Tiger Test Our Religion

By Chris Wright

I ended my last blog entry saying how the Tiger Woods issue raises serious concern about who we are as human beings and what life means.

I took another day to reflect on that statement and I listened to more talk radio and rants from sports fans and analyst. I wanted to make sure that what I was thinking was on the right path. And of course...I was. You know me. I'm Wright even when I'm wrong. I am an emotional person when it comes to certain issues like anyone else. My biggest pet peeve is human judgment and unforgiveness. That, more than anything else really gets my blood boiling. Because everything that we need to know in order to live in this world, we learn by age 5. Then we just forget it all. One of the biggest lesson that we learn and one of the biggest lessons that we teach our children is forgiveness. But as adults, we fall short. Then the other thing that we teach our children is to not judge and not be mean. And as adults, we fall short.

On my Facebook page, long before the the fateful Thanksgiving of 2009 when the Tiger Issue began, the Religion question on my profile says: I am Tiger Woods. I was making mockery of the Nike commercial back in the late 90s when all of the children were saying "I am Tiger Woods". It was surreal and almost like a religious following. I could hear billions of human beings across the world saying in the same tone, "I am Jesus Christ". It was only Tiger Woods' second year as a pro when that commercial was on TV and already, he had been exalted to a deity-like form. "I am Tiger Woods". Once this scandal broke and the world turned their backs on him; the same world that followed him like disciples in the gallery, the world who replaced his posters on the walls with crucifix, and the same world that cringed at the very mention of his name, I wondered, should I keep my Religion status on Facebook as "I am Tiger Woods". I did. And it will remain.

Now more than ever it applies. The selection of that religious status was prolific and profound beyond my understanding. Tiger Woods is a man that the world has looked up to and exalted, not only because he could swing a golf club, but because he was perfect in every way possible. Though we thought. He was everything that we could not be or never imagine ourselves to be. He displayed poise and grace. He practiced hard and played hard. He spoke well. Here was a figure that we could finally tell our children to emulate. He seemed to transcend human life. He was more a than a man. He was loved by most. There were and still are those that hate him. And I do mean hate him. And there was good reason to not like him. He cursed and grimaced on the golf course. He is a very private man and never gave us much of his human side. He wasn't Phil Mickelson. So I can understand a few detractors. When this is all said and done and placed in the history books, somewhere between 1 Peter and Revelations, the most relevant lesson from the Book of Tiger will be one who strived for perfection, but fell short because of human frailty. Not because of temptation, but because of the opportunity and unlimited access to things that tempt.

That's right believers. We are only as religious as our opportunities to sin. This is why the older you get, the more religious you get. Many of you go to church. Look at all the grey hair in the pews. They can see the finish line. They can see the light. They have booked their reservation for a table for one in God's Cafe. And they are going to do everything possible to make sure they don't lose that seat. We remember the best Biblical lessons, not from going to church, but from our Grandmothers and Grandfathers. We say, "Gramma used to always say, Judge not and ye not be judged". Grandpa would always say, "he who is without sin, cast the first stone". Yes believers, we remember these lessons because ole folks taught us. But when you're young and vibrant and life is calling from every port and destination, we are tempted to go where life calls. Cancun, Vegas, LA, Times Square, Girls, Hotties, Money, Cars, Bling, The Jersey Shore... ok, maybe not the Jersey Shore...but you get my point. Oh its so hard being a young religious person. Too many opportunities. Too many chances to sin. And you think, can I do this for 60 more years? Go without?

And to think, you make a thousand dollars a week if you're lucky!!! Can you imagine making a thousand dollars an hour? Then imagine your choices. My goodness! Married men, you might get propositioned by women once every few months. As you're walking through Price Chopper picking up Huggies, a woman passing by gives you that look, squints her eyes and you imagine her to say.. "mmm.. i love a man in a dale earnhardt ballcap. especially when he has the jacket to match. and he's a dad too. come'er big daddy". Or you're in Lowe's deciding which door knob would look better on the first floor bathroom door and you're interrupted by a Hot Mom with a charming smile, holding on to her 3 year old by the the hood of his hoodie. And she sensually says, "do you know which aisle the picture hangers are on?". You melt. "If only I wasn't married". Guys, you have NO idea what temptation is! Now let's combine the two. You make a thousand dollars per hour and you have the whole Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue coming at you daily, not to mention a few Applebee's waitresses and your son's teacher; If you make it through the MONTH without one slip up, you're good. If you make it through the year, you're Ghandi, and if you NEVER submit, then praise the Lord, give me what HE'S having. Because that's the kind of control that I want.

Believers, this is not about Tiger or his transgressions. This is about us. This is about religious beliefs. Human beings. Forgiveness and judgment.

The Bible: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.

The Qu'ran: And whoever does evils or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-giving, most merciful.

Buddaism: If we do not forgive, we keep creating an identity around our pain, and that is what is reborn. That is what suffers.

The Bible: Do not judge and ye will not be judged. Do not condemn and ye will not be condemned. Forgive not and ye will not be forgiven.

The Torah: When asked by an offender for forgiveness, one should forgive with a sincere mind and a willing spirit, for forgiveness is a natural seed of Israel.

Hinduism: O Lord forgive these sins that are due to my human limitations.

So I quoted from most of the religions in America minus Wiccan and Satanism and they all pretty much say the same thing. They say that we must forgive. And if forgiveness is a the cornerstone of religion and many of you shout to the roof tops that you're God-fearin' creatures who post Facebook scripture daily and weekly, then where is your forgiveness in regards to Tiger or the actions of Tiger? No crime was commited. No murder, no rape, no child molestation, no thievery, no embezzlement, torture, or assault. But I hear people on the radio yelling; yes YELLING at how horrible Tiger is and how weak and pathetic he is. People saying that his apology is a joke. Some even condemning him for apologizing at all. Some said, "too little, too late". Some said that Elin wasn't there and that was significant. Well Tiger's been invisible for 3 months. You don't think he apologized to her a million times? But I guess YOU want to hear him apologize to his wife and all will be good in your world.

