Three weeks ago, the Cardinals beat the Packers by 30 points. But weve seen this postseason movie before; six days ago, a 31-point regular-season deficit between the Seahawks and Vikings ended up being a one-win escape for Seattle.
And thats the best sales job I can do for Saturday nights game. Other than to say: (1) its the playoffs; (2) Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer has never won a playoff game; and (3) the Packers may have turned things around with a win on Sunday in Washington, even though they beat a team that had no business being in the postseason. (Sorry, Jay, but its true.)
You can watch the game on NBC. Or, if you dont have access to a TV, you can dial it up onNBC Sports Live Extra.You also can watch the game by downloading the NBC Sports Live Extra app.
Whatever you do, watch the game. Its the last one of the year for NBC.
Kobe congratulates Ben Wallace on jersey retirement
Ryan Van Dusen 10 hours agoDetroit Pistons
Really, there was only one way to welcome Ben Wallace back to the Palace on Saturday evening, and to the credit of all those involved, the Pistons delivered.
As the house lights went down at halftime of Detroit"s 113-95 victory over the Golden State Warriors, a familiar synth riff reverberated throughout the arena. And then, well, you should know the rest:
Ah yes, just like old times:
Comments
Check Also
The Pistons officially lifted Ben Wallace"s No. 3 to the Palace rafters on Saturday evening ...
Aidy Tells SNL Host Adam Driver About Her Cut Star Wars Role
Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Adam Driver is making his debut as a guest host onSaturday Night Live, marking the show"s return from winter break. As is the usual tradition, a set of promos featuring the actor have been released in advance of its airing.
Honestly, these promos tend not to feature the show"s strongest writing; sometimes even coming off as if they"ve simply run out of things to say about a certain celebrity. Yet, Driver"s set of ads managed to be hilarious, sweet, and deliriously fun.
There"s even a sly nod to the internet"s recent fixation on Kylo Ren as the galaxy"s primo melodramatic, emo brat; Driver finds himself monologuing at on point, "I"m the new guy, and they don"t trust the new guys with the promos in the studio so they brought us here, to this godforsaken diner. To laugh, and joke, and dance like everything"s OK; but everything"s not OK." All before his companion butts in with, "that"s just a little intense."
The jokealso serves as a great nod to another of Driver"s beloved characters, Adam Sackler from HBO"s Girls; a man just as prone to intensity and tantrums within his daily routine. The series has its season 5 premiere on 21 February, although it was recently announced the show would end after season 6.
And, though The Force Awakensis getting the world acquainted with Driver"s serious acting chops, these promos are a great reminder the actor"s got a real flair for comedy too. Not only on Girls, but with the entire slate of comedies under his belt, including Noah Baumbach"s Frances Ha and While We"re Young.
Driver had SNL cast member Kate McKinnon on hand to promote Saturday"s show; getting giddily flirtatious with her host, "I"m going to order the super sexy host with extra talent and a side of dark, mysterious eyes." McKinnon"s knack for striking the perfect balance between hysterical and awkward always makes her a strong choice for the show"s promos, as she"s quickly establishing herself as the series" strongest performer, especially ahead of the release of Paul Feig"s Ghostbusters.
The pair also nodded to Driver"s recent star-making turn with the ol", "we"re friends, but I"ve been hiding a lightsaber underneath this table in case things take a turn" tactic. The question is, will they actually go ahead with fans" requests for a Emo Kylo Ren sketch? With him working in Hot Topic and posting Evanescence lyrics to his Myspace page?
All will be revealed when Saturday Night Live airs in the US 17 January, 11.30pm ET on NBC.
Futurestays winning. The Atlanta rapper-producer had one h**l of successful year and now hes closing it out with a new venture. The Diamonds Dancing rapper has teamed up with NEFF Headwear, a snow and skate headwear company, to launch a new apparel collection.
My music, just like NEFF clothing, cannot be confined, said Future in a press release. I wanted to collaborate on a collection with a brand that I knew people would love. I want everyone to have a little bit of my signature style in their wardrobes.
The feeling was mutual for the companys CEO, Shaun Neff, as well, who said Future was his ideal choice.
Future is a trailblazer in trap music whos writing some of the catchiest hooks out there, but also transcends genres, said Neff. Thats why youll find influences from hip hop, athletics, urban style, and high fashion all weaved into the fabric of this exciting new collection.
The collection, dubbed NEFF x Freebandz, will feature tribal themed T-shirts, sweatshirts and headwear inspired by the rhymers style. The word WARRIOR will appear across the back of the baseball tees as a subtle nod to Futures desire to continue to exceed expectations. The number 06 will also be featured on the tees to show love to Futures hometown, Kirkwood, Georgia, also known as Zone 6.
