Daily Dose: 11/21/17
Joe Morgan is asking Santa to keep steroid users out of Cooperstown
3:07 PMWhat’s up, gang? We’re closing in on Turkey Day, but the news doesn’t stop, so let’s end the week strong. I’ll be on Outside the Lines at 1 p.m. Tuesday, then also doing Around the Horn at 5 p.m. on ESPN. Tune in!
Embiid is a legend 😂 pic.twitter.com/zLLSMf2unK
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 21, 2017
Charlie Rose is the latest man to have the curtain pulled back. The longtime PBS and now CBS announcer’s past was revealed with a Washington Post exposé in which various women accuse him of not only sexual misconduct but also more generally running the type of operation on his show that created a harmful environment for all women he employed. He’s since been fired by both networks, but his co-hosts on CBS are still very much reeling from the news.
The AT&T-Time Warner merger may never happen. The joining of the telecommunications giant and the media programming behemoth would create a huge company that could control quite a bit of television. Now, the Department of Justice is suing to make sure it doesn’t happen. DOJ claims that there’s no reason we should trust such a company to play fair with its counterparts. The two companies say that if you’re going to not let them join, we should consider breaking up Google and Facebook too.
I wear Vans every day. There are days when I wear other shoes as well, but for the most part, whether I’m in my house or at the office, or in these streets, I’ve got a pair of Vans on. I used to skate as a kid, but those days are over, so I’m still rocking them because I like the way they look. However, there was a time when they’d fallen out of favor with basically anyone who wasn’t on a board. Now, you see celebrities of all types with them on their feet, everywhere. Check out how they managed to make this turnaround a real thing.
Joe Morgan is a Hall of Fame baseball player. He is also 74 years old. Now, he’s taking a stance on steroid users and whether they belong in Cooperstown. He says no, and he penned his thoughts in a very long letter to the voters, which basically says that because we all want to put our heads in the sand about the so-called purity of baseball, some of the best players ever shouldn’t be recognized for their greatness. This is the most backward stance ever.
Free Food
Coffee Break: In case you don’t know, Living Single begat Friends. But now that the legendary Fox franchise is being rebooted, it’s got a great opportunity to tackle a pretty serious subject: gentrification. The land of urban living is just not the same anymore and is great show fodder. And necessary, too.
Snack Time: The situation with Tyrese has gotten very dark. After his beef with Dwayne Johnson, then whatever that was with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, he’s now doing weird things with Michael Blackson. Yikes.
Dessert: Miguel’s latest track is extremely uplifting, y’all. His gospel future is set.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/20/17
Della Reese passes at 86
4:37 PMWhat’s up, gang? We’re on a short week because of Thanksgiving, but we’re going to power through anyways. By the way, I linked up with the 30 for 30 gang to talk about their first episode of season two. You can listen here!
can we talk about serena williams giving out replicas of her trophies out as party favors and naming the tables after her grand slam wins at her wedding? iconic, extremely me move
— #BrittanySpanos (@ohheybrittany) November 18, 2017
Della Reese has made the transition. While she was best known later in life for her role on the television program Touched By An Angel, she had quite the career in music before that. But her on-screen work was certainly her calling card, with several films and other television roles to her name. For me, Della Reese always sort of played Della Reese, which was always excellent. She was 86 years old and leaves behind her husband and three children.
Chance the Rapper hosted Saturday Night Live this past weekend. I imagine that many people in America aren’t necessarily that familiar with his work, so seeing him in this context was a treat. Considering it was his first time at the effort, it was particularly impressive. Here’s the other thing: When there’s a black host, all the black characters tend to get more airtime with the sketches. If you missed it, you can check out all the sketches here. The Family Feud scene is particularly worth your time.
You know what happens when you don’t respect your own diversity? You lose money. Take the example of CBS, which decided to jettison actor Daniel Dae Kim after a money dispute regarding Hawaii Five-0. Basically, they did not want to pay actors of color as much as their white counterparts. So Kim walked, and with him went his brainchild The Good Doctor, which he is executive producing. Now, that show is a huge hit for ABC. There’s clearly a lesson to be learned here.
When it comes to video games, I play sports ones. I’m mostly a FIFA guy, but I enjoy a reasonable variety of others too. But some folks take things a little more seriously than that. I feel like the most I’ve ever bet on a turn on the sticks was a case of beer in college, but then again, nobody was balling like that as far as wagers go. But for rap stars Lil Yachty and 21 Savage, the stakes are way higher. Apparently, these two dudes went at it on NBA 2K and Yachty lost $12K. Yeesh.
Free Food
Coffee Break: The American Music Awards were last night, and while the acts were one thing, Tracee Ellis Ross was the host. And to make things even better, her mom, Diana Ross, was getting a lifetime achievement award. Perhaps best of all, our favorite family dropped by to give her a message.
Snack Time: Terry Glenn was a heck of a football player for Ohio State and on into the NFL. He died in a car accident over the weekend.
Dessert: Serena Williams offers up a must-watch tribute for the holidays. Watch.
