WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE...
I LOVE a good debate! They are fun to me. At times, I have been accused of arguing a point just to argue, let me assure you this is not one of those times. This is a time where EVERYONE IN AMERICA is wrong except for me. I have read and listened to several things on this particular subject and they all say the same thing...they all say Mike Vick has ruined his chance of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. What I am confused about is why Vick is getting so much bad publicity over this.
Now in every situation there are always things that could be done better and this is no different. I do question why he needs to be out partying it up at 2 A.M. in the morning. It is being reported that he was only at the party for about an hour, so I have to ask why he was so late for his party. However, being late to a party and then partying later than some would like is not a crime and therefore, we can't vilify Mike Vick for this.
Let me address the most common complaints concerning this matter...
1. Mike Vick should not be hanging around these kinds of people. I agree. After his legal trouble and negative reputation over the whole dog fighting situation, YOU MUST SEPARATE YOURSELF from your old group of friends. My response to this would be as follows, Yes, the victim was one of the co-defendants in the dog fighting trial. Yes, he served 21 months in prison for his involvement, but he was clearly not too close to Mike Vick on the night of the trial. Anyone who has ever attended any kind of party knows, there are always a few people who show up who were not invited. Once he arrived, he was asked to leave and this is what led to the problems, how could Vick have prevented this? Maybe he is not allowed to have a get together in his home town. Maybe he should have moved the party to Philly. What about Texas? Maybe he should have just taken it outside the country. Of course, these things are ridiculous suggestions, so he did all he could do, by not inviting him the old crowd to party and asking them to leave when they got there.
I will tell you what these people who are looking to use this as a way to try to paint Mike Vick in a negative should be focusing on, ALL OF THE WAYS THIS SHOWS SOME PERSONAL GROWTH FROM MIKE VICK! For all of you people who are screaming about this guy from his past being at the party, let me pose this question...Why was this guy shot? If he and Vick are such good friends, why did he not leave the club with "Vick and his entourage"? Here is what we do know about the party...It was for Vick,an old friend shows up, that old friend is asked to leave, an altercation breaks out, Mike Vick & his entourage leave, AND THEN someone was shot. Yes the fact that he was there looks bad, but Vick left when he realized there was going to be a problem, does this not show him making progress as a person. That is what we all teach our children if you are somewhere and things start to get ugly, you leave. This guy does it and you want to blame this guy for something...WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?
I am ashamed by some of the nonsense that I am reading regarding this situation. The following comes from nfl.com, there is no writer mentioned, but whoever was the writer of the following quote should be ashamed of them self. NFL.COM SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES FOR ALLOWING THIS KIND OF NONSENSE TO BE POSTED ON THEIR WEBSITE!!! Before I give you the comments, let me give you part of the article. Spokesman Allen Fabijan told the Daily Press of Newport News that at 2:04 A.M. the quarterback appears moving towards a parked car. A crowd gathers and Vick accommodated fans who were trying to get an autograph, picture, or just shake his hand - so much so that a club security guard tries to disperse the crowd. (My question is this, if this was a guy who was trying to get out before this shooting took place, then why would he spend time with his fans before leaving?)He then says the car pulls away at 2:07 a.m. and several people are left outside for several minutes. Spokesman Fabijan then makes this comment "You can see everybody duck at 2:10. I'm not saying the Michael Vick did the shooting. But he did not leave (long)before." I have a saying and it is "I'm not saying, I'm just saying." By linking the "I'm not saying Michael Vick did the shooting", people immediately see Michael Vick & shooting and assume the worst. At first glance, I saw Michael Vick did the shooting. Here is what your comment could have been, Michael Vick - HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SHOOTING AND WE APPRECIATE HIS COOPERATION IN TRYING SOLVE THIS CRIME. That was not the story, because that does not get this guy's name in the paper and it does not get all of you worked up. I am going to give you an address, it is:
Philadelphia Eagles
ATTN: Michael Vick
NovaCare Complex
1 NovaCare Way
Philadelphia, Pa 19145
I hope you will all do the right thing and mail Mike Vick an apology for your negative views in this situation. From all accounts I can find, HE IS A VICTIM in this situation and should be given an apology from any and everyone who has said anything negative or brought up his past mistakes as a result of this unfortunate situation.
Until Next Time...
BTW...I do realize that his lawyer lied to the authorities, however, he was long gone before the shooting. 3 minutes may not seem like much, but he was definitely gone well before the shooting occurred and at 2 a.m. nobody is paying attention to exacts times.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Dreams...
