featuring Team 1200's Phil Melanson
It's a big night in the opening round of the 2011 NHL playoffs. The Wings can eliminate the Coyotes, 4 teams have a chance to take a major lead in their series and the other 4 teams have a chance to make it a best-of-3. I examine all the games happening tonight.
When it comes to reading about most things business-related, whether it be a major acquisition or a launch of a new product, I’m normally affected not swayed by emotion one way or another. Of course, things like bankruptcy and massive layoffs and cuts to manpower will make me feel terrible for the people affected. However, I didn’t feel like I was affected by the repeated stories I would read about the ongoing negotiations between NFL team owners and the NFL players. It only took until the day after the release of the 2011 schedule for me to realize just how much I really have been affected.
Last night would have normally been a night where I watched intently on the NFL network as the major games were announced and the schedules of all 32 teams would scroll across the bottom of the screen. Who would the Buffalo Bills play in the opener? Who would the Bills play in the home opener? How difficult is our schedule? How many wins can we put ourselves down for this year based on the 16 teams that come up over the season? All questions that I would be asking myself as I gather all the information.
However, I couldn’t have cared less about the team’s schedule. After all, what good is putting out a schedule if there’s no guarantee that there will be a season at all? That would be like the NHL deciding to put out a schedule now knowing that the Phoenix Coyotes have a strong possibility to be heading to Winnipeg to play as the Jets for the 2011-2012 season. I’m sure the people of Phoenix wouldn’t have really cared one way or another about the release of the NHL season even if they were secure as can be, but with no security whatsoever, do you think they would care about who the opponents would be in February 2012? Not a chance.
I really hate the idea of being so indifferent about a sport that I love so much. Sunday afternoons during football season make the final day of the weekend so enjoyable and really cap off a couple of days in which everyone was able to unwind. However, I just can’t get into anything NFL-related knowing that two sides are being stubborn in their ways in a selfish attempt to get more of the 9 billion dollar pie. I understand that both sides have to be stubborn to secure as much money as they can, but it’s starting to become personal for someone like myself. When you start playing with my emotions, then I’m going to respond.
Don’t ask me for my thoughts on the NFL Draft because it makes me sick that these players might not have a chance to suit up for their respective teams. If the subject comes up on the show, I’ll talk about it, but know that I have a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth while doing so.
I hope that by continuing to work as if everything is normal, the NFL and the players are showing everyone that they will eventually get everything worked out and nothing will be affected. However, until they show that they will be back, I’m withhold my excitement and that sour taste stuck in my mouth will get more and more acidic.
I never made it to Idaho or other smaller states on my baseball trip two summers ago, so my subject choice may not be correct, but I wonder how many of you just shrugged your shoulders and said the same thing after reading this story. Just another day at the music store in potato country.
By the Associated Press
Stop me if you've heard this one: A goat walks into a music store.
It sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that's exactly what happened at the Piano Gallery in the southeastern Idaho town of Ammon.
KIFI-TV reports the goat followed a woman and her child into the store on Monday. Maybe it was looking for some sheeeet music.
Clerk Lorri Bridges says the goat was just adorable. The staff corralled it in a bathroom until animal control arrived.
The goat, dubbed Beethoven for its apparent love of music, is being held at the Idaho Falls Animal Shelter.
If it isn't claimed, someone is ready to adopt it.
Think of it as Cops meets hotornot.com. Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Maricopa County wants you to vote in his version of "Prison Idol". Just a quick thought: Am I the only one who thinks that the first paragraph of this story should be investigated a little more?
By the Associated Press
The Arizona sheriff known for dressing inmates in pink underwear and feeding them green baloney is inviting people to choose the most popular jail booking photos posted on his website.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (ar-PY'-oh) allows online users to browse through the photos and then vote on their favorites that will be highlighted on a "Mugshot of the Day" section.
The top picks so far aren't unexpected: They're the most disheveled, unusual looking people among those booked into the downtown Phoenix jail.
Arpaio says he hopes the increased Web traffic will highlight the work of his employees.
He also says more crimes may be uncovered if the public can view the photos.
The website is www.mcso.org
Good to see that our safety is of the utmost importance when travelling in the United States. Remind me never to book the red-eye if I happen to be travelling within American borders. You know you're desperate to stay awake if you're resorting to watching a non-descript "crime thriller" to pass the time...
By Joan Lowy and Ray Henry of the Associated Press
An air traffic controller has been suspended for watching a movie when he was supposed to be monitoring aircraft, deepening the Federal Aviation Administration's embarrassment following at least five cases of controllers sleeping on the job.
In the latest incident, the controller was watching a movie on a DVD player early Sunday morning while on duty at a regional radar center in Oberlin, Ohio, near Cleveland that handles high-altitude air traffic, the FAA said in a statement Monday.
The controller's microphone was inadvertently activated, transmitting the audio of the movie — the 2007 crime thriller "Cleaner," starring Samuel L. Jackson — for more than three minutes to all the planes in the airspace that the controller was supposed to be monitoring, the agency said.
The controller's microphone became stuck in the transmit position, preventing him from hearing incoming radio calls or issuing instructions to planes during the incident, the agency said.
The controller was alerted to the mishap when he was contacted by a military pilot.
Besides the controller, the FAA also has suspended a manager at the Oberlin center.
In all, the FAA has suspended nine controllers and supervisors since late March.
In five of the cases the controllers allegedly fell asleep. In another case, the FAA is investigating why two controllers in Lubbock, Texas, were unresponsive to radio calls.
Nearly all the incidents occurred during overnight shifts when traffic is light and people naturally have trouble staying awake.
The incidents have shaken FAA officials, made air traffic controllers the butt of late-night comedians and raised public jitters about the safety of air travel.