A Message For Anti-Taylor Swift Pittsburgh Sports Fans

Taylor Swift is arguably the biggest current musician in the world. Travis Kelce is a future Hall-of Famer football player who just won his third Super Bowl in the last five years. Naturally, the relationship between these talented individuals has garnered some attention. Too much attention? Maybe. Is that the fault of Swift and Kelce? Again, maybe. 

 

Surrounding the Super Bowl, I have seen numerous mentions of Taylor Swift from Pittsburgh sports fans critical of the attention she has received, and the amount of screen time she gets during football games. Swift ended up appearing on screen for 55 seconds during the Super Bowl. That's less than the amount of time that Tom Brady appeared on screen during commercials. While that number increased during the post-game celebration, 55 seconds of a 3+ hour telecast is insiginificant. So to those Pittsburgh sports fans mad about Swift, why are you upset? Do you think she takes attention from the game, or do you just want to admit that you don't like her?

Now if a Pittsburgh sports fan says that they hate how the attention on Swift takes away from the game, they clearly forgot about the Cole Tucker-Vanessa Hudgens relationship. Maybe Hudgens didn't get much (or any) screen time during Pirates games, but that had more to do with Tucker only playing 43 games with the team after the relationship started.

 

Maybe Hudgens-Tucker is a bad example. So what about all of the media coverage and camera shots of Evgeni Malkin's parents during the Penguins' Stanley Cup runs? Did you find that distracted you from the games? How dare the cameras cut to Geno's parents celebrating after he scored a big playoff goal! The focus needs to be on the game, right?

 

Let's not act like Pittsburghers are immune from being starstruck. Joshua Axelrod of the Post-Gazette, who I like and enjoy his work, regularly writes about television and movies being filmed in Pittsburgh. My guess is these are some of his most-read pieces. There are countless stories about where Tom Hanks had dinner or what gym Emma Watson visited or Ed Sheeran making pizzas during their time in Pittsburgh.

 

The same people critical of the screen time Taylor Swift receives during football games didn't complain about Jay-Z attending a Pitt-Duke game at The Pete. They don't scream about in-game interviews of Steelers players attending Pirates or Penguins games. How many times did Ben Roethlisberger get on TV during Pens games? Where was the outrage then? What about the many celebrities (such as Wiz Khalifa and Michael Keaton) who throw out the first pitch of a Pirates game and then are shown during the telecast? The Pirates even had a K-Pop superstar throw out the first pitch of a 2015 game. Never seen any complaints about in-game interviews with or television shots of Joe Manganiello or Billy Gardell. I remember people celebrating Sofia Vergara becoming a Steelers fan after she started dating Manganiello. 

Admit it. You're mad about Taylor Swift. Maybe it's her politics or her music or the attention, but it’s about you not liking Swift. Now if you're consistent in your belief that players' significant others, parents, or kids or any other celebrity should never appear on screen during sporting events, feel free to share. Show me receipts as the kids say. (Do kids say this?) And if you don't have any, start now with the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

 

Pitcher Paul Skenes was baseball's #1 draft pick in 2023. If he lives up to his potential, Skenes will be an all-star and one of the best pitchers in the National League. Assuming (and I know it's a big assumption) that the Pirates make the playoffs thanks to great performances by Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, etc., Skenes' girlfriend Olivia "Livvy" Dunne might appear at playoff games. Although she doesn't sell out stadiums like Swift, Dunne is a big deal. She is a gymnast at LSU, appears in TV commercials and magazine covers, and has nearly 5 million followers on Instagram and more on other social media sites. 

 

If it’s not about Taylor Swift, start posting on social media everyday how you hope that Dunne is never shown during Pirates games. Start telling all your friends that any Pirates loss or Skenes bad start is because Dunne is a distraction. Let’s see the videos about how Dunne was hired by Pirates owner Bob Nutting to help Joe Biden get re-elected (or something). If the Pirates make the playoffs, please complain about how Dunne is attracting more people including young women to become Pirates fans. I’ll be here to read all about it!

* Photo of Taylor and Travis from AFP via Getty Images. Not 100% certain, but I think it was taken by Patrick T. Fallon.

* Photo of Vanessa and Cole from Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty.

* Photo of Olivia and Paul from her Instagram page.

Sean's 2017 Grammy Awards Recap

I promised that I wasn't going to write about the Grammys this year. I just didn't have the time. Then I started watching the ceremony, and this happened:

* Ed Sheeran performed his new song. The Weeknd performed his new song. Beyoncé had a new song(?)/spoken word performance that has never been seen before. Meanwhile, Adele opened the show by performing Hello, a song that has been out for well over a year.

* Do the Daft Punk guys ever get tired of wearing this outfit?

At some point, you'd think they would want to come out on stage wearing a T-shirt and jeans and maybe a Sia wig.

* I've head The Weeknd's new song on the radio a few times and really thought it was a new Michael Jackson song that was recorded before his death and only released now.

* If you were going up against David Bowie in any category, you knew you were going to lose, right?

* It's a good thing that Chance The Rapper has had a successful music career. It would be odd for him to answer phone calls and reply to e-mails as Chance The Rapper if he worked as an accountant or plumber. Of course, in that case, maybe he would change his name to Chance The Accountant or Chance The Plumber.

* 21 Pilots said that they watched the Grammys several years ago and pledged that they would accept a Grammy award in their underwear if they ever won. Is it common for groups of teenage/millennial males to sit around watching television in their underwear?

* My next door neighbor in college played Award Tour by A Tribe Called Quest all the time. It was great to hear the song (well part of the song) performed live.

* John Legend and Chrissy Teigen must have an amazing babysitter. They regularly appear at award shows and functions, and I doubt the baby travels with them.

* Meanwhile, apparently Jay-Z and Beyoncé couldn't find a babysitter on Sunday, so they just brought their daughter Blue Ivy to the Grammys. Personally, I would have loved for there have been a separate TV station simply showing Jay-Z and Blue Ivy (and Beyoncé though she was on stage or backstage for a significant part of the show). For example, let's see if Blue Ivy has a meltdown when she discovers that Jay-Z forgot to pack an applesauce. Or, what is Jay-Z's reaction when the kid asks for Goldfish but then decides that it's more fun to throw them instead of eat the snack? Are random people coming up to Blue Ivy telling her that she's cute? Jay-Z probably doesn't want random people coming up to his daughter.

* James Brown was known as the Hardest Working Man in Show Business. Someone needs to give Lady Gaga the Hardest Working Woman in Show Business title. After an impressive Super Bowl halftime show where she ran all over the stage, she had less than a week to prepare for a Grammy performance with Metallica.

* Compare that to the Carpool Karaoke bit. John Legend and Faith Hill clearly didn't know the words to Sweet Caroline. Practice for 10 minutes, particularly when you know you're going to sing with Neil Diamond!



And with that, goodbye from the other side.

I Am a Terrible Father

The first few days after my child was born last year were a blur. I barely slept and constantly worried about how frequently he should eat and if he was getting enough food. I must have tried bundling my child in a blanket hundreds of times and changing diapers was a brand new experience. I think the only time I left the hospital was to run home to feed Ziggy.

I clearly failed as a father, though, since I didn’t release a song produced by Pharrell only days after my child’s birth and include my baby in the song. I hope my child will forgive me. Perhaps writing a blog post about being a new father will be a consolation.

I also apologize to my child for not naming him after a color or a Roman numeral/plant. I should have named him Red Cactus or Black Velvet* or something.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, click here for more information and to hear the song.

* Even if you don’t know the lyrics, I’m sure that this song will now be stuck in your head. You’re welcome!

Neil Diamond, the Washington Wizards and More

I hate writing this since I’m such a big fan, but I think Neil Diamond somewhat mailed in his performance at the Grammy Awards on Sunday night. Considering that he’s performed Sweet Caroline thousands of times, I guess he deserves a pass.

The one interesting part of Neil’s performance was the reaction of Paul McCartney. He was really, really into it.