DREAMS...
After my long layoff, I have so many things running through my head. What do I want to write about? How about the great Stephen Strasburg? What about the USC tragedy (Yes, it is a tragedy what the NCAA has done to USC---believe me my thoughts on this are coming)? What about the changes that almost ruined College Football (Again, I promise thoughts on this are coming)? What about the upcoming NBA Free Agency Period (I know you say who cares, it's basketball but there are some interesting things that could happen & I can't wait to see them)? All of these things would have been good, but I wanted to write about something that everyone can relate to...DREAMS.
Dreams are a great thing. Growing up, what kid didn't dream hitting the game winning home run in game 7 of the World Series, or throwing a touchdown pass to win the Super Bowl? Who didn't pick up a basketball and drive to the hoop with their tongue out in honor of the great Michael Jordan? I remember as a kid playing ball in the back yard and I had all of the batting stances of the greats down...Cal Ripken Jr with bat resting on his shoulder, the sweet swing of Ken Griffey Jr, the waving bat of Gary Sheffield, and my all time favorite the bat out in front of you in a circular motion of Eric Davis. I know, you are sitting there thinking "what is he talking about?" I AM TALKING ABOUT DREAMS! I dreamed of having the ability of these guys and playing in the majors. Funny thing happened to me somewhere around the age of 12 or 13, I realized I did not have the talent to play at that level. I wanted to play professional ball badly, but I just did not have what it took to make my dreams come true. I realized that I had to grow up and face the fact, I was not the next Ken Griffey Jr, Cal Ripken Jr, or even Mark Lemke. I realized that DREAMS DO NOT ALWAYS COME TRUE!!!
What do my disappointments have to do with this blog? What makes me bring up these painful childhood memories from my past (yes I have a tear rolling down my cheek as I write this)? Well I will tell you, many people in this country are dreaming a dream that soccer will be a success in this country. Well, children, I am here to let you know, it is time to grow up and face facts...SOCCER IS NOT AN AMERICAN SPORT!!!
I was amazed on February 1 of this year when I had a guy compare the Super Bowl, the opening weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament, and the BCS Championship game to...THE WORLD CUP??? "What? You have lost your mind." is what I told this poor guy. He insisted that if I ever gave it a try, I would be hooked. So I did that. I got excited about the World Cup. I watched the World Cup. I rooted for teams during the World Cup. I gave this "great" sporting event an opportunity to prove me wrong. I will admit, it was not all bad. When the U.S. team scored the go ahead goal last Friday morning in the extra time (what a joke), I got more excited about any sporting event since the Peyton Manning pick in the Super Bowl (sorry, to all my colts peeps who are reading). I was very entertained while listening to the silly accents of the announcers and listening to them try to make it out like anybody cares about this event. I felt really bad for guys like Mike Tirico, Chris Fowler, and others who are used to GOOD SPORTING EVENTS. They were stuck talking about this garbage and were forced to pretend like they cared about it. One of the commentators even made the statement that the U.S. team winning their pool was one of the greatest days in the history of our country. That may be true for Brazil, Ghana, Slovakia, or any of the other "Third World Countries" that are playing this little game that is filled with flaws, but America has been filled with great events and this is not one of them.
WAKE UP FROM YOUR DREAMS, SOCCER HAS NO CHANCE OF SUCCEEDING IN AMERICA & HERE IS WHY...
1. IT'S NAME!!! America is the (forgive me ESPN) "Worldwide Leader in Sports". The biggest sport in the biggest country IN THE WORLD is REAL FOOTBALL. I'm talking the kind where you throw it, kick it, hit the other players, and there is none of this stupid rolling around on the ground until some clown comes out with a colored piece of construction paper to penalize the other team. I realize that the rest of the world plays soccer, however we are not talking about what the rest of the world does, we are talking about AMERICA. Let me remind you all, they are coming here trying to get OUR FOOTBALL there. There is talk about taking FOOTBALL over seas and the NFL has already began doing this. So please save me the horrible "the rest of the world calls it football" argument.
2. THE SCHEDULE. It is played once every four years. Nothing can survive with such a long time between important events. The Olympics, is played every four years, but nobody really gets into the Olympics. You don't call your friends and tell them to pick up the wings and make sure they are at the house in time for the start of the Luge, Curling, or Bobsledding events. It is hard to explain, if it happens too much like regular season baseball or basketball games it ceases to become important b/c you see it all of the time. However, if it happens too little, it ceases to be important b/c it does not happen enough. It is hard to explain, but that is the way it is.
