Muffins with danishpastry

A very short and brief post on this holiday.   It's going to be interesting to see who's words will be true come next year.  OBAMA campaigned on more jobs for AMERICANS. In essence, cutting free trade, right?  And having policy that affords more AMERICANS with jobs here in the USA. Be from the USA to work and provide good and services (well that's another blog, but for now...)  NBA commish David Stern openly stated his endorsment for OBAMA.  So, now that STERN has his wish, OBAMA as Prediden elect, what' s he going to do when OBAMA's policy will obviously stike the NBA's ability to hire and employ the increasing number of foreign players that currently play in the NBA.   Afterall, they do take spots away from players that are US ciitizens. 

    

UNFORTUNATE or SELFISH?

It's great to be alive, especially if you are a sporting nut or simply someone who marvels in sports.  The last decade has provided us with memorable sports records that have been overcome, afterall records are made to be broken, right?  Even better, two records have fallen with epic force.  One very much in the public eye for decades, the other, back in the public eye after a four year absence.   Equally great in their respective sports.  Equally scrutinized. Equally victimized.  Equally tainted.  Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's home record in front of a sold out Giants, but not in front of Aaron.  Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz recored of seven gold medals in one Olympics in front of arguably the most vivacious Olympic crowd ever, but not in front of Mark Spitz.   One (Aaron) received an invite, and the other (Spitz) did not.  Although a well timed video congratulations from Aaron aired after Bonds' record hitting home run was perceived as a gesture of true praise it still was void of what the presence of Aaron would have meant , be it controversial, but still historical accomplishment.  Even Aaron wanted to make sure that his absence (said to be because of the contorversy of steroids use surrounding Bonds)did not overshadow Bonds' accomplishments.  But it did.  For Baseball the home run record is the holy grail of records.  A year later, another epic performance goes unwitnessed by the one who held the record for 36 years.  Nothing is a guarantee.  You still have to invite the guy.  The United States Olympic Committee did not.  You say, "What??  Undoubtedly the man who held onto the greatest olympic feat of all time did not even get an invite.  Shows, what have you done for me lately takes a front row seat. Spitz, is an Olympic icon.  He deserved a front row seat to witness the greatest Olympic performance to date!  It is unknown why Spitz did not pay his own way (there were family events going on in Detroit, MI) and it is unknown why Aaron didn't accept a ticket.  In their own way, they used their absence to get their own message across.  Unfortunate.

The sport's world is so focused on testing the athletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.  You cannot go a day without hearing about what organizers are doing to catch dopers at the Olympic Games.  We know athletes are trying to use drugs or illegal supplements to enhance their performance.  This shouldn't be a surprise to us.  Neither should the oldest form of athletic cheating, lying about your age.  But, we are either stunned or don't care.  Did you really beleive when you first saw the Chinese women's  gymnnastics team that they are a women's team?   They are barely teenagers, some of them, and futher investigation is shedding light on the true ages, in some cases as young as 12.  Who's fooling who? It started on day one.  China stages the firework show - and NBC tried to make us believe otherwise, finally letting let us know days later that it was staged - or parts of it were.  In some sports, getting an age advantage is very beneficial, you don't see 12 year old boys vaulting or working the horse, do you? How can you get into the Olympics at a country that is trying to stage everything?  Today China arrested some protestors and stated they would deport them - when they really wanted to imprison them for 100 years for speaking out.  China had an opportunity to show the world that it could be compassionate towards human rights and towards the basic virtues of living human beings. Instead, it looks like a time warp back to 1980 when Russia and China dominated a Summer Olympics not attended by the United States of America.   What's the difference? There isn't many.  Even the TV coverage is made for Prime-time tape delay.   Staged, for ratings.  The special thing about the Olympics, is it is supposed to be the purest of world competition, free of political influence, free of undue influence.  Set aside most of the really good sports achievments, and take a look at what the Olympics has been for the last eight Olympiads.  China can take pride in hiding behind their wall, paying people to be in the stands, allowing cheating on the world stage. They haven't come very far from 1980, but they sure want us to believe they have.

Who comes to mind when you think about professional players that really play the game for the love of the game?  Nolan Ryan? Barry Sanders? Dikembe Mitumbo? Every NFL offensive lineman?  Most pre 1990 pro player did play for the love of the game, or for the love of making a tad more than a real job.  Now, pro player contracts are out of reach to the common worker, the second tier athlete, and the weak.  So, we lack some knowledge on who did play the "game" for the love of the "game."  What we do know for sure, is now, it's not about the love of the game, it's about the love for the money.  Even though this would contradict common sense, let's put honesty and money in the same debate when it comes to professional contracts.  One of the first NFL free agent signings of 2008 had New England Patriots cornerback Asante Samuels  sign with the Philadelphia Eagles.  Samuels spoke before a Philadelphia press conference, wearing his new Green and White digs, "I am pleased with the new opportunity.  The opportunity to play on a winning team (excuse me?).  I wanted to sign with a team that has the best chance to win a championship (ummm, really excuse me?).  I feel the Eagles present the best opportunity for this to happen (someone, help me off the floor!).   Gosh, excuse me -  was I dreaming or did the Patriots go 16-0 in the regular season only to lose in the Super Bowl by four points?  Hello, you with the pad, wake me up - did he say E-A-G-L-E-S?  Wow. Forgive me for everything I said earlier, he must love this game so much.  He wants to fly.  That's why he became an Eagle.  I mean what other reason could there be?  The press conference should have been about how Samuels is going to be soaring like en eagle while depositing all the green wearing his new green uniforms.  Nope.  No mention of the multi-million dollar deal that makes him the highest paid corneback in NFL history.  Well, you have to know  - he did pretty much earn to be paid the highest among cornerbacks.  However, wouldn't it have been more appreciated if Samuels said, "I have agreed to sign with the Eagles because they are going to pay me more than the Patriots," or " I am leaving the Patriots because I want more money and the Eagles are going to give me more money (because that's the truth)."  It just would be great, for once, if one athlete would just admit it - they play for the love of the money, not the game.  We are not that dumb! 

"The explanation that the commisioner gave for destroying the tapes does not ring true," says Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA).  Did you hear the explanation given by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell?   " We concluded that the Patriots gave us everything they had and I decided there was no need to keep the tapes and I had them destroyed. Why should I keep them? I wanted to send a message to the league and make sure these tapes would not be leaked; we already had one of the six tapes turned over by the Patriots leaked."  Senator Specter's timing is very self serving.  Using the Super Bowl as a platform for subpoenas and information gathering is just one of the problems with our congress.  Does anyone really care?  Specter wants to meet with Goodell "promptly".  Even Goodell is saying (without saying it), there's a Super Bowl to  be played and I am going to be there.  Does Tom Brady  care that Specter wants to know if he benefited from possible information received from the newest allegations of walk through taping during the Super Bowl between the Rams and Patriots?  No, because it doesn't matter.  Brady has proven he is one of the best to ever play in the NFL.  Goodell stated that an allegation pertaining to the Rams and Patriots Super Bowl was investigated by his office, and there was no evidence to support the claim.  So, why is Spector launching his own investigation?  Is he a big money watch dog? Or is Spector really looking out for his delegates?  Specter could have asked these questions himself if he felt that Goodell did not do a sufficient investigation.  Obviously the NFL felt it had all the information it needed to levy the fines and taking of a draft pick against the Patriots.  The NFL has pretty much made it clear it is willing to act swiftly when matters of foul play happen. Specter's witch hunt to determine inconsistencies is a foundation of the self serving interests certain politicians have.  If the Patriots were squeeking by week to week and there were plays that looked like the Patriots designed themselves, perhaps one could question it. That has not been the case. The players have played, the players have worked for it, they are 18-0 and in the Super Bowl. This certainly is not a matter of congressional intervention.  Goodell is not a liar, and the only thing not ringing true Specter, is your ability to open a pertinent investigation.