I'm Just Here So My Balls Don't Deflate

Let's just post a few of my social media postings about things swirling in the sports world...

"The NFL. They'll make sure you don't wear gold cleats, but can't check the air pressure of a football." - Facebook

It's been reported that Tom Brady likes to have his balls deflated so they're easier to grab. The source? Gisele Bundchen. #PointsMe
— Jason McKenney (@jjman920) January 21, 2015

These, of course, referencing the Soup du jour of Super Bowl week, and the week preceding it, DeflateGate/Ballghazi/Shrinkage. The New England Patriots are accused of intentionally deflating footballs far past the allowed minimum, so that they would be easier to grab during their AFC Championship game. It has brewed into quite a fracas going into the biggest event for the year, with many calling "Off with their heads!"

"The NFL is not disqualifying an entire team from the Super Bowl. They're honestly in a very tough position. Not only is this the biggest game of the year, it's the biggest event of the year. Nothing is going to be watched by more Americans this year than the Super Bowl. Nothing. To have it canceled is insane, and to give it to the Colts, in my opinion, would still be a mistake since I don't think this infraction was bad enough to evoke Rule 17.2. Also, the story isn't so cut and dry. The Patriots don't deserve the complete benefit of the doubt based on their previous infractions, but they do deserve a proper investigation into the matter." - Facebook

"See. After today's developments, I want a special one-off episode of "Bill Nye the Science Guy" about air pressure. The Ridiculously Sponsored Name Here Football Field Of Science!" - Facebook

Those developments being Bill Belichick, head coach of said Patriots, trying to offer a scientific explanation of how the ball ended up deflating (referencing My Cousin Vinny, no less). Only to have Bill Nye appear on Good Morning America the next day and pretty much offer the scientific equivalent of an RKO.

I understand #SuperBowl ads are big business and all, but you suck the fun out of them when you preview them like they're movies.
— Jason McKenney (@jjman920) January 23, 2015

You want to talk about one if the all-time great Championship games? #GBvsSEA
— Jason McKenney (@jjman920) January 18, 2015

What if Lynch was #SuperBowl MVP and didn't want to speak after the game? Would that be okay? @MikeAndMike
— Jason McKenney (@jjman920) January 23, 2015

This comment was made after Lynch, who's probably been fined more times than the Detroit Lions, was fined for a crotch grab during the absolutely insane NFC Championship Game and his refusal to speak to the media. That didn't stop him from marching straight into Media Day earlier today and answer ever single question with "I'm just here so I won't get fined."

"You know, I don't want Marshawn Lynch to be fined for not speaking to the media. I understand that he doesn't like to and that's great. My thing is that he's a "star" running back and you just can't get away from the media if you're a star. There are people, fans, who actually want to hear what his thought and feelings are while playing football. He's got to face that fact. What if he's the Super Bowl MVP and refuses to talk to Chris Collinsworth or whoever presents the honor? The NFL is not going about this the right way in dealing with him (I just say leave him alone), but that doesn't mean Lynch is all right for shutting out the media." - Facebook 

At least he gave this very amusing presser for the folks at Skittles, released yesterday...



J out.

Saturday Night Live 1/17/15

What do ya say we review an episode of Saturday Night Live? Okay. Let's go.

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE: KEVIN HART, SIA

Cold Open: Martin Luther King Jr. Day is right around corner, so why not address the greatest year black people have ever had (sarcasm) with a sketch featuring Kenan Thompson as Dr. King trying to help Pete Davidson write a paper about him? It leads to King being filled in on the things that have happened since he's been gone. It's a typical setup premise that's been done before (The Boondocks centered a whole episode around it), but it's okay here. I think Kenan does an actual serviceable job here as Dr. King. It's better to see him as someone other that Al Sharpton.

Kevin Hart is the host for tonight for the obvious reasons. As he did last year, he's opening 2015 with a slew of projects, two movies in just three months. In any case, one of the great things I love is when a comedian hosts the show. That's because they give an actual monologue. Usually, when an actor hosts the show, the monologue consist of the cast or special guest interrupting him/her. When a musician hosts the show, the monologue is a comedic musical number. It's always the same. So, I'm always glad when there's a deviation from the norm.

His monologue was pretty funny. He flows it nicely together talking about his home life in his new home with his fiancee and son, and relates a few funny tales. It was a refreshing way to start the show.