3. THE SCORING. Americans like points and violence. Soccer has neither. I know there is some violence, but every time there is any contact they roll around on the ground for several minutes. Americans do not like 6 - 3 football games, they do not like 1 - 0 baseball games with a total of 4 hits, we don't like 58 - 52 basketball games. We want offense. Give us a 35 - 27 football game, give us a 6 - 4 baseball game, give us 115 - 110 in basketball. JUST GIVE US POINTS!!!This does not happen in soccer and because of this, Soccer is destined to fail in the United States.
Why am I telling you this (for some of you, this is like finding out that the tooth fairy is not real)? I think it is time you grow up and accept the truth (plus I am sick of Sportscenter being interrupted for this nonsense that nobody cares about---if you don't believe me look at the ratings they are not good).
I realize some people are going to disagree and I look forward to hearing from you. Please post responses and tell me why I am wrong. I look forward to hearing from you.
Until Next Time...
After my long layoff, I have so many things running through my head. What do I want to write about? How about the great Stephen Strasburg? What about the USC tragedy (Yes, it is a tragedy what the NCAA has done to USC---believe me my thoughts on this are coming)? What about the changes that almost ruined College Football (Again, I promise thoughts on this are coming)? What about the upcoming NBA Free Agency Period (I know you say who cares, it's basketball but there are some interesting things that could happen & I can't wait to see them)? All of these things would have been good, but I wanted to write about something that everyone can relate to...DREAMS.
Dreams are a great thing. Growing up, what kid didn't dream hitting the game winning home run in game 7 of the World Series, or throwing a touchdown pass to win the Super Bowl? Who didn't pick up a basketball and drive to the hoop with their tongue out in honor of the great Michael Jordan? I remember as a kid playing ball in the back yard and I had all of the batting stances of the greats down...Cal Ripken Jr with bat resting on his shoulder, the sweet swing of Ken Griffey Jr, the waving bat of Gary Sheffield, and my all time favorite the bat out in front of you in a circular motion of Eric Davis. I know, you are sitting there thinking "what is he talking about?" I AM TALKING ABOUT DREAMS! I dreamed of having the ability of these guys and playing in the majors. Funny thing happened to me somewhere around the age of 12 or 13, I realized I did not have the talent to play at that level. I wanted to play professional ball badly, but I just did not have what it took to make my dreams come true. I realized that I had to grow up and face the fact, I was not the next Ken Griffey Jr, Cal Ripken Jr, or even Mark Lemke. I realized that DREAMS DO NOT ALWAYS COME TRUE!!!
What do my disappointments have to do with this blog? What makes me bring up these painful childhood memories from my past (yes I have a tear rolling down my cheek as I write this)? Well I will tell you, many people in this country are dreaming a dream that soccer will be a success in this country. Well, children, I am here to let you know, it is time to grow up and face facts...SOCCER IS NOT AN AMERICAN SPORT!!!
I was amazed on February 1 of this year when I had a guy compare the Super Bowl, the opening weekend of the NCAA basketball tournament, and the BCS Championship game to...THE WORLD CUP??? "What? You have lost your mind." is what I told this poor guy. He insisted that if I ever gave it a try, I would be hooked. So I did that. I got excited about the World Cup. I watched the World Cup. I rooted for teams during the World Cup. I gave this "great" sporting event an opportunity to prove me wrong. I will admit, it was not all bad. When the U.S. team scored the go ahead goal last Friday morning in the extra time (what a joke), I got more excited about any sporting event since the Peyton Manning pick in the Super Bowl (sorry, to all my colts peeps who are reading). I was very entertained while listening to the silly accents of the announcers and listening to them try to make it out like anybody cares about this event. I felt really bad for guys like Mike Tirico, Chris Fowler, and others who are used to GOOD SPORTING EVENTS. They were stuck talking about this garbage and were forced to pretend like they cared about it. One of the commentators even made the statement that the U.S. team winning their pool was one of the greatest days in the history of our country. That may be true for Brazil, Ghana, Slovakia, or any of the other "Third World Countries" that are playing this little game that is filled with flaws, but America has been filled with great events and this is not one of them.
WAKE UP FROM YOUR DREAMS, SOCCER HAS NO CHANCE OF SUCCEEDING IN AMERICA & HERE IS WHY...
