Friday, February 05, 2010

Super Bowl XLIV update: On Michael Irvin and Miami's South Beach

South Beach, Miami, FLA - Super Bowl XLIV in Miami is really the story of what's happening on South Beach. Right now, it's not yet this blogger who's totally exhausted. Still, the sound of music and people call, and the desire to be among them is strong. Which will happen later - a trip to the beach and the NFL Network area where Michael Irvin hangs - after this Super Bowl XLIVL update is done.

This blogger arrived at the Miami airport and was met by my good friend Steven Schnitzer, who with his brother Ray owns the nationally-known 11th Street Diner on 11th and Washington in South Beach (1065 Washington Avenue Miami Beach, FL), where Rosie O'Donnell is one of his favorite customers.



From the airport, we wound up going to the Home Depot, where I met a couple of women who talked about producing Saturday's Celebrity Beach Volleyball event at South Beach, then going to get stone crab, and finally home to freshen up.



On the matter of Michael Irvin, that's awful news that he's the focus of a civil lawsuit claiming a rape of a woman that allegedly happened in 2007; but now it's 2010. Moreover, the Broward State Attorney's office has reportedly been investigating a case that's without physical evidence: no photos, bruises, or video. Not surprisingly, no charges have been filed.

While it's too early to tell if Michael Irvin's situation is indeed a false rape claim, they are unfortunately quite common and take years for the person accused to overcome. But the question is, did Michael Irvin even know the woman? According to the LA Times, the answer isn't "no" but that nothing ever happened between them, "there was no encounter".

Famous and wealthy people have to be careful who they come into contact with; Super Bowl week is a great example. Miami's South Beach is known for its parties, but all of the lovely women here aren't just in town for the scenery and the game. Some are here just to meet a guy with money, or who they think have cash.

The untold Super Bowl story is of women who come to Super Bowls as the guests of married, or to meet married men, who often live in different parts of the country. The reason I know this, is I met one such woman at a party at the Super Bowl in Arizona. She's what I would call a "player's groupie" who goes to training camps with friends - one of them being her married boyfriend.

Now, before you get the wrong idea, this woman's a professional executive who makes a decent living for herself. She's not involved in the sex business.

But she seeks out players or former players to get to know, and they're just as willing. If this reads like a "Tiger Woods situation" you're getting the picture. It's not the best activity to take on, but some people just don't think about that when they're doing it. Then, when it all heads South, it can end in terrible ways, like robbery, extortion, or rape.

Now, how I know that detail is because she told me. Straight out, full and clear coughed up the story over dinner on the Monday after the Giants v. Patriots Super Bowl game in Glendale, AZ. Did she think I was a football player? No, and I gave her no reason to think so. Did we have relations? No. Friends? Yes. But some women see you at events like this, and figure you're into something interesting, else you wouldn't be at an exclusive Super Bowl party.

If you're a single guy, this is a great place to be, but even it's more fun to bring your girlfriend. At least you know what you're getting into. What's great about this is networking with business people and celebrities. If you can keep the Super Bowl experience at that level, you'll love it. If you've got to get laid, make sure it's someone you know and your friends know, too.

Why do gun-rights advocates trust the GOP?

That was one of the big deals during the campaign, and it continues to echo through the Teabaggers sites, and on the signs at Tea Party rallies. You'd think the Democrats had "abolish the 2nd amendment" as a platform to hear the NRA and their lobbyists talk.

It's true, the President has some concerns he's been up-front with relating to assault weapons - the sort of rifle that has no place in the sport of hunting.

But when was the last time the government actually took away people's weapons in any sort of mass sweep of the citizenry, such as Obama's opponents seem to fear he'll do?

Oh, right, it was back in 2005. September of 2005, according to ABC news; it was under a Republican administration, of course, so it didn't provoke the outcry it might have.

"Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job!"
After all, former President George Bush is nominally a Texan, and if a Texan says you should give up your guns, that's different - right?

I mean, after all, Bush's Vice President was even a hunter - right?

It makes you wonder, doesn't it?


