Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Jerry Glanville: Your New Portland State Viking Head Football Coach

A good hire for Division 1-AA Portland State in getting former NFL head coach Jerry Glanville to hold that position for the foreseeable future (low guess at this point is a minimum of two years, though in the KATU clips aired locally, Jerry said that his wife Brenda loved the area so who knows at this point). No official contract has been signed, but Portland State and Glanville had an official press conference earlier today, so I would guess that's a pretty good sign that something written in concrete (err, make that tearable papaer) will be arriving soon. Best of luck to you Jerry, it's good for the Vikings football program.


RELEASE

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Shaun Livingston

I'd started yesterday's John Terry post with a phrase about the "most frightening thing I'd seen in quite awhile" for something that happened on Sunday. Unfortunate to report that something has surpassed that, at least from what I've heard. (count me as one who doesn't watch SportsCenter, or any of the highlight/report shows more than once). It was my work buddies who told me about the Los Angeles Clippers Shaun Livingston and what happened after he dunked the ball and landed on the ground, dislocating his knee in the process.


The Sports Frog has a story and link to videos about the incident, if you care to view such things.



SPORTS FROG

Monday, February 26, 2007

John Terry's Kick In The Head

One of the most frightening things I've seen in quite awhile, Terry was knocked out cold before he hit the ground, and also swallowed his tongue in the process. Action is from Sunday's Carling Cup final at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff, which Chelsea won 2-1 over Arsenal, no great disappointment here that the Gooners didn't get any more silverware. Nope, none at all.



Sunday, February 25, 2007

Wendy's Original Store To Close


Dunno why I'm partial to Wendy's over the other fast-food burger joints, oh wait, maybe I do. Living next door to a McDonald's and having some litter in my yard a lot of the time is no fun, and I'm not much of a fan of the food at Burger King. For the record, I bought something at a Carl's Jr. the other day, first time ever, and was not impressed with what I purchased: a buffalo chicken sandwich that had been drowned in that Frank's Red Hot sauce. The french fry sauce at Arctic Circle is good, but the only ones in this area are at least a 40 minute drive. Plus, there are no Fatburgers round here either. That leaves Wendy's, and there is nothing better to warm up to after a morning in the freezers like a Spicy Chicken Sandwich. About the only downside to Wendy's is that they increased the straw size last year whenever I opt for a "value meal"; I don't really wanna drink that much soda that quickly.


At any rate, the original Wendy's in Columbus, Ohio will close this coming Friday due to losing money related to a number of factors. From the articles, not entirely unexpected, but as the franchise that I spend the most money at, we still have to note the passing of the flagship store for the chain.




USA TODAY




COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Spurs 4 Bolton 1

A lovely offensive blitz from Spurs at the start of the match, spearheaded by two Robbie Keane goals sandwiching one from Jermaine Jenas in the first 22 minutes, led Tottenham to a decisive 4-1 victory over the Wanderers at White Hart Lane today.


Keane was sent off with a red card in the 36th minute for a handball, and Gary Speed drove the ball past goalie Paul Robinson with no problem to give the Wanderers some life being down 3-1 facing a 10 man Spurs lineup for the rest of the way, but some good defense and some outstanding work by Robinson never really gave the visitors much of a chance to claw their way back into the game, and in fact, the Spurs were quite unlucky not to have the final score standing at 7-1 or something similar.



A loud boisterous atmosphere at the Lane, lots of singing the whole match through, and it was nice to see Spurs respond to that, seeing that they've faltered a bit at home recently with losses to Newcastle, Manchester United and Liverpool on the books. Dimitar Berbatov continued to impress, he was feeding the ball to teammates in better position to score with some lovely passes. About the only moment of concern from me came in the first half, when Spurs defender Young-Pyo Lee missed a header in a clearance attempt close to the box, which led to a quick header from Bolton's Stelios Giannakopoulos, but Robinson had quick reflexes on that shot and swatted the ball away just off of the line.









BBC

Friday, February 23, 2007

What's In A Good Business Name? One That They'll Remember


I think that this business, dealing with dogs and expensive care products for them, in the Wallingford district of Seattle certainly falls under that banner. If one of the co-founders, a female, has no problem with the sign, then neither do I.




