Super Bowl or Super Usurious Price Gouging?

The biggest complaint I heard (repeatedly) from the visiting fans besides the glacial pace of concession stand speed was the pricing. With sandwiches and subs at $22, fries $6, soda $7, ice cream $9, water $6, beer $10, chicken fingers $10, nachos $8, pretzels $5, and so-on, the complaints are valid. A number of my friends didn't believe my tales of the prices and happily one of my photos of the prices came out. (They're now on digital LCD screens so they can change the price by event.)

 

To all of you Saints and Colts fans who swore vitriol at the Dolphins please note that these are not our usual prices. Our prices are the same overpriced rate you pay at your stadium. These "super" prices were set by the NFL and its concession partners and not the local team. You should complain to the NFL about your financial rape in these economic times. It was disgraceful. I was, as I said previously, one of the few there in a Dolphins get-up and I was the recipient of many such complaints. The fact that people went out of their way to approach me and ask what the hell was wrong with us, with our stadium, angered me, because it wasn't our stadium, our team, and certainly not our fans. This was my only negative experience but as today has gone on, and others who've gone to the game have called me, e-mailed me, it has become apparent this was a real sticking point. (I got chicken fingers, fries, and a soda -- total price $23. Yes, that's $23 for a glorified Happy Meal.)

On a related note, I've posted a new batch of SuperBowl pictures on Flickr, my last, and the link is in the box at the left if you want to have at it.

In other news, while I haven't registered I tried "Where's George" again after a few years. Liz does this and I really should registered, though I am loathe to get sucked into something new. Where's George is a website where you type serial numbers of the currency (US bills only) in your wallet and it tells you where they've travelled assuming others have typed the serial numbers as well. My hit rate is 1 out of about 30 typed in but it's still fun in a weird sort of way. Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

How'd you like to turn your work or school papers into toilet paper? Or maybe your Panther tickets or renewal notice. Via my friend Paul comes this C-Net article with a video of a machine that does that, automatically. He asks what the ROI is? I say priceless. Didn't you always want to tell a colleague his paperwork was worth shit? Now you can.

Never Get Into A Battle of Wits With An Unarmed Opponent

I'll say it again. Most hockey fans in South Florida are bags of wind who don't know shit. Some are very knowledgeable (Bill M) whose Facebook page this came from. Bill and I often agree and sometimes don't. But he knows what he's talking about. I've removed all last names except mine and the idiot I wish to mock. I've also removed posts unrelated to the topic at hand. But what's here is not edited.

A good fan of any sport will make impassioned statements of opinion. That's cool. You should. Sports journalism is somewhere you actually get to throw opinion into your story. I'm all for it, and when I wrote for LCS I did the same thing. However, if you're going to state something as a fact, you best be ready to back it up. And if you're going to issue a challenge, you better make sure you have it right.

I took umbrage at Shawn Morin's statement because it's a direct attack on me and my integrity. Fortunately, Shawn is a blowhard with, apparently, no hockey knowledge because he'd have kept his mouth shut if he had any. So I've marked in purple where he insults me. Now, you will see I have included opinions that do not agree with my own, because not everyone agrees with me. I don't mind that. But Shawn opened his mouth. Then, he throws down the gauntlet of a challenge also marked in purple. Conveniently, because he's a lazy fan, he didn't do any research at all. First, as a writer, I could use my own name as a legitimate reply to his absurdist statement. But, it so happens I had recently made fun of J-Blow's work ethic -- he's a lazy player, plain and simple, and his hockey sense is often weak -- and in that I had referred to a writer at CBS Sports who had the same opinion. That's a second writer and the one I used to shut his sorry ass up. Of course, that writer referred to another writer at TSN who also had similar comments.

