Once again, it’s hard to defend an area you live in when the locals/predecessors make it so damn hard.  This article in yesterday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked a suspicious package found at a downtown building.  The building is named after James H. Floyd.  The problem lies in his nickname.  Not only is it “Sloppy” but that moniker is also on the building itself!

Look, nicknames are fun.  Let’s use my fraternity as an example.  We had a Dead Bird, a Snatch Ratt and a Butt Gerbil, among others.  But I’m willing to bet these guys don’t use those names now that they’re 10-15 years removed from college!  Obviously those names are raunchier than “Sloppy”, but even if that’s your name and that’s what everyone calls you, it’s not “building name” material.  Call it the Floyd Building or the James H. Floyd Center, but to call it the Sloppy Floyd tower just begs that it be poked fun at.

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I got an unexpected bonus of high-definition TV last night.  I caught a little bit of the last period of the New York Rangers / New York Islanders game on Versus HD.  The game was at Nassau Coliseum (the Islanders’ home) and the Islanders scored a goal to go ahead 3-2.  Like most hi-def broadcasts, you can see the crowd clearly. 

After this particular goal, the camera zoomed in on the crowd and, clear as can be on a 57-inch TV, a guy wearing an Islanders jersey turned to his right and stuck both middle fingers in a fan’s face who was wearing a Rangers jersey.  They kept that camera shot for several seconds so it was amusing to see this guy screaming at the top of his lungs with both middle fingers extended inches from this other guy’s face.

I remember one Thrashers game I was at where they played the Philadelphia Flyers.  This being a town of transplants, there were lots of Philly fans in the stands.  The jumbotron screen zoomed in on a particular unsavory character in a Flyers jersey and of course the crowd booed heavily.  He proceeded to “Double Bird” the camera and they didn’t cut away from him for a few seconds either. 

Not that I’m complaining, but I’ve also noticed now that stadiums are so “wired up” for TV broadcasts that you hear a lot more of the players’ chatter which then shows how foul-mouthed they can be.  At the end of plays in hockey when guys are jostling for position, lots of naughty words are spewed forth.  The same goes for those mics in the dugouts of baseball.  Sometimes they’ll forget to turn them off and you can hear some saucy chatter that is definitely not G-rated.