Ed Berliner: The Man in the Arena

Member of the US Military need to make the choice of being vaxxed for COVID19 or being busted out. BRAVO. A media kneejerk in Denver proves again why local news has become such a joke in certain places. NIL is ridiculous seeing as colleges fail to cough up their millions and pay college athletes.

Another exceptional episode in "Free 4 All". Time to hammer down on knuckleheads like "Duct Tape Boy" who disrupt air traffic and put lives at risk. Also, time we stopped having any sympathy for anyone who suffers from COVID19 when they made the call not to vaccinated to wear a mask. Time to stop the ridiculous reliance on instant replay in sports, AND time to stop coughing out big bucks to see aging rockers such as the Rolling Stones.

As Simone Biles likely bids farewell to Olympic competition, there remains the stigma and misinterpretation of "hero", and some who will think Megan Rapinoe deserves to be shackled and drawn over kneeling at the National Anthem. Are we STILL screeching about this, and why can't some people understand what it means to use a pulpit for needed social change in America?

Get vaccinated or go home, and it's about time. How do comics find anything funny these days? Right wing racists and the usual dipsticks show blathering ignorance about #SimoneBiles. NO MAGA in the #NHL.

Simone Biles spits out an uncomfortable truth, and is hammered by the despicable amongst us. The real issue of mental health and why so many people fear it's discussion. America still gripped in a COVID19 nightmare and those elected conspiratorialists are trying to duck and cover. How popular IS NASCAR anymore, and does the casual sports fan care about that sport? And the return of "Team America: World Police" has people frothing at the mouth.

The head shaking fact that some people still won't touch a vaccine that could keep them, and others, from dying. The NFL sets new COVID19 guidelines that could, and maybe should, ripple across all sports and every business. Did Nancy Pelosi get caught in a right wing trap over the January 6th hearings? And just how good can a 75 year old look in a Playboy Bunny outfit?

What the despicable verbal racist attack against an Asian restaurant owner in Florida teaches us about a portion of society that will seemingly never surrender their evil.

The tragic state of local TV news, how COVID19 is helping to thin the stupid herd of one political Party, why black America is still wary of the COVID19 vaccine, and the reality of conservatorship fraud that is much more than meets the eye in the Britney Spears case.

The tampa Bay Lightning players basically took a dump on the Stanley Cup, or a bump if you will. No one enjoys great athletes anymore, and can we still laugh at Bill Cosby and Woody Allen jokes from the past?

VP Kamala Harris started a firestorm with her tweet ignoring the meaning of Memorial Day and tossing it off as a "long weekend". It was insensitive, short-sighted, and a mistake she and her staff hopefully now realize. It opens the door to a larger issue, that of wishing people a "Happy" Memorial Day. It's just as wrong, and without knee jerking, take a few minutes and understand why we would be better suited to consider other words in connection with the holiday, that means so much more to so many people other than hot dogs and picnics.

The single biggest issue driving America toward a level of empty-headedness we have never before witnessed is the inability of people, and platforms, to separate real news from fluffy nonsense. Demi Lovato's reveal this week was not news to be carried by legitimate sources. While it was important to a faction of people, and certainly snared Lovato plenty of attention, clicks and new sources of revenue, it was not real news. Oh, and don't start the debate by saying anyone who says that is criticizing her for a lifestyle. That's NOT the point here, people.

The announcement that Tim Tebow was on the verge of attempting another NFL comeback turned out to be the single most interesting and ridiculous media event of 2021. Heads of so-called NFL "experts" and analysts, including more than a few out of work former NFL assistant coaches, were imploding from coast to coast, and angry couch potato fans were livid at the possibility. Why? What's the big deal? What is about Tebow that gets people so riled up?

While they certainly aren't the only media outlets guilty of spreading propaganda horse manure regarding the 2020 Presidential election, FOX and Newsmax are the two outlets that have been snared and damned publicly for their admitted use of disinformation, misinformation, and just plain falsehoods. Knowing this, both outlets need to be prepared when someone calls them out publicly. Recent interviews on both outlets showed how badly prepared their on-air hosts were when challenged by guests who laid the trap, and the talent fell right into it by becoming combative, arrogant, and more than a little unprofessional.

