Vince Gill's "Next Big Thing" was a celebration of past trends, as illustrated with clips of hula hoops, Slinky, and even a GAF ViewMaster. I don't really think the latter was so much a trend, but an accessory that ceased production. I had one of those when I was a kid. "Thing" landed in the top 10 of Billboard's country chart in the winter of 2002-3. Uploaded by the artist's VEVO channel.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Even kids are filling out brackets
Yahoo! Sports is reporting the story of an enterprising 5th grader in Omaha, Nebraska, who was sent to the principal's office for-----get this----starting an NCAA tournament bracket pool among classmates. Since he was charging money, it was, of course, constituted as illegal gambling.
What is weird is that this is going on in an elementary school. While there isn't a stated age limit on a lot of tournament pools, even though it's understood in some cases you'd have to be 18 at the very least to play, you have to give the young man, Max Kohll, some credit for trying. His mother knew what he was doing, because she loaned him $5 to start, and he assured her he was handling the money himself.
The bracket was closed per principal's orders, but you can bet this kid'll be at it again off-campus another time. The way Yahoo! described it, his organizational skills might make certain pro sports team owners jealous just on principle alone.
What is weird is that this is going on in an elementary school. While there isn't a stated age limit on a lot of tournament pools, even though it's understood in some cases you'd have to be 18 at the very least to play, you have to give the young man, Max Kohll, some credit for trying. His mother knew what he was doing, because she loaned him $5 to start, and he assured her he was handling the money himself.
The bracket was closed per principal's orders, but you can bet this kid'll be at it again off-campus another time. The way Yahoo! described it, his organizational skills might make certain pro sports team owners jealous just on principle alone.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Weasels of the Week: James Dolan & Carmelo Anthony
Earlier today, Mike D'Antoni resigned as head coach of the New York Knicks, mired in a 6-game losing streak, and in danger of missing the NBA playoffs. A month ago, the Knicks were the toast of the town, thanks to the emergence of second year point guard Jeremy Lin. However, "Linsanity" has given way to the same old, tired, malaise of losing.
Critics can point to the return of veteran stars Amar'e Stoudamire & Carmelo Anthony from injuries as a turning point in Knick fortunes. The New York Daily News' Mitch Lawrence, just two weeks ago, had urged owner James Dolan to refrain from making any unnecessary moves with the trade deadline looming. As it turns out, Dolan may not have heeded the warning. According to a Yahoo! article published earlier today, unnamed sources said that Dolan, predictably, was blaming D'Antoni for the reversal of fortune. Problem is, Anthony, the former Syracuse star who had been acquired in a trade from Denver a year ago, had reportedly been sulking on the bench and not taking part in a late-game team huddle recently. See how the pieces start to come together?
Anthony had said all the right things in the press upon his return, showing a willingness to work with Lin. It was Dolan, acting on the advice of former coach-GM Isaiah Thomas, who pushed for the trade that brought Anthony to New York, and while the press was reporting today that Knicks brass were pushing for Dolan to send Anthony on his way, perhaps to Orlando in exchange for Dwight Howard, the owner, demonstrating again that he has the business acumen of a broken staple gun, opted to stick with his struggling star, placating Anthony by perhaps putting the heat on D'Antoni. The veteran coach must've known that the end would've come by the end of the week anyway, so he decided he was better served if he left now on his own accord.
Assuming, of course, the decision was really his to make, and you know some people will think it wasn't.
Nothing destroys team chemistry more than a veteran suddenly jealous and/or afraid for his job when a younger player suddenly becomes an overnight sensation. Other teams have studied game films on Lin and have adjusted their defenses accordingly, which means Lin has to adjust in return, and if he can't get the ball to Anthony, who's supposed to be the man with the game on the line, what can you do? The press has also said other players have complained, but the heat is on Anthony, the prodigal son, who supposedly hasn't backed up his verbal support of Lin and D'Antoni.
The heat, rightfully, should also be on Dolan for not recognizing the real source of the problem and addressing it. Instead, he decides to channel the late George Steinbrenner and scapegoat the coach out of town. Mike Woodson, a former player whose last head coaching gig was in Atlanta a few years back, is the interim coach for at least the remainder of the season. You have to figure he has to keep his head on a swivel, because he may be the next to go if the Knicks don't reach the playoffs. For now, Anthony & Dolan get the weasel ears for misplacing priorities and putting ego ahead of the best interests of the team.
Then again, we can just shrug and say, what else is new, right?
Critics can point to the return of veteran stars Amar'e Stoudamire & Carmelo Anthony from injuries as a turning point in Knick fortunes. The New York Daily News' Mitch Lawrence, just two weeks ago, had urged owner James Dolan to refrain from making any unnecessary moves with the trade deadline looming. As it turns out, Dolan may not have heeded the warning. According to a Yahoo! article published earlier today, unnamed sources said that Dolan, predictably, was blaming D'Antoni for the reversal of fortune. Problem is, Anthony, the former Syracuse star who had been acquired in a trade from Denver a year ago, had reportedly been sulking on the bench and not taking part in a late-game team huddle recently. See how the pieces start to come together?
Anthony had said all the right things in the press upon his return, showing a willingness to work with Lin. It was Dolan, acting on the advice of former coach-GM Isaiah Thomas, who pushed for the trade that brought Anthony to New York, and while the press was reporting today that Knicks brass were pushing for Dolan to send Anthony on his way, perhaps to Orlando in exchange for Dwight Howard, the owner, demonstrating again that he has the business acumen of a broken staple gun, opted to stick with his struggling star, placating Anthony by perhaps putting the heat on D'Antoni. The veteran coach must've known that the end would've come by the end of the week anyway, so he decided he was better served if he left now on his own accord.
Assuming, of course, the decision was really his to make, and you know some people will think it wasn't.
Nothing destroys team chemistry more than a veteran suddenly jealous and/or afraid for his job when a younger player suddenly becomes an overnight sensation. Other teams have studied game films on Lin and have adjusted their defenses accordingly, which means Lin has to adjust in return, and if he can't get the ball to Anthony, who's supposed to be the man with the game on the line, what can you do? The press has also said other players have complained, but the heat is on Anthony, the prodigal son, who supposedly hasn't backed up his verbal support of Lin and D'Antoni.
The heat, rightfully, should also be on Dolan for not recognizing the real source of the problem and addressing it. Instead, he decides to channel the late George Steinbrenner and scapegoat the coach out of town. Mike Woodson, a former player whose last head coaching gig was in Atlanta a few years back, is the interim coach for at least the remainder of the season. You have to figure he has to keep his head on a swivel, because he may be the next to go if the Knicks don't reach the playoffs. For now, Anthony & Dolan get the weasel ears for misplacing priorities and putting ego ahead of the best interests of the team.
Then again, we can just shrug and say, what else is new, right?
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Rockin' Funnies: It's All About the Pentiums (1999)
3 years after he'd skewered Coolio's "Gangster's Paradise" (from "Dangerous Minds") with "Amish Paradise", "Weird" Al Yankovic decided to give hip-hop another try, this time taking on Sean "Diddy" Combs' "All About the Benjamins", which was released a year or two earlier, by releasing "It's All About the Pentiums", taking a swipe at the then-burgeoning information super-highway. Al, hot babes, and special guest star Drew Carey (like, you were expecting maybe Tom Arnold?). Enough said.
On The Air: Are You Serious? (2012)
The second WWE-YouTube series we're reviewing is Are You Serious?, which takes a look back at some of the promotion's more ridiculous moments, and those of WCW and others that are in the company's voluminous library. Josh Mathews, the busiest guy on the roster these days, teams with former tag team champ Road Dogg (Brian James), and the gimmick is that these two are being forced to watch these clips due to some as-yet-unrevealed offense committed by the D-O-Double-G. Somehow, they managed to convince the Muppets to create a Triple H puppet as a sideshow attraction.
Uploaded by WWEFanNation:
Sometimes, it's good to look back at this silliness and laugh.
Rating: A.
Uploaded by WWEFanNation:
Sometimes, it's good to look back at this silliness and laugh.
Rating: A.
Friday, March 9, 2012
On The Air: Dan Vs. (2011)
We've all run across the occasional oddball, the delusional paranoid who thinks the whole world is against him.
The Hub launched a primetime cartoon 14 months ago about just such a man. Dan Vs. must've generated enough of a following to warrant a second season, which is underway at present. Dan (Curtis Armstrong, "Revenge of the Nerds", ex-Moonlighting) is always venting about something or someone, which would explain why he doesn't have many friends, other than best pal Chris (Dave Foley, ex-Newsradio) and his wife, Elise (Paget Brewster). Dan's pet cat, Mr. Mumbles, which is actually a female (Brewster), may in fact be his closest friend.
The Hub's YouTube channel offers up a sample of this past week's episode, "Dan Vs. The Gym":
In the episode, we find that Dan can chew through metal, which might explain why he has such pointed, and probably filed, teeth. The series also replays at various times, including now on Fridays in the early evening, and on Saturday afternoons, hours before the next episode is to air. Whether or not it earns a 3rd season or more remains dependent on the ratings, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to see them tweak things by giving Dan someone else he can relate to, so that he can actually go on a double-date with Chris & Elise. After all, you can only take the basic premise just so far.
Rating: B.
The Hub launched a primetime cartoon 14 months ago about just such a man. Dan Vs. must've generated enough of a following to warrant a second season, which is underway at present. Dan (Curtis Armstrong, "Revenge of the Nerds", ex-Moonlighting) is always venting about something or someone, which would explain why he doesn't have many friends, other than best pal Chris (Dave Foley, ex-Newsradio) and his wife, Elise (Paget Brewster). Dan's pet cat, Mr. Mumbles, which is actually a female (Brewster), may in fact be his closest friend.
The Hub's YouTube channel offers up a sample of this past week's episode, "Dan Vs. The Gym":
In the episode, we find that Dan can chew through metal, which might explain why he has such pointed, and probably filed, teeth. The series also replays at various times, including now on Fridays in the early evening, and on Saturday afternoons, hours before the next episode is to air. Whether or not it earns a 3rd season or more remains dependent on the ratings, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to see them tweak things by giving Dan someone else he can relate to, so that he can actually go on a double-date with Chris & Elise. After all, you can only take the basic premise just so far.
Rating: B.
Siena makes a change on the women's side
It wasn't so long ago that Siena College's women's basketball team was one of the dominant forces in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). However, that seems so far away now, as the Lady Saints were eliminated in the first round of the MAAC tournament last week, and haven't had a winning season in 8 years.
On Thursday, coach Gina Castelli stepped down after 22 seasons. The 5-time women's Coach of the Year in the MAAC hadn't forgotten how to win games. It was just a case of the changing fortunes in the league having an adverse affect on Siena. The Lady Saints' chief nemesis during this lean period has been Marist, which has taken over as the top team in the league, and has beaten Siena 17 consecutive times. Of course, there were the usual cliches about needing to make changes, but consider the fact that during Ms. Castelli's 22 years, they've changed coaches on the men's side at least a half dozen times for one reason or another. According to the Albany Times-Union, the decision was a mutually agreed upon one, and that Ms. Castelli wasn't fired. With Siena a sub-.500 team for 8 straight seasons, a change was inevitable, and needed.
The task now for Siena is to find a coach that can take the Lady Saints back to the top of the MAAC, which won't be that easy. Now, too, might be the time to make another change, and that would be to move the women's games out of the school's Alumni Recreation Center, and into the cavernous Times Union Center, home to the men's team, which routinely averages anywhere from 6,000-9,000 fans for home games. If Siena can raise the profile of its women's team and try to market it as they do with the men, it would help the recruiting process tremendously. Even though the men were also below .500 most of the season, they still had their loyal fan base, which never wavered.
It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if Gina Castelli landed with another school, or was given a shot at coaching a WNBA team. It isn't about what has been done lately, but rather, the body of work as a whole should be given some consideration. I shan't be shocked, however, if she lands a broadcasting job instead, say with ESPN. I don't think it's out of the question, but rather, it's a consideration that may be the path of last resort.
On Thursday, coach Gina Castelli stepped down after 22 seasons. The 5-time women's Coach of the Year in the MAAC hadn't forgotten how to win games. It was just a case of the changing fortunes in the league having an adverse affect on Siena. The Lady Saints' chief nemesis during this lean period has been Marist, which has taken over as the top team in the league, and has beaten Siena 17 consecutive times. Of course, there were the usual cliches about needing to make changes, but consider the fact that during Ms. Castelli's 22 years, they've changed coaches on the men's side at least a half dozen times for one reason or another. According to the Albany Times-Union, the decision was a mutually agreed upon one, and that Ms. Castelli wasn't fired. With Siena a sub-.500 team for 8 straight seasons, a change was inevitable, and needed.
The task now for Siena is to find a coach that can take the Lady Saints back to the top of the MAAC, which won't be that easy. Now, too, might be the time to make another change, and that would be to move the women's games out of the school's Alumni Recreation Center, and into the cavernous Times Union Center, home to the men's team, which routinely averages anywhere from 6,000-9,000 fans for home games. If Siena can raise the profile of its women's team and try to market it as they do with the men, it would help the recruiting process tremendously. Even though the men were also below .500 most of the season, they still had their loyal fan base, which never wavered.
It wouldn't be too much of a surprise if Gina Castelli landed with another school, or was given a shot at coaching a WNBA team. It isn't about what has been done lately, but rather, the body of work as a whole should be given some consideration. I shan't be shocked, however, if she lands a broadcasting job instead, say with ESPN. I don't think it's out of the question, but rather, it's a consideration that may be the path of last resort.
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