I will wrap this up with this. If we take anything we have learned from school, church or parenting, we should look at this situation and give thanks. Thanks that once again, we have been taught another lesson. Like AIDS in the 80's made us think twice about our sexual promiscuity, maybe the Tiger Issue will make us think twice about infidelity. While Tiger's fall from grace is much higher than the few steps that we might fall down, the lesson should be the same, yet more significant. While infidelity in an average persons life might cost him or her a spouse, kids, a home and several thousand dollars; Tiger could lose millions, fame, and respect in the court of public opinion as well.

Tiger gave a 13 minute apology in front of the world. Who would YOU apologize too? In my mind, in that 13 minutes, only 8 seconds mattered. And that was when he said, "For all that I have done, I am so sorry." Nuff said Tiger. Nuff Said.

The Changing Of The Yards

Danny is a guest writer on the blog. He hails from Rotterdam Junction and he's a Syracuse Alum. Welcome Danny to the fold. Because he's right, even when he's wrong.

By
Danny DeOrazio

With everything that has changed throughout my life, there’s been only one thing that’s always been there, sports. They have always been a big part of my life, and will be forever. If you’re anything like me, then you have cheered, booed, yelled and cried over your favorite team or player. When you’re this into it there are superstitions, rituals and traditions involved. But somewhere along the path of my life filled with sports, the meaning of sports and sportsmanship has lost its swagger.

Think back to the days when you were a kid, growing up in the 80’s (maybe 90’s for some of my younger friends)… Think the idea of sportsmanship is the same to the athletes of today to those of the ‘glory days’ of sports??? To me it’s not even close. Athletes and (especially) big wigs have thought way too hard on how to make the game faster, fairer, and more profitable. I get it, sports is a business and without profit there’s no business but C’MON MAN, is enough ever enough?

Have you ever heard so many hubbubs about so many over privileged athletes ever in your life? Everything is news nowadays, too. Everyone wants to know everything about everyone, and then try to break it down. I’ll admit it, I’m part of the millions that want to know about what athletes beat their spouses, had infidelities, or used drugs, but where’s the line going to be drawn? So many people are so quick to judge Tiger Woods for his demise on Thanksgiving night, but I say “What is he the first person to ever cheat on his wife?” People should think about the people they’re surrounded by and the lives they live before judging someone else. Well, personally, I’m gonna root more than ever for Tiger when he comes back to golf, and I can guarantee I’m not alone.

The controversy on the use of steroids/PEDs/whatever in sports, especially baseball, will unfortunately be around forever. Thanks dicks! I used to absolutely love Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco when they were the Bash Brothers on the A’s! It kinda brought the excitement back into baseball, adding the long ball and taking away dominating pitchers like Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens (yea I added him!). Everyone loves some offense right? Mostly, with me as an exception. I am, and always have been, defensive-minded. Love pitching, loved linebackers like LT and Mike Singletary. To me, anyone can learn to score a bucket or throw a pigskin, but defending your territory is where it’s at. In baseball, the gloves, the bats, the cleats, etc… have all improved to grow with the times, but what about the pitchers? Last time I checked, the ball itself is the same it’s always been…. How about making the ball a little smaller and we’ll see how many homers precious A-Roid puts up this year? I will say that MLB has gone through humongous strides regarding PED use in the past few years. That being said, anyone wanna take my bet than NOBODY will ever hit more than 61 homeruns in one year in my lifetime?

Instant Replays…Booth Reviews…Stupid Penalties….OH MY!!! Remember back in time when there were no replays?!? Whatever the referee or umpire called, that was it; no ifs ands or buts. Well, now we have instant replays that go to reviews to make sure the call is right. Granted, the review usually confirms the call, but how much do you still hate it when 50,000+ fans, 2 or 3 idiot announcers and one drunken idiot watching it on a 31” TV can see the play clear as day, thru bloodshot eyes??? I’m not saying the Twins would’ve won that one infamous game against the Yankees in the 2009 AL playoffs when not 1, not 2, that’s right 3 calls that a deaf and dumb pig could’ve got right in real time. But nobody can say it would’ve had NO effect on the game, or you’re just another Yankee fan.

Ya’ll can rest easy though; I have a solution to this instant replay/booth review conundrum. There needs to be “Reality Reviewers” at each and every major sports game. What I mean is a group of ‘trained eyes’, tested with countless hours of replays that can bring an unbiased judgment of a play, in reasonable time. Too many times do I see a review that takes 5 minutes or more and it’s not even the correct call. I consider myself a good, fair judge even if it’s against my team, and could make these calls within 30 seconds. I just want a fair call that doesn’t interrupt the flow of the game. Too much to ask?? … And I don’t even want to start in on how quarterbacks can’t get touched anymore! … Or the ‘Tuck Rule’.

Being a kid that grew up 5 foot nothing, 100 nothing pounds, I didn’t have all the athletic advantages as a lot of others I knew. I played golf. I think I was pretty good, but my family didn’t have the $$$ to give me what I needed to make it, because I wasn’t THAT good. All I can say, without any doubt in the world that if I somehow made it into the NFL, MLB, or PGA or wherever, you probably wouldn’t see me in the news a lot. Whenever I see someone cheating in the game, on their wife, bringing guns to the locker room or just running their mouth off I just laugh to myself and change my perspective on their lives. There’s no use making a martyr out of anyone, because someone will just do something even dumber pretty soon, it’s a given. For me just about anything can be forgiven and everyone deserves a second chance. I understand wanting to get a leg up on the competition, I understand coaches and players that shoot off their mouths, I get it. Except for Michael Vick, I love animals too much. Being the ‘Eye for an Eye’ believer I am, think his punishment should’ve been to have fought to the death with some other felon when he was locked up. Who’s with me???

