- New Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels has shown a definite ability to connect with his star players, I have to give him that. Of course, those connections tend to be of the bitter, hostile and distrustful variety, so maybe McDaniels’ act is working all that well. First he came to Denver and managed to alienate franchise quarterback Jay Cutler by openly attempting to trade for his former protégé, Matt Cassel, who was on the trading block for McDaniels’ former team, New England. McDaniels allegedly pursued Cassel and wasn’t forthright with Cutler about it, leading to distrust and resentment on the quarterback’s part. From there, unreturned phone calls and text messages, angry statements in the media and a flurry of outrage flew from both sides, ultimately leading to Cutler’s exodus from the Mile High city. He landed in Denver and no sooner than his plane hit the tarmac, McDaniels was seemingly in a tiff with the biggest remaining star on his roster, receiver Brandon Marshall. Marshall wasn’t pissed about the Broncos trying to trade for his replacement, but rather about that which vexes all NFLers at some point in their career: the desire for a better contract. After fully recovering from offseason hip surgery, Marshall clearly felt that his current deal doesn’t match up with his on-field performance and the work he’s put in. To communicate that message to the team, he boycotted the Broncos' offseason workouts. Contributing to his ire was Marshall’s belief that the team misdiagnosed his hip injury. As he held out, Marshall insisted that the either redo his contract or trade him. On top of all of this, Marshall was also facing battery charges stemming from a domestic incident last year. When he was acquitted on those charges last week, Marshall then was unhappy with how the team handled the situation. Allegedly a team public relations staffer told players that if they were asked about Marshall’s acquittal, they should say only that it was good for the team to have it behind them and not that they were happy for Marshall. Mix all of these grievances together and you can see where things might start to get a bit contentious. So even though Marshall showed up for training camp, there has never been any doubt that he’s still extremely angry with his team. He admitted that he was nowhere near learning the new offensive playbook installed by McDaniels and was demoted to practicing with the scout team. Then, the Broncos left Marshall behind when they traveled to Seattle for last night’s exhibition game against the Seahawks. McDaniels said after practice Thursday that he hadn't decided on playing plans for Marshall, but clearly he made a decision and that choice isn't going to soothe the simmering tensions between team and player. This is going to get worse before it gets better, if it ever gets better……..
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! If it seems like there have been a lot of editions of everyone favorite overview of social dissidence worldwide that have been set behind bars…..well, it’s because there have been. Fact is, there have just been an inordinate number of prison riots of late. Honestly, can you blame these inmates? Their lives suck. Their days are monotonous, controlled, regimented and lacking in freedom. They eat bland food, sleep in poorly decorated cells with terrible aesthetics and are constantly having their freedoms restricted by guards and prison administrators. In other words, they’re going to riot sooner or later. That you and I get to enjoy the spectacle when they do is just a nice fringe benefit. This edition of Riot Watch! takes us to the medium-security Northpoint Training Center in Burgin, Kentucky, where inmates torched buildings, shattered windows and threw rocks at guards in their attempt to stick it to the Man. Oddly enough, the uprising came shortly AFTER the warden announced he'd ease restrictions on a lockdown. Typically you’d think that easing restrictions would put prisoners in a better mood, but inmates can be extremely unpredictable. The lockdown began Tuesday after about 10 to 15 inmates assaulted two others in a fight over stolen property. A little inmate infighting and the warden overreacts, how typical. That clearly put everyone on edge, so warden Steve Haney told prisoners about 6 p.m. Friday of his plan to ease the lockdown. After that announcement, it took all of 30 minutes for the riot to get started. Fires were set and quickly began to spread through the dorm-styled institution. Inmates were evacuated to the prison yard and authorities began lobbing tear gas canisters over the fence in an attempt to quell the rioting prisoners. What sets this riot apart is that not only did thee inspired rioters set multiple blazes, those fires were large and destructive enough that the facility was damaged to the point that all the prison's 1,200 inmates had to be kept outside in the yard. "There are several buildings in the front that will be a total loss," said Lt. David Jude of Kentucky State Police. There could even be criminal charges filed against the inmates who set the fires, assuming that authorities can figure out who was responsible. I’d also like to know who is responsible, but only so I can applaud and congratulate them for their part in one heck of a prison riot…….
