NBA playoffs cut to feature the pope

Double-Overtime · Post #1 » by **Double-Overtime** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:32 pm

This reminds me of that year that they cut the last 5 minutes of the superbowl to show the network premire of Heidi.. Like families were
ready for the family programming. Football fans were in horror.
Network Tv is so wack.. They would cut the nba playoffs to show a bunch of people doing nothing.

daveisceltics · Post #2 » by **daveisceltics** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:49 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidi_game

Double-Overtime · Post #3 » by **Double-Overtime** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:59 pm

tar and feather these bastards..

campybatman · Post #4 » by **campybatman** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:22 pm

It's a good thing that the Celtics are playing at 8:30pm.

In other TV news...

In 1961 FCC commissioner Newton Minnow described television as a "vast wasteland" of game shows, gangsters, formula comedies and commercials. Forty-six years later, actor Tim Robbins thinks little has changed.

As the keynote speaker at the recent National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in Las Vegas, the actor and activist decried today's news and entertainment content as driven by a "pornographic obsession with celebrity culture."

"We love distraction," he said, reading from a speech the organizers reportedly tried to talk him out of giving. "I don't know about you, but show me a starlet without panties getting out of a car, and suddenly the world seems like a better place. Show me 'Knight Rider' drunk on the floor eating a hamburger, and I won't ask why my kid has no health insurance. Let's stop burdening people with facts."

A few people walked out, but Robbins finished to a standing ovation. And regardless of opinions, he did succeed in raising a powerful question, made more poignant by the acres of gadgets on the exhibit floor: Why, in an era of mind blowing media technological advances, does good content sometimes seem to lag so far behind?

http://potw.news.yahoo.com/

Truthiracy · Post #5 » by **Truthiracy** » Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:41 pm

Doesn't matter what they do with the TNT station, I'm watching it on FSNE. I feel bad for people who have to watch games with those horrible national tv announcers because they don't live in the New England area.

But then again I might go to watch the game at the bar with a couple of buddies, anyone else doing that?

Double-Overtime · Post #6 » by **Double-Overtime** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:57 am

Only in new york...

GuyClinch · Post #7 » by **GuyClinch** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:27 am

The way they treat he pope as if he was God strikes me as going against the rules of chrristanity. Not that I am an expert on it..but honestly (and I saw this first hand in NYC) people seem to be worshipping the guy..

Pete

The_Pope · Post #8 » by **The_Pope** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:43 am

Post #9 » by **ParticleMan** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:37 pm

I liked Pope John Paul, but this new guy talking about obedience with a German accent just scares me...

tombattor · Post #10 » by **tombattor** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:50 pm

GuyClinch wrote:The way they treat he pope as if he was God strikes me as going against the rules of chrristanity. Not that I am an expert on it..but honestly (and I saw this first hand in NYC) people seem to be worshipping the guy..

Pete

Why wouldn't they? I don't think these people worship him, but if you are a devout Christian, then why wouldn't it be a big deal to see him?

Think about it. If the realgm Celtics board had its own city, wouldn't we be happy to see Larry Bird or Bill Russell or KG visit our city? Does that mean, we worship them?

Don't get me wrong, I was pretty annoyed to see all the TV stations cut to Pope in Yankee Stadium thing, but they cut away from NBA finals to show you the white bronco chase. Why wouldn't they cut away from the first round to show the Pope?

GuyClinch · Post #11 » by **GuyClinch** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:32 pm

Trust me man - it goes way beyond meeting LB. People were quivering with joy just to be in his presence. Like I said I have a different perspective because I live in NYC.

It's very much like worshipping a demi-god - and worship of anyone outside of the God Almighty himself is a sin, no?

Pete

tombattor · Post #12 » by **tombattor** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:42 pm

GuyClinch wrote:Trust me man - it goes way beyond meeting LB. People were quivering with joy just to be in his presence. Like I said I have a different perspective because I live in NYC.

It's very much like worshipping a demi-god - and worship of anyone outside of the God Almighty himself is a sin, no?

Pete

So? I live in NYC too and I didn't exactly people on the street bowing in Pope's direction. Maybe you live in a particularly Christian neighborhood, but besides on TV, during the Nuggets-Lakers game, and on newspaper covers, I didn't see one thing about Pope's visit out in the streets. And I've been out, enjoying the weather, pretty much the entire weekend, walking around from Central Park down to Soho.

