SB Nation launched this coupon site for sports fans. This week's deal is at RFD. Details are below:
Where: RFD, 810 7th St. NW
When: Voucher valid between July 28th and October 25th
What: $20 voucher for $10
How: Team Pick Website
Next week is apparently golf-related.
www.CasualHoya.com: Doing What The Guys Who Buy Us Headbands Tell Us To Do Since 2009.
via capitalistliontamer.files.wordpress.com
Jonathan Wallace, J.D. and I enjoyed 2 1/2 games this afternoon, enjoying the shelter from the apparently crazy thunderstorms. We also got to catch up with jahidilikespie who as lordnick noted, has resurfaced. Don't think I have seen him since last basketball season...anyhoo, back to the games...
According to this ESPN article 100% of all vendors tested at the Verizon Center failed their inspections.
More sickeningly, mice droppings were found at at least 10 vendors tested.
I for one may never eat or drink at the Verizon Center again. Ugh...
Along with the article is a video which includes an anonymous interview with a food manager at Aramark (the company that runs food at the Verizon Center and elsewhere) disclosing some horrendous things he's witnessed.
SPOILER ALERT:
The beauty of Friday Night Lights is that it's a show about football, that's not really about football. It's actually a drama depicting the relationships between the people of a (high-school football crazed) small town. The danger of a show with a plethora of three-dimensional characters is an overabundance of stories. Despite being a good episode, "Injury List" is a prime example of this phenomenon. The one hour episode features interweaving plots that include: an abortion scandal, TWO love triangles, a life-changing injury and a young star witnessing his friend die during a crime (not to mention numerous sub-plots and side-plots like Buddy trying to fake a passion for the Lions where his passion for the Panthers belongs.) I’ll try to navigate through most of the main stories.
Let's start with the bedrock of the show: Principal Tami Taylor and Coach Eric Taylor. The palpable chemistry between the two protagonists allows the couple to overcome common marital problems in relatable and admirable ways. The show depicts them as parental figures to their own children as well as to the other children they teach/coach/guide AND the show offers the relationship as a stable base from which to introduce the town. In a previous episode, Tami was approached by a student from a different school facing a teen pregnancy. Tami "followed the guidelines" and presented that teen with options including information about abortions, but Tami mainly encouraged the teen to speak to her parents (which the teen did.) However, the mother of the boy who impregnated the teen demanded an inquest into Tami’s allegedly improper conduct, which is obviously more serious amidst such a religiously and politically sensitive topic. Tami struggles with the idea of losing her job and fights for the confidentiality of her teen-interaction. She ultimately survives the board inquest to keep her job, but the press catches the story and she has yet to feel the implications of this explosive controversy. A principal from a Texas town involved in a public abortion scandal would be wise to start labeling her office supplies.
But it’s even harder for Tami to deal with her problem because her husband, whom she usually relies on for emotional support, is having difficulties of his own. Coach is coping with an unprecedented level of professional failure, which includes a loss in a winnable game, along with the loss of one of his two star players for the season. His coping mechanism thus far this season has been an increasing reliance on alcohol (to be fair, we’ve seen him drink like three times this season, but the show is suggesting he’s drinking a lot more than usual.) So, while the couple shares a touching moment and manages an in-house date night, both of them are ostensibly handling their problems by themselves. Neither of these two normally attentive parents even asks about Julie’s drama regarding Matt’s sudden reappearance in her life. If they ask about her life, she might (whiningly) tell them about how she (annoyingly) closes the book on Matt for ending their 4-year relationship with an abrupt uncharacteristic radio silence.
From Julie’s temporary neglect, we turn to Tim Riggins and his endless bounty of attention. Sure, the guy is handsome and brooding and is the classic ‘bad-boy turned good,’ but a mother AND daughter… really? Let’s pretend these people are actually the ages of their characters: he’s 19, the mother is 32 and the daughter is 16. Considering ONLY the age of the participants, (not including that the mother may be hotter than the daughter,) which of these relationship scenarios is more gross and which is more illegal? The mother was obviously furious (even though he has not done anything illegal with her… yet,) but isn’t this really a double-robbing the cradle situation?
The other love triangle is more interesting: Landry-Jess-Vince. Jess is torn between an exciting burgeoning relationship with Landry, with whom she is intellectually compatible (and he’s funnier) vs. a lifelong passionate love/hate relationship with a troubled, but trying Vince. The Jess-Landry dynamic touches on the issue of race when Landry’s parents (Aaron from 24 and wife) bring up a question about Obama out of nowhere. By side-stepping the race question and subsequently laughing about it, the duo's connection grows stronger. But simultaneously, she has her eyes fixed elsewhere as she sees Vince’s life continue to fall apart.
