Monthly Archive for May, 2011

Ohio State’s Jim Tressel Resigns Amid Turmoil, Sports Illustrated Investigation

By: Zack Stovall, May 31, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Ouchtown.

Hope those charming sweater vests are packing a parachute, because coach Jim Tressel and Ohio State University’s vaunted football program are each in a free fall.

The championship-winning coach and the program became the subject of much scrutiny at the end of 2010 as OSU began to prepare for its Sugar Bowl outing against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Tressel and the Buckeyes had been through the BCS Bowl game experience numerous times in the past, but had never had to deal with such damning allegations as players selling team paraphernalia and receiving improper benefits, such as free tattoos. Such actions are severe violations of the NCAA laws, and leading not only to some of Ohio State’s most talented players (including QB Terrell Pryor) being suspended for the first five games of the upcoming season, but also leading many to question Jim Tressel’s knowledge of the situation.

Some stories happen and then go away, but this is one that merely began to pick up steam as time went on.

Soon other players from past seasons began to come forward admitting they, too, had received improper benefits while playing under Tressel. Not only that, but independent investigations done by the NCAA and by the venerable sports periodical Sports Illustrated points a finger squarely at Tressel, claiming that he knew of many of the instances dating back to 2002 but declined to come forward and announce those, it would appear, to benefit his own squad.

In the wake of all of this hubbub, many began to question Tressel’s job status. He was at one time one of the only seemingly-tenured coaches left in the highly competitive world of college football, but even he could not endure such allegations. He was subsequently forced to resign, leaving Luke Fickell as the interim coach until a more permanent captain can steer the ship of one of the most prominent programs in the country.

Former NFL RB Tiki Barber Compares Staying Out of the Media to Being Anne Frank

By: Zack Stovall, May 27, 2011 in Celebrities, News and Sports. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Not Anne Frank

Oh, Tiki. I know you think you’re like a teenage Jewish Holocaust victim, but that doesn’t mean everyone else does, silly!

Not.

Former Giants RB Tiki Barber has had some admittedly tough times in the media he retired to be a part of. Shortly after he left the game to pursue a career in entertainment or media or both with his knees intact, Barber became embroiled in controversy. Leaving your wife – who was eight months pregnant with their twins – for a 23 year old girl will embroil you, that’s for sure.

In the hubbub surrounding the scandal, Barber retreated to his agent’s, Mark Lepselter, abode, apparently residing in the attic. “Lep’s Jewish,” said Barber. “And it was like a reverse Anne Frank thing.” I GET IT. With Anne Frank, she was Jewish and was hiding, but in this REVERSED case, it was the Jewish person hiding the other person!

Except for the whole juxtaposition of Frank hiding from Nazi’s who wanted to kill her for simply being Jewish and Barber hiding from reporters who wanted to write articles that people have already forgotten about. Other than that, TOTALLY THE SAME.

Let’s hope Tiki wears a size 4 shoe, otherwise that mouth is going to be awfully full of foot.

Memorial Day Weekend: Kickoff to Summer 2011

By: Zack Stovall, May 27, 2011 in Holidays. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Memorial Day weekend is upon us again. While baseball season and spring warmth begins to usher in summer tidings, Memorial Day its glorious three day weekend officially kicks it off, with barbecues, boat rides and camping trips galore.

Of course, the reason for Memorial Day is one for somber reflection for the military men and women who have made sacrifices, some of them with their lives, in order to protect and maintain the liberties that makes America so great.

How do you celebrate Memorial Day? Many celebrate by venturing to the abodes of friends and family, or go out on the lake, or take trips that the regular two day weekends may not allow time for. Comment below and tell us your Memorial Day experiences!

American Idol Winner Scott McCreery Latest in Long Line of ‘White Boys That Voting Mothers Love To See Win’

By: Zack Stovall, May 26, 2011 in Celebrities and Television. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Not Scott McCreery, but close enough

Last night, Scott McCreery was voted in as the 10th “American Idol” by fans all across the globe. There was a record amount of participants in this crucial vote, which pitted McCreery against a person whose name has already been forgotten by everyone, who some speculated was in fact more talented than McCreery.

McCreery is the latest in a now long line of who many believe to be undeserving fan favorite champions of “American Idol.” Last year, champion Lee DeWyze triumphed over Crystal Bowersox, the soulful singer who many believed to be vastly more talented than the more-mainstream DeWyze. And the year prior to that, small town boy Kris Allen defeated glampoprock singer Adam Lambert, who many believed, SAY IT WITH ME PEOPLE, was more deserving of the award than Allen.

