Half Favre, Half VickSoxPublicHealthCareOption

Ugg…

Sorry it’s been so long. Work, vacation, slow news month and family visits have kept me from putting some words together in weeks.

This Brett Favre thing. I’ve written about it before. I’ll try to keep it short this time. I do have a couple new thoughts on the matter.

I don’t think Brett ever stopped coming back. I know he called off his return several weeks ago due to tendon damage in his shoulder. I know that (with the exception of the NFL network), Favrewatch was declared dead. In my opinion, Favre just didn’t want to hole up in dorm room for a few weeks and take part in training camp. I think that Childress, the Vikings and Favre knew that he was going to come flying in on his shiny Lear Jet and just didn’t want him to absorb (another) PR hit because he didn’t want to attend camp. Saying that this all transpired on a Tuesday afternoon phone call from Childress, well, that’s just a flat out lie.

I do find it amusing that in the pool footage of Brett walking onto the Vikings practice field for the first time he is shown struggling with his helmet. It appears that his helmet is too small for his head. (or maybe it’s the other way around).

The more I hear people hate on Brett, the more I start to root for him again. It’s slowly becoming a rule of thumb for me, if vocal America is angry at you, my instinct is to go the other way. Yea his behavior is ridiculous. Yea, I’ve been a vocal critic. But who are we to tell a man when he has to stop playing football? Maybe if he had handled the other stuff better, the retirements, the press conferences, the media zoo, this wouldn’t be such an issue, but really, the guy is a quarterback, not a publicist. His job is to throw an awkwardly shaped ball, not shape his image for America. My point is, he’s not exactly a savvy guy. It’s harder to hate a guy for incompetence. I’d be shocked if this whole dog and pony show was anything other than mismanagement by unqualified people.

Speaking of unqualified people, Brad Childress is such a dope. He looks like he should be teaching geology at the local community college

Mike Vick is the big winner here. The national media flew out of Philly before you could say rape stick. Our nations collective attention deficit disorder continues to be on full display

As far as Mike Vick goes, the man went to federal prison and served 23 months. Why shouldn’t he get an opportunity to work again? No brainer in my opinion. If you went to prison for two years you’d lose your job, but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be able to work in your field again. We should be celebrating the fact that a celebrity charged with a crime actually served time in prison, not demanding more punishment. Don’t get greedy folks, baby steps. You all know that Dante Stallworth killed a man right? A human being, a father? Go check out his prison sentence and talk to me about Mike Vick. We love dogs more than people. I get it. I love dogs. Honestly though, Dogs>people? Michael Jackson is revered worldwide even though he may or may not have been a diddler but Mike Vick is a monster? I’ll gladly argue this point with anyone up for it.

I think Visanthe Shiancoe has become almost draftable by this new development. AP’s draft buzz is a universal #1, but this helps his status immeasurably. Teams won’t be able to load up on the run quite so often, leading to more space (and more yards) for AP. Easy money with that #1 overall pick.

Speaking of fantasy football, I love/hate this years draft. It seems like each position has three elite guys and a bunch of maybes and question marks. The rookie running back class is weak and the veterans are hanging on by a thread.

I believe David Ortiz.

If you’re in Boston these days, beware of falling sky. It’s been awhile since the Sox were as manic depressive as this and it shows in their fans increasingly bitter and desperate behavior. WEEI, not normally known for it’s rational commentary has touched on pre 2004 levels of illogical callers. Every time Red Sox Nation gets out their Patriots jerseys the Sox win a must win and pull them back in. I’m glad the Red Sox picked up Alex Gonzalez, he can field, he can’t hit, but he can lay down a bunt. I think we can all agree that bunting and middle of the diamond defense are essential components of a playoff team. As far as my beloved team goes, they don’t suck, but they have a real hard time beating good baseball teams and that worries me immensly. Clay Buchholz continues his run of top of the rotation opponents with Roy Halladay tonight on ESPN. I hope they can go 3 hours without bringing up ole #4, but I doubt it. I’d imagine that even in Toronto, in an MLB game, Brett Favre’s name will be said at least twice.

My game ball this week goes to Congressman Barney Frank. In the face of hundreds of extremist drones/operatives/nutjobs most members of our legislative branch of government have elected to forgo reality and try to engage these people in a civil manner. (As if they would do the same) Well, here’s some of Mr. Franks better quotes from a recent town hall meeting in lovely Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

“… he (Frank) gave up when one woman compared health care proposals favored by Frank and President Obama to policies of Nazi Germany.

“When you ask me that question, I’m going to revert to my ethnic heritage and ask you a question: On what planet do you spend most of your time?” Frank asked. “You stand there with a picture of the president defaced to look like Hitler and compare the effort to increase health care to the Nazis,” he said, adding such behavior demonstrated the strength of First Amendment guarantees of what he called “contemptible” free speech.
“Trying to have a conversation with you would be like trying to argue with a dining room table,” Frank said to the woman. “I have no interest in doing it.”

