The battle for an 18-game NFL season, 13 days of jail reinvent Lindsay Lohan (allegedly) and tourism in Oman, man

- And so the battle rolls on. The NFL owners have thrown down the gauntlet of an 18-game regular season and the players are opposing the concept unless they get more money. It’s exactly as you would expect it to be and the latest round of the battled unfolded at a five-hour meeting at a hotel in downtown Atlanta, where owners met to discuss various league-related issues, but mostly to chat about the prospect of adding two games to the regular season. "I think it's a win-win all around," said Bob Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots. He was supported by commissioner Roger Goodell, who pointed out that the league already has the right to impose an 18-game schedule AND keep four preseason games for each team under the current labor agreement with the players. Umm, that’s not helping, Roger. The fact is, the current agreement expires after this season and the push for an 18-game regular season will be one of the pivotal issues in agreeing to a new deal. "We want to do it the right way for everyone, including the players, the fans and the game in general," Goodell said. "There's a tremendous amount of momentum for it. We think it's the right step." The players don’t seem to agree and are using their miniscule negotiating power to demand that they be compensated financially for any additional regular season games, even if two preseason games are cut to keep the overall game total at 20. So far, the owners haven’t held a formal vote on the issue, but they are primarily trumpeting the appeal to fans in reducing the preseason while expanding the regular season. “We want to continue to address a variety of issues before putting together a specific proposal, which our negotiating team will provide to the union's negotiating team," Goodell said. "There's tremendous support for it. Almost all the questions, all the discussions, are how to do it in a way that's fan-friendly." Still, there are major associated issues to decide upon before expanding the schedule: when to start the expanded regular season, possible roster expansion to cope with more games and the resulting injuries and changes in training camp and offseason routines. Both big-name and rank-and-file players have voiced concern over the plan, mostly because they feel that adding two more games that count will take a massive toll on their bodies. But read between the lines of their comments and it’s clear that their beef with an 18-game schedule would likely fade quickly if a few more dollars were thrown their way. That’s actually the opposite of what the owners have in mind, as they want players to go from receiving a certain percentage of the league’s overall revenue under the current agreement to getting a set amount (regardless of its percentage value in the overall financial pie) that would likely end up being a smaller percentage. Add it all up and you can see why so many are forecasting a lockout after the upcoming season………

- Believe it or not, a mere 13 days in jail and 23 days in a drug rehab program were enough to do what years of life struggles and the legal system could not do: reform Hollywood’s ultimate lush, Lindsay Lohan. After less than two weeks in jail and the latest in what should be a lifelong run of rehab stints, Lohan is a changed person, according to her lawyer. "She has learned her lesson," defense lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley told the judge at a Wednesday morning hearing. "She's very serious about her sobriety. She looks forward to proving to the court that she is taking this seriously." Riiiiiiight. She looks forward to proving her sobriety like Hugo Chavez looks forward to saying nice things about the United States. While Lohan may (stress MAY) abide by a new set of rules imposed by Judge Eldon Fox and follow those rules over the next 67 days as mandated by the court, don’t even try to tell me that she has had her last drink or snorted her last rail of coke. She could live lawfully in her West Hollywood, California, home for the next 67 days and that still won't convince anyone with a working brain that she has changed. No one goes from being the erratic, hard-partying lush she was before going to jail and even the f-you punk who painted her nails with expletives for a sentencing hearing to a reformed, do-gooder with great manners and no vices on the strength of 13 days in jail "She's healthy, she's clearheaded, she's positive and looking forward." Holley said. Whatever you say, counselor. Even if Logan was allowed to check out of the hospital Tuesday night because the doctors reported the 90 days that had been ordered was too much, I’m not sold. Maybe I’m wrong on all of this and perhaps spending every week between now and November 1 in counseling sessions for alcohol and drug rehab, taking random drug tests and undergoing behavioral therapy will be enough to right Lohan’s ship. The problem is that we have no evidence whatsoever that she is capable of changing and being confined to the state of California until November in order to be available for random drug and alcohol tests at least twice a week doesn’t seem like enough of a deterrent to keep her on the straight and narrow. Attending psychotherapy sessions at least four times a week and 12-step chemical dependency classes five times a week could help as well, but just don’t tell me that the smart money isn’t on Lohan being face-down in a giant pile of the Colombian nose candy some time in the next six months or so……..

