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Sporting Life
News is breaking that Lancaster native Floyd Landis, who won the 2006 Tour de France and was then stripped of his title for testing positive for elevated testosterone levels, has had an arrest warrant issued against him.
According to an AP report, "French judge Thomas Cassuto is seeking to question Landis about computer hacking dating back to September 2006."
(h/t Jon Solomon)
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Daily News. Daily News said: RT @citypaper This screenshot from @atrios' Eschaton, posted without further comment: http://is.gd/6OYeb LOL related E2P: http://is.gd/6Cr3f [...]
Locked in the Cage 2, a Mixed Martial Arts fight featuring pro and amateur cage fights, goes down this Saturday night at the John Perzel Community Center in Northeast Philly.
Locked in the Cage 1 was, by my count, a big success. It was Philly's first major top-to-bottom local MMA show. (Not all fighters were locals but all local MMA gyms were represented and the promoters honored local interests.) The major selling point of that show was pulling off the co-main events featuring genuine Philly standouts — Wilson Reis, the former Elite XC champ, and Tara LaRosa, the No. 1-ranked 135-pound female in the world.
This event doesn't have the star power, but it does have citywide representation, as it'll feature Team Balance, Daddis Fight Camps, Fight Firm, Fight Factory, BJJ United and other local institutions. According to co-promoter Fran Evans, LITC2 is designed to address the most pressing task in establishing Philly's local scene — building up and refining new pros. Evans believes that this is the key to making homegrown MMA sustainable. If Philly does get a flow going, it can maintain its rep as a fighter's town in a sports world that's seeing MMA grow in relevance at an impressive clip. Otherwise, the local MMA scene will be vulnerable to rickety conditions and exploitation by slash-and-burn promoters.
The event goes down at The John Perzel Community Center (2990 St. Vincent St.) this Saturday night. (The full fight card is here, although some unpublished substitutions have been made.) Doors open at 6 p.m. and the fights start at 7 p.m. Wilson Reis, Fight Factory's Eddie Alvarez and others will be on hand to sign autographs.
Tickets ($40-$90) are available at lockedinthecage.com.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly City Paper, Yancey @YanceyG. Yancey @YanceyG said: Locked in the Cage 2: Local MMA scrambles for a toehold in Northeast Philly: Locked in the Cage 2, a Mixed Martial... http://bit.ly/53kMmW [...]
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| Bowen | Eskin |
We saw, briefly in two games before the first concussion, that a sharp, nonrusty Westbrook could still function very effectively. His left knee did not prevent that.
Also, I'm pretty sure this didn't come from Westbrook directly, because there is no one in the local media he is really tight with. That's just the way he is; I've never quite understood it, and at this point, I doubt I ever will. But if Brian Westbrook is thinking about hanging it up, he is the most unlikely player on the team to blab that around to anybody.
The report sounded to me like maybe what Eagles management HOPES will happen -- though an Eagles spokesman told me Monday that he is unaware of Westbrook seeking medical opinions on his knee, or contemplating retirement. If the Eagles have a role for Westbrook in 2010, it is as a complement to an emerging LeSean McCoy.
There are commenters on the article suggesting that Eskin's a mouthpiece for the Eagles (and Bowen certainly leaves the door to that interpretaion wide open). And it's reasonable to think that after last year's Brian Dawkins debacle, if the Birds again plan on unceremoniously parting ways with their most popular player in the off season, they would do well to plant a few seeds of doubt early (which would be, yes, duplicitous, but also not un-smart from a strategy standpoint).
Then again, Westbrook's very fair ponderings about his future health after sustaining two concussions do at least give this report the air of believability, though, as Bowen rightly points out, Westbrook had no specific complaints about his knee this season.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly News Now, Yancey @YanceyG. Yancey @YanceyG said: Westbrook Rumors: Is Les Bowen calling Howard Eskin an Eagles shill?: Bowen Eskin Though the local sports media... http://bit.ly/6VbJX5 [...]
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| Photo | The Dukes of Awesome |
Jason Fagone, in the new issue of GQ, lays the deed directly at Harrison's feet, recreating the scene from interviews, court records and police report. Here's a taste:
marvin darnell harrison was not supposed to be this guy, the black athlete with a gun. Insecure, obnoxious, prone to acts of catharsis —that was Terrell Owens, Michael Vick. But Marvin?
Marvin drank juice.
He was a worker. Marvin was the guy who never wore his gloves in practice because the gloves were sticky and made catching balls easy, and he wanted to practice the hard way. He was the neat freak who sat with his back to the press at a locker that would make a drill sergeant swoon. Marvin, who juked my repeated requests for an interview, was the perfectionist who evolved an ability to communicate almost telepathically with his quarterback, Peyton Manning, but barely at all with mere English. If he left any trace of his existence in the league, it was only in the record books: second (to Jerry Rice) in all-time receptions, third in all-time one-hundred-yard games, first in receptions in a single season. Through all this, his teammates claimed they didn't know him in the slightest. "He's like Batman," linebacker Cato June told Sports Illustrated.
Think about the discipline it would take to make a living as an elite star of a multi-billion-dollar entertainment juggernaut without ever once being truly seen. In this sense, Harrison's football career is not only historic; it's also a sort of miracle. The dude skipped like a flat stone across a rancid pool and emerged, twelve years later, dry as a bone.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Philly News Now, Yancey @YanceyG. Yancey @YanceyG said: Marvin Harrison: The Dirtiest Player: Photo | The Dukes of Awesome The rumblings about Philly native/ former C... http://bit.ly/5YnXgH [...]
The Eagles find themselves with one of those "good problems to have." Three quarterbacks under contract who have had (varying amounts of) success leading pro football teams.
