The Marlins lack class, weekend movie news and getting the ho's off Craigslist

- Stay classy, Florida Marlins. Just a few nights after being involved in a massive basebrawl for which they bore the bulk of the responsibility (even if Nationals outfielder Nyjer Morgan was the one who ultimately charged the mound), the Fish spat right in the face of retiring Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox by refusing to give the legendary skipper a retirement gift as every other team the Braves have played this season has done. Each time Cox coached in a city for the last time, that team gave him a gift even though he was the opposing manager. It’s a classy gesture and one you do whether you like the guy or not, but the Marlins don’t to class and odds are that there is no one but owner Jeffrey Loria was behind that decision. The oft-cranky Loria could not have been happy when Cox spoke out earlier this year in criticism of the Marlins’ firing of his protégé, Fredi Gonzalez, as their manager in June. At the time, Cox said of Loria: "That guy doesn't appreciate anything." No, and clever, caustic remarks are also not appreciated by Mr. Loria, clearly. So even though enemy teams like the Chicago Cubs gave Cox a Wrigley Field seat and an autographed Stan Musial photo and other impressive gifts, this weekend’s series between the Braves and Marlins ended Sunday without any ceremony for Cox. Heck, even American League teams with no real ties to Cox and whom the Braves played in interleague games earlier this season, gave him gifts and recognition. Not surprisingly, Marlins president David Samson declined to give a reason, saying the team had no comment. Oh no, you have a comment. Your comment is made by your actions, not your words. Your comment is, “F**k you, Bobby Cox. We’re so bitter and petulant that we can’t get over one critical remark you made about us, on you had every right to make.” That may not be a statement the Marlins want attached to their name, but if that’s the case then they should have just sucked it up and given Cox a freaking $10 plaque from the local sporting goods store. At least then they would have made an effort……..

- Something tells me that Craigslist's decision to censor its adult services section isn’t going to satisfy all critics of the popular online market place. And in fact, one of the leaders in the movement to ban prostitution from the site called the move a "good step” before adding that “a continuing battle has to be fought." That comment came from Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who has been one of the most prominent voices in this fight. Blumenthal was the most outspoken of the 17 attorneys general who recently released a letter calling on Craigslist to discontinue its adult services section. “I'm very pleased by this very solid and significant apparent step in the right direction," Blumenthal said. "I say apparent because we have received no definite or definitive word from Craigslist that the shutdown is permanent or complete. "These prostitution ads enable human trafficking and assaults on women. They are flagrant and rampant. Craigslist has lacked the wherewithal or will to effectively screen them out." Visitors to the section that usually reads "adult services" on Craigslist found it replaced Saturday by the word "censored." It’s unclear if Craigslist removed the adult services and replaced them with the "censored" section, which was a broken link when first posted. However, users accessing the site outside the United States found the adult services link still active. Representatives for the site refused comment but promised to release a statement at a later time. Blumenthal hopes that by shutting down the pimps and hookers section of Craigslist, he and his cohorts can provide a blueprint for getting rid of similar sites. In the latter sent from the 17 attorneys general to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark, the AG’s wrote: "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." Since then, Blumenthal claims, three more attorneys general have joined the campaign. Without much of a leg to stand on, Craigslist essentially waived a temporary white flag when pressed on the issue. "We strongly support the attorneys general desire to end trafficking in children and women, through the Internet or by any other means," said Susan MacTavish Best, who handles media inquiries for Craigslist. "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." Thanks for the strong stand Craiglist, your enthusiasm overwhelms us all…….

