While watching Around The Horn (another of my favourite sports shows) this week, I heard an interesting report. During a Southeastern Conference (SEC) football game between Flordia and Mississippi State, a Florida player intercepted a pass by the Ole Miss quarterback. Just as he was about to head into the end zone, he put the ball out where it was batted away by Ole Miss wide receiver Brandon McRae. After multiple reviews (and an assist from the ESPN split screen for those armchair quarterbacks), the play stood as a touchdown. Why the controversy? From the replay that was shown, it appeared that the ball was knocked out before it crossed the goal line. It's been widely speculated that the call changed the outcome of the game. The question is: Can referees change the outcome of games?
If you want a quick answer to that one, all you have to do is look at Tim Donaghy as Exhibit A. In case you don't remember him, he's the NBA referee that was sentenced to 15 months in prison for betting on NBA games that he reffed. He would change the outcome of the game by calling a foul when it shouldn't have been called and so on.
Which brings me to my final question. Are referees put under too much of a microscope? In my opinion...they are. If you see Joe Schmo on the street walking by, you don't pay much attention to him (unless you know Joe Schmo). But stick a uniform on him and put him on the field, diamond or ice and Joe Schmo becomes fair game. The moment he steps into those stripes, he's got a target on his back. Need anger management therapy but can't afford to attend any sessions? Do what society does. Go to a local arena, football field or ballpark and yell to your hearts content at some poor, hapless referee.
My final thought is to leave refs be (unless they pull a Tim Donaghy and engage in criminal activity). Yes, they do make some bad calls and miss the odd penalty here and there but they're just people like you and me. I swear sometimes that people expect referees to have some kind of super sight that we have not been blessed with. They have to be able to make the right call within a microsecond of any and all violations.
Since Halloween is on Saturday, I thought it would be appropiate to leave you with a cool Halloween themed video.
Happy Halloween!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Many Questions, No Easy Answers...
Here I sit in front of a computer on a Saturday afternoon, completely bored out of my mind. If there is one positive to draw out of this situation, is that I get weekends off. Having said that, since I've been having a difficult time for the last couple of weeks with a serious lung infection, I feel I'm well enough now that I can actually write a blog and get my semester kicked back into gear. I can guarantee you I'll be busting my butt trying to get caught up! For this week's entry, I'm going to talk about a couple of things that happened last week which made me shake my head.
1. Rush Limbaugh Considered For Part Ownership Of St. Louis Rams And Then Subsequently Dropped
Why in God's name was Rush Limbaugh ever considered by the NFL owners in the first place? Where was the PR person at NFL head office to come out and say no, this is a bad idea and we don't associate ourselves or our brand with people who are inconsiderate of people of a different race, creed and colour? The guy in my opinion is a racial bigot. This is the same guy who said that Donovan McNabb was "overated" and the only reason he was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles was because he's black and there weren't enough black quarterbacks in the NFL. In case you didn't know, he's also a nationally syndicated radio host. Why hasn't the FCC kicked him off the airwaves yet? They seem to be censor happy just like our own CRTC. Do the right thing for the sake of radio listeners everywhere. At least somebody somewhere was smart enough to question what was going on and put an end to it before it got out of control.
2. Helium Balloon Floats Through Air And Lands In Colorado Field
While flipping channels, I came across a report where a balloon a husband and wife storm chasing team had been experimenting with became untied and floated away. The balloon lost air and fell safely to the ground. After the incident, you could see how distraught the parents were. They were unable to answer questions they were so overcome with emotion. But that's not what really got under my skin. What got me was that there was no PR representative there to tell reporters to respect the family's privacy. Which brings up a question in itself. If there was no PR person there, then was the whole thing a hoax as has been reported? They found the young boy hiding in the attic with his two siblings filming the incident from the roof. He was never in the balloon at all. It's also been reported that he felt he was in trouble for the balloon coming untied which is why he hid. The media said that "Falcon appeared tired and vomited twice". I realize the story has to have plenty of details but that's going a little too far! Also, the parents had been on an episode of Wife Swap. So...were they looking for more publicity for themselves?
