The DJ from the Orlando Magic posts his playlist after every game. Nice!
Magic: Music Page
(And good tunes, too -- a nice mix of classic arena tunes, urban music, and top 40 tunes.)
Dec 5, 2005
Beijing 2008 Olympic Mascots
The marketing team for the Beijing Olympics has introduced not one, not two ... but five mascots for the 2008 Olympic Games:
"Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, the Five Friendlies will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace--and blessings from China--to children all over the world. Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, the Five Friendlies also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals--the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow--and the Olympic Flame."
"Each of the Friendlies has a rhyming two-syllable name--a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow. When you put their names together--Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni--they say "Welcome to Beijing".
Read more about the Friendlies...
"Like the Five Olympic Rings from which they draw their color and inspiration, the Five Friendlies will serve as the Official Mascots of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, carrying a message of friendship and peace--and blessings from China--to children all over the world. Designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, the Five Friendlies also embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals--the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow--and the Olympic Flame."
"Each of the Friendlies has a rhyming two-syllable name--a traditional way of expressing affection for children in China. Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow. When you put their names together--Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni--they say "Welcome to Beijing".
Read more about the Friendlies...
Halftime Show At Bruins-Devils Hockey Game Disrupted By Second Period Of Play
From The Onion:
"A combination marching band and pompom squad show planned for the halfway point of Tuesday night's Boston-New Jersey hockey game was disrupted by the continuation of on-ice play during the second of the game's three periods, Devils team officials announced Thursday morning."
Read the article...
"A combination marching band and pompom squad show planned for the halfway point of Tuesday night's Boston-New Jersey hockey game was disrupted by the continuation of on-ice play during the second of the game's three periods, Devils team officials announced Thursday morning."
Read the article...
Dec 1, 2005
Gary Glitter's strange fame
Aaron Wherry blogs on the strange fame of Gary Glitter. Glitter's "Rock n Roll Part II" (aka the "Hey" song) is a mainstay at sports games in North America.
"In the realm of sports anthems, his Rock n Roll Part 2 is bested really only by Queen's We Will Rock You (because, of course, nothing goes together better than hyper-masculinity and a flamboyant, gay, British rock god). Aside from We Will Rock You, Take Me Out To The Ballgame and the American national anthem, there isn't another song more closely associated with the wide world of sports, professional and otherwise (though college basketball fans can argue for One Shining Moment and Canadians can campaign for the Hockey Night In Canada theme)."
Read the post...
Nov 18, 2005
Makeover ideas for Canadian hockey jerseys
TNS's Jay Onrait has a fun piece on Canadian hockey uniforms.
"For third jerseys, the NHL has usually gone for redesigned "alternates" instead. They could have it so much better (good album by the way) if they honored the league's past while appealing to its younger fans in the present by dipping into the days of way back!"
VANCOUVER: "What kind of team adopts "grainy mustard yellow" as its primary colour in the late seventies?"
CALGARY: "Their current uni isn't bad, but I would simply take the black out of the colour scheme. There's something Wayne Gretzky did so effectively when he came on board with Phoenix and insisted the team re-design their horrific threads, he oversaw a very simple design: Basic logo on the front, basic stripes on the side, and two basic colours. Whether you like the colours or the logo, the uni is very effective because it nearly achieves that throwback look without being a throwback."
EDMONTON: "They should pretty much follow the Calgary Model: Original Blue, Orange, and White home and away throwbacks during all games with Calgary. What a great feeling it will give fans in both cities to remember the classic Battles and witness new Battles in the threads that started it all."
OTTAWA: "One jersey that should never be resurrected? One with the "Parliament Building" logo first introduced when the Sens came back into the league."
Read the article...
"For third jerseys, the NHL has usually gone for redesigned "alternates" instead. They could have it so much better (good album by the way) if they honored the league's past while appealing to its younger fans in the present by dipping into the days of way back!"
VANCOUVER: "What kind of team adopts "grainy mustard yellow" as its primary colour in the late seventies?"
CALGARY: "Their current uni isn't bad, but I would simply take the black out of the colour scheme. There's something Wayne Gretzky did so effectively when he came on board with Phoenix and insisted the team re-design their horrific threads, he oversaw a very simple design: Basic logo on the front, basic stripes on the side, and two basic colours. Whether you like the colours or the logo, the uni is very effective because it nearly achieves that throwback look without being a throwback."
EDMONTON: "They should pretty much follow the Calgary Model: Original Blue, Orange, and White home and away throwbacks during all games with Calgary. What a great feeling it will give fans in both cities to remember the classic Battles and witness new Battles in the threads that started it all."
OTTAWA: "One jersey that should never be resurrected? One with the "Parliament Building" logo first introduced when the Sens came back into the league."
Read the article...
Nov 13, 2005
Sacramento Kings apologize for bashing Detroit in pregame video
From Sports Illustrated:
The Sacramento Kings bought full-page ads in two newspapers to apologize for showing derogatory images of Detroit on video screens prior to their home opener against the Pistons.
When the Pistons were introduced Tuesday night, the Arco Arena scoreboard flashed pictures of abandoned buildings, burned-out cars, piles of rubble and other negative images of Detroit. The Pistons won the game 102-88.
...
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league is reviewing the incident.
NBA policy prohibits "ridiculing of opponents or game officials ... via PA announcements, video, or matrix displays, music or mascot skits.''
Read the article...
The Sacramento Kings bought full-page ads in two newspapers to apologize for showing derogatory images of Detroit on video screens prior to their home opener against the Pistons.
When the Pistons were introduced Tuesday night, the Arco Arena scoreboard flashed pictures of abandoned buildings, burned-out cars, piles of rubble and other negative images of Detroit. The Pistons won the game 102-88.
...
NBA spokesman Tim Frank said the league is reviewing the incident.
NBA policy prohibits "ridiculing of opponents or game officials ... via PA announcements, video, or matrix displays, music or mascot skits.''
Read the article...
Interview with "HuskerVision" camera guy
An interview with Mike Maryott, who is part of the production team at Husker games at the University of Nebraska.
“It’s fun being on the field and right there for the tunnel walk,” Maryott said. “It’s great. I am as close as anyone can be without being run over. It’s a rush.”
Read the article...
“It’s fun being on the field and right there for the tunnel walk,” Maryott said. “It’s great. I am as close as anyone can be without being run over. It’s a rush.”
Read the article...
Nov 7, 2005
Interview with Dominic Latkovski of Zooperstars & Birdzerk
A good interview this month on GameOps.com, with Dominic Latkovski of Zooperstars and Birdzerk fame. An excerpt:
***
One of our smarter performers (Steve) was in the locker room before the AA All Star Game in Norwich a few years ago. There was a guy standing nearby, priming his voice to get ready to sing the National Anthem. Steve asked him if he was singing the Anthem and the guy said “YES.” Steve told him to “Knock ‘em dead,” and then walked away. He never realized it was Michael Bolton!
Earlier this year, we had a funny episode during a routine where Roger Clamens eats someone on the ice. Our guy getting eaten cracked his nose on the ice when he fell to the ground while being swallowed. His nose was gushing blood, but he had to continue on with the routine. So he jumped on the other guy’s (Steve again) back just like he was supposed to and proceeded to get tons of blood all over Steve’s hair and down his back. Steve was freaking out, but there was nothing he could do! That costume still has blood stains all over the inside of it today, because they just wouldn’t come out!!
My brother was working the crowd as Whale Gretzky at a hockey game for the Motor City Mechanics. We knew Kid Rock was in attendance that night, so we went by his suite. Kid Rock, who had been enjoying himself a little too much that night, sees us coming and hangs over the rail and starts laughing at Whale Gretzky. So my brother sprays Silly String all over his face, in his long hair, and in his beer. It took about 10 seconds for the guy to even realize what was going on. His drunk friends just laughed at him and gave Whale Gretkzy high-fives!
***
Read the interview...
***
One of our smarter performers (Steve) was in the locker room before the AA All Star Game in Norwich a few years ago. There was a guy standing nearby, priming his voice to get ready to sing the National Anthem. Steve asked him if he was singing the Anthem and the guy said “YES.” Steve told him to “Knock ‘em dead,” and then walked away. He never realized it was Michael Bolton!
