of the reason for that looks to be the private-jet issue and the arrogance and wastefulness displayed by the three CEOs in the situation. In addition to Ackerman pressing the issue, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-California, also jumped in on verbally pummeling the three suits. He asked the three CEOs to “raise their hand if they flew here commercial.” Predictably, none of htem raised their hands , promptring Sherman to sarcastically say, “Let the record show, no hands went up.” But he wasn’t done; far from it. Sherman also barked, “Second, I'm going to ask you to raise your hand if you are planning to sell your jet in place now and fly back commercial. Let the record show, no hands went up.” Smartly, the executives didn’t specifically respond to those remarks. There really isn’t a good response to them, because you’re not going to win that battle and you’re probably going to end up looking like an even bigger ass in the process. However, it would have also served each of them well to avoid lying in their testimony by saying they are streamlining business operations in general. No fellas, clearly you aren’t. Because the very definition of streamlining is getting rid of excess, and I’m fairly sure that having your own private jet fly just you all the way to Washington for a few hours is excess. Predictably, the companies did not disclose how much the flights cost, but one analyst familiar with the aviation industry said that $20,000 is a legitimate ballpark figure for a round trip corporate jet flight between Detroit, Michigan, and Washington. So $20,000 when you could get a commercial flight for 1/40 of that price……that does smack of wastefulness. Did the three arrogant CEOs get the message Congress attempted to deliver? Probably not, because when asked whether they plan to change their travel policies as part of the restructuring needed to shore up their finances, none of the three men answered directly. Well done, guys. No wonder no one wants to bail you guys out; you refuse to do even the most basic things to be a part of that effort…..
- In the devastating wake of the ending to last night’s Smallville episode, what with Chloe being kidnapped by the monster known as Doomsday, her new hubsnad Jimmy nearly being killed by the creature and the Kent Farm being nearly leveled in the process, Clark Kent is definitely in need of some help. Instead of bringing back the Legion of Justice (Aquaman, the Flash, Black Canary, Green Arrow), the show will bring in a new super crew - Saturn Girl (aka Imra Ardeen), Lightning Lad (Garth Ranzz) and Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krinn). The three are in from the 31st century to assist the future Man of Steel, and playing the new heroes will be Alexz Johnson (Saturn Girl), Ryan Kennedy (Lightning Lad) and Calum Worthy (Cosmic Boy), the trio of super helpers will serve to introduce Clark to the famed Legion of Super-Heroes — which he, as Superman, one day will join. As I mentioned in yesterday’s recap of the episode, the show is on break until January 15, so you’ll have to wait nearly two months to see the three Legionnaires make their debut in an episode appropriately titled: "Legion," written by Geoff Johns (a fave writer of DC Comics fans). Honestly, I think that the Doomsday storyline and all it has brought to the show have pumped some new life into the show this season, so I am anxious to see if these three new faces can do more of the same…..
- It could be time for me to revisit my take on cell phones primarily as idiot magnifiers. Yes, having a cell phone does magnify the idiocy of those who are already idiots, but apparently they can also be life-saving devices if you happen to life in a neighborhood where stray bullets regularly fly. For evidence, meet R.J. Richard of Slidell, La. who was struck in the chest by a stray bullet while he was mowing his lawn Saturday and escaped injury because the bullet hit a cell phone in his pocket. Richard said he was working in his yard when a large-caliber bullet slammed into his chest. “When this thing hit me, it hit with such force that I thought it popped up from the lawnmower some kind of way,” he said. Being shot rattled him so much (makes sense) that Richard said he didn't know what had happened and when he tried to dial 911, his cell phone fell apart in his hands. As it turned out, the bullet had hit his Motorola cell phone, which Richard said he normally keeps the phone in his pants pocket. On this day, he had it in a pocket over his heart and it saved his life. So if you are keeping track out there, Motorola phones are tops when it comes to stopping stray bullets, not sure where Sprint phones or iPhones rank in that category. But back to Richard….“(Doctors) said, 'If your cell phone wouldn't have been there, and if it would have hit you straight on, you'd be totally dead,' because that is where my heart is,” Richard said. Yikes, totally dead….not just partially dead? I wonder if the doctors really used the words “totally dead,” because that might not be the smartest doctor I’ve ever seen and maybe not the one I’d want to go to in an emergency. If anyone out there knows a way to be kinda, sorta dead…let me know. But I digress again. Investigators still don't know what gun might have fired the bullet and the St. Tammany Sheriff's Department is running the bullet through its Ibis System to see if the gun it came from has ever been used in another crime. No criminal intent is suspected, but even so, whoever fired the shot is responsible for any damage inflicted. Regardless of who fired the shot or why, Richard cites the experience as life-changing, saying it has increased his faith and changed how he lives on a daily basis. If it’s all the same, I’d prefer to have that happen without nearly being shot and killed, but to each his own……
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