Tag: cheating

Re: Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I’m pretty sure these guys were the officiating crew in Lusail this morning.

Obviously, I didn’t watch because fuck getting up at 5 a.m. to watch a game I have no interest in, but I was curious enough to check the score while I was preparing the girls’ breakfast, because frankly I thought Argentina was a strong contender to win it all.  Lo and behold, the crooked number was next to Saudi Arabia, and I’m just like wtf?

Naturally, the red flags start popping up in my head, because on paper there was absolutely no way in hell’s hell that Saudi Arabia should have any business defeating Argentina, much less competing with them in the first place.  But being in Qatar, the Islamaphobic conspiracy is that the royal family or something must clearly be paying off the refs or something in order to buy wins for the Saudis.  Sure, they still had to get the ball into the net a few times to equalize the great Messi and then take the lead, but some outside interference could help with that.

The game summary was especially interesting, because after the Saudis took the lead early in the second half, the six yellow cards that were issued to them throughout the rest of the game clearly says that they were not being shy about physically defending their side of the field, and took it too far multiple times.  The ten offside penalties by Argentina probably says they were pressing, and bad officiating will call offsides if someone farts on the pitch.

My favorite though is the fact that Saudi Arabia only took two shots on goal, and they both happened to go in.  That truly is some Game Genie-like luck and accuracy, that I’m hard pressed to believe that even the greatest teams in futbol history have ever achieved.

Regardless of all the skepticism and bad jokes, the reality is that Argentina still shit the bed and suffered probably one of the most humiliating upsets in World Cup history.  Whether they were completely looking beyond the team in front of them, or maybe some of their 900 kilos of imported meat to circumvent Islamic restrictions went bad on them, but the fact of the matter is that no matter the interference and impartiality of the officiating, they still let a tremendously inferior team get the ball into the back of their net twice.  

They’re in one of the weaker groups, and on paper, should by any right still make it out, but they’ve got no more breathing room at this point, but historically some powerhouse always gets owned in groups, and based on this clown car performance, it might just be Argentina, regardless of they were tampered with or not.

Sammy Guevara’s talent is getting overshadowed by his bullshit

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

I remember watching the first episode of AEW Dynamite.  I wasn’t the least bit surprised that Cody Rhodes put himself into the first-ever match.  But the guy he was up against, Sammy Guevara, I knew jack shit about.  Why was he coming out in a panda hat?  How did all the fans in attendance seem to already know who he was?  Was I really that out of touch with the business and too insulated in the WWE Universe®?

Obviously, everyone and their mother knew that Cody was winning, but in spite of it, I remember being very impressed with Guevara.  It was clear to why he was given the distinct honor of getting to be on the very first televised AEW match in history, he was talented as fuck in the ring.  A cursory search afterward showed that he was trained by Booker T, and the five time five time five time five time five time WCW champion seems to have been as good of a trainer as there could’ve been.

As the Inner Circle formed, it was pretty clear that Guevara was the designated workhorse of the faction, as Chris Jericho was the leader, Santana and Ortiz were the designated tag team, and Jack Swagger Jake Hager was the heavy.  But even mired in one of the 52 factions in AEW, it really didn’t take long for Guevara to stand out among the promotion’s bloated roster, because he was an above average worker, had a massive skillset, could sell, could speak and had the general looks of an upper-tier guy.

However, it also didn’t take long for Guevara to end up in hot water, with him being documented as having once said he “would rape that shit” when referring to the WWE’s Sasha Banks.  But being a guy that the company had high hopes for, he was taken off tv for a second, and eventually the whole thing blew over.  He would have some outstanding feuds with Darby Allin and Matt Hardy to help make fans forget.

Not long after pandemic restrictions began lifting, AEW hit the road, and one of their first stops was in Houston.  A packed house was witness to Sammy cutting a supposedly heart-felt promo about his girlfriend Pam, which culminated with a marriage proposal that she accepted, much to the happy pop of a crowd that didn’t concern themselves with if Sammy was a heel or a face at that time.  This was in August 2021.

It wasn’t really long afterward that there were lots of rumors that swirled about Sammy Guevara and his “just friends” relationship with Tay Conti.  They were always seen together, photographed together, and it really didn’t take long for fans all over to connect the dots that there was something likely more between the two of them.

Eventually, Sammy and Pam broke it off and broke up, and Sammy and Tay came out publicly about the most obvious relationship since like Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.   Yes, it sucked that the implications were that there was an affair involved, but the sentiment of the internet seemed satisfied at having called it the whole time, regardless of the fact that Pam’s personal life was mostly humiliated and wrecked from how it all transpired.

