John Bolaris Claims a Return to TV While Trashing Ex-Girlfriend

John Bolaris in 2023 (Getty Images)

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Classy John Bolaris Claims a Return to TV While Trashing His Ex-Girlfriend

This is a town where local TV news personalities are very much Philly celebrities. John Bolaris was the talk of the town in the ’90s, when he was meteorologist for Channel 10. He became a regular fixture of gossip-column fodder. And he seemed to lead a charmed life — that is, until winter 2001. That’s when Bolaris blew his biggest forecast — or perhaps I should call it a fearcast. He predicted a “Storm of the Century” that amounted to less than an inch of snow. Folks laughed Bolaris out of town. He went to work in New York.

Bolaris turned up here again in 2009, this time at Fox 29. But things didn’t go so well. And Fox 29 soon parted ways with him. There was also the time when Bolaris claimed that $43,000 in charges on his American Express card were the result of two Latvian models drugging him. Oh, and there was that stun-gun attack in the Hamptons. I could go on!

Bolaris, who these days reckons himself a real estate entrepreneur, hasn’t been on television in Philadelphia since 2011. But just the other day, Bolaris claimed on the social media service formerly known as Twitter that he’s ready to make some sort of televised comeback. He touted his “BIG TIME RETURN” (emphasis his) and promised a formal announcement during the “FIRST WEEK OF JUNE” (also his). And when asked in the thread if he was returning to TV, the answer was yes.

John Bolaris with admitted woman-beater Damon Feldman in younger times (Getty Images)

And from the Department of Who-the-Hell-Announces-Their-Breakup-on-Social-Media, Bolaris, for some godforsaken reason, decided this was also an appropriate time to trash his ex-girlfriend Lindsey. He had been involved with Lindsey in recent months, based on the smiley couple photos he shared and through social media posts like “In love with Lindsey,” “I never felt this way,” “I’m gonna marry Lindsey,” and — ugh — “No more dancing on my own.”

But it appears that the happy couple is no more. On Sunday, Bolaris proclaimed, “Thank God I never married Lindsey.” And later, “Best thing that ever happened to me is being single again … Thank God I didn’t get married … that would’ve of been a VERY BIG MISTAKE … from what I learned now … life’s a journey.”

One of the better responses to all of this (there were many) was as follows: “Life’s a journey but you are still a tool.”

I would say that John Bolaris is the gift that keeps on giving. But, truthfully, I’m not sure I want him to.

The Return of Meatball!

John Bolaris isn’t the only one who can’t behave on social media.

You may recall that during the looting in Philadelphia last September that followed the dismissal of charges against a cop who shot and killed a man, a local social media celebrity known as Meatball livestreamed the melee and egged on the looters. This earned her an arrest, after which she promptly started selling t-shirts bearing her mugshot for $35 a pop but soon stopped doing so, perhaps because her lawyer told her that antagonizing the police and district attorney might not be in her best legal interest.

Since that wild day in September, Meatball has gained hundreds of thousands of social media followers. She fought in some sort of semi-celebrity boxing match. She addressed the crowd from the stage at Power 99’s annual Power House concert at Wells Fargo Center. And though she’s stopped selling the mugshot shirts, she continues selling her “Ain’t Nuffin” brand of beanies, something she was doing long before police cuffed her.

For her sake, Meatball had better sell a lot of beanies. Earlier this week, Meatball, whose legal name is Dayjia Blackwell, appeared in Municipal Court for a preliminary hearing in the case against her. Her lawyer could have convinced the judge to dismiss some or all of the charges. That didn’t happen. The office of District Attorney Larry Krasner could have dropped some of the charges as well. That didn’t happen, either.

No, the judge decided to hold Meatball over for trial on all of the charges against her. Those include misdemeanors such as receiving stolen property and disorderly conduct. But the charges also include felonies like burglary, conspiracy, and rioting. There’s even a felony charge dedicated to her use of livestreaming technology during the incident.

Next up, a formal arraignment in Common Pleas Court on March 18th.

Local Talent

So what’s Jason Kelce going to do now that he’s no longer an Eagles player? Open a Jersey Shore bar? Host Family Feud? Run for U.S. Senate? Hawk Big Macs? We took the liberty of putting together a well-researched list of options for Kelce. They have absolutely nothing to do with football.

