Summer In The City

“Hot town, summer in the city,
back of my neck getting dirty and gritty.”

Mid-August: local restaurants are unusually empty; emails and telephone calls are unanswered due to people being out of town or they just don’t care to answer; the normal news day is empty, thus a boorish flight attendant from New York gets his fifteen minutes of fame for rude and crude behavior; and prime time television viewing consists of unreality, unbelievable, and unwatchable.

Rink Rats hits the road for two weeks, but before we do some topics to review this week.

DENVER—Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet survived a tough primary fight to win his party's nomination Tuesday, bucking the anti-incumbent tide that has been rumbling across the nation.

Mr. Bennet, who was appointed to the seat 19 months ago, notched a solid victory over former state House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. It was Mr. Bennet's first-ever election campaign; he was appointed last year to fill the seat vacated when Ken Salazar become Interior Secretary. Mr. Bennet had been a corporate turnaround specialist and superintendent of the Denver Public Schools.

Mr. Bennet avoided the fate of two other incumbent senators—Bob Bennett (R., Utah), and Arlen Specter (D., Pa.)—who failed to win their party's nomination this year. He did so in part by ignoring conventional wisdom and linking himself to President Barack Obama, who won Colorado handily in 2008 but had seen his popularity in the state slip in recent months.

SIREN -- WSJ's monthly survey of 53 economists: “On average, economists grew more pessimistic about the strength of the recovery … Economists expect the jobless rate in December 2011 still will be above 8.5% compared to the current 9.5% rate [and don't see the unemployment rate dropping below 9% through at least June 2011]. The economy is forecast to add about 1.6 million jobs over the next 12 months.”

SPORTS BLINK - CNNSI.com , “The 25 Most Hated Teams of All Time”: “Hearty contempt for rivals is a natural part of the sports landscape, but every so often a team unleashes a massive dose of loathing that consumes everyone but its own fans. Here is SI.com's list of the most hated individual teams in sports. … 1. 1986 University of Miami football … 2. 1988-89 Detroit Pistons … 3. 1992 Dallas Cowboys … 4. 1974-75 Philadelphia Flyers … 5. 1978 New York Yankees. … 25. 2010-11 Miami Heat.”

LATE SUMMER READING - A male version of “Eat Pray Love” has come out for your late summer reading: “Drink Gamble Sports”.

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week for Robert DeNiro (67), Aghop Der-Karabetian…famous emailer, Dennis Leary (53), Mary Matalin (57), Robert Redford (73), Al Roker (56).

BOX OFFICE BLAST -- L.A. Times, “Company Town: 'The Expendables' is a force at weekend box office,” by Ben Fritz: “Nostalgia dominated cutting-edge at the box office this weekend. 'The Expendables,' directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone with a crew of aging action stars, proved far and away the most popular movie in theaters as it sold a strong $35-million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates. With men of all ages and a surprising number of women in attendance, it decimated 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.' The well-reviewed melange of video game and other pop culture references … opened to a weak $10.5 million. 'Eat Pray Love,' starring Julia Roberts in an adaptation of the bestselling book about midlife self-discovery, opened to a pretty good $23.7 million but will need strong word-of-mouth to turn into a hit.”

CONGRATULATIONS – To G. Ball for surviving the fires in Russia this summer, he reports all is well in Vladmir. Also P. Pugliese for leading his team to a victory in the National Roller Hockey tournament in Chicago, Il. Finally to A. Ball for making it through this summer while losing her ID.

TOP SPORTS RADIO – Rink Rats rating of sports talk radio hosts (shows): (3) tie; Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton Sportswatch and The Dan Patrick Show; (2) The Jim Rome Show; (1) The Herd with Colin Cowherd.

Honorable mention, The world of sports according to Chris Ello. Overrated, Steve Hartman and Vic “The Brick” Jacobs.

GOOD LUCK – To the Bonita High School Bearcats Football team; they open up with a scrimmage vs. Damien High School on 8/27, the home opener is 9/3 vs. perennial power house San Dimas High School.

2 MILLION HOMELESS IN PAKISTAN FLOODS - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after tour: “I have witnessed many natural disasters around the world, but nothing like this.” … AFP: “3.5 million children at risk of deadly water-borne diseases.” If you can give to the Red Cross to help the homeless.

Next week: Rink Rats visits Oprah, Wrigley Field and Deep Dish Pizza.

Until next Monday, Adios.

Claremont, CA
August 16, 2010