Happy Trails.....Red Lasso

We discovered Red Lasso about 3 months ago........

A really unique site that recorded shows on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, ESPN......and others, and made them available to bloggers to imbed clips on our blogs.


Their video quality was so much better than YouTube........

But .......they have been sued...........copy write infringement ...........

This is an article from Cnet.com:

RedLasso has suspended access to its video search-and-clipping site two days after NBC Universal and Fox filed a copyright suit against the company.

File this one under inevitable.

RedLasso, which announced the closure in a statement on Friday, recorded TV shows and then indexed clips so users could find, pull, and embed them on other Web sites. They did so without permission. The company had suggested that it was in talks to obtain licenses. RedLasso will keep operating its Radio To Web service, which allows radio stations to search and upload their content to their own Web site.

In May, NBC Universal flatly denied that it had any affiliation with RedLasso when the entertainment company sent a letter accusing RedLasso of "building a business based on the unauthorized syndication of" the content owners' shows.

The era of companies following in YouTube's shoes is over. No more are the studios going to sit back and allow tech start-ups to use their content to grab eyeballs and then negotiate terms later.

Not when they are giving their content away free, at sites like Hulu, the video site created by NBC Universal and News Corp. Anyone can go to Hulu and grab embed code for feature films and many NBC Universal shows without violating the law.

"We are very disappointed in the actions of select networks," RedLasso said in a statement. "We believe we have always acted within the law and have been respectful of the networks' rights. Unfortunately, they have forced our hand."

So ........there....it's done.

Red Lasso, you will be missed........And we here at 5 on Five can no longer provide our readers with state of the art video of clips that are meaningful and useful to this blog.

Well.......at least we still have..........YouTube.

Mike Hampton........Returns....

Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Hampton ..........

Pitched in a major league baseball game today. No big deal to most people.....but.....

This is the Mike Hampton who earns........(or receives a salary of $15 million a year). The Mike Hampton who has not made a major league start since August of 2005.

Almost 3 years of injury after injury.......rehabs........minor leagues..........more injuries.....more rehabs.....

We admire him for just not giving up and calling it quits.......He's made his money......why keep trying.

Well, today was the coming out party for Mr. Hampton. And ........he did not disappoint. He was the same old Hampton. He pitched 4 plus innings, struck out 1, walked 2, allowed 6 earned runs on 8 hits, and could not get out of the 5th inning.

That's what $15 million buys these days.....

Anyway.......

Welcome back, Mike.

By the way.......the Braves eventually lost to the Phillies, 10-9.

Blacks.....Banned.....From Bars?

This has been researched.....

We have verified the sources......It is indeed true.

Our own GaPeach913 did the homework, checked out the Chinese newspapers, and qualified this story.

Troubling.......to say the least.......but .......here it is:


From GaPeach913.....


At first I didn't think it was true. I did a search in the Beijing paper and it is definitely true.

http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2c913216495213d5df646910cba0a0a0/?vgnextoid=267a08a88f13b110VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=teaser&ss=China&s=News



Chinese Paper Says Blacks Banned From Bars During Olympics Published on: Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Nsenga Burton
What do Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard and Jason Kidd have in common? They are the starting five of the 2008 Olympic Men’s Basketball team and none of them will be admitted to any bars in Beijing because they are black. No, this is not fiction -- it is fact as reported by the South China Morning Post (7/18/08). Beijing authorities have forbidden bar owners to serve blacks during the 2008 Olympics.

How hypocritical is it that the host of the largest international sports competition in the free world would ban an entire group of people based on race? This blanket discrimination is couched in the idea of “controlling” Beijing’s problem with prostitution and drugs, which is primarily driven by Mongolians. Somehow, this policy smacks of impropriety, pun intended, and underscores China’s continuous policies of discrimination. You would think with the global embarrassment over the mistreatment of Tibetan Monks, faulty consumer products, and the suppression of information about deadly diseases, that China would have figured out by now that the systematic exclusion of an entire group of people, many of whom have histories of horrendous discrimination in their home countries, would not reflect well on the mainland. Further, I was not aware that blacks owned drug trafficking and prostitution worldwide. Amsterdam anyone?

Let’s get this straight. Black people can participate in the games, add money to the economy in “permitted” spaces like hotels, lodges and restaurants, but they cannot go to a bar, which may be located in a hotel, lodge or restaurant. This is outrageous. Would the world stand still if in 2008 the United States was banning entire populations of people based on perceived ideas about race?

Pretending to control drug trafficking while controlling the movement of black folks is out of control. To define an entire race of people as drug dealers and prostitutes is unacceptable. I guess this is what you get when an international committee overlooks a country that has transgressed human rights without recourse. The world community needs to unite against this injustice and demand that China allow all Olympic participants, athletes and visitors alike, equal access to all venues.

