- The World Baseball Classic still isn’t a great event or a major fixture on the world sporting scene, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the absolute stunner that occurred not once, but twice in the pool play portion of the event when ginormous underdog the Netherlands beat one of the sport’s true Goliaths, the Dominican Republic, twice in the span of four days. By now, the statistical disparities between the two teams have been well-publicized: the Netherlands has no players currently earning Major League Baseball salaries while the Dominican has more than $83 million in MLB contracts on its roster, the Netherlands had a total of 95 MLB wins from its pitchers while the Dominican had more than 500 and so on. Yet in the opening game of pool play on Saturday, it was the Netherlands scratching out a 1-0 win in a game where they only got three hits, none of which made it out of the infield. They capitalized on several errors from the favored Dominicans and got outstanding pitching to win the game. The two teams went on to play other teams in their pool, but ultimately they ended up facing one another Tuesday in an elimination game and this time the game was scoreless for all of regulation, heading into extra innings in a 0-0 tie. When the Dominicans pushed across a run in the top of the 11th inning on a Jose Bautista tripled to center scoring Jose Reyes that Dutch outfielder Eugene Kingsale misplayed, it appeared the fairy tale was over and the mighty Dominican Republic would win in the end. However, the Dutch had a little something for the Dominicans in the bottom half of the inning, with Kingsale earning redemption by singling home a run to tie the game. A couple of batters later, an error by Dominican first baseman Willy Aybar scored Kingsale with the winning run, sending the entire Dutch team into a frenzy, the Dominicans into shock and a true underdog into the second round of the WBC while one of the tournament favorites was sent home. If the WBC were a bigger, more prominent event, this would have been the talk of the sports world. As is, it’s still a great moment and for avid baseball fans, it’s still a great way to begin this baseball season…….
- This is almost one of those times I wish I wasn’t right……almost. You all know I’ve been saying for some time now that MySpace is the single biggest haven for pedophiles anywhere in the world, yet some of you still doubt me. Allow me to point you to the state of North Carolina, where the state attorney general’s office did a little digging and found that more than 2,100 registered North Carolina sex offenders were found on MySpace. The AG’s office subpoenaed records from the site, said state Attorney General Roy Cooper, "MySpace turned over the names, IP and e-mail addresses of 2,116 convicted North Carolina sex offenders found on its social networking Web site," Cooper's office said in a written statement. MySpace also told North Carolina authorities that the sex offenders it identified have been removed from the site, which is a bit like saying you’ve taken all of the vodka out of your local bar because you don’t want anyone drinking there - still a lot of liquor left on the shelf. Cooper himself clearly supports my beliefs about the number of pedophiles and deviants on MySpace; just listen to his comments. “It's no secret that child predators are on these Web sites," Cooper said in the statement. What’s amazing is that these 2,100 freaks have to be aware that last year, North Carolina passed a law last year banning sex offenders within the state from social networking sites where children are members, making it a felony offense. They know it’s a felony, they already have marks on their records and they’re still going to MySpace? That shows you just how sick these guys are. All told, in the past two years MySpace has removed 90,000 sex offenders from its site. MySpace claims to have technology for its site aimed at finding and removing sex offenders, but you’ll have to forgive my skepticism at how effective that software is. In my book, when I hear someone say “MySpace,” the first thought to pop into my mind is still “Pedophile haven”………..
- Not that residents of Utah are famous for their drinking, bar-hopping ways, but for the Utes out there who do enjoy knocking a few back at their favorite establishment, getting into a bar in Utah is about to become a lot easier. Gov. Jon Huntsman and state House and Senate leaders agreed Monday to eliminate the state's private club system, which requires someone to fill out an application and pay a fee for the right to enter a bar unless he or she is the guest of a member. Personally, I’d never even heard of this arrangement before now, but it does seem really jacked up. Then again, its existence isn’t too surprising in a state whose government historically has dominated by conservative Mormon church members. Utah was the only state in the country with such a law, but no longer. The agreement was approved unanimously late Monday by the state Senate, with a nearly identical version approved 66-8 in the state House. "This is a big moment, I think, for our state. This is a crossroads," said Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper. "I think we shed some of the misconceptions about our liquor laws while actually strengthening them and modernizing them." The new law could make bars open to the general public as soon as July 1. Huntsman has been advocating the abolition of the state’s 40-year-old, out-of-date system in an effort to boost the state's $6 billion-a-year tourism industry. Every alcoholic and college kid looking to get drunk on the weekend thanks you, governor. Now, they won't have to dole out at least $4 to a bar for a membership lasting three weeks or at least $12 for an annual membership. Honestly, how bogus is a system that requires you to fill out a membership application at the door and requires a separate membership for each bar? Even the bars themselves have been complaining about the system for some time, claiming that the memberships are an unnecessary hassle that only annoy customers and distract bouncers from more important tasks. The usual groups of squares and uber-conservatives of course oppose the new measure, groups like the state's Mothers Against Drunk Driving chapter. Sorry M.A.D.D., but every other freaking state in the union doesn’t have this archaic system and it’s time your state joined the rest of us in modern times. Besides, in exchange for getting rid of memberships, the state's DUI laws will become more strict and people who appear younger than 35 will have their driver's licenses scanned before entering a bar to make sure they're 21 or older and their ID is real. So there you go, a resolution that should satisfy everyone and make Utah a much more fun place to be…..
