I'm going to start with something that's been burning my biscuits ever since I read it.
Emily Singer is a journalist who writes for Mic, an independent news outlet. Singer tweeted out a photo which claimed that Maria Butina, a Russian spy who was charged by the U.S. government with being a conspirator acting as an unregistered agent of the Russian government, met with Donald Trump in the White House in 2017.
Problem was it wasn't Butina, as several people pointed out, but a staff member of the National Security Council and Singer was forced to delete the tweet and apologize. Not before racking up thousands of retweets and dozens of threads indicating – falsely – that a Russian agent infiltrated the White House.
I am getting sick and tired of journalists rushing to try and paint a narrative that almost always gets proven false. It was obvious Singer didn't do any confirming or any research before tweeting. We in journalism have a hard enough time fighting off the 'fake news' label and all this does is give Trump and his supporters more ammunition.
There. Now on to why you're here:
Another one gone too soon
I was at Tommy Forrest Ball Park in Yellowknife on a Sunday afternoon when I got the news. Ray Emery had died.
No way, I said. Of course, it was true, but it was the shock of it all. Just 35 years old and he drowns in Lake Ontario. What a shame and what a horrible way to go.
I have to admit that I liked Emery. I like the guys who don't give a crap and do their things their own way. You may not have liked the way he did them and you may not have liked what came out of his mouth but that was the man they called Razor. And no, that's not anything like Sean Avery. Avery is a dingus who did things for attention like the class clown does when everyone isn't looking at him. Razor was Razor.
The prevailing opinion about Emery is that he had a personality that drew you to him. People wanted to be around him because he was engaging. He had his downfalls, such as the persistent rumblings about his immaturity and the people he hung out with, but it was his flair that made him who he was. He was never afraid of anything (see his fight with former NHL goon Andrew Peters). The story of his eating a cockroach in the Ottawa dressing room and collecting $500 for it is also the stuff of legend.
Personalities come and go and they came no bigger at the time than him. He very nearly led the Senators to the promised land of the Stanley Cup, which took him to the top of the world in Ottawa. His descent was just as rapid and dramatic as any there's ever been but no matter what, Ray Emery was Ray Emery with no filter.
So long, Razor.
Popcorn, anyone?
So Terrell Owens may be the next name-brand ex-National Football League player to come and play in the Canadian Football League.
Owens' agent confirmed to TSN's Dave Naylor on July 16 that his client has activated his 10-day signing window with the Edmonton Eskimos on July 14, the team which owns his CFL rights. That now means the Eskimos have until July 24 to offer him a contract or remove him from their negotiating list, making him a technical free agent.
Do I think he's serious? Well, if he's activated the 10-day deal, he's obviously considering a move to the CFL. Owens is all about Owens and this may just be another publicity stunt, but consider this: he recently ran a 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds at the age of 44. That's pretty good and would open the eyes of many football people.
Problem is he hasn't played a competitive down of outdoor gridiron football since 2010, so the question automatically becomes whether he can still hack it at his age. There is a rumour making the rounds that Owens has already been added to Edmonton's practice roster, but it's just that: a rumour. If it's confirmed, that would be a good indication that both sides are indeed serious about this.
He's being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year – even though he said he's not attending the ceremony – so his football chops are impressive. If he does come north, I just hope he isn't like other players who come thinking they'll run the yard. Just ask Ricky Williams, Lawrence Phillips, Dexter Manley, Michael Sam …
Them's some guns
Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals won the All-Star Game Home Run Derby in his home park on July 16 and it was a popular win.
But no one was talking about the win. Everyone was talking about his dad, Ron Harper, and how straight diesel he looks. Seriously, this guy is ripped like a tree trunk with biceps to match. We all found out how jacked he really was when he lifted the winner's trophy, which his son handed over to him. You see, Ron Harper was pitching to his son for the derby.
Naturally, the memes have started with people talking about how he does 400 bicep curls and eats his steak raw and how he looks like Billy Mays, the late infomercial pitchman with the big beard. Seriously, compare the two and you'll see what I mean.
Here's what I want to see: a Major League Baseball team pick this guy up for the second half of the season. Did you see the gas poppa Harper was throwing his kid?
Until next time, folks …