Wise Up! It’s Time For Instant Replay In Baseball

On June 26, 2012September 11, 2013 By In Write FieldIn Baseball6 Comments

Dewayne Wise — Photo courtesy of USA Today

I make no secret of the fact that I am a Cleveland Indians fan by birth, or that I am also quite anti-New York Yankee. That said, I wasn’t really looking forward to this week’s series between the two teams. The Tribe has been sputtering a little (they can’t all be Jason Kipnis) while the Yankees are en fuego. Not encouraging.

The Yanks won Monday’s game 7-1, but I still felt compelled to watch tonight’s game. You know, to support the team, just like Indians closer Chris Perez says I should. When “Pure Rage” says jump, I ask, “How high?”.

In the 7^th inning, Jack ‘Supermannahan’ Hannahan hit a ball foul, and Yankee left infielder Dewayne Wise made a dive into the stands to catch it. He missed the ball by probably a foot or more – it’s clear from the replay — but when he fell into the stands a Yankee fan actually PUT THE BALL INTO HIS GLOVE. (That’s right, guy in the red t-shirt. I’m talking about YOU.) Wise emerged from the scrum with a ball in his hand and a smirk on his face, and umpire Mike DiMuro called it a catch. Hannahan was out.

When Hannahan objected and politely invited DiMuro to review the replay, DiMuro ejected him. Later, though, DiMuro took a peek and admitted his error.

“Now that I see the tape it’s obvious that the ball fell out of his glove. … I should have asked him to show me the ball.”

Wow, ya think?

I am not in favor of wide use of replay in baseball. For one thing, it’s already far from a fast-paced game. If every questionable ball or strike were challenged, baseball would turn into cricket. So I generally accept that umpire error will hurt my teams sometimes, but benefit them sometimes too. With any luck, the mistakes will end in a wash.

That said, Major League Baseball umpiring is under more scrutiny than usual these days, for good reason, and instances like this support the case for limited use of replay. Call it sloppy work by DiMuro, or cut the guy some slack by assuming his view of the non-catch was somehow limited. With the aid of replay, his mistake is indisputable. Even the Yankee commentators acknowledged it (then quickly moved on).

If each team were allowed, say, two challenges – on defensive plays only — per game, it would be worth the delay. In the age of jumbotrons, radar guns, and electronic strike zones there’s no excuse for shunning established technology that has been adopted by virtually every other sport to make them more fair and more credible.

That’s my $.02. We need instant replay.

Also… Yankee fans are cheaters.

Are You Being Served?

On June 22, 2012 By In Write FieldIn Random StuffLeave a comment

Usually a call or letter to customer service is a 50/50 proposition. I’m a customer – usually a disgruntled one — so the term is 50% accurate. But the ‘service’ part of the equation can be elusive.

In early May, I bought two identical knit shirts (different colors) at an Ann Taylor Loft. I laundered them that evening, and when folding them discovered several holes in each. Cleary there was an issue with the quality of the fabric.

So I returned to the store two days later with the shirts, and my receipt with the date of purchase on it. I explained the issue to the sales clerk and asked for a refund. He gave a heavy sigh and said, “We don’t accept returns after the tags are removed”. He did not make eye contact with me.

I pointed out that of course the tags were removed. I had told him that from the start. The problem was the items had begun to disintegrate after one washing.

He sighed again, and said he’d accept the return this time, but I should understand that it was against store policy. (Read: I am doing you a really big favor.) When I began to object further, he shrugged and said “Hey, I’m just telling you our policy”.

I wrote a pretty scathing letter to the store’s headquarters at an address listed on the website. Instructions on the site promised a response within five days. Forty-two days later…

The (eventual) response was fine. It included vague apologies for my disappointing experience at that specific store location and assurances that my feedback had been passed on to regional managers. A 25% coupon was enclosed. However, I was struck by the fact that nothing specific about my complaint – except the location of the store – was included in the response. This was a form letter, albeit a well-written one. Caution and efficiency trumped authenticity and sincerity.

Contrast this with a recent experience at the small jewelry store Mabel Chong, on Union Street in San Francisco. There is no such person as Ann Taylor (or Ann Taylor Loft) as far as I know, but there is a Mabel Chong and she is awesome.