- Finally, something is going to change for the Chicago Cubs. No, their 100-plus year World Series championship drought isn't going to end this year. The Cubbies are free falling right out of the playoff race and are barely above the .500 mark, so there is zero chance of them winning a championship this season. In lieu of that, the loveable losers from the north side of Chicago will finally get a new owner. After months and months of negotiations, bids and speculation, the Tribune Co. has signed an agreement to sell the franchise to the Ricketts family. The family will pony up about $800 million to acquire a 95 percent interest in a package of assets that includes: the team, Wrigley Field and Tribune Co.'s 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago, which broadcasts many Cubs games. The remaining 5 percent ownership stake in those entities will remain with Tribune Co., the franchise’s longtime owner. The Ricketts family initially bid $900 million in January, but in the negotiations that have taken place since then, the two sides have haggled back and forth and ultimately, the Ricketts clan will acquire assets valued at $845 million. “Our family is thrilled to have reached an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Chicago Cubs, one of the most storied franchises in sports," Joe Ricketts, a billionaire who founded the Omaha-based online brokerage TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., said in a statement. "The Cubs have the greatest fans in the world, and we count our family among them. We look forward to closing the transaction so that we can begin leading the Cubs to a World Series title.” For both sides, the agreement was a long time coming. The sale of the franchise and its associated assets featured ten different bidders and two months ago, Tribune Co. executives became so frustrated with the process that they went looking for another bidder to come in and challenge the Ricketts family. New York investor and former Chicagoan Marc Utay accepted that offer and re-entered the bidding process, but ultimately the Tribune Co. was able to seal the deal with the buyer that had been the frontrunner all along. The marriage of buyer and seller seems appropriate given that three of Joe Ricketts’ four children live in the Chicago area. One of his sons, Tom Ricketts, spearheaded the team’s quest to by the Cubs. The sale marks a return to family ownership for the Cubs, who were owned by the Wrigley family, founders of the chewing-gum company, for 65 years. The Wrigleys sold the team to Tribune Co. in 1981 for $20 million, although characterizing this sale as a 4,100 percent return on investment for the Tribube Co. would be inaccurate. Even though the sale price is $825 million more than the 1981 purchase price, inflation and other economic factors mitigate things a bit. Regardless of the asking price, Cubs fans will likely be happy to see a change at the top after the outgoing owners failed to put a championship team on the field. Never mind that Tribune Co. spent liberally and brought in many high-priced free agents, Cubs fans are superstitious and enigmatic to the core and even something as irrelevant as who signs the paychecks for the current roster of underachievers wearing Cubs uniforms matters to them. And regardless of who owns the team, Cubs fans will undoubtedly remain among the most loyal in all of professional sports. The Cubs attract more than 3 million fans a year whether they are mediocre or making a much-hyped playoff run that inevitably ends with a first-round sweep by an inferior opponent. Ultimately, it’s just good to see this process come to an end. Apparently one consistent point of contention during negotiations was media rights, specifically the fact that Tribune Co.'s WGN cable superstation has long enjoyed primary rights to air Cubs games. WGN will retain long-term broadcast rights to the team under the deal, so that much will remain the same for the Cubbies. The Ricketts family won’t actually take control of the team until after the season ends at the end of September. Between now and then, there are still a few issues to resolve, namely the fact that Tribune Co. has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy since December and a major disposition of assets requires the court's blessing. That is expected to happen without incident and by the time next season rolls around, there will be a new captain for the Cubs’ perennially sinking ship……..