Anyway, that's my rant for today so to close this entry, I'm going to post the following video to celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving.
Take care!
1. Rush Limbaugh Considered For Part Ownership Of St. Louis Rams And Then Subsequently Dropped
Why in God's name was Rush Limbaugh ever considered by the NFL owners in the first place? Where was the PR person at NFL head office to come out and say no, this is a bad idea and we don't associate ourselves or our brand with people who are inconsiderate of people of a different race, creed and colour? The guy in my opinion is a racial bigot. This is the same guy who said that Donovan McNabb was "overated" and the only reason he was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles was because he's black and there weren't enough black quarterbacks in the NFL. In case you didn't know, he's also a nationally syndicated radio host. Why hasn't the FCC kicked him off the airwaves yet? They seem to be censor happy just like our own CRTC. Do the right thing for the sake of radio listeners everywhere. At least somebody somewhere was smart enough to question what was going on and put an end to it before it got out of control.
2. Helium Balloon Floats Through Air And Lands In Colorado Field
While flipping channels, I came across a report where a balloon a husband and wife storm chasing team had been experimenting with became untied and floated away. The balloon lost air and fell safely to the ground. After the incident, you could see how distraught the parents were. They were unable to answer questions they were so overcome with emotion. But that's not what really got under my skin. What got me was that there was no PR representative there to tell reporters to respect the family's privacy. Which brings up a question in itself. If there was no PR person there, then was the whole thing a hoax as has been reported? They found the young boy hiding in the attic with his two siblings filming the incident from the roof. He was never in the balloon at all. It's also been reported that he felt he was in trouble for the balloon coming untied which is why he hid. The media said that "Falcon appeared tired and vomited twice". I realize the story has to have plenty of details but that's going a little too far! Also, the parents had been on an episode of Wife Swap. So...were they looking for more publicity for themselves?
Anyway, that's my rant for today so to close this entry, I'm going to post the following video to celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving.
Take care!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
70's Glam Rock
While working on an assignment, a random thought popped into my head. Why not do a blog on 70's Glam Rock?! It's not something you hear about everyday that's for sure! Now not everybody is a fan of 70's Glam Rock but some of the best music I have ever heard has come from this genre. Here are my top 10 70's Glam Rock songs.
10. Rock And Roll All Nite - KISS
9. Rebel, Rebel - David Bowie
8. Bang A Gong - T.Rex
7. Bohemian Rhaposody - Queen
6. Evil Woman - ELO
5. I Want You To Want Me - Cheap Trick
4. School's Out - Alice Cooper
3. Stuck In The Middle - Stealers Wheel
2. The Passenger - Iggy Pop
And now...*drum roll*... I present my favourite song from the 70's Glam Rock era...
10. Rock And Roll All Nite - KISS
9. Rebel, Rebel - David Bowie
8. Bang A Gong - T.Rex
7. Bohemian Rhaposody - Queen
6. Evil Woman - ELO
5. I Want You To Want Me - Cheap Trick
4. School's Out - Alice Cooper
3. Stuck In The Middle - Stealers Wheel
2. The Passenger - Iggy Pop
And now...*drum roll*... I present my favourite song from the 70's Glam Rock era...
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
What Does The Future Hold?
While I'm sitting here at the computer screen waiting for the next class to start I thought I would blog about social media. If you remember from my very first entry, I said that I wasn't a big believer in openly airing my views. Now I'm getting worried....why you ask? Let me explain.
I was watching CBC Newsworld last night and saw a report with a guy who does online searching for a living to make sure people's privacy is well protected. They had a girl on the news report who hired the person to find out for her own knowledge whether her information was being privatized enough. The online searching came up with stuff about her that had long been buried and forgotten. The information was not of an embrassing nature but after seeing that report I'm afraid of how easily information about me that has been buried and forgotten could be found. They also did a report on a guy who had been fired from a job just for having a blog!
