The TSA is a Must-Follow on Instagram

If you have an Instagram and you’re not following the official TSA account (@tsa), you’re really missing out.

I assume the Travel Safety Administration created an Instagram account for a few reasons. The first reason is, clearly, to show how trendy/hip they are.  The other reasons are to make people laugh at the ridiculous things people attempt to board planes with, and to scare the shit out of you with pictures of all the weapons they've intercepted.

The range of prohibited items confiscated is so much wider than you would ever think possible.  A quick scan of the @tsa account reveals that people try to bring some real crazy shit on airplanes.

Let’s take a look at a few choice images.

The above collection of items was confiscated over the course of a month from Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Mississippi.  Who would have thought portable band saws aren’t allowed in checked baggage?

The following is quite possibly the most unnerving photo on the entire account.

According to the TSA, “This is a portion of the inert/replica ordinance that was discovered in a year’s time at the St. Louis International Airport in 2010.” Yes, you read that correctly, this is from ONE airport in ONE year.

This next one is my personal favorite.

Passengers flying out of Oakland International Airport apparently thought they would be able to slip through the security check unnoticed with 81 POUNDS of marijuana.

And then there are the poor travelers who left all these items behind at LAX.

To see pictures like these, in addition to hollowed out Bibles filled with bullets, a knife hidden in an enchilada and A LOT of ninja stars, give @tsa a follow. You won’t regret it.

Step One: Remove iPhone From Box, Drop Directly on Ground

This guy in Perth, Australia, the world's first loser to sit in line for days to get his mitts on the new iPhone 6, didn't actually get those mitts on the new hardware before the phone catapulted from its packaging to the cold, hard ground.

The assumed "Angry Birds" enthusiast casually bent down and collected his approximately $500 with a nervous smile, then took a ridiculous picture with the news anchor for no reason at all.

Hope those 15 seconds of fame were worth it. And its a good thing he was surrounded by other knuckleheads waiting in line for their turn to mishandle their version of the Holy Grail, because that collective cry of anguish from the crowd as if this character just missed a putt on the 18th green at Augusta is priceless.

Soccer Player Disappears During Goal Celebration

Cameroonian forward Joel scored two goals in a 3-1 win for Coritiba over Sao Paolo in Brazil's Serie A on Wednesday. For his second goal, he chose to celebrate by throwing himself down a giant hole in the ground.

The stadium features stairs that lead down to the dressing rooms below the field, which are placed just beyond the advertisements behind the goal line. Generally the best way to deal with something that a person could fall into is by covering it with a giant flag, right? Yeah, well that's what happened anyway.

As Joel went to leap over the wall, security personnel thought about saying something - one guy even raised his hands - but it was too late.

Somehow Joel isn't dead, and for his miraculous exit from the depths of the stadium, he received a yellow card for excessive celebration.

Why Was Joe West Only Suspended One Game?

The Vine above is everything you need to know about this incident wrapped up in seven seconds.

Let's start off with a quiz. Name as many Major League umpires as you can in 10 seconds. Go.

I managed to come up with Angel Hernandez, C.B. Bucknor, Dan Bellino, Jim Joyce, and Joe West. Why did those names come to mind so quick? Because they're all terrible.

Now, Joyce has been exonerated since he ruined Armando Galarraga's perfect game, but he is still a name that sticks out. When an umpire can get through a three-game series without most people knowing his name, not only has he done his job, but he has done it damn well. Umpires are responsible for facilitating the game, not dictating it.

As for those other guys... Hernandez nearly got a standing ovation during a game...after he had been hit by a line drive. Bucknor doesn't know how an out should be recorded and makes third strike calls on strike two. Bellino once threw out Adrian Beltre for joking around with his former teammate Felix Hernandez.

But let's focus on West for a minute. Sunday afternoon, the Phillies were enjoying a three-run lead going into the ninth inning when they brought in closer Jonathan Papelbon. Pap isn't the most well-liked guy in Philadelphia, never mind throughout baseball, so when you give up four runs in front of the hometown crowd and go on to lose the game, the walk back to the dugout isn't going to be a stroll in the park. So because Papelbon is an idiot, he decided to forgo even a sarcastic hat tip and just go straight to the crotch grab. His explanation is gold, though.

"This is baseball. I had to make an adjustment and I did it, and by no means am I directing anything at any fans. When I'm out there and in the moment, the fans are irrelevant to me. I don't see them, I don't hear them. To me, this is pretty stupid to be totally honest with you."

Not sure if it helps that he called the fans irrelevant...

Papelbon was suspended seven games, which was a combination of the ridiculous gesture and getting a little too close to West during the ensuing argument. We've seen some players in the past make some questionable contact with umpires, but why is there such a gap between penalties for the player and the umpire?

West received just a one-game suspension after he grabbed Papelbon by the jersey and brushed him off to the side when he decided he didn't want to hear what the already-ejected hot head had to say. Papelbon deserves the seven games, there is no doubt about it, but why is it that West can grab a player and get off virtually scot-free?

Cowboy Joe has had a history of hogging the spotlight, over the years, and has repeatedly been voted one of the worst umpires by MLB players. His actions Sunday can just be tacked on to the ever-expanding list of reasons why umpires need to be held more accountable for their actions. If umpires can't be ejected, why are they allowed to get in the faces of players and even initiate the arguments?

The league is giving them free range to handle the situations as they see fit, and if grabbing a player's jersey means the umpire "handled himself appropriately," as MLB VP Joe Torre phrased it, then the problem is only going to get worse.  Baseball needs to start analyzing the incidents that lead to these heated exchanges, identify who could be considered at fault, and hand out equal punishments, regardless of position within the game.

The Making of Bryan Cranston's One-Man MLB Postseason Show

If you like any combination of baseball, Bryan Cranston, Bugs Bunny, Pedro Martinez and the organ player from the Polo Grounds, then just sit back and enjoy.

The Hot 100: Billboard's 100th Best Song of the Week

Been a while since we've had a 100th best song on the blog, but the weekly mainstay is back.

Big & Rich have cracked the chart in their first week, squeaking in as Billboard's "Mr. Irrelevant." This marks the second country song in the post's short history, a trend which I'd like to see more of. In the past, we have had the severe misfortune of having to show you Justin Bieber and Chris Daughtry, but we're starting this new streak on the right foot.

I don't know why the video is just lyrics with weird black, white and blue accented pictures, just enjoy it.

September, Week 3:
Artist: Big & Rich
Song: Look At You
Peak: 100 (debut)

My rating:

Arkansas State Player Plays Dead, Wakes Up, Gets Flattened

What a move.

The Arkansas State football program has made three consecutive Bowl games - winning the last two - so they clearly know what they're doing, but I'm not exactly sure where this one fits into the playbook. They've had a tough couple of weeks after their season-opening win versus Montana State, losing back-to-back big time match-ups against Tennessee and Miami.

Already down a couple scores in the second, the Red Wolves decided to take the risk on 4th-and-5 and went with a fake punt pass. They were just over midfield and didn't exactly catch anyone by surprise by putting a man in motion. The surprise did come, however, when one of the Wolves receivers went rigor mortis on everyone and tipped over backwards.

To no one's surprise, the ball was picked off and during the return, the would-be Arkansas State receiver rose from the dead only to get buried again.