Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2011 January 17

= January 17 =

Miami Showband
Did the 1975 lineup fronted by Fran O'Toole have any singles in the Irish charts? Thanks.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 14:33, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * They had a big hit Clap Your Hands and Stomp Your Feet which made it to #8 in the Irish charts in late 1974.--Jeanne Boleyn (talk) 08:44, 19 January 2011 (UTC)

Chances of NFL hiring replacements in case of lockout?
My friend and I were talking abot the potential for a lockout in the NFL this year, and realized that one thing we haven't heard about is replacement players, as were done in the 1987 season. I remarked that - despite the negative publicity at the time - the lrague recovered rather fast and the average fan in the United States is not (from our perspective, anyway) as pro-labor union as they were 23 years ago (and then it was more in certain cities like Detroit). So it seemed like - in order to avoid cancelling the season - the owners could hire replacements.

Witht hat background, to make this a question that focuses on actual research, have there been talks about replacements? Do NFL analysts consider it possible? I know they probably wouldn't start looking for replacements till summer if it did happen, but has there been such talk?

While I'm as it, a followup question - has anyone brought up the possibility of the NBA using them if their labor problems are as bad as I've heard they could be? Even if the networks pay the NFL regardless of whether games are played, I doubt the NBA contract would say that. (And I don't totally understand the logic behind the NFL contract with the ntworks saying that, which I've heard it does.)

I know this is possibly going to be a moot point if both settle, but I tried to phrase it so at least it's not asking you to tell the future.

Thanks in advance.99.109.48.230 (talk) 18:37, 17 January 2011 (UTC)


 * The purpose of using replacement players is usually more to break the players union than to fulfill a television contract. The question is thus, what is the lockout supposed to accomplish ? My sense is that the NFL players' union is the weakest of the four major sports, as a result of the owners successfully breaking it during the 1987 strike, so I don't see why the owners would want to go through a risky public relations exercise in staging games with replacement players, especially since the last NHL strike has shown that a sport can recover even from losing a full season, if it can get back to putting on a good product for the fans.

That said, in football, it's relatively simple to find replacement players: unemployed players of good caliber are easily available because there are tons of former college players around and very few employment opportunities for them besides the NFL. That is why the league managed to pull off playing a few games with replacement players in 1987, but it was not a generally popular move. It depends on how much pressure the television networks exercize to have football on tv in spite of a strike. In 1987, the pressure on NFL owners to put on games was very strong; I'm not convinced it would be the same today (but then, Wikipedia is not a crystal ball etc.) --Xuxl (talk) 20:51, 17 January 2011 (UTC)


 * The use of replacement players in 1987 was such a hated move, I doubt it would happen again. Union members universally despised such players, and even if they were "good enough" to have continued to play in the NFL, many did not because of the hostile atmosphere towards them.  Most commentators on the TV and in the written press have completely discounted the possibility.  It bears noting that the source of the impending labor action next year is an owner lockout, not a player strike, as was the case in 1987.  The current situation is instigated by the owners, and not the players, as the owners were the ones who "opted out" of the current contract and initiated the current attempts to renegotiate the collective bargaining agreement.  Given that, it also seems unlikely that the owners would be motivated to use replacement players.  -- Jayron  32  21:05, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * They maybe could have justified strikebreakers in 1987, but trying to use replacements while locking out the "real" players would likely be big trouble. I could imagine the season ticket holders bringing a class-action lawsuit for fraud, among other things. I think there was discussion of such suits even in 1987. Also, as I recall, the games were poorly attended. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 07:54, 18 January 2011 (UTC)

"1979"
The credits of Gran Turismo 5 list 1979 by the Smashing Pumpkins as part of the soundtrack, but it's not part of the normal soundtrack. At what point does it appear? And while I'm at it, what does the title of the song have to do with anything (I know the Pumpkins are famous for odd titles)? 75.73.225.224 (talk) 20:48, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * Can't answer any question about the use of the song in the Video game, but the song is pretty obvious when you listen to the lyrics ("Shakedown 1979/Cool kids never had the time"). Billy Corgan was a 12-year old in 1979, and was obviously recanting the sort of "alienation" he felt from not being part of the "in crowd" as a youth.  -- Jayron  32  20:58, 17 January 2011 (UTC)
 * I understand! And my theory for the song's appearance is that it might be in a hidden credits sequence, such as certain songs appeared in GT3. Can this be confirmed by anyone who has somehow beaten the game already? 75.73.225.224 (talk) 21:05, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Canadian actor Guy Big and a short film credit missing from BIO.
ken martin--99.249.227.107 (talk) 23:13, 17 January 2011 (UTC)''I got thinking of the short film "The Ugly Littlr Boy" where Guy Big made an outstanding acting performace as "BOY" from the past. The Ugly Little Boy was written by renound science fiction writer Issac A. (spelling?) It aired after his death on TVOntario'Bold text'''
 * Presumably refering to the 1977 Canadian television adapation of Isaac Asimov's The Ugly Little Boy. Guy Big's short IMDB entry does include that role. The article is not protected and you could add that information yourself although the "outstanding" and "after death" parts would require additional specific references. Rmhermen (talk) 15:47, 18 January 2011 (UTC)