- It is rarely a good idea for sports and politics to
intersect. Almost inescapably, it involves a grandstanding politician looking
to hijack an endeavor he or she has nothing to do with and turning it into a
re-election or fundraising ploy. Enter Ohio state Sen. Eric Kearney, a Democrat from Cincinnati, who used the four-game
series last week between his state’s two Major League Baseball teams as an
occasion to introduce a resolution that would encourage the Cleveland Indians
to change their name and Chief Wahoo mascot. Kearney said the racial
insensitivity of the name makes it the right time for Indians owner Larry Dolan
to make a change even though the state legislature is on summer break and there
isn't any traction on the legislation. American Indians and others have
protested the use of the logo for years, but their efforts have been largely
limited to the team’s home opener. In recent months, the heat has been much
more substantial on the NFL’s Washington Redskins to change their name, with
the Indians remaining a background player in the conversation. The case against
the Redskins took a slight turn in June when a federal trademark board ruled
the Redskins' trademarks protections should be canceled because the team name
is disparaging to Native Americans. In spite of Kearney’s self-aggrandizing
push, Indians president Mark Shapiro said at a Thursday news conference that
the Chief Wahoo mascot "represents the heritage of the team and the
ballpark" and will remain in place. He added that the team will continue
to build and promote the use of the block "C” instead of hats featuring
the Chief Wahoo caricature. Kearney was at least realistic enough to concede
that he doesn’t expect major change right away. While he waits, he can ponder
the fact that he is still the disgraced former running mate of Ohio Democratic
gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald and was forced to withdraw from the
ticket in December amid questions about tax liens……..
- Speaking of gubernatorial frauds…..how about Tye
"Glenn" Champ, a Fresno County (Calif.) man who finished fifth in the
June gubernatorial primary and is now a man starting down charges of suspicion
of attempted murder, felony child endangerment and felony animal cruelty.
Why, you ask? Because he was arrested Friday in connection with a shooting that
left a man injured and a horse dead, which might seem like a tale from the Wild
West circa 1885, but allegedly happened in 2014 when Champ shot and wounded a
neighbor in the stomach and tried to shoot the neighbor's young son during a
dispute in Prather, a small community in the foothills of Fresno County.
The walk-off shot, literally, for this kook was shooting a horse to death. It
is worth noting that despite running for governor, Champ is anything but a man
who lives up to his last name. He is is a registered sex offender who ran as a
Republican in California's open primary June 3, winning 76,000 votes or 2
percent of the total - good for fifth place out of 14 candidates on the ballot.
His presence on the state's sex offender registry has been consistent since
1993, when he was convicted of two counts of assault with intent to commit
rape. Toss in killing a man while driving in 1998 and being convicted of
soliciting a prostitute before claiming a conversion to Christianity and you
have quite the eclectic persona for a man who does not yet seem to have
embraced the ideas, ideals and standards of the Bible if the charges against
him are true. The horse-shooting dispute was reportedly over maintenance work
on a private road, authorities said, with the man Champ shot taken to a local
hospital and listed in favorable condition……..
- For as long as musicians have recorded and released albums
and had to promote them to fans and critics, the gamesmanship between the two
sides has been on. Artists do what they can to drum up interest for their new
project, while fans and critics try to determine if it merits their financial
support and approval. The Gaslight Anthem is set to drop its latest release on
Tuesday and with the debut just days away, frontman Brian Fallon is doing his best to work some pre-release Jedi mind tricks
on the masses. Fallon is of the opinion that critics will “hate” the release,
titled “Get Hurt.” It is the band’s fifth release and like so many artists who
claim that their new sound is cool, innovative and simply above everyone’s
heard, Fallon is standing tall and anticipating the hate. "I would
put money on it - that of every five reviews, one out of five likes it. And two
out of five vehemently hate it," he said. The subject matter for the album
is Fallon's divorce from his wife of 10 years and he explained that the hurt
and confusion of the experience is on full display throughout the album. .
"Sometimes, I don't even know how it happened. I don't even know how it
got like this," Fallon said of the break-up. "All I know is that it
did. And I now have to figure out: What do I do now?" Drummer Benny
Horowitz said the process of writing and recording the album was cathartic for
Fallon, who doesn’t talk much with anyone about his personal life. Neither
Fallon nor Horowitz expounded on whether it was the subject matter or the
actual sound of the album that will piss people off, but it’s nonetheless a
clever attempt to raise interest in the album and get people talking before it
hits the market…….
- Slow your roll, large cruise ships passing by one of Italy’s
famed port cities. Venice is historic, touristy and a city driven by water
traffic, but the government isn't simply going to allow nautical vessels to
wreck the town. Regulations have long prevented certain types of boats from
traversing Venice’s famed canals, but the Italian government is moving ahead with plans
to block big cruise ships from sailing past Venice's historic center,
authorizing an environmental study for an alternate route that it hopes will
still satisfy the city's key tourism industry. Presently, cruise ships can pass
within 1,000 feet of Venice's iconic St. Mark's Square. That gives the lazy-ass
travelers who can't be bothered to get off the boat and do a little walking an
outstanding view of the historic plaza and its columns. However, the image of a
large, clunky cruise ship against the backdrop of Venice's Byzantine
architecture feels out of place and residents, activists and environmentalists
have long opposed cruise ship traffic in Venice. The haters weren't satisfied
with a decision Friday by a commission of government ministers and local
officials authorizing a study into using the Contorta-Sant'Angelo canal and the
group, called No Big Ships, believes that big cruise ships must be banned from
lagoon entirely rather than simply being kept further from land. In fact, the
leaders of the group called the panel’s choice the worst possible option. One
could argue that naming your group No Big Ships is a worse decision, but it is
somewhat subjective………
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