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The Dallas Cowboys are settling into their new $1.15 billion dollar home stadium, but much of the talk in the NFL preseason has been about the massive video screen hanging directly over the field of play. In the opening game in the facility, Tennessee Titans punters hit the screen several time in practice and once during the game. That set off a bit of a controversy about the height of the video screen, with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones rebuffing suggestions that the board was hung too low.

On Friday, the NFL Rules Committee sided with Cowboys owner Jones, indicating that the board was of adequate height. It also clarified the procedure for kicks that hit the board during play, and will revisit the issue in the off-season based on what happens during the 2009 campaign.

Jones has maintained that much of the concern is due to the sheer size of the board, which was hung 90 feet off the field of play”5 feet higher than NFL mandated guidelines.

The NFL has ruled that if a ball hit the display during play, the clock will be reset and down will be replayed. The replay official will have the authority to review plays to determine if the board came into play during the last two minutes of a half, and the coaches will be able to challenge a play involving the video screen at other times during the game by throwing the red flag. This is similar to rules that already exist for live balls that hit skycams or scoreboard components.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell commented on the situation:

“We will continue to address the particular circumstances in Dallas, giving full consideration to the competitive, safety and fan experience issues involved. The Cowboys have been fully cooperative as we have addressed this subject, and we will continue to work closely with the club on a longer term resolution.”

On his weekly radio show, Cowboys owner Jones gave his take on the NFLs ruling:

“I don’t see it as ultimately an issue. You can anticipate the ball hitting the board from time to time. There’s no reason why this can’t be something for punters to deal with very similar to the way you’d deal with the wind in your face or with elements; rain, sleet or snow.”

Jones is hesitant to move the screen for, among other reasons, the huge cost of the engineering project”estimates suggest that it could cost as much as $40 million dollars to raise the screen. Former Cowboys coach Jimmie Johnson also weighed in on the video board issue:

“If there’s anything wrong, it’s that people are going to watch the video board and not the game. It is so dominating, but I think it’s so cool. I think it’s great.”

The Cowboys play their final preseason game at the new stadium this Saturday as they host the San Francisco 49ers.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a consulting handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and deep sea diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.

Japanese monster movies have long been a favorite of movie goers around the world for many reasons. They are fascinating, they are creative, and often times they carry a strong moral message. “Voyage Into Space” is no different. If you love a movie that is thrilling and dramatically stunning at the same time, you won’t be disappointed with this classic masterpiece.

Our parable commences with a covert government group creating a colossal automaton that will shelter the earth against any and all distant invaders. The automaton is constructed to be controlled by a innocent looking pocket watch that doubles as an advanced transmission device. The only forewarning is that the foremost creature who communicates to the oversize robot using the timepiece communication apparatus will be the one who it will everlastingly be respectful too.

And the person who speaks first to the enormous android is of course a juvenile, guiltless boy. He is only playing when he first picks up the timepiece, inadvertently of course, and speaks to the android. But visualize his amazement when the automaton obeys his every order, and unquestioningly protects the boy from all manner of harm that comes his way during this ambitious piece of film making.

At first, it would look as if that the boy has found a dedicated companion, proficient of shooting missiles from his fingertips, and picking the boy up and taking him on immediate trips around the globe. But this, of course, can’t last very long as the globe is quickly invaded by shocking mutant aliens from the far reaches of space. This is when the genuine test of their friendship is determined. Will the boy and his new found android friend risk all to protect the earth? Will they even be successful?

At first it seems as if the android will be successful and shelter the world from the invading monsters, but all is not well. The invading monster is made from a exceedingly explosive substance, and if he is shot, the entire globe will be destroyed. So shooting the alien dead is not an option for our authoritative robot hero. He must react to the global hazard with radical measures indeed.

And in a gloomy tale of self sacrifice, the automaton grabs the monster, and carries him deep into the pits of space, where he will pose no risk to the innocent inhabitants of the planet. This, of course, leaves the youngster without his pal, but he learns a valuable lesson. Sometimes you must go to profound sacrifices to save your friends, even to the point of sacrificing your own life. If you would like to watch a exciting film with a overwhelming moral message, look no further than “Voyage Into Space.