FULL STORY

Church + Porno Sounds: Hilarity Does Not Ensue.

A pretty dumb stunt that would be funny only to a very small number of people, and hopefully then not for very long. A Catholic Church and some alarm clock/CD players playing some discs with pornographic sounds set to sound off during a service on Ash Wednesday. How very............. obvious and unimaginative. I like what the police captain said in the article investigators haven't ruled out any motives, including politics, terrorism or obnoxiousness.. I think this case certainly qualifies as that.



STORY

I Get It; You Pray After You Eat It.


....cause it's from KFC, right? (and this is nothing to do with the notorious story out of NYC about the RATS either). No, it's just that KFC has asked The Pope to bless its offering of a new Fish Snacker sandwich to its menu.



STORY


Oh, and the fish itself is the trusty ol' Alaskan pollack (who knows what the price of the sandwich would've been if they'd used halibut).




LOUISVILLE STORY

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Dennis Johnson R.I.P.


So very sad to hear of the very sudden passing of former NBA player Dennis Johnson at the age of 52 earlier this afternoon. Okay, I'll admit that I wasn't that fond of him at the beginning of his career, when he played for the hated Seattle SuperSonics, nor later on, when he was a key component on those Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics championship teams, but it was impossible to deny him his effort and brilliance on the court, doing things to help his team win that often weren't charted by statistics.




D.J.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Everton 1 Spurs 2

Good news all the way round from Goodison Park: a very good away performance on the offensive end and some good saves from goalie Paul Robinson led to the wonderful 2-1 victory over Everton. Jermaine Jenas blasted the winning goal from at least 20 yards out in the 89th minute, when it looked as though the match would end up in a draw, to give Spurs their first EPL road victory, and second all of the year, since the Boxing Day win over Manchester City.



Good offensive movement in the first half for Spurs, and they were the better team on the pitch for that time. Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring in the 35rd minute on an excellent feed from Aaron Lennon to give the visitors the lead. A very questionable call led to an Everton free kick just before the half, on which Mikel Arteta delivered a beautiful ball into the corner of the net, for which Robinson could do little but leap at and claw at the air.


Everton picked up their game in the second half, but Spurs had some great chances that they failed to convert (I'm thinking of one shot by Berbatov and a one on one with Robbie Keane on the goalie that Keane unbelievably sent into the side of the net). I personally can't disagree with Martin Jol's assessment that Spurs, overall, slightly deserved the three points on the day, but it was much to the disgruntlement of the Evertonians, who were booing when a defensive substitute was made in the 86th minute, which had absolutely no effect on the play of Jenas just a couple of minutes later. Yes, at the end of the match, there were loud boos quite audible to the home viewer, presumably at Everton coach David Moyes for his puzzling substitution patterns. Oh well, Spurs have often lost points on these kinds of games, and this also avenges the early season loss to Everton at White Hart Lane. It also continues Spurs nearly inexplicable run of good away form at Goodison. come on you spurs.





SPURS REPORT




SOCCERNET

Monday, February 19, 2007

Chelsea v. Spurs In Sixth Round FA Cup Draw

FA Cup sixth round draw (ties played over weekend of March 10 and 11):



Middlesbrough or West Brom v Manchester United or Reading

Arsenal or Blackburn v Manchester City

Chelsea v Tottenham

Plymouth v Watford




Could've been better, I suppose, but to get the FA Cup title, one is gonna have to beat one of the big guns sooner of later. Undoubtedly Chelsea will be out for a bit of revenge over last November's loss to Spurs, their first to their London rivals in nearly a lifetime it seems. Here's hoping that Sunday's victory over Fulham is the start of a nice run of form by Tottenham, but there is still a nagging feeling that a lot of what happened at Craven Cottage had to do with some lousy defending by Chris Coleman's club.




