Category: Uncategorized

It is amazing how much better TV shows are than movies. It is also amazing ho wmuch better cable TV shows are than network TV shows. Using the transitive property, that means that x=3. Or something. I didn’t really pay attention in match class.

Movies are ridiculously expensive, and there is never a guarantee that a) they will be good or 2) you will enjoy them. But if you don’t enjoy them or they suck, you won’t get your money back. The popcorn ALWAYS sucks, and yet it costs $20 for a small bowl. And the drinks…basically a giant cup of ice with a splash of soda. For $10. Does anyone else think that is ridiculous? Apparently not, because the line for snacks at a movie theater is always long.

Anyways, back to the point. Movies are not very good these days. And they are expensive. And if you wait just a few months, you can have Netflix send you the movie. Do you realize that the monthly cost of Netflix is basically the same as a ticket/snacks for one to a single movie? Why wouldn’t you wait those few months for the movie to come to DVD? You can watch it like you watch your TV shows, with better popcorn, cheaper soda, in the comfort of your own home, while in your underwear. What, just me?

Movies in the theater used to be a weekly or bi-weekly occurence, but no longer. They are too expensive and too many of them are horrible. Now, we need hard proof that the movie will be good before we shell out our hard-earned cash to see it. We need to know the movie is good in the cockles of our hearts, maybe below the cockles, maybe in the sub-cockle area, maybe in the liver, maybe in the kidneys, maybe even in the colon. Which usually means we need a friend to play the role of guinea pig and see the movie and give us their scouting report.

But even if Mel Kiper Jr.’s hair tells you that a movie is a can’t-miss prospect, outside of going on a date (unless you’re me, who goes to the dollar theater to see Ransom), or a movie that everyone talks about so you have to see it to feel a part of the human race (like Avatar), there is no point to seeing a movie in the theater. None. At all. Besides all the reasons listed above, these days, TV shows are just plain better. Better scripts, better acting, better plots, better everything. TV shows can actually play out a story line and not gloss it over because they only have 90 minutes to get the entire story in. TV shows can get you to fall in love with multiple characters, not just the one or two big names. When you watch a movie, generally speaking, you leave saying you really liked [insert actor’s real name] and [insert other actor’s real name] did a great job, but when you watch a TV show, you talk about what Sawyer and Kate and John Locke and Hurley and Jack all did in the last episode.

Granted, there are plenty of duds when it comes to TV. But the great thing about the duds – you didn’t pay specifically for them. You watch an episode of some new show and it stinks, no skin off your back, you just won’t watch that episode again and your tivo will thank you. But you go to see a movie and it stinks, you ain’t getting that $12 back.

Network television obviously have their shows, and they market the heck out of them. But you know where you can find the highest percentage of winners? Cable television. After Tony Shaloub and Monk became popular, being a big name actor on a cable television show no longer was uncool. Although Monk’s run came to an end, USA Network now has White Collar, Psych, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, Burn Notice and In Plain Sight. NBC even sent Law and Order, Criminal Intent to USA. TNT has Leverage, Rizzoli and Isles, The Closer, Dark Blue, Hawthorne and Men Of A Certain Age, among others.

Why does cable have a higher percentage of winners than network channels? For one thing, the expectations are much lower. A cable show doesn’t have to pull in 14 million viewers an episode to be successful. One would think that cable channels were just the network channels with beer goggles, going after any crappy tv show to put on their air because it was past midnight and you felt lonely. But that is not the case.

Cable channels, again, thanks to Tony Shaloub and Monk, go after big stars and put great casts around them with great writers and producers, probably good grip people as well (whatever that job means) and more often than not, they make great television. Because it’s cable and the only thing on other than original shows is grown men in spandex pretending to hate each other while actually hitting each other in the back of the head with metal chairs, the channels can then replay the bejeezus out of their original shows, giving We The Viewers multiple chances to watch and/or tivo said shows. They don’t worry about competing with the big boys and girls on network tv. They say “hey, you can go watch their show during primetime, but we’ll leave the light on and the door open when you come back home at 1:00 a.m.”

