- Did
no one learn from the idiocy of Blake Griffin? The Los Angeles Clippers star
has missed weeks of action after breaking his hand when he punched a team
equipment manager in an altercation at a restaurant and yet, NBA All-Star
having to sit out key games for being a moron doesn’t seem to have made an
impression on the rest of the sports world. It definitely hasn’t educated top
Boston Red Sox prospect Michael Kopech, who suffered a small fracture of his
right hand during what the team described as an "altercation" with
his roommate a few days ago. The right-handed pitcher and 2014 first-round
draft pick isn't exactly the smartest or most stable dude. Just six months ago,
he finished serving a 50-game suspension for violating the minor-league drug
policy. Rather than get back on the field to start this season, he’s going to
be recuperating from his busted mitt owing to a lack of self-control and anger
issues. "It's disappointing, very disappointing. It was stupid," Red
Sox general manager Mike Hazen said. "He's going to have to grow up,
obviously, with the things that have happened so far." Hazen also refused
to say how the team intends to discipline Kopech, but a drug user with anger
issues probably needs a bit of tough love. Yes, Kopech is just 19 years old and
most people that age have a lot of growing up to do, but he appears to be
taking that to the extreme. Team doctors still must determine the severity of
the fracture and whether it will require surgery, but while he’s out, hopefully
he can avoid Oxilofrine, the stimulant drug and an amphetamine for which he
tested positive last year. When he can stay on the field, he seems to be pretty
good, having posted a 2.63 ERA in 65 innings last season for Single-A
Greenville……..
- Germans
are solid people who don’t have a great sense of humor, but what’s going on in Zorneding,
a community of 9,000 people about 15 miles east of Munich, is no laughing
matter. Bavarian officials and residents are rallying in support of a
Congolese-born priest in the village after a deluge of anonymous death threats
and hate mail began pouring in following his decision to stand up for the
refugees flooding the country. The Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. Olivier
Ndjimbi-Tshiende, told parishioners during Sunday Mass that he would be stepping
down due to the persecution and leaving his parish. Initially, he planned to celebrate
Easter Mass with the congregation this month and stay until April 1, but
reversed field and instead left Zorneding immediately, high-ranking church
officials and local community members confirmed. He will reportedly be
reassigned within the church, but perhaps owing to the danger in which he might
be, those details haven't been announced. At the church he left behind, the
rectory is empty and church officials won't comment on where their priest has
gone. The only real signs of what happened were two small cardboard banners placed
on the ground next to Ndjimbi-Tshiende's mailbox, reading "solidarity with
the priest" and "arrest those who threatened the murder." Parishioners
recalled him as a man who prayed for those who sent him hate mail and Zorneding's
deputy mayor, Bianka Poschenrieder, as well as the regional governor and deputy
mayor, denounced the attacks and those responsible for them……..
- Life
is busy for the Gover-Nator. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been hauling in one big project after another
since leaving the California governor’s office. He’s been in movie after movie
and when Donald Trump launched a presidential campaign we were all sure was a
joke but which has turned out to be sadly and disturbingly real, he was tabbed
as the new host of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” reality series. But oddly
enough, he hadn't been linked to the forthcoming prequel of one of the biggest
movies of which he’s been a part - until now. Schwarzenegger has suggested that
he just might make a comeback as Dutch in Shane Black’s big-budget sequel of “The Predator.” Schwarzenegger, who played Dutch in the
original 1987 movie alongside Black himself, has long been a target for fans who
want to see as much of the original “Predator” world back for this one, but
until now he’s stayed distant. That may - MAY - be changing. “I haven't talked
with him [Shane Black] yet but I'm going to meet with him for lunch sometime
soon,” Schwarzenegger said. Just as soon
as I'm finished with this [Arnold's Sports Festival] and The Apprentice and all
this stuff. “But I will get together with
him. If there is any news, we'll of course let you know right away. There's
also a meeting coming up soon about Conan, about the project moving forward.”
Nothing is certain at this point, but meeting with the director is a good sign
that both parties have at least some interest and considering that the budget
for this project is massive, Black may as well pull out all of the stops to
make it happen…….
- When
Periscope was invented a few years ago, this had to be the ultimate realization
of the vision its creators had for their app. They undoubtedly imagined a day
when a graduate student from Saudi Arabia would be arrested for allegedly
driving drunk in Long Island and use Periscope to allow the world to live-view
his drunken joy ride. In actuality, Periscope played a key role in possibly
avoiding a very bad ending to an already terrible situation because some of Ahmed
Almalki’s viewers called 911 as they were watching it unfold, with this lush holding
a cigarette in one hand and his cell phone in the other. As the story goes, Almalki
was allegedly chugging whiskey at his Oyster Bay home before getting behind the
wheel and beginning and erratic trek in which he drove on Ocean and Wantagh parkways.
Because police are, well, not always with the times when it comes to social
media, a police dispatcher had to download Periscope in order to follow the
broadcast and narrow down Almalki’s location by recognizing landmarks like the
Jones Beach Tower. The dispatcher relayed the information to New York state
troopers, who stopped Almalki before anyone got hurt. “An odor of alcohol was
soon as they approached the car. Field sobriety tests all failed,” said Maj.
David Candelaria of the New York State Police. “The public and the dispatcher
were key in preventing a tragedy. This was a cooperative effort to take this
guy off the road.” It was also a case of a moron serving up criminal charges
against himself and making the case better than any prosecutor even could,
adding what is Almalki’s second DWI arrest to his growing criminal record……….
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