Barry Dadon can’t wait for NFL to start

It just came to my attention that the NFL season officially starts in 14 days, kicking off with the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 9. This is a day I’ve been waiting for for a very, very long time. Like the moment the Super Bowl ended.

I’m not much of a Pittsburgh Steelers fan or the Minnesota Vikings. But it’s football. So I’m excited to see the two teams take the gridiron in what will essentially be a meaningless game.

It does, however, mean we are one step closer to the regular season starting. That means Sunday football, Monday football, Thursday football and fantasy football are coming.

We likely won’t see much of Adrian Peterson or Big Ben during the Hall of Fame Game, but we’ll see football being played in America. Sure, Canadian football is currently in season. But let’s be honest: Their games aren’t very interesting.

While glancing at the 2015 NFL calendar, I, Barry Dadon, also took a peek to see who my Oakland Raiders are playing. Apparently we start the year off on a Friday, facing the St. Louis Rams in Oakland on Aug. 14. The Raiders then head to Minnesota to take on Adrian Peterson’s Vikings on a Saturday. The following Sunday we get to entertain the Arizona Cardinals before our final preseason tuneup at Seattle vs. the Seahawks on a Thursday night.

Regardless of the day, I’m always ready for some football.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon: Uber CEO Kalanick takes on Empire State

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur, is voicing his opinion against the New York City Council’s upcoming decision to limit new licenses for Uber drivers.

Well, sort of.

Kalanick is retweeting scores of anti-Mayor Bill de Blasio tweets on his personal Twitter account, reaching his 87,000 followers and then some because reporters are writing news stories about his retweets.

Kalanick is sharing just about every story about Blasio and the New York City Council in regards to their upcoming legislation on Uber. Most of them aren’t very positive for the city.

One of the most interesting tweets on his feed says that when the New York Post, New York Times and New York Daily News all agree something “is a bad idea” … it probably is. And it’s not often that those three New York papers, all trying to grab the attention of the same readers, are on the same page.

But when it comes to the claim that limiting Uber will end congestion on the streets of the Big Apple, the three newspapers all disagree.

I, Barry Dadon, am curious to see how this whole situation plays out because New York is the biggest city in America. What happens in New York often sets a precedent for what happens in the rest of our country.

I’m also going to be paying more attention to Kalanick’s tweets, or retweets, in the future. You can’t go wrong when you see tweets that read: @levie 80% sure this election will be won by whoever takes the most Uber rides.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon: No rest for Uber on Sunday

Sunday was another rough day for Uber.

The bad news for the global ride-sharing app was delivered by the New York City Council and Hillary Clinton.

Clinton plans on blasting contractor-fueled companies in a speech on Monday in the Big Apple. Nearby, a new New York City Council bill is aiming to cap the amount of for-hire licences Uber is allowed to add to just 200 cars next year.

Those are two major hits for what is normally a relatively slow news day.

Clinton reportedly will be addressing her opinion of how companies like Uber are repressing middle-class wage growth during a speech to lay out her economic policies. Part of Clinton’s presidential campaign focus is to raise middle class income. She’ll be giving her speech at The New School in Manhattan.

Clinton will argue that if big job creators offer only contract positions that don’t come with benefits and job security, they won’t be contributing to building a nation with sustainable growth.

Meanwhile, the NY City Council’s bill could force Uber to retroactively can some 700 drivers who recently received their licences. Some drivers are claiming they had to pay thousands of dollars for their licence and insurance just to get started with Uber, potentially leaving many in debt and jobless.

Some of the would-be drivers spent months obtaining a TLC licence to work for Uber.

The city currently has about 19,000 Uber drivers in its fleet. The City Council is going to vote on the bill later this month.

I, Barry Dadon, am curious to see how it all plays out.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon: French taxi drivers go violent in anti-Uber protests

Last week I was blogging about how Uber seems to always be in the news these days. Well, that trend is continuing. And perhaps in a very shocking way.

On Thursday, French taxi drivers went on a rampage, overturning cars, blocking access to airports and burning tires throughout the streets of France. So what exactly riled up the cabbies?

Uber.

Apparently hundreds of licensed cabbies aren’t happy with the ride-sharing service, which is dashing into their income and putting their jobs at risk.

