This year, unlike many other years, I have decided to watch some of the NBA playoffs on television. Because of this, I have gotten to see over and over again the same Kia Optima ads featuring Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers (pictured above). It struck me that Blake Griffin sounds remarkably like someone I'd heard before, and, after a little research, I was able to figure it out.
First, here is one of the commercials. Listen to grown-up version of Blake.
Second, here is the opening scene of the 1998 movie Rushmore. Listen to the math teacher (starting around 0:38).
Clearly, the two men sound almost exactly alike. The only question is-- why?
Our goal here at Ape Canyon News Service has always been to be the world's number one source of sports-related news, commentary, and analysis. In keeping with that goal, our staff took a trip today down to the Seattle Seahawks training camp at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Lake Washington (see photo above). During the month of August, the Seahawks, led by coach Pete Carroll (pictured below wearing white pants), will practice numerous times each week in order to get ready for the upcoming NFL season.
Coming into this year's training camp, the Seahawks have three different players competing to become the starting quarterback-- last year's starter, Tarvaris Jackson; former Green Bay Packers back-up quarterback Matt Flynn; and recently drafted Russell Wilson. During the scrimmage at the end of practice, all three quarterbacks took turns running the offense. (See videos below)
Above: Tarvaris Jackson attempts to complete a pass during a scrimmage
Below: Matt Flynn's turn to throw a pass
Among the returning players who are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the starting lineup is defensive lineman Red Bryant. In addition to doing an excellent job on defense, Bryant holds the single-season Seahawks record for most blocked kick attempts during one season (four).
During today's practice, Bryant worked on many drills, such as the pass rushing drill in the video above. His performance seemed pretty unremarkable; however, I was curious as to why Bryant appeared to be wearing some sort of pantyhose or stockings under his uniform. (See photo below)
Probably the biggest highlight of today's workout was getting to see offensive lineman John Moffitt vomiting on the sidelines at the start of practice. Moffitt had been having a discussion with fellow offensive lineman Breno Giacomini about the weather-- both players were happy about today's sunshine-- when suddenly Moffitt became violently ill and started throwing up (see photo below).
Moffitt, who missed the last part of the 2011-12 season due to an injury/suspension for testing positive for banned substances, later on had to ask one of the equipment managers to unlock a door so he could take a quick bathroom break. (See photos below)
Above: Moffitt leaving the practice field
Below: Moffitt waiting for the door to be unlocked
(Click here for a recent video of Moffitt delivering the local weather forecast on television.)
Keep checking back for more on the Seahawks training camp, the regular season, and the rest of the NFL as well-- only thirty-three more days til the start of the regular season!
Below: A storage shed which appeared to hold shelf after shelf of Nike athletic shoes.
There many things I am not sure about these days. Here are some of them:
I am not exactly sure who wrote or performed the music/poem. Is it even a poem or just some guy talking?
I am also not exactly sure about the relationship between the soundtrack and the video. The video appears to be about the 1950 World Cup final between Uruguay and Brazil. Did the same people make both?
I'm not even totally certain what language this is, although I think it's Italian.
This Chrysler New Yorker was parked less than two blocks from my house this morning. I do not recall ever having seen it before. I am not completely sure which model year this would be from, but clearly it is some time in the mid- to late-1980s. I especially like the vinyl roof-- this particular roof is officially known as the Landau style.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema was out celebrating his birthday earlier this month on the island of La Reunion. At some point during the night, his car wound up crashed. Benzema may have been driving, or it may have been that his friend was driving while Benzema drove another car. There are suggestions that the two men may have been racing. For more information, click here. For a map to help you find La Reunion, see below.
For yet another video of people speaking French, watch the one below. Benzema is the guy in the tank top.
The man above (identified as Massimo Tartaglia) attacked Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Milan today, either by hitting him with a small souvenir statue or throwing it from a close distance. Berlusconi suffered a broken nose and some damage to his teeth, but was otherwise unhurt. The man's motives are not known-- hopefully he is not an AC Milan fan upset by the team's poor performance against Palermo.