So, Shawn Morin is the exact sort of sports fan that makes people in Florida look like asses. As much as I hate fans of the Rangers (or Leafs and so on), I just don't have this sort of problems with them. We never agree but I can have an intelligent conversation with them. It's sad because he's not alone. I'm picking on him because he happened to open his mouth and spew his ill-informed thoughts at me. I use the term "thoughts" loosely. I find hockey fans in this market to be generally either Pollyannas with no grip on reality, or worse blowhards full of 'facts' that just aren't facts. It's why most fans in our market are blasted, and they are right. I would like to offer up Shawn as a sacrifice.

Bill M: All you Panthers fans trashing Jay Bouwmeester and wishing him ill-will upon his return are playing right into his hand. I say kill him with kindness. Or better yet, indifference. Let's treat him like just another random visiting player. After all, that's all he is. We have much bigger concerns around here.
Evan B: Sorry Bill, we upgraded our seats in order to trash the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man.
Murphy B: I felt bad about sincerely wanting to boo him down the stretch last season when he tanked on us... I am booing him with a clear conscience tomorrow night. No disrespect meant to anyone.
Josh B: When he was a panther, he was a customer at the drycleaner I work at. He attempted to run me over with his pickup truck once because his suit had a stain we couldn't get out. Ever since then I've been booing him. Even when he was on the panthers
Brian M: Yeah but I would run ya over if I had the chance and you never touched my clothes lol. But to the point. Like him or not he is a very good player and was a big part of the good play we had last season. I'm with Bill on this one. Moving on like he did was just business.
Eric Seiden: @MurphyB unlike you My disrespect to J-Blow is intended and I'm proud of it. @BillM treating him like this is returning the favour he paid us by not making any effort to play in our playoff run @Brian, sorry dude. You're totally wrong. He's not a good player which makes the heckling feel all that much the better.
Shawn Morin: Eric if you don't think jay is a good defenseman then how can anyone take anything you say seriously... (There's where the idiot opens his mouth to insult me)
Dylan R: i think hes a great player.. but he is full of himself.. quit on the team.. as did Martin the GM last year did. cowardly acts. im sorry.. but .. .like any other fans or players that come to town.. hes gonna be another one to bite the dust as the song goes.
Bill M: I'm disagreeing with you that he "tanked" on us last season. That's ridiculous. Underachieved? Yes. But the whole team failed to come through under the pressure and the heated competition. Playing poorly on purpose would be a physically dangerous thing to do. I don't think he did that.
Eric Seiden: @Shawn, lots of people do. That you don't is your problem. However I don't feel the need to insult you. Jay's stats speak for themselves. Look 'em up. He's an underachieving, whiny, marshmallow. @BillM I didn't say he tanked. I said he didn't make any effort. In fact I can't say that he did anything.
Shawn Morin: Eric. Find me a hockey writer who thinks jay bouwmeester is a bad defenseman. And the panthers lost the playoffs in Nov-Dec last season. (Here's the idiot's challenge)
Eric Seiden: @Shawn URL HERE  (There. CBS Sports. I accept your apology, Shawn.) If you want to argue hockey, we can. But Mr Murphy's blog isn't the place. There's plenty more to back my side but you said to find one. I didn't even need to look further than my OWN writings to find links. Oh, yeah, I was a sports writer for three years. BTW, Brown's article links to others.

Yeah, so there ya' go. The nice thing about a personal blog is I get to rip on idiots. Shawn Morin is an idiot. I've stopped reading that thread and I certainly apologize to BillM for anything in that which may have bothered him. In theory, Shawn is his friend which is why I walked away after my last post. Unfortunately, I should have never gotten into a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. (Yeah, never piss off a writer, especially one with an audience. Ask Alan Price.)

I heard back from Roto-Rooter today. I got a very, very long apology. They explained what went wrong and said they'd be willing to send someone out at a specific time. I declined -- had they offered me a hefty discount I might have reconsidered. I explained "never again" means what I said. What I did find commendable was that they actually listened to the recorded conversations that I had. They know what went wrong and who was responsible. And they definitely agree that their response to "I'm calling to cancel" which was "okay" was most certainly not okay. They thanked me for complaining so they could fix it so nobody would ever go through that again, and we had a brief discussion about the SuperBowl.

