http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2011/01/08/sarah-palins-hit-list/
http://www.philly2philly.com/phillybuzz/6057/sarah_palin_could
_be_partially_responsible_gabrielle_giffords_shooting

Prayers go out to the Giffords family and for her recovery.

But one must ask – Does this hurt Palin’s election plans? I would say yes, brings them to a stunning halt.  She supposedly sent her condolences via twitter or something but why? Palin is not in congress or even an elected official…? She did it to try and get ahead of what she knows is coming her way – a torrent of legitimate bad press about everything Sarah Palin.

The artist Mike Mitchell quickly designed this poster after the recent turmoil on NBC with the Tonight Show, and encourages fans to share his work in support of Mr. O'Brien

I want to weigh in on the NBC-Tonight Show debacle that’s been going on for, well months now. At the bottom of this post you will find Conan O’Brien’s letter to the ‘people of earth’ about the situation.

The only one that has handled this mess with class the entire time over the past months and years has been Conan. Recently, Jay has made ‘politically correct’ jokes about the matter, but he has been undermining Conan’s Tonight show for years before Conan even took over.  It’s no secret that Jay has been disrespecting Conan, well since Conan came to NBC. When Jay was moved into his new prime-time time-slot, he continued to pounce on Conan in interviews; belittling his version of the Tonight show with under-handed remarks. Instead of being a gentleman and handing the show over with class and dignity like he should have, Jay proved that he had none. If he does get the Tonight show back, it will be a huge disaster leaving Jay with no class or self-respect (not that he has much left anyways).

Meanwhile, Conan has been nothing but respectful to Jay, even during this recent turn of events his jokes are aimed at NBC, not Jay. Personally? I think that if NBC doesn’t give the Tonight show to Conan at 11:30, they should let him out of his contract and if they don’t Conan should lock them up in court for years, essentially forcing their hand.

I think Fox would pay an incredible amount of money to lure Conan over to them,.. giving them a foothold in the one TV market they don’t have one in yet, late night. Not that Conan’s Tonight show isn’t his design, but at Fox I believe he would have even more control to really do things his way, it would be a great oppurtunity for him to start something completely fresh and new at a place that hungers for their own late-night show.

Here is to you Conan O’Brien, the only one at NBC who has remained with his class and dignity in tact, good for you! Here is Conan’s letter to the world below….

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

-Conan O’Brien

You start off has the general manager of an open franchise of your choosing, with the option to change the name/city later on. You draft the players, set the lineup and advance in your career has a general manager. Pick up free agents, train your young prospects, pick a long term strategy, game-time strategies etc.

The game is by Trophy Games, who also make the great online football franchise simulation Trophymanager. So, like it’s soccer predecessor, Trophy Hockey is a sleek, well designed online game with no download, the emphasis on sports management obviously.

It’s easy to play and easy to get started, – sign-up for Trophy Hockey. The goal like in Trophymanager is to eventually advance your club season after season up through the divisions and eventually into the major league. Trophy Hockey is different though because in your career has a general manager, you yourself gain stats and reputation and can switch clubs if you want. It’s a fun easy to play game that any sports strategy nut will have fun playing.

]]> http://edtajchman.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/new-online-sports-strategy-game-from-trophy-games-trophy-hockey/feed/ 1 Ed T. http://edtajchman.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/goodbye-tony-gonzalez-kc-will-miss-you/ http://edtajchman.wordpress.com/2009/04/25/goodbye-tony-gonzalez-kc-will-miss-you/#comments Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:06:05 +0000 Ed http://edtajchman.wordpress.com/?p=423 Continue reading →]]> As a child growing up in the Kansas city metro area in the 80′s and 90′s there was one sports hero who always stood above all others for me, – Tony Gonzalez. This week he was traded to the Atlanta Falcons.

So goodbye Tony G., goodbye to the greatest player that ever happened to this organization, and I know we won a Super Bowl with Len Dawson.  On Sundays in KC for the past 10 years one thing was certain, Tony catches the ball,  and he does it surrounded by three guys every time, right in the middle of the field. Week after week after week plugging away, the greatest warrior you could want is Tony Gonzalez. You’re my one true sports hero growing up Tony, so I just want you to know,…. good luck man, thanks for your hard work and  Kansas City will miss you…

If you’ve played other football simulations like Hattrick for example, Trophy Manager is like Hattrick 2.0; there are more league games a week, more options for friendly matches and the whole thing moves quicker. It’s a fast-paced, well designed fun football game.

