Hail to the Red Faced Commanders

Posted on June 12, 2022June 12, 2022 by thependulumswings staff

Once upon a time, they were the Washington Redskins. No more. Once upon a time, they were the Washington Football Team. No more. Now they are known as the Washington Commanders.

Free speech was previously known as free speech. No more. Now it is known as either disinformation or expensive or both.

Commander’s defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio likely had no idea the dust-up he would cause when Del Rio called the 1/6/21 Capitol assault a “dust-up” at the team’s minicamp last Wednesday.

Head Coach Ron Rivera released a statement through the team’s official Twitter account. He called the events of Jan. 6, 2021 “an act of domestic terrorism.” Rivera said Del Rio’s comments were “extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DC area.” Calling DC a great community might be disinformation unto itself, but we digress.

Del Rio also compared the Capitol insurrection to the sometimes violent protests (but labeled mostly peaceful by the left) of systemic and racial injustice in 2020. “Our organization will not tolerate any equivalency between those who demanded justice in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the actions of those on January 6 who sought to topple our government,” Rivera continued.

Those “who demanded justice” could also be read as “those who murdered, rioted, stole, assaulted, and set fires.” Well, actually that was way back when free speech was free.

Del Rio was fined 100k and later apologized for his “transgression.”

Rivera said Del Rio has a right to voice his opinion, but added, “Words have consequences and his words hurt a lot of people in our community.” In other words, free speech is expensive.

And, if some had their way, it would be even more expensive.

Those comments resulted in NAACP president Derrick Johnson calling for Del Rio to resign or be terminated. “You can’t coach a majority Black team while turning your back on the Black community. It’s time for you to pack up and step off the field,” said Johnson. Could you coach a majority white team and turn your back?

Oh, the irony.

All of this stench emanates from a franchise that staunchly refused to change its “racist” Redskins nickname for decades on end. The smart money will tell you that the name change only happened after the NFL launched an investigation into front office boy’s club multiple sexual harassment allegations, claims, and lawsuits.

Owner Daniel Snyder was and is front and center. It was time to give a little to get a little so to speak.

Heck, as a further sign of goodwill, they even hired the first non-pale face in Redskins history in Rivera in 2020.

And, then late last year news broke that Snyder and company were possibly skimming(under-reporting) some local revenue before sharing it with the other 31 team owners and franchises. A former VP publicly claims the practice has been in place for over a decade.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee in the “great community” of DC is investigating.

Or, should we say, “oh, the hypocrisy?”

Blame it on (Del) Rio!

The Swamp and its football team are made for one another.

Ten Piece Nuggets-Sports, Random, and News.

Posted on August 21, 2020 by thependulumswings staff

It’s Friday. And it’s time to get your happy hour started a bit early. We’ve got ten hor deurves. You need to make a beer run. And, do not forget your mask. To the Ten Piece Nuggets we go.

Joe Maddon, manager of the 8-18 and last place LA Angels, is mad. He’s tired of seeing SF reliever Shaun Anderson throw at Mike Trout’s head. “Enough is enough,” Maddon said after Thursday’s 10-5 road loss dropped the Angels’ record to 8-18. “This is the major leagues. There’s a level of accountability here also.” Just wondering, who should be held accountable for the 8-18 record?
Do you remember when we all used to sing happy birthday to a family member or friend and then have them blow out all of the candles? Then you would all have a slice of that cake. Turns out that singing and a strong exhale or two (blow them all out!) might not be what the doctor advises in 2020. Maybe in 2021?
The Washington Football Team continues to be in the news. A few days after hiring the first-ever black President, this time the news isn’t so good. Washington coach Ron Rivera has been diagnosed with cancer but plans to continue coaching. Rivera was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma located in a lymph node, the team said in a statement. Rivera said the cancer is in the early stages and is considered “very treatable and curable.” That part is good news.
It’s way too early to deem the NFL protocols a success in holding COVID-19 at bay. But, a few days into 32 training camps a total of only four players have tested positive. It’s a start. And, there is a long way to go. The NFL is pretty adamant about starting the season on time.
No so fast NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. His league is likely to delay its planned Dec. 1 start for the 2020-21 season. The hope is to get paying fans back into arenas. The league’s gross revenue is roughly 8 billion with a “b.” The fans in the areas account for 40% of that, or 3.2 billion still with a “b.
MLB has postponed 34 games this season because of positive tests and counting. Two Mets’ games this weekend are postponed after two members of the traveling team tested positive yesterday. MLB soldiers on though. And, that is a good thing.
The NFL Kansas City Chiefs are putting in place new policies during games at Arrowhead Stadium with regard to Native American imagery. Fans are now prohibited from wearing headdresses into the stadium. Face painting that is styled in a way as to imitate Native American cultures is also prohibited. The Arrowhead Chop and the pregame beating of a drum, often by a former player or coach or other local celebrity is also on the chopping block. Maybe they can announce if the “chop” stays or goes by beginning with, “after further review, the ruling on the field….” So, let’s see, keep the stadium name of Arrowhead, and keep the arrowhead logo, and keep the name Chiefs is fine. But the fans, those dreaded creatures, they can’t be allowed to do anything to offend anyone. After further review, this makes no sense.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended the Chicago Police Department’s ban on protesters being able to demonstrate on the block where she lives. She told reporters yesterday that she and her family require heightened security because of threats she receives daily. If it’s a peaceful protest, as we’ve been told repeatedly by the good mayor, why worry about safety? It only takes 51% of the voting population to put someone into office. Does anyone have a tent big enough to put over the Chicago circus?
Meanwhile, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms suggested that the GOP is using the Chinese coronavirus pandemic to “spread misinformation and interfere with voting,” forcing many to “risk their lives” to exercise their right to vote. Risk their lives? Really? It only takes 51% of the voting population to kick someone out of office as well.
Joe Biden’s acceptance speech last night was only 24 minutes long. But, most analysts and reporters thought it to be quite effective. Hillary’s was twice as long four years prior. Fans of the nominee turned out to watch the speech. The DNC built security walls to barricade supporters and voters into a specific outside area to watch Biden’s speech. The walls were set up to keep both progressive and conservative protesters at arm’s length. Again, there was no word on why this was needed for the “mostly peaceful” protests that have been popping up across the country.

Have a peaceful weekend.