Thomas Hayes
is an entrepreneur, journalist, and political analyst who contributes regularly to a host of web sites on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

Super Bowl XLIVL: Zennie in Miami for Leigh Steinberg Party

Miami is hot. Miami is also the city host of Super Bowl XLIVL. That means parties, people, food, and fun, and my second time here. I'm here for The Leigh Steinberg Party Super Bowl Party more than for the Saints and Colts battle. My game plan, if you will, is to fly to Atlanta Sunday to watch the Super Bowl with my Mother. Miami's stadium is, OK, but this is my seventh Super Bowl and I'm not a fan of that facility. Plus, this trip is virtually free for me.

Super Bowls should be played in dome stadiums, under the lights; not outdoors. The last time I was here in 2007, the stadium was hard to get to, it rained like you've never seen before, and I got waterlogged and saw the game from a stadium TV.

But that written, everyone should experience the Super Bowl at least once.  The giant pulse of human energy that's emitted at kickoff is a drug worth the price of admission, and doesn't come through on television.  But I've felt it six times.

As this is being blogged, I'm siting at Miami International Airport's "J" Terminal, totally exhausted having traveled all night long to get here. My flight was crawling with Colts fans. Two flights, three cities - San Francisco, Washington, and Miami - and not enough sleep. I'm wiped.

The Super Bowl is an almost annual pilgrimage for me that started with my work to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland between 1999 and 2001. Seeing - and this is an unfortunate truth - how terrible the City of Oakland treated me as I was working to form the bid, NFL execs I will not name said "If there's anything we can do to help you build your business, we will." That's how the Super Bowl trips and the annual NFL Draft press pool came about.

Ok, an aside: What did Oakland do? Well, everything from then-Mayor Jerry Brown and City Manager Robert Bobb calling the NFL (or having others do so) with questions I'd already given them answers to; or refusing to cooperate with me in preparation for our Super Bowl Bid presentation to the NFL Owners; having meetings behind my back with Oakland business representatives who should have been on our sports commission; Oakland economic development heads who were so angry that I was working on the Super Bowl that they 1) would not cooperate, and 2) worked to deliberately harm my work in some way, either by inaction, lies, or character assassination.

This was the case from Brown, to Oakland Councilmember Ignacio De La Fuente, and a number of people I could name. When I left Oakland, I silently vowed I'd succeed in a way they'd never forget. I've done that.

The NFL was, and has been, a better friend to me than the City of Oakland. Regardless of what's said and whatever idiot chimes in with some lie, the bottom line is Oakland will stumble all over itself to prevent anyone from succeeding at something large scale that calls for the City's involvement. Why this is, I don't know, but I see it all the time. Oakland can't seem to work together to achieve much.

That's why, even with three sports teams, there's no one major sports event that Oakland has consistently hosted or formed a bid for more than once. That's the culture of Oakland. In Jerry Brown's case, some observers in the media would say "Well, he's an intellectual, so he's not interested in sports", which is about the dumbest comment I've ever heard of. First, he's the Mayor, or was. Second, a Mayor's job is to serve the people, not his own tastes. Third, sports is an export industry that generates job in Oakland.

I pray the Oakland Marathon is the start of the end of that problem of Oakland's working against itself. I think it may be.

But all that's in the past. Now, I'm in Miami and looking forward to seeing my friends and attending Leigh Steinberg's great party. Leigh has been a friend since 1998, when he came to help me with Oakland Athletics issues while I was Elihu Harris' economic advisor.

This is my seventh Leigh Steinberg Super Bowl Party. I've met all kinds of people, from Jacksonville Jaguar Head Coach Jack Del Rio, to Steven Baldwin, Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, Bay Area Sports Writer Art Spander, former Oakland Raiders Exec (now Washington Redskins GM) Bruce Allen, then-Tampa Bay Bucs Head Coach Jon Gruden and his wife Cindy, ;and a group of people that are still my friends to this day - some of them who helped me on the Super Bowl: Oakland work, and all from the private sector.

For me the Super Bowl is a celebration of people who like to make things happen.  That's why I'm here.  For me, it's more than the game, but that written, Go Colts!

Stay tuned.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Brittany Murphy's death called an accident

The case of Brittany Murphy's death is now officially closed for now, after the L.A. County Coroner called it an accident. According to TMZ.com Brittany Murphy's death was caused by "community acquired pneumonia," iron deficiency anemia, and multiple drug intoxication.

But Brittany Murphy's death could have been prevented if she were taken to the hospital in time. Murphy was found in the bathroom of her home by her Mother. She had "multiple drugs" in her system, not illegal, and all either doctor-assigned or over-the-counter. Still, it was the pneumonia and iron deficiency anemia that worked to engineer Brittany Murphy's death, December 20th, 2009.

