No Band For You… Six Months!

Top o' the mornin' to ya, Gov'na!

Browsing around CNN.com this morning, I found a particular story that further proved how ridiculous we’ve become in America. John Coleman, the drum major for Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes & Drums, quit after some hard to handle and (what I call) unnecessary publicity.

At the Inauguration of President Obama, the CFMP&D (try pronouncing that 10 times fast) marched in the parade. Obama reportedly smiled directly at John, and then waved at the band. Doing what any polite person would do, John nodded in acknowledgement and gave the President-to-be a slight wave in return. Sounds like a non-issue, right? Think again… According to Ken Rybka, the band’s Manager and Web Page Editor, the band rehearsed over and over, and knew it was a military parade. “Protocol and proper decorum had to be followed”, he said, according to CNN.com. For breaking “protocol”, John Coleman was suspended for… count it… six months. What I can’t grasp is the idea that a nod of the head, a smile, or a wave would be gestures that warrant any kind of suspension, regardless of the “protocol”. Sure, the band has rules, I get that. It’s definitely not my place to say someone was wrong here, but I can only imagine the amount of excitement, pride, and joy that Mr. Coleman felt when Obama looked right at him. What’s even better, is that Rybka is quoted to say that Coleman’s resignation “comes as a shock and surprise.”

Seriously?… Shock?… Surprise?… Would you like your name to be thrown all over national airwaves for something as minor as a wave, smile, and a nod of the head? Give me a break! Nobody needs this kind of attention for something so unimportant. To Mr. Coleman (and this is just my opinion here), he had a chance to connect with the oncoming President of the United States for just a moment, and that’s excitement that many would be foolish to pass up. It’s unfortunate that this country’s media, yet again, doesn’t fail to impress with the amount of non-stories out there, making Mr. Coleman an “innocent victim” (I put that in quotations because George Carlin, RIP, had a lot to say about the term ‘Innocent Victim’).

In review: Obama looked at Coleman. Coleman was excited. Coleman nodded, smiled, and waved at Obama. Coleman was suspended for breaking “protocol”. Coleman’s suspension became a national story. Coleman quits due to the publicity becoming a bit much to handle.

What have we accomplished?: Nothing positive. My thanks go out to the national media, who never fail to impress me with their lack of important stories, making me blog about this when I could be blogging about the Mets!… wait… nevermind… as long as Citibank has their name plastered all over the Mets franchise, I’ll pass.

Little Bill

Being a big fan of The Colbert Report since its inception, I’ve started to watch “The O’Reilly Factor” only because of the constant jabs that Stephen Colbert takes at Bill O’Reilly. I don’t agree with much of anything Bill has to say, and I would classify his show as a comedy of its own, rather than an informative source of news (because everything that Fox News puts out there makes me laugh). That all being said, I came across this video of Bill O’Reilly as a kid. No, it’s not really his child-self, but it’s a funny retrospect of what Bill O’Reilly might have been like if he hosted “The Factor” as a kid. Enjoy!

So that’s why Hurricanes keep on coming!

Major League Greedball – Dodger Blues

That’s right, kiddies! If you’re a Dodger fan (or just a fan of baseball) living in Los Angeles, and you can’t afford Field Level Box Seats at Dodger Stadium, your pre-game autograph days are over! T.J. Simers over at the Los Angeles Times wrote an article about Dodger Stadiums latest rule. According to this new rule, only fans with tickets to Field Level seating will have access to pre-game autograph opportunities that most fans of other teams have. If you read T.J.’s article, you’ll read about one fan’s stadium experience after being turned away after the new rule took effect, while his seats were just outside of the Field Level Box Seats. As a fan of the game in New York City(aside from being a Mets fan), I’m always psyched to head to Shea Stadium about two and a half hours before games to chat with players and grab some autographs. It’s something I’ve done since first going to Mets games as a kid, and it’s something I’m looking forward to doing with my future kids.

If you look closely, you can see the Field Level ushers turning people away even with the game already in progress!

How can a storied organization like the Dodgers turn away not only the adult fans, but the children (whose family or friends can’t afford box seats) that come to ballgames hoping to get an autograph from one of their favorite player? Well, according to a Dodgers PR guy, an area in Center Field will is dubbed as “Autograph Alley”, where one former Dodger will sign autographs before every game. Ex-Dodgers like Lee Lacy and Jim Gott have already showed up to the centerfield area, where no current players are expected to venture out to before a game. But what 10-year-old wants Lee Lacy’s autograph? Wouldn’t he/she rather have Andruw Jones’ autograph? What about Brad Penny?

In a follow up article on the LA Times website by T.J. Simers, The Dodgers are awaiting ‘more data’ as they begin to reconsider the new rule, while fans have been pushing complaints through. If you have anything to tell the Dodgers Organization about this new rule, send an email over to fanfeedback@ladodgers.com and let the Dodgers PR people know exactly how you feel.

[Thanks, Veronique, for linking this post to the LA Times Blog!]

Welcome to the United States of America, where in Los Angeles, the dollar gets you autographs of your favorite athletes. Now get back to your “Reserved” seat, lower class citizen! If I were a Dodger Fan in Los Angeles, I’d be almost as mad as Phillip Wellman when he argues with umpires…

Major League Greedball – Arod and the Fish

Doing my usual web-browsing for baseball news, I came across this Yahoo article on Alex Rodriguez and the Florida Marlins. The article had nothing to do with statistics or the game itself. It had to do with money. This article was about how Alex Rodriguez ($28 million) makes more money, annually, than the entire current roster of the Florida Marlins ($21.8).

If you’ve read my previous “Major League Greedball” post, you’d know my stance on the flow of money through sports, and where I believe it should really be going. I have nothing against Alex and his talents, or any other player in baseball and their talents, for that matter. I just have a hard time believing in the sport with so much money being dumped into it, when all that money could be going to more important places (in my opinion), like into the pockets of educators. Now, I’m not saying that highly paid players don’t give back to their communities. A lot of players have foundations, charities, or donate money because of a clause in their contract. That’s all wonderful and great. But at $28 million a year… if Arod doesn’t win any World Series rings as a Yankee, that’s one big waste of money, in my opinion.

I’ll feel a little better when the $21.8 million Florida Marlins make a playoff run… or will Jeff Loria sign a truck-full of high-priced Free Agents at the end of the season to win a World Series, and fire everyone when they finally win it? How very “Huizenga” of me to say…

Look Out Below!

I hope this poor anchor-girl was okay after…. wait, I don’t wanna spoil it. Anyway, like the title of the post says, look out below!

Berman Blast!

Comb your hair, jackass!

As expected, ESPN has filed a copyright claim and the video was taken down. But to recap, Berman flipped out at some people moving around during a taping, and he was unable to concentrate. Instead of telling them not to move around and moving on, he proceeded to burst, curse, and throw a fit. Way to go, Chris!

Fun With Censorship

Can you f*** yourself now?