1. IT'S NAME!!! America is the (forgive me ESPN) "Worldwide Leader in Sports". The biggest sport in the biggest country IN THE WORLD is REAL FOOTBALL. I'm talking the kind where you throw it, kick it, hit the other players, and there is none of this stupid rolling around on the ground until some clown comes out with a colored piece of construction paper to penalize the other team. I realize that the rest of the world plays soccer, however we are not talking about what the rest of the world does, we are talking about AMERICA. Let me remind you all, they are coming here trying to get OUR FOOTBALL there. There is talk about taking FOOTBALL over seas and the NFL has already began doing this. So please save me the horrible "the rest of the world calls it football" argument.
2. THE SCHEDULE. It is played once every four years. Nothing can survive with such a long time between important events. The Olympics, is played every four years, but nobody really gets into the Olympics. You don't call your friends and tell them to pick up the wings and make sure they are at the house in time for the start of the Luge, Curling, or Bobsledding events. It is hard to explain, if it happens too much like regular season baseball or basketball games it ceases to become important b/c you see it all of the time. However, if it happens too little, it ceases to be important b/c it does not happen enough. It is hard to explain, but that is the way it is.
3. THE SCORING. Americans like points and violence. Soccer has neither. I know there is some violence, but every time there is any contact they roll around on the ground for several minutes. Americans do not like 6 - 3 football games, they do not like 1 - 0 baseball games with a total of 4 hits, we don't like 58 - 52 basketball games. We want offense. Give us a 35 - 27 football game, give us a 6 - 4 baseball game, give us 115 - 110 in basketball. JUST GIVE US POINTS!!!This does not happen in soccer and because of this, Soccer is destined to fail in the United States.
Why am I telling you this (for some of you, this is like finding out that the tooth fairy is not real)? I think it is time you grow up and accept the truth (plus I am sick of Sportscenter being interrupted for this nonsense that nobody cares about---if you don't believe me look at the ratings they are not good).
I realize some people are going to disagree and I look forward to hearing from you. Please post responses and tell me why I am wrong. I look forward to hearing from you.
Until Next Time...
Friday, June 11, 2010
The Hypocrisy of Parenting...
It has been awhile...So many things to write about. Do we want to talk about the potential of the upcoming NFL season? There is plenty of time coming for this. What about the tragic (and funny and ridiculous) situation that is USC football right now? Nope, even as much as I like getting all of you southern homers angry at me, I'm not going in this direction yet. What about the mess that is college football and the chaos in the NCAA right now? Nope, not yet...BUT BELIEVE ME THIS IS COMING FAST AND FURIOUS (I just have to have time to make sense of it all). What about the Legend that is turning into Stephen Strasburg? No, I do not want to talk about any of this, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT PARENTING. More specifically, I want to talk about the parents of Bryce Harper. The Harpers allowed their kid to QUIT school at 16 years old & THEY ABSOLUTELY MADE THE RIGHT DECISION AND YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO QUESTION THEIR DECISION!!!
Who is Bryce Harper you ask? I'm really glad you did. Bryce Harper is a KID!!! He is a 17 year old kid, to be exact. I want to take you to the Harper living room, young Bryce Harper sits his parents down and tells them "I want to quit school and get my GED." I'm going to play professional baseball and I want to quit school, get a GED, and go play ball at a junior college so I can get drafted earlier to the Major Leagues. Mr. and Mrs. Harper made the only possible decision they could make---"Let's do it." I AM IN 100% AGREEMENT WITH THE HARPER'S AND THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT WITH WHAT THEY DID!!!
I know what you are thinking, the percent of people who makes the majors is so few, you have to put education before sports. What if he gets hurt? What if he does not make it? What if? What if? What if? Well let me present a what if to you...What if he gets hurt pitching a meaningless 34 - 1 game (an actual score of a game he pitched as a SOPHOMORE)? If this happens, his parents CRAZY "you have to think about your education" mentality, would have cost this kid a chance to live his dream.
