- The
Buffalo Bills are a disappointment to a lot of people. Fans who expected more
from them this season under new, big-talking head coach Rex Ryan were let down
by a 6-10 season. Ownership, which told Ryan he will be fired if he misses the
playoffs next season, clearly felt underwhelmed by what they saw on the field
this season. Hell, even the team’s cheerleaders are bitterly disappointed by
the Bills, which is why they have been given approval to proceed with a class
action lawsuit against the team demanding better wages. A New York state judge issued a ruling allowing
"all Buffalo Bills cheerleaders and ambassadors since April 2008" to join
the suit, which originated as five individual lawsuits filed by former
cheerleaders. The attorney heading up the class action suit, Christopher
Marlborough, said his clients are "fighting for the rights" of all
Bills cheerleaders who are making claims. The case is similar to the ones
brought by cheerleaders for other NFL teams, all built around how the pom-pom
shakers are categorized by the teams. NFL teams have considered them independent
contractors and not employees, meaning cheerleaders weren't entitled to certain
wage and workplace rights. However, this suit claims that the Jills
cheerleaders were paid below minimum wage and were required to attend unpaid
events. Additionally, the women allege that at some of these sponsored events
they were made to feel uncomfortable by male attendees while being forced to
adhere to strict dress codes and behavioral guidelines set by the team.
Everything from their physical appearance to music selection were allegedly
controlled and while the Bills have pledged to continue fighting the suit, this
is a growing trend in the NFL for teams that are basically printing their own
money and probably should stop being so damn cheap and pay up……….
- Some
prescribe anti-depressants for the deer of Paxton, Ill. as soon as possible. It
appears these poor, skittish animals have reached a self-destructive place and
their sad state is spelled out plainly on signs in and around the greater
Paxton area. Signs warning motorists of “suicidal
deer” stand as warning signs through the region, the brainchild of Button
Township Highway Commissioner Ron Hilligoss. Hilligoss was inspired by a family
member as they were talking about the fact that 33 vehicle collisions with deer
were reported in Paxton in 2015. “My nephew sent me a picture of one of these
signs out in Colorado about six months ago,” Hilligoss said. “He texted it to
me, and I thought it was really a good thing because it gets your attention. So
we had had a Ford County Highway Department meeting and I said, ‘Can you get me
these signs?’” OK, so technically Hilligoss ripped off someone else’s idea, but
calling deer suicidal is both stereotyping and extremely insensitive. It has,
however, caught the attention of the locals and Hilligoss said he's already
heard from members of the community who at least took time to read the signs. The
county purchased four “suicidal” signs for $42 each, with the signs to be
installed gradually. “I’m just waiting to see who puts bullet holes in it or
steals it,” Hilligoss said. And in that case, you purchased it why? Granted,
$168 isn't exactly a fortune, but for a small town in Illinois, every dime
counts. Maybe if these don’t work, post signs with pictures of deer killed by
car collisions by the side of the road and hope that scares the animals away
from the road……….
- The party is over, but no one told Puddle Of Mudd frontman Wes Scantlin. As the lead singer for a way-past-relevance arena rock band that managed to get a couple of its music videos played on MTV back in the day, there was a brief period when Scantlin was kinda, sorta relevant. That time has since passed, as should have Scantlin’s days of acting like an actual rock star. That hasn’t exactly happened based on the last month, with the theatrics beginning when Scantlin was arrested Dec. 26 for drug possession and chased that last weekend when he was detained by police for vandalizing a house he used to own. The key part of that sentence is the term “used to own,” because he allegedly lost the Hollywood Hills property last year. Someone else now owns it and to show his disdain for that fact, Scantlin allegedly smashed a window with a hatchet and trashed audio electronics, surveillance cameras and an alarm system. In video footage from the property, Scantlin lied to police and told them he owns the property and amazingly, they didn’t merely take his word for it. Instead, he has been charged with vandalism and trespassing and was released after posting $20,000 bail. The last time anyone heard from Puddle of Mudd was with the release of their forgotten-before-it-dropped 2011 album “re:(disc)overed,” an album ironically named because no one ever seemed to discover a single note of it. As for Scantlin, he was arrested in April 2015 and charged with misdemeanor trespassing after entering a security clearance area at Denver International Airport, taking a joyride on an oversized luggage carousel in the process. That came after a 2014 arrest for using a chainsaw to attack a neighbor’s patio and the sounds coming from that attack on the property of electro-pop artist Sasha Gradiva actually produced more listenable sounds than most of what Scantlin has uttered into a microphone………..
- Why
not give the ladies a shot? For decades, Northern Ireland has been a
clusterf*ck of sectarian violence and for the most part, its leaders have been
men who have failed miserably to end the bloodshed and unite a country torn between
loyalists of the British crown and those who favor independence like their
Irish brethren to the south. So perhaps it’s wise to give a female leader a
shot at resolving the unresolvable and that female leader is Arlene Foster. Northern Ireland lawmakers have
appointed Foster as the first female leader of their unity government, capping
her rapid rise in the Democratic Unionist Party, which represents the British
Protestant majority. Foster was elected unopposed last month to succeed Peter
Robinson as party leader following his November resignation announcement and
just a few weeks later, Northern Ireland Assembly lawmakers appointed her
unopposed to succeed Robinson as leader of the 9-year-old government. Like any
politician, male or female, who is selected to a new post with high expectations,
Foster grossly overpromised by pledging to improve relations with Irish nationalists
on the other side of the chamber. "I will do all I can to change the
political culture of this place, but I can't change that alone. We can only do
it by working together,” Foster said in her address. She claimed Catholic and
Protestant voters alike were sick of their seemingly endless arguments and in
that respect, she’s spot on………..
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