What was once sold to people as "The Sport of Kings", thoroughbred horse racing in America is now little more than a greedy bloodsport. Every single day, horses die in training, on the track, and in their stalls. Those in the sport repeat the lies about "caring" for the animals, when in reality, horses are drugged to the point of where they feel no pain even when bones are shattering. These are relative infants being forced to perform unnatural acts, all in the call for owners and trainers to get richer, and for gamblers to plunge their brains out watching as the athletes they cheer on could be dead right in front of their eyes.

1986 remains a year frozen in time for baseball fans, and specifically those of the Boston Red Sox. This was a truly magical season, one where a team given little shot at the World Series was pieced together brilliantly, and knowing full well their importance to an entire region and generations of loyal fans, this team did the impossible. Well, almost. There are those who believe there could never have been a Red Sox team that broke the "Curse of the Bambino" were it not for this 1986 team, and they well may be correct.

Tales of athletes putting every ounce of their heart and soul into competition are there for all to see, however it's rare when we find two young ladies who share a common bond and are determined to not allow misfortune get in their way. Noelle Lambert and Femita Ayanbeku once had athletic paths set before them, only to have everything change in an accidental instant.

The Governor of Georgia is on fire with his take on recent voting legislation, but a deeper look into the actual law reveals he's not being entirely truthful. There's also the case for Major League Baseball, as they themselves are doing penance for a long and deep seated history of racism within their own ranks. It all culminated again in athletes doing what they believe is correct in seeking to change societal wrongs, and in the process, lighting again the fire for those who say sports has no business in politics when, in actuality, sports may do more for social change than any politician.

With absolutely no evidence whatsoever in the DeShaun Watson case, we are overwhelmed by terrible actors such as Shannon Sharpe pretending to be lawyers, and the easily amused falling for their nonsense and sometimes hysterical opinions.

With absolutely no evidence whatsoever in the DeShaun Watson case, we are overwhelmed by terrible actors such as Mike Florio and Shannon Sharpe pretending to be lawyers, and the easily amused falling for their nonsense and sometimes hysterical opinions. President Joe Biden points to "responsibility" and "science" in sports dealing with COVID-19, something the Texas Rangers and the NFL are employing on very different planes of action.

Where once she was a respected member of the medical community, Deborah Birx is now in ful cover-up mode for her part in the COVID-19 pandemic that was undersold to the American people by the Trump Administration. This while other former members of the Trump era seek to plead their case for being forgiven, and a former head of the CDC offers a shocking take on what happened in Wuhan without a shred of evidence.

Are we really still talking about SAVING BASEBALL again? What one thing would Joe add as a rules change that is overdue? We'll dig into how the relationship between players and reporters has changed irrevocably, and the discourse about "The Shift" with sage words from Cal Ripken Jr. It's not entirely what he says, but when he said it.

The NCAA has been exposed again as the organization that could care less about student -athletes unless they ring the cash register. March Madness left them exposed, but why is anyone shocked? We've seen this con job for decades. Meantime, another con job brews in Kansas City, where a 5 year old girl will never have a normal life again, and the son of Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid is still walking the streets after crushing her life. Want to bet where he would be if he wasn't the son of a Super Bowl winning coach?

The mastery that was Marvelous Marvin Hagler, yet the one thing he repeated that may not have been so true. The fallout from the "N-word" high school "broadcaster" in Oklahoma proving that knucklehead wanna-be's should never be allowed in front of a microphone. Why is Meyers Leonard still on the Miami Heat when he obviously is a grown man with the mind of a teenager?

College football and the never-ending string of cover-ups. Is there no one better at protecting criminals and criminal behavior than supposed institutions of "higher learning"? Not only did LSU do everything they could to hide the fact Les Miles was a sexual predator, but then the University of Kansas completely turned their heads when hiring him for their multi-million position os Head Football Coach. Does this nonsense ever end, and do fans even care?

When was the last time you watched or listened to a show where both college football Hall of Famers Bobby Bowden and Steve Spurrier were together talking their careers, college football, and featured a good Bowden joke? It's all right here in a very special episode of "The Man in the Arena", as the men who helped make Florida college football the powerhouse that it is discuss their rivalry, what they look for in players, how they turn out winners, and what they're doing to help student athletes of today become more than just football players.