Luckily, there is one sporting event that has not really changed during my lifetime: (minus adding 1 more irrelevant team) THE NCAA BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT. To me, college sports mean a whole lot more than the pros, because they’re not doing it for money. Only a small percentage will go on to the pros, the rest are playing for the glory of not only themselves, but for their coaches and their college buddies that they see walking down the quad. I happened to have seen my alma mater Syracuse University in their remarkable run in the 2003 NCAA tournament. I saw them in Albany, out in Boston, but didn’t make it to New Orleans. I happened to be in Syracuse for work. I went to the Carrier Dome and watched the championship game between the Orange and the Kansas Jayhawks. Who cares? Me, because I was the kid who in 1987 cried for days when my Orangemen lost on a last second shot by Keith Smart, giving the championship to Indiana. I may have been past my time as a student at Syracuse, but being amongst the other 8000+ current students in the Dome, I dropped to my knees and started crying again. Tears of joy this time! Thank you NCAA for keeping it real!

The Syracuse/NCAA reference was put in to show proof that sports can remain traditional, ethical and consistent enough to take a 8-year old crying-ass kid, and turn him into a gleaming 24-year old alumnus, and now into a 31-year old bracketologist. I just wish now that someone slaps some sense into the BCS committee……. What a mess!?!

The Mistake Threshold (MT)

By Joe Jenkins

If the Jets have taught us anything throughout this year’s playoffs it is this: Take everything you know about what makes teams successful in the regular season and cram it up your cram hole, La Fleur. We were all too busy with our sanctimonious proclamations of the NFL being a pass first, high octane league, that we forgot an all important rule of playoff football: The team with that stays within their mistake threshold wins.

What is a mistake threshold? So glad you asked because I just made it up!

Everyone and everything in life has a mistake threshold—that point at which a person, team, or relationship goes from being good enough to get away with a mistake to the juice just not being worth the squeeze. You’ll find it in love, life, jobs, and even sports. Think about it: A guy with a great personality and amazing looks is going to get away with a lot more with a woman than a guy like…well…me. I’m the guy in the leather jacket on the top of this page that clearly looks like he needs to toss a no-hitter just to get a date. If witty meathead and I go head to head, he's going to be able to screw up a lot more than me and still get the girl. It’s not the amount of mistakes you make; it’s the ability to stay within your mistake threshold.

Nobody will ever play a perfect game. Linemen are going to get nailed for holding or jumping early; quarterbacks are going to throw to the wrong team; running backs and wide receivers are going to put the ball on the ground; you get the idea. The key is to have the ability to overcome the mistakes you make. A dominant defense helps. An explosive offense helps even more since it can put a game out of reach, or keep a game from getting out put out of reach. A strong running game, can be from a situational standpoint, but doesn’t help expand a team’s mistake threshold unless they already hold the lead. It doesn’t help when playing from behind.

This is why the Jets are still playing right now. Not because they have more athletic talent than the teams they played, but because they have managed to not exceed the number of mistakes their style of play will allow. Their opponents, meanwhile, did the exact opposite with missed field goals, turnovers, and stupid penalties. The result? A 9-7 Jets team playing for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

Now, with me trekking all the way out on this limb to say that there is one definitive number that will conclude the winner of playoff football, perhaps we should break down the final four teams set to play tomorrow.

New York Jets MT#: 1.5-2.0
Make no mistake: The Jets do deserve to be where they are. Yes they pranced into the playoffs by beating teams that were mailing it in, but they did go on the road to beat two division champs—one of which was riding an 11 game winning streak.

The Jets do have a shutdown defense that helps take the pressure off Mark “don’t call me dirty” Sanchez. They’re good enough to afford him, or anyone else for that matter one to two purely bone headed plays per game that they can realistically overcome.

Even still, a run all day and play stiff defense with a rookie quarterback business model doesn’t translate well for shootouts or playing from behind. It took a lot of missed field goals and idiotic personal foul penalties to get the Jets to Indianapolis. Chances are the Jets won’t have that luxury against a precision team like the Colts. They’re going to have to toss a gem in all phases to stay in this one.

Then again, the Jets have been getting written off since week 16, so what the hell do I know?

Minnesota Vikings MT#: 2.5-3.5
The NFC teams are so much closer and this one took a lot of soul searching for me. 1) Because Brett Favre has seemingly made a career out of making an ass out of me—and more directly my Bears. 2) I am absolutely and inexplicably man-smitten with Jared Allen and all of his quirky antics. I love the mullet. I love the fact that he has openly admitted that he still giggles at the fact that he wears number 69. I love the outdoorsy, possibly psychotic, “Seat at the table” Steve Lattimer-esque attitude. Plus he’s just sick coming off the corner.

Add Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin to the mix and the Vikings can afford a few pooch screwing moments.

Outside of the front 7, though, the Vikings defense is suspect at best. Their defensive backs should feel complimented by being called a liability.

Here’s what’s scary: Adrian Peterson can and will fumble. He didn’t last week. It’s coming. We also know that when Favre has a blow up game, it tends to draw comparisons to Hiroshima or Nagasaki.

How does the mistake prone tendencies of Minnesota’s offense actually factor into the mistake threshold?

Since New Orleans runs a passing offense as efficient as any other in the league, it plays right in to the weakness of the Minnesota defense. When strengths play into weaknesses, it will actually shrink one team’s threshold while expanding the other. The Vikings really can’t afford to have Favre go Chernobyl or for Peterson to get the drops if they want to keep it close.

