Paypal freezes fund for slain soldier

This blog is far from serious. Our hard-hitting exposes usually focus on uncovering mysteries such as why indie rockers and faux-political pundits are at war, or what exactly Mickey Mantle did under the Yankee Stadium bleachers. This is one of the few times that I'll get on a soapbox, but the story here justifies it, and the more people that know about it, the better.

Deadspin is one of the favorite sites of the BIBJ collective, and last October, they announced a fund to raise money for a reader who's brother was killed serving in Iraq. Thousands of dollars were raised through a Paypal account, and now (due to Paypal's own errors), Paypal is now refusing to release the funds to the slain soldiers troop for 180 days.

You can read all the details at the link below, but I would encourage anyone who uses Paypal for any transactions to take the time and let them know what you think of this amazing lack of rational thought. I have used Paypal on many Ebay transactions in the past and have had minor difficulties from time to time, but nothing on this level. If they don't correct their error, I will never use the company again. Fuck 'em.

Paypal Doesn't Want Slain Soldiers' Families to Receive Financial Aid.

UPDATE, 11:34pm EST: Hooray! The revolt has worked, and Paypal has released the money that was never theirs! God Bless America! And parts of Canada.

Where's My Keys

Today was not a good day.

I had to call a tow truck after stopping at the post office on my way home from work and realizing my car had no intention of restarting. This was overly upsetting considering the amount of work I'd had performed in the past week. It sure as hell better be just a bad distributor cap.

Lucky for me though, the ride with the tow truck operator was a decent one full of good conversation and insight on everything from how this guy is too tall to drive the flatbed to the misadventures of Jamaal Tinsley.

Evidently the Pacers point guard is a frequent customer of this towing service. In fact, earlier the same day, before my car crapped out, Jamaal Tinsley had a flat tire while at Indianapolis's most upscale hotel, The Conrad. My Midwestern intuition got the better part of me and the following abridged conversation tripped between me and the tow truck operator.

RMcL: "You mean Jamaal Tinsley doesn't know how to change a flat tire."

TTO: "It's not like that. He's got a brand new Yukon with 24" rims. He doesn't have a spare."

RMcL: "I guess they don't make 24" doughnuts."

TTO: "Yeah, he's always calling us. He's locked his keys in this car like three times."

RMcL: "So did he ride in the truck like a schmuck...kinda like I'm doing now?"

TTO: "He was long gone. Probably went to practice. The valet had the keys and told me Tinsley would be at Firestone at 5:00 to pick it up."

So if you're ever in downtown Indianapolis and see a brand new Yukon with 24" rims running with the doors locked be sure to look around. Odds are there's a #11 patting his pockets and thumbing a ride.

Sure, he can dish out over 6 assists a game, but he can't remember it's keys first then lock the door.

Dwight Freeney? Never Heard of Him.

That's Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney dominating the front page of Sunday's Indianapolis Star. The Colts and the entire city celebrated the 23 - 8 victory thanks mainly to an unrealistically amped up Colts defense. Freeney was a major part of that success getting great pressure on Trent Green and being the anchor for the Colts pass rush.


Freeney is well-entrenched in the hearts of his fans despite leading the league's worst rush defense. Evidently, he hasn't made that big of an impression on the copywriters at his local rag though.


Hopefully Freeney doesn't feel slighted. Lil Ronnie was listed as starting long snapper.

What do Martin Luther King and Ponch have in common?

Watch the video here. The reaction of the woman wearing the Bears jersey when she realizes who she's talking to is tremendous.


MUNCIE -- After being stabbed in the leg, a community activist got into a shouting match in an ambulance with a star of a reality show being shot in Muncie, Indiana.

Randall R. Sims, 53, was listed in fair condition Thursday at Ball Memorial Hospital, according to hospital spokesman Neil Gifford.

Before being taken by ambulance to the hospital, Sims exchanged angry words with -- and announced plans to sue -- actor Erik Estrada, a reserve city officer starring in the CBS-TV reality series Armed & Famous.

Muncie police arrested Cynthia Shouse, 28, on a preliminary charge of domestic battery with a deadly weapon. She was being held without bond Thursday in the Delaware County jail.

Two boys in Shouse's home, ages 10 and 11, were released to a grandmother, according to police reports.

Police responded to Shouse's residence around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday after the woman called 911 and reported Sims had been stabbed, police reports said.

"Basically, they got into a fight," MPD detective Barry Privett told The Star Press. "There was probably alcohol involved, and she ended up stabbing him."

