Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 8/17/17
Terror attack hits Barcelona
3:18 PMThe week is rolling along on The Dan Le Batard Show. On Thursday we had the homey Domonique Foxworth, as well as DeMario Jackson, whom you may know from his time on The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise. Here it is.
At UVA we reclaimed the space the Nazis tried to take pic.twitter.com/T52tyqqA7O
— Emily G, Cville. (@EmilyGorcenski) August 17, 2017
Tearing down monuments is not an easy task, both physically and symbolically. Folks don’t seem to understand that erecting statues to white supremacy is damaging on multiple levels, so when you go to remove something they’ve looked at for so long, it’s jarring. And in the case of Takiyah Fatima Thompson, who was charged with injury of a statue among other things, people were not happy. Now, three more people have been charged in the case. And in an incredible show of support, hundreds of residents showed up to turn themselves in for the same crime.
While the U.S. is still reeling from its own terrorist attack, across the globe, apparently there are copycat artists. In Barcelona, someone slammed a car into people in a busy tourist area on Thursday. At least 13 people are dead, in a scene that is remarkably similar to the scenario in which a woman was killed in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend. It’s a very trying time in a lot of places, but this feels really bad considering it just happened stateside too.
Apparently, there’s a solar eclipse coming up soon. I know this because people keep trying to sell me random sunglasses so that I can look at it, without blinding myself, or something like that? If I’m being honest, I don’t really see what the big deal is. I guess it’s the first time in a century that the whole country will be able to see this, so we’ll all be standing on the street staring in the sky when our enemies come attack us. In all seriousness, though, don’t get got by someone hawking phony shades.
When it comes to protest, the aggrieved aren’t the only ones who can help. Often it’s those who in fact look like the offenders, but don’t side with them in principle, who can do the most. Why? Because people trust those like themselves most. So when it comes to taking a stand at NFL games, if a white player decides to do something on the field, it will resonate differently than it does coming from others. Michael Bennett thinks that’s how real change will come along. Then again, 49ers GM John Lynch says that protests are divisive. Sigh.
Free Food
Coffee Break: You know who Martin Shkreli is. Pharma Bro, who somehow found himself getting involved in random hip-hop situations, basically because he could afford it — that guy? Well, he’s being charged with securities fraud. And the transcript of his jury selection is completely incredible. Shouts to the Wu.
Snack Time: It’s amazing how racism in tech industries can affect things. When it comes to programming common machines, if you don’t account for black folks, things like this happen.
Dessert: Easily the best first pitch of all time. Indisputable fact.
The nutshot makes this unanimous first ballot HOF pitch pic.twitter.com/VE30vNXLZB
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) August 16, 2017
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 8/16/17
Another day, another statue downed
3:37 PMOn The Dan Le Batard Show on Wednesday, we tried to have some fun after a very sobering day in America. Pablo Torre joined the show, and we talked about fried chicken, MLS and Filipino baseball players. Take a listen.
So do people want to remove all monuments of every white man that was a racist in our country because there won't be any monuments
— Aaron Lamar (@everydayaaron) August 15, 2017
The United States is different today. There’s no way to describe the hardened disappointment that nearly everyone in the country feels after President Donald Trump took to a podium to defend neo-Nazis and white supremacists after a speech that was supposed to be about infrastructure. You don’t need to take a political side to be appalled by that. As a result, people all over the place are bailing out of various links to the administration. There are not two sides, unless you’re legitimately going to call yourself a Nazi sympathizer.
Speaking of presidents, Barack Obama remains as popular as ever. While all this other nonsense and violence overtakes parts of our nation, 44 tweeted a picture of him talking to babies in a window. For one, the photograph is adorable on every level. Secondly, the caption is even better. It’s currently got more than 1 million retweets and 3.5 million likes. You gotta know that this drives Trump crazy, even though he should probably be concerned with more important things. Behold the most famous tweet ever.
"No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion…" pic.twitter.com/InZ58zkoAm
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 13, 2017
Baltimore is about that action. Instead of waiting for a situation like the one in Durham, North Carolina, in which protesters toppled a Confederate monument on their own, Baltimore handled it discreetly. Under the cloak of night, the city removed four more. Of course, people started in with jokes about how the situation mirrored that of the Baltimore Colts, famous for leaving town overnight in 1984. Those jokes aren’t funny. Statues that salute white supremacy and football teams ain’t even close to the same thing.
I don’t normally turn to the NFL for progressive thinking. But the way the league has handled the Ezekiel Elliott situation has been rather forward-thinking, if only because of the fact that the basic concept of believing women when it comes to accusations against athletes is not something we normally see. And now that the National Football League Players Association is appealing the Dallas Cowboys running back’s suspension, the league has responded rather forcefully, issuing a statement pointing out that victim-blaming and shaming is not the move, at all. Good for them. Here’s the rebuttal.
Free Food
Coffee Break: Kicks magazine is doing the Lord’s work. The publication about sneakers recently put out an edition featuring the Top 20 basketball shoes of all time, and I have no idea how they managed to whittle this thing down. But they’ve also got 20 different covers, which is tremendous.
Snack Time: You know what happens when you antagonize people at a rally inspired by hate groups? Well, people don’t like you, because that’s not OK. And that antagonism can come back to haunt you, big time.
Dessert: This is guaranteed to make your day.
"Bad N Boujee" over Earth, Wind & Fire "September" is the Greatest thing i've heard ever!
