Hulu Lanches, But It's No YouTube Challenger - Hulu Will Fail In Two Years

Hulu was tagged as a YouTube challenger, but one visit to its site tells me that is not the case, and that was confirmed by CrunchBase , which wrote...

Hulu is NBC Universal and News Corporation’s online video joint venture. The site is set to launch in the Fall around October and will focus on professional content and not take on YouTube directly as a viral video destination. The site raised $100 million in financing from Providence Equity Partners.

Hulu videos will be played in their own embeddable branded player. Content from at least a dozen TV networks and two major film studios is promised. Initial distribution partners include AOL, Comcast, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo.

Jason Kilar, hulu’s CEO, explains “Objectively, Hulu is short, easy to spell, easy to pronounce, and rhymes with itself. Subjectively, Hulu strikes us as an inherently fun name, one that captures the spirit of the service we’re building.” However, we’re not so sure it was the wisest name to pick.

It's rumored that News Corp./NBC have acquired Bejing-based startup Mojiti and will use its platform for the basis of Hulu.

NBC has always tried -- and failed -- to capture the Internet for it's use. This is the latest go around. NBC misses the boat because it is trying to use Hulu as a basis for its TV shows, even charging for each episode. That news left this blogger to say...

"NBC executives are crazy if they think I am going to Pay $5 an episode for TV Shows. I live overseas, but will happily ban watching any and ALL NBC shows. $1.99 per show or less than $35 a season is not bad. I hate to see what else they are going to do."

And that's the point. NBC executives are crazy. The problem is no one's telling them so. Look, if you've got TV programs no one will see on TV, people aren't going to rush to see them in droves online. NBC was bitching about iTunes and only making $15 million but that's because few people knew NBC shows were on iTunes. Plus, for those that did go to iTunes, they had a chance to get other content, not provided by NBC. That's all NBC's fault that they didn't work to promote their iTunes presence. Tisk.

I mean how stupid is this. You have this great way to tell millions of people about something at once, and you don't use it. NBC did not tell its viewers about iTunes on a consistent basis, and so it failed. No big surprise to me. And guess what. NBC's going to repeat the error with Hulu.

It will also be no big surprise when Hulu fails, either. I'll give it two years, tops. For more on the reasons why, stay tuned. And for another set of good reasons, check out Mr. Bren's take.

Mike Silver, Dodo Bird - Mike Silver Admits Error Regarding Randy Moss

Hey, I like Mike Silver's work more than most for personal reasons, plus he's good. But Sil really messed up on Randy Moss. I told him before the start of the year Moss would do well in New England, but Silver remained stuboorn.

Well, Silver's finally coming around. He even admitted he was being a Dodo bird about the whole thing!

Not that I think the Patriots will win against the Colts. I don't thnk so.

New Era Sports & Entertainment Sues Saints / USC's Reggie Bush - Yahoo! Sports

Former USC and Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush and his family are being sued by the co-founder of a failed sports marketing agency, according to a filing Tuesday in San Diego County Court.

The lawsuit, filed by attorneys for New Era Sports & Entertainment co-founder Lloyd Lake, alleges Bush and his family failed to repay a wide array of benefits they received from New Era while Bush played for the Trojans. One of Lake's attorney's, Paul Wong, said that in addition to filing the suit, Lake has agreed to meet with NCAA investigators this week to discuss Bush's involvement with New Era Sports.

"I believe the complaint speaks for itself," Wong said. "… We're looking forward to meeting with the NCAA on Friday. Beyond that, I'm not at liberty to discuss any details."

Bush's attorney, David Cornwell, did not return a phone message seeking comment.

Tuesday's filing purports that from November 2004 through January 2006, Bush and his family received cash, a vehicle and shelter as well as labor, material and services tied to New Era Sports – the agency that expected to represent the USC star when he declared for the NFL draft. The suit places the total value of the benefits extended to Bush, now in his second season with the New Orleans Saints, and his family at just over $291,000.

