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Thursday, June 05, 2003
Time Off
Okay, that's it. The car's just about loaded. The kid has been fed, changed, and I laced her cereal with some bourbon to ensure a solid period of peacefulness in the car for a while as we head to Chicago. Hopefully, the media circus around Sosa won't have completely passed. I'm itching to check the feelings around the area. Meanwhile, Jane Galt has a nice note on great timing with Sosa and Congress. I guess Sosa's suspension will be announced this afternoon. Despite Sosa's statements prior that he would accept any punishment given him, I would be pleasantly shocked if he didn't immediately appeal so he could play when the Yankees come to town this weekend.
Wednesday, June 04, 2003
The Personalities Shift Again
Well, damn. My favorite ESPN SportsCenter anchor, Rich Eisen will be leaving.
Veteran ESPN "SportsCenter" anchor Rich Eisen is getting married and losing his job in the same week.
Eisen's contract expired this past weekend. The network said it "decided not to pursue the renewal of his contract. Rich is a talented sportscaster, but he no longer wanted to focus on 'SportsCenter,' our signature franchise, and the area we felt he brought the greatest value."
Eisen, who joined ESPN in 1996, reportedly sought to branch out from his anchor role, but the network wants to keep the anchors like Dan Patrick, Stuart Scott, and Linda Cohn committed to just one show.
Eisen, who lives in New York City two hours from ESPN's Bristol, Connecticut, studios, and who is getting married this weekend, was up for a co-host slot at ESPN's new "Cold Pizza" morning show that debuts in October. When those discussions fell apart, so did his talks about staying with ESPN, according to sources close to the network.
Funny, Dan Patrick has a daily radio show. Stuart Scott works on the NFL show and the NBA playoffs. Hardly "committed to just one show."
Speaking of the CVCB
Speaking of Forest City and the Cleveland Visitors & Convention Bureau, there is this (subs. req'd)
Under fire for lavish spending, the Convention & Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland has delayed final action on whether to lease new offices at the Skylight Office Tower, a step up at Tower City Center from its current Terminal Tower digs. Dennis Roche, interim president, said lease conversations are suspended until "three or four months" from now to give outside lawyers and auditors time to finish reviews of bureau spending and deal with higher-priority issues. Mr. Roche said the bureau is exploring continuing its Terminal Tower lease with Tower City owner Forest City Enterprises Inc. The lease expires at the end of June.
There has been a lot of silence from the CVCB since they suspended Nolan.
Cleveland Convention Center Pot Sweetener
Forest City Enterprises has released more details of its new plan for a new CCC that just happens to be adjacent to its other property, Tower City, that is suffering tremendous loss of business as a downtown mall.
Forest City's design calls for a 13-story building wedged between Huron Road and the river on 12 acres of land. It would feature a 350,000-square-foot exhibition hall with a glass facade looking onto the river. Truck traffic for the center would be routed onto Canal Road.
Forest City officials did not have a final cost estimate but said the center could be built for less than $400 million.
To build a convention center, the city would have to buy the land from Forest City, which now uses it for Tower City parking.
[Forest City co-chairman, Sam] Miller said he didn't know what price the property would fetch.
As I mentioned before, Forest City's first offering on the other side of Tower City met complete resistance from the Warehouse District and was a horrible multi-level building. This new one, is apparently isolated from all of downtown except via Tower City. How convenient.
Of course, Forest City is offering a carrot to try and get Mayor Campbell to back their site.
The company is also throwing out an enticement: If a convention center is built on the property, Forest City could put up 2,400 homes across the river, on Scranton Peninsula.
Mayor Campbell is on record as saying she wants to get people to move downtown. This is a clear carrot to her. Of course, only someone cynical and with a real jaundiced eye would doubt the sincerity of the offer.
But when asked if Forest City would commit in writing to the housing plan, Miller replied, "We'll commit to it based on market conditions."
