Dana and Kelly: Two Dumb Broads

In thinking about ESPN anchor Dana Jacobson and the Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghmann, I can only come up with two words to describe them: “dumb broads.” If that’s an insult, then too bad. These two morons should have thought first before they opened their pie holes and started to spew out nonsense. In case you missed it, Tilghmann was the genius who suggested on the air that rivals of Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour should lynch him in order to stop his dominance in the sport. As for Jacobson, she decided getting piss drunk and shouting F— Notre Dame, F— Touchdown Jesus and F— Jesus at an Atlantic City roast for those two irrelevant colleagues of hers, Mike Greenburg and Mike Golic, was a good idea. It amazes me how stupid people, especially those in the media, are in this day and age. Now look, I am not against speaking your mind and I believe in telling it like it is and being true to yourself. I especially hate political correctness. But come on. You also have to be smart about what you are saying and when you say it. There’s a big difference. These two idiots are lost in space when it comes to knowing that difference. What really amuses me about these two is that they are women working in what is still, no matter how much you say different, a man’s world- the world of sports media. They should both know better. They should realize that what they say will be scrutinized and possibly thrown back at them to make them look irrelevant in their field. Predecessors like Gayle Gardner and Lesley Visser worked tirelessly for years in the industry so “daddy’s little girls” like Dana and Kelly could someday have a chance to work in the field and this is how they reward them? With idiotic comments like this? People like Visser and Gardner are the ones I’d like to hear from. They’re the ones who should speak out against these two idiots because Dana and Kelly’s comments give women covering sports everywhere a bad name. These two geniuses should have thought of that before saying what they did. But again, making the edgy comment is bad-ass these days. I guess in Jacobson’s case she couldn’t help herself. After all, ESPN is just one big frat party everyday anyway based on the attitudes of the anchors on their shows. It makes the channel irrelevant to true sports fans. Ask anyone who follows sports closely if they watch ESPN anymore and the answer is probably no. I know it is for me. What’s the point? I’m not 18 anymore so the thrill of cutting edge escapes me. The bottom line for me is that Tilghmann and Jacobson should both be fired. Not for WHAT they said, but because they were stupid enough to say it knowing it was probably going to cause the PC meter to jump off the charts. Fire them not because they weren’t PC but because they made ridiculous choices. Make them examples of what happens when you are too stupid to know what the right thing is and maybe next time somebody wants to act like a moron they will stop to think first. Boy, would that be a novel idea!

Dark Side of the NFL

I just got done watching a story on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” about the wives of former NFL players and what their lives are like after their husbands are forced to retire from the NFL due to injuries. It is a heartbreaking piece and very sobering to those of us who love the NFL but don’t give the lasting injuries caused by the sport much thought during a Sunday afternoon. It is a very humanizing piece and it puts the plight of these so called “warriors” into proper perspective. Of course, I have heard in the last several months about how the NFL Players Association fails to take care of its disabled players and how guys like Mike Ditka are fighting tooth and nail to change the process. But it never really hit me as to how severe the problem really is until I saw the story of Autumn and Brian DeMarco on Real Sports. Brian DeMarco was a 6′7″ 320 lb. offensive lineman in the NFL from 1995-99 with Jacksonville and Cincinnati. He had to retire after the ‘99 season due to a spinal cord injury. Today, Brian is 35 and disabled. He is nearly penniless, has been reduced to hocking his valuables just to eat and is forced to beg the NFL for help. The NFL basically doesn’t know he exists. His primary caregiver is his wife, Autumn. Every day she helps him to get dressed, eat, take his pills and even use the bathroom. It is tough to watch what Brian DeMarco has been reduced to due to his crippling injuries. He simply cannot get around without his wife’s help and even has trouble putting his medication into his own mouth. But Autumn doesn’t care even though she never thought NFL stardom would bring her to where she is today. She is the true hero of this story. She loves her husband and does anything for him. The DeMarco’s have children and often don’t know where their next meal is coming from. They often worry where they will be living next month. They once had to live in a storage facility with their kids. Maybe it’s because Brian DeMarco is a player I am familiar with and watched play in recent years but this story really brought into focus for me how bad this problem really is. It is a tragic story and one that every football fan should be aware of. If you are a football fan and have HBO, take the time during this Super Bowl week to watch this story. It will sober you up to what the NFL is really like behind the scenes- a real horror show. But the shining light in all this is Autumn. Not all NFL wives are capable of doing what she does everyday but she is to be commended for the love and dedication she shows her family. She is truly a remarkable woman.

