This past Saturday, our friends at the Fabulous Forum blog reported that Gov. Sarah Palin was booed by fans as she dropped the ceremonial first puck at a Philadelphia Flyers hockey game. And Forum readers had a lot to say about the brouhaha!
A lot of you pointed out Philadelphia fans' propensity for booing. Reader atlpaddy said: "What I want to know, is what genius thought it would be a good idea to submit Palin to Philly fans?!? Those folks will boo anybody and do, including Santa Claus, Mike Schmidt, and a handicap kid who bounced a ceremonial first pitch! It could have been George Washington and Mother Theresa (which God knows Palin ain't) and they would have booed. I would have been more shocked if they didn't boo."
And Peg chimed in: "Nobody dumped beer or threw batteries on Palin in Philadelphia. They exercised their 1st Amendment rights, and told Snider exactly how happy they were to have their hockey game turned into a campaign stop for the vicious, opportunistic McCain-Palin hate campaign. You don't want to receive Philadelphian's personal opinions, you don't get in their faces with your politics."
Several readers just found the whole thing tacky. Jay said: "Regardless of your liking of Palin, this was truly classless and the amount of people responding and supporting this makes my stomache ache for this country. We have truly become a "me first/everything goes" country and have no standards for conduct and morality."
Jeff S agreed: "The lack of civility in politics, in sports, and in our society is disgusting. I think Palin is a horrible choice as a VP and would never support her in this election but that is hardly the point.The biggest problem in politics is the utter lack of respect either party has for the other."
Some, like Damon, thought the Philadelphia booers got it right: "It's all very clear. Hockey is cool, Sarah Palin is not. Hockey is not near as dangerous as Palin, either."
KOD echoed that sentiment: "As the Mom of three hockey playing daughters, the wife of a hockey-playing husband and coach and a lifelong hockey (and Bruins) fan, I couldn't have been happier than seeing this woman get the greeting she deserves. You go, Philly!"
Deborah Watson thought the incident had been overplayed: "As someone who was there and saw and heard everything firsthand, I am amazed at the spin in the press. The sound of the video here evidences both cheers and boos, and aside from the Obama Biden sign seen held by one fan, you also see several applauding...within my section, I did hear both cheers and jeers."
Grace, apparently a Palin supporter, thought the Governor should head down to Anaheim: "She should have come out to see the Ducks as we have more class! BTW- you'd never see Obama at a hockey game because that's just beneath him."
Finally, Al's comment was short and sweet (sweet if you're not from Philadelphia, that is):
"Philadelphia is irrelevant."
Philly fans, are you going to take that?! Chime in here.
The idea of a 70-pound post-pubescent girl usually brings scary images of strung-out and starving celebrities to mind. But Deng Linlin, the Chinese gymnast who stands at 4-feet-6 and weighs 68 pounds, looked like a healthy child on the TV screen, and therein lies the controversy. According to the athletes' passports, all of the Chinese gymnasts were at least 16 years old, the minimum age required to participate in Olympic gymnastics. The girls could be unusually late bloomers, but some readers of the L.A. Times Olympics blog were suspicious of passport fraud.
WOW wrote: "when i look at the chinese women gymnast i was convinced that they were 10 or 12."
Harv Alan made a more practical comment: "If you are beaten by 12-year-olds; I wouldn't be making a big deal of it."
After viewing this chart, mom of 5 wrote: "Deng LinLin is not only the same size as my eight year old, when she smiles she shows a lost tooth in the same position as my 10 year old recently lost."
Others thought that the doubtful Americans were just acting like sore losers. After Randy Harvey reported that the U.S. women's team would have to settle for the silver, Jon wrote: "Before people come to a conclusion that the Chinese team is underage, go visit China first and take a look at what a typical Chinese middle and high school student looks like. You will see Chinese teenagers look a few years younger than the American teenagers when they are at the same age."
uhhh wrote: "It's just hilarious how no one brings up a single other gymnast outside of China simply because: 1. China won and the US fell short. If the US won gold, no one would care. 2. China is a Communist nation 3. Anti-Chinese sentiment due to American narrow mindedness"
beccabecca wrote: "to call the Chinese girls half people is wrong on so many levels. Not to mention the fact that none of those girls are 12."
bela needs to go wrote: "He mocks their heights for being under 5 feet and their slight weights. How many elite gymnasts on the world stage stand above 5 feet? ...Does Shawn Johnson really look 16? How about Ksenia Semenova? The non stop bashing of the Chinese gymnasts really needs to stop and Bela needs to go back to his ranch."
But Ella remains unconvinced: "At first, I thought the girls just looked young, but after researching it a bit, I believe that at least one of them is under age...even the coach for the Chinese team talked about He Kexin last year as being 13 years old, and now she is magically 16...?"
Is this an obvious case of underage gymnastics, or are Americans just bad at accepting defeat? Share your thoughts here or on the Olympics blog's gymnastics coverage!
The L.A. Dodgers acquired Boston Red Sox powerhouse hitter Manny Ramirez today in a trade. The three-way exchange, also involving the Pittsburgh Pirates, means the Dodgers lose minor league third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris. Our story brought in all kinds of heavily opinionated fans -- Sox, Dodgers and Angel fanatics alike. Some celebrated the new talent while others lamented Ramirez's high maintenance.
BOSTON, obviously a Red Sox fan, wrote:
Good luck LA. If there's anything worse than an overpaid sports player, it's an overpriced, whiney, immature, conceited, uneducated jock. We are glad to see him go!!
Withadee wrote:
As a sox fan I'm sure Manny will have a monster 2 months for LA. And he will behave himself to assure a good free agent off season. But really, the Sox did the right thing and got a good bat to take his place. He had become poison in the Sox clubhouse. So maybe this is a win/win deal!
