blogovich

Pre-season NHL hockey as lead sportscast items???

OK, this is Canada and hockey rules and I like the game.

But enough already with media outlets treating pre-season games as the real thing. TSN leads with it every night now, summaries, won-lost records, goaltender save percentages, the whole bit.

And, yeah, it probably all gets better ratings than whatever else is going on in regular season sports right now like, er, late season baseball wild card races, CFL and NFL football in full swing, etc. Which is rather pathetic, when you think about it. For instance, I just heard a TSN SportsCentre broadcaster talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs 'bouncing back' from a pre-season loss for tonight's pre-season win.

C'mon. Get serious. Don't insult your viewers' intelligence. It's pre-season hockey.

Utter nonsense, this level of coverage. I must admit I'm surprised the various networks (SportsNet being as guilty) haven't brought in their various 'panels' for analysis of pre-season games. So far.

Ridiculous. CLICK of the channel changer/off switch.

 

Weird names for planets

A new 'super Earth' that might hold water has been discovered.  Wonderful. I love astronomy, discovering new worlds both fictional (yeah, I'm a Trekkie) and real.

But here's the thing. This newly discovered planet has been dubbed HD855122b by astronomers. Sure, it's a numerical categorization for record keeping, understandable. But it's not as if memorable ol' planet HD855122b will actually get the masses moving and more interested in humankind's ongoing probes into outer space.

HD855122b and other assorted such planets may well get astronomers excited, but, er, the average person is not going to care a whit. Or remember such nomenclature.

For instance . . .

Anyone with even a passing interest in astronomy knows and recognizes a name such as the Horsehead Nebula.

 

 

But do they recognize Barnard 33 in emission nebula IC434? Of course not.

But Barnard 33 in emission nebula IC434 is the horsehead nebula, Barnard 33 being its scientific name, the Horsehead Nebula its popular appellation. Case closed.

Memo to astronomers: let your imaginations run wild and name these new discoveries something that might actually resonate with the average individual.

 

Serena Williams

Hey, back after nearly a month of busy-ness on other duties but you don't want to hear that.

Anyway, quick 'back to the blog' hits.

Serena Williams' meltdown at the U.S. Open.

 

Watch the video and you'll note that the (American) commentators are in support of Serena until they do some legwork and, wait for it, realize that the chair umpire not only made the right call but is not the person who Serena states 'screwed me over last time."

Whatever. Williams got fined $2,000 for this. $2,000?!!!! She makes millions. The fine is akin to the averaging working person being fined a nickel.

Serena Williams is a great tennis player. She's also a (repeatedly demonstrated) classless sore loser bully filled with a sense of entitlement. Oh, and shame on the media for letting her laugh it off (she claimed she couldn't remember her outburst) after the fact.

If tennis wants to put a stop to this (as it should have, but for the attraction of TV ratings, duh, in the days of boors like Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, ironically enough now a relatively placid and excellent TV analyst) the solution is simple, as suggested in the linked story above by tennis Grand Slam committee director Bill Babcock, who has yet to actually put his words into practice.

Ban the offender from the next major tournament. These folks, like Serena, don't need the $$; they have enough. They crave the prestige, the cachet, of being a major tournament winner. Deny them that opportunity and they just might wise up and behave.