Have a great day y'all! pic.twitter.com/SucBiR44UW
— Disco Ric (@RicWilson) August 15, 2017
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 8/15/17
Durham goes hard in the paint
10:53 AMI’m back in the saddle with The Dan Le Batard Show on Tuesday, but if you missed it Monday, here you go. And for those of you in Bachelor Nation, you’re going to want to tune in Tuesday. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. EST on ESPN Radio.
I get emails.
I send emails in reply. pic.twitter.com/48uK4fay3q
— Charlie Reece (@CharlieReece) August 15, 2017
Durham, North Carolina, ain’t messing around. Instead of letting their government get involved in tearing down a Confederate statue, residents did it themselves in plain view of everyone. And the memes that came out of that act are nothing short of amazing. Not only is a dude on the City Council dunking on people in his official email correspondence with constituents (see above), but folks are posing for pictures with the toppled monument, which is legitimately inspiring. But the best one, of course, involved Bubbachuck.
The Bachelor is back, this time in Paradise. Let’s not forget what happened over the offseason, if you will, which was that production of the show was shut down since a situation that unfolded between DeMario Jackson and Corinne Olympios was deemed inappropriate for the show. It was addressed on the program in a very strange manner, one that involved a) nearly showing the whole encounter and b) teasing it the entire show as if it were just some garden-variety controversy. Once again, it felt super slimy. Here’s a recap of the first episode.
It’s a well-known fact that strip clubs have some of the best food in Atlanta. Some would say the best chefs in the city, period, work at dancing establishments. There was a time when that would sound ridiculous, but when people tell you they’re going to the spot to eat the food, that’s the 2017 version of someone saying they subscribe to Playboy magazine to read the articles (which was a thing, for a while). Nonetheless, BET is capitalizing on this, and Yung Joc is hosting Plates and Poles, which highlights that culture.
The sports journalism business is hard. As is all of journalism. But in sports, because you have such a structured setup of teams, leagues, wins and losses, any coverage of a team has to be thorough by default for the effort to be worth anyone’s time. SB Nation built an empire on people basically doing that work for free or on a quasi-volunteer basis. Well, as it turns out, that system is pretty unfair and might actually violate labor laws. Here’s an in-depth look at how it all works.
Free Food
Coffee Break: There were a lot of rebukes sent the president’s way Monday. Stephen Colbert’s was funny, and Jimmy Fallon’s was a tad disingenuous because we all know who ruffled Trump’s hair on TV after he called all Mexicans racist. But Seth Myers’ was the best. Period.
This statement from Seth Meyers is a real statement from someone who has spoken strongly against Trump throughout.pic.twitter.com/FB0sG17xNY
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) August 15, 2017
Snack Time: We’re coming up on the end of summer, which means fall is around the corner. Which means that it’s time to get your pumpkin spice game up, whether you like it or not.
Dessert: Cardi B might drop a Spanish version of Bodak Yellow. God bless her soul.
Daily Dose
Daily Dose: 8/14/17
Trump finally speaks up about white nationalists
4:14 PMI just want to thank all the people I got to build and connect with at the 2017 National Association of Black Journalists convention last week. It was a great time, and doing the live ESPN Radio broadcast from the floor was fun. Speaking of which, I’m hosting from 10 a.m-1 p.m. every day this week.
It's official. I no longer have ankles
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) August 13, 2017
President Trump finally denounced the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. It only took the better part of three days, after violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, following a rally of white nationalists. On the surface, that’s scary because it genuinely empowered groups like these, who believe they have the support of the highest leader in the land. From a global standpoint, it doesn’t look good, either, when your commander in chief would rather tweet than help the nation heal at a time of crisis.
Speaking of that violent situation, there’s a lot to unpack. The private militias protecting marchers. The guy who killed Heather Heyer by running over a group of people with his car. The tiki torches on the University of Virginia lawn being carried by a bunch of guys who have no real understanding of what discrimination really is. People love to say, “This isn’t the America I know.” Well, that’s not quite true. And one website is specifically outing the people who were at said rally, because they look pretty much like everyday people to the rest of us.
When the level of discourse gets ratcheted up, things can become testy. Such was the case at CNN on Monday, when Ken Cuccinelli, former attorney general of Virginia, decided he was legitimately going to tell another guest to shut up live on air. Unfortunately, that person was Symone Sanders, and she does not play that nonsense. To host Chris Cuomo’s credit, he put Ken in his place, but the entire exchange was indicative of the kind of back-and-forth that black women deal with every day of the week.
Former Virginia Attorney General to Symone Sanders during discussion about Charlottesville: "Will you just shut up" https://t.co/3Dx9pIqTst pic.twitter.com/uc4os0JHAj
— CNN (@CNN) August 14, 2017
You can add Jermichael Finley to the list of non-woke athletes. The Green Bay Packers tight end came out with the worst take ever, tweeting that “athletes are looked up to & serve as roll models, leave personal opinions about race and politics alone. Do what you get paid to do & play!” His typo aside, it’s incredible to think that even after this weekend, we’ve got guys out here who find it inappropriate to discuss what happens when hate groups take over towns.
Free Food
Coffee Break: There’s been a lot of talk about the national anthem recently. But, to that point, none of us had heard Quavo sing it. I don’t even know what to say afterward, as I’m in shock about how good this actually is. I’d definitely stand for this version.
If Quavo sung the national anthem 😂 pic.twitter.com/9MU0Nc6xLb
— The Funniest Trends (@FunniestTrends) August 14, 2017
Snack Time: In this time of crisis, we have to find a way to care for ourselves. This video of a bird feeding fish with seeds warms the heart.
Dessert: Don’t forget: On Monday night, we return to paradise. Hope you’re ready.