Author Archive
11 year old gives birth, alleged 30 year old father arrested
File this one under “EXCUSE ME?” Not sure if it’s true but if so, ewwwww.
Oz girl, 11, gives birth, while alleged father of baby in 30`s is arrested (Syndey Morning Herald via sify.com)
Driscoll Middle School Trick Play Video
The Driscoll Middle School Trick Play video is burning up the charts on the Interwebs. Here it is, for your viewing pleasure:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UIdI8khMkw]
Nice, right? With all the talk about kids getting hurt playing football, this is one way to avoid a big hit. Assuming nobody decides to waste the kid as he strolls down the field.
I somewhat wonder if the play is against the rules. If so, it’s still fun to watch. Reminds me of the hidden ball trick from ‘The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training.’ Can’t find a clip of the movie, but here’s a real life version of the hidden ball trick.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brfWfv53uNs]
OK, it’s college baseball. That’s kind of like real life.
Lindsay Lohan Meets With Father Michael At Rehab
I’m not sure why I’m obsessed with Lindsay Lohan and her father Michael. Admittedly, Lindsay’s ongoing downward spiral is more intriguing than some, in part because it seems to be a true never-ending story. It’s not a train-wreck, because, well, when you wreck a train, that’s it. It stops moving. Lindsay Lohan’s life keeps getting more and more tumultuous.
At the moment, Michael Lohan’s little daughter is in court-ordered rehab. Michael, according to published reports, visited her there. She hadn’t seen him in seven months, they say.
An unnamed eyewitness (spywitness?) described the tender scene thusly:
“Lindsay met him at Betty Ford and the pair spent hours together… it was not a fleeting encounter, this appeared well-planned in advance. It was an emotional reunion… there were hugs, kisses and even a few tears when Michael and Lindsay first saw each other.”
Big Daddy Michael Lohan said in a statement that he has “pledged not to comment about anything relating to my daughter.” He then went on to talk about his daughter, saying, “However, what I will say is that I am an incredibly proud father tonight. My daughter is progressing extraordinarily well.”
At least he said something nice. Right?
Mama’s Boy at Parenting.com [People We Like]
Christine Coppa is a single mom raising a little boy all by her lonesome, something that is near and dear to my heart. Why? Because that’s what my mom did. I can’t say that I know how difficult it is to be a single mom, because I am (a) married and (b) not a mom. Still, there are times in the life of any parent where they may think “ugh, this is how a single parent must feel”. When that happens to me, I think of my mom, and also Christine Coppa, who I interviewed on BlogTalkRadio awhile back.
Christine tells her story in the book Rattled!: A Memoir, which is a good read and costs less than ten bucks on Kindle.
Christine Coppa is now blogging for Parenting.com; the blog is called Mama’s Boy. Check it out!
Is Mike Shanahan Protecting His Son?
Much has been said about the benching of Donovan McNabb on October 31, 2010. We have a new daddy-related theory to add to the mix. Is Mike Shanahan protecting his son?
First, some background:
(If you already know what happened and just want to skip to the theory, click here.)
This weekend, Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan benched quarterback Donovan McNabb with less than two minutes to go in a winnable game and put in backup QB Rex Grossman. Rex rewarded this vote of confidence by immediately fumbling the ball. The Lions’ Ndamukong Suh scooped it up and ran it it in for a touchdown, putting the game out of reach.
At the post game press conference, Shanahan gave the following explanation for the move:
“With a minute left and Rex knowing how to run that two-minute offense, I felt with the time and no timeouts, he gave us the best chance to win in that scenario, just knowing the terminology, what we’ve done, how we’ve run it. [That] puts a lot of pressure on the quarterback that hasn’t been used to that terminology, and I thought that was the best scenario for us to have a chance to win….It gave us the best chance to win. What you have to do sometimes if you’ve got to understand everything is sped up when you don’t have timeouts. It’s got to come automatic….I thought it was the best scenario to put him in there in that situation.”
The next day, the coach said that McNabb lacked the “proper conditioning” to run the 2-minute drill:
“The cardiovascular endurance that it takes to run a two-minute [drill], going all the way down with no time-outs, calling plays, it’s just not easy. If I thought it was the best situation to do, then Donovan would have run the two-minute offense.”
So… McNabb is not as good as Grossman at the 2-minute drill, and he’s not in shape. Kind of. Also a possible hamstring problem. Both hamstrings. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan — Mike’s son — says that McNabb “knew benching was a possibility”. McNabb, no stranger to being ridiculed for all sorts of things, says he was not aware of this.
