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Sunday, December 5, 2010
Cavalier fans are still giving LeBron James jerseys to the homeless
You might remember this story from the summer, the one which comes to an unofficial end Tuesday night for us NBAniks, as the season begins.
Cleveland-area Cavaliers fans wanted nothing to do with their LeBron James(notes) apparel once the "self-proclaimed King" signed with the Miami Heat, so why not collect the unused gear and ship it down to Miami, for the less fortunate to wear?
Of course, Miami-area politicians weren't exactly receptive to this sort of half-joke/half-gift. But that hasn't stopped Clevelanders from taking their Toyota down to South Beach and handing the stuff out themselves.
In what is one of the more engaging reads of the year, Gus Garcia-Roberts and Vince Grzegorek detail the story on '64 and Counting, and Miami New Times:
One forward-thinking local citizen stepped forward to collect your unwanted jerseys -- and sneakers and T-shirts and everything else LeBron -- and ship it to Miami for distribution to the homeless. In short order, Chris Jungjohann (pronounced "Young John") founded "Break Up With LeBron," a DIY collection using a website and boxes distributed at supermarkets and Yours Truly restaurants around Cleveland. Foolish, he figured, to burn perfectly good clothing that somebody somewhere would gladly wear.
Within weeks, Jungjohann had amassed more than 400 jerseys and other items. The only remaining detail was delivery to those in need. It was simple brilliance, but it was doomed to meet the buzzsaw of south Florida bureaucracy.
The Miami Coalition for the Homeless and several other agencies rejected Jungjohann's bounty. "It's on hold right now," policy director Rita Clark told us, adding that Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado was privately against the project, though his spokesperson denied it. "There's a lot of politics around this."
"The general consensus was that it was an attempt to mock the homeless population," explained Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. "The reaction was a tense but pleasant ‘No thanks.'"
Well, yeah. It was meant to mock the homeless, just after the mocking of LeBron James had finished.
At the very least, if the minds behind the idea were in it for solely benevolent reasons, then they would have sent the jerseys to several cities, in amounts predicated on the amount of homeless in that particular urban setting. The fact that the bureaucracy has taken its typical hold within Miami's political scene does nothing to change that. The people stopping the shipment of LeBron James jerseys to Miami's homeless are sniveling, worrisome hand-wringers at this point, but this doesn't do anything to distract from the idea that this was a gimmick, plain and simple.
The homeless need everything they can get, and a jersey (of any origin) would help. But this is still just a basketball jersey, a polyester brand of logo and mesh without any sleeves, and hardly the most comforting style one could bestow on someone who has to live outdoors most every night. If the minds behind this idea were honest about their intentions, they'd pool all this hateful LeBron imagery and sell it online, then take the proceeds and buy a series of shirts, sweaters, hoodies and pants; to then distribute to whatever charitable organization needed it most.
But to send Cleveland Cavalier jerseys with LeBron James' name on the back to Miami is just a bad joke. It was a noble sentiment, until they were offered to Miami-only homeless.
The good thing? The people behind the initial offer are trying to get past the "bad joke" part of it all. This is a redemption story nonpareil, told by fans that were hurt to a degree unseen in the annals of popular sport. I can't even look at a picture of a Cleveland-era LeBron James jersey without shaking my head, and I'm not even a Cavs fan. How these guys do it, and work with this apparel, is beyond me. There is still a lot to argue about, regarding their approach ("wino and gold," in reference to the Cavalier team colors? Not cool), but hopefully some minds can be changed here.
This is truly a great read. Nothing heroic, and certainly nothing satisfying, but well worth your time.
Related: LeBron James, Miami HeatWelcome back to the party, Florida State. Can you stay awhile this time?
Florida State 31, Florida 7. Florida's descent into 7-5 madness has been well chronicled by the large anti-Addazian faction of the Gator fan base, and will be subjected to exhaustive postmortems in the coming weeks. Jimbo Fisher's debut in Year One of the post-Bowden era in Tallahassee, on the other hand, has been significantly quitter – one of the perks of diminished expectations and early flops in high-profile games. But as of today, Fisher's Seminoles…
• Snapped a six-game losing streak to Florida, and not only beat both instate rivals in the same season for the first time since Chris Weinke, Peter Warrick and Co. ran the table en route to the BCS title in 1999, but dominated them: The Hurricanes and Gators fell by a combined 76-24.