Cyclical · Post #13 » by **Cyclical** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:48 pm

ParticleMan wrote:I liked Pope John Paul, but this new guy talking about obedience with a German accent just scares me...

Yeah, I second that...

Re playoffs interruptions, one of my favorite moments was back in '94 when I was living in NYC, watching the Knicks playing in the finals in a crowded bar on Bleeker street while they cut to live coverage of the O.J. freeway chase. People were throwing things at the TV and a fight broke out. It was priceless. The Knicks, of course, lost regardless.

nightstarstolen · Post #14 » by **nightstarstolen** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:02 pm

A wise man once said, Religion is the Opiut of the masses.

Just because science hasn't found, as of yet, how everything was created and the purpose of life, doesn't mean you have to believe in some superior being.

Religions are corupt just like government, and do everything from stealing money, to abusing kids.

I'm sorry, but if you would rather be a sheep than a herder, believe in after-life crap.

:nonono:

tombattor · Post #15 » by **tombattor** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:28 pm

nightstarstolen wrote:A wise man once said, Religion is the Opiut of the masses.

Just because science hasn't found, as of yet, how everything was created and the purpose of life, doesn't mean you have to believe in some superior being.

Religions are corupt just like government, and do everything from stealing money, to abusing kids.

I'm sorry, but if you would rather be a sheep than a herder, believe in after-life crap.

I can't believe how dumb and short-sighted you are.

I'm not a religious person by any means. I guess I'm a Christian because that's how I was brought up, but I don't go to church, don't really believe in any of anything. So I'm not exactly a big supporter of religion. However, to attribute human-imperfection like, power-tripping and corruption, to religion is just idiotic. In any organization with a lot money and a big following, there are going to be people who are there to abuse what's there.

Things like stealing money and abusing kids, you mentioned are very small part and the most screwed up part of what religion as a whole is all about. Just like Vick's dogfighting and Rae Caruth's murder of his pregnant girl friend are small and most screwed up parts of sports. Religion exists, not to replace science or as an end-all-be-all of anything, but more as an emotional tool for the believers.

Yes, some people take it too far, but just because those small fraction of F***ed up people make the headlines, does that mean they represent all?

You know that there are some people in the US who believe that blacks and Jewish people should be tortured and hanged, but just because some Nazi-skinheads believe that, doesn't mean every American does.

RickyDizzle · Post #16 » by **RickyDizzle** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:37 pm

nightstarstolen wrote:A wise man once said, Religion is the Opiut of the masses.

Just because science hasn't found, as of yet, how everything was created and the purpose of life, doesn't mean you have to believe in some superior being.

Religions are corupt just like government, and do everything from stealing money, to abusing kids.

I'm sorry, but if you would rather be a sheep than a herder, believe in after-life crap.

I think you mean opiate...but yeah I agree with you 100%.

However, in my experience its not worth the troubles of explaining the logical reasons for not buying into religion to someone that is religious. Its so ingrained in their heads because of how they were brought up that they really believe that their belief system is the truth and not something they are choosing to believe (even though there are countless different belief systems worldwide).

I choose to just let everyone believe what they believe and then I have my own reasons for why I am an atheist. I used to say things just like your post (not to try to change people's minds, but just to explain myself), but most religious people just cant follow the logic for whatever reason.

Now I am just less aggresive with my atheism. I could care less if people are religious and I'm sure they dont care what I believe...

-Dizzy

RickyDizzle · Post #17 » by **RickyDizzle** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:58 pm

[quote="tombattor"][/quote]

"However, to attribute human-imperfection like, power-tripping and corruption, to religion is just idiotic."

He didnt attribute anything to religion, he just pointed out that religion is no different from any other organization with flaws. I think he is saying the fact that religion is not immune to these problems just shows that like other organizations, it is man-made and thus, even if you choose to believe in a certain religion, things should be taken with a grain of salt instead of giving blind devotion.

Its not like God himself sat down and wrote the bible, but many religious people take it's words so seriously/literally that you'd think he did.

There is a difference between developing a belief system based on life experiences, reading, etc. versus blindly following the same religion/beliefs as your parents... often times this causes lots of the problems we see with religion.