New Orleans Saints MT#: 3.5-4.0
The two NFC teams are so close that really what this game boils down to a few key things because all of the things just mentioned about the Vikings defense also goes for the Saints. New Orleans is at home and playing in front of a crowd that will help pick them off the mat if they should soil the bed sheets; and—as stated above—they excel at exploiting a defense where Minnesota is weakest. On top of this, we haven’t seen Drew Brees throw up an absolute stinker in a while. Unlike the king sized Baby Ruth’s that Favre tends to leave in the swimming pool at Bushwood, Brees’ seem to be a bit more of the fun sized variety.

One other guy to factor in here is Reggie Bush. Granted he’s only shown flashes of any redeeming value, but think of him as the Jay Buhner of football: He’s not going to get the ball in play every time, but he’s good for a big home run every now and again.

Indianapolis Colts – MT#: Possibly infinity
Peyton Manning is a surgeon that doesn’t need a mistake threshold because he almost never makes them; and he does awesome commercials with Justin Timberlake. Has there ever been a more lethal combination? I submit that there has not! The Colts also haven’t lost when he’s played the entire game since last year. They can run the ball effectively, and they can play adequate defense, they have play making receivers which includes their tight end.

To put Indianapolis in real life terms, he’s the guy you work with that could get caught sleeping with your bosses wife, sexually harass the secretary and punch the intern in the face all while getting voted employee of the month.

Ahhh, to be the Colts…

Gilbert Arenas, Guns & Race

By Chris Wright

Every year. Without fail. A gun debate surfaces. The right to bear arms. Really? For who? When? Have our irresponsibililty with guns and the misinterpretation of gun laws which vary from state to state, alter the very meaning of the second amendment?

Well before I get into my foray on gun behavior, let us take a closer look into The Second Amendment: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Then after that, someone said, "Well what does that mean?" And some lawyer or politician or something, something, something advocate said, "That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and their own state, or the United States, or for the purpose of killing game; and no law shall be passed for disarming the people or any of them, unless for crimes committed, or real danger of public injury from individuals; and as standing armies in the time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up: and that the military shall be kept under strict subordination to and be governed by the civil powers."

And somehow, from December 15th, 1751, all the way through today and beyond, it's been interpreted as "I have a right to have a muthafuckin' gun!" How did we get here? It doesn't matter. We're here.

Yesterday, NBA player Gilbert Arenas was suspended indefinitely by NBA without pay. He's paid $150,000 per game (and we wonder why sports tickets are so expensive. Another day). If he does not play another game this season, he will lose $10 million dollars. Quite a price to pay for stupidity. Why was he suspended? Because he felt that since he had "the right to bear arms", it would be ok to keep his firearms in his locker at the Verizon Center. Whoa! That's not all. He got into a pissing match with a rookie teammate and wanted to show who's boss. The argument got heated and this multi-million dollar superstar brandished his gat! But wait! It doesn't end there! The rookie baller was like, "What muthafucka! Gats don't mean shit to me, I got gats too! Rook proceeds to go into HIS locker and pull out his Johnny Blaze. And yes. In an NBA locker room, they faceoff. Huh??? Is anything sacred? A sports locker room?

We all should be aware of the Plaxico Burress story by now. NY Giants star wide-receiver who almost blew his dick off in a nightclub last year. Yep. Doing 2 years and might never play football again. His income was $4 million a year plus incentives. I'm sure one of those incentives was not "blow your dick off". Now, he's currently in prison for, not brandishing his gun, but concealing his gun. And it just happened to go off in a public venue. He said that he felt it sliding down his leg and he went to grab it and because his ring finger is probably about a size 19, he pulled the trigger. Ouch!! Mayor Bloomberg decided to make an example out of him because he has a huge name and Plaxico Burress is good billboard fodder for the gun problem in NYC.

So now all over talk radio, The Great American Debate begins. Do we have the right to bear arms and how do we bear arms according to the state that we live in. A caviat in the Plaxico Burress case was that he thought that his gun was legal. Yes. His gun was legal in Florida, so he thought that it was legal no matter what state he was in. Not so fast my friend. But he had to know that it was not legal in a nightclub, so that argument is moot.

Then it becomes a racial issue. Al Sharpton got involved in the Gilbert Arenas case and sportswriter, Screamin' Stephen A. Smith wrote a piece on Foxsports.com called "The Black Community Suffers from Arenas Stupidity". Your can read it here after you finish reading this. In a nutshell, he points out how black star athletes' behavior promotes and condones similar activities with black youth. Debatable. But I don't want to talk about that. I want to get back to Al Sharpton. He proclaimed that "Gilbert Arenas must be punished!!". No shit Reverend Al! But what's your point? Do you really think that you're that important that when you say it shall be, it actually shall be?? Because you were ready to castrate Mayor Bloomberg for going after Plaxico with such fervor. And I believe... correct me if I'm wrong... but I think threatning a person with a gun when you're own life is not endangered... is a called ... ummm.. a crime??? So Al, you did not have to make the proclamation, "Arenas must be punished". But I give you a slight pass, because you understand that many people will justify Gilbert Arenas stupid actions.

I heard former NBA All-Star, Jerry Stackhouse say on his radio show, 'aww shucks man, that's just Gilbert. He's a fun guy. Nothing should happen to him. The NBA needs to understand..., blah blah." Shut up Stack! Then, Stack went on to lament on how these million dollar athletes come from dangerous neighborhoods and how guns are the way of the land. And he went on to point how the late Washington Redskin Defensive back, Sean Taylor was gunned down in his own home. Whatever. Sean Taylor wasn't gunned down in his dangerous neighborhood. It's idiotic commentary like that exacerbates the problem. Stackhouse is black if you didn't know.

Then white folks calling up saying how "these people" think that they can do whatever they want because they make millions. The talk show host asked the caller to define "these people" and without fear of retribution, the caller simply said, "these young black athletes". Well, I guess that cleared that up! So does that mean that the right to bear arms has race clauses too? Ooh. I hope not. Then I would have to worry about only whites having guns. That's scary. (Visual of the 1700's. Very scary).

