I am sure it would be easy to find an answer to the above question. But I know for sure who does love company- Misery. Yes, less than one week after I make fun of the Cowboys, my Redskins get absolutely embarrassed by the much hated Eagles. I hope Dan Snyder picked up the phone today and called Sammy Baugh, Art Monk, Darrell Green, Joe Theismann, Riggo, Doug Williams, and Russ Grimm to apologize because what happened this week was an insult to everyone who has ever worn the uniform and every fan. It's not just that the Eagles gutter-stomped the Skins, it's McNabb. Why would Philly trade their franchise QB to the Redskins? Did the Cowboys try to trade Miles Austin to the Giants? Have the Giants tried to trade Brandon Jacobs to the Eagles? No. Why because they still are of some use. Jacobs has fallen far out of favor, but he is still worth too much to trade in the Division. So the Skins screwed up by trading for him. Then they give him a 4 year $78M deal on Monday. That night he comes out and plays just like someone that you would be willing to trade in the division. He threw the ball too high which is the worst place to put it. If it goes too low, I don't think the grass is gonna run the interception back for six. I want to give Shannahan a shot. But I think he needs to fire his son as well as Haslett. The Redskins are an absolute failure and an embarrassment. I don't think we can expect any better as long as Snyder owns the team. I (unfortunately) still can hope. Luckily the Cowboys are pretty embarrassing as well (although they even looked better last week).
-J
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Broke Back Dome
As anyone who knows me very well at all has probably suspected, I am reveling in the unraveling going on in the "Big D." Like those two famous cowboys that found love in one another (actually, I think they were goatboys not cowboys), Jerry Jones has created a story nobody in Texas wants to watch. Frankly, I can't quit it. The most recent wrinkle is that Jerry Jones fired head coach Wade Phillips. I hadn't thought about it, but someone mentioned the interesting statistic on the radio that Jerry Jones has fired every coach the Cowboys had ever had. The only disappointment in this whole thing is that Wade got fired. Nothing pleased me more to see the Cowboys act woefully inadequately on the field to have the camera cut to Wade with that "Aww shucks" or that "Where am I?" look on his face.
Speaking of Wade... has anyone ever seen him and Bob's Big Boy in the same place at the same time?
The best part about this whole thing is that the Cowboys began the season talking about how they were gonna be the first team to play the Superbowl at home in Jerry World. The way it looks now, the only Cowboy employees that will be working the Superbowl will be janitorial staff. The NFL always puts their best officials out for the Superbowl. With all of the crap the Cowboys have been putting on the field this season those janitors will have had enough practice to be an all-star crew by then as well. If only this same type of thing could happen to the Giants as well. Unfortunately there is another team ripe for this type of fall with a demagogue owner. Sadly, that owner is Daniel Snyder. To be fair, at least Jerry has won some Superbowls, while the Daniel Snyder Redskins have been the model of consistent mediocrity. At least we can bask in the current work of art that is Broke Back Dome.
Speaking of Wade... has anyone ever seen him and Bob's Big Boy in the same place at the same time?
I think I have made my point.
The best part about this whole thing is that the Cowboys began the season talking about how they were gonna be the first team to play the Superbowl at home in Jerry World. The way it looks now, the only Cowboy employees that will be working the Superbowl will be janitorial staff. The NFL always puts their best officials out for the Superbowl. With all of the crap the Cowboys have been putting on the field this season those janitors will have had enough practice to be an all-star crew by then as well. If only this same type of thing could happen to the Giants as well. Unfortunately there is another team ripe for this type of fall with a demagogue owner. Sadly, that owner is Daniel Snyder. To be fair, at least Jerry has won some Superbowls, while the Daniel Snyder Redskins have been the model of consistent mediocrity. At least we can bask in the current work of art that is Broke Back Dome.
-J
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Nick Bell
About a month ago, I did not know who Nick Bell was. I am not one of those people with encyclopedic knowledge of lineups. Today, I find myself profoundly affected by the short life of this young man.