Earlier this year, we had a funny episode during a routine where Roger Clamens eats someone on the ice. Our guy getting eaten cracked his nose on the ice when he fell to the ground while being swallowed. His nose was gushing blood, but he had to continue on with the routine. So he jumped on the other guy’s (Steve again) back just like he was supposed to and proceeded to get tons of blood all over Steve’s hair and down his back. Steve was freaking out, but there was nothing he could do! That costume still has blood stains all over the inside of it today, because they just wouldn’t come out!!
My brother was working the crowd as Whale Gretzky at a hockey game for the Motor City Mechanics. We knew Kid Rock was in attendance that night, so we went by his suite. Kid Rock, who had been enjoying himself a little too much that night, sees us coming and hangs over the rail and starts laughing at Whale Gretzky. So my brother sprays Silly String all over his face, in his long hair, and in his beer. It took about 10 seconds for the guy to even realize what was going on. His drunk friends just laughed at him and gave Whale Gretkzy high-fives!
***
Read the interview...
Can the crowd affect free-throw shooting?
From ESPN's Page 2:
"Last season, the 25 teams with split stats listed on NBA.com shot an average of 75.7 percent from the foul line at home and 75.3 percent away, a whopping difference of 0.4 percent. Ten squads even shot better on the road."
...
"As it turns out, Thunderstix and wiggling balloons have little effect because the brain simply blocks out random motion, like white noise on a television screen."
...
"...fans behind the baseline would be better off moving side-to-side in unison. Why? Confronted with a field of background motion, observers tend to believe that they are moving while the background remains still -- think of sitting on a stopped subway train while an adjacent train passes. David Whitney, a visual scientist at the University of California-Davis, has demonstrated that a field of background motion can influence hand motions, such as the flick of the wrist on a free throw."
Read the article...
"Last season, the 25 teams with split stats listed on NBA.com shot an average of 75.7 percent from the foul line at home and 75.3 percent away, a whopping difference of 0.4 percent. Ten squads even shot better on the road."
...
"As it turns out, Thunderstix and wiggling balloons have little effect because the brain simply blocks out random motion, like white noise on a television screen."
...
"...fans behind the baseline would be better off moving side-to-side in unison. Why? Confronted with a field of background motion, observers tend to believe that they are moving while the background remains still -- think of sitting on a stopped subway train while an adjacent train passes. David Whitney, a visual scientist at the University of California-Davis, has demonstrated that a field of background motion can influence hand motions, such as the flick of the wrist on a free throw."
Read the article...
Nov 6, 2005
Poppies & Copyright = Poppyright
Not related to sports at all:
The Royal Canadian Legion has requested that an image of the poppy be removed from Bourque.com:
"The Committee", reprimands Mr. [Steven] Clark, [Secretary, Poppy and Remembrance Committee of the Royal Canadian Legion,] "acknowledges your effort to promote Remembrance but, as we do not have control over website content, the use of the Poppy image is not authorized."
Bourque responds:
"What next, will Peter Mansbridge and Mike Duffy be banned from wearing their poppies during Remembrance Day telecasts ? Will Rick Mercer be blocked from using the poppy in a tastefully funny TV skit ? Will Leonard Asper have to erase his Remembrance Day website ? Will Charles Adler have to take it off while he broadcasts his radio show from the CAB convention floor in Winnipeg next week ? Will Jeffrey Simpson have to remove his while he pens his next G&M column?"
The Royal Canadian Legion has requested that an image of the poppy be removed from Bourque.com:
"The Committee", reprimands Mr. [Steven] Clark, [Secretary, Poppy and Remembrance Committee of the Royal Canadian Legion,] "acknowledges your effort to promote Remembrance but, as we do not have control over website content, the use of the Poppy image is not authorized."
Bourque responds:
"What next, will Peter Mansbridge and Mike Duffy be banned from wearing their poppies during Remembrance Day telecasts ? Will Rick Mercer be blocked from using the poppy in a tastefully funny TV skit ? Will Leonard Asper have to erase his Remembrance Day website ? Will Charles Adler have to take it off while he broadcasts his radio show from the CAB convention floor in Winnipeg next week ? Will Jeffrey Simpson have to remove his while he pens his next G&M column?"
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