Today is the biggest day in the entertainment industry as the 2008 Academy Awards take place today.
Today is also a big day for Mahalo, as we provide wall-to-wall coverage of the Oscars on our website.
The red carpet entrances will be covered live beginning at 6PM ET. To catch this coverage, be sure to click on this link:
http://www.mahalo.com/Oscar_Red_Carpet_Live_Coverage
Then, at 8PM ET, it's live coverage of the 80th Academy Awards. Click here for that:
http://www.mahalo.com/Oscar_Live_Coverage
Be sure to visit both pages early and often!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Today should be a holiday
I may have been 12, but I was very aware of what was going on in the world at the age of 12. Thankfully.
The year was 1980. America didn't hate itself - it was too depressed to hate itself. High unemployment rates. Huge deficits. Energy issues. Post-Watergate. Post-Vietnam. Our confidence was so low as a country on so many fronts, our own president called, "...a crisis of confidence..." There were 52 hostages in Iran that we couldn't free from their captures, and it seemed like the Soviet Union was getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger. On a scale of 1-10 (1 low and 10 high), feeling good about being an American in early February of 1980 rated around a 2.
And then those 20 college kids came along. And everything changed.
For those (like the majority of people I work with) who weren't even born yet, let me explain further. In 1980, our olympic teams were formed solely of actual amateur athletes, within International Olympic Committee rules and guidelines. However, most of the other countries, specifically the Soviet Union, used professional players. The Soviet team in hockey was favored to win in 1980, and not just because it had won the gold medal the four previous times they held the games. Prior to the start of the hockey season in October, the Soviets played a team of NHL All-Stars, the best players in the world. The Soviets easily won 6-0. And just prior to the start of the games themselves, the Soviet team played an exhibition game against the United States team, and the Soviets easily won 10-3.
The United States team wasn't supposed to even contend for a medal. But there they were, 28 years ago today on Friday February 22, 1980, preparing to meet the mighty Red Army team in the medal round.
What I remember looking back on it now, 28 years to the day, is some of things I didn't pick up on as a 12-year old that day. Consider that the IOC refused to change the start time of the game from 5PM ET to 8PM ET to accommodate ABC. This meant that the game was broadcast on tape-delay on ABC, but appeared to be live for those watching. That's because there was no internet to get updated scores. There were no cell phones for word to get out from the arena that this incredible upset had just happened. ESPN had just launched 4 months earlier.
Yet every time I watch the game now, the saves that Jim Craig made in goal are even more incredible. And I'm amazed watching Mike Eurizione shoot off the wrong foot and score the game-winning goal. And every time I watch the final minute, and here Al Michaels make what I think is the greatest call in sports history, and the final seconds tick away, tears present themselves on my face.
That was the first time in my life that I believed in miracles.
It gets harder and harder to believe in them now. In many ways, life in this country today, from a confidence and patriotism standpoint, rival the way things were in 1980. Maybe they are that's bad, but they're in the neighborhood. I wonder if I'll ever again see something like that ever again. And maybe that's why this day means so much to me, as someone who went through it in 1980.
We have holidays for all kinds of reasons - some good, some suspect. Isn't it time we celebrate the anniversary of this monumental event in our country's history? Isn't it time we acknowledge that it is the single biggest day of positive feelings and unity this country has felt in the last 50 years?
This much I know: ESPN is doing this stupid 'Greatest Sports Highlight Ever' thing on SportsCenter right now, and if the Miracle on Ice doesn't win, then ESPN should be shut down immediately.
I may have been 12 back then, but the memory is still so fresh, and still so very much alive in me. To the members of that team: thank you.
The year was 1980. America didn't hate itself - it was too depressed to hate itself. High unemployment rates. Huge deficits. Energy issues. Post-Watergate. Post-Vietnam. Our confidence was so low as a country on so many fronts, our own president called, "...a crisis of confidence..." There were 52 hostages in Iran that we couldn't free from their captures, and it seemed like the Soviet Union was getting stronger, and stronger, and stronger. On a scale of 1-10 (1 low and 10 high), feeling good about being an American in early February of 1980 rated around a 2.
And then those 20 college kids came along. And everything changed.
