By Chris Schulz, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 22, 2011 at 9:30 AM ET
President Obama must deal with fierce lobbying over the future of MPG standards. Naturally, American car companies do not want any standards imposed on them. Isn’t this one of the things that got them into trouble in the first place; ignoring the trends towards more fuel efficient cars? [latimes.com]
Lawmakers appear ready to end the ethanol subsidy. This long overdue measure will free up $6 billion amid a budget crisis. [npr.org]
South African researches are stunned when a shark jumps into their boat. Even more surprising is when it says “candygram”. [cnn.com]
It appears there will be justice for the environmental activists that were murdered in the Amazon. [bbc.co.uk]
Great news from Portland, more cities now need to follow suit and ban plastic bags. [msnbc.com]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Thu Jul 21, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
After taking some heat from American auto makers the Obama administration has trimmed back proposed fuel economy standards for future trucks and SUVs. [autoblog]
Here is a very cool story about a McLaren F1 that raced British RAF helicopters in Hong Kong. [Jalopnik]
I always enjoy it when I can combine my WWG worlds. This week Tech and Speed meet as Chevrolet agreed to be one of the launch advertisers for Spotify, the British music streaming service that just made the move to the U.S. [autoblog]
Here are some of the more amusing in-car radio rants in NASCAR. These cover the spectrum from the volatile Kurt Busch to the lovely Danica Patrick. Oh, and if you can’t guess, the audio is certainly NSFW. [All Left Turns]
By Grant Smith, RP Staff, on Thu Jul 21, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Ron Paul says America will eventually default regardless of the debt ceiling, because our debt is “unsustainable.” [Real Clear Politics]
British Prime Minister David Cameron defends his actions in the hacking case. [New York Times]
Former U.S. Presidents and famous Americans who have struggled with migraines. [National Journal]
The Republican Party is accused of using “fuzzy math” in the debt-ceiling crisis: read more here. [The Washington Post]
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 3:00 PM ET
Sounds pretty darn good to me. . . [picture]
Interesting interpretation of social media. [picture]
Be careful when combing dreams with therapy sessions. [comic]
4 reasons why men die earlier than women. [pictures]
I feel this way at least once every day. [Some E Cards]
This morning my dog left me a present on the rug. [comic]
This is why I want a Roomba. I imagine my life being just like this. [.gif]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET Here’s an interview with Marissa Mayer, the woman who broke Google. [Newsweek]
Even if you won’t be in Los Angeles anytime soon, pretend you’re headed to the city’s Natural History Museum and its recently refurbished Dinosaur Hall. [NY Times]
Feeling under the weather? Check out these tips on keeping your career healthy, even when you’re not. [CNN Money]
Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan wants to be a Supreme Court justice someday… and she’s slowly overturning stereotypes of pageant culture. [NY Magazine]
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Wed Jul 20, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
No division in baseball is nearer and dearer to me than the National League Central, home to my St. Louis Cardinals, as well as the team geographically closest to me (the Cincinnati Reds). I grew up in Louisville, KY, which has been home to a AAA baseball team since before I was born that has been affiliated with three NL Central teams–the Cardinals, Reds, and the Milwaukee Brewers. I’ve followed this division as long as I can remember, and this year it is really shaping up to be a doozy of a race.
No division in baseball has seen as much upheaval as the NL Central–the 1994 realignment that created it pulled three teams from the old NL East and two teams from the NL West and put them together in a division. Old rivalries took a backseat (Cardinals-Mets, Reds-Dodgers), while new ones heated up (Cardinals-Astros in the 2000s, recently Reds-Cardinals). In 1998, the Brewers were added to the NL Central, and now the division exists as the largest in the league (6 teams, while most divisions have 5, and the AL West only has 4). The St. Louis Cardinals have essentially dominated the division, winning eight of the seventeen championships–and they account for the only World Series to be won out of the division. The Astros have won 4 division titles, the Cubs have won 3, the Reds 2, the Brewers have won one wildcard, and since the inception of the division, the Pirates have never been to the playoffs.
