Monthly Archives: December 2018
The Columbus Crew’s New 2019 Resolution
(Photo by Morgan Hughes)
Sports fans in Ohio and around the country:
The Modell Law–decades after it was enacted after former Cleveland Browns owner Art Modell sleazily moved the Browns to Baltimore back in 1996–has succeeded in helping to keep the Columbus Crew in Ohio’s capital city in 2018.
This lawsuit brought by Ohio Attorney General–and Governor-elect–Mike DeWine several months ago against Major League Soccer (MLS) and then sleazy Crew owner Anthony Precourt, was officially dismissed earlier today. In the case of the Crew, the Modell Law gave new owners time to make a legitimate bid for the team. And it worked. This leads us to today with an exciting announcement that was more than a year in making for fans of the original Black & Gold in MLS:
New owners have officially reached a deal (in principle) to keep the Crew in Columbus.
These aforementioned new owners are the Haslam Family of the Cleveland Browns and the Edwards Family of Columbus. The latter was led by now former Crew doctor Pete Edwards. And while these new owners have been known for a while now, it’s a considerable relief to know that legally there are no more hurdles to jump.
While I could post statements from MLS and a certain former owner on this development, I won’t. There are no apologies included and no recognition of the reality of this embarrassing and frustrating ordeal caused by Commissioner Don Garber’s MLS and a certain former owner of the Columbus Crew.
All that matters right now is the fact this special movement just #Lawyered a professional soccer league like Marshall Eriksen from ‘How I Met Your Mother.’
And it was legen-we don’t have to wait for it because the day has finally arrived when we legally #SavedTheCrew-dary!
P.S. The Ohio legislature should draft and pass a Precourt Law, if for no other reason than to make Anthony Precourt even more synonymous with Art Modell’s shameful legacy as a sports team owner.
RIP Sigi Schmid
Sigi Schmid, an accomplished collegiate and professional soccer coach in America, died yesterday in the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center at the age of 65. He had been hospitalized for three weeks. The reason for his hospitalization was that he was in need of a heart transplant.
For soccer players who were guided by his wisdom of the beautiful game, as well as countless fans, this is devastating news. Sigi Schmid was a dominating force in MLS specifically and American soccer broadly. His coaching resume includes UCLA, a couple runs with the United States U20s, the LA Galaxy, the Seattle Sounders and the Columbus Crew.
As a lifelong Crew fan, Sigi Schmid unforgettably led the original Black & Gold in MLS to the club’s first-ever MLS championship in 2008. In addition to watching that title team play in Columbus throughout 2008, I was lucky enough to watch the Crew defeat the New York Red Bulls 3-1 in Los Angeles with my parents.
That game and celebration were massive.
As is the legacy of Sigi Schmid for the sport of soccer in America. His roster for the 2008 Crew was full of players that weren’t household names in the U.S. yet they became just that when Mr. Schmid was done with them. Moreover, according to ESPN, he holds the honor of “the winningest coach in MLS history.”
Another part of his legacy was wearing a Crew scarf, regardless of the temperature. This tradition revealed his sincere embrace and lifelong membership in the Columbus Crew community.
RIP Sigi Schmid.
Merry Christmas!
‘Tis the season to celebrate the birth of Christ.
‘Tis the season to celebrate being with the ones we love.
And ‘Tis the season to watch those classic Christmas movies alongside family.
The following clip from 1990 cinematic magic known as ‘Home Alone’–masterfully created by director Chris Columbus and screenwriter John Hughes–sparked great laughter from kids and adults alike this evening.
That’s what you call a money clip.
Yup…still got it.
I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!
Welcome to the Christmas Movie Shelf, Pal
Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?
This is a heated debate that rages throughout the entire year–almost as much as the fictional Nakatomi Plaza skyscraper did that fateful night–for movie fans (and even non-movie fans) of the 1988 action film masterpiece that starred Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman (RIP), Bonnie Bedelia and Reginald VelJohnson (Carl Winslow!) and Alexander Godunov (RIP). Due to the extensive conversation that follows this seemingly fun and nonsensical question, it’s best to exercise brevity whenever possible. With that in mind, here are a few key notes regarding the aforementioned debate.
Just last year, ‘Die Hard’ screenwriter Steven E. de Souza confirmed via Twitter that #DieHardIsAChristmasMovie.
FYI – That specific tweet was covered and discussed on Time’s website.
Yes, that Time.
Then there’s this snippet from a Washington Post article published yesterday online titled “‘Die Hard’ isn’t just a Christmas movie — it’s the best ever, according to its Hollywood distributor” by Eli Rosenberg and Alex Horton.
“Christmas is a liminal ritualized period of carnivalesque inversion during which underdogs and the powerless are briefly elevated above hierarchical structures,” historian Greg Jenner wrote on Twitter. “John McClane is a classic Christmas underdog triumphing over selfish venality.”
So this is a very real debate. So gloriously real that 20th Century Fox has reignited the topic of its popular film via a recently produced trailer just this week that is every bit as awesome as you’d hope it would be.
Is ‘Die Hard’ a Christmas movie?
Yes.
Make room, Elf on the Shelf.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 