STORY

The Jam To Reform (Minus Weller)


This is on a par, obviously, of Creedence Clearwater Revival minus John Fogerty or The Kinks minus Ray Davies; in other words, very very hard to imagine, as drummer Rick Buckler and bassist Bruce Foxton


Other 80's groups, such as the Police, have reformed recently, but I honestly can't see anything good coming out of this, a lot of the material is dated toward the teenage/alienation from the modern world themse prevalent among many of the punk rock acts back in the day of the movement's formation. There are some great tunes in their catalog that still sound good over twenty years later, but the big problem, of course, is that the man who wrote those songs, Paul Weller, wants nothing to do with this reunion, and also has reportedly not spoken to the other two since the band's breakup in 1982.


I mean, honestly, Foxton's London Traffic, from the This Is The Modern World album, is a bad song on a bad album, and his song that became a single when Weller's creativity dried up between that album and its followup album, All Mod Cons , titled News Of The World is a very mediocre song about an obvious subject (i.e. the daily press). Gotta give credit where it's due though, Foxton's song Smithers-Jones is an excellent track, I just don't know if I wanna hear the balance of a "New Jam" set of Weller songs sung by a ringer. Very good luck to you Rick and Bruce.




BBC STORY

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Fulham 0 Spurs 4

Fifth round FA Cup action from Craven Cottage just over. Spurs erase some of their bad road memories with a lovely performance which featured a brace of goals from Robbie Keane (finally!) and Dimitar Berbatov. Keane scored in the sixth minute of the first half, and then followed up that with another strike in the 68th minute to double the lead. Berbatov buried the Cottagers with the final two goals in the last 13 minutes.



No doubt Chris Coleman will be stewing after this one as his team fell apart in the second half, as his side had the better stats for possession, shots on goal, corner kicks, and saves from goal.


Very nice feeling to have brushed off the lethargic road performances which have dodged Spurs all season though, no doubt about it, let's keep it up for the league and UEFA Cups now...come on you Spurs.





BIG SOCCER THREAD

Friday, February 16, 2007

Won't Somebody Think Of The Children? Parents Gone Wild (Again)

Ultra-competitive dad a little bit too overly concerned about what was happening to his son. You can guess the rest.....the man says he's embarrassed about what he did, which I can believe. Kinda sucks that one really bad decision can haunt you for a very long time after you've made it.







STORY AND VIDEO

Oh! To Be An Audience Member Of A Televised Comedy Show

Well, that's what I used to think as a kid watching things like Saturday Night Live, to see all of the great comics and wonderful musicians, or now, to see things live David Letterman or the Daily Show, with the chance I might get to see something like the Crispin Glover meltdown in person.


Ben Sisario, in today's New York Times, has suffered through some cold weather in the effort to get a seat at one of the tapings of the aforementioned shows, and then was kind enough to write a great article about the experience. Doesn't really make me wanna make me trek across the country from what he's written, but hey, if I ever find myself in New York looking to kill a fair amount of time.........this may be just the ticket.



LIVE FROM NEW YORK.....

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

(Insert Your Own "One Way To Heat Up A Cold Winter" Joke Here)


For the few of us who forgot what today was about............the new Sports Illustrated 2007 Swimsuit calendar, obviously one of the greatest marketing achievements ever. Yamila is in it, which is a very very good thing, and I guess Beyonce is on the cover, (quite hot, according to Dan Patrick) though I haven't ventured out to a newstand yet today to see the magazine itself. Gotta save something for tomorrow, obviously.


IN CASE THE PAGE WASN'T BOOKMARKED ALREADY

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Neko Case Live In Eugene


The talented and lovely Neko Case live in Eugene this Thursday at the historic McDonald Theatre. Absolutely one of my current fave modern singers, all of her solo albums are highly recommended, as are her side projects that include records with the New Pornographers, Kelly Hogan, the Sadies, the Mekons, etc. She also has a new live CD and DVD just out now from a recent liver performance on the venerable Austin City Limits. Haven't got it just yet, but her version of Catherine Irwin's Hex always makes me stop what I'm doing to listen to the very lovely vocals.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Got The "Can't Throw Anything Away" Blues?



A Massachusetts woman certainly does, and the accumulation leads to an auto accident. I will say that the car looks to be in a lot better shape than the cars I see filled with trash around here do (speaking about the outside of course).





CAR

MSN Says IE One Of The Three Biggest Internet Threats For 2007

Came across this link via StumbleUpon, a story on the MSN site about how Microsoft's Internet Explorer is one of the biggest threats to safely surfing the Internet. No, Alanis, I don't think this constitutes "irony" either.



MSN STORY



STUMBLEUPON THREAD

Comcast

A couple of threads with links to some sites about specific ideas by people about the definition of terms of service with Comcast, and how the two are not in sync at this point.



THREAD 1



THREAD 2

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Who Is Gilbert Arenas, And Why Is He Saying All Of Those Things About Nate McMillan?

50 against the Blazers, just cause you didn't make the U.S. men's national team last year and decided to get your "revenge" on everybody connected with the decision to cut you? Ohhhhkay..... whatever motivation you need to get going I guess, dude.

Sadly, today's Blazers game at the Washington Wizards was not televised on FSN, so we didn't get to witness first hand the demolition effort of shredding the Blazers defense as Arenas had promised. What was delivered was a grand total of 9 points on 3 of 15 shooting, with an 0 for 8 effort from three point range as the Blazers routed the Wizards 94-73 for their 22nd victory of the year, besting last year's win total in the process.


Doesn't matter much if Arenas gets his 50 when the Wizards visit Portland later, it's still a good lesson to let your game do your talking cause everyone will remember this game and Arenas' talk of payback to all of those who "doubted" him. (maybe the other guys were just better than Gilbert.........just a thought).



RECAP



GIVE GILBERT A NEW NICKNAME THREAD HERE.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Leave It To The Schools To Teach Sex Ed


A Woonsocket, R.I. woman and her boyfriend are facing felony charges after her 9-year old girl had told authorities that the two of them often had sex in front of her, to teach her about the basics of sex. All I can think about is that scene from Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life where John Cleese is trying to instruct a roomful of bored schoolboys, who'd rather focus on the scenery outside, or an ocarina, than on the basics of sexual education as Cleese has sex with his wife in class. Wait.....what....life isn't like it is in the movies?




LET IT ALL HANG OUT

Sheffield United 2 Spurs 1 (Beaten And Broken To The End)

Not sure I want to watch the replay coming up on Fox Soccer in a couple of hours, but this really has to be a new low in a seasons quickly slipping away. Jermaine Jenas scores quickly to open the match in the second minute...........and then next to nothing for the rest of it on the offensive end. Spurs outshot 16 to 6 (5 to 1 on goal), gave up 13 corners for their 3, and wound up with 5 yellow cards to boot. (all of this from the GameCast stats in front of me). Much shaking of heads from Spurs fans on the boards as well, the hard fought victory over Chelsea really does seem like another lifetime ago.



THE AWFUL TRUTH

Friday, February 09, 2007

Anna Nicole Smith R.I.P.





Was pretty busy yesterday, and didn't get to note the sad passing of Anna Nicole Smith. We all (well, most men anyway) were captivated by her pictures as a Guess? model and as a Playboy Playmate, and captivated by both her train-wreck of a reality show on E! (on record, one of only two "reality" shows that I ever watched more than one episode of, the other being the first Real World series on MTV) and her marriage to 89 year old billionaire J. Howard Marshall, followed by the subsequent fight for her to get at least part of his estate. The wacky behaviour, the tragedy in her life, all of the strife and turmoil regarding the marriage, the public pressure, real or denied, of trying to stay thin in a world where we apparently love our celebrities to be thin while we ourselves get fatter, combined with apparent drug use are factors that sadden me in this death.


Yes, I looked at her pictures, laughed at her on her show, scratched my head at the marriage, and was surprised by her efforts to regain part of the celebrity limelight of which it seems that it was the only thing for which she was suited for in her life. Hopefully she has found some kind of peace now, a very sad end to a surreal life.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Muscles For Brains

Don't help me I can save myself
If I'm incomplete don't fill the gaps
Save me from the people who would save me from myself
They got muscle for brains

For reasons that are not mysterious
The weak are sent to the wall
They have reservations in heaven
Down here they're not so fashionable





Thank you once again, Gang Of Four, for once again saying what needed to be said lyrically over 20-odd years ago. Another proposed effort in an the race to have our lives micro-managed to eliminate every last possible area of danger, all of the missing, unaccounted nuclear material in the world notwithstanding. This time iPods and cellphones while crossing the streets of New York City.