What I think the problem really ended up being, was that kayfabe or not, both Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti have been obnoxiously now flaunting their relationship, which seems kind of insensitive and dickish, considering Sammy pledged engagement not even a full year prior.  But I’m not even seeking this shit out, but nary does a week go by where I don’t somehow see that the two of them are making out in public, or are on vacation together, or some photograph of Sammy’s shredded abs and/or Tay’s Brazilian ass that she’s very proud of.

And to make matters worse, they’ve taken their relationship to work, and it’s currently being used in a horrifically cringeworthy feud between Sammy and Tay with Dan Lambert’s stable.  However now that it’s being worked into the product, the fans, specifically AEW’s mark-y, tribalistic, basement dwellers out in public, have been able to publicly express their opinions about the players involved, and it’s apparent that I’m not the only one who seems to have soured towards Sammy and Tay.

I’m entertained that fans are turning on them, and it doesn’t really feel like it’s manufactured, deliberate heat, so much as it’s kind of a facet of X-Pac heat, as in fuck you, we’re booing you because you’ve done something shitty and we want you to know that.  I think fans have seen the narrative of their generally deplorable behavior, especially towards Pam, and are reacting accordingly.  Sure, as a performer, the goal is always to elicit a response from the crowd, whether it is good or bad, but given the circumstances they’re in, they probably shouldn’t be wanting any X-Pac heat.

When the day is over, Sammy will likely always have a job in AEW, because he’s far too talented in spite of the fact that he’s kind of an asshole douchebag.  I want to stay high on him, because he really is a tremendous talent, but on a personal level, I think he’s a douchebag.

Tay on the other hand, has shown a lot of improvement from her horrible NXT days, but is widely replaceable on the roster.  But both of them, their ceilings are going to be hampered by their bullshit, because as much as professional wrestling is a scripted, premeditated soap opera, the fans are still human, and exercise their right to voice their displeasure when they think they’re witnessing bullshit behavior.

I wonder who the next Brady Anderson is going to be?

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Despite the fact that the Braves won the World Series, I haven’t really been paying much attention to baseball.  That’s how far I’ve slid down the life of fatherhood and just how much I’ve gotten away from the sport that was basically my entire life for a notable stretch of it.  I was probably more vested in the 2004 Boston Red Sox’s victory more than I am of my own team finally winning it, honestly.

I’ve only been casually paying attention to if the Braves have stopped being so Braves-ey and actually re-signed Freddie Freeman, which they haven’t because they’re still the Atlanta Braves in spite of also being World Series champions, and whatever else random baseball stories Apple News or theFacebook headlines have steered towards me.  I do know that Major League Baseball is currently in a strike, which seems to have been pretty easy to ignore because it just so happened to take place during the off-season, but people will probably notice a little bit more in coming weeks if and when Spring Training doesn’t start on time.

As greedy baseball players negotiate with Major League Baseball, one interesting tidbit caught my attention: steroid testing for Major League players won’t be tested any further.  

From what I understand, this doesn’t necessarily mean that steroids are suddenly fair game and legal, it’s just that MLB won’t be testing for it anymore.  And this probably isn’t going to be a permanent thing, but probably until another drug program is drafted and agreed upon, but for lack of a better term, there is a window right now, where anyone who wanted to take steroids, could go ham on the gas, and probably get away with it. 

Honestly, by the time I post this, there will probably be a hundred players all taking something that would’ve failed a 2021 season piss test, and I think it’s a safe bet that we’re going to see some spike in home runs in coming years as the result of this.

That being said, my original question goes, I wonder who the next Brady Anderson is going to be?  This is in reference to the former Baltimore Orioles outfielder, whom through the first eight years of his career hit 72 homers, but then completely out of nowhere in 1996, crushes 50 home runs.  Although never formally caught, there’s basically no mistake that the guy hit the gas super hard after the 95 season, got jacked and then started smashing homers at an insane rate.

What I’m looking forward to in 2022 is what formerly average baseball player(s) is/are going to suddenly turn into Babe Ruth overnight, because it’s totally going to happen.  And how they’re going to field the questions on their miraculous production; my favorite excuse from a juicer was probably Luis Gonzalez, who nearly doubled his former career high in home runs when he smashed 57 in 2001.  He claimed it was a change in batting stance that led to him to suddenly become superhuman, but who knows what the future Brady Andersons are going to claim.  Crossfit?  Keto dieting?  Tonal?  P90X?

