I have been blogging on and off here for over three years now. The hottest topic that leaps from my mind to these pages is that of college players getting paid. Title IX aside, I have stated and rehashed over again that college players should share in the bounty that the NCAA, along with its member schools. reap from the talents of college students. Many of these athletes would not even be at these institutes of higher learning if it were not for their athletic talents. Now comes an alternative to collegiate pimping. If a player lacks the ability to pass the SAT score required to play college ball, he can get a passport and get a cool half a million dollars playing Euro ball.

Egad!

I am not devaluing a college education, but lets get real. A college education is of value only to the person who actually values it. I totally value mine, primarily because through my college degree I have been able to make a decent living for myself and my family. However, to my sons, who are a part of this entitlement era, the degree means very little to them. (granted they are in their early teens) Rocking the latest pair of Vans, wearing cool clothes, having the most technologically advanced cell phone means more to my 14 year old son than a diploma of any kind at this point. As much as I try to harp on the value of education, he says, yeah whatever, and is texting his friends while dutifully listening to my lectures.

Because society has determined the value to be entertained is greater than the value of a doctor, or a teacher, many kids today are honing their singing, acting, rapping, dancing, hustling or athletic skills in the hopes of that one big pay day. And what if they fall short and have no back up plan? Please! Kids today all believe that they will do three things, 1) Be young forever, 2) Never get caught doing their dirt, 3) They will automatically succeed.

As a result, I propose that if a kid doesn’t want a college education, don’t make him or her go! Free that seat up for someone who really wants it. Personally, I’m beginning to grow weary of my tax dollars. which help fund the public universities, going on scholarships for athletes who will not stay past the first year, or get in trouble with the law, but are tolerated because they are athletes.

Judging from the possibilities Brandon Jennings is presently contemplating, it seems that an education is the last thing on his mind. And before people waive the flag of “cultural bias” regarding test scores, I can pretty well believe he was not particularly stellar in his regular school work. I’m not saying he should be a genius to go to college, but I have seen more smarter students told they can not even get a whiff of a four year college unless they sharpen up their skills in a JUCO. To be even more succinct, if Brandon Jennings does not want to go to school and wants to become a professional athlete, who are we to stop him?

Many people will say he is missing out on a college scholarship maybe worth $50K, depending on the school. But again, value is in the eye of the beholder. If his family is in a hardship, or even if he decided he just flat out didn’t want no part of colleges reaping benefits from his talents, why should we be mad at him? Why should he not get paid residuals from the jerseys the colleges sell? If he goes pro, at least he will get a benefit from his name on the back of the jersey, unlike college, who possess the elitist attitude that its all about the name on the front. While colleges have been enriched greatly by using the large pool of student athletic talent, the loyal college fans turn on the athlete for being greedy and selfish after he decides he wants out before his freshman season is completed, or even started. But who is really being greedy and selfish here? After the kid plays ball and his eligibility runs out, college fan will root on the next young player at good old Whatsamatter U. Do they care if the student, now former, athlete gets his degree? What if he is close to attaining his degree, will the school extend his scholarship so that he can graduate after his playing eligibility runs out? C’mon, how many people actually get their degree in 4 years? Add the pressure of the athlete missing valuable class time because he plays games on Big Monday and Super Wednesday nights on the road as late as 9pm local time, its pretty hard to complete a rigorous 4 year curriculum on time.

I believe that a young athlete should weigh all his options, and that to college or to sit should not be the only options. If he is good enough to make a Euro team, and the Euros will allow him to do a one year and done contract, more power to him. Its his life and his decision. The NBA and their secret partners in crime, the NCAA have profited on the backs of these athletes for far too long. I know my viewpoint is unpopular, but I believe that in America, a person has the right to use one's talents legally to try to attain a quality of life one desires. I also believe that one should have options. And finally, if a athlete doesn’t want to go to college, that person should move out of the way because there are some people who want the college experience, and the jock should not be taking a deserving seat away from one who does.

Finally, college fans should understand, the school exists for the enrichment and education of students, not particularly for the entertainment of fans.

Don Imus is protected by the first amendment in regard to freedom of speech. But as a radio personality, while he is supposed to uphold the public trust of decency to a degree,  it  seems that every time he insults black people, he gets a mini vacation , then a fat raise. I’m not going to waste too much time stating the obvious. Imus is a bigoted #### who should have been off the air long ago. He is of the ilk that i####uy is young, athletic and is in trouble with the law, he is black.

I don’t listen to Imus, and if people are really outraged, instead of screaming with Al Sharpton and making general noise, do what really hurts media talking heads who talk much gibberish and the execs who enable them.

Don’t listen

Boycott or just don’t use or employ his sponsors.

