Well, that's it for me and Wheel of Fortune...

STIFF WARNING:  The referred-to article shows a number of references to child sexual assault, child pornography, and pedophilia.  Be advised.

I have to be very careful writing this for two reasons.

One, it's sensitive material to begin with.  There are definite lawsuit possibilities if one is not very careful.

Two, if I'm not very careful, I may do something I have been criticized for, baby and bathwater through association.

That said, after a BuzzerBlog article on the now-firing of former Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton, I have some very pointed questions.

If the story were as somewhat-innocent as I believed it was when it was breaking, I would've preferred it this way.

The now-reported reason the flight attendant called for law enforcement on the May flight is that Thornton was on a child-porn chatroom website for 57 minutes on a flight he was taking -- in Wheel of Fortune gear.

On top of that, a podcast which was done by a person under a pseudonym which MAY be tied to Thornton (the article, as well as I, have to be very careful here for lawsuit purposes) plugged said website and outs at least two people on it as self-professed pedophiles.

Two years ago.

TMZ has picked up the story -- but no confirmation has been able to be tied YET.

That said, Thornton is now 100% fired and being wiped from all current-season episodes already taped.

So, two questions:

1) Are law enforcement aware of this situation, going back to the 2024 podcast and working on POSSIBLE ties between that podcast and this incident?

2) How many conservative markets, even with the status of Wheel of Fortune as basically THE biggest show on television, may be preparing to pull the plug?

The only reason I'm not clarion-calling for it yet is that we haven't 100% got a tie between the podcast and Thornton.  That said, it is rather clear that Thornton at least hangs with people who are child-attracted, if the referred incident is accurate from the May plane flight.

This may get Al Michaels thrown off NFL broadcasts...

Knowing the NFL's ties to the military, government, and to Trump.

That said (with the reminder that the NFL does not allow embeds -- and an additional reminder this was actually posted by a MAGA piece of shit), in this particular case (and to those who might disagree on other stands, in this one ONLY):

All hail Al Michaels!

Jokes aside, the NFL put out a far larger notice today.

And it is endemic to the Fine Blotters I used to post here.  We'll see if I get the time and want this year.

An OFFICIAL NFL Points of Emphasis For Supplemental Discipline has been released.

The NFL has put out the following five Player Safety Fouls for Point of Emphasis this year:

• Horse Collar
• Hip Drop
• Launching
• (Illegal) Hit on a Defenseless Player
• Blindside Block

The big news?  Any player who receives a Supplemental Discipline (and gets it to stand -- fine or suspension) for at least three of these fouls gets an automatic one-game suspension on top of any other suspension accrued.

I think I have a lengthy project ahead of me, if the NFL still has the data on its website from last year.

EDIT TO ADD:  Rats.  No, they took the 2025-26 ones down.

There is, of course, something the players get in exchange:

First, if a player commits only a single offense in certain other Supplemental Discipline categories, their fine will be returned, 100%.

If a player receives only a single offense in the Player Safety Fouls Point of Emphasis, their fine will be half-returned.

And all players, at least with respect to the Player Safety Fouls Point of Emphasis suspension, will start the 2026-27 season on a clean slate with respect to the current policy.  Not 100% sure whether that means long-time situations might get increased fines for a "first offense" of these fouls, but they will not already be counted against for THIS policy.

I will want to see if the league actually publishes the policy, as there are two other important parts:

1) Increased team fines for "excessive" Player Safety Points of Emphasis violations by a given team.  This is probably on top of the other team fines for excessive violations -- though those fines now are going to be more malleable, given possible rebates.

2) Any player receiving two violations under the Player Safety Points of Emphasis will require that the player and his coach submit to a meeting with the NFL.  No word on whether those meetings will be in-person or virtual.

DraftKings being deceptive again...

A DraftKings ad came across my Twitch viewing of the ongoing Race To World First in World of Warcraft tonight.

San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Riverside, etc. and so forth...

DraftKings Sports is in California, starting September 2nd.