Either way, I’m glad I’ve gained a little distance with how much I care about baseball these days.  Because I’d probably have gotten up in arms and wasted hours on the internet arguing with people on fan sites about ethics and purity, when Starling Marte or Kris Bryant are suddenly joining the 50 HR club.  It’s not going to bother me nearly as much as it once probably would have, but it’ll be funny to see just how many high-and-mighty players capitalize on the opportunity with only their ethics to wager.

lol China

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Where all-you-can-eat doesn’t mean all-you-can-eat: man blacklisted from all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant because he was eating too much

Frankly, there really is no place in the world that this could’ve occurred at then China.  China has no regard for rules, and they’re not above applying draconian outcomes onto their own people, especially when money is involved.  It’s just unfortunate for all parties involved, that The Internet caught wind of this story, because now it’s basically a meme, with all the observational humor armchair comedians that are coming out of the woodwork to chime in their two cents.

Naturally, the initial favor goes and should go, to the customer, whom was capitalizing on the general concept of all-you-can-eat, and it really is not his problem if the restaurant’s golden ratio of food consumed versus cost of meal begins sliding in his favor because he’s a monster capable of consuming large quantities of food.  As far as the restaurant goes, if they’re incapable of actually being all-you-can-eat, they probably shouldn’t be in business in the first place.

But then it’s revealed that the guy in question was a live-streamer, and then I feel like there’s a lot of context that kind of went missing in the bigger picture.  I think it’s safe to say that Mr. Kang here, was probably going to the restaurant, partially to eat a meal, but at the same time, ham shit up for his six viewers, by acting a little bit outlandish, and eating beyond normal, for the entertaining of others.  Now, from the restaurant’s standpoint, I can kind of lean towards them, because based on their description of how Mr. Kang would pick up the entire tray of prawns instead of using the tongs, that sounds like a dick move done deliberately, for the lulz, but is also fucking all other customers in the restaurant from getting any.

Sure, Mr. Kang wasn’t wasting any food, but at the same time I have a hard time believing that he was pounding away 3+ lbs. of pork trotters or downing 20-30 bottles of soy milk because he was just that hungry.  No, live-streamers are inherently attention whores, so he was probably stuffing his face for the camera, and most likely most definitely didn’t need to be eating that much food.

There are definitely ways to exploit buffets, most obviously being, don’t make a spectacle of yourself or draw attention to the fact that you’re trying to stay and eat the place out of business.  I used to see senior citizens at Old Country Buffets in the past, who undoubtedly were there for upwards of three hours plus, because they probably got in the door when it was senior-priced breakfast, but milked the clock to where the more expensive lunch options began emerging, and then had multiple meals while there.

But by making a spectacle of himself by grabbing entire trays, or running trains on soy milk, and undoubtedly bringing camera gear to his table, Mr. Kang ends up looking like a tool, the restaurant looks like assholes for denying someone all they can eat, and in the end, everyone loses, because lol China, of course.

Not going to lie though, all this thinking about Chinese buffets makes me miss the ever-living hell out of them.  Coronavirus be damned, I’m quite tempted to take the risk and go find some rando-China King Buffet and stuff my face stupid of lo mein, General Tso’s chicken, crab rangoons of doom and of course, chicken quesadillas.

It’s always gratifying to be right about sports

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

This is what I said last year when then-Astros manager AJ Hinch was fired for his role in the notorious trash can banging cheating scandal:

They’re firings of nothing but symbolic scapegoating, and when the day is over, both (former GM Jeff Luhnow) of these guys will be hired by some other MLB team approximately 365 days from now.

And just like that, with his suspension lifted, AJ Hinch has immediately been picked up by the Detroit Tigers to become their next manager.  One of the other guys involved in the scandal, Alex Cora, fired by the Boston Red Sox shortly after Hinch’s dismissal, is already back in talks with the Red Sox to come back and help cheat manage.  I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to hear news of someone reaching out to Carlos Beltran in the near future either.

Because like many things in the world these days, Major League Baseball lacks a moral compass.  If there were one, both guys would be blacklisted for life for compromising the integrity of the game.  But since baseball is a dog-eat-dog business where wins equals profits, teams are more than willing to turn the other cheek when it comes to indiscretions as long as someone can help contribute to more wins, and this is where we stand.

Ultimately, when the day is over, I couldn’t possibly give any shits fathomable about these developments.  It’s just amusing to me how predictable Major League Baseball can be sometimes, and in spite of the high and mighty act they pulled in dropping the weakest hammer down on the Astros and all involved parties, barely anything was punished, a bunch of rich baseball people got year-long vacations, and most will have jobs waiting for them.  The Astros were a win away from making it to the World Series, and frankly it would’ve been a gigantic middle finger to MLB had the Astros won it all when they were supposed to be being punished.