For those (like the majority of people I work with) who weren't even born yet, let me explain further. In 1980, our olympic teams were formed solely of actual amateur athletes, within International Olympic Committee rules and guidelines. However, most of the other countries, specifically the Soviet Union, used professional players. The Soviet team in hockey was favored to win in 1980, and not just because it had won the gold medal the four previous times they held the games. Prior to the start of the hockey season in October, the Soviets played a team of NHL All-Stars, the best players in the world. The Soviets easily won 6-0. And just prior to the start of the games themselves, the Soviet team played an exhibition game against the United States team, and the Soviets easily won 10-3.
The United States team wasn't supposed to even contend for a medal. But there they were, 28 years ago today on Friday February 22, 1980, preparing to meet the mighty Red Army team in the medal round.
What I remember looking back on it now, 28 years to the day, is some of things I didn't pick up on as a 12-year old that day. Consider that the IOC refused to change the start time of the game from 5PM ET to 8PM ET to accommodate ABC. This meant that the game was broadcast on tape-delay on ABC, but appeared to be live for those watching. That's because there was no internet to get updated scores. There were no cell phones for word to get out from the arena that this incredible upset had just happened. ESPN had just launched 4 months earlier.
Yet every time I watch the game now, the saves that Jim Craig made in goal are even more incredible. And I'm amazed watching Mike Eurizione shoot off the wrong foot and score the game-winning goal. And every time I watch the final minute, and here Al Michaels make what I think is the greatest call in sports history, and the final seconds tick away, tears present themselves on my face.
That was the first time in my life that I believed in miracles.
It gets harder and harder to believe in them now. In many ways, life in this country today, from a confidence and patriotism standpoint, rival the way things were in 1980. Maybe they are that's bad, but they're in the neighborhood. I wonder if I'll ever again see something like that ever again. And maybe that's why this day means so much to me, as someone who went through it in 1980.
We have holidays for all kinds of reasons - some good, some suspect. Isn't it time we celebrate the anniversary of this monumental event in our country's history? Isn't it time we acknowledge that it is the single biggest day of positive feelings and unity this country has felt in the last 50 years?
This much I know: ESPN is doing this stupid 'Greatest Sports Highlight Ever' thing on SportsCenter right now, and if the Miracle on Ice doesn't win, then ESPN should be shut down immediately.
I may have been 12 back then, but the memory is still so fresh, and still so very much alive in me. To the members of that team: thank you.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Rocket Man Gets Blasted
Before I begin, a little aside to all you conspiracy theorists out there, and you know who WE are... credit to Lon who suggested today that on a day when members of Congress have one of the most important debates and votes they can take part in all year, having to do with whether FISA (legal illegal wiretapping of phones) will be extended, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform scheduled the Roger Clemens Steroids Hearings today. BTW, should also be noted that Arlen Specter, forever linked to the biggest conspiracy theory of all-time with his idiotic magic bullet theory, is speaking with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell regarding the Patriots Spygate scenario.
Are these forays by our government into the business matters of professional sports leagues really necessary? And today, when all members of both houses should be present and accounted for?
That aside, what great dinner theater we were provided with this morning. Here's a brief rundown of what we learned today boys and girls, in case you missed it:
- Roger Clemens is not just a ballplayer... he's a human being too... (From "The Rocket Man" to "The Elephant Man")
- Clemens also stated clearly and sternly that, "I have never taken steroids; I have never taken HGH; I have never done anything illegal to try and gain a competitive advantage; I have never lied about taken steroids..." and he has never had sex with Monica Lewinsky either.
- Andy Pettitte is a wonderful guy and dear and caring friend of Roger's, but apparently one of the side effects of his taking HGH is the loss of hearing
- "You too can inject illegal human growth hormones into the wife of Roger Clemens in their bedroom and without his knowledge!"
- The people of Indiana (Dan Burton) and Connecticut (Christopher Shays) have elected retarded nut jobs to Congress
- According to Brian McNamee, Clemens was bleeding so badly after receiving an injection that (CAUTION, those that are squeemish should just skip to the next take) he was bleeding through his pants and it was noticed by Mike Stanton
- One day after President Bush, doing his best Mr. Mackey from South Park, essentially told an audience of African-Americans that "...lynching is bad, umkay?", we have Rep. Tom Davis (not Dr. Tom Davis the former basketball coach) equating Clemens being subjected to the hearing as, "a new definition of lynching..."
