The latest in a series of controversial events that have damaged the reputation of Formula One appears to have come to an end. Earlier today, the World Motor Sport Council found Renault guilty of charges of race fixing. That didn’t come as a surprise because Renault did not contest the charges brought against them. What did come as a surprise was the punishment (or lack there of) that Renault was given. The team was given a suspended two year ban. Continue reading
Author: Steve Murray
Not News of the Week
Remember: If it’s not worth talking about, then it must be the Not News of the Week.
Dogs can be used as convenient excuse for everything from kids not doing homework to mail not being read to household items missing. However, one British man tried a new one. In England, everyone with a TV set must pay a licensing fee to support the BBC. One man tried to get out of paying his fee by saying that he doesn’t watch TV but his dog does. He claimed that his dog was lonely while he was at work so he leaves the TV on to keep the dog company. Other good excuses include the subtitles (closed captioning) being stuck on French and not being able to afford it because of taking care of a bird that flew into the house. Continue reading
Entertainment Link-Off: Break Glass In Case of Emergency
Clearly Jackie had too much to drink last night because he’s still passed out or hung over so he isn’t here this weekend. I’m here to save the day and so is Megan Fox.
We had to put up with crap TV because of the writers strike and now we find out that Universal won’t be developing any more projects until 2010. (Variety)
The Emmys are tonight. While I won’t be watching, lots of people will just to see how they do in their Emmy pools. But I find pools to be boring, if you’re going to guess winners, maybe you should put your money where your mouth is. Fortunately, I’ve dug up some odds on tonight’s winners. (Sports Interaction)
TV season is about to kickoff in earnest on Monday. However, that doesn’t mean that a lot of people will be tuning in this year. (TV By The Numbers)
After the jump, more entertainment links, what to do with a chicken, and some sports stuff for good measure. Continue reading
Saturday Link-Off: Things We Like
Jackie’s off today so I have to fill in. To keep things seeming like the usual on Saturdays, here’s Vanessa Hudgens. Definitely not the most revealing photos of her out there.
EA Sports’ latest iteration of the NHL series came out on Tuesday (with Patrick “20 Cent” Kane on the cover). We haven’t been sent a copy of the game to review so we’ll have to trust this in-depth review for details. (Down Goes Brown)
I’m not on Facebook and I don’t understand it. I do understand the hilarious awkwardness of these folks clicking the like button. (College Humor)
The gang from the legendary blog Fire Joe Morgan took over Deadspin for the day. It was a good day for readers unless you were a scrappy baseball player. (Deadspin)
After the jump, IndyCar news & notes, are actors or athletes more overpaid, and what if the CW ruined another show. Continue reading
The Humanoids: Gonna Fly Now
This week on The Humanoids, I’m talking about people riding a recently found wave of popularity and notoriety. These folks you just wouldn’t have brought up in conversation last week. They’ve gone from being completely off the radar to being the lead topics around the water cooler this week. Some of these conversations have just been folks rolling their eyes when they hear a name. Other conversations get people riled up over some of the dumb things that they’re tied up in. Will we still be talking about them next week? I don’t know because I sure didn’t think that they would be in this week’s column when I finished up last week’s. That’s why this column is subtitled Gonna Fly Now.
By the by, The Lowdown made its triumphant return to radio this week. We returned for Season Three on 94.9FM CHRW. You can find all the action here. We’re back on September 29 at 6:30 PM with our NHL preview special. It’s going to be a half-hour of fantasy hockey and general hockey season previews. Because the show is based in London, we have to throw in some gratuitous local content which means team previews of Detroit and Toronto. Expect the number 1967 to come up quite a bit. Continue reading
Chase For The F1 Championship
Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has been pushing hard to get a medal system implemented to determine the winner of the F1 World Championship. His proposed system has the driver winning the most race being named the champion. His proposal comes despite the fact that the last two seasons have seen the title decided in the final race of the year and by a single point each time. The points system changed back in 2003 to keep the championship race alive for longer. This system works but what if Bernie still wants to make a change? What if he was to borrow an American idea? Continue reading
Formula 1: Renault Accepts Crashgate Charges
The whole F1 world has been very nearly turned on its head. Today, Renault F1 announced that they would not contest the charges brought against them that they told Nelson Piquet Jr. to intentionally crash his car in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. Additionally, team principal Flavio Briatore and director of engineering Pat Symonds resigned from the team effective immediately. Continue reading
Wednesday Link-Off: WOW!
Speaking of things that make you go “WOW,” here’s Olivia Wilde.
Bill Simmons is on my daily “Must Listen” list. Sadly, while listening to the Subway Fresh Take Hotline, I’ll miss his Miller Lite Great Call of the Week. (Slate) By the way, we have a radio show (slash podcast) that is offering cheap advertising opportunities though I can’t technically sell ad time. I can sell ad time and naming rights to Lowdown Extra, though.
Folks that know me know that I’m a huge Michigan Wolverines fan. If the big win over Notre Dame wasn’t big enough, it was even sweeter when I found out what Tate Forcier’s big concern was before the game. (Sports Illustrated)
If he didn’t win his first professional game, this article about Jets QB Mark Sanchez would have made him the laughing stock of the NFL. (NY Daily News)
After the jump, the only team that the Detroit Lions could hope to beat, Kanye West is a jackass, and the best play/call from the NFL’s Week 1. Continue reading
The Lowdown Radio: September 15, 2009
Season three kicked off with not just a bang but a series of bangs. In tonight’s show, Steve reviews NCAA Football 10 and uses it to predict a Western Mustangs game. Then the guys tackle the latest news. Jackie previews a new single from Boys Like Girls and Steve declares Miley Cyrus the worst in music. Jackie previews the new TV season. And the show closes with a tour of London that doesn’t end well for Steve.
Click here to download the 10 MB podcast version.
Click here to download the 26 MB high-quality version.
On Lowdown Extra: There’s more news and TV season previews. Steve introduces the It Came From YouTube segment. There’s also added banter throughout the show. All the action comes to you uncut and uncensored.
Not News of the Week
A day late, a dollar short, but it’s still all the news that’s not fit for print. It’s the weird, the wacky, and the wonderful Not News of the Week. The theme of this week’s Not News is nature’s revenge.
Thirty-six years ago, a fisherman from Somerset was caught out by a fast moving incoming tide. He tried moving his car back from the edge of the water but his clutch started slipping so he abandoned ship and left his car to be buried at sea. Well, that story has one glaring inaccuracy. His car wasn’t buried at sea. Instead, the fisherman’s Vauxhall Victor 101 was buried under mud at that same beach it was lost at over three decades ago. The car and several parts have been discovered buried just below the surface of the sand thanks to rough weather that has shift a fair amount of sand. The fisherman hasn’t said if he plans on having the car retrieved but the last car that was salvaged from partial burial at the beach cost £3,000 to save. Continue reading
The Lowdown 