On the Friday before the Grammy Awards, MusiCares, a charity founded by The Recording Academy, honored Neil Diamond as the 2009 Person of the Year. For only $75,000, you could have a Diamond Sponsorship (I don’t think the name is related to the singer) with three Diamond tables (36 seats), a 4-color page in the Tribute Journal (whatever that is) and recognition on the dinner invitation. While I guess this was a tax write-off and included dinner and performances by Adele, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Josh Groban, Jennifer Hudson and Tim McGraw, $75,000 seems like a lot of money. Actually, if you split the cost 36 ways, it’s only $2083.33. That seems much more reasonable.

I watched a nice romantic comedy on TBS or TNT (I always get the two mixed-up) called Braveheart. Good movie!

At 33, I don’t consider myself old but I am older than every player on the Washington Wizards roster.

The Wizards program includes a feature that asks the players the first concert they attended. In most cases, the answer was Jay-Z or Beyonce. For Darius Songaila, the answer was Train. I just thought you would like to know this.

Look for Trivia Tuesday later today. In addition, if you haven't already, please take the extremely important poll on the top right of this page.

Live Grammy Awards Journal

Welcome to my live coverage (from my couch) of the 50th Grammy Awards. I will be writing about the Grammys throughout the evening or until I get bored or tired. Kanye West leads all artists with eight nominations and I expect him to get a few wins tonight. The big story of the evening will probably be Amy Winehouse, who has six nominations, but will not be in attendance since she was denied a visa.

This is usually about the time when I make predictions, but I really have no idea who will win. Seriously, who do you think will win Record of the Year between Beyonce (Irreplaceable); Foo Fighters (The Pretender); Justin Timberlake (What Goes Around…Comes Around); Amy Winehouse (Rehab); and Rihanna featuring Jay-Z (Umbrella)? You can probably make a case for any of these five. Actually, the bigger question is who does Jay-Z support for this award: himself or his girlfriend (they’re not married yet?) Beyonce?

In case you were wondering, Barack Obama has already won a Grammy today for the Best Spoken Word Album category. Obama defeated Maya Angelou, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and Alan Alda. No offense to Alan Alda, who has won several Emmys and been nominated for an Oscar, but he really didn’t have a chance.

I’ll be back with updates later, but in the meantime, I leave you with this. 18-year-old Taylor Swift is up for Best New Artist. Swift may be best known for her single, "Teardrops on My Guitar," which features the line, "The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star." Wishing on a wishing star? Who would use wishing, or a variation of wish or wishing, twice in the same sentence? The great Terence Trent Darby would never do such a thing.
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- I have to applaud CBS and the Grammys for a great get to open the show. I don’t know how they convinced Frank Sinatra to come out of, um, retirement, to perform.

- Alicia Keys had a nice little duet with Sinatra and then came out to welcome the crowd. Does the Grammys not have a host? Was Ellen DeGeneres not available? (I’m anti-Ellen at the moment. I stayed home from work on Thursday because I was sick and caught the beginning of her show. She opened by dancing around the audience, taking people’s purses along the way. Then, she went through people’s purses making fun of the contents. I decided right then that no matter how sick I felt Friday morning, I was going to work.)

- Before I forget, how many commercials do you think we’ll see tonight for the latest edition of Big Brother? I’ll guess at least three.

- Carrie Underwood had a nice performance of “Before He Cheats” with the people from Stomp (I think). She dedicated the song to Tony Romo. (This is completely untrue, but why not start a rumor.)

- Prince presented the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Prince is probably 50 by now, but he’s still cool and always will be. The winner: Alicia Keys, who looks very good tonight. However, I hope that this doesn’t start a trend of an artist performing and then winning the award while being on the side of the stage.

- Next performance, The Time, but part-way through the performance, out comes Rihanna. I really like "Please Don’t Stop the Music," but can do without "Umbrella." Now it’s The Time and Rihanna together. I never would have predicted that combination.

- Tom Hanks presents a lifetime Grammy Award to The Band. I put them at #12 in my list of the Top 25 greatest Canadian musicians (4/5 of the band is from Canada). Then, he quickly segues into this little band called The Beatles and Cirque de Soleil performs part of its show “Love.” It’s Tom Hanks! You didn’t expect him to introduce Plain White T’s, did you?

