- If the Dallas Mavericks miraculously end up one All-Star
point guard shy of a second NBA championship at the end of the 2012-13 season,
it should be of great comfort to their fans that their eccentric owner’s
commitment to his reality show was the reason why. The Mavs were considered one
of only two legitimate contenders for All-Star
point guard Deron Williams when he became a free agent at the end of last
season, with his current team the Brooklyn Nets, the other main suitor. Williams
ultimately chose the Nets and curiously enough, Mavs owner Mark Cuban was
mostly AWOL during his team’s recruitment of their potential new superstar.
When Williams made his visit to Dallas, Cuban was nowhere to be found. Instead,
he was in California taping episodes of the ABC show "Shark Tank."
The owner not being willing to pause filming for an episode of a reality show
that features wealthy individuals bidding for the right to invest in start-up
companies they believe will succeed didn’t sit well with Williams, who apparently
felt he warranted slightly more respect. He admitted Monday that Cuban's
absence from the Mavs' free-agency pitch "of course" impacted his decision
to re-sign with the Nets. Coach Rick Carlisle, president of basketball
operations Donnie Nelson and front office assistant/former Mavs star Michael
Finley attended in lieu of Cuban, but were unable to win Williams over. "I
think (Cuban) would have been able to answer a lot of the questions me and my
agent have for him that really didn't get answered that day pertaining to the
future," Williams said. "(I wanted to hear about) the direction of
the future of the team, other than Dirk. Players they were thinking about.”
Cuban has gone into full-fledged spin mode since being jilted by Williams,
suggesting the team is better off without him. "I'm very happy with the
ways thing turned out for the Mavs and wish D-Will the best," Cuban said.
His words sound hollow in much the same way they would if he were to say the
Mavs are better off with Dwight Howard being traded to L.A. and likely off the
market when he would have become a free agent after this season. While Dallas
did all right for itself by acquiring several veterans on short-term deals,
including center Chris Kaman, shooting guard O.J. Mayo, point guard Darren Collison,
forward/center Elton Brand and shooting guard Dahntay Jones, pretending they
wouldn’t be better off with Williams is ego talking………
- Oh good, just what the world needs. The tablet computer
market is becoming more crowded by the day and although nearly everyone just
wants the newest iPad, other competitors are jostling for position behind
Apple’s popular device. Google and Samsung are reportedly teaming up to take on
the iPad, working on a larger tablet, similar to the size of the iPad. Rumors from the
tech world have the two companies collaborating on a 10.1-inch tablet, which
may be a higher-end version of the $199 Nexus 7 that Google released this
summer. Google partnered with Asus on the Nexus 7, but given that Asus’
products suck donkey balls, working with Samsung is something of an upgrade.
Google and Samsung have worked together before on projects such as the Galaxy
Nexus smartphone. Sources claim the 10.1-inch Google-Samsung tablet will have a
higher pixel density than the latest iPad, which is noteworthy because the
screen quality of Apple’s newest tablet was a primary selling point when it was
released in March. Google has danced around the fringes of the tablet market,
but the rumored project with Samsung would be its most significant foray into
the race thus far. Amazon is trying valiantly as well and released its own
larger Kindle Fire tablets several months ago, banking heavily on the devices’
direct connection to its online retail site as a moneymaker. Barnes and Noble
is in the running as well with its own larger Nook tablet, but the Nook seems
to have a niche market geared toward readers. Oh, and don’t forget the maker of
the world’s worst operating system, Microsoft, which will soon release the Surface
tablet. The Surface is supposed to be useful because of its ability to use PC
software, which is somewhat like saying a car is good because it contains the
engine of a 1970 Ford Pinto. Lest anyone think Apple is sitting idly by during
this time of heated competition, the tech titan is reportedly hard at work on a
smaller version of the iPad. Anyone who isn't working on a new tablet at this
point clearly doesn’t give a damn about remaining viable in the tech world………
- Score one for dictatorial socialism in Venezuela. The
results may or may not be wholly legitimate and free of rigging, but the
official verdict is that despotic leader Hugo Chavez has scored a comfortable election
victory that could reign of terror to 20 years. In the wake of his big win over
opposition candidate Henrique Capriles in a bitterly contested race, the
egomaniacal Chavez vowed to deepen his self-styled socialist revolution. With
tens of thousands of Chavez sycophants crowding the streets around the
presidential palace in downtown Caracas, the tyrant’s nine-point victory over
his challenger produced very polarized reactions. Some enthusiastically
supported their despot by partying in the streets while the opposition was
equal parts bitterness and resolution to intensify their fight. Despite the
win, there were positive signs for opposition groups. The results represented Chavez's
smallest margin of victory yet in a presidential contest. He received only 135,000 more votes this time around than
he did six years ago, while the opposition boosted its tally by 1.85 million.
