legalacidity's musings ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Site So I'm contributing to a new site with some friends, so check it out:
http://buzzmonkeybutler.blogspot.com. 1:54 a.m. - 2008-05-24 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kyle Busch is Garbage Pure, unadulterated garbage. Four laps to go, and what does the wunderkind fool do? He dives under Dale Earnhardt Jr. and promptly puts him in the wall. Kyle Busch is a damned fool and NASCAR ought to park him for being such an idiot. And not just Kyle Busch. How about Denny Hamlin, his Toyota brethren? He has a tire going down, and instead of going in the pits, he just goes to the high side of the track and stops. Flat stops. Did he do that because Earnhardt Jr. was running away from Busch? Or did he do it because he's an idiot as well? Some might want to compare Busch to Dale Earnhardt Sr., moving people out of his way onto the way of victory. That's ridiculous. Busch didn't bump him out of the way; he made a bonehead move that he should have known would lead to what happened. Busch got extremely loose and screwed up. And, he scored even more points with Junior fans by blaming Junior after the race. Nice. Thanks, Kyle Busch. You're an idiot. 11:17 p.m. - 2008-05-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On Bissinger and Leitch So Buzz Bissinger went a tad bit ballistic on Will Leitch on Costas Now last night. Part of his concerns, if you were able to wade through the vitriol and crude language, should be understandable: he's part of a dying breed and he's raging against the dying of the light. I'm not sure I might not feel some of what he's feeling. He's part of a medium that is shrinking; less and less people are reading newspapers. Not reading the virtual newspapers, mind you, but the tree-killing physical ones. The wonder that is the Internet has brought information, news and videos of people falling down to the fingertips of virtually everyone. Instead of waiting for a box score from last night's Cardinals game, you can view the box score in real time as it updates with the results of each at bat. But while that may be at the heart of Bissenger's rant (and he somewhat admitted that it was), he places the blame for this revolution on bloggers like Leitch who present information in a way that is vastly different from how it might be presented in a physical newspaper or on ESPN.com. Why, might you ask? Well, because it apparently makes us all more stupider. (See? Right there! I'm stupid!) I think that his assertions are ludicrous. First, it was obvious from his at times incoherent ramblings that he has rarely, if ever, read the site. He doesn't seem to understand the notion of guest columnists and certainly cannot distinguish between a "post" and a "comment." While newspaper websites and "mainstream" sports sites like ESPN.com do have commenting features, the comments that are left on those sites are subject to a myriad of rules and regulations. It's almost like the comments you might find on a major newspaper's website are like those one might make around the watercooler in an office when the boss is around. The comments on Deadspin are the ones you'd hear in a crowded sports bar during Game Three of the NBA Finals--unabashed, uncensored and probably tinged with a beer or seven. There's a certain refreshment from being freed from the constraints of rules and regulations. The fact of the matter is that I have had fairly rewarding discussions on a variety of sports topics in the comments section of Deadspin. I've had the same type of discussions in a sports bar or on the back porch of a buddy's house over a few beers. The sports masses love to discuss sports; it's in our sports DNA. If we were all of the stuffed-shirt variety that wanted to get into an eloquence contest, then we might prefer to read a major sports columnist in a physical newspaper and then don our fairest dandy fop outfit and head over for tea and crumpets with our dandy discussion group. But, we're not. That's what Bissinger misses in this discussion: the fact that the average sports fan craves information and craves talking about that information. As a result, we'll flock to the medium that allows us to do that (unless it is the abortion that is Sports Nation on ESPN Radio). Bissinger or any other writer shouldn't feel threatened because we enjoy discussing our passions; he should feel threatened because he refuses to change or even act like he would be open to accepting a new medium. I'm willing to bet that there were quite a few Bissingers in radio back in the 1940s who decried the evolution of the television and tried to make a holier-than-thou argument about it simply because they knew that their medium as they knew it was dying and changing in a way that they either did not, could not or were simply unwilling to understand. When a new wave comes through, someone like Bissinger has three options: embrace the new medium and meld himself into it, accept that a change is a-comin' and accept it, or act like a jackass like he did last night. I think it's obvious what he's chosen to do. 10:30 p.m. - 2008-04-30 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chad Johnson is a Doofus I mean, there's really nothing more you can say after watching this interview: http://deadspin.com/375556/brian-kennys-media-approval-rating-went-up-a-little-bit I'm glad that Brian Kenny at least attempted to hold Johnson's feet to the fire. The only problem was, Chad was full of Doofus Juice and couldn't give a straight answer to save his life. Essentially, Chad is upset that the Bengals aren't running the organization like he wants them to in order to win a championship. The Bengals said, "Ok, buddy. Show up to camp or don't show. We'll be playing no matter what." Chad's response? "Who cares!" What a doofus. 