It was March 8, 1971. The hype said it was “The Fight of the Century”, and few perhaps realized how true that statement was. The first heavyweight title fight between champion Joe Frazier and challenger Muhammad Ali was more than just 2 men slugging it out in a Madison Square Garden ring for 15 rounds. It was a sporting, social, and cultural phenomenon that resonates to this day.

Cults are nothing new in America, but the stunningly fast rise of QAnon into becoming not just a political cult, but one filled to the brim with potential homegrown terrorists, has taken mindless devotion to dangerous heights. From the January 6th insurrection riots in Washington DC, to March 4th 2021 when zealots and cultists were all convinced Donald Trump would be inaugurated and again become President, cult behavior has turned from mere belief to sometimes murderous intent.

The 2021 Baseball Hall of Fame results may finally force change in the way players are inducted into Cooperstown. Curt Schilling's public whines are offset by discussion of whether he's even worthy, if he was just a "really good" player and not a legend, and the morality clause for induction. Veteran MLB columnist and reporter Bob Klapisch has one of those sacred votes, and even he is tired of the double standard, taking his peers to task. But will this all change anything? Turns out the real problem here is NOT the baseball writers who cast the votes, rather the people who run the Hall of Fame.

Super Bowl LV hasn't been played and already there's talk about this being a "game for the ages". Why? Because there's a QB who has obviously made a deal with the Devil against a youngster whom some have already tabbed the next GOAT? There's more to the game than all that, and it's right here on "The Man in the Arena: Sports Pulse".

The Super Bowl is much more than just a football game, It is an experience, a carnival ride, a week's worth of color and dazzle that turned football fans into zealots, and made even non-sports fans part of the action. It took years to become the bacchanalia of today, and at the core of that revelry, popularity and profit, there sits Jim Steeg.

Hank Aaron leaves behind much more than lines in the MLB record books, and it's up to this generation to carry that legacy. On a related note, real questions have to be asked yet AGAIN why Eric Bieniemy, a worthy black coach, is not HC in the NFL. It's all about society and how people of every color fail to look past their own nose.

With the inauguration of Joe Biden less than 24 hours away, Washington DC, and every State Capitol, is at the moment worried about what comes next in wake of the January 6th Capitol riots. In an odd twist, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is enraged at the thought of doing background checks on his National Guard. Why would this bother him so, especially in light of what occurred just hours after he made his statement? At issue here is the fact members of the US military and law enforcement are sometimes not what they seem to be.

Newsfront, America holds its breath during Inauguration week as we need to ask who is protecting whom? What will Donald Trump do in private life to continue his shock and awe? Is he now the single most dangerous individual in America? And you will meet the single most delusional DC rioter of them all, or perhaps a perfect example of insanity.

Shaq goes after the whiny James Harden over his deal to the NY Nets and calls him out for failing in Houston. Even with a new Head Coach, why should NY Jets fans trust the worst ownership in the NFL? Should the US Olympic family punish one of their own involved in the Washington DC insurrection riots? And is the rivalry between Boston and NY still something fans even think about?

A report on Trump followers who seem to be considering the possibility that their President has been lying to them. Watch as Tucker Carlson gets tossed off his game by fellow FOX contributor Brit Hume. A pair of fact checks, one regarding Trump's border wall, and the other digging deeper into claims of Antifa and Black Lives Matter being part of the insurgency at the DC riots.

In any normal year, America is dotted with sports camps of all types and sizes. This is where they promise to prepare young athletes for their next athletic step, often from high school to college. But aside from teaching them how to block, tackle and shoot, are they really preparing this next generation for the real skills and opportunities they will face? The Florida Rising Stars Foundation is changing the way camps are run, bringing in notable coaches and athletes to impart more than just playing skills

The NHL emerges from a successful 2020 COVID19 bubble season with more questions than at any time in their modern history. Exactly when that 2021 season will start, the desperate need to put fans in the seats, franchises in more financial distress than ever before, players being told to get ready for pay cuts, and then there's the players on the way up and the ones who need to break out the golf bags. Speaking of money, aren't these franchises owned by multi-millionaires? Doesn't it seem more than a little insulting to hear them cry poverty because of the pandemic?

