Super Bowl takes over Sunday
From pizza parlors to church services, the big game has a big impact
By FRANK GREVE and IRIS KUO
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
2/4/2006
WASHINGTON - Football has disrupted regular life ever since hordes of medieval villagers put down their scythes and caldrons to amuse themselves by throwing, lugging or kicking a ball across the countryside and between the stoutly defended gates of a rival village's parish church.
So it's no surprise that during the Super Bowl, a descendant of that rowdy ancient sport, some of usual American life stops. And some reaches new heights. Among the changes, cosmic and mundane, are these:
• Crime - It really does go down. The Dallas Police Department reports an 18 percent drop in calls during Super Bowl hours compared with the same time period on Sundays before and after the game. Both violent and property crimes fall, according to Geoffrey Alpert, a criminologist at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. "Of course," he said, "some of it could be cops just watching the game and not responding."
• Movie attendance - It plummets nearly 40 percent compared with the average Sunday, according to VNU Media, which studies entertainment audiences. Movie studios often release their deadest dogs on Super Bowl weekend.
• Traffic - It's sparse, according to Bob Ryan, the operator of Atlanta South 75 Travel Center, a truck stop in Jacksonville, Ga. He said his gas, diesel and restaurant sales dropped about 20 percent. Business might fall off even more without the stop's big-screen TV to lure truckers who are heading home from weekend deliveries. "Drivers pull over and pack the house in the TV lounge come game time," Ryan said.
• Takeout service - Super Bowl hours are the busiest of the year for Domino's and Pizza Hut, which move about 40 percent of the nation's takeout pizzas. Business for the day is 20 percent higher than most Sundays, and nearly half the pies go out in the three hours before halftime, according to Pizza Hut spokeswoman Christa Osswald. • Snack fare - Until 2002, avocado sales peaked in the run-up to the Latin holiday Cinco de Mayo, followed by the Fourth of July. Today, it's the Super Bowl, according to Jan DeLyser, the vice president for marketing at the California Avocado Commission in Irvine. Florida avocado producers agree. For the California avocados and Latin imports that the California Avocado Commission handles, Super Bowl consumption last year totaled 43.8 million pounds, nearly 6 percent of the year's total sales. No surprise: Pre-Super Bowl chili seasoning-sales doubled their weekly average, according to a 2004 AC Nielsen survey. Salsa was up 30 percent; tortilla chips, 25 percent.
• Shopping - Customers slow to a trickle about an hour before kickoff at grocery chain Safeway's stores. "I guess the men are home, hunkered down waiting," said Craig Muckle, Safeway's East Coast spokesman. A surge in female shoppers occurs during the game, he said, so the net drop is 10 to 15 percent on the day, compared with an average Sunday.
• Church attendance - Lots of churches cancel services or otherwise yield ground to the Super Bowl. Then there's Hunter "Doc" Sherman, pastor of Bellview Baptist Church, five miles north of Springfield, Mo. His parishioners move the church's seats aside, roll out Astroturf, put up a goalpost in front of the altar and watch the game on a 9-by-12-foot drop-down screen. For those who don't like football, there's a chick flick room and a nails and cosmetics parlor.
"We follow Jesus, too," Sherman said in a telephone interview. "But we rejoice in the world that he's put us in and feel that he wants us to enjoy it."
• Commode use - Does toilet use really rise sharply during Super Bowl breaks? Yes, reports Mark Stanley, the operations and maintenance superintendent for the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities. Stanley's system burst a 16-inch water main during the 1984 Super Bowl. "It was during halftime," he said. Stanley suspects a Super Bowl role partly because he had seen big water-use surges during commercial breaks for the February 1983 "M*A*S*H Special," the highest-rated TV program of all time.
An interesting fact: The Super Bowl TV audience is not overwhelmingly manly. Forty-five percent of its viewers have been female for the last decade, according to Stacey Lynn Koerner, executive vice president for global research at Initiative Media, an analyst of TV audiences. Women are just as likely as men to watch until game's end, Koerner said, though 53 percent of the women in a recently reported study said they watched mainly for the commercials.
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02/04/2006 13:29 #28295
Super Bowl AtricleCategory: event
Yeah The super bowl is a huge event. Sometimes I think it is more of an event then a game. There is more pregame then game itself. I will admit that I have seen some verry good pregame stuff before the game in the past. There have been a couple amazing comericals that where only on during the pregame, some good music performances and interesting information. I found the article below on line at the buffalo news website. I thought it could have included more info but still enjoyed it. Hope all you football fans enjoy the event of it and game, I know I will, not sure when the TV will go on and what I will do for dinner but I don't even know what I will eat tonight. Hope you enjoy the article hopefull I will see some of you tonight.