As China prepares to take the world’s stage in celebration of athletes all over the world, and by extension their people, it is tragic that they have decided to add blanket discrimination to the many offerings during this year’s Olympic games. Perhaps our expectations of China are too high? It is kind of ridiculous to have the expectation of moving freely in a country that does not allow its citizens to move freely. Complicated countries have complicated practices. The fact that Beijing is being allowed to ban all Blacks from any place or event, without rebuke or scorn, is maddening. Will the world stand by while China further institutionalizes another human rights debacle?

Since this posting.......

We have found out that the bars in question, and the Chinese government have denied this story........And the original story from the link we had....has been erased.

Folks........this is communist China.....did you expect more?

Developing..........

Don't Look Now......But the Yankees....Are Coming!

The best team money can buy..........

Is mounting a surge. You remember them. That team which dons the famous "pin stripes".

The New York Yankees........Winners of an unprecedented 26 World Championships and 39 American League Pennants. No other team comes close.


The New York Yankees.......With a league leading payroll of over $200 million, with two players, Alex Rodriquez ( $28 million) .....and Jason Giambi ($23.4 million) making more this year than the entire Florida Marlin team ( $22.7 million).

The New York Yankees.......The team we love to hate........That team, in 1996, who erased a 0-2 deficit to beat the Atlanta Braves, 4 games to 2.



The New York Yankees.........Who featured "The Babe"...... Yankee Stadium........the house that Ruth built......Joe DiMaggio......Lou Gehrig........Yogi Berra........Mickey Mantle..........Roger Maris.......Reggie Jackson.......to name a few.



Well........don't look now........but them Yankees........are a coming......

Let the Hype.....Begin

It.......has started....


The Much anticipated 2008 college football season is almost here. In this southern town, the "Bulldog Nation" can hardly control itself, as their beloved "Dawgs" of the University of Georgia are ranked 1st or 2nd in just about every pre-season poll.


This week, the Southeastern Conference held it's annual Media Days in Hoover, Alabama.


Thanks to Online Athens, here's a sampling of Georgia's day:

Can't.... Have it .....Both Ways

Yes.......you...WNBA..........

You.....of the slogan, "We got next".

You..........with the ESPN television contract........

Well........"you"........just threw assistant coach and former NBA star Rick Mahorn....under the proverbial bus.

"You"..........suspended Mahorn for two games........He was only trying to be a peace-keeper.

"You " say Mahorn shoved Lisa Leslie to the floor.....I...beg to differ. He came out onto the floor to restore peace........She rushed him........He.....at 6' 10"........turned.....and .....she fell.

And what came next? According to "you"..... he (Mahorn)........knocked down .......a mother of a child........

Well.....lah dee dah............ Mahorn just happens to have 4 daughters of his own.

But wait.........listen............When an altercation happens ...........in Men's sports.......Do we say, "So and so, hit ........a father .......of three.........No? I think not.

WNBA...........you wanted "next"...........You got it.

You wanted equality......you got it...........

But when the going gets rough............don't pull ...........that female card..........

It's in the game........

"You"...........

Wanted .......next!

1 Win..........2 Losses

Even with a win..........the Braves lose....

Sometimes, I think the Atlanta Braves have somewhere along the way.....pissed off the baseball gods.

How else can you explain what happened in last night's 9-4 win over the Florida Marlins. From the outside looking in.....it seems innocent enough .......The Bravos just took 2 out of 3 from the almost 1st place Fish.


[ Atlanta Braves pitcher Tim Hudson (15) is greeted by Chipper Jones after Hudson scored on a double by Yunel Escobar against the Florida Marlins in the third inning of a baseball game in Miami, Wednesday, July 23, 2008. The Braves won 9-4. Hudson left the game after six innings with soreness in his right elbow.
(AP Photo/Alan Diaz) ]




But last night's win came with a steep price. Ace.......(and I mean Atlanta's.....only ace) Tim Hudson left the game after 6 innings and only 68 pitches........due to a "tender elbow". Let's see....."tender.".....as .....opposed to....."tough"?

Or.......is his freakin' arm....about to fall off? Who knows........Anyway, he is......day to day.

Then........ there is Larry Jones........You know him as...........Chipper.

Well, Chipper came up lame last night ........as he strained his left hamstring just running out a grounder. Nothing strenuous........just a jog down the first base line.

But.......these ........are the 2007......excuse me........the 2008 Atlanta Braves. And just like 2007, these Braves are just as unlucky.

Chipper is .......also....day to day.

So Atlanta limps into a most important series.......against the Philadelphia Phillies..........with Jones "iffy" and Hudson a question mark.

This season........being what it is.......I would not be surprised .......if the Braves.....sweep.

Been a strange year!