12:59 p.m. - 2008-04-03 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thoughts on the NCAA Tournament in Birmingham Just got back from the basketball tournament there in Birmingham, Alabama over the weekend and, once again, had a great time. It's a shame that this might be the last time that the tourney comes to Birmingham for some time. Some random thoughts: --Tennessee fans are still jackasses. To the lady sitting in Row 4 of Section E: You are a dumbass. You are an idiot. You know nothing about basketball, and even though you may think that waving not one, but two shakers incessantly somehow makes you a superfan, you are not. You should listen to your husband and shut your yap and simply stay at home. You embarrass your school and your state by even opening your mouth in public. Yes, that was a foul. Yes, that was a turnover. No, you shouldn't act like a classless bitch when a player for Butler fouls out. Stupid woman. At least your husband had the sense to shout you down on a few occasions. --Louisville cheerleaders. What the hey? They had eight guys and only four girls. That's the most screwed-up guy-to-girl ratio I've ever seen on a cheerleading squad. To top it off, they had a five-foot-nothing guy with perfectly straight, perfectly long hair that looked just like "Put him in a bodybag! YEAAAHHHH!!" from Karate Kid. He would do fourteen backflips and then start shooting "L's" at the crowd, gay Louisville style. The rest of the Louisville cheerleaders were not NEARLY as gay as this guy. To the guys sitting in rows six and seven of section E: that was some funny stuff. SWEEP THE LEG, JOHNNY! --Interlopers. Most people buy a ticket, go in, and sit in their seat. But these interlopers; as soon as they see two empty seats together, they rush down like a pack of starving wolves and start fighting over the empty seats. Why not just sit where you're supposed to? If they're cool, like the Louisville fan my buddy and I ran into, then it's not too bad. If they're borderline retarded, like the middle-aged Michigan State guy (complete with IZZONE! t-shirt) and his buddy the Web-Belt Wonder, it really, really sucks to have to put up with a couple of morons moving every five minutes because the REAL ticketholders showed back up. Stay in your seats, people. And Web-Belt Wonder: wearing said belt AND having your Casio wrapped around it are both grounds for a beatdown of epic proportions, so you probably should start watching your back. And not hanging out with your clinically insane IZZONE! buddy might not be a bad idea, either. --American University. Lots of heart on that team. #14, Brian Gilmore, you played your guts out. Thanks for that. You (and most of the rest of the team) are coming back next year, so make another tourney run, all right? Most #15 seeds show up, get paid, and loaf and go home. You guys took Tennessee to the waning moments of the game, so my hat's off to you. Tennessee, on the other hand, if they ever played up to their potential, they would destroy most teams. But, they have one major flaw: no character. They loaf for minutes at a time. It's astounding and even more noticeable in person. --Oklahoma fans. Really? Really. You let American bring more fans than you? Really? The entire American student body showed up and that only accounted for 87 people. How in the world does an Oklahoma only bring as few as you guys did? You were just there a few years ago playing Alabama in football down in Tuscaloosa; back then all of you said you loved it down here, loved the hospitality. Couldn't be bothered this time, eh? Weak. American's fans were twice as loud as the ones you had show up. --Buffalo Wild Wings. Absolutely the worst bar food on the face of the planet (I mean, absolute dog food), but still a great place to watch several games at once. For better food, see... --Fox and the Hound. Did Saturday at this place. Loved it. Shout out to "Sticks" for the great service. I know her real name, so I'm not going to divulge it here. Although, her "real name" is probably her second "fake name" so she probably still didn't give us her real name. Screw you for that, Lindsay! If you lied to us, I mean...if not, then we're cool... --Sonny and Wimp. Wimp and Sonny. One thinks he's smart. The other can't go anywhere without the other. These are two former basketball coaches: Sonny Smith coached at Auburn and Wimp Sanderson coached at Alabama. They did a radio show together some years ago, and since then, I don't think I've ever seen them apart from each other. It's creepy, really. --Joe Lundardi. He obviously drew the short straw and got sent to Birmingham for Friday's games. And then, they didn't even let him use the media entrance/exit, as he was seen roaming the concourse of the BJCC. Oh, and he's about three feet tall. His laptop bag was dragging along the floor behind him even though he had the strap around his shoulder. Seriously. Dude's TINY. Seriously though, a great time was had by all. Unfortunately, Birmingham seems uninterested in making the changes necessary to ensure that the tournament returns anytime soon, so that's a shame. Maybe they'll wake up, because it certainly is a boost to the local economy. 12:19 p.m. - 2008-03-25 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Site - 2008-05-24 Kyle Busch is Garbage - 2008-05-03 On Bissinger and Leitch - 2008-04-30 Chad Johnson is a Doofus - 2008-04-03 Thoughts on the NCAA Tournament in Birmingham - 2008-03-25 |
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