- Not so cocky now, are you world? Sure, it looked mighty funny when the roof of the Metrodome collapsed and the Minnesota Vikings were displaced for the final two home games of their season. The St. Paul Saints, an independent league baseball team in the area, have already planned a whoopee cushion giveaway night to mock the collapse. But is everyone going to give equal scorn and derision to German Bundesliga soccer team Schalke 04 after heavy snowfall in Germany caused part of the roof to collapse at the Veltins Arena, the team’s home stadium? The stadium, in Gelsenkirchen, not only hosts all Schalke's home games, but was also due to hold the annual biathlon World Team Challenge later this week. That event is tragically cancelled after a massive onslaught of snow over Christmas created a hole measuring 1,000 square meters in the roof. Three of the fiberglass strips that hold the roof in place were destroyed and there is no possible way to repair the damage in time to save even an iconic event like the annual biathlon World Team Challenge. "The holes are not going to be closed in time,'' Schalke's chairman Peter Peters said. "The safety of the spectators is the utmost priority.'' The damage doesn’t pose as immediate a problem for Schalke, as the Bundesliga is currently on its winter break with Schalke not scheduled to play at the Veltins Arena until January 15 when they host Hamburg. At the moment, that game is not thought to be in danger, as it can be played with the roof open - or partially open. "I am optimistic that we will be able to start the second half of the season according to schedule," Peters stated. Maintenance crews had cleared an earlier blanket of snow from the stadium but were unable to get onto the roof after that due to harsh weather conditions. One has to wonder what sort of insurance policy Schalke has on the venue, as the stadium opened just nine years ago. It has been the setting for major soccer games, both for the continent and internationally, including the 2004 UEFA Champions League final and staged five games in the World Cup of 2006. And now, it serves as an unusual link between the people of Minneapolis and the good citizens of Gelsenkirchen………
- Everyone spends their holiday a little differently. Some gather with family and exchange gifts, others get together with friends because they are unable to make a long trip home for Christmas, an unfortunate few end up stranded by bad weather and spend their Christmas in an airport…..and one kook spends her holiday outfitting the famous "Charging Bull" on Wall Street into a giant knitted cozy. A New York-based artist guerilla artist known simply as Olek decided that Christmas was the perfect time to drop a butt-ugly, oversized doily onto the famed bull statue, which was placed on Wall Street just before Christmas of 1989 by artist Arturo Di Modica. Di Modica declared the sculpture a symbol of the "strength and power of the American people" following the stock market crash of 1987 and although the statue has since been moved to Bowling Green park in Lower Manhattan, it is still popular with tourists visiting Manhattan. So why take the time to knit a cozy for a 7,100-pound, 16-foot-long bronze statue that stands about 11 feet tall and venture out into a freezing cold night to suit the bull up in its horrific new attire? Olek claimed that she did it partly because of the economy and partly because she was homesick. "I wanted to make it for all those people who couldn't make it to their families and for those people who don't have coats and don't have any money," she explained. Wait….rather than take all of that material and knit a coat, scarf or hat for poor people who need warm winter clothing, you decided to waste it on a statue? I realize that many things don’t translate from English to Polish and clearly “waste of time, money and materials” is one of them. While you never want to mock someone for a nice gesture, this is one that we (and Charging Bull) could have done without. In fact, the knitted cozy didn’t even survive 24 hours, as the park’s caretaker tore it off the statue early in the morning. Still, Olek’s enthusiasm for her pointless project could not be dampened and she sounds very much like a person naïve and clueless enough to pull another similar stunt in the future. "I really hope that I can do it again. This crocheted cover represents my best wishes to all of us. It will be a great, prosperous year with many wonderful surprises!," she proclaimed. Jeez………
- Porsche or Bentley? Learjet or Gulfstream G6? In essence, that’s the question fans are being asked in the heated dispute between NFL owners and players as the two sides try to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement. On one side, the 32 billionaire owners are demanding an 18-game season, a reduction in the piece of the revenue pie players receive, a stronger drug-testing program that includes HGH testing and other major concessions. On the other side, player hate the idea of an expanded regular-season schedule and are digging in their heels for extra pay and elevated medical benefits to offset the increased injury risk, opposing HGH testing and turning up their noses at the rookie salary scale the owners want to put in place. In the middle are fans who can’t relate to either side and just want to be sure that their favorite team will be on the field when September rolls around. That hasn’t stopped both sides from suggesting that fans side with them on the central issues of the debate. Owners believe that converting two meaningless exhibition games into regular-season affairs will give fans more of what they want. Players believe that fans understand the absurdity of being asked to do more work for the same or lower pay, as if workers in various industries around the country aren’t being asked to do the very same thing in order to keep their job at the local plant or factory. Players like NFL Players Association executive committee member Mike Vrabel insisted Monday that the players are the more sympathetic of the two sides in the battle. "We don't have 32 players who have private jets in the NFL," he said in a not-so-veiled shot at the owners. Fellow union executive committee member Brian Dawkins sought to struck a more conciliatory tone, saying he believes NFL owners and players have a sense of urgency to avoid a lockout because they don't want to alienate fans. "I would think common sense would say at the end of the day, after all the fighting and after all the words are said, we understand who butters our bread," Dawkins said Tuesday. "That's where the urgency comes in at." Both Dawkins and Vrabel expressed a palpable level of frustration with the league's proposals during a conference call about negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement. The current deal expires one month after the Super Bowl, March 4, hence the fears of a lockout. Players’ biggest sticking point is the 18-game season, as Dawkins and Vrabel both said the league hadn't offered enough in exchnage for what they believe will be shorter careers and therefore less money made with the longer regular season and resulting increase in injuries. "I don't think with good conscience we could say, 'Guys, this is all we could get for you for 18 games. Go out there and strap it up and hope you make it through,' " Vrabel said. Still, the reality of a lockout may also be setting in for players as they find out the financial toll it will take on them and their families. The cost of maintaining health insurance under federal COBRA law during a lockout for a family with two adults and two children would come out to $2,400 a month for a player looking to keep his current coverage. Even though the union has regularly advised its members to save money and has set aside funds of $60,000 per player by raising dues and withholding royalties, in any lockout the players are at an impossible financial disadvantage and have no hope of outlasting the owners. With that in mind, there’s no doubt they need a new CBA more than the owners……….