Sure, these French drivers have families to support. But their response may not exactly be the best one. There has to be other ways to respond to competition, right?

These are interesting times for the San Francisco-based company. Regulated cabs service all around the world are trying to figure out ways to stay in business with Uber clawing into their profits. In Paris, riot police resorted to firing tear gas to clear protesting cabbies.

Like I said, there’s got to be a better way to resolve this issue. I, Barry Dadon, think that eventually Uber drivers are going to have to start following some sort of rules, regulations or laws like other cab drivers.

Taxi drivers have to pay up to $270,000 to get their licenses, according to the Los Angeles Times. Uber drivers don’t have to pay anything because they are considered amateurs. Most Uber drivers also don’t have to pay taxes, giving them an unfair advantage in the transportation industry.

It’s incidents like this that make me believe the business model for Uber could be in for a major change real soon.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon: Can Uber track passengers after they get dropped off?

It seems like Uber just can’t stay out of the news these days. Every time I read the Los Angeles Times online, there’s a new article about the ride-hailing company.

And it’s always something interesting. Sometimes it is about how Uber isn’t allowed at Los Angeles International. Or how the ride-sharing app is making billions of dollars around the world, changing the transportation business model as we know in the process. There was even a story in the past week about how Uber’s drivers, who are independent contractors, may be treated like full-time employees in the future.

On Monday, I, Barry Dadon, found another interesting article about Uber. This time it was about how Uber could very soon be able to track passengers after they leave the car. Well, at least one privacy group is claiming that to be true.

Uber plans on releasing a new privacy policy next month.

The LA Times is reporting that, “In a 23-page complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Privacy Information Center called for the agency to investigate Uber and halt possible privacy invasions ahead of a revised policy set to take effect July 15.”

Epic says Uber’s new policy is risky for American consumers. If this is true and goes into effect next month, I hope all of my friends are really nice to their Uber drivers. Because if they aren’t, the driver might be able to track you down and treat you the same way you treated him/her.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon: Monday was an interesting day for sports headlines

There’s no football going on. Or basketball or hockey. But there were still some pretty interesting headlines in the sports world that didn’t involve baseball.

For instance, did you know that Jarret Stoll of the Los Angeles Kings was charged with felony drug possession? Stoll, who helped the Kings win two Stanley Cups in recent years, was arrested in Las Vegas back in April for suspicion of cocaine and Ecstasy possession. I guess it wasn’t just a suspicion after all.

In the football realm, hip-hop mogul Diddy was arrested on the UCLA campus. How exactly does this relate to football? Sean Combs’ son plays football for the Bruins. Diddy was cuffed at the school’s athletic training center. Apparently he may or may not have assaulted somebody with a dead weapon (AKA a kettlebell). Keep in mind he was only arrested on the suspicion that he assaulted somebody with the deadly weapon.

On the hardwood front, the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly trying to steal DeMarcus Cousins, the only good basketball player in Sacramento, away from the Kings. That would be a great move for my Lakers, giving Sacramento fans another reason to hate Los Angeles.

I, Barry Dadon, found these stories to be pretty interesting. But it’s only Monday. And on Tuesday, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots is going to be meeting up with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that there will be some headlines about deflated footballs or something like that.

Don’t quote me on it, though. It’s just a suspicion.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon: California Labor Commissioner’s Office makes big ruling on Uber drivers

Did you know that Uber drivers can now be considered employees of the company rather than independent contractors?

I didn’t until I just read an informative article in the LA Times. The California Labor Commissioner’s Office ruled this month that Uber’s business “would not exist” without drivers. Sounds about right to me. The cars don’t drive themselves.

But I was surprised to learn that a San Francisco-based Uber driver for the ride-hailing service was entitled to received some $4,000 for mileage toll expenses because her “services” are an important part of Uber’s business model.

The decision was made earlier this month. Uber appealed on Tuesday.

This could, however, be a precedent-setting decision if it goes all the way to the California Supreme Court. If an Uber driver is an employee, wouldn’t other independent contractors that work at start-ups be considered employees, too?

Uber is growing at a rapid pace and its unusual business format is forcing legal changes throughout the world. Uber’s labor practices have been under close scrutiny lately because of regulatory challenges across the globe.

