- Riots and fire, there just isn’t a more scintillating combination out there. Yes, a Tuesday morning fire in Seoul, South Korea left six people dead, including a police officer, and injured some 20 others following a tense standoff between police and protestors, and while the loss of life is always tragic, the blame here might actually rest with the police. It turns out that South Korean authorities are investigating the fire that erupted after police commandos stormed a building where protesters were staging a sit-in against an urban development project. To be clear, there was a peaceful protest going on, a sit-in, and in go police commandos, fire breaks out. And that happened because these protestors had occupied the building for all of one day, demanding higher compensation for the forced closures of their businesses caused by the redevelopment project. Right now, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (sounds all high and mighty, no?) is questioning both commandos and protesters, but many people gathering at the scene to honor the dead seem inclined to believe that the fire is the result of excessive force used by police and…..you’ll be shocked by this one….I’m siding with the protestors on this one. Normally I advocate the burning of things - cars, businesses, etc. - by protestors themselves, but a peaceful sit-in every now and then is a nice change of pace and the police don’t need to be sending in commando units and torching the place……….
- Attention all fraternities out there at college and universities across America: if you are now or will ever be considering creating a mascot to represent your chapter of whatever fraternity you’re a part of, I think I have the man you want to slam inside that mascot costume. Meet David Hamilton of Phoenix, Ariz. who a) has extensive mascot experience and b) just so happens to be available right now. As it turns out, Hamilton will no longer be playing Arizona Diamondbacks mascot, D. Baxter the Bobcat, because….well, because he got backed, got drunk and then went out for a drive - with his mascot costume on the back seat. He was arrested on suspicion of extreme DUI and for some odd reason, when the Diamondbacks learned of the arrest they felt the need to clip him. “After concluding our own investigation and gathering the facts involved, we felt it was necessary to take corrective action," Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said. "We will pursue a replacement for the mascot that is such a large part of our fan experience immediately." I agree, the mascot is a big part of the fan experience, which is why I’m surprised that you’re getting rid of Hamilton. What, you think a lot of your fans don’t relate to this guy? Don’t tell me that a decent portion of your fans don’t like to get baked, get drunk or both. Just because police pulled Hamilton over off the Loop 101at 95th Avenue and Peoria after an officer spotted Hamilton traveling approximately 95 mph on the 101 isn’t a reason to fire a guy. Oh, and I forgot to mention that at the time of his arrest, not only did Hamilton have his mascot suit out on the back seat in plain view, he was also driving a Toyota Scion bearing the Diamondbacks' logo. That, and he was sporting a nice blood-alcohol level of 0.155, nearly twice the legal limit of .08. To cap it off, he also admitted to officers that he had smoked marijuana earlier in the day. Again, I don’t know why the D’Back released this guy, but like I said at the top: he’s the best possible choice if your frat is looking to create a mascot. Who better to rep your fraternity than a guy who likes kegs, bongs and wearing goofy outfits at parties? Take a number and get in line, this is the opportunity of a lifetime…….
- Kicking off an episode with a shooting is always a good way to ratchet up the excitement. Smallville began tonight with a shooting of Detective John Jones of the Metropolis PD, a.k.a. the Martian Manhunter and old pal of Clark Kent. Shot after chasing and apprehending suspect, we immediately learn that Jones has actually been shot by another cop. While he’s rushed to the hospital and into surgery, Clark and Oliver Queen debate on how to catch his shooter. Clark elects to work with Chloe to pose as a new member of the police force, a transfer from a nearby city who is assigned to ride in a car with one of the men he suspects might be tied to Jones’ shooting. After saving his new partner Danny’s life on his first day, Clark is invited to a barbecue at Danny’s house with some other cops, but all of them are paged at the same time and leave the party to go back into the city. There, they meet two other officers who have managed to capture the man who shot and killed Danny’s last partner but got off on a technicality. Danny begins beating this guy with a clear intent to kill him as his fellow officers root him on in some sort of bizarre vigilante justice system. Clark must keep his cover and can’t stop them, but Oliver can by busting in as Green Arrow and hitting all of the officers with electrically charged arrows from his bow. Not stopping Oliver ends up outing Clark with his fellow cops, who aren’t to keen on the city’s resident superhero population. Clark further antagonizes the officers when he keeps digging for Jones’ shooter and finds the high-powered rifle with armor-piercing bullets that was used in the shooting. The gang or renegade cops manage to frame Clark for the shooting and he’s cuffed and taken off to jail while the four corrupt officers set a trap to kill Green Arrow and bury their secret operations once and for all. But when Danny is put in a spot where he has a shot that would kill Green arrow, Oliver reminds him of Clark’s faith in him and that he’s not totally corrupt. It’s enough to talk Danny out of taking the shot, but one of the other cops is on a nearby roof with a sniper rifle and turns both Oliver and Danny into targets. Saving the day for them is Clark, who escapes from police custody with no trouble and arrives on the scene in time to take out the sniper. Clark isn’t the only one fighting battles, as Lana Lang is lingering in Smallville and making life miserable for Tess Mercer in the meantime. Lana shows up at her former home, the Luthor Mansion, to confront Tess about money being siphoned from LuthorCorp for a project called Prometheus. She goes on to allege that Lex is still alive and that he’s the one truly running the company, not Tess. However, it turns out that the visit was merely a ruse to allow Lana to plant a WiFi device to hack into the mansion’s computers and steal data from Tess’ hard drive. Tess discovers the plant and goes to the Isis Foundation offices to confront Lana, but not before Lana steals a lot of confidential information about Prometheus and corrupts the LuthorCorp server in the process. At Isis, a bitchin’ chick fight ensues (Kristin Kreuk hot and a badass? Works for me.) and the end result is Lana winning and then making an amazing revelation to Tess: Lex has planted a tiny neurotransmitter attached to her eyes and ears, so ever since she was in an accident two years ago in South America that Lex saved her from and ever since he brought her into the company, he’s been using her as literally his eyes and ears. The news shocks Tess, whose response is to a) get herself a necklace with a built in gadget to block the signal from the neurotransmitter, and b) meet with Oliver, CEO of LuthorCorp’s biggest rival, Queen Industries, to “discuss a merger.” The final big news of the night is the renewed Clark-Lana romance, which concerns Chloe enough to warn Clark about hurting her cousin Lois in the process. That doesn’t stop Clark from making a late-night visit to the Talon and ending the episode with a dramatic kiss between he and Lana. It can’t last, but even knowing that sooner or later it will end doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy one more run of these two as a couple. As for Doomsday/Davis Blume, he was referenced but never appeared in the episode, so stay tuned until next week for that and hopefully a whole lot more……
- Some criminals just aren’t meant to be free, their brains are just too stupid and their IQ just too small. Trent Higginbotham is one of those criminals, on the run from police in Lake Charles, La. for months with outstanding warrants for contempt of court and possession of stolen property. Rather than law low for a while, maybe find a safe house or get out of town, he was passing through nearby Moss Bluff when Detective David Burnett recognized him as a wanted man and attempted to pull him over. Burnett called for back-up and tried to pull Higginbotham over, but before back-up could arrive, he made a run for it. Burnett pursued and a fight ensued, a fight in which Higginbotham managed to escape. From there, he searched for a house he could break into and thought he had found just the place, working his way into the attic and what he thought would be the ideal hiding spot. For 45 minutes he remained there, unaware that the home he had broken into belonged to Det. Eddie Curol and his wife, also employed by the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office. Detective Curol discovered Higginbotham, but the suspect wouldn’t budge. “Hey you, come down out of my attic, stop hiding behind my boxes of Christmas decorations and get down here,” I’m sure that was a fun conversation. In the end, police had to send a K-9 unit up in the attic to get Higginbotham to come down. That led to the suspect being treated for r his bite wounds and then sent off to jail to face a litany of charges……
- Give credit to Greek club Olympiacos: they know a washed-up, egotistical, shoot-first, me-first point guard when they see one. So way to go, Olympiacos, on contacting the New York Knicks in an attempt to begin a dialogue on what it would take to get disgruntled guard Stephon Marbury released from his contract. Olympiacos has developed somewhat of a fascination with American players of late, starting a trend by signing former NBAer Josh Childress this past offseason, but losing Childress for six to eight weeks after he returned to the United States for surgery to repair a sports hernia. That leaves Olympiacos scrambling to sign a replacement player for the Top 16 phase of the Euroleague season, which begins Jan. 29 and runs through March 12. They must feel that a past-his-prime misanthrope with a stupid tattoo of a star on the side of his head is the right fit, because they’ve zeroed in on Starbury, whose saga with the Knicks this season has been well-chronciled. He’s been exiled since early in the season by the team, who have found to trade partners and made no real progress in negotiations to release Starbury. That will happen when you have a guy sporting the most bloated contract in the NBA at the moment, making $20.8 million in the final years of his deal. At present, the situation is at a standstill, with Starbury offering to give back $1 million to secure his release, but the Knicks have asked for more. Oh, and Knicks president Donnie Walsh must be smoking lots of peyote on a daily basis, because he maintains that a viable trade opportunity involving Starbury could arise between now and the Feb. 19 trade deadline. So what will happen here? Will Olympiacos get the overrated, overpaid egomaniac they need to finish off their season in style? I’m going with no, as interesting as the prospect of Starbury undermining the seasons of two teams on different continents would be…….
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