- I loves me some good election fraud. Nothing is better than groups, politicians and parties looking to corrupt the democratic process and steer things in their favor in direct opposition to the will of the people. Sure, the United States is feverishly working to help Afghanistan create a viable democracy, but any time I can have reports of rampant election fraud in a presidential election, I’ll take it. These allegations mostly include tales of with anecdotal but widespread accounts of ballot-box stuffing, a lack of impartiality among election workers and voters casting ballots for others – in other words, the same sort of corrupt practices that once helped Chicago earn its reputation as America’s most dishonest city in terms of politics and voting. Yes, I would love to see a better turnout for women voters, something that was severely lacking in the Afghan presidential election, but don’t let that overshadow the awesome shadiness of election fraud. As with the recent bogus, illegitimate presidential election/sham in Iran, allegations of improprieties were flying around even as officials were still counting. With some 30 candidates for president, you can imagine what sort of chaos might occur. Preliminary results aren’t expected until Tuesday, but already it’s being predicted that there will need to be a runoff election to settle things. The chief contenders are expected to be incumbent president, Hamid Karzai and his former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah (rumored middle name: Hank). But back to my favorite part of the story, the alleged fraud. It not only includes possible misdeeds inside polling places, but also voter intimidation by the Taliban and by some powerful candidates, especially local candidates running for provincial council seats. There was also the issue of segregating male and female voters to keep men and women from publicly mingling, which might have worked - had hundreds of polling stations for women actually opened, which they didn't. At least 650 women’s polling centers planned did not open on the day, according to Free and Fair Elections in Afghanistan, the largest Afghan observer organization. Female candidates were also subjected to harassment and intimidation, but as I said at the top, what will stick with me from this whole election saga is the rampant corruption and vote rigging, because I always have and always will love me some election fraud.......
- James Cameron owes us all. As the man responsible for the four-hour travesty/train wreck/biggest waste of time in cinematic history, Titanic, Cameron could make the best movie in the history of cinema and top it ten times before he could even put a dent in the debt he owes us. Now I have no idea if his highly-anticipated 3D sci-fi blockbuster "Avatar" will be that sort of great movie, but there are clearly many out there who believe it will be all that and more. This past week, Cameron unveiled a 15-minute preview of “Avatar” to sold-out audiences in selected cinemas across the world. The buzz was so strong leading up to the preview that many dubbed it "Avatar Day.” What makes the hype for this movie different is that the claims of its importance aren’t based solely on how good of a movie it is, but rather on the belief that it may revolutionize the way we watch movies. Cameron has long been a leading advocate for 3D technology (along with being a proponent of crappy romantic dramas set on sinking cruise ships), so it makes sense for him to be the one in this position. “The 3D is going to be mind-boggling," said David Cohen of film industry trade magazine Variety. "He may indeed be pushing 3D to another level.” Cameron also has a strong background in the world of sci-fi as the series director for the "Aliens" and "Terminator" franchises. As for “Avatar” itself, the film is set on the magical jungle planet of Pandora as a war between the invading humans and Pandora's native species, the Na'vi, breaks out. The film’s protagonist is Sam Worthington as a former Marine paralyzed from the waist down. He’s offered the chance to regain his ability to walk by becoming an "avatar" -- a 10-foot-tall, blue-skinned creature genetically engineered to resemble the planet's humanoid life forms. Cameron has also snagged an A-list cast for the movie, with Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Zoe Saldana all on board. It’s not exclusively animated, either; the movie combines live action and photo-realistic CGI. It’s a long time in the making, as Cameron first came up with the concept 14 years ago but decided not to make the film until technology was advanced enough to match up with his vision. In making the film, Cameron worked with old pal Vincent Pace to develop the most advanced camera rig using stereoscopic (3D) cameras yet. The camera features lenses that closely mirror the workings of the human eye, positioned close together that can move a little to capture objects that are near or far away. Comic book dorks, er, Comi-Con attendees actually got an advanced look at the film in July, which only seemed to heighten the anticipation for its release. One issue with the film that will need to be addressed is that not all theaters will be equipped to handle the movie’s 3D technology. Other than that, it seems like Cameron and Co. are due for a big payday and plenty of self-congratulating awards at the Oscars and like events…….
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