Most importantly though, I get to boast about how I’m right about something, because lord knows that shit doesn’t happen too very often.

Not really much of a punishment

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

When the revelation broke out that the Houston Astros had developed a method to steal signs over the last few years, capitalizing on them en route to a period of great success, including one World Series championship, I figured nothing substantial was really going to come from it.  The evidence was pretty substantial and the fact that an active player snitched, it was a pretty foregone conclusion that the Astros were going to be busted for “cheating.”

Now I say cheating with quotes, because when the day is over, I don’t particularly think of stealing signs as cheating.  It’s a part of every day baseball, except the Astros just took it a little bit further with technology; it’s still a collaborative effort for players to identify and decipher signs, and then figure out ways to relay information without the opposition realizing it.  Yes, the Astros went a little bit further, utilizing a discreet live-feed camera and people banging on a trash can in the dugout tunnel, but I don’t really think it’s that much different than a baserunner on second relaying to the batter that a changeup is coming by pretending to yawn or scratch his junk.

Regardless, because baseball, among many other entities, has a revolving door of a moral compass, it was inevitable that the Astros were going to get punished for their perceived misgivings.  But the thing about punishments in professional sports, is that they never really amount to anything that would stop anyone from doing them again.  When the New England Patriots were accused of utilizing deflated footballs, or video taping the opposition’s sidelines, they got some fines and were penalized some draft picks; a few players like Tom Brady were suspended for a few games.  But no Super Bowls were rescinded, and nothing happened to strip the Patriots of any of the six championships they’d won.

There was little reason to believe that something similar wouldn’t happen to the Astros, and just like that, such was the precise punishment: a $5 million dollar fine, which they try and make sound severe, but in an industry that rakes in billions, is a drop in the bucket for any MLB franchise.  They make 8-12 times that from profit sharing alone.  Plus they were penalized a few draft picks, which were inevitably going to be poor ones, because of their success over the last few years.

The 2017 World Series remains completely intact, and the Astros will always be recognized as those champions until the end of time, regardless of the fact that there were probably trash cans banged on when the Astros slugged five homers in game 5, which was one of the most exciting baseball games I’d ever seen in my life but that’s besides the point.  The bottom line is that in spite of the cheating allegations, the Astros are charged some fine that’s basically pennies to them, docked some draft picks that have a way higher chance of flaming out and then going to go work for Lowe’s than making it to the big leagues; but the championship they won that coincided with the supposed cheating, well that’s fine.

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Hoarders: office leftovers edition

~ dannyhong ~ Leave a comment

Throughout my career, I’ve worked primarily in office environments.  After around 20 years of this kind of professional lifestyle, it’s safe to say that I’ve been inside of them to know that if you’ve worked in one, you’ve kind of worked in all of them.  Otherwise, shows like The Office or movies like Office Space don’t exist, because anyone’s who’s ever been in office life can immediately relate.

One of the more fascinating sociological observations there are in an office environment is the introduction of communal food; namely the inevitable leftovers that typically occur, because in most cases, office environments almost always end up with more food than there are people capable of eating it all.  Typically, in most places I’ve been, leftovers are often times placed in a break room or somewhere publicly communal, and then some admin sends a wide-reaching mass email to notify everyone that there’s free food leftover.  Cue the chargers.

My current workplace is no exception to this practice.  If anyone on my floor has any sort of catering, the leftovers are often put in the breakroom and the floor admin emails the whole floor to let all teams know that there’s free food available, and then the same people stampede en masse to pick at the remains, and even worse, there are some who simply just collect and hoard, effectively denying those who might actually want to eat immediately.

The thing is, my current workplace is a gargantuan office campus, so there are tons of floors potentially doing the same thing on any given day.  It’s gotten to the point where there’s a Slack channel dedicated to people all sharing information on where there are leftovers somewhere on the campus, prompting people to be going to some odd and unrelated to their jobs corners of the property in order to get some free leftovers.

But among these level-5 scavengers are the aforementioned hoarders who don’t just go hunting for leftovers, but like they do on their own floor, go to hoard and save them, for later consumption.  It’s these particular people that serve as the impetus to this post, because as I’m sure everyone’s seen the office scavengers in their own respective offices, I have to wonder how many people have come across such office hoarders, who go around hunting for leftovers not just for instant gratification, but for preparation for future meals on a larger scale.

Case in point, these particular individuals go as far as to have a stockpile of Tupperware, saran wraps and aluminum foil in their desks, with the intent of hoarding leftover food from around the campus.

Continue reading “Hoarders: office leftovers edition” →