Transalator on: Are you nuts? We'll commit to being offered more tax incentives and out-and-out grants to build the housing, which will be far fewer than what we said initially. No way, though, are we risking our capital on such a plan. Besides, I doubt any of the people I am addressing even has the guts to ask me what those "market conditions" are. Translator off.
What makes Forest City even more pathetic in their transparent self-serving plan for a new CCC, is their blatant lying about the obvious benefit to their own properties.
Forest City would expand Tower City at its own expense if a convention center were built behind it, including a new food court that overlooks the river.
Miller denied that Forest City's new convention center plan was a way to use public money to prop up the ailing Tower City mall.
Every site proposed is self-serving to the developer. Don't pretend it isn't. It is such an insult to everyone's intelligence to claim that this site location isn't going to directly and primarily benefit Forest City's properties.
Sammy, Sammy, Sammy
Good grief, but the media circus over Sammy Sosa and his corked bat has gotten outrageous in a hurry. I haven't been online all day, but sportstalk radio and ESPN have been insane in discussing this. The Cleveland sports yakkers spent most of their shows talking about it, in a break from wall-to-wall LeBron James talk. Jim Rome spent most of his show on the subject. ESPN did a 2-hour "Baseball Tonight" show on it from 3-5 EST this afternoon. All the former baseball players, basically didn't buy Sosa's story. Everyone thinks he knew what he was doing.
It seems like this has already reached and passed critical mass. And yet, tomorrow I head to Chicago for a long weekend. Into the belly of the beast for my cousin's graduation. I talked to one of my friends who just moved back to Chicago and is a huge Cubs fan. He said it has been completely insane. His reaction has been the same that I heard on the radio and on tv: "I want to believe Sammy, but..."
The thing about a corked bat, is it doesn't make the bat more powerful. This is all about making the bat lighter. This means, the batter can get more bat speed on his swing. The result is a slight increase in power. It probably adds 5-10 feet in distance. Most of this is from hollowing out a portion of the bat. The only reason for putting the cork in there, is to prevent the hollow sound when you connect with the ball, that would give the trick away.
Major League Baseball confiscated all of Sosa's bats after the game last night. Some sixty odd bats that they were going to examine. Rome got out in front for conspiracists, by saying he doubts any of them will be found to have been corked. Not because they weren't, but because MLB has a vested interest in helping Sosa salvage his image. Rome didn't come out and say he believed that, but that some would. A classic "I never said, what I implied."
Rick Reilly, the back page columnist for Sports Illustrated was interviewed several times, and basically made the point that if Sosa was willing to cheat with his bat, how hard is it to believe that he cheated with his body -- steroids. That will be a problem.
As I said, I head to Chicago tomorrow. It kills me. I have all these family things on the same weekend that the Yankees will be in Chicago to play the Cubs. Saturday, Clemens will be pitching for his 300th win for the 3rd time with Kerry Wood opposing him. Jon has been taunting me, by saying he has an extra ticket for the first 2 games of the series, knowing I can't get away. Bastard.
AFI Gets Pathetic
I let the wife have some deserved computer time, while I was playing with the kid. I made the mistake of leaving the TV on, and catching part of the American Film Institute special on CBS, "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Heroes & Villains." They ranked the "top 50" heroes and villains of films. It was the worst of the raft of AFI specials. I know, they will say that this was voted on and that it won't make everyone happy, and that any controversey is good when it gets people talking about movies; but this was hideous.
I, as always, was annoyed by the disproportionate weight given to more recent movies (Russell Crowe's Gladiator, Maximus, was #50; but Ben Hur isn't on the list?); and the poorly executed concept of hero or villain. "Bonnie & Clyde" are listed as villains, but "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid" are heroes? Not to mention the idiocy of somehow having Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi listed in the top 50 heroes; but not Luke Skywalker? And what the hell is Lassie doing in a list of movies? She may have had a couple movies but her fame came from TV.
