Friday, February 19, 2016

Colorado Pot Wars, animals with knives in Brazil and Jim Harbaugh's recruiting scam


- What is it with animals picking up blades and coming at humans in Brazil lately? First, it was the viral video of a colorful crab holding a sharp kitchen knife and trying to fend off the human owner of the knife, who was pursuing it with his phone in one hand to film and not a shred of intelligence in the other because he could have just dropped something heavy on the crab to smash it and end the chase. But that was nothing compared to what happened recently in the city of Patos, where firefighters were called to a bar to deal with a drunk and disorderly primate who downed a glass of rum and picked up a kitchen knife. According to police, the monkey began chasing men around with the knife and one would assume, given the greater brain power of the primate versus the crab, it’s safe to surmise that there was a much better chance of the monkey inflicting serious damage with its stolen weapon. Thankfully, the malicious monkey decided that it would be just as happy attacking an inanimate object as a human and was later captured on video  using the kitchen knife to scratch at the bar’s roof. Police and other pursuers eventually captured the monkey and released it back into the wild, one for it to later be found terrorizing another group of people - residents of homes along the woods. This time, it was captured and kept as authorities attempted to decide whether it’s safe to release the animal again or if that ability of folks to pound cheap beer in peace or be in the yard behind their house without fear of a primate attack outweighs an animal’s right to freedom………


- Pretty soon, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is going to have either the biggest coaching and support staff in college football or he’s going to have a slew of NCAA rules violations on his hands - or maybe both. The kooky head coach has been a recruiting maniac this offseason, doing everything from climbing trees to having sleepovers at recruit’s homes in order to get the best prospects to commit to the Wolverines, but it seems like his maneuvering didn’t end on National Signing Day. For the second year in a row, Harbaugh has conveniently hired a family member of a top recruit who just happened to commit to Michigan shortly before their loved one landed a sweet new gig. Last season, Harbaugh hired Gwendolyn Bush, mother of defensive back transfer Wayne Lyons, in a player development role. This year, he just so happened to bring in Devin Bush Sr., whose son Devin Bush Jr. signed with Michigan as part of its 2016 recruiting class. Bush Sr., who is known for his playing days as a safety at Florida State in the early '90s, and played in the NFL from 1995 to 2002, confirmed he will be joining the Wolverines as a defensive analyst. Wait….your son is a prized linebacker recruit and within two weeks him signing with a school, you make the leap from Flanagan High School in Pembroke Pines, Florida, to Ann Arbor Yes, Bush Sr. recently led Flanagan to a state championship, but this move seems tied much more closely to his son’s commitment and the presence of another top recruit for next year,  Stanford Samuels, on the Pembroke Pines roster. Harbuagh’s blatant nepotism-as-a-recruiting-tool strategy also extends to coaches who aren’t related to recruits, as he also hired Chris Partridge from Paramus Catholic high school, where No. 1 ranked Rashan Gary attended school……….


- Quit trying to harsh their buzz, you squares in the state legislature of Colorado. The Centennial State was the first to legalize pot for recreational use and has become the stoner capital of America, but not everyone has been thrilled with the impact ganja has had on Colorado. Some of those people have continued to peck away at the perimeter of the herb issue, such as those who have sponsored a bill that would require medical marijuana home grows to be enclosed and locked. Yes, because the goal is always to keep the hippie lettuce out of the hands of children - except for the fact that if mom or dad is lighting up and that stank is enveloping the home, then the kids are going to get a contact high anyhow. These over-regulators seem nonplussed by the fact that existing laws already require recreational pot plants to be enclosed and locked. Even though medical marijuana can be grown out in the open, supporters of the bill claim that children are picking marijuana out of backyards and taking it to school. A law enforcement official showed a senate committee pictures of backyard medical marijuana grows, one of them right beside a middle school and said students are “walking through the greenbelt … and grabbing handfuls of marijuana.”  Sen. Linda Newell (a.k.a. Sen. Wet Blanket), the bill’s sponsor, is smashing her hand on the child-safety panic button hard in this situation. “Colorado has the highest use rates of marijuana among youth in the country,” Newell said. Opponents of the bill contend that stealing pot from someone’s backyard is already illegal and believe the real purpose of this charade is  to curb home grows. You fight that good fight, stoners, and don’t let them pry that prized spliff from your Cheetoh-dust-stained hands……….


- If ever there was a show that scream for a musical episode, “Game of Thrones” would not be it. It’s an incredibly bloody, violent show full of brutality, beatings and death, but it seems that at least two members of the cast would still like to channel their inner song-and-dance. “Thrones” stars Dean-Charles Chapman and Isaac Hempstead Wright were asked about making a musical episode of the fantasy series, a la the 2001 musical episode of  “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and so many other shows that have tried the idea over the years and these two believe that they and their cast mates have the musical skill to pull of their own take on the concept. "It would be quite dark. There'd be a lot of deaths," Wright said. “There are a lot of musicians in the cast actually, I've got to say. I play the piano but we've got Nat Tena, who plays Osha, who's in a band called Molotov Jukebox. Lots of people are in bands. So watch this space, maybe there'll be a Game Of Thrones musical episode." He plays Bran Stark on the show and hasn’t exactly had a chance to show off his singing talents yet, so maybe this will spur a change.  "I'd like to see that. Absolutely," Chapman added. Whether or not the cast could pull it off or not is a question mark, but give the show’s immense popularity already, it’s hard to imagine a musical episode not getting huge publicity and boosting ratings even further. As long as fans can have their death, deceit and danger alongside their high notes and baritones, odds are that it wouldn’t upset much of anyone……….

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