• Finished with nine regular season wins for the first time since taking the ACC title in 2003, the last year before the conference expanded with the addition of Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College.
• Won six ACC games for the first time since 2004, and with N.C. State's loss to Maryland, wrapped up the ACC Atlantic and a trip to the ACC Championship Game for the first time since 2005, the first year of the two-division/championship game format.
• Transmogrified from an underachieving defense that allowed 30 points per game in 2009, 94th nationally, into a unit giving up a little under 18 points per game under first-year coordinator Mark Stoops, 15th nationally before stoning the Gators this afternoon.
At the beginning of the season, the prevailing question in Tallahassee – above specific goals like a division or conference championship, or even ending the losing streak to Florida – was whether a stagnant program could regained momentum toward its birthright as ACC overlord and perennial national contender under the new administration, or whether it would come to the sobering realization that the malaise of the last five years didn't leave with the old man.
It's a little early still for a final verdict when there's still a conference championship game to play. But you know, there is a conference championship game to play, at a place that's been defined for years now by its consistent failure to compete for the ACC crown despite continuing to dominate in-conference recruiting. Since being eviscerated at Oklahoma on Sept. 11, the 'Noles' only two losses have come by a combined six points in the dying seconds against N.C. State and North Carolina. If Christian Ponder doesn't put the ball on the ground on a routine play-action fake with the winning touchdown in sight in Raleigh, FSU could be 10-2 and on the verge of the top 10.
As it is, the 'Noles are a win away from the BCS, which certainly beats another funeral dirge.
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Celine Dion: 'I Don't Care About My Figure'
New mom Celine Dion is refusing to embark on a drastic diet to lose her pregnancy weight, insisting she's happy to wear larger-sized clothes until she regains her figure.
The singer gained 40 pounds while she was pregnant with twin boys, who she welcomed into the world on Saturday.
However, the My Heart Will Go On hit-maker has no plans to try any quick fixes to shed the weight.
She tells French magazine Gala, "I don't care about my figure. I never have and I'm not worried. In any case, I'm not going on any diet because I want to breastfeed... Besides I have a really good stylist and if it's a question of going up a dress size or two - well, so be it."
Click Here For More Celine Dion Pictures
Charlie Sheen's Rep: 'Charlie Had An Adverse Allergic Reaction'
A representative for Charlie Sheen has confirmed reports he was hospitalized on Tuesday morning, after suffering an "adverse allergic reaction" to medication.
Earlier reports suggested the 45-year-old actor was accompanied to a New York medical centre by his ex-wife Denise Richards, after cops were called to investigate an alleged disturbance in Sheen's room at the plush Plaza Hotel.
According to the New York Post, hotel security staff called police after discovering Sheen nude and his suite in shambles. Tables and chairs were reportedly thrown around the room and a chandelier damaged. Sheen told officers he had been "out partying" and returned to the Plaza with a woman, but flew into a rage when he discovered his wallet was missing, according to the newspaper.
A New York Police Department spokesman has now confirmed an ambulance carried an "emotionally disturbed person" from New York's Plaza hotel to New York Downtown Hospital at 1:30am.
Sheen's rep, Stan Rosenfield, has failed to comment on details of the alleged disturbance but confirms his client remains in hospital. He tells CNN: "What we are able to determine is that Charlie had an adverse allergic reaction to some medication and was taken to the hospital, where he is expected to be released tomorrow."
Late last year Sheen was arrested in Aspen, Colorado after fighting with his now-estranged wife Brooke Mueller.
Click Here For More Charlie Sheen Pictures
Mike Tyson: 'I Would Get Drunk After Every Fight'
Former boxer Mike Tyson was addicted to alcohol throughout his career in the ring and admits he binged on booze "after every fight."
