just stop already... for your own sake!

Michael Richards is at it again. As if it wasn't enough to disparage African-Americans at a comedy club a couple weeks ago, E! Online reports;

A woman who attended an earlier Richards comedy show told TMZ.com that the actor lashed out at an audience member, yelling, "You f---ing Jew. You people are the cause of Jesus dying."

After the quote was reported to the press, Richards told his publicist that no one should take offense since he himself was Jewish. Like a homey sparring with one of his boys by dropping the "n" word, Richards could spew anti-semetism since, well, he was a Jew himself. His publicist quickly went to the press and proclaimed Richard's Jewish heritage should protect him from any negative feedback. Only one minor problem...

By the actor's own acknowledgment, he is: (a) not the son of a Jewish mother, (b) not a convert and therefore, even if some of his best friends are Jewish he is (c) not Jewish.

Um... good one Kramer. You know what, just stop. Stop apologizing, stop making excuses, stop talking to the press, stop doing your "comedy" act. At this point, we don't care if you're a racist, because even if you're not, you're a nut job. So do yourself a favor and just disappear. It's ok, in a couple weeks we'll all forget about you. We did it immediately after Seinfeld ended, should be easy enough to do it again. Deal?

say it ain't so, bruins

Former UCLA Bruin cornerback, Ricky Manning Jr., was suspended for Sunday's NFL game between Manning's Chicago Bears and the New England Patriots. I had heard on TV that he was arrested for felony assault at a Westwood Denny's near the UCLA campus. This led me to search the net to find out more info, and what I found was quite sobering.

From the New York Post:

According to the victim's claims in the police report obtained by NBCsports.com, Manning, Tyler Ebell and Maurice Jones-Drew - all former UCLA football players - were among a group of customers who began to bully 25-year-old Soroush Sabzi, who was seated alone nearby, working on his laptop.

When Sabzi, a student and Swedish citizen of Persian descent, asked to be left alone, the insults, including, "Are you a faggot?" and "You f---ing Jew," continued.

Sabzi, the police report continues, next called out for restaurant management. At that point, Manning approached Sabzi, who was still seated, stood above him and called him a "an ugly f---ing Jew" and a "faggot."

When, according to the report, the victim again asked to be left alone, Manning began to slap him. Manning's accomplices joined in. Sabzi was punched to the ground then kicked, leaving "visible injuries to his face, cheek, head and [sic] lost consciousness for approximately 10 seconds."

And knowing that the NY Post can be sensationalistic, I dug around for more evidence, and uncovered this post on the the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office website:

Manning was with two other former UCLA football players -- Maurice Drew, 21, and Tyler Ebell, 23 -- when Manning allegedly exchanged words with a customer in a Denny’s in Westwood in the early morning hours on April 23. Manning assaulted the victim before leaving the restaurant. He was arrested by LAPD officers a short time later.

The assault charge was dismissed in June against Drew for insufficient evidence. On Sept. 12, Judge Amy Hogue reduced the felony assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury charge against Ebell to a misdemeanor. His case was referred to the City Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

What deeply saddens me is not just Manning's actions, for he is a certified a-hole at best, but the fact that Tyler Ebell and Maurice Drew (who was cleared of wrongdoing, but admits to being at the scene and did nothing to stop the beating of an innocent man) were also involved.

Is this what UCLA teaches our athletes? That they are above the law? Coach Bob Toledo got fired for letting his players run amok (see the Handicap Parking Scandal of 1999), but a couple illegal parkers were nothing compared to former players who assault random strangers. Why is no one making a bigger deal about this? I actually find it hard to root for my own team knowing that we raised a group of belligerent, racist players like these. Ridiculous.

kramer is a racist, jerry... a racist!

Apparently Kramer is like George W. Bush after the Katrina disaster. As Kanye West might say, he hates black people. Check out the sordid details from TMZ.com:

Richards, who played the wacky Cosmo Kramer on the hit TV show "Seinfeld," appeared onstage at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood. Kyle Doss, an African-American, told TMZ he and some friends were in the cheap seats and he was playfully heckling Richards when suddenly, the comedian lost it.

The camera started rolling just as Richards began his attack, screaming at one of the men, "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f--king fork up your ass."

Richards continued, "You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now motherf--ker. Throw his ass out. He's a n-----! He's a n-----! He's a n-----! A n-----, look, there's a n-----!"

The crowd is visibly and audibly confused and upset. Richards responds by saying, "They're going to arrest me for calling a black man a n-----."

One of the men who was the object of Richard's tirade was outraged, shouting back "That's un-f--king called for, ain't necessary."

After the three-minute tirade, it appears the majority of the audience members got up and left in disgust.

Crazy, crazy stuff. It's even more unbelievable when you see if for yourself. Check out the full video below:



I suspect we won't be welcoming Richards on Def Comedy Jam anytime soon. And given the damage done, Even Kramer's TV lawyer, Jackie Childs, couldn't help him out of this mess.

friday night lights - tv review

It's a TV show that's based on a movie that's based on a book that's based on an a real-life Texas high school football team. Don't worry, that's about as complicated as this show gets. The rest of the show is straight-forward and even relatively predictable, but in an endearing way. Friday Night Lights is an entertaining hour of television, with action scenes that deliver enough to please your average football fan, along with enough heart to please your average television drama lover.

Premise:

Friday Night Lights follows the exploits of the fictional Panthers, located in Dillon, Texas (rather than the real-life Permetian Panthers from Odessa, Texas detailed in the movie of the same name). Dillon is a small town who's athletic heart beats around the exploits of their high school football team, so much so, they've built a stadium that seats over 35,000 people -- larger than many college teams can boast.

New head coach, Eric Taylor, is met with exceedingly impossible demands when his star quarterback is paralyzed in the first game of the season, and he must win with a complete novice at QB, Matt Saracen. The struggle to be a good coach, father, and mentor while pleasing an ever vocal and negative town hell-bent on winning every game is the defining theme of the show.

What's Good:

The show does a great job of capturing the passion and obsession of football in a small town. The football action is at times overly melodramatic, but it never fails to suck you in until the final whistle.

What's Bad:

As mentioned, the plotlines on Friday Night Lights are very straightforward and at times predictable. Preachy at times, it is what it is -- a solid, entertaining football show. If you're looking for more than that, you've come to the wrong place.

Breakout Character:

Matt Saracen, former geek now starting at quarterback for the mighty Panthers, learns to balance learning the game of football, building relationships with doubting teammates, a Dairy Queen-type job, an Alzheimer's afflicted grandmother, and a father who's stationed in Iraq -- all in a day's work for your average high schooler.

Newcomer Zach Gilford does a great job of capturing the dueling emotions that Saracen faces as he grows from a quiet teen to a confident starting quarterback.

Overall Recommendation:

I like it. I like it for the same reason I like Snickers bars. They're satisfying when you're in the mood for something sweet and simple. It's a nice change of pace from the Lost's of the world. Watch it. Soon... before it's gone.

On the Salinger scale, where a party of five is the highest rating, I'm saving a seat for Bailey, Charlie, Julia and a half Owen.

3.5 Salingers

Friday Night Lights airs Tuesdays at 8pm on NBC