Category — Sports

You have to hand it to John Kerry. That guy has his finger on the pulse of the nation. He’s leading the charge on the issues that matter most to Americans. For example, take this whining letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell:

As a Bostonian, I couldn’t be more pleased that in just five days, the New England Patriots will attempt to become the first NFL team in 35 years to finish the regular season with an undefeated record. But as someone who represents all of Massachusetts and not just those in the Boston media market, I remain deeply troubled that today as many as 250,000 Massachusetts households, and millions of Patriots fans nationwide, may be denied access to this historic sporting event.

Could the “millions” of Patriots fans who don’t have NFL Network visit a bar or friends’ house? And what does it say about our junior bloviator that he has the time to worry about such frivolous issues? I suppose he ran out of bridges to name and needed a new meaningless issue to champion. This guy couldn’t be more useless.

El Gobernador del Nuevo York Elliot Spitzer is pushing forward with his driver’s licenses for illegal aliens plan. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this dangerous idea spreads to MA since Governor Patrick expressed support for it in the past. However, the best thing that other states can do is refuse to accept NY driver’s licenses as positive identification. I’d make NYers show passports before I’d let them do anything inside my state. Since Spitzer has so little regard for our safety, I’d have no regard for his constituents’ convenience.

The baseball playoffs have been very entertaining.  And that’s not just because I’m a pumped up Indians fan after knocking off the “evil empire”.  The Tribe is proof that you can build a contending team through your farm system.  The Indians organization has certainly done a great job identifying and developing talent.  It’s no mean feat to defeat teams that are outspending you 3 or 4 to 1.

As far as the upcoming series, I give a slight edge to the Red Sox in lineups and closer.  Big Papi and Manny definitely form a better combo in the heart of the lineup.  And Papelbon is hands down a better closer than Borowsky.  But, I like the Tribe’s starting rotation better.  Sabathia and Carmona form a better 1 2 starting combo than Beckett and take your choice of Boston pitcher.  The bullpens are even to slight Indians edge as Tribe relief has been lights out so far. 

If the Tribe can win one of the first 2 in Boston, the series could be interesting.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see the series go 7.  Go Tribe!

Paranoid Pediatricians? Don’t think so!

They’re watching you right now.

They counted every beer you drank during last night’s Red Sox [team stats]game.

They see you sneaking out to the garage for a smoke.

They know if you’ve got a gun, and where you keep it. [snip]

Great. I send my daughter to the pediatrician to find out if she’s fit to play lacrosse, and the doctor spends her time trying to find out if her mom and I are drunk, drug-addicted sex criminals.

We’re not alone, either. Thanks to guidelines issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics and supported by the commonwealth, doctors across Massachusetts are interrogating our kids about mom and dad’s “bad” behavior. [snip]

And that information doesn’t stay with the doctor, either. [snip]

Of course, doctors have a choice.

They could choose, for example, to ask me about my drunken revels, and not my children.

They could choose not to put my children in this terrible position.

They could choose, even here in Massachusetts, to leave their politics out of the office.

But the doctors aren’t asking us parents.

They’re asking our kids.

Worst of all, they’re asking all kids about sexual abuse without any provocation or probable cause.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has declared all parents guilty until proven innocent.

And then they wonder why we drink.

One solution: stay with your child and doctor; refuse to let an examination take place if you are forced out of the room. When asked why, tell the croaker you want to make sure he’s not a perve and his nurse isn’t a dyke.

Not nice questions? What’s the quacker doing?

A big thank you to Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York for making our entire nation less secure today:

Fulfilling a campaign promise, Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced today that residents will be able to apply for state driver’s licenses without regard to immigration status. Applicants for driver’s licenses will no longer be required to provide a Social Security number or show that they are eligible for one. Instead, they will be allowed to provide foreign passports, previous state driver’s licenses and “other valid and verifiable documents” to prove their identity. 