- and finally, because of all he has gone through in this terrible ordeal, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton feels that Roger will, "...surely (be) going to heaven." So I guess when it comes to Clemens, to paraphrase 70's disco group Tavares, "Heaven must be missing a jackass..."
Ah yes, somewhere Mike Piazza is smiling in approval.
It's a proud day for baseball. It's a proud day for sports. It must be a proud day for Bud Selig. It must be a proud day for the United States Congress.
What a freaking joke. What a waste of time. You know, in light of the way those committee members acted today, perhaps Winston Churchill said it best: "Democracy is the worst form of government...except for all the rest." Today, though, only the first part of the quote applies. It was a train wreck. It was embarrassing. And it was very entertaining.
The only thing better would have been if Barry Bonds was getting the same treatment...
Are these forays by our government into the business matters of professional sports leagues really necessary? And today, when all members of both houses should be present and accounted for?
That aside, what great dinner theater we were provided with this morning. Here's a brief rundown of what we learned today boys and girls, in case you missed it:
- Roger Clemens is not just a ballplayer... he's a human being too... (From "The Rocket Man" to "The Elephant Man")
- Clemens also stated clearly and sternly that, "I have never taken steroids; I have never taken HGH; I have never done anything illegal to try and gain a competitive advantage; I have never lied about taken steroids..." and he has never had sex with Monica Lewinsky either.
- Andy Pettitte is a wonderful guy and dear and caring friend of Roger's, but apparently one of the side effects of his taking HGH is the loss of hearing
- "You too can inject illegal human growth hormones into the wife of Roger Clemens in their bedroom and without his knowledge!"
- The people of Indiana (Dan Burton) and Connecticut (Christopher Shays) have elected retarded nut jobs to Congress
- According to Brian McNamee, Clemens was bleeding so badly after receiving an injection that (CAUTION, those that are squeemish should just skip to the next take) he was bleeding through his pants and it was noticed by Mike Stanton
- One day after President Bush, doing his best Mr. Mackey from South Park, essentially told an audience of African-Americans that "...lynching is bad, umkay?", we have Rep. Tom Davis (not Dr. Tom Davis the former basketball coach) equating Clemens being subjected to the hearing as, "a new definition of lynching..."
- and finally, because of all he has gone through in this terrible ordeal, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton feels that Roger will, "...surely (be) going to heaven." So I guess when it comes to Clemens, to paraphrase 70's disco group Tavares, "Heaven must be missing a jackass..."
Ah yes, somewhere Mike Piazza is smiling in approval.
It's a proud day for baseball. It's a proud day for sports. It must be a proud day for Bud Selig. It must be a proud day for the United States Congress.
What a freaking joke. What a waste of time. You know, in light of the way those committee members acted today, perhaps Winston Churchill said it best: "Democracy is the worst form of government...except for all the rest." Today, though, only the first part of the quote applies. It was a train wreck. It was embarrassing. And it was very entertaining.
The only thing better would have been if Barry Bonds was getting the same treatment...
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Incredible Super Bowl traffic weekend plus
So a month ago, I decided to try something to jump start the low number of page views that the sports pages on my company's website at Mahalo were generating. Having spent some time in November and December on temporary assignment with the Products Team helping to flood the zone on many products and gadgets made available during the holidays, I decided to take a chance.
There's floating an idea about whether something will work, getting pre-approval on whether it will work or not, and hopefully living up to expectations. Then there is simply trying something in a "thinking-outside-the-box-without-permission", so that if it doesn't work I don't get knocked down a peg in the pecking order, and if does work, well to the victor goes the spoils kind of thing.
Let's call it a calculated risk - fortunately, it was one that worked.
The idea was to live blog sporting events. Now this isn't a novel idea in of itself, but it was with respect to doing so at Mahalo. So I started with boxing. In fact, I really can't take full credit for the idea. A few of us here wanted to watch the pay-per-view boxing match in December between Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton. Our magnanimous boss, Jason Calacanis, simply said in response to our desire viewing the fight at the office, "Hey, if you live blog it, I'll pick up 1/2..."
