- What I wouldn’t give to have been in the room Tuesday when Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss the league's stricter policy on dangerous hits. Harrison threw a temper tantrum and threatened to retire after he was fined $75,000 by the league for his hit on Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi on Oct. 17. That hit, in which Harrison went directly for Massaquoi’s head and swung his arms through on the tackle, clubbing Massaqoui in the melon, came after he had already knocked Browns receiver Joshua Cribbs out of the game on a vicious (but clean) hit. The hit was one of three on the weekend that drew $50,000 or higher fines from the league, but Harrison incurred a $75,000 penalty as a repeat offender in the category of illegal hits. That led to the aforementioned temper tantrum in which Harrison took a day off from practice and threatened to retire, a threat that no one actually believed. Oddly enough, the $6 he would have forfeited by retiring seemed to draw Harrison back to football and instead, he used his off day this week to travel to New York and meet with Goodell. The meeting was not an attempt to appeal the $75,000 fine (that appeal will be heard Nov. 9), but instead a chance for Harrison to express whatever was on his mind and allow the most powerful man in the NFL to hear what he thought of the heightened emphasis on hard hits. What a joy it would be, by the way, if Harrison suffered another fine from the league for a late hit Sunday on Saints quarterback Drew Brees that was penalized. This guy just can't seem to keep the league out of his wallet and at this point, he’s not even trying……….
- One of the foremost rules when returning to the United States is to shoot straight with the good folks at U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Fill out your customs forms honestly, cop to whatever you spent abroad and are bringing back to the country, declare any currency in excess of $10,000 and don’t try to smuggle illegal birds, meats or cheeses across the border. That rule appears to have been lost on a U.S. citizen who won big at the Windsor Casino Monday night but became a ginormous loser when he tried to bring his winnings back to America. CBP officers at the Detroit Windsor Tunnel seized $19,901 from the man and his friend as they returned from a trip to the casino because they tried to avoid declaring the cash by structuring their border crossing into America in a way to avoid having either of them breach that $10,000 currency limit. One man toted $9,400 and the other $9,500 in an attempt to circumvent the rules as they tried to cross the border around 11 a.m. Monday. The two, both U.S. citizens, told border agents that they were returning home from a night of gambling at the Windsor Casino. The agent processing them asked if they were aware of the currency reporting requirements when entering the U.S. and they said yes. They then explained that one was carrying $9,400 and the other was carrying $9,500. They underwent a secondary exam in which they completed the required written declaration form and answered "no" to the question “I am carrying currency or monetary instruments over $10,000 US or foreign equivalent.” Their story was that both men took $4,000 in U.S. currency to the casino and were returning home with their winnings. The plan might have worked if these guys had any nerve at all and could keep their cool during the session, but one of them panicked and admitted that he had lost his money at the casino and was carrying money that the driver had won. Having been sold out by his (former) friend, the driver then admitted that he had won $40,000 at the casino the previous night, deposited $20,000 at the casino and then split the remaining with his passenger so that both would be carrying under $10,000 in cash over the border. The CBP determined that the men committed a civil offense called currency structuring to avoid declaration, the penalty for which is seizure of the currency. “It is not illegal to carry money into or out of the country,” stated Port Director Roderick Blanchard. “It is required that you give an accurate declaration of the amount of money you are carrying. Anyone carrying or causing to be carried, in excess of $10,000 must fill out the appropriate paperwork when entering or leaving the country.” Either that or have the stones to lie their way through a routine Q&A with border patrol agents……….