02/03/2006 19:23 #28294
Team UsaCategory: hockey
Last night I listened to and watched some of the Sabres, glad they won. The Fans where chanting USA. There are a lot of fans who thought Miller should have made the Olympic Hockey team, I'm one of them. That remindend me that the olympics start a week from tonight. If memory serves they are on NBC, USA, CNBC, MSNBC and is there one more oh yeah then there is the Canadian coverage also. I saw one comerical during wrestling that said that Team USA hockey will be covered on USA and it will be Commerical free. That is truely awesome. I assume they will have ads on between period breaks. But anyone who likes Hockey should check into it. Hopefully I will see you all or some off you on saturday. It would be a cool Bonus if coles is showing the Sabres game. So if I'm a little distracted on sat. sorry, or if your a chick just hit me or something but not on the arm that I have a drink or food or something in.
02/02/2006 20:33 #28293
Gay Attack (2)Category: news
Man I was just really getting into chat and trying to put up a post and (e:strip) crashed as I was listing to the Sabre game. I was originaly going to put up Marilyn Manson lyrics and talk about religion a little. But I saw this article on the Usa Today web page I was directed there from a link on Net Zero's Home Page.
Dressed in black, armed, teen sought for bar rampage
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) â€" The attacker wore black, hiding his weapons inside a hooded sweat shirt, as he entered a popular gay nightspot in this historic seaport.
He flashed an apparently fake ID to the bartender, calmly ordered a drink and asked if it was a gay bar. Told that it was, the teenager attacked the patrons with a hatchet and handgun, sending three men to the hospital early Thursday, one with critical injuries.
AP
Robida
Authorities searched for Jacob Robida, 18, who was charged in an arrest warrant with assault, attempted murder and civil-rights violations.
According to court papers attached to the warrant, Robida's mother told police he came home around 1 a.m., bleeding from the head, then left again. Officers who searched his bedroom found what they described as "Nazi regalia" and anti-Semitic writings on the wall, the police affidavit said. It said Robida was recognized by a woman in the bar.
"Obviously, we have a man who's dangerous, who's not rational, and he has weapons," said Bristol District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr.
The bartender at Puzzles Lounge told The Associated Press the assailant walked in around midnight and drank a rum on the rocks. He ordered another and walked to the back of the bar, where two men were playing pool.
The attacker shoved one of the men to the ground, then pulled a hatchet from his sweat shirt and began swinging it at the man's head, said the bartender, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Phillip, because of concerns about his own safety while the gunman is at large.
The second pool player intervened, swinging at the assailant with his pool cue, but the attacker fended him off, the bartender said.
Several other patrons tried to stop him, and he was knocked off his feet, sending the hatchet flying, Phillip said.
The attacker then pulled out the handgun and shot one man, according to the bartender. He fired another bullet into the chest of a patron who was leaving the bathroom.
"He was shooting at everyone," Phillip said.
The attacker shoved the bartender before leaving the building and running up the street, he said.
Police arrived moments later, finding the hatchet on the barroom floor and a knife lying on the ground outside, though it was apparently never used in the attack.
Court documents said a woman in the bar recognized Robida as a current or former student at New Bedford High School. School officials declined to confirm whether Robida was enrolled there.
He was also known to New Bedford police because he graduated in 2001 from the city's Junior Police Academy, according to acting Police Chief David Provencher. The "boot camp" program is designed to teach discipline to 12- to 14-year-olds, many of whom are referred by juvenile courts or social services agencies.
Robida's mother, Stephanie Oliver, declined to comment Thursday through a family friend who answered the door at their home.
The wounded men were identified by police as Robert Perry of Dartmouth, Alex Taylor of Fairhaven and Luis Rosado of New Bedford.
Two were taken to Boston hospitals, where one was in critical condition with head wounds, according to police, who did not say which one. A third was taken to a hospital in New Bedford.
The two other victims had gunshot wounds, police said, but their exact conditions were unknown.
Puzzles is popular with the local gay community and is listed on several websites offering resources to gays and lesbians. Police said they rarely respond to reports of trouble there.
