Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Weasels of the Week: James Dolan & Wayne LaPierre

It doesn't take long, does it, for repeat offenders to wind up back in this space.

Wayne LaPierre, head honcho of the National Rifle Association, gets Weasel status for his latest stunt, and, oh, it's a doozy.

The New York Daily News reports in today's editions that the NRA has released a phone app for a video game meant for players ages 4 and up. Let me repeat that. AGES 4 AND UP!!!!

SAY WHAT?

According to the article, kids can access this game and learn how to shoot high-tech guns like AK-47's at targets such as----prepare to cringe---coffins. The NRA has rightfully been blasted for its insensitivity, just a month after the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. Even ardent NRA supporters are against this. LaPierre and his dittoheaded followers have no shame.

The same thing applies to Knicks/Rangers/Madison Square Garden/Cablevision honcho James Dolan, who, according to reports, hired two tech geeks to record conversations involving the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony. This came after Anthony had an off-court, post-game incident with Boston's Kevin Garnett a week ago, and the Daily News, along with other outlets, claimed it had something to do with Garnett talking smack on-court about Anthony's wife, former MTV personality LaLa Anthony, purportedly claiming she tasted like a certain brand of breakfast cereal. According to news accounts, the tech geeks were stationed somewhere behind the Knick bench for subsequent games, including a loss to Chicago. Apparently, Dolan is feeling a little oversensitive about Anthony, the former Syracuse star whom Dolan traded for a couple of years ago, but trash talking is part of the game. It always has been, but there are certain lines you don't cross, such as making remarks about a player's family, especially his wife.

In contrast, the picture being painted here is that Dolan, who won't talk to the media, and has long been one of the worst owners in sports, period, is going out of his way to pamper Anthony, who may or may not have been aware of the surveillance placed on him during games. Apparently, Dolan never played the game, even on the playground, else he'd know that trash talking is normal, standard operating procedure, psychologically speaking. If Dolan's looking to fill a void in the NY sports landscape, specifically one created by the passing of George Steinbrenner, that's one thing, but while Steinbrenner did some shady things, he was also accessible to the media. Dolan makes him look like a saint by comparison.

And ya wonder why superstars like LeBron James have spurned the Knicks? They don't want this wackjob signing their paychecks. Chalk up the fourth pair of Weasel ears for Dolan.

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