And in case we still care about Will Smith, he just announced that the fourth Bad Boys movie that no one asked for will see theaters on June 7th.

By the Numbers

$122: Cost of a nosebleed ticket via reseller StubHub for the sold-out Phillies home opener later this month.

$1: What a hot dog will cost you that night. But not at the stadium. Shake Shack is also jumping on the Dollar Dog bandwagon after the Phillies canceled the promotion. And it so happens that lots of places have been doing Dollar Dog nights for a while. So you’re covered, assuming cheap hyper-processed meat filled with salt is what you’re looking for.

9.5: Anger level, out of 10, of Phillies player Nick Castellanos over the league’s current uniform problems.

And From the Valiant-Effort Sports Desk …

Well, well, the Sixers were without Tyrese Maxey last night in their road game with the Nets, which will teach me to be snide about Ben Simmons (who also didn’t play; he’s injured). Maxey is sidelined with a mild concussion after encountering Derrick Jones Jr.’s leg with his head in Sunday’s win vs. the Mavericks. So Nick Nurse started Buddy Hield, Tobias Harris, Mo Bamba, Cameron Payne and Kyle Lowry (jeez, I hardly recognize the team anymore), and they jumped out to a 13-5 lead, though Lowry picked up an early (and undeserved!) flagrant foul.

Brooklyn battled back, but we were up 30-23 at the first quarter’s close. Early in the second quarter, just-called-up Bluecoat Jeff Dowtin Jr. made his Sixers debut. Bamba picked up a third foul with 5:30 to go, we went cold, and the Nets were suddenly within one. Lowry also got a technical for vociferous arguing, but it was matched with one on the Nets.

The shorthanded @sixers lead, 57-56, at halftime in Brooklyn.

Oubre: 11 PTS / 4 REB
Harris: 10 PTS / 5 REB
Payne: 10 PTS
Hield: 9 PTS / 2 AST

— Lauren Rosen (@LaurenMRosen) March 6, 2024

It was Brooklyn’s turn to stretch it out in the third, just as Bamba and Lowry both notched fourth fouls. But the guys took back the lead on a 10-2 run, and we were up 83-78 as the third quarter ended — until …

Oubre Jr. throws down a big dunk and then Lonnie Walker IV banks the buzzer beater to end the 3rd!

Sixers-Nets | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/Jkgr1q2YTn pic.twitter.com/dmSHIMsf5L

— NBA (@NBA) March 6, 2024

It stayed neck-and-neck down the stretch, but Kelly Oubre was putting on a show; he led all comers with 28 points in the Sixers loss, 112-107. They’ll host the Grizzlies tonight at 7:30.

How’d the Phillies Do?

It was a war of attrition for newly extended pitching ace Zack Wheeler and the Phils against the Orioles yesterday. Wheeler only allowed a single run in the first, and Luis Ortiz and Tristan Garnett did likewise in their outings. But that was enough to doom us to a 3-2 loss, as bats were notably silent. Jake Cave, playing first, did notch two hits. Nothing’s on the schedule for today.

Any Doop News?

The Union faced off against Pachuca in a Champions Cup Round of 16 game at Subaru Park last night, and Andre Blake was back in goal for us. It was a busy game, with lots of shots on either side (though it’s amazing how many soccer shots on goal miss). At the tail end of the first half, the refs assessed a PK and a yellow card for a handball on Nathan Harriel during a scramble inside the box. The home crowd was … not pleased, and eventually, the refs went to consult VAR and waved off the PK and the card: end of half.

There was a yellow on Pachuca right at the start of the second half, but I’ll be damned if I know what the call was. Nothing came of it, anyway. There was more back-and-forth, more close calls, more blocks, but the Union didn’t get a shot off until the 69th minute. Dániel Gazdag just missed a shot wide at in the 76th minute, and Pachuca had a final flurry right near the end, but Blake made an overage save on their 15th shot of the night, and the result was a nil-nil tie. Second leg: next week in Mexico.

And in College Hoops?

Nothing last night. Tonight brings Villanova to Seton Hall, tip-off at 6:30, and St. Joe’s plays at Richmond at 7.

All Philly Today sports coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.