- Why are the NHL playoffs so great to watch, even for
casual hockey fans? Because of the drama, the pressure, the intensity….and the
middle-aged coaches in suits on the bench who are F-bombing the world and grabbing
their junk in anger. Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville got the postseason off
to a simmering start in Game 1 of his team’s first-round series against the St.
Louis Blues, which St. Louis won 4-3 in triple overtime. Quenneville became
incensed after the puck was sent out of play at 6:51 of the second overtime and
as the officials were meeting to discuss whether the Blues should be called for
delay of game, he was seen on camera gesturing to the officials that the puck
went over the glass. A penalty call would have given the Blackhawks a 5-on-3
advantage for 36 seconds, but the call went in favor of the Blues and when it
did, sh*t got real on the Blackhawks’ bench. Video showed Quenneville gripping
his package and screaming what appeared to be an obscenity at the officials.
Sadly, he quickly backpedaled from his actions and tried to downplay what he
had done. “I was definitely excited," he said. "Disappointed [in] the
call, but I'll apologize for my behavior. It wasn't appropriate at all. It was
a bush-league move on my part." The league was not impressed with that
apology and dinged Quenneville $25 for inappropriate conduct. In truth, a
$25,000 bonus would have been a better play because the story has more people
talking about hockey and for a sport that consistently lags behind its peers,
that’s a good thing……
- Brought down by wine. Drunken antics have snipered plenty
of politicians over the course of history, but the leader of Australia's most populous state
can't blame the loss of his gig on what he did when he was too deep into a
bottle of vino. New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell went down because of
the bottle, but not because of what was inside of it. He resigned this week in
the face of mounting evidence that he failed to declare a $2,800 that arrived
as a gift on his Sydney doorstep. That’s a problem because he initially told a
corruption inquiry that he never received a bottle of 1959 Penfolds Grange Hermitage as a gift from
businessman Nick Di Girolamo. Di Girolamo allegedly sent him the bottle a few
weeks after O’Farrell’s 2011
election win and had O’Farrell merely owned receiving the bottle at any
point prior to the inquiry, his troubles would likely have been significantly
lesser. Yes, Grange
is an iconic label and is synonymous with expensive Australian wine and its
vintages are consistently rated among Australia's best shiraz. Yet assuming
that a gift of a $3,000 bottle of wine was some sort of bribe or unscrupulous
gift is just a reach and O’Farrell just accidentally forgot to add the valuable
gift to a public register aimed at deterring political donors from buying
influence. It was all one big mistake and yet, being the upstanding guy he is, O’Farrell
courageously resigned because he was told that a thank-you note he wrote to Di
Girolamo and his wife would be handed over to the Independent Commission
Against Corruption, an agency that investigates allegations of official
corruption. "Dear Nick and Jodie," O'Farrell wrote in the note. "We
wanted to thank you for your kind note & the wonderful wine. 1959 was a
good year, even if it is getting even further away!" In his version of the
story, O’Farrell admitted writing the note, but insisted he could not recall
receiving the wine. This could have something to do with the fact that he has
long maintained a reputation as a politician with integrity above reproach………
- When legislators truly grasp the pressing nature of
important issues facing their constituents and take decisive actions to address
those matters, the world is a beautiful place. Witness the scene going on right
now in the Nutmeg State, where lawmakers are tackling one of the biggest
dilemmas plaguing society today. Like every state in the U.S., Connecticut has
more than its reasonable share of portly people. Many of those carrying too
many pounds around are children and because children are notoriously bad about
eating unhealthy foods and not giving a damn, someone has to step in and help
them when they refuse to help themselves. That’s where the elected officials of
the state legislature come in. A few of these heroes have proposed a new bill that would ban whole milk from daycare centers.
That’s right, the fatties playing on the Little Tykes playground equipment are
going to switch to low-fat milk whether they and their snotty-nosed friends
like it or not. The American Academy of
Pediatrics recommends children switch to low-fat milk after the age of 2 and
says those who drink whole milk are more likely to be obese. This may seem like
nonsense given how quickly children grow and how soon they shed baby fat as
their bodies go into hyper-growth mode, but legislators are having none of it.