It's the prediction-market workaround bullshit...

Discipline Blotter: Argentina Trump Cup Aftermath

Someone please explain to me why Argentina was not disqualified from the World Cup for the altercations at and after the Final.

If I go any further as to rationale, it would violate the blog's boycott.  But let's just say that Argentina walked around like it owned the place, and threw a violent hissy-fit when they found out they didn't...

Today, the suspensions came down:

Leandro Paredes has been banned from all international play for one year (10 matches) and fined $90,000 for assaulting two Spain players after the match.

Nahuel Molina was banned seven matches and fined $90,000.

Thiago Alamda was banned one game, fined $30,000.

One of the coaches has also been banned three games and fined $30,000.

The Argentinian federation has been fined $210,000 for an array of offenses in the semifinal and final.

#1, why is Argentina not disqualified, stripped of all ranking, and it's $32,000,000 runner-up prize money?

#2, why are they not disqualified from the 2030 Centennary Cup?

Discipline Blotter: I wonder if this means the end of joint practices...

The viral brawl in which the Steiner kid who's already suspended for PED's German suplexed a player has gotten both the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints $500,000 league fines for lack of sportsmanship.

Once again, I must remind you:  One of the things that the believers state with respect in their belief the NFL is not rigged is the fact that the league's largest cash-cow, the Cowboys, hasn't won a title or sniffed one in decades.

Again, a champion (not unlike some of the rigged music competition shows) represents the brand -- and it's as true for the NFL as it is for American Idol.

EDIT TO ADD 5:05 PM PDT:  Sounds like the Giants and Dolphins are probably next.  Big brawl today at a joint practice.

Youth Sports. ESPN. Bad Idea: Part Two.

I will be STUNNED if we get through the 10-day tournament in Williamsport, PA without a violent incident.

The qualifiers from Davenport, IA are the center of a Houston Astros-like sign-stealing exhibition, according to MSN reports.

It's the "runner on second" who taps his leg to let the batter know what pitch is coming, says the team from Wisconsin.

Someone is going to take a fastball to the dome in this tournament.

The INFANT cries all the way home. WAH!!!!!

The FIFA plans for monetizing the World Cup toward the likes of Jared Kushner will not go forward.

Losing Europe would be too much.

Now, fire INFANTino.

It sounds like the World Cup boycott may be permanent...

The next step in INFANTino's plan to Trump-ize the World Cup is that he wants to sell a 20% stake in the tournament to corporate investors.

Trump ally/toadie Jared Kushner is involved.

Anyone who knows my stand on what comes with paying the bills understands the next thing I'm saying:  Within some degree of reason (else, the fraud that is the United States would've won this tournament), the investors will almost certainly have a say in who wins.

sigh

I think this is one of the reasons I've hard a dark fantasy of receiving an international letter from FIFA personally -- banning me from all relevant soccer events.

PS:  I will be shocked, if not stunned, if either the IOC or the LA Organizing Committee doesn't similarly ban me from the Los Angeles Games.

Two words:  They'd better.  (Or they'd better hope my situation holds that long -- I don't expect it to.)

Two related stories, both gambling:

USA Today:  DraftKings and FanDuel have already spent $72,000,000 on the midterm elections -- making gambling the third highest campaign contributor behind crypto and tech.

And, in the "no coincidences" file...

Fortune:  Gambling on sports (and this probably is only the legal handles, and does not include states which do allow Indian casinos to do sports-gambling (Wisconsin and Florida are two), nor the prediction markets which have muscled into sports-betting and can do so in states where sports-betting is illegal...) now is not only the largest entertainment method in the country at $166 billion, it outspends music, concerts, books, museums, and movies, by more than double -- combined!!  ($70 billion between the five, none above $20 billion)

The "No Shit Sherlock" File, Part Two: The Russians Are Coming...

Saw this a few days ago and am finally getting to posting it to the blog.

Putin's bitch gets his wish -- the Russians are allowed back in the Olympic Trump Transphobe Games.  Just in time for Los Angeles.