Where is the NRA in all of this? I've not heard a peep. This is bad publicity for them; athletes and guns. While they want to ensure that the second amendment is secure and intact. These high profile gun incidents are making it very hard. Well, I did hear one peep. I found it on a podcast. A gentleman from the NRA said that he did not want to comment on it because the percentages of gun crimes compared to the amount of guns sold is very small. Of course, he's talking about sold legally. So the NRA marches on.

What we all need to do is examine how we really feel about guns and their usefulness in society. Do you own one? Are you concerned if laws are tightened to make it harder to acquire guns? Would you like to see harsher punishment in regards to guns and gun crimes? If you had a gun, would you use it? Do you believe that politicians and our justice system are consistent in the punishment of gun crimes? Or, do you see a problem at all?

Since i've lived in Central NY, I haven't seen so many stabbings in my life!! A cop recently stabbed his wife to death then stabbed himself 14 times. So next, we'll tackle Knife Laws. Not.

The Hawk and The Hall

By Joe Jenkins

People change. Sometimes for the better; sometimes for the worse, but people change.

When I was 6 I wanted to be a Transformer. By the time I was 18 I wanted to be a journalist. Now I’m 28 and all I want to be is incredibly wealthy and retired.

On a very quick and sentimental note, I’d like to think most people are always trying to change for the better. I’d really like to think that most of the people around me have. If I might quote from the book of Balboa, chapter 4 verse 33: “If I can change; and you can change, everybody can change!”

Funny thing though. Stats don’t change. Not even a little. They’re locked in. Walter Payton still ended his career with 16,726 yards in 1987. Hack Wilson still drove in 191 RBI and hit 56 home runs in 1930.

It’s for this reason that I can’t just sit back and be happy that Andre Dawson finally got inducted into Cooperstown today. Is it nice? You bet…

…but just because it’s nice doesn’t make it right. Take a quick peek at this:
In 21 seasons, all The Hawk did was bat .279 jack 438 home runs (for you younger readers, this was a very high number before players starting eating Winstrol brownies.); steal 314 bases; total over 2,700 hits; 8 Gold Gloves and All-Star selections; winner of Rookie of the Year in 1977 and NL MVP in 1987 (runner up in 1981 and 1983).

Okay, on the surface a lot of these numbers look like they need to be filed under “pretty good” and not quite “Cooperstown worthy.” On paper I agree, but consider this:
Dawson spent the better part of the ‘80’s and going into the early ‘90’s as one of the most feared hitters in the National League. Remember: Dawson was hitting between 20-30 home runs a season when that was a lot. For those that remember seeing him play, Dawson threw absolute peas from any of the three outfield positions. Now, prepare yourself while I blow your mind:
Those 400 home runs and those 300 stolen bases? There’s a list of other people that have done that: Barry Bonds... and Willie Mays… I am now done with the list… …and spooling up my indignant tirade.

Can somebody please tell me why voters waited 8 whole years to vote in a guy that has compiled career numbers that have only been eclipsed by two of the greatest baseball players of all time?!! (Don’t start on the whole Barry Bonds thing…not the venue.) Three guys!! EVER!! One of them widely considered to be one of the top two players…EVER!! How is this even possible?! The Hawk didn’t get any better over the last 8 years did he??!! Why now??!! Why do I keep using multiple punctuations??

I’ll tell ya why!! 1) Because I wrote it to be grammatically correct, and the proper levels of rage were simply not conveyed. 2) Dawson didn’t get in until now because the whole idiotic system is just plain screwed up, that’s why!!

Luckily for you folks, along with all of this very wordy babbling, I have come up with a solution. I’m a fixer. It’s what I do. Solving life’s little problems with reasonable and rational remedies makes me feel smexy (that’s smart and sexy, gang). I figure these things will come in handy when I’m named the sports czar of North America. And on the day after instituting my system of promotion and relegation to the BCS, this is the process that will clean up the steaming pile of poo that is the Baseball Hall of Fame induction process: Take (some) of the power away from the problem.

A quick lesson for those of you that never worked in the sports industry:

Think back to your high school days. Remember the geek that obsessed over baseball and knew every stat? You know the guy that would jump into a conversation to remind you how many times Frank Viola threw more than six innings on weekdays after the passing of the Summer Solstice? No, no, no, not the skinny, hairy, yet strangely handsome fellow that just won’t let his sideburns go, that’s me. The other guy. Yeah…him… he became a sports writer, too.

Here’s what’s scary: This guy has a couple hundred friends that call themselves the Baseball Writers Association of America. These guys stalk locker rooms and clubhouses clinging to an antiquated notion that they alone are responsible for protecting the sanctity of baseball like they belong in a Dan Brown novel. They do this by holding the keys to Cooperstown. If they hold a grudge, you’re out. If they think you were kind of ornery in the locker room after a loss? You might not get voted for. If an older beat writer from Boston hasn’t ever heard of a player from San Diego, he won’t get the vote. I’m not kidding about any of this.

So instead of just putting the players through a screening process, I say we put the writer’s through a test to see if they still have their heads about them. Those that carry sufficient knowledge and the clarity of mind to judge players based on their ability and not if they stole a writer’s lollipop in elementary school will keep their vote. That vote will count for 1/3 of the voting process.

So where does the other 2/3 of the vote come from? So glad you asked! (You didn’t ask? Well, I’m going to keep writing…so…don’t make this awkward.)

Players know Players

The good news is, there’s a bit of a failsafe in place if a player gets screwed by the writers. Living Hall of Famers, a.k.a “The Veteran’s Committee.” The bad news is “The Veteran’s Committee” treats the Hall of Fame more like a fraternity and a popularity contest than the writers do.
Same deal here. Pass a screening…keep your vote... but it only counts as 1/3 of the total process.
The Honor is for the player. Cooperstown is for the fans.

