Broadcasting Bullies - Radio Rejected

The Rant Begins:

Maybe it's just me, and maybe it's because I'm a little on the old-fashioned side of life, but sometimes I like to sit and listen to the radio broadcast of a hockey game. Sure, I typically go online to The Fan's website to listen to the broadcast, but it's still radio of a sort, and it has -in my opinion- a certain charm to it.

You avoid some of the colour commentary that comes along with watching the televised game as the announcers can get away with more 'off ice' chatter when the visual is accompanying them. To me this leaves you hanging onto every word of the professional play-by-play men as you envision the scene playing out in your mind. However, in some cases, this isn't an option.

The Real Issue:

Greed, and too God-damned much of it. It's already cost the fans almost half of our regular season games, and now it's costing the fans who don't have specific television packages.

It used to be that, no matter what, I could hit up The Fan 590 to listen to a live radio broadcast of Leafs games. It didn't matter if they had to rout it through local, affiliated broadcasters closer to the location of the road games you were able to get the play-by-play from The Fan. This year however, for the second Leaf game now, I've been greeted on The Fan's "listen live" webpage with a message basically stating that 'due to certain broadcast restrictions, we cannot provide the play-by-play'. Don't worry though, they assure you that the post-game will still be broadcasted... Well that's all fine and dandy for the people who've seen the games, but for the people who're just struggling to GET updates on the games it doesn't do much more than you could get by just Googling the game's final score.

How can it be, with everyone involved in the lockout issue actign SO apologetic to the fans, that there are still squabbles over who can broadcast the games when it wasn't an issue before? I have NEVER been unable to get a radio broadcast of a Leaf game whether home or away until this year.

The Solution:

Honestly I don't know what to say other than for these penny-grabbing companies to get their acts together, and allow for the radio broadcasting of the hockey games. Some complain that it somehow harms the attendance of the actual sporting event however, I don't see it as such. I see it as a way for people who CAN'T afford the INSANE ticket prices, or the travel expenses involved with getting to these games (remember, I'm talking about a trip to Buffalo + Admissions since this was an away game) to still enjoy the sport.

It isn't as though listening to the radio broadcast and being at the actual game are the same experiences anyway. It's surprising how many steps these owners will take in attempts to drive people to the arenas BEFORE they're willing to drop ticket prices. Is it not enough that they make money off of corporate endorsements, merchandise sales, and a million other tributary industries that they have to gouge us for every little dime? It would be bad enough if it was ONLY ticket prices, but look at the cost of food and drink at these arenas. Of course they prohibit any and all outside food and drink, so sitting for a number of hours at an event you're inevitably going to need something to eat or drink. I'm surprised they don't charge admission to the fucking restrooms on top of it all... Shouldn't say that too loud though, they might take the idea and run with it.

It's a sad day when you can't enjoy the game you love due to a bunch of territory-marking, money-grubbing, heads-up-their-asses fat-cats/ These men haven't had to worry about their financial situations in decades while the people propping them up in their palaces have to save up for months just to attend a single game. And I don't mean "worry about their financial situations" as in "oh no! I won't be able to keep all 62 of my exotic sports cars this year!" I mean they'll never have to worry about a roof over their head or food in their stomach for the rest of their lives and I can't even catch a game on the damned radio... Stop the greed, play the game, let the game be played, and let it be enjoyed.

Your Thoughts:

This is where I open the floor to the readers. How have you been impacted by the lockout and the resulting changes in the NHL's conduct? Do you have complaints, questions, or maybe an anecdote or two about this lockout or maybe even the full-season loss from a few years back? I'd love to hear them so please take the minute or two to post in the comments section.

Enjoy your swim, and your hockey!

Joshua J. Taylor

Boo-Boo vs. Big Bang

Honey Boo-Boo:

Say hi to the family... But don't feed the animals.

