From: http://www.rollingstones.com
ROLLING STONES - "A BIGGER BANG"
Copacabana Beach - February 18, 2006
Tuesday, December 13 -- The Rolling Stones announced today that they will bring the "A Bigger Bang" World Tour to Brazil on February 18th.
Brazilian fans will now have the opportunity to experience the excitement felt by sold-out crowds throughout the tour when the Stones play at the Copacabana Beach. This will mark the third time that the Stones have performed in Brazil, but it will be the first time they hold a free concert.
After their stop in Brazil, The Rolling Stones, and their "A Bigger Bang" World Tour, will continue to thrill audiences throughout Mexico and South America with electrifying performances that include their classic hits and songs from their critically acclaimed new release, "A Bigger Bang."
The band is working closely with their design team to create a unique show for their international fans that combines the intimacy of a small venue with the spectacle of their outdoor stadium shows
To organize the show at the Copacabana Beach, the Stones will gather a crew of nearly 1,500. The show's main stage, to be located in front of the Copacabana Palace Hotel, will be 22 meters high and 57 meters wide. In addition to the main stage, the Rio concert will also feature the Rolling Stones' famous "B" stage, which can extend 55 meters into the audience. Sixteen sound and image towers (with high definition big screens) will also be constructed and spread along the seashore as far back as the Meridien Hotel.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Rolling Stones, U2 Drive Concert Revenues
By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES -- Powerhouse tours by the Rolling Stones, U2 and Paul McCartney helped drive concert ticket revenues in North America to a record $3.1 billion in 2005, even as the number of tickets sold declined for the third year in row.
Fans purchased 36.1 million tickets to the top 100 concert tours, compared with 37.6 million in 2004 and 38.7 million in 2003, according to Pollstar, the industry trade magazine.
"You have to figure that's not a healthy sign for the industry overall," said Gary Bongiovanni, Pollstar's editor-in-chief.
Despite a slow first-half of the year and the decline in tickets sold, concert tours in 2005 amounted to a 10.7 percent increase in gross receipts over last year's total of $2.8 billion.
The record revenue was due largely to the rare confluence of superstar artists touring.
"You don't normally see three huge acts like that out touring in the same year," Bongiovanni said. "McCartney and The Stones alone really helped drive up ticket prices."
The average ticket price for the top 100 tours rose to a record $57, compared with $52.39 in 2004, Pollstar said.
The average ticket price has gone up nearly $7 since 2003.
Still, concertgoers proved this year that they remained willing to pay more to see their favorite acts, and the roster of legends that filled touring arenas had little trouble packing them in.
Until this year, the biggest tour of all time had been The Rolling Stones' 1994 outing, which drew $121.2 million in gross receipts, Bongiovanni said.
"Both U2 and The Stones went way beyond that this year," he said.
The Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" tour led all other concert tours in 2005 with $162 million in gross receipts, according to the magazine.
The average Stones ticket was $133.98. The tour sold around 1.2 million tickets.
U2 generated the second most gross receipts, $138.9 million, with an average ticket price of $96.92. The Irish rockers' "Vertigo 2005" tour sold the most tickets, around 1.4 million.
McCartney's tour earned $77.3 million in gross receipts, with the average ticket selling for $135.46. The tour sold around 570,000 tickets.
Other veteran acts who ended the year among the top 20 in sales receipts included the Eagles, Elton John, Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Motley Crue and Jimmy Buffett.
Green Day, Rascal Flatts, Dave Matthews Band, Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, Gwen Stefani and the Anger Management Tour were among the contemporary acts to break into the top 20 biggest earners.
Celine Dion and Barry Manilow, who performed mostly in Las Vegas, also were top draws in 2005. The Canadian diva's shows pulled in $81.3 million in total gross receipts, the third highest. Manilow's shows drew $22.7 million in gross receipts.
"The baby boomers really continue to support and fuel the concert business," Bongiovanni said.
My view of James Dungy's passing
I don't know James Dungy, and even though I know one day I'll have the pleasure of meeting his Dad, I never will be able to greet him. He's certainly in a better place, and a large part of me doesn't want to believe he took his own life, but I can understand the thoughts that must have been swirling in his mind before he did, now that I have a better picture of who he was.
These last three years have been the best three years of my life, and it's no surprise that they match the birth and life of my company, Sports Business Simulations. I feel whole because this is something I created that is still mostly an expression of my overall desire to "connect" with the world around me, only now I've figured out a way to get paid for it.
But there were times when I was around James Dungy's age, when the idea of leaving would pass my mind -- of passing on. My Mom would tell me "that's something that God would not want -- you would not go to heaven." Or she'd say "That's something black folks don't do." Well, we know that's not true. I knew that because the idea would hit me.
Like me, James Dungy seemed to be a highly sensitive person, and people like that just don't grow on trees. We have a super-high-level ability to read the feelings of others, and are the ones that create things. We take in a lot, and when we're young, we don't know how to sort out what is coming to us.
I've learned over time to trust my feelings. When I was his age, I leaned on my intellect much more, and wasn't always the happier for it. But fortunately, I made it past the days when I felt I was so different that no one wanted me. Heck, I wasn't even living with a woman, let alone a girlfriend. It's too bad her love could not overcome his pain. I only hope he didn't take his life, but if it turns out that he did, it's because of that mix of messages his super-sensitive self could not effectively sort.
Being highly sensitive is a gift, and a curse at the same time. If you're reading this, and know someone who is, go to them and give them a hug. It will make all the difference in their life-- and yours.
These last three years have been the best three years of my life, and it's no surprise that they match the birth and life of my company, Sports Business Simulations. I feel whole because this is something I created that is still mostly an expression of my overall desire to "connect" with the world around me, only now I've figured out a way to get paid for it.
But there were times when I was around James Dungy's age, when the idea of leaving would pass my mind -- of passing on. My Mom would tell me "that's something that God would not want -- you would not go to heaven." Or she'd say "That's something black folks don't do." Well, we know that's not true. I knew that because the idea would hit me.
Like me, James Dungy seemed to be a highly sensitive person, and people like that just don't grow on trees. We have a super-high-level ability to read the feelings of others, and are the ones that create things. We take in a lot, and when we're young, we don't know how to sort out what is coming to us.
I've learned over time to trust my feelings. When I was his age, I leaned on my intellect much more, and wasn't always the happier for it. But fortunately, I made it past the days when I felt I was so different that no one wanted me. Heck, I wasn't even living with a woman, let alone a girlfriend. It's too bad her love could not overcome his pain. I only hope he didn't take his life, but if it turns out that he did, it's because of that mix of messages his super-sensitive self could not effectively sort.
Being highly sensitive is a gift, and a curse at the same time. If you're reading this, and know someone who is, go to them and give them a hug. It will make all the difference in their life-- and yours.
Anecdotes about son James Dungy provide fuller picture of Tony Dungy's loss
Commentary: Gary Shelton
LUTZ, Fla. -- Tony Dungy approached the lectern with a small smile. He said he was happy to be there. He opened with a joke about the preacher's verbosity.
Considering the body of Dungy's eldest son lay a few feet in front of him, it seemed Dungy was holding up better than his friends had feared.
Then Dungy's voice cracked, leaving him with a sound that was raw and wounded, and his face was so twisted it was possible to see the pain underneath. He stepped back, dabbing at hollow eyes with tissue, trying to gather himself before he could continue.
For 20 minutes, Dungy talked about faith and hope and loss, and several times, the emotions would visibly wash over him. Each time, he would step back, and the audience at Idlewild Baptist Church would applaud, as if to allow him time to overcome his emotions. Each time, Dungy would return to the microphone, trying to comfort those who came to comfort him.
How does a man find such strength? How does he share an agony so private with his public? How does he use faith as an answer when there are so many unanswered questions?
A man buried his son Tuesday, only five days after his death and only 18 years after his birth. A husband put his arm around his wife. A father embraced his other four children.
Away from the illusion of a game, away from the celebrity of his job, it is as simple as that. For the past week, that is who Dungy has been to the Tampa Bay community. It hardly matters that he is the coach of the Indianapolis Colts, or that he used to be the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, except that is how most of us came to know him.
Most of the 2,000 or so mourners who entered Idlewild were there because of Dungy's character, because most around here have a story or two about a decent man who has suffered an unimaginable loss. He is one of us, and for most of a week, those who live in the Tampa Bay area have wanted to put an arm around Dungy's shoulder.
There were no answers to what apparently drives a young man to suicide. There were only answers to why so many people miss Jamie Dungy so much.