Rat wrote:
If the Dodgers don't have a tam psychologist, they'd better get one. Fast.
J2ThaRome joked:
Part of the compensation for losing to the Celtics in the NBA Finals.
Red Sox Fan wrote:
Tell the clubhouse boy to have Manny's diapers and pacifier ready for him.
Dodger Dog wrote:
Manny Ramirez (0 Dollars). Finally getting some Power (0 Dollars). Finally being able to cut Andrew Jones (. . . Priceles), well actually 36.2 million dollars, but worth every penny.. If I never have to watch Andrew Jones strike out again, this is the best day in the world to be a Dodger fan.
Are you concerned Manny will poison the Dodgers' chemistry by "being Manny," or will he behave -- and, more important, be a batting behemoth?
Male or female, it is never a wise idea to mess with professional athletes. This week, the Los Angeles Sparks have been making headlines after five players, four of whom are starters, were suspended by the WNBA. The Sparks aren't the only team to suffer, as five women from the Detroit Shock are getting the same punishment after players from the two teams shoved, punched, and hit each other during last Tuesday's game. Dan Arritt's article, "Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie suspended after WNBA fight," gives a play-by-play description, in words and photographs, of the "physical game that was poorly controlled by the officials."
Columnist Helene Elliot wrote that the fight began when Detroit's Plenette Pierson and Los Angeles' Candace Parker "jostled for position for a potential rebound ... Pierson rose, threw Parker down and walked up to her aggressively." It wasn't long before other teammates from both sides got involved, including assistant coach Rick Mahorn, who appeared to push Sparks player Lisa Leslie to the floor. While there is a debate among WNBA fans as to whether his push was intentional, readers were quick to form their own judgments.
Michael decided that "Mahorn should wear a dress if he's going to fight women."
Will B placed the blame on Leslie: "Lisa Leslie is just an awkward idiot who hammed it up to get Mahorn in trouble. All the man did was try to separate a brawl, an opinion shared by nearly all that were courtside."
tree52 had a similar sentiment: "With the elbows LL throws during any game she plays, I'm surprised that she is making such a big deal over a little shove! Detriot is known for being rather agressive as well! Maybe the game was called so loose, because the refs realize these are teams that play a very agressive and physical game."
wnbafan probably would have liked to participate in the fight herself: "Candace Parker is lucky she didn't get a beat down. Her cocky little attitude needed to be put in check."
To which Colleen responded: "no the whole thing is piersons fault.shes just hating on parker because parkers better than she is.then nolan came and was on top of parker."
jb seems to have a strong fear of so-called feminists: "265 pound Rick Mahorn pushes a tall but slender woman to the floor. Consequences? I'm pretty sure the league will opt for castration. Suspension will not be anywhere near enough punishment in these times viewed thru the lenses of the feminist perspective."
And in case the players thought that the brawl would at least lead to a ratings boost, JohnD is "still not interested enough to watch a game."
Leave it to the Clippers to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Wasn't it just a few days ago that eyebrows were raised and hopes were lifted upon hearing the news that all-star point guard Baron Davis was going to leave Golden State and star in the Clip Show? Quicker than one could say "a pair of season tickets, please" came the just-as-shocking news that two of the best Clippers were setting sail elsewhere: Elton Brand to the 76ers and Corey Maggette to the Warriors.
How could this happen so quickly? Will Davis live up to his commitment to come to L.A.? Did Brand and Maggette make the right moves by leaving a Clipper team that, if they had stayed, would have been truly competitive with young center Chris Kaman? But the real question is, is it already over for the Clippers before it even started? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
-- Tony Pierce Photo of Corey Maggette and Elton Brand by Anacleto Rapping / Los Angeles Times
On Sunday, Shaq rapped some lyrics that have spread around the web faster than Phoenix got bumped out of the playoffs. "You know how I be. Last week Kobe couldn't do without me." TMZ had the video, the newspapers had copy, and even we here at the L.A. Times had a story. Here's an excerpt:
Here's another snippet of what he said Sunday, in which he suggests Bryant's comments were a factor in O'Neal's separating from his wife, Shaunie: "I'm a horse. Kobe ratted me out. That's why I'm getting divorced. He said Shaq gave a [woman] a mil[lion dollars]. I don't do that 'cause my name's Shaquille."
Apparently Shaq is still thinking about Kobe and smarting from their breakup. Not only that, but he's blaming the MVP for his divorce.
Do you think Shaq has an argument or is he giving Kobe a bad rap?
Earlier today NHRA Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta died after his Toyota Solara burst into flames at 300 mph and crashed into a wall at the end of the Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey.
Kalitta, 46, was the 1994 and 1995 Top Fuel season champion and had 18 career victories (17 in Top Fuel and one in Funny Car).
Last year Funny Car driver Eric Medlen died after an accident in a testing session at Gainesville, FL.
What, then do you think should be done to make this type of racing safer?
Last night the Lakers lost a heartbreaker to the Boston Celtics at Staples. Despite leading by 24 points they fell apart in the late second half and now find themselves down 3-1, and in an unfortunate position of having to win all the rest of the games during the finals to win the title.
As of 11:30pm last night, the game blog written by the Kamenetzky brothers had received over 750 comments. Throughout the game fans gave their take on the proceedings. In a way, they told the story of the game better than any announcer.
Last night the Lakers lost a heartbreaker to the Boston Celtics at Staples. Despite leading by 24 points they fell apart in the late second half and now find themselves down 3-1, and in an unfortunate position of having to win all the rest of the games during the finals to win the title.
lent:
Zin Master:
Happy Camper: