GorillaOffTopic, Everything But Gorilla Trades

The medals have been awarded, closing ceremonies have harmoniously concluded, and our regular television programming, which was temporarily taken hostage by the Olympics, has returned to us once again. Yes, the Olympics are over and the U.S. walked away with and incredible 110 medals! (Although China did outnumber us in gold!) But alas, the excitement has come to an end, so now the question on everyone’s minds is: “How much will American athletes receive in endorsements?”

Well, to start, let’s just talk about the superhero of the games, Michael Phelps. With a whopping 8 gold medals- unprecedented in a single Olympic games to date- he will surely get the nod from many companies to join their “team” to endorse their products. For Phelps, it is rumored that he will receive over $100 million for his future endorsements, which include thus far, Wheaties and Frosted Flakes cereals, the Omega watch company, and Speedo to name a few.

And how about Shawn Johnson, the U.S. Gold Medal Gymnast? Well not to state the obvious, but her endorsements won’t be nearly as lucrative as Michael Phelps’ will be (currently rumored to be at a slight $1 million and climbing). However, they will include companies like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Hy-Vee grocery store chains in the Midwest. And how bout’ those two super-powered volleyball cuties, Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh? These two absolutely dominated in women’s beach volleyball, beating the outstanding Chinese team for gold, marking their 102nd straight win!. Collectively, they are said to be worth a whopping $50 million in endorsements. The Gorilla was moved by the best all-around athlete, world champion decathlete and Californian, Bryan Clay, who just packed in about $20 million in endorsements. So there you have it folks, just a little interesting post-games Olympic news for you. Do our beloved American athletes deserve all the fame, acclaim, and wealth? Well, that’s up to you, but the Gorilla thinks that no athlete deserves it more than an Olympian!

It’s amusing to think of an elderly group of people playing video games, but if you have frequented a retirement home lately, that is very likely, exactly what you will see. Yes, folks, it’s true. It seems that many older folks are finding that video games are a popular pastime. Specifically, the popular bowling game by Nintendo’s Wii video gaming system. It is not news really that the Japanese electronics giant has been going after the over 50 baby boomer crowd in hopes that they have some post-retirement time on their hands. But, the over 70 crowd?  The games seem to be just as popular with this age demographic as well. What ever happened to shuffleboard anyway? The days of traditional, old-fashioned games, such as Canasta, are numbered as the demand for the popular Wii rises among seniors. The truth is, according to the Entertainment Software Association, 25% of all gamers are actually 55 and older. Wow! Who knew? The Gorilla should not be surprised since his friend’s father (who is around 74) is a big fan of Madden 08′ for Sony’s handheld PSP gaming system. The guy just can’t get enough. But the thought of some of those elderly folks at the rest home, throwing that virtual bowling ball on the Wii system just cracks him up (in a good way!), but that is exactly what is happening.  Elderly folks are having “bowling tournaments” using the game, and if you have ever tried this fun game, you know why. It actually simulates the action of bringing one’s arm back and throwing a bowling ball down an alley. It’s so popular some people say that they can’t put the thing down because they enjoy it that much. I’ve never been into video games,” said 72-year-old Flora Dierbach last week, as her husband took a twirl with the Nintendo Wii’s bowling game, “but this is addictive.” She said residents love the Wii set up in the clubhouse lounge. Interestingly, many grandparents are being taught to play by their grand kids, but in a new twist, some grandparents actually say they are the ones teaching their grandchildren how to use the games!  

Beth Llewelyn is Nintendo’s senior director of corporate communications, and she says making the games user-friendly to the older demographic was always the plan. “People have no fear of picking up a remote control, but they’re hesitant to pick up a video game controller,” Llewelyn said. “So the idea was to make the controller look like a remote control with just a couple of buttons.” Amazingly, since the Wii systems hit stores in November, over 1 million gaming systems have been sold in the U.S. The Gorilla is a huge fan of the Wii and not only is it fun, but it can be great exercise as well, and that is something everyone could use! Happy gaming everyone!

If you are a fan of the Paralympics, than you already know about the great Oscar Pistorus. Oscar is a double amputee world champion sprinter who has broken his own world record 26 times. He is phenomena, he is and enigma, and yes, he is handicapped. You wouldn’t know it to watch him run. It is exactly like attempting to watching a cheetah running across the vast African Plain; he is so fast, so driven, you can hardly keep your eyes on him. He is so good, in fact, that this South African was banned from competing against able-bodied runners by The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on the grounds that his prosthetics are giving him a technical advantage. It was, and still is Oscar Pistorius’ dream to run against able-bodied athletes so now the task at hand was to appeal the decision made by the IAAF which caused international outrage. That was back in January of this year. Since then, Oscar won that appeal but must prove he will qualify.  Pistorius, 21, still must post a time fast enough to qualify for the Games. Pistorius must meet the qualifying standard of 45.55 seconds in the 400 meters to gain an automatic berth in Beijing (or 45.95 seconds for a provisional spot). According to his coach, Ampie Louw, his personal best is 46.33. He has 64 days left to meet those qualifications in order to compete. Many disabled athletes have competed in the Olympics before, but very few have raised the issue of whether their disability, or their compensation for a disability, presents an advantage. It is an issue that has raised controversy and will continue  to do so since the debate has become more about technology than handicap. What happens in the future when we have bionics available is, the question of all questions. This decision could, and most likely has, sent a message that will resonate with all Paralympians who would like to be able to compete against able-bodied athletes in the future.  “It’s not just about me,” Pistorius said in a telephone interview from Milan. “It’s about the extra opportunity for amputee athletes.”  Here here! Congrats to Mr. Pistorus- and the Gorilla will be watching this story closely for an update. Hopefully he meets the qualifications and can compete right along with the other able-bodied athletes at the Summer Olympics. That one will be an exciting one to watch!

If you know anything about the Gorilla, you know that he loves the game of baseball with a passion. Anytime the Gorilla can take in a game, he does. His favorite team? Well growing up in the Detroit area, he is a pretty die-hard Tiger fan, but just about any baseball game gets the Gorilla’s blood pumping. Man, what the Gorilla wouldn’t do to have a chance to play in the Majors- even for just a day! It would be the ultimate baseball fan’s dream come true, and yesterday, for one very ecstatic Billy Crystal (yes, THE Billy Crystal) the dream became reality- even if it was for just a day! 

Just like the Gorilla and many other people, it was Mr. Crystal’s lifelong dream to play with the New York Yankees. The actor, comedian, and host of the Oscars, wanted his chance and today, after suiting up with the number 60 on his Jersey (after signing a one-day minor league contract), he went out there to lead off for the Yanks during a spring training game at the appropriately named Legend’s Field in Tampa, Florida. Billy Crystal, known for his lighthearted humor, seemed relaxed and calm as he took the field and chomped non-stop on bubblegum.  “I’m really relaxed, I really am,” Crystal said after taking pregame infield practice. “That’s until I see the 6-foot-2, 230-pound guy who’s going to throw- one who’s never been to a Seder.”

Fans went crazy when the actor came to the plate.  But although it didn’t go all that well, it was still a decent attempt, and he even made contact with the ball! He hit a ball down the first base line, just foul. He then got the count to 3-1, before finally striking out. He showed great awreness of the strike zone. For a 60-year-old man, who hasn’t played baseball since high school, to have that kind of attempt, is pretty darn good if you ask the Gorilla. It shows his athletic ability and tenacity. “I just want to touch it,” he said. And that is exactly what he did. Congrats  Mr. Crystal! The Gorilla’s hat certainly goes off to you. 

Alex Rodriguez opted out of his whopping $252 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees on Sunday, apparently ending his not quite long enough career with New York’s beloved Yankee organization. The announcement came on the heels of game four of the World Series, making A-Rod eligible to be a free agent. New York said it would not attempt to re-sign A-Rod if he opted out of his contract. A-Rod will now lose the remaining $72 million, which was guaranteed in the contract, and of which $21.3 million was to be covered by payments from the Texas Rangers to the Yankees. Good news for Texas, who made out pretty good in the whole deal, saving the remaining money it would have had to pay New York as part of the 2004 trade. But the Rangers are still responsible for $3 million in annual deferred money A-Rod is owed under the contract.  A-Rod’s agent Scott Boras said that A-Rod made his decision based on not knowing what some current teammates were going to do. Boras explained, ”He really didn’t want to make any decisions until he knew what they were doing.” Meanwhile, A-Rod will likely win his third AL MVP award next month and is likely to make his decision before the Yankees announce a replacement for Joe Torre. (Joe Girardi and Tony Pena are both being considered for his position.) Rodriguez continues to dominate and hit .314 this year to lead the major leagues in home runs and RBIs. He was also announced as a winner of a Hank Aaron award for offensive achievement during game 4 of the World Series, but was not present to receive it. The Gorilla cannot help but wonder if this was just an excuse a greedy baseball player (but currently the best, for sure) used to garner even more money. In any case, it will be interesting to see who offers the most money to this larger-than-life big leaguer!

In World Series news today, (the Gorilla loves baseball!), Colorado Rockies officials said that Monday,World Series ticket sales were the target of an “external malicious attack.” However, online ticket sales were to resume at noon on Tuesday. Details of the online attack have yet to be released, but to put it mildly, of the 8.5 million attempts to connect with the computers in the first 90 minutes after ticket sales started, only several hundred tickets had been sold before the system had to be shut down, temporarily suspending all ticket sales to the event. A Rockies spokesperson couldn’t provide details, but did say that nearly 18,000 tickets were available for each game in Denver-games 3, 4, and 5, if necessary-on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. That had the Rockies putting as many as 60,000 tickets up for sale online only and team officials said their computers were “ready to handle the expected crush”. But just 2 hours after they went on sale, many reported they could not get access to the ticket-sales Web site. The attack occurred at the Irvine, California-based Paciolan Inc., which runs the computers for the Rockies’ World Series ticket sales.  “Back-up” plans are now in place should this happen again. Paciolan CEO Dave Butler said the crash affected the company’s entire North American system, and stated ”this is not the Rockies’ fault whatsoever” and “ we are working hard to address the problem.” Meanwhile, people were so eager to get tickets that many lined up in near freezing temperatures outside the Denver Public Library before it opened in hopes of using public-access computers to score tickets. Clayton McLeod, a 26 year old heavy machine operator, took the day off in hopes of getting his tickets and suggested that if people weren’t able to get the tickets there, they may have to pay anywhere from $200-$300 above face value to get them. The Rockies limited sales to four per person per game. The tickets were originally to be sold at Coors Field and Rockies’ Dugout Stores in the Denver area as well as online, but the team announced Wednesday that all sales would be online, saying that would be “more fair.” The Gorilla thinks this is a good example of how easily computer security can be breached, no matter who you are! Being a baseball fan himself, this scenario would be extremely frustrating.