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.
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.
After representing the Minnesota Vikings since 1994 by entertaining fans at home games, Joe Juranitch found himself at home on game day. However, his forlorn Facebook posting was more than a bit disingenuous. The human mascot who used to ride a purple motorcycle to lead the Vikings out on the field was cut because his danegeld was too outrageous.
Danegeld was a tribute payment by the English and French from the nineth to eleventh century AD to prevent marauding by Vikings. In Juranitch's case, he wanted a 2100% increase. Last year, "Ragnar" was paid $1,500 a game. In Juranitch's renegotiation, he wanted a cool $20,000 a GAME with a 10 year contract. This avaricious offer killed the golden goose.
That would have meant that over the period of the contract, Juranitch would be paid $1.6 million (or $2 million if it included preseason) for being on the sidelines for 90 games. Nice work if you can get it.
Well, the Vikings already had a kid friendly mascot Viktor the Viking. And the team might want to watch their expenses as they are footing $551 million of the $1.061 billion U.S. Bank stadium which will be ready in 2016.
There is a fan based petition drive with 10,000 people in order to reinstate Ragnar to his former place on the sidelines. But I suspect that "Ragnar" will have more time to snowtube during his free weekends in Minnesocold.
Last week, the Chinese Central government began a crackdown on golf by shutting down 66 "illegal" golf courses, which is 10% of the nation's fairways. While Beijing has be officially forbidden the construction of new golf courses since 1984, they have proliferated in the PRC. Between 2004 and 2009, 400 new golf courses were created despite the ban (tripling the number of links). But as the Chinese maxim goes, the mountain is high and the emperor is far away.
Aside from being good for generating yuan for their communities by catering to elites, foreign tourism and sparking ancillary business opportunities, golf courses were a great way to gain graft.
The local officials would line their pockets from the construction (as they expropriate peasants' land and profit from the sale to the golf industry) and they are can be surreptitiously sanctioned as being "ecological restorations". How conveniently corrupt.
The day after the golf course crackdown occurred, a Commerce Ministry official was investigated (effectively being found guilty) for participating in a golf event, which violated one of Chinese President Xi Jinping's eight rules against extravagance by government officials. From a political perspective, it makes sense for a fledgling government to embrace the game.
Despite the burgeoning number of golf courses in China, it is considered "the millionaires game". Mao Zedong banned golf in 1949 as bourgeois "green opium". Today, a round of golf can cost $150, in a nation where the average daily salary is $5. So it still remains "the rich man's game".
From a political perspective, it makes sense for a fledgling government not to be seen embracing the game of golf. Gordon Chang has been warning for years that the Chinese economy is on a precipice and a severe world financial downturn which results in a weak demand for cheap Chinese labor could spark a downfall in the current polity in Beijing. So a public crackdown from the Beijing government on golf appeals to the have nots to quell any clamoring for revolution while President Xi Jinping re-establishes central control over wayward provincial politicos engaged in crony capitalism.
Yet it is unlikely that China's War on Golf will actually forbid the game. Beijing has been spending serious capital on grooming a team to qualify for the Rio de Jainero Olympics in 2016. It's a tension between domestic tranquility and international glory.
Dan Washburn, the author of "The Forbidden Game" (2014) considers Chinese Golf to be apt allegory for the corruption, land grabs,
environmental issues and escalating economic disparity that have become
hallmarks of New China.
Washburn is ambivalent as to what will result from the war on golf. Washburn's metric is how the seized fairways are used in five years. Considering China's dismal track record on environmental issues, it is dubious if the seized courses will end up as actual "ecological restorations".
Will they be re-appropriated like the Shanghai Golf and Country Club in Hongqoai Park, which was converted into the Shanghai Zoo in 1954? Or will the seized courses go the way of Wonderland, a Chinese rip off of Disneyland, which is rotting away due to lack of business and uncertain legalities. China has a series of ghost cities, which are colossal waste of investment that temporarily pump up the GDP and esteem of a local official while saddling the area with a white elephant and a mountain of debt.
In the fourth quarter of the last game in the regular season between the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers at Lambau Field, Lions Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh seems to add injury to insult to the opposing quaterback. As Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers lay on the turf after being tackled by Suh, Suh seems to take two steps backwards to step on the quarterback's ankle and calf.