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history when he won the World Boxing Council (WBC) title in 1986 at the age of just 20 and went on to become the most famous boxer on the planet by the late 1980s when he became undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
But his career achievements were later overshadowed by his controversial personal life, including his allegedly abusive marriage to actress Robin Givens and his jail stint for rape in the 1990s.
Tyson recently admitted to a raging drug habit, which he only kicked after the death of his daughter last year, and although he is adamant he never took illegal substances during his time as a professional boxer, he admits he was frequently drunk, even at the height of his career.
He tells TV talk show host Larry King, "I've always been addicted. I wasn't using drugs when I was boxing, when I started. But... I never considered alcohol is a drug, too. But I would get drunk after every fight. I said I'm off drugs 14 years but really I wasn't. So that wasn't really true. I was just lying to myself. I would get drunk after every fight, just blasted."
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'Next Iron Chef' Marc Forgione Walks The Talk
What makes an Iron Chef? Being an adaptable culinary master is a given, but there is a world of talent out there in the dining realm—something more must set these select few apart. In the case of newly crowned Iron Chef Marc Forgione, it may have simply been fate. As it turns out, he was given his spot on the show a mere three days before he had to get on a plane and head to Los Angeles.
“The second round [of interviews] you actually go in there, and it’s pretty weird actually, they put you in a dark room and they shine a light on you and you answer questions,” he explained, relaying the experience of being recruited for the show over the phone to a group of eager listeners. “I didn’t find out until three days before the flight that I was going. I was the last one on there.”
It seems difficult to dismiss destiny when you hear a story like that. Not that this is a Cinderella story by any means; in fact, it would be fair to say that Marc Forgione’s roots fall more on the mythic side of things. As the son of Larry Forgione (executive chef of An American Place in St. Louis, MO, whose vision and ability earned him the moniker “the godfather of New American Cuisine”), he made it very clear at the beginning of the competition that one of his reasons for desiring the title was to prove to the world that he was a great deal more than a chip off the old block.
But aside from having proved that in the most public way possible, what made him want the shot? When I asked him what makes the title of Iron Chef special, why he had to try for it when he had already accomplished so much, his answer came swiftly: “Even just in the word, when you hear Iron Chef, to me the words that come up right away are respect and honor, and I’m a very competitive person by nature anyway. So for me it’s one of those things, it’s you either put up or shut up with your food. There’s no gray area, you know what I mean?”
Those words that came up when thinking of the title are clearly core values for Chef Forgione. When he was asked which of the themed challenges on the show resonated with him the most, he again answered “respect” and “honor.” Those values along with an unquenchable thirst to prove himself could very well have been what tipped the scales in his favor as he went up against so many celebrated competitors. When the possibility of future battles betwixt himself and his fellow Iron Chefs were brought up, his reply was, “I’d love to go against each one of them, just to see how I fare.”
For all the grandeur and spectacle involved in the Iron Chef mythos, however, there are always the humbling and hilarious aspects of reality television to ground us. Chef Forgione revealed his own wardrobe malfunction that occurred during the buffet challenge, and what he had to do to recover: “My pants ripped open halfway through that battle, and they don’t stop the clock for anything so I just had to kind of adjust my apron to cover my derriere.”
He also talked of the moments occurring off-camera that were missed, specifically of the chef’s sojourns out to dine each night. “Imagine that ten top coming in to eat at your place. It was a lot of fun just sitting there and hearing everybody else’s feedback about what we were doing, and obviously, once a couple drinks got into everybody it always got interesting.” Raise your hand if you wish you had been a fly on the wall in those restaurants.
Now that Chef Forgione has proved he has what it takes to run laps around Kitchen Stadium, there is only one matter left: his first battle. It will take place on Sunday, Nov 28 at 10PM Eastern and Pacific Time. Tune in and see what our newest Iron Chef has in store.
Michael Bay Blasts Chicago While On Location Shooting 'Transformers 3' Emma Watson Afraid Her Massive Fortune Will Deter Boyfriends
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