Even more stories that slipped past us
First, today's Daily News column (which seems to have been left off the website) with bonus items below:
We probe every nook, cranny and search engine to find the stories you demand. Sometimes, we resort to extreme measures. We call ‘em tax deductions. The IRS may define them differently. So we can’t agree on everything.
Before these self-destruct into afterthoughts, we present the best of this week’s most overlooked stories, some even cribbed for your pleasure:
==What’s the story: If USC students can wear Trojan condoms, why can’t UCLA students wear Bruin condoms? For one, they don’t exist. Yet.
Bruin alum and inventor Mike Filonczuk has been trying to engage the UCLA hierarchy into rubber stamping his dream product. He’s had plenty of positive reaction from some campus organizations such as the student health center and AIDS awareness groups, but the school’s trademark and licensing office maintains the position there appear to be too many liability concerns.
After all, USC doesn’t produce Trojan condoms. Nor, if it must be known, does the campus student health center even give out that particular brand to students who may come in seeking protection.
“No self-respecting Bruin should ever have to put on a Trojan,” reasons Filonczuk, a Woodland Hills resident who prepped at Van Nuys High. “I think there would a huge market for them, and we can deliver a high quality product at a low price. I’m sure we could deliver a better product, quality wise. If only for the novelty of it, Bruin condoms would remove the stigma of having to go into a store with glasses, hat and a coat.”
==What’s the spin: There is a sports angle to this, right?
“I remember going to UCLA basketball games when we’d play USC, and blowing up Trojan condoms and throwing them on the floor,” said Filonczuk. “They’d have security checking us to make sure we didn’t smuggle them in. There’s always a Trojan connection with condoms.”
It’s a stretch, and we accept it.
So did anyone see any of those shenanigans going on during Saturday’s Bruins-Trojans game at Pauley Pavilion?
==What’s the story: In an upcoming autobiography entitled “Breaking Free,” 1982 Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker will explain how he suffers from having multiple personality disorder.
“That’s all news to me,” former Georgia coach Vince Dooley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “All I know is whatever personality he had when he had the football was the one I liked.”
==What’s the spin: According to the Merck Manual of Medical Information, people who have multiple personality disorder, or dissociative identity disorder (DID), may refer to themselves in the plural or in the third person.
Maybe someone out there can jog our memory, since we can’t recall an athlete ever doing that.
Walker’s revelation may also explain why, in 1989, the Dallas Cowboys were able to get NFL approval to trade him to the Minnesota Vikings for 11 players. Looks pretty even now, eh?
“Be sure to wear your Packer Gear when you come to church,” says the posting on the MCC website. “I have a feeling we may feel a breeze after the service ends caused by a rush of people to their cars.”
==What’s the spin: Also note that the collection basket will only accept Wisconsin-approved currency that has the phrase: “In Favre We Trust.”
For those who don’t think they can make it home in time, a milk and cheese and cheese and cheese and cracker reception will be held during a viewing party at the parish hall.
==What’s the story: In a campaign ad launched Friday in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton lands an endorsement for the Democratic presidential nominee by Magic Johnson, who says she’s more prepared for Oval Office Showtime because of her experience over Barack Obama.
“We won our first game on a last-second shot,” says the Lakers point guard, pointing to his first NBA game in 1979 when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hit a hook shot to beat the Clippers. “I was so hyped. But the captain of my team (Abdul-Jabbar) said, ‘Take it easy, rookie. It’s a long season, it’s a long road to the championship.’ He was right.
“Winning comes from years of hard work and preparation. Whether it’s winning championships or a president who can lead us back to greatness, I’ll always want the most prepared and experienced person leading my team. That’s why I’m asking you to join me in voting for Hillary Clinton for president.”
==What’s the spin: As both New York Newsday and SportsByBrooks.com note in mentioning this radio commercial, Johnson seems to gloss over the fact that the Lakers won the NBA title that ’79-’80 season – most precisely because the rookie (him) stepped in for the injured captain and clinched the championship over the 76ers in Game 6 by playing center in a performance that won him Finals MVP.
The captain, for what it’s worth, is publicly supporting Obama.
==Here's the flip side of the box of Bruin Condoms that UCLA alum Mike Filonczuk is trying to get into stores (and the UCLA student health center).
Note the disclaimer about obtaining the 8-Clap:
You'd think with UCLA having a player named Love, and USC going with Mayo, there'd be a natural link to condoms sales in there somewhere.