Super Bowl $eahawk$: Did Tom Brady throw Super Bowl LX?

I'm not going to attribute the Tweet for which I found, but go to the direct source instead.  The indirect source is completely shitlisted.

However, the Awful Announcing blog has made a charge that Tom Brady may well have thrown Super Bowl LX to the Seahawks.

Their source?  Seattle head coach Mike MacDonald -- on today's The Dan Patrick Show:

MacDonald, at the celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, acknowledges that someone with a "conflict of interest" aided MacDonald and the Seahawks in their preparations to defeat the Patriots last February.

That said, there are two MAJOR problems:

That would be a level of betrayal on a scale even beyond Brett Favre and the Packers or Calahan and the Raiders to aid Gruden and the Buccaneers.

The larger problem, though, appears to be Tom Brady's involvement with FOX Sports, and that leading to a possibility that the NFL themselves might've been involved in tampering through Brady passing information to the Seahawks.

And Brady's involvement as a part-owner of the Raiders -- the Raiders getting the Seahawks' offensive coordinator as their new head coach.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM......

Couple of June 30 notes:

• As of now, it appears Brendan Sorsby WILL get his NFL shot in 2027, but he'll have to sit out the entire 2026 season.  The NFL, NFLPA, and a third party came to an agreement that Sorsby will be treated as entering the 2027 Draft fully, including the Senior Bowl, Combine, etc.
• And then there's Wilson Contreras, who may be in line for one of the biggest on-field Discipline Blotter situations in recent MLB history.

Contreras was thrown out of Monday night's game for mocking the umpire by tapping his helmet.  Some might think it excessive, but the first-base umpire caught it and threw Contreras.

That was probably handled normally.

Tonight's won't be.

After being struck out by Cade Cavalli, Contreras heard what was believed to be "Sit down, boy!" from Cavalli.  Contreras advanced toward Cavalli, benches clear in the argument, Contreras throws his helmet at Cavalli, and Contreras loses his helmet and attempts to swipe Cavalli twice with it.

Four people were eventually ejected.

Now, a couple of things to keep in mind before I give you my verdict:

• This is back-to-back ejections.  Even managers, in my opinion, should be suspended a game under almost any circumstances for back-to-back ejections, before we get to anything else.  But at least that happens with respect to managers from time to time.
• He was suspended six games just ten months ago for a large-scale fight.

I say 6-7-8 games, appeal MAYBE down to five.  But then MLB makes it clear:  Another large-scale event like this he starts, and the bidding starts either side of a month.

And Sorsby is probably headed to prison...

As a probable prelude to banning him, the NFL is NOT holding a 2026 Supplemental Draft.

The NFL does not believe Sorsby is accountable for his crimes.  It's basically certain he will be banned from the NFL.

The ball is now back in the Big XII's court.  Apparently, the Texas Tech program was probably told it would be thrown out of the conference, and, as of now, it appears he can't go back...

Day 6 of the Trump Cup

• In a move surprising NO ONE, Donald Trump will be presenting the trophy to the winning team.
• Iran's team has been thrown out of the United States after it's first match, they'll be expected to train in one of the other host countries until being brought in for it's next match next week.  Fucking FIFA Peace Prize, am I right?
• We have a VAR official under investigation for a White Power symbol...  Like begets like, I guess.  Being as he is in the United States, one of the burgeoning White Right Power nations...  

I'm sure there's more, but I've been trying to avoid as much as I can about the Trump Cup...

Fuck off, Donald Trump (Day 3)

Dana White has said that tonight's christening of a probable execution chamber on the grounds of the White House should draw Super Bowl-level numbers.

No joke:  Here it is.

Donald Trump has said that the 80th birthday spectacular will be the most-viewed sporting event of all time.

During the World Cup.

Let that idiocy process.

May It Burn To The Ground, Day 1

It is of no wonder that the headline picture on ESPN's website on Mexico's group's opening day of the World Cup is Trump and FIFA tyrant bitch Infantino (yes, that is his name, and it's so appropriate) shaking hands at the draw last December.

This is not the world's cup.  This is Trump's.  And saying anything more on that vis-a-vis result may infringe on the boycott.

That said, I'm not necessarily going to do such a post every day of this tournament, but some thoughts to keep in mind at least periodically thereto:

Like a thought which resurfaced yesterday that the Pigfucker had when he said that the trilateral trade agreement between the three hosts of this World Cup (US, Mexico, Canada) might not be renewed.  You probably know his feelings on Mexico through his immigration scowling.

Here's a thought or two from the Asshole on Canada:  (from comments at the World Economic Forum four days after his reinstallation last year)

"We don't need them to make our cars. And they make a lot of them. We don't need their lumber, because we have our own forests. 

"We don't need their oil and gas. We have more than anybody." 

His eventual stated goal is to seize Canada, Mexico, and the entirety of what we now know as CONCACAF, from Greenland to Panama.

And it's his Cup.  Not yours, not the game's.

Enjoy your political farce, fuckers.

The shit is officially hitting the fan...

Just a general round-robin of stories with one overreaching thread -- the plates are wobbling and about to fall off:

Karmelo Anthony (named after, obviously!!!) will spend 35 years in prison for the high-profile murder of a White track athlete in Texas.  They didn't wait to sentence him.

The NBA is being forced to condemn the actions of Knicks fans against Spurs fans in these Finals.  Monday's game was marred with several viral attacks on Spurs fans by Knicks fans on New York's streets.  (ESPN)  If the Spurs come back and win this series, you don't need to know the two reasons why.

After two days of meetings of concern among Big XII officials, Texas Tech is doubling down on the "gambling addict" angle with Brendan Sorsby and states he is going to play this season. It was largely immediately recognized, as an example, that the Debbie Gibson incident I had in 1998 was believed fueled by mental illness. I really wish people would understand not only the hypocrisy, but the danger, of Texas Tech going this route. Sorsby should be in prison for his gambling addiction and the obvious sports bribery which resulted from it. Additionally, this kind of an angle, if successful, renders the future policing of fair play impossible across American sports, with devastating results.

But this is nothing compared to the debacles on the soccer pitch:

The Trump Administration has made complete mincemeat of the World Cup.  At least two teams (Senegal and another) have detailed mass security efforts on American soil.

One of the assigned World Cup officials, a Qatari man, has been expelled from the World Cup, banned from the United States, and declared with terrorist ties.  Gee, you think that might not apply to MOST OF THE PEOPLE ASSOCIATED WITH FIFA, YOU ORANGE PIECE OF SHIT??   

Need I go into the Iran situation, especially with Trump bombing Iran just two days before the tournament is scheduled to begin?  Juicy, juicy terrorist targets all over the United States, Canada, and Mexico, by the way...    

Protests in Mexico appear ready to impact the fan experience in THAT host nation.

And, lastly, one on-the-pitch women's moment:  Last night, an edgy high-end international friendly between the United States and Brazil went VERY UNFRIENDLY in Brazil.  In the last 30 minutes of the match, the official sent off basically every coach for Brazil (four of them) and eventually sent off four players (including two after the whistle -- technically leaving Brazil with the minimum contingent to avoid an embarrassing abandonment of the match).  The United States won on a second-half own goal, 1-0.

So how much longer before college sports completely goes blammo with the legalized gambling?

Not this just-past year, but last year before it, Alabama State HAD won it's first NCAA Tournament game in men's basketball history.

That win will be revoked.

For $500 a person, apparently.

The FBI has contacted the NCAA and stated the 2024-25 team's top three scorers and a reserve were paid $2,000 to throw a game (result and spread) to Southern Mississippi.

How many more before we get the explosion, and we find out that national championships and the like were also thrown?

(Source:  ESPN)

Well, they couldn't put up with the possibility we might catch them openly...

No "Loudest Manure Chants" or anything like that.

Seven-year referees' CBA announced for the NFL today.