How the board game Monopoly helped WWII prisoners escape

This is a really cool story:

During World War II, as the number of British airmen held hostage behind enemy lines escalated, the country's secret service enlisted an unlikely partner in the ongoing war effort: The board game Monopoly.

It was the perfect accomplice.

Included in the items the German army allowed humanitarian groups to distribute in care packages to imprisoned soldiers, the game was too innocent to raise suspicion. But it was the ideal size for a top-secret escape kit that could help spring British POWs from German war camps.

University Minnesota cracking down on drunken, rowdy football fans

If you get kicked out of a Minnesota Golden Gophers football game after being drunk and rowdy then you have to pass a breathalyzer test to get into the next game.

But that's not the part I want to concentrate on this story, but rather the... odd phrasing the Associated Press uses.

It is aimed primarily at fans who get blitzed at tailgate parties before entering the Golden Gophers' brand-new TCF Bank Stadium. The sale and possession of alcohol are banned at the 50,000-seat stadium, unlike the team's former home, the Metrodome, which is off campus and not owned by the school.

The slang, "fans who get blitzed" isn't something that you expect to see in an Associated Press story. It seems something more suited for Deadspin than the Associated Press.

Oh, and this quote from a Minnesota fan is hilarious:

Patrick Day, a junior who skipped tailgating at the home opener last Saturday to get in line for a good seat in the unreserved student section, said: "I think if you're terrible and puking, then are you really enjoying the game? I've been puked on before. You know, that's just not necessary."

Terrible? OK. Puking? OK. But terrible AND puking? Not OK.

Also, I've been a a few sporting events and I have never been thrown up on.

Steve Nash Vitamin Water informercial (starring 50 cent and the Slumdog Millionaire guy)

If you haven't seen the other Steve Nash YouTube videos, I recommend looking them up. And if you're wondering why 50 Cent is in this video, read this; 50 Cent made $400 million off selling Vitamin Water to Coca Cola.

And I have to say, while many in the media think that Shaquille O'Neal is the funniest basketball player out there, Nash seems to make the funniest commercials. And, yes, Shaq is an overrated athlete when it comes to comedy.

Kevin VanDam won the BassMasters Angler of the Year!

Who knew this even existed?

Technically, VanDam won the title by virtue of a two-day stringer of 10 bass that totaled 30 pounds, 6 ounces. In the convoluted formula that decided who was the best fisherman of the year in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) race, however, much depended on what other anglers did to help the Kalamazoo, Mich., angler beat down a strong bid by Skeet Reese.

I have to say, I have no idea how they determine who is the Angler of the Year even after reading the story.

And I tentatively label this as "sports" because I have no idea what other category to put it in.

Tug of War in the Olympics?

Jim Caple imagines while contrasting it to one of the potential new Olympic sports (golf):

Tug of war was an Olympic sport from 1900 to 1920 -- the U.S. swept all three medals in 1904 -- before being dropped for no apparent reason, and certainly no good reason. I mean, really. What would you rather see? Retief Goosen waiting for absolute silence as he leans over his putter? Or eight of our country's finest going against the eight toughest dudes from Iran (or whatever country we decide to hate in 2016), with each side straining every muscle and battling through unimaginable pain as their bodies scream "Stop! Stop! Oh, God, please stop!!!" but refusing to give an inch to those miserable foreign SOBs in order to prove whose country is the baddest-ass in the world?

Vegas clubs getting too wild -- even for Vegas

From the Los Angeles Times:

n July, gaming regulators slapped the Planet Hollywood casino with a $500,000 fine for its Prive nightclub's bad behavior, including "topless and lewd activity" and dumping club-goers in the casino "in various states of consciousness."

The same month, the Rio closed its Sapphire topless pool, managed by a local gentleman's club, after authorities arrested 10 people on suspicion of prostitution and drug crimes. Over Labor Day weekend, eight more arrests on similar charges were made at the Hard Rock Hotel's pool club, Rehab.

It's all part of a crackdown by authorities on what they see as clubs gone wild.

Man throws thousands of golf balls in Joshua Tree National Park

From the LA Times:

"Sometime around 2007, our rangers began discovering large quantities of golf balls in some turnout areas of the park," said park spokesman Joe Zarki. "We were wondering what was going on here. There were also some tennis balls involved."

Rangers also found cans of fruit and vegetables left in the desert along with park literature tossed about.

All in all, between 2,000 and 3,000 golf balls. Plus the other trash.

Apparently, for once, I agree with Jay Mariotti

Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame induction speech has been widely maligned. But, when I was watching it, I felt like Jay Mariotti. And, oh, man, that hurts to admit.

Man catches foul ball; gives to daughter; daughter throws back

Damn.



There goes her share of the inheritance.

Mexican-American astronaut calls for immigration amnesty; NASA freaks out

From the LA Times:

After the shuttle returned to this planet last week, Hernandez told Mexican television that he thought the United States should legalize the millions of undocumented immigrants living there so that they can work openly in the U.S. because they are important to the economy.

Officials at NASA flipped. They hastened to announce that Hernandez was speaking for himself and only for himself.

"It all became a big scandal," Hernandez told television viewers Tuesday. "Even the lawyers were speaking to me."