And so, like Walter Payton used to do when he saw just a sliver of daylight between 2 blockers, I hit the hole and sprinted down field.
That night was the start of my live blogging experience, which has since included: Each of the 3 weekends of the NFL Playoffs; the January Jones-Trinidad PPV fight; the NHL All-Star Game; a WWE PPV event (Angry Ken handled that one on my encouragement); and the Super Bowl.
Then the decision to cover the Super Bowl went much further than covering the game. In addition to creating all kinds of Super Bowl related sports pages about the previous games, the coaches, the MVP's, and much more within the sports vertical, Ken and I brainstormed on other search terms that people would be searching for in other areas. Like food, TV, clothing, music, and more. And then, 3 weeks ago, based upon the initial success of several liver blogging events, I decided that we should also live blog the Super Bowl commercials - figuring that nearly as many people watch the game specifically for them as for the game itself.
So we have a tool that allows us to determine the number of times each of our pages is viewed, and ways to break that information down which I won't bother you with. But suffice to say that the numbers for the live coverage of the sporting events has been, as Frank Caliendo would say, "Jim Rome on a three-syllable word: in-cred-ible..."
I'm grateful to the tens of thousands that have come to our pages of the past 6 weeks. And the Super Bowl related pages have had 'through the roof' numbers. I also thankful to the tens of tens of Crief Case Nation that have followed your captain into battle.
And I think there are bigger numbers out there. Promotion and reputation I think will benefit our efforts in this area going forward. Again, we're providing ways to help people at Mahalo, and this is my contribution to our mission.
OTHER STUFF: A few months ago, I wrote here that Mets GM Omar Minaya needed to do whatever it took to get Johan Santana. I'm glad somebody is paying attention to me... I also know that Juan, a loyal member of Crief Case Nation, knew that I had the right spread and the right winning team in the Super Bowl, just the wrong score. You know, non-sports fans always want to hate on sports fans, and you know what, there are plenty of reasons to do so - but that game this past Sunday is just another reason why I keep coming back. Even the best of the "Reality TV" shows can't get the drama as good as that. Not only does Eli break free from 73 tacklers, and complete the pass to put the Giants in scoring range, but has the confidence to throw it up there and say go get it big fella to a dude that had 4 receptions all season! That's only 4 more than Max McGee had this year, and McGee is dead. And what a catch at that - oh, and memo to Rodney Harrison of the Pats, who did everything to try and break up that pass but have Jeff Gillooly's gang of thugs run out with batons and smack Tyree on the kneecap: hey Rodney, you obviously should inject more HGH next time dude...and finally, speaking earlier of Frank Caliendo, you must, must, must check out his guest spot last week at the Super Bowl on WFAN's Mike & The Mad Dog Radio Show. Not only does he do John Madden almost as good as Madden himself, but he does the best Charles Barkley I've ever heard too.
UPCOMING CALENDAR OF LIVE COVERAGE ON MAHALO:
February 17: Daytona 500, NBA All-Star Game, and WWE "No Way Out"
March 8-16: College Basketball's "Championship Week" - Live Coverage of all the conference championship games being played every night
March 16: NCAA Selection Sunday - get your brackets ready
March 18, 20-23, 27-30, and April 5 & 7: The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, a.k.a "March Madness"
March 30: Wrestlemania XXIV
April 13: Sunday at The Masters
April 26 & 27: The NFL Draft
You've been warned...
There's floating an idea about whether something will work, getting pre-approval on whether it will work or not, and hopefully living up to expectations. Then there is simply trying something in a "thinking-outside-the-box-without-permission", so that if it doesn't work I don't get knocked down a peg in the pecking order, and if does work, well to the victor goes the spoils kind of thing.
Let's call it a calculated risk - fortunately, it was one that worked.
The idea was to live blog sporting events. Now this isn't a novel idea in of itself, but it was with respect to doing so at Mahalo. So I started with boxing. In fact, I really can't take full credit for the idea. A few of us here wanted to watch the pay-per-view boxing match in December between Floyd Mayweather and Ricky Hatton. Our magnanimous boss, Jason Calacanis, simply said in response to our desire viewing the fight at the office, "Hey, if you live blog it, I'll pick up 1/2..."
