SB Nation User Blog: barrypopik

ACORN vote fraud includes Cowboys names

barrypopik — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 09:57:47 -0000

ACORN vote fraud includes Cowboys names

FRAUD RAID SACKS BAM ACTIVISTS
'NFLERS' ON ACORN VOTE LIST
By MAGGIE HABERMAN
October 8, 2008
Officials yesterday raided the Las Vegas headquarters of a major pro-Obama community-organizing group as part of a probe into alleged voter fraud that includes using the names of Dallas Cowboy players on sham registrations.

At least four Nevada agents swept into the offices of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, in the morning with a search warrant.
(...)
Walsh claimed there were reports from investigators that the names of Cowboys football players had been used on some of the dummied voter registrations.

"Tony Romo is not registered to vote in the state of Nevada, and anybody trying to pose as Terrell Owens won't be able to cast a ballot on Nov. 4," said Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, who is a Democrat.

Jim Cramer: NFL gambling is more respectable than Wall Street.

barrypopik — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:56:28 -0000

Jim Cramer: NFL gambling is more respectable than Wall Street.

Tell me about it, Mad Money Cramer! The 2,000 shares that my father gave me in Lehman Brothers went from $67 to $0 in a matter of months.

Caveat emptor ("Buyer beware") is a fine doctrine, but I had no idea that Lehman was taking such risks with my money. Nor did I have any way of knowing. This is (so far this week) the worst bankruptcy in U.S. history, far worse than Enron and 15 times worse than WorldCom.

If I had bet six figures on a Cowboys game, it would have been a safer bet than putting my money in the stock market.

Cramer wonders why everything is melting down and no one is angry.

I'M ANGRY, JIM!

Gene Upshaw was great; the GU patches are not-so-great

barrypopik — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:44:10 -0000

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Upshaw
Eugene Thurman Upshaw, Jr. (a.k.a. Uptown Gene) (August 15, 1945 – August 20, 2008) was an American football player for the Oakland Raiders and executive director of the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA). In 1987, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In honor of Gene Upshaw, the entire NFL will wear a black "GU" patch for the 2008-09 season.

The "GU" patches at first puzzled me. When did Gene Upshaw play for the Dallas Cowboys?

The late Gene Upshaw was a great player and he's in the Hall of Fame. But the large, ugly black patches on every NFL uniform for this entire season are not a wise move.

Did the NFL have to suck up to its players' union that much?

Tom Landry had just as much an influence on professional football as did Gene Upshaw. All teams weren't required to wear Tom Landry patches all season. I don't remember if the Cowboys did. Tom Landry is in the Hall of Fame and the Ring of Honor. Those are appropriate ways to honor someone.

Pat Tillman died for this country. I don't recall that all NFL players wore Pat Tillman patches all season. Certainly, any Tillman patches weren't of this "GU" size.

Pete Rozelle (1926-1996) was the NFL Commissioner from 1960-1989. He basically created what the NFL is today. His influence was far greater than Gene Upshaw's. No one wore a Pete Rozelle "PR" patch for a single day, if I recall correctly.

Gene Upshaw was great, don't get me wrong.

The large black patches on every NFL uniform are not-so-great. The big "GU" looks like some product placement advertising. Uniforms should be free of clutter, simply having the team's logo with the player's name and number on the back, in my opinion.

There are better ways to honor a good football player who became a players union rep. This was a mistake!

Seinfeld-Bill Gates ad flops (premiered during game)

barrypopik — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:44:28 -0000

Seinfeld-Bill Gates ad flops (premiered during game)

(Maybe we should have a section here about football game tv advertising?--B.P.)

Critics Say Gates-Seinfeld Duo
No Laughing Matter
Microsoft Ads Draw
Attention, Not Praise;
Missing the Creativity?
By NICK WINGFIELD and SUZANNE VRANICA
September 8, 2008

Jerry Seinfeld's long-running sitcom is often described as a show about nothing. The same might be said of a baffling new Microsoft Corp. commercial featuring the comedian and Bill Gates -- not, as "Seinfeld" characters might say, that there's anything wrong with that.

The first highly anticipated commercial in an ambitious $300 million campaign to burnish Microsoft's Windows brand was mostly panned by early viewers. The TV spot -- which began airing during an NFL game on Thursday and was later seen hundreds of thousands of times on YouTube -- follows Messrs. Gates and Seinfeld around a shopping mall as the Microsoft chairman tries on shoes, but doesn't mention Windows once.

A blogger for Computer World wrote: "It's one of the worst, most pointless ads in history" while a headline in the Sydney Morning Herald read: " 'Bizarre' Microsoft ad misses mark."