Although Fox Sports Commentator Mike Pereira (who previously was an NFL VP of Officiating) was skeptical if Suh's bad steps were intentional, that is not the view of the powers that be in the NFL. Suh was suspended for one game, which happens to be the NFC wild card matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys.
It may not have helped Suh's initial cause that his aggressive playing style has caused him $216,875 from four incidents (including one stomping) over his five season pro career. Suh has the right to appeal but they can go to the videotape.
The Lions have not won a playoff game since 1991, when they defeated the Dallas Cowboys. While the Lions have a vaulted defense this season, they may have to make due without Suh.
Suh is a free agent after this season. Will teams be willing to pay be bucks only to have their star tackle unavailable due to league discipline issues?
Home Ice TaxDisadvantage is a joint study by the Canadian Taxpayers Foundation and the Americans for Tax Reform which studied the impact of taxes upon labor mobility by focusing on the 123 unrestricted NHL free agents during the 2014 off-season. The study accounted for the team salary spending, the personal tax rate and the "True Cap" which took into consideration these rates.
Home Ice Tax Disadvantage discovered that 57% of the players who switched teams during that time period chose to migrate to lower tax jurisdictions. The 78 free agents who switched teams, cumulatively saved $7,951,784 in taxes. These choices are more marked when considering particular players' circumstances.
For example, Benoit Pouliot was moved from the New York Rangers to the Edmonton Oilers. Had Pouliot been offered the same deal in New York City, he would have paid $572,752 more in taxes. Jason Spezza had a no trade clause in his contract, which aided him when he moved from the Ottawa Senators to the Dallas Stars, where he now only pays $349,535 in taxes. Yet P.A. Parenteau did not have a no-trade clause so when he moved from the Colorado Avalanche to the Montreal Canadiens, it cost him $349,352 in taxes to play for the 'Habs.
Alberta had the lowest jurisdictional tax rate, so players for the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers only paid 38.5% in taxes. Alberta's overall tax rate was lower than Southern U.S. states like Florida, Texas and Tennessee which boast no state income taxes. The Los Angeles Kings pay the highest overall amount in taxes, forking over $27.8 million to Uncle Sam and $8.5 million to the state of California. The Montreal Canadien players face the highest tax rate of 58.5%.
As CTF Director of Research Jeff Bowes, who authored Home Ice Tax Disadvantage, put it:
“The numbers don’t lie; NHL players take a financial hit to play in certain jurisdictions. Obviously, there are other
factors at play besides taxes, but the fact remains that disparities in
tax rates leave some teams at a major disadvantage.”
The point of the study was not to study comparative advantage in the NHL or to stoke up class envy but to suggest that high tax jurisdictions are alienating skilled workers such as doctors, engineers or corporate executives with onerous progressive taxation and prompting them to vote with their feet. The ever increasing tax rates on the top tier of taxpayers may explain why places like New York and California keep losing businesses and population to locales like Texas and Florida.
The AAA Texas 500 has been held on the first Sunday in October at the Texas Motor Speedway in unincorporated land in the north Fort Worth area since the race's inception in 2005. While the locale is the same, this year the AAA Texas 500 will be held in "No Limits, Texas".
The No Limits Texas theme is the third evolution of a marketing campaign to give a distinctive character to NASCAR racetracks West of the Mississippi. The No Limits, Texas rebranding of the Texas Motor Speedway is mean to recall showdowns in the "wicked fast" West.
The No Limits, Texas campaign is going to great lengths to promote itself. Aside from new signage at TMS, there is a redesigned website, concerted media campaign, and some edgy marketing. In the TV spot, NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth is featured getting a "No Limits" tattoo. And there is the tradition of celebrating by raising six shooters.
Will edgy marketing continue to propel the Texas Motor Speedways trek towards the top in NASCAR. Today may be a strong challenge to that fast and furious aspiration. Today the U.S. Grand Prix is being held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Any Sunday in the Fall is a big NFL Football Day. And hunting season just opened in Texas. We will soon see who triumphs in the draw for fan support between NASCAR, F1, NFL and game hunting fans on the Sunday sports shootout.
