The Daily Breakdown - 11.23.08

What would a Sunday edition of the Breakdown be without some comment on the absolutely pisspoor job by my at-one-time beloved St. Louis Rams? Dropping a home game to the Chicago Bears 27-3, using all three quarterbacks to do it, and given the way this season has gone, it is hardly surprising. Zero rushing yards for the Rams until early in the 4th Quarter. Yeah...0 rushing yards, although they did manage to muster up 14 by the end of the game. 4th and 2, and Jim Hazlett can't figure out to go for it or try for a field goal? Good lord, man, no wonder you were on the coach's staff rather than running the team this year.

When I managed to tune into the game, Marc Bulger was riding the bench, and that is where he needs to stay for the remainder of the season, and yes, I know how much money the organization tossed down the crapper on him in his new contract. Ditto that for Steven Jackson, who has rewarded the club with more time on the sidelines in street clothes than on the field since holding out for more money. O-line has been absolutely pathetic this season. Not that backup QB Trent Green fared much better, other than going above and beyond to improve the Bears' sack and interception totals for the year before yielding to third-stringer Brock Berlin. Freakin' yarg...I would say wait until next year, but it may be more realistic to add two, at least three years to that...the way they are playing this year, I could hold the Rams to 9 points (all field goals) and gain three picks, and that is by my damn self. Wouldn't even need the rest of the team. Just me, baby.

Speaking of blind optimism, the Illinois State Police announced new measures covering the operation of cruisers by troopers in the wake of two big lawsuits filed in response to a high-speed crash last year that killed two teenage sisters and injured a couple in the resulting pileup. Former trooper Matt Mitchell, who was going 126 mph when the wreck occurred, has pled not guilty to two counts of reckless homicide in St. Clair County court, and will go to trial early next year. The changes include implementation of a four tier system, as announced by state police director Larry Trent, who added "The long-standing culture of response at all costs is no longer acceptable within the Illinois State Police." We'll see.

Among the changes: at the first tier, trooper are limited to following traffic laws, at the second and third levels, troopers can speed, but must get supervisor approval before going more than 20 mph over the speed limit, and only supervisors may call a "code red," which clears troopers to put the pedal to the floor. In addition, all code red calls will be reviewed by a committee. Additionally, troopers are now required to go hands-free with their cell phones, and are no longer allowed to shut off the dash cameras during emergency call responses. According to the state police, Illinois is now only the second state in the U.S. to restrict trooper speeds. Aren't cops supposed to obey traffic laws in the first fucking place? Secondly, why the hell would a cop shut off the dash cam during an emergency call? I mean, how are these reality "clip" shows to survive? I have a hard time seeing this really make a difference. Cops love to speed. Provable fact. They have, with few exceptions, the fastest cars on the road, taxpayer-funded gas, and most importantly, the law on their side. I still remember one day, coming across the Minton bridge from Indiana into Louisville, and not paying attention to my speed. The speed limit, a mere suggestion on that bridge, is 35 mph, and yet, despite the fact I was going 60, a Louisville Metro cruiser rolled past me like I was holding his ass up for a hot deal on day-olds at Kroger's or something. It's going to take a lot more tragic instances and multi-million dollar lawsuits for police officers by large to start driving like they have much sense to go with the guns and flashing lights that make them think they can get away with it.

Guess who else figured out D.A.R.E. doesn't really work all that well? In Newcastle, Australia, an anti-drug and alcohol program sponsored by the New South Wales government featured a helpful little brochure offering tips on speed, including:

"If you don't already have a reliable dealer, try to find one and stick with them."

"When you're using a new batch, only try a little at first ... you can always use the rest later if you need to."

In addition, users are urged to take breaks from using speed, allow time to "come down" so it doesn't interfere with work or study and to carry the phone number of a legal aid solicitor with them. The 35-page booklet, produced by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, was part of the drug literature displayed to up to 100 students and parents. Wonder if it had pictures of Amy Winehouse, as well.

Criticism was swift, as a yeshole for Attorney General John Hatzistergos said the Government did not condone the use of illegal drugs, and the AG's office was investigating the matter. Darren Marton, a guest speaker at the event, said the material should never have been seen by teenagers. "One lady who was helping out on the day was physically shaken and had to go outside in tears after reading the brochure." Oh, come the fuck on with that. If this lady was physically shaken and in tears after reading the brochure, I'm willing to bet she isn't stable enough to be allowed in public by herself. Life isn't a black-and-white TV show from the 1950s, and she should bloody well know that. Then again, from the sound of things, she probably gets light-headed at PG-13 movies. The added bonus came from Opposition education spokesman Andrew Stoner, who said a drugs guide was the last thing parents and their children needed. No, sir. Perhaps the last thing needed is someone named Stoner speaking out against drugs. The parody just writes itself at that point.

Thoughts on Probably Uncalled For #66

Amazing. Less than two months to go before the 2008 Presidential election, and somehow, we still have 3,000 days left of this shit. Pitbulls, soccer moms, pigs, lipstick, pregnant teenagers, unknown number of houses one own, "secret" Muslims, sexism, racism, experience, inexperience, and that's just scratching the surface, what with volumes of asshat behavior from Sarah Palin's past coming public on a daily basis. Is this an election, or the season of Dallas they couldn't fucking air? As both a talk show host and a avid blogger/commentator, this kind of bullshit makes me wish Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Britney Spears would go back to being daily public dumbasses. Where the fuck are the paparazzi when you need them?...