Artie Lange doing better says Rosie O'Donnell

Artie Lange, the famous sidekick on The Howard Stern Show doing better says Rosie O'Donnell. A guest on Late Night with Craig Ferguson, last week, Rosie O'Donnell said "He's doing better. He's got a lot of trouble with addiction and depression in his life, and his dad when he was young and he tried to take his own life, and it really really was so painful to everyone who loved him including Howard (Stern)."



Artie Lange tried to commit suicide in January, although the news of his attempt wasn't immediately reported until the New York Times Page 6 article surfaced. Artie Lange's friends and co-workers have expressed love and support for Lange and he's welcome back on The Howard Stern Show.

Toyota Prius recall has Toyota in big legal trouble

The Toyota Prius recall has Toyota in big legal trouble. It was announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation is now looking into the braking problems surrounding the Toyota Prius recall issue as the problem of "uneven breaking" is now reported Worldwide.

Now, reports of Prius problems are surfacing in Australia. The Toyota brand, once associated with safety, quality, and reliability, has taken a massive beating.



Before the Prius braking problem, Toyota was already the focus of a massive recall effort. Toyota recalled the RAV4, Corolla and Matrix 2009-2010, Sequoia 2008-2010, Tundra 2007-2010, Avalon 2005-2010, and 2010 Highlander, and stopped sales of those cars.

Toyota has issued the following statement:

"Helping ensure the safety of our customers and restoring confidence in Toyota are very important to our company. This action is necessary until a remedy is finalized. We’re making every effort to address this situation for our customers as quickly as possible."

Now the Prius, its new flagship, is being recalled. Before that, over 2 million Toyota cars were impacted. Now the number is much higher.

Stay tuned.

Scott Brown can wait his turn; Scott Brown supports can wait too

Massachusetts Senator-Elect Scott Brown is scheduled to be officially sworn in February 11th and after a long process that includes overseas vote counting and Governor and Secretary of State Certification, that date is set for February 11th.

Even with this, there's the irresponsible idea that all of the official procedures should be skipped over and Scott Brown should be seated today. The Scott Brown backers are still a bit too drunk with the cocktail of special-election victory over Democratic challenger, Mass Attorney General Martha Coackley and need a major dose of reality: Brown is a U.S. Senator that is now bound by traditional legal procedure; Brown didn't just win a city council seat. It's bigger than that.

That then is the problem. The emergence of "activism creep" and Couch Potato Conservatism has battled against intelligent thinking and statesperson discourse. With organizations like Fox News and at times CNN helping, and add to that Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, that dangerous and rouge fringe point of view has a voice much louder than it should be.

Still, such intellectually vapid voices are dampened by procedure. Scott Brown's title is Senator-Elect, and it's clear he and his office understand their new role in Washington. It's just too bad his supporters can't do the same.

Stay tuned.

Hayward and Calpine will get first plant with Greenhouse Gas limit

Hayward, California and Calpine will have the first the plant with a Greenhouse Gas limit, ending years of talks, battles, and controversy. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District approved a "Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit" which is the final federal regulatory approval needed for the Calpine energy plant to be built.

"Once again California is demonstrating leadership on greenhouse gas related issues. We applaud the BAAQMD and Calpine for going beyond existing federal law and being the first in the nation to require an enforceable greenhouse gas limit," said Linda Adams, California State Secretary for Environmental Protection. "This action furthers efforts at a statewide level to balance our economic needs while meeting our environmental challenges. Aggressive and early action like this is needed to fight global warming and is critical to our economic recovery."

Hayward, California will get a new energy plant that will result in 650 union construction jobs, a number of part-time and permanent jobs, and an estimated $30 million in one-time tax revenue and $5 million annually in property tax revenue.

This is a project I've long advocated for because we have never seen a plant that was created from the start with a Federal Greenhouse Gas Limit. The Calpine Russell City Energy Center will be a supplier of energy and jobs to the San Francisco Bay Area.