Look, we’re the ones that elevate them to rock star status. We’re the ones that enable them to make millions, and we’re the ones that get outraged when they aren’t voted in, and we’re the ones that visit the museum in the first place. Remind me why we don’t have a say as to who gets in? The fan vote portion would be simple. Every year mlb.com offers a 24 hour window for fans to sign on and register for Hall of Fame voting. Each year, 500 registrants are randomly selected to select from the ballot. They vote and it counts for the final 1/3. A player still needs 75% total to get in, but can’t have any one category dip below 55%. This should prevent any fan uprisings from trying to get a truly undeserving player in.

For the Pete Rose’s and the “Shoeless” Joe’s of the world, the solution is simple. Under the new system, banned players get one shot. If you’re voted in, good for you; if not, there’s the door. Next time don’t break the rules.

Finally, no more 15 years. After the 5 year waiting period, everybody gets 10 years as long as they maintain 25% of the vote. At the end of the day, sometimes we need a little time to sit back and realize just how good somebody really was, but it sure as hell doesn’t take 20 years for that to happen.

And there you have it:
More democracy. More change.
Change is a good thing…
…but I still kind of want to be a Transformer…

Parents, do you lock your kids in dark places?

by Chris Wright

Texas Tech University football program recently fired their head football coach for (in my opinion), unacceptable and inappropriate behavior. He locked a player diagnosed with a concussion inside of a dark closet as discipline. Ok, it was not a closet. That's the way that it was originally reported, but it actually was a dark room about the size of a single car garage. I believe it is called an "equipment locker".

Believe it or not, this is a controversial issue in sports this week! To be fair to the controversy, let me give you a little more background on the story. The player in question is named Adam James. His father is Craig James; a former NFL football player and currently an ESPN college football commentator. He is reported to be very much involved in the development of his son's athletic education and mentoring. He has been accused by Mike Leach, the former Texas Tech football coach, of being a meddler. Coach Leach said the father Craig James complained about his son's playing time and other directions of the coaching staff. Basically, it sounds like Craig James is not much different than many parents who has children that are athletes. I used to coach AAU girls basketball and I witnessed it first hand. Parents meddle. Also, being that Craig James works for the "world wide leader in sports" in a position of intimidation; college football commentator, I am assuming that Mike Leach felt that this put daddy in a position of power also. Or at least a perceived position of power.

On Coach Leach, he also has a reputation of being a tough minded coach and for some athletes, difficult to play for. He also had some contract disputes with the university and was very outspoken with his discontent with the contract offered. There you have it. The brief synopsis on the background of both parties. Does that change your opinion on his behavior?

As parents, we entrust the mentoring, coaching, and well-being of our children to the hands of coaches and teachers everyday. From the moment they leave your hands when you drop them off at daycare and beyond. This trust continues in elementary school and up through college. And I do not believe that most of you would condone your child, who has been diagnosed with a concussion or any injury, to be stuck in a "dark room" or disciplined at all for being advised to resist the urge to practice or play by a doctor; not a coach, not a trainer, but a doctor. That is what this Coach told his trainer to do. And like a dummy, the trainer followed 'orders' and locked the kid in the 'dark room' and then lied to the media and the university saying that he never did. Then the trainer recanted his story and told the truth saying he did! What the hell is that all about? Then the coach says, "the punishment did not cause any further medical damage to the player". What is that? In summary, you don't like the kid, you don't like his dad, you're a bully, and you bully not only your players, but your assistant coaches and trainers too. So you lock the kid in a 'dark room' because the doctor advised that he should not practice or play. Nice move coach.

Parents, wouldn't you prefer that a coach cut or release your child from the team, bench your child, verbally reprimand your child IF indeed he's not playing or participating up to his or her potential? Wouldn't you prefer that the coach was able to show by detailed developmental reports and statistics that your son is just not standing up to the task? I would. You would NOT lock my kid in a dark room with a concussion because your next step may be the grave!

Many pundits and people who approve of Coach Leach's behavior fall back on the "tough" coach argument. They reference Bobby Knight, the former Indiana basketball coach who was known as a tough as nails coach who would berate players and throw chairs and intimidate the media. They reference former Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes, who was caught on video punching a player. They reference NY Giants coach Tom Coughlin who former Giants running back Tiki Barber said was the catalyst for his retirement. They reference Coach Bear Bryant, the former Alabama football coach who had very unorthodoxed ways of coaching and disciplining his players. Ok, so these men that I mentioned have storied careers and are very successful. But their methods would not be tolerated with today's athletes or parents. There was a time that a parent said "i don't care what you need to do to make my boy successful'. There was a time that strict physical discipline was the rule in homes. Kids were used to it. I know that the beatings that I received as a child would surely have me in a foster home today! Child Protection would have removed me and my siblings from the homes immediately. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are in the days of "time-outs" and "talking". Therapy and family counseling. You don't beat the crap out of your children anymore and you certainly don't stick them in dark rooms. So, if the kid doesn't get it at home, you really expect him to accept it from a coach? And if you didn't administer this type of discipline, would you accept it from a coach?

There are good coaches in sports also. Coaches that do not impose this kind of will on their athletes and coaches. Men and women who do not coach by fear. I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and I admire the way their coach Mike Tomlin coaches and disciplines his players. He motivates them with playing time, roster assignments, and details. I like Patriots coach Bill Belichek who tells his players 'my way or the highway'. You try him, you won't be a Patriot long. I like Lakers coach and former Michael Jordan/Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson, who has coached some of the most polarizing personalities in sports; Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Kobe Bryant, and Shaq. He managed personalities. He did not have tirades. I like coach Calipari and Coach Rick Pitino and Nick Saban and Mack Brown. Look at these guys careers. They're known as mentors and leaders. Not bullies and feared. Players love these men as much as they love their own fathers.

I'm not sure if Coach Mike Leach is a father but if he is, I hope that he when his child says, "Mommy, i'm sick, can i stay home from school today?", Mike doesn't shove him in a closet until he learns not to ever ask again.