The condoms aren't out there yet, but Filonczuk has launched a website -- mycollegecondoms.com -- that may help with more information.
Filonczuk, who worked for 28 years at Universial Studios in special effects and set productions, now runs a company, HollywoodParts.com, which is a cool place to scower for movie-used props availble to the public. He has other inventions under the company Oakdale Creative LLC. One is the "Zap-n-Trash" (a garbage can lid that electrocutes bugs when they get too close to your discarded stuff). Another is the "Super Hose," a battery-operated device you attach to your garden faucet and controls the pressure of water as it comes out.
If he's looking for anyone with their own super hose willing to test his Bruins condoms, we'll let you know...
Meanwhile, a friend took the time to submit a list of colleges that might benefit more from having their own brand of condoms for sale based on their nicknames:
Williams College Ephs
University of South Carolina Gamecocks
Centenary College Gentlemen
TCU Horned Frogs
Georgetown Hoyas (Hoya is the ancient kaeltist word for "No-Feeling")
SDSU Jackrabbits
Wabash College Little Giants
UPS Loggers
Oakland City Mighty Oaks
UMass Amherst Minutemen
Whitman College Missionaries
Univ. of Findlay Oilers (for lubricated versions)
Upper Iowa Peacocks
Washington & Jefferson College Presidents
Nyack Purple Pride
Lincoln Memorial Rail Splitters
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (in some communities)
Colorado State Rams
Northeastern Redmen
Toledo Rockets
Davis and Elkins Senators
Fairfield Stags
Skidmore Thoroughbreds
Thiel Tomcats
Arkansas Tech Wonderboys
Akron Zips
Puerto Rico Roosters
"It's a move we are very excited about and one we've been considering for a long time," said Brian Reilly, the magazine's publisher.
"The new name says who we are and who we write about. There are a ton of people out there who love the term 'GeezerJock.' There are also some who don't. We feel everyone will like the name Master Athlete."
Willian Kupper, president of Turnstile Publishing Company, the parent company of Master Athlete added: "We think 'Master Athlete' is more inclusive and really gets to the heart of what the magazine's about. And we're confident that Masters Athlete is the name that will take this magazine to the next level."
==What's the spin: Same old story, isn't it?
We did something last April on the "GeezerJock Phenomen" and followed it up with a blog posting.
Sean Callahan, the editor of then-GeezerJock, said that's the term athletes over 40 were calling themselves, so it was a natural fit for the magazine name, "knowing it was funny, but also (the athletes are) deadly serious about what they were doing. They're the types who really don't care what others think about them. They tend to be free-thinkers, mavericks who stay out of the mainstream. And as this generation continues to move forward, there are more and more of them to cover."
Free thinking?
If you recognize Kupper's name, it's because he's been in the news this week. Turnstile Publishing also puts out Golfweek. Kupper fired the editor of the magainze Friday because of the cover story on the Golf Channel had the photo of the dangling noose, which led to a swarm of negative emails and threats from advertisers to pull out.
Nothing comes free, not even thinking.
At least the current issue has a story on where's the best places to play pickleball. No. 10 on the list: Here. No. 10 Southern California
"In contrast to other locales where the game has developed a following, California's pickleball community can claim no particular focal point or birthplace. Rather, the sport appears to be simultaneously gaining momentum in many locations throughout the state. California has not seen the development of the large active adult communities prevalent elsewhere in the country. Perhaps that delayed pickleball from gaining a foothold. But the game has now been discovered and is attracting attention in coastal communities, in the desert and within the interior valleys. From San Diego to Sacramento, Palm Desert to Silicon Valley, the options for pickleball enthusiasts are expanding at an accelerating pace."
(Thanks to Bugsandcranks.com, via Fark.com)
==What's the spin: So Bud says, "I'll punch her out" about his wife.
That's what he said.
And there's been no PC uproar from spousal abuse groups, battered women's organizations or residents from Bobby Cox's residence?
Maybe Bud meant to say "I'll lynch her."
There is a listing on craigslist under ''Women's Football League For Sale'': ''The National Women's Football Assocation is the largest women's tackle football league in the world with more than 35 teams coast to coast. Owner wants to sell to pursue other projects.''
==What's the spin: This is the league your Los Angeles Amazons recently joined, because team owner Aubrey Duncan was convinced the Women's Professional Football League was about to fold.
It's a women's league's perogative to change their mind.