I'm also of the view that social media while a great contributor to society is also taking away some of the things we need to do as people. Back before Twitter, Facebook et al, people talked to each other, called each other, whatever the case may be. People were closely connected. Facebook, Twitter is turning our society into an impersonal world. Instead of going out and talking to people, we sit in front of screens and stare. I've noticed people messaging each other when they're sitting right next to one another. I'll be the first to admit I've done that. I used to think it was funny to do that as a joke but now as I get older and hopefully a little wiser, it worries me.
That's my rant for today and as per the usual, I'm going to leave you with a new video I found with a song I really like which features one of my favourite things in the world. Jets. The song and the lyrics describe who I feel I am as a person.
Take care!
I was watching CBC Newsworld last night and saw a report with a guy who does online searching for a living to make sure people's privacy is well protected. They had a girl on the news report who hired the person to find out for her own knowledge whether her information was being privatized enough. The online searching came up with stuff about her that had long been buried and forgotten. The information was not of an embrassing nature but after seeing that report I'm afraid of how easily information about me that has been buried and forgotten could be found. They also did a report on a guy who had been fired from a job just for having a blog!
I'm also of the view that social media while a great contributor to society is also taking away some of the things we need to do as people. Back before Twitter, Facebook et al, people talked to each other, called each other, whatever the case may be. People were closely connected. Facebook, Twitter is turning our society into an impersonal world. Instead of going out and talking to people, we sit in front of screens and stare. I've noticed people messaging each other when they're sitting right next to one another. I'll be the first to admit I've done that. I used to think it was funny to do that as a joke but now as I get older and hopefully a little wiser, it worries me.
That's my rant for today and as per the usual, I'm going to leave you with a new video I found with a song I really like which features one of my favourite things in the world. Jets. The song and the lyrics describe who I feel I am as a person.
Take care!
Friday, October 2, 2009
This Euphoric Feeling...
Hello again blogger world! For today's entry, I'm going to write about my physio session. I met with Bryan who is the athletic therapist at Loyalist. Long story short, I've had problems with my left shoulder for a long time and I've tried to avoid having it looked at. The chronic pain in my shoulder became too much for me to handle so I set up an appointment. As it turns out (I kind of knew about it), I've been lopsided for a long time. What that means is that one shoulder is higher than the other so I look crooked when I walk down the hall (not that anyone's ever noticed but just so you know).
Bryan started off with a some general questions about my shoulders (soreness, numbness, etc.). After making a few notes, he used laser therapy to pinpoint the problem. I swear not a word of a lie, the thing went off at least 5 times on my left shoulder. It was like I had a metal plate in my shoulder with the amount of times the machine pinged on sore spots. He did some Chinese therapy that goes by a name I'm not going to try and pronounce or write.
While getting my shoulder worked on, I felt this weird vibration. The vibe I felt was my shoulder dropping down to where it's supposed to be. The nerves that had been bundling up my shoulder for years were finally being released.
So...after completing my first therapy session it feels nice not having to deal with the tension and soreness all the time. I plan on going to the Y later today to try out my "new shoulder".
I'm going to end today's blog by showing you my favourite movie scene.
Later!
Bryan started off with a some general questions about my shoulders (soreness, numbness, etc.). After making a few notes, he used laser therapy to pinpoint the problem. I swear not a word of a lie, the thing went off at least 5 times on my left shoulder. It was like I had a metal plate in my shoulder with the amount of times the machine pinged on sore spots. He did some Chinese therapy that goes by a name I'm not going to try and pronounce or write.
While getting my shoulder worked on, I felt this weird vibration. The vibe I felt was my shoulder dropping down to where it's supposed to be. The nerves that had been bundling up my shoulder for years were finally being released.
So...after completing my first therapy session it feels nice not having to deal with the tension and soreness all the time. I plan on going to the Y later today to try out my "new shoulder".
I'm going to end today's blog by showing you my favourite movie scene.
Later!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
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