Bye-bye Blago, the downfall of mob bosses and Miami Marlins melodrama

- There is no more meaningless honor in music than being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In an industry where there are scores of hollow, empty and pointless awards, that’s saying a lot. Any time Madonna is inducted into something that is supposedly about rock and roll and she’s enshrined alongside disco artists, that entity has zero credibility. On that note, big ups to Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys for being among this year’s inductees into the hall along with Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan, Small Faces/Faces, Freddie King, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd and Glyn Johns. Also, posthumous inductees 1960s singer-songwriter Laura Nyro and producer Don Kirshner, who died earlier this year, will also be honored. The hall announced the inductions Wednesday as it prepares for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony to return to its home in Cleveland, Ohio, in April for its 27th annual event. Joel Peresman, president and chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, unintentionally underscored the fundamental problem with the hall when he pointed out that this year's inductees "represent the broad spectrum of artists that define rock and roll." To be fair to Peresman and his fellow hall officials, this year’s class does have several solid inclusions. The Beastie Boys have walked the fine line between punk and hip-hop since their debut album "Licensed to Ill" in 1986, GNR is the definition of sex, drugs and rock and roll and how combustible a mix those things can be and RHCP have succeeded on a blend of funk, metal, rock and even a bit of hip-hop since debuting in Los Angeles in the 1980s. However, artists like Donovan show how flawed the hall and its selection process are. Donovan began out as a folk singer and achieved fame for 1960s hits such as "Sunshine Superman." He’s about as rock and roll as fuzzy puppy dogs and pretty daisies. Even in its official statement, the hall tacitly acknowledged that he was not a rock artist. "His heady fusion of folk, blues and jazz expanded to include Indian music and the TM (transcendental meditation) movement," the official statement said of Donovan. Notice the words “rock and roll” anywhere in that statement? Didn’t think so. But good artist choices or not, the The Hall of Fame ceremony, often held in New York City, will be in Cleveland on April 14. Those wishing to waste their time and money attending the event can purchase a ticket beginning on Dec. 17. Lighting your money on fire is another solid option and a whole lot more fun……………

- Why is it that the final chapter of the story for larger-than-life criminal figures or Third World dictators is never as impressive or defiant as their lives were prior to their downfall? Whether it’s a despot like Saddam Hussein or some fabled gang leader, the final scene never quite manages the same bravado as that individual sported during their prime. Take notorious Naples mafia clan chief Michele who has been on the run for 16 years and was captured by police after they dug digging into a secret bunker in his hometown of Casapesenna near Naples. Zagaria, head of the powerful Casalesi clan, has been sentenced to multiple life sentences in absentia and instead has lived in a mobile prison of his own making. Among his offenses are drug trafficking and corruption in the construction industry and he will now be forced to face the consequences of those misdeeds, Security forces burrowed into the bunker where he was hiding, pulled him out and immediately began celebrating as a defiant Zagaria admitted defeat. "You won. The state has won," Zagaria told anti-mafia investigators as he was being arrested. Italian Interior Minister Anna Maria Cancellieri quickly sought to gravy train the excitement over Zagaria’s arrest, hailing it as "a huge success by the state", adding that it would be a blow "not only against the Casalesi clan, but against the entire Camorra organisation." Umm….probably not. Like any other gang or mafia group, the Casalesi clan will merely pick a new leader, dust itself off and go on its corrupt way. A group of 50 police officers participated in the operation to dislodge Zagaria from his Hiter-like bunker, recently discovered beneath an anonymous building in his rural hometown. Zagaria’s bunker was made of reinforced concrete up to five meters thick and to locate it, a team of 350 officers searched dozens of houses and buildings in the area. Taking him down was bound to be a celebrated event as the Casalesi clan is one of a number of groups within the Camorra criminal network, which controls the underworld in the notorious Naples area. For five years, the clan’s leader spent his time as something of a fugitive even though he Zagaria is thought to be the most senior figure in the Camorra who was still at large. Time to restructure and reload, Camorra…………

