- Of all the reasons to come to New York, lots of places to
ride your bike is not typically one of them. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants
to change that fact, which is why he’s proposing to complete and connect two
greenway trails crisscrossing the state from Manhattan to Canada and from
Albany to Buffalo to create a 750-mile paved biking and hiking route that will
be marketed as a national tourist destination. "We want to build the
largest multi-use trail in the nation,” Cuomo proclaimed during a speech in
Westchester County. He’s going to need more than enthusiastic speeches if he’s
going to convince his state to spend $200 million over three years to pave 350
miles of gaps in the existing greenways and connect them to create what he’s
dubbed the Empire State Trail. Under the governor’s plan, the remade trail will
incorporate the existing Erie Canalway and the Hudson River Valley Greenway
using State Bike Route 9, which runs along Lake Champlain to Canada and would
complete the trail from Manhattan. According to Cuomo, the completed trail
would generate millions of dollars in revenue for the surrounding communities
each year. At present, the Erie Canalway is nearly 80 percent complete; the
Hudson River Greenway nearly 50 percent. One aspect that will save a few
dollars is that the state already owns most of the land needed to complete the
project. Some of the appealing angles of the proposed finished trail include
its proximity to historic sites such as Olana, the home and studio of Hudson
River School painter Frederic Church; the popular Walkway Over the Hudson, an
old Poughkeepsie railroad bridge transformed into a pedestrian and bike path;
the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook; the Saratoga
National Battlefield and Fort Ticonderoga. Then again, the money that may be
used on it would surely be welcome by other fiscally struggling areas of the
Empire State……..
- Given that he’s the namesake of the Mike Tyson Zone,
nothing the former heavyweight boxing champion and current pop culture darling
does at this point can technically be considered a surprise, but this
definitely comes close. Tyson, who is (predictably) involved with an upcoming
celebrity boxing match featuring a pair of decent hip-hop artists who
legitimately don’t like each other, has apparently recorded a diss track
towards Soulja Boy ahead of the rapper’s celebrity boxing match with Tyson’s
trainee, Chris Brown. Brown has to be legitimately excited that he’s going to
be hitting someone he’s legally allowed to assault for once and he also has to
like the fact that as he and Soulja Boy take their recent dispute to the next
level, Tyson is adding wannabe rapper to his growing list of gigs he’s held in
sports and entertainment. Soulja Boy is being trained for the bout by former
world champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr., but so far Mayweather hasn’t shown a
willingness to put down his whistle and step into the booth to hype the bout
with a diss track of his own. In a tweet, Tyson claimed that he’d “dropped
heat” in the studio by recording a diss track about Soulja Boy. He claimed that
the track includes vocals from Brown and as produced by Damon Elliot and said
the song, ‘If You Show Up,’ will be released soon. It’s a fair bet that the
track won't be good, but neither will the match between Soulja Boy and Brown,
so it all fits together nicely. Maybe Tyson can also serve as a broadcaster and
promoter for the fight and really round out his resume…….
- You run against the president, you go to jail. That’s the
lesson hammered home this week in Republic of Congo, where police have
confirmed that an opposition leader who ran in the latest presidential election
has been arrested. According to unidentified police sources, Andre Okombi
Salissa was arrested early in the morning and the good news in a place like Republic
of Congo is that the government and its lackeys in the police department don’t even
have to say what charges have been brought against Okombi Salissa, who lost last
year's election to longtime incumbent Denis Sassou N'Guesso. Think Sassou
N'Guesso may have had something to do with the arrest of a former member of the
presidential majority who left the party last year after Sassou N'Guesso held a
referendum to change the constitution, allowing him to seek a third mandate?
African despots never hold a grudge when someone dares to oppose their
unconstitutional efforts to enthrone themselves as their nation’s dictator for
life. It’s clear at this point that Sassou N'Guesso learned a thing or two from
his stint ruling the country from 1979 until a 1992 election defeat, namely how
to stifle the opposition and silence those who want him to respect the law and
honor term limits. When he took power again in 1997, it was with the mentality
of never ceding power again and by all means necessary - legal and otherwise - he’s
since won three elections and as this arrest suggests, there is no one beyond
his reach when it comes to snuffing out anyone who would dare to oppose his
reign of terror. Maybe, just maybe, he’s hoping that any would-be future election
challenges will see what’s happening to Okombi Salissa and reconsider their
plans to run against him……..
- Someone should probably add extra padding to the basket
supports at the Los Angeles Clippers’ practice facility. When you sign one of
the most intense dudes in the history of the NBA, even as a consultant, it’s a
safe move to add some extra foam around the goal given his track record of
mercilessly head-butting said supports. In other words, welcome back Kevin Garnett,
who officially signed on as a consultant
this week with the L.A. Clippers. His role is vague, but essentially he’ll hang
around the team at practices but will not be on the bench at games or travel
with the Clippers. He’ll be reunited with former Boston teammates Paul Pierce
and Brandon Bass and his former coach, Doc Rivers, and was already with the
team in Irvine during training camp, working out with the Clippers' big men
before the season. "He's stayed in touch," Clippers assistant coach
Mike Woodson said. "He's had some communication, I'm sure, with some of
the players throughout the course of the season since camp. So I'm sure he'll
be in and out when it presents itself for him to work with our guys. And I
think when he's here, it's important for our bigs to take advantage of him
being out here on the floor.” All-Star center DeAndre Jordan described
Garnett's new role with the Clippers as “amazing,” citing the Big Ticket’s
“great spirit and a great basketball mind,” a great mind that comes fully
loaded with F-bombs and every other profanity known to man. Aside from being
psychopathically intense, Garnett is also a 15-time All-Star and league MVP in
2004, honors he took along with the 2007-08 championship he won with the
Celtics along with Pierce under Rivers as head coach, and now he’s living well
in Southern California while leading the non-taxing life of a part-time basketball
consultant………
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