Imus is getting lots of buzz because people are talking about him. The old saying in PR is that good or bad publicity is better than no publicity, because if no one is talking about you, they don’t give a damn about you. I don’t give a damn about Don Imus. Its time for America to stop giving a damn about him also.

End of my comments regarding this irrelevant man.

Needless to say, Shaq’s little rap tells us a lot more about the Big Hater than we already knew. Yes he said it was all in jest. However, Shaq is also the Big Sensitive, and I guarantee you if someone trashed Shaq the way Shaq trashed Kobe, Shaq would be running towards the nearest microphone, mumbling his displeasure to all who would be his audience.

Have you all noticed how crisp, clear and LOUD Shaq was during his freestyle rap, but when you ask him a question, he mumbles and is barely audible?

Many people want to make this a small issue. Reality check; it isn’t. When people go through very contentious breakups, we as the consuming public, enjoy every diss we can hear or see. When Charlie Sheen disses Denise Richards and vice versa, TMZ makes a killing because the public loves a good war of words.

However, there comes a time in one’s life when people have to get their grown man/woman on. When we were young, farts were funny, along with April Fools gags, phone prank calls that DJ’s do, and telling mama jokes. They were funny, made us look cool in front of others, and made that bad keg beer taste a little better as we drifted towards our party buzz.

However, as we get more grown, we realize that farts are not funny, but stinks; April Fools gags are silly, prank calls are obnoxious (as most radio shock jocks over the age of 35 don’t do phone gags anymore) and yo mama jokes don’t tickle the rib cage like they used to. We also move from keg beer to Corona.

Dissing is what rappers do to enhance their standing at the expense of everyone else. In their world, the more beefs you have with competitors, the more CD’s you sell. Guys like 50 Cent are specialists at this craft. They make tons of money demeaning their competitors. But one day, the thought of being grown sets in. It is little coincidence that you don’t see many rappers over 35, except Snoop Dogg, and Jay Z. Most rappers who cross the big 30 begin to diversify. They know that a rappers shelf life is short, and there is a new hungry, younger, more street credible rapper on the rise. Rap and dissing is a young man’s game. Grown men are not grabbing microphones and freestyling insults at people. Shaq is 36 years old. He needs to start acting like it.

We all know that he was probably rooting like hell for the Celtics to win, so that his precious legacy of having one more ring than Kobe remains in tact. I think that case of Cristal has just arrived at the new Boston Garden, with those shiny Rolexes for the victorious big three, courtesy of the Big Grateful.

Shaq is obviously still bitter regarding his perception that Kobe ran him out of La La land. I also think that deep down, he thinks that the outcome of the finals would have been different if he were the center of the Lakers, with Kobe as his guard. Shaq is a first ballot Hall of Famer, 4 time world champ and one of the most dominating players who ever played the position. Why even go freestyle and diss Kobe?

The Big Insecure needs to understand that his legacy is in tact, but sophomoric acts like this are making him look like a vindictive, bitter man who is gulping hater aid like vitamin water. He actually has elevated Kobe to a more positive status, as Shaq’s timing could not be more au####ious. The rap clip hits the internet around the same time as Kobe is on the verge of completing his transformation from villain to hero after being named to one of the most athletic US Olympic teams in recent memory.

Shaq, life is too short to hold grudges, and you are much too old to play from the diss mix tape hand book. Time for Shaq to act his age and not his shoe size.

As I was making my commute home, I heard lots of talk about Tiger Woods possibly faking his knee injury, or that he was not that seriously hurt. Today, we find out that he was hurt enough to require surgery to repair his ACL, and that he had a fracture in his leg. So basically, Tiger was hurt in the parts of the body that is integral to his game, and wins. However, the haters still find flaws in his greatness and accomplishments.

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant, arguably the best player in basketball right now, is forever being haunted by the whispers of, he still isn’t Michael. I heard all the bitter fandom scream that Kobe’s failure to win the NBA Championship in the past two finals he participated in, hurts his legacy and makes him no longer the heir apparent to His Airness.

Lets me clear, Kobe Bryant is not, nor never will be MJ. So can we give him a break and let him be the best Kobe that he will ever be?

We are the generation that is spoiled by the superlative. We see one performance and compare the next guy to the last great guy. I’m old enough to know that for the first seven years of MJ’s career, we heard the whispers that he was not Magic. MJ failed in many playoff appearances, and for years he fell short against the Pistons in his climb towards greatness. However, when the breakthrough came, we witnessed a supernova that we may not see the likeness of again. However, we fans are consumed with the hunger for more. We want that great athlete to captivate us, to amaze us, to just win and have us exhale after another awesome feat of athletic brilliance. We have that athlete in our midst. Instead of placing that pressure on Kobe, lets place that crown on whom it truly belongs;

Tiger Woods.