Trophy Manager signup

Own your own football club, buy and sell players on the transfer market, pick a training strategy, develop your own youth academy and lots more. Climb the ranks through the divisions season by season as your team progresses. Compete in your own country and with tens of thousands of other players worldwide. The forums are really friendly with plenty of people to give you advice and strategy tips.

It’s free to sign up, free to play and easy to get started—> Trophy Manager Signup. There is an option to pay a small fee that enables some extra features, but it’s not necessary. If you like strategy and sports games and haven’t played Trophy Manager, then you absolutely should.

What is Goal Line Blitz?
Goal Line Blitz is a web-based American Football MMORPG. We’ve written a custom football simulation engine to provide you with the ultimate football experience on the web.

Do you love fantasy football? Ever wished you could play with the pros? Join other football fans from around the world in building the player and team of your dreams, right here.

Player Management

* Create a custom player, at any position on the football field, and assign any name you want
* Train your player from the ground up to be the type of player you want
* Gain experience from playing games to improve your player’s abilities
* Sign with teams from around the world and negotiate your contract
* Create custom signature equipment
* And much more!

Own a Team

* Manage every aspect of a football team
* Set ticket and concession prices
* Improve your stadium with new seats, sections, and amenities
* Sign, cut, and trade players
* Set game-by-game strategy
* Play to win the league championship
* And much more

Sign up here: Goal Line Blitz

In our house, the place where teams used to fear to tread, we got totally owned, embarrassed, humiliated. Now teams on losing streaks come here to get their confidence back. It used to be that even if we were having a bad year, at home we were still a fearsome place for opponents to play. But like I said, not anymore, now we’re a bye week on other team’s schedules.

No more excuses – no more of this ‘we’re young’, no more ‘we’re injured’; it’s enough already. We have young guys yes, but also 1/3 of our team are players released by other teams, not draft picks but castaways. What’s the excuse for that? Certainly not the salary cap, we are an NFL best mind you, 28 million dollars under the cap. I understand rookie draft picks, second, third year players, even more than a few  undrafted rookies and cut players, but having that many players picked up off the street? Something has got to change, and not at the end of the season, not the year after that; right now, right now something has to change if you want to have even any HOPE of regaining that Arrowhead swagger and the confidence of the fans.

I for one don’t see next year’s defense being much better than it is right now (worst in the NFL), that’s why I would start with firing Gunther Cunningham. The offense has been doing their job believe it or not, scoring 20 -30 points a game for the last 5 games. I would fire Gunther Cunningham right now, and see what another guy could do with this defense before the end of the year. This losing streak lies solely on the defense. And it’s no secret that players for years have said they do not like Cunningham’s coaching style, that is exactly why he got fired from being the head coach after Schottenheimer left.

The players say he is too loud, too in their faces, he yells too much, he is not a good motivator, and not a good communicator. He doesn’t change up the defense in the game either, when the opposing offense adjusts to our defense – that’s it, game over, Cunningham doesn’t know how to respond. That kind of old school, inflexible, in-your-face, adversarial style of coaching is a thing of the past, it’s why Art Shell failed in his return to the Raiders as head coach a few years ago (not everything is Al Davis’s fault).

FIRE GUNTHER CUNNINGHAM. If he doesn’t get fired, then fire Carl Peterson and Herm Edwards, the new coach and GM will bring in their own defensive coordinator. I like Herm Edwards I really do, but enough is enough. Twenty losses in 21 games? I don’t care if you’re the best talent scout and motivator the NFL as ever seen, 95% of owners would fire the guy. Coming from a lifelong Chiefs fan who supports the team and believes in them week in and week out no matter what, this humiliating performance, especially at home is not just embarrassing but degrading. I don’t care if it’s not the right thing to do or in hindsight it was a bad decision, to save the morale of the fans, SOMEONE needs to get fired, TODAY. Clark Hunt – You’re starting to lose the confidence of what used to be, the best fans in the game.