SAY WHAT???

Pazzjob2006

No surprises really with the top album and singles as voted by various critics (Bob Dylan and Gnarls Barkley respectively)..........but this year's results, the first without founder Robert Christgau, is out now.



Pazzjop06

U.S. 2 Mexico 0

The U.S. Men's national team was just a bit luckier all night en route to another 2-0 victory over Mexico at the University Of Phoenix stadium in Glendale, AZ Wednesday night.


The first half was rather ho-hum, with not a lot of action, but the second half was quite lively with many more shots and accurate passes. Jimmy Conrad broke the scoreless deadlock with a header off of a Landon Donovan corner in the 53rd. From that point, Mexico had more of the possession time and offensive chances, but a timely defense led by Conrad and some very fine saves by Tim Howard left the Mexican team shaking heads wondering what they had to do.


Donovan's clinching goal, at the onset of the four minutes of extra time, was a beautiful one on one goal sparked by the ball hitting a referee in the midfield, leading to the quick U.S. counter attack, leaving goalie Oswaldo Sanchez sprawled on the ground.


Okay, so it's just a friendly ( despite the "There Are No Friendlies" fan signs inside the stadium), but still, beating Mexico is still a nice thing to enjoy, the most important step within the grasp of the U.S. team until the next World Cup. Doing it in front of a rabidly pro-Mexican crowd made it even sweeter. Even if Mexico wins the next "friendly" match held in Mexico, the U.S. will still have scoreboard on the win that counts the most: 2-0 in the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan.




2-0

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Way Bizarre Love Triangle

Wow, just wow. Attempted murder by a female astronaut of another female, an engineer at a nearby base, over the attentions of a male astronaut. Driving 900 miles straight wearing diapers so she wouldn't have to stop in her effort to meet the arriving flight of the engineer, and with dangerous weapons and garbage bags in tow.


FULL STORY

Monday, February 05, 2007

Italian Football Clubs To Play Without Fans

At this point anyway, until safety concerns at various stadiums throughout the country are addressed and met, as Giuliano Amato, the interior minister of Italy, addressed the issue after the horrible scenes of violence in Catania last Friday. He is quoted as saying "We will not allow fans to go into a stadium that does not respect the current safety norms. In stadia like that of Catania I will not admit anyone, I am firm on this. That game shouldn't have been played.".



As I was working Friday, I hadn't noticed what the Serie A game on Fox Soccer was, and it was late in the day here when I found out that it was indeed Catania v. Palermo, which meant that the match was due for a replay sometime Saturday (it also was repeated in the Sunday morning slot previously given to another Serie A match that had to be postponed because of the rioting). Watching the match, it was a contested affair in the first half, but the first goal of the game, by Palermo, just before the 50th minute turned out to have been a bit offside, though that was not as blatant as the handball not called on the winning goal very late in the match that had just about everybody but the Palermo team scratching their heads.


The smoke from the flares really started after the first goal, as did the cannons, from one end of the stadium, and smoke began to fill the end (the left side on the television). Fox Soccer commentator Christian Miles then said, at about the 56th minute "I feel like I'm watching a reenactment of the Civil War" Just a couple of minutes later, that end really filled up with smoke, and by then the referee and Palermo coach had seen enough, and the match was temporarily suspended for about thirty minutes. Not sure what they did on the original broadcast, but the replays were edited fairly well to ensure continuity of play.




STORY

The Return Of Massive Attack?


Because Blue Lines and Mezzanine were practically stuck in my CD player for weeks at a time (Protection and 100th Window aren't bad, mind you, just not as great). Also because I've got one of those promo beetles on the wall behind me staring as I type this. Because their musical mix of soul, hip-hop, rock, and reggae continues to satisfy today. An interview with Daddy G and 3-D talking about the current situation in the Middle East, a bit of their history, and upcoming recording plans. All for us in today's Guardian, a bargain at twice the price.



