bellker's Blog

Another star ball player going to jail. MAN! What's the world coming too.

 Michael Vick surrenders to marshals three weeks prior to his sentencing on dogfighting charges.

Mr. Vick has accepted responsibility for his actions, and his self-surrender further demonstrates that acceptance.

Vick pleaded guilty in August to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge after his three co-defendants pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with authorities.

He's scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 10 on a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge but worked out a deal to voluntarily enter custody prior to his sentencing hearing.

Loosing a wonderful career over fighting animals. I don't understand this...  do we forgive and forget and give him back his 20 million advance on his contract... what?

Somebody explain it to me please....

Let's blog...

      Bonds stung by departure from Giants after record-breaking season . The 43-year-old home run king heard a long list of his accomplishments read during a special speaking forum hosted by the Commonwealth Club.

They listed fourteen All-Star game selections. A record seven NL MVPs. Eight Gold Glove awards. Whew..... Bonds told the group of 450 people "I did and then I got fired,"   "Shame on me, huh?"

Bonds, broke Hank Aaron's home run record with No. 756 on Aug. 7. He was told last month by Giants owner Peter Magowan that he would not be brought back for a 16th season in San Francisco.

Wow.... that's not right, or is it right, or should Bonds care?

Bonds entered into a roaring standing ovation and repeatedly drew loud applause from an adoring crowd through the nearly 90-minute forum. They chanted, "Barry! Barry!" One person hollered, "We love you." Others took pictures on cell phone cameras or sported shirts with Bonds' No. 25.

Well this was a Bond pep rally in a swanky downtown San Francisco hotel featuring five ovations and two of those standing -- for a star baseball player who didn't stick around when his team paid tribute to him with a video presentation during the final home game of the year.

"I don't have fans in San Francisco -- this is my family," said Bonds, who used to bounce around the clubhouse at Candlestick Park as a boy while hanging out with his late father, Bobby, and Hall of Fame godfather Willie Mays.

Bonds, just completed his 22nd major league season. He has 762 career homers. 

Actor Danny Glover asked Bonds whether he would play for $5 million and bat fifth for San Francisco if that were an option for 2008. Bonds said, "I told Peter Magowan, 'If I'm a part-time player, I'm still better than your full-time player, and it's a wise idea to keep me,"' Bonds said. "We still have time. Things might change."

Bonds also said that if he were running the franchise, the Giants would have won a World Series by now. "They've been here since 1958," Bonds said. "We'd win a World Series. I know the game so well. I can see talent. I know exactly what I'd be looking for."  "My philosophy in sports is you don't break things up. You add to it."

He soon added: "I'm rooting for the Giants. I'm not rooting against the Giants. This is my hometown."

Bonds doesn't know, where he's going but he doubts it's with the New York Yankees as a designated hitter. A move to the American League as a DH would be the logical next step for Bonds, whose balky knees and age have contributed to him being a step slow in left field lately.

Go ahead, speak your piece... Bonds sure did...

 Let's blog....

Could this be it?

Is Kobe leaving the Lakers...?

I say, Bye Bye Kobe... Many people put the the Lakers down because of Kobe...

The word on the streets is that he's cleaned out his locker... But then who cares? Anybody? Somebody?  Not I, said the Cat....

He's missed a few practices...

I thought he was going to be let go behind the rape scandel with the Colorado chick.

Well.... Time for a face lift on the Lakers, so I can dust off the cob webs off my seat on the front row of the game...

In Carol Burnett fashion, (all together now) 

 I'm so glad we had this time together.... (sing it if you know it...)  Just to have a laugh or sing a song... seems we just get started and before you know ittttttttttttt, comes the time we have to say... so longggggggggg>>. good bye KOBE

(applause)... Thank you very much...

A lingering fan in the wings...

Let's blog...

She's scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., to plead guilty to charges in connection with her steroid use. No surprise there...

"I want to apologize for all of this," Jones says in her letter, quoting a person who received a copy and read it to the paper. "I am sorry for disappointing you all in so many ways." Jones said in her letter that she faced up to six months in jail and would be sentenced in three months, according to the newspaper.

The admission also could cost Jones the five medals she won in Sydney, where she was the most celebrated female athlete of the games. She didn't win the five golds she wanted, but she came away with three and two bronzes, and her bright smile and charming personality made her a star.

The triple gold medalist in Sydney said she took "the clear" for two years, beginning in 1999, and that she got it from former coach Trevor Graham, who told her it was flaxseed oil.