The suit also claims to have written communication from Bush that promises to repay some of the benefits, stating "On January 14, 2006, Defendant Reginald Bush – reaffirmed his commitment to repay (Lake) in a written communication."

If it is determined by the NCAA and Pac-10 Conference that Bush or his family received extra benefits, he would be in violation of NCAA rules. In accordance to NCAA bylaws, Bush's amateur status could be retroactively voided, prompting USC to forfeit games from the 2004 and 2005 seasons, including its latest national championship. Bush's 2005 Heisman Trophy could also be in jeopardy. Per the language on the Heisman ballot, any winner of the award "must be in compliance with the bylaws defining an NCAA student-athlete."

USC director of sports information Tim Tessalone declined to comment and referred questions to university general counsel Todd Dickey.

Among the other significant points in Tuesday's filing:

• The suit seeks to recoup benefits doled out "between November, 2004, through January, 2006, for work, labor, services, materials, goods, a vehicle, and shelter rendered at the special instance and request of Bush and his family." It also seeks to recover an unspecified amount of cash given to Bush and his family during that same period.

• The suit also alleges that Bush's family "expressly stated, in a meeting with (Lake) and NEW ERA SPORTS in October, 2004, and again in November, 2004, that they had fallen on hard times financially and required immediate and significant financial assistance to support their respective lifestyles, including, but not limited to, payment of living and travel expenses of Defendants LaMar Griffin and Denise Griffin (Bush’s parents) as well as living and lifestyle expenses of Defendant Reginald Bush. At said meetings, Defendants expressly and unequivocally, stated and promised that they were borrowing from (Lake) and NEW ERA SPORTS only and that they would not borrow money or accept monies from any other person or entity without expressly notifying (Lake) in advance."

• The suit charges a breach of agreement due to Bush's family receiving benefits from a third party, stating that Bush's family "secretly received payments, in direct violation of Defendants' promises to (Lake) and New Era Sports, from at least one person sometime around late October, 2005. In particular, said person paid for the airfare sometime around October 26, 2005, and hotel expenses of Defendants LaMar Griffin and Denise Griffin along with (Bush's younger brother) when they traveled to Oakland from San Diego between November 11 to November 13. Defendants suppressed and concealed all knowledge and information of said payments from (Lake) and New Era Sports as such information and knowledge would immediately end any further cash advances."

Yahoo! Sports first reported in September 2006 that the airfare and limousine service for Bush's parents and younger brother for USC's game against Cal on Nov. 12, 2005 were paid for on the credit card of Jamie Fritz, an employee of Bush's current marketing agent, Mike Ornstein. Ornstein initially told Yahoo! Sports that he did not pay for the plane tickets. Ornstein then said Fritz might have paid for the tickets but was repaid by the Bush family. Fritz declined to comment when contacted by Yahoo! Sports.

In Friday's scheduled meeting with the NCAA, Lake could reveal a variety of information, from receipts, bank and phone records, as well as taped conversations between himself, Bush and Bush's stepfather LaMar. Sources say the recordings were made as Bush's agreement to sign with New Era Sports began to fall apart in December 2005.

Lake co-founded New Era Sports along with San Diego businessman Michael Michaels in late 2004. Bush was expected to sign with New Era Sports and become an eventual partner in the entity when he left USC, according to Lake and Michaels. But the deal fell apart and New Era Sports failed, leading both Lake and Michaels to seek a return of the benefits they say they had provided to Bush and his family. Sources have told Yahoo! Sports that Michaels has already received a settlement from Bush for between $200,000 and $300,000 for his part of the failed deal. Sources also informed Yahoo! Sports that a similar settlement attempt with Lake failed over the summer.

Although Lake's suit does not break down specific dollar amounts paid to Bush and his family, an eight-month investigation by Yahoo! Sports published in September 2006 showed Bush's family lived in a house purchased by Michaels. The family lived in the new $757,000 home rent free for a year, starting in April 2005. One of Lake's attorneys, Brian Watkins, eventually stated that the rent on the home came to more than $50,000. The family was eventually evicted from the residence.