The OP, if I interpreted his post correctly, is more or less trying to say that modern religion as it is constituted presently is basically a man-made institution and he recognizes this by seeing evidence of typical flaws and problems that occur in other organizations. Because of these flaws and problems he sees, (as well as other reasons I wont get into) he has come to the conlcusion that most modern religions are an inadequate way to explain the origin of life and other crucial questions.

Its not idiotic, its his personal choice. I happen to agree with his views, but even if you don't its pretty obvious that questioning accepted truths/norms/ideas and looking for an alternate solution has lead to some pretty important scientific findings....

...or maybe the world is really flat and carried by a tortoise on his back,

-Dizzy

tombattor · Post #18 » by **tombattor** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 6:16 pm

I agree that no religion is there to explain anything nor do I believe that it does and are imperfect because they are largely created by humans. However, to dismiss the purpose/need for religion simply because there are some bad apples and validity of some "facts" sighted in religious scriptures have been challenged, is pretty short-sighted and idiotic.

Over the years, scientific advancements have taught us that religions don't explain everything and that some parts of it are wrong. However, religion isn't science. It's not about whether you can prove something or not. It's more like meditation where it helps you fill some emotional voids.

Bottom line is, I'm not a religious person, but I see nothing wrong with anyone believing in any of the religions. Whether you believe in a religion or not doesn't make you a better or worse person. And as far as I know, most if not all, religions tells you to be good, don't harm others, etc. But like anything else, moderation is necessary.

RickyDizzle · Post #19 » by **RickyDizzle** » Tue Apr 22, 2008 6:34 pm

tombattor wrote:I agree that no religion is there to explain anything nor do I believe that it does and are imperfect because they are largely created by humans. However, to dismiss the purpose/need for religion simply because there are some bad apples and validity of some "facts" sighted in religious scriptures have been challenged, is pretty short-sighted and idiotic.

Over the years, scientific advancements have taught us that religions don't explain everything and that some parts of it are wrong. However, religion isn't science. It's not about whether you can prove something or not. It's more like meditation where it helps you fill some emotional voids.

Bottom line is, I'm not a religious person, but I see nothing wrong with anyone believing in any of the religions. Whether you believe in a religion or not doesn't make you a better or worse person. And as far as I know, most if not all, religions tells you to be good, don't harm others, etc. But like anything else, moderation is necessary.

I agree for the most part. I dont know if you were referring to my reply or the original post, but I never dismissed the 'need/purpose' for religion... I just explained that personally for me, I dont need religion and am better off without it.

Thats certainly not the case for everyone and exactly why I dont go around preaching atheism (except sort of in this thread, lol, but I just didnt like the way you attacked the OP for questioning accepted norms).

I said at the beginning that I believe what I want (I'm atheist) and I let others do the same without trying to influence what they believe (which makes me think you are probably responding more to the OP then to me).

I think in general people just need to understand and have reasons for why they believe what they believe, whatever that may be.

Basically just doing things because xyz religion says thats how you should act/behave is really stupid, but if you understand why your religion tells you to do things and agree with it, then it works for you and makes sense to practice that religion. Its like what you were saying about religions telling people not to steal and to be good. I obviously agree with those basic morals, but I am not religious. I don't steal because it's wrong and unfair to those that own whatever I am stealing, which is why most religions look down upon stealing.

If you connect the dots and understand why your religion says the things it does and still agree with it, then by all means be religious... personally I jsut choose not to buy into religion, but to each his own...

Dizzy

GuyClinch · Post #20 » by **GuyClinch** » Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:37 am

I'm not a religious person by any means. I guess I'm a Christian because that's how I was brought up, but I don't go to church, don't really believe in any of anything. So I'm not exactly a big supporter of religion. However, to attribute human-imperfection like, power-tripping and corruption, to religion is just idiotic. In any organization with a lot money and a big following, there are going to be people who are there to abuse what's there.

Psshaw. If you are a student of history it's neither idotic nor foolish to attribute corruption or power tripping to religion. At it's root religion encourages people to suspend their disbelief and trust in something that there is no evidence for.

This kind of thinking is just ripe for abuse. Once your willing to supsend logic for "god" there is no telling what you can get a man or woman to do.

Yes ideas like communism and patriotism have been similiarily abused but none of these concepts even holds a candle to the kind of damage that has been done in the name of religion. It's easily the single most destructive force the world has ever seen..

Look no farther then the simple manipulations used by those folks in Texas if you need a reminder on how its done.

Pete