Bet'n'bite

I wouldn't say I'm a degenerate gambler, but I like having a vested interest in sporting events.

Betting on whether or not a specific player will bite someone over the course of the World Cup? I wish I had the gall to bet on something like that.

A Norwegian man named Thomas Syverson bet the equivalent of about $5 on the fact that Uruguay star Luis Suarez was going to bite someone during the World Cup.

After Giorgio Chiellni had his shoulder chomped down on by Suarez yesterday, Syverson took home over $900.

I can't read it either, but that's apparently the winning betting ticket.

NO SLEEP TILL...

If you're tired, you're allowed to commiserate with other Wisconsinites. The stats prove it.

According to estimates from the annual American Time Use Survey, Wisconsin residents spend an average 8 hours and 26 minutes a night sleeping. Mississippi is on the other end of the spectrum, with the average resident spending 9 hours and seven minutes a day on shut eye.

One reason might be the dairy farmers getting up early to tend to the cows. Another might be all the people staying up late drinking. I may fall into one of those categories, but not both. You decide which.

World Cup Sex

The World Cup is very important to billions of people around the globe, and those rabid fanbases want to make sure that the players are at their peak physical condition for each game of the tournament.

They'll be happy to know that the coaches of many teams are regulating their players' sex lives in order to make sure this is true.

According to TIME.com:

Sex is permitted on these teams: Germany, Spain, the United States, Australia, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Uruguay and England

Sex is banned on these teams: Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile and Mexico

And the rules are complicated on these teams: France (you can have sex but not all night), Brazil (you can have sex, but not“acrobatic” sex), Costa Rica (can’t have sex until the second round) and Nigeria (can sleep with wives but not girlfriends)

The rules for the remaining teams are unknown.

Are some sex rules excessive? Probably. The two most common concerns about pre-game sex are that intercourse might make a player tired and weak or it could affect him psychologically. Studies have shown that the former is a myth.

Many coaches and athletes believe that abstaining from sex builds up aggression, a belief that probably stems from ancient civilizations like the Greeks, who thought that men derived strength from their semen. This theory is so pervasive that even Muhammed Ali refused to have sex six weeks before a fight, fearing that ejaculation would release the testosterone (and therefore aggression) he needed for a boxing match.

For sure reason, this amuses me, partially because of how awkward it must be for the coaches to implement these rules. How does the Brazilian coach define what is acrobatic and what isn't? 

Some teams believe the opposite:

Some experts even argue that previous World Cups wins prove sex can be beneficial.

“The Netherlands national soccer team, at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, is an example of this,” Juan Carlos Medina, general coordinator of the sports department at Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico told CNN. “Some of those players were accompanied by their wives, and they won the second place. I don’t say this is a determinant factor, but it brings support.”

“Even Pele confessed that he never suspended sexual encounters with his wife before a game, I mean, that thing about sex helping to relax is a verified truth,” he added.

Mummy

Growing up, The Goonies was one of my favorite movies. It was the right combination of comedy and thrill that made 10-year old Chris watch it about 1,000 times.

I saw a story today that seemed to come right out of the Goonies script and had I experienced it, I'd definitely be scarred for life.

Per Reuters:

A curious Ohio boy who sneaked into an abandoned house over the weekend discovered a mummified corpse hanging inside a closet, unnoticed for nearly five years, officials said on Tuesday.

The body of Edward Brunton, 53, had a belt around his neck, and he likely died by suicide in his rundown home in the city of Dayton, said Ken Betz, director for the coroner's office in Montgomery County in southwestern Ohio.

Because he died in the winter and inside a dark closet, Brunton's body tissue dried out and was preserved. No one went looking for Brunton, who was estranged from his family, Betz said, adding that Brunton did not know his neighbors and had no known work obligations.

So imagine that. A 12-year old boy, exploring his neighborhood, opens a closet door to find a dead guy hanging from a belt. Not only to you run and scream, but you have that image scorched onto your retinas for the rest of your life. 

Tony Gwynn

I've been a huge baseball fan my whole life, and growing up, there were a few players that I wanted to emulate. The first two were Ken Griffey Jr and Chipper Jones, but the third was Tony Gwynn.

It's one of those deaths where it kind of stops you in your tracks. Much like Phillip Seymour Hoffman earlier this year, Gwynn was a well respected person that is gone far too soon.

I've communicated with a few friends and colleagues with San Diego connections, and all of them were nothing but effusive in their praise for Mr. Padre.

His early death was aided by his longtime use of chewing tobacco, something that is still all-too prevalent in baseball today. It gave him cancer, and killed him at the age of 54. I've been in enough dugouts and have seen my fair share of chew, and for as much as he was a role model on the field,  I hope that Gwynn can serve as a model of what not to do in this aspect.

It's a sad day for San Diego and a sad day for baseball. Rest in peace, Tony.

Beers and Guns

If you're going to be out partying this weekend, try to be a little more responsible than this guy.

A retired New York City cop drank a few too many brewskies at an East Village bar earlier this week and left his gun on the sink while throwing up in a bathroom stall. He stumbled out of the Phoenix NYC Bar without his six-shooter and by the time he realized it and returned to the bar, his Colt 38 had taken a hike.



Is it really responsible to get piss-ass drunk while in possession of a firearm? Doubt it.

World Cup thoughts

I wouldn't say I'm a bandwagon soccer fan, because I do keep an eye on international soccer all year long, but I couldn't be more excited that the World Cup is finally here. Brazil vs Croatia to kick things off this afternoon, and USA gets underway Monday vs Ghana.

I think USA will have some success, but not enough to emerge from the group of death.

Just to put it in writing...

Win vs Ghana 2-0

Tie Portugal 1-1

Lose to Germany 3-1.