There are so many reasons to quit, but even more to keep playing. Even if you don’t go pro, sports can teach you so much. So keep playing. #sistersinsweat #gatoradepartner @gatorade pic.twitter.com/ejVzVjDvpR
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) November 20, 2017
Daily Dose: 11/17/18
Jesse Jackson reveals Parkinson’s diagnosis
4:08 PMHappy Friday, kiddos. Hope you’re ready for the weekend, folks, because it’s all downhill from here in terms of the holiday season. This is the last weekend you are reasonably allowed to ignore your relatives.
https://twitter.com/WeNotSocks/status/931281775258562560
Jesse Jackson is an American legend. He is not without his faults, obviously, but his run for president in 1988, on top of all his work as a civil rights activist, will go down in this nation’s history as transformational. A lot of people were prepared to vote for that black man, which is no small matter. He’s now disclosed that he’s been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, an unfortunate turn. I’ve met Jackson a couple of times, and each time it was an enlightening experience. We’re all wishing him well with his health.
Dave Chappelle’s last stand-up was pretty problematic. The comic legend who graced the world with his Comedy Central show came back to the small screen earlier this year, and it included a whole bunch of jokes that felt like he had maybe not really kept up with the times in terms of what we joke about in polite society. That aside, many people thought it was quite funny, and, if nothing else, it was good to see the familiar face back in his element. His newest Netflix special drops on New Year’s Eve, with him also doing a Stranger Things cameo.
Al Franken has admitted to inappropriate behavior. The Minnesota senator, a Democrat, was called out by radio personality Leeann Tweeden, who told her story about how the former Saturday Night Live writer and actor touched and kissed her inappropriately while the two were part of a USO tour years back. He apologized, and many people have been calling for him to resign as a result. In defense of him, the governor of Ohio came out and dropped a very weird letter about his sexual history because, well, dudes are the worst.
Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is not here for your nonsense. One of the biggest knocks about the sport recently has been pace of play, and as a result the bigs have instituted all sorts of rules to try to speed things up. Clocks between innings, cutting down on nonsense before and after pitches, it’s all been very helpful. But now, Manfred just doesn’t care. He plans to consider a pitch clock as well as opening up the strike zone, and he might just implement it whether the players want it or not. Alrighty then.
Free Food
Coffee Break: I just want to give a shout-out to all my basics out there. You know who you are. Embrace it. I shop at the mall. I go to normal grocery stores. And when I’m on the road, I eat at pretty basic joints. Here’s a ranking of the top 25 restaurant chains in America, by sales.
Snack Time: If you have a problem with Lil Uzi Vert, that sucks for you. He might be weird, but his dance is awesome and his joints bang. Speaking of, here are four new songs of his.
Dessert: Look, do not have this at your family functions this holiday season. I will destroy the whole table.
NEW Cooler Ranch Doritos Turkey! pic.twitter.com/KHpD5sDQCV
— Kari Steele (@KariVanHorn) November 16, 2017
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 11/16/17
Trump undoes Obama’s trophy elephant import laws
6:17 PMAll right, kiddos. I’ll be on Capitol Hill for most of Thursday covering an event about the future of sports gambling, which should be an interesting day. I’ll let you know how it goes.
y'all gotta watch this clip from an episode of "Ball in the Family" that aired 2 months ago. I'm crying lmaoooo pic.twitter.com/1pz7Gb0bBT
— Bruh Report (@BruhReport) November 15, 2017
President Donald Trump loves undoing former President Barack Obama’s achievements. Whether it be things that can help his fellow Americans, policies that help us get along with other nations or, lo and behold, regulations that prevent endangered species from being killed off. Yes, Trump is going to reverse the ban on the import of trophy elephants in Africa. This move is clearly directly designed to help his son, whose proclivity for killing things is well-documented, and to thumb his nose at 44 directly, just because he can.
Our justice system can be extremely brutal. When it comes to fairness in incarceration, there are loopholes and inconsistencies that can ruin lives. Particularly in Louisiana, where state officials are on record as having desired to keep people in jail in order to “work them,” this is a specifically bad problem. Two more heartbreaking cases are in the news this week. One, a man was locked up for eight years with no trial, then freed after his case was thrown out. Another man is now free, nearly 50 years after a false rape accusation.
Remember Capt. “Sully”? Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the guy who landed a plane on the Hudson River after a bird strike nearly took the aircraft down? It led to that incredible visual of people standing on a wing in the middle of the water, a situation from which, fortunately, everyone on board survived. He became a national hero. They made a movie about his life, and Tom Hanks played him. Anyways, it awakened the world to the scourge of bird strikes in general. And this photo from a fowl hitting a Miami-bound plane is really wild.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are old. Like, legit, they have one of the more aged rosters in the NBA, so how they handle their conditioning is extremely important. In a league in which daily travel is such a critical part of life, you’ve got to manage your energy very carefully, so what they’ve started doing when they get the chance is staying the night in the same city they’ve just played in before traveling on. It makes sense and, when it comes to the NBA fixing its rest problem, might be something more teams would want to consider.
Free Food
Coffee Break: If you’re not familiar with Lil Peep, I don’t blame you. His sound and approach to the game were very much on the cutting edge of where hip-hop is now, but he wasn’t without his problems. He’s suspected to have died from a drug overdose at the age of 21. Very sad.
Snack Time: I’ve mentioned the show Chewing Gum a few times in this space, mainly because it’s hilarious. It was supposed to be going away, but now, apparently, it’s back? Yay!
Dessert: Do you rock AirPods? Here’s a hack that might be useful for you.