I wasn't looking for gender balance or a pathetic attempt at showing diversity and PCishness, but I swear this special smacked you in the face with it; and honestly, it seems like the only rational explanation for some of the characters included on the list.
Humanity as a whole made the list: "Man," whose encroachment menaced forest wildlife in "Bambi," ranked as villain No. 20.
"Atticus Finch," as played by Gregory Peck, the noble lawyer defending a black man in the south from accusations of raping a white woman in To Kill A Mockingbird, was the #1 hero? Julia Roberts as "Erin Brokovich" and Meryl Streep in "Silkwood," were included as heroes? "Andrew Beckett," the gay lawyer with AIDS in Philadelphia, is on the list? Where were "Flash Gordon," "Ming the Merciless" and "Buck Rogers" from the classic movie serials? Hell, what about "Charlie Chan." Sorry, that there are so many straight white males who made up most of the memorable heroes and villains on film over the past 100 years, but don't try to pretend otherwise.
Then the rankings, of course can piss you off. How does "James Bond" not rank as #1. Five different actors have given the character life. He is the quintessential movie hero, yet he ranks third. I had no real problem with "Hannibal Lecter" as the #1 villain. In modern culture, that is probably accurate. But Jodie Foster's "Clarice Sterling" from Silence of the Lambs is not #6 on the list.
AFI hasn't posted the ranked list yet. Just their press release. But here is the list from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Plenty to piss off anyone.
I had to walk away in disgust, but the wife, in a twisted attempt to give me an aneurysm and have me drop dead so she can collect on the life insurance, would call out certain picks that she knew would piss me off. Argh.
More Thoughts on Sosa
The more I thought about Sosa's excuse that he used the corked bat in batting practice only, the less I buy it. You mean to tell me that during batting practice, Sosa uses a lighter bat to prepare for a game. One would think the opposite to be true -- just like in the on deck circle where a player uses a donut on the bat or swings a couple bats together. Use a heavier weight during warm-ups so that in the actual batters box you are swinging something lighter.
It doesn't change the fact that Sosa can hit the ball a ton, or that he is a prolific home run hitter. It only hurts his image and his reputation.
Sosa said in an interview he will accept whatever punishment is given. If he means he won't appeal and begin serving a suspension immediately, then he goes a long way towards restoring his image and showing some true contrition. If, however, he means what is the norm in MLB from the players, he will immediately appeal and then fight to have it reduced. In which case, it hurts him.
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Finally
In a move that has been overdue by at least a year, maybe two, the Yankees named Derek Jeter the team captain. Steinbrenner has been resisting this for a while, despite it being clear to everyone that Jeter is the actual team leader and the public and popular face of the team.
It hasn't been clear why the Boss has been resisting this, other than vague statements that he thought Jeter "wasn't ready." My personal theory is that Steinbrenner really wanted to name Giambi team captain after this season. It was an ego thing. He wanted to name the guy he brought in. The guy who hits the big bombs. He wanted a power hitter as the face of the bronx bombers. Not Jeter. Not a guy already immensely popular, who came up through the franchise, after being fingered by the baseball people in the organization (not Steinbrenner) to be drafted. The very, very slow start Giambi is having, coupled with the fact that clearly Giambi can't just be named the team captain, probably made him finally give in to reality in this instance. Of course this is just a theory.
Blog Panel, Finally
I haven't had a chance to mention the blog panel I attended last Thursday night. First off, there is no way the event could suck when Newcastle Brown Ale is on tap. Second, even if I thought it was going to suck, I still would have gone. Just to catch up with Eric and George, and to meet some of the other local bloggers I'm reading these days.
The event was quite enjoyable. In addition to meeting some of the other bloggers mentioned, I also met and talked a little with Mark Schumann and Alice Demyanick of SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise), John Carroll University Chapter. I had a long talk with someone from CWRU's Weatherhead School of Management about blogs. She was a "learning technologies designer," who was interested in how blogs could be utilized in groups for sharing ideas and discussion.