And so, like Walter Payton used to do when he saw just a sliver of daylight between 2 blockers, I hit the hole and sprinted down field.
That night was the start of my live blogging experience, which has since included: Each of the 3 weekends of the NFL Playoffs; the January Jones-Trinidad PPV fight; the NHL All-Star Game; a WWE PPV event (Angry Ken handled that one on my encouragement); and the Super Bowl.
Then the decision to cover the Super Bowl went much further than covering the game. In addition to creating all kinds of Super Bowl related sports pages about the previous games, the coaches, the MVP's, and much more within the sports vertical, Ken and I brainstormed on other search terms that people would be searching for in other areas. Like food, TV, clothing, music, and more. And then, 3 weeks ago, based upon the initial success of several liver blogging events, I decided that we should also live blog the Super Bowl commercials - figuring that nearly as many people watch the game specifically for them as for the game itself.
So we have a tool that allows us to determine the number of times each of our pages is viewed, and ways to break that information down which I won't bother you with. But suffice to say that the numbers for the live coverage of the sporting events has been, as Frank Caliendo would say, "Jim Rome on a three-syllable word: in-cred-ible..."
I'm grateful to the tens of thousands that have come to our pages of the past 6 weeks. And the Super Bowl related pages have had 'through the roof' numbers. I also thankful to the tens of tens of Crief Case Nation that have followed your captain into battle.
And I think there are bigger numbers out there. Promotion and reputation I think will benefit our efforts in this area going forward. Again, we're providing ways to help people at Mahalo, and this is my contribution to our mission.
OTHER STUFF: A few months ago, I wrote here that Mets GM Omar Minaya needed to do whatever it took to get Johan Santana. I'm glad somebody is paying attention to me... I also know that Juan, a loyal member of Crief Case Nation, knew that I had the right spread and the right winning team in the Super Bowl, just the wrong score. You know, non-sports fans always want to hate on sports fans, and you know what, there are plenty of reasons to do so - but that game this past Sunday is just another reason why I keep coming back. Even the best of the "Reality TV" shows can't get the drama as good as that. Not only does Eli break free from 73 tacklers, and complete the pass to put the Giants in scoring range, but has the confidence to throw it up there and say go get it big fella to a dude that had 4 receptions all season! That's only 4 more than Max McGee had this year, and McGee is dead. And what a catch at that - oh, and memo to Rodney Harrison of the Pats, who did everything to try and break up that pass but have Jeff Gillooly's gang of thugs run out with batons and smack Tyree on the kneecap: hey Rodney, you obviously should inject more HGH next time dude...and finally, speaking earlier of Frank Caliendo, you must, must, must check out his guest spot last week at the Super Bowl on WFAN's Mike & The Mad Dog Radio Show. Not only does he do John Madden almost as good as Madden himself, but he does the best Charles Barkley I've ever heard too.
UPCOMING CALENDAR OF LIVE COVERAGE ON MAHALO:
February 17: Daytona 500, NBA All-Star Game, and WWE "No Way Out"
March 8-16: College Basketball's "Championship Week" - Live Coverage of all the conference championship games being played every night
March 16: NCAA Selection Sunday - get your brackets ready
March 18, 20-23, 27-30, and April 5 & 7: The NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, a.k.a "March Madness"
March 30: Wrestlemania XXIV
April 13: Sunday at The Masters
April 26 & 27: The NFL Draft
You've been warned...
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Super Sunday on Mahalo!
Okay everyone, here's our links:
- To follow the game itself:
http://www.mahalo.com/Super_Bowl_Live_Coverage
- To follow the commercials:
http://www.mahalo.com/Super_Bowl_Commercials_Live_Coverage
And be sure to hit up Jason Calacanis's website, where he's rating the spots:
http://www.calacanis.com
Enjoy - and Go Giants!
