by Cory Woodroof | Oct 9, 2012 | Opinion, Sports
After a large number of Kansas City Chiefs fans cheered when their own quarterback left the KC-Baltimore Ravens game Sunday with a concussion, infuriated Chiefs offensive tackle Eric Winston decided to take a stand. Winston held a one-man press conference blasting people who expressed their joy at Matt Cassel’s expense. “We are athletes, OK? We are athletes. We are not gladiators. This is not the Roman Coliseum. People pay their hard-earned money when they come in here, and I believe they can boo, they can cheer and they can do whatever they want. I believe that,” Winston said. “We are lucky to play this game. People, it’s hard economic times, and they still pay the money to do this.” This is true. Fans pay good money for tickets. You guys make a lot of money. Why can’t I cheer for what I want, whenever I want? Not quite so, the lineman says, referring in part to the long-lasting impact of concussions on players that’s still being studied, even while some retired athletes struggle to fully function and others choose suicide over disability. “But when somebody gets hurt, there are long-lasting ramifications to the game we play. I’ve already kind of come to the understanding that I won’t live as long because I play this game, and that’s OK. That’s a choice I’ve made and a choice all of us have made.” Winston continues. “But when you cheer, when you cheer somebody getting knocked out, I don’t care who it is — and it just so happened to be Matt Cassel — it’s sickening. It’s 100 percent sickening. I’ve been in some rough times on some rough...
by Cory Woodroof | Oct 5, 2012 | Opinion
I haven’t exactly had the best 2012 at the cinema. Sure, I’ve seen my share of great films, but the overall landscape just seems more vacant than in years past. Maybe there’s something in the water, but 2012’s film slate just can’t call itself very memorable. But, on occasion, a light in a dark, dark tunnel will give you hope that the year might just be salvageable. Who knew 2012’s saving grace would be a black-and-white stop-motion animated film about a Frankenstien-ified dog? Tim Burton’s “Frankenweenie,” to me, is one of the year’s best films. I know what you’re thinking – that movie? The creepy-looking one with those weird cartoon-toy things that looks like that Halloween/Christmas movie that scared me as a kid? Yes, this is Burton returning to the world of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (a film he produced, not directed) and “The Corpse Bride” – a world many find strange and unsettling. I’m a pretty big fan of “Nightmare,” but “Corpse Bride” escapes my memory. Stop-motion Burton style is an acquired taste – one that I just so happen to be pretty big on. So, when Burton announced that he was adapting one of his earlier short films into a feature-length stop-motion animated project, I was jumping for joy. Thankfully, Burton pulled through. “Frankenweenie” captured me in a way I never honestly thought it could – in the same way that most “boy-and-his-dog” narratives usually do. I should have seen it coming, but Burton knew how to get to me. The film is a personal look into Burton as an artist (something that’s been said by almost...
by Cory Woodroof | Oct 4, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
Former men’s basketball coach Don Meyer spoke to a crowd of students, faculty, staff and alumni in Allen Arena Thursday in Athlete Leadership Chapel. Meyer, the namesake for Lipscomb’s basketball court, is one of the winningest coaches in college basketball and is set to be the subject of a feature film, co-produced and co-starring Lipscomb graduate and former MLB player Casey Bond. Meyer spoke this morning on a multitude of topics, ranging from servant leadership to how to judge someone’s character. Associate Athletic Director for Spiritual Formation Brent High introduced Meyer to those in attendance. “This is one of the Mount Rushmore guys in my life,” he said. Talking about how to identify a person’s character, Meyer mentioned billionaire CEO Warren Buffet’s three key traits when looking to hire a new employee. According to Meyer, Buffet looks for someone with a strong work ethic, intelligence and character. To Buffet, a person who possesses the first two but lacks the third is not an ideal candidate. Meyer strongly believes in the necessity of character in an individual, offering different ways to judge someone’s character. “I’ve never met a selfish person that was happy, and I’ve never met an unselfish person that was sad,” he said. Meyer said he believes that you can “tell a lot about a person when they’re getting their butt kicked.” He also noted that people should look for how people treat those who can’t do anything for them or do anything to them, citing Mets’ pitcher R.A. Dickey’s efforts to help those in need. Meyer quoted Mark Twain in his third point about judging people’s character, saying, “Kindness is...
by Cory Woodroof | Oct 2, 2012 | News Slider
A sprinkler in the High Rise dormitory was briefly activated late Tuesday night, creating an evacuation situation for the hall’s residents. A sprinkler on the fifth floor flooded the floor’s hall and reached the stairwell, sending water down the stairs into the basement and rooms of a few first floor residents. High Rise resident T.J. Ojehomon relayed the details of the accident. “We had an incident where a gentleman on the fifth floor apparently hit his sprinkler,” Ojehomon said. “When you hit one individual sprinkler with enough pressure, it will signal an emergency and go off until the fire department gets there, so we had several guys throughout High Rise trying to move the water that was flowing.” Kim Chaudoin, director of University Communication and Marketing, said she spoke with Lipscomb Security and Safety and offered these details. “There was some minor flooding, more accurately water accumulation, on the fifth floor where the sprinkler broke,” she said. “Water went down stairs to get in some rooms in the basement and first floor. … It’s a bit of a mess for the boys whose rooms got some water in them, but most of the dorm is OK. No problem with anyone sleeping there tonight.” Ojehomon said that saving the students’ belongings was a top priority. “[The water] pretty much took out all of [the resident’s] clothes, which we’re trying to save right now by washing them in the laundry room, but all of his clothes were soaked and ruined. A lot of his electronics could be damaged.” According to Ojehomon, around 30 to 40 High Rise residents helped and continue to help...
by Cory Woodroof | Sep 24, 2012 | Opinion
While Clint Eastwood has recently been grabbing headlines with his RNC “empty chair” speech, let’s try to remember that this guy is one of the greats. Many believed Eastwood, a master-class actor and director, had made his grand exit from acting with 2008’s deeply affecting “Gran Torino.” But roughly four years later, Eastwood is back in his longtime collaborator’s (Robert Lorenz) first directorial effort. “Trouble with the Curve” suffers from its silly desire to be too much at once. First-time director Lorenz wanted this movie to be a moving sports drama, an affecting story about family and a 90s-era Disney comedy with bite. The film takes an almost Hallmark-ian approach to its material, giving its characters forced relationships, contrived dialogue and eye-rolling sentimentality. It’s a hammy affair, for sure – one anchored in a sea of sap. Eastwood stars as Gus Lobel, a veteran talent scout for the Atlanta Braves who is on the other end of his career. After realizing that his eyesight might be not up to par with that of a younger individual, he decides to make one last trip to North Carolina to see if a highly regarded high school player is worth a top draft pick. Eastwood’s busybody lawyer daughter Mickey (Amy Adams), who doesn’t exactly have a close relationship with her grumbly pop, reluctantly joins her father on the trip to help him with the scouting process (at the behest of John Goodman’s concerned head of scouting, Pete). While there, the duo runs into Justin Timberlake’s affable Johnny Flannigan (a fellow scout and former player), who, naturally, takes a liking to Mickey. Performance...