I think the growth of the cable shows has made the network channels stand up and take notice. I feel like even the network TV shows have become much better. Which makes it much easier for us to say “I don’t want to go out to a movie tonight, let’s stay home, make some popcorn, grab some sodas, and what all the shows we have on tivo.”

Like college football, I would assume that the movie-television battle is all cyclical, and that eventually movie companies will start putting together a higher percentage of better movies. Even if they do that, though, for them to start bringing in higher crowds, it might be time to lower the prices. Theaters are no longer the place to go on a Friday or Saturday night. For one, most people have a big screen tv with HD, or at least know someone who do, so watching TV or a Netflix movie is just as much fun as going out.

Especially since home means better popcorn, cheaper drinks, and underwear.

None of you? Seriously?

While sitting at lunch, a fellow A’s fan and I became involved ina conversation about the upcoming Moneyball movie. For those of you who don’t know, Moneyball is a phenomenal book by a phenomenal writer, Michael Lewis. It’s the inside story about the Oakland Athletics, how the team is run under general manager Billy Beane, what type of players they look for, the relationships between management and manager(s), etc. It’s an amazing book not only for A’s fans, but also for baseball fans and people who think baseball is one of the most boring sports in the world, so pretty much 99.9 percent of Earth’s population.

Regardless, while discussing who is going to be in the movie (A’s assistant GM Paul DePodesta has been renamed to Peter Brand and will be played by Jonah Hill? Really!?), it reminded me of the A’s under Art Howe (who will be played by Philip Seymor Hoffman), and how they had the Yankees on the ropes, holding a 2-0 lead in 2001, needing only one more win to advance to the ALCS.

The year was 2001. I had just graduated. I was working for the A’s in kind of an internship situation, helping out with the radio broadcasts. They were nice enough to allow me to work at the ballpark on Oct. 13, when a young A’s pitcher by the name of Barry Zito was about to go up against Mike Mussina and the Yankees. The A’s had won games one and two at Yankees Stadium, 5-3 and 2-0, and needed just one win to knock off the hated Bronx Bombers. The next two games were at home. Oaktown Mojo was about to knock off New York, New York.

To say the game was a nail-biter is an understatement. The two pitchers combined for five 1-2-3 innings in the first four frames. In the bottom of the fourth, the A’s put two on with one out, but Mussina induced groundouts by Eric Chavez and Jeremy Giambi to end the threat. (Remember the name Jeremy Giambi – 1) because I can’t forget his name, and b) because he plays an integral part in this story.)

Know that I am not bitter about what happened.

In the top of the fifth, Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, who always seemed to get big hits against the A’s, homered with one out to give NY a 1-0 lead. Mussina recorded 1-2-3 innings in the fifth and sixth, and then came the bottom of the seventh.

Mussina opened the seventh with two quick outs, as Jermaine Dye popped out and Chavez flew out. Jeremy Giambi ended the A’s hitless streak with a single to right. Terrence Long, affectionately known as T-Long, sent a shot down the right field line.

Now, Jeremy Giambi is not what you would call fleet of foot. At the time, in fact, he was quite slow. Probably still is. I’m not bitter.

So Giambi is chugging around the bases. Since there are two outs, and Mussina hasn’t given the A’s many chances, third base coach Ron Washington waves Giambi around third. Shane Spencer, rightfielder for the Yankees, corrals the ball and sends it towards the infield. It had NO chance of getting home, even with Mr. Molasses on the bases. Derek Jeter, in one of his many ridiculously heads up plays, runs to cut the ball off and flips it towards home. The ball, and Giambi, get there right at the same time. Posada catches the ball and swings his glove around, hitting Giambi on the back of his leg as that same leg is stepping on the plate. Needless to say, the umpire calls Giambi out.