Of course the way I got to know Nick Bell's name was because of his surgery at Vanderbilt a few weeks ago. Brain tumor removed. I was concerned then. The thought that skin cancer could become a brain tumor sounded bad. The surgery was initially a success. Then very suddenly, over the last three days, Nick's condition deteriorated, and he died this afternoon.
After Nick's initial surgery his doctors came out and said that they were hopeful that one day Nick could again play football. I was very excited to hear this news. Nick had taken over a starting role on the defensive line as a sophomore. Nick coming back to football would be great for MSU. I wouldn't hold it against any fan for thinking that way. In any other case, that may have been how I would have felt. But that is not why I was excited. In this instance, even though I had never met the kid, I was excited because he was going to have a second chance to fulfill what was surely his dream - to play football. The reason its exciting to think of a sophomore good enough to start on an SEC defensive line for the fans, is because it shows talent. From the prospective of the player chasing his dream, this is exciting because it shows him he has the potential to actually make his own dreams come true. So, in that sense, I was genuinely excited he may be able to resume his football career so that he could have another chance to accomplish his goals.
This was buoyed by seeing Nick on the side line during the UAB game. Nick stood on the sidelines talking to his teammates and rooting them on. He had on his jersey with a camouflage cap and pants. He looked every bit the physical specimen you would expect an SEC defensive end to be. The model of health there in good spirits. MSU won the game. The cowbells rang with impermissible abandon. It was all of the pageantry and fuss of homecoming. In short, knowing that was the last game Nick could spend with his teammates, and us, it was perfect.
That was 10 days ago.
Yesterday afternoon when the news came out that Nick had taken a turn for the worse and the team was going to go to Birmingham to see him, I hoped for the best, but figured the worst. Skin cancer is generally on the skin, not the brain. For it to have gotten there, it was likely other places. Indeed, that seems to be the case. Now he is gone, and I never got to meet him, but have been greatly affected by his passing.
First of all, the second chance he got that was then taken away from him. Nick from all accounts I have heard was a hard worker who did not get into trouble and had a team first, not me first, attitude. But his second chance was stripped from him. It made me immediately think of Chris Rainey. Chris Rainey threatened to kill his girlfriend and was suspended from the team at Florida. He has now been welcomed back to the team. Jeremiah Massoli got kicked off the team at Oregon for breaking a number of laws, now he is spending his final year of eligibility intended to be Ole Miss's savior this year. To be fair, it also made me think of Anthony Dixon who got hopped up on Andre and drove around in a parking lot right before his senior year. All those guys got second chances. But not Nick.
The song Mad World as performed by Adam Lambert on American Idol has been playing in my head. It kinda fits my mood today.
Mississippi State students got together at 7:36 tonight to celebrate Nick. Seven wins for number 36. In true MSU form, they rang their cowbells for him. His family at Mississippi State will not know the heartache of his football family. He had been with them for three years (he was a redshirt sophomore). Intense heat in camp and intense games on Saturdays no doubt contribute to an intense bond. But even more than that, Nick's mother, Linda Bell, has lost her light. So far down the list am I yet so intense my reflection, I cannot fathom what is going through her mind right now. I hope, at this point, she is just numb.
When you lead the life I have led you get the full range of perspectives. When you are a kid you see these men playing on Saturdays. They look like giants (some of them still do) and are awe inspiring. You get to high school college age, and you see them as peers more or less. Generally, you know somebody that is playing football for your high school or college. Then you get older, approaching the middle section of your life and they change again. Now they are definitely kids. They are kids that are full of talent and promise. They can still be heroes but we now live more vicariously through their actions.
Nick Bell was a kid with promise to me. He never got to fulfill that promise. He was taken so young and so quickly. Ten days ago though, he stood on that sideline with his teammates. He heard the crowd cheering his team on. He was not playing but he was part of the team. For that period he got again to taste a sliver of his dream. And I was part of helping him do that. I will be forever thankful to Nick to have been given that opportunity.