"If all the bars in the city were that quiet, we'd be great," police Capt. Richard Spirlet said.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
What I dodn't get is why if you are going to bash gays then why do it that way, it makes no sense. Why would you present a Fake ID to the bar tender and have a few drinks after you ask if it is a gay bar. Why not just walk in pull out the weapons as soon as you see all guys togather or pretend to hit on them and then go to town. Maybe I missunderstood what happened but to me it dosn't make sense . Now people in the bar know what you look like, and people have seen you have a few drinks. The part that is so scary is the hate. Since he had weapons on him it was planned it isn't like he went in there was hit on and freaked out. What makes it even worse is that it is a well known gay bar and is thought of (from my reading of it) as safe and a place you don't need to worry about attacks. It is one thing to not agree with how someone lives there life but, to attack someone because of it is insane and very evil. I think that is a lot scarier then if it happend out in the street because everyone is in there own small little safe community (the bar). It is also scary because in Many Places being gay isn't thought of as being a big deal. This reminds us that it can still be dangerous even in places where it is generaly excepted.
Dressed in black, armed, teen sought for bar rampage
NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) â€" The attacker wore black, hiding his weapons inside a hooded sweat shirt, as he entered a popular gay nightspot in this historic seaport.
He flashed an apparently fake ID to the bartender, calmly ordered a drink and asked if it was a gay bar. Told that it was, the teenager attacked the patrons with a hatchet and handgun, sending three men to the hospital early Thursday, one with critical injuries.
AP
Robida
Authorities searched for Jacob Robida, 18, who was charged in an arrest warrant with assault, attempted murder and civil-rights violations.
According to court papers attached to the warrant, Robida's mother told police he came home around 1 a.m., bleeding from the head, then left again. Officers who searched his bedroom found what they described as "Nazi regalia" and anti-Semitic writings on the wall, the police affidavit said. It said Robida was recognized by a woman in the bar.
"Obviously, we have a man who's dangerous, who's not rational, and he has weapons," said Bristol District Attorney Paul Walsh Jr.
The bartender at Puzzles Lounge told The Associated Press the assailant walked in around midnight and drank a rum on the rocks. He ordered another and walked to the back of the bar, where two men were playing pool.
The attacker shoved one of the men to the ground, then pulled a hatchet from his sweat shirt and began swinging it at the man's head, said the bartender, who asked to be identified only by his first name, Phillip, because of concerns about his own safety while the gunman is at large.
The second pool player intervened, swinging at the assailant with his pool cue, but the attacker fended him off, the bartender said.
Several other patrons tried to stop him, and he was knocked off his feet, sending the hatchet flying, Phillip said.
The attacker then pulled out the handgun and shot one man, according to the bartender. He fired another bullet into the chest of a patron who was leaving the bathroom.
"He was shooting at everyone," Phillip said.
The attacker shoved the bartender before leaving the building and running up the street, he said.
Police arrived moments later, finding the hatchet on the barroom floor and a knife lying on the ground outside, though it was apparently never used in the attack.
Court documents said a woman in the bar recognized Robida as a current or former student at New Bedford High School. School officials declined to confirm whether Robida was enrolled there.
He was also known to New Bedford police because he graduated in 2001 from the city's Junior Police Academy, according to acting Police Chief David Provencher. The "boot camp" program is designed to teach discipline to 12- to 14-year-olds, many of whom are referred by juvenile courts or social services agencies.
Robida's mother, Stephanie Oliver, declined to comment Thursday through a family friend who answered the door at their home.
The wounded men were identified by police as Robert Perry of Dartmouth, Alex Taylor of Fairhaven and Luis Rosado of New Bedford.
Two were taken to Boston hospitals, where one was in critical condition with head wounds, according to police, who did not say which one. A third was taken to a hospital in New Bedford.
The two other victims had gunshot wounds, police said, but their exact conditions were unknown.
Puzzles is popular with the local gay community and is listed on several websites offering resources to gays and lesbians. Police said they rarely respond to reports of trouble there.