He was a mama's boy. He loved the color pink and chicken quesadillas and put ketchup on almost everything. He liked stray dogs and old friends and practical jokes.
Dungy told the story about when Jamie was 7 and his father worked for the Minnesota Vikings. A player named Vencie Glenn had given Jamie a hat, and suddenly, Vencie, No. 25, was his buddy. The next year, the Vikings traded Glenn to the Giants.
On the first day of camp, Dungy saw his son in the dining room after the morning practice. Jamie seemed unhappy, and his father asked why. Jamie said he had followed No. 25 around all day, calling out his name, and Vencie ignored him.
"Son, that wasn't Vencie Glenn," Tony said. "That was Alfred Jackson."
McKay told one about Jamie being steamrolled by former Bucs quarterback Eric Zeier on the sideline. Jamie was looking away from the play when he glanced up at the scoreboard and saw the play coming toward him. He curled up just as Zeier and others plowed into him.
Pastor Jeffery Singletary told one about the fishing trip when a storm quickly developed. Most in the party were praying, Singletary said, when he heard the beep-beep of Jamie's video game. He also heard Jamie ask his father if it things were going to be all right.
"Things are going to be fine," Singletary remembers Tony saying.
In one of their final telephone conversations, Jamie told Tony the Colts were going to the Super Bowl, and he wanted to know if he could be on the sideline. Tony warned him about the difficulty of getting there, but yes, he said, there would be a spot for him on the sideline.
Together, the stories weave a more complete picture of Jamie Dungy. He quoted scripture. He was a polite kid.
"If you were nice to Jamie, you were his friend," Dungy said. "The other way was to look like you needed a friend."
The more you heard, the bigger the questions became about Jamie's final days. Was his pain deeper than most teenagers? Was his ability to cope with it less? We will never know.
Dungy said his son was searching for who that person was inside of him, who he was going to be.
"As he made that search, I knew he was never going to leave that compassionate, friendly, loyal, heartfelt roots," Dungy said. "But like a lot of teenage boys, I think he was hit with messages that maybe that's not the way boys are supposed to be. Like most of us, I think he went through a time as a teenager he wasn't sure his parents always had the best advice, that we always had his best interest at heart.
"My daughter Tiara said it best. She said, 'I just wish he could have made it to 20, because when you're 17 or 18, a lot of things your parents tell you don't make sense. At 20, they start to make sense again. I just wish he would have made it.' "
Again, Dungy's voice quaked. Again, he paused. Again, the audience applauded.
For most of Tampa Bay, Dungy quit being a football coach a long time ago. Instead, he was a neighbor, a man of grace and dignity.
Today, it would be nice if he could find a little peace.
Jamie, too.
Gary Shelton is a columnist for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.
LUTZ, Fla. -- Tony Dungy approached the lectern with a small smile. He said he was happy to be there. He opened with a joke about the preacher's verbosity.
Considering the body of Dungy's eldest son lay a few feet in front of him, it seemed Dungy was holding up better than his friends had feared.
Then Dungy's voice cracked, leaving him with a sound that was raw and wounded, and his face was so twisted it was possible to see the pain underneath. He stepped back, dabbing at hollow eyes with tissue, trying to gather himself before he could continue.
For 20 minutes, Dungy talked about faith and hope and loss, and several times, the emotions would visibly wash over him. Each time, he would step back, and the audience at Idlewild Baptist Church would applaud, as if to allow him time to overcome his emotions. Each time, Dungy would return to the microphone, trying to comfort those who came to comfort him.
How does a man find such strength? How does he share an agony so private with his public? How does he use faith as an answer when there are so many unanswered questions?
A man buried his son Tuesday, only five days after his death and only 18 years after his birth. A husband put his arm around his wife. A father embraced his other four children.
Away from the illusion of a game, away from the celebrity of his job, it is as simple as that. For the past week, that is who Dungy has been to the Tampa Bay community. It hardly matters that he is the coach of the Indianapolis Colts, or that he used to be the coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, except that is how most of us came to know him.
Most of the 2,000 or so mourners who entered Idlewild were there because of Dungy's character, because most around here have a story or two about a decent man who has suffered an unimaginable loss. He is one of us, and for most of a week, those who live in the Tampa Bay area have wanted to put an arm around Dungy's shoulder.
There were no answers to what apparently drives a young man to suicide. There were only answers to why so many people miss Jamie Dungy so much.
He was a mama's boy. He loved the color pink and chicken quesadillas and put ketchup on almost everything. He liked stray dogs and old friends and practical jokes.
Dungy told the story about when Jamie was 7 and his father worked for the Minnesota Vikings. A player named Vencie Glenn had given Jamie a hat, and suddenly, Vencie, No. 25, was his buddy. The next year, the Vikings traded Glenn to the Giants.
On the first day of camp, Dungy saw his son in the dining room after the morning practice. Jamie seemed unhappy, and his father asked why. Jamie said he had followed No. 25 around all day, calling out his name, and Vencie ignored him.
"Son, that wasn't Vencie Glenn," Tony said. "That was Alfred Jackson."
McKay told one about Jamie being steamrolled by former Bucs quarterback Eric Zeier on the sideline. Jamie was looking away from the play when he glanced up at the scoreboard and saw the play coming toward him. He curled up just as Zeier and others plowed into him.
Pastor Jeffery Singletary told one about the fishing trip when a storm quickly developed. Most in the party were praying, Singletary said, when he heard the beep-beep of Jamie's video game. He also heard Jamie ask his father if it things were going to be all right.
"Things are going to be fine," Singletary remembers Tony saying.
In one of their final telephone conversations, Jamie told Tony the Colts were going to the Super Bowl, and he wanted to know if he could be on the sideline. Tony warned him about the difficulty of getting there, but yes, he said, there would be a spot for him on the sideline.
Together, the stories weave a more complete picture of Jamie Dungy. He quoted scripture. He was a polite kid.
"If you were nice to Jamie, you were his friend," Dungy said. "The other way was to look like you needed a friend."
The more you heard, the bigger the questions became about Jamie's final days. Was his pain deeper than most teenagers? Was his ability to cope with it less? We will never know.
Dungy said his son was searching for who that person was inside of him, who he was going to be.
"As he made that search, I knew he was never going to leave that compassionate, friendly, loyal, heartfelt roots," Dungy said. "But like a lot of teenage boys, I think he was hit with messages that maybe that's not the way boys are supposed to be. Like most of us, I think he went through a time as a teenager he wasn't sure his parents always had the best advice, that we always had his best interest at heart.
"My daughter Tiara said it best. She said, 'I just wish he could have made it to 20, because when you're 17 or 18, a lot of things your parents tell you don't make sense. At 20, they start to make sense again. I just wish he would have made it.' "
Again, Dungy's voice quaked. Again, he paused. Again, the audience applauded.
For most of Tampa Bay, Dungy quit being a football coach a long time ago. Instead, he was a neighbor, a man of grace and dignity.
Today, it would be nice if he could find a little peace.
Jamie, too.
Gary Shelton is a columnist for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.
Owners approve Super Bowl for Kansas City
NFL.com wire reports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 16, 2005) -- NFL owners voted to tentatively award Kansas City a Super Bowl, largely as a tribute to owner Lamar Hunt, who gave the game its name.
It comes with one giant string attached: improvements to Arrowhead Stadium, including a rolling roof to keep out the February cold. The team estimates the cost of the roof alone at $100 million to $200 million -- and that's not counting $300 million or so the Chiefs say they need in stadium upgrades.
The approval is for a 10-year window, starting in 2011, but Hunt said the most likely prospects would be for the 49th or 51st Super Bowl, after the 2014 or 2016 seasons.
"This is a very happy day, and in some respects a surprising day," he said at a news conference after the second day of the owners' two-day fall meeting adjourned. "This is something our organization has talked about for a number of years."
The team is now in lease negotiations with Jackson County and hopes to have a sales tax issue on the April ballot for Kansas City residents who live in the county. Last year, a bi-state sales tax proposal, for stadium improvements and arts in the area, failed to gain approval.
The Kansas City Royals, whose Kauffman Stadium sits across a parking lot from Arrowhead, would also have benefited from that tax.
The Chiefs, and other backers of stadium renovations, hope the prospect of landing an event with an estimated $400 million economic impact will provide enough reason to vote "yes" this time.
"The tremendous benefit to Kansas City, both in economic terms and prestige, are beyond calculation," Mayor Kay Barnes said in a written statement.