That all might change this year. While the Reds and Cardinals were expected to compete for the division title during the offseason, the acquisition of Cy Young award winner-Zack Greinke and the injury to Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright had people thinking this division might be a bit more competitive than previously expected–and when former Astro Lance Berkman started coming on strong for the St. Louis Cardinals, those predictions came true. The early season race was between those three teams, but a surprising thing started happening right before the All-Star Break–the Pittsburgh Pirates started coming on strong.
Joel Hanrahan--one of the best closers in baseball As I stated earlier, the Pirates have never won the NL Central. But the story is actually much sadder than that–the Pirates haven’t had a winning season in 18 years, and have been the victims of terrible mismanagement in recent times. However, the Pirates managed to develop some great pitching, including a shut-the-door closer in Joel Hanrahan and some great team speed including Andrew McCutchen. No one expected them to win the division title this year–and honestly, no one even thought they would compete. But today, the Pirates are in 1st place–a full game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The race will be exciting. I don’t believe the Pirates have what it takes right now to win a division title–but I think they are in a great spot to end their 18 year drought of winning seasons. With the talent currently on the roster, this team will be very competitive in a few years. From what I have read and heard about their farm system, talent will continue to pour into this team, ensuring that Pittsburgh is the next Boston–the town all the champions call home. The biggest mistake the Pirates can make this year is trading some of their younger prospects–some of whom are all the way down in single-A ball and would need to put into a bigger package–for a big contract that the franchise couldn’t hold on to. It seems extremely mean to tell a team who has waited 18 years for a winning team to wait longer–but that is the smart move.
The Brewers and Cardinals are the most likely teams to take the division–but if the Reds can address the problems that their long-time closer Francisco Cordero is beginning to show, and start winning close games, they will be right back in the race. The Brewers biggest hurdle to the division title is their proclivity towards close games. Right now, everything is bouncing for the Brew-Crew–they have a aggregate run differential of -15 (in English: other teams have scored 15 more runs than the Brewers) even though the team is five games above .500. This means that the Brewers win close games–if they can continue to do that, it bodes well for them to win the division.
 This Cardinal has shown up in a big way. The Cardinals main issue changes daily. At the beginning of the year, starting pitching and the slow start of Albert Pujols was thought to be a big problem for the Cards. However, with the emergence of Berkman and the return of Albert, offense hasn’t been much of an issue. Furthermore, the starting pitching really stepped it up for the Cardinals. The bullpen was the next thing to break down, but with the addition of Fernando Salas as the every day closer and the emergence of Mitchell Boggs as a good long reliever, the bullpen hasn’t been so bad. The Cardinals have a chance to be great–but only if everything works at the same time. Which it hasn’t done yet this year. The Cardinals are an impossible team to predict, and as a fan that is both extremely engaging and very frustrating.
The Reds problem is with their bad luck–which I think they wasted during the previous season. Last year, when the Reds won the division title, they won nearly every close game. This year has been a different story. To mirror the Brewers, the Reds have a +26 run differential while being 3 games below .500. This speaks of a team that can blow some teams away, but fails to win the close games. The Reds have the talent to win–they proved that last year. Brandon Phillips is having a phenomenal year defensively, and isn’t doing too poorly offensively either. Joey Votto is MVP caliber, and they have a good-enough rotation. The chips just need to start falling for Cincinnati if they are to win the title.
 Joey Votto--2010 NL MVP So, the end of the regular season should be fun, but if recent history is to be any guide, whoever wins is doomed in the post-season. The NL Central is 1-15 in the playoffs since the Cardinals won the title in 2006, including sweeps over the Reds, Cubs, and Cardinals, and a 1-3 series where the Dodgers beat the Brewers. I usually don’t do this, but I think this year, I’ll cheer for the NL Central no matter who wins the division–just to restore some pride in my favorite division of all.
