Been a bit, so some odds and sods...

Been a while since I posted anything, so some quick shots on some stuff:

• Sean Avery was the first celebrity eliminated on this series of Dancing With the Stars, and the former Ranger antagonizer (probably most famous for getting a rule about goalie interference immediately put in during a playoff series after his antics during a power play) claims the producers wanted him out.

First off, no secret that the reality shows are rigged.

Second, you know the winner is going to be one of the skaters.  (Poor Danica McKellar, Drew Carey, and everyone else...)

Third, Sean Avery came across in the press photos as having the personality of a wooden plank.

• The NFL announced two rules changes today, and it's the one not in the headlines you need to worry about the most.

The headline one was that the NFL will now make a 15-yard penalty out of the practice of spiking the football over the crossbar.

Talk about "No Fun League" if you want, but they might as well just go to the high school and college rules at this point if they want to go there:  Anything short of handing the ball to the referee, getting congratulations from teammates, and heading to the sidelines is a penalty.

But it's the one snuck in underneath it in several articles on the subject that you need to worry about if you are a fealty-swearer who still is convinced the games are legitimate:

From Brian McCarthy, PR guy for the NFL on his Twitter:

Rule 15, Section 9, Article 3 is now amended to add the following:

"During the [on-field] review, the Referee will consult with designated members of the Officiating department at the League office Command Center."

Now, on surface, this wouldn't seem like much.  The NHL does this all the time.  Any real dispute on a goal is now said to "go to Toronto", where the league office reviews it.

There's a difference here, obviously.  The NHL's penchant for transparency in such matters is evident, as that Command Center in Toronto has it's own blog on the NHL's website stating, with the video, what the rule is and what the ruling was based on.

The NFL does not have transparency like that, and, given many of the utter bullshit calls which can come from replay reviews, one has to wonder if such Command Center communications in the NFL will actually be the marching orders as to the storyline the game will be played under, and/or who will win and who will lose.

So be afraid, people...  Be very afraid.

• Declan Hill, on his blog, has a very interesting set of perspectives on the Malaysian Air flight disappearance.

It's worth a read, for any number of reasons.