-J
Of course the way I got to know Nick Bell's name was because of his surgery at Vanderbilt a few weeks ago. Brain tumor removed. I was concerned then. The thought that skin cancer could become a brain tumor sounded bad. The surgery was initially a success. Then very suddenly, over the last three days, Nick's condition deteriorated, and he died this afternoon.
After Nick's initial surgery his doctors came out and said that they were hopeful that one day Nick could again play football. I was very excited to hear this news. Nick had taken over a starting role on the defensive line as a sophomore. Nick coming back to football would be great for MSU. I wouldn't hold it against any fan for thinking that way. In any other case, that may have been how I would have felt. But that is not why I was excited. In this instance, even though I had never met the kid, I was excited because he was going to have a second chance to fulfill what was surely his dream - to play football. The reason its exciting to think of a sophomore good enough to start on an SEC defensive line for the fans, is because it shows talent. From the prospective of the player chasing his dream, this is exciting because it shows him he has the potential to actually make his own dreams come true. So, in that sense, I was genuinely excited he may be able to resume his football career so that he could have another chance to accomplish his goals.
This was buoyed by seeing Nick on the side line during the UAB game. Nick stood on the sidelines talking to his teammates and rooting them on. He had on his jersey with a camouflage cap and pants. He looked every bit the physical specimen you would expect an SEC defensive end to be. The model of health there in good spirits. MSU won the game. The cowbells rang with impermissible abandon. It was all of the pageantry and fuss of homecoming. In short, knowing that was the last game Nick could spend with his teammates, and us, it was perfect.
That was 10 days ago.
Yesterday afternoon when the news came out that Nick had taken a turn for the worse and the team was going to go to Birmingham to see him, I hoped for the best, but figured the worst. Skin cancer is generally on the skin, not the brain. For it to have gotten there, it was likely other places. Indeed, that seems to be the case. Now he is gone, and I never got to meet him, but have been greatly affected by his passing.
First of all, the second chance he got that was then taken away from him. Nick from all accounts I have heard was a hard worker who did not get into trouble and had a team first, not me first, attitude. But his second chance was stripped from him. It made me immediately think of Chris Rainey. Chris Rainey threatened to kill his girlfriend and was suspended from the team at Florida. He has now been welcomed back to the team. Jeremiah Massoli got kicked off the team at Oregon for breaking a number of laws, now he is spending his final year of eligibility intended to be Ole Miss's savior this year. To be fair, it also made me think of Anthony Dixon who got hopped up on Andre and drove around in a parking lot right before his senior year. All those guys got second chances. But not Nick.
The song Mad World as performed by Adam Lambert on American Idol has been playing in my head. It kinda fits my mood today.
Mississippi State students got together at 7:36 tonight to celebrate Nick. Seven wins for number 36. In true MSU form, they rang their cowbells for him. His family at Mississippi State will not know the heartache of his football family. He had been with them for three years (he was a redshirt sophomore). Intense heat in camp and intense games on Saturdays no doubt contribute to an intense bond. But even more than that, Nick's mother, Linda Bell, has lost her light. So far down the list am I yet so intense my reflection, I cannot fathom what is going through her mind right now. I hope, at this point, she is just numb.
When you lead the life I have led you get the full range of perspectives. When you are a kid you see these men playing on Saturdays. They look like giants (some of them still do) and are awe inspiring. You get to high school college age, and you see them as peers more or less. Generally, you know somebody that is playing football for your high school or college. Then you get older, approaching the middle section of your life and they change again. Now they are definitely kids. They are kids that are full of talent and promise. They can still be heroes but we now live more vicariously through their actions.
Nick Bell was a kid with promise to me. He never got to fulfill that promise. He was taken so young and so quickly. Ten days ago though, he stood on that sideline with his teammates. He heard the crowd cheering his team on. He was not playing but he was part of the team. For that period he got again to taste a sliver of his dream. And I was part of helping him do that. I will be forever thankful to Nick to have been given that opportunity.
-J
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Crimes against humanity
By definition it's something so heinous, just doing it constitutes a crime against not only the direct victim, but also against humanity as a whole. In a way, it is worse than war crimes because at least war crimes denotes belligerent nations are involved. War crimes would be torturing POWs or firebombing a village. Crimes against humanity would be the way Nazis treated the Jews or 9/11. Crimes against humanity are generally recognized by most people as evil. Generally, I do not think the United States engages in such. Do we torture terrorists? Likely, even if we don't, we are at least complicit in letting our allies do it. Do we attack from afar with soul-less killing drones? Yep. But until this story, I did not think the United States should be prosecuted for these type tactics. I still do not think we should for the drones or for torturing terrorists. However, I believe if anyone is still around that was responsible for infecting Guatemalans with syphilis, I think they should go on trial for crimes against humanity. I find this story to be absolutely disturbing. I cannot believe our government did it. Even though it seems as if authorities in central America were ok with it, if not participatory, this should not go unpunished.
-J
-J
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Only in England
Anyone who has read through the genesis of this blog knows that it started out to record our time in England. Truthfully, it seems like those days were only a dream. I loved the time we spent there. In many ways their culture is just like ours. After all our nation was founded based on the promise of the Magna Carta recognizing that governmental legitimacy does not come from the top down but rises up from the people. And, they have buffalo wings! But some things are still very different. Take this story from the BBC.
The guy dies because drank a pint of vodka in four seconds and the coroner rules his cause of death is misadventure! When I think of misadventure the image that pops into my mind is actually English. It's of the Pythons in the Holy Grail prancing about the country side dressed as knights with men banging coconuts together. It's not a human being dying in a puddle of his own regurgitated blood after consuming too much alcohol in too short a time.
It kinda reminds me of a news story we heard one weekend while we were there (we only had TV when we were in hotels visiting other towns). Guns are basically outlawed over there so criminals have to be more industrious. A serial car jacker was operating on the motorways (our equivalent of interstates) using a large piece of lumber to threaten people to leave their cars. In the US, especially in the south, that would never have worked. He would have been shot long before he got away with a car.
So close yet so far away.
-J
The guy dies because drank a pint of vodka in four seconds and the coroner rules his cause of death is misadventure! When I think of misadventure the image that pops into my mind is actually English. It's of the Pythons in the Holy Grail prancing about the country side dressed as knights with men banging coconuts together. It's not a human being dying in a puddle of his own regurgitated blood after consuming too much alcohol in too short a time.
It kinda reminds me of a news story we heard one weekend while we were there (we only had TV when we were in hotels visiting other towns). Guns are basically outlawed over there so criminals have to be more industrious. A serial car jacker was operating on the motorways (our equivalent of interstates) using a large piece of lumber to threaten people to leave their cars. In the US, especially in the south, that would never have worked. He would have been shot long before he got away with a car.
So close yet so far away.
-J
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
I'm still here
I don't really have much to say, but I thought it was about time for another entry so enjoy some random thoughts.
The older I get, the more I have come to appreciate Supertramp and Steely Dan. It's Raining Again has become one of my favorite songs. I also downloaded a Robert Johnson Album off of itunes. It is easy to write him off as an early influence and not really listen to his music, but he was amazing. If he sold his soul to the devil to make that music, I still think he came out ahead.
Fall is probably my favorite time of the year. How do we know when its fall? The leaves change? No. The weather gets cooler? Have you been outside? Football season starts? No, but you are getting warmer. The answer is: Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks. Generally, I try to go to CUPS or Seattle Drip to support my local coffe house. But, I wait every year for fall to roll around so I can get this seasonal treat. It's like a McRib for people that can read, it only comes once in a while so enjoy it while you can. I have already had one. Just as good as I remember. It goes well with changing leaves, cool weather, and football.
Recently it has been announced that Anna Nicole Smith took about 1,500 pills per month. I know that is a lot but why? Not why did she take the pills, but why does anyone care? It would be one thing if it were a cautionary tale. If Lindsay Lohan would pay attention to the story of Robert Downey, Jr. maybe she will become a star again. But how could Anna Nicole's story apply to anyone. Will there ever be another white trash bleach blonde idiot that becomes famous for being in Playboy and looking (kinda) like Marylin Monroe who models Guess jeans, marries a hundred year old oil tycoon, has a baby with somebody (jury is still out on the dad) and overdoses? It's hard to figure on that repeating itself. So like a post I wrote a couple of years ago about Princess Diana, we should just leave Anna Nicole alone.
Thats all I've got.
-J
The older I get, the more I have come to appreciate Supertramp and Steely Dan. It's Raining Again has become one of my favorite songs. I also downloaded a Robert Johnson Album off of itunes. It is easy to write him off as an early influence and not really listen to his music, but he was amazing. If he sold his soul to the devil to make that music, I still think he came out ahead.
Fall is probably my favorite time of the year. How do we know when its fall? The leaves change? No. The weather gets cooler? Have you been outside? Football season starts? No, but you are getting warmer. The answer is: Pumpkin Spice Latte is back at Starbucks. Generally, I try to go to CUPS or Seattle Drip to support my local coffe house. But, I wait every year for fall to roll around so I can get this seasonal treat. It's like a McRib for people that can read, it only comes once in a while so enjoy it while you can. I have already had one. Just as good as I remember. It goes well with changing leaves, cool weather, and football.
Recently it has been announced that Anna Nicole Smith took about 1,500 pills per month. I know that is a lot but why? Not why did she take the pills, but why does anyone care? It would be one thing if it were a cautionary tale. If Lindsay Lohan would pay attention to the story of Robert Downey, Jr. maybe she will become a star again. But how could Anna Nicole's story apply to anyone. Will there ever be another white trash bleach blonde idiot that becomes famous for being in Playboy and looking (kinda) like Marylin Monroe who models Guess jeans, marries a hundred year old oil tycoon, has a baby with somebody (jury is still out on the dad) and overdoses? It's hard to figure on that repeating itself. So like a post I wrote a couple of years ago about Princess Diana, we should just leave Anna Nicole alone.
Thats all I've got.
-J
Monday, August 16, 2010
Mosque and State
There has been some recent news (actually for a while now) regarding the building of a mosque near Ground Zero. A very vocal group of people think the President should step in and do something to stop it. He has said he will not do so. In this case, I think he is right... for all the wrong reasons.
Don't get me wrong, the reasons he has espoused are correct. He first said it was New York's decision. This is true. Zoning is and always has been, with some exception, the right of a state passed down to municipalities. Of course, the other problem with the President intervening in this type of matter is that it would be a clear violation of the separation of church and state.
The problem is the President is only using the states' rights and church and state issue when it pleases him. To be fair, both parties do this fairly consistently. That is one of my biggest problems with both political parties. But did Obama care about states' rights when he forced a healthcare plan down our throats? Did he care about the separation of church and state when he had a Ramadan feast? No. He is duplicitous.
Should the people that bought the property be allowed to build whatever they want there? As long as it is not a violation the answer is clearly yes. New York has already approved the plan. After all, isn't what makes our country great that we allow people to worship as they please, where they please?
-J
Don't get me wrong, the reasons he has espoused are correct. He first said it was New York's decision. This is true. Zoning is and always has been, with some exception, the right of a state passed down to municipalities. Of course, the other problem with the President intervening in this type of matter is that it would be a clear violation of the separation of church and state.
The problem is the President is only using the states' rights and church and state issue when it pleases him. To be fair, both parties do this fairly consistently. That is one of my biggest problems with both political parties. But did Obama care about states' rights when he forced a healthcare plan down our throats? Did he care about the separation of church and state when he had a Ramadan feast? No. He is duplicitous.
Should the people that bought the property be allowed to build whatever they want there? As long as it is not a violation the answer is clearly yes. New York has already approved the plan. After all, isn't what makes our country great that we allow people to worship as they please, where they please?
-J
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