“American Idol”, being a competition that is determined by fans, is naturally going to crown someone who appeals to more people. However it isn’t necessarily clear that “appeals to more people” translates in to better. It is certain that sometimes, the fans get it right. Champion Carrie Underwood is one of the biggest names in not only country, but music in general. However, with crown after crown going to seemingly undeserving, albeit cute (or so I’m told), boys who likely resemble the main bloc of voters’ teenage sons, the scale seems to be tipped in their favor somewhat…unfavorably.

What do you think? Comment below!

Kirstie Alley Lost 38 Inches by Participating in “Dancing With the Stars”

By: Zack Stovall, May 24, 2011 in Celebrities and Television. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

"Oh HAHAHA Another fat joke, I get it. Really original, guys."

Celebrities, naturally, have to spend a lot of time putting themselves out in the limelight and having not only their work judged, but themselves – there personal lives, habits and even appearance – judged in the process.

And for some there’s a lot more self to judge.

Kirstie Alley, 60, is one of those celebrities who is often picked on for her weight. Starring on one of the biggest and most popular sitcoms of all time, “Cheers,” in the late 80′s and early 90′s, Alley was known for being an A-list celebrity (also starring in the box office smashes Look Who’s Talking and Look Who’s Talking Now) with A-list looks. Then, as time went on and notable roles decreased, Alley began to gain weight and became a seemingly-endless source of material for late night comedians like Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno.

Lately, Alley has rediscovered success on the ABC hit show “Dancing with the Stars,” a competition in which celebrities and/or athletes will perform dance numbers with professionally-trained dancers to be judged by professional dance critics as well as the viewing audience at home. And while still the large butt of many jokes, Alley claims to have shed approximately 38 inches due to the rigorous workouts associated with the dancing performed for the show.

She is currently in the top three, and needs strong finishing performances to tip the scales in her favor to win.

Joplin, Missouri Devastated by Sunday Evening Tornado

By: Zack Stovall, May 23, 2011 in News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

A tornado ripped quickly through the small, southeast Missouri town of Joplin Sunday evening, “[cutting] the city in half,” according to a fire department source there and killing 89 people confirmed so far, a number that may continue to rise. Early reports from the scene are indicating the twister could have been an F4, or even an F5, the largest tornado possible. Less than one percent of all tornadoes ever reach the scale of an F4 tornado and F5′s are even more rare.

The city is roughly 225 miles south of Kansas City and has a population of 50,000.

The tornado struck on the south side of the city with such a force that is leveled homes, restaurants, churches and seems to have directly struck a multilevel hospital there. A state of emergency has been declared, and a federal state of emergency is expected.

This latest tornado comes on the heels of a rash of tornadoes during Easter weekend in April. On Good Friday, an F4 tornado touched down in St. Louis, Missouri, lifting the roof off an entire concourse at St. Louis’ Lambert International Airport, but luckily suffering no fatalities. The next day, Vilonia, Arkansas dealt with its own tornado, one in which nearly a dozen people lost their lives. Then again, shortly after the twisters in Arkansas, a tornado went through the middle of the college town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, killing several dozen there, demolishing several buildings throughout, effectively shutting the town down.

Rest in Peace Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage

By: Zack Stovall, May 20, 2011 in Passings. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Randy "Macho Man" Savage

Randy “Macho Man” Savage died this morning, leaving behind a seemingly endless legacy of wrestling moves, Slim Jim commercials and fantastic Halloween costume ideas.

The former wrestler and icon suffered a heart attack while driving with his wife this morning, causing the car to cross the median and run head-on into a tree. His wife, Lynn, to whom he had been married for nearly a year, suffered very minor injuries during the collision.

Savage was best known for his trademark phrase “OOOOHHH YEEEAAAHHHH” during his wrestling heydays. His contemporaries included Hulk Hogan and a host of other wrestlers from the WCW and WWF (now collectively the WWE) of old. He had a brief role as the wrestler “Bonesaw” in the first Spiderman film staring Tobey Maguire, and won the award for “Most Likely To Steal the Show For People Who Like Wrestling More Than Comic Books”, one of the loftier awards in film today.

He was 58. Snapping into a Slim Jim will never be the same again.

