- Verrrrry bold, Southern Miss athletic department
officials. Your team is 5-11 this
season and 0-5 in Conference USA play, making the Golden Eagles a
near-certainty to be nowhere near the NCAA tournament or the three second-rate
tournaments that end the college basketball season. So it isn't exactly falling
on a grenade when you decide to self-impose a postseason ban for this season
due to an NCAA investigation involving former head men's basketball coach
Donnie Tyndall. The Southern Miss administration informed players and
coaches of the decision and in response, the angered – and possibly delusional
– players decided not to practice. “I am saddened and extremely disappointed
for the members of our men's basketball team, who will not be able to
participate in the postseason this year, as well as for our new coaching staff
and fans," Southern Mississippi athletic director Bill McGillis said in a
statement. Right, but the only postseason experience this team was going to
have was its first-round loss in the Conference USA tournament. In response to
the announcement, a C-USA spokesperson said the league had changed its format
to entering 12 of 14 teams in the postseason tournament. If Southern Miss were
to finish 12th then the 13th team would replace the Eagles. "This
self-imposed penalty was a painful, but necessary decision based on information
gathered during the review process and available to the university at this
time," McGillis added. The investigation stems from potential rule
violations related to improper financial aid to a pair of players -- Matt
Bingaya and Shadell Millinghaus. Tyndall pulled a Pete Carroll and beat it out
of town ahead of the NCAA coming to town, leaving Southern Miss for Tennessee
this past season. Maybe Tennessee wants to double check and make sure its men’s
basketball players aren't having their pockets lined with walking-around
money………..
- Please God, please let this happen. Russia and North Korea
are two of the most heinous oppressors of human rights in the world today and
two of the most despicable Communist dictatorships around, so when Bad Vlad
Putin extends an invitation to North Korean munchkin despot Kim Jong Un, the
world needs to be on its hands and knees praying for the gout-suffering Korean
leader to say yes. According to Russia's foreign minister,
that’s exactly how Kim responded when someone hit him with the Kremlin's
invitation to visit Russia. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Kim's response
had been "positive, as a first signal," echoing comments made by Putin's
foreign affairs adviser. Although Lavrov didn't elaborate on the specifics of
Kim’s positive response, he didn’t really need to. Fact is, Kim was probably
neck-deep in a plate of dumplings or kimchi and could barely get the words out
of his mouth. This visit isn't a sure thing yet because North Korea has not
officially commented on the invitation and still has time to decline it, but
the sheer irony and hilarity of a horrid dictator like Kim visiting Russia to
take part in May celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet
Union's victory over Nazi Germany are both hilarious and potent. The “We downed
the Nazis and became nearly as oppressive as they ever were” party will also feature a Red Square
parade and with any luck, a certain diminutive North Korean megalomaniac whose
affinity for fine foods is matched only by his disdain for anyone who dares to
disagree with his sovereign word. Should Kim say yes to the invite, the trip to
Moscow could be his first trip abroad since taking power three years ago.
Considering where he lives and what a hell hole the place is, it’s surprising
that he doesn’t get out more often………
- When it rains “Star Wars” sequels and spin-offs, it pours.
With J.J. Abrams hard at work on a movie that hopefully will not wreck everything
fans have come to love about the House of CGI-effect-heavy Cards George Lucas
built, other projects based on the iconic sci-fi series are also chugging
ahead. One such project is Disney's new female-led Star
Wars spin-off, a project that takes the basic theme of doing an
all-female “The Expendables” spin-off and makes it a bit less ridiculous. The
cast for the still-untitled lady Star Wars spin-off is forming up and the
leading role is looking like a battle between “The Theory of Everything” leading
actress Felicity Jones, “Orphan Black”
actress Tatiana Maslany and “The Girl
with the Dragon Tattoo” star Rooney Mara. The director, in a choice that
will inspire zero confidence in anyone who has seen his most recent
blockbuster, will be “Godzilla” mastermind Gareth Edwards. The movie also has a
slated release date, Dec. 16, 2016, almost one year to the day that “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opens
in theaters. Mara and Maslany have already tested for the role, which Jones has
yet to audition. She’s slated to shoot “Inferno,” the forthcoming sequel to “The Da Vinci Code,” this spring and
summer and therefore might not be able to be a part of Edwards’ Star Wars
project. The second spin-off in the works will be helmed by “Chronicle's Josh Trank” and at the
rate Disney is squeezing the life out of the franchise, it wouldn’t be a
surprise to see additional star vehicles rolling down the assembly line in the
weeks and months ahead……….
- A longtime Philadelphia union boss has been
convicted…for acting like a longtime Philadelphia union boss. Federal
prosecutors said 73-year-old Joseph Dougherty relied on violence and
intimidation to secure union jobs, going so far as to tell Ironworkers Local
401 members they were at "war" with nonunion competitors. And the problem
is? It is a war out there for cushy, high-paying union gigs and the best jobs
often go not to the best workers or most proven companies, but to those whose
union boss plays the roughest and dirtiest behind the scenes. According to
prosecutors, Dougherty’s members ratcheted up the pressure on nonunion
contractors as the economy stalled and jobs became scarce. Dougherty was
convicted after nearly a dozen members pleaded guilty rather than face trial
and several of those men ended up testifying against their boss, including a
top deputy who described the arson of a Quaker meeting house being built with
nonunion crews. That’s right, these maniacs were willing to burn down a
building merely because those who built part of the structure weren't members
of their union. In his defense, Dougherty's attorneys argued that their client
never ordered the Code Red, er, arson and therefore could not be held
responsible for other people's crimes. Their argument failed and the resulting racketeering,
extortion and other convictions carry what could amount to a life sentence for
a man who is on the wrong side of retirement age. Wonder how prison would treat
a corrupt union boss who should be playing shuffleboard at the retirement
community rather than playing pickup basketball in the yard during rec hour…….
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