This might just be the most culturally damaging show I have seen on television since... Well, ever really. Now I'm not talking about the late-night stuff I'm speaking about the prime-time realm of television's airwaves. As far as that section of the TV Guide is concerned, I've been around to see a decade and a half of television that I can remember watching and the only sort of pop-culture phenomenon that depicted even slightly negative family roles would be Roseanne... Let's face it the whole group was dysfunctional, or abusive, or ill-educated. The points I'm trying to make is that I've really only ever seen one show that 'lowered the bar' and maintained such a high level of public support. Now I'm not saying that Roseanne is down on the same level as Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, just that it was something that could be seen as lowering the 'family standard'. Roseanne has one advantage in my mind that keeps its reputation above water for me though and that is the fact that the show is a sitcom, created for entertainment and that it does not portray an ACTUAL family in scenarios that are really taking place.

This is where Here Comes Honey Boo Boo loses the fight. The show is based around a real-life family (a spin-off from "Toddlers in Tiaras" for those readers who haven't seen the show) and it follows them around and documents their lives in the style of so many modern 'reality' television shows. Some say that the show's harmless but I'd like to point out just a couple of my problems with this family:

• Diet:
  "Sketti", a spaghetti-type dish made up of noodles drenched in butter and ketchup.
  "Go-Go Juice", a mix of Red Bull and Mountain Dew fed to a seven year old to keep her energetic in pageants.
• Health/Lifestyle:
  June, the mother. She weighs well over 300lbs but it's okay folks. To her, her weight makes her "sassy".
  Alana, "Honey Boo-Boo", this kid is beyond overweight, her habits and manners disgusting, and she's on the fast track to winding up either 230lbs or pregnant by 15 like her mother.
  Anna, pregnant at 17 and just as ignorant as every other family member.

To sum things up, there's not a single family value displayed by this show that I can get behind. Even their mask of 'we don't let what people say put us down' is really only their way of enabling the family to continue being just as obese, ignorant, and offensive as ever... Seriously what mother would feed her seven year old daughter Mountain Dew mixed with Red Bull? This show is nothing but poisonous filth and to all of the viewers who claim that they only watch it to make fun of the family... Think of the fact that you watching the show makes THEM money and wastes YOUR time. The next time you go to mock the idiots on the show, remember you're paying their bills.

[Note* I have not seen a single episode start to finish yet, and I do not intend to do so. The information I've gathered has been through acquaintances that watch the show or that I've found online.]

The Big Bang Theory:

Left-To-Right:
"Raj", Sheldon, Penny, Leonard, Howard.

Yes I watch the show. Yes I'm a nerd and so, yes I could be considered biased here but I'd ask you to hear me out anyway.

This series, created by Chuck Lorre, depicts a group of friends as they pass through the worlds of academia, social stigma and Warcraft all while working at a university and living out of Pasadena, California. The core cast of players is as follows:

• Jim Parsons as Dr. Sheldon Cooper: Socially inept genius with an eidetic memory and an IQ of 187.
• Johnny Galecki as Dr. Leonard Hofstadter: Princeton graduate and experimental physicist, romantically linked to Penny and Pria Koothrappali.
• Simon Helberg as Howard Wolowitz: Romantically inept aerospace engineer who marries Bernadette Rostenkowski. Designed the ISS's plumbing system... "Space Toilet".
• Kunal Nayar as Dr. Rajesh Koothrappali: He might not be able to speak to women without alcohol or experimental pharmaceuticals but he's Howard's best friend and a particle astrophysicist originally from New Delhi.
• Kaley Cuoco as "Penny": Aspiring actress and currently a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. She has a great heart but is influenced much more by pop culture and societal 'norms' than the other lead cast members.

When you look at this cast (sparse as the bios are) you will see that four out of five of the leading cast members attended a post-secondary institution and that three out of those four have at least one doctorate. The humour is witty and based (mostly) in academia or in the 'nerdier' pastimes with some sexual innuendos to appeal to the adult and college crowd and the relationships are quirky in a "Friends" a la Monica and Chandler but rarely dysfunctional. The worst that this show can be accused of is showing characters who engage in premarital sex (which is more of a Religious-Right concern than a real problem) and who drink alcohol an act that hasn't been illegal for almost a century now. It's good, clean, intelligent fun and nothing more.

Why:

I wrote this because of two conversations that I've had these past 24 hours. One generally opposing the existence of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and one defending The Big Bang Theory when someone claimed that Honey Boo Boo had more to offer as a television show. I would like the reader to weigh-in on the issue now though and take it from my hands. I would love to hear what my readers think about each of these television shows.

Here's hoping that you comment on this post and...

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor