In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, audiences were introduced to Ben Afflecks wildly different Batman. This grizzled, brooding iteration of the character has some contentious interactions with Henry Cavills Superman and semi-flirtatious momentswith Gal Gadots Wonder Woman, but for the most part he was a pretty messed up dude. In Justice League, however, well get to see an entirely different side of Batman as the character has turned a new leaf with a more optimistic attitude, and much of the levity is due to the fact that hes interacting with some very different characters.
Colliders own Steve Weintraub visited the set of Justice League last week along with a group of reporters, and one of the many fascinating tidbits that were gleaned is that Batmans relationship with the various members of the Justice League differs from person to person. Ezra Millers The Flash, for instance, is boisterous and full of glee at the prospect of joining a superhero team, and Affleck says that provides some fodder for humor when hes interacting with the super-serious Batman:
Theres a quality to really what Ezra [Miller] does that is young and fun and full of life, and excited about what theyre doing thats so in contrast to who Batman is, theres a little bit of that natural yin and yang to playing scenes with him. Theres not the ward aspect to it, but theres a little bit of the mentor. Which youd probably ask Ezra and hed be like, f**k that! Hes not my mentor! But I think there is a little bit. And its fun to play, definitely. And what does Batman do around a guy whos really excited and positive all the time? [laughs] You know what I mean? Thats not his natural state of being, so thats really fun. And its been really, really cool. Everybody has brought a certain kind of energy to their character thats really distinct in this thing. All of a sudden, its a totally different kind of movie, in ways from the last one, because all of a sudden its really an ensemble movie. This is a movie about a bunch of different people and qualities and characters all sort of how they work together, what that melting pot is like.
Image via Warner Bros.
Jason Momoas Aquaman, meanwhile, brings a very different flavor to the mix:
You know, Aquamans a very strong character, played by a very strong actor with a very strong personality, so I dont think hes the sort of guy who at any point in his life takes orders from people. Jason Momoa, hes got a very strong, stubborn, independent, powerful energy. So its not like any of these characters show up and immediately go like, Yes sir, what should I do, Mr. Wayne? Its about like trying to get a lot of disparate people who are used to being very powerful and independent to try to work together. And its about how hard it is for them to all get along. And there are some characters who really hit it off with each other, some that dont hit it off with each other, almost come to blows, and its about trying to contain that. So its not an easy ride trying to get this group to come together.
Image via Warner Bros.
But while the group dynamic takes a while to gel, theres a reason that Batman needs to assemble such a team, and it has to do with the otherworldly villain Steppenwolf. As a result, the film also offers an opportunity to showcase all the team members various powers:
Its like, guys, were getting way out of his league. Its definitely stepping up to the level you know, in the comic books when you have a lot of things from other planets, other super-villains that are way more powerful than your average human being whos got a batarang and a grappling hook is equipped to deal with. So were able to explore the powers of these other heroes and what they can do. Which is pretty exceptional too. If you want to be able to use the powers of Flash and Wonder Woman and Cyborg, you have to have bad guys who are up to snuff and give them what they can really kind of get their cars out on the track and open up the accelerator a little bit.
Batman v Superman was very much about building to this all-out brawl between Batman and Superman, so there wasnt much time for conversation pieces. When the movie did slow down for these, as in the Bruce Wayne/Diana Prince scenes, it was really engaging, and it sounds like thats going to be a big portion of Justice League, which is very good news.
For much more of ourJustice League set visit coverage, peruse the links below:
Freddie Gray is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 27, 2015 (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski)
because white men cant
police their imagination
black men are dying
(fromCitizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine)
By now,the details of Freddie Grays lonelyridein the back of apolice van have been burnished onto our collective memories.Freddie Gray was handcuffed, shackled,and left on his stomach in the back of the van. Nothing belted him to a seat or bed. When the driver stopped the van and took corners, Grays body was tossed around. Despite Grays moans for help, none came. When he was transported to the hospital non-responsive and not breathing he was resuscitated, but died a week later. The autopsy revealed that Grays spine had been transected, meaning it had been severed.