Speaking of the SuperBowl I have a ticket. I am going. No idea why I'm putting myself through that ordeal, but I will have fun. Especially if the Colts lose. Geaux Saints (dedicated to CAT).

Weekend Update (Slightly Late)

I saw the Pro Bowl Sunday. Let me tell you how fun it was. ..... Well, there ya' go. It was an experience that doesn't come around very often, so I felt obligated to try it once. The tickets were relatively inexpensive, my seats were good, and I wanted to see what it was about.

Evan's Blog sums it up nicely. Since we went together, it'll save me a lot of typing. Karen and I left about 10 minutes before Evan. And another thought on Shane's backpack. Shane is 6 and while he's been known to terrorize people, he's not a terrorist threat. Oddly, inside the gate if you bought a program (I didn't) it came with a free HUGE tote-bag. The point being, they opened Shane's backpack, every single pocket, found nothing in it of any issue. Then they told his parents he couldn't bring it in. Absolutely stupid.

The "Fan Experience" was boring as all Hell. There were a few neat things, though. They had the Vince Lombardi trophy. Never saw it in person before. Unlike the Stanley Cup, they don't let you close to it so you can't touch it or take your picture with it. And it's ugly. They had a nice exhibit on the history of the ball itself, the NFL logo, and they had one of every SuperBowl ring. That was some impressive hardware. Other than that, my experience matches Evan's so read his blog post. Now that I know what happened beforehand, I know why he was Mister Grouchy Pants. After I got home I read half of my new book Iorich the new Steven Brust masterpiece in the Vlad Taltos trilogy until I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I won't discuss the Monday night Panthers loss as it was sad. At least we played hockey and lost as opposed to our usual losing. We still have some tickets for our special group outing to give Jay Bouwmeester (J-Blow) a very special welcome home.

After the game, I came home and finished reading Iorich. I did that at the expense of sleep but it was well worth it. This, the twelfth Vlad book, is one of my favourites. It's a light read, to be sure, but it's got lots of personality and Vlad is very 'himself' and Brust is in his groove. We also get to spend a little time with Vlad's son and get to know him. I'm getting a huge sense he's going to be a major character in the next book or two. I'll avoid spoilers except to say Vlad survives the novel so you know the assassins on his tail will still be at it come the next book. I rather enjoyed the chapter openings which are part of military investigation. Also, Brust, in a witty mood to be sure has included "deleted scenes" in the back of the book. Nice touch. Adds nothing, but still.

I still have House and Heroes on my Ti-Faux. And I'll add Lost to what's sitting there since I'm going to spend many hours tonight as the plumber works in my house. More on that later.

Many years after Concorde's fateful crash that took the plane out of the sky, manslaughter trial against Continental Airlines has opened in France. The claim being a Continental plane that was not properly repaired dropped a scrap of metal on the runway which punctured Concorde's tire and that steel belted tire blew apart, puncturing the fuel tank causing the fire. That ultimately led to Concorde no longer flying. Continental claims they can prove the plane was in flames before it hit the piece of metal. (There is no defense that the piece of metal was there. Only whether it was the precipitating cause.) BBC News reports with all sorts of related links.

I wasn't posting this until I was done but Sue is badgering me.

Blu-Ray Phasers and Classic Advertising

Today is laundry day. And it's also a football weekend. The Cowboys lost and that is an awesome thing because I hate them but on the other hand it was to Minnesota, who I used to like. Until they got Brett "Whiny Bitch" Farve, who I can't stand. The Jets and Colts both won and that sucks because I hate them. Arizona lost to New Orleans and I just don't care.

I got a new digital camera today and will shortly be giving away my old one to any friend that wants it. Details privately. It's not a big upgrade really, but it was a sweet deal on a new Kodak Z915 10MPX camera and my old one was a 7MPX Sony Cybershot DSC659 which has given me nearly four years of awesome service. So far my only complaint is that the Sony could mount directly on the Mac desktop and the Kodak can't which is a stupid design flaw, but I can fake it using Image Capture (standard on all Macs). While you can use iPhoto it won't let you add/delete pictures from the camera directly.

Paul is once again trying to get me to adopt one of his cats. I turned him down because I am still not ready for many reasons. Enough said. A shout out to Christin Keck who has had her book self-published though Amazon's CreateSpace. I haven't read either of these, but she's a good writer and tells a good tale. So you can check it out if you'd like. Another long piece, by way of John Carney, on the late-night wars which makes some salient points but mostly rambles on far too long. Just trying to give equal time to all sides on this topic. Suzie-Q shares this link which has tons of vintage Apple Computer ads (Apple I, II, IIc, and even one Mac ad. No Lisa, Apple /// or such ads though.) You may find it educational or reminder of your age. View at your own peril, though seeing how some of those people are dressed may be worth a click on your broadband connection.

Here's another cool link from Dan (I think). Someone took a model of a Classic Star Trek Phaser, and then installed a sound oscillator so it makes noise. After that they installed the optics from a Blu-Ray player and, voilà, you have a phaser that really works. This video shows it blowing balloons apart. You can do it at home, too. He's got links to the instructions from his website. Keep in mind that, in theory, weaponizing this, may be a serious crime in your jurisdiction. But the cool factor is awesome. Broadband recommended before clicking the instructional links.

I am so sick of you. That 'you' refers to those of you who continue to forward shit to me that's comprised of lies, mistruths, and so on. Any email that says "send this to XX people" is guaranteed to be a fraud. I always refer people to Snopes.com a fine bastion of unbiased facts on many of the items circulating in your inbox. I also send people to factcheck.org for the more pedestrian items. Sadly, even these sites are victim to the shite covering the internet. Here's a great article on factcheck.org about snopes.com -- keep in mind, both sites cite facts with references. Wikipedia is never acceptable as a source of "facts" because there are tons of errors, though it is extraordinarily useful in a general way.

US Supreme Court And Sports (Post 1 of 2)

This is a sports related post. If you're not into sports, this entry will be of no interest to you. I will make a separate entry with my non-sports topic.

As most of you American readers know, a huge battle is about to be waged in the US Supreme Court. It's a very small item. Only it's got huge, huge ramifications. I'm going to throw my comments in, and at the end I'll provide two links for further reading.

The plaintiff is American Needle. Included on their "friend of the court" brief list is the NFL Coaches Association as well as the players unions in all major sports, among others.

The defendant is the National Football League (NFL). Included on their "friend of the court" brief list are every single professional sports league in the USA that has teams. All of them: NHL, NBA, MLS, the NCAA, professional tennis, and even NASCAR (though I refuse to acknowledge that as a sport). Even Master Card and Visa have thrown their hats in. What does this tell you? There are enormous sums of money involved. Sums measured in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

The case is American Needle v. NFL, 08-661 if you want to track it.

The high court will hear arguments Wednesday from American Needle that used to make NFL hats. They are seeking to overturn rulings that the NFL is one business, not 32 separate teams working together, and therefore immune to a antitrust complaints. So maybe that doesn't seem like a big deal to you.

Originally, American Needle sued the NFL and Reebok -- who got an exclusive contract to make apparel in 2004, claiming the deal violated antitrust laws. Lower courts threw out the suit, holding that nothing in antitrust law prohibits NFL teams from cooperating on apparel licensing. It doesn't matter if you agree or not, that's the legal ruling.

Now, the NFL is asking the Supreme Court to review the case in hopes of getting a blanket antitrust exemption that could eliminate most, if not all, the antitrust suits against the league. In the Washington Post, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees wrote "It was an odd request — similar to my asking an official to review an 80-yard pass of mine that the official had already ruled a touchdown," You have to ask yourself: why would they do this?