Please if you are reading this, do not tell your kid to quit school and go pursue baseball. PUT EDUCATION FIRST!!! However, there will come a time where as an ADULT you will need to come to some realizations. We all have to do it with our children. Not all of our children are going to Yale. They are not all going to be Doctors, Lawyers, or Rocket Scientists. Some of our children are not going to college. Let's get ready for that. With that being said, I believe the Harper's looked at young Bryce, and realized the same thing that the parents of Lebron James, Tiger Woods, and Wayne Gretzky's parents all realized and that is...My kid is going to be a Professional Athlete. and before you start, the Harper's appear to be in a good financial position, this is not the story of some kid coming from the projects so he can buy momma a house and help pops pay his parole officer. This is a parent looking at their child and saying what do we truly believe is in the best interest of my child? Well, let's look at Bryce from an athletic stand point...
As a Sophomore, he throws a 96 mile an hour fastball, can throw base stealer's out from his knees, and hit a ball 517 feet. he plays catcher, 3rd base, and pitcher. There is talk about moving him to the outfield to help him reach the majors at a faster rate.
This kid was NEVER going to college. His parents are doing him a service by letting him go to junior college to play ball. As a parent, our job is to prepare our children for life as an adult. That means there are many lessons we must teach them: Teach them to Love the Lord, be honest, be a good person, work hard, and MOST OF ALL prepare them for life after school. You owe it to your child to put them in the best possible situation to provide for their family. After all, that is what we go to school for, to help prepare us for life and a career. It sounds like the Harper's did this by allowing Bryce to quit school and get his GED. Congratulations Harper's, despite the pressure, you made the right decision.
What do you think?
Until Next Time...
BTW...The Washington Nationals selected Bryce Harper with the 1st pick in the MLB Draft this past Wednesday. Last years top pick, Stephen Strasburg, signed for $15.1 million---ALL GUARANTEED. Looks Like The Harper's made the right decision.
Who is Bryce Harper you ask? I'm really glad you did. Bryce Harper is a KID!!! He is a 17 year old kid, to be exact. I want to take you to the Harper living room, young Bryce Harper sits his parents down and tells them "I want to quit school and get my GED." I'm going to play professional baseball and I want to quit school, get a GED, and go play ball at a junior college so I can get drafted earlier to the Major Leagues. Mr. and Mrs. Harper made the only possible decision they could make---"Let's do it." I AM IN 100% AGREEMENT WITH THE HARPER'S AND THEY ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT WITH WHAT THEY DID!!!
I know what you are thinking, the percent of people who makes the majors is so few, you have to put education before sports. What if he gets hurt? What if he does not make it? What if? What if? What if? Well let me present a what if to you...What if he gets hurt pitching a meaningless 34 - 1 game (an actual score of a game he pitched as a SOPHOMORE)? If this happens, his parents CRAZY "you have to think about your education" mentality, would have cost this kid a chance to live his dream.
Please if you are reading this, do not tell your kid to quit school and go pursue baseball. PUT EDUCATION FIRST!!! However, there will come a time where as an ADULT you will need to come to some realizations. We all have to do it with our children. Not all of our children are going to Yale. They are not all going to be Doctors, Lawyers, or Rocket Scientists. Some of our children are not going to college. Let's get ready for that. With that being said, I believe the Harper's looked at young Bryce, and realized the same thing that the parents of Lebron James, Tiger Woods, and Wayne Gretzky's parents all realized and that is...My kid is going to be a Professional Athlete. and before you start, the Harper's appear to be in a good financial position, this is not the story of some kid coming from the projects so he can buy momma a house and help pops pay his parole officer. This is a parent looking at their child and saying what do we truly believe is in the best interest of my child? Well, let's look at Bryce from an athletic stand point...
As a Sophomore, he throws a 96 mile an hour fastball, can throw base stealer's out from his knees, and hit a ball 517 feet. he plays catcher, 3rd base, and pitcher. There is talk about moving him to the outfield to help him reach the majors at a faster rate.
This kid was NEVER going to college. His parents are doing him a service by letting him go to junior college to play ball. As a parent, our job is to prepare our children for life as an adult. That means there are many lessons we must teach them: Teach them to Love the Lord, be honest, be a good person, work hard, and MOST OF ALL prepare them for life after school. You owe it to your child to put them in the best possible situation to provide for their family. After all, that is what we go to school for, to help prepare us for life and a career. It sounds like the Harper's did this by allowing Bryce to quit school and get his GED. Congratulations Harper's, despite the pressure, you made the right decision.
What do you think?
Until Next Time...
BTW...The Washington Nationals selected Bryce Harper with the 1st pick in the MLB Draft this past Wednesday. Last years top pick, Stephen Strasburg, signed for $15.1 million---ALL GUARANTEED. Looks Like The Harper's made the right decision.
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