Bravo to the MLB playoffs. The first four games of the League Championship Series, which include four of MLB’s most storied franchises (St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox), have been four of the best games we have seen this season and have included everything from pitchers' duels to game-tying grand slams. Boo to the President of McDonald’s, Jeff Stratton, whose only response to a woman who can't feed and clothe her children on the pay she has received after working for the fast food giant for 10 years was, “I’ve been here for 40.” Sensitivity is obviously not his strong suit. Bravo to the U.S. Olympic Committee for adding sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy, adding protection for LGBTQ athletes. The decision comes four months before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, which has been embroiled in controversy because of a Russian law that targets homosexuality. Boo to a new California law that allows community colleges to charge higher tuition for in-demand courses. The law, signed Oct. 10, will permit colleges to charge higher prices to offer extension courses for classes with long waiting lists. This essentially develops a money-based "fast pass" for classes, creating a two-tiered education system based on economic wealth. Boo-ravo to Glee's latest episode, "The Quarterback." After Cory Monteith died on July 13, heartbroken fans worried about how the beloved show would handle it, and it's clear now that the writers, cast and crew did a good job. Everyone can find a way to relate to the football-star-turned-singer-turned-military-recruit-turned-aspiring-teacher, and "The Quarterback" celebrated the fictional character Finn and the person Cory in a touching, cathartic way. As sad as we are that Monteith passed away, it was a fitting tribute. Boo to the Oct. 13 Tea Party protests in Washington, D.C., which featured Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, former Alaska gov. Sarah Palin and Confederate flag-wavers. Attendees were protesting the closure of the World War II Memorial and the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as "Obamacare." The event bordered on ludicrous as Larry Klayman of conservative group Freedom Watch urged President Barack Obama to "to put the Quran down."
Boo to the insanity of some fans in the sports world. At this weekend's Cardinals-49ers game, San Francisco fans thought it appropriate to start doing the wave when a Cardinals player was taken off the field on a stretcher. Classy. In Houston, Texans fans cheered when their own quarterback, Matt Schaub, was removed from the game because of injury. Schaub has struggled this season, and while fans may be happy he was no longer playing in the game, cheering an injury is just bad sportsmanship.
Bravo to the city of Boston and to Northeastern University for their display of archived stories and memorabilia on the six-month anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings this week. The display took place in Copley Square as well as Northeastern's Snell Library. Bravo to the Outliars Comedy Club House in Tempe's Twin Palms Hotel for hosting a free dinner and show on Oct. 17 for government employees affected by the shutdown. The free event is also open to the unemployed and students.
Boo-ravo to Malala Yousafzai, 16, losing out on the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote education for women and girls. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons won the Nobel Peace Prize instead. Yousafzai came to prominence after she survived a shooting by the Taliban of Pakistan. While she didn't win the Nobel Prize, she received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought last week. Previous recipients of the European Parliament's award for promoting freedom of thought include Nelson Mandela and Reporters without Borders.
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