It comes down to labour peace. An NFL victory would come at the cost of labour peace in pro sports, possibly leading to strikes and lost seasons for professional hockey, basketball, and football. Even the baseball players endorsed that view even though baseball has an antitrust exemption. Labour agreements in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB all expire in or around 2011. Many analysts expect that if this exemption is allowed that the leagues will attempt to impose hard salary caps without approval of the players, remove free agency, and make it very difficult for free market conditions to reign.

The credit card companies are in this as I mentioned earlier. Why? Most people aren't aware but MasterCard and Visa are actually a confederation of banks much like the NFL is a confederation of teams. A ruling would allow them broad powers to fix pricing, invoke predatory pricing, and worse -- all without fear of reprisals.


The articles as promised: USA Today and Associated Press.

Another Day At NIFS

Today was the big day. The first meeting was at 730am at the buffet. Yay buffet and that in turn was followed by the show from 9am to 4pm. I did a quick lap (about 5 hours) and near the end though it odd nobody called me. I opened my phone and I had 5 missed calls. Apparently the reception isn't so good in there.

I handed out some buttons and there were not just buttons from me, but there were hats, buttons from others, and trade-show bags. There was a huge amount of anti-Nucor hostility. There were rampant rumours of a verbal altercation between Don West of Nucor and a representative from one of the importers. I have no firsthand knowledge. Near the end of the show I did cruise by the Nucor booth but they pointedly ignored me.

I got a hero's welcome at the TIFI booth including from the president of TIFI as well as from a number of Chinese and Taiwanese and Hong Kongese companies as well as a few US based companies. I decline to accept credit but it's still nice. A lot of people asked me for buttons and I gave out most of them, but I did save some for any of my friends who want them (and matching baseball caps too).

The show was not productive really. A lot of discussion about Nucor from both sides as to whether or not they'll appeal and/or re-file. I feel they'll appeal though it's certainly a complete waste of their time. The case is not winnable and there is no record of a 6-0 case ever being overturned. Then again considering their legal counsel they very well may appeal. They will certainly refile, I hope with the same attorney. A good attorney will give them a winnable case on a smaller, reasonable scope. Will I continue the fight? Depends what they want to cover.

After my first rounds, I had a quick lunch (thanks Greg) -- $10 for a fruit salad. Seriously -- same thing I bitch about paying $7 for at a Panther game. That means I paid $3 for the strawberry on top.

After the show I collected my literature and took it to the business center to ship it back to the office -- 15 pounds of crap. Damn. And it's all literature -- there were almost no freebies this year. I blew off one guy -- the one who stood me up yesterday. He's called me repeatedly and chased me down, but I'm done with him.

Had a 5pm meeting with a company that had various screws. I got a sudden idea on how to combine several of them to make the screw to end all screws. I gave them a sketch of what I wanted and asked them to quote me a trial run of a quarter million pieces. I may have an official "name this screw" contest once I have a prototype. It'll be expensive but twice as good as anything anyone's ever used. I'm intrigued by the possibilities.

After that we took a break and I cleaned up. Got a cab driver who asked if we wanted to go via the Strip (under construction) or the Freeway (any cabbie in Vegas who says to go this way is taking you for a ride). I told him to take Sinatra and he was very grumpy because I knocked at least 30% off the fare. He refused to give me a receipt, the rat bastard.

We went to Nero's at Caesars Palace. It was good and I'm glad we went but there are much better restaurants here at similar prices. By Vegas standards it was cheap and just about $100 per person incuding tip. We decided to go gamble at Excalibur because it was low rent. So we started to walk back. (Yeah. walk back. We walk.)

Whilst cutting through Bellagio, we spied a $10 table. And this was at around 9pm. We sat down and began to play. This was the second best dealer I ever had in all my years of gambling. First, he was helpful -- though there are helpful dealers. If you did something wrong (ask for a hit where you shouldn't or something) he'd tell you it was the wrong action and tell you the right one. But the best part was he gave us a great show. He was talkative, funny, and just a joy to play. We played his entire shift before he rotated out. I was $100 in at the start, gave him about $40 in tips on dealer bets, and left with $95. Greg and Gaby were both up. I think between the three of us he got about $100 in tips. Worth every penny. He's a black guy and his name starts with the letter 'D' -- look for him.

