Trash Talk: I’m Still Mad In Memphis West Edition
For any that carelessly stumble in here without having read the earlier Emptywheel blog ice pick into the temple of southern comfort regarding the West Memphis Three and the obliteration of fundamental fairness occurring in an American court right down the stinking street, go back to go. Do not collect jack squat on the way. Seriously.
What happened today in Jonesboro Arkansas was just not right. And the addled morons in the citizenry and wooden bobbleheads in the media are pitching it as some triumph of justice. Get. The. Fuck. Out.
The West Memphis Three were railroaded into a guilty finding today – AGAIN – and, yes, it was far worse than the original lynch mob mentality religious paranoid bullshit because everybody, the entire world, knows the score this time. This is how US society dies and American Rule of Law dies. Take a good look people, because you are seeing it live like it was WWE Live!
Ooops, wait, I guess this was supposed to be Trash Talk huh? I musta got lost. Somewhere down the line of absurdity. First off tonight looks like the Hot’Lanta Dirty Bird are fouling some Jacksonville Jaguars on the old time broadcast TeeVee channel owned by Fox TV. Long as they ain’t tape delaying Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Formula One, that is all good. Hmm, seems the Falcons are up 3-0 as I write these words. I really like the Falcons. Matt Ryan has been better and more consistent than people give him credit for. Tony Gonzales is not what he once was maybe, but is still damn good. And Julio Jones paired with Roddy White as bookend receivers? Are you kidding me? Crikey. The Jags, on the other hand, have some growing issues. David Garrard has had some moments, but at this point, he is just a lead in for Blaine Gabbert and the future. MoJo Drew and a middlin defense is not enough to carry the franchise. The Dirty Birds are a force right here and now; the Jags, not so much.
But the game I am watching is the Cardinals at the hallowed tundra of Lambeau Field to visit the Pack. So far, Cards are holding their own, even are ahead 3-0; but the Pack and Rodgers are on the move. I will have to say, Darnell Dockett and the Cards defense is looking better than advertised.
It would appear that, although they have been pretty quiet, the Packers are going to be just fine. Give a quality talent and personality like Aaron Rodgers the confidence of a champion, which he sure has now, and the consistency of coaching and awesomeness of fan support of Green Bay, and that is a potent mix. They are never going to be like the Pats and be vying for an undefeated season, but they will be a force to be reckoned with when the fall turns to winter and the games count extra.
Back to the Cards. As most of you know, I am uhhhhh usually rather skeptical of the Cards. Still am. But they have some pieces; some real good pieces. This Pat Peterson rookie they have is going to be a defensive Larry Fitzgerald; he has those kind of skills and intangibles. They have a shot. We shall see.
One last thing. My friend, our friend, Jim White is going to visit some doctors on Monday. That kind of thing happens as you get older, and I guess you just have to move with no fear. But my thoughts, and those of this blog, are with him every inch of the way. Hang tough bubba; we got a lot of football and sports in general to trash over.
Hey Jim — BEST WISHES FOR MONDAY!!! Oh, it’s not a problem with your hearing? Oops. bmaz said it had to do with getting older… or something like that…
In all sincerity, I’ll be wishing you all the best on Monday and every day after that one, too! What the heck, I’ll even throw in this weekend for free ; )
And bmaz, right their with ya on the outrage in Arkansas. I guess the rule of law now means never having to say you’re sorry (much less admit you were wrong).
On a cheerier note, please keep me posted on the best game in football. Can’t watch and won’t be able to follow along at home. Wicked busy tonight, just popping in from time to time, when I can…
Thanks for the kind thoughts, bmaz and phred. Yeah, when you’re a ’56 Chevy like me, there comes a time when you need a valve job.
I blame Cheney for this. I had way too much fun with him not having a pulse, and now on Monday I’ll be on the bypass machine while the valve gets repaired.
The doc is going to try to do an smaller incision than the traditional one, but will still go in through the chest. I think I’ll ask him to make the scar look like football laces…
I have paid surgeon to carve Pac-10 insignia next to chest laces!
@Jim White: Wowser, good luck Jim! I have every confidence that things will go swimmingly : )
You might want to reconsider impersonating a football though — I hear there are rabid fans down your way and after a brewski or two, they might get confused ; )
@phred: No worries. I’m waay past the stage where my shirt ever comes off at the beach.
Well, other than the only shot at a running game the Cardinals have this year, Virginia Tech super rookie Ryan Williams, being carted off the field with either a knee or ankle injury, the game has not been all that bad for Arizona.
Meh, merely a flesh wound. With Kurt Warner at quarterback, the Cards do not need a running game.
What? Huh? Okay, strike that last statement; turns out that Kurt Warner is no longer with the Cardinals. Guess this may be a bit more problematic after all…..