Quotes from John Lennon

“Nobody told me there’d be days like these” – from the song Nobody Told Me

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” -from Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)

“Christ, you know it ain’t easy” -from The Ballad of John and Yoko

These are my three favorite quotes about the human condition.  I am not much of a fan of poetry because I usually just don’t get them. But John Lennon was most definitely a poet. He put his poetry into his music and that’s why his words make more sense to me. I have been interested in his life and music since I became an adult and it is the above three quotes that I site when people ask who my favorite poet is or what my favorite quotes are. For anyone who is interested in the life of Lennon after the Beatles I recommend watching the movie “U.S. vs. John Lennon” which is now on DVD. It chronicles the story of how the Nixon administration wanted to deport Lennon because they were afraid of his political power and views during the Vietnam era. It really shows what made Lennon tick and where his musical talent came from.

Oscar Noms

Looking at the academy award nominations that were just announced this morning I am particularly happy to see two movies get some well deserved recognition.  “Michael Clayton” and “Juno” were two of my top 10 choices for best movies of 2007 and I am glad to see that the Academy agreed.  “Clayton” garnered a total of 6 major nominations including best picture, director, actor (George Clooney) and supporting actor (Tom Wilkinson)  For my money, Wilkinson should win in his category.  His portrayal of a mentally ill, conscience stricken corporate lawyer is right on the money.  Wilkinson is fast becoming one of the best character actors in Hollywood.  It would be nice to see him rewarded for his work.  As for “Juno” it gets my vote as the best movie of 2007 for its portrayal of a pregnant teen who makes some very adult decisions in regard to how she will handle her pregnancy.  A brilliant script by Diablo Cody, who was nominated for best original screenplay.  I was very happy to see Ellen Page, the title character, get nominated for best actress.  Her performance was one for the ages and I really hope she wins.  However she has some tough competition from the likes of Laura Linney (The Savages), Julie Christie (Away From Her) and Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) so it will be tough.  I thought Christie’s performance was just as good in her film as Page’s so even though I love Page I think Christie will win, which would not be a bad thing.  “Juno” also was nominated for best picture and best director (Jason Reitman) so hopefully it can bring home one major award.  The bottom line is if you haven’t seen either of these movies, go out and do so.  You will not be disappointed.  Both “Juno” and “Michael Clayton” are remarkable films.