Say what you want about the call (I still maintain he was safe), why in God’s name wouldn’t Giambi slide in that situation?! What could he possibly be thinking as he nears home? One would imagine that he is paying attention to the ball, that he knows where it is, that he can tell the play will be close, so WHY WOULDN’T HE SLIDE IN THAT SITUATION!!! If you are a professional baseball player, you know how to slide and you know WHEN to slide. On a play like that, if it’s going to be close, how do you not slide? You know that one way or another, the umpire is going to make a decision that will determine the outcome of the game, so why wouldn’t you want to make it easier for Blue to decide in your favor?

Still not bitter.

Mariano then comes in for the two-inning save, gives up only two hits but eventually gets Jeremy Giambi (him again!) to ground out to end the game, cutting the A’s lead in the series to 2-1. The next day, pitcher Cory Lidle gets bombed, Jermaine Dye shatters his ankle, A’s lose game five, lose the series and lose Johnny Damon and Jason Giambi to bigger market teams.

Here’s the kicker to the story. Opening Day, 2002 season, A’s vs. Rangers at Oakland Coliseum. Jeremy Giambi is now the leadoff hitter, because the A’s love guys who can walk (because Lord knows, Giambi can’t run). In my memory, it was his first at-bat of the game, but in reality it was in the third inning. He leads off the frame with a single. Frank Menechino doubles, and Giambi comes all the way around the bases. There was no throw to home, no play at the plate, but Giambi SLIDES HOME ANYWAY. The crowd goes crazy, Giambi jumps up and pumps his fist, everyone’s happy.

Except me.

Where was this in game three of the Division Series? Did he use the offseason to learn how to slide? We knew he knew HOW to slide, we just never saw any examples that he knew WHEN to slide. Sliding on Opening Day when there is no play at the plate? Yawn. Not sliding when your team leads the five-game series 2-0 but is trailing game 3 1-0 and this might be the last chance to score?

Ok, now I’m a little bitter.

I realized what was great about our country today. I was listening to the Howard Stern Show, and he had on Glenn Miller, a nut-case from Missouri who is running for Senator. Miller is the first person to (openly) run on the “Anti-Jew” platform. From what little I listened to the interview before I had to leave my car, Miller believes that Jews control America, and he wants to get into the Senate to try to help America get free of its Jewish Burden. On a side note, he is also not a fan of blacks, hispanics or gays, but the Jews, in his opinion, are the worst.

Glenn Miller and I agree on nothing. He is a racist, sexist, homophobic whack job who takes as gospel the word of Louis Farrakhan (gulp) and Pat Buchanan (double gulp). When Howard asked him about his anti-Jewish stance, Miller used Buchanan and Farrakhan was a way to make his ideas sound not-crazy, as in, “well Buchanan believes this and Farrakhan does as well so obviously that gives my thoughts credence.” The fact that Buchanan and Farrakhan are universally laughed at and thought of as nutcases themselves apparently does not occur to Miller.

But here is what is great about our country – Miller has every right to speak his mind, as crazy as he sounds. (Although crazier still – and sadder still – is the thought that there are people out there who agree with him.)

Ignoring that, our country allows people like Miller to say what they want to say, to run for government if they wish, to go on national radio shows and tell us how they feel about things without fear of going to jail. And to give credit to Stern, he treated Miller like he would any other guest, asking questions and not trying to argue with him about his crazy ideas. It was obvious that Howard did not agree with Mr. Crazy Man, but he also recognized that an argument would not make for good radio – letting Miller spout his wacky thoughts was much funnier.

There is a Facebook page for “Making It Illegal To Protest Army Funerals.” Apparently an extremist right-wing “Church” (I put “Church” in quotations because I refuse to believe any true Church would be as hateful as this group is) protested the funeral of an Army soldier with signs that basically said our brave men and women were dying in a war that was brought onto America because our country allows gay people to live here.