- Who could have imagined that a production fronted by Bono and the Edge of U2 could have so much trouble getting off the ground? "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" continues to be plagued by one setback after another and most of them are the result, either directly or indirectly, of the Broadway show’s set and high-wire acrobatics that place cast members in dangerous positions throughout the show. Those stunts have received intense scrutiny and criticism from state lawmakers and safety advocates. Now, the danger is taking its toll on the cast both physically and psychologically. Four on-stage accidents have injured various cast members and the fourth accident, on Dec. 20, sent stunt double and aerialist Christopher Tierney to the emergency room and led to a series of new safety measures for the production. After the fourth incident, director Julie Taymor released a statement saying, "Nothing is more important than the safety of our 'Spider-Man' family and we'll continue to do everything in our power to protect the cast and crew." Her scripted words did little or nothing to influence lead actress Natalie Mendoza, who was struck in the head with a rope during one rehearsal and announced that she is leaving the show. In fact, rumors have been swirling for days that Mendoza was negotiating an exit agreement and she confirmed as much with the tweet, "Can feel a trip to India coming on & visiting my magic little orphanage Ramana's Garden in Rishikesh. Raising funds as we speak. Be the change." Nothing like citing Gandhi in your announcement to quit your job. Mendoza, who is best known for her role in "The Descent," suffered a concussion November 28 after being struck by a swinging rope during a rehearsal. She ultimately returned to the production three days later and tried to play hurt, but ended up taking another two weeks off after experiencing nausea and headaches. Taymor must now find someone else to fill the role of Arachne, the spider-villainess who becomes obsessed with Spider-Man. That actress must have no regard for her own safety or well-being and be willing to take wildly unnecessary risks in order to execute a role that seems highly likely to send her to the hospital at least once. The musical's official Broadway opening date is Feb. 7, but merely getting to that point seems like a tall task right now……….
- With America still the FAT-test nation in the world, the problem of obstructive sleep apnea is still very real. Obstructive sleep apnea is a dangerous sleep disorder that affects millions of Americans, so finding a way to cure or at least mute its effects would be huge. Ideally, American would put down the fudge bars and Big Macs and start exercising to eliminate the problem, but because scientists know that dream isn’t coming true, they are beginning testing on a device designed to stop apnea by zapping the tongue during sleep. The basic concept is to stop the tongue and throat muscles from relaxing so much that they collapse and block breathing. Sleep apnea sufferers have that happen for as long as 35 seconds, causing them to jerk awake and gasp in a cycle that repeats itself 30 or more times an hour. Being jolted awake that often robs apnea sufferers of crucial deep sleep, raising their risk for car crashes and potentially deadly diseases. More pressing for family members and loved ones of apnea sufferers is the airplane-loud snoring the disorder produces. Beginning in the last week of January, researchers at Minneapolis-based Inspire Medical Systems will launch a study with 100 apnea patients to see if so-called hypoglossal nerve stimulation really works. Two other medical supply companies, San Diego-based ImThera Medical and Apnex Medical of St. Paul, Minn., are also developing similar devices. I’m not sure why frigid northern Minnesota is the epicenter of sleep apnea research, but there really isn’t much else to do in Minnesota during the winter - just kidding, Minnesotans - so why not? "In this kind of research, we're not looking for little changes," says Dr. Meir Kryger, a sleep medicine specialist at Gaylord Hospital in Connecticut, who is leading the study for Inspire Medical Systems. "What we're looking for is actually cure." Some 12 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea, so a cure or treatment of any sort would be huge. So would convincing FAT Americans to lose weight, as sleep apnea is particularly common in overweight people, but zapping their tongues with electricity is a more realistic option. At present, the best treatment for apnea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which employs a mask that gently blows air through the nose to keep airways open during sleep. However, a large percentage of apnea sufferers refuse to wear the uncomfortable mask. Foregoing treatment is also risky, as apnea raises the risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes and increases the chance of a car crash sevenfold. Surgery is sometimes an option, but having a surgeon remove part of the roof of the mouth or other soft tissue is a drastic and costly step. As always, good to know that your obesity is contributing to yet another major national health problem, America………
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