Lots to catch up on...
So far, I'm into the Olympics. The opening ceremonies were long and occasionally boring, so I was sound asleep by the time Gretzky, Steve Nash and others lit the malfunctioning cauldron (via Deadspin).
It is extremely sad that Georgian luge rider Nodar Kumaritashvili died at the age of 21 in a practice run. NBC ran the video of the crash (several times, in fact) and as usual the hand-wringing began. Personally I have no problem seeing it but since I don't want to offend all of you with nothing better to do, I will only put a link up for you to see it for yourself (thanks, Huffington Post).
Here's the thing: I've seen the Challenger explode, planes fly into the World Trade Center (and the towers' collapse), JFK's assassination, and so on. They're all out there - and are shown at will. It's part of the public history. Should any of this offend, there is this thing called a power switch. Use it.
NBC and any other news organization has a responsibility to show the video and assorted pictures.
Those who can't deal are doomed to hang with Tipper Gore and the PMRC - something we all feared 25 years ago.
Remember The Knack, the wannabe Beatles that exploded in 1979 with "My Sharona?" Band-leader Doug Fieger died of cancer at age of 57 (courtesy WNEW).
Jeff Pearlman further dissects the new "We Are The World." He approves of the song here. He rates and ranks the artists from the two versions here. My take? Huey Lewis is ranked too low, of course (seriously, I think that band really gets disrespected but that's a post for another time). And 2010 can't touch 1985. And let's be honest, and blunt: if this song (either version) wasn't an all-star group hug, no one would care. The song (melody, words, etc) just aren't that good. Though it won all the awards, think about it: how many times have voters looked back and said, "what was I thinking?"
Staying in the 80's, the Stuck in the 80's guys picked their list of "must-own albums." Each selected artist could only have ONE album and, correctly, Sports was their Huey Lewis and the News choice. Nothing wrong with Picture This or Fore!, but Sports is still my favorite. I don't agree with their U2 choice (The Joshua Tree over War, Boy, or The Unforgettable Fire) but I've never fawned over that album anyway.
It's in four parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
Chad Jennings and Sam Borden at the LoHud Yankee Blog have continued the tradition that Peter Abraham started by having guest writers during the winter. A couple were less-than-stellar, or had ideas that were, ahem, silly (and then there are those pesky stat-geeks that have infiltrated. Still a couple were fun reads:
Kevin Rozell does a nice look back at Mel Allen (though he refers to Joe Garagiola as "Joe Gargoyle"). Sam follows that up with a look at a few announcers who stick out to him.
Sam also writes a nice story about Old Timer's Day involving Bobby Murcer, Thurman Munson, and some mysterious flowers.
Guest-writer Mark Braff writes about the decline of Old Timer's Day. Personally I still like OTD but he makes some very valid points. It doesn't need to be so Yankee-centric and I remember seeing the old banners. I also remember how touched I was to see that 1922 AL championship banner that was displayed on the last night in the "old" Stadium.
Longtime Yankees trainer Gene Monahan is going to miss his first Spring Training since he began in 1963. He's been the Yankees' head trainer for 38 years. We wish him a speedy recovery!
That's enough for now. More links and stuff are a-coming!
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