Again, ignoring the craziness of their opinions (and the sadness that there are people who actually buy into this crap), what makes America beautiful is that these people are allowed to protest at a funeral. Whether or not they see the irony that they were protesting the death of a soldier who was fighting for their ability to protest his death, I do not know. I am guessing not. The father of this soldier sued the protesters for emotional pain, and the judge ruled in the “Church’s” favor.

Does that suck? Of course it does. Do I agree with the judge’s decision? Of course I do. People have every right to protest whatever they want. His own son went to fight a war so that these whack-jobs could protest whatever they want. (Another argument for another day – whether or not fighting in a war halfway across the world actually does protect our freedoms. I say not.)

But the people who became fans of this page on Facebook, and the father of this soldier, are missing the point. Being American means accepting different opinions, religious, sexual orientations, races, no matter how much they differ from our own. Living in America gives us the right to express our opinions, no matter how crazy. If we start making it illegal to protest, we lose what makes us Americans.

Freedom of Speech is a great power, but with great power comes great responsibility, and most people aren’t mature or smart or informed enough to handle that responsibility.

For example, I have a blog.

I just read in my USA Today that Jose Canseco plans to file a class-action lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the players’ association, because apparently he feels he has been ostracized for going public with tales of steroids use in the sport. He’s going to enlist the help of Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro to go after “lost wages.”

Here is is reasoning:

“Because I used steroids and I came out with a book, I was kicked out of the game, but I have not beein inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

Ok, Jose, couple things: First off, you were never getting into the Hall of Fame. Ever. That just wasn’t going to happen for you. Your career average is .266. You hit a lot of home runs, 462, but you’re only 32nd on the all-time home runs list. Fred McGriff is No. 26, he’s not in the HOF. Palmeiro is No. 10, he’s not in. Sammy Sosa is in sixth-place and after the recent news that he is one of the 103 players who tested positive for performance enhancers in 2003 has led some HOF voters to label him a question mark. Heck, your former teammate Mark McGuire is in 10th-place on the home run list and he received less than 25-percent of the vote in his first shot at the Hall. But with all that said, baseball is not shunning you because of steroids. When I look at your all-time stats, my guess is that you were never going to get in to the HOF. Maybe if there was a “Hall Of The Very Good,” then we could talk.

Secondly, you made your bed, time to sleep in it. You wanted money, so you decided to come out with a book that really started this whole steroid mess. Because of your book, baseball could no longer sweep steroids under the rug or beneath the bed – suddenly both MLB and the players’ union had to sit up and act like they were concerned. You have been proven right more often than not, and for that I thank you. I think what you did was good for baseball. You turned the spotlight on an ugly part of the game. The problem is, you are also in that spotlight. If voters were on the fence about you before you admitted steroids, they certainly were not going to vote for you afterwards. Heck, Barry Bonds is baseball’s home run king, he was a Hall of Fame player before someone replaced his head with a water melon, it has never actually been proven that he used steroids, and yet he is not a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer.

So Jose, it’s time to go away now. You hit the lottery with the first book, because suddenly there was a voice from the inside of the game telling us what we really already knew. You thought about writing a second book. You took up mixed martial arts. You are doing everything you can to remain in the spotlight, but it’s time to call the fight.

Thank you again for what you did for baseball, but don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Thoughts from the weekend, in no particular order…

Brady Quinn was drafted where he should have been drafted, if Cleveland hadn’t traded up KC would have taken him at 23. But I predict he will stink as a pro. I just don’t see him doing well. Not just stat-wise, I just see him as a guy who doesn’t have “it.” Whatever “it” is, he don’t got it. Everytime Quinn played a really good team, a team that will have a lot of players drafted into the NFL (i.e. Michigan, USC, LSU, etc)…his team got smoked, and he wasn’t great.

