- When umpires or officials become the story in any sport at
any level, that’s bad news for everyone involved. The men and women in stripes,
chest protectors or black hats with whistles in their mouths or pitch counters
in their hands are there to enforce the rules and keep the game on track,
nothing more. If and when an official interjects himself or herself into the
game in a bigger way, that’s no good. Someone needs to pass that message along
to umpire Laz Diaz, who got into a confrontation with New York Yankees catcher
Russell Martin during New York’s 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday
night. Martin and Diaz, working behind home plate for the game, argued over
balls and strikes early in the game. The disagreement did not escalate and
Martin was not ejected. As it turned out, he may have had a more pleasant
evening had Diz tossed him from the contest. Instead, Martin claimed Diaz began
messing with him during the game and went so far as to refuse to allow him to
throw new baseballs back to his own pitchers on the mound after balls were
fouled out of play or thrown out because they had become scuffed up. Martin
alleged that Diaz told him that throwing the balls was “a privilege I had to
earn.” He explained the mini-drama with a curious metaphor. “Even at the end of
the game after I get hit in the neck. I’m like, can I throw the ball back now?
He’s still like no. I’m like you’re such a (expletive). Like for real.
Unbelievable. I even told him like when there’s guys on base, I like to keep my
arm loose. No. I’m not letting you throw a ball back. That’s pretty strange to
me … I was kind of mystified. I really didn’t get that. He was punishing me,”
Martin said. Diaz, like any umpire in his situation, did not comment on the
issue and probably never will. Then again, he doesn’t have to because he’s in
charge and unfortunately, that’s that……….
- Few politicians know how to grandstand quite like New York
City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg has gained major publicity from smoking and trans
far bans and now, he’s getting plenty of run for his proposal to ban
sugar-filled, calorie-laden drinks of more than 16 ounces from thousands of
restaurants, delis, movie theaters, food carts, sports venues and other
businesses that serve food and drink. His announcement ironically came on one
day before the New York prepared to celebrate National Doughnut Day with a mass
giveaway of Krispy Kremes. “The idea here is you tend to eat all the food in
the container in front of you,” Bloomberg said in one of his many public
remarks on his proposal. “If it’s a bigger container, you eat more. If somebody
put a smaller glass or plate or bowl in front of you, you would eat less.” The
logical argument that an avalanche of unhealthy foods in mass quantities are
available on every street in Manhattan doesn’t seem to bother Bloomberg, nor
does the idea that a restaurant that offers free refills isn't likely to see
patrons drink less just because their fat selves have to waddle up to the soda
machine one extra time. Critics took little time to respond with vitriol and
outrage. "New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's micromanaging Nanny
State strikes again,” Americans For Limited Government President Bill Wilson
said. Wilson’s group likened Bloomberg’s proposal to President Obama’s healthcare
plan, labeling it “another example
of the government overstepping its authority.” Big Soda also denounced the
plan, with the Coca-Cola Co. dismissing the proposal as unnecessary because
calories already are listed on its products. "New Yorkers expect and
deserve better than this,” it said in a statement. “They can make their own
choices about the beverages they purchase. We hope New Yorkers loudly voice
their disapproval about this arbitrary mandate.” That Bloomberg had no
objection to Krispy Kreme President and CEO Jim Morgan ringing the closing bell
Friday as traders were treated to thousands of free doughnuts is amusing. Maybe
the next step is issuing doughnut or soda quotas to make sure no one is
consuming too many………..
- Verizon’s 4G network hasn’t exactly taken off the way
the company had hoped. In an attempt to change that, Verizon on Friday officially launched viewdini, its mobile video portal
that provides access to movies, TV shows and other content from Comcast,
Netflix and other providers on users LTE-enabled tablets and smartphones. The
company announced viewdini last week at
the 2012 Cable Show and now, the mobile site powered by CBS Interactive's TV.com is officially up and running. It provides
access to Comcast Xfinity, Hulu Plus, mSpot, Netflix and Verizon Video and the
wireless giant hopes to add a few more content providers in the coming weeks, including
Verizon FiOS TV. To enjoy the benefits of viewdini, customers must have a
Verizon Wireless data plan. On a 4G network, those data plans range from $30
per month for 2 GB of monthly data usage to $80 per month for 10 GB. To put
those numbers in persepctive, Verizon estimates that streaming 30 minutes of
high-quality video daily would use 30 GB of data per month. In other words, not
a lot of viewing time for quite a bit of money. The viewdini app has some
versatility in that it may also be used over Wi-Fi, depending on the content
provider's rights, in which case usage would not be counted toward the 4G LTE
caps. Presently, users must start playing a video when connected to Wi-Fi to
determine whether it's available over a Wi-Fi network. "We continue to
expand and enhance our content with our audience in mind, working with
reputable content providers in order to bring a rich mobile entertainment
experience to our customers," Verizon Wireless executive director of
marketing Kristi Crum said in a statement. Those who throw down big money for a
large data plan and to use viewdini can search content by title, topic or an
actor's name, returning results showing which services have mobile video for
streaming and whether it is available at no additional charge, by subscription,
to rent or for purchase. So far, it is only available to Verizon Wireless
customers with 4G LTE-enabled Android devices, with support for Apple's iOS in
development. The app itself is free for Android and can be downloaded from
Verizon Apps and Google Play. It is just about the only free offer in this
expensive proposition………
- When you think freedom and especially freedom of
expression, you probably don’t think Turkey. The Islami-heavy state is not
known for its tolerance of dissenting viewpoints and a Turkish court’s decision to formally charge an internationally known
Turkish pianist and composer with insulting Islamic religious values in
comments he made on Twitter probably won't change that perception. No credit to
the court in Istanbul for voting Friday to approve an indictment against Fazil
Say, who has played piano with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony
Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, National Orchestra of France and Tokyo
Symphony. While it could be argued that Say has boosted national pride and
called positive attention to Turkey by using his musical skills around the
world, that clearly does not give him the right to say what he thinks, not in
the eyes of the court. Say now faces charges of inciting hatred and public
enmity, and insulting "religious values." Those sorts of charges
aren’t normally levied against a person who has served as a culture ambassador
for the European Union. However, Say allegedly mocked Islamic beliefs about
paradise. He has denied the charges and his trial will open Oct. 18, according
to Say’s attorney, Meltem Akyol. Akyol confirmed that Say could face a maximum
1 1/2 years in prison if he is convicted………..
- The idea for a Bourne-less “Bourne” movie seemed bad on
the surface and as the release of “The Bourne Legacy” nears, the concept still
seems fundamentally flawed. Not having Matt Damon, who owned the role of Jason
Bourne in the first three movies in the series to the point that continuing
without him seemed absurd and a blatant cash grab, beating bad guys down with
rolled-up magazines and blankets seemed destined to fail. With the “Legacy”
release slated for Aug. 3, the promotion for the film is ramping up and the first full-length trailer for The
Bourne Legacy has finally been released
online. It smartly makes passing references to Jason Bourne and other key parts
of the franchise and asks the question, "You think that Jason Bourne was
the whole story? There's a lot more going on here." In short, the concept
is the termination of genetically modified killers like Bourne and the central
figure is Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner), an agent of Operation Outcome, a black
ops program that creates killing machines the way Treadstone did, but without
the messy side effects and “inconsistency.” Those side effects included
headaches, memory loss and other emotional issues for Treadstone agents. Jason
Bourne is nowhere in sight, so Cross must do his best to stay alive and along
the way across the globe, he rescues the beautiful scientist Stephanie Snyder
(Rachel Weisz) and attempts to stay ahead of the ruthless Byer (Edward Norton)
and his hit squads. The film’s success or failure will speak volumes about the
abilities of writer and director Troy Gilroy, who took over the reins from Paul
Greengrass, who directed the first three films in the series and whose absence
from “Legacy” led Damon to walk away as well. Fans of the franchise will
recognize David Strathairn as Noah Vosen, Albert Finney as Dr. Albert
Hirsch, Joan Allen as FBI Agent Pamela Landy, and Scott Glenn as Ezra Kramer to
provide a few familiar faces for the movie…………
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