After a brief commercial parody of Justin Bieber's recent Calvin Klein print ads, we're treated to an interview segment show called "Why'd You Post That?" Kevin Hart interviews different people for their rather dumb posts on Instagram. We're treated to the spectacle of live television as the monitor sitting beside Kevin Hart malfunctions and doesn't operate as the sketch starts. Vanessa Bayer, the first guest, seems befuddled as to what to do at first, while Kevin improvises for a second until it's back up and running. The premise is simple, yet mildly absurd. Kevin grills the person on the stupidity of their post and then sends them flying offstage into his dungeon. It had a few hits and it pretty much captures the normal person's confusion over why someone would post this or that pointless thing on the service.

The digital short focused around Kenan, Kevin, and Jay on a street corner relaying different stories, but they tell the stories with foolish topics. It gets absurd at times and then to end it, it gets suddenly surreal. Then it goes back to being absurd. It's pretty amusing.

Kevin Hart plays James Brown with some of the cast as his backing band. My brother and I made fun of how the Godfather of Soul would ask his band to go to the bridge or count it off and that's pretty much what happens here. Brown wants an individual response to his question before he actually moves on. It leads to pretty funny chat between the band as the music still plays.

Nancy isn't what I'd consider strong enough for the first half (aka pre-musical performance 1), but it does okay here. Basically, a bunch of people are reuniting on a talk show and while everyone has nice entrance music, Vanessa Bayer's character has dopey, fart-filled music. She quickly notices and calls the show out on it. They invite the sound director out (Hart) and he denies such, sort of. He can speak English, but can't understand it. She storms off the set in a huff (to the fart music, of course). Weak piece in my opinion.

Sia is the musical performance tonight and it leads to an interesting performance. Sia had terrible stage fright. She didn't appear in the music video of her big hit of 2014, Chandelier, and her live performance consist of as little attention placed on her as possible or with her back to the audience. Here she's center stage, but facing stage right with a mini-black veil visor. As she sings her song, "Elastic Hart", two girls give a dance performance to the song. It's a pretty nice song and she sounds great singing it.

Weekend Update has been trying to find some footing after Seth Myers left. Jost has been wooden at times, to say the least. and a lot of the jokes have either been too easy or rely too heavily on a visual gag. When Michael Che was added as his co-anchor, their chemistry seemed to be lacking, also to say the least. Tonight was pretty good. The jokes were funny (I enjoyed the Al Sharpton Diversity Task Force) and everything seemed to flow. Kate McKinnon had a funny bit as Mrs. Santini, an older woman giving tips on how to deal with neighbors. It was nice. They must've been really confident in their material this week (or short on time) as they only had one correspondent piece. In any case, it was definitely one of the strongest weeks they've had this season. I still think something is missing, but I still can't place my finger on it.

The second half of the show will be covered after the break

It's A New Treadmill!

Never walk backwards on a treadmill while trying to retrieve prize copy.

 

That person flying off the treadmill like an entry on TruTV's World's Dumbest is George Gray. He is the current announcer for The Price is Right (and we'll get to more on that in a moment), and he showed off his announcing prowess. While introducing the prizes in the game Most Expensive (gee, I wonder what the premise is), their glib announcer decided to jog backwards on the treadmill he's modeling. After he introduces the prizes, but before he goes into his spiel, he reaches for his script being handed to him by a stagehand. At that point, he stops walking. On a moving treadmill. As I stated up there, he ended up looking like a person ready to be lambasted by the likes of Tonya Harding and Danny Bonaduce. From there, he continued to read his copy from the floor, seemingly not missing a beat.

Since the show aired yesterday, the clip has made it's way around the news circuit and I'm certain that it isn't quite done yet. Ah, yes, the fun of watching this YouTube video travel around the web being linked in posts like these or on Facebook feeds. Many a site will post an article about it for your pleasure. I would hope that for such a simple article, websites would get it right. I was wrong.

