DEA agents made a surprise visit to several NFL locker rooms to question medical staff members over distribution of painkillers in the league over the weekend. Also, The Senate takes up the Keystone XL oil pipeline in a vote tomorrow. What would the Keystone XL pipeline do to nearby communities? Then, the Oxford English Dictionary releases the word of the year later today.
Just how serious is the federal investigation into NFL painkiller abuse
Over the weekend, DEA agents made a surprise visit to several NFL locker rooms to question medical staff members over the distribution of painkillers in the league. The DEA spoke with the medical staff of the New York Giants, the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers among others.
This comes after dozens of former NFL players filed a lawsuit alleging they were given prescription drugs. The suit claims players lined pregame “to receive injections of Toradol in a ‘cattle call’... regardless of whether the player had an injury of any kind.” The players contend that the league failed to warn them of the consequences of the drugs, which “can prevent the feeling of injury” and thus make it harder for them to recognize when they had concussions. A 2011 study, by the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, found that “fifty percent of retired players used prescription pain medication during their playing days and 71 percent of those said they misused them then.”
Guest:
Mel Owens, sports law attorney representing athletes suing the NFL; founding partner of the firm Namanny, Byrne & Owens representing professional athletes, former NFL linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams (1981-89)
Don Catlin, founder & Director of the Anti-Doping Research Institute; founder of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory; Professor Emeritus of Molecular Pharmacology at UCLA School of Medicine
Richard Mangan, Former DEA investigator and professor of criminal justice, Florida Atlantic University
California controller invites greater scrutiny of pension obligations
In the name of transparency, State Controller John Chiang has added reams of data about public pension liabilities to his website. "In the months ahead, California and its local communities will continue to wrestle with how to responsibly manage the unfunded liabilities associated with providing retirement security to police, firefighters, teachers and other providers of critical public services,” explained Chiang, adding “Those debates and the actions that flow from them must be informed by reliable data that is free of political spin or ideological bias." Still, numbers that show pension obligations growing while money in the coffers is shrinking does add fuel to the fire of self-described pension reformers.
How are unions responding? Will Chiang’s transparency motivate new ideas for additional funds?
Guests:
Dan Pellissier, President of California Pension Reform
Keith Brainard, Research Director, National Association of State Retirement Administrators
NBA Commissioner supports legalized betting on pro sports
Outside of the state of Nevada, betting on professional sports is illegal. Yet outside of the United States, betting on professional sports is as much a part of their culture as tailgating is in ours. Those in the U.S. who do want to bet on professional sports have to resort to questionably-legitimate bookmaking operations and offshore gambling websites.
In an op-ed penned in the New York Times, National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver argues that betting on professional sports is already happening underground and online, despite laws prohibiting it. In 1992, Congress passed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which basically prohibits states from allowing betting on professional sports.
Commissioner Silver says there is a clear desire among sports fans to be able to bet on professional sports, and that Congress should begin laying the framework to legalize betting on professional sports but also have strict regulations and technological safeguards.
So far there has been a small amount of support from the sports world. The outspoken owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, said this weekend that he agreed with Commissioner Silver on the issue. The commissioners of the other three major professional sports in the U.S. have remained silent on the situation, for the most part. National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman suggested during an interview with CNN’s Unguarded on Saturday that legalizing betting on pro sports could drastically change the nature of sport.
Do you think betting on professional sports should be allowed in all U.S. states? What are the potential pros and cons of betting on pro sports being legalized? If it were to be legalized, how would it be regulated?
Guests:
James Butler, Director, California Coalition Against the Expansion of Gambling
RJ Bell, founder of Pregame.com, a sports betting website in Las Vegas
Maybe 9th time is the charm? Senate takes up Keystone XL Pipeline
The Senate takes up the Keystone XL oil pipeline in a vote tomorrow after the Republican-controlled House approved the project on Friday for the ninth time. Last week’s vote was 252-161, with not a single GOP lawmaker voting against it and with the support of 31 Democrats. Supporters in the Democratic-run Senate predict this time they’ll get the 60 votes needed to pass it. Should the Senate send the bill to Obama for his signature, he would face a decision that pits his environmental concerns about the pipeline against any obligation he might feel to help his fellow Democrat Mary Landrieu, who’s in a in a Dec. 6 runoff against the bill’s sponsor, republican Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-La. to keep her Senate seat.
The project would pipe oil extracted from tar sand through six states - 1,700 miles - to refineries in Texas. Environmental groups argue that the pipeline, even with several thousand data points and advanced mechanisms for halting the flow of oil, could have serious negative impacts on the sensitive areas surrounding the route. Pipeline proponents argue that extraction will occur with or without the pipeline due to high demand for oil and emphasize the importance of job creation. Energy companies are already transporting crude oil by rail. And a State Department report earlier this year found that the potential impact to carbon emissions is not significant compared to the emissions already coming from extraction and rail transport.
What would the Keystone XL pipeline do to nearby communities? Is this the most economically viable and efficient plan? Which energy sources should the U.S. be investing in?
Guests:
Bob Deans, director of content for the NRDC where much of his work has focused on the Keystone Pipeline project
Chris Faulkner, CEO and Founder of Breitling Energy Corporation, an oil and natural gas company in Dallas Texas
The Web FTW! How Internet slang has worked its way into the English language
Selfies, hashtags and Throwback Thursdays are just a few of the terms that have been coined in recent years because of the Internet. Or maybe we should say “because Internet.” Thanks to creative gamers, bloggers and social media trolls, things like “YOLO,” “FTW” and “epic fail” can now be heard and read everywhere.
With the Oxford English Dictionary set to release its Word of the Year Monday evening (update: it's "vape"), we started thinking about the evolution of Internet slang and language. How often do you use Internet slang in your daily life? What are some of your favorite words coined by the Internet, memes, or social media?
Guest:
Emmy Favilla, Copy Chief at BuzzFeed
Bob Hope: Entertainer of the Century
He’s been dubbed the father of stand up comedy. He’s acted in movies, entertained American troops with the USO, starred in vaudeville and even put out a few singles. Over the course of his 70 year career, Bob Hope established himself as the definition of an entertainer. Today, his influence is still visible here in Southern California. Burbank’s airport bears his name in honor of his contributions to the nearby entertainment industry.
Richard Zoglin’s new biography Hope: Entertainer of the Century chronicles Hope’s career in entertainment, highlighting his massive success in showbiz, his commitment to public service, and his business savvy. It also explores Hope’s personal life, his repuation for being cheap and self-centered, and his well-known womanizing. Zoglin’s book is the result of extensive reporting and the cooperation of the Hope family, who made more than 250 boxes of Hope’s papers available to him for the book.
Hope’s death in 2003 at the age of 100 was a crushing loss to the entertainment world, but his legacy and influence is still very visible in the L.A. area.
What is your favorite Bob Hope memory? Do you have a favorite film, interview, or comedy routine of his? Do you agree or disagree with Zoglin’s argument that Bob Hope was the most important entertainer of the 20th century?
Guest:
Richard Zoglin, author “Hope Entertainer of the Century,” Theater critic, Time Magazine