"The Naughty List", 2010 Edition

Hi!

Remember me?

I'm the guy who used to post new entries to this blog everyday......and then a funny thing happened. It's called "Christmas". From Thanksgiving until about 9PM last night (Happy Belated "Festivus", BTW) I've been running a 30 day sprint, trying to get things done before The Big Day. And finally, when I got up this morning, I looked around....and EVERYTHING IS FINALLY DONE!

Free at last! Now I know many of my fellow bloggers have been keeping up with current events, politics, and pop culture while I was making myself hysterical for the past three weeks. So why go through a rehash of everything that's been said already? Those guys know what they're talking about....I'm just a wise guy from Jersey.....no, not THAT kind of "wise guy".....maybe I should say "smart ass" instead.


But I will touch upon some of the people who deserve coal in they're stocking this Christmas.....there is a list, you know. Trust me. It does exist. I found this video on the internet that proves it.

Elf - Naughty List | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Walter Hobbs is not alone, Buddy.....and as for New York, we'll I'll talk about that later.

But first.....here's a list of those who've made Santa's Naughty List. Some should remain on it for years.

(1). Senator Mitch McConnell- The Republican minority leader from Kentucky has earned this description from MSNBC's Chris Matthews; ".....a character from Charles Dickens.". It's hard to tell what he's for, and much easier to talk about those things he's against, like the START treaty, the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", The Dream Act, the bill for medical aid for the 9/11 first responders.....oh yeah, he is FOR the giving of billions of dollars in tax breaks to billionaires when the money could be used to aid municipalities around the nation on the brink of default.

(2). Senator John McCain- probably the biggest political sellout of the early 21st century. The Republican who ran for the presidency on the motto "Country First" opposes START, was a leading voice to kill the repeal of DADT, has swung way right on immigration issues, and called the Zadroga 9/11 First Responder's bill "fooling around" in a speech on the floor of the US Senate. The once proud maverick has morphed into The Angry Old Man of the Senate

3). Governor Chris Christie- the guy blows a $400 million government grant to education, then tries to blame the Obama Administration for the New Jersey delegation's error, and when that doesn't work he throws his education chief under the bus. His personal war on the teacher's union has led to referring to New Jersey students as "drug mules", carrying information from teacher union leadership home with them, and his allying himself with conservative gonzo filmmaker James O'Keefe. There's a lot more to say about this guy, but time is limited. The governor, who's personal style reminds me of Billy Martin at his worst, is finally starting to have some veneer wear off of his once somewhat (by GOP standards in New Jersey) lofty status. Recent polls have shown his job approval dropping 5% in the past month, while disapproval in New Jersey shot up to 48%.

4). Sarah Palin- much can be said why she belongs on the naughty list. But this year it's because Santa is afraid the former half term governor of Alaska will shoot one of his reindeer.

5). BP- It's not cool to pollute our waters....and even worse when some of our political leaders, like Texas Congressman Joe Barton apologized to BP's CEO when President Obama took the company to task for the Gulf Oil Spill of 2010.

6). Oh yeah....Joe Barton. You're on the list, too.

7). The New York Giants. You guys were beating the Eagles by 21 points (31-10) with less than eight minutes to play.....and lost 38-31! C'mon, man! All of you belong on the list after that one.

8). The NCAA- the governing body of college sports has decided to punish five Ohio State football players for selling personal items, trophies, and awards by suspending them for the first five games of the 2011 season. OK, the "student athletes" bypassed the rules laid down by the NCAA. But all five players remain eligible to play in next week's Sugar Bowl game. So when is a suspension not a suspension? When it impacts the showcase of a BCS bowl, and the big bucks a BCS game generates. Shame on you, NCAA.

9). LeBron James- to paraphrase Michael in GODFATHER II, "You broke our hearts, Fredo......I mean, LeBron". So speaketh the hurting sports fans of the city of Cleveland. But this video says it better than I ever could.


And finally.....

10). Rex and Michelle Ryan- the head coach of the New York Jets and his wife have been making some news lately......is it naughty?


Actually...it's not THAT naughty. Maybe even kind of nice.

That is, if you're into that kind of stuff.

I wonder if they exchange argle socks for Christmas?

Keith Olbermann On The LeBron/ ESPN Debacle

"Just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in".....Michael Corleone, The Godfather, Part III





I know...in my previous post I made it appear that it would be my last words (and entry) on the decision of Fredo, errrr, LeBron James to leave Cleveland and join the Miami Heat.

But how often do you get to see a real Anakin Skywalker morph into Darth Vader before millions on national TV as ESPN's broadcast of The Decision became the ratings champ for that night? Early numbers indicate ESPN did a 7.0 share for the LeBron media event, which appeared to be as controlled as anything George W. Bush or Barack Obama could command for an alleged presser.

This was more than a sports event...it was a pop cultural phenomenon, though it does well to recognize the show was fruit of an unholy alliance between a narcissistic superstar and a network that prostituted itself to a level that surpassed WWE wrestling.

Here's what Keith Olbermann had to say on COUNTDOWN, with guest Will Leitch of The New Yorker

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

LeBron James Epilogue; One Man Says It All In 27 Words

In deciding to exit the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat and leaving his home town fans hurt, angry, and probably unforgiving, LeBron James has gone from hero to villain in record time.