First things first: the rules of being a Warner by Kurt and Brenda Warner with Jennifer Schuchmann
Kurt Warner is an NFL quarterback who has been to the Super Bowl three times (with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals). The story of his rise from grocery shelf stocker to Arena Football League player and finally to NFL star has been told and re-retold many, many times. He and his wife Brenda have seven children (five together and two from her previous marriage, including one who has brain-damage and blindness due to a childhood accident). Together, they have written a book describing how they balance his NFL career with their family life, all while giving back to the community and being good Christians.
Below: Kurt Warner gets ready to throw the football.
I finished reading this book a few days ago, and I have been thinking since then about what I wanted to say about it. Unfortunately, I have not been able to put my thoughts into words. Everything I try to write seems insincere and inadequate. If anyone else has read this book, please contact me. Maybe you can help.
Below: Kurt and Brenda Warner working on a Habitat-for-Humanity project.
I missed it, but my daughter saw it going into half-time of the Arsenal - Hull City game today.
Oh yeah, and Hull came back to beat Arsenal 2-1. Meanwhile, after the game, Arsenal skipper Arsene Wenger was so upset that he referred to Hull as "West Brom". Hull City's Daniel Cousin celebrates his go-ahead goal
I recently finished reading The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes, the last of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories about the British detective. This is not very remarkable, except that it means that, after almost thirty years of on-again, off-again reading, I have read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories Conan Doyle ever wrote - all four novels and all the collections of short stories. I didn't set out to read them all, and I can't honestly say that my time was very well spent, but now I am done.
In keeping with the mystery-theme, I am now reading Janwillem van de Wetering's Death of a Hawker. It's written in the late 1970's, set in Amsterdam, and features a pair of police detectives - Grijpstra and de Gier - who are trying to solve a murder (actually several). In general, I don't really like mysteries, and I don't read them very often.
Rafa Nadal, as expected, defeated Roger Federer in the men's final of the French Open today. What was not expected was how bad Federer looked and how easily Nadal won: 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. There was only one brief period when Federer made it look even close - he was down one set and 2-0 in the second set when all of a sudden a strange, mysterious airplane flew over the court. John McEnroe on the television broadcast even remarked upon the unusual nature of this event. The flight of the mysterious airplane brought Federer alive - he fought back until he had pulled even at 3-3 and even had a break point againstNadal. But then the magic of the mysterious airplane wore off, Federer collapsed, and Nadal won all the remaining games. During the trophy presentation ceremonies, Nadal, speaking French, English, and Catalan, apologized for beating Federer so soundly and then celebrated by biting the trophy for the photographers. This was his fourth consecutive victory in the French Open.
How, I ask you, does a team with such SUPERstars as Thierry Henry, Deco, and Lionel Messi (the supposed 2nd best player in the world), not score a goal in 3hrs (180 minutes over the two legs) of playing time! That is staggering!
Manchester United, delievered a goal, by way of Paul Scholes, so they're on the way to the finals. Not the way you would expect, I know.
The final result was 1-0 Manchester United, the same on aggregate.
"This was a make or break time for Barca. If they had won, they would have my respect, but now I can only think 'What a lousy, useless sack of UGH!'" said one enraged Man. Untd. hater.
Watch as two zambonis clean the ice between periods at the ice arena in St. Louis. What do they call the arena - the Savis Center, ScottTrade Arena, Kiel Auditorium, the Checkerdome? What periods was it between? I have no idea - the Blues were playing Nashville on April 1, 2008. They went up 3-0 early, but lost 4-3 in overtime. That's just what happened.
"Hockey ought to be sternly forbidden, as it is not only annoying but dangerous." Halifax Morning Sun, quoted in Michael McKinley's Hockey - A People's History