Jessica Simpson Calls Tony Romo 'Her Future Baby's Daddy' (FBD)

barrypopik — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:15:20 -0000

Jessica Simpson Calls Tony Romo 'Her Future Baby's Daddy' (FBD)

Jessica Simpson Calls Tony Romo 'Her Future Baby's Daddy'
In secret, of course...
Wednesday 03rd Sep 2008

Jessica Simpson apparently has a secret nickname for beau Tony Romo which she uses with her girlfriends – 'FBD', or 'Future Baby’s Daddy.'

"She knows he's not ready to get that serious, so she's playing it cool," a source tells Star.

"Tony doesn't know, of course."

Detroit Lions sign QB Drew Henson

barrypopik — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:28:38 -0000

Detroit Lions sign QB Drew Henson

Aug 22, 6:21 PM EDT

Detroit Lions sign former Michigan QB Drew Henson

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) -- The Detroit Lions have signed quarterback Drew Henson, a high school and college standout who has struggled at the professional level in baseball and football.

Terms of the signing, announced on the team's Web site, weren't disclosed.

Henson was signed after second-year quarterback Drew Stanton sprained the thumb on his throwing hand in practice Thursday. He will be sidelined about a month.

The 28-year-old Henson shared quarterback duty at Michigan with Tom Brady.

NY Giant George Martin completes cross-country trek

barrypopik — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 07:02:25 -0000

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2008/06/21/2008-06-21_giant_steps_george_martin_completes_cros.html

Giant Steps: George Martin completes cross-country trek for 9/11 heroes

BY OWEN MORITZ
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Sunday, June 22nd 2008, 2:28 AM

Former New York Giant great George Martin has reached the end zone, completing a 3,003-mile cross-country walk to raise more than $2 million for ailing Ground Zero heroes.

This true Giant, all 6-feet-5 of him, strode into Embarcadero Park North in San Diego yesterday after a journey of stamina and discovery that began last Sept. 16 in New York and averaged 22 miles a day.

(...)

He also lost 40 pounds and found a curious bonanza - more than $190 in loose change.

Martin's 13-state journey, including brutal 50-mph headwinds in Oklahoma and searing 114-degree heat in Arizona, would have made Lewis and Clark proud.

Woman involved in Pacman fight is found dead in NY

barrypopik — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:13:45 -0000

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-FBN-Pacman-Dead-Woman.html

Woman involved in Pacman fight is found dead in NY

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 19, 2008

Filed at 11:01 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (AP) -- A Bronx woman was involved in a Las Vegas brawl that police say NFL star Adam ''Pacman'' Jones' incited has been found dead.

Police say 26-year-old Sadia Morrison was found dead last week behind a Bronx building. Officers found her unresponsive with injuries consistent with a fall.

The medical examiner will determine her cause of death.

Cowboys’ Ware Fulfills a Challenge for Fatherhood

barrypopik — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 00:26:45 -0000

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/sports/football/15ware.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Cowboys’ Ware Fulfills a Challenge for Fatherhood

By GREG BISHOP Published: June 15, 2008

SOUTHLAKE, Tex. — DeMarcus Ware cradled his 3-month-old daughter, smoothing her plentiful black hair, tickling her tummy, kissing her cheeks.

On his living room couch this month, Ware looked nothing like a menacing All-Pro linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys. He made baby noises. He shook rattles. He noticed Marley jabbing fingers in her mouth, an indication she was tired.

Nothing quite compares to watching parents hold their infant. But Ware and his wife, Taniqua, believe they appreciate their daughter, Marley, more because they adopted her after three failed pregnancies.

Finally, they have a child: penetrating eyes, chin covered in drool, curious and cuddly and cute.

“Our little angel,” Ware, 25, said.

He and Taniqua say they have two angels — one they hold each day, and one they can feel but never see or touch. A poem, “Angel in the Sky,” sits on the mantle in the living room. It refers to Omar Ware, who was stillborn in 2006 and cremated the same day. The Wares placed his ashes in a gold urn next to the poem.

OT: Cedric Benson 2nd DUI a coincidence?

barrypopik — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:28:53 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3430752

Bears' Benson arrested, charged in Austin with drunken driving

Associated Press

Updated: June 7, 2008, 2:52 PM ET

Cedric Benson's rocky relationship with the Chicago Bears got murkier Saturday after the running back's arrest on a drunken driving charge in Austin, Texas, his second arrest in little more than a month.

Bears officials said they would treat the matter seriously. Benson's attorney said the former Texas star had a few drinks with dinner but didn't think he was intoxicated, and cooperated with police.

(...)

The arrest comes a month after Benson was charged with boating while intoxicated and resisting arrest. He has said neither charge is true, and those cases are pending. (JUST A COINCIDENCE, CEDRIC?--B.P.)