- Not that anyone thought LaDanian Tomlinson would actually leave the only team he’s ever known, but it became official on Tuesday when L.T. and the San Diego Chargers agreed to a renegotiated deal that gives the team salary cap relief while keeping the face of the franchise for the past few years in San Diego. At various points during the past two months, this deal seemed like anything but a slam-dunk. Tomlinson posted messages on his website lamenting the team’s treatment of him, not being honest with him and intimating that although he wanted to stay in San Diego, it was beyond his control. General manager/Grade-A asshole A.J. Smith then gave a sarcastic, biting retort where he basically recycled Tomlinson’s quote verbatim, except he inserted verbiage telling the team’s side of the story in snarky fashion. In the end, L.T.’s desire to remain in San Diego and the team’s desire to keep its most popular player won out, with the two sides striking a deal whose financial terms weren't immediately available. Tomlinson had been due $24 over the next three seasons, including $6,725,000 in 2009. What we do know is that this deal will save the Chargers money on the salary cap, as Tomlinson’s salary cap number would have been $8.8 million in 2009, including a prorated share of the signing bonus from his 2004 contract. Asking him to take a pay cut and share more carries with backup Darren Sproles surely rankled L.T., but he swallowed his pride and now can end his career where he wants to be. He’s coming off of a year in which he had 1,110 yards rushing, the lowest total of his eight-year career, so there is plenty of motivation to have a great 2009 campaign. Can L.T. return to his 2006 form, when he was voted the NFL MVP, set league records with 31 touchdowns -- 28 rushing -- and 186 points and was the best running back in football? Doubtful, but even if he can get back to being 90 percent of that or even 85 percent, the Chargers will have another great offensive year in 2009……..
- Smallville returned tonight, as did a villainous face from the past. Linda Lake (Tori Spelling), who popped up last season as a gossip columnist with the power to turn into water at any time and also threatened to expose Clark’s secret before being seemingly killed in a car accident on the streets of Metropolis, made her return. Ms. Lake made a comeback in Metropolis on the same day Lois Lane returned to town. After taking a cab in from the airport because Clark forgot to pick her up, Lois chastised Clark for forgetting her and left him standing on a rainy street in front of the Daily Planet. Behind Clark, Linda Lake pops up from the puddle of water in front of a storm drain. She gets right to the point, threatening to reveal Clark’s true identity unless he agrees to work with her from here on out and give her the exclusive scoop on everyone he saves or helps. Rather than team up with Lake, Clark chooses to beat her to the punch by revealing his secret to Lois and having her write his story. Doing so means sharing his secret with Ms. Lane, who initially laughs off Clark’s claims to be the “red blue blur” saving lives in Metropolis. Clark is forced to show Lois he’s serious by lifting an entire desk off the floor in a storage room, rasiing her up off the ground as she stands on the desk. A stunned Lois tries to process the notion that the guy she calls “Smallville” is a superpowered alien from another planet, but she listens intently as Clark shares his powers and life story and writes the story of a lifetime with the facts she gathers. While Lois is okay with Clark’s true identity, CK’s life becomes a total circus once the story gets out. He’s an instant celebrity, with legions of adoring fans, paparazzi stalking him and his friends and staking out the Kent Farm back in Smallville. Linda Lake doesn’t take kindly to being scooped and decides that if she can’t report on Clark Kent the hero, she’ll turn him into Public Enemy No. 1. Digging up anything negative she can get on Clark, Linda goes in front of the TV cameras and trashes him, ending with the ultimate accusation: that Clark Kent killed Lex Luthor and is the first of a massive alien invasion to destroy the Earth. Within minutes of Lake’s accusations airing, the police were on their way to the farm. Chloe, who had been thrust into the spotlight along with Clark for being his best friend, is caught up in the drama as well. First, she can’t get her husband Jimmy, maimed by Doomsday at their wedding reception, transferred back to the hospital in Metropolis because of the spectacle it would create due to her link to Clark. She goes to the farm to talk to Clark and is there as Linda Lake’s face pops up on the TV screen. When the cops come, Clark tells her to leave but refuses to flee himself. He stands tall and answers the questions of the federal investigators who grill him about his past and why he’s really on Earth. Clark is fine with answering all of their questions, but when the lead investigator tells him he must also submit to “tests” and a S.W.A.T. team comes storming in, Clark has second thoughts. He refuses to take any tests, leading to a hail storm of bullets fired at him, all of which bounce off because the police don’t know he’s bulletproof. Clark escapes and his first stop is a meeting with Chloe on a remote road on the outskirts of Smallville. He tells her they must leave town separately and that once things calm down, he’ll find her again. Clark also explains that he can fix everything by using the Legion Ring that the Legion of Superheroes gave him when they visited from the future earlier in the season. The ring will allow him to travel to any point in time, so he can go back to before he told his secret to Lois, before Linda Lake wrote her story she used to blackmail him. Unfortunately, L. Lake is following Clark and hears the entire conversation from the brush nearby - including Clark and Chloe talking about