- If you voted Tuesday, be thankful that your polling location was somewhere in the United States and not in Guinea, where widespread violence and voter intimidation in the country’s eastern region has forced the displacement of thousands of ethnic Peul who support presidential candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo. The Red Cross in Guinea and local officials of Diallo's party first reported the displacements, which came in the midst of the West African nation'slong-delayed, second-round presidential runoff between Diallo and Alpha Conde. The vote is scheduled for Sunday, but more than a week of violence and intimidation have cast a pall over the election by forcing thousands of people to leave their homes in the towns of Siguiri, Kouroussa and Kissidougou in eastern Guinea. In what is considered to be the first truly legitimate presidential vote in Guinea’s 52-year history, this sort of violence and intimidation is extremely disheartening. According to the Red Cross, 2,800 people were displaced on October 29 and 30 alone. As people flee the region, trucks packed with ethnic Peul and all their possessions have been leaving the eastern towns of Siguiri and Kouroussa every day for the past 12 days, raising the total of displaced Peul to between 15,000 and 20,000. Most of the displaced people have fled west to the Fouta Djallon region to stay with relatives and hopefully avoid further attacks by the ethnic Malinke people. With Malinke men looting and burning Peul-owned businesses and demolishing homes where Peul lived in Siguiri, staying was not an option. Normally I’d be all for looting, plundering and rioting, but not as a means of dissuading people from exercising their right to vote and be a part of their country’s political process. Driving the Peul out in order the ensure that the vote turns out your way isn’t winning an election, it’s hijacking it by force. Malinke men have vowed that not a single Peul will case a vote on election day and they are working hard to make sure that promise holds true. Here’s hoping that the Peul find a way to vote and make a difference in this election………
- Sooner or later, it was going to happen. There are far too many reality shows in the United States and thus far too many reality show alums lingering in the world of wannabe actors/E-list celebrities for one of them not to have and eventually realize political aspirations of some sort. That inevitability came to pass Tuesday when The Real World: Boston‘s Sean Duffy won a House seat yesterday in his home state of Wisconsin. When he appeared on Real World waaaaaay back in 1997, Duffy stood out as the lone conservative housemate and wasn’t shy about espousing his political views early and often. As Republicans made their push to take over state legislatures, governor’s houses and houses of Congress Tuesday, it was the perfect time for a former Real World-er who spent his Real World season clashing with liberal roommates and learning about race relations from the two black cast members to seize a spot in his state’s legislature. Astonishingly, Duffy’s wife, Real World: San Francisco alum Rachel Campos, is also looking to gravy train her 15 minutes of reality TV notoriety into something more permanent in the world of public figures and was considered for The View seat that ultimately went to Elisabeth Hasselbeck. So if and when the issues of hot tub orgies, sex on camera with complete strangers, getting into heated arguments with roommates walking back from whatever trendy bar you happen to have been drinking at that night and streaking through your posh, MTV-provided apartment in a resort town or big city come up, Wisconsinites can feel confident that they have the right man in office to help guide the state legislature to the right decision………
- There may not be any new James Bond movies any time soon because of MGM's lingering financial woes, but that doesn’t mean fans of the franchise can’t get their 007 on in the meantime. Without a new spy flick to enjoy, those fans can drown their sorrows with not one, but two new James Bond video games. Activision is releasing two new Bond games -- "GoldenEye 007 " for the Nintendo Wii and "James Bond 007: Blood Stone" for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC and both feature the voice and image of current Bond star Daniel Craig. "This is the Bond event of 2010," beamed Activision's Kyle Walker. The question now is whether fans have soured on the Bond franchise because of bitterness over the postponement of the next movie in the series or if they will flock to their next best chance to keep in touch with their favorite martini-drinking spy. It’s been more than two years since the last Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace," so it’s possible that Bond's absence from the pop culture map will reduce the games’ chances for success, although those churning out the games are confident that they will succeed. "Fans are going to be very happy with it," promises Michael O'Donnell, lead producer for "James Bond 007: Blood Stone." The game features an original story written by Bruce Feirstein, who co-wrote screenplays for three Bond films, international locations and vivid action sequences. "The [game's] cinematic presentation will take a lot of people by surprise," says O'Donnell. Also giving the games an added allure is new Bond girl and noted soul/pop singer Joss Stone, who performs in the game and sings its theme song." The makers of “GoldenEye” face a tougher challenge because they must make substantial improvements upon the classic 1997 "GoldenEye" game for the Nintendo 64, which itself was based on the 1995 film that introduced Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. The 1997 game is still considered by most to be one of the best shooting games ever, so tinkering with it could be dicey. “It was a massive thing when we found out we were going to working on this," says "GoldenEye" lead producer Dawn Pinkney. "You have to live up to the best shooter of all time." One improvement that players should enjoy is an online multiplayer option. Both games will have to overcome the typical lack of respect that Bond games are shown in the video game world, so this should be an interesting battle to watch………
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