Jack Steadman, the Chiefs' vice chairman, said lease talks were to resume Nov. 17 and that he hoped they would be completed by December. He said the Chiefs would not specify their financial commitment to the project until negotiations were completed.
Hunt, a founding owner in the American Football League, gave the Super Bowl its name after it began simply as a matchup between the AFL and NFL champions.
"This decision is clearly an indication of the tremendous support the Chiefs have had from their fans in this area, and also the role of Lamar Hunt in the creation of the NFL today and the history of professional football."
Only three Super Bowls have been awarded to cold-weather cities. Detroit will host its second Super Bowl in February, and Minneapolis has hosted one.
"I think a one-off is a correct decision," Hunt said. "My request was for one game, in a 10-year window."
A rolling roof, which could be moved to cover either stadium, was part of the original plans for the Truman Sports Complex. It was designed only to keep out the rain, however.
Steadman said the new plan would allow panels to be lowered from the roof, to provide for a heated interior in cold weather.
"This is a new idea for an old concept," he said.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 16, 2005) -- NFL owners voted to tentatively award Kansas City a Super Bowl, largely as a tribute to owner Lamar Hunt, who gave the game its name.
It comes with one giant string attached: improvements to Arrowhead Stadium, including a rolling roof to keep out the February cold. The team estimates the cost of the roof alone at $100 million to $200 million -- and that's not counting $300 million or so the Chiefs say they need in stadium upgrades.
The approval is for a 10-year window, starting in 2011, but Hunt said the most likely prospects would be for the 49th or 51st Super Bowl, after the 2014 or 2016 seasons.
"This is a very happy day, and in some respects a surprising day," he said at a news conference after the second day of the owners' two-day fall meeting adjourned. "This is something our organization has talked about for a number of years."
The team is now in lease negotiations with Jackson County and hopes to have a sales tax issue on the April ballot for Kansas City residents who live in the county. Last year, a bi-state sales tax proposal, for stadium improvements and arts in the area, failed to gain approval.
The Kansas City Royals, whose Kauffman Stadium sits across a parking lot from Arrowhead, would also have benefited from that tax.
The Chiefs, and other backers of stadium renovations, hope the prospect of landing an event with an estimated $400 million economic impact will provide enough reason to vote "yes" this time.
"The tremendous benefit to Kansas City, both in economic terms and prestige, are beyond calculation," Mayor Kay Barnes said in a written statement.
Jack Steadman, the Chiefs' vice chairman, said lease talks were to resume Nov. 17 and that he hoped they would be completed by December. He said the Chiefs would not specify their financial commitment to the project until negotiations were completed.
Hunt, a founding owner in the American Football League, gave the Super Bowl its name after it began simply as a matchup between the AFL and NFL champions.
"This decision is clearly an indication of the tremendous support the Chiefs have had from their fans in this area, and also the role of Lamar Hunt in the creation of the NFL today and the history of professional football."
Only three Super Bowls have been awarded to cold-weather cities. Detroit will host its second Super Bowl in February, and Minneapolis has hosted one.
"I think a one-off is a correct decision," Hunt said. "My request was for one game, in a 10-year window."
A rolling roof, which could be moved to cover either stadium, was part of the original plans for the Truman Sports Complex. It was designed only to keep out the rain, however.
Steadman said the new plan would allow panels to be lowered from the roof, to provide for a heated interior in cold weather.
"This is a new idea for an old concept," he said.
2005: The 10 biggest stories in international pop
By Andre Mayer
www.cbc.ca
December 22, 2005
Best intentions
If 2004 was the year pop got political, in 2005, pop stars showed their giving spirit. The hastily assembled Live 8 concerts were proof of Bob Geldof's indomitable will and the music industry's ability to mobilize for a good cause. Ten concerts, an estimated three billion viewers. Live 8 was a success in terms of raising awareness of African poverty and putting the issue on the table at the subsequent G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. Whether all the singing and finger--wagging will make a significant difference in the lives of destitute Africans now lies with the politicians.
Bono vista
Was 2005 good to Bono? Hmmm, let's see: His band, U2, tallies the 2005's top-grossing stadium tour ($260 million). The rocker-slash-activist earns partial credit for his work in organizing Live 8, shares Time's Persons of the Year award (with Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda), scores Q magazine's Man of the Year and is the subject of a fulsome cover story in the New York Times Magazine. Yes, he's everywhere: yes, those sunglasses look ridiculous. But can you name another private citizen who has donated as much of his energy to eliminating human suffering?
Kanye flips the script
The Hurricane Katrina relief effort was likely the second biggest cause of musical solidarity in 2005. But amid the feelings of sadness and good will, rapper Kanye West could not hide his anger at the disparities between blacks and whites in New Orleans. During the NBC telethon on Sept. 2, Kanye deviated from the scripted platitudes to express his outrage with the coverage of the disaster and the government's lackadaisical response. "I hate the way they portray us in the media. You see a black family, it says, 'They're looting.' You see a white family, it says, 'They're looking for food.'" Unprepared for this harangue, NBC was unable to censor Kanye's crowning blow: "George Bush doesn't care about black people!"
Shopping has dropped
In what is becoming an annual ritual, the music industry reported another plunge in album sales; according to Nielsen SoundScan, sales were down more than seven per cent from 2004. Industry watchers don't agree on the reason. Is it downloading (legal or otherwise), the rise of CD burning or mounting competition from DVDs and videogames for consumer dollars? Or is it that there aren't as many massive releases? My prediction: the industry will still be wrestling with the question this time next year.
A star is reborn
Admit it: before 2005, you wrote Mariah Carey off as a past-her-prime pop diva. Short of expunging her film Glitter from our collective memory, you figured there was no way she could ever be relevant again. Well, Mariah made proved us wrong. The Emancipation of Mimi, her 10th album, sold seven million copies worldwide, her single We Belong Together reigned supreme on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks and she scored a throng of Grammy nominations. In related news, "Rebirth," J-Lo's attempt at career rejuvenation, flopped magnificently.
Hate him or love him
If Kanye flirted with news headlines in 2005, fellow rapper 50 Cent practically dictated them. In March, Fiddy released his sophomore album, The Massacre. In April, he became the first artist since the Beatles to have four songs in the U.S. Top 10. In early November, he starred in Get Rich or Die Tryin' -- a thinly disguised autobio directed by Jim Sheridan. Later that month, a Toronto MP attempted to have the contentious rapper barred from entering Canada, saying 50 Cent's music fetishized the sort of gun violence that has plagued Toronto in 2005. And that sound in the background? Cash registers ringing up The Massacre.
Payola does not pay
In the 1950s and 1960s record companies often bribed radio stations to play their songs. The practice, known as payola, wasn't legal, but it also wasn't unusual. Most people had forgotten this primitive practice until an investigation by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer determined that payola was still "pervasive." Among his findings was this e-mail by someone at Sony BMG's Epic label, addressed to an employee at radio station WKSS:"WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET AUDIOSLAVE ON WKSS THIS WEEK?!!? Whatever you can dream up, I can make it happen." The findings were so embarrassing that Sony BMG Music Entertainment agreed to pay a $10-million US settlement and promised to stop bribing radio stations. Spitzer mooted that other major record companies could be next. (In related news, forgotten Canadian band the Payola$ saw no discernible spike in their popularity.)
Diamond mine
In 2001, Neil Diamond was such a kitsch icon that he lampooned himself in the frat comedy Saving Silverman. Who could have predicted he would have enough mojo left to release another album -- much less one of the best-reviewed discs of 2005? Ruminative, heartfelt and 100 per cent kitsch-free, 12 Songs is utterly compelling. Much of the credit goes to producer Rick Rubin. As he did with Johnny Cash's waning career in the 1990s, Rubin saw through the layers of parody to pinpoint the honest songcraft that made the man great in the first place. If you’re looking for another Cracklin' Rosie or Kentucky Woman, you won't find it; what you will find is a great American songwriter, his skills undiminished.
R.I.P.
Another year, another spate of passings. Deaths in 2005 included: guitar god Link Wray; R&B smoothie Luther Vandross ; Ibrahim Ferrer, revered Cuban singer and the wizened face of the Buena Vista Social Club; legendary singer and piano maven Shirley Horn; guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, a Texas original whose distinctive sound was a searing blend of bluegrass, jazz, Cajun, country and calypso; and jazz great Jimmy Smith, arguably the most famous emissary of the Hammond organ.