Be Sure to Move Your Schedule Around for the End of the World on May 21st

By: Zack Stovall, May 19, 2011 in Holidays and News. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Most cultures, religions and groups of people accept believe that at some point or another, the world will end. It seems to be a rather undeniable fact that, at the very least, the star we call our Sun is due to explode into a red giant or supernova in the next five billion years or so, which won’t be good for Earth. But five billion years is quite a while away.

Others have the end of the world coming on May 21st, 2011, which is also quite a way’s away SATURDAY?! A Christian religious group, founded by minister Harold Camping and his organization, Family Radio, has predicted the world to begin ending this very Saturday, beginning with a large earthquake to usher in the return of Jesus Christ, followed by approximately four months or so of rapture, then an ultimate world end in October.

While one’s initial reaction may be like “Wow, this is an insane person who actually believes the world is ending and should be institutionalized before he harms himself, others or a countless number of defenseless animals.” And they’d likely be correct, but Camping’s organization collected $80 million from 2005 to 2009, with $18 million in 2009 alone, all of which from willing donors.

Crazy? In all likelihood, yes. Crazy like a fox? YET TO BE DETERMINED.

Either way, just keep your schedule loose over the weekend. You never know if you have to bump a golf game with your dad or something to Sunday if there will be a Sunday to bump it to.

Dirk Nowitzki Is the NBA’s Present, the NBA Draft Is the Future

By: Zack Stovall, May 18, 2011 in Sports. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Last night, two separate incidents occurred, one loudly sounding the dominance of one of the NBA’s premiere players and another signaling the future premiere players of the league.

First, in the present, the Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki absolutely dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder on the Mavs’ home court in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. The Thunder, who had just vanquished the Memphis Grizzlies in seven games two days prior, had no answer for Nowitzki’s 48 points. Dirk shot an NBA playoff record 24 straight free throws en route to amassing his impressive figures, including six rebounds, four assists and four blocks, as well.

Nowitzki has been one of the NBA’s best for nearly a decade now, but has failed to turn his dominance into Championships thus far. He has reached the Finals only once, losing in six games to Dwayne Wade’s Miami Heat in 2006 after winning the opening two games. If Dirk can maintain this championship caliber of play, he could be due to play in another Finals.

Concerning the future, the NBA released the line up for the NBA Draft Lottery. Each year, a certain number of balls are thrown into a mix depending on the teams’ records (the worse the team, the more chances) to determine who gets to pick first and second and so on. This year’s lottery winners were the Cleveland Cavaliers, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 2. The last time the Cavaliers had the No. 1 pick in 2003, the drafted the erstwhile hometown hero, LeBron James, immediately out of high school.

So while one player is peaking at his prime, a host of others are getting ready to play for themselves in the coming year.

‘The Daily Show’s’ Jon Stewart Publically Debates Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly

By: Zack Stovall, May 17, 2011 in Celebrities, News and Politics. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Politics can usually get a little boring, with hot-headed motor mouths on both sides of the aisle getting into shouting matches about things that don’t seem to matter very much, don’t get anything done and don’t seem to be that much different.

But pit “The Daily Show’s” Jon Stewart against those in the mainstream media, and you can not only expect fireworks, but a few laughs, too.

Comedian Jon Stewart, host of the Comedy Central juggernaut which many people regularly view for their day-to-day news ahead of mainstream media outlets, went on the Fox News show “The O’Reilly Factor” to debate with the eponymous host about the recent controversy regarding rapper/poet Common being invited to speak at the White House by President Barack Obama. Common’s songs and poems have often been critical of past presidents and have evoked images of killing police officers, which irked many conservatives.

This is not Stewart’s first foray into mainstream media. He notably debated with then-anchor Tucker Carlson on CNN’s “Crossfire” about the merits of his own satirical show vs. what was an apparent lack in the quality of the actual journalism done by Carlson and his cronies according to Stewart. This debate sparked another firestorm of debate, and even lead to “Crossfire” (as well as Carlson) being canceled (let go).

Such debates invite numerous questions about Stewart’s role in the media, most pertaining to the most simple one: What is Stewart’s role in the media? Merry prankster in the galleries or powerful advocate who is indeed part of the media? Stewart has always maintained he is first and foremost a comedian, but also acknowledges he plays a very persuasive role when it comes to political discourse.

Luckily, no matter if you’re a comedy or a political buff, you’ll like enjoy the show.