- New films abounded at the top of the box office race through Sunday in a Labor Day weekend that failed to produce a dominant movie. First place went to George Clooney’s heavily promoted The American, which made about $13 million over its first four days in theaters to outdistance its competition with a $4,594 per-screen average. In second place was the returning Takers, not far behind with $11.5 million despite uninspiring reviews from its opening weekend and one week for those reviews to permeate public consciousness. Less than $200,000 behind in the race was another new film, Fox’s Machete, which made $11.3 million in its first frame and yet managed to fall short of most expectations. It shares that fate with The Last Exorcism, the demonic horror movie that lost a stunning 62.5 percent of its value from last weekend and managed to snag the fourth spot despite a tally of just $7.6 million. Having made $32.4 million to date, it would appear that the movie is going to be profitable when all is said and done, but that doesn’t mean it was good in any stretch of the term. That also holds true for new comedy Going the Distance, which rode the sheer lack of acting ability from leading man Justin Long, poor writing and a horrible premise to a fifth-place finish on the strength of a whopping $6.9 million take. Quite the opening, I have to admit….well, assuming that making a profit and a good movie are not high on a studio’s list when considering a new project. Two holdovers snagged the sixth and seventh spots, as The Expendables and The Other Guys could not be more different and yet saw small drops in their overall revenue to keep them in the thick of the race. Expendables declined 31 percent but still made $6.6 million and has now garnered in excess of $92 million and counting. Other Guys, meanwhile, has crossed the $100 million barrier and keeps on plugging. Adding this week’s $5.4 million haul to its coffers, the movie has now made in excess of $106 million. The last three spots in the top ten went to: Eat Pray Love (No. 8 with $4.9 million and $69 million cumulative), Inception (holding strong with a measly 7.1 percent decline, good enough for a $4.5 million take and a $277 million running total), Nanny McPhee Returns (No. 10 with $3.6 million). Not an inspiring weekend at the movies and for a holiday weekend, not a great success story………

- Coups are awesome. They’re not as awesome as riots, but then again, nothing is. That view is not currently shared by the government of Bahrain, which announced on Saturday that it was charging 23 people, most of them activists from the Shiite majority, with coordinating a violent campaign to overthrow the minority Sunni government. Officials have levied the charges against Abduljalil al-Singace, Mohamed Habeeb al-Saffaf and Abdulhadi al-Mokhaidar, as well as two Shiite political leaders based in Britain and 18 more individuals alleged to be part of a network accused of planning and executing a campaign of violence, intimidation and subversion in the country. This is the second time facing such charges for several of the men accused in this case, as several of them were charged last year with similar offenses but were officially pardoned by the king. This time around, the government obviously feels is has a stronger case against them. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa alluded to the alleged coup Sunday when he delivered his Ramadan address, calling for stricter regulation of mosques, schools and civil society groups. In a typical “The Man” rant, he claimed the people charged under the terrorism statutes had mistakenly taken their previous pardons “as evidence that they were above the law.” He then turned his attention back to typical political speak about “bridging the gap between the Islamic sects” and labeling this mysterious coup as “un-Islamic.” What you call un-Islamic, I call inspiring, uplifting and all that is right with the world. Opposition leaders claim that the government had fabricated the accusations in an effort to depress Shiite voter turnout in the Oct. 23 parliamentary elections. Fighting charges of a coup with accusations of a conspiracy, I freaking love it! This witch hunt that has led to the arrest of more than 160 people by the minority Sunni government’s security forces since Aug. 13 under terrorism laws has to stop and it has to stop yesterday………

- Stalkers on Facebook are a massive concern for most users and the social networking site may finally be catching on to this fact. Facebook is reportedly in the testing stage for a new subscription feature that would allow users to receive alerts any time a specific friend takes certain actions on the site. Tech watchdogs have noticed the new feature sporadically popping up on users’ profiles and Facebook commented on the new app, saying, "This feature is being tested with a small percent of users. It lets people subscribe to friends and pages to receive notifications whenever the person they've subscribed to updates their status or posts new content (photos, videos, links or notes)." Umm, not the sort of addressing of the stalker issue that I think most users were after. They don’t want to be able to subscribe to a user and receive a new Facebook notification in their notifications bar at the top of the site or on the mobile device of their choosing any time that other user posts content. What they want is to know when creepers view their page, check out their photos or peruse their likes and interests. Unless users are more enthused about subscriptions than most people believe them to be, this new app doesn’t appear destined for big things. Now, when an app is offered that will allow people to know who is stalking them and how often, that’s going to be a home run……….