We walked back to the hotel and stopped at Cold Stone. They have a new flavour: Butterscotch Jello Pudding. It's amazing. (They also have chocolate but the butterscotch is better). We got to our hotel, and played Wheel of Fortune for awhile, me being up $50 on the session. And that brings you up to date.

Tomorrow is some morning meetings, followed by packing and a late night return.

I'm sure you all saw the NFL fined the owner of the Titans a quarter of a million dollars for flipping off the opposing team. The video which you've probably seen was shot by Kenny Hirt. Well Kenny's a cousin of mine. He was on the local news in Nashville as his video has over 300,00 views and is what led the NFL to levy the fine.  Disclaimer from Doug (Kenny's Dad): Wife, Mindy and mother, Melanie had no part whatsoever in selecting the attire worn by Kenneth Hirt for any of the television interviews. I am amused.

Karen says she's feeling better. That's good. And I'm tired so I'm done.

Jimmy Buffett, Awkward and Incestuous with a Fortune Cookie Chaser

First, the Head Parrothead (Jimmy Buffett) has just had Dolphin Stadium renamed to Landshark Stadium (I like the name) after his beer, Landshark Beer in exchange for no money. They get personal appearances, etc, by his parrotness. He also re-did his famous song Fins with Dolphin lyrics. Thanks to Razzie for the URL to the video:





Jimmy is a big fan of the Fins so this is a great fit. It's only a one year deal. Still, it's cool. Maybe we'll get Jimmy doing the national anthem. He did it once at a Heat game before his play "Don't Stop The Carnival" at it was really awesome.

Also up is the most awkward family photo ever:

I almost didn't post this because it was actually embarrassing but the bottom line was I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity. The levels on which this is disturbing know NO bounds. I am sharing it because I do not want to be alone in having this image in my mind. Also it provides segue for this next story. Yes, that picture actually has the Power of Segue. Hard to believe.

Today was skating: just John, Liz, and me. So Liz and I are chatting and she is talking about her Telenovelas (soap operas). She is telling me about this Romeo and Juliet plot-line wherein the two characters are really brother and sister but don't know it. We were discussing the ick factor of incest and John comes up. I said "Don't bother us: we're discussing incest." He skated away not to be seen for nearly an hour. I never scared anyone off like that so easily. It was pretty funny. In retrospect maybe I shouldn't have said it so loudly but Liz was laughing really hard. I have mentioned this before but Liz and John are really awesome. I am so glad I know them. And good luck with the house!

The below quote and above picture are from my Facebook post Thursday. If you don't have FaceBook, here's the post.

Eric A. Seiden was at work and found a spare fortune cookie on the communal food table. I decided I'd eat it. The fortune said "Your wish is about to come true." I turned bright red. God, I hope so :) A deserted tropical island with some hot babes and unlimited funds perhaps?

On the back is a set of lottery numbers and the "learn Chinese" phrase. The word is "Summer" 夏天 (Xià Tian) That "a" in Tian should have a bar over it, but I don't know how to do that on my Mac. The ã isn't close enough. (If you don't have Chinese characters installed some of this paragraph will not display on your screen.)

Only a fool puts his hope in a fortune cookie's prophecy, but I can tell you I certainly am that fool. We'll see if this will be the best summer of my life or not.

Anyway, I had to blog all this randomness.

Bill Belichick -- Still Classy All The Way (NOT)

In two previous blog posts I have lambasted the arsemunch Bill Belichick for his classless and cheating ways. Classless is not a crime but cheating is. And it looks like Mr. Belichick remains a scumbag, cheating, pile of festering dung.

The AP reports: Patriots coach Bill Belichick is declining comment on a tampering accusation levelled against his team by Raiders owner Al Davis. Davis said Tuesday that the Patriots tampered with Moss before they obtained him from Oakland in a trade during last year's NFL draft.