Tiger is on a serious march to become one of the all time greatest golfers. Will he be the greatest? That’s for people to debate after Tiger puts the clubs away for good. But we should stop hating and appreciate the greatness that is Tiger. But many wont because the green eye of jealousy will be all over fandom. Anyone who insists that a player is faking pain has never really played the game at the level that professional athletes play. Many athletes perform at a high peak through pain, and illness. You may say he is paid to do that. We also get paid to do our jobs, but many of us are quicker to call out of work and stay home because of a headache faster than the athletes we criticize for not playing through the pain.

As many of you cheer Kobe’s failure, lets remember he averaged 26 points per game for a losing team, whereas the finals MVP averaged 22 points a game. Lets also remember that against a superior defensive team, Kobe was the only option and was still able to do what he teammates could not do; score.

As for me, I treasure the honor to be alive long enough to see Arnold, Jack and Tiger, while enjoying Michael and Kobe. I apologize for Tiger and Kobe if being the best their generation has to offer falls short for you.

T’was the day before the Lakers may put up one heroic stand against the Celtic green. However, it is inevitable that either Sunday at Staples or Tuesday at the new Boston Garden, the Celtics will be handed the NBA trophy. As a Piston fan, while I am disappointed my team is not in the hunt, I snicker and laugh at my co-workers and friends. I live in Phoenix, and all I hear about is Western Conference dominance. But with the Celtics impending coronation, I say..hardy hardy har har!

Now let me also say that for years the Western Conference has been and is still today, weak and soft. Of course Laker fan will object, although right now they should not be saying anything at the moment. San Antonio fan will take up the banner as they are basically the closest thing to an NBA dynasty since the Jordanaires. So now that I have mentioned it, lets look at some facts.

Since the Bulls dynasty ended after the 1997-98 season, The Spurs won 4 titles (99, 03, 05, 07) The Lakers won their 3 peat from 2000, 01 and 02. Seven championships for the Western Conference teams. Now you say, what are you smoking?

Patience my friends. I’m getting there.

The Lakes won because frankly they had the irresistible force (Kobe) and the immovable object (Shaq) on the same team. But the Spurs were actually an Eastern Conference team playing in the west. Please tell me that San Antonio is not a physical team. Manu hits as much as he flops. Bruce Bowen has an appropriate last name as he is known to throw them bows, and Robert Horry’s game is well documented. The Spurs are also known as a defensive team, something western teams are not.

When the Lakers lost to the Pistons in 2004, they were beat physically and mentally. Dallas blew up after the Heat beat them up physically and mentally. In fact, so mentally beaten were the Mavericks, they  haven’t been right since that series. Now the Lakers are getting the beat down by a more physical Boston team. Pau Gasol has reverted to the stereotype of the soft European player. Lamar Odom is now showing why Miami traded him, and Sasha Vujacic got used by an old Ray Allen. The defining moment came when Ray Allen motioned for KG to clear the lane saying "I got this." He promptly reprised his rmovie role of Jesus Shuttlesworth in He Got Game, and left Sasha grasping for air as Ray made the lay up. The only thing that was missing is that in the movie Ray dunked it.

People hate the rough play, the tough bump and grind, the 88-86 basketball games. Sun fans tell me how much they love the run and gun. While they will wistfully morn the potential loss of speed the Suns may experience, and while the Lakers wonder if Kobe will revert to the me, me, me guy he was painted as being, the Celtics will have scrapped and fought their way to their 17th world championship. At the same time, the balance of power may be shifting towards the east. Actually, the power has always been in the east, because the west teams other than San Antonio, cant take a punch.

As Kanye West says: "Bow in the presence of greatness."

This past week, the Arizona State baseball team was upset at home in the NCAA Super Regional by Fresno State. This came after a “staged” fight between two Arizona State teammates took place. To the naked eye, whether it was staged or not, this was amazing to me. Even more amazing was that the head coach, Pat Murphy, actually condoned this "ritual".

In doing research for this essay, I see that this event was either; panned by the ink stained wretches, ignored by the talking heads in general, or looked at as a "boys will be boys" episode. Before I get poison pen posts reflecting the opinion of; "this was only college baseball" and "who cares", let me say that while college baseball may not be the apple of your eye, a fight between two teammates of a division I baseball powerhouse is a news event, and should have been treated as such.

Back to my original point, with all the pressure placed on professional athletes to be "role models" and to "act supposedly better than Joe Six pack because Biff is a pro sports player", how are these young men supposed to learn composure and good citizenship if they are being encouraged to put on a display of their testosterone charged emotions, albeit staged?

One writer from walkersportsblog.com gave a take that I totally concur with:

Lets also add that if the players didn’t know the fight was staged, what about the fans in the stands? What about the parents of the two boys that are fighting? If they are in the stands together, lets just say the potential fight the family members may participate in will not be scripted. What about the message we are sending not only to our youth, but to other athletes in team sports? If Ohio State had a team skirmish before their National Championship games, would they be reaping the spoils of victory today?

