Championship Bonus Drop in Bucket

NEW YORK -- In about a week’s time, the Indianapolis Colts will face the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV. Per tradition, players from both teams will receive bonuses for their success throughout the season.

A bit of history: In Super Bowl I, the winners from the annual game would receive $15,000 each, while the losers would earn $7,500. These bonuses came during an era when players were considered “underpaid” and didn’t have access to the Players’ Union and agents the way professionals do now.

In the loose Sixties, the bonus was considered to be similar to an “employee of the month”-like paycheck, because the players were just honest men trying to make an honest living.

In this year’s championship game, the checks have reached $83,000 for the winners and $42,000 for the losers. Naturally, an uproar has been begun – from the players.

Football players from both the Saints and Colts have come forward to complain that the bonuses have not been adjusted appropriately for inflation over the last forty-two years. NFL players are worried that these extra paychecks will not be enough to afford food and shelter for their families.

Reggie Bush, second overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, running back for the Saints, scoffs at the petty bonus he will receive. “I mean shit, I could make more money in a weekend back at USC. This is just pathetic. If Pete [Carroll] heard about the NFL trying to pull this bullshit on us, he’d fucking throw a fit.”

Bush’s girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, was also alarmed at how little players receive for taking their teams to the Super Bowl. In a telephone interview, she told 57/60/71, “If [Commissioner] Goodell can afford to go hiking in the Himalayas, then he can afford to pay his players a decent salary. Things aren’t as cheap as they used to be. We’re in a recession for Christ’s sake. How does he expect his employees to survive on so little?”

When asked his opinion via iChat, Detroits Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz responded, “Do you really think I give a fuck about what players at the Super Bowl get paid? Do you really? Fuck you and your stupid blog. You’re a fucking asshole. We’ve been having a few rebuilding seasons you prick.”

Others disagree with Bush and Kardashian. Peyton Manning, NFL MVP and All-Pro quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, thinks that the bonuses are more than enough. Manning, of course, promotes Kraft “Mac ‘n Cheese” on television and radio. Even more, he claims to make the affordable snack the majority of his meals.

“Who could blame Roger [Goodell]? I mean, we’re in a recession right now, people need to cut back. And if that means players eat macaroni and cheese twice a day for a couple months, so be it. We can all do our part. Oh, and by the way, Reggie Bush is a fag.”

[UPDATE: 2-1-10 10:15 AM PST] Reggie Bush has formally responded to Peyton Manning's remarks: "I will crack you. You fucking cracker."

- Taylor Kirchgraber, Sports Analyst with Adam T. O'Neal

Chase: Part I

Here we have an exclusive clip from the soon to be released Chase. It stars Adam T. O'Neal, Joshua H. Coronado, the scantily-clad Steven Roso and Adrien Parker behind the camera. Expect more clips from Chase in the near future.

A Dubious Drive: Part I

Part I of VI

It must have been past midnight when I arrived. In a city that supposedly never slept, I didn’t think it’d be too hard to find a quaint little diner to have some coffee and a quick meal. I was starving and dead tired. Vegas was exactly what I needed.

I didn’t want to go near the strip. The food was probably better but the stop lights would kill me. Instead, I moved east of the strip, the type of place my parents would tell me to avoid. It was the type of place that Creed would place himself intentionally just for the sake of being there.
I didn’t know where I was but I did know that given the amount of melanin in my skin, it probably would be wise to turn down my music when driving through this part of town. Finally, I came up on a diner that was exactly what I wanted.

As I pulled into the gravel driveway I could hear the little pieces of earth crackling under my car.

Just as I was about to park, I noticed that the Atmosphere song I had been listening to was about to end. I was hoping for the bass to peak out as I pulled into the spot and for the song to end entirely as I turned off my car. I was too late and the next track started, maybe next time. It could happen one day – music was always playing in my car.

The lot was nearly empty but I still locked my car and walked in.

The diner was more barren than the parking lot. I sat down in a booth in the corner and removed my hat. I looked at where I was sitting.

The booth was made of thick red cushion. I could feel the grease everywhere. I don’t think it had been spilled directly onto the table, just built up over the years instead. I could feel the fat and oil in the air. It filled my lungs.

While I waited, I played with my hat’s brim. The waitress approached me and read me instantly, “I’ll get you a coffee.” I didn’t even ask. She came and left the pot. I liked this one. She left me alone too, only came by to fill my coffee up.

Just as I was finishing up an older man walked in.

He was either a veteran or just out of prison – maybe both. The messy, salt and pepper stubble growing out of his cheeks and under his chin didn’t agree with the figure of his muscular and imposing body. He was rigid and well-built, like a lineman, yet he had a frailty in his more sensitive features. To one degree, this man looked as though he’d been hurt; to another, he looked like he had done the hurting.

For some reason, I felt the desire to talk to him. I never felt something like that before and I don’t think I ever felt it again. As if he sensed what I was feeling, he walked over and sat down next to me.

“What’s your name, son?”

“Aron.”

“Mind if I sit down with you?”

“Not at all.”

“How was the drive?”

I was surprised but responded quickly, “No cops all the way from LA to here. It was fantastic.”

“I made that drive a few times myself,” he said as he looked down at the pot of coffee on the table.

The waitress looked over at him and brought a cup. He looked at me. I looked back at him.
Up close, he looked almost as bad as me.

He looked over and asked, “What happened?”

I shook my head and looked down at my plate, “Who are you?”

- Adam T. O'Neal

The Argument

Two men cross a small urban park and sit together at a bench. Man Number One turns to the other and says:

I am made of robots!

Man Number Two looks at him.

I am made of living cells.

Mine have lasers.

Mine can adapt, self-replicate, and heal.

Man Number One thinks.

Mine give me super-human strength and resistance to heat and cold, as well as radiation, dehydration, and starvation, he says confidently.

I have a soul, Man Number Two says. He stands, and walks away.

Man Number One sits in silence for the rest of the night.

- Daniel Perdomo

From the Ghetto

Hello,

We are going to post content here to entertain. Who is we?

57/60/71 presents:

"There's No More You and Me, Just Us"

Adam T. O'Neal
"I want a shining SUV; people see me differently."














Taylor Kirchgraber
"I'm not as hot as you think."














Daniel Perdomo
"Do I have to do it?"














Joshua H. Coronado
"If not now, when?"














Whitney Hua
"That's what she said."














Luke Seale
"Pomona is a sketchy place but O'Neal is there so it's cool."


We'll start posting tomorrow. In fact, check back daily.

- 57/60/71