- I didn’t mention this before, but as always, feel free to share your own comments below. In addition, you can see who has already won awards at Grammy.com. It looks like very few awards are actually going to be presented on the air.
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- An actual award! Cyndi Lauper and Mylie Cyrus present the Best New Artist. Lauper gushes all over Cyrus saying something about Cyrus lassoing the moon and that we’ll see her in this category next year. In a surprise (not at all), Amy Winehouse wins.

- I’m going to pretend that the Jason Bateman thing didn’t happen. He looked a bit out of place.

- Back to performances. Kanye West was terrific with “Stronger” featuring Daft Punk and then received a standing ovation for “Hey Mama.” Fergie then sings her song “Finally” with John Legend.

- It’s only 9:00pm Eastern time, and I’m already tiring. If you’re looking for other TV options, a new episode of Rock of Love 2 is airing on VH1, Family Guy is on Fox (not sure if it’s new or not), and we’re part-way through Office Space on Comedy Central.
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- It’s Beyonce; then Tina Turner; then both of them together for “Proud Mary.” I have nothing witty to write except that seeing Turner perform reminds me of the New York Post’s (I believe) headline from a few months ago: “Ike Beats Tina to Death.” Keep on dancing Tina! Another standing ovation.

- Andy Williams? I’m amazed that the Grammys were able to get both him and Sinatra since they both, you know, are no longer with us. Oh wait, Andy Williams is really there with Nelly Furtado and someone else. I’m a terrible person for even writing this paragraph.

- Another Amy Winehouse win for Song of the Year. Everyone keeps mentioning that Winehouse will be around later performing live via satellite from London. It’s going to be after 2:00am in London by the time she performs. I hope she’s not taking Vivarin or something illegal to keep herself awake.

- Jason Bateman is again awkward introducing the Grammy moment winner. Fortunately, Foo Fighters are there with an excellent performance of “The Pretender” with the Grammy moment winner, an orchestra and John Paul Jones to bail him out.

- I don’t think Kristy Jo is going to make it through the end of tonight’s Rock of Love 2. She has been one of my favorites, but she’s having a rough time.
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- Kanye West wins Best Rap Album and says that if he doesn’t win Best Album, Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson (the producer) should win. In an unprecedented award show moment, he also gets the telecast to stop playing the music they play to get an artist off the stage to say something about his mother.

- Ludacris introduces Aretha Franklin as the Queen of Soul. When Beyonce introduced Tina Turner earlier tonight, she called her “The Queen.” No offense to Tina Turner (I’ve written this way too many times tonight), who I think is an amazing artist, but Aretha is the queen.

- Kristy Jo is staying since another girl decided to go; however, it turns out that the other girl was going to be sent home anyway. Why do I watch this crap?

- Back to the Grammys, another Canadian, Feist, is on stage. It may be too soon to add her to the list of top Canadian performers, but she at least gets an honorable mention.

- I am getting sleepy.

- Kid Rock and Keely Smith sing together? That’s even more random than The Time and Rihanna. They then present the Best Rock Album to Foo Fighters. I’m pretty sure that Dave Grohl kissed Keely Smith on the lips.
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- Alicia Keys is not the queen. Stevie Wonder calls her incomparable. By the way, how many times is Keys going to perform tonight? Is this like a few years ago when Justin Timberlake seemed to be on stage for the entire show? Is Timberlake even there tonight?

- Ringo Starr and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics come out to say that “my country send me to United States to make movie-film. Please, come and see my film. If it not success, I will be execute.” Actually, Ringo says that he likes country music. Vince Gill wins something, makes a joke that involves Kanye (I missed it) and gets a laugh from the crowd and Kanye.

- I zoned out for a few minutes, but Rihanna won something, and now Cuba Gooding Jr. is live in London to introduce Amy Winehouse.

- Amy Winehouse performs and then wins Record of the Year. She thanked a few people, including her parents, but not her husband. Is he still in jail?

I'm done. Congratulations and thank you to everyone who made it this far!

Update 2/11 @ 7:00am: Here's a recap of the Grammys from Yahoo. Apparently, Winehouse did thank her jailed husband, but I missed it.