Apparently Uber is exploring its options, considering giving some of its employees full-time status while others would be part-time contractors.

This would hurt Uber’s business, though, forcing the company to reimburse drivers for gas, tolls and insurance. Then there’s also workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, Social Security and other benefits.

I, Barry Dadon, think it should be interesting to follow this story and see how it all plays out.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon: Cleveland Cavaliers can still win NBA Finals

The Golden State Warriors may be the favorites to win it all this year. But I, Barry Dadon, still think the Cleveland Cavaliers can win the NBA Finals. Even though they squandered Game 1 on the road in Oakland.

No, really. I’m not even kidding. Cleveland still has a really, really good chance.

That’s because the Cavaliers have LeBron James, the greatest player on Earth. Sure, Stephen Curry was the MVP of the league this year, but LeBron is the only player who can single-handily win a game himself.

He almost did it in Game 1. But the King made a poor shot choice as time was expiring in the series opener, forcing his team to play in overtime before going on to lose.

If LeBron and the Cavs would have taken Game 1, there’d be a whole lot less people thinking this series was already over. Some Warriors fans seem to think that this series is going to be a sweep. There’s no way LeBron won’t win at least one game himself.

But imagine if LeBron and Co. can win Game 2 at Oracle Arena, then they’ll be going home where LeBron will want to put on a show for his hometown peeps.

If the Cavs can split their first two games on the road, there’s a chance they could take a 3-1 lead in the upcoming days, leading to another championship for LeBron James.

If could happen. It may happen. And you read it here first.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon thinks new Indianapolis Colts banner is just sad

So football fans, you remember the 2014 season? You know, the one where Tom Brady and the New England Patriots edged the Seattle Seahawks in the Super Bowl because the Seahawks didn’t feed Beast Mode near the end zone?

You might also remember it, sadly, as some fans do as the season of Deflategate, where Brady used deflated balls and rolled the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game by a really lopsided score that nobody remembers.

Well, while the Pats have dealt with a bunch of offseason nonsense, the Colts are finding a way to celebrate their AFC Championship Game loss. That’s right. They are celebrating a loss. And they didn’t even make it to the Super Bowl.

The Colts recently hung up a new banner inside their dome, claiming to be 2014 AFC Finalists. Yeah. That’s great. Let’s celebrate because we lost that game to make it to the Super Bowl.

I, Barry Dadon, am wondering if each player on the Colts also got a participation trophy. You know, like the ones they give to little kids who are playing Pee Wee football or Little League baseball.

If this happened during the regular season, you know the Colts would be prominently featured on ESPN’s C’mon Man!

I mean, come on. In the history of the NFL this has to be one of the biggest jokes ever. An even bigger joke, in my opinion, than Deflategate.

Anybody else think Andrew Luck should be suspended a few games for this scandal? It’s basically a disgrace to the game.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/

Barry Dadon upset New York Rangers lost

The New York Rangers’ Stanley Cup hopes officially came to an end Friday, falling 2-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Unfortunately, New York’s crash also means my Stanley Cup hopes have also come to an end. I, Barry Dadon, would have been going to the Cup if the Rangers were to have matched up against the Anaheim Ducks.

Last season, my father-in-law and I had the privilege of going to the Cup, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing. His Rangers were matched up against my Los Angeles Kings. With my Kings not playing for Lord Stanley’s Cup this season, I was rooting for my father-in-law’s team.

Sadly, the Rangers didn’t even score a goal Friday night, blowing their home-ice advantage and the opportunity to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals. Now that the Rangers are out of it, I certainly won’t be going to Anaheim just to see the Ducks.

Anaheim, after all, is my team’s main rival. So from now on, I’m rooting for whatever team plays Anaheim, whether it be Chicago or Tampa Bay.

And now that the Rangers are out it, it’s almost time to start looking forward to football season. Maybe my Raiders can make it to the Super Bowl.

I’d love to take my father-in-law to see that … because he doesn’t like the Raiders very much. I’d take him to the Super Bowl if his team, the Jets, made it. But that’s never going to happen.

Read More about Mr. Barry Dadon visit http://www.barrydadon.com/