Let’s look at Notre Dame’s schedule…three losses, to Michigan, USC, and LSU. Average margin of defeat: 24.3 points. Brady Quinn’s average against those three teams: 20 for 43, 219 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs…not awful numbers, but definitely not top 5 or top 10 pick numbers. Cleveland getting him at 22 is perfect for Quinn, because now he plays for his hometown team, with the pressure of the 22nd overall pick instead of the 3rd. And he has Joe Thomas protecting his blindside. That said, I just don’t see him becoming a good NFL qb.

What the hell was Miami thinking with Ted Ginn Jr at #9?! I mean, fine, you don’t like Brady Quinn, I have no problem with that. But to draft Ginn Jr at 9? A guy who is still rehabbing the left foot sprain he suffered during the BCS Championship? If that’s the guy you want, why not trade down? Why not pick up some more draft picks, then get your guy Ginn later in the first round? Maybe they tried to, but I haven’t read anything to prove that. Bad job by Miami.

Yankees are in the hurt box. 9-14?! These are not your father’s yankees….or maybe they are. They did struggle during the early 90s. So maybe it’s better to say these are not your older brother’s yankees. Or your older sister. Or your uncle who’s younger than your parents. Or aunt, for that matter.

Whatever relation it is for you, these Yankees are struggling…and the Red Sox look awesome. Josh Beckett with 5 wins, Schilling and Matsuzaka both with 3, Papelbon looking solid as the Closer, and the bullpen doing a good job getting to Papelbon. And the offense is, well, the Red Sox offense. Big Papi, Manny being Manny, plus JD Drew, Julio Lugo, Mike Lowell, Coco Crisp, et. al….like a fantasy team! Barring injuries, Red Sox will be in the playoffs…

Warriors up 3-1 over the Mavericks. Don Nelson is a genius. Mullin and Higgins have put together the perfect team for Nellie, and Baron Davis is playing like the leader Golden State wanted when they traded for him. I don’t think they will close out in 5 or 6, I think this series will go to a seventh game, but as a Warriors fan who didn’t have faith in the team or the coach or the front office, I am officially eating my words. Great pickup of Matt Barnes, who hit a huge three pointer late in the game last night. Great trade to get Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington, perfect for Nelly’s system. Got to hand it to Jackson, even with his baggage, he has playoff experience, and if he can keep his emotions in check and his head screwed on straight, he can be devastating.

The Warriors were pretty much the worst team to get the 8 seed from the Mavericks opinion. GS is led by a coach who knows all the Mavericks players inside and out, they always play the Mavericks tough (GS won 6 of 7 against the Mavericks the last two years before the playoffs), and right now the Warriors shots are all falling for them. I expect this series to go 7, and then the Mavericks will pull it out in a hotly contested game.

Not surprised Bulls swept the Heat, not surprised Suns are up 3-1 on the Lakers, and certainly not surprised that Cleveland is up 3-0 on the Gilbert-less Wizards. I think Houston pulls away and wins the series against Utah 4-2, I don’t think Denver wins another game against the Spurs, and I think the Raptors win game 5 at home before falling to the Nets in game 6.

Dear sir:

Mr. Cho Seung Hui, you suck. You are a scumbag. An awful person. A pathetic excuse for a human being. Because you got upset over a girl, you ended the lives of 32 people. Because of a girl. Am I missing something? Was this Helen of Troy that got you all hot and bothered? I gotta say, I’ve been turned down by my fair share of girls, and I never once thought to myself “you know what would be a good idea – shooting random people for no apparent reason.”

Earth to crazy guy, we’ve all been down that road. Did you think that you were the only one that’s felt crappy because you were rejected? Poor, sad you, this girl didn’t return your affection, wah wah wah. Every single man and woman has been rejected by someone else. It happens. And it sucks when it happens. But you know what us real human beings do? We move on. We laugh about it with our friends. We find someone else. There is no one who should be that damn important that you would want to kill all those people for. Grow up, and grow a pair.

