EA SPORTS - It's In The Game

EA SPORTS - It's In The Game

Madden sets sales record and takes a jab at ESPN Video Games. Their success is deserved as Madden 2005 is fantastic!
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Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | "End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones"

Salon.com has a review of the soon-to-be-released Ramones documentary. You have to watch an ad to get a day pass, but it is worth it.

I remember going to Call the Office to see Joey Ramone play. He got drunk in the limo on the way to London from Detroit and did not show up. Instead, we got a great show by the Legend Killers. Sharkskin suit and all.


The Story of the Ramones

Niagara Falls Cam - Live!

Official City of Niagara Falls Cam

Now this is the way to do a cam! Live moving water. And, if you check out the left side of the page, live sound!

Canada's Dullest Webcam?

AFC Webcam - Cam�ra Web de CFA

Pretty. Pretty dull though. I was actually hoping for a close-up of only trees, but this will do? Let us know if you find one even more dull.

Breastroke? More Like a Crab Race!

Watching the women's 200m breaststroke is kind of like watching really fit people do a crab race. Why glorify a slow stroke? I guess they need to see who can go the least slow. Maybe they could add a 100m and 200m walk to the track portion of the Olympics (is typing the Word a copyright violation?).

Salon.com News | King Kaufman's Sports Daily

Here are some views on the Olympics by sportswriter King Kaufman.

King Kaufman's Sports Daily "A few thoughts on watching the women's trap shooting final, won by Australian Suzanne Balogh.

Thought 1: One of the contestants was 53. [That was Susan Natrass of Canada - JimDandy] I think any sport in which you can compete at 53 without it being a jaw-dropping thing -- in that way that 47-year-old tennis player Martina Navratilova just makes you shake your head in wonder -- shouldn't be in the Olympics.

Thought 2: Why is there men's and women's shooting? [That same Susan Natrass pushed for it - JimDandy] Is there some reason why men and women couldn't compete together in this event? Do the superior size and strength of men come into play somehow?

Thought 3: Trap shooting isn't the world's most exciting sport, but at least there are moving parts. In the air rifle and pistol shooting events, what you have is a person standing stock still, then imperceptibly moving one finger to squeeze a trigger, at which point a dot appears on a target. Compared to the other shooting events, trap shooting is like naked flaming supermodel olive oil wrestling. On motorcycles.

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# I don't like field hockey. The sticks are too short. Why don't they have longer sticks? The player with the ball has to run hunched over. It hurts my back to watch it. I don't need that. I'm already sitting in front of my TV 70 hours a day.

# When did synchronized diving become a marquee, prime-time sport, and why? What a dull thing, a minor-league version of diving. And yet it's been on the big show on NBC every night.

I've always found synchronized swimming to be kind of silly, an Esther Williams movie with judges, but at least it can be argued that what the participants are doing requires a unique, athletic skill. Synchronized divers are doing the same thing regular divers do, only they're doing it in pairs, and they're not doing it as well as the regular divers do it.

I've spent a good deal of the last two decades complaining about U.S. Olympics TV coverage not showing enough events, but here's a classic case of be careful what you wish for. I don't remember synchronized diving even existing in past Olympics (it did), but now that NBC and its hench-networks are dutifully showing more events this time than ever before, we're lousy with synchronized diving. The Greek men winning the gold was a nice moment, though.

# Oh and by the way, in all types of diving, do you find yourself as annoyed as I do by the athletes' bizarre obsession with those little chamois towels? They rub themselves down with them before they jump, squeeze water out of them all over themselves and just generally fondle them. I don't know why this bugs me so much, but it does."

Is Rick Say the biggest dick alive or what?

I don't know if any you readers out there caught Rick Say's little meltdown after his relay team finished 5th in the 4X200 relay. He tried to be noble and take responsibility for his teammates swimming so poorly, and he did say that he swam his hardest to make up for their mistakes ... IN FRONT OF HIS TEAMMATES ON INTERNATIONAL MEDIA COVERAGE!!!! I was waiting for one of his team guys to brain him with one of their speedo sandals but they seemed pretty honourable about it. The fact is that spending money on olympic athletes is a deadweight loss to society. They eat food in order to expend energy for no victory. Hell even if they win, what does a medal do for Canada? Does it shorten waiting lists in hospitals? put resources in schools? No, in fact it contributes to longer waiting lists and a crappier school system because we funnel money into guys and gals doing glorified hobby sports that canadians only care about one week out of every four years apparently. Add to this social cost, the fact that Brian Williams continues to draw a salary from cbc... Oh, and in case you want to try the old "medals encourage more canadians to be fit and healthy", think again. My experience is that money we spend on elite athletes reduces program resources for the masses. When I was at UBC, Lori Fung, Olympic gold medalist in rhythmic gymastics, used to kick 30 basketball players out of the main gymnasium so three rhythmic gymnasts could train.

So canada's athletes, go ahead and underachieve. Go ahead and blame taxpayers for not supporting your goals, and your gains. In return I will say to you "thanks for not supporting my career and my goals." You suck too, but your failures happen on tv every four years. Mine happen in private every day.

Head-to-Head: Madden NFL 2005 vs. ESPN NFL 2K5

Head-to-Head: Madden NFL 2005 vs. ESPN NFL 2K5

Gamespot declares that ESPN NFL 2K5 is better than Madden?! Do not be swayed gentle reader. Choppy framerates, a weak franchise mode, on-line bugs, and the pointless integration of cheezy B-List celebrities undermine this bargain title. Read more at Gamespot.com...

Local London Boy An Achiever

Nick Sawarna (nee Emery) and his "bad ass" buddies dug a hole near the Medway River of approximately 8 feet in depth and 10 feet in Diameter. Asked what they did with the hole, Nick beamed as he proudly stated that they put old furniture in it and "hung out" in the hole. Not since the Victoria Park bandshell hey days has there been a statement like that made in London.

Nick and his buddies' efforts conjure up a scene from the Australian classic comedy, "The Castle", wherein the low functioning mullet-headed son pronounces his achievement for the day: "Dad, I dug a hole", to which Dad replies, "I guess we all kicked a goal today son". (Kicking a goal is a footie reference).

Dick Pound is a Dick

Just a little history lesson in case you feel like being pissy about the Olympics. Beckie Scott of Canada came third in her cross-country ski race in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games. After Scott stated that the two Russians who finished ahead of her were on drugs, Dickhead Pound went on the CBC and said
"'She should be careful about shooting off her mouth without knowing what she is talking about.' That was anti-doping pooh-bah Dick Pound. He claimed the Olympics were drug free and really took Scott to task. Of course, both Russian women were forced to return their medals for failing drug tests.

I have never heard Dick apologise. God love the IOC. When they lie, they lie big.

U.S. Obsessed by pedophilia

MSNBC - Top swimmer goes from teddy bears to pin-up: "ATHENS, Greece - U.S. swimmer Amanda Beard has gone from a teddy bear-hugging Olympic gold medalist to a steamy pin-up while making herself one of the favorites to win again in Athens."

This headline and quote seem creepy to me. Yes, she took a teddy bear on the podium - 8 YEARS AGO. 14 to 22. Creepy American media.

For The Cynically Minded - Do the Olympics Suck?

I laughed aloud reading this article. The writer has some good points, and some wonderful cynicism.

The CFL and the Calgary Stampeders

Here are some thoughts on the Stamps and their recent loss, as well as some new ideas for the Canadian Football League. Thanks go to Honshui for the contribution.

Stamps coach Matt Dunigan is "furious" with Saskatchewan coach Danny Barrett for running up the score in a recent game. In particularly, Dunigan thinks that it was cheap to go with an onside kick with two minutes to go when you have a 40 point lead. He also didn't like the riders going for it on 3rd and 5 from the stamps 10 yard line to score a touch down in the last 30 seconds.

A couple of responses come to mind. First, if you are trying not to run it up, would you not run higher risk plays? For example, which is less likely to earn points, a third down 5 yard gamble or a field goal attempt from the 5 yeard line? How many times does an on-side kick work out? I think Matt is a bit baked on this one. The problem was not the riders, the problem is a pathetic Stamps squad who couldn't stop a Canadian swimmer trying to paddle 25 meters.

TO be constructive however, I have a few rule change proposals for the CFL.

1) Invoke a mercy rule -- if you have a team as bad as the stampeders are, have a rule that the game lasts 60 minutes of stop time or until one team gets a lead of 30 points.

2) Invoke another form of mercy rule -- When the lead gets too big, have some of the players on each team change sides for a quarter, you know, change jerseys at mid-field. This turnover in player personnel would not be far off from what you see between games in the CFL anyway with their 12 trades per week pace.

3) Handicap rule -- once the lead hits 14 points, each touchdown reduces the leading team's allowable players on the field by 1. Eventually, the other team would only have three players against the Stamps offence.