Now, some facts. Rex Grossman, who started in the Super Bowl for the Chicago Bears when they got destroyed by the Indianapolis Colts, is not what anyone would call a good quarterback. At this point he is at best a second stringer. A backup. In fact, he was a backup for the Houston Texans last season, where Kyle Shanahan — Mike’s son — was the offensive coordinator. Shanahan the younger ran an offense that was designed by Shanahan the elder. An offense that is apparently so complex it can only be run by someone who is deeply familiar with it. Even if they aren’t, you know, good enough to be an NFL starter.
So here’s the theory. It is possible that in the heat of the game, Kyle Shanahan — Mike’s son — tells his dad that the right guy for this situation is Rex Grossman. Dad listens. The result is the worst possible outcome — snap, fumble, touchdown for the other team. At the press conference, head coach/Kyle’s dad decides that the best way to handle this is to say something negative about his starting quarterback. The next day, he makes up a new reason, one that still says something negative about his starting quarterback, but not quite as negative. Kyle decides to weigh in and say that McNabb always knew that a benching might happen — because really, why would anyone think that keeping your mouth shut is a good idea at this point — something that, for the record, McNabb says he was unaware of.
This wouldn’t be the first time an NFL dad defended his NFL son. Back in 2005, former Giants great Phil Simms told Steve Young to “lay off” his son Chris when Young said that perhaps Chris lacked the mental toughness to be an NFL starter, in part because he was perhaps raised in a “laissez-faire kind of atmosphere”. Chris Simms is now basically out of the league and was recently busted for driving while under the influence of marijuana; he pleaded not guilty. The arresting officer said the smell of pot was “very strong” in Simms’ car and that the former Bucs and Titans QB “had a very flushed face”, according to the New York Post.
Phil Simms hasn’t said anything about Chris recently. At least not in public.
We have no inside information here. It’s just a theory. Rather than saying, “you know what, I listened to my son and we lost the game. It was a mistake, one I will try not to make again,” Shanahan the elder instead decided to protect his son and throw his quarterback under the bus. Just a theory.
What do you think? Is Mike Shanahan protecting his son?
Non Kiddie CD Player Is, In Fact, Good for Kids [DaddyShop]
Guess what? That Sony CD Boombox with Digital AM/FM Tuner is, in fact, a non-kiddie CD player that is good for kids.
My youngest has the ability to break almost anything. If you don’t believe me, try this — internal power supply on a desktop computer. Beat that!
But this Sony CD Boombox? We’ve had it since June of 2010, and so far it’s still working. It even looks good, which is rare. I think the reason is the controls. They are located on top of the device and easily accessed by little hands, particular the volume dial, which turns like buttah. We mostly use the CD player but there is an AM/FM radio and a line-in jack for an iPod or other music player.
This is an item that I bought and have used, so this is a real world review based on actual usage. The model number of the device I own is ZSE5RED. Highly recommended.
Sony CD Boombox with Digital AM/FM Tuner (Red) at Amazon.com
Young Justice Cartoon Will Air November 26
The new Young Justice cartoon will air November 26, according to a report from New York Comic Con on Poptimal.
We’re always excited about any new superhero cartoon. For some reason, it was hard to find an exact date anywhere online. But we did — Cartoon Network will air a one-hour premiere of Young Justice on November 26, 2010. The series starts up for real in Spring of 2011. Which isn’t specific enough for my taste, but whatever.
What is Young Justice? It’s kind of like Teen Titans, but different. You’ll see the young heroes/sidekicks like Robin and Speedy, but some things will be different. UGO.com says that the Young Justice cartoon will “reboot the reboots“, which could be OK as long as it’s not “Infinitely Finally The Last Crisis Ever No Really We Mean It” type of nonsense.
For those who want even more background on Young Justice, it all started with comics, as usual. There were some issues written by Peter David (one of my favorite comics writers), and there are trade paperbacks although some, such as Young Justice: Sins of Youth, are out of print. Then there is the 2-issue miniseries JLA: WORLD WITHOUT GROWN-UPS, which is being reprinted as a plain ol’ overpriced comic book under the title DC Comics Presents Young Justice #1. My guess is that there will be more of these reprints leading up to the premiere on November 26; hopefully they will reprint the Peter David issues, because I like his writing. And let’s face it, it’s all about my needs.
Here’s the official video preview with the Young Justice cartoon producers Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman discussing the characters.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiOjAmXDjW4]
And here is five minutes of slightly shaky Young Justice footage from a New York Comic Con panel.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsnuMjbaqbM]
Poptimal also has video of the producers discussing the show.
What do you think? Looks good? Gonna watch? Read the comics? Let us know!
NY Comic-Con 2010: Young Justice Preview : Poptimal.com