Uh oh, this gotcha journalism is nasty stuff I tell ya.
Local Fox News eligible blonde sideline reporter just asked Beanie Wells what he was gonna do after the game. Wells went with the old Ohio State standby media response:
Ah, bmaz, … the rule of law, long may it … be.
And Jim White, ya knows how I feel about ya, so know, as well, that you’re well deep in me thoughts and me feelings, always and ever …
DW
As the JAX-ATL game winds down with the scrubs in, Siragusa and Strahan get pretty entertaining.
[But I’m already sick of Fairy Deion. Are we going to get those commercials all season?]
@Jim White:
Wait – the bug in the flying zoot suit in the salsa bowl is Dion? Get out! Hey, I think Danny Wuerffel just threw another interception to the Deion fly!
Horton presents the case for “Con,” especially the last 4 ¶s. Taking it downpage, want to quote too much for TrashTalk.
Jim White, best of luck with that, and do take it a bit easy this weekend. I’ve heard that being rested helps.
Good luck, Jim.
Bmaz,
Where’s you Ian Kennedy bobblehead/ The D-Backs are up by 2 1/2 on the Giants and no bragging.
I visited the previous home of the Texas Con Man, but found no relics.
On Wednesday, I made my annual trek to the Fens with my grandson.
It was home game #63, against the Rays, without any Devils in the details.
I bought the tickets from Ace Ticket, and we sat in the left field grandstand.
We have been seating in the right field sections for many moons, but this year decided to change outfields.
The seats were fine, much better than in right field.
I paid 75 bucks per ticket along with a $11 processing fee.
The face value of those gems were $28.00 each, but we did get two added benefits.
The smiling face of Spaceman Bill Lee (1969-1978) adorned the ticket, and if there was a No-No, they would refund the entire purchase
Ooh la la
I can’t complain about those goodies, except what are the odds of a no-hitter with John Lackey pitching?
In any case, I can’t bitch about the price.
I will leave it to others to figure out their Un-Christlike profit margins.
It was a grand and wonderful day, except that the Sox lost 4-0.
There was however, one unfortunate incident
I’m pretty old, and have been going to Fenway Park now for over 50 years (my first game was at age 10).
I usually ante up $8.50 for a brewski, amble to my seat, and enjoy the ambiance.
This time around, the usher noticed my 8 oz Budweiser, and politely told me that I was sitting in a “No alcohol permitted” zone?
Huh?
“Take a look at the fine print on your ticket, buddy”, he said.
“Oh, shit”, Section 32 is deemed an alcohol free zone.
Did the baseball gods deem fit to punish me for swearing at Lackey?
I had to temporarily vacate my seat, run down to the bowels of the aging park, and guzzle down my beer.
As a toast to this prohibition-type rule, I decided to forego my $6.00 peanuts.
I’m not voting for owner John Henry for President either.
I am pretty sure Rocket will get retried. I don’t think he should, not only for all the old reasons we have discussed, and not only because I am absolutely convinced the “errors” that led to the mistrial were very intentional acts by the DOJ attys and should be treated as such; but also it is just a waste of money. If they can fight so hard to give Scott Bloch no accountability, what the hell are we doing prosecuting Clemens?
Anyway, that is old hat. Sounds like a wonderful day at the shrine. Winning the game is nice, but being there with the grandson is priceless. Bet you you will read the fine print on the seats next time!
As to the DBacks, I am starting to get into it a little. I tell you what, they are mostly a bunch of kids just geeked up by Kirk Gibson; the star power type of players we won with in the heyday here (including 2001 WS year) are all gone. There are no Big Units, Schillings, Graces, Gonzos or Matt Williamses. Closest thing to a name is really Justin Upton, maybe shortstop Steven Drew, but Drew is out for the year injured and not a part of this run. Pretty cool; we shall see if they can hod off the Giants in September. Unexpected run though, and the town is slowly starting to buy in.
It occurs to me that politics could help us get over the confusing terminology for the college conferences with numbers in their names. This year, why don’t we call the Big 10+2 “The Big Bachmann” and the Big 12-2 “The Big Perry”? Both conferences are just as deluded as their political namesakes if any of the conferences or candidates think they are likely to win anything important any time in the near future.
The only problem is that the bigger Bachmann is Marcus, but I’m sure he’ll enjoy watching the tight ends.
@bmaz:
The Arizona Whiz Kids.
I’ve got Kennedy on my Fantasy Team and is he PAYING dividends.
Go to the Chase!
I think Judge Walton may signal extra innings
for Roger.
No question he’s put up Cooperstown numbers
except for an asterick…
It’s good that Thome reached 600 without steroids…
Hope he’s a first round pick in five years.
No question that Clemens has suffered from his situation…. what do you think his legal
bill looks like?
