Saturday, May 16, 2020

Day 66

  • The Bundesliga returned without many hitches today.
  • Add Washington Redskins receiver Cody Latimer to the crime docket:  Assault and illegal discharge of a firearm.  Does the NFL REALLY want to return this Fall and have people want it to?     
  • You can add Miroslav Barnyashev to the list of pro wrestlers using Twitch as a side project.  You may have known him better before his WWE release as Rusev. 
  • At the end of the rebroadcast of American Pharoah's Preakness victory, it was announced that the 2020 Preakness Stakes is now scheduled for October 3rd.
  • Today marked the finals of the Madden 20 professional circuit, the Madden Bowl.  Given lack of programming, ESPN2 carried the semifinals and finals.  The winner wins $65,000, second place $25,000.
  • The winner?  One of the best in Madden:  Raidel "Joke" Brito.  The players used Madden Ultimate Teams, and Brito only ran the ball.  So much so that when he had to have a quarterback, he used the punter for the Redskins.  That and stingy defense won the top prize and the championship.
  • Sad news in sports:  Phyllis George, the first large-scale female commentator when she was on the NFL Today, passed due to probable leukemia today...  One of the greatest benefits of the former Miss America is that she was a legitimate broadcast reporter -- not a "Tits McGhee" with long legs and the like.  She was an integral part of the CBS pregame presentation and well-respected and accepted.
  • As did former Chicago Bears Chairman Mike McCaskey passed today, also due to complications of leukemia.
  • Olbermann: 

  • Chris Jericho's latest Saturday Night Special -- featuring his new band, Kuarantine:
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Friday, May 15, 2020

Day 65

  • And the Bundesliga starts Saturday too, joining NASCAR and a third Jacksonville UFC card this weekend in live sports.  So a big weekend to see where we are in all this crap.
  • BUT HOLD EVERYTHING IN GERMANY (7:50 PM PDT):  At least one player is being quarantined for two weeks, and one political official is saying the restart IS in danger.  Appears several shortcuts have been caught in the process of trying to restart.  First games are less than 11 hours away now.
  • Now James Harrison is backtracking on some of his story.  So if he didn't give any money -- what WAS in the envelope Mike Tomlin gave you, Mr. Harrison?  I don't know if this is WORSE.  Certainly has the potential to be.
  • Some point today or tomorrow...  (I don't know because I don't know if the people at Vimeo are working in his time zone (Australia) or ours...), but the documentary that I was a part of (and the major hook for -- the first words in the trailer are mine...), "Repeat Attenders", is going on Vimeo for it's worldwide release.  Yep, all plans of theatrical release here in the States went up in smoke the moment the coronavirus hit.
  • Standing warning:  The story's not pretty.  I am not the "good guy" here.  In fact, I don't think I exaggerate in saying that my involvement in the project (though even I knew, back when I did the interview, I was the major hook to get people interested in the discussion) probably has significantly damaged the reputations of a number of the other "repeat attenders" (people who attend theatrical performances on numerous occasions -- several others are profiled in the movie).  You may hate me when it's all over.  You'll not only know what I look like, but some very bad things about me.  Do what you need to do with that information.  I'll watch it...  someday.
  • Looks like The Speed Gamers are wrapping up their Generations marathon on Monday finally.  Raised the better part of $6000 so far. 
  • Russia will continue their soccer league in a month, playing two games a week for a month and allowing 5 substitutions per game.
  • Italy will allow limited international travel in and out of the country in about three weeks (June 3).
  • Belgium, however, has awarded the season championship to Club Brugge and called it off. 
  • The International Tennis Hall of Fame will add Goran Ivanisevic and Conchita Martinez next year -- both were to be inducted in July, but the ceremony has been called off.
  • And now all major professional tennis is off til the end of July, at minimum.  And with the US Open scheduled shortly thereafter, you may have lost the rest of the tennis season.    

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Thursday, May 14, 2020

Day 64

  • NASCAR's ambitious relaunch begins Sunday, and has now expanded to five Southern states, and 19 total races in five weeks -- nine Cup, six Xfinity, three Truck Series races, and an ARCA race.
  • A message from someone near and dear to my heart -- and who has probably cheated death by cancer at least twice:

  • Tampa Bay ace Blake Snell refuses to play for any reduced salary -- which appears to be an owners' condition of there being a 2020 MLB season.  He claims to have the support of several others, and, though he understands the disgust, stands behind his comments.
  • James Harrison claimed to Barstool Sports that a 2010 hit to Mohammed Massquoi was followed by the giving of an envelope by coach Mike Tomlin.  (ESPN)  He was fined $75,000 for the hit, reduced to $50,000 -- and says he would've killed Massaquoi (who was knocked out of the game with a concussion) if he knew it would get that kind of a fine.  Art Rooney, the owner of the Steelers, obviously denies this -- the NFL has no comment.  Sean Payton thinks this will get swept under the rug...  ... and I think Payton is correct.   