It's a very sad day when Al Davis has one up on you. Al Davis is at the bottom of most football fans' list but Bill is fighting to see if he can be scummier. Hats off to you, Bill. You must be proud.

Bill Belichick -- Classy All The Way

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GIANTS specifically for keeping the Miami Dolphins the only undefeated team in the modern NFL. I am pleased on many counts but that's the one that matters to me the most. The legacy remains and will remain for a long, long period of time.

This was the first time I can remember deliberately rooting for a New York team, but the cause was great. And Jimmy Johnson gets to eat crow.

The Patriots didn't win, didn't cover the spread, and I wish to point out that Bill Belichick is all class* -- walking off the field before the game was over. I can understand the confusion going on the field because the clock was ticking down towards zero, but he knew it wasn't officially over once he got there because the referees told him. He left the field anyway: a sore loser. Or, in his case just a loser -- and a cheating one at that.

* Classy in a Paris Hilton sort of way.

KTFBG.

VideoGate: Belichick's Cheating Ruins NFL Credibility

I'll skip the discussion of the travails of the actual incident in questions. It's pretty much blatant and obvious. I'm going to move right on to my opinions of the NFL's response. I think it's a total sham. What a freaking crock of excrement.

First and foremost Belichick, doesn't have even have to pay his fine because the Patriots are doing it for him.

Secondly, Belichick earns $4.2 million per year so even if he HAD to pay it, it's about 12% of his salary. In that regard, it's pretty minor. Sure, nobody wants to lose 12% of their salary, but I'd see many people giving up 12% for my Vince Lombardi trophy. This fine is insulting to the fans and the other teams.

Thirdly, Belichick has been accused of this in the past and has been warned in the past. He went and did it anyway. That's a pre-meditated offence and deserves the harshest punishment for him and his team. I don't believe for one second that the team wasn't aware of his actions. I think it's fantastic they got busted. I hope it serves as a distraction to their entire team. (I feel bad for their fans and ex-players because now their entire legacy under Belichick is now tarnished and in question.)

Fourth, the annual revenue of the New England Patriots is $250,000,000 (on an estimated worth of $1.1 billion dollars) -- yes about $250 million dollars per year. So a $250,000 fine is 0.1% of their annual revenue. Yes ZERO POINT ONE PERCENT of annual revenue is the amount of their fine. That's probably a day at the concession stands at best, or maybe the take for parking. It's a disgrace.

Fifth, The draft picks are a minor detail. They should be, at minimum, barred from the playoffs for a year or three and possibly have their last title stripped from them too. Belichick should be suspended for a year or two and not be allowed to coach or attend any games. The league needs to make a huge statement that it will not tolerate this sort of behaviour. This is far worse than what has been done by the players and it creates a double standard.

I'd cheat every game if I were disposed to be a cheater. What the NFL has done is create a situation where it pays to cheat. It's absurdly disgraceful. They need to do something FAR more severe but they won't. For $250k per game, or a few million dollars a year, you can cheat at every single game. Even the team with the lowest revenue rakes in over $167,000,000 per year and is worth 3/4 of a billion dollars.

I think cheating destroys the integrity, honesty, and character of a sport. It's inexcusable and must be discouraged in a meaningful way.

(Belicheck -- to catch the people who can't spell it right)

Michael Vick Is Evil and Deserves to SUFFER

8-17-07 RICHMOND, Va. - Two of Michael Vick's alleged cohorts in a grisly dogfighting case pleaded guilty Friday, and one said the Atlanta Falcons quarterback joined them in drowning and hanging dogs that underperformed.

8-24-07 Michael Vick filed his plea agreement in federal court Friday admitting to conspiracy in a dogfighting ring and helping kill pit bulls. He denied ever betting on the fights, only bankrolling them.

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The National Football League suspended Michael Vick indefinitely without pay today, hours after he admitted conspiring to run a dogfighting operation that Commissioner Roger Goodell called "cruel and reprehensible.''