I was disappointed that there was no chance for a Q&A or open discussion time. So, I never met or talked to any journalists. I honestly don't know how many showed up, and how interested they were in blogging. Or their general feelings -- intrigued? dismissive? dislike? fear the competition? I don't know. I haven't noticed any other bloggers mention discussing blogs with journalists at the event.
I did not, however, talk to any
Oh, Wow
Sammy Sosa caught with a corked bat!!???
Apparently he is going to claim that he only used the corked bat during homerun exhibitions and batting practice(???), but never in a game. That the bat accidently got mixed up with his game bats, and he somehow didn't notice until it shattered when he was at bat.
Sosa is one of the most popular players in MLB. He acts like such a good and happy person. This is bad. I want to believe him, but I really don't think I can.
It doesn't call into question all of his homeruns, because most are clearly well out of the park. Still, it calls into question that 5-10% that just clear a wall. What was a homerun might have only been a double. This is a bad stain on Sosa. When you make your reputation on the homerun...
It reminds me (and I am working from memory) what John Kruk said to Letterman about Albert Belle after Belle was caught with a corked bat in 1994. Roughly, he said, "I dunno, he can hit the ball 450 feet; I guess he wanted to hit it 500."
Right of Publicity/Right of Privacy
This is embarrassing for me, but I screwed up a bit when I was discussing Babs suing about pictures of the California beachfront being sold with detailed shots of her house included. The facts of the dispute were accurate, butI started mixing up "right of privacy" with "right of publicity" in my explanation. Right of publicity arose from right of privacy. Right of privacy is really a judicial construct, while right of publicity is a statutory law. Right of publicity did arise from right of privacy, but has evolved in a different direction. I erred when I said right of privacy has morphed to right of publicity. It really has simply split into two distinct entities.
I realized my error when I noticed this post at Volokh's, noting a California Supreme Court decision, Winter v. DC comics, that, "held that when comic book authors create characters based on real people, that does not infringe the subjects' "right of publicity."
The case involved a mini-series comic book written by Tim Truman, featuring the Jonah Hex character (a longtime DC character -- a disfigured, former civil war vet, in the wild west). The comics were, if I recall (the issues are downstairs sealed in plastic in one of my many boxes). The California Supreme Court describes the series this way.
The series contains an outlandish plot, involving giant worm-like creatures, singing cowboys, and the “Wilde West Ranch and Music and Culture Emporium,” named for and patterned after the life of Oscar Wilde. The third volume ends with a reference to two new characters, the “Autumn brothers,” and the teaser, “Next: The Autumns of Our Discontent.” The cover of volume 4 depicts the Autumn brother characters, with pale faces and long white hair. (See append., post; the Autumn brothers are the two lower figures.) One brother wears a stovepipe hat and red sunglasses, and holds a rifle. The second has red eyes and holds a pistol. This volume is entitled, Autumns of Our Discontent, and features brothers Johnny and Edgar Autumn, depicted as villainous half-worm, half-human offspring born from the rape of their mother by a supernatural worm creature that had escaped from a hole in the ground. At the end of volume 5, Jonah Hex and his companions shoot and kill the Autumn brothers in an underground gun battle.
Plaintiffs, Johnny and Edgar Winter, well-known performing and recording musicians originally from Texas, sued DC Comics and others alleging several causes of action including, as relevant here, appropriation of their names and likenesses under Civil Code section 3344. They alleged that the defendants selected the names Johnny and Edgar Autumn to signal readers the Winter brothers were being portrayed; that the Autumn brothers were drawn with long white hair and albino features similar to plaintiffs’; that the Johnny Autumn character was depicted as wearing a tall black top hat similar to the one Johnny Winter often wore; and that the title of volume 4, Autumns of Our Discontent, refers to the famous Shakespearian phrase, “the winter of our discontent.”1 They also alleged that the comics falsely portrayed them as “vile, depraved, stupid,
cowardly, subhuman individuals who engage in wanton acts of violence, murder and bestiality for pleasure and who should be killed.”