- Have you considered Oman, man? While Southern Sudan (as reported here yesterday) considers a plan to convert its capital cities to animal-shaped layouts to attract tourists, Oman is attempting to do the same by throwing massive amounts of money at the problem. The summer monsoon season, or "khareef," brings quite a few visitors from around the world to Oman's southern regions, especially to places like the coastal city of Salalah. Still, officials hope that publicizing some of the country’s less-developed and lesser-known areas. With a nice collection of mountains, deserts and beaches, Oman is hoping that tourists will take notice of what it has to offer and risk being blown up, abducted or decapitated - common risks when one visits the Middle East, right? Wait, you’re telling me those things don’t happen in every country in the region? Oh. Well, either way, Oman plans to invest more than $20 billion to expand facilities for tourism across the country over the next few years in the hopes of attracting 12 million visitors annually by 2020. How will they accomplish such a lofty goal? Well, the surprising tact Oman hopes to take is reducing its current dependence on oil and gas production. Somehow, that is going to allow them to expand an already impressive offering of 11 five-star hotels and resorts throughout the country, two hundred acres of private beach and gardens of the Al Bustan Palace Hotel in Muscat and fun activities like camel racing, whale and turtle watching, and climbing and caving. Sultan Quaboos Bin Said, Oman's ruler, smartly views tourism as the engine that will drive his nation into the future. Unlike opulent neighbors Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Oman's tourist offerings also boat historic architecture, including several UNESCO World Heritage sites. That’s good, but so far it hasn’t been enough. Tourism made up only four percent of the economy in 2008, so making it a main pillar of the economy going forward is not going to be easy……….

- Not that I had firm pans to sit down and watch the 2010 U.S. Open men’s final on Sept. 12, but now it’s a definite “no,” at least any part of the match that might come within the first hour or so of its scheduled start time. Why that timeline, you ask? Well, for starters I’m not a huge men’s tennis fan. If Federer and Nadal are at the top of their games and put on a great final, then I’m down. However, my fondness for tennis tends to be directly linked to whether or not my girl Maria Sharapova is on the court. If her considerable, um, talents are on display, then I’m tuning in. If not? I’ve probably got better things to do. However, any affinity for men’s tennis at all is far outweighed by the presence of a former American Karaoke contestant being on hand to sing either the national anthem or “America the Beautiful.” Such will be the case in Flushing Meadows on Sept. 12, as former AKer David Cook will perform “America the Beautiful” prior to the men’s final. Not only will he perform, but that hatchet job of a performance will be included during CBS’ coverage of the event. For me, that makes it must-miss TV and I’m going nowhere near CBS until I am absolutely, positively sure that I will not hear a single not of a glorified karaoke-er doing his best beatdown on a classic song. Heck, I may have to mute the television and disable the speakers before I even consider tuning the TV to CBS that day, just to be safe………

- Pimps and hookers of Craigslist, your time as online trick-turners may be coming to an end. Attorneys general in 17 states have united to demand that the site you are so fond of using to sell sexual services stop the practice. "The increasingly sharp public criticism of Craigslist's Adult Services section reflects a growing recognition that ads for prostitution -- including ads trafficking children -- are rampant on it," the attorneys general said in a Tuesday letter to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark. "We recognize that Craigslist may lose the considerable revenue generated by the Adult Services ads. No amount of money, however, can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution, and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist.” Let me read between the lines here and try to figure out what this letter means…..maybe that the law wants Craigslist to discontinue its adult services section? Well, the stunner here is that a Craigslist spokeswoman said Wednesday that the site agreed with at least some of the letter. "We strongly support the attorneys general desire to end trafficking in children and women, through Internet or by any other means," said spokesperson Susan MacTavish Best. "We hope to work closely with them, as we are with experts at nonprofits and in law enforcement, to prevent misuse of our site in facilitation of trafficking, and to combat such crimes wherever they appear, online or offline." Funny, but that doesn’t sound like a vow to rid the site of prostitution, but rather human trafficking. Craigslist contends that it implemented manual screening of adult services ads in May 2009 and that since then, before being posted each individual ad is reviewed by an attorney trained specifically to enforce Craigslist's posting guidelines. Furthermore, Craiglist claims its standards are “stricter than those typically used by yellow pages, newspapers, or any other company that we are aware of.” At this point, you might be asking who are these attorneys general to stand up against the pimps and ho’s of Criaglist? Well, they would be the attorneys general from Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. They are squaring off against a defiant Newmark, who insists that his site is doing more than any other site that hosts adult ads to help filter out underage prostitutes and report them to police. If Craigslist and its pimps, ladies of the night and other assorted characters say it’s so, then I see no reason to doubt them……….