Please, please, no more Peas
If a band can over saturate the market, the Black Eyed Peas have done it. In 2005, the California quartet --once a hip-hop outfit, now the worst kind of mongrel pop act -- was everywhere, demonstrating a willingness to appear anywhere, with anyone, for any cause, any time. While that included a fair bit of altruism (e.g. Live 8, an Amnesty International charity album), the Peas were far too voracious to let it end there: award shows, free concerts sponsored by Honda, the Super Bowl, the Grey Cup -- plus the threat of opening the 2006 World Cup of soccer in Germany. To ensure we would be talking about them through the holidays, in November, the BEP's released My Humps, a strong contender for Most Nauseating Single Ever.
Janet and Michael Jackson in top 10 Google search
CBC Arts - www.cbc.ca
Singer Janet Jackson has been named the most popular search on Google for 2005 joining other celebrities in the top 10 including her brother Michael Jackson and movie stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
The 39-year-old continued to pique the interests of people around the world in 2005, with rumours she had secretly given birth to a daughter 18 years ago and paparazzi video of her sunbathing nude. Back in 2004, Jackson was also a popular search subject mainly because of her "wardrobe malfunction" while performing a half-time show with Justin Timberlake during the SuperBowl.
Jackson topped the list, with Hurricane Katrina, the tsunami in southeast Asia, Xbox and actor Brad Pitt rounding out the top five.
Other top searches include the talent show American Idol and wizard-in-training Harry Potter.
Search results for Canada, with only the first half of the year available, indicate a skewing towards teenagers. Young entertainers such as Hilary Duff, Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Chad Michael Murray were perennial top 10 favourites, as was rapper 50 Cent.
Japanese anime cartoon Inuyasha was consistently in the top five between January and June, 2005. Inuyasha is a half-human, half-demon character searching for a gem that would give him great powers.
Canadian actress Rachel McAdams is listed as no. 9 on the search list for Canada. She's appeared in The Wedding Crashers, The Notebook, Red Eye and most recently, The Family Stone.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
More evidence of stupid bias against black men -- this time in California's Alameda County
This is from the Oakland Tribune. I wish Alameda County would spend a little money for a 30 second commercial reminding all that housing discrimination is immoral and illegal. As to the pattern of discrimination in the county, it's clear that the farther away from the urban center -- Oakland -- one gets, the more likely they're going to be discriminated against if they're black.
Audit finds blacks face rental bias
Fair-housing group finds some landlords in county treat African Americans differently
By Matt O'Brien, STAFF WRITER
HAYWARD -- Black men seeking to rent apartments in some Alameda County communities face unfair treatment from prejudicial landlords, according to an undercover audit conducted by the Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity.
The Hayward-based fair-housing advocacy group, more commonly known as ECHO, sent four men -- two white, two African-American -- to 53 apartments in Hayward, Livermore, Pleasanton and Union City.
What they found after a seven-month investigation, ECHO counselor Angie Watson-Hajjem said, was that despite identical tenant profiles, prospective tenants who were African Americans faced discriminatory treatment on about 26 percent of the tests.
"We tried to match them up identically, except for the race thing," Watson-Hajjem said. "If the black tester had an appointment at 1 o'clock, the white tester tried to go in at 1:30. We feel the testers should be treated the same."
She said that on many occasions, it was apparent that testers were not treated the same.
And while Hayward property managers fared well on the tests, many Livermore-area property managers and those in Union City fared poorly, she said.
"Discrimination is still out there. It's still illegal," Watson-Hajjem said. "I don't know if I want to say it's a lot, but it's definitely there."
In Hayward, ECHO sent employees pretending to beprospective tenants to 20 apartments and found differential treatment at only one. In that case, a property manager offered the white tester -- but not the black tester -- about $200 off the first month's rent.
Some encounters in other cities were more egregious, the study says. The two black men were less likely to receive follow-up calls and more likely to receive different -- and more discouraging -- information about rental terms and conditions.
Audit finds blacks face rental bias
Fair-housing group finds some landlords in county treat African Americans differently
By Matt O'Brien, STAFF WRITER
HAYWARD -- Black men seeking to rent apartments in some Alameda County communities face unfair treatment from prejudicial landlords, according to an undercover audit conducted by the Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity.
The Hayward-based fair-housing advocacy group, more commonly known as ECHO, sent four men -- two white, two African-American -- to 53 apartments in Hayward, Livermore, Pleasanton and Union City.
What they found after a seven-month investigation, ECHO counselor Angie Watson-Hajjem said, was that despite identical tenant profiles, prospective tenants who were African Americans faced discriminatory treatment on about 26 percent of the tests.
"We tried to match them up identically, except for the race thing," Watson-Hajjem said. "If the black tester had an appointment at 1 o'clock, the white tester tried to go in at 1:30. We feel the testers should be treated the same."
She said that on many occasions, it was apparent that testers were not treated the same.
And while Hayward property managers fared well on the tests, many Livermore-area property managers and those in Union City fared poorly, she said.
"Discrimination is still out there. It's still illegal," Watson-Hajjem said. "I don't know if I want to say it's a lot, but it's definitely there."
In Hayward, ECHO sent employees pretending to beprospective tenants to 20 apartments and found differential treatment at only one. In that case, a property manager offered the white tester -- but not the black tester -- about $200 off the first month's rent.
Some encounters in other cities were more egregious, the study says. The two black men were less likely to receive follow-up calls and more likely to receive different -- and more discouraging -- information about rental terms and conditions.
Barry Nielsen was killed by the coldness of San Francisco's community; an SF Chronicle story that will anger you -- or it should
I just saw this a few seconds before I posted it. This is an excerpt. Two things angered me: the report of people stepping over -- rather than helping -- this man, and the very slow response of the SF Police Department. It seems San Francisco's finest can spend more time making racist videos than solving crimes. Mr. Nielsen eventually died from what was finally identified as an attack -- but by whom, no one knows to this day.
DEATH ON THE STREET
Barry Nielsen curled on the corner, a head wound oozing blood, as his iPod hissed the soundtrack to a mystery in the foggy night
Mike Weiss, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
It began with a man crumpled on a nighttime pavement, his knees pulled protectively under his chin and blood pooling beneath his head. Something bad had just happened to Barry Nielsen. Exactly what remains a mystery.
Moments earlier he had been acting as a greeter outside an open studio at 1890 Bryant St., an industrial-chic home to artists, architects and a wine broker. He was dancing exuberantly. Now his iPod was still playing, but on this Friday night with fog dampening the air, he could no longer hear the music.
But this is San Francisco, where a man curled on a sidewalk means a homeless person. Even though the intersection with Mariposa Street was bathed in light from a Muni yard on the northeast corner, people stepped around him.
It was 7:25 p.m. on Oct. 21, and the neighborhood was well-trafficked. People came and went at KQED; there were clubs and restaurants nearby; and on the southwest corner, Starbucks was crowded, mostly with deaf people at a get-together. Finally a woman out for a smoke saw Nielsen's body and grew alarmed. She ran to Starbucks, where a pair of cops had parked their black and white and were on a coffee break.Officer Angel Lozano inspected Nielsen, saw the blood, and summoned an ambulance. When paramedics arrived, Nielsen no longer showed vital signs, Lozano said, but they revived him with CPR.
"We interviewed a few people," Lozano explained outside the same Starbucks a few weeks later, "and nobody saw what happened."
"The gentleman still had his iPod and his wallet," Lozano said. "It didn't appear there was a crime involved. First impression -- he had fallen down." So the officers did not create a crime scene or begin a thorough canvass of the area or summon detectives.
The building at 1890 Bryant is roughly halfway between San Francisco General Hospital, where Nielsen, 48, was rushed in a wailing ambulance, and the Hall of Justice. Over the days and weeks ahead, conflicting versions of what had befallen the dying painter and puppeteer -- had he fallen or been assaulted? -- would emerge from the two edifices...
By Saturday afternoon, when the police had not contacted Nielsen's friends or family, one friend, Dwight Horn, went to Mission Station and was told, "'What investigation? It was a fall, not a crime."
"We were hearing from every doctor we spoke to" that Barry had been assaulted, Hallquist said, "and the cops were doing nothing."
DEATH ON THE STREET
Barry Nielsen curled on the corner, a head wound oozing blood, as his iPod hissed the soundtrack to a mystery in the foggy night
Mike Weiss, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
It began with a man crumpled on a nighttime pavement, his knees pulled protectively under his chin and blood pooling beneath his head. Something bad had just happened to Barry Nielsen. Exactly what remains a mystery.