The BCS and the Soccer System

by Joe Jenkins

The BCS and the Soccer System

Wow…
…and here I am just trying to discuss the Earth-shattering importance of college football…
Writing about the BCS has become a bit of a cliché. It’s been debated, re-debated, bashed, praised, questioned, rumored, tweaked, protested, and potentially brought in front of a court of law on anti-trust charges so many times that it’s all been worn down into two distinct camps: Those that demand a playoff system; and those that claim that the regular season is the playoff and a bracketed playoff system would devalue the regular season.

Sooooo….
Where does this leave us? What’s the point in rehashing something that’s been—well—hashed…repeatedly…to death?

I suppose we have to bring something new to the table.

Look, we all know the BCS supporters are full of crap because their argument is just plain wrong. With every other major sport using some variation on the standard bracketed elimination system, each one stands as a turd in the punch bowl of the BCS argument. This is a lot of turds. Too many turds to ignore. One might say that only one would be too many. Yet every year, we’re stuck staring at the same turdy punch! (Is turdy a word? I’m leaning toward no. But if college football can make up a “playoff system” using only polls and computers, I can make up words like “turdy” to describe it. I might one day be inclined to call it “supercraptastic.” Stay tuned…)

Here’s the bad news:
Because we keep feeding the machine, the BCS probably won’t be going anywhere for a long time. I wrote a few years ago that the only way to really stop the BCS beast was to stop watching it…
…and I actually tried it…

…and by Tuesday of Bowl Week I had achieved Ewan McGregor in Trainspotting levels of withdrawal. Would I have dove into that toilet for my football suppository? Hard to tell, but I’m pretty sure there was a moment during the Capital One Bowl where I was caught licking my television screen like someone had just told me that the schnozberries taste like schnozberries. It was my first bowl season with HD. Don’t judge me.

So what does all of this mean?

It means we need to get off this playoff obsession for the time being and work on making the best out of a supercraptastic situation.

The truth is a few changes to the BCS system would make it pretty easy to make most college football pretty satisfied with the outcome. The key isn’t to focus with only working over the top, but also tweaking the bottom. I’ll wait while your mind works through all the potentially dirty possibilities of that last statement…

…Good?

…okay…

We can all agree that the BCS needs a plus one format in which the winners of the top two bowls meet in the BCS championship so we can at least pretend that the whole thing is decided on the field. Let’s be honest, the 2009 season was an absolute anomaly with 5 undefeated teams. A top 4 format works 99 times out of 100.

This isn’t the real problem from the people clamoring at the bottom. As a fan of a non-BCS FBS school, I can tell you that the rallying cry from the bottom up to the middle is one word: “Inclusion,” and I don’t just mean a pity invite to a BCS bowl. Every fan wants to go into the season knowing that their team at least has a chance to one day compete for the BCS/”National Championship.” Right now that doesn’t exist and the travesty that took place with TCU getting paired against Boise State is the glaring proof.

The answer to the inclusion problem lies with a very different sport that goes by the same name roughly 3,000 miles away.

Premier League soccer relegates its bottom feeders to a different league and in turn promotes the top performers from the Football League into its ranks. It, in effect, keeps the league constantly operating at a competitive zenith at all times.

The rules to the soccer system would be simple: Any champion of a non-BCS conference (MAC, MWC, C-USA, Sun Belt, WAC) that wins its bowl game would be issued an invitation to the BCS conference that makes the most geographic sense. They would replace the team with the worst winning percentage over a 3 year average. This not only prevents the new entries from being one and done, it also protects quality teams that throw up a one year stinker due to injuries or the discovery of flip cup and beer pong tournaments.

Picture a college football world in which no conference has a concrete alignment. Imagine a season in which teams like Northwestern and Indiana aren’t just playing out the string with a 2-7 record in November, they’re playing for their Big Ten lives. What would the interest level be in a Baylor vs. Iowa State game in which the loser could potentially spend the next season slumming it in Conference USA?

Better yet, Imagine TCU proving that they are the best team in the country instead of everyone guessing. Under the soccer system, the Horned Frogs would’ve been playing in the Big 12 this year thanks to their conference championship and victory over Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl last year.

The soccer system also allows for stiffer penalties for the teams committing egregious NCAA violations. So the next time USC wants to pay its players or Michigan wants to enforce sweatshop hours on its players to get to the top, they can sleep at night knowing that they will spend the next three years relegated to one of their non-BCS counterparts—a move that would cost a major program millions in television, bowl and advertising revenues. Likewise, a non-BCS school caught committing the same crimes would be ineligible for promotion to the BCS promised land. Who wants to cheat now?

How is it that we have completely ignored this model?

How would this model do anything but add value to the regular season from top to bottom?
Who could possibly hate this system?

How is it that there wasn’t a single freaking doctor in attendance to attend to Creed after Drago turned his skull to pumice in Rocky IV?

Why am I continuing to ask questions when nobody can answer me?

Aside from the complete lack of medical staff on hand for the Creed, Drago fight, the soccer system isn’t a quantum leap from the current BCS structure! It’s not vast sweeping changes that could potentially alter the entire landscape of college football as we know it. Its tweaks! Its subtle changes for the better. It’s parceling out hopes and dreams to teams that currently don’t have it. It’s promoting greater competition at every level of major college football regardless of record or conference standing.

Now… While we’re talking about all the important things…can we touch on getting the Cubs to the World Series?

The Media: From a Tiger's View

This is my first post. This is my first post on the Tiger Woods Drama. I'm doing this one first because I hope to not be writing another post about Tiger in the future and I really want this to be over with. But for those of you who do not know who Tiger Woods is, let me humor you. Bear with me.

