Deadspin: jerks

It's not polite to mess with a sports bar's ...

Leitch — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:30:00 EDT

It's not polite to mess with a sports bar's remote. [Break.com]

Peter Angelos Hates The Homeless

Leitch — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 16:30:42 EDT

Our old pal Dave Zirin, who's over at SI.com now, has been keeping an eye on some of Orioles owner Peter Angelos' labor practices over there in Ballmer. And whatever your politics are, it's pretty difficult not to be disgusted.

The people who clean up Camden Yards after games, and keep it one of the most gorgeous, most profitable stadiums in baseball are barely making a living wage.

The UWA, a human rights group founded by homeless day laborers in Baltimore, represents 800 low-wage workers who make up the pool of the 100-120 people who keep Camden Yards clean. Stadium workers—the people who clean out the bathroom stalls, sweep up the small mountains of cigarette butts and make the Camden Yards experience as pristine as promised—make poverty wages, just $7 an hour.

Because they are doing "day labor," members of the UWA who show up to work are sent home if they're not needed. The wages are so low, and the job so "flexible," that some workers live in homeless shelters. One worker was kicked out of public housing because her pay that month couldn't match the monthly rent. ... The UWA claims that in 2004 Angelos promised to make up the difference in a living wage out of his own deep pockets. It's a promise he has failed to keep.

By the way, Kris Benson is making nearly $8 million for the Orioles this season.

Cleaning Up After The Orioles [The Nation]

If You See These People At Large, Turn Them In IMMEDIATELY

Leitch — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 15:45:13 EST

Sure, you might look at this picture and think you see the kindly, warm-hearted parishioners of The Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis. It might make you feel warm; it might make you long for home. You might see nice old ladies during an Hawaiian-themed event. You might see that.

But the NFL sees what you don't see: It sees dirty copyright swindlers!

The NFL is telling Fall Creek Baptist Church that its plans to use a wall projector to show the game at a party for church members and guests would violate copyright laws. NFL officials spotted a promotion of Fall Creek's "Super Bowl Bash" on the church Web site last week and sent pastor John D. Newland a letter — via FedEx overnight — demanding the party be canceled.

Initially, the league objected to the church's plan to charge partygoers a fee to attend and that the church used the license-protected words "Super Bowl" in its promotions. Newland told the NFL his church would not charge partygoers — the fee had been intended only to pay for snacks — and that it would drop the use of the forbidden words.

But the NFL wouldn't bite. It objected to the church's plans to use a projector to show the game on what effectively was a 12-foot-wide screen. It said the law limits the church to one TV no bigger than 55 inches.

Yeah. They TOTALLY DESERVED IT TOO. Honestly, the Fall Creek Baptist Church is lucky the NFL lets them live.

NFL Lawyers Sack Church's Game Plan [Indianapolis Star]
The Fall Creek Baptist Church [Official Site]