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The UFC is of borderline relevance in “The Land of the Rising Sun”. This isn’t to disparage the UFC, which has done a great job growing MMA in North America and parts of Europe. It’s an effort to put Dana White’s claims of Zuffa’s inevitable worldwide dominance into perspective.

Here are the three essential qualities for doing business in Japan, along with an analysis of what they mean to Zuffa’s efforts to build the UFC brand there:

Group Orientation/Collaboration: Japanese businessmen are notorious for sublimating their individual talents and personalities to the greater good of the group. Furthermore, Japanese business places a great emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. For US businesses seeking to enter the market, a certain degree of partnership with existing Japanese firms is almost de rigueur. MMA fans can see the biggest problem Zuffa may face from a mile away–their reticence to enter into co-promotional agreements. While their public disdain for co-promotion was a major sticking point in their negotiations with Fedor Emelianenko, it may very well be a case that they didn’t want to do business with M-1 Global. To a certain extent, its difficult to blame them. On the other hand, the UFC worked with Germany’s largest concert promoter (MLK) to enter that market with a fair degree of success. They’d be well advised to seek some sort of a partnership similar to their German initiative to help smooth their way into the Japanese market.

Hierarchy: Japanese culture, including business, is almost ridiculously hierarchical. The societal reverence for age, experience and accomplishment in Japan is well known, and that’s often a difficult concept for American companies and businessmen to grasp. US businesses love mavericks and Horatio Alger stories. That accounts for much of the business medias fascination with Dana White and they’re quick to celebrate how a former aerobics instructor is now the most powerful man in MMA and the driving force of a billion dollar company. That storyline doesn’t play as well in Japan, however. One approach would be for White to take a back seat in UFC efforts to promote in Japan in favor of Zuffa co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and perhaps the widely respected former Nevada Athletic Commission director Marc Ratner.

Respect: Even among seedy elements like fight promoters–and even the underworld–respect in business dealings is essential in Japan. In a typical Japanese business deal, the first few meetings aren’t intended for any substantive decision making to take place. Instead, they’re used for evaluation of your professionalism or, as the Japanese like to put it, “to determine your suitability for conducting business with”. Considering that Dana Whites first introduction to the PRIDE staff and to the Japanese fight public was a press conference where he made the statement–more in reference to the proposed bouts between UFC and PRIDE fighters than anything else–”We’re going to kick your ass”. At that moment, PRIDE as a promotion died. The people that worked for PRIDE had no interest in helping White profit from the promotion. More significantly, he became little more than a clown to the Japanese public–like “Money From Government Grants” shill Mathew Lesko without the funny suit. To succeed in Japan, the UFC must realize that they’re not considered a major fight promotion in that country. They must understand that they’ve got to win over a skeptical public, but before that they have to win over a skeptical Japanese business community. They might be able to run their company like Tony Soprano ran the garbage collection business in the US, but that approach applied to Japan will leave them exactly where they are now–on the outside looking in at the huge, fight crazy economy.

Dana White’s fanciful stories about Yakzua gangsters out of Quentin Tarantino movies might amuse his sycophants in the MMA media, but countless US companies including fight promotions have done business successfully and profitably in Japan. Properly promoting stars like Yoshihiro Akiyama will help, but the only way that Zuffa will be able to become a factor in the worlds #2 MMA market is to do what every other company has done to be successful there–learn how to understand the Japanese approach to doing business, and play by their rules.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on World Cup betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

If you love action movies, then you’ll love “The Road Warrior,” starring Mel Gibson, returning in his role as “Max,” from “Mad Max.” Although this movie was made several years after the original, and doesn’t require any previous knowledge of what happened to Max before this movie, it is indeed a great continuation of the same character, in the same world. Taking place after some future calamity that forever altered the face of civilization, this is a movie not to be missed.

The film of course starts out where the preceding one, “Mad Max,” left off. We have our central character out alone on the wastelands fending for himself in a world with no law and where only the strongest carry on. Of course, there is the short-term report of what got him to this site, how the world ended up to where it is. But one of the notable things about this movie is that is enough. You don’t need to know anything about the previous story to enjoy this tale.

After a passing fracas with a group of bandits on the thoroughfare, we find Max spending most of his time in pursuit for foodstuff, and gasoline, or petrol. Then he comes across something intriguing out in the wasteland. He finds a metropolis, of sorts, in the middle of nowhere. They are strappingly fortified, with a immense wall surrounding their city, and innumerable inventive forms of defense. For they have something very costly to guard. They have a substantial tanker of gas.

Of course, it doesn’t take long for the loose band of bandits to encircle the city, and demand the petrol. They tell them that if they hand over the goods, then their city won’t be shattered. The populace of this city seem to be between a rock and difficult place. They have a idea to take their gas, and escape to an area that is not dangerous, and free from bandits and outlaws. A spot where they can start clean, and construct a new culture. The problem is, they don’t have a way to transport the tanker of gas. Max, a just admitted to their city, has a way out.

Only a few days ago, Max has seen a suitable truck to haul their tanker to the promised land. The only dilemma is how to get to the means of transportation, bring it back to the fortified city, and get the tanker of gas out of there without getting murdered by the bandits. Luckily, Max has a plan. Together with his new friend who happens to have an ultra light airplane, they will slink out of the city, bring the vehicle back, and haul the tanker to safety.

And this is the heart of the movie. The skirmish between the population who only want a innocent life, free from fear of bandits, and the bandits themselves, who want to acquire what doesn’t belong to them, and murder whoever stands in their way. Fortunately, the city people have a plan that even Max doesn’t know about. And this will make all the difference. This film was so popular that it caused many to go out and see the first that otherwise didn’t know if it’s existence. It is a must see if you haven’t seen it, and is filled with brilliant scenes and quotes, so you may deliberate it as an appendage to your video library.

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We all love a good story about an underdog, who is wronged, and fights back in a way that makes the little guy sit up and cheer. Especially if the underdog is an out of his luck character whose only redeeming quality is his resourcefulness and his adherence to his principles, principles we all wish we had. “First Blood” is such a movie.

Our story starts out with a vagabond, a veteran of the Vietnam struggle traveling into a unimportant settlement. On the outside of town, he is met with some police force who tell him that his kind is not welcome in this municipality. Drifters are not permitted, as they are perceived as parasites who will undermine the cities wealth without giving anything back. After giving him the caution, the law leave him, and think that is that.

Yet, our central character, John Rambo, shows up once more in town, and is arrested. He gets booked, and thrown into the county lockup. But he doesn’t indicate any harm, and he hasn’t yet shattered any laws. He just sought after something to consume, and a temperate place to sleep. He may seem a little slow, but we feel for him, as the police appear to be mistreating him.

Then there is a scuffle, and the police chief steps over the line. And faintly injures this apparently big brute. Drawing initial blood, the sheriff has opened a can of worms he will before long regret, likely for the rest of his life. Because John Rambo is a highly trained eradicator, and well outfitted to control any kind of struggle, and come out on top.

This begins the core of the show. One lone man, John Rambo, is pressed into a corner, and he responds with the only way he knows how. He retreats into the adjacent hills, and speedily finds himself in his element. Qualified to continue to exist, to hunt, and to slaughter. The police quickly appreciate that they have their hands full, and bring in as many officers as they can.

Then an army Colonel shows up, and claims that he was Rambo’s commanding officer during the Vietnam war. The police incorrectly believe he is there to defend his charge from the police. But they have it the other way around. Rambo’s CO is there to bring him back before he does irreversible harm to the entire police force. He is there to save the law from Rambo, not the other way around. We follow John Rambo through the wasteland, and watch him combat his own psychological demons in one unusual movie that has created one of he most well known action heroes of our time. If you haven’t witnessed this movie, you must, as it is an instance of astonishing film making, acting, and directing.

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