The approval ends a process that saw the California Energy Commission grant a license for the plant in September 2007, California Public Utilities Commission approval of a 10-year power purchase agreement in April 2009 under which PG&E will purchase the electricity generated by the plant, and a major public hearing on the plan on September 2, 2009:



But what's more, the natural gas powered plant will reportedly use 100 percent reclaimed water from the City of Hayward’s Water Pollution Control Facility for cooling and boiler makeup. The process conserves water and prevents nearly four million gallons of wastewater per day from being dumped into San Francisco Bay.

It's also a process that was first used on a major scale at Walt Disney World in Florida, when its power plant systems were built.

Calpine reports that Russell City Energy Center also will donate $10 million to help build a new library for Hayward.

Stay tuned.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Draeger Construction Set to Help Haiti

Draeger Construction is going on a big push to let everyone know it's involved in Haiti.  The earthquake damaged country has a problem in that many of its buildings were far less than quake safe.  

Now, faced with what could be the largest private construction project in the World, Haiti needs to remake its country.  That's where Draeger Construction comes in.  

Draeger Construction is a San Francisco Bay Area builder.  The SF Bay Area is one of the World's most active quake zones.   What Draeger Construction will do, with the introduction of something called "The Freedom Builders Initiative" is announce their interest in rebuilding Haiti where they've already been involved for years.

More on Draeger Construction's new Haiti "FBI" effort soon.

Posted by Cat of SomeRedCat.tumblr.com

ESPN robs Cal Football on National Signing Day with sloppy work

According to Rivals.com, The University of California had the 11th best recruiting class in America on National Signing Day, but to read ESPN, you'd think Cal did totally nothing.

There's no mention of the switch Keenan Allen, the nation's best defensive back, made from Alabama to Cal. But what's weird about ESPN's post rankinga by Tom Luginbill is that he states "One way to climb in the ranking is to surprisingly land an impact player."

Keenan Allen is just that, which makes ESPN's work on National Signing Day questionable at best. Or maybe Rivals.com just does a better job of giving justifiable data on players signed by colleges.

And they don't make mistakes. Keenan Allen's ranked as the best DB in the USA but ESPN reports Cal did not sign a five-star player. Keenan Allen is just that.

This is an outrage. Rankings on signing day are the way America knows how well college football programs are doing. They help command alumni donor dollars and sell season tickets. What ESPN did was borderline criminal. I wonder if ESPN's Tom Luginbill is punishing Allen and Cal because Allen snubbed Alabama? And if that's the case, why does Luginbill care?

Keenan Allen is a five-star player. Scout.com and Rivals.com say so; ESPN has no reason to go against them and others and should explain its answers. ESPN has the bigger broadcasting reach so it should handle National Signing Day more responsibly.

This must be explained.

Stay tuned.

Demar Dorsey, snubs Florida State for Michigan on signing day

Star high school players Demar Dorsey and Christian Green go to Michigan and to Florida State on National Signing Day, pushing Florida State to the rank of best recruiting class in the country while being snubbed at the same time.

Coming off a season which saw the loss of legendary Head Coach Bobby Bowden to retirement, Florida State came back strong with Demar Dorsey and Christian Green, but then Dorsey switched today. Demar Dorsey is a Miami Boyd Anderson star defensive back who decided he was more comfortable away from home. But I think there's something more to this unprecedented wave of big school snubs that I will explore later.

Christian Green was penciled in at Georgia, but then dropped the Dawgs for Florida State. And Georgia feels like it's being picked clean: Da'Rick Rogers dumped them for Tennessee and DB Nickell Robey was reportedly headed to USC.

More on this crazy National Signing Day. Stay tuned.

Cal's Tosh Lupoi credited with getting Keenan Allen to Cal from Alabama

Ask how the University of California managed to get the nation's best defensive back Keenan Allen to commit to Cal, when as recently as at the Shrine Game Allen was all set to go to Alabama, and ESPN will point to Tosh Lupoi.


Tosh Lupoi (BearInsider photo)

Lupoi's Cal's second year defensive coach and 2005 Cal graduate, is considered an ace recruiter and has the numbers to prove it. Lupoi's landed six commitments, two of them, including Allen, are five-star players. (The other was defensive end Chris Martin in 2009 who put down Notre Dame for Cal.).

In addition to Allen, Lupoi basically mined the state of North Carolina. Cal landed QB Zach Maynard, Keenan Allen , and Linebacker Chris McCain. All from Greensboro, NC.

As I write this, Coach Tedford's holding his press conference, which you can view live here: