In this edition of my Sunday Socal Rants, I want to discuss the hosing of OJ Simpson. Sure he may be guilty of murder, but that doesn't mean he is guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping. OJ was tried, found guilty, and now will go to prison solely because of what he may or may not have done 13 years ago. I am not saying he is innocent of murder, but I do think you should go to jail for the crimes for which you are tried. In this case, OJ is going to jail for a crime in which he was acquitted. In this trial, the judge, the prosecuting attorney, and the jurors all have made a mockery of our judicial system.
How long before Marvin Lewis is fired? I think he is out before Halloween. When the Bengals lose to Dallas today, the Jets next week, then have to face the Steelers, Texans, and Jaguars, the Orange and Black will have a new head coach going into All Hallows Eve. Add to that list, the injuries to Carson Palmer, the signing of Cedric the Incarcerated Benson to the roster, activating Chris Henry, and the antics of Ocho Cinco, Marvin Lewis never had a chance. Cincinnati will be lucky to win 3 games this year. The only thing uglier than those costumes the Bengals call uniforms will be losing 9 straight games and blaming racism on the firing of Marvin.
Speaking of Halloween, is anyone else ready for Al Davis to take off the mask he wears of being an NFL owner? Really, he should stop pretending to be an owner, and put on the hat of being a coach. He wants to call the plays, he wants to draft the players, and he wants to run the team so why not be the coach. Who else will take this team? Davis has single handedly destroyed this once proud franchise. If an owner could be fired, this is the one that needs to go.
It’s just one man’s opinion, but to me Beckham has been a horrendous bust. He is signed for 250 million in some convoluted contract, hardly plays in any games, and his team has a losing record while he is out for the season. Now he wants to go home and play for England during the off season.
So he isn’t healthy enough to play for the Galaxy, but he expects to recover in time to play for England. Sounds a bit fishy to me that his knee won’t need any rehab time before suiting it up for cheery old England, but in LA he can’t play more than a few minutes without needing to get out of the game. Beckham says he wants to win 100 Euro caps, not even sure what that is, and he needs three more. Certainly he must have thought about that prior to signing with the Galaxy.
With the record contract he signed he should stay in LA and do promotional work for the team. He should rehab that knee and make sure he is in perfect health to play for the MLS for next season. If he leaves and gets injured again, then exactly how is he helping MLS? Just my humble opinion, but Beckham is a bust. Of course it’s not like soccer is all that in America, so maybe he should return to Europe where he is truly appreciated. Here David Beckham and Posh are nothing more than Hollywood socialites.
With the suspension of Wade Wilson for taking HGH, I got to wondering who was next on Roger Goodell'#### list: Just a few of my suggestions to the new commish.
Mike Ditka: You heard me right. Superbowl winning coach Mike Ditka should be banned for life for taking and becoming the pitchman for Levitra the rival of Viagra. Certainly Mike of the Bears fame was taking this little PE to help him perform. No wonder he was called "Big Iron Mike." He can Kick and Scream all he wants, but maybe he should be stripped of his 1985 Super Bowl ring.
Andy Reid: If Wilson can get 5 games for taking HGH, which won't help him coach any better, then how many games will Reid get for two sons, count em again, two sons who are drug addicts and can't stay out of the news. After all, Goodell wants to clean up the image of the NFL, so we can't have coaches with sons embarrassing the league. Heroin, DUI, Oxycodon, and a list that includes Road Rage for Reid's sons. Sounds like 8 games to me, or until Coach Reid spends some quality time with his sons.
Bill Belichick: Is there another coach who looks as disheveled as Bill? Wearing those baggy sweatshirts should levie a 3 game suspension at a minimum. After all, doesn't Goodell want to improve the image of the NFL? Take a page from David Stern and make em wear ties on the sideline. If it was good enough for Tom Landry, it can be good enough for Bill.
All kidding aside, what Wilson did had no bearing on the outcome of any football games. He did not "enhance" his coaching nor has he been accused of giving HGH to players. For those who insist it was illegal to have the HGH, I disagree, but that is beside the point. Speeding down the highway is illegal too, but should every player be suspended for that? Of course not. The feds aren't prosecuting Wilson and neither should Goodell..
I just finished reading Lisa's evaluation of LSU. It doesn't suprise me that a USC fan is belittling the SEC, because they are still reeling from the embarassment of losing the National Championship to an SEC team. All last year SEC fans had to endure the bragging that eminated from Southern California as well as from Ohio State. In the end, the Florida Gators proved that the SEC is still the best conference.
USC lost to UCLA, hardly a great team, and Michigan lost to OSU. Meanwhile, Florida just rolled along biding their time until they finally got the opportunity to show the Big 10 what SEC football is all about. Make fun of LSU, make fun of Georgia, root for Cal against TN, but at the end of the day if Georgia wins and TN wins, will you change your mind Lisa?
The margin of victory is not the only thing that matters. If it was, then USC should have won the national title last year. The blew out many opponents, only to lose the game that counts. Winning all your games is what matters. USC is a dominant team in a weak conference. LSU, Georgia, FL, TN, and Auburn, are all good teams in a dominant conference. Only one can survive to fight for a national title, while USC just has to win against mediocre competition all year to go to the BCS title game. Not to mention that the SEC has a play off set up which adds one more level of toughness to earn its BCS title shot. For that reason alone, USC should have the upper hand to make it. The deck is stacked in a Trojan way.
I look forward to seeing a post from Lisa/all other SEC haters when TN and Georgia win. If they lose, I will be posting about how great the PAC 10 is.
No matter who wins or loses, isn't it great that we can officially start the trash talking. Let the bragging begin.
SoCalSportsFan
*Does anyone have a college pick em league set up? If not, we could do one before noon today and get picks in on the SEC vs Big 10 vs. Pac 10.*
My wife is opposed to our sons playing football. Soccer, basketball, and baseball are all okay, but she has a fear that they will damage their knees, spines or something far worse, their skulls. One look at Troy Aikmen's injuries confirms her worst fears. Concussions, back injuries, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, and elbow problems all plaqued the Cowboy star. He is lucky he even remembers his own name.
I can not promise her that they will never get hurt, but I can promise that if they become field goal kickers they can have a career that is almost as good as the young stallion who is put out to pasture to stud.
Adam Vinatieri, almost as hard to pronounce as it is to spell, is taking it easy during preseason so he can get some rest.
News: Vinatieri did not play in Thursday's preseason game and may sit out Indy's second preseason game as well as the Colts rest him for the regular season, the Indianapolis Star reports. Impact: Vinatieri isn't injured as the Colts don't want to take any chances with him and don't feel he needs the practice. Shane Andrus handled all kicking duties, although he's unlikely to make the final roster (but could be signed to the practice squad). (RotoWire)
Now don't get me wrong, you do rest your super stars, but even Peyton Manning is taking a series or two during the preseason. The Indianapolis Star is reporting that Vinatieri is resting up for the season. One question, what has he been doing the entire off season? Shouldn't he at least go out and kick a few extra points? I don't want the guy to get injured, but place kickers have it pretty safe. They are the last one to run down the field on the kick off. If the runner gets by the other ten players, he usually trips over himself making it look as if he is diving for the runner, and rarely takes a hit. What is Adam saving himself for? (Questioned answered in picture below)
A good place kicker is put in more situations to win games than any other person, but plays the least amount of time on the actual playing field. What other gig is so sweet? Next to the quality quarter back, the place kicker is in the limelight the most. He takes home all the glory when his winning field goal sails through the uprights. His team mates carry him off the field in glory, probably because it's too hard to walk in two different shoes, and the QB who made the winning drive pats him on the back like he did all the work. I need to have my wife read this article today and maybe my boys can still feel the comraderie of playing football, as a kicker.
SoCalSportsFan
*On a side note, do an image search for Adam and you might see a picture that shows his rippling muscles, maybe steroid enhanced. Also, I am heading to see the Chargers vs Seahawks today and will report on that game tomorrow.*
Someone asked me the other day where I had gone. I'm still here, but with the start up of school just a week away, I am putting in overtime to get our school ready. With last minute teacher hiring, training of new teachers, ordering of furniture, interviewing parents and children, and switching offices, it has been extremely busy these last two weeks. One of my history teachers was called out to Iraq this week as well so I had to take him out to lunch and say goodbye. With all that is going on, I plan on posting on the weekends. Whoever said that principals don't work in the summer has never been in education.
There has been alot of speculation about whether or not Barry Bonds will be rested now that he has broken the HR record. Many analysts and Bonds haters have said he will now sit out the rest of the season or be played sparingly, but that is not how I see it. In fact, Bonds has hit two more HR since his record breaking number 756 blast. He has three this week and shows no sign of slowing down. The truth is, the Giants pay Barry way to much money to have him sit, and his production is better than anyone else on the team. Barry will still take an occassional day off, but he will play the bulk of the rest of the season. I would expect that he will hit another 10-15 homers along the way.
As for next year, Barry will continue to play. I would expect him to finally join an AL team and DH for at least one more year. Barry knows his new record is not safe from A-Rod if he stops now, and he has endured too much to allow his record to be so easily surpassed. Also, he can still play. If he can hit 40 HR as a DH, there will be teams clamoring for his services. The fact is Barry can still hit the ball with the best of them. He is like the Enegizer Bunny: He keeps on going, and going, and going. Just think how much more productive he could be without having to play the field. As it is, he has 25 HR not playing every day, over 57 RBI, and batting over .280. Get used to it, we haven't seen the last of Barry Bonds.
Before the ink dried on the KG trade contract, sports fans and journalists began to question the merits of this goliath move by Boston and Minnesota. There is no question that in my mind that Boston overpaid for Kevin Garnett, but it brings up an age old question. It is the same question the Lakers have been faced with since the departure of Shaquille O’Neal and it is a question that every franchise will face at some time in their future. Should you build for the future by developing young players or should you try to win now by trading for high priced free agents?
Danny Ainge is being criticized for trading away Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, and two first round draft picks. No one really cares about his trade of Theo Ratliff or Sebastian Telfair, but overall this trade was brilliant. Ainge has been a terrible GM up to this point. Some of his draft picks and trades have been very questionable, but he had amassed some very good young talent. Al Jefferson is capable of a double double every night and is a wonderful talent along with Gerald Green. Ryan Gomes also added depth to the Celtics bench, but the simple fact is that Boston was not winning with these guys. By trading for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, the Celtics are guaranteed to win more games than they have in the past five years while they were developing all of that young talent. The name of the game is winning. If you lose as a coach or GM, then eventually you will be fired. The Celtics are now very relevant in the East and they will win more games.
The Timberwolves are now loaded with young talent, but will they win in the West? They have lost Kevin Garnett which was bound to happen after this year anyway, so Kevin McHale did a masterful job of swindling Danny Ainge into giving him essentially an entire team for one player. McHale now has enough pieces to trade for a Shawn Merriman or another free agent in the future. One would assume they will let Ratliff go and Telfair’s days are numbered. With two more draft picks the Timberwolves are in a great position for rebuilding, which is something they had to do once KG departed. The problem is that McHale wasn’t winning in the West with KG and the players he received from Boston were not winning in the East with Pierce. What makes anyone think that the T'Wolves will win with this Celtic team minus Pierce in the West? Still, for McHale it appears to be the best he could get for KG from anyone.
The first knock against the Celtic GM is that the players he acquired, Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, are aging while Jefferson, Gomes, and Green are all very young. Kobe and Iverson are also aging, but wouldn’t you trade for one of those guys if they were available. Mitch Kupchak took a lot of heat for not pursuing an aging Jason Kidd, but the fact is that superstars tend to stick around longer than young talent that never develops. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce are not that old and Ainge now has 5 years to develop more raw talent or trade for new players in the future.
The second problem some have with this trio is that their combined salary is around 60 million and that leaves very little room to work with under the cap. To me this is a moot point, because teams like New York and Dallas spend well over the salary cap. Their payrolls are the two largest at 89 and 83 million respectively. Spending more does not guarantee a playoff spot, (Just ask the biggest spender of all, Isiah Thomas, and let's see what it brought him), but for the Celtics if they open up the checkbook and bring in a few roll players this team should be very good.
So do you win now or win later? It all depends on your team and your situation. Boston needed to win now and it appears they will. Minnesota, because of the eventual loss of Garnett, needed to rebuild which means they will win later. Without the trade both GMs would be on the hot seat this year, but now both will get a temporary reprieve. Boston overpaid for KG which makes McHale look brilliant, a hard thing to do these days, and Ainge pulled off acquiring two superstars. The Celtics will win more games in the East than they did last year and they should make the playoffs where they will have a chance to advance. Winning will put fans in the seats, sell more merchandise, and cure all that ails this once proud franchise. I say it was a Win-Win for both teams.
SoCalSportsFan
*The Boston Red Sox did not win a World Series until they finally opened up their pocket books and started spending like the Yankees. It also appears they are well on their way to winning another title, but they had to spend 100 million on Dice-K to get there, and they are still spending like mad picking up Eric Gagne. Sometimes, spending does equal wins.*
Today, it was released that drug paraphernalia and cocaine was found in Rod Beck's home. Ultimately, it was cocaine that did in Ken Caminiti, the former Houstan Astros great, and not steroids. Drugs like cocaine and heroine are the downfall of many other athletes as well. Some are fortunate enough to survive these addictive drugs, but for many others their careers are cut short and sometimes their lives. It was rumored that Beck used cocaine daily, and at least this police report seems to substantiate this sordid detail.
Daryl Strawberry's career was ruined by this infamous white powder. Lawrence Taylor, Michael irvin, and many others wrestled with this addiction. We will never know just how much better either of those two men may have been if they were not in the grasp of cocaine. Irvin may have had several more seasons and an ESPN job if he could stay away from this drug, but he could not. Len Bias should have had a great NBA career with the Celtics and Roy Tarpley would be a millionaire if not for cocaine.
How many times do we hear about steroid abuse ruining a player's career, but in my opinion there are many other drugs which are more troublesome because of their addictive properties. Every time I hear of a young athlete who dies during spring training, football practice, or basketball pick up games, I immediately suspect drugs and/or alcohol abuse. My mind never wonders if it was caused by steroids, but maybe that is just me. Usually we find an athlete was taking drugs, drinking and operating a vehicle, or some combination of these deadly drugs. Steroids is the exception to the rule. Situations like Chris Benoit do not happen every day, but drunk athletes behind the wheel of a car is all too common. (For that matter, normal people struggle with these addictions as well, it just seems athletes and celebreties make the news more often.)
My hope is not to minimize steroid abuse, but to put it into proper perspective. Illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroine threaten more than a HR record. They actually threaten the lives of our young people.
I while back I was ready to axe the Danny Ainge experiment. Some of his trades made absolutely no sense to me, but today I think he may have saved his job. With the acquisition of Kevin Garnett, the new look Celtics are a force to be reckoned with. It is not a foregone conclusion that they will win the East, but they are now in the top three teams. With Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, they have all the firepower they need to contend for the top spot along with the Pistons, Heat, and Cavaliers. I believe the Magic are still not in contention with the Lewis signing, but they will be better than they were last year.
The key to the Celtics is for all three stars to remain healthy. KG has been remarkably healthy with Allen and Pierce each missing significant time over the last few years with injuries. Should all three play in every game, they will be in the thick of things come post season.
