- Having a hobo-length beard would not seem to mesh well
with either the climate or the fashion consciousness of South Beach. Yet Miami Marlins
pitcher Andrew Cashner is intent on reviving his inner Grizzly Adams and the
team’s policy on facial hair could play a big role on whether or not he
re-signs with Miami as a free agent. Cashner, who rocked a thick beard for
years with the San Diego Padres before being traded to Miami this season, says
he would be interested in re-signing with the Marlins should they get rid of
their no-beard policy. He said the team’s rule against facial hair is a big
deal and seems to be pretty agitated about having to adhere to a clean-shaven
look since joining the Marlins on July 29. The policy keeps the Marlins on the
same page as Marlins manager Don Mattingly’s former team, the New York Yankees,
with whom he played much of his career while famously feuding with the Yankees
and former owner George Steinbrenner over the length of his hair in 1991.
Mattingly doesn’t sound like a man who is about to push for change, saying the
policy makes the Marlins “who we want to be as an organization.” It’s a garbage
policy from an organization that routinely guts its roster in the name of the
bottom line and which has rewarded the community that funded its luxurious new
stadium through tax dollars with largely non-competitive teams mired in the
middle or at the bottom of the standings on an annual basis……..
- British International Trade Secretary Liam Fox knows how
to talk smack…it’s just unusual for Britain's trade minister to be throwing
shade at his own country’s businesses. Fox is looking to buck convention and
perhaps spur growth in the United Kingdom, even if it means offending people
and making enemies. He delivered a speech to pro-free market group Conservative
Way Forward and took direct aim at those he believes are stunting British
business growth because their lazy asses would rather "play golf on a
Friday afternoon" than fulfill their "duty" to export.
Businesspeople, especially those who work in outside sales, have been known to
find their way to a golf course, movie theater or mall food court when they
should be out pitching potential clients from time to time, but it’s not often
that a high-ranking government official accuses them of being responsible for
stifling the entire national economy. "We have become too lazy, and too
fat on our successes in previous generations," Fox said. It’s worth noting
that Fox is in charge of forging new international economic links as Britain
prepares to leave the European Union, so he probably should worry about
building a better working relationship with the people he’s ripping. Equally
interesting is the fact that Prime Minister Theresa May's office didn’t rush to
his defense, saying Fox was expressing private views. Who else is looking
forward to the next meeting between Fox and business leaders to discuss how to
give the British economy the boost it needs? Good times ahead……..
- It’s an explanation that could apply to damn near every
movie or TV project in Hollywood and beyond, so John Barrowman isn't really
treading any new ground when he blames "certain egos" for “Torchwood”
remaining absent from TV screens and streaming services around the world. Barrowman
starred as Captain Jack Harkness in the edgy “Doctor Who” spin-off created by
Russell T. Davies, with the show running for four seasons between 2006 and
2011. It ran on BBC Two at first before moving to BBC One and developed a
strong following before suddenly ending. "I was told that there are some
obstacles to overcome, and every time I tried to talk about a way around them,
it was almost like there was another obstacle,” Barrowman said. “And this is a
personal thing for me, this is not anything that was discussed, but I find it
really a little disheartening that a company like the BBC can't just say 'Put
your egos aside, we’re gonna go forward with this.' I travel all over the
world, and I see the popularity of Torchwood. But when it comes down that it's
not being done because of people's egos, I find that really difficult." Nothing
like calling out some of your co-stars publicly without naming names, blaming
the internal politics of the show and claiming that as the star of the series,
you’re totally in on reviving the show, but it won't happen because people
around you are too proud, too arrogant and too self-centered to subjugate themselves
for the good of the show. If and when “Torchwood” ever comes back, it should be
fascinating to see how the relationships between Barrowman and the people he
ripped unfold……..
- It’s a scene that would be right at home in a horror
movie, but this is real life and officials in Boston are really dealing with a
bizarre situation in which a large flock of songbirds suddenly fell from the
sky in one of the city’s neighborhoods. According to city wildlife officials, 47
sick grackles were found Thursday in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood and no
one is quite sure how they came to be in that state. Thirty-two of the birds
were able to survive their sudden fall - and their fall from health - but the
remaining 15 died, leaving invesitgators to figure out what happened. The
scenario began when residents reported birds falling from the sky and a sick
cat, prompting the Animal Rescue League of Boston to rush to the area. They
found two cats that had become ill and were later euthanized, but it wasn’t immediately
clear whether the sick birds and ill cats were connected in any way. The best
theory the ARLB was able to craft is that the birds may have gotten sick after
ingesting a pest-control poison, but the city has yet to announce if that’s the
official explanation. The 15 dead birds will be sent to Tufts University for testing
and in the meantime, the people of Boston will have to figure out if they buy
the official explanation or if this is the tip of the iceberg for something much
more sinister, much more dastardly….perhaps the latest evil act of their arch nemesis,
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, currently Public Enemy No. 1 on account of his
four-game suspension of Boston sports icon Tom Brady and his Ugg boots. Maybe
the birds simply couldn’t stomach the idea of having to witness an NFL season
in which Brady wasn’t allowed to play for four whole weeks……..
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