- Shocking news comes to us from the world of breakfast cereals, where the brilliant scientific minds of the Environmental Working Group have released their list of the 10 worst cereals in terms of sugar content. That’s right, whether you were aware of it or not, many popular breakfast cereals actually contain sugar. Sugar apparently makes things taste good, unbeknownst to the world at large. The obvious question is which sugary cereal is the worst offender and with usual suspects like Cap’N Crunch, the Trix rabbit and the Lucky Charms leprechaun lurking, the battle was a tough one. In the end, the winner was Kellogg's Honey Smacks, coming in at 55.6 percent sugar by weight. That a cereal with honey in its name has sugar in it is stunning as well, but even more shocking is the margin of victory for Honey Smacks. The nearest pursuer was by Post Golden Crisp at 51.9 percent. Step your game up and add a few more scoops of the granulated white powder….not THAT granulated white powder…..and get into the battle for real, Post. Kellogg’s continued its dominance of the list by snagging the third spot with Kellogg's Froot Loops Marshmallow at 48.3 percent. The next few entries on the list were predictable suspects that included two variations of the Cap’N, with Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch in fourth place, OOPS! All Berries in fifth place and Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch original in sixth place. Outside of Kellogg’s, Quaker Oats was the dominant cereal maker on the list, as it also snagged the seventh and ninth spots with Quaker Oats Oh!s and Quaker Oats Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries, respectively. The other three spots on the list, eighth and tenth, fittingly went to Kellogg’s thanks to Kellogg's Smorz and Kellogg's Apple Jacks. One shocking failure that proved unable to crack the list was Kellogg's Froot Loops original at 41.4 percent sugar by weight. What do these numbers mean? As an example, researchers at EWC found that a cup of Kellogg's Honey Smacks, Post Golden Crisp or General Mills Wheaties Fuel has more sugar at 18.7 to 20 grams than does a Hostess Twinkie, which comes in at 17.5 grams. An über-healthy option at the other end of the spectrum was original Cheerios, which weighed in at 3.6 percent sugar. Overall, the report claims that only one-fourth of 84 children's cereals tested met the voluntary proposed guidelines of the Interagency Working Group on Food Marketing, a group of federal nutrition, marketing and health experts brought together to police the nutritional quality of food marketed to children and teens. Under the voluntary guidelines, ready-to-eat cereals should that have no more than 26 percent added sugar by weight. Should those guidelines be followed, there would probably be a lot more waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, French toast and pancakes eaten around breakfast tables………….

- Not everyone is enthused by the Miami Marlins’ offseason spending spree. The Marlins have signed top free-agent closer and All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes so far and it’s the latter of those two moves that has rankled the team’s resident MVP candidate, shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Ramirez, a three-time All-Star and a career .306 hitter in six full seasons, responded to the signing of Reyes by informing the Marlins that he does not want to move from shortstop to third base. Ramirez would be the one to change positions because Reyes’ speed and range make him a better alternative at shortstop. A source close to the situation relayed Reyes’ comments to the team about a possible position switch. "Hanley doesn't want to play third base and the Marlins were informed of that," the source said. "Rather than ask for a trade, what he has done is to inform (the team) that he does not want to play another position other than shortstop." That’s a bit of a problem because the Marlins owe Ramirez $47 million until 2014, thanks to a six-year, $70 million extension he signed in May 2008 and they just handed Reyes a six-year, $106 million contract Sunday. Ramirez was a bit cryptic in his only public comment on the matter in a tweet he sent out Tuesday which read: "What I can do now is work hard and be prepared for next season because that's all that I can control, I love you all !!!!" Andy Mota, Ramirez's agent, refused comment on the situation. New Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen hasn’t even led the team into battle yet and he’s already dealing with his first mini-crisis. However, Guillen Guillen said he would understand if Ramirez feels neglected because of Reyes' deal even if Ramirez does need to suck it up and be a team player. "He must understand what is best for the club and he will be a better player having those two guys in front of him in the lineup," Guillen said. "The last thing we would do is slap the guy and say, 'you have to move.' That is not the way. I think the boy will have the opportunity to be an All-Star third baseman. We have the opportunity to have two All-Stars in these positions.” Well….that should settle that, or not……………

- Goodbye, Blago. The amusing and meandering story of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich came to its legal end Wednesday as a federal judge sentenced him to 14 years in prison for corruption convictions. The judge also tagged the sentence with a $20,000 fine, which clearly has to sting much worse than spending a decade and a half in prison. Blagojevich must begin start serving his prison term within 90 days, the judge ordered. The outcome could not have been what Blagojevich was hoping for after a dramatic courtroom apology in which he apologized Blagojevich to his state, his family and the judge and insisted he is "unbelievably sorry." It was a dramatic moment but did not make a difference with U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel. "I've had plenty of time to reflect on all that's happened," Blagojevich said. "I'm here convicted of crimes, and I am accepting of it, acknowledge it." Zagel wasn’t swayed and was dismissive of Blagojevich’s sudden surge of contrition right before sentencing. "It comes late," Zagel said before imposing the prison sentence. He reminded Blagojevich that that he did not resign as governor despite the indictments, but if he had it might have helped show he accepted responsibility. For those who have expunged the disgraced former governor from their mental record book because his case has become an afterthought in recent months, the well-coiffed Democrat was accused of trying to profit as he decided whom to appoint to succeed Barack Obama when he vacated his Senate seat to move to the White House. "There is a line between routine politics, horse trading and campaign politics," Blagojevich said. "I thought they were permissible and I was mistaken." His actual conviction on corruption charges came back in June, when a jury returned 17 guilty verdicts against him. Federal prosecutors sought a sentence of 15 to 20 years, but Zagel was feeling lenient and knocked one year off the recommended minimum despite saying that a corrupt governor can be "more damaging than any other office in the United States, except that of the president. Letters from despairing family members also did not aid Blagojevich’s case, although he is now a member of a unique and growing club. That club is former governors of Illinois currently serving time in prison and its charter member, former Republican Gov. George Ryan is already serving time in federal prison. Maybe he and Blago can be cellmates………….