STORY

Periodic Stupid Male Report

Another horrific story that makes me embarrassed to have a penis, and this is from my town to boot: a 23 year old man, using a 100,000 volt stun gun, on an 18-month old infant. *shudders* Wondered why the Portland television stations were in town today.



STORY

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Live Improv In Salem

An interview with some of the cast from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, who'll be appearing this Friday in Salem in a live performance.

Can't deny that I preferred the British version, one of the shows I would watch repeatedly on Comedy Central back in the day, but the U.S. version is still good entertainment, Drew Carey is actually a slightly better host than Clive Anderson, partly due to the fact that he gets involved with some of the skits.

Still disappointed that I missed a live version of Whose Line in Las Vegas back in January of 1999, when they were going to be Caesar's Palace a couple of days after I was scheduled to leave.


Ryan Stiles, Greg Proops, Jeff Davis and Chip Esten each have a talk with reporter Reina Pike from the Salem Monthly.



FULL STORY

The Obligatory Super Bowl Day Post

A game that I have no plans to watch, as neither team is a particular favourite, though I suppose I'll root for the Colts to win, I just get kinda tired out of hearing "Peyton Manning's no good because of blah blah blah" Not that I'm a Manning fan by any means, there are other reasons why top players don't always win a championship.



At any rate, here's a story from today's New York Times about all of the championship product made just in case the actual loser of the Super Bowl had won. I was kinda bummed to see that Major League Baseball destroyed such merchandise, I was hoping that somewhere in the world there'd be some 1986 Boston Red Sox Championship gear about, a mirage for all of the tortured Bosox fans out there.


STORY

Spurs 0 Man U 4

Half time at the Lane, a rather heated affair with the visitors taking a (undeserved) penalty kick by the stumbling Ronaldo just as the half was winding down.

The referee is letting them play, but Scholes is lucky not to have received a yellow, and several Reds have spent a fair bit of time complaining about the whistles, or lack thereof as the case may be. Rooney did get a yellow for his rather obvious tackle on Lee, who'd just made a clean steal from him.


Perhaps Gardner should've been penalized earlier for his tackle on Larsson earlier, but Gary Neville had an equally horrid tackle on Chimbonda from a Spurs corner that went uncalled, so I guess these things even out. Still, Spurs have been the slightly better team in the first half, so the usual sinking feeling when it comes to the big teams is starting to set in.



10 am PST edit:

Whatever Sir Alex Ferguson said in the locker room at half time worked a charm as the Red Devils took the hammer to Spurs with two quick goals in the opening minutes of the second half, with a final one by Giggs midway through, and the stout Man U defense allowed little opportunity for scoring chances for Spurs.


van der Saar wound up with what looked like a broken nose late in regulation time, as a leaping Robbie Keane tried to avoid the onrushing keeping, but Keane's knee struck the goalie square in the face. Looked like Rio Ferdinand was going to don the green jersey and gloves with the time remaining, but SAF instead wound up sticking John O'Shea, who made a fine open field tackle on what looked like a sure Spurs goal chance, which just about summed up the day for the home side. Congrats to Man U, except for Ronaldo.......still basically a person who'll dive at the slightest contact.

Friday, February 02, 2007

Italian Football Play Suspended Indefinitely

One of my afternoon rituals is to tune into Sky Sports Through The Night (4:00 pm PST) to catch any developing football stories. I was shocked by what I saw leading off tonight: violence from fans at the Serie A Sicilian derby between Catania and Palermo earlier today, culminating in the death of one police officer, who died from injuries resulting from an explosive device that was thrown inside his car, according to Sky. As a result, all football in Italy is to be postponed indefinitely.


Sadly, the quote from the Commissioner of the Italian Football Federation is all too true: Luca Pancalli said: "What we're witnessing has nothing to do with soccer, so Italian soccer is stopping.".


This story is just developing, so we shall see how long it takes the Italian Federation to control their fans.


BBC












STORY