Is Your Mother A Prostitute?

IS YOUR MOTHER A PROSTITUTE?



Imagine this for me...you walk into a room, a well decorated room. You sit down in a chair and begin to have an interview for a job. You begin to discuss how you would be an asset to the organization with which you are interviewing for. They begin to ask you the usual questions about your previous employment, they ask about your family background, and then comes the following question "Is your mother now or at any time has she been a prostitute?" You would come unglued. Who does this clown think he is asking that question. I'm going to beat him within an inch of his life & then I am going to demand his firing from his organization. There is no way that is an appropriate question. There is no way to justify that type of question in a job interview. Well sit down for a minute, because not only am I going to justify it, I am going to convince you that it was not only an appropriate question, but I will show you that IT WAS A QUESTION THAT HAD TO BE ASKED!!! I know you are shocked that I would even make such a statement, but please set aside your pious, better than thou attitudes and listen to reason before you either close this out or begin posting your response. Here are 3 reasons why we owe Jeff Ireland an apology for the reaction he has dealt with.

1. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this is a simply a case of a young kid who is making way to much out of a situation that never should have been released to the media. I am very puzzled as to why for the last 2 days there have been questions about the questioning Dez Bryant about the background of his parents, however, there has not been one discussion about the fact that EVERY NFL team talked Tim Tebow about how being raised by Baptist Missionaries helped to make him into a young man who would come into the league and embrace the title of role model that comes to ALL athletes. With the recent legal problems of Ben Rothlisburger and Santonio Holmes the character of players is more important than ever. I am troubled by the fact that the media has not hyped Tim Tebow and how great a guy he is. All we have heard about is the negatives, he can't be a successful NFL qb (I agree), The Broncos made amistake by trading up and drafting him in round 1 (I agree). Where are the good stories about him? All we have done is tear this guy down. Could it be that this is really nothing more than a corrupt media looking to capitalize on negatives and create controversy, because that gets more attention than the good stories about good guys who catch a break? I realize it is uncomfortable to have to ask this question, but your past does have a direct influence on your future and this kid had a questionable (at best) past.

2. Last time I checked Miami is one of the largest cities for prostitution in the U.S. There have been many good men who have gone to Miami and given into the temptation of prostitution. I am not talking about thugs. I am not talking about bad guys. I am talking about well respected individuals. Men who are thought of as good family guys. Guys who would never allow themselves to do something so crazy as pick up a prostitute. Guys who were in Miami with their wife and children before the biggest game of their life. I am talking, specifically, about Eugene Robinson. You remember Robinson, The REINING WALTER PAYTON MAN OF THE YEAR, who, HAD HIS FAMILY WITH HIM, was in Miami for the Super Bowl. The night before the game, he was picked up for solicitation of a prostitute. What does this have to do with Jeff Ireland and Dez Bryant you ask, if the Walter Payton Man of the Year, who had his family with him gives in to that kind of temptation, what do you think a guy who IS USED TO THAT TYPE OF BEHAVIOR DO? I know, you can't judge a man based strictly off of his past, I bet Arthur Blank had considered Mike Vick's past a little more closely before he gave him $100 million to be the future of his franchise. I saw how the city of Atlanta turned on Blank & Vick after his dog fighting scandal. You should have done more homework. You should know what your star players are doing. Here's my question, The Dolphons did not ask Colt McCoy if his mother had been a prostitute. They did not ask Derrick Morgan or Sean Weatherspoon. So this was clearly not a scripted question for every rookie. This leads me to believe with all of the resources that the Dolphins had available to them, something came up to make them ask this question. If you have a husband who beats his wife, do you not ask if he ever hit his kid? Of course you do. If you have a drug dealer, do you not ask if they have used drugs? Of course you do?If you have someone who robbed a bank, do you not ask them if they have robbed someone at gun point? Of course you do, because all of these things go hand in hand as does prostitution and drug trafficking. This was not the Missionaries kid they were asking this to, this was the kid of a woman who lived a lifestyle that prostitution was a normal part of. She may have been the exception, but the question is definatley deserved.

