Surprised No More

As I reflect on the shooting death of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who was killed during a robbery at his home, one aspect of the tragedy jumps out at me above all others: the fact that a young athlete in the prime of his career being gunned down is not so shocking anymore. The first athlete I ever remember being killed during the prime of his career was former Minnesota Twins outfielder Lyman Bostock in 1978. Bostock was shot inside of a car stopped in traffic in Gary, Indiana after playing a game in nearby Chicago earlier that night. It was a case of a jealous spouse and Bostock being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I thought back to that time when considering Taylor’s story and remember how shocked I was when I heard about Bostock. Now that probably was due to the fact that I was only 8 years old then and baseball players seemed invincible to me. Back then it seemed like athletes were untouchable and nothing could cut them down in the prime of their lives. It was sort of an innocent thought about athletes in our society. The Bostock thing just seemed out of place in the sports world. Unfortunately today, incidents like the Taylor shooting are all too common. The days of when the Bostock shooting seemed like an aberration are long gone. We now live in a very violent society where guns are king and any disrespect shown between people potentially can end up in gun battles and death. Add to this the intense media coverage of events like the Taylor shooting and what you end up with is a feeling that the good old days of thinking athletes are invincible are long gone. And that is sad, because part of the allure of watching sports is convincing yourself that the athletes you watch are indeed invincible. It’s not a rational thought but it’s part of what you have to buy into in order to enjoy sports. It will never be 1978 again and the media clearly shows us how human athletes really are. Because of this, sports aren’t as romantic as they once were and in turn aren’t the diversion they are supposed to be from everyday life. Nothing that happens in the sports world in terms of violence surprises us anymore and because of that we all end up as losers in viewing the game of life through sports.

Christmas Insanity

So the Christmas shopping season began in earnest yesterday with Black Friday-  the day many Americans lose their minds and line up outside retail stores across the country in search of the best bargains.  I’ve always thought that this was a symbol of why the rest of the world hates America and as I watched my local news late Thursday night I wasn’t disappointed.  There they were- lines of people standing out in the wind and freezing cold of the northeast ready to pounce when the stores opened at 5AM.  They even interviewed a girl and her father outside a Best Buy who said that standing outside a store at night equalled the quality time spent with family at Thanksgiving in that they spent time during Thanksgiving clipping coupons and planning on what they would buy together.  Now they got to be together in the cold of night.  Yep, sounds like family bonding to me!  The scary part is that both were serious when they made those comments.  I mean the whole thing is just a complete circus every year and retailers have taken advantage.  You’ll notice that this year the stores were opening an hour earlier at 4AM.  I’m sure next year it will be 3AM and so on.  But I don’t blame the retailers.  They are in business to make money, so if people are stupid enough to stand outside all night, more power to the stores.  As for what it says about us?  Well, it’s pretty obvious.  Some of us are willing to make complete asses of ourselves so we can save a buck or two while the rest of us look on with wonderment at how ridiculous the “bargain hunters” really are.  Again, we wonder why the world looks at America as full of itself.  Black Friday is example number one.

Bonds Come Due

So the federal government has decided to get Barry Bonds once and for all. Four counts of perjury and 1 count of obstruction of justice which could lead to 30 years in prison and a million dollar fine. All because Bonds lied to a grand jury about putting steroids into his own body. Congratulations, U.S. government. But what are you really doing here? I know steroids are illegal substances and are banned in baseball and I am in no way condoning their use. Yes, I realize how serious it is to lie to a grand jury and that you just can’t do it and that that is the real issue here. I’m not trying to minimize his lying to the federal government. But I have to ask this question: doesn’t our government have anything better to do than get involved in steroids and baseball? I would certainly hope so but it doesn’t seem that way. It’s not as if Bonds is selling steroids to kids in a schoolyard or is using heroin or cocaine and also selling it to others. Hey U.S. attorneys: how about finding something important to do like prosecuting the true drug lords that stain America with the drugs they bring in. Instead we are all supposed to admire the government for getting the goods on a baseball player and cleaning up baseball. I’m sorry but that is not their job, and it’s not going to clean up baseball anyway, as I alluded to in a previous blog. They count this as a big victory because they finally nailed the arrogant baseball player who thought he was above the law. That’s all well and good but this indictment is more about wiping the smirk off Bonds’ face rather than ridding America of steroids. Bonds has been defiant to the end that he did not knowingly take steroids. I don’t believe that. But if he did so what? It’s his body, he knew the consequences of his actions and, arrogant or not, now he has to pay for his sins. And he definitely should. But lets not make Bonds out to be a martyr in the process. 30 years in prison is a bit much for lying about steroids. Again, I realize how serious it is to lie to a grand jury. However, let’s keep this all in perspective. When you have federal prosecutors and lawyers jumping for joy because they caught the poster boy for steroids with his pants down, that’s a bit much for me. I’m not absolving Bonds of guilt but let’s make sure that we don’t get too carried away with all this because at that point you make him a sympathetic figure. From what I’ve seen from the tone of this case from the beginning, that seems a real possibility. If they give Bonds the max 30 years you watch how fast he attracts sympathy. Because eventually, over time, Americans will forgive and forget. I just don’t trust that the government will get this right. In the end, they are concluding their witch hunt against a guy who abused his own body and not anyone else’s and making it seem like this great accomplishment. If the point of this indictment is not to test a grand jury with lies then fine, point taken. But any rational person knows that anyway. It just doesn’t seem like that is what the government is trying to get across with this whole circus. It seems more like the big bad feds puffing out their chests and saying “don’t mess with steroids or we’ll get you.” Considering the majority of the population wouldn’t know a steroid if it bit them on the neck I really don’t see how the message of this case is all that important beyond the perjury aspect.