Thanks to Barney Barn Barn. I needed that. If you violently oppose a public health care option, I suggest you get laid off and contract cancer. Or better still, get cancer and be out of work for so long that you are fired and lose your health insurance. Or better still, pay hundreds or thousands of dollars a month from that point on because you are high risk due to your previous condition. This isn’t about Obama. This is about doctors who normally go to third world countries doing their volunteer work right here in America. Rural America, the new 3rd world, this time with Walmart and McDonalds. Get Diabetes. See if we care.

Until next time….

jjohnsonpro@yahoo.com

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Is this thing on?

Sammy “I don’t speaka the english” Sosa. HE TOOK STEROIDS!

What a shock. What a surprise. What a joke.

Here’s what Sammy said when he was dragged in front of Congress. Or rather, what Sammy’s lawyer said when he was dragged in front of congress. “To be clear, I have never taken illegal performance-enhancing drugs.” For the sake of this conversation, let’s say Sammy actually wrote that and was unable to articulate it in American English.

Seems pretty clear to me, right? In fact, he even prefaced it by saying, “to be clear”
Crystal clear even. Except it’s not…

Steroids are legal in the Dominican Republic. So, by saying he has never taken “illegal” performance enhancing drugs, he was essentially saying, I took steroids in the Dominican Republic, where they are not considered illegal.

The best part is? No one cares. The media (espn) still gets all drummed up for it, they trot out Gammons and Olney to rehash “The List”, why it exists, why no one will be punished for it and what the players chances are for the hall of fame. The story shows up on the web, is featured for a day, and disappears.

The funny thing is, was there a baseball fan who hadn’t already figured out Sammy was on the roids? Seriously, show me one fan who thought Sammy played the game clean. One guy.

He was the poster boy for the steroid era. Still is, in my opinion. Bonds was potentially the best player in baseball before the drugs. Mark McGwire was a giant man from day one. He was always a home run hitter with a huge frame. Roger Clemens had won 3 Cy Young awards, struck out over 200 batters 8 times (including his 1988 campaign with 291) and won over 20 games 3 times.

Sammy Sosa? A skinny, speedy player with no home run power and zero plate discipline. His only full season before signing with the Cubs, 1990, he hit 10 triples and 15 home runs. His first full season with the Cubs he hit 33. Then 25 (in 105 games), 36, 40, 36, 66, 63, 50, 64, 49…

His eyes bugged out of his head. His neck was the size of a large man’s thigh. He had tendons and veins that bulged when he was at rest.

Barry could have hit 600 without the juice. Sammy? He could have been out of baseball by 1999.

Sammy’s thoughts on the matter?

“I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don’t I have the numbers to be inducted?”

Atta boy Sammy.

The recent flap over the payment of the Lakers Championship Parade is the kind of thing that brings out my inner Lewis Black. California is 26 BILLION DOLLARS in the red. Yet for a half of a day, CNN ran a story on their 30 minute loop about “Who’s paying for the Lakers victory parade” Complete with an appearance from city congressman “I love the media and hate Latinos
” Bernie Parks, the story was teased by the anchor twice before it’s actual running, both times acting like it was potentially some travesty that may be occurring.

Most of the parade was payed for by the Lakers and “private donors”

So it was a non story.

The Lakers presence in Los Angeles brings countless millions of dollars of “revenue” (taxes) to the city and state every year. Parking taxes, hotel taxes, income taxes, gate receipt taxes, taxes on fuel used to drive to games, taxes on meals eaten in restaurants before and after (and during) games, taxes on drinks, taxes on income derived through the advertising money spent sponsoring the Lakers and their broadcast. The list of revenue streams the Los Angeles Lakers create for their local community is long and strong.

So it’s a non story.

But the bill for the parade would have cost the city one million dollars. (I’m not sure why, it costs 20,000 dollars a day to rent the coliseum), (which the city, county and state owns), streets are free and those double decker buses are cheap. But money was spent.

And the state is 26 BILLION DOLLARS IN THE HOLE. A dozen minutes an hour were given to the state of California’s budget situation on a national news network and it was over a million bucks? That had already been covered by “private donors”? What about the other 25,999,000,000 dollars? Where is that money? Why are we not talking about the fact that Sacramento hasn’t been able to run the world’s 8th biggest economy for decades?

But Kobe has a huge Q rating. And the Lakers are sexy. And a million bucks sounds like a lot.

So it was a story.

Rafael Nadal (knee) has pulled out of Wimbledon, depriving us of a rematch from last years finals.

My guess is Stallworth’s “indefinite” suspension will be one year.

Manny Ramirez begins his minor league assignment on Tuesday.

Game ball goes to the Recording Industry Association of America. Gouging customers and artists for decades wasn’t enough. Refusing to adjust an obsolete business model wasn’t enough. Now, they have successfully sued a Minnesota woman for 1.92 million dollars. for being connected to Kazaa in 2005.

Nice job fellas. You sure showed her. You’ve financially ruined a mother of four. Must feel nice to achieve such a clear “victory” in the war against the pirates. Your families must be very proud.