I’m guessing that you couldn’t even name 30 of those people. I’m guessing you had no idea who any of those people were. Sure maybe you had seen them around campus, but did you actually know them? Did you actually have a reason for killing them? For example, did you know that the R.A. you killed (after you shot the girl who apparently ruined your life) was a 23-year old, majoring in English, Biology, and Psychology, with a 4.0 GPA? A guy who everyone loved and respected? A great guy, now gone, because you are a scumbag.

You even wrote notes venting about corruption and the privileged. So this is how you fix both problems? Shooting 32 people? I’m not a rocket scientist by any stretch of the imagination, but I think there’s a flaw in your plan. Not only did you kill all the wrong people, you are now the bad guy. You are the guy that we all hate now. That’s right, you, Mr. anti-corruption, Mr. other-people-have-stuff-that-I-don’t-and-therefore-I-hate-them, Mr. she-doesn’t-like-me-woe-is-me-life-sucks, you are now the corrupt. Not only that, you’re also the privileged – privileged to be dead, because now you don’t have to face the music. If you had been any kind of a decent and kind human being, you would have reversed the order of your rampage, and shot yourself first.

That’s what upsets me the most about this situation – that you were such a p*ssy that you took your own life. You couldn’t even be man enough to stick around and see the damage you caused. You ended your own life, leaving 32 people dead, and countless others grieving. What a weak way to leave this world. At 23 years old, you are old enough to be considered a man, but there is no way in hell I’m thinking of you as anything but a child. A weak, whiny, brat of a kid who couldn’t get what he wanted and so he took his frustration out on everyone around him. And then when you realized the damage you had caused, you decided that instead of facing the music, instead of facing the friends and families of those you killed, instead of facing the world, you would take your own life. Was it our fault that nobody liked you? Was it our fault that life wasn’t going the way you wanted? Guess what – sometimes life sucks. News flash! This just in! “This is TRL reporting live from the world, and what we know right now is that life can get you down sometimes!” Holy crap, alert the media!

You know what the rest of us do when life gets tough? We work through it. We cope, we deal, we move on. Now, because of your actions, the friends and families of 32 people are going to have to do just that – cope, deal, and eventually, move on. I don’t necessarily believe in Heaven, Hell, or God, but Mr. Cho Seung Hui: I really hope and pray there’s a special place in Hell just for you.

Let me start by saying I am not a Don Imus fan. I don’t find him funny in any way shape or form. Sometimes the people around him are funny, but Imus himself doesn’t do anything for me. That said, I’m trying to understand what the big deal is with his comments regarding the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team. I understand that what he said was insulting, and probably not in good taste, and probably not the smartest thing he could have done, but when has Imus ever been in a) nice, b) in good taste, or 3) smart? The guy makes a living off saying stuff to piss people off, regardless of whether it’s factually based or not. When you think Imus, or Howard Stern, or Mancow, or any other so called “shock jocks,” you don’t really think of people who say nice things about everything, who always have a pleasant demeanor – these guys aren’t Pleasantville. They humor us by saying stuff that we might have thought at one point in time, but either didn’t have the balls to say it out loud, or had the common sense to keep it to ourselves.

I know people are upset with Imus, but do they realize that by yelling all they are doing is driving up Imus’ ratings? And does Rutgers realize that they are getting more press than a Women’s Championship Runner Up has ever received? Let’s be honest, there aren’t many people who care about women’s basketball. People probably have heard the name Pat Summit, they are probably aware that Tennessee won the Women’s championship, but I would bet that without Imus’ comments, a very small percentage of the US would be aware that Rutgers was in the Championship game. Somewhere on the Rutgers campus, someone is doing backflips at all the press the University is receiving.