However, in pretty much a succinct view of blog nation, and for the most part, sporting America, was the following response: :"relax man. its not that big of a deal." Meanwhile, throughout same blog nation, as well as through  both terrestrial and satellite talk fandom, we are hearing outcries against athletes behaving badly. The protests against thug culture in sports and the proliferation of “tats” on many players are loud, proud and strong. Seventy-five percent of talk radio content is more about the thug culture and the players attitudes than talking about the actual athletic competition. Even Jayson Whitlock in his majesty says that we wont watch games because our high definition televisions are able to allow us to see the ink more clearly, and we are turned off by it. (sorry Jay, you are so out of touch, but this topic is not about you.)

People, wake up!!!! The day we stop ENABLING people to act like the Arizona State baseball team did, will be the day that the thug life, gangsta athlete, spoiled rotten player will begin to modify itself into at least a package that is more digestible. As long as we give athletes, and also entertainers, more prestige than the doctor who can cure AIDS, the players and performers will always enjoy privilege and will behave like their boo boo don’t stink. I can live with that, because one day athletes skills fade and so does the throngs of the adoring public. I bet Michael Jordan or Madonna doesn’t have to sneak into the 7-11 store as they did 10 years ago. Arrogance by some is noticed only when masses of people give a damn.

Terry Porter is the new head coach of the Suns. He is in a no win situation unless he wins at least 2 playoff series. The Suns, post Colangelo, are on a course to make fans wax nostalgic of the golden days of D’Antoni, the Matrix and the run and gun 130 point games.

I am not saying that Terry Porter is a bad hire, but the problem was not the coaching. The problem was that the Suns could not play defense, and were unable to mesh the run and gun style with a slow Shaquille O’Neal. New problems arise as the Suns will have to adapt to a style of a man who as a head coach has never taken a team as deep into the post season as the players on the present Suns roster have been. This is similar to the situation Flip Saunders had in Detroit, when he walked into a Detroit locker room as the head coach of a team that had accomplished more in 2 years than Flip had his entire career. We now see how that worked out, as Flip is out in Detroit.

I am not going to say who should have replaced D’Antoni because D’Antoni should never had been allowed to leave. Steve Kerr has begun to stamp this team with his handiwork. In less than a year of taking over, he will have replaced his head coach, traded a young athletic player for an aging superstar, and has also changed the personality of this Sun’s team. I believe Terry Porter is in a no win situation. The Suns should have been to the finals by now, and D’Antoni should have had the chance to make one final attempt, while having Shaq for an entire pre-season and a full regular season to blend him into the system. Now D’Antoni will collect fat paychecks while having a mulligan year this year. The Knicks will be ok, as they will probably outbid everyone for LeBron James when he leaves Cleveland after next season. The Suns failures will be spun towards Terry Porter.

Coach Porter, I’m not going to be gunning for you if you fail. However, I will be on Steve Kerr like white on rice. Stevie has been given a pass, when it was he who disrupted chemistry by trading for Shaq. It seems now that while the Suns may have lost to the Spurs, I’m sure they would have won more than one damn game with Shaun Marion still on the roster. Steve Kerr, I advise you to draft well and make sure that Coach Porter does well in the playoffs, because there are two things that I am sure about my life at this moment:

1) I’m too old to buy green bananas, 2) Another first round exit from the Suns is totally unacceptable.

For some Bonus Coverage: I am upset with Sun fan in Phoenix. I hear them whine and moan and complain about everything, from the refs, to the trade, to the media bias against the Suns, to why the team wears Orange when the primary color is purple. Sun fans for years have begged for a big man. Mind you that the Bulls, Pistons, and to an extent, the Spurs, did not win with a dominant center. (Duncan is more of a forward, than a center). Now that the Suns have a big man, the howling has gotten louder. Its kind of like when you want mom to buy some Gatorade, and she comes back with some store generic brand liquid replacement beverage. The fans, along with some ink stained wretches and talking heads, ran D’Antoni out of Phoenix, with the approving nod of Steve Kerr. I am not an advocate of folks losing their jobs, but if you scream for a coach’s head, you had better be ready to present a replacement. So after allowing D’Antoni to leave, the savior is now Terry Porter?

After firing the winningest coach in Suns history, Flip Saunders would have been a better hire, at least he won the same amount of games as D’Antoni in the same time frame. I think that Suns signed Porter on the cheap. He will make in 3 years what D’Antoni will make in one with the Knicks. Suns fans, there is a saying, be careful what you ask for. I hope you enjoy that big man you got along with the 2nd coming of Phil Jackson in Coach Porter.

Steve Kerr, you better have a plan, because trust me, I have one. If the Suns fall short in the playoffs, I will light you up on these blogs faster than Snoop Dogg can smoke a dub!

Before ESPN and personality driven sports television, there was Jim McKay. My memories of Mr. McKay were of the many Olympic broadcasts that he hosted. He was actual and factual, making the smooth transitions from Olympic boxing to Olympic archery with a style that made each sporting event equally as important. You young schoolers don’t know about that, and you may not know Mr. McKay. What you do know is you have heard the phrase, "The thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat. The human drama of athletic competition." Jim McKay’s voice brought those phrases to life.

Many old schoolers , such as myself, throw salt and hate on the new school sports announcers for their narcissism. The talking heads actually believe we watch the sports casts to see what cool nickname or new catch phrase he can come up with now. Jim McKay was a reporter, flat out. His defining moment was during the tragedy of the 1972 Munich Olympics, as he deftly, but humanely guided us through the horror story of the grandfather of terrorism acts, the kidnapping and murder of the members of the Israeli Olympic team. When they were killed, Mr. McKay in a somber voice said, "they’re all gone." No invention or sensationalism, just the plain cold cruel truth.

Jim McKay set a standard that will never be matched, because he was part of an old breed. It was the event that people wanted to see, not the host. He was never the story, but the story teller. Its so ironic that today’s sports broadcasts are patterned not after the smooth McKay, but the bombastic Howard Cosell, who was also plying his trade at the same time. The reason is simple, while Mr. McKay wanted to tell the story, the public was hypnotized by the one who wanted to be bigger than the story.

In a world driven by numbers, ratings and dollars, Jim McKay’s day is over. We will not see sports journalists like him, lest they be relegated to the smaller, yet more sophisticated audiences of PBS for substandard salaries, or they are like journalists like Frank DeFord who do PBS while keeping their primary network gigs.

I had to take a moment out of my day to remember the original Olympic host, and the heart and soul of ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Rest in Peace Mr. McKay. As I look upon the sports landscape and see the characters which make up sports broadcasting today, all I can think of are Mr. McKay’s words when I ask where are the true sports journalists.

They’re all gone.

Please be advised, barring new and totally relevant evidence, this will be my last post and comments on Spy Gate.

Last week, I asked a simple question.

What should the commissioner have done in the best interest of the game?

Thank you to all those who provided me with comments. While I found the comments diverse, and entertaining, No one really had a solution. There was a lot of blame thrown on the media and their tepid reporting regarding the incident. Many indictments of Commissioner Goddell were brought forth, especially in regard to his disposal of the tapes. (I agree that was not too bright) I actually believed that Goddell out-thought himself, because he must have believed the media was going to try to get a court order to get the tapes, such as when the media uses the freedom of information act. (I’m no lawyer, but seeing that the NFL is a private entity, I don’t think they would have been made to hand over the tapes.)

Many believed that Arlen Specter should be paying more attention to our economic-war problem than worrying about teams (basically his Eagles) that got jobbed. While others critiqued the Coaches, the teams and the league, no one really gave up solutions, except for a few. So after further review, here are my takes. .

Of course this is if the league finds new and relevant evidence. But I believe this is what should have happened from jump street.

1) The Patriots should have been fined the winning purse of the Super Bowl game if there was taping leading up to the championship game or playoffs.

2) A home game in the following regular season should have been taken from the Patriots, but the game would not be at a neutral site.

My solutions are very economically oriented because it affects them where it hurts the most, the bank account. Placing asterisks on records are a waste of a character. What joy would any  fan take in celebrating a championship that was given to them via disqualification instead of being earned? And how can you look in the history books and say that during a certain season the world champion was "vacant." We can’t turn back the hands of time, but what we can do is make the punishment so painful that they won’t try to do it again.

The one thing I agree with is that this topic is old and that  people like me won’t let it go away. People like me until now.

I have now said my peace.

I have watched and read and heard story after story about Spygate and the way Commissioner Goddell has handled this situation. The NFL wishes dearly that this story would go away. The NFL should be reminded that all wishes don’t come true, as there are people in hell wishing for a refreshing cold drink.

As an aside, I wish that the talking media heads, along with their partners the ink stained wretches, would stop adding the word "gate" after every scandal that comes up. For the young people who read these blogs; the "gate" is in reference to the Watergate Building Complex in Washington DC, where in 1972, men broke into the Democratic National Committee’s office to gather information in order to secure a successful re-election for President Nixon. This scandal, named after said building, led to the birth of the tabloid type press we have today, as the tenacious reporting of the scandal inevitably forced the resignation of President Nixon. So if you didn’t know, now you know.

Back to the lecture at hand; after all this scrutiny, opining and down right mean criticism, I have not heard from anyone a reasonable solution to this problem or basically what the Commissioner should have done "in the best interest of the game".

Patriot Fan I’m sure has a much different solution than say Jet Fan or Steeler Fan or even Ram Fan. However, as I desire the tone of my posts to be of intelligent, rational and practical discourse, I want to know what you all think should be the solution to this problem. This solution should be one of practicality and what makes sense for EVERYONE involved. So lets not make it partisan. Lets see if your solution is much better than the plan of action Commissioner Goddell has taken.

To be honest, I have not come up with a solution myself. However, I would very much like to see what should be the most logical way to make this huge elephant in the room at least have a dark place to sit as a new NFL season is fast approaching.

What do you think?

Its time for the politically correct gloves to come off today. I’m calling out Danica Patrick. Today, she did not finish the Indy 500, as she was clipped in pit row by Ryan Briscoe. I totally understand her frustration and disappointment. Prior to the crash she was also angry as she was overheard on the radio screaming at her pit crew about how slow her car seemed to be. As her racing day came to an end, Danica did what many people who are full of road rage want to do, go looking for the person who caused the collision with a heart full of bad intentions.

I do not condone violence, but I also understand that if you are going to start something, there is going to be something, and you should not let your mouth write a check that your behind cant cash. So here is Madame Patrick, full of #### and vinegar, ready to either tell off or try to beat down Ryan Briscoe. Unless Danica has a black belt in mixed martial arts, or had a two by four in her hands, there is a distinct possibility that she could be physically overmatched by Mr. Briscoe. In any event, if the confrontation were to take place, the loser would be Mr. Briscoe either way; because if she confronts him, she will at least verbally assault him, or at worst, try to hit him. If Mr. Briscoe is also full of rage and treats Danica Patrick as a true equal, he could forget that she is not a man, and possibly introduce her pretty face to his fist. That would be career suicide for Mr. Briscoe.

Regardless of gender, good judgment should always be exhibited by humans. Unfortunately, this is not the case. While Ms. Patrick craves and expects equal treatment, if she were to get an equal opportunity butt kicking as a result of a fight that she instigated, the world would be defending her and blaming the male for not using good judgment and showing restraint.

It is deplorable when a man strikes a woman, and that should never, ever happen. No excuses, period. However, women need to stop using built in advantages if they wish to tread into avenues where they may not be able to survive. Just because Danica Patrick is a woman does not give her the license to berate people, and pick fights. She is not the invisible girl from the Fantastic Four, equipped with a force field to protect her from a return punch. Just as Ryan Briscoe would have had to control his urge to treat her like a man and start scrapping. Even men with raging testosterone, in most cases, utilize some common sense when they see the other guy is a lot bigger and stronger, and possibly more dangerous then they are; unless they have an equalizer in their possession such as a weapon.

While I totally empathize with Ms. Patrick's position, allow me to quote from the uber male movie, The Godfather Part II. An ailing Hyman Roth reminded Michael Corelone of the hazards of their occupations when he said; " This is the business we’re in". Crashes are part of the sport. If a driver is driving in an unsafe manner, let the race officials deal with it. If she cannot accept the fact that she will be part of a crash, both as the cause and as the victim, then maybe she needs to think about her future as a competitive race car driver.

Commissioner Goddell has made headlines with his tougher personal conduct policy, which goes after teams acting as enablers for their bad boy players. While fans and media both celebrate what is perceived as another step in erasing the thug culture in the NFL, a news item slipped right under the radar. I believe this statement should have been just as newsworthy. The Associated Press reports that Commissioner Goddell will work with the teams in an effort to curb rowdy fan behavior.

A pause as I jump for Joy!

I have attended many a professional football game both in my hometown of Detroit, and my present home in Arizona. Every week you can count on fights, drunken and disorderly fans disrupting the game, people screaming profanities in front of kids who are trying to enjoy the game, and from what I learned, in a few select cities, we have witnessed young ladies removing their tops and making their impromptu audition for the next Girls Gone Wild video.

Many fans spend hours at the water cooler, on talk radio, and listening to the righteous media talking heads all chronicle the exploits of Chris Henry, Pacman Jones, and on and on. I was at a football game a few years ago when Leonard Little was playing in a game, where a fan started screaming at him for his well chronicled DWI and subsequent manslaughter conviction. The screaming fan was totally wasted. I’m pretty sure Mr. Stupid drove home drunk , but because he is Joe Fan, in his mind, he is such a better person than Leonard Little. (For the record, I am NOT excusing Leonard Little, and it is my view that anyone driving under the influence is just as low, regardless if that person kills someone or not.)

Lots of football fans drive home intoxicated. They start drinking as early as 10am and don’t complete their drinking until well after the game is over. Even if teams cut off beer sales by the end of the 3rd quarter, the drinker is more than hammered as he has been ingesting a steady diet of alcohol for over 5 hours by this point in time.

Fan behavior is out of control because people believe when they purchase an expensive ticket, they can act any way they want. Who cares if their behavior is offensive, obnoxious, and possibly even dangerous to themselves or others? They play big money for the ticket; as a result they have certain inalienable rights to act a fool as they damn well please. These will be the same people that will criticize Vince Young as photos of the quarterback, shirtless with a cold one in his hand, are appearing on the internet . Vince Young is having a good time just like football fan is. He was at a party during the off season, not on company time, and enjoying life. Surely you don’t think that he should be studying football 24-7? Let me see the hands of those who work 24-7, Saturday through Sunday-Monday. I didn’t really think I’d find any.

It is very disingenuous and hypocritical for fans to always bag on athletes for enjoying their hard earned spoils. (Side note; NFL players are paid due to market value. They also pay with their bodies in ways we can’t imagine. Just watch the Hall of Fame Ceremonies and see some of the HOF’s try to walk around or do something simple like lift their grand children.) Fans always want to believe that players should be like those on the Madden Video Game. They don’t smoke, drink, or even talk, and if they are not injured they always play, make plays, and are all perfect citizens.

No one is perfect. No player nor fan is without sin. One can read some of the messages on the blogs to know that fans do behave badly. If an NFL player was quoted as saying some of the things I have read on these blogs, they would be skewered and severed from the league. Players have a responsibility to their employer to honor their agreements and to follow the code of conduct, and obey the law. Most importantly, players and fans alike, have a moral responsibility to themselves. I do agree that athletes have been enabled for far too long. But at the same time, we cannot criticize with gusto the inappropriate, boorish, bad behavior of athletes, while fans by the hundreds are being arrested at football games weekly for exhibiting the same thug traits as the players we berate.

As a final thought, we all know this is really about players envy. Deep down inside, we all look at these gifted athletes acting wild and we are mad. We all believe that if we were in the same position as the players, we would honor the true letter of our contracts, do exactly as we are told, not go to strip clubs; nor would we be chasing every skirt that allows us to catch ‘em. Truth be told, many fans are hatin’ because they wish they could do what these athletes do. The difference is that fans are getting intoxicated by drinking Schlitz while angry at the players’ cash flow and entitlements. The Players are getting intoxicated by drinking Cristal, and are mad because angry drunk fan will approach them at a bar, pick a fight, and in a split second the player must decide if he should defend himself like we all would; or will he throw the punch that will land him in trouble with the league and will get the so called victim 15 minutes of fame and a check after the lawsuit.

Let the hating begin.

Normally I try to post only twice a week. I do have a family and I feel its in the public good to be in my son’s faces more than trying to perform parenting from the keypad. However, after I learned Coach Bob Knight is going to be working at ESPN, I almost lost my lunch all over my freshly pressed shirt.

The same Coach Knight who was livid at the same ESPN for airing of “A Season on the Brink”. The same man whose distaste for media types is legendary. I can see how Coach Knight will just intimidate the College Gamenight panelists, just as he did as an active coach. I would not be surprised if the show was renamed Game Knight.

I’m not against a man earning a living, and who am I to tell Coach Knight how to handle things.While he is a complex man with serious anger and control issues, he has the most wins of any coach in men’s college basketball history. His success rate with young men is well documented and as a result, I will always refer to him as Coach Knight, because he has earned it, and not because he demanded I do so.

However, it makes me laugh because so many people who swear they hate the media, become part of what they loathe. Sterling Sharpe had a policy of not talking to the media. Now, he is an integral part of it. Keyshawn Johnson treated the media as tools, now he has become the media’s tool. Coach Bill Parcells would get his jollies by toying with the media in press conferences, but then jumped at numerous opportunities to cash network checks for his television work.

Many people hate on Coach Knight and others of his ilk, particularily the ink stained wretches and media talking heads. While they say there is no place for people who do what Coach Knight does on a regular basis, they are happy to take that same personality and use it to make ratings points , which translates into big money. In my eyes, is that not silently rewarding boorish behavior?

I’m not sure if Coach Dean Smith was offered an analyst’s job upon his retirement. However, for the gentleman that Coach Smith is, he would not be considered by America as “must see TV“. Compelling TV is watching aggressive behavior types like Coach John Thompson, Coach Knight, Coach Parcells, or maybe even he of the pronounced chin and saliva shower, Coach Bill Cowher.

Again, I am not here to dog out any of the aforementioned coaches for their decisions. However, I do find it ironic that at the end of the day, the rough, tough sports icons, always find their way to the kinder, gentler television sound sets.

I just want to know if ESPN is ready for Coach Knight’s “Rush Limbaugh” moment. It will happen, its just a matter of when? Why do I think this? Because Coach Knight has always done everything his way, and was allowed to do it. This episode will be no exception. The only difference is that TV’s leash is shorter than a College President’s.

In the meantime, Ill have a cola with chips and salsa while I wait for the meltdown.

Its the Sun-Shaq Redemption, or at least the beginning of it in Phoenix. During my decade of being a resident of Phoenix, I have heard the same old song; “If we only had a big man” . No doubt Sun Fan is still upset after losing the coin flip which allowed the Milwaukee Bucks to get Lew Alcindor, while the Suns had to settle for Neal Walk.

Who?

Fast forward to the present. The Suns, after 40 years in the NBA, finally get the center they all dreamed about. Well ok, he is a little long in the tooth, and his best days are behind him, but Sun Fan got what he asked for. A Big Man. And Sun Fan is still complaining.

Sun Fans are now at the point where they are not requesting; they are demanding a trip to the Finals. They are not accepting anything less. Privately, so is Suns management. If you look at the Suns starting five, including the Big Cactus ( a new moniker for the Big Man), all of them, except Amare Stoudamire, are on the wrong side of 30. To compound this situation, Shaq has said “he just wants to fit in”. He fits just like Charles Barkley fits those cute little shorts he used to wear in Philadelphia.

For the Suns to have any type of success, coach Mike D’antoni needs to dust off those old Laker Showtime tapes and watch as Magic Johnson lead the break with James Worthy and Kurt Rambis (or Michael Cooper when he came off the bench) on the wings with Byron Scott on his flank. If Magic could not make that break happen, he pulled it out and let Kareem just stroll to his spot to unleash the devastating Sky Hook. FYI, Kareem won titles at the ages of 33, 35, 38 ( Finals MVP), 40, and 41.

Before Kareem, the Lakers were able to coax a championship out of a 36 year old center named Wilt Chamberlain. ( FYI, although his personal stats in that championship year were all time career lows, he was named the Finals MVP). Its possible the Suns can make history, only if they repeat history. Both aging centers sacrificed their own personal scoring records and touches in order to help their teams by playing defense and getting rebounds. These two Hall of Famers went from glory boys to grunts in order to squeeze a final championship out of their waning careers. And won Finals MVP awards in the process.

If the Suns are smart, and if Shaq is smarter, he will learn the lessons of his two iconic predecessors, and the Suns will not abandon that track meet style that has gotten them close to the promised land. If not, Sun fan will continue to whine about the Suns record of always getting players when their careers are very distant in the rear view mirror. And Shaq will have to answer questions about his failure to deliver a championship, while Kobe not only is on the verge of getting one without Shaq, but could possibly challenge Jordan’s number of titles won.

That would definitely cause Shaq to suffer the Big Headache.

I have been quietly reading blogs and listening to talking head people complain about the NBA All Star Weekend. I read “Straight talk from the Left Coast” and made a comment about the consistent criticism of the NBA All Star game. I wrote a respectful rebuttal, but as FOX space for responses are limited, please allow me to give the complete response right here, right now.

Let me get this straight; you all hate the Slam Dunk Contest, (which this year’s event was one of the best ever), you hate the legends 3 on 3 game, you detest the skills competition, and most of all, you cannot stand the devoid of defense game itself.

I have two words for you: Don’t Watch!

The young studs of the league brought some much needed flava to the Slam Dunk Show. On "You Tube", the number of times people watching Dwight Howard’s Superman Dunk are rising as we speak. The energy level was awesome. The legends 3 on 3 I take or leave. However, I think the skills competition is a great way of showing young players that no matter how good they think they are, mastery of fundamental basketball skills are the key to success. And I love the 3 point shoot out. In fact, that’s a great way of showing bitter b-ball fan that there are some very good shooters in the league. Young folks may even take notes after the contest to work on their shooting, cause every team’s base offense is the pick and roll to compensate for weak shooting.

Finally, the game is what it is; an exhibition. It is a showcase for the stars to do what they do. Its so funny that people love the Phoenix Suns style (or with this year, former) style of play, but when the Suns style is done for an entire game by both All Star teams, some people are sipping on some draft Hater-Aid.

I do respect the viewpoint of the detractors, but the reality is that while you wont pay to see the weekend activities, many do. The game will be in Phoenix next year and I will be there. And many other people will be there as well. And many will tune in and watch all the festivities on their new HDTV’s. And you know what else? You and the haters will also watch. No matter what the NBA does, they will never make its critics happy. So they have taken the next best course; they play to its niche audience, market its young talent, allow the stars freedom to be stars, and move on without the haters.

Last thought, would you really enjoy an all star basketball game that was played like a Detroit Piston, San Antonio Spur game? I don’t think so.