Friday, April 22, 2016

ESPN Cans Curt Schilling Over Transgender Bathroom Tweet



ESPN fired former Major League Baseball star pitcher and TV Color Commentator Curt Schilling because of sharing a meme on transgender bathrooms on Twitter.

Disney owned ESPN insisted that the company was dedicated to inclusiveness, so it terminated someone with a view which different from the current politically correct line.  It is intriguing that Disney owned ABC Good Morning America report blurred out the image of a transvestite who would have been eligible to use whatever bathroom which he/she/zei felt like using.  It seems that the ideals of diversity and inclusiveness can not be particularized in a reductio ad abusurdum.


This was not Schilling's first run in with social media PR challenges.  A couple of years ago, Schilling went on attack mode against a Twitter troll who sexually harassed his daughter  sparked by congratulations over admission to Salve Regina University.

Later in 2015, Schilling was suspended from covering the Little League World Series for sharing a controversial tweet which compared Muslim "population infiltration" with Nazis.

There seems to be an academic and corporate corporate push to be intolerant towards "ciscentrism" and those who do not acquiesce to "the new normal" regarding self designated transgendered bathroom fluidity. It is dubious if ESPN would punish an employee for sharing progressive political memes.

Bruce Springsteen, et ali, have forgone concerts in North Carolina while the Bathroom Law is in effect. The NBA has threatened to pull the All Star game unless the Tar Heel State relents on traditional notions that those with male genetalia should not evacuate their excrement around little girls. During a NBC Today Townhall meeting, Manhattan mogul Donald Trump insisted that just not worrying about transgenders using whatever bathroom they like is no problem.

From its inception, DC-Jockularity recognized the convergence of sports and public policy.  ESPN's aggressive application of standards reinforces the idea that ABC/Disney/ESPN is a progressive entity which pushes its agenda even unto sports coverage and will not brook dissent.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Trashing Flyers Fans?

The Philadelphia Flyers hosted the Washington Capitals for game three of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  The Flyers team initially seemed inspired by the emotional pre-game tribute to the late owner Ed Snider and scored within the first minute of play at the Wells Fargo Center.  But then the momentum stopped for the Orange Crush, which brought out the worst in unhappy Flyers fans.




As the Flyers descended to an eventual 6-1 rout by the Capitals, Flyer fans got unruly. The towards the end of the game, giveaway bracelets began to pelt the ice and even hit Capital players on the bench. Despite the entreaties of  P.A. announcer Lou Nolan, the Philadelphia Flyers were assessed a bench minor penalty for delay of game as the shovel brigade worked to clear the playing surface from debris from pissed off fans.





Red Wings Head Ice Manager Al Sobatka
The Detroit Red Wings have to temper their fans enthusiasm in the playoffs but from the other end of the spectrum. A tradition started in 1952 that enthusiastic fans threw an octopus on the ice symbolizing the eight games that were needed to win the Stanley Cup at that time. In the 1980s, Red Wings fans tossed larger and larger cephalopods weighing 38 and 50 pounds.  The head ice manager would twirl the octopi above his head as he walked to the Zamboni.  The NHL tried to curtail this practice but the league relented after the hue and cry from fans in Octopus-gate.

Philadelphia Flyers fans are renowned for their fierce fanaticism. This seemingly reflects the region (as Veterans' Stadium had  a court and jail for rowdy football fans).  It is not surprising that Flyers fans emulate their team's legend.  During their heyday in the 1970s, the Flyers were known as the Broad Street Bullies. Their fans revel at intimidating and insulting their bete noirs.

To some extent, this fanaticism is admirable.  But it can be a vein for irascible and unmerited anger. Cheering injured players, taunting "traitors" (players now playing for opposing teams), attacking players in the penalty box,  booing Sarah Palin ceremonial puck drop and they even booed Santa Claus.  But what cemented the conceit of classlessness happened several years ago when a PSA played on the Jumbotron featuring several NHL stars in an anti-cancer spot.  The crowd booed because the anti-cancer ad featured it featured Penguin's star Norm Crosby et ali.



There is no particular desire for a unrepentant rivalry in the District of Calamity with the City of Brotherly Love. But it seems ashamed that Flyers fans projected their frustration being three games behind in the playoffs by trashing the ice and endangering players with their projectiles. It seems that Lord Stanley might not want a cheese steak this season.