Whether sports or politics, it seems everything begins in New York City. Prolific author and noted sports reporter/commentator Sean Deveney has proof, both via his more than 20 years spent along the NBA hardcourt and every other major American professional sport championship, but also in his research intertwining such diverse figures as Doc Gooden, Donald Trump and Ed Koch making a solid point about greed and glory in America.

After 40+ years as the dean of the Daytona International Speedway press room, now former Daytona Beach News-Journal Motorsports journalist Godwin Kelly joins Ed Berliner for a wide ranging discussion of things such as why NASCAR fumbled their chance at the really big time, how they can get it back on track, why drivers both past and present are essential to that recovery, and why reporters here in 2020, both in racing and other sports, need to take lessons in humility and professionalism before writing good stories goes completely out of style.

Those who continue to deny the dangerous and deadly facts of the COVID19 pandemic are at the forefront of the disinformation helping to crush the spirit and lives of America's frontline medical workers. Overworked, emotionally beaten in watching so much illness and death, there seems to be no level of truly fake news these frauds will propagate as the nation gets sicker and our hospitals reach the breaking point.

Anthony Fauci has been dealing in COVID19 facts since the pandemic began, and his most recent word on what is still to come should send a shiver down the spine of every America. Sad to note, because of disinformation from specific cable outlets and social media, America remains a nation of deniers seemingly bent on suicide.

College athletics has a long and despicable history of covering up crimes by their coaches and players in order to keep cashing fat conference and television contract checks. Louisiana State University is just the latest, but certainly the most blatant, in how they seek to change the subject when it comes to their athletes taking part in sexual assault. That's only part of the story, as local Louisiana media is more than happy to assist in the coverup, proving games and scores are more important that sexual assault.

He is one of, if not the, most prolific play by play announcer to ever call action on the ice. With more than 5000 regular season games to his credit, more than 200 NHL playoff games under his belt, and a few Stanley Cups to show for it, Jiggs McDonald is one of the very best there has ever been at calling hockey. Time to tell those tales as he joins Ed Berliner on "The Man in the Arena"

One thing is certain: The NFL has done a miserable job in dealing with COVID19. But have they taken the 2020 season and turned it into one that will forever carry an asterisk?

The rampaging sexual assault case at LSU should surprise no one, and indeed it doesn't shock those who know anything about big time college athletics. History shows those who claim assault are shoved to the shadows and usually demonized. The greater part of this is the coverup, and it's always been helped by those who should be bexposing it. Pete Rose & Jim Gray are doing the "Apology Tour" dance again, but this time the Hall of Fame road closes forever for Charlie Hustle.

COVID19 has destroyed the normal ebb and flow of competition in both college and high school football, and with so many conferences not playing, so many schools sitting out, and so many players on the bench, is this truly a legitimate season for championships? How will COVID-19 really affect high schoolers heading for college, and what will it do to 2021 college football rosters and beyond?

Excellent news about a vaccine for COVID-19, tempered by yet another blowhard bluster of buffoonery from a politician, this time "Dr." Rand Paul, who you wouldn't want fixing a hangnail. This as healthcare workers are quitting in record numbers, overworked and near suicidal. There's a logical and easy way to avoid being part of the problem in fixing the current rift in America, and that's not being a teacher using social media to hammer away at Donald Trump.

COVID19 has created that "new normal" for the Thanksgiving holiday everyone must learn to deal with, or else. To that end, the NFL must change with tradition and reschedule their annual holiday games. Dr. Anthony Fauci's script has rarely wavered for months, and still a good part of America doesn't seem to give a damn. Donald Trump has given oxygen to, and will leave, in his wake, a potentially dangerous cult.

The COVID19 scenario continues as Trump's infection spreads snares more than 100 new cases, high school kids still at risk, when will YOU feel safe going back to sports?, the "Jeopardy Jennings Dilemma", Tommy Tuberville proves you don't have to be smart to be a college football coach OR an elected official, and the single greatest "food felony", hands down.

It's a fair question. With COVID19 changing rosters, keeping entire programs off the field, and the competitive balance changed, are the 2020 NFL and CFB seasons really legitimate?

The NHL beat COVID19 for one shortened season, but what are they going to do now? Teams are shifting players like socks at the moment, and some teams are getting left out. Tampa Bay wins the Stanley Cup, but will it really do anything to help hockey in the USA? And why hockey players are better at putting game first and egos second.