3. You want reasons why I agree with Jeff Ireland's right to ask Dez Bryant if his mom was a prostitute...I will give you 10 million reasons why that question was ok to ask. $10 million is approximately the amount of money that Dez Bryant would have been paid had he been drafted by the Miami Dolphins. Dez Bryant wants to be paid $10 million for playing a game then his life becomes an open book. Go ahead and tell me how "you don't ask that question." I have heard that, and unless you were in the room when the question was asked, you are speculating and assuming that the question was asked in an inappropriate way. Let me play a scenario out for you...
Jeff Ireland - "Dez, it has been reported that your mother spent time in jail for drug trafficking, is this true?"
Dez Bryant - "Yes Sir".
Jeff Ireland - "Dez, we have read reports that say your mom has been linked to prostitution, is that true?"
Dez Bryant - his answer does not really matter...
Jeff Ireland - "What did you learn from witnessing these things while you were growing up?" or "As you look back at your past, how can the things that you saw help you in your transition to the NFL and in what ways will it help you contribute to the Miami Dolphin organization and the city of Miami?
Don't kid yourselves, just like interviewers lead you and I down a path with a serious of questions these guys do the same. They make a habit of leading you down a winding path to get you to an end result. I have ZERO PROBLEM with what Jeff Ireland did. I think the outrage is ABSOLUTE GARBAGE! Please do not tell me about the "public apology" from Ireland as proof that he made a mistake, HE WAS FORCED TO MAKE A STATEMENT!!! Privately, I believe he stands by his decision and he should.

There you go. You have allowed me to speak my peace, so please I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING OTHER OPINIONS ON THIS TOPIC. However, Please do not tell me about how if your boss asked this question he would be fired, we all know that sports is outside the realm of "the real world." Please save the boring well it should not be arguments, I agree it should be the same, but IT'S NOT!!! Please respond away. I am looking forward to it!

Until Next Time...

Recapping the 2010 Draft...

I LOVE the NFL Draft. The beginning of so many possibilities for each team. Everyone believes they are going to draft the guys who are going to get them to the next level. Bad teams draft the future, Playoff teams draft the missing link to their pursuit of the ultimate prize. I LOVE THE DRAFT!!! With that being said, I believe this may have been the most exciting draft I have ever seen. There were trades, surprise picks, and guys falling from expectations in ways that I do not remember. So allow me to give you some of my memories from the draft that I will take away and remember...


1. The uneventful eventful beginning...The top 4 went as expected. Bradford, Suh, McCoy, and Williams were projected to go 1st by many. What I will remember most about the early part of the draft was the reaction of Gerald McCoy, the young man who was drafted 3rd overall by the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. What a great scene as he is on the phone with tears rolling down his face. That is what makes the NFL Draft so great. With all of the overpaid athletes who have a sense of entitlement and remind us about how this is "just a business" it is so good to see the joy of a young man who is in the process of fulfilling a lifelong dream. This is a kid whose mother passed away his senior year in high school. She never got a chance to see him become a star at the University of Oklahoma. She was not there with him, like so many other mothers, on one of the biggest days of his life. The tears of joy the child like smile, the playful hug with "Mr. Business" Roger Goodell himself. Gerald McCoy had dedicated this moment to his mom and I can't help but think that she would have been proud of her son.


2. The What are they thinking moments...Jacksonville Jaguars WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Tyson Alualu --- ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I get it, you wanted CJ Spiller. Great kid and would have been a great pick for you (Buffalo blew this one, but that's for a later posting). However, how can you be guaranteed to pick one of the 10 best players and then reach for a guy who should not have been drafted in the 1st round, much less in the top 10. How do you not have a back up plan just in case your guy gets picked before you get him? I do not know what the fan base in Jacksonville is thinking today, but I have to think they would not be disappointed if the entire front office is looking for a new job on Monday morning.


3. Trades, Trades, & More Trades...I expected there to be movement in this draft. But I do not think anyone could have predicted this much movement. I am just focusing on what happened in the 1st half of the draft for now, but beginning at pick number 11 we saw a flurry of trades and you have to like what the teams were able to do moving back. When you look at how the Denver Broncos were able to move around the 1st round while adding picks was brilliant, I will question what they did with the picks a little later, but they did a great job moving around the draft board. As brilliant as the Broncos were, the Chargers were equally bad. They moved up way to far, for a player they could have gotten much lower in the draft. This is another case of a team panicking. You needed a running back, but there were other options besides Ryan Matthews, including Jahvid Best, who in my opinion will be a better player.