Moments earlier he had been acting as a greeter outside an open studio at 1890 Bryant St., an industrial-chic home to artists, architects and a wine broker. He was dancing exuberantly. Now his iPod was still playing, but on this Friday night with fog dampening the air, he could no longer hear the music.
But this is San Francisco, where a man curled on a sidewalk means a homeless person. Even though the intersection with Mariposa Street was bathed in light from a Muni yard on the northeast corner, people stepped around him.
It was 7:25 p.m. on Oct. 21, and the neighborhood was well-trafficked. People came and went at KQED; there were clubs and restaurants nearby; and on the southwest corner, Starbucks was crowded, mostly with deaf people at a get-together. Finally a woman out for a smoke saw Nielsen's body and grew alarmed. She ran to Starbucks, where a pair of cops had parked their black and white and were on a coffee break.Officer Angel Lozano inspected Nielsen, saw the blood, and summoned an ambulance. When paramedics arrived, Nielsen no longer showed vital signs, Lozano said, but they revived him with CPR.
"We interviewed a few people," Lozano explained outside the same Starbucks a few weeks later, "and nobody saw what happened."
"The gentleman still had his iPod and his wallet," Lozano said. "It didn't appear there was a crime involved. First impression -- he had fallen down." So the officers did not create a crime scene or begin a thorough canvass of the area or summon detectives.
The building at 1890 Bryant is roughly halfway between San Francisco General Hospital, where Nielsen, 48, was rushed in a wailing ambulance, and the Hall of Justice. Over the days and weeks ahead, conflicting versions of what had befallen the dying painter and puppeteer -- had he fallen or been assaulted? -- would emerge from the two edifices...
By Saturday afternoon, when the police had not contacted Nielsen's friends or family, one friend, Dwight Horn, went to Mission Station and was told, "'What investigation? It was a fall, not a crime."
"We were hearing from every doctor we spoke to" that Barry had been assaulted, Hallquist said, "and the cops were doing nothing."
New Orleans Police Shooting - Why is it that 12 white guys with guns feel they need to shoot one black guy sporting a knife?
I'm watching CNN, and they keep showing a video of 12 -- yeah, 12 -- white New Orleans Police officers with guns drawn and pointing at one black guy who reportedly has a knife.
These idiots -- yep dummies -- killed that man.
I'm looking at this and thinking "Did anyone bother to just shoot the guy in the foot?" Why not? All of those cops and not one had the presence of mind to think outside the box of organized mob-rule that seems to govern New Orleans Police activity, especially after The Katrina Problem. Are they just plain robots?
I'll bet if the person was a blond woman they'd have not fired a single shot. These guys need to be off the force, ASAP.
I'm starting to think the New Orleans police hire emotionally disturbed people or that the job itself makes them that way. There's no -- no good excuse for what they did.
They should all be fired.
These idiots -- yep dummies -- killed that man.
I'm looking at this and thinking "Did anyone bother to just shoot the guy in the foot?" Why not? All of those cops and not one had the presence of mind to think outside the box of organized mob-rule that seems to govern New Orleans Police activity, especially after The Katrina Problem. Are they just plain robots?
I'll bet if the person was a blond woman they'd have not fired a single shot. These guys need to be off the force, ASAP.
I'm starting to think the New Orleans police hire emotionally disturbed people or that the job itself makes them that way. There's no -- no good excuse for what they did.
They should all be fired.
New SBS Online Gaming blog
Yep, it's too big to ignore, so I created a blog on online gaming. Click the post to check it out!
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Brokeback Mountain hits the Zeitgeist
As a movie buff who's seen The Godfather 27 times, and a good set of movies over 10 times, plus written two screenplays (no, not sold..yet) and recently seen King Kong twice (a terrific work), I feel compelled to see "Brokeback Mountain" because of the buzz around it. Yet, I'm not attracted by the fact the story is of two men in love. What I'm drawn to is that it's directed by Ang Lee, one of my favorites.
I think -- to be frank -- a very large part of me wonders why Hollywood seems to avoid producing movies that feature inter-racial relationships, specifically between white women and black men. In the two examples where such relationships were the focus of the flick (I like that), they were not "normal" relationships. In "Jungle Feaver" the relationship was painted as taboo. In "One Night Stand" both characters were married to other people.
By contrast, it seems that Gay White Male relationships are presented from a more sympathetic perspective. Now there's a huge difference in that we're talking about a lifestyle choice (being Gay) versus a physical type beyond the control of the person. But what is similar is both kinds of people have not been shown in mainstream movies much at all until the last 20 years. America has been presented with a huge set of movies with Straight White Male / Straight White Female romances.
What bothers me about this recent trend is it still seems as if White Female and Black Male parings are not well-considered by some even to this day. A social dynamic I regard as rather sick. It's as if America is saying "You can do anything, even date another man...but White Women and Black men?....Well....
That's stupid.
I suppose the only solution is to establish a well-financed film production company which aims to get movies wtih interracial themes made and distributed.
I think -- to be frank -- a very large part of me wonders why Hollywood seems to avoid producing movies that feature inter-racial relationships, specifically between white women and black men. In the two examples where such relationships were the focus of the flick (I like that), they were not "normal" relationships. In "Jungle Feaver" the relationship was painted as taboo. In "One Night Stand" both characters were married to other people.
By contrast, it seems that Gay White Male relationships are presented from a more sympathetic perspective. Now there's a huge difference in that we're talking about a lifestyle choice (being Gay) versus a physical type beyond the control of the person. But what is similar is both kinds of people have not been shown in mainstream movies much at all until the last 20 years. America has been presented with a huge set of movies with Straight White Male / Straight White Female romances.
What bothers me about this recent trend is it still seems as if White Female and Black Male parings are not well-considered by some even to this day. A social dynamic I regard as rather sick. It's as if America is saying "You can do anything, even date another man...but White Women and Black men?....Well....
That's stupid.
I suppose the only solution is to establish a well-financed film production company which aims to get movies wtih interracial themes made and distributed.
SBS's new Blog Network
All of our blogs can be accessed from the main SBS site now. Just click on the title post to see the new place at the SBS main website.
Monday, December 26, 2005
SBS' on its Oakland Baseball Simworld
I figured that I had blogs on a number of subjects, but not our simulations! Since I spend much of my time setting up or working on my beloved Oakland Baseball Simworld, I decided to change that. Here's our newest blog on it, and all you have to do is click on the title of this post.
If you've not ran my simulation, give it a go. It's used at many of the major college sport management schools -- high schools too! I swear, you will become addicted to it.
It's just $12.50 per student per class, and for a one year account.
If you've not ran my simulation, give it a go. It's used at many of the major college sport management schools -- high schools too! I swear, you will become addicted to it.
It's just $12.50 per student per class, and for a one year account.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Mike Silver on Tony Dungy
My longtime friend Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Michael Silver wrote a very good and reflective column on Indianpolis Colts' Coach Tony Dungy in the wake of the passing of his son James. Most of his work is here, and the entire column can be read at CNNSI.Com with a click on the title of this post.
Leaning on faith
Dungy will reach deep inside as he mourns for son
Michael Silver
Because Tony Dungy is such an inspirational man, because nearly everyone who meets can't help but admire him, it's tempting to believe that he's capable of overcoming any horrific circumstance, even the most tragic occurrence imaginable.
As Dungy and his tight-knit family cope with the death of his 18-year-old son, James, who died of an apparent suicide early Thursday morning, the pain and grief, undoubtedly, will be overwhelming. That this awful experience will play out publicly makes Dungy's burden seem unfathomable.
Yet if anyone in pro football is capable of carrying on, in the near- and long-term, it's this deeply religious, inherently decent man.
"The thing that will get him through this is the same thing that has gotten him through all of the hard times -- losing his mother, and then his father," said Jets coach Herm Edwards, who grew close to Dungy while working on his staff in Tampa Bay. "His faith is what will get him through, somehow. But it's so, so tough."
I called Edwards on Thursday evening looking, I guess, for some sense of comfort. Ostensibly, as a journalist, I wanted to get his reaction, but every question I asked or considered asking seemed hopelessly forced, trite or inappropriate.
Earlier, I had spoken briefly with one of Dungy's former players in Tampa, Cleveland Browns quarterback Trent Dilfer, who I knew would be taking this news as hard as anyone in the NFL. Two years and eight months ago, at a memorial service for his 5-year-old son, Trevin, Dilfer delivered an amazingly poised, unplanned speech that brought 2,000 attendees to tears. Since then he and his wife, Cass, have displayed strength and grace on a daily basis, but that doesn't mean the pain is gone, or will ever disappear.