At a rally prior to the start of the series, I met a woman who was former military fully rockin' the red (including a red coif) who was driving up to the game in Philadelphia with a friend who is a big Flyers fan who was on shore leave.  I shudder at the mood on the ride home based upon the behavior displayed at the arena. 

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Donald Trump on Joe Paterno


While at a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,  Republican Presidential front-runner Donald Trump confused the crowd of 8,000 by suggesting to bring Joe Paterno back.







Many mock Trump's entreaty, implying that the Manhattan mogul did not know that the legendary former Penn State football coach had been dead for nearly four years, after being ousted in the wake of the Assistant Coach Sandusky pedophilia scandal.  What was more likely is that Trump was referring to the statue of Paterno, which was unceremoniously removed from exterior of Beaver Stadium in University Park.

What was remarkable was how disjointed and desultory that Donald Trump sounded even when reading from prepared remarks. In addition, Trump types are proud that their leader would be beholden to no special interest.  Yet the pathetic Paterno pleading before Keystone voters right before the Pennsylvania primary belies that brag. 

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Tarheel State Must Jump Thru LGBTQQ? Hoops to Host NBA All-Star Game




Reacting the North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (R-NC) signing HB2 "The Bathroom Bill", the National Basketball Association has threatened the Tar Heel State that Charlotte is in jeopardy because the law discriminates against transgendered persons from using whatever bathroom they feel like visiting at that time.



Other sports leagues have threatened to boycott places to pressure governments to change their laws, like the NCAA's 15 year ban on South Carolina hosting sporting events over the Confederate battle flag flying on state capitol grounds in Columbia, or the NFL threatening to move a Super Bowl from Arizona over the state enforcing federal law on illegal immigration.

It is curious to see how the NBA is going to great lengths to protest this "discrimination" of people having different genitalia using separate waste evacuation facilities which has been in place for generations and is rife for confusion and abuse. 

This sort of progressive pressure again demonstrates that sports has been politicized by the tyranny of liberal fascism.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

On Leaders, Liars and Links

Donald Trump and Kim Jung-un on Golf


As Anthony Anderson intimated on Late Night with Seth Meyers, it is not unexpected that golf course Landlords get better lies. Yet Trump thinks that it has something to do with his...hands.




You know what they say about guys who cheat at golf.

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Dispensing Controversy in Mile High Naming Rights




Controversy has long surrounded what to call the Denver Bronco's home.  Many fans wanted to continue to call the new stadium "Mile High" since it was immediately adjacent to the old complex.  But the facility was mostly paid for by local taxpayers and officials wanted to re-cooperate some monies from the big business of sports so naming rights were sold.


When the Bronco's new home was inaugurated in 2001, it was officially known as Invesco Field at Mile High.  The Denver Post did not want to include corporate advertising in their sports coverage, so they would just call it "Mile High Field".  After several years, the local newspaper relented and included the Invesco name.  Nevertheless, Investco transferred the naming rights to the stadium to the Sports Authority in 2011, with the Sports Authority paying the Metropolitan Stadium District $6 million a year.



Things may change with the Sports Authority in the process of Chapter 11 bankruptcy. If the Sports Authority is unable to pony up their payment, naming rights may be up for grabs.  On April 1st, the news broke that one of the earnest aspirants to buy naming rights is a Colorado cannabis dispensary, Native Roots.




As apropos as it may seem to have a marijuana dispensary label slapped on the "Mile High" complex, it may be mooted by federal law.  The federal government considers marijuana a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance under the Controlled Substances Act (84 Stat. 1236), thus advertising would be prohibited. Even though states such as Colorado and Washington (and the District of Calamity) have loosened laws prohibiting recreational use of cannabis, federal laws are still on the books.  State laws also put limits on the outdoor advertising of medical marijuana.

Additionally, the NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell has reaffirmed a League policy which bans marijuana . Considering how the NFL has a reputation problem with so many athletes getting into trouble that it has been facetiously called "The National Felons League" that it is dubious if the league wants to further agitate straight laced fans by having a stadium named the Native Roots Field at Mile High.