People will get all excited after the opening win, but it really starts to get tough after that.

And for what it's worth, I have Germany over Argentina in the finals.

Who do you got?

Brazil is a little bit better than 3-to-1 odds to win the whole thing, followed by Argentina, Spain and Germany all around 6-to-1. The sportsbooks aren't too high on Team USA, giving them 100-to-1 odds to win it all.

Be better, Hollywood.

Just because a movie is a classic doesn't mean we need a sequel.

One of the greatest movies of my childhood, The Goonies, is apparently under consideration for a second movie.

Two of the stars of the 1980s classic, Sean Astin and Corey Feldman, have both said they'd be open for a sequel.

According to Astin, per E!: "I certainly like the idea of doing it. I don't know if I'd be in it or not. If they really wanted us to be in it, I'm sure there would be some way to work it out."

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It's a classic, and it was made when these characters were teenagers (Astin was 13), and now, almost 30 years later? How is that gonna play out? The chance of this being even remotely successful is extremely slim.

I was against Anchorman 2 in theory, against another Dumb and Dumber movie, and I'm against a potential Mighty Ducks 4 movie.

Is Hollywood that terrible at coming up at new ideas that this is all they've got?

Do better.

http://derekwinnert.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/633.jpg

Heroes

Sometimes when bad news hits, I try to imagine what I would do if I was placed in a similar situation.

Hearing about Jon Meis, who used pepper spray to take down a shooter at Seattle Pacific last week, was awesome. The circumstance was terrible, but the fact that he acted so quickly, was nothing short of heroic.


I worked at the front desk of my dorm in college, and I would have never had the balls to do what Meis did. You talk about a "fight or flight" mentality? I think I'd be fleeing, whereas he leaped over the desk, and caught the shooter with pepper spray while he was reloading.

The guy was 22, and probably making minimum wage doing menial tasks at the front desk of his dorm. And the instinct is to intervene and stop a mad man with a shotgun?

It's fascinating to see the circumstances that allow heroes in our world to emerge. These were unfortunate events, in which one person died and others were injured, but Meis quick actions undoubtedly saved many others from being hurt.

Cramp

It's probably happened to you, where you are jolted out of bed in the middle of the night with a cramp so bad you just want to scream. It happens to me from time to time, typically in my calves but also in the arches of my feet. It's incredibly painful, it renders that body part essentially immobile, and if there was a baby around, you'd consider punching it.

And yet people are getting on LeBron James for not being able to play in a NBA Finals game with the same ailment?

When I get a cramp, I bitch and moan and scream and cry until it subsides. And I'm not putting the type of taxation on my body that LeBron is.

Did the 90 degree temps in the arena play into that? Who knows. But everyone else was playing in the same atmosphere, so I'd say no. It was more likely one of those uncontrollable things that unfortunately happened at an inopportune time for the world's best player.

It's one thing to play through pain, such as a rolled ankle or pulled muscle. But a debilitating injury? That's different.

Could the Heat have used LeBron down the stretch? Yes. Would it have made an impact on the game? Also, yes.

Do I fault him for sitting during a stretch that was probably killing him inside not to be on the court?

Nope.

Skepticism

I was contacted by this guy earlier today, who apparently got my number from a friend. He introduced himself as an "entrepreneur" who works with "endorsements and marketing for companies online."

So right of the bat, I was skeptical.

I decide to let this guy keep typing - this was all via text, by the way - and he goes on to explain how he works for these big companies and is interested in setting up a phone call to chat, but he can't make any promises.

No less skeptical at this point.

I ask a few questions, and apparently he wants me to "earn more without juggling so many things" simply by doing some "word of mouth marketing." But again, he wanted to make sure I'd fit "their" culture.

Not once did he mention who "they" were and I stopped him before he asked if I could provide anyone else for him to contact.

I'm not saying this wasn't legit but...

Bad bet

I like gambling and betting and degenerate things of that nature, especially when it doesn't involve money.

I like reading about other people's betting, but this one disappointed me, because it's lame.

So, so lame.

The respective governors of New York and California, Andrew Cuomo and Jerry Brown, each ponied up some of their state's delicacies. 

Per WIVB in Albany:

If the Rangers win, Brown will send Cuomo the book ‘California: A History’ by Kevin Starr and Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes.

If the Kings prevail, Cuomo will send Brown a ‘Taste of NY Gift Basket’ featuring products from local businesses across the state. Among the goodies inside are chicken wings from the Original Anchor Bar and 2011 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Orleans County.

Books? Rice cakes? And what the hell is ice wine? At least there are some chicken wings in there.

It's the two biggest and baddest cities in America, and that's the best you can come up with.

Booooooo. Do better. 

It can be cool to see your home town make the news but other times, it's a little surreal.

You've probably heard of the 12-year old girls accused of stabbing another 12-year old right here in Wisconsin over the weekend, and it's truly one of those odd, tragic events that seem to pop up all too often these days. The fact that it happened in Waukesha - my home town - over the weekend, made it that much more strange to me.

I'm not sure if strange is the right word, but I don't know what is. I used to work for the City of Waukesha and I've been in the exact location where the stabbings happened. Just a weird thing to think about.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did a fantastic job of detailing all the charges, and while my head was spinning while reading, I couldn't help but think how much this sounded like a bad cable movie.

But apparently, it's very real.

I feel terrible for all the families involved, especially that of the victim.

New Led Zep!

It's not often that in today's age, you find unreleased material from some of the greatest bands of all time.

That's what makes this week's reissue of a handful of Led Zeppelin albums that awesome.

It's an instrumental track, recorded in 1969, but not released until now.

Check it by clicking the link below!

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/listen-to-led-zeppelins-unreleased-instrumental-la-la-20140529


Plus I saw this at the liquor store over the weekend. Pretty legit.