Truman, didn't deny loosely basing the characters' names and appearances on the Winter Brothers, albeit very, very loosely, but he meant it in jest and as sort of respect to them.
While I am thrilled that the California Supreme Court got it right in this case, it would have been hard for the Winter Brothers to prove damages, or to prove that DC Comics profited. As I recall, this series did not sell that well. This was more a vanity piece to keep Tim Truman -- at the time, one of the best and most respected artists and writers in comics -- happy.
Delaying Downtown Cleveland Meter Changes
In a surprisingly bright move by Cleveland City Council President Frank Jackson delayed a vote on extending the meter hours downtown from 6 pm to 10 pm on weekdays (I've written previously here and here).
"The proponents have not done a very good job [explaining] the rationale for why we should do this," Jackson said.
The vote is now scheduled for Monday, council's last meeting before recessing for the summer.
Until then, Jackson wants to hear more from the plan's supporters, none of whom attended a hearing of council's Finance Committee yesterday afternoon.
Jackson also said he was holding the proposed law because it included an amendment to review its impact after six months but failed to explain what the criteria for review would be.
...
During previous hearings, supporters claimed the change would draw more people to downtown bars and restaurants.
They said the turnover at parking meters will increase the chances that people can park on streets.
Many of those meters are now taken by people who work downtown, forcing diners and clubgoers to park in expensive lots, supporters said.
Councilman Joe Cimperman sponsored the legislation but was not at yesterday's hearing. A worker in his office said Cimperman was attending a conference out of town.
I'm still at a loss as to how this helps business. Presumably, if someone drove downtown to eat or go to a bar or club they aren't going to turn around and go home just because they can't find an open meter and have to park in a lot.
Only one City Councilman spoke out against it, and he seemed to understand the stupidity.
Councilman Zachary Reed, the only council member to publicly criticize the plan, said yesterday that the change would only encourage people to have their fun in the suburbs.
"Cleveland's not the only game in town anymore," he said. "You've got Beachwood, Westlake; you've got a brand new baseball field in Lake County. I believe this is a disincentive for people to come downtown."
You bet it is. In the suburbs, you don't pay for any parking at all. More and more of the suburb areas offer plenty of good entertainment, that is closer and more convenient.
Naturally (as I predicted last week) the "review" mechanism isn't explained in the bill and the city hasn't even figured whether the additional revenue will offset the additional costs.
The deputy police chief estimates that it will cost anywhere from $70,000 to almost $100,000 in police overtime costs and to keep the impound lot open later. I think he's being conservative. If they are planning on just making it overtime, that is and additional 20 hours per week, for 52 weeks. If the average police officer earns $40,000/year, that is roughly $20 an hour for a 40 hour week. Assuming overtime is time and a half, that would be $30/hour. For the equivalent of just 5200 additional man-hours (or only 5 cops per night working the OT for 52 weeks) at OT, that means $156,000 in OT pay. That doesn't begin to address the impound lot expenses, the cost of converting all meters downtown to 2-Hour meters (currently it is a mix of 2- and 4-hour meters), more meter maintenance and additional costs for using police vehicles (gas, wear and tear, maintenance).
An expired meter parking ticket is $25 dollars, and it is $0.75 for each hour at a downtown meter. They're going to have to write a lot of tickets to meet the additional costs.
Monday, June 02, 2003
Dixie Chicks Cancel Concert, Bush Administration Suspected
More stifiling dissent of the Dixie Chicks. They cancelled a concert in Cleveland last night, when their lead singer and Texan intellectual Natalie Maines was unable to perform due to an unspecified "throat ailment." Naturally, it is suspected that this was a right-wing plot. The Dixie Chicks showed great concern for their fans by announcing the cancellation 15 minutes before the concert was to occur.
Nice.
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