On September 24, 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers played their last game at Ebbets Field against the Milwaukee Braves. Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley had been angling for years to build a replacement facility for the National League team. O'Malley proposed a domed stadium in Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards (ironically now where the Barclay's Center stands) but New York Building Commissioner Robert Moses "would not play ball." Moses wanted a stadium erected in Flushing Gardens, Queens (where Shea Stadium and Citi Field were built), but O'Malley insisted: "We are the Brooklyn Dodgers, not the Queens Dodgers!". To put pressure on New York City officials, O'Malley had "Da Bums" play a few homestands in Jersey City, New Jersey for two years, but to no avail. O'Malley packed up the Dodgers and left for sunny Los Angeles in 1958. And Brooklyn was never the same.
Yid With Lid's Jeff Dunetz argued that September 24, 1957 was "the day the Borough of Brooklyn died" as the Dodgers were the glue that kept Brooklyn together. Being a Brooklyn Dodgers fan was likened to being a "state religion" in Brooklyn. It was hypothesized that blue collar, ethnic first and second generation Americans identified with "Dem Bums" and were proud that Dodger players were just like them and lived among them. In fact, Samuel Johnson, an old-time Brooklyn Dodgers fan who lives at the Ebbet Field Apartments, recalled how seeing Jackie Robinson around in the neighborhood with his pigeon toed walk.
Brooklyn Dodgers fans have an unusual nostalgic affection for Ebbets Field, which was the Dodgers home for 45 years. Ebbets Field was built in "Pig Town" in 1912 between Bedford Avenue, Sullivan Place, McKeever Place, and Montgomery Streets from a collection of parcels which included a garbage dump. When Ebbets Field opened in 1913, the intimate bandbox (a.k.a. cigar box) stadium sported neither a flag pole nor a press box (the latter was not added until 1929). Ebbets Field had character because of its topography-- the parcel of sloping ground required that the right field corner be above street level. Ebbets Field could only seat 35,000 fans and had no hopes of expansion. Fans of "Dem Bums" thought that it had a homey feel.
After O'Malley moved the Dodgers to the Chavez Ravine in "Dodger-town" California, Brooklyn fans were thoroughly bummed about the abandonment of the Brooklyn Bandbox. Ebbets Field was demolished with great ceremony in February 1960.
The site was turned into the Ebbets Field Apartments. However that did not destroy the nostalgia for the Ebbets Field and Brooklyn Dodgers among their die-hards. Frank Sinatra had a song "There Used to Be a Ballpark" aimed at Ebbets Field. The facade for Citi Field in Queens architecturally evokes the exterior of Ebbets Field. And Ebbets Field even managed to be part of the plot in the film Field of Dreams (1989). People still pay good money for associations with Ebbets Field. In January 2014, for example, the Ebbets Field street sign which stood at the corner of Montgomery and McKeever sold for nearly $59,000.
Why do people still brood today of the abandonment off the Brooklyn Bandbox. Native New Yorkers get nostalgic about the prominence of the Big Apple. The Dodgers and the Giants simultaneously skipping out to California was a cognitive blow which inspired incredible animus. Hence, Judge Motley's quip about the "notorious abandonment" of Brooklyn 35 years later. The observation about the Dodgers being the sticky stuff which held the borough of Brooklyn together has some merit. The Dodgers ducking out of Brooklyn may have also marked the end of a certain age of innocence. Pro sports used to be a pastime which a lucky few like Roy Campanella continued play boyhood games into adulthood during the summer, only to go back to day jobs in the off season. The Dodgers move to Los Angeles may have underscored that pro sports could become big business.
Even though the Brooklyn Dodgers may have abandoned the borough, they did manage to keep their trademark. Brooklyn based restauranters opened "the Brooklyn Dodgers Sports Bar and Restaurant in 1988 arguing that the Dodgers abandoned Brooklyn in 1957, changing the organizations name and had abandoned the trademark. This might have been a successful trademark challenge, except the L.A. Dodgers started marketing Brooklyn Dodgers merchandise again in 1981. Major League Properties won the case in 1993 but the entrepreneurs had long since before gone out of business.
After CBS spent $275 million for the 2014 Season to win broadcast rights to broadcast NFL Thursday Night Football from September 11-October 23 (and December 20th), the Tiffany Network wanted to make a splash in prime time to draw advertiser. Thanks to the ex Baltimore Raven RB Ray Rice incident, CBS Sports is drawing criticism.
CBS created pre-game promos which featured popular singers Jay-Z and Rihanna singing "Run This Town". But as TMZ released the video of Ray Rice knocking his financee out in an elevator, CBS pulled back from this marketing path.
