Today’s column is about brain injuries. The first time I watched my pet mantis eat a cricket, she deftly ripped its head off and wore it like a little helmet while mowing through its soupy innards. Hovering over her plastic habitat, I was so very pleased with my tiny murder friend. The spectacle of violence is one of nature’s most compelling shows. In owning a mantis, I am complicit in a specific kind of sanctioned violence. If I were pitting fighting cocks against one another in my backyard, such bloodshed would be frowned upon, despite the cocks’ furious urgency. Were I catching small charismatic mammals and gifting them to a cat for torture, someone would undoubtedly start a file on me. But no, I am merely creeping around my yard at night in my pajamas, catching beautiful and u…
The past two weeks have been plenty good for Carl Monday. Not only was he a charter member of our own Hall of Fame, but he also won … an Emmy! Yes, Carl won his, by our count, 31st regional Emmy last week, and it was a special one: It appeared not to be for any individual story but instead for "journalistic enterprise." This catch-all phrase allows him to earn his Emmy for creating his own little niche, which we respect and absolutely support. We feel bad for those who must lose to Carl seemingly every year; what's it gonna take to beat that guy? So, congratulations, Carl. We imagine you constantly checking on your 31 Emmys to make sure none of them have tried to have sex with each other. WJW-8 Takes Home Seven Local Emmys; WOIO-19 Gets Six [Cleveland Plain-Deal…
An attorney for Louisville’s incoming five-star recruit Brian Bowen—the player at the center of the school’s involvement in the FBI investigation that resulted in the firings of Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich—announced Thursday that Bowen has been cleared by the FBI of any “investigative impediments.” A university spokesperson told the that Bowen is still enrolled at the school, but the 6-foot-7 small forward has been barred from participating in team activities since the FBI announced its investigation. The spokesperson remained mum on whether Bowen was indefinitely suspended or ruled ineligible. Now that he’s been cleared, Bowen can potentially be reinstated and join Louisville on the court this season pending an internal investigation by the Louisville…
data-mm-id=”_v8c0cn6lc”>Cam Newton hasn't looked like Cam Newton in quite some time. The former MVP wasn't at his best in 2018 before getting shut down with a shoulder injury. He took his recovery slowly, but was expected to be fully healthy for the beginning of the Panthers' season. As it turns out, that wasn't the case. Newton looked okay in Week 1 before completely falling apart in Week 2. The news broke on Monday that Newton was struggling with a foot injury and his status was in doubt for Week 3. Naturally, this opens up the divisive superstar to criticism from all sides, including but not limited to Paul Finebaum and the Get Up crew. Finebaum was adamant that we were not seeing the beginning of the end of Newton, but rather the end has already arrived (full vi…
data-mm-id=”_5csw7p0kd”>The February 6th NBA trade deadline is rapidly approaching and teams are already looking to make moves. Both conferences are fairly wide open and a big trade could help a dozen different teams make legitimate playoff runs. Or improve their lottery chances. So who is buying and who is selling? BUYERSDallas MavericksThe Mavericks are a dangerous playoff team as long as Luka Doncic walks this earth without a limp. They just lost center Dwight Powell, who had started 37 of the Mavericks' first 43 games, to a ruptured Achilles. They already acquired Willie Cauley-Stein. Now it's just a question of where else they can improve.Los Angeles Lakers & Los Angeles ClippersHealthy, both teams are title contenders as constituted. Neither team is anywhere near pe…
data-mm-id=”_7wco0m9da”>In the midst of the fallout from the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal, Major League Baseball had another juicy story this week. The New York Post first reported on Major League Baseball's proposal to increase its postseason format from 10 teams to 14, as well as increasing the wild card round from one game to three.The kicker? The playoff matchups would be decided not by seeding, but by way of a special televised draw to be aired the Sunday night the regular season ends. The team with the second-best record in its league would get their first choice of opponent in the wild card round from the remaining playoff teams, as the best team in the league would get an automatic first-round bye.The reaction from most within baseball was, shall we say, not …
data-mm-id=”_j9bqq85q1″>As the Premier League attempts to find ways to restart the 2019-20 season, ESPN reports a growing number of players are expressing reservations about getting back on the field. The league's Project Restart scheme is facing backlash among the league's players. At this point, the EPL should shut things down and name Liverpool champions. Liverpool currently leads the table with 82 points, while second place Manchester City has 57. There was almost zero chance City could have caught up anyway. Liverpool was 27-1-1 with nine matches remaining, so it's highly unlikely the Reds were going to suffer a devastating losing streak. The league should just treat the season as if it was complete and work towards starting the 2020-21 campaign as close to on-time …
data-mm-id=”_zfjob8pvq”>Much of the buzz about Sunday afternoon's matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks rightfully surrounded Luka Dončić, superstar in the making, who canned a 28-foot step-back three to defeat Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in overtime. What has flown mostly under the radar because of the spectacular play that ended the game was how the Clippers even got there. They were up 21 on Dallas and blew the lead. They have no injury excuse to fall back on. Leonard and George both played most of the second half. Yet Los Angeles couldn't beat a Mavs team that was missing its second-best player. Some of that can be chalked up to the greatness of Dončić. Some can be attributed to George's exceptionally poor shooting continuing to rear…
data-mm-id=”_zqpgbhbsy”>Eric Bieniemy is again one of the top NFL head coaching candidates after another successful season with the Kansas City Chiefs. In three seasons as the offensive coordinator under Andy Reid, with Patrick Mahomes as quarterback, Bieniemy has helped guide the Chiefs to the top offense by yardage twice and scoring once. The Chiefs have never finished worse than sixth in either category and they won Super Bowl LIV. That's certainly the resume of someone who deserves a shot at the big job.My question is, has the time passed for a Green Day / Eric Bieniemy parody song? If so, well, that's just a shame. Green Day's "Know Your Enemy," is a song that could incorporate any version of "Know Bieniemy," "Coach Bieniemy" or "E…
data-mm-id=”_cr46ioyun”>More crazy weather is hitting the country this week and Denver was the target on Thursday. The downtown area got absolutely clobbered by hail as a storm system passed through the city. The hail was so thick the aftermath looked like a snowstorm had hit town. Check some of these videos and photos out:Hail is pelting the heart of Denver. This was taken in RiNo at Brighton and 33rd. #cowx 📸: Lucas Fleissner pic.twitter.com/sfzclwK54t— Denver7 News (@DenverChannel) June 29, 2023Denver #hail in RINO @BianchiWeather pic.twitter.com/5NERrmKJEE— Chris Murphy (@murphyspunch) June 29, 2023#Denver hail. So crazy. 😳 pic.twitter.com/njGSrEgSlP— Liset. (@Liset_Alvarado) June 29, 2023Denver hail strikes again. Currently 3:44pm pic.twitter.co…