4. Free Falling...Jimmy Clausen was to believed to be the best quarterback in this draft by many, including draft expert Mel Kiper. During the weeks leading up to the draft, it became clear that Sam Bradford would be the 1st player taken in the draft. Jimmy Clausen will go to the Raiders, Bills, or Jaguars. He will not fall outside of the top 10. We are really looking at a Brady Quinn/ Aaron Rodgers type fall now. Then it is announced that the Denver Broncos & quarterback guru Jash McDaniels are trading up to the 25th pick in the draft. They are going to get the next great quarterback. They are surely looking for Jimmy Clausen. Here comes the commish to the podium. With the 25th pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Denver Borncos select...Tim Tebow quarterback from the University of Florida. WHAT??? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE??? How does Tim Tebeow go before Jimmy Clausen? Clausen landed in a good spot in Carlina and will probably be the starter in week 1 for the Panthers, but his slide was a major shocker during this draft. However, the slide was just beginning in Austin. Everything seemed to be going exactly as the Cleveland Browns had hoped. Get an impact defender in round 1 and then draft the perfect quarterback to run their system in Cleveland. Then Mike Holmgren decides it is time to wait, and wait, and wait, and wait on the player they HAD TO HAVE. As scared as the Jaguars and the Chargers both seemed to be, Mike Holmgren seemed to have that same amount of who cares look about him as he gambled with the fact that nobody was going to take "HIS" quarterback during the draft. This almost had the feel of a high school bully not asking the girl to the dance but threatening anyone who wanted to ask her. The Browns had to have McCoy, what were they thinking? Finally with the 87th the Browns got their man. I believe when we look back at this draft, that will be one of the steals of the draft. The Browns got their guy & McCoy has landed with a chance to turn a franchise around.

I will be posting draft grades for every team over the next few days. Please check back to see how your team did.

Until Next Time...

Milledgeville?...Really?...

Ben's Friend - "What you doing this weekend?"
Ben - "Road Trip"
Ben's Friend - "Dude where you going to this time? Miami? Vegas? Hawaii? San Diego?"
Ben - "No way...I'm going to Milledgeville."
Ben's Friend - "Really, where you going?"
Ben - "Seriously dude I'm leaving in the morning for Milledgeville, Ga."
Ben's Friend - "Uh OK, have fun in uh wherever it is you're going."

Now I have no way of knowing if this is really the way the conversation went between Ben Roethlisberger and his buddies. However, with all of the questions surrounding the terrible decision making skill of one of the best quarterbacks, the most obvious question is this...What is a 28 year old, 2 time Super Bowl winning Quarterback who plays for one of the top 5 or 10 organizations in all of sports doing in a little college town in Georgia? I understand wanting to get out of Pittsburgh. It's the winter and you want to fly south for warmer weather. His best receiver, Hines Ward, still lives in Georgia, so I can understand coming to Georgia. But how do you end up in Milledgeville? PLEASE GROW UP. You are not a kid anymore. What are you doing partying at 2 in the morning with a bunch of college kids? Unfortunately for everyone involved: Ben, The Steelers, the NFL, and the fans, this is just another example of THIS guy making a terrible decision.

Let me address this on many fronts...THE LEGAL SIDE. The law says "innocent until proven guilty" and I agree with that 100%. The Milledgeville District Attorney has said that he could not find enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against "Big" Ben. The United States is a funny place, people can press charges on you for whatever they want. I can say anything I want to and the police have to investigate the validity of my claim. It is one of the many things that makes our country great. However, I must admit, I have never ONCE IN MY LIFE BEEN ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT. Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of it TWO TIMES IN A YEAR!!! I know what you are saying, I am not a high profile athlete. I am not seen by everyone and the center of attention whenever I walk into a room (maybe if "Big" Ben stopped hanging out in places like Milledgeville he would not be such a big star). Your statements are true, I am not a professional athlete. Roethlisberger does make more than I will make in my entire lifetime. GREAT. Please explain this to me...Why have I never heard claims like these made about Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Brett Favre? Are these guys not high profile athletes? Do these guys not make enough money where it would be worth going after if it is all about the money and there is no fault on behalf of the athlete. Please understand this, just because they can not convict you in a court of law does not mean you are innocent, does it OJ?

DECISION MAKING. On June 13, 2006 Roethlisberger suffered multiple facial wounds after crashing his motorcycle. He was not wearing a helmet and spent nearly seven hours in surgery repairing the damage he had done. When this happened, he was a kid who thought he was invincible. He was a kid who was on top of the world after becoming the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a Super Bowl. I could overlook that. I DEFENDED him in that situation. Then fast forward 2 years, Sexual Assault charges come out. I say let's give him due process. He deserves the right to have his day in court. Next thing we know the charges are dropped. Good for him. Wrong Place! Wrong time! I hope he learns his lesson. A YEAR LATER, here we are dealing with the exact same thing. This is the leader of your team and he can not go 365 days without being accused of sexually assaulting a woman. Come on Ben, YOU HAVE TO BE BETTER THAN THAT!

THE FANS SIDE. I am not someone who believes you should over react to the actions of sports figures. These guys should not be role models, they should not be admired by our youth. They are athletes who provide forms of entertainment. Nobody screams when some actor ends up in rehab for drug related charges. Nobody cares when some actor is arrested for trying to pick up a prostitute, but we scream over the failures by our athletes. Parents do your job, stop making athletes the most important people in your children's life. Put them around good people who you know on a personal level and you know that even though they are not perfect they live in such a way where you won't have to explain to your children why you are taking down the poster of their favorite athlete, or why they can no longer wear that jersey.