"The clear" is a performance-enhancing drug linked to BALCO, the lab at the center of the steroids scandal in professional sports.

Barry Bonds, New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi and Detroit Tigers outfielder Gary Sheffield all have been linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and were among more than two dozen athletes who testified before a federal grand jury in 2003. Bonds denied ever knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs, saying he believed a clear substance and a cream, given to him by his trainer, were flaxseed oil and an arthritis balm.

Until now, Jones had denied doping, even suing BALCO founder Victor Conte in 2004 for $25 million. Conte repeatedly accused Jones of using performance-enhancing drugs and said he watched her inject herself. "It cost me a lot of money to defend myself," Conte said Thursday. "But I told the truth then, and I'm telling it now."

In her letter, Jones said she didn't realize she'd used performance-enhancing drugs until she stopped training with Graham at the end of 2002. She said she lied when federal agents questioned her in 2003, panicking when they presented her with a sample of "the clear," which she recognized as the substance Graham had given her.

I wanted to believe her. that she was clean. It's true, ''Cheaters never win.'  In 2006, a urine sample tested positive for EPO, but Jones was cleared when a backup sample tested negative. Dang...... this is wild...

She also was among the athletes who testified before a BALCO grand jury in 2003. Her former boyfriend, Tim Montgomery, also testified, and was given a two-year ban for doping in late 2005. Michelle Collins and Justin Gatlin, who also trained with Graham, were banned for doping violations, too.

Graham has a Nov. 26 trial date after being indicted in the BALCO case last November on three counts of lying to federal agents. Graham, who has pleaded not guilty, helped launch the government's steroid probe in 2003 when he mailed a vial of "the clear" — previously undetectable — to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

USA Track & Field was not aware of Jones' letter nor any pending legal action, CEO Craig Masback said.

Should she loose her metals... emmmm

Doping is cheating, and under no circumstance will it be tolerated. If an athlete cheats, they deserve to pay the price for their action."

"Once again, I panicked," quoting Jones' letter. "I did not want my name associated with this mess. I wanted to stay as far away as possible."

Now that's a story that beats out Barry Bond's story...

Let's blog ...

The opponent is young, athletic and blessed with the perfect combination of power and precision to conquer almost any course on the planet.

The opponent also happens to be Tiger Woods

The Tiger Woods of 2000 or 2006. Take your pick.

Who else could it be?

There can only be one....  Don't you agree?

Let's blog...

Philidelphia Eagles star Donovan McNabb says black quarterbacks face greater scrutiny than their white counterparts.

In an interview on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" to be broadcast Tuesday, McNabb said black quarterbacks "have to do a little bit extra" because there are relatively few of them, adding "people didn't want us to play this position." 

McNabb said if he passes for 300 yards and his team wins by a touchdown, critics will say, "Oh, he could have made this throw here. We would have scored more points if he would have done this."

Asked if white quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer are held to the same standards, McNabb replied: "Let me start by saying, I love those guys. But they don't get criticized as much as we do. They don't."

McNabb is one of six black starting quarterbacks in the NFL. The others are David Garrard of Jacksonville, Vince Young of Tennessee, Steve McNair of Baltimore, Jason Campbell of Washington and Tarvaris Jackson of Minnesota.

McNabb, a five-time Pro Bowl selection, is 9 1/2 months removed from major knee surgery and has missed 13 games the past two seasons because of injuries. On Monday night, he misfired on several throws and couldn't create big plays during the Eagles' 20-12 loss to Washington.

In 2003, conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, briefly part of ESPN's pregame show, said he didn't think McNabb was as good as perceived. "I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL," Limbaugh said. "The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well." He resigned from the show the next week.

What's up with this?  How do you weigh in on this.....

Let's blog....

California man buys Barry Bonds' record-tying home run ball

The California entrepreneur who submitted the winning bid on Barry Bonds' record-tying 755th home run ball said that he also will let the public decide what to do with it.

Ben Padnos said that he would follow the lead of fashion designer Mark Ecko, who bought Bonds' No. 756 ball, and let fans vote on whether he should give it to the Hall of Fame or destroy it.

Ecko said he was taking votes on whether to give the ball to the Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk or blast it into space.

Don't you think this is stupid? Why buy the ball if you plan to make a mockery out of it?  Why destroy a part of history? Ignorance, I say. Jealousy too. 