Here is what went down on Imus’ show:

DON IMUS: So, I watched the basketball game last night between — a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women’s final.
SID ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night — seventh championship for Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.
IMUS: That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and —
BERNARD McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.
IMUS: That’s some nappy-headed hos there. I’m gonna tell you that now, man, that’s some — woo. And the girls from Tennessee, they all look cute, you know, so, like — kinda like — I don’t know.
McGUIRK: A Spike Lee thing.
IMUS: Yeah.
McGUIRK: The Jigaboos vs. the Wannabes — that movie that he had.
IMUS: Yeah, it was a tough —
CHARLES McCORD: Do The Right Thing.
McGUIRK: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
IMUS: I don’t know if I’d have wanted to beat Rutgers or not, but they did, right?
ROSENBERG: It was a tough watch. The more I look at Rutgers, they look exactly like the Toronto Raptors.

Ok so yeah, what the guys said were stupid, inappropriate, not very nice, and racist. They were making a joke. An insenitive joke, but a joke nonetheless. A joke that wasn’t very funny, so we don’t laugh. Do we really need to make a big deal about it? Is the world going to change because we called out Don Imus on a joke gone wrong? Does having a tattoo really make one “tough”? Do we think for one minute that because Imus and his crew called these women “ho’s” that they really are? Did anyone think that Imus had ever met any of these women? And again why do we give a rat’s ass what Don Imus says? Are people going to hear him, and say “yeah you know what, those girls are ho’s”? Even if they think that, what happens then? The world comes to a screeching halt?

Racism exists – I know that. It’s still out there. But what Imus said – was it racist or just stupid? Most of the time the two go hand in hand, but in this case I think they were separate. I don’t believe Imus is racist, I just think he tries to say things that other people wouldn’t. He makes a living out of making fun of every race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, etc. Should he hold back and not make fun of black people because it might come out racist? Is racism worse than sexism or homophobia? Rappers uses the terms “ho” and “nappy haired ho” in their music, so where is the kicking and screaming to get them to stop? Because the majority of rappers are black it’s ok to use that language? A “no one beats up my sibling but me” kind of thing? So it becomes racist if someone of a different race says it? What Imus said was just plain stupid and not funny. No need to make this a national agenda.

And let’s be honest about something, most women basketball players are not very attractive. I don’t know what Imus was watching, but the Tennessee players aren’t going to be winning any beauty pageants themselves. I’m looking at their pictures now, and…well, not so much. We’re not talking about stunners here.

Again, I know there is still racism in the world, and I know that we have a long way to go, but I think one step is we have to relax and stop worrying about what stupid people say. Stupid people will say stupid things – that’s what stupid people do. So what does that make those who listen to the stupid people and bitch and moan and complain everytime they say something stupid? Who’s the bigger fool, the fool – or those who pay attention to the fool?

The bottom line is that the members of the Rutgers women basketball team are not asked to look like models – they’re asked to play basketball. And apparently they play basketball quite well. Rutgers was a 4 seed that upset Duke and LSU on their way to the Championship game. They had an amazing run. They are a young team that will probably only get better. And nothing Imus said takes away from that.

I’m reading all this crap about how much money Kentucky is going to offer Billy Donovan, and I get sick to my stomach. As a registered Gators fan, of course I’m nervous that Billy is going to take the money and run. As a human being who likes money, what would I do if I were in his situation? I’d like to think that I would stay with the program I built, stay with the school where my wife and I have many ties, friends, and fans. But money can be louder than loyalty. I know Florida has said they will match, but can they really pay their basketball coach more than their football coach? Would they have to give Urban Meyer a raise if they gave one to Billy?

This pisses me off. Yesterday the Marlins and the Nationals were deadlocked at 6 in the bottom of the ninth, at Washington. The home team Nationals load up the bases with 1 out, and Dmitri Young steps to the plate. He hits a long fly ball to left field, near the foul line, where outfielder Josh Willingham was waiting for it. Willingham just stands there and watches the ball as it bounces a foot or so fair, thus winning the game for the Nationals.

Now some of the national sports media would have you believe that Willingham screwed up, that he should have made a play for the ball, that he assumed the ball was foul and hence made an ass out of “u” and “med.” My first thought when I saw what happened was that Willingham had absolutely no chance to gun the runner out at home, so he decided to let it bounce and just prayed it would bounce foul.