Finally, THE PITTSBURGH STEELER SIDE. This is an organization who does things right. I know there are people who don't like them and that is fine, but they run their organization the right way. Until Ben Roethlisberger, you did not hear about Steeler players getting themselves in trouble legally. They had stability at the top. The owners have never been in trouble with the league. They trust their coaches and in a time where owners meddle and fire coaches for not winning in year 2, these owners know the value of stability. So now, Rooney's you MUST crack down on Ben. Your organization has way to much pride. Maybe you will get lucky and lose the games that you suspend Roethlisberger for. Maybe those games will cost you the playoffs and you can sit this over sized child down and explain to him that his actions have consequences. You can let him know that HE cost his team the playoffs. HE let an entire city down. He did that because HE chose to be an immature kid in Milledgeville, Ga instead of being a PROFESSIONAL NFL quarterback.

Until Next Time...

What a Change...

Some things you can just count on. They will never change. April 15th will come every year and taxes will be due. Baseball season comes and 1/3 of the teams will be eliminated from playoff contention at the end of the 1st week. The Lions will battle with the option of taking a wide receiver with their 1st pick in the NFL Draft every year. However, I WILL TELL YOU ONE THING THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE...Top 8 quarterbacks in the NFL do not get traded while they are still in their prime!!!
Wait a minute, Donovan McNabb just got traded, no way. At least they traded him to a team that can not hurt them. What he was traded to a team in his OWN DIVISION? Who made this call? There are several parts about this situation that I find puzzling...

THE KEVIN KOLB PART...
WHO IS KEVIN KOLB? I know he is the kid who was drafted for this moment, to take over when McNabb skills diminished and was no longer the best option for his team. That time is not now. I know that he is the ONLY QB in NFL history to throw for 300 yards in his 1st to starts of his career. However, more important than the amount of yards he threw for, I am more concerned about another, much longer list he is a member of...the long list of qbs who were 1 - 1 at the end of their 2 career starts. I realize he played well, but do we really need another 4,000 yard passer on an 8 - 8 team? I say not. I always say "be careful what you ask for, because change is not always for the best." Way to go Philly, you went from a Hall of Famer to some guy named Kolb.

THE WASHINGTON REDSKINS PART...
I really can find very little fault in this trade for the Redskins. Were they going to get someone in the 2nd round who was going to come into training camp and be ready to play and give them stability at a position? No. Were they set at the single most important position in all of sports? No. Were they even considered a possible playoff team when we woke up on Sunday morning? No. Are they a playoff team now, probably not but at least now they have hope. The only complaint I do have of this move by the Washington Redskins is the way they handled Jason Campbell. He found out about this trade from a sports writer in Washington. Come on Skins, you owe it to your starters to let them know when you replace them. Don't let them find out from a sports writer. I'm not to worried about Campbell, I think a change of scenery is in his best interest. He could go someone and be a good qb, He will get another chance and with the right team, this could be the best thing to ever happen to him.

THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES PART...
WHAT ARE YOU THINKING? You have one of the 7 or 8 best quarterbacks in the NFL and BTW, he's still playing really good. This is the most important position in all of sports. I have compiled a list of qbs who I would want over McNabb if I believed I have a chance to win now (which the Eagles should): Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Drew Brees (there is no arguing these guys), Phillip Rivers, Tono Romo, and Aaron Rodgers. You can talk about young guys like Mark Sanchez, Joe Flacco, & Matt Ryan, but they are not on his level. You can mention Ben Rothelisburger, but McNabb has never embarrassed his team the way Big Ben has, so yes, I'm taking McNabb. The only other questionable guy is Brett Favre, who let's be honest, has not played well when it mattered the most and has been a big reason why his team has suffered defeat in some of these big games. But fine, even if you believe you have to trade him, you do not trade him to a DIVISIONAL FOE. You went from being right there with the Cowboys and Giants as the best in the Division to clearly below them and now on par with the Redskins, who are only on that level because they now have a elite qb. You went from being a 10 or 11 win team, to an 8 or 9 win team. You went from possibly having home playoff game to being at home watching the playoffs. There are some things I just don't understand and this move makes no sense to me from the Eagles point of view. I may be wrong, and for all of the Eagles fans (sorry Kevin Kolb, they will kill you if you play poorly) I hope I am not.

Until next time...

Riddle Me This...