Those of us who were mesmerized by the horrors of Baltimore revealed in the HBO series,The Wire, wondered if it were possible that this television city might exist in real life. Certainly theprotests of prominent Baltimoreanswere loud in their condemnation of David Simon (the showrunner) and his vision of the town where he had been a crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun. They insisted that Baltimore was a city of museums, of a lovely waterfront walk, and a view of American history.
Turns out, that like most things in 2016 America, Baltimore is a fragmented city where its poor, mostly black citizens, are treated like rabid dogs by a police department full of bullies and miscreants. InSeptember, 2014, the Baltimore Sun published theresults of its investigation of police brutality. Undue Force detailed how the city of Baltimore had paid out $5.7 million between 2011 and 2014 in settlements awarded to victims of police brutality. The settlements would have totaled much, much more but a tort reform had limited damages to a maximum of $200,000 per complaint. Still, that money would cover the cost of a state-of-the-art rec center or renovations at more than 30 playgrounds. And that doesnt count the $5.8 million spent by the city on legal fees to defend these claims brought against police, according to the Sun.
And in case the assumption is that most of the victims of police brutality would be young black men around Freddie Grays age, the details of the Suns investigation revealed a sickening panoply of victims whose major crime had been catching the eye of a police officer who treated all the residents of certain neighborhoods as suspicious.
Over the past four years, more than 100 people have won court judgments or settlements related to allegations of brutality and civil rights violations. Victims include a 15-year-old boy riding a dirt bike, a 26-year-old pregnant accountant who had witnessed a beating, a 50-year-old woman selling raffle tickets, a 65-year-old church deacon rolling a cigarette and an 87-year-old grandmother aiding her wounded grandson.
In the case of the 87-year old, police threw her to the ground and broke her shoulder. She had called the police to report that her grandson had been shot. When police arrived, they told the boy that they wouldnt take him to the hospital until he told them who in his house had shot him. When the grandmother insisted that the boy had run into the house shot, and that his assailants were outside, she was thrown against a wall and fell to the ground.
b***h, you aint no better than any of the other old black b*****s I have locked up, the 87-year-old victim was told as she was laying on the ground. The officer taunted her while he stood over her, then put his knees in her back as he pulled her arms behind her back to slap cuffs on her.
But dying in custody is not a series of incidents for which only Baltimore has become infamous. The notoriety of having police forces who cannot be trusted to arrest a suspect and transport a person to a processing center should be shared across the country. While it is difficult to find these numbers in an American paper, the Guardian (UK) has been keeping track of the number of people killed by the police at a project called The Counted. Since January 1, 2015,57 people have died in police custody. The most recent of these deathswas in late May, when a 64-year-old man was Tasered twice and pepper sprayed while being subdued by police in Tulsa.
Of the 57 who have died, only one has been a woman. Of the 56 men, 23 have been black, 9 Hispanic, 20 white, and 2 Native Americans. (The numbers of Native Americans who have died at the hands of the police are all out of proportion to their share of the American population.)
While it is not possible to tell the stories of each of the 57, one of whom is Freddie Gray, here are some of the stories gathered from newspaper accounts of each of these deaths.
Michael Marshall. Age 50. November 11, 2015. Denver, Colorado
Marshall, a homeless African American, was arrested on November 5, 2015 for trespassing and disturbing the peace. Marshall was known to have mental health issues, and thecommunity leaders who protestedMarshalls death implicated Denver police racism as an issue. Marshall died after asphyxiating on his own vomit inside a mask that had been placed on his head to prevent him spitting on officers. His death is still under investigation.
Cecil Lacy, Jr. Age 50. September 28, 2015. Marysville, Washington
Two Tulalip reservation police officers and a Snohomish County sheriffs deputy responded to reports that Lacy was walking on a road inside the Tulalip Indian reservation. Lacy was Native American. While attempting to take Lacy into protective custodyto get him off the road, officers report that Lacy began fighting with them as they were trying to get him into a police car.During the scuffle, the man became unresponsive,the Seattle Times reported. The incident remains under investigation.
Troy Goode. Age 30. July 18, 2015. Goodhaven, Mississippi
Goode, a white man who was on his way to a rock concert with his wife, was approached by police for acting rowdy. His wife had taken Goode to a parking lot to get him to chill out after Goode had dropped a hit of acid, but police responded because of a report from a caller. Policehog-tied Goode in the parking lot forover an hour and left him lying on his stomach. The pressure of the position caused his heart to go into tachycardia and he died. Police allege that the acid killed Goode; Goodes family argue that the autopsy proves that it was the stress position that killed him. The case is still under investigation.
Jonathan Paul. Age 42. March 12, 2015. Arlington, Texas
Jonathan Paul was a black man who was arrested when police responded to reports that a man was throwing things out of a window. He had prior warrants, so he was taken into custody. Three days later, he died in his cell. An autopsy revealed that he had been restrained and pepper sprayed. A grand jury has handed down an indictment of criminally negligent homicide against two jailers, one of whom had subsequently retired after Pauls death.
Frank Smart. Age 39. January 5, 2015. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
A black male with a known history of seizures, Smart died in a jail cell after being restrained during a medical emergency. The autopsy showed that the restraints had exacerbated Smarts condition, and his mother wrote an article for the Guardian in which she recounted Smarts medical history, and that his need for medication had been ignored by the staff of the private prison where he was being held. The death was ruled an accident due to natural causes. No charges were brought.
Matthew Ajibade. Age 22. January 1, 2015. Savannah, Georgia.
Video tape of the 22-year old African Americanshows Ajibade being Tasered in the groin while in a restraint chair. He had been arrested during a bi-polar episode after he broke his girlfriends nose. After being shocked and having a spit mask put on his head, Ajibade was found dead in his cell a few hours later. Ninedeputies were fired over his deathand two of them were indicted for manslaughter.The two deputies were acquitted of manslaughterbut were convicted of lesser charges.
Randy Nelson. Age 49. February 3, 2016. Athens, Alabama.
Nelson diedin a hospital where the African American manhad been brought for evaluation of mental health issues. Nelson resisted being evaluated by medics. The police officer called to assist them Tasered Nelson. Nelson was Tasered multiple times, and images from the incident show him bleeding from the wounds in his back from the Taser probes. Nelson died in his mothers company, and the transcript of the event shows that the officer kept telling Nelsons mother that her son had to be shocked. Nelson died at the scene. It is still under investigation.
Darius Robinson. Age 41. April 4, 2016. Andarko, Oklahoma.
Robinson was arrested for failure to pay child support. When jailers entered the black mans cell after he threw things around,he was restrainedafter trying to escape. Robinson stopped breathing while being restrained. The case is still under investigation.
These seven victims reflect the spectrum of recent cases of those who died in police custody. One of the common features in reading through the reports, which are all availableat the data bank, The Counted,is that restraint positions and the use of Tasers is often implicated in prisoners deaths. In combination with the horror report issued by the Baltimore Sun, which demonstrates the number of people that Baltimore police have been held liable for brutalizing and the fact that many of the Baltimoreans were witnesses to crimes who were subsequently arrested by officers it is more than likely that sometime in the past 18 months, an innocent person has died being arrested for a crime he did not commit. Even in some of the cases discussed above, it is apparent that being poor, alone, or mentally ill gives police license to treat ones very presence as a provocation that requires the police to intervene. For those who resisted, the Taser and stress positions made protesting ones innocence a capital offense.
Cristiano Ronaldo throws a Portuguese reporter’s microphone in a lake
Former Manchester United star Paul Scholes has signed a marquee deal to play for the next three editions of Premier Futsal, with the inaugural season scheduled to be held next month, the League announced."Futsal is a fascinating format that has played a pivotal role in developing the skills of some of the greatest football players. I have seen Futsal grow not just back home, but also across the world and I have played in a few of those tournaments," said the former midfield ace who won 11 Premier League titles and two Champions League trophies during his stint with the famous English club.
"Premier Futsal will be a great way to introduce the sport to India and I"m looking forward to meeting the fans across India who I know are some of the most passionate in the world," said Scholes who appeared 718 times for Manchester United during an illustrious career spanning 22 years. The league has already unveiled Alessandro Rosa Vieira, the sport"s most renowned player fondly known as Falcao, and 19 other international futsalers earlier, including ex-Portugal star Deco who was the first marquee signing. It"s a private and semi-professional league promoted by Xavier Britto of Indev Group. Scholes has become the second of the eight marquee players who would will be a part of Premier Futsal commencing on July 15, the release said, adding players would be allotted teams through a player draft which is slated to take place later this month.
Xabi Alonso
"Ive still got Paul Scholes shirt at home which I swapped with him once. When I was at Liverpool he was one of the players I liked most. Maybe hes not valued as much as he should be in England because of the style of football there and because he keeps a low profile. Perhaps he would have been more valued in Spain, where midfielders like him form part of the ideal. Fans in Spain rate him very highly and I admire him a huge amount.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Scholes is the best Ive played with and he helped me a lot when I was young. Hes amazing.
Zinedine Zidane
"There is no doubt for me that Paul Scholes is still in a class of his own. Hes almost untouchable in what he does. I never tire of watching him play. You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get. One of my regrets is that the opportunity to play alongside him never presented itself during my career."
Xavi Hernandez
Paul Scholes is a role model. For me and I really mean this he"s the best central midfielder I"ve seen in the last 15, 20 years. I"ve spoken to Xabi Alonso about him. He"s spectacular, he has it all: the last pass, goals, he"s strong, he doesn"t lose the ball, vision. If he"d been Spanish he might have been rated more highly. Players love him."
Pep Guardiola
Out of everyone at Manchester United, I would pick out Scholes he is the best midfielder of his generation. I would have loved to have played alongside him.
Andreas Pirlo
The only great English midfielder in my career was Paul Scholes. He has elegance in him. Others were pretenders.
Gary Neville
"The best illustration I can give of his talent is that at Manchester United there was always a possession drill in training designed to develop our passing ability, which might be three players against another three players, or six versus six, or nine versus nine. But no matter what the numbers were, the side with Paul Scholes on their team would always win by keeping the most possession."
Thierry Henry
United always had many amazing players, but whenever we faced them we were always, always, always scared of what Paul Scholes could do. Ask anyone from that old Arsenal team, they will tell you the same. If you let him play, he can kill you, and for me he was so underrated. The way he plays: one touch, arriving late into the box, the way he strikes the ball, his vision, his passing. Incredible. I know people used to give him some stick for his tackling, but I liked that. He put his foot in, showed some character, had a go, but I liked that about him too. For me he is one of the best midfielders I have ever seen."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
He"s not the quickest, he doesn"t run the most, he never wins a header, he can"t tackle but he"s the best player.
Arsene Wenger
"He did not get completely what he deserves as a player because hes not a media lion. Hes not one who runs after the media to be in the papers. I respect that."
Lionel Messi
At La Masia (Barcelonas training ground) his name was mentioned a lot. Hes a teacher.
Jun 19, 2016 04:49 AM EDTBy Sarah T., UniversityHerald Reporter
AUGUST 21: A cyber game player competes in a game of "Warcraft III" during a cyber game competition at the China Korea Cyber Game 2005 (CKCG 2005) on August 21, 2005 in Beijing, China. Some 68 cyber game players, including both professional and non-professional gamers from China and South Korea, participated in the four-day game tournament over three different online games, which began August 19. The three games played were "Star Craft", a sci-fi strategic simulation game by U.S. based Blizzard Entertainment, "War Craft III" a fantasy strategic simulation game also by Blizzard Entertainment, and "Counter-Strike", a team-based online action game by Valve. A combined prize of 85 million won (USD 85,000) will be offered for the winners of the event.(Photo : Photo by Cancan Chu/Getty Images)
Online gamers are waiting and buzzing about steep discounts on various games offered by Valve.
As of writing this article, no confirmation yet announced about the exact date of game discount from Valve. However, rumor suggests that it will run from June 23 to July 4.
The speculation started when a redditor under the name of MMrFreemanBBQ posted a screenshot, which is believed to be a screenshot of Valve"s planned date for 2016. However, the speculation seems true as Paypal UK announced on Twitter that Steam Games sale will start on June 23.
It looks like MrFreemanBBQ predicted the Steam Summer Sale by Valve because Paypal announced the starting date on June 16. As online users continue talking about sale, Valve did not release a statement to prevent games list predictions.
Following the sale rumor, the list of Playstation Plus: Free Games surfaced online. The free games list includes "Everybody"s Gone to the Rapture," "Watch Dogs," "Resident Evil HD Remaster," "Infamous Second Son," and "The Evil Within."
Valve requested confidentiality from publishers when it comes gaming discounts, Kit Gurureported, however, after a couple of years, the release of the announcement has become earlier. It seems Valve has nothing to do when it comes to announcing Steam games discount as, apparently, the publishers and even are allowed to sort out their own discounts and store pages.
Meanwhile, owners of the Hard Reset Redux and Shadow Warrior may rejoice as the remastered version of cyberpunk FPS Hard Reset is now available on Steam, and they can get it at a steep discount, Game Spotreported. Hard Reset Redux debuted on Steam on June 6 for $20 for a limited time, so it means anyone can get it for 10% off, or a gamer can get the remastered version for $18.
For those who own the original version of Hard Reset and/or another one of developer Flying Wild Hog"s games, 2013"s Shadow Warrior, the discount jumps up to 85 percent, thus bringing Redux"s price down to just $3.
2016 University Daily News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Big Brother 18 Premiere Night Recap | BB18 Episode 1 Review | June 22, 2016
When Big Brother 18 premiered Wednesday night, we expected twists and big surprises, but none so big so soon. After Julie Chen announced that there would be three twists before the following day, the stowaways began literally popping out. So who are the returning Big Brother 18 houseguests? They"re all veterans of the show and will likely have some advantage over the new 12 house guests of Big Brother 18. Of course there"s no way to have a definitive advantage over the other houseguests since Season 18 is just as unique as the others, but the stowaways have gained some fans and have experience in the competition in general.
The stowaway houseguests on Big Brother 18 are familiar faces from seasons" past. Namely, from Seasons 14, 16, and 17. For the ones who were literally just in the Big Brother house, it"s of course super fresh in their minds, but for the others, they could very well be a bit rusty. For the sake of the new houseguests of Season 18, let"s hope that"s the case. So which veteran Big Brother contestants have come back to Season 18 to try and win that prize money again? Let"s take a look.
Nicole - Big Brother 16 CBS
Nicole was on Big Brother 16, and something of a romance while competing on the show with cast mate Hayden. Will that attraction transfer over to another one of the other resident hot guys this season on Big Brother? Never mind if they aren"t on the same team, it could still happen, ya"ll.
James - Big Brother 17 CBS
A Season 17 veteran, James was just on Big Brother last season, so the game is for sure hot on his mind. But it shouldn"t be hard for him to win over the houseguests in this season too, since he"s got the personality of the class clown from high school. And he did win the title of America"s Favorite Houseguest.
Da"Vonne - Big Brother 17 CBS
Another Season 17 cast member of Big Brother, Da"Vonne just wants another chance at that $500,000, which is kind of the point, right? Her downfall, though, may be any in-house romances that stir up, since her attraction to Paulie was very real (can we even blame her?) and it"s just the first night.
Frank - Big Brother 14 Sonja Flemming/CBS
He was accused of cheating back in Season 14 of Big Brother, so houseguests this season will be right to be weary of him. Maybe we can give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he"ll be more honorable this time around, but if the houseguests of any season of Big Brother will say, the point is to win, not make friends or be the sweetheart of the house. Unless that"s your strategy, of course.