The 2006 Yahoo! Sports report disclosed that Bush received more than $12,000 in cash from Lake for the purchase of a 1996 Impala SS. Bush received approximately another $4,000 from Lake to equip the car with high-performance rims, a stereo system and alarm.

In addition, Yahoo! Sports reported that Bush and his family also received multiple cash payments for travel and other expenses, including furniture for the home Michaels purchased.

Sources close to the failed New Era Sports & Entertainment venture said Bush and his family demanded payments be made in cash, to keep the transactions hidden from NCAA scrutiny. Payments were said to have been made in person to Bush's parents in San Diego, while Lake would personally drive to Los Angeles to deliver monthly payments to Bush at his apartment near the USC campus.

Jason Cole and Charles Robinson are national NFL writers for Yahoo! Sports.

Edwards Points To Hillary Clinton's "Doublespeak" in Philly Debate

NBC's Brian Williams and Tim Russert really came after the Democratic candidates, pitting them against each other from the start in this October 30th debate. Here's a clip of the start of the debate, followed by the other parts in segments.

Cheerleader Gets Ran Over By Football Team - Video

I don't know why she stepped out like that, but she did!

Randy Moss "Smartest Receiver I've Ever Coached" - Bill Belichick

When people would talk about Randy Moss in negative terms, I replied on more than one occasion, that he was smart and offensive coordinators would be intelligent to talk with him.

Of course, many were not.

Enter New England Patriots' Coach Bill Belichick.

Coach Belichick -- I believed -- would allow Randy Moss to be, well, Randy Moss. The Oakland Raiders did not understand how to get the best out of him and seemed to be all too concerned about controlling him and not giving him the best environment he needed to play in. There are some people who can't get passed skin color and see a person's talent. They let stereotypes block their thinking -- not Bill Belichick.

He called Randy Moss the "Smartest Receiver I've Ever Coached."

Hat's off to him.

Steve Wozniak on All Things Apple - Laptopmag.com

The Way It Woz: Steve Wozniak on All Things Apple

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak talks to LAPTOP about Leopard, the iPhone, and the future of computing.

by Joanna Stern
10/26/2007

It's been more than three decades since Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs formed Apple Computer, where "the Woz" brought the Apple I and II to life, and where he played a critical role in bringing the original Macintosh to market. He's considered one of the most influential people in the history of personal computing, and his passion for producing easy-to-use software is still very much a part of Apple's DNA. On the eve of the Leopard launch, we asked Wozniak whether Apple was staying true to its roots and what innovations he'd like to see become a reality.

LAPTOP: How are you keeping busy these days?

Steve Wozniak: I've been doing various levels of volunteer work on local nonprofit boards. I also do regular speaking engagements around the world about my experience. I started a financial type company with a couple Apple executives, and we acquired a chip maker in Southern California. And we are called Jazz Technologies. At this point I haven't taken a role yet and am trying to figure out what part I will play.

L: Will you be switching to Leopard? Have you tried Vista?

Steve Wozniak: Yes, I will [switch to Leopard], the first day it comes out. I really don't know anything about it; I like to be surprised when I first play around with it. No, I haven't tried Vista. I bought Parallels, but I didn't install it. I don't have any desire to try out Vista and haven't seen the need to yet.

LAPTOP: You were recently quoted as saying that a lot of the intuitiveness had gone away from Apple's programs. Do you think Leopard might change that?

SW: Early on with the first Apples, we had these dreams that the computer would let you know what you wanted to do. The idea was that little icons or words would suggest what you wanted to do, but now I have to find my way around to odd little icons that aren't positioned in the prominent places. When conducting a common task, I have to go searching around in folders or the bottom of the screen. I don't think any of it will be solved with Leopard because I don't think there is incentive to. They want to make things easy, and if it seems easy and it can be demonstrated quickly then it's okay. The real dreams of how it will work for someone who knows nothing about the computer have been lost and don't get addressed anymore.

L: What about the aesthetic appeal of the OS?

SW: I don't think it makes it easier or harder. I think it's just more fun.

L: Do you think Linux has a lot of potential?

SW: I don't think it's going to make a big mark. The masses of users aren't going to be going that way. You have to be in a geeky crowd to take advantage of that. You have to be an expert, and not everyone is an expert. In my mind, it's very idealistic people, but most people want to take it easy.

L: Mac's notebook market share has climbed as high as 8.8 percent in the U.S. How much higher do you think it can go?

SW: I think Macintosh has a lot higher market share than it's ever credited for. I think normal people who buy and use computers on their own choose Macs. It's close to a 50/50 split in my mind. It's businesses that are buying thousands of Microsoft PCs, and there are tons of countries where Apple isn't sold at all.

L: Do you think Leopard will provide a boost?

SW: I don't think any operating system, despite all its promises, is what sells a computer nowadays. I think OS changes are just done to keep your loyal people happy. Learning an entirely new operating system is something no one wants to do. You get stuck on a platform, and you don't want to start learning a whole new computer system.

Mancow Mueller, Clinton / Peter Paul Story Death Threat - Recorded Discussion - EJFA.Org

This is an update of our earlier story on the death threat Radio Talk Show Host Mancow Mueller says he received after he had former Hollywood business man Peter Paul on his show Friday.

I've just received from a source a copy of the radio show audio file where Mancow discusses the death threat he received with James Nesfield of the Equal Justice Foundation (ejfa.org) on Mancow's radio show, Monday, October 29th.

Here's what was said in text form:



Mancow: Listen, I had a guy on named Peter Paul on Friday.
James Nesfield: Yes. I know.
Mancow: Last week. And want to tell you, I had, a, uh, a very high level call over the weekend, and it was very frightening to me.
And..
James Nesfield: It should be.
Mancow: And I'm being sincere.
James Nesfield: No. I believe it. I...Listen. We were at our ISP, where we host the site. We had a attack from Russian and Chinese hackers.
Mancow: My. Uh. My family was threatened. And it was uh. I know the source, and it's a very dangerous source, and I'm really, uh, nervous about talking about your video, cause I think some very powerful people are going to be very upset about me talking to ya.
James Nesfield: You're right. I've been threatened too.

The "movie" they're talking about is called "Hillary Uncensored" and it's a detailed and hard-hitting documentary that has been playing to audiences at colleges around the country. It's drawn a large web-based following , and is continuing to be offered for view by any group that will ask.

What is the movie about? Well, I like WorldNetDaily's description:

"Hollywood filmmakers normally inclined to support candidates such as Sen. Hillary Clinton are working quietly behind the scenes to put the finishing touches on a documentary alleging the New York Democrat committed felonies to get elected and assisted her husband in defrauding a major donor."

The "major donor" is Peter Paul, and you can learn more about the story here.

The rest of the conversation is in the audio file below.

The audio file is here:

Mancow On Death Threat

Please listen to it. But you may be asking what the "so what" is here? Well, some have claimed that the Clintons have a way of associating themselves with people who in some way eliminate those who can block their path to power. Or as one blogger put it, "This is what happens when you have dirt on the Clintons."

The point is, if this can even be connected to the Clinton's it spells m-a-j-o-r t-r-o-u-b-l-e if the news is spread to a wide audience. It speaks to a lust for power that may even be greater than Hillary Clinton's desire to serve the American People.

Google Should Reindex "EnjoyPerth" Blog

I just learned over at Tech Crunch that Google removed the blog "EnjoyPerth" from its index listing, and supposedly for selling text link ads. Yikes! I don't understand why the San Jose Mercury News is allowed to do this, and not a small blogger?

Maybe it's time for a Google-competitor?

Mancow Mueller Gets Death Threat On Clinton / Peter Paul Story

I just got a call that Mancow Muller, the radio talk show host, got a death threat over the weekend for hosting Peter Paul on his show. I was told that Mancow was asked not to report the Peter Paul / Hillary Clinton Story, or else.

Peter Paul is the business entrepreneur who sued the Clintons for civil fraud and who hosted and paid for a $1.6 million party for Hillary Clinton and for her Senate campaign. That event was also the focus of an FEC investigation where it was found that the Clinton campaign under-reported the contributions. Paul says that the Clinton campaign continued to do that, but the FEC didn't catch the lastest error. The rest of that story is here.

Hillary Clinton the focus of a recent court case with Peter Paul as the plaintiff and that was held at the California Court of Appeals.

As for the death threat, I'll give more information as it comes in. Apparently someone connected with Hillary Clinton didn't think the story would get as far as it has, or that Peter would finally get the platform he deserves to tell the story.

New England Patriots' Bill Belichick Runs Up Score Seven Times in Seven Weeks

In his latest game against the Washington Redskins, New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick kept his starters in and went for it on 4th down after already leading by 38 points, 38-0. This practice lead to a 52-7 victory, and a very pissed off Washington Redskin in Randall Godfrey. He said "I said something to (Belichick) after the game," Godfrey said to NBCSports.com. "I told him, 'You need to show some respect for the game.' You just don't do that. I don't care how bad it is. You're up 35 points and you're still throwing deep? That's no respect."

He's right.

Bill Belichick's comments were robotic: "I've been coaching too long," Belichick said. "I remember being on that side. When I was coaching defense it was my job to keep the score down, not theirs. When you're playing defense it's your job to stop them. It's not (the offense's) job to not score. It's like I tell the offense, what the (bleep) do you think I send you guys out there for? To punt? We have a punt team for that. That's not your job. Your job is to go out there and score points. If you come off the field and you haven't scored points you haven't done your job."

Yeah. But even Bill knows when it's time to take your pedal off the metal. He's coaching with a real chip on his shoulder that could get him into a lot of trouble.

But even more telling is the number of times that he's done this -- seven times in eight games. Look at this stat from NBC Sports:


Late Patriots' scores

• Week 1 at New York Jets (38-14): 1-yard TD by Heath Evans, 1:58 left
• Week 2 vs. San Diego (38-14): 3-yard TD by Sammy Morris, 3:18 left
• Week 3 vs. Buffalo (38-7): 45-yard TD catch by Randy Moss, 10:22 left
• Week 4 at Cincy (34-13): 14-yard TD catch by Randy Moss, 3:18 left
• Week 5 vs. Cleveland (34-17): 15-yard fumble return TD by Randall Gay, 0:42 left
• Week 6 vs. Dallas (48-27): 1-yard TD run by Kyle Eckel, 0:19 left
• Week 7 at Miami (49-28): Brady returns to the game with the Patriots up 42-21 and 10:30 remaining and threw a touchdown pass to Wes Welker from 16 yards out with 8:18 left

Whatever Bill's doing, it's got to stop.

New England Patriots Run Up Score Vs. Washington Redskins - 52 - 7 (ESPN)

New England's certainly developing bad karma with their behavior.

By John Clayton
ESPN.com
Updated: October 28, 2007

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Patriots' zeal for stealing opposing defensive coaches' signals in the season opener against the Jets cost the team a first-round choice and $250,000. It also made coach Bill Belichick's bank account lighter by $500,000.

Now, the only hand signals worth mentioning might be the possibility of obscene gestures coming from the coaches and players he beats.

On Sunday, Belichick kicked a Hall of Fame coach while he was down, running up the score on Joe Gibbs' Redskins to 52-7. This comes a week after Belichick reinserted quarterback Tom Brady midway through the fourth quarter of a 49-28 win over the Dolphins.

What seemed cute three weeks when Brady threw an unnecessary last-minute touchdown pass to Kyle Eckel while whipping the Cowboys 48-27 has turned ugly.

Welcome to Belichick's no-mercy policy.

Although criticism and questions about Belichick's moves will further paint him as the bad guy in his showdown against Tony Dungy and the Colts next Sunday, the Pats coach simply doesn't care. He wore the black hoodie in the Week 1 spy incident and accepted his punishment. Now, he's making the league pay with blowouts.

That's why he …

• … kept Brady on the field for an 88-yard drive six minutes into the fourth quarter despite already leading 38-0. On that 14-play drive, the Patriots went for a fourth-and-1 at the Redskins' 7 and ordered a 35-yard bomb to Randy Moss.

• … went for a fourth-and-2 at the Redskins' 37 on the next possession while leading 45-0. Backup QB Matt Cassel hit Jabar Gaffney with a 21-yard pass. Two plays later, Cassel scrambled for a 15-yard touchdown run to open a 52-0 lead.

Asked why he would go for two fourth downs in a blowout, Belichick responded, "What do you want us to do, kick a field goal?"

Pressed further, he said, "It's 38-0. It's fourth down. We're just out there playing."

Still, there's no doubt what he's really doing. Redskins veterans Phillip Daniels and Marcus Washington, who have 18 years combined NFL experience, both said they had never seen a team run up the score the way the Patriots are doing.

Face it, folks, Belichick plans to lay waste to the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell took away a first-rounder, so the Patriots will take away your firstborn. Belichick has assembled perhaps the most dominating team in NFL history, and he's intent on destroying all opponents in his path.

Will the Colts be next? Although Indianapolis is also undefeated, has beaten the Colts in their past three meetings and is the defending Super Bowl champ, the Patriots are the early 4½-point favorites.

Sunday's game shows how Belichick plans to handle the rest of the season. Anyone thinking he will rest Brady in the final month before the playoffs is wrong. He will allow his future Hall of Fame quarterback to shatter every record imaginable.

Against the Redskins, Brady threw three more touchdowns, bringing his eight-game total to 30 and increasing his team's scoring average to 41.3. Oh, and Brady also ran for two touchdowns Sunday.


Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Joe Gibbs said he didn't mind that Bill Belichick maintained his aggressive nature late in Sunday's blowout.
Yes, Belichick did rest a few defensive starters in the final six minutes, but he blitzed and did everything to keep the Redskins out of the end zone. Veteran players who weren't on the field encouraged those on the field to maintain the shutout. Belichick was clearly disappointed when the Redskins scored with three minutes left.

As for Gibbs, he didn't have a problem with Belichick's tactics, The two coaches shook hands after the game, although they certainly didn't make a lot of small talk.

"No, I have no problem with anything that they did," Gibbs said. "Nothing, no problems from me."
But Redskins players such as Daniels did have a problem, saying flat out that Belichick was running up the score.

Of course, the Redskins didn't have the ability to stop it. Their defense entered the game short-handed and left beheaded. Fred Smoot, the team's third cornerback, couldn't play because of a hamstring injury. Linebacker Marcus Washington was limited to passing plays because of a sore hamstring. On the Patriots' first touchdown drive, starting cornerback Carlos Rogers suffered an injury that could range from a sprained MCL (out for a few days) to a torn ACL (lost for the season). Linebacker Rocky McIntosh also was injured.

Consequently, the Redskins lost their opportunity to match up with the Pats' top four receivers. Gibbs had just three true corners left on the active roster -- Shawn Springs, Leigh Torrence and David Macklin. Brady completed 29 of 38 for 306 yards and three touchdowns.

To make matters worse, Gibbs and the coaches lost their communication system during the game. They couldn't work the headsets.

"There were issues," Gibbs said. "It's a problem across the league. I don't want to use that as an excuse for what happened to us today. We'll just continue to let the league know what happened to us today, and we'll just have to see how they deal with it."

Belichick was aware of the problem but, naturally, didn't care. He was communicating his own way -- sending a message to the 31 other teams that the Pats will take no prisoners.

It's an attitude that's going over big in the Patriots' locker room.

"It's just something the coaching staff wants to do," wide receiver Donte' Stallworth said. "We're behind them for whatever they want to do. Whatever play they call, we are going to run it.

"We've been attacked since the start of the season, so we don't care. Whatever is going on out there, we just go out and play and try to execute what we are doing."

That's exactly what the Patriots are doing. They are executing everyone. Next stop is Indianapolis.

Hide the kids.

John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.