I am a casual basketball fan, I can admit that. However, I do care enough about the sport to follow it and am very confused about something. If the goal is to win a national championship at the beginning of every season, why is the Final Four more important than the National Championship game itself? The games on Final Four Saturday are ALWAYS a bigger deal to the casual fan, than the game played on Monday. Why is this?

Perhaps it is because by the time we get to Championship Monday, we realize the 2 teams who we have believed to be the b est teams in the country have been eliminated a long time ago. Perhaps it is because there are 2 games. I do not know, but I am very curious as to why this is. Please share your thoughts, because I do not know...

Resurrecting the dead...

Beep. Beep. Beep. There is it, our National Past Time is on Life Support. It's chances for recovery are fading away. How long can something that is dead be held onto by reputation alone? We all remember growing up on hot summer days searching to find a game, any game. We remember rooting for teams, not because we cared where they were at or about their financial situation, but because they were the only game we could find. WE LOVED BASEBALL. The hated Yankees. The lovable losers in Chicago. Thanks to Ted Turner, we even had America's team The Atlanta Braves. However, all of this is fading. There is no importance to watch the game that so many of us grew up loving. Baseball has been surpassed by College Football, NFL, March Madness, and even MMA have risen up to try to put baseball out of its misery. Fear not my friends, I am here today to perform a modern day miracle. I AM GOING TO RAISE THE DEAD!!! Before i can do this, we must identify the problems that got us into the mess that we are in now, so here goes...
1. SALARIES. I know it is easy to hammer the players for this getting out of control, however IT'S NOT THE PLAYERS FAULT!!! Who is going to walk into their office tomorrow and tell their boss, "I really think you are overpaying me, please don't give me more money." Nobody would do that, so why do we give athletes so much trouble over the amount of money they make? PLEASE JUST SHUT UP about the amount of money the players make. They live in a different world. I get that. You really want to tackle a problem, tackle the fact that Tom Cruise gets paid $20 million a movie, and has not made a movie worth seeing in 15 years. The fix for this is coming.
2. STEROIDS. WE LOVED 1998. McGwire v. Sosa for the most sacred record in all of sports. Everyone stuck their head in the sand because the game needing saving. But what about when Barry Bonds, ALLEGEDLY, uses and breaks Hank Aaron's record. Now we have a problem. WHAT A JOKE!!! Don't worry, I can solve this crisis too.
3. EXPANSION. Expansion of more teams, expansion in technology. EXPANSION KILLED BASEBALL. It became less important to go to the game. It was always on. You can watch it. Then came cable and more channels. Then came sports networks. Then came games on every night of the week. What happened to the Sunday, Wednesday, Friday ESPN Doubleheaders? 6 chances to watch baseball all week. This played a huge roll in getting us to where we are today, this too, will be fixed under my proposed changes.

A very wise man says "Don't bring me problems, without solutions." So here they are, MY PLANS TO RESURRECT THE GAME OF BASEBALL FROM THE DEAD!!!

1. SALARY CAP. It works in EVERY OTHER SPORT. They are all doing well. You have to set a minimum cap for these small market teams. "Oh we can meet that, we lose to much money." I am sorry, you have lost the right to own a team. There are people who want to buy teams (Mark Cuban, good job keeping him out with your "he's not one of us stupid mentality."). MLB can buy them out, until they sell. It will happen. I know what you are saying, MLB would end up owning 6 or 8 teams...
2. CONTRACTION. Time to start cutting. Bye Bye Kansas City Royals. Bye Bye Pittsburgh Pirates. Bye bye Florida Marlins. Bye bye Washington Nationals. Just because you are a big city, does not give you the right to have a major league team. I'm sorry and I know the Marlins are the farm system for the major market teams, but they are run TERRIBLY and it is time we change that. You also have to relocate the Tampa Bay Rays. They dropped the wrong part of their name a coupe of years back when they removed the Devil from their name, the franchise would have been a whole lot better off if they could have forsaken the Tam Bay part of their name. Contraction leads me to the next area of concern...
3. LESS GAMES. I know this will not happen, but it is better to lose a little by cutting 25 - 40 games a season then have your sport fold like the Arena League. You cut a game a week, on some weeks you cut 2 games a week. This will help you to create some excitement for match ups. Have DAYS where there are no games played. That is the solution. LESS IS MORE!!!

I have left some of my thoughts on this subject out, because I want to generate some conversation on the subject. Please leave feed back on what you think. How crazy are these thoughts? What would you change? Can baseball be saved? I am very curious to get some feedback, so please post and let's see what you think, but TRUST ME, unlike that garbage in November of 2008, THIS IS REAL A CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN!!!

Until Next Time...