"Shouse indicated that she had been drinking with Sims and that he was abusive to her and that she stabbed him because he would not leave and would not get off of her," the affidavit said.
Police believe Shouse might have been acting in self-defense, but because she was uncooperative, they were forced to arrest her, Privett said.

Celebrity officer Estrada assisted at the scene and eventually became involved in a shouting match with Sims in the back of an ambulance, which Estrada had entered after being asked to remove handcuffs from Sims's wrists.

The argument began when Sims -- who referred to Estrada by the name of another Hollywood actor, Emilio Estevez -- said he didn't want to appear on Armed & Famous and intended to sue the former CHiPs star.

Sims is best known locally for his role in ultimately successful efforts to persuade city leaders to rename Broadway in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Apparently referring to those efforts, Sims told Estrada he knew nothing about King and had only been in Muncie "for two days."

Estrada told Sims he had been in town for six weeks, also noting he had been born in a Harlem hospital and grew up in Spanish Harlem -- a Manhattan neighborhood that has battled problems with crime and poverty, and was cited by King in a landmark 1967 speech in which he called for an end to the Vietnam War.

The encounter between Estrada and Sims ended with an exchange of obscenities before the celebrity officer left the ambulance.

Muncie Police Chief Joe Winkle said Thursday night that he had not yet seen footage from the event and could not comment on whether Estrada had acted appropriately in his dealings with Sims.

In the past 14 months, Sims has twice been charged with driving while intoxicated, in November 2005 and again last Oct. 26. Both cases are still pending in Muncie City Court.
Shouse was convicted of burglary in 2000, and remains on probation in that case, according to Delaware County court records.

She also has misdemeanor convictions for driving while intoxicated (in 2002 and 2004), criminal conversion (2002), battery (2003) and driving without ever receiving a license (2005).
While Shouse was uncooperative, police also filed a battery report on her behalf against Sims, Privett said.

Police also cited Sims for disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

That deserves a wow

I've heard good things about the show Friday Night Lights, but as with most shows, I'm hesitant to jump in mid-stream. Luckily Bravo was showing a marathon of the season thus far on Saturday, so thanks to my trusty DVR I was able to catch the first half-season in a weekend. The show itself is pretty good, and my main criticism of it thus far is the ridiculous scripted play-calling within the games (at one point, facing a crucial 4th-and-1, the fictional Dillon Panthers run a ridiculously stupid double reverse. Another time, trailing in the final seconds, the team runs two straight sweeps. Is Mike Martz their offensive coordinator?)

Alas, my criticism that the play-calling within the show are too far-fetched to be believed may take a backseat this morning, after witnessing the real-life insanity of the Fiesta Bowl. A quick rundown of the finish to a game that Hollywood could never recreate.

• Oklahoma, down by 8 with 1:30 left, scores a touchdown. The Sooners then throw an incomplete pass on the 2-point conversion, but Boise St. is called for a penalty. On the retry the Sooners convert, but are flagged for a penalty of their own. They follow by succeeding on their 3rd try and tying the game.
• On the next play from scrimmage, Boise State's quarterback throws a terrible pass right to an Oklahoma DB, who runs it back untouched for TD, putting OU up 35-28 with a minute left.
• Boise State rebounds and drives to midfield with time running out and facing a 4th-and-18, when the Broncos pull out the hook-and-ladder and it works to perfection for a game-tying touchdown with 7 seconds left. Just insane. But it gets better
  
• After Oklahoma scores first in OT, Boise State lets a halfback take the direct snap on 4th-and-2, and the halfback throws a touchdown pass. Naturally.
• Boise State goes for the win instead of another overtime, and on the ensuing conversion attempt, they pull out the Statue of Liberty! This was the point where I screamed out loud in my apartment.

You can witness the insanity below, and the sequence is (hyperbole aside) maybe the most amazing thing I've seen in sports. By the end of it, I wouldn't have been surprised to see Rudy or Radio make a play. The playcalling of Boise State is the true mark of a coaching staff whose collective cojones cannot be contained in Tostito's bags. Oh yeah, after the game, Ian Johnson (who scored the winning conversion) proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend. Unfortunately it was ruined by FOX blowhard Chris Myers interviewing Johnson (with his girlfriend right there) and saying "So I guess you're going to propose to your girlfriend now." Way to ruin the surprise, Myers! Why don't you remind them that Boise isn't even really a state while you're at it, killjoy.



UPDATE: Here's the Chris Myers fiasco, about 1:00 into the clip below. Gotta love how dismissive he is in introducing the whole thing. And I have no idea who the local sports hack is that pops up at the end of the clip.