  • University of Akron has cut men's cross-country and golf and women's tennis to try to stay in Division I. 
  • DeAndre Baker (New York Giants) and Quinton Dunbar (Seattle Seahawks) had arrest warrants issued for an armed robbery which allegedly happened at a party last night.  Four counts each of armed robbery and aggravated assault with a firearm.  Keep it up, fuckers, and there may be fewer people than you think missing the NFL if it can't play this fall...     
  • The owner of Italian football club Udinese does not believe Serie A should be started until Italy has passed the "critical phase". 
  • On the other hand, the CPBL in Taiwan will now allow 2000 fans to attend each game, will sell some concessions, and allow family members to sit next to each other. 
  • Olbermann: 


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Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Day 63

  • The Hollywood Bowl has cancelled it's entire schedule for 2020.
  • Olbermann is called off tonight due to allergies.
  • When Vegas casinos reopen, the MGM hotels will be at only one-fourth capacity for the beginnings of the restart.  Next few weeks appears to be the timetable.  Some Nevada businesses have been allowed to reopen.
  • The idiots at the Wisconsin Supreme Court nullified all further extensions to the Safer At Home orders as unconstitutional.  So it's unconstitutional to protect people from infecting everybody around them.  You may just have sickened members of my family with that shit -- just saying.  And I'm the YOUNGEST child of five, and at least one of my brothers is in the state and over 60!  But FUCK US, right??!?!?!?!??    
  • Calm, now...  Serene...
  • Rolling Stone:  The fucking Idiot in Chief is using Axl Rose's version of  "Live and Let Die" as a rallying point for his "Kill the unfit!" Covidiots!!  Well, the band is pissed, and Axl has directly confronted Adolf Twitler on his favorite communications medium...  Also, they made a shirt:  "Live and Let Die With COVID-45"  ALL proceeds from the sale of the shirts go to the Recording Academy's MusicCares charity -- providing aid and assistance to people in the industry impacted by events like the coronavirus.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Another sports Sacred Cow may just have been felled. Don Larsen's perfect game may have been tainted.

Olbermann tonight:

Why is this important?

Because, without the batter's eye, no one could see the ball, much less be able to hit it.

Is this another of the great Sacred Cows of Sports which, like "The Guarantee", does not stand up to the scrutiny of truth?
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Day 62

  • The Speed Gamers are now going until at least SATURDAY the 16th for their Generations marathon.  I think, at this point, the end of the situation will be when they no longer can have people stream from at home.  They've raised $5,800 so far for St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
  • Fantasy Faire for Second Life's Relay For Life wrapped up over the weekend, and -- to the surprise of all, including those running the event, all records were broken!  The official final total for the event (with at least a few hundred still coming in!) was $73,572 -- over $5,500 more than the record from last year, and that included a $20,000 corporate lump donation which was NOT present this year.
  • There's actually ANOTHER UFC Fight Night card tomorrow night (both cards this week at the same venue as the pay-per-view last Saturday!).
  • On the pay-per-view, there were T-shirts being sold "What is Fight Island?"  Apparently, plans for that are still in the works, and a major fight is probably scheduled for...  whatever the Island is...  upon completion next month.  Why does the concept of "Fight Island" creep me out, in a "Running Man"/"Battle Royale" way?    
  • Sports Illustrated reports today that a "bubble scenario" is the current plan to bring back Major League Soccer.  The 26 teams would be quarantined at Disney Resorts in Florida and play at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex.  ESPN would gladly lap up the programming.  Timing is still uncertain.  One source says June, another says September!
  • Congratulations to the WWE's Becky Lynch (and her fiance, Seth Rollins), expecting her first child in December.  That ends her 14-month Raw Women's Championship reign, as the Money in the Bank ladder match for the women was rewritten into a direct awarding of the title to the winner, Asuka.  Since no one basically knew what the circumstances were, when Lynch told Asuka she was expecting, Asuka broke all character.
  • According to Woj (Adrian Wojnarowski), the NBPA (the National Basketball Players Association) is taking a poll they hope will remain confidential of basically all the NBA players, asking if they want to try to complete the season. 
  • Los Angeles is looking at keeping it's stay-at-home order all the way through AUGUST!  Which gives you an idea of what might well happen if MLB does try the home-parks situation.  
  • Also to that vein, the California State University system will do the Fall semester online.
  • And, by that ruling, there's a very real chance that none of the Cal State colleges will be playing football this Fall either.  And that includes three schools in the Mountain West Conference.    
  • And now a report the first major college football cancellation:  Because of the nature of the California situation, it appears the season-opening TV game in Arlington, TX between USC and Alabama has been cancelled.  And if that's the case, that might portend no college football at all in the state of California this Fall. 
  • The Alameda (CA) County Fair is off the first time in over a century. 
  • Olbermann:


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No post Sunday, and these are the developments from Monday, Day 61...

I think part of all this is that things are beginning to wear quite a bit.  It really did seem that things started with everybody trying to pitch in, and now I think a lot of these "FREEDUMB" types have really pissed all over it -- and they're getting their way with a lot of people going to pay the ultimate price.  Just had two jack-offs arrested for taking out a security guard as they were being escorted out of a Los Angeles store for not wearing masks.
  • One example of this is MLB.  They announced what they had planned.  Owners have approved it, it appears the players will strongly oppose it.  This portends a full-scale showdown.  I think it's clear that the owners and the political forces behind them want sports relaunched, at whatever human cost, in- or outside of the actual games themselves.   
  • The AHL called the season off yesterday... It is the first time in the history of the league (going back to 1936) that the championship will not be awarded.  And there's almost no chance the NHL and NBA don't follow suit. I think, right now, the very real question has to be whether either of these leagues can play again for the next 24 months! (As in, if they relaunch, it's Fall/Winter 2022.)
  • The UFC has a Fight Night this weekend.
  • Olbermann, last night:

  • And Sunday night:

  • Florida Tech of the Gulf South Conference (Division II) has dropped football completely over coronavirus concerns.  What I'm beginning to wonder is when this actually gets to DI or even FBS...  I could very easily see a future, as early as a couple years from now, where there may be 30 schools (mostly in the Southeast of some of the other major powers -- nothing out West) as a fuller feeder system to the NFL.    
  • Both Korea and Taiwan have started their baseball seasons, to the hope of the world.
  • Catching up a bit:  The NBA Draft Lottery and Combine were cancelled on the first of the month.
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