Mabel’s high-quality jewelry designs are beautiful and unique, but a pair of earrings I bought there had begun to discolor. Strolling by on a sunny Sunday, I decided to stop inside and ask about it. Since I had bought the earrings more than a year before, I didn’t have a receipt. The clerk suggested that I come back with the earrings anytime, and she’d take a look. Before I dropped them off later that week, I emailed Mabel Chong as well to give her a heads up, and I got a similar response; Bring the earrings in, and she’d fix them. And she did, in just a few days, without ever questioning my motives.

What a difference that made! I wouldn’t hesitate to buy jewelry from Mabel Chong’s lovely little store in the future, because I trust her. She understands that the satisfaction of people like me could make (or break) her reputation.

I was reminded of this today when I saw the photos below on Buzzfeed.com. I chuckled at the kindness and creativity of the young man (age 27 and 1/3) who wrote a response to a toddler’s letter to a Sainsbury’s grocery store in London.

This exchange between a 3-year-old girl and a shopping center.

Of course it wasn’t necessary. He could have sent a standard form letter – “Thank you for shopping at Sainsbury’s” – with a gift card enclosed, and the little girl and her mom still would have felt pretty good. But instead he took time to congratulate her on her clever idea. I’ll bet her family rarely buys groceries elsewhere because of his thoughtfulness, and now thanks to Twitter and Facebook more than 1 million people have seen the letter too. All together now…Aw, that is soooo sweet!

Take heed, customer service centers everywhere. Good things can happen when you worry less about efficiency and standardized responses, and let your customers know that a real person took the time to respond to a complaint or suggestion.

Power to the (small business) people!

Closing Out the US Open

On June 18, 2012January 23, 2016 By In Write FieldIn Sports, Sports Photography2 Comments

Wouldn’t you know it, just when I had deciphered the nearly incomprehensible leader board at the Olympic Club… the US Open was over.

The Club posted scores the old-school way; A couple of guys had stacks of cards with either players’ names, or red and black numbers, on them and updated the scoreboard manually based on instructions coming through their earpieces. Jumbotron? What’s a jumbotron?

Kind of low-tech, when you consider we were just a stone’s throw from Silicon Valley. But it was rewarding too, in a way. When I was ultimately able to make out who was in the lead and his score for the tournament, I puffed up a little like I’d cracked a secret code.

Maybe I was having so much trouble reading the scoreboard on the final day because I’d spent four hours in the wind and fog in the grandstands at the 18^th. I am only now regaining feeling in my fingers and toes. There’s a rumor that it was toasty in other parts of the Bay Area on Sunday, but I saw none of it. Behold the microclimate.

And so my US Open week has come to a close. I have hung up my fanny pack – the only bag-ish thing in my closet that met the 8”x8”x8” size limit strictly enforced by the Olympic Club. It smarts to know that I had such an awful, unflattering item from the 80’s still in my closet. But let me be clear — I carried it over my shoulder like a tiny purse. I swear, that thing was not once worn in the traditional around-the-waist manner. I HAVE standards!

A few additional closing thoughts:

Golf fans are good fans. They are courteous and well-behaved. Case in point: On Friday I was in the crowded stands at the 7^th, and a man stood to catch a glimpse of Tiger Woods on the 9^th. Some patrons seated further back did not feel like rising to the occasion, however, and shouted for him to sit down.

He ignored them.

Things got a little heated, and a gentleman sitting near me became pretty insistent. Standing man said he wouldn’t sit until after Tiger’s tee shot, because otherwise he couldn’t see. So my neighbor loudly called him a jerk. I kid you not. Just that — a jerk.

Standing man look wounded. He replied, “That’s not fair, sir.” Then… he took his seat. No punches or concession food thrown, no curse words hurled. And so I say, golf fans are good fans.

In the hole! When I watch golf on TV, I simultaneously scratch my head and roll my eyes when fans yell “Get in the hole!” the moment a golfer hits a drive, especially when the hole is a par 4 or greater. But I now realize it’s kind of a joke. Other fans chuckle when they hear it. I guess it’s like when somebody pulls out a guitar to serenade his buddies, and one of them yells “Freebird!”

Again, there’s something about Tiger. When Tiger Woods bogeyed the 1st and 2nd holes, and double bogeyed the 3rd on Sunday, a lot of fans went home. They said “Forget it, Tiger’s done.” Are you kidding me? You went to the trouble and expense – not to mention risked hypothermia — to attend the US Open, when all you really cared about was a Tiger Woods victory? It wasn’t even 3 pm, and there was so much great golf yet to be played…

I wish the course hadn’t been so difficult. So “extremely penalizing”, in the words of Phil Mickelson. Watching the world’s finest players struggle to reach the green, and miss putt after putt, was at times a little tedious. But I’m glad I stuck it out to the bitter-cold end. The photo-finish was worth it… even if cameras were prohibited for the likes of me.

Opening Up: Day Two At the Olympic Club

On June 16, 2012June 21, 2012 By In Write FieldIn Sports, Sports Photography4 Comments

I was back at the Olympic Club in San Francisco bright and early on Friday morning, to catch day two of the 2012 US Open Championship. It was a great day, with Tiger clawing to take the lead and Phil Mickelson making the cut by the skin of his teeth. Unfortunately, cameras are not allowed during regular tournament play, so all the photos here are from Wednesday’s practice day.

Today (Saturday) I stayed home to watch the action from my living room sofa, and it was fun to just relax and let The Golf Channel do all the work. I had the best seat in the house.

Watching at home can be stressful, though. With TV cameras at every hole, the action is fast paced, and rather un-golf-like. There’s an awful lot of talking and analysis, drowning out the dulcet sounds of birds chirping and the breeze in the cypress trees. Still, viewers don’t miss a thing.

And so it occurs to me that attending a golf tournament is a great exercise in patience for someone like me, who does not possess that particular virtue in abundance. I have to accept that I can’t be everywhere, to see all my favorite players’ triumphs and collapses. I’ll hear the crowd roar and know something big is happening elsewhere. I really hate that I’m missing something, but there’s not a thing I can do about it.

Or maybe I’ll spend 20 minutes slinking and slithering my way into a great spot to see Tiger or Rory tee off… only to have a Marshall, or professional photographer with a $15,000 lens that I covet, step directly in front of me at the last second, blocking my previously-awesome view. I have no choice but to roll with it.

In the sunshine, green grass and Pacific breezes at the Olympic Club, there’s nothing to fret about. I have a DVR, after all. They were invented to combat such dilemmas. And so I’ll be setting mine to record tomorrow, for the final day of play, so that I’ll know what all the cheering was about!

Until then, a few more photos…

I had no idea who this handsome man was when I saw him on the practice green on Wednesday, but for obvious reasons I decided to photograph him. Many times. I know his name now, though. He’s 23-year-old LSU graduate and 2011 NCAA golf champ John Peterson, and today he hit a hole in one.

Also worthy of a shout out is 14-year-old Andy Zhang. He didn’t make the cut, and today Beau Hossler was the amateur name on everyone’s lips. But hopefully we haven’t seen the last of Andy, because his US Open press conference was pretty endearing.

Finally, here’s Rickie Fowler. I followed his group for a few holes on Wednesday, and women all around me were swooning. I never completely understood his appeal until I saw him. Now I get it.

Practice Makes Perfect: Observations From the 2012 US Open

On June 14, 2012January 23, 2016 By In Write FieldIn Sports, Sports Photography3 Comments

There’s something about Tiger Woods. Golf fans love Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, and call them by their first names as if they’ve been friends for years. We know their practice rituals, and personal details. But with Tiger, it’s different. He is in a class by himself.

This was evident at the practice green, where I hung out for an hour or two on Wednesday, the final practice day of this year’s US Open. It was quiet and low-key as 15 or so players, and their caddies and coaches, milled around. I heard a few spectators ask the whereabouts of “Bubba”, and lament “Rory’s” late tee-off time. Then things changed. First, TV crews popped up all around – seemingly out of nowhere. There was even a big television camera on a crane that was long enough to get footage on the opposite side of the practice green. Where did THAT come from?

Then the idle chitchat among spectators stopped, replaced by murmurs of “He’s here. Tiger’s HERE.” It spread like the wave at a Major League Baseball game.

To what can we attribute this reaction? It’s true, Tiger is a spectacular talent and when he catastrophically fell from grace, most of us couldn’t look away.

Perhaps fans want to see a resurrection of sorts. Americans love redemption, almost as much as we love to watch the rich and powerful fall down off their pedestals. Or maybe fans have always reacted with hushed reverence when they got a glimpse of Tiger. If that’s the case – and the guy can’t enter a room, practice area, or public event without the earth’s rotation noticeably slowing – it might help explain why he came to see himself as above the rules and social norms the rest of us live by.

Many professional caddies smoke. This is a little surprising if you work under the assumption that smoking may not be conducive to cardio-pulmonary health. A professional golfer’s bag loaded with clubs probably weighs 30 pounds, and caddies have to run with those things hanging over their shoulders – often uphill. Smoking and caddying seem sort of incompatible but…

Where there’s smoke, there’s Miguel Ángel Jiménez. The forty-seven-year-old Spanish golfer may smoke huge stinky stogies that seem to last for hours, but he’s clearly all about health and wellness. Check it out. No tight hammies on this guy!

They don’t call them practice days for nothing. I went to golf tournaments in college, including a few practice rounds. I guess I missed something, because I entered Wednesday expecting players to play 18 holes while following all the rules, as they got a feel for the course. Not so. There were mulligans galore, and on the greens each player probably took 10 practice putts from various locations. On the 8^th hole at Olympic, the green is on a hill. Hit the ball short of the pin, and it’ll roll 20 yards or more back down onto the fairway. Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell took turns testing this.

Golfers are outliers. In his book Outliers, Malcom Gladwell demonstrates that excellence is no accident. The average aficionado in anything — be it sports, music or computer programming — devotes about 10,000 hours to practice to get that way. His hypothesis was supported on the practice green, where I watched players hit the same putt over and over — sometimes as part of precise drills. I’d watch them miss eight inches to the left, then six inches, then four, then two until… success. Then they’d place the ball a foot or so from where it was before, and start all over.

No one would give me the time of day. The US Open has a very strict “no cell phone” policy. Security practically administers a TSA scan before they let you climb on a shuttle bus to the course, to ensure you aren’t smuggling one. I missed having my phone and data access, but mostly I missed knowing what time it was. Rising at the disorienting hour of 5 a.m. messed with my body clock, and it was too foggy to judge the hour by looking at the sun. Next time I’ll bring a watch.

And finally… Rory needs to get a grip. Like golfers of every ilk, Rory McIlroy has perfected an insouciant lean-on-driver pose between shots. Unfortunately, the bobblehead that shares his name and likeness — a gift from the San Francisco Giants — has not.

Rory McIlroy Bobblehead

Just Another Day At the Office

On June 13, 2012June 13, 2012 By In Write FieldIn SportsLeave a comment

Quite a day. I teed off with Yang and Watney at 12:41, played 18, then came home to watch Matty Cain pitch a perfect game. I’m exhausted! Mom told me there’d be days like this.

Wait, mom never said any such thing! Today was a GREAT, completely unusual day to be savored and remembered… even if I really didn’t play in the US Open. I just walked around the beautiful golf course, taking photos of the players, until my camera was like an anvil and I couldn’t take one more step.

Then I handed things over to Matt Cain…

I Was Mad… But Then Came Madbum!

On June 13, 2012January 23, 2016 By In Write FieldIn Baseball, Sports, Sports Photography2 Comments

I have more than 100 reasons to dislike San Francisco Giants Chief Operating Officer Larry Baer tonight, and each has a dollar sign in front of it.

It was Irish Heritage Night at AT&T Park, and I went to the game in search of a Rory McIlroy bobblehead, and a photo-op of him (Rory, not the bobblehead) throwing out the first pitch. I splurged on a seat in my favorite section by the Giants dugout. It’s Larry territory — perfect for photo taking.

Rory threw pretty well for someone who once divulged on Twitter that the only sport he doesn’t care for is… baseball. Then, I couldn’t believe it – he joined us all in Costa del Baerville, taking a seat four rows in front of me, next to Larry!

Unfortunately, this is when the trouble started. It was crazy. Streams of Larry Baer’s BFFs appeared out of nowhere, and stood fawning over Rory and air kissing one another — even after the game started.

For the rest of us, the expectation that one should wait until an at-bat is finished before getting up/returning to one’s seat applies. Don’t time your restroom break just right? You may be forced to crawl back to your seat on your belly.

Not so for Larry and friends.

Baer was positively giddy, glad-handing and moving his friends and family around constantly. At one point, while he was standing and blocking everyone’s view, Melky Caberea hit a smoking foul ball that whizzed no more than five feet from his head. I don’t wish Larry injury, but I’m not sure getting bonked on the head would necessarily do him much harm. (ZING!)

I’ve always been fairly ambivalent about Baer, but after tonight I know this for sure: There is not a down-to-earth bone in his body. He flamboyantly worked the crowd in “his” section. The problem is, no more than 75% of the folks sitting there appeared to be his guests. The rest of us paid a substantial amount of money for our tickets and wanted to watch THE GAME instead of Larry pressing the flesh.

The next time Larry Baer decides to throw a party during a Giants game, I would respectfully suggest that he rent a luxury suite upstairs. He can certainly afford it.

Despite my feud with Larry and his entourage, I would be remiss if I didn’t say… it was a great game for the Giants. I got a bobblehead, albeit a slightly defective one. Rory’s tiny driver keeps falling out of his hand. I think a dab of Liquid Nails may be in order, but I suspect that’s not regulation and the USGA will disapprove.

Madison Bumgarner hit his first Major League home run tonight. How could I stay mad, when I was so happy for Madbum? Brandon Belt hit one too, and more than one helpful fan yelled down to Manager Bruce Bochy — just to make sure he saw it.

Rory McIlroy gives a pre-game interview to CSN Bay Area, before throwing out the first pitch at a San Francisco Giants game at AT&T Park. (June 2, 2012)

Rory McIlroy

Sit Down Larry, The Melkman Needs To Make a Delivery!

A Tender Smooch For Matt Cain

Brandon Belt Rounds Third After His Home Run

Madbum Tips His Cap

How I Learned To Like Mondays

On June 11, 2012June 12, 2012 By In Write FieldIn Random Stuff, SportsLeave a comment

I have always loved being a student. It’s a shame there’s no money in it, or it would be my chosen occupation.

My biggest challenge at school wasn’t the required reading or hours of study; it was deciding what classes to take. With just a few exceptions — my apologies to math teachers, but high school trigonometry was one of them – the entire course catalog interested me. Some of my fanciful choices (The Reformation in Britain, Reading Financial Statements) worked out well. Others (Russian 101) did not.

When it comes to education I am all about the journey – not necessarily the destination.

When I said goodbye to student life and moved to San Francisco, I took the requisite night course on wine tasting at the UC Berkeley Extension. It was a revelation: a class that involved no pre-reading or take-home assignments. It wasn’t even pass/fail! The only thing I was required to bring to class each week was an empty wine glass. Later, I took a number of photography classes that I also loved.

Eventually, though, I stopped taking classes for fun. I’m not sure why. My workdays got longer, for a start, leaving me with less energy to haul myself across town in the evenings. And perhaps I got a bit more practical about how I spent my disposable income; I should be saving for a car/house/vacation or taking classes for professional accreditation.

Something was definitely missing. So, in the spring I dusted off my thinking cap and signed up for a class called Monday Night Football: Inside America’s Pastime, part of Stanford University’s Continuing Studies Program. The class (held on Mondays, naturally) isn’t about the weekly NFL broadcasts – or even exclusively about the NFL. It covers the business of both pro football (about which I was already somewhat knowledgeable) and college football (about which I was clueless).

The best part of taking classes at Stanford – aside from the stunningly beautiful campus and the amazing microclimate that always seems to rest right on top of it – is that the school can draw some serious heavy-hitting speakers.

The highlights?

Columnists Mark Purdy and Lowell Cohn provided anecdotes about San Francisco 49er coaches, past and present. How hard is it to pry a straight answer out of Jim Harbaugh? Sorry, I’m sworn to secrecy.
Roger Noll, Professor of Economics, Emeritas, at Stanford schooled us on collective bargaining in the NFL, and shared his thoughts on the economic value a professional football team can bring to a city. (Hint: Don’t bank on it.)
Mike Pereira, a former VP of Officiating for the NFL and current “Rules Analyst” for Fox Sports, made us laugh for 90 minutes with his self-deprecating humor. He’s also pretty easy on the eyes, ladies.
Gary Cavalli, the co-founder and Executive Director of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, is the course director, so we hear from him every week. He is so charming, humble and knowledgeable I think he could even make trig fun! (Easy to say, as I will never test this theorem.) Gary doesn’t like bloggers much, but I am blogging about how he’s the bomb so I should be OK.

So, if you have ever thought of taking a class at night – just for fun – I say go for it. It doesn’t matter if it’s sports, literature, knitting or self-help, as long as you are energized by the topic. There are a million reasons not to: the drive is too long, you’ll get home too late, maybe you won’t like it. That’s the one that always kills me. Maybe you won’t like it? Well, what if you do?

One of my favorite quotations comes from author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn. I replay it in my mind when I catch myself rationalizing my way out of taking a risk.

If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.

Mad Men Season Five… We Hardly Knew Ye

On June 10, 2012June 10, 2012 By In Write FieldIn Random StuffLeave a comment

Well, that was kind of a disappointing Mad Men. I waited 17 months for season five which, aside from a phenomenal episode 11, appears to basically be a tease for season six?

Yes, I am kind of fuming — like when Betty Draper is told that the “help” has burned the peach pie, so there will be no dessert tonight.

That said… what a great final five minutes! Rico Suave Don Draper is tempted by a vixen who looks remarkably like wife Megan, who is determined to forge her acting career despite all Don’s passive aggressive “assistance”. Stop Matthew Weiner, you are blowing my MIND!

Oh God, when does season six start?

Sorry for the semi-non sequitur but… has anyone else noticed the resemblance here? Coincidence? You be the judge…

Pete Campbell — Peter Campbell, a.k.a. the resident sleaze of AMC’s Mad Men

Lindsey Graham, United States Senator, South Carolina (R)

P.S. I am assuming Rodger decided to do LSD again, all by himself? Megan’s mom apparently took a pass. She has some interesting boundaries, does she not?

Random Chapters From Facebook

On June 10, 2012June 10, 2012 By In Write FieldIn Random StuffLeave a comment

I’ve been thinking plenty about Facebook recently – random thoughts, mostly. Perhaps this stems from the IPO fiasco — the fizzling stock price, and accusations of shenanigans by lead underwriter Morgan Stanley – that has kept the company in the news day after day.

Random Thought #1: Amid so much IPO media buzz, there was a subtle sign that maybe – just maybe – analysts and investors are getting a little smarter, and more scrutinizing.

A day or two before the IPO launched, I saw several news stories openly questioning how Facebook could generate revenue, and shareholder value, long-term. (These came just after GM announced it would no longer advertise on the site.)

I am not a keen follower of IPOs, but this struck me as encouraging. In the 1990’s, most of us didn’t ask these sorts of questions about Enron, or mortgage-backed securities, or faddish internet startups whose value propositions we couldn’t quite put our fingers on. Such analysis would not have appeared in mainstream media, either. If a company with a charismatic 25-year-old CEO had a foosball table in its lunchroom and let employees bring their dogs to work… we all wanted a piece of it.

I once heard a banking executive speak about the heat his firm took for not engaging with Enron. He had been mocked for his conservative stance at the time, but explained that since no one could show him how Enron made money, he felt it was just too risky. And of course, he was absolutely correct. Maybe that type of thinking is finally catching on.

Random Thought #2: Have you heard about Brian Banks? As a 16-year-old high school football standout with hopes of attending USC, he was falsely accused of kidnapping and raping a classmate. On the advice of his attorney, he pleaded no contest, and served five years in prison followed by five years on parole as a registered sex offender. His dream of playing in the NFL was, seemingly, over.

Here’s the part that, surprisingly, hasn’t received much media coverage: Enter Facebook. One day, out of the blue, his accuser sent him a Facebook friend request. It essentially suggested that they let bygones be bygones. Are you freaking kidding me? Banks couldn’t believe it. He suggested a meeting with the woman, and invited a private investigator to tag along and secretly record the conversation. His accuser readily admitted that she’d made up the entire rape story, for reasons that remain unclear. The videotape of the meeting was presented in court, and Banks was completely exonerated.

Someone who falsely accuses another human being – especially a friend they have known all their lives – of a heinous crime, and watches that friend’s hopes and dreams fall to pieces, is obviously a very troubled soul. Perhaps she suffers from mental illness. Regardless, she is very dumb.

We’ve all received an unfortunate Facebook friend request or two, and wondered “Why on earth would this person think I want to reconnect with them, given our history?” They all pale in comparison to this.

More good news: Brian Banks has been invited to work out with several NFL teams, including the Seattle Seahawks and the San Diego Chargers. I suspect social media may have played a part here, too. Banks’ story spread like wildfire on Facebook and Twitter.

This is probably the most egregious misuse of Facebook I have ever encountered. I’m still scratching my head about it. If you have an eye-roll-worthy Facebook story, let’s hear it!

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