Vince, my favorite new character, (though his mother is my least favorite: what accent is she supposed to have?) continues demonstrating a vulnerable and good-natured disposition amidst accumulating tragedies. He watches idly as the girl he likes kisses his teammate (even as she continues to demonstrate her feelings for him by visiting his mom at the drug-rehab clinic, encouraging him and nurturing him.) His effort to handle his mother's drug problem was well-intentioned but foolishly dangerous as he joined a gang of collections thugs to pay for his mother’s treatment. This week, he manages to avoid beating a man with a pipe, but then watches his friend get gunned down during an assignment. I’m reluctant to discuss where this plot might go because this show does not handle murder well. (See Landry, Season 2.)
Finally, we get to Luke who inspired the title for this week’s episode. I was actually surprised by Luke’s story because when he went scrounging for pain meds, I thought we were headed for another after-school special about drugs. I was relieved to find that was not the case, but disappointed that he is out for the season. (Side note: Tinker helped Luke build a gate and tried to keep him from furthering his injury, so in terms of friendship: Tinker=2, Luke=0.) If this was real life and this otherwise bad Lions team just lost 1 of its 2 great players, they would lose every game for the rest of the season. Thankfully, this is not real life; it’s just a show about... well, you get the idea.
Leonsis was on the radio the other day discussing changes he wants to implement at Verizon. I only read some recaps here and there but the thing that caught my attention the most was that he wants to change the lighting at Verizon to be more like MSG.
http://dcprosportsreport.com/2010/07/20/leonsis-to-change-lighting-at-verizon-center/
Did anyone catch the full thing and does anyone know whether these changes would also be implemented at Georgetown games
After spending three weekend afternoons at McDonough watching Kenner league action I think there is a lot to be excited about, and some things to worry about for next season. First, as lame as it sounds, spending a Saturday and Sunday inside in the summer, the games are a lot of fun to watch and very high quality. The gym fills up for the tombs games, but there are a lot of other great players in the other games. It really is a slice of DC basketball elites, both young and old, with JTII sitting in a chair in the corner watching quietly and receiving, like royalty, every player on the way to the locker room, or hallway I think, to dress for the game. It is worth an afternoon to catch a piece of authentic DC basketball.
ROSTERS
The Tombs
Moses Abraham
Aaron Bowen
Nate Lubick
Markel Starks
Hollis Thompson
Austin Freeman
Clyde's
Julian Vaughn
Vee Sanford
DCX
Jerrelle Benimon
Team Takeover
Jason Clark
DC Legends
Chris Wright
Henry Sims
Jonathon Wallace, J.D. and I were able to get to McDonough for only one game yesterday and we made sure it was the 4:40pm Tombs game since we haven't had a chance to see them play yet. Well worth it. Not only did we get to see Austin, Hollis and the 4 rising freshmen but yes Jeff Green decided to show up for the second Saturday in a row. JT III and his dad were also in attendance. A few casual observations...
Kenner observations after The Jump:
Look in the left column: see that fan confidence poll? In the latest iteration, updated today, it shows a spike in confidence concerning the team's performance this year. What? THAT IS INEXPLICABLE. There is simply no reason to put anything other than a "50" in that poll, to show that you have no earthly idea what is going to happen this season. If you are not picking "50" because you have been following Julian's tweets and think he's lifting weights at Rhino PumpHouse or have noticed Lumpy's Kenner League performance, YOU ARE FOOLING YOURSELF.
AND I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION (in the comments)!
In an interview with NBE Basketball Report, Chris Wright addresses the loss to Ohio U in the tournament last year, and talks about expectations for next season.
"Our goal is to get to the Final Four," he said. "We wanna win the Big East title. That’s what me and Austin [Freeman] wanna do. We’ve been to the finals two of three years and lost to Pitt and West Virginia. [We want to] regain the Big East regular season title, make some noise in the dance."
Another good section:
While Wright does have some personal goals, he said he feels as though winning is the main thing and that is what will lead to his personal achievements. "You always have personal aspirations, but if you don't win, they won't come," Wright said. "I wanna be Big East Player of the Year. We got a lot of work if we wanna win [and winning] will take care of the rest."
For his take on the freshman class and the loss to Ohio, check out the full story.
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