Jim – good luck. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
In the FWIW department:
OU number 1 in preseason poll.
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44209872/ns/sports-college_football/
@Jim White: Yeah, that was pretty entertaining. Did not know Siragusa went undrafted. It was interesting to hear him talk about it and how the lockout has screwed those guys this year.
Btw, did anyone see the Kitties?
The Kitties that lost their entire rookie class to injuries?
Granted, it was just Cleveland–thought McCoy is looking very sharp this year. But they stuck in there to win a closely fought game. Lots of people thinking the Kitties might be respectable this year.
Two things of equal importance:
(1) Jim White — good luck and take it easy, don’t argue with your doctors and just think lovely thoughts of Cheney in leg irons.
(2) OH MY FRIGGIN’ GOD, THANK YOU for the live Hoople! I realized it’s been maybe 30 years since I listened to that anthem performance, and I swear every single note, word and vision came back clearly. My only regret is the YouTube wound down before Ian Hunter’s epic crowd introduction of Ariel Bender…. Makes me continue to be amazed that people like my son like “Lounge Lizard” when performed by Whitesnake but have no idea that Ian Hunter wrote it and Mick Ronson was the guitarist. And the live stage video! — the only thing missing was an 18″ Stonehenge. God, what a series of memories unleashed.
But . . . but . . . MARK SANCHEZ!
@emptywheel:
Did Mr. Suh slam Colt around any? I hear the authorities aren’t too pleased with some of his tackles, err, body slams. He’s definitely got some game.
Good luck on Monday, Jim.
@Jim White: Nope. We’re naming it the Big McCotter.
Incidentally, Larry “Spidey” Fitzgerald?
Apparently he likes what he’s seen from Kolb well enough to commit to the desert pretty much through the time when climate change will make it unlivable.
Can buy a heck of a lot of air conditioning for that kind of money.
The guy who once led our Sunday evening youth group once (a few decades later) commented tersely to my Mother, “Older car, more time in the shop.” My dear Mother’s warranty ran out in January, at the age of 92. I became bionic in 1991, and more so a month ago. My best to Jim White: may he live long, and prosper– in good health. We may have to spend more time in the shop, but medical science is doing some pretty amazing things to keep us going.
Bringing this back to Trash Talk, I am grateful that the League and the Player’s Union are taking head injuries more seriously now. Many retired players are feeling the effects of head injuries, and more is being done to deal with concussions in a more timely manner.
I cringe at the thought of boxing, in which the express purpose of a match is to give your opponent a concussion. They say Mohammed Ali is NOT punch drunk, but I am not convinced that the punching he took from head bangers like Sonny Liston took no toll on his brain. And I used to like boxing.
Bob in AZ
‘Bolts and the ‘Boys, Sunday at 5PST.
Lots of coverage this week as the Bolts have been in Dallas since wednesday for practices and scrimmages against the Cowboys.
Norv Turner is very popular in Dallas to this day. Caught one of the retired Super Bowl-era players in an interview (not sure who) call him “Lord Norv”. Good times.
If you get the game on TV, watch out for a kid from Cornell named Bryan Walters. He’ll be returning kicks. The next Wes Welker!
From Cornell?? Get out!
@emptywheel:
Saturday Night Live?
They play the Pats next Saturday Night at
Ford Field
@bmaz:
Home of Keith Olbermann?
Take care Jim -even though they aren’t going to be needed, you’ll be in lots of thoughts and prayers (friendship apparently never bought in to the free market).
I’m with WC on the Hoople, and even Mott.
Bob – from now on, I will have a hard time not thinking of you as bionic Bob.
Have fun — but realize that I am going to go out and power wash. If fun were measured in psi-s, I think I’d win. ;)
Thanks for all the kind thoughts, everyone. It’s tremendous to have so many friends.
@Bay State Librul: Damn, if I hadn’t already decided I was going camping next weekend I might haul my ass to Detroit for that.
At the Oakland Airport bar.
Margarita on the rocks.
San Diego game on the teevee.
Made it through airport security up & back without getting sexually molested.
life is good.
@Rosalind: Yum. An entertaining game, too.
I’m sort of embarrassed how much I’ve enjoyed pre-season this year.
Little early for the Bolts to be peaking like this isn’t it??
@emptywheel:
It’s going to be a great year for Lions fans … they looked to have great potential last year, even when they lost.
Now if they get a better conditioning team …
Hands on monitors/screens for our dear friend Jim White, folks … OHHHMMMMMMM !
@emptywheel: heh. i picked up SI at the news stand (with Stanford Football on the cover – here comes the curse!) – and the end essay by Phil Taylor is about how embarrassed he is to be enjoying pre-season football this much.
i think it’s 1 cup thank-god-there-IS-a-season, and 3 cups oh-god-deliver-me-from-the-world that is.