"If all the bars in the city were that quiet, we'd be great," police Capt. Richard Spirlet said.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
What I dodn't get is why if you are going to bash gays then why do it that way, it makes no sense. Why would you present a Fake ID to the bar tender and have a few drinks after you ask if it is a gay bar. Why not just walk in pull out the weapons as soon as you see all guys togather or pretend to hit on them and then go to town. Maybe I missunderstood what happened but to me it dosn't make sense . Now people in the bar know what you look like, and people have seen you have a few drinks. The part that is so scary is the hate. Since he had weapons on him it was planned it isn't like he went in there was hit on and freaked out. What makes it even worse is that it is a well known gay bar and is thought of (from my reading of it) as safe and a place you don't need to worry about attacks. It is one thing to not agree with how someone lives there life but, to attack someone because of it is insane and very evil. I think that is a lot scarier then if it happend out in the street because everyone is in there own small little safe community (the bar). It is also scary because in Many Places being gay isn't thought of as being a big deal. This reminds us that it can still be dangerous even in places where it is generaly excepted.
02/01/2006 21:21 #28292
Lonely PeopleCategory: lyrics
I like a great variity of music. I'm sure not as much as some. But one song I have allways liked was Eleanor Rigby. Yeah Some beatles songs are amazing. But being a kid and liking the song should have been a warning sign. I look back on it as Ironic now. But oh well still a great song lyrics below for anyone who feals like reading it that dosn't know them (I only do when I hear the song).
(Lennon/McCartney)
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all belong?
THE BEATLES - "Eleanor Rigby" lyrics
(Lennon/McCartney)
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people (Ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all belong?
THE BEATLES - "Eleanor Rigby" lyrics
01/31/2006 20:47 #28291
Changing FaceCategory: elmwood
One thing I find interesting is how Elmwood Changes. Some businesses close and some open. Buildings come down and new ones go up. Lately it seems that more have been closing then opening but maybe that is just me. The below article is verry good about how Elmwood is changing. I got it from the Buffalo News on line today.
Three-story building to house upscale apartments, retail space
$1.2 million project set for Elmwood Ave.
By SHARON LINSTEDT
News Business Reporter
1/31/2006
Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News
Workers put in the foundation Monday for a commercial/residential building at 504 Elmwood Ave.
This artist's rendering of the 500-block of Elmwood Avenue shows how the three-story residential/commercial building will fit among the adjacent structures on the block.
Work has begun on a new $1.2 million commercial/residential project in the 500-block of Buffalo's Elmwood Avenue.
Crews are digging the foundations for a new three-story building at 504 Elmwood Ave., near the intersection of Elmwood and Utica avenues.
When complete this summer, the structure will feature 2,300 square feet of retail space, plus a handicap-accessible studio apartment on the ground floor. The upper floors will house eight, upscale apartments.
The project is the brainchild of three long-time Elmwood Avenue advocates, attorney Michael Ferdman, architect Karl Frizlen, and contractor Paul Johnson, working together at FJF LLC.
Ferdman, who served many years as president of Forever Elmwood, said the idea came out of conversations between he and Frizlen about targeting a derelict building on Elmwood Avenue for transformation.
"The idea was that instead of urging someone else to upgrade their building, we'd take it on ourselves," Ferdman said.
The two then brought Johnson, who has done several Elmwood Strip projects, onto the team. After weighing a few options, they decided on 504 Elmwood Ave., formerly the long-time home of Avenue Pizza, and most recently the short-lived Bidwell Elmwood, an eBay-linked auction business.
"Our original plan was to renovate, but we came to the conclusion that no matter how much money we put into the existing building, we couldn't guarantee it would be a structure with integrity," Ferdman said.
The trio received approvals from planning, preservation and neighborhood agencies to raze the existing building - a wood frame residence with a small brick addition in the front - and start from scratch.
"If you have to tear something down, it's critical to replace it with something much better. In this case the street is getting what we think is a very attractive building that will provide significantly more tenant density that what was there," Ferdman said.
Forever Elmwood Executive Director Justin Azzerella supports that goal.
"A great mixed use project is exactly what we are encouraging on Elmwood Avenue and we think this one will be phenomenal," Azzerella said.
Even as bulldozers were excavating the site, the development team started to get inquiries from prospective retail and residential tenants.
"Our goal for the first floor is to bring in a tenant that would add something new to the community. We would prefer to have something other than a restaurant, hair salon or gift shop," Ferdman said.
The 400 to 500 blocks of Elmwood Avenue are currently experiencing a turnover in retail tenants, including the upcoming closure of Pier One Imports, at 495 Elmwood Ave., which has been one of the street's anchors for two decades.
Artcrafters Gallery, at 472 Elmwood Ave., another veteran retailer, is preparing to close its doors and is having a going-out-of-business sale. And a Subway Sandwich shop sits idle a few doors away.