I think we should give Vick a pair of meat underwear, then coat him in beef gravy and throw him in a cage with a few pit bulls. If he survives, we should electrocute him -- not to death. Then we should beat him -- not to death. Then, we should give him to PETA*.

Vick should be made a pariah with no chance of redemption because his debt to society can never be paid. As long as he remains on this planet, the planet is defiled.

I hope he becomes a prison bitch and is violated in the worst most inhumane ways by an AIDS infected inmate who is very well endowed. I hope his life becomes an unbearable hell and he contemplates ending it and sparing the planet his pathetic existence. I am not more favourably disposed towards his co-defendants, either. People who torture other living creatures for fun and/or profit are heinous creatures who deserve no mercy. They should reap what they have sown**. I also hope the Atlanta Falcons go after their paid-up-front money so his pocket can hurt too.

If you would like to suggest other ways Vick should be punished, have at it. I am in no way encouraging anyone to commit an act of violence against Vick. Tsk, tsk.

And, more importantly, to the few sick individuals who have said they don't see what the big deal is. You're just as bad as Vick and deserve the same (including Donovan McNabb, Stephon Marbury, a number of his Famcons team-mates, and select NAACP members). Look, they guy committed a heinous crime. He doesn't deserve your support. If you support him, you are the same sport of scum he is.

To those who would play the race card: what planet are you from? Get a grip. We don't know what race the dogs are. Oh, you think it's about Vick's race? Hahahahaha! That makes you dumber than Paris Hilton. Jump under a bus: this is about a pox on the face of humanity. Vick will rot in the eternal abyss of Hell. I feel sorry for all the less evil people down there who will have to associate with him. I do hope there is a very special Hell reserved for people like Vick***.

* I am not a fan of PETA, though I certainly support their message ,just not their whacked-out methods. I eat meat, dammit. Steak. Yum.

** I've just quoted the Bible. The world is ending.

*** Guangzhou, China perhaps?

Prince's Halftime Imagery Questioned

Green Stuff From Associated Press article dated February 06, 2007 11:16 PM EST

First, this: "In the sensitive post-wardrobe malfunction world, some are questioning whether a guitar was just a guitar during Prince's Super Bowl halftime show." Well, I have to wonder myself. It was amazingly suggestive, and we were all, "Oh My God" but not in a bad way, mind you. It was more like, "leave it to Prince to mock everyone without being blatant about it, and at the same time giving an amazing half-time show."

As the AP reports, "Prince's acclaimed performance included a guitar solo during the "Purple Rain" segment of his medley in which his shadow was projected onto a large, flowing beige sheet. As the 48-year-old rock star let rip, the silhouette cast by his figure and his guitar (shaped like the singer's symbol) had phallic connotations for some." Proving, beyond any doubt, some people are in desperate need of a life. Yeah, it looked like he was strumming his instrument, but so what?

Daily News television critic David Bianculli called it "a rude-looking shadow show" that "looked embarrassingly rude, crude and unfortunately placed." Mr. Bianculli is a prude who needs to get stuffed. Some people have small minds. Who cares what it was? The show was good, not even remotely obscene. We should be so lucky if they're all like that.

CBS said Tuesday that the network has received "very few" complaints on Prince's performance. The NFL that produced the halftime show and league spokesman Greg Aiello said the league has received no complaints.At least someone has common sense. "We respect other opinions, but it takes quite a leap of the imagination to make a controversy of his performance," Aiello said."It's a guitar."

But, was Prince's pose phallic? "The short answer is, of course it is," says Rolling Stone magazine contributing editor Gavin Edwards, who points out that on Prince's "Purple Rain" tour in the mid `80s, he performed with a guitar that would ejaculate, squirting water out of its end during the climax of "Let's Go Crazy." But Prince's half-time performance, though celebrated, came in a much different cultural environment, where even the fleeting outline of a man and his guitar could, for some, suggest shaded depravity. "If people want to be hypersensitive, they can be hypersensitive," says Edwards.

This is much ado about nothing.