Fantastic!  Eliott takes the de facto national ID system and junks it overnight.  The next Mohamed Atta can now get a valid NY drivers license with no questions asked.  We’re all a lot less secure tonight thanks to this mental midget.

Unnamed players allege corruption in professional tennis

Match-fixing, some of which is linked to internet gambling, is not uncommon in professional tennis, according to a damaging report in L’Equipe on Thursday.

Two elite players made the claims, under anonymity, in an interview with the French sports daily claiming they have witnessed matches being “thrown” and that they had personally been offered bribes. [snip]

What a devastating occurrence for the bottled water sipping set. The outing of Billie Jean, Martina caught carting an unlicensed firearm and Lendl fixing his teeth with a pipe wrench proved to be exceptionally déclassé. Now this bit of hooliganism will be the chatter of the tony Hamptons. First figure skating, now tennis, next will be the fouling of synchronized swimming. I can’t watch anymore.

Absolutely no shame on the part of the Libs however, the diversity crowd actually believe this is moral equivalence since they attend these matches solely to strengthen their neck muscles.

Refs on the take in bulimia ball (run down the court, throw it up), QB’s with dog fighting clubs and the Red Sox in first place, all disgraces of the first order. At least the Yankees shamed them in this series.

 Finally, the ground crew has a problem. (See Photo)

Oh, the humanity of it, all lost!

The 2^nd Amendment is not about hunting, target shooting or gun collecting. It is about having the means of overthrowing a tyrannical government.

The Guns of Britain

Following the 1996 Dunblane school massacre, in which seventeen people were killed by a man armed with two 9mm pistols, Britain passed a lawtrain abroad, outlawing the ownership of most handguns, despite researchers finding “no link between high levels of gun crime and areas where there were still high levels of lawful gun possession.” It’s a law so severe that the Britain’s Olympic shooting team is forced to train abroad, lest one of its members try to shoot up a grammar school. So how effective has the law been? A doubling in gun-related crimes since the ban, naturally. The London Times on the spate of gun crime in Merseyside:

Senior police officers have been warning for several months that a growing number of teenagers in big cities are becoming involved in gun crime.

The age of victims and suspects has fallen over the past three years as the availability of firearms in some cities has risen. Liverpool and Manchester are the cities where illegal guns are most readily available, with criminals claiming that some weapons are being smuggled from Ireland. Sawn-off shotguns are now being sold for as little as £50, and handguns for £150.

Despite a ban on handguns introduced in 1997 after 16 children and their teacher were shot dead in the Dunblane massacre the previous year, their use in crimes has almost doubled to reach 4,671 in 2005-06. Official figures show that although Britain has some of the toughest anti-gun laws in the world, firearm use in crime has risen steadily. This year eight young people have been killed in gun attacks: six in London and one each in Manchester and Liverpool.

According to the Times, Merseyside alone has seen 552 “gun crime incidents” this year, but, miraculously, only 8 murders.

In 2002, Prof. Joyce Lee Malcolm looked at the British gun ban and its failure to reduce levels of violent crime.

As I have posted in the past, this is serious stupidity on the part of the liberals. The Socialists know they cannot take over an armed citizenry so disarming the country allows for their “revolution.” Quoting Mao, their fave guy, ”All power comes from the barrel of a gun.”

Some excerpts from Prof. Joyce Lee Malcolm looked at the British gun ban:

The results — the toughest firearm restrictions of any democracy — are credited by the world’s gun control advocates with producing a low rate of violent crime….

In reality, the English approach has not re-duced violent crime. [snip]

From 1991 to 1995, crimes against the person in England’s inner cities increased 91 percent. And in the four years from 1997 to 2001, the rate of violent crime more than doubled. Your chances of being mugged in London are now six times greater than in New York. England’s rates of assault, robbery, and burglary are far higher than America’s, and 53 percent of English burglaries occur while occupants are at home, compared with 13 percent in the U.S., where burglars admit to fearing armed homeowners more than the police. [snip]

Even more sweeping was the 1953 Prevention of Crime Act, which made it illegal to carry in a public place any article “made, adapted, or intended” for an offensive purpose “without lawful authority or excuse.” Carrying something to protect yourself was branded antisocial. Any item carried for possible defense automatically became an offensive weapon.