The Millenials

I saw a story on “60 Minutes” this past Sunday about Millenials and their relationship to the current workforce.  The Millenials are defined as the age group born between 1980-1995.  The story talked about how this group of people grew up never experiencing failure, always being told yes and constantly being coddled by their parents.  Now that they are entering the workforce or are on the edge of entering it they are taking the attitude of “if you don’t like me or my work or my personality I’ll just go somewhere else with my talents.”  The story struck a nerve with me because I see this attitude pervade this age group everyday and didn’t think anyone else noticed it until seeing this story.  I am a member of Generation X, the preceding group born roughly between 1965-1975, and I have to say that the attitude of the Millenials is a joke.  However, it’s not really their fault because their parents were scared into raising a generation of kids by a bunch of TV experts who said coddle rather than discipline or teach success and failure.  It’s not surprising that these people think the world owes them a favor because that’s how they were brought up.  In their childhood, these kids didn’t have winners and losers in, say, little league.  Instead it was about the experience of playing the game.  How this teaches kids disappointment and how to deal with it is beyond me.  How do they possibly function in society?  We all know examples of people in this age group who have a sense of entitlement around them and who feel they are untouchable.  If you tell them no they just flip you off and say I don’t have to deal with you because they don’t know how to take criticism or direction.  They just want to move on to the next thing.  The story went on to say that many companies have brought in different experts to help their human resource departments deal with and understand these people.  Are they kidding?  Whatever happened to the days of if you don’t like this job then quit? The attitude of this latest generational group just represents how society is slowly eroding from what it used to be.  Nobody thinks they have to answer for themselves anymore.  This is in turn leads to a lack of accountability and responsibility and you get to where we are in society today.  And it’s slowly becoming a not so good place.  It’s all about coddling.  The Milleneials aren’t all to blame but if they represent the long term future that is truly scary. 

Web Links

Everyone feel free to take a look at some of my favorite links to the right of this page.  These are the places I visit often on the web.  You might find some interesting information depending on what your interests are.  Also feel free to share any suggestions on your favorite sites.

Baseball and Steroids: Enough Already!!

The ongoing saga of steroids and baseball is about to come to a head in the next month or so with the much-anticipated release of Senator George Mitchell’s report on steroid use in baseball. This report is expected to include names of suspected steroid abusers and is certain to send shockwaves through the sport. To this news I say two things. One, get it over with already. It looks like we are going to have to endure day after day of speculation until we see this report and it is already tiring. Either release the report now or tell us when you will so we don’t have to keep asking “is this the day?” everyday from now until Christmas. Secondly, I won’t be one waiting with baited breath for this report because my reaction will be the same as it has always been to this issue: who cares? I mean this report and the probable information in it is so overblown it is beyond ridiculous. Do you actually think true baseball fans like me will stop watching baseball because of some stupid report that was only produced after the fact because the sport got embarrased by a player it considered a blacksheep (Jose Canseco) when he blew the lid off this issue? Nonsense. It’s not going to happen. The reason it isn’t happening is because baseball’s drug testing program has no teeth or credibility. It does not call for blood testing so they are unable to test for substances such as HGH (Human Growth Horomone) which is normally a big substance of choice among the alleged cheaters. If you don’t allow blood testing what is the point of testing for banned substances? It is for this reason that I am going to look at the names in this report and then yawn and move on. Until baseball (particularly the holier-than-thou player’s union) introduces blood testing into it’s drug program there really is nothing to talk about. Guys that want to cheat will still be able to by simply using HGH rather than other types of performance enhancers. So do the math. Unless you eliminate all roads to cheating the drug program has no credibility so why is everyone ready to get upset over who cheated? It makes no difference. The lack of blood testing leaves open the likelihood that there are still cheaters, so what has this program really accomplished? In my view, not very much. And it is for this reason I will view Mitchell’s report with indifference when it is made public. In a word, my message to baseball is give me a call when it institutes a legitimate drug testing program with some teeth and integrity. Until then, stop trying to look like you are cleaning up the sport when in reality you are applying a band-aid to an open wound.

Welcome To My Blog!

My name is Paul and those who know me know I have a lot to say, some of it good and some of it bad. Either way, I believe in telling it like it is. I know what politically correct is but there is no place for it here. People nowadays are so afraid to say anything for fear of saying the wrong thing. I hope you find this to be a place where you can ponder some straightforward ideas instead of the usual B.S. I am here to write about my passion and interest in sports. The blogs you will see here promise to be unpredictable and in no specific order. (Kind of like life) I never know from day to day what inspires me to write but I plan to use this as an outlet to explore that. What you read will be from the heart so hopefully you will come along for the ride and get something out of it. Will I write everyday? Probably not. But that’s part of the excitement. You never know what you might read next or when!