The Celtics mortgaged their future giving away Green, Gomes, and Jefferson, but they did manage to unload Theo Ratliff and Sebastion Telfair. That alone was worth the trade. Should Jefferson turn out to be a true star in the NBA, the Celtics still gained an existing Super Star in Kevin Garnett. It will be fun to watch to see if the Irish Green can regain some of the former glory of the Bird years.
We live in a wonderful country. The United States of America has one of the highest standards of living and the best health care in the world. (Stick with me, this has relevance in sports, or at least on this Fox sports site.) Contrary to what Michael Moore would have you believe, health care in this country is by far the best of anywhere I have traveled and I have been on four continents. While there are problems in health care, I blame the insurance companies for most of them. (I haven't watched Sicko, but from what I have read Moore shows some of the shady practices of health insurance companies.) My personal opinion is that instead of health care reform, we need insurance reform.
Today as I have read blog after blog, I noticed in one of them, SleeplessinSeattle's, that the Rev made a comment about Ichiro’s lack of using the English language. It was quickly pointed out that Ichiro speaks English fluently but that he has chosen to use an interpreter to make sure his words are not twisted by the media. I have no problem with Ichiro or most other foreigners that I have met because my wife is one. The funny thing is that in many countries overseas they require students to learn English while in this country where English is supposed to be the national language we do everything we can to accommodate those who do not speak it.
Last year, I had two Korean students who lived with me. At spring break we went down to the CA DMV and they took the written driving test. Now both of these girls speak English, but they were allowed to take the test in Korean. It blows my mind. How many different languages does the DMV have to print its tests in to help out foreigners? I’m not sure if every state does this, but CA does.
Then today as I am reading Fox Sports and I notice under each of the major headings where the stories are a button that is labled “en Espanol.” I never noticed it before, but that is because the face of this internet site changes on a regular basis. When you click that button you are taken to another page that is written all in Spanish. I understand that Fox is trying to garner a larger viewing audience, but it still bothers me. Maybe I just live to close to Mexico and the constant struggle we have with illegal aliens has me biased. It is a real issue here in southern California where our tax dollars go to help support illegals in schools, hospitals, and even in housing. No matter what the reason, I am offended and I plan on writing Fox. Why not cater to the Germans, the French, or the Asians. We can not become all things to all people. I understand that we have a President who butchers the English language, but that is no excuse to embrace multilingualism. Take a look on your Fox site, and if it bothers you write Fox too.
In this edition of my Sunday Socal Rants, I want to discuss the hosing of OJ Simpson. Sure he may be guilty of murder, but that doesn't mean he is guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping. OJ was tried, found guilty, and now will go to prison solely because of what he may or may not have done 13 years ago. I am not saying he is innocent of murder, but I do think you should go to jail for the crimes for which you are tried. In this case, OJ is going to jail for a crime in which he was acquitted. In this trial, the judge, the prosecuting attorney, and the jurors all have made a mockery of our judicial system. 
How long before Marvin Lewis is fired? I think he is out before Halloween. When the Bengals lose to Dallas today, the Jets next week, then have to face the Steelers, Texans, and Jaguars, the Orange and Black will have a new head coach going into All Hallows Eve. Add to that list, the injuries to Carson Palmer, the signing of Cedric the Incarcerated Benson to the roster, activating Chris Henry, and the antics of Ocho Cinco, Marvin Lewis never had a chance. Cincinnati will be lucky to win 3 games this year. The only thing uglier than those costumes the Bengals call uniforms will be losing 9 straight games and blaming racism on the firing of Marvin. 
It’s just one man’s opinion, but to me Beckham has been a horrendous bust. He is signed for 250 million in some convoluted contract, hardly plays in any games, and his team has a losing record while he is out for the season. Now he wants to go home and 
Mike Ditka: You heard me right. Superbowl winning coach Mike Ditka should be banned for life for taking and becoming the pitchman for Levitra the rival of Viagra. Certainly Mike of the Bears fame was taking this little PE to help him perform. No wonder he was called "Big Iron Mike." He can Kick and Scream all he wants, but maybe he should be stripped of his 1985 