M.I.A., '/\/\/\Y/\ (MAYA)' [Tunes]: I've seen M.I.A. a few times in the past, each time her live act has managed to be upsetting in some way - always late, always antagonistic, her persona was only as insufferable as her music was good. Even with that, this hook would be welcome anywhere, anytime, attitude be damned. Following her unflattering NY Times feature, (the one where MIA released the writer's telephone number over Twitter in retaliation), the hype was ripe, but, the beats were not as sweet. While it's getting ripped in reviews, the album is still worth a listen. For me, both 'It Takes a Muscle' and 'It Iz What It Iz' are solid tracks.España Copa Mundial de la Celebración: I recall someone saying that the World Cup winner would come from the España - Deutschland side of the bracket. Here's a great set of pictures memorializing the celebration back in Spain. What an absolutely amazing event, can't believe we have to wait 48 months till the next one.
Thanks for Being Had By Us: A realistic look at what it means to host the World Cup, where the local people and culture are a backdrop to corporate profiteers. A pin-striped mafia indeed.
Imagine if This Happened During Brazil 2014: The 25-year old goalkeeper of Brazil's most popular soccer team is arrested for...well... you'll have to read on for yourself. Let's just say the crime manages to make Rae Carruth look halfway decent. The last quote of the article is particularly telling about where the keeper's priorities lie.
What Exactly Was He Supposed to Do? A truck driver in New Zealand kills some downtime after crashing by popping open a beer while waiting for the police to arrive. So what if he was drinking for four days straight, had an alcohol level that was three times the legal limit, or was trapped overturned in his own car? Minor details, those.
Ashley Cole Enters the Keith Hernandez Zone: England owes Ashley Cole a staunch apology for lashing out at him for his subpar performance during the World Cup. No one realized what he was going through at the time, poor guy has to go all the way to Los Angeles to try to cheer himself up with a couple of 20-year old girls while his wife is stuck in London recovering from malaria (um, what?!). This is why tabloids in the UK are so much richer than what we get here in the states. Forget the "celebrities are just like us" section. Just look at those outfits Ashley's dates are wearing out the nightclub. Also wonderful are the quotes from the girl's mums...their obliviousness to the situation is like they're reading from an old Monty Python sketch.
Name That Molina Blog: An inside look at a veteran baseball catcher's thoughts when he gets traded to another team. It's amazing that players often hear about these transactions after the general public does. Kudos also goes to Buster Posey for having the presence of mind to tell Molina that his dinner is "running late" and that he won't be able to stop by to chat before Molina has to leave. Since Posey is basically replacing Molina on the squad, he managed to avoid a completely awkward conversation without losing any social points in doing so. Just tremendous veteran instincts by the rookie, that kid's a keeper.
He Who Casts the First Stone: San Francisco Giants announcer, Jon Miller (also of ESPN's Sunday Night games) accuses the Colorado Rockies of using non-humidor baseballs in late innings when advantageous to the Rockies. In response, the Rockies offered to instead hire Barry Bonds' strength coaches from Balco Labs to help the pump up the baseballs.
Nerd Alert!: Drew Storen, relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals, will be going back to Stanford in the fall to earn his degree in mechanical engineering. His dream? To create a pair of baseball spikes based on the Kobe Bryant basketball shoes that look like a molded marshmallow. Every Stanford mechanical engineer's dream? To play in the major leagues in baseball spikes that do not look anything like molded marshmallows.
Tiger Woods Is Not Your Friend: An insightful interview with Tiger Wood's swing coach on what it meant to be on team Tiger over the past six years. Like high school kids, the world's most famous golfer and coach broke up over text message. Some very good stuff here, including this, "Q: It's been said that Tiger views any association with him as helping that person out. Do you go along with that? Haney: You said it, I didn't."
Thanks for Being Had By Us: A realistic look at what it means to host the World Cup, where the local people and culture are a backdrop to corporate profiteers. A pin-striped mafia indeed.
Imagine if This Happened During Brazil 2014: The 25-year old goalkeeper of Brazil's most popular soccer team is arrested for...well... you'll have to read on for yourself. Let's just say the crime manages to make Rae Carruth look halfway decent. The last quote of the article is particularly telling about where the keeper's priorities lie.
What Exactly Was He Supposed to Do? A truck driver in New Zealand kills some downtime after crashing by popping open a beer while waiting for the police to arrive. So what if he was drinking for four days straight, had an alcohol level that was three times the legal limit, or was trapped overturned in his own car? Minor details, those.
Ashley Cole Enters the Keith Hernandez Zone: England owes Ashley Cole a staunch apology for lashing out at him for his subpar performance during the World Cup. No one realized what he was going through at the time, poor guy has to go all the way to Los Angeles to try to cheer himself up with a couple of 20-year old girls while his wife is stuck in London recovering from malaria (um, what?!). This is why tabloids in the UK are so much richer than what we get here in the states. Forget the "celebrities are just like us" section. Just look at those outfits Ashley's dates are wearing out the nightclub. Also wonderful are the quotes from the girl's mums...their obliviousness to the situation is like they're reading from an old Monty Python sketch.
Name That Molina Blog: An inside look at a veteran baseball catcher's thoughts when he gets traded to another team. It's amazing that players often hear about these transactions after the general public does. Kudos also goes to Buster Posey for having the presence of mind to tell Molina that his dinner is "running late" and that he won't be able to stop by to chat before Molina has to leave. Since Posey is basically replacing Molina on the squad, he managed to avoid a completely awkward conversation without losing any social points in doing so. Just tremendous veteran instincts by the rookie, that kid's a keeper.
He Who Casts the First Stone: San Francisco Giants announcer, Jon Miller (also of ESPN's Sunday Night games) accuses the Colorado Rockies of using non-humidor baseballs in late innings when advantageous to the Rockies. In response, the Rockies offered to instead hire Barry Bonds' strength coaches from Balco Labs to help the pump up the baseballs.
Nerd Alert!: Drew Storen, relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals, will be going back to Stanford in the fall to earn his degree in mechanical engineering. His dream? To create a pair of baseball spikes based on the Kobe Bryant basketball shoes that look like a molded marshmallow. Every Stanford mechanical engineer's dream? To play in the major leagues in baseball spikes that do not look anything like molded marshmallows.
Tiger Woods Is Not Your Friend: An insightful interview with Tiger Wood's swing coach on what it meant to be on team Tiger over the past six years. Like high school kids, the world's most famous golfer and coach broke up over text message. Some very good stuff here, including this, "Q: It's been said that Tiger views any association with him as helping that person out. Do you go along with that? Haney: You said it, I didn't."
Ending with a couple World Cup highlight videos. This first one includes my favorite song from the past 3 weeks. It's a shame ESPN/ABC went with that completely unmemorable U2 song instead of this one:
The BBC also closes strong with a very cool District 9 influenced montage. Apologies for having to link to the video, it's been taken down on YouTube. I don't have the acumen to know how to embed the video without it playing automatically, though I promise the montage is well worth the extra click.
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