Here is a link to an article from Deadspin. It's rudimentary and simple, two sentences and an embedded video and gif, but boy howdy, could they get it any more wrong. In the article, if you want to call it that, they state, "George Gray has been the subpar replacement for the irreplaceable Rod Roddy for four years now...". That would be a great statement if it weren't for a few problems. First of all, Rod Roddy died 12 years ago in 2003, not four years ago. The second thing, is that Rich Fields took over for Rod after his death, not George. It's odd that they would completely forget about Rich. While he wasn't on the show for seventeen years like Rod or thirteen years like original announcer Johnny Olson, nor did he leave an impression like the lovable Rod, he was on the show for seven years. He was at the helm of the announcer's podium during the tumultuous period of Bob's retirement and Drew's ascension. He wasn't there a long time, but jeez, a simple look at a Wikipedia article would set you straight.

In any case, it's always nice to see one of my favorite shows, let alone game shows, get some good fun publicity.

J out.

(Gif cred. Deadspin)

The Best Thing To Appear on Television

So let's talk about random things I like. Like this:

I love game shows. Love them. Game Show Network was one of my favorite channels when I was 8. This particular show is The $100,000 Pyramid. Basic premise, you give clues to make your partner say a word or subject. There are other nuanced rules, but I thought we'd keep it simple for now. The franchise was started in 1973 as the brainchild of Bob Stewart, the man behind such other formats as Password and the original The Price is Right.

In any case, this is the Winner's Circle. This is, in my opinion, one of the greatest pieces of television ever executed. The excitement that exudes from this simple 60 seconds is amazing. In this particular version, there is $10/25,000 on the line in addition to the opportunity to come back the next day, and berth into a tournament of champions for $100,000. To watch as the clock dwindles down, and only one category stands in the way between that contestant and the big money, builds the excitement. And then, once final panel has turned to reveal the final dollar amount and the money begins to flash on the screen, the contestant and celebrity rise in elation as the theme music begins to play, that excitement boils over. It spills out as the tension is relieved and it makes this blogger jump with joy over the job well done. It's the art of game shows, and this one in my opinion does it the best.

This certainly won't be the last time we look in at a game show.

J out.

Je Suis Human

Je Suis...Michael Brown

Je Suis...Eric Garner

Je Suis...Human

I am sympathetic to the folks at Charlie Hebdo in France. That's the satirical magazine whose headquarters were attacked last week by Islamist extremists in response to cartoons from the publication depicting the prophet Muhammad, a big no-no. This wasn't the first time the magazine had been attacked. In 2011, the offices were fire bombed, but no lives were lost. Unfortunately this time, they got exactly what they wanted. Revenge. Their victory didn't last long as the two suspects involved in this particular attack were apprehended days after.

The outpouring of support for this publication, for the lives lost and the right for free speech, is touching. The tribute for the cartoonist and writers is very nice. Leaders from around the world gathered in Paris in a mass show of support, with the United States conspicuously absent from the proceedings, and the hashtag and phrase "Je Suis Charlie" (I am Charlie) has traveled the world over.

Let's not forget however, that we are not just Charlie. While it was very nice for those world leaders to show up in Paris as a show of solidarity against terrorism, it would've been nice if those same leaders showed up in New York or Ferguson as a show against police brutality. The deaths of these two black men—and those are just the ones I have decided to address—have left this country on just as shaky ground as France. In France, people are in constant fear of attacks. The threat level is high and warnings are being issued. Here in the United States, people can't even trust the police. The police. The very people who have sworn to protect us have now lost our trust. How does a society exist that way? The inequality here has left patience among races thin. It seems like it's always a few whacks away from breaking.

Again, I am taking nothing away from what has happened in France. It was a terrible, terrible tragedy. I am also not taking anything away from the support towards Charlie Hebdo. I'm just presenting the view that this goes far beyond a satirical magazine. That this type of support should be heard for all other issues, and I'm not just addressing the loss of black lives at the hands of police. We are all human. Black, White, Asian, Latino, Native American, Arab, Straight, Gay, Transgender. All of our lives matter. We are all human.

J out.

The Opening Bell

Shall I give this another shot? Why not!

I've decided to try blogging again, but instead of using my old blog, I'm going to start anew on this one. Nothing's wrong with my old blog, and I won't be deleting any posts or the blog itself, but I want to start fresh with this one. If I feel the need later on, I may decide to switch back over but we'll see where things go from here.

I'll strive here to talk about things on my mind. I'll also use this as an outlet to post video clips and sound clips of my thoughts here in lieu of text. Hopefully, I don't piss anyone off too much with my thoughts.

...and away we go.