Gagging It Up

Nice gag job yesterday by the Dallas Cowboys. So much for being the number one NFC seed. As a fan, losing 21-17 to the Giants at home is unacceptable. They certainly didn’t play like it yesterday, but they were the best team in the NFC all season. But they couldn’t make plays when it counted. Here were the three biggest problems yesterday as I saw it: Number one, after a 20 play drive that took 11 minutes off the clock and resulted in a touchdown Dallas cannot allow the Giants to score any points with 53 seconds left in the first half. Instead, thanks to Jacques Reeves (Dallas’ 3rd corner who stinks) poor coverage and stupid 15-yard penalty, the Giants moved right down the field with ease and put a TD on the board to tie the game 14-14 at the half. Huge momentum changer. Number two, Patrick Crayton needs to catch that wide open pass at 17-14 Dallas with a minute left in the 3rd quarter. If he does, Dallas breaks the Giants will there and probably wins the game with ease. Instead of talking all week, maybe Crayton should have taken extra pass drills. Number three, what happened to the Dallas offensive line? They couldn’t block anyone in the 4th quarter. I can’t believe I was watching the same line that pushed the Giants defensive line all over the field in the 2 regular season games and in the first half of this one. Tackles Marc Colombo and Flozell Adams just didn’t get it done in the 2nd half. Mind boggling. You add all that up along with 11 penalties and you end up scoring only 3 points in the second half and home you go. So much for the 2nd best offense in the league. Notice I did not mention Tony Romo and his Mexican siesta with a certain pop princess last week. To me, Romo played OK but he had no time to throw in the 4th quarter because his offensive line collapsed. His vacation was not a factor. That just helps media companies sell newpapers. Could he have been better? Probably, but he was running for his life in the 4th quarter. Romo kept several plays alive in this game so I can’t kill him. The bottom line is you have to have the killer instinct in the playoffs and Dallas didn’t have it. So instead of a possible Super Bowl trip this team once again has to reflect on what went wrong. Very disappointing end to the season as a fan but the team did not play on a high level and got what it deserved. It needs to learn how to close out games in the playoffs before they taste any success.

DVD Review: The Last Kiss

If you are looking for a movie about relationships and the difficulties that go with them then take a look at this movie. I thought it was one of the best of 2006 because it really shows its characters at various points in their love relationships and how they deal with their lives. I think it is very relavent not just to people turning 30 (which most of these characters are) but to people of all ages. In this movie there is at least one character that all of us can identify with. The main story arc concerns Michael (Zach Braff) and his girlfriend Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) who has just become pregnant. This part of the film deals with the doubt Michael feels about where he is now and what his life will mean in the future now that he has a child on the way. He feels his life doesn’t include anymore surprises until a chance meeting at a friend’s wedding with Kim (Rachel Bilson) makes him begin to question that notion. Kim is a twenty-something college student who piques Michael’s interest and makes him feel alive again. Of course he acts on this newfound energy and both the anticipation of and fallout from his actions is what drives the movie and the other characters around him. I like the movie because we see how relationships function at many different levels, including the 30-year marriage of Jenna’s parents (Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkinson who are both outstanding); the troubled young marriage of Michael’s friend Chris (Casey Affleck) and the recent troubled breakup of their friends Izzy and Arianna (Michael Weston and Marley Shelton.) Tony Goldwyn’s film lets us look in on love and relationships and makes it easy for us to understand because we all have felt the way these characters feel at some point in our lives. We know where they are coming from so we know why they make the choices they do. The film is not very well known but it really struck me as being one of the best I’ve seen on love and relationships because it shows how things really are for most of us. See it for the outstanding performances by the ensemble cast. There really isn’t a bad one in the whole film. You will not be disappointed.

DVD Review: Jesus Camp

If you are interested in documentary film you need to add the 2006 film “Jesus Camp” to your Netflix queues. I just saw it again recently and I can’t say enough good things about it. As much as this film outrages me it is required viewing for those of us who are worried about the direction our country is taking under the influence of neo-conservatives in America. The film focuses on the “Kids On Fire” bible camp in North Dakota where fanatical Christian fundamentalists send their kids to spread the fundamentalist community’s religious and political messages. In essence they are creating a whole new generation of people who want to preach to the rest of society on how they should live. Now I don’t approve of what is going on in this camp but the fact that director Heidi Ewing had the guts to show us what is taking place is astounding. This is an excellent film but at the same time it is truly the scariest film of the year. The amount of propaganda being fed into the minds of these innocent kids by their right-wing fanatic parents is truly startling. It is truly scary what these people believe in and the fact that they are spreading their nonsense to their kids, who do not yet have the full ability to evaluate and choose their own positions in life, is disgraceful. The brainwashed neo-conservative rhetoric and hate spewing that these people are passing on to their kids is astonishing. They are about to create a generation of hate mongers and busybodies who think they have the right to tell others how to live their lives. This film will take your breath away and make you want to throw a brick through your television at the same time.