On ESPN.com Bill Simmons has posted some of the email reactions to James' decision. Most are worth a read, but one in particular stands out; it sums up the emotions felt by many in Cleveland and Northeastern Ohio, and perhaps throughout most of the Buckeye State.

It's from a man identified only as "Seth" from Columbus.

"I think this is the first time in history one man managed to destroy an entire city by himself. Even the Enola Gay had a flight crew."

WITNESS.....And The Prodigal Son journeyed to Babylon by the Sea, and henceforth he was vilified by his kinsmen .

LeBron Leaves Cleveland......And Darkness Returns To The Banks of the Cuyahoga

Tonight Art Modell has become #2.

The owner who packed up the original Cleveland Browns in 1995 to become the Baltimore Ravens, and earning the hatred of a city and region, and Browns fans throughout the sports universe, is off the hook just a bit. Modell will not be the most hated man in the history of Cleveland sports.

Tonight that mantle has been transferred to Cleveland's onetime favorite son.

LeBron will exit Northeastern Ohio, and will leave the Cleveland Cavaliers to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat.

And with his announcement this evening on national TV "King James'" crown has become more than a little tarnished. He may win multiple championships in Miami with the Heat, but the cost is one he may not thought of.....it will come with the loss of his hometown, maybe forever. A city and region that has become a national punchline will take yet another hit. Cleveland and northeastern Ohio was among the areas hit hardest by America's economic hard times, though Cleveland's troubles can be measured in generations. LeBron James was that light in the darkness. He was the manchild from Akron who became the greatest sports star Cleveland had known since the immortal Jim Brown in the 1960's. James was not only the face of the franchise, he was the face of the city. He was the favorite son.....and now the Chosen One has decided to turn his back on the family that desperately wanted him to stay.

The closest equivalent in recent years to the feeling of betrayal that might be felt in Cleveland might be illustrated in the exit of West Virginia University football coach Rich Rodriguez from WVU to the Maize and Blue of Ann Arbor and the Michigan Wolverines. "Rich Rod" was a native and proud West Virginian, who claimed that his tenure in Morgantown was his dream job. But he took the bigger payday and left for Michigan in an acrimonious move, and overnight became the most vilified man in the Mountain State. The town that once had a sign announcing his birthplace found it vandalized, almost immediately.

Sadly, and irrationally, the same is probably in store for LeBron James and all things associated with him in Northeastern Ohio. Yes, professional sports is a business....and any fan who thinks that loyalty is a two way street is delusional. LeBron James is entitled to go and make the best deal possible for himself....that's the way the world works.

But in LeBron James' case, the exit for Miami- to win now- will leave a bitter taste that may never go away in Northeastern Ohio. And watching his press conference this evening I actually felt a little sorry for LeBron; he doesn't seem to realize how negative the reaction is going to be. I don't get the sense he comprehends that he can never truly go home again.


The story will never be complete for LeBron James and his legacy no matter how many championships he may win in Miami. The script was SUPPOSED to have James winning in his hometown, lifting the franchise and a downtrodden region on his shoulders and becoming an immortal. He was supposed to be the young Prince who pulls the sword from the stone who truly became The King.


And now, sadly, he has shown what he truly is.....a businessman looking at the bottomline and doing what was best for his own interests.

Ayn Rand would have been proud of him.

And I'm sure the city of Miami is.

UPDATE!

Click here for a reaction to James' decision by the Akron Beacon-Journal's Bob Dyer.

Below, video of the angry reaction of Cleveland fans.

LeBron's Circus Goes To The Center Ring

By all accounts, LeBron James is a pretty good guy....but I'll cut to the chase anyway; I'm as sick of the LeBron free agent sideshow as just about anyone on the planet.

Ever since Mr. James opted for free agency, we've had speculation about where the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar will playing next; in Chicago, where he could compete on the same floor as his idol Michael Jordan did, and perhaps return the Bulls to past glory.

Or to New Jersey, to turn around the moribund Nets.....perhaps to New York and Madison Square Garden, basketball's Mecca, which in recent years has become an elephant's graveyard, where fading stars come to pick up paychecks on bad teams with clueless ownership.

Of course there's Miami, where Chris Bosh will being teaming with the returning Dwayne Wade.

Or, he could stay in Cleveland where he is not just King James; He is The Anointed One. If The Blessed Trinity were ever to be expanded to a Quartet, shrines to Lebron James- complete with relics- would saturate all of Northeastern Ohio, with a mythology and tales of miracles and healings gushing forth like waters from a spring.


But alas, it already has gotten to be tooooo much.

Tomorrow night Lebron will make (supposedly) the announcement of where he will play basketball in the future, in a special hour long program on ESPN, hosted by Jim Gray, scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday night. Spur of the moment programming? I don't think so. This was probably in the works for a long, long time. And I'll be very surprised if there are not one or more new LeBron commercials for the various products he has a contract with.

This is the culmination of weeks of speculation, and announcements that no announcement was forthcoming. If you thought the annual Brett Favre "will he or won't he" pressers were mindblowing time wasters, these past few weeks of LeBron sightings, subtle clues, rallies for him to come, rallies for him to stay, billionaires and elected officials groveling at his feet were theater of the absurd that no screenwriter could conjure up....he wouldn't be able to sell the script.


Anyway tomorrow the waiting will be all over......the NBA will officially cease to be a sport and become a reality show. But it probably was all along.


Not that there's anything wrong with that.