Rihanna had suffered felony domestic abuse at the hands of singer Chris Brown in 2009. But CBS steadfastly denied that Rihanna's past had anything to do with cancelling the song as well as a comedy sketch appearance with Don Cheadle. CBS sanctimoniously stated:
We thought journalistically and from a tone standpoint, we needed to
have the appropriate tone and coverage. A lot of the production elements we wanted in the show are
being eliminated because of time or tone.
One week later, when the Baltimore Ravens were not playing, CBS Sports signaled that it wanted to use the Rihanna material. The Hip Hop chanteuse saw BS and called out the network.
After Rihanna's Twitter postings, it is highly unlikely that the videos will ever be used.
Formula One driver Nico Rosberg had a grand plan to honor his native Germany winning the World Cup. The German Grand Prix will be held in Hockenham, Germany. The 29 year old driver for Mercedes Benz "Silver Arrow" team planned to sport a helmet which celebrated Germany's fourth World Cup victory in Rio de Janeiro.
"We
appreciate Nico Rosberg's desire to congratulate the German team and have
therefore been in discussions with the Rosberg team, who have now found a
solution whereby he will still be able to show his support for Germany without
using FIFA's intellectual property in a commercial context."
If only the international football organization was consistent in protecting its trademark from Formula One racers. In 2006, Jarno Trulli raced in the French Grand Prix with an image of the trophy on his helmet celebrating Italty's victory, and he suffered no sanctions.
Rosberg tweeted that he understood F.I.F.A.'s trophy trademark prohibition.
Rosberg tweaked his helmet design to include four gold stars marking Germany's World Cup wins.
The National Football League is taking a hiatus on its classical finish to a season in 2016. Since 1971, the NFL championship game known the world over as the Super Bowl has been marked by Roman Numerals. However, when the Super Bowl is played at the San Francisco Giant's new stadium in Santa Clara, California on February 7, 2016, the game will be marketed as Super Bowl 50.
The reason for the change is neither Common Core compliance nor a concession to fans struggling with concussions. The reason is purely aesthetic. Keith Bruce, the president of the San Francisco Bay Area Host Committee, lobbied for a change from the "L" as it was time. However, there is also speculation that contemporary audiences may equate the "L" with Loser. For it's part, Jaime Weston, the NFL Vice President of Brand and Creative, noted that her team had tried 73 different versions of the Super Bowl 50 logo but could not find a design which was pleasing to the eye. The NFL will market two types of logos for Super Bowl 50. Both will feature the Arabic Numerals "50" in gold, as a nod to Northern California's history when James Wilson Marshall striking gold at Sutter's Mill in 1849 and sparked a gold rush of prospectors to the Golden State. Both the national and the regional logos will feature the Lombardi Trophy. The regional logo will also include Bay area landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, the TransAmerica tower as well as Levi's Stadium. While Latin teachers and classic scholars may be dismayed at migrating away from Roman numerals, it should be noted that traditions associated with the Big Game have evolved over time. The championship game was not even called "The Super Bowl" until its third iteration. In fact, the NFL did not even trademark "The Super Bowl" for a few months afterwards. The touch of the Roman Numerals followed in 1971. The NFL insists that this will be a one year hiatus, and that it will return in 2017 for Super Bowl LI. If it is true that NFL branding was worried about unfortunate associations with the big "L", what will they do in 2025, which it is Super Bowl LIX?
Major League Baseball teamed up with Domino's Pizza for a promotion to give away 20,000 two topping medium pizzas to MLB account holders after the first two no hitters this season.
[C] LA Dodger Pitcher Josh Beckett celebrating after throwing no hitter May 24, 2014
LA Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett pitched the first no hitter on Sunday in a 6-0 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. In the game, Beckett had six strikeout. Unfortunately, many more people struck out in trying to redeem their free pizza codes.
Tuesday was the day which MLB account holders could petition for their pizza, however response was so heavy that the website crashed and some fans were left pizza-less.
In this age of social media diplomacy, these disgruntled pizza people took to Twitter to vent via the hashtag #DomiNoNo. A post which would cut to the quick in the District of Calamity (sic) compared the problematic pizza giveaway to Obamacare sign ups.
Alas, it was not just hungry fans who suffered as a consequence of Beckett's first no hitter. Dodger catcher A.J. Ellis suffered a sprained ankle celebrating Beckett's achievement when he jumped and landed on fellow catcher Drew Butera.
Ellis was put on the 15 day disabled list. Fortunately, Butera was not injured in the incident. It is unclear if Ellis will enjoy pizza while on DL.
Randy's Donuts in Inglewood, California has partnered with the LA Kings in their drive for another Stanley Cup championship. The donut stand partnered with the NHL team to turn their iconic giant Donut which is a landmark on the I-405 freeway into something approximating a hockey puck.
The LA Kings have a long association with Inglewood, as the team played at the Forum of Inglewood for 32 years before moving to their current home at the Staples Center in 1999.
Larry Weintrub, a co-owner of Randy's Donuts, expressed his intent to keep his landmark clad with a faux puck veneer until victory of bust. Randy's donuts put some icing on their partnership with the Kings by giving away a free glazed donut to all Kings fans on Tuesday May 27th between 8 to 9 am.
LA Kings fans are one win away from playing for Lord Stanley's Cup, as the hold a 3-1 lead over the Chicago Black Hawks in the Western Conference finals.
Since many star players move through the minor leagues and can not be counted on as an attendance draw, many minor league clubs sell spectacle as much as the ballgame. A couple of teams have eagerly hopped on the ersatz Star Wars holiday "May the Fourth Be With You" by issuing special uniforms for the occasion.
This year,
the Toledo Mud Hens donned Chewbacca inspired jerseys for Star Wars
weekend. The Mud Hens, which are the Triple affiliate of the Detroit
Tigers, will don special Mud Hens Star Wars uniforms which try to depict fur
along with a munitions holder across the players chest.
But it's tough to pull
off fluffy Wookiee fur on two dimensional material. Moreover, Chewbacca stood seven foot tall. So it is
unlikely that fans at Fifth Third ballpark in Toledo with think that they have
been teleported to Mos Eisley.
Craig Katz, the director of merchandising for the Mud Hens told OT Sports, which designed the Wookiee uniforms, sought to do something different. In Katz mind, "There is no such thing as bad press with something like this. We have fans say 'These [uniforms] are so ugly, I have to have one." So rather than just auctioning these Wookiee uniforms after Star Wars weekend, the Mud Hens will be selling them. Katz expects Star Wars fanatics to snap up these out of this world uniforms and add them to their collection. Probably to the likes of the Big Bang Theory crew.
For several years, the Durham Bulls have been celebrating Star Wars, wearing futuristic uniforms, having costumed Storm Troopers and Chewbacca throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. But this year the Durham Bulls, which are the Triple A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, went all in and honored R2D2 for their Star Wars Day uniforms. After the players wear the Droid inspired jerseys, the 40 jerseys will be sold in a silent auction, with proceeds benefiting the Autism Society of North Carolina.
Alas, the Durham Droid uniforms are not that unique. It seems that the Sacramento River Cats, the Oakland A's Triple A team, plays to wear nearly an identical uniform in August. The Brooklyn Cyclones will not hold their Star Wars night until August 2nd. The Class A affiliate of the New York Mets will have a meet and greet with Star Wars characters, light saber training and the option of a post game family sleepover. While the Cyclones will give Padwan bobbleheads to the kids, they really should be excited about the Sithclones jerseys. Those jerseys will have the emblem of the Sith Empire on the right sleeve and Brooklyn is emblazened in Aurebesh across the players chests. Now those handsome uniforms should fetch prime dukets for charity.
In the big league Galaxy, the San Francisco Giants, the MLB team nearest to the orbit of George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, have been doing Star Wars Day promotions for years. This year the promo was an R2D2 beanie. While this Star Wars sartorial styling may produce out of this world uniforms, nothing quite compares to the Mud Hens fan kazoo accompaniment to the Star Wars theme music.
The last row of Section 422 in the upper deck at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are under the pivot of the retractable roof. These nosebleed seats which are obstructed by the support girder which sell for $1 on game days have long been referred to as "Uecker Seats", referencing a funny Miller Lite ad in which Uecker thinks that he "must be in the front row."
Now there is a good reason aside from fanatical frugality for fans to choose to sit in the Uecker Seats. Brian Maughan, a sculptor who has created four bronzes for the Brewers (including a "Mr. Baseball" statue of Bob Uecker) outside of the park created another bronze for the last row of Section 422 with Uecker.
