- Quite the 2006 fantasy football roster you’re assembling there, Washington Redskins! Granted, it’s now 2010 and not 2006, but don’t let that discourage you from putting together a stable of running backs that would have absolutely cleaned house in my fantasy football league four years ago. One of the backs now in the crowded backfield for the ‘Skins, Clinton Portis, was already a member of the team when the offseason began. However, adding former Kansas City Chiefs stud Larry Johnson began the process of building an offense out of guys who were good in the past and aren’t so great now. You might think that two past-their-prime running backs would be enough, but wait, there’s more! The ‘Skins proceeded to add former Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker after they inked Johnson, bringing in an undersized back who has had serious issues staying healthy the past couple of seasons with the Steelers. That gave Washington a trio of backs who aren’t good enough to carry the load on their own any more, but with Mike Shanahan at the helm, you can never have too many running backs and in that sense, it is perfectly logical that the team also brought in former Eagles’ super back Brian Westbrook for a visit on Wednesday. For starters, Westbrook has the obvious connection of being Donovan McNabb’s teammate in Philadelphia for much of McNabb’s 11 seasons with the Eagles. McNabb reportedly recommended his former backfield mate to his new team and unlike McNabb’s alleged plea to sign Terrell Owens, the Redskins appear inclined to give this one actual serious consideration. Westbrook, who was released by the Eagles in February, has passed a physical with the St. Louis Rams, possibly proving that the concussion issues that dogged him in Philly last season aren’t holding him down. However, those issues were serious enough that many around the league wondered if he would ever play again and as such, cannot be totally discounted. As for Westbrook’s possible choice between being one of many backs competing for carries in D.C. versus being the definite backup and change-of-pace back behind Steven Jackson in St. Louis……if it were me, I’d go with the Redskins because he will likely get just as many carries there and unlike the Rams, Washington actually has a chance to make the postseason this year. One way or another, it appears the Redskins are somehow stuck in 2006 and I just hope that Mike Shanahan joins the rest of us in 2010 before it’s too late…………
- Want a warning before you open the mailbox and are hit with an unexpectedly massive bill from your cell phone company? If the Federal Communications Commission has its way, you may soon be warned before you receive another ginormously expensive bill from your cell phone company. The FCC said Tuesday it is seeking public input on proposed regulations that would require wireless phone companies to notify customers of any charges that exceed their monthly plans. I assume that reaction will be swift, emphatic and in the vein of, “Hells to the yeah!,” but I don’t want to speak for the public. Basically, cell phone companies would have to let customers know that they were about to be socked with huge overages in the form of additional fees for extra data usage, roaming or text messaging. The FCC laid it all out in a statement, saying it has received hundreds of complaints from customers who received surprisingly high phone bills. Helping consumers avoid "bill shock" is the aim and while you could argue that morons should try to keep track of the minutes, texts, etc. that they are using, the government is here to help morons too. "We are hearing from consumers about unpleasant surprises on their bills," Joel Gurin, chief of the FCC's Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, said in a statement. "There can be many causes of bill shock, including unclear or misunderstood advertising, unanticipated roaming or data charges, and other problems. All can lead to charges that people don't expect to get." For now, the process is merely at the stage of the FCC gathering information from the public about whether or not alerting customers about these unanticipated charges would be beneficial (duh!). Whether or not this actually happens shouldn’t be in question because it’s such a logical step, but being the government is involved in the matter, the right and logical choice is far from a certainty……………
- Nice hospitality you’re displaying to the world, Iran. I realize you all are led by a dictatorial kook who is also a pathological liar when it comes to his country’s quest to acquire a nuclear weapon to blast Israel right off the map, but that doesn’t excuse allowing an Afghan visitor to your country to attack the Pakistani ambassador to Iran in his car on Tuesday as he made his way through Tehran. The angry Afghan had tried to stab envoy Muhammad Buksh-Abbasi, but managed only to injure the ambassador before he was apprehended. “The ambassador is slightly hurt, but he is out of danger,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman stated. “The ambassador was attacked in his car and he was injured. The attacker, who was an Afghan citizen, has been arrested and is being interrogated now. The ambassador is in a good condition.” Good thing the attacked was (allegedly) an Afghan, because having one of your own attempt to stab and kill a foreign dignitary in your nation’s capital would have reflected poorly on dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s quest to paint his nation as a peace-loving, non-threat country that the rest of the world should give the benefit of the doubt to. I understand that most countries aren’t like the United States or Canada in terms of visiting dignitaries being able to have solid protection and security every second of their stay to the point of being over-cautious, but how’s about you at least make a marginal effort to protect representatives of other nations; when they set foot on Iranian soil? Just doesn’t seem like all that much to ask…………
- It always happens this way, doesn’t it? A TV show or movie franchise hits big out of nowhere and its stars immediately decide that they are worth markedly more money than they were just a few short months ago. Hearing that the actors of the Twilight series of movie adaptations from the popular vampire romance books are putting their feet down and demanding massive pay raises was more a matter of when as opposed to if. The key point seems to be the potential decision to split the fourth and final Twilight book, Breaking Dawn, into two movies. Because the actors contracts only cover four movies and this would push that tally to five, some cast members are digging in and waging war to bump up their pay in the event that four films turns into five. Ironically, it is two supporting actors who are making the most noise - co-stars Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz. Both are taking a hard-line approach to negotiations even though stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner are all reportedly close to signing their deals for both films. Heck, director Bill Condon has already inked his contract. What Greene and Lutz (and their agents) seem to forget is that they don’t have huge roles. Greene portrays Alice Cullen, the future-seeing sister of Edward Cullen and Bella’s closest friend, while Lutz plays older brother Emmett Cullen. Both roles have been minor in the first three films in the series and yet, both Greene and Lutz are asking for $4 million a piece for each of the final two films. The pair initially had the support of fellow co-stars Nikki Reed and Jackson Rathbone in the fight for increased salaries, but sources say Reed backed down and is close to finalizing her deal, said to be in the $750,000-$1 million range per film. That’s the same amount Summit initially offered the four cast members. Why the sudden cash grab? Could it be because Greene and Lutz realize their meal ticket is coming to an end and one last cash grab is all they may have before fading back into obscurity? If you believe those close to them, it’s actually because both actors believe they do as much publicity for the films as the lead actors, and have to log almost as many hours on set. Will they get the massive raise they are asking for? No, but I’m guessing they at least crack seven figures and for that, both should be grateful…………
No comments:
Post a Comment