If the bill passes, children 2 years old and older would be switched to 1 or 2
percent milk at daycares across the state. Much like human growth hormone and
various steroids, whole milk would only be given out to children able to
produce a note from their physician declaring it to be medically necessary. For
now, other beverages such as tea or juice would not face such stiff regulation,
but at this rate it’s only a matter of time……..
- Are there any proud owners of Nike FuelBands out there? Probably not, but
any remaining members of that group are about to exit stage left amidst rumors
that Nike is officially abandoning development on all FuelBand hardware. Those
whispers come alongside news that Nike has allegedly fired most of those who were
responsible for working on its hardware team — approximately 70 to 80 percent
of the FuelBand's 70-employee work group. In a statement, a Nike spokesman
refused to comment on the rumors and said only that the Nike+ FuelBand SE is an
"important part" of its business. Nike’s official position is that it
will continue to work on the app, launch the fitness band with new colors and
ultimately sell and support the FuelBand "for the foreseeable
future." That’s the sort of ringing endorsement owners of professional
sports teams give embattled coaches before firing them the next week, so take
all of those puffed-up words for what they’re worth. Early indications are that
the company will look to sell its remaining inventory but hasn’t made any long-term
commitment to the line. Reasons for the undisclosed decision to cut off the
product line are likewise murky, but it seems Nike simply can't match the pace
of competitors whose specific focus on the wearables category gives them an
edge on the House Phil Knight Built. The myriad data FuelBand collects hasn’t been
used for much and the company still doesn't have an Android app that can
connect up to its devices nearly 18 months after its launch. Nike remains in
the fitness realm with the imminent release of the API for its Nike+ software
platform and other corporate ties could allow it to stay in the field without
having to directly produce its own Fuel-led hardware. Needing to partner with
other companies to git r’ done is nothing new for Nike, which has been working
with Apple to develop products since 2006. Still, it’s not an overly positive
sign for a corporate titan……..
- At this point, it couldn’t matter less which pop music
hacks NBC drops into the red leather chairs on the set of “The Voice Karaoke.” Swap
out one mainstream pop hack for another and it’s all the same show, filled with
hordes of wannabe karaoke sensations butchering other people’s songs. Even so,
the Peacock is keeping up the charade and shuffling the deck chairs on its
musical Titanic by plugging in new coaches with some of its existing mentors
who have moved on to less ridiculous endeavors. As the netowkr readies its
summer lineup and prepares to announce it to the world, it is simultaneously
working to fill the empty spots on its reality karaoke coaching staff.
Über-producer/Top 40 pop hack Pharrell Williams has already signed on to replace
Cee Lo Green, one of the original four coaches, but there is another void to
fill because Christina Aguilera will likely be on a maternity break for the
birth of her second child by the time Season 7 begins filming in June. Who
could possible be available on short notice to tell these karaoke poseurs to
sing on key and move around as they hack up songs someone else wrote and
recorded? How about the wildly overrated Gwen Stefani? Stefani makes sense
because neither she nor her wretched band No Doubt has ever possessed a shred
of musical credibility, yet she always bristles and fights back whenever anyone
points this out. She is an ideal fit for this gig and after giving birth her
third son in late February, she can probably use a job that doesn’t have her on
the road belting out garbage songs in a different city each night. Along with
her clothing line and other business endeavors, a reality karaoke coaching
stint makes sense. Williams even brought Stefani onstage for a duet last
weekend at Coachella last weekend, exacerbating speculation that the two will
soon work together. Besides, Stefani has already waded into the steaming
cesspool of sonic garbage that is reality karaoke television, serving as a
guest mentor on the sixth season of Fox’s “American Karaoke” and inspiring
Sanjaya Malakar's infamous fauxhawk……….
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