The candidates:
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Donovan McNabb, the face of the franchise, its best-ever quarterback, he of 10 seasons at the helm, of 7 trips to the playoffs (and 7 exits, stage right, from the post-season), he who's experienced no discernible deterioration of his skills, but also no discernible amelioration of his weaknesses. |
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Kevin Kolb, the heir apparent ever since Andy Reid made him a surprise second-round pick in the 2007 draft. Kolb got his first two regular season starts this year, and he performed admirably. |
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Michael Vick, the Mild-Cat, the Sound and the Fury, the Much Ado, the convicted dog killer who parlayed a mountain of hype and righteous fan indignation in to a 6-13, 86 yards line on the season a bonus 24 carries for 95 yards rushing. He of the two biggest plays (a touchdown pass to Jeremy Maclin, a botched handoff to Leonard Weaver that led to a Dallas TD) of the Eagles playoff cameo. |
Pick 'em!
What and where is the best bar to watch
the Eagles during the playoffs?
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Well, folks, it's game on: the House is debating the table games bill as we speak (my understanding was that it can't be voted on until about 5:00 tonight; will report back on that).
I'll be covering the discussion (or whatever's left of it) and vote today via Twitter and on the Clog – simultaneously in this case!
My Twitter coverage (PhillyfrScratch) will be streamed below.
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| Isaiah Thompson |
Tonight, the state House of Representatives is set to vote on the table games bill – a bill that contains more shady clauses than a Santa convention.
Does it matter? Do I spit into the wind?
Maybe so: but at least I'm spittin'.
This bill is about much more than whether or not you can play blackjack at a casino.
- It expands the powers of casinos to extend credit
- It expands their powers to share information about pools of potentially lucrative gamblers.
- It keeps enforcement and scrutiny of casino operators under the Gaming Board, despite almost uniform agreement among law enforcement officials that it shouldn't be.
- It grants special favors to private interests – including, CP found, favoring a company represented by a top Harrisburg lobbyist to get the last unawarded casino license.
- It extends the opening time for Foxwoods.
- It offers casinos laughably low tax rates and licensing fees – even though its sole purpose, ostensibly, is to raise money for the state.
- It appears to create a new category of casino supppliers, subject to less scrutiny.
The list goes on.
Meanwhile, Governor Rendell – the same who refused to tax the massive gas drilling operations underway in Pennsylvania – maintains his hostage tactic over the small pot of money tied to table games, threatening to lay off 1,000 workers if the bill isn't passed by Friday.
His office argues that, because the projected – key word, there – revenues from table games were included in the budget to the tune of $250 million, the state legislature simply must pass this bill.
Perhaps Rendell – and, indeed, the state legislature – ought not to have included money in the budget that would come from an activity not yet legal! Rendell signed off on a budget that expected money from table games without having seen the actual law that would provide for table game in the first place.
When, lo and behold, the law turned out to be riddled with earmarks, casino giveaways, and greedy in-fighting among the legislature, and therefore got held up – Rendell is all the more to blame for allowing such provisions in his budget in the first place.
Yet it seems to me that the media has played easily into Rendell's hands, covering all sorts of issues – even a natural history exhibit – in a context of something terrible happening "if the House doesn't pass table games," – as if passing table games was some sort of abstract bureaucratic hurdle that simply must be overcome; as if Rendell's bullying and threatening layoffs is somehow more reasonable than the delay of a thoroughly corrupted law.
Example: "Rendell: Might have to close Pa. museum, parks" – Inquirer
Example: "Rendell: Without table gaming, the state budget is ruined." – Business Insider
Example: "Rendell: Layoffs to come if no table games by Jan 8" – Inquirer
Example: "At last, a table games deal" – Allentown morning Call
I've made my personal opinion clear before and, in the interest of disclosure – an, frankly, as an appeal to readers who trust my reporting – I state it again. This bill is a disgrace. It expands the power of a predatory industry, and it reeks of pay-for-play politics.
If you'd like to contact your representatives to urge them to vote either way, you can look them up here by zipcode.
Coming up: table games' shady provisions explored.
Gov Rendell: What do you plan to do if the casinos don't earn your projected money in the state budget???
Thank you for continuing to uphold justice for the unheard & unseen citizens of Philadelphia. Thank you to CP for not being run by corporate America.
@Elizabeth Gutman: Rendell could always push through legalized prostitution and cocaine sales, threatening to close Pennsylvania's elementary schools.
[...] way it passed was by threats and bribery of pet projects to buy legislators' votes. Read this insightful commentary by Isaiah Thompson of the CityPaper. And of course, as we learned late Monday evening, this bill exempts the [...]
What's really weird is that presumably to prevent casinos from competing with normal lenders, they are only allowed to lend for the purpose of gambling. What does that mean? It would seem to imply that after getting such a loan you either have to win (always unlikely) or gamble it away. Walk in with nothing, walk out with a debt. The beauty part is that the casino need not charge usurious rates for these loans, since the gamblers will normally lose the money right back to the casino, and then have to pay it back too. Unless they can bet it all and break even, and then walk away and use the money for something else? It makes no sense at all. Money is fungible, or it used to be. This really is a strategy for the casinos to go beyond the empty pockets of destitute gambling addicts, and seize their other assets as well. We'd best start building more homeless shelters.
[...] The 1000 state employees whose jobs are secure now that the table games bill has been signed by the governor are breathing easier. Still, we’re not crazy about the Governor using them as pawns in his battle with the legislature. [...]
In a show of class you hope for from the guy you just traded half your farm system and stand-up guy Cliff Lee for, Roy Halladay ran the following full-page ad in the Toronto Star thanking the city and organization for the support they always showed him. I question his font choice and wonder why he didn't spring for color like a certain former Phillie did when he left town (newspapers are hurting, Roy!), but otherwise I respect the move.
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