The artwork depicts a smiling Uecker sitting down wearing a blue shirt and tan pants. The unique aspect of Maughan's sculpture is that it includes an extra seat so that fans can donate to the Brewers Community Foundation and the Make a Wish Foundation and take a photo next to the bronze of the Hall of Fame Brewers announcer.
When the Brewers first thought about having another statue to Uecker in the ballpark, the legendary 81 year old announcer rejected it as he jocularly claimed "I thought that they wanted me to work up there." But it was a project championed by local media movie critic Gino Salomone, who prepared a tribute video for the event.
It is remarkable that a player who played only two of six seasons in Milwaukee (for the Braves before they moved down the Atlanta highway) and left the majors with a .200 batting average merits two statues at Miller Park. That shows the esteem which Wisconsinites hold for Mr. Baseball. His honest, happy-go-lucky, jocular personality serves as a great icon for the land of Cheeseheads, brats and brewskies for 43 seasons.
The wisecracking Uecker was one upped by one of his guests at the "Last Row" statue unveiling. The ceremony included Brewer Hall of Famers Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers, current Brewers skipper Ron Roenicke, several current Brew Crew players, family, friends et ali.
Bob Uecker [third from R] at the "Last Row" Statue unveiling ceremony April 25, 2014
Despite the friendly ribbing, the Last Row statue is so popular that the Brewers organization limits access to the "Uecker Seats" statue during the game, so the obstructed view fan can enjoy the ballgame. The statue is even covered late in the game and afterwards so that fans will egress from Miller Park. For now, pictures are only permitted in the pre-game.
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) continues to be a conservative cultural vanguard who is adept at reinforcing her own brand.
Palin's latest project is a reality series Amazing America with Sarah Palin on the Sportsman Channel.
The series is intended to be an anthology which explores the people, places and pastimes which makes America great as exhibited through outdoor living. Ms. Palin, who some have dubbed "The First Lady of the Outdoors", will host the weekly half hour show in which she chooses the topics and the guests. Amazing America will be co-hosted by comedians Mark Christopher Lawrence and Jerry Carroll. Carroll claims: "I bring that good ol' boy, dare I say redneck, blue-collar experience to the viewers." The patriotic rockers Madison Rising wrote an original theme song for Amazing America theme.
Amazing America will highlight outdoor sports and spectacles not normally in the limelight, like a blacksmiths' championship, or spotlights on professional shooters, knife makers and taxidermists. But Momma Grizzly's creative control should allow for messaging which reinforces her political and cultural weltanschaaung, such as her selfie challenge to young women. Amazing America premieres at 8 PM EDT on the Sportsman Channel.
In a wide ranging interview with New Yorker magazine, Kobe Bryant was asked about the widespread displays of solidarity in reaction to the Trayvon Martin shooting in 2012. In fact, the Miami Heat posed in hoodies in homage to the slain teen domicilled in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Bryant’s reticent reaction to the iconic Miami Heat hoodies pose is in sharp contrast to the politically correct groupthink amongst African American activists just weeks after the incident and even before George Zimmerman was charged.
Bryant’s insistence of thinking for himself and not jumping to conclusions based upon group identity shows prudence in the traditional sense.
Unfortunately, in this American Wonderland, such judicious and independent thinking is unacceptable for celebrities who seek to profit from popularity in these politically correct times. For instance, The Urban Times alleged:
Over the span of Kobe Bryant‘s career….we’ve seen him do and say some very smug, cavalier and even cornball things at times but the comments that he made regarding the Miami Heat‘s support after Trayvon Martin was killed…by far takes the cake!
So unity must overcome all. The piece progressed to pummel Bryant for not appreciating how he appealed to racial solidarity when there was the Colorado rape allegation from “a less than African American female.”
As the social media firestorm blazed, the career Laker seemed to walk back his diffidence. Bryant tweeted:
That assertion has tries to have it both ways in buttressing his not jumping to conclusions as well as asserting solidarity that the judicial system did not work. This retort may well have been public relations prudence to protect Byrant's multi-million investment in BodyArmor, an emerging sports drink. While Bryant will not be used in Body Armor’s marketing campaigns, this Trayvon controversy could tarnish the brand among basketball enthusiasts, thereby risking Kobe, Inc’s at least 10 percent stake in Body Armor.