In celebration of the collaboration, fans will get the chance to win a pair of tickets to Futures Purple Reign tour as well as a private meet and greet with the rhymer. The Future Hive can enter the contest between Christmas Day (Dec. 25) and Feb. 1, 2016 on Tillys.com.
Fans can also grab NEFF x Freebandz gear exclusively on NEFF Headwears websitestarting on Tuesday (Dec. 22). Check out the video above to see some of the gear available.
A twerking polar bear and a trio of lively lemmings are the main selling points of Lionsgate"s animated feature originally slated for direct-to-video but now receiving a wide theatrical release. Hoping to cash in on this holiday weekend"s absence of kiddie fare after all, you can"t take little Heather and Tommy to The Revenant Norm of the North is mildly diverting, although Pixar needn"t be overly concerned.
The title character, voiced by Rob Schneider, is a polar bear so sweet that he can"t bring himself to eat seals, although he desperately tries to chase one down in the hyperkinetic opening scene. Norm"s special gift is the ability to "speak human," which comes increasingly into play with the encroachment of bear-loving tourists and, more dangerously, a villainous billionaire real-estate developer, ironically named Mr. Greene (Ken Jeong), who plans to build luxury condos in the frozen landscape.
Read More "The 5th Wave": Film Review
Alarmed when he finds out about the plan by the arrival of Mr. Greene"s marketing director, Vera (Heather Graham), to shoot a TV commercial, Norm decides that he has to take action. Encouraged by his wise seagull mentor Socrates (Bill Nighy), he stows away with three lemming cohorts on a ship to Manhattan to prevent his homeland from being despoiled.
Once there, Norm finds himself a minor celebrity, with jaded New Yorkers assuming he"s an actor in a polar bear suit. He even performs his trademark dance, the "Arctic Shake," to delighted audiences in Times Square, although unlike the current crop of Elmos, Spider Men, et al, he doesn"t solicit tips.
The film doesn"t exactly score points for originality, whether it"s the frequent musical numbers, the indestructible lemmings whose resemblance to Minions is strictly not coincidental or the reliably kid-pleasing bathroom humor, here evidenced by such moments as when the lemmings relieve themselves over a fish tank. As a bone to adults, there"s also a glancing effort to embrace such weighty themes as global warming and conservation.
Read More "Ride Along 2": Film Review
Neither its animation nor voice performances (Colm Meaney and comedian Gabriel Iglesias also lend their talents) are particularly memorable, but Norm of the North, especially in its early section set in the Arctic, has its appealing moments. And if the film does well, those adorable lemmings are going to make for some highly coveted plush toys.
Production: Splash Entertainment/Lionsgate
Distributor: Lionsgate
Cast: Rob Schneider, Heather Graham, Ken Jeong, Bill Nighy, Colm Meaney, Loretta Devine, Gabriel Iglesias, Michael McElhatton, Maya Kay
Director: Trevor Wall
Screenwriters: Malcolm T. Goldman, Steven M. Altiere, Daniel R. Altiere
Producers: Nicolas Atlan, Liz Young, Mike Young, Steven Rosen, Ken Katsumoto, Jack Donaldson, Derek Elliott
Executive producers: Max Madhavan, Paul Cummins, Noah Fogelson, Kamal Khanna, Daniel Engelhardt, Silvio Astarita, Shi Wen, Han Tao, Xia Xiao Ping
Editor: Richard Finn
Composer: Stephen McKeon
Major Operation Jade Helm 15 Alert! Walmart Stores close same day same reasons!
Created: 04/15/2015 2:50 PM
By: Mark Douglas, WFLA
(WFLA) - Walmart customers can"t understand what"s plaguing the "plumbing problems" of Walmart stores from Florida to California.
"Must be a major plumbing problem is all I can say," would-be customer Dale White said as security guards turned him away from the Supercenter on Brandon Boulevard in Brandon.
The retail chain announced Monday that five stores are shutting down - one in Florida, two in Texas, one in Oklahoma and one in California - due to clogging and drainage problems.
Read More: WFLA
KOB welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the rules of conduct set forth in our
Terms of Use. Comments are not pre-screened before they post.
You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our
Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our
Terms of Use.
THE REAL REASON WALMART IS CLOSING STORES SUDDENLY
It"s certainly possible that the reason Wal-Mart is temporarily closing five of its stores, including onein Pico Rivera is "ongoing plumbing issues that will require extensive repairs," as it claims.
It"s possible that the Pico Rivera closing, which will cost the jobs of more than 500 employees and will last six months to a year,isn"t part of an effort to punish workers who who have been at "the center of concerted action by associates to improve the wages and working conditions of all Walmart associates around the country," as the workers asserted in a complaint filed Mondaywith the National Labor Relations Board.
