The Emmys were on Monday, and AMC smash hit “Breaking Bad” cleaned up for the fifth year in a row. Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn each won in their respective categories, as did Moira Walley-Beckett for writing “Ozymandias,” the show’s heart-stopping third-to-last episode. The show also won in the Outstanding Drama Series category, beating out other excellent series, including “Game of Thrones,” “True Detective” and “House of Cards.” “Breaking Bad” is undoubtedly one of the most innovative, complex and entertaining shows in modern TV history. It’s only fitting that Walter White goes out on top. We award a Crystal-Blue-Persuasion LAUREL to the Emmy voters.
“Breaking Bad’s” strong performance at the Emmys wasn’t the only award-show-related news from the week. Miley Cyrus took a break from swinging naked on construction equipment, twerking and whatever else she does on the weekend to attend the MTV Video Music Awards. Cyrus opted to have Jesse Helt, a 22-year-old homeless man, accept her Best Video of 2014 award. Helt spoke about the chronic issue of homelessness in Los Angeles. Cyrus’ decision to use the young man as the face for her cause was quickly clouded by controversy. News surfaced that Helt faces arrest in Oregon for failing to meet the standards of his probation stemming from a criminal trespassing charge. Despite her chosen spokesman’s questionable past, it does seem that Miley’s heart was mostly in the right place. This week, a remarkably socially aware LAUREL goes to The Artist Formerly Known as Hannah Montana.
Florida went to the polls this week and nominated Charlie Crist and Rick Scott for the respective gubernatorial nominations of the Democratic and Republican parties. In the weeks leading up to the primary elections, Floridians were bombarded with an endless barrage of emails, phone calls and mailings promoting the various candidates. The desire for political candidates to get their message out is understandable, but it seems likely that this information overload is frustrating voters more than it is educating them. Unfortunately, Florida residents can expect a major escalation of the political advertising wars in the two remaining months before the general election in November. A leave-us-alone DART to pesky political ads.
One of the biggest stories of the NFL offseason was the drafting of Michael Sam, former Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year, by the St. Louis Rams. Sam became the first openly gay player to be selected in the NFL Draft. Despite endless media coverage about potentially difficult adjustments in the Rams locker room, the most prominent Sam-related headlines came when he sacked noted partier and bird-flipper Johnny Manziel in a preseason game. Naturally, ESPN decided to go off the deep end this week by airing a report about which St. Louis players have shared the shower room with Sam. Although ESPN quickly apologized for this ridiculous and offensive non-story, the report is proof that the sensationalizing of Michael Sam’s sexuality is not done just yet. We’re giving a how-tone-deaf-can-you-be? DART to the Worldwide Leader in Ill-Advised Sports Stories.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 8/29/2014 under the headline "Darts & Laurels"]