The block has also welcomed BeYouTiful, a new women's apparel shop at 513 Elmwood Ave. which debuted in last December. The store, owned by Jetaun Jones, offers "contemporary chic" clothing.
The new building features two upper floors of balconied residential units. The second floor will have four one-bedroom, and two two-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 600 to 850 square feet of space.
The third floor will have four loft-style units with as many as three bedrooms, ranging in size from 800 to 1,100 square feet. All of the dwellings will be accessed from a central stair tower at the rear of the building.
The Community Preservation Corp., a nonprofit, private mortgage firm, is providing some $900,000 in construction and long-term financing.
e-mail: slinstedt@buffnews.com
Three-story building to house upscale apartments, retail space
$1.2 million project set for Elmwood Ave.
By SHARON LINSTEDT
News Business Reporter
1/31/2006
Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News
Workers put in the foundation Monday for a commercial/residential building at 504 Elmwood Ave.
This artist's rendering of the 500-block of Elmwood Avenue shows how the three-story residential/commercial building will fit among the adjacent structures on the block.
Work has begun on a new $1.2 million commercial/residential project in the 500-block of Buffalo's Elmwood Avenue.
Crews are digging the foundations for a new three-story building at 504 Elmwood Ave., near the intersection of Elmwood and Utica avenues.
When complete this summer, the structure will feature 2,300 square feet of retail space, plus a handicap-accessible studio apartment on the ground floor. The upper floors will house eight, upscale apartments.
The project is the brainchild of three long-time Elmwood Avenue advocates, attorney Michael Ferdman, architect Karl Frizlen, and contractor Paul Johnson, working together at FJF LLC.
Ferdman, who served many years as president of Forever Elmwood, said the idea came out of conversations between he and Frizlen about targeting a derelict building on Elmwood Avenue for transformation.
"The idea was that instead of urging someone else to upgrade their building, we'd take it on ourselves," Ferdman said.
The two then brought Johnson, who has done several Elmwood Strip projects, onto the team. After weighing a few options, they decided on 504 Elmwood Ave., formerly the long-time home of Avenue Pizza, and most recently the short-lived Bidwell Elmwood, an eBay-linked auction business.
"Our original plan was to renovate, but we came to the conclusion that no matter how much money we put into the existing building, we couldn't guarantee it would be a structure with integrity," Ferdman said.
The trio received approvals from planning, preservation and neighborhood agencies to raze the existing building - a wood frame residence with a small brick addition in the front - and start from scratch.
"If you have to tear something down, it's critical to replace it with something much better. In this case the street is getting what we think is a very attractive building that will provide significantly more tenant density that what was there," Ferdman said.
Forever Elmwood Executive Director Justin Azzerella supports that goal.
"A great mixed use project is exactly what we are encouraging on Elmwood Avenue and we think this one will be phenomenal," Azzerella said.
Even as bulldozers were excavating the site, the development team started to get inquiries from prospective retail and residential tenants.
"Our goal for the first floor is to bring in a tenant that would add something new to the community. We would prefer to have something other than a restaurant, hair salon or gift shop," Ferdman said.
The 400 to 500 blocks of Elmwood Avenue are currently experiencing a turnover in retail tenants, including the upcoming closure of Pier One Imports, at 495 Elmwood Ave., which has been one of the street's anchors for two decades.
Artcrafters Gallery, at 472 Elmwood Ave., another veteran retailer, is preparing to close its doors and is having a going-out-of-business sale. And a Subway Sandwich shop sits idle a few doors away.
The block has also welcomed BeYouTiful, a new women's apparel shop at 513 Elmwood Ave. which debuted in last December. The store, owned by Jetaun Jones, offers "contemporary chic" clothing.
The new building features two upper floors of balconied residential units. The second floor will have four one-bedroom, and two two-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 600 to 850 square feet of space.
The third floor will have four loft-style units with as many as three bedrooms, ranging in size from 800 to 1,100 square feet. All of the dwellings will be accessed from a central stair tower at the rear of the building.
The Community Preservation Corp., a nonprofit, private mortgage firm, is providing some $900,000 in construction and long-term financing.
e-mail: slinstedt@buffnews.com
you are so right. this is a scary wake up call that just because in our comfort zone here being gay (or any type of minority) is not a big deal at all - doesnt mean this isnt true in other areas. even in buffalo - and that is very, very sad.
Let the piece of shit fry.