A sampling of cases illustrates the impact of these measures:

– In 1973 a young man running on a road at night was stopped by the police and found to be carrying a length of steel, a cycle chain, and a metal clock weight. He explained that a gang of youths had been after him. At his hearing it was found he had been threatened and had previously notified the police. The justices agreed he had a valid reason to carry the weapons. Indeed, 16 days later he was attacked and beaten so badly he was hospitalized. But the prosecutor appealed the ruling, and the appellate judges insisted that carrying a weapon must be related to an imminent and immediate threat. They sent the case back to the lower court with directions to convict.

– In 1987 two men assaulted Eric Butler, a 56-year-old British Petroleum executive, in a London subway car, trying to strangle him and smashing his head against the door. No one came to his aid. He later testified, “My air supply was being cut off, my eyes became blurred, and I feared for my life.” In desperation he unsheathed an ornamental sword blade in his walking stick and slashed at one of his attackers, stabbing the man in the stomach. The assailants were charged with wounding. Butler was tried and convicted of carrying an offensive weapon.

–In 1994 an English homeowner, armed with a toy gun, managed to detain two burglars who had broken into his house while he called the police. When the officers arrived, they arrested the homeowner for using an imitation gun to threaten or intimidate. In a similar incident the following year, when an elderly woman fired a toy cap pistol to drive off a group of youths who were threatening her, she was arrested for putting someone in fear. Now the police are pressing Parliament to make imitation guns illegal.

– In 1999 Tony Martin, a 55-year-old Norfolk farmer living alone in a shabby farmhouse, awakened to the sound of breaking glass as two burglars, both with long criminal records, burst into his home. He had been robbed six times before, and his village, like 70 percent of rural English communities, had no police presence. He sneaked downstairs with a shotgun and shot at the intruders. Martin received life in prison for killing one burglar, 10 years for wounding the second, and a year for having an unregistered shotgun. The wounded burglar, having served 18 months of a three-year sentence, is now free and has been granted �5,000 of legal assistance to sue Martin.

…Americans still enjoy a substantially lower rate of violent crime than England, without the “restraint on personal liberty” English governments have seen as necessary. Rather than permit individuals more scope to defend themselves, Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government plans to combat crime by extending those “restraints on personal liberty”: removing the prohibition against double jeopardy so people can be tried twice for the same crime, making hearsay evidence admissible in court, and letting jurors know of a suspect’s previous crimes.

In spite of the evidence from Britain, New Zealand and Australia proving the insanity of this position, this type of society is what the gun-ban advocates wish for you.

I love animals.  I’d have more if I thought my wife wouldn’t decapitate me; however, the Michael Vick case is baffling to me.  Yes, why a man with so much to lose would get involved with something so seedy and dangerous is beyond me.  I don’t pretend to understand what motivates or makes him tick.  He’s an adult and should face the consequences of his actions.  And no, I don’t believe the prosecution is racially motivated.  Even camera hogs Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton haven’t jumped in to defend him.

What has me baffled is the disproportionate nature of his punishment.  The man is facing 5 years in jail and the loss of millions of dollars.  But when you look at other, far more serious cases, you really have to wonder if the punishment fits the crime.  

NFL defensive end Leonard Little only got 90 days for killing a woman while he was driving under the influence.  Ray Lewis was involved in a homicide, but didn’t get much of a sentence.  Mary Winkler, who was convicted of manslaughter in the death of her husband, spent about 60 days in custody with the vast majority of those in a mental-health facility.  The judge and jury bought her post traumatic stress disorder argument, but if it was so serious she killed her husband because of it, is 60 days long enough to cure it?

Does this really seem like justice?  If you aren’t a PETA member, doesn’t it bother you just a bit that these people were involved in far more serious crimes but got what amounted to a slap on the wrist?  Personally, I’m pulling for Vick to get the minimum.  What he did was wrong, but there’s a real problem when he’s going to do much more time than killers.

From Canada’s Financial Post for August 17, 2007, news of a…

REMARKABLY SUCCESSFUL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM!

Steven Harper’s Conservative government exempted pickup trucks when it unveiled its eco-AUTO program in March, because it said many people use them for work. It argued that makes them more of a need than a transportation choice.

The government’s program offers rebates of up to $2000 to buyers of certain fuel-efficient vehicles and slaps an excise tax of up to $4000 on the biggest gas-guzzlers - typically SUVs and sports cars.

The exemption has pushed consumers thinking of buying an SUV to pick a pickup truck instead said Dennis DesRosiers (President, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants) ….a harsh critic of Ottawa’s green car program.

Sales of small pickups were up 25%….while sales of large pickups were up 14% over the same months last year, DesRosier’s research shows….

DesRosier’s research also showed that import brands gained ground in the Canadian light truck market, traditionally the domain of the Detroit auto makers. Honda’s CRV, Toyota’s RAV4 and Hyundai’s Tuscon all made the list of top-10 best-selling trucks in July.

Sneaky conservatives. Maybe something like the eco-AUTO program would work in the US for General Motors.

Welch Seeks Immediate Withdrawal In Iraq

WASHINGTON, DC — Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., delivered a statement on the floor of the U.S. House this morning in support of H.R. 2956, the Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act.

“Since the President refuses to act, Congress must,” said Welch. “For many of us, nothing could be fast enough, strong enough, or forceful enough.”

This legislation begins a month-long effort to force the president to change his policy in Iraq. It would require the Secretary of Defense to begin the redeployment of troops from Iraq within 120 days of the date of enactment

Long ago, I learned there are only two ways to get out of a war: Win or Lose.

Congressman Welch wants the US out of Iraq; just cut and run works well, after all, it is one of the choices.

At least until now those were the only choices. Now I presume, Welch would consider some form of dialogue with the al Qaeda heathens. Al Qaeda agreed to dialogue already, didn’t they? Perhaps our troops can initiate discourse by laying down weapons and just get acquainted with the pain of the Muhammadans. Understanding diversity is a great opening gambit.

This Progressive Method of resolving conflicts through palavering has great potential; proper utilization can shorten all matter of world events.

Imagine the Stanley Cup finals, game 1. At the 1^st fight, the linesman whistles play dead, calls for the table and 10 chairs and sits the players down. Each side explains which one skates better, and which goalie has the sharper looking facemask. TV can get in close to hear the ongoing dialogue; perhaps viewers can call in and vote the winner similar to American Idol.

The Super Bowl is wide open to this formula; boxing matches are a perfect modality for cut and run. Little league, high school and college sports, World Cup Soccer, and TV game shows cry out for this Progressive compassion.

Our courts are perfect for enmity resolution. Money saved on juror fees by having rapists and victims sit down and calmly decide who really was at fault passes on to the taxpayer. Assaults with or with out lethal weapons are susceptible to dialogue too. It won’t be long before this intervention takes place during the act.

Maybe the Congressman will accept a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, hell, Carter received one for being a simpleton.

 I’m adding this late item since it is hand in glove with Welch.

Senator Reid,…Do you think the Iraqi people will be safer with U.S. troops out?

 The government made this mess by taking on security instead of placing it on the airlines. Making airlines fully responsible, financially and personally would create tight security and fast processing. The flying public will chose the airline, which handles the process best.

 WASHINGTON - The United States has lost billions of dollars and an immeasurable amount of good will since Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks nearly six years ago because of a decline in foreign tourists.

Several senators are now trying to get the government involved in bringing those visitors back.

Do we need these visitors back? The entire populations of Mexico and Central America are “visiting” with no slack in guests arriving for our hospitality.

The Senate Commerce Committee has approved a bill to establish a nonprofit public-private corporation to promote the United States as a tourist destination and clear up misperceptions about U.S. travel policies. It also would create a new office in the Commerce Department to work with other agencies on fixing visa policies and entry processes that discourage visits. [snip]

Here’s the proverbial solution looking for the problem. We need another bureaucracy to help the TSA jerk more visitors around by their passports.

This $10 fee will not be enough for long. However, it is endemic for our government to need more persons and money to fully fund this new patronage package.

“We have lacked a coordinated program to promote travel to our country,” said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., one of the sponsors of the Senate bill.

The new corporation envisioned by the bill would be funded by industry contributions and a $10 user fee levied on travelers from the 27 countries participating in a visa waiver program with the United States. [snip]

Industries do not pay taxes! The hospitality industry will pass this cost on to the traveler regardless of the origin of the trip, be it Paris or Philly. If you think they won’t, look at the fees you are paying now on cars and airports.

Stoneham rejected a Prop 2 ½ override on Tuesday. The school board responded by cutting a series of programs including all Stoneham athletics. It’s unfortunate because athletics are a memorable part of the high school experience, but there are limits to what homeowners can afford.

In the dreaded private sector, most people get 3-4% “raises” assuming their companies are doing well. If there’s an economic downturn, you’re likely taking a cut or just happy to have a job. So an automatic 2 ½% increase rain or shine isn’t that bad.

Unfortunately, our companies don’t adjust our raises based on increases in our necessities. Expenses went up more than your raise? You better tighten your belt. Government doesn’t like to tighten its belt though, and they go back to the boss for an extra raise through overrides and additional fees.

So I have a deal for the school board, city, and state government. When I can pass those overrides and fees onto my employer through an adjustment in my “raise”, I’ll be happy to vote for increased taxes. Until that happens though, it’s time to tighten your belts just like the rest of us do.

We’re in trouble when our elected critters and their staffers ask a Washington, DC, airport ticket agent these questions.

•  I had a New Hampshire Congresswoman ask for an aisle seat so that her hair wouldn’t get messed up by being near the window.  (On an airplane!)
• I got a call from a candidate’s staffer, who wanted to go to Capetown. I started to Explain the length of the flight and the passport information, then she interrupted me with, “I’m not trying to make you lookstupid, but Capetown is in Massachusetts.”  Without trying to make her look stupid, I calmly explained, “Cape Cod is in Massachusetts, Capetown is in Africa.” Her response - click.
• A Vermont Congressman called, furious about a Florida Package we did.  I asked what was wrong with the vacation in Orlando. He said he was expecting an ocean-view room.  I tried to explain that’s not possible, since Orlando is in the middle of the state.  He replied, “Don’t lie to me, I looked on the map and Florida is a very thin state!”
• I got a call from a lawmaker’s wife who asked, “Is it possible to see England from Canada?”  I said, “No.” She said, “But they look so close on the map.”
  An aide for a cabinet member once called and asked if he could rent a car in Dallas.  When I pulled up the reservation, I noticed he had only a 1-hour layover in Dallas.  When I asked him why he wanted to rent a car, he said, “I heard Dallas was a big airport, and we will need a car to drive between gates to save time.”
• An Illinois Congresswoman called last week.  She needed to know how it  was possible that her flight from Detroit left at 8:30 a.m. got to Chicago at 8:33 a.m.  I explained that Michigan was an hour ahead of Illinois, but she could not understand the concept of time zones.  Finally, I told her the plane went fast, and she bought that.
• A New York lawmaker called and asked, “Do airlines put your physical description on your bag so they know whose luggage belongs to whom?” I said, “No, why do you ask?”  She replied, “Well, when I checked in with the
  airline, they put a tag on my luggage that said (FAT), and I’m overweight. I
  think that’s very rude!”  After putting her on hold for a minute while I
  looked into it (I was laughing).  I came back and explained the city code for Fresno, CA is FAT - Fresno Air Terminal, and the airline was just putting a destination tag on her luggage.
• A Senator’s aide called to inquire about a trip package to Hawaii. After going over all the cost info, she asked, “Would it be cheaper to fly to California, and then take the train to Hawaii?”
• I just got off the phone with a freshman Congressman who asked, “How do I know which plane to get on?”  I asked him what exactly he meant, to which he replied, “I was told my flight number is 823, but none of these planes have numbers on them.”
• A lady Senator called and said, “I need to fly to Pepsi-Cola, Florida. Do I have to get on one of those little computer planes?”  I asked if she meant fly to Pensacola, Fl. on a commuter plane.  She said, “Yeah, whatever, smarty!”
• A senior Senator called and had a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China.  After a lengthy discussion about passports, I reminded him that he needed a visa.  “Oh, no I don’t. I’ve been to China many times and never had to have one of those.”  I double-checked and sure enough, his stay required a visa.  When I told him this he said, “Look, I’ve been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express!”
• A New Mexico Congress woman called to make reservations, “I want to go from Chicago to Rhino, New York.”  I was at a loss for words.  Finally, I said, “Are you sure that’s the name of the town?”  “Yes, what flights do you have?” replied the lady.   After some searching, I came back with, “I’m sorry, ma’am, I’ve looked up every airport code in the country and can’t find a Rhino anywhere.”  The lady retorted, “Oh, don’t be silly! Everyone knows where it is.  Check your map!”  So I scoured a map of the state of New York and finally offered, “You don’t mean Buffalo, do you?” The reply? “Whatever!  I knew it was a big animal.”

 Do you think these clowns even know where the Mexican border is. Now you know why the Government is in the shape that it’s in!

Can you blame Hank Aaron for not wanting to be around while Barry Bonds breaks his record through “artificial” means?

“Again, it has nothing to do with anybody, other than I had enough of it. I don’t want to be around that sort of thing anymore. I just want to be at peace with myself. I don’t want to answer questions. It’s going to be a no-win situation for me anyway. If I go, people are going to say, ‘Well, he went because of this.’ If I don’t go, they’ll say whatever. I’ll just let them make their own mind up.”

The evidence is overwhelming that Bonds was using steroids and other illegal drugs to his those homers. It’s a shame that baseball doesn’t have the guts to protect one if its ultimate good guys.

But this really takes the cake:

Aaron, who did not return a call from The Associated Press, said baseball commissioner Bud Selig has told him that Bonds has asked several times why Aaron hasn’t contacted him as he approaches the record.

Isn’t it obvious why Hammerin Hank hasn’t contacted you, Barry? But that’s Bonds in a nutshell—it’s all Barry, all the time. He expects the man whose record he’s stealing to sit there and applaud him.

I know it’s not much consolation, Hank, but you’ll always be the homerun king in some of our eyes.

Does the high school honor roll place too much pressure on non-recipients? That’s the theory being espoused at Needham High School as it removes the honor roll from a local newspaper. I was an “elitist” recipient of a number of honor roll mentions during my high school days, and not many of my peers were insanely jealous of my inclusion. The honor roll marked you as a geek with limited social or dating prospects although the “cool” kids were happy to let you help them with their homework.

But even if I accepted the notion that high school is now some parallel universe where everyone wants to be on the honor roll, why remove the academics opportunity to shine? Athletes still get their achievements recognized in the paper. Doesn’t that make the other athletes who weren’t mentioned feel badly? A high school football coach that suggested not keeping score in the game to make everyone feel “good” would be fired. Maybe these school administrators deserve the same treatment.

High school offers all kinds of students’ opportunities to excel and shine, but just like life, not everyone who works hard gets rewarded. I don’t think making everyone “feel good” is reason enough to deny the academic achievers a little reward.