His name is Eldrick Tont Woods, nicknamed Tiger by his father. December 30th, he will be 34 years old (Happy Birthday Tiger). He was born in Cypress, California and he is 6 foot 1 inches and a very lean 185 lbs. He attended Stanford University for two years and opted to turn pro in 1996. He's 3rd all-time in wins with 71 and has won 14 majors (4 Masters: The Grand Daddy of them All). Tiger has won over 200 awards worldwide, most recently and most significantly Athlete of the Decade by The Associated Press. Tiger's ethnic background is African-American, Chinese, and Native American. Throw in the sprinkle of Thai and Dutch that he is and he is pretty much the World's Athlete, with heritage almost touching every continent. I will stop here as far as his accomplishments in golf. And now Tiger has added to his life's achievements the title of Adulterer and has tallied up to allegedly 18 mistresses (more than his tally of Majors. One more mistress and he would have had as many mistresses as Jack Nicklaus has Majors). We have all heard various media outlets take on this and here is mine.

When that Cadillac Escalade hit the fire hydrant and the tree and the airbag did not explode, I thought, this is exactly how Tiger's life is and has been. He's invincible and can not be touched. An airbag would not even attempt to punch him in the face. Then, the first officer on the scene said that when he arrived, Tiger was "sleeping". He didn't say unconscious. He said, "sleeping". You have to be mighty relaxed to be sleeping after an accident. Again, I thought, this is Tiger's life. I can do what I want, when I want, catch a nap, the world will be all the same tomorrow, for I am King of the World. Tomorrow I will tell the world my story as I see it and they will believe me and I will prepare for a new golf season and dominate the world and increase my billions with my beautiful Elin on arm and my children Sam and Charlie in tow. We will be viewed and sought after like the Kennedy's.

What Tiger did not realize is this. For as many people that love and adore him, there are just as many people watching and waiting for him to make a mistake. They were patient, like hunters. Calm, cool, knowing. It was just a matter of time. Five years, 15, 20, it didn't matter. It was inevitable. He could NOT be this perfect. That fire hydrant was a like the glacier that ripped through the Unsinkable Titanic. It started out as a minor accident and turned into an event of great proportion. It ripped through his exterior and within hours, mangled and destroyed the interior. Truths, image, endorsements, and integrity fell off his ship like those falling from the Titanic. And like a ship's captain, he attempted to keep everyone calm with his brief statements. "Everything is good ladies and gentlemen. I am Tiger Woods". And this is the era we live in.

The real question is, why didn't he realize this? Why was he so careless? Did he not know that everything that his family built and dedicated to this institution called "Tiger Woods" could be torn apart with the smallest of crinkles? Did this institution become so arrogant even they believed that they were invincible? It took only 3 or 4 years to build this robot called Tiger and about another 15 years or so to perfect. By the time he was 20, he was primed to be America's first Billionaire Athlete. Ladies and gentlemen, it takes one helluva plan to do this. His father Earl was a genius. Likened his son to Ghandi. It reminds me of the Death Star in the movie Star Wars. Perfectly built with one flaw. But it was a very small flaw but if penetrated the Death Star would be destroyed.

My speculation is that mom and dad reins were too tight. They had invested too much into Tiger Inc and they were NOT going to let a few minor temptations like girls ruin it. No chance of teen pregnancy or hanging with the wrong crowd. Tiger Inc would not let these flaws of natural adolescents hinder the greatest machine ever constructed. Girls are a natural weakness of men and takes much discipline and focus to avoid the pitfalls that come with relationships and girls or women. I'm sure that Tiger looked. Hell, he went to Stanford. In California. Do you know how many Miss America contestants went to Stanford? It's no wonder he only did 2 years! A year or two more and he would have a girlfriend god-forbid. I'm sure that Tiger had his college buddies conceal some of the things that he did in college to avoid the eruption of Mt. Earl. All in all, he just could never be a boy. I am not justifying his actions as an adulterer. But parents, telling your son that adultery is bad is not as good as prepping him to do the right thing. Barring him from the very temptations that are a natural attraction is as good as saying, "do it later". Telling your teenager that a boyfriend or a girlfriend is forbidden will most certainly create a closet freak within a few years. One part, to get back at you and the other part is just catching up. If you interview all of the sex addicts in the world, most of them will tell you that relationships were forbidden when they were growing up. The normal bump and grind game that teens play was not experienced. Sneaking kisses at 11 and 12 was a no-no. I believe that this was Tiger. When Earl died, the chastity belt was unlocked and the penis was exposed. In Las Vegas, LA, Paris, Upstate NY, everywhere. Tiger just let it all hang out. It was done with reckless abandonment. And Tiger Inc became vulnerable. The media pounced. And Tiger is pissed.

Should he be? Yes. And this is why. He is being accused of being a fraud. He's not a fraud. He is a human being. He never said that he was perfect. He never projected an image of sovereignty. He never pretended to be better than others. He never made political commentary, racial commentary, or sexist commentary. He was asked by the black community to be an advocate. He said No. I'm more than just black. He's been asked by political parties to endorse. He said my political affiliation is private. He's never criticized or made commentary about others in the entertainment industry. In fact, I've never heard Tiger make comments about anything but golf. Now, there are those in the marketing industry that are paid huge bucks to create perception and image. And this is why you drink Pepsi or Coke. This is why you buy BMW, Ford, or Chevy. This is why you drink Gatorade or smell like Acqua Di Gio. Because a marketing ad man created an image for you to believe in. Tiger didn't do it. The guys on Madison Avenue did it. Tiger is the face. I don't know. Maybe he should have told Tag Hauer or Gillette that he had a weakness for women. Maybe these companies even supplied him with women. Who knows? My point is that we should not hold anyone up this high and expect perfection. And if we do, then make sure that we pray to him or her once a week. Do not blame Tiger for taking the money. It was easy to be the guy that these companies wanted him to be. Earl created the machine that way.

Earl just forgot the girl thing.

Chris Wright