Pretty damn smart play, in my mind.

In that situation, what other option did he have? He catches it, Nationals win 7-6, because he didn’t have a chance at throwing the runner out. If it bounces fair, Marlins win 7-6 anyway. But if he let’s it bounce, and it bounces foul, then the pitcher Julio gets another attempt to get out of the inning. And it was close enough that there was a chance, in his mind, that it would drop foul.

Let’s hear from Willingham:

“I knew it was going to be close,” Willingham said. “[letting it drop foul] was the only play I had.”

His manager, Fredi Gonzalez, agreed.

“He ain’t going to throw him out at the plate there,” Gonzalez said. “I thought it was a head’s-up play.”

Hey national broadcaster people – how about looking at the situation before you start judging how smart or not smart a play was? I mean heck I am not the most knowledgeable baseball guy, but I at least have some modicum of common sense!

Me: 1
National Broadcaster People: 0

I am an unabashed Florida Gator fan. Scratch that. I am a Florida Gator. I did not attend there, but I grew up there, 2 minutes away from the Swamp, 2 minutes away from the Rowdy Reptile section. I ate, lived, breathed Gator sports. (I still do, I just don’t live as close as I used to.) I went to UF baseball games. Heck, I even went to a Gators gymnastics meet or two. So I’m trying to write down how this 2 year stretch affects me, as a Gator. The 2006 Men’s Basketball Championship. The 2006 Football Championship. The 2007 Men’s Basketball Championship.

I mean, holy crap.

That’s a hell of a decade for most schools, and Florida did that in a year. A single year. Not a year and a half, close to two years – a year. From April 3rd, 2006, to April 2nd, 2007, the Florida Gators won two men’s basketball championships and one football championship. Three championships in a space of 364 days.

I mean, wow.

I don’t think it will ever get better than this. Maybe if the Florida football team wins the 2007-08 championship, but that will only make this run even better. This is as good as it gets. Champions in football and men’s basketball. Three championships in 364 days.

Not too shabby.

So how does it affect me? It doesn’t earn me money, or get me a promotion, or imbue me with any special talents or abilities. Being champion in both football and basketball doesn’t make me a better person, or give me any sort of special knowledge. But it makes me happy. Really happy.

When your team wins a championship or a big game, people will offer their congratulations. Those who aren’t big fans of any one team in particular will laugh at this, will scoff at this, wondering what we did to help the team win. These are the same people who laugh at us when we talk about how “we won,” or why “they couldn’t beat us.” Laugh all you want, but we are a part of it all. You know what we did? We rooted for our team, and we suffered when they lost. We worried about our team, but we smiled and cheered when they were down. We yelled at them when they screwed up, we applauded them when they succeeded. We went through every emotion in the book watching our team game in and game out. We did the little things to help them win, wearing the lucky shirt, making sure we did the same thing we’ve done on previous games, asking any sort of deity we believe in to help our team out in their hour of need. We did whatever we could to help our team win. And when they do win, when they win the whole kit and kaboodle, we can say “we helped them get here, we were there every step of the way.”

So now I smile every time I think of Horford’s shimmy after his fastbreak dunk, or Noah’s fist-to-chest bump after pretty much anything, or Green’s calm, cool, collected demeanor even when Ohio State was making a run, or Humphrey hitting big three after big three, Richard doing the selfless duty of banging with Greg Oden, Hodge holding his daughter after the game, or Brewer with one of the greatest smiles in Florida history. I think of Billy D who sweats more from the armpits than any Coach I’ve ever seen. I think of Jeremy Foley who stuck with Donovan even when the basketball team wasn’t playing up to par. And I think of all those Gator fans, the Gator Nation, who all had smiles on their face after our third championship in 364 days.

The Gators winning their second straight men’s basketball championship didn’t make me a better person, but it made me a happy person. And I think that counts for a lot.