The final tally was 54 percent (allegedly) for Chavez to Capriles' 45 percent,
according to Venezuela's National Electoral Council. That is an
18-percent decrease in margin of victory compared to 2006. Voter turnout was
extremely high, around 80 percent, and will likely dwarf the percentage of
Americans who can be bothered to pick their country’s next leader in November. Capriles
fought a valiant battle, but could not oust the entrenched Chavez, who can now Chavez
consolidate his control over Venezuela's economy by extending a wave of
nationalizations and continue his support for left-wing allies in Latin America
and around the world. The victor was pompous and condescending in triump,
delivering a speech full of bravado as he brandished a replica of the sword of
independence hero Simon Bolivar. "Truthfully, this has been the perfect
battle, a democratic battle," Chavez proclaimed. "Venezuela
will continue along the path of democratic and Bolivarian socialism of the 21st
century." Rigged or not, the win represents a profound bounce back for
Chavez, who was uncharacteristically quiet earlier this year as he waged a
battle against cancer, which since June 2011 has included surgery to remove
tumors from his pelvic region as well as chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
He appears to be back in good health and his grip on Venezuela is also
intact………
- He nearly caused a small-scale riot on the New York City
subway system by riding the train to a sold-out concert opening the Brooklyn
Nets’ new home, the Barclays Center, he turned the new arena into a weeklong
party and now, Jay-Z is going to cash in on the entire affair. After a whopping
eight
performances celebrating the opening of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where
the team he owns a minority share in will play beginning this season, H.O.V.A.
will release the “Live in Brooklyn” EP, an eight-track digital album culled from his shows over the
past week. The final concert streamed live on Jay-Z’s new YouTube channel and
over the course of the week, his performances featured guest spots from Justin Bieber, Barbara Streisand, Beyonce
and Rihanna. It was definitely a
show in the truest sense and the ability to see a hip-hop legend take the stage
that many times in a short span was unique for anyone in the greater Manhattan
area, so turning the concert series into an EP makes good sense. Beyonce showed
up in support of her husband and performed a rendition of her track "Diva,"
his track “Young Forever” and a duet with her better half on their 2003 collaboration
“Crazy in Love.” Video clips of the live performances are also available,
although for now anyone who wants to snag a copy of “Live in Brooklyn” will
have to get it from the one source selling it, iTunes. The EP dropped Tuesday
and for those who weren’t able to catch a flight to Manhattan and take the
train to Brooklyn, it’s a decent backup plan……….
- Behold, the “Survivor” influence in the real world. While
Americans have long possessed a penchant for overeating and there would still
be an International Federation of Competitive Eating with or without CBS’
long-running reality series, odds are folks would not be gathering at an animal
shop in West Palm Beach, Fla. and slamming copious amounts of cockroaches if
not for similar feats of gastric freakishness taking places regularly on
whatever island Jeff Probst and Co. are currently filming on. Heck, West Palm
Beach resident Edward Archbold might still be alive if not for the “Survivor”
influence. Instead, Archbold is no longer among the living after taking part
in a cockroach-eating contest Friday. Yes, dude voluntarily competed with other
losers to chow down on cockroaches and ate dozens of them in a contest at Ben
Siegel Reptiles in Deerfield Beach. Video of the contest hit YouTube shortly
after the event and one of Archbold’s fellow competitors explained how the day
unfolded. "We all just stood behind the tanks, they said go, and we all
just started eating," said Pharaoh Gayles. "He did a really good
job." An estimated 20-25 competitors took part in the event, all in the
quest to win an $850 snake. "Some of the snakes were pretty expensive. I
thought if I could eat the bugs to get one, it'd be a good idea," Gayles
explained. After the contest ended, Archbold reportedly rushed to the restroom
and around 11:30 p.m. Friday, police received a call from the store saying that
Archbold had collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital but died hours after
arriving. In response to the incident, Ben Siegel Reptiles released a statement
reading in part: "(There were) approximately 20-30 (participants) who were
all fine... All... were entirely aware of what they were doing and signed
waivers accepting responsibility for participation. The consumption of insects
is widely accepted throughout the world." An investigation into Archbold’s
death is underway, but the case remains muddled at this point………..
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