Unlike Dilfer, who endured months of soul-searching before deciding to return to football, Dungy's nightmare coincides with the stretch run of what has thus far been a magical season. If he returns to guide the Colts through the playoffs, and possibly the Super Bowl, Dungy will feel the coalesced support of a sports-watching nation.
Yet at some point the insanity of the playoff run will fade, and he and his wife, Lauren, will continue to be tested in ways most of us, thankfully, cannot imagine. That's when he'll draw on 51 years of sincere, principled living and figure out some way to endure.
Understand that Dungy, more than anyone I've met in his profession, has put family and faith above football on the most basic of levels. Not only did he help launch All-Pro Dad, later becoming the nonprofit organization's national spokesman, but he also made a point of interacting with his children, eschewing the sleep-at-the-office madness to which most of his peers have succumbed...
Leaning on faith
Dungy will reach deep inside as he mourns for son
Michael Silver
Because Tony Dungy is such an inspirational man, because nearly everyone who meets can't help but admire him, it's tempting to believe that he's capable of overcoming any horrific circumstance, even the most tragic occurrence imaginable.
As Dungy and his tight-knit family cope with the death of his 18-year-old son, James, who died of an apparent suicide early Thursday morning, the pain and grief, undoubtedly, will be overwhelming. That this awful experience will play out publicly makes Dungy's burden seem unfathomable.
Yet if anyone in pro football is capable of carrying on, in the near- and long-term, it's this deeply religious, inherently decent man.
"The thing that will get him through this is the same thing that has gotten him through all of the hard times -- losing his mother, and then his father," said Jets coach Herm Edwards, who grew close to Dungy while working on his staff in Tampa Bay. "His faith is what will get him through, somehow. But it's so, so tough."
I called Edwards on Thursday evening looking, I guess, for some sense of comfort. Ostensibly, as a journalist, I wanted to get his reaction, but every question I asked or considered asking seemed hopelessly forced, trite or inappropriate.
Earlier, I had spoken briefly with one of Dungy's former players in Tampa, Cleveland Browns quarterback Trent Dilfer, who I knew would be taking this news as hard as anyone in the NFL. Two years and eight months ago, at a memorial service for his 5-year-old son, Trevin, Dilfer delivered an amazingly poised, unplanned speech that brought 2,000 attendees to tears. Since then he and his wife, Cass, have displayed strength and grace on a daily basis, but that doesn't mean the pain is gone, or will ever disappear.
Unlike Dilfer, who endured months of soul-searching before deciding to return to football, Dungy's nightmare coincides with the stretch run of what has thus far been a magical season. If he returns to guide the Colts through the playoffs, and possibly the Super Bowl, Dungy will feel the coalesced support of a sports-watching nation.
Yet at some point the insanity of the playoff run will fade, and he and his wife, Lauren, will continue to be tested in ways most of us, thankfully, cannot imagine. That's when he'll draw on 51 years of sincere, principled living and figure out some way to endure.
Understand that Dungy, more than anyone I've met in his profession, has put family and faith above football on the most basic of levels. Not only did he help launch All-Pro Dad, later becoming the nonprofit organization's national spokesman, but he also made a point of interacting with his children, eschewing the sleep-at-the-office madness to which most of his peers have succumbed...
The Return of Martina Hingis - and a new Women's Tennis Blog!
Click on the link of the title post to read about the planned comback of Matina Hingis to Women's Tennis, at SBS Women's Tennis Blog.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Merry Christmas from Zennie's Zeitgeist!
Here's wishing you and yours a very wonderful Christmas and very happy holidays!
Friday, December 23, 2005
Paris Hilton gets new dogs to fight title of "World's Worst Dog Owner'
From Ireland Online - Paris Hilton is hoping to distance herself from her newfound title as the world's worst dog owner, by purchasing two new puppies.
The hotel heiress recently acquired the undesirable title from magazines The New York Dog and Hollywood Dog, days before the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals named her as the worst dressed celebrity for her love of wearing fur.
But 24-year-old Hilton, who counts a ferret, a kinkajou monkey and a goat among her list of pets, is undeterred and recently took ownership of Chihuahua puppies Tokyo Blue and Harajuku Bitch during a trip to Japan.
She says: "That's it, no more pets for now."
To read about Paris Hilton's lesson for sports marketing click here
Britney Spears back on top!
From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer - Britney Spears reclaimed the top spot on Yahoo!'s annual list of the most searched-for terms on the Internet, with all of the top 10 coming from the world of entertainment, says the Hollywood Reporter.
Spears has been No. 1 for three of the past four years (outpaced last year by "American Idol").
Rounding out the list, in order, are 50 Cent, Cartoon Network (specifically its "Adult Swim" lineup), Mariah Carey, Green Day, Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Eminem, Ciara and Lindsay Lohan.
But Britney...woo, those legs!
Tony Dungy - A great man who will prevail
I've never met Indianapolis Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy, but I feel like he's my brother. I have always been a fan. When I was invited to the Octagon party at the Houston Super Bowl, I has hoped Dungy, an Octagon client, would be there. I had a new defensive front idea I wanted to share with him. So, paper and diagram in hand, I went. Unfortunately, he didn't come to the event. I was sad, but eventually had a good time.
Still, I felt it was less without the attendance of the most respected coach in the NFL, and someone America seems to have adopted.
From one perspective, since we share what some call the "Black Experience" in America, I suppose he is. So, I, like others and really regardless of color, root for Tony.
We cheer for him not just because of his success, and how it contributes to the erosion of social racism, but because we like the man he is: steady, determined, faithful -- decent. To me Tony is untouchable. I couldn't -- and still can't -- understand why the Tampa Bay Bucaneers let go of this man. But he landed in a better place: Indy.
His son, James Dungy, in the best place one can be: Heaven. The Lord only knows what was happening to him in the last moments of his life. But the Lord will also take care of him. God will take care of Tony, too.
No, Tony's team will not go undefeated. The Colts will be in the playoffs with home field advantage, and a new resolve, as if they didn't have one already. And now it seems as if everyone in sports is rooting for them and him. They deserve it. Tony deserves it.
But even if it doesn't happen that he is able to lift the Vince Lombardi trophy in February 2006, Tony Dungy will always be high on the mantle of great people in sports and in life.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
NFL"Tabulating Error" Causes Colts Tackle Tarik Glenn to be removed from Pro Bowl rouster
This is terrible, and the error should be explained. Moreover, one would think the numbers would be checked before the rouster assignments were made!
NFL.com wire reports
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 21, 2005) -- Tony Dungy started by congratulating the Indianapolis Colts chosen to the Pro Bowl. Several hours later, he had the grim task of retracting left tackle Tarik Glenn's name from that list.
The confusing saga overshadowed what should have been a celebration: Seven Colts were voted to the Pro Bowl, the most of any NFL team and the franchise's best showing since it sent eight players in 1971. Three defensive players also made the roster, the Colts' highest total since '71.
But it was the recount that angered Dungy.
"I'm happy with the guys who made it," Dungy said after practice. "And I'm a league guy, but this is a bad, bad situation. They need to tell the whole story and it's not good."
As it is, the Colts still could hold a team meeting in Hawaii.
The usual suspects -- two-time MVP Peyton Manning, two-time rushing champ Edgerrin James, record-setting receiver Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney -- all made it. They joined three newcomers -- center Jeff Saturday, linebacker Cato June and safety Bob Sanders.
Receiver Reggie Wayne and Glenn were first alternates. So there could be a lot of Colts in Honolulu, especially since Saturday indicated he might bring his linemates with him.
"They'll be well taken care of, you can count on that," said Saturday, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent.
Fans, coaches and opposing players rewarded the Colts for being the fourth team in NFL history to start 13-0.
Manning was selected for the sixth time, Harrison the seventh time. James earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection and Freeney, who broke the franchise record for sacks Dec. 18 in a loss to San Diego, made it for the third consecutive year.
But the mistake led to a lot of outrage.
According to the Colts, the NFL's Pro Bowl list included Glenn's name as one of three AFC tackles selected for the Feb. 12 game in Honolulu. Then the league called back to inform the Colts there was a tabulating mistake.