By Robert Kahne, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 3:30 PM ET
Amazingly enough, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II won the box office weekend. WHO COULD HAVE THUNK IT? [Movie Web]
Sigourney Weaver wants to do another Alien film. Good idea or bad idea? I say good idea. [Toronto Sun]
Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Godfather Part II) is making a new film called Twixt, which is based on a dream he had. Starring in it will be Elle Fanning, who recently played the little girl in Super 8. /Film has some pictures from it. It looks crazy. [/Film]
The new, secret, Sarah Palin documentary came out this weekend. It grossed about $65,000. That’s not a lot of money, even for a documentary that opened in selected theaters. Is that because the film opened against Harry Potter, or because, you know, its about Sarah Palin? [The Atlantic]
Rupert Murdoch is in a lot of trouble. In addition to running newspapers, heading up Fox News, and wiretapping phones, he also makes a lot of movies. Here is a fun post that asks the question “What if we prosecuted Murdoch on the quality of his films alone?” [The Guardian]
The newest Quintin Tarantino film, Django Unchained, is coming into focus. We already know that it will star Jaime Foxx as a runaway slave, who is then trained by a German hitman (Christoph Waltz) on how to kill evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his equally evil pit boss (previously unknown). That final spot is apparently going to go to Kevin Costner–who, as this piece says, could fill the same sort of role as John Travolta did in Pulp Fiction. [Film Junk]
Now that the Harry Potter series is over, what’s next for Emma Watson? Apparently she is attached to Guillermo Del Toro’s new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. I wonder if Watson will learn a French accent, or if this will be another one of those pictures in which “European” is code for “British.” [IFC.com]
Ron Howard has been talking a big game about adapting the Steven King series The Dark Tower into a film/TV franchise for the better part of a year. Now, however, it seems like the deal is dead. Poor Ron Howard. He should just get to work on making the Arrested Development movie. [The Movie Blog]
By Sandra Moon, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 1:30 PM ET
Gay marriage is legal in New York, but those against it are putting up a fight. One protester explains “…based on my Christian faith and my belief in God and what the Bible teaches, I cannot and I don’t support gay lifestyles.” (Disclaimer: Not all Christians follow these beliefs, and many Christians are in fact strong advocates for LGBTQ equal rights.) [New York Times]
A man who went on a post-9/11 race-motivated killing spree is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. One of his victims, however, is fighting against the death sentence, citing his Muslim faith as the reason. [CNN]
The Dalai Lama’s visit to Chicago sparks unity among people from several different faith traditions. [Chicago Tribune]
By Stephanie Doctrow, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET Sean Hoare, one of the first journalists to go on the record and allege phone hacking at News of the World, was found dead Monday. His death is not thought to be caused by foul play. [CNN]
Follow the rise and fall of British journalist Rebekah Brooks, one of the News of the World editors thought to be responsible for the recent phone hacking scandal. [Newsweek]
Speaking of Rebekah Brooks or Rebecca Black? See if you can tell the difference between these two newsmakers in a handy quiz (and if this is hard for you, we have a bigger problem). [Esquire]
Check out 21 up-and-coming reporters who are using technology and social media to tell important stories. [NY Magazine]
More bad news for Gannett: the media conglomerate reports a 22 percent drop in its second quarter income. [Poynter Institute]
By Kristen Hamilton, RP Staff, on Tue Jul 19, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Still living it up in Paris, I decided to continue with the Paris-themed Weekly Web Gems for this week. Enjoy!
Check out some of the fashion that I get to see everyday in the streets of Paris! [NY Mag]
In honor of Bastille Day, here are 14 fashionable reasons on why you should love France too: [Fashionista]
Wow – Sephora manicures are coming to a city near you! And yes, there are Sephoras in Paris. [Fashionista]
Is every week a fashion week in Paris? I think so! Check out this recap of the Paris Couture Fashion Week: [The Globe and Mail]
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