Today's (Sort of) Top Five: Gilbert in the Movies
1) I know of at least one person that actually tried to get Gilbert Arenas into a movie project. There are reality TV ideas swirling all about. In the meantime, Rumors and Rants has some movie ideas Gilbert might want to consider. Most of the jokes go way over my head, since I've seen about nine movies in the past decade, but I'd like to see Gilbert in "Blue Chips II," anyhow.
2) The news is by now old, but the D.C. United Offside blogger did a nice job of predicting the departure of Kasali Yinka Casal, who really had an amazingly awesome accent and who will be missed, at least by those looking for nicely accented soundbites. The reason I point this out, though, is that my Real World: Fort Washington house has already lost 40 percent of its members, before the all-star break. Even the real Real World doesn't lose people this quickly.
3) Remember all my wailing about the unfairness of the WNBA all-star voting process? It would appear similar issues are dogging Japanese baseball. Bugs and Cranks explores.
4) This isn't a blog, but it was pointed out to me by a prominent WaPo colleague. Check out the quote from Mike Hargrove's wife, in the AP's "Resigned!" story:
"We've been married for 37 years. Gone together since junior high," she said, fighting back her own tears. "He's slept in his own bed four days in eight months. I don't know too many people who would sign up for that. And he's done that for 35 years."
From my colleague: "Funny. I instantly thought of 160,000 people who signed up for much worse. They are called American troops in Iraq. They are doing 15-month tours. They don't make much money. And unlike Mike Hargrove, people are trying to kill them every day--and succeeding all too often, with roadside bombs, sniper fire, and rocket-propelled grenades.
I have nothing against the Hargroves. From what I've read, he is a terrific manager. But I'd suggest they do a tour of the troops in Iraq--preferably in July or August--to gain some perspective on life and the dues people pay."
Fair enough.
5) There's really no local connection here, but I like these guys at The Realests, and so here's some of their proposed celeb/athlete couplings, in the wake of Eva/Tony. Britney and Shawn Kemp, for example. Plus, Anderson Varejao & Miss USA Rachel Smith seems like it could actually happen.
By Dan Steinberg |
July 2, 2007; 4:37 PM ET
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Posted by: Kenny | July 2, 2007 05:18 PM
^amen.
Posted by: pack4life | July 2, 2007 05:43 PM
Seriously, tell Mike Wise, errrr, I mean, your colleague, to get an effing clue.
Posted by: grrrr | July 2, 2007 08:08 PM
Seriously, tell Mike Wise, errrr, I mean, your colleague, to get an effing clue.
Posted by: grrrr | July 2, 2007 08:08 PM
To echo the points above, I don't think it's fair to tell anyone that their pain is meaningless because someone else is experiencing more pain. I have a lot of sympathy for the Hargroves, and I expect most people would.
Posted by: Lindemann | July 3, 2007 08:27 AM
That is incredibly lame. Shall we compare ourselves to soldiers in Iraq anytime a complaint arises? Ridiculous.
Posted by: mikem | July 3, 2007 12:53 PM
Your colleague is absolutely correct, and I feel genuinely sorry for the idiots who don't get the message he/she is trying to convey.
Keep on thinking of yourselves and ignoring the people among us who are in greater need. That's always good advice for society. Why take care of others when I can feel sorry for myself!
Posted by: bryc3 | July 3, 2007 01:10 PM
Nobody's saying that anyone has a license to ignore the sacrifices the members of our military make for us. What we're saying (or what I'm saying, anyway) is that the existence of sacrifices more severe than the ones the Hargrove family has gone through do not diminish the pain associated with the Hargrove family's sacrifices.
To give another example (not a parallel), it can be small comfort when you are working at a job at which you are mistreated to remind yourself that you're lucky to have a job, and thus a roof over your head, food, etc.
Of course, many people in our modern society take this line of thinking as an excuse to ignore the suffering of others, concentrating upon themselves a great whirlwind of undeserved sympathy until the stamina of everyone around them is exhausted. The Hargroves do not appear to be doing this.
Posted by: Lindemann | July 3, 2007 03:01 PM
Ah, yes. Much as soldiers make great sacrifices to their family lives for the greater good of protecting American citizens, Mike Hargrove should make great sacrifices to his family life for the greater good of coaching baseball.
Posted by: seanbs | July 4, 2007 01:54 AM
The comments to this entry are closed.
Dude, tell your colleague to lighten up. EXCLUDING THE TROOPS, which leaves us with about 299,000,000 Americans, Hargrove's living situation (if described accurately) is pretty terrible for someone who presumably loves his family, and it puts a strain on his family members. And they've put up with it for the game he loves. Just because Mike Hargrove isn't a troop doesn't mean he and his family can't get upset about the lack of time they see each other.
I'm no Mike Hargrove supporter, but man, I imagine a lot of the conversations you get in with the colleague end up going back to supporting the troops in one bizarre way or another.