Dungy asked the league to look into the matter, and when players strolled into the locker room at midday, most still thought Glenn was headed to Hawaii. Manning and Saturday both talked about the eight players headed to Hawaii, and Glenn even thanked his peers for voting him into the Pro Bowl for the first time. He played last year in Honolulu after being a first alternate.
"It's an honor," Glenn said. "You like to get to the point where your peers recognize you for playing well."
At 2 p.m., the league again contacted the Colts and notified them Glenn was, indeed, a first alternate behind Cincinnati's Willie Anderson, Baltimore's Jonathan Ogden and Kansas City's Willie Roaf.
League spokesman Steve Alic explained there was a computer error, a possible first in league balloting.
"Part of the vote was tabulated incorrectly and when the error was fixed, we learned that Tarik Glenn was a first alternate," he said. "We discovered the votes had not been tabulated correctly."
Glenn walked off the practice field with a glum expression on his face. Had he stayed on the roster, the Colts would have tied a franchise record with eight Pro Bowl selections, originally set in 1958, then matched in 1964 and 1971.
"To have eight players going is impressive," Manning said before learning of the mistake. "For some guys, it's their first time, and I think we could have had some more go like Reggie."
How many of the Pro Bowl players will play in the final two regular-season games? Dungy still is not sure.
Manning, who never has missed a start in eight seasons, said he intends to play this week at Seattle after contending his knee was never swollen. Team president Bill Polian announced the injury on his weekly radio show Monday night.
Harrison missed practice so he could be fitted for a hand apparatus after breaking a bone Dec. 18. Starting right tackle Ryan Diem will miss the rest of the regular season after spraining a knee ligament in the loss to the Chargers.
Defensively, the Colts could be without June (sports hernia, knee and ankle), Sanders (back), Mathis (foot), defensive tackle Corey Simon (foot) and Reagor (knee). Freeney, who has a sprained arch in his right foot, still wants to play.
But Dungy thought the most troubling issue was the NFL's mistake.
"We announced it this morning after we got the list from the NFL," Dungy said. "What happened after that, you'll have to ask them. I told him just now. He took it like he would, but the less I say, the better. You'll have to ask the league."
NFL.com wire reports
INDIANAPOLIS (Dec. 21, 2005) -- Tony Dungy started by congratulating the Indianapolis Colts chosen to the Pro Bowl. Several hours later, he had the grim task of retracting left tackle Tarik Glenn's name from that list.
The confusing saga overshadowed what should have been a celebration: Seven Colts were voted to the Pro Bowl, the most of any NFL team and the franchise's best showing since it sent eight players in 1971. Three defensive players also made the roster, the Colts' highest total since '71.
But it was the recount that angered Dungy.
"I'm happy with the guys who made it," Dungy said after practice. "And I'm a league guy, but this is a bad, bad situation. They need to tell the whole story and it's not good."
As it is, the Colts still could hold a team meeting in Hawaii.
The usual suspects -- two-time MVP Peyton Manning, two-time rushing champ Edgerrin James, record-setting receiver Marvin Harrison and Dwight Freeney -- all made it. They joined three newcomers -- center Jeff Saturday, linebacker Cato June and safety Bob Sanders.
Receiver Reggie Wayne and Glenn were first alternates. So there could be a lot of Colts in Honolulu, especially since Saturday indicated he might bring his linemates with him.
"They'll be well taken care of, you can count on that," said Saturday, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent.
Fans, coaches and opposing players rewarded the Colts for being the fourth team in NFL history to start 13-0.
Manning was selected for the sixth time, Harrison the seventh time. James earned his fourth Pro Bowl selection and Freeney, who broke the franchise record for sacks Dec. 18 in a loss to San Diego, made it for the third consecutive year.
But the mistake led to a lot of outrage.
According to the Colts, the NFL's Pro Bowl list included Glenn's name as one of three AFC tackles selected for the Feb. 12 game in Honolulu. Then the league called back to inform the Colts there was a tabulating mistake.
Dungy asked the league to look into the matter, and when players strolled into the locker room at midday, most still thought Glenn was headed to Hawaii. Manning and Saturday both talked about the eight players headed to Hawaii, and Glenn even thanked his peers for voting him into the Pro Bowl for the first time. He played last year in Honolulu after being a first alternate.
"It's an honor," Glenn said. "You like to get to the point where your peers recognize you for playing well."
At 2 p.m., the league again contacted the Colts and notified them Glenn was, indeed, a first alternate behind Cincinnati's Willie Anderson, Baltimore's Jonathan Ogden and Kansas City's Willie Roaf.
League spokesman Steve Alic explained there was a computer error, a possible first in league balloting.
"Part of the vote was tabulated incorrectly and when the error was fixed, we learned that Tarik Glenn was a first alternate," he said. "We discovered the votes had not been tabulated correctly."
Glenn walked off the practice field with a glum expression on his face. Had he stayed on the roster, the Colts would have tied a franchise record with eight Pro Bowl selections, originally set in 1958, then matched in 1964 and 1971.
"To have eight players going is impressive," Manning said before learning of the mistake. "For some guys, it's their first time, and I think we could have had some more go like Reggie."
How many of the Pro Bowl players will play in the final two regular-season games? Dungy still is not sure.
Manning, who never has missed a start in eight seasons, said he intends to play this week at Seattle after contending his knee was never swollen. Team president Bill Polian announced the injury on his weekly radio show Monday night.
Harrison missed practice so he could be fitted for a hand apparatus after breaking a bone Dec. 18. Starting right tackle Ryan Diem will miss the rest of the regular season after spraining a knee ligament in the loss to the Chargers.
Defensively, the Colts could be without June (sports hernia, knee and ankle), Sanders (back), Mathis (foot), defensive tackle Corey Simon (foot) and Reagor (knee). Freeney, who has a sprained arch in his right foot, still wants to play.
But Dungy thought the most troubling issue was the NFL's mistake.
"We announced it this morning after we got the list from the NFL," Dungy said. "What happened after that, you'll have to ask them. I told him just now. He took it like he would, but the less I say, the better. You'll have to ask the league."
Son of Colts' Coach Tony Dungy Found Dead
From Yahoo! ...Please take time to pray for Coach Dungy and his family
TAMPA, Fla. - James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, was found dead in a Tampa-area apartment, police said Thursday.
In a news release on its Web site, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said it "responded to the Campus Lodge Apartments this morning at approximately 1:32 a.m. The girlfriend of James Dungy had returned to the apartment and discovered Dungy."
Police performed CPR on Dungy before he was taken to University Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office.
Tony Dungy has left the Colts and is in Tampa, according to NFL.com.
The coach and his wife, Lauren, have four other children: daughters Tiara and Jade and sons Eric and Jordan.
The Colts (13-1) are at Seattle on Saturday.
TAMPA, Fla. - James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, was found dead in a Tampa-area apartment, police said Thursday.
In a news release on its Web site, the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said it "responded to the Campus Lodge Apartments this morning at approximately 1:32 a.m. The girlfriend of James Dungy had returned to the apartment and discovered Dungy."
Police performed CPR on Dungy before he was taken to University Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office.
Tony Dungy has left the Colts and is in Tampa, according to NFL.com.
The coach and his wife, Lauren, have four other children: daughters Tiara and Jade and sons Eric and Jordan.
The Colts (13-1) are at Seattle on Saturday.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
NY TRANSIT STRIKE FLASH: MTA gives $26,315 to each of the 38,000 workers...
Well, it didn't happen, but it does show how much the 1 billion surplus could have helped each of the the transit workers. Even if just 15 percent of that surplus was given to the workers, it would have been $3,947 per transit worker.
That would have been an awesome Christmas bonus for them.
That would have been an awesome Christmas bonus for them.
Mayor Bloomberg on The NY Transit Strike - Live now on CNN
Reiterrated that the strike was "unfair" and "illegal" to start today's speech. (But what upsets me about CNN, is they cut away to some press conference about a manhunt for a rapist in Miami. I understand, but the strike impacts millions). Ok, we're back to Bloomberg.
He says it's not as cold as it normal would be, which is good. The New York Blood center can't collect blood and so has declared a state of emergency. "Robery Payne is a health care worker who walked six miles to get to work," he said.
The Mayor plans to warn the transit worker and order them back to work via a restraining order.
CNN just lost the feed, and broke away
I'm not sure that's going to work. Again, the issue is the allocation of a $1 billion surplus, which the workers never got even part of....
He says it's not as cold as it normal would be, which is good. The New York Blood center can't collect blood and so has declared a state of emergency. "Robery Payne is a health care worker who walked six miles to get to work," he said.