...I'm not surprised there is an emerging drug problem in the world of sumo wrestling. Every sport has/will have their scandals eventually, and the law of averages says sooner or later, one of those scandals is going to be drugs. I guess this may, in fact, be the only sport on Earth in which marijuana is a performance enhancer. Probably nothing more self-destructive, I imagine, than a speed freak sumo wrestler. Allow me to play devil's advocate for the sumos. They are a proud athlete, with the sport going back nearly 2,000 years. This is like religion in Japan, and a major reason American-style professional wrestling is hugely popular there, as well. For many professional wrestlers out there (myself and my show's co host, included) who get irritated as hell when we see or hear about "backyard" wrestling promotions, so I can only begin to imagine what these poor guys feel when they see a bunch of half-shitfaced frat boys in the sumo suits, looking like half-shitface sumo action figures having seizures. They must need something to fill that hole in their soul that four fried chickens and a coke just won't. Don't get me wrong, the four fried chickens and the coke's gonna happen, we all know that, all I am asking is won't somebody please think of the sumos?...

...got quite a bit of amusement when we got to the story on hookers in Sweden wanting to pay taxes on their earnings. Can't find any cons on this, or any rational reason to disagree, cause God knows the arguments against this are ludicrous, but I can't help but think somehow the whole joke about "twenty bucks, same as in town," are going to become a thing of the past, cause now you''' think about this, then try to calculate the exchange rate, which somehow will lead to figuring in gratuity (15%, ya cheap bastard) plus sales tax. (On average, using exchange rates current as this is written, this" $20 bucks same as in town," will run ya 165 Swedish Kronors), and by the time you're through with that cerebral mess, the moment has passed. Far and away...

already mentioned Britney Spears once in this column. That's the limit. Not like the MTV Video Music Awards fucking matter to anyone, anywhere, anymore...

...next time Oasis is performing, and a fan wants to kick one of the Gallagher brothers' asses, I can only hope they either get the job done with whichever douchebag they pick (or get to first), or the roadies, people attending (I refuse to believe there are actually fans of Oasis left at this point), and even the rest of the band say to hell with it and sit back and watch the beat down...

The good...Al Franken winning his Senate primary in Minnesota on Tuesday. Now, for the general election, where the former SNL writer will face incumbent Senator Norm Coleman (R) and former U.S Senator (appointed by then-Gov. Ventura) Dean Barkley, running for the Independence Party.

The bad...Lindsay Lohan turning down a $700,000 offer from Playboy to pose for a spread. I know I trashed this out on the show, and rightfully so, but let me explain why I've given this the "bad" for the week so far. While the idea of paying someone like Lohan any kind of folding money to flash her damaged goods is an automatic bad, as is people paying for the...ahem...opportunity to see it (doesn't anyone have the Internet? I mean, for fuck's sake, who hasn't seen Lindsay Lohan naked?) I have a Playboy subscription, but I think I'd have to send that one back, or see how much some schmuck would pay for it on eBay, make up the pro-rated loss of value of my subscription for that year. If you haven't seen her naked, then give up already. Take my word for it, you've seen one rusted-out car in an alley, you've pretty much seen them all. Could have been worse, however. Playboy could have made the offer to Samantha Ronson.

The ugly...I went ahead and gave this to Gary Coleman, for his vehicular mishap. Look, hitting some anonymous asshole with your car is so last year. Notice there weren't any photographers following your every move? Go find another bullshit reality show to go hang your wee hat on, cause all the seeing over the dashboard jokes have all been done, and are best served for the elderly. Schmuck.

Catch you next week on the show...

Only 15 minutes until a brand-new Probably Uncalled For!

Tonight, on an all-new episode of Probably Uncalled For, Live on Blog Talk Radio, join Thomas Keister and "The Internet Legend," ppdingles, as they'll be discussing: more on VP Candidate Sarah Palin, a new drug scandal hitting the world of wrestling, a stunning report on apparently how little there was to do this last weekend, Lindsay Lohan, education (the last two are not related), the greatest help wanted ad of all time, and other topics TBA.

8:00 PM East/5:00 PM West

Ain't no way I'm putting this in my pipe and smoking it

Okay, so let me get this straight. According to a report on Boston.com, Amy Winehouse is now taking a stab at Buddhism. A source, in remarks to Britain's The Sun, said that "Winehouse was introduced to Buddhist chanting by one of her musicians, chanting in the mornings and just before she sleeps", and that "She says chanting is filling her life with positivity." Um. Okay. But I'm guessing since Amy Winehouse is involved, there's has to be a hook. Some massively dumbass thing that makes this story so fucking newsworthy.

The article mentions that "doctors reportedly fear (Winehouse) could be brain damaged after a recent cannabis overdose."

Ah, so there it is. Ahem...What the Fuck? A cannabis overdose? A cannabis overdose? Somehow I'm utterly fucking baffled and not very surprised at the same time. You can not honestly expect anyone, even the people who read Boston.com, apparently, to believe that there is such a thing as a cannabis overdose? That's even dumber than the perpetual mention of Amy Winehouse by MSM and the blogosphere. Yes, I know I'm doing exactly that just by posting this, but seriously, how can you see something as completely ass stupid as that, and not write about it?

All the dozens, hundreds, thousands (?) of ways that Amy Winehouse could have earned her suspected and/or rumored brain damage, and this was the best one they could come up with? What the hell, did they sit around the doctors' lounge with a fat blunt and benchmark this?

You'll excuse me now. It isn't 4:20, but it is breakfast...