Supreme Court Rules on Arizona Immigration Laws; Police Authority Reduced, But Papers Check Remains
Posted Apr 20, 2016, 4:08 pm
Paul IngramTucsonSentinel.com
Discussing a Tuesday shooting case, Border Patrol officials told TucsonSentinel.com on Wednesday that the agency"s elite BORTAC team took part earlier this month in another incident: a shootout with five suspected drug smugglers.
After an exchange of gunfire that authorities said was initiated by the suspects, five men were arrested April 7 in Pinal County. No one was wounded, and hundreds of pounds of marijuana were seized in the incident, which was not disclosed until TucsonSentinel.com questioned BP officials about their tally of recent firearms use cases.
The head of the Border Patrol"s Tucson Sector held a press conference at the agency"s local headquarters Wednesday, briefing reporters about incident Tuesday in which a BP agent fired his sidearm twice at a 18-year-old man after the man reportedly threw rocks at the agent.
Tuesday afternoon, agents from the BP station in Casa Grande were tracking a group of suspected smugglers near the village of Cowlic, southwest of Sells and about 75 miles from Tucson.
Around 4:15 p.m., the agents approached the group and one of the suspected smugglers fled the scene and an agent gave chase, Tucson Sector Chief Paul Beeson told reporters.
"As the agent approached the subject, the suspect stopped, picked up some rocks and began throwing them at the agent, making verbal threats," Beeson said.
The agent fired two shots, Beeson said.
Both rounds missed the subject, who was apprehended after a brief chase, he said.
Beeson did not identify the man or the agent, but said that the suspected smuggler was an 18-year old Honduran man who had been previously deported. Beeson said that the man could face charges for smuggling as well as illegal re-entry, and that other charges were pending while the incident was investigated.
The agent is a 12-year veteran of the Border Patrol and was on administrative leave pending the outcome an investigation conducted by the FBI and CBP"s Office of Professional Responsibility, Beeson said.
Agents found four bundles of marijuana, weighing around 247 pounds, Beeson said.
"The incident highlights the challenges associated with the dangerous environment that agents work in, day in and day out," Beeson said. "We expect our agents to utilize safe tactics, and in doing so they retain the right to protect themselves."
April 7 shootout previously undisclosed
Beeson said that the pressconference was partof an effort to be transparent when itcomes to use-of-forceincidents, especiallythose that involve firearms.
"Our goal today is to be as transparent and proactive as possible in getting this information out to you as quickly and accurately as possible," he said.
Over the last two years, the agency has been routinely criticized for a lack of transparency when it comes to use-of-force incidents.
In 2014, the Police Executive Research Forum,a nonprofit research and policy organization with close ties to police agencies, issued a stinging report, arguing that CBP maintained a "lack of diligence" in investigating use-of-force incidents. This "no-harm, no-foul" approach lead to "tacit approval of bad practices," the report said.
The report also questioned the agency"s seriousness with regard to deadly force incidents, writing: "It is not clear that CBP consistently and thoroughly reviews all use of deadly force incidents."
The report was released by CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, who said he would establish transparency as a top priority. In October, the agency released use-of-force figures for the entire agency, but waited until early April to release figures at the sector level, including the Tucson Sector, which covers most of Arizona. Border enforcement agents reported using force 58 times in Southern Arizona since October.
This was the fourth time a Border Patrol agent fired his weapon in the Tucson Sector since last October, Beeson said.
In October, a Border Patrol agent patrolling near Naco fired his sidearm through the border fence, after he said a person in Mexico pointed what the agent believed was a firearm at him. No one was injured.
On Jan. 25,Tucson Sector agents tracked a vehicle believed to beconnected in smuggling southeast of Rodeo, N.M. Agents later found the truck, stuck in mud, with approximately 2,340 pounds of marijuana in the back. Two suspects fled into the surrounding mountainous terrain near the Arizona-New Mexico border, east of Apache.