If so, however, there wouldn"t be so many questions about Wal-Mart"s repair plans. One wouldn"t have to wonder why the giant retailer hasn"t applied for building permits for the work. Not at Pico Rivera, nor(accordingto inquiries by a Tampa TV station) at any of the other four--two in Texas and one each in Florida and Oklahoma.
One wouldn"t have to ask why, of the list of 50 "plumbing issues" Wal-Mart provided to The Times dating back to July 2014 for the Pico Rivera store, half were identifiedas "non-emergency" and involvedproblems such asleaky urinalsandbroken toilet handles.
One wouldn"t have to ask why such problems hadn"t beenfixed when the store underwent a $500,000 refurbishment over the last year, during which it didn"t have to be closed--a refurbishment that included the restrooms and the grocery department, according to papers on file with the Pico Rivera building department.
Or why, if the plumbing problems were so severe that the building has to be completely shuttereduntilChristmas and possibly beyond, why Wal-Mart didn"t say anything about it until April 13. On that day, according to Venanzi Luna, an employee at the Pico Rivera store, managers called workersto a meeting at 1 p.m. to inform them the location would be closedas of 7 p.m.
The other stores were closed with similar speed. No advance warning to the customer base, to the communities, or to the employees.
Back in February, Wal-Mart made a high-profile bidto turn around its reputation for scandalously poor wages and working conditions for many of its 1.4 million U.S. workers. The company said it would raise minimum starting pay to $9 an hour beginning next monthand $10 an hour as of February 2016.
But its handling of the store closings, which will affect 2,200 workers overall, supports speculation that the February wage initiative was just for show--that Wal-Mart"s solicitude for its immense workforce is barelyskin-deep.
Luna, 36, who is a leader in the movement for better pay and conditions for employees, says the Pico Rivera staff were told that they could apply for positions at other area stores. There were noguarantees, however, that any jobs would beavailable, much less jobs at the same pay and classification they had at Pico Rivera. The workerswere told that once the Pico Rivera store reopened, they would have to reapply for jobs, andthat regardless of their job level and pay on the shutdown date, itmight be at minimum wage.
"That"s standard for our HR [human resources] procedures," Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick told me. Theworkers are entitled to60 days"severance, he said. But that"s not by Wal-Mart"s choice; it"s mandated by federal and California state laws, which say that workers must be given 60 days" notice of a mass layoff, or be paid for that period.
The Pico Rivera workers assert in their NLRB complaint that the four other store closings are just a smokescreen to conceal thatthey"re the company"s real target. Pico Rivera, after all, has been a hotbed of Wal-Mart employee activism through the nationwide group OUR Walmart (an acronym for "Organization United for Respect"). "This unprecedented "closure" to fix"plumbing" is part of Walmart"s overall national strategy to punish associates who stand up and speak out for better working conditions," they said in the complaint.
They note that thePico Rivera store was the site of the first OUR Walmart strike in 2012 and remained a center of vocal activismon"issues of scheduling, pay, benefits, part-time work, unfair treatment and discrimination throughout the country." They"re asking the NLRB to order Wal-Mart to find jobs for the 2,200 laid-off workers without loss of pay, orto reinstate them at their old stores.
The organization Making Change at Walmart, which is associated with the United Food and Commercial Workers union, observesfurther that Wal-Mart has been accused of anti-union maneuvers in the past. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled last year that the company had illegally closed a Quebec store in 2005 after the workers had filed to unionize; the companydenied the shutdown was related to the union campaign. In 2000, after meat cutters at a Texas supercenter voted to join the UFCW, the company announced it would close meat-cutting operations in 180 stores and switch to prepackaged meats, a move that "shows the extent to which Wal-Mart will go to keep the union out of its stores," the UFCW said.
Wal-Mart"s Nick says the recent closings were done abruptlyso that the work could get underway promptly, and that building permits haven"t yet been sought because the scope of work hasn"t been set.
But he maintained that the five closed stores had the largest number of repairworkorders in the company, andthatthe work is urgent. In January, the Pico Rivera store"s deli department was downgraded from an A to B by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health because it had no hot water. Luna, who had worked at the store for eight years and was earning $14.40 an hour as a deli department manager, said that had nothing to do witha plumbing problem but resulted from a malfunctioning hot water heater. The downgrade happened, she said, because store managers weren"t on site to get the heaterfixed before the county"s deadline.
Nick acknowledged that the store did undergo remodeling, but added, "that"s why the recurring plumbing reports are particularly problematic." Citydocuments show that much of the refurbishmentwas completed, inspected and approved by the city before the end of December.
Keep up to date with the Economy Hub. Follow@hiltzikmon Twitter, see ourFacebook page, or emailmhiltzik@latimes.com.