Do you think the Hall of Fame should step foward and take the ball or buy it back from this man?

This annoys me.... How about you? I can tell you one thing that is for sure, Bonds doesn't care... He got paid.

Let's blog...

What in the world happened to boxing matches.  I don't hear much these days.

Man I remember running home to watch Ali fights on television and years later watching Tyson knock a brother out in 2 seconds....

When you sit down for Tyson's fight, you better not move cause it would be over before you know it.

But Ali gave you a show. Foreman was good and of course we can't forget Sugar Ray and few other guys out there like Lewis and so on...

I can use a good boxing match nowadays... where they at!!

Bring it on... am I missing it... Fill a brother and sister in on the happenings in the matches as it were....

Let's blog...

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: SELF-CONTROL:  Did you know that In ancient Greece, every year before and after the Olympic games were held, the Isthmian games took place in the city of Corinth?  Those who won would receive a wreath made out of pine.  Tthose who participated in these games trained rigidly as the athletes of our day do for the Olympics.  LIke it did then, it still takes strict discipline, sound eating habits, rigid training programs, a burning desire to win, and a persevering commitment to the task to prepare for an athletic event of this caliber.  Those who compete at this level run to win, and in order to win, they must discipline their bodies.  Self-control is a key component for victory.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? So why not Run in such a way that you may win?

Food for thought to all types of athletics and politicians:  Everyone who competes in sports or the business world should exercises self-control in all things. In the olden days they did so to receive a perishable wreath, but we are an imperishable. Therefore why not run in such a way, as not without aim; but box in such a way, as not beating the air; but discipline your body and make it your slave, so that, after you have lectured to others, you will not be disqualified.

It makes no sense for a boxer to punch the air.  His goal is to train so that he can land his punches, knock down his opponent, and win the match.  In the same way, it makes no sense for a runner to deviate from the course and go for a stroll through the country.  His mission is to stay on track within the boundaries and cross the finish line before everyone else. 

Winning will require self-control in all things, from the training and preparation to execution and performance on race day. 

Spiritually it makes no sense to view life as haphazard or to approach it carelessly.  God has called us all to run a race, and we are in it to win it, or at least we should be.  Paul viewed his commission to share the gospel as even more intense and serious than the training of a world-class athlete.  He knew that a race has only one winner, and he lived the Christian life as if he wanted to get the most rewards possible for the sake of Christ.

What helps makes an athlete successful is the same thing that contributed to Paul’s spiritual discipline- self-control.  Paul speaks of disciplining his body to the point of making it his slave.  The Greek word from which we translate the word self-control implies mastering fleshly passions and sensuous lusts. 

Just as an athlete has to discipline his mind, will, emotions, and body in order to perform at the highest level, a Christian must discipline his thoughts, behaviors, attitudes, and actions in order to bear abundant spiritual fruit. 

Self-control means that we don’t make any provision for the flesh and its lusts (Romans 13:14).  We don’t do anything to aid and abet self.  Rather, we yield to God by faith Who by His Spirit will enable us to live as new creations in Christ rather than as those who are enslaved to sin.  We have been set free from being slaves to sin (Romans 6:6), and self-control is thus the process of continuing to reckon by faith that we are indeed free.  This freedom will enable us to live out the fruit of self-control, which is discipline. 

A Christian who runs to win will thus be committed to studying God’s Word, to meditating upon it, to praying, to serving, and to doing all that Christ has commanded us.
  
If we want to win the crown of life, which is much greater and longer-lasting than the pine wreaths given to the Isthmian winners, we must have self-control.

All of us may never be professional athletes, but we can be world-class Christians if we have self-control in all things.  Let us run to win, exercising the discipline characteristic of a champion. How about you?

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Way to go! Barry Bonds.  Many fans are proud of you!

Bonds has overcome so much in his life including but not limited to breaking Hank Aaron's record. What a sight to see. Thousands of fans are proud of Barry. Are you one of them? 

Many fans found Hank Aaron's congratulations to be a big disappointment - "arctic" describes it better. Many felt that out of respect for the game and to his fellow ball players, he should have been there or at least on satelite television with a big smile and warm heart felt words. Do you agree with this thought?

Even in the Beauty Pageant world, past queens show up to the next year pageant, with crown in tow high upon their heads with a smile, ready and willing to pass on the title and a fresh new crown. Could it be that these women display more "good sportsmanship" than Hank Aaron? Emmm?  What do you think?

Let's blog...