green meteor rock as his one weakness. Linda returns to the farm, finds the ring and lays a trap for Clark by placing Kryptonite in its place inside a toolbox in the barn. Clark super speeds back to the farm, where he’s met by Lois. She’s been trying to get in touch with him as the entire world has been turning against him and goes to the farm in hopes of finding him. She does, but when Clark reveals his plan to go back in time and undo his decision to tell his secret to the world, Lois argues that he should stay and fight. Lois also feels like she’s been let inside Clark’s heart by learning his secret and worries than when he goes back in time, he will change his decision to share that with her. Clark admits that this is true but that he has to go back. Linda Lake has other ideas, jumping Clark and Lois once he’s taken out by the Kryptonite and crushing Lois from behind with a 2x4. She then gloats over Clark, brandishing the Legion Ring and boasting about how she’ll use it to travel ahead in time to get the scoop on stores before they happen. If only she’d talked less and acted sooner…..because Lois recovers, launches her own attack on Lake and gets the Kryptonite away from Clark. Linda is beaten to a pulp by Lois, while Clark gets ahold of the ring. It’s at this moment Lois tries to deliver an important message to Clark that she’s just heard on her voice mail from Chloe. The message doesn’t come in time, as Clark puts on the ring and goes back in time to two days ago. What was the message? Well, Chloe has been visited by Davis Blume, a.k.a. Doomsday, whom she hasn’t seen since he crashed her wedding reception as his beastly self - at least that’s how Chloe remembers it. Her memory from her final BRAINIAC-inhabited days, including going to the Fortress of Solitude with Davis, telling him about his destiny to be Doomsday and destroy Clark and the Earth and putting him inside of chrysalis of ice to reach that destiny, is gone. The last thing she recalls of Davis is him kissing her in the alley outside the Talon the day before the wedding. She doesn’t know Davis is Doomsday until he visits her at the Isis offices, where she’s destroying all information she has on Clark to keep it from the feds. Davis tells Chloe he’s Doomsday, about their trip to the Fortress and that she needs to go and warn Clark before he morphs into Doomsday again. Chloe makes it to her car and leaves the voice mail for Lois on the way, but before she can fire up the engine, Doomsday has emerged from Davis and the beast rips the door off of her car and stares her down. Lois gets the voice mail in time to blurt out Davis’ name to Clark before he time travels, but he doesn’t hear the rest of it. Instead, Clark goes back in time those two days, types up his won blackmail story to use against Linda Lake and goes to her office. He threatens to expose her as the murderer she is and tells her the only place she’s going is to jail. Then, acting on information Chloe gave him before he traveled back in time, Clark rips a bundle of electrical wires from the wall and uses them to electrocute Lake, since she’s actually made of water. Chloe knew this because when she was kept at the LuthorCorp facility in Black Creek, Montana where people with meteor powers were held prionser, Linda Lake was kept there as well. The knowledge truly is power, as Clark subdues Lake by electrocuting her and turning her over to the police. She’s taken to the hospital, where she’s kept locked up in a private room. Then, Lake makes an interesting request: for Davis Blume to come to her room. Once there, he’s hit with a shocking revelation: Lake knows his secret too, that he’s Doomsday. She’s been following him for the past week and knows all about his alter ego. But Linda doesn’t want to expose Davis; she wants him to morph into Doomsday and break her out of police custody. She goads him and tries to aggravate him into making the change, which starts to happen before Davis is able to put the brakes on. But before he fully calms down, Davis smothers Linda Lake to death with a pillow, coming out of his fit of rage just in time to see what he’s done. He exits the room and walks out of the hospital, although it seems implausible that he’ll just get away with murder because he did have to swipe his ID card to get into the room, so the hospital will know he was in the room when Lake died. Meanwhile, Clark uses his second chance on living this particular day to make sure to pick Lois up from the airport. However, knowing what happened before he came back to rewrite the past, he’s very quiet and Lois figures it was because of their near kiss and romantic moment at Chloe and Jimmy’s wedding. They debate whether to address the issue and Lois says she’ll be at a nearby café that night if he wants to come and talk about what’s going on between them. If not, she’ll know he doesn’t feel the same way as she does and they can move on. That night, Lois has a table on the sidewalk at the cafe and waits for Clark, who comes as far as the sidewalk across the street before having second thoughts. He backs out, sending a text message saying he’s swamped with work and can’t make it. Lois lies and replies back in a text that she’s working too and couldn’t have come anyhow. In a conversation with Chloe later on, Clark tells her what happened and Chloe wonders if keeping his identity secret is also because he can keep himself from getting hurt emotionally, i.e. by being able to keep Lois and he from getting too close. So an interesting episode, even if Clark did destroy to Legion Ring because time travel is “too much power.” Good to have Smallville back, no doubt. Seems that next week, CK will find himself on the LuthorCorp jet with Tess Mercer, experience air turbulence that requires him to save her life and also learn that Lex kept an entire journal about Clark’s life, should be fun……
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