Rick_Garcia's Blog

You must admit Lakers fans if you have been disappointed by past Mitch Kupchak performances as general manager of your team he's more than made up for it.
The Lakers made a impressive trade that may catapult them into the NBA finals.
They gave up Kwame Brown a center who has been a big disappointment, Javaris Crittenton their top draft pick this year, two number one draft picks ('08,'10) for a terrific young center Pau Gasol. He's a 27 year old from Spain who is averaging almost 19 points and just under 9 rebounds a game.. And yet even at 7 feet tall he has pretty good shooting touch which will allow the Lakers to play him next to Andrew Bynum when he returns from a knee injury in about five or six weeks.
Perhaps just as important is how it affected the Lakers competition. The Phoenix Suns one of the best running teams in the NBA will now have Shaq trailing the offense. And they seem to have lost some outside shooting by giving up Shawn Marion. The Suns felt they needed to get bigger to match the Lakers size but they may have just made it easier for the Lakers to defend them (remember hack a Shaq).
Ultimately, the success of the Lakers still revolves around Kobe. If he can continue to participate in the offense they way people smarter than him have designed it, then Gasol and the team will flourish.  In fairness to Kobe he has been more of a team player this season.
But if Kobe goes back to his bad habits of seasons past and ad libs at the wrong times then it doesnt matter who the team trades for the Lakers will run out of GAS----ol!

This could turn out to be a great day for baseball.
George Mitchell's report on performance enhancing drugs told us something we already knew. For years baseball players have been playing with poison to gain a competitive edge. They made a transition from steroids to growth hormones without a hitch. HGH is a legitimate drug by the way most often prescribed by Doctors to children with stunted growth.
Drug testing in baseball only barely became comprehensive in 2003. And they still don't test for HGH. And if you listen to the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players union they won't anytime soon. Donald Fehr says the current drug testing policy works.. Well it works better in detecting steroids. But you need a blood test for HGH and that's not part of baseballs policy....yet.
Let it be Donald! Your union members may have been killing themselves that past several years trying to make big money and break elusive records.
And the reason we should care about our sports stars turning into freaks for our entertainment is because of those grieving parents who marched on Capitol Hill. They are the ones who turned your boys in. They are the ones whose kids wanted to copy their idols and put stuff into their body that eventually killed them. That's what got politicians involved. And by the way, taking HGH and steroids without a legitimate doctors advice is against federal law. Don't like it?! Change the law!
You guys have had a good run. Lots of attention, lots of money, lots of records. I have a feeling we'll find out the price you paid in the next several years when the effects of taking that stuff really hits you!
The records won't likely change as a result of the Mitchell report. The players won't likely be punished for their past drug use. But we can move forward.
To a day when the honest players finally get to step on to a level playing field.
When baseball can be more than just a freak show!

Is it okay for a news anchor or reporter to say "my thoughts and Prayers go out to you" on the air while covering a news story?
I hear it more and more during T.V. news coverage. And I'm not sure it's our place to convey that to anyone. As I was watching the coverage of the tragic shootings at two Colorado religious insititutions I heard news anchors on more than one occasion end their coverage with "our thoughts and prayers go out to you."
The news we bring our viewers on a nightly basis is filled with tragedy. And there have been times before I go to bed I have asked in my own personal way that someone in need be helped. Is that where my thoughts about praying should stay? My home and Church?
The more I hear members of the media talk about praying publicly, the more it comes across as trite or even insincere.
Is it even proper on this blog space to talk about my Catholic upbringing? I'm not sure anyone cares or should even be made aware of it publicly.
I think I need your thoughts and prayers to help me figure this all out!

Why do I love Vampires? Let me count the ways.

I think it goes back to my childhood when my Godfather used to cover his face up to his eyes with his coat then chase me and my sister around the house. It wasn't long after that I watched "Dracula" starring the fabulous Bela Lugosi. In the 60's, Christopher Lee played Dracula in several movies. One of my treats of the trade was interviewing the great British actor on the golf course.
     I think part of my fascination with vampires comes from the ungodly hours I keep. I have spent most of my career in T.V. news and radio working late at night and sleeping much of the morning. But vampires are also easy to like. The leaders of the pack tend to be tall, dark and handsome and can hypnotize a beautiful woman with one look into her eyes. Admit it ladies! They're mysterious, tortured and never satisfied which makes them the ultimate bad boy. I'll admit their appetite for blood makes them a little less appealing. But hey, we all have our vices.
     There have been alot of bad vampires. Sadly, Tom Cruise did not work for me in Interview with the Vampire (1994). One who was surprsingly good was Gary Oldman. When Bram Stokers Dracula (1992) first came out, the casting of Oldman was surprising. But being the incredible actor he is Oldman sunk his teeth into the part proving it's better to have charm than good looks. I recently saw 30 Days Of Night. I won't bore you with a review (I enjoyed the movie a lot except for the end). Danny Huston was terrific playing one of the scariest vampires I have seen. In fact all of the vampires in this movie were fun to watch.

I guess being up all night isnt that bad. And vampires do get the chance to live forever. Although, Antonio Banderas character Armand in Interview with the Vampire did say this.
"The world changes, we do not, there lies the irony that finally kills us".

 

 

 

I dont know what people are thinking when they break a law. Okay I've been over the speed limit a time or two or three in my life. I guess the Office pool is illegal in most states. But gambling while two animals try to kill each other? Never crossed my mind or the mind of anyone I know. Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Vick has agreed to plead guilty to the charges against him. Namely his involvement in dogfighting.
Dogs are pretty amazing animals. They protect. They provide therapy for the sick and the elderly. They guide the blind. They even save lives. Who hasn't seen the work these animals do at disaster sites. So I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would harm a dog. For some reason Michael and the knuckleheads he calls friends found entertainment in seeing dogs fight to the death. Maybe even executed them later if the loser didn't die in the act.
Imagine if they did that to a quarterback at the end of a bad season.
For all his accomplishments, and I'm still not entirely sure what they are, Vick has been more unimpressive as a quarterback than impressive. In his six seasons Vick has only thrown 19 more touchdowns than interceptions. In his best season (2004) his quarterback rating was 78.1. Last season, 17 quarterbacks with a similar number of games played had better ratings than Vick. Peyton Manning for example had a Q.B. rating over 100. Drew Brees completed almost 11 percent more passes than Vick. In fact nine quarterbacks who like Vick threw more than 300 passes completed a higher percentage of them. Still the Atlanta Falcons gave Vick a $130 million dollar contract in 2004.
The guy can run. No doubt about it. He can run like a running back. Except he's not as sturdy. Slashes like a wide receiver except we don't know if he can catch. Finds open spaces like a punt returner except we don't how well he'll take a hit when 11 guys running at full speed take a crack at him. You see, if the Falcons really looked at Vick's performances much like those dogs he and his buddies were fighting, I'm not sure he'd get a second fight. People have already asked me if he'll get a second chance in the NFL . Of course he will. Everybody loves a good come back story. He's a great athlete. I'm just not sure he's a great football player. He's certainly not a great quarterback!
    I don't have an opinion on how much time he deserves. If he serves any, and I think he will, I figure that's payback for the innocent animals he may have destroyed when they weren't performing up to par.
Sort of like Michael.