One agent caught up to a suspect, and a struggle ensued. The agent fired his pistol, wounding the suspect.
The suspect sustained a "non-life threatening injury and was medically treated," saidMatthew Eisenhower, a CBP spokesman. Eisenhower said that the suspect remains in federal custody at a facility in Florence pending charges for assault on a federal agent.
Information about the third case was not released until Wednesday, when TucsonSentinel.com queried officials about their count of BP firearms incidents.
Eisenhower said that on April 7the day that CBP released new data regarding use-of-force incidents by sector a group of elite BP agents known as BORTAC intercepted several smugglers carrying large bundles of marijuana near Arizona City, west of Eloy.
As the Border Patrol Tactical Unit agents approached the group, an unknown number of shots were fired at the agents, and the agents returned fire, saidEisenhower. No one was hit in theexchange of gunfire, and five suspects were taken intocustody and around 450pounds of marijuana was seized.
When asked about therelease of information regarding use-of-force cases, Beeson said, "We"re going to look at thecircumstances."
Beeson said theagency would continue to put outinformation regarding cases, echoing an earlier statement from CBP"s spokeswoman Jenny Burke, who said on April 7 that the agency would be updating information monthly on its website.
"We felt like this was an appropriate course of action, I"mnot saying we"re going to dothis each and every time, but in thisparticular incident, that"s what we"re going to do."
Erected Stephen A. Smith Final Defense for LeBron Against Skip Bayless | LIVE 6-21-16
Will Cain is on #TeamPetty after seeing LeBron"s Instagram post [link url="https://t.co/yMWxMAYMAH" ]https://t.co/yMWxMAYMAH[/link]
First Take (@FirstTake) June 22, 2016
Will Cain is auditioning to replace Skip Bayless on First Take, and he"s wasting little time in proving he can be just as hateable as his predecessor. Reacting to LeBron James" post-Finals Instagram post directed at his haters, Cain is upset about the fact that LeBron sometimes used incorrect grammar.
Here"s what LeBron posted:
They said u lost a step, wasn"t explosive as once was, the best days was in the real view, questioned your drive, your leadership, your commitment, you don"t have killer instinct, going back home is the worst mistake in your career, he got the coach fired, players traded, won"t work between him and Kyrie, Him and Kev won"t work, love your teammates to much, there"s no way he can deliver a championship in his hometown, etc etc etc.... But guess what THATS NONE OF MY BUSINESS #StriveForGreatness #ThisOneIsForTheLand #PutSomeRespeckOnMyName Hahahaha!!! Yes sir
Typing out full paragraphs of thought on your phone is pretty hard if I ever have more than a sentence to say to someone, I just call them and I think most people are willing to give each other a pass on the occasional misspelled word. But if the thing you want to say about LeBron winning his third NBA title is that he used incorrect grammar on Instagram, well ... I don"t really know what to say to you.
But Cain stumbles heedlessly upon a bigger issue handled eloquently by J.A. Adande, writing for the The Undefeated about the folly of "cleaning up" athlete quotes for print.
I want to see flawed quotes, in all of their glory, presented without fear of backlash. If Kevin Durant leaves out a letter of an indefinite article when disparaging an owner or Brazilian Leandro Barbosa uses broken English during a postgame interview, it could end up being the best part of the series as long as they are allowed to truly speak for themselves ...
For one, its patronizing, with the implication that anything that deviates from the norm is inherently inferior and must be corrected. Black English, for example, isnt a referendum on intelligence its a reflection of centuries of segregation, just as American English is a linguistic representation of our countrys split from Britain. Passing judgment based on speech can often say more about the listener than the speaker. (Do we consider Yoda any less wise because of his mixed-up syntax?)
Projected surprise cuts for each NFL team"s final rosterStart SlideShow
But that"s way more thoughtfulness and nuance than First Take has ever demonstrated the ability to handle. If you thought the show would go in a different direction in the post-Bayless era, it appears as though you were mistaken.