The Mayor plans to warn the transit worker and order them back to work via a restraining order.
CNN just lost the feed, and broke away
I'm not sure that's going to work. Again, the issue is the allocation of a $1 billion surplus, which the workers never got even part of....
Reggie Bush looking for agents - Note to USC's Reggie Bush: pick Sports Agent Leigh Steinberg
Read about it at SBS NFL Football Business Blog with a click on the title of this post.
Reggie Bush looking for agents - Note to USC's Reggie Bush: pick Sports Agent Leigh Steinberg
According to ESPN.com, Reggie Bush is interviewing candidates to be his sports agent, a sure sign he's going to enter the 2006 NFL Draft.
ESPN.com reports that "Seven agents met on Monday in Los Angeles with Bush, who is expected to be forego his senior season with the Trojans and enter next year's draft, and with his advisors. The agents were Tom Condon, David Dunn, Todd France, Mitch Frankel, Eugene Parker, Joel Segal and Leigh Steinberg.
On Tuesday, at least three of the agents -- France, Segal and Steinberg -- were apprised by Bush advisors that the field had been winnowed and that they are finalists to represent the star tailback if he indeed goes into the 2006 draft."
Reggie, here's a friendly note: go with Leigh Steinberg of Leigh Steinberg Enterprises. Not just because Leigh's legendary, but also because he's got the best reputation and can not only get you the best NFL deal, he can leverage your celebrity into other areas, like broadcasting. Something the other agents can't do.
Forget his court battle with Athlete's First. Their arguments against him are exagerated greately.
Also one of these agents you're considering has had a recent problem. To learn more about it, read my account of the 2005 NFL Draft by clicking here.
Good luck Reggie.
PG&E's failure: power outage blanks Oakland's Adams Point / Lake Merritt
Read about it at Oakland Focus, by just clicking on the title of this post.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Google buys 5 percent stake in AOL - Will it buy more of the Internet portal?
From Businessweek.com
DEC. 20 7:38 P.M. ET America Online on Tuesday sealed a $1 billion transaction to sell a 5 percent stake to Google Inc. in a deal that deepens the ties binding two of the Web's most popular Web sites while thwarting Microsoft Corp.'s efforts to grab a larger piece of the booming Internet advertising market.
Approving the expanded alliance had been considered a mere formality last Friday when AOL's corporate parent, Time Warner Inc., abruptly ended several months of negotiations with Microsoft, which had hoped to supplant Google as AOL's main advertising partner.
Many of the details, including a plan that may display more graphical ads on some of Google's traditionally sparse Web pages, had been leaked to the media in the last few days.
New SBS NFL Football Business Blog
Click on the title of this post to see our new NFL Football blog on busineess news related to the game. The blog will also feature opinion on the NFL issues of the day.
Colts QB Peyton Manning receives record 1.18 million Pro Bowl votes.
From NFL Media.com
RECORD 70.5 MILLION ALL-STAR VOTES CAST ON NFL.COM AND SPRINT WIRELESS; PEYTON MANNING, ALEXANDER & TOMLINSON TOP VOTE-GETTERS
RECORD 1.9 MILLION MOBILE VOTES CAST VIA SPRINT WIRELES; PEYTON MANNING RECEIVES RECORD 1.18 MILLION VOTES
Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING received a record 1,184,142 votes to lead
NFL All-Stars in balloting for the 2006 Pro Bowl, the NFL announced today. Presented by
Sprint, Pro Bowl voting on NFL.com, in stadiums and via the Sprint wireless service ended
Friday, Dec. 16.
There were a record 70.5 million votes cast on NFL.com and via the Sprint wireless service -- a 16 percent increase over the 61 million cast last year.
In the tally was a record 1.9 million mobile votes via Sprint wireless -- nearly 200 times the 10,000 mobile votes cast last year.
Seattle Seahawks running back SHAUN ALEXANDER (1,110,575 votes) ranked second overall while San Diego Chargers running back LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON (1,044,360), Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver CHAD JOHNSON (987,650) and Chargers tight end ANTONIO GATES (941,846) rounded out the top five.
BEARS-VIKINGS KICKOFF TIME ON JAN. 1 MOVED TO 4:15 PM ET
From NFL Media.com - private access website; no direct link available to the public.
The Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings game on Sunday, January 1 will be played at 4:15 PM ET rather than 1:00 PM ET, the NFL announced today.
The change is to accommodate FOX television patterns.
Intelligent Design sacked in court - judge rules lessons unconstitutional
A US court has ruled that school children cannot be taught the theory known as "intelligent design" as an alternative to evolution.
Ihave mixed emotions about this, but it's important that kids are given non-religious tools with which to analyze biological change. But that said, is science a religion itself?
Ihave mixed emotions about this, but it's important that kids are given non-religious tools with which to analyze biological change. But that said, is science a religion itself?
Study: Racial prejudice makes you stupider
My friend and attorney Bill Taylor brought this to my attention today, so I looked it up on the San Francisco Chronicle website. Here's a large excerpt; for the rest of the story, click on the title link.
To the litany of arguments against prejudice, scientists are now adding a new one: Racism can make you stupid.
That is the message of an unusual and striking new series of experiments conducted at Dartmouth College, with the help of brain-imaging equipment and a crew of undergraduate volunteers.
According to the findings, the more biased people are, the more their brain power is taxed by contact with someone of another race, as they struggle not to say or do anything offensive. The effect is so strong, the team found, that even a five-minute conversation with a black person left some of the white subjects unable to perform well on a test of cognitive ability.
"Just having a prejudice makes you stupider," said John Gabrieli, a professor of psychology at Stanford University who was not involved in the research. "It is really interesting."...
...The work also paints a dispiriting portrait of the state of the nation's race relations, the lead researcher said, even among the well-educated, well- meaning Dartmouth undergraduates whom the scientists studied.
"I think people are getting caught in this trap where they are trying not to do the wrong thing, rather than trying to act natural," said Jennifer Richeson, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at Dartmouth College. "Somehow, we have to get past this awkward phase."
Richeson and her colleagues began by recruiting a group of white Dartmouth undergraduates and asked them to perform an "Implicit Association Test," a test that is widely used to measure unconscious racial bias. The subject is given a screen and two buttons. First, the subject is asked to push the button on the left if the word that appears on the screen is a positive word, like beauty, or a common first name for a white person, such as Nancy. Otherwise, they are instructed to push the button on the right.
After a session, the test is changed slightly, and the names given are those more common for a black person, such as Tyrone. The greater the difference between the reaction times in the two sessions, the more the person has trouble associating black names with positive concepts.
Next, the team had each of the students speak briefly with a black experimenter and then perform a test of cognitive ability called the Stroop test. They showed that the higher a bias score the student had in the IAT test, the worse they did on the Stroop test after speaking with the black experimenter.
...It is part of a nascent movement to study the neurological basis of social phenomena, in particular racism. One study, by Elizabeth Phelps at New York University, found that biased people were more likely to have greater activity in their amygdala, a portion of the brain associated with negative emotions like fear, when shown the picture of a black person they don't know.
Another, conducted by Stanford's Gabrieli and other scientists, showed that the brains of white people process white and black faces differently from the moment they see them.
NY Transit Strike Reason: $1 Billion surplus -- not even a portion -- not used to pay workers
According to the World Scocialist Web Site, the main issue that caused this strike which has cast millions of New Yorkers into the street during a cold winter, is the New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board's decision to allocate MTA's $1 billion surplus to various programs, but not the workers' payroll.
The WSWS reports: "Finally, in its last announced wage offer, the MTA has proposed a mere 3 percent and a 2 percent increase over 27 months -- an amount that would fail to keep up with inflation. The transit bosses have even made this miserable amount contingent on workers reducing their use of sick leave."
And according to the NY Times, a judge has issued an injunction against the striking workers, slapping them with a fine of two days pay for every one day they're on strike.
NY Transit Strike Map
The New York Times has produced a helpful transit alternative map to assist New Yorkers in navigating the city during the strike. You can see it with a click on the title of this post.
Rolling Stones 2006 Concert Opening Acts Confirmed
According to IORR, the list of opening acts for the Stones shows in USA & Canada 2006 have been confirmed by the Stones, including acts such as Brooks and Dunn, Merle Haggard, Anik Jean, Sloan, Metric, Antigone Rising, Soulive, Queens of the Stone Age & The Meters.
You can get tickets at Stones Tickets Exchange for shows.
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