- To follow the game itself:
http://www.mahalo.com/Super_Bowl_Live_Coverage
- To follow the commercials:
http://www.mahalo.com/Super_Bowl_Commercials_Live_Coverage
And be sure to hit up Jason Calacanis's website, where he's rating the spots:
http://www.calacanis.com
Enjoy - and Go Giants!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Greatest upset ever - or going down with the ship
Okay, I could come up with all kinds of expert analysis, and dazzle you with detailed breakdowns matching up the two teams to fit my thesis. But I'd rather just say it this way:
"I'm picking the Giants to beat the Patriots because I've been picking against New England all year - why change things now?"
Hey, if you are on the Titanic and the iceberg is dead ahead, why call the travel agent and fire him before you fall into the drink - grab a bottle of vodka and try to enjoy it.
I know, not exactly what you were probably expecting from me, but it is what it is. I'm tired of Tom Brady and his slutty supermodel girlfriend - I'm tired of Bill Belichick and his cantankerous nature - I'm tired of Rodney Harrison getting caught with steroids and getting a pass for it - I'm tired of Randy Moss stories about how he's fitting in with the Pats after being a malcontent in Oakland and Minnesota - and I'm tired of Patriot fans that jumped on the bandwagon in the last 5 years.
The Giants need to win this game, if only to spare us from the two week aftermath of stories about how the Patriots are the greatest team in NFL history, and the greatest team in sports history, and how they will cure cancer and find bin Laden too.
Enough already.
Here's hoping Coughlin and Eli have the last laugh on Tiki (see previous posting). Here's hoping Plaxico is healthy and makes plays without the benefit of practice time, like he's done all season. Here's hoping Strahan's tackling is tighter than the space between his teeth (if you take a microscope and zoom in on his left front tooth, there's a sign pointing to the right that says "Next tooth 50 miles"). Here's hoping this is the start of a three-tier title run for NY area teams, to be followed by the Devils in the late spring/early summer and the Mets in October (they better sign Santana or Minaya should be drawn-and-quartered and buried in the new Shea Stadium).
And here's hoping the coverage leading up to the game isn't insufferably and terminally boring, like it is every year. Hey, I like pre-game show, but not more than 30 minutes of them, and Sunday we get like 22 hours or something. Fortunately for me, being out west this year, the game comes three hours earlier in the day at least.
I'll be live blogging the game, so click here to watch along with me. We're also live blogging the commercials as well, so check that out too. In fact, check out all of our Super Bowl pages that we've worked on this week.
"I'm picking the Giants to beat the Patriots because I've been picking against New England all year - why change things now?"
Hey, if you are on the Titanic and the iceberg is dead ahead, why call the travel agent and fire him before you fall into the drink - grab a bottle of vodka and try to enjoy it.
I know, not exactly what you were probably expecting from me, but it is what it is. I'm tired of Tom Brady and his slutty supermodel girlfriend - I'm tired of Bill Belichick and his cantankerous nature - I'm tired of Rodney Harrison getting caught with steroids and getting a pass for it - I'm tired of Randy Moss stories about how he's fitting in with the Pats after being a malcontent in Oakland and Minnesota - and I'm tired of Patriot fans that jumped on the bandwagon in the last 5 years.
The Giants need to win this game, if only to spare us from the two week aftermath of stories about how the Patriots are the greatest team in NFL history, and the greatest team in sports history, and how they will cure cancer and find bin Laden too.
Enough already.
Here's hoping Coughlin and Eli have the last laugh on Tiki (see previous posting). Here's hoping Plaxico is healthy and makes plays without the benefit of practice time, like he's done all season. Here's hoping Strahan's tackling is tighter than the space between his teeth (if you take a microscope and zoom in on his left front tooth, there's a sign pointing to the right that says "Next tooth 50 miles"). Here's hoping this is the start of a three-tier title run for NY area teams, to be followed by the Devils in the late spring/early summer and the Mets in October (they better sign Santana or Minaya should be drawn-and-quartered and buried in the new Shea Stadium).
And here's hoping the coverage leading up to the game isn't insufferably and terminally boring, like it is every year. Hey, I like pre-game show, but not more than 30 minutes of them, and Sunday we get like 22 hours or something. Fortunately for me, being out west this year, the game comes three hours earlier in the day at least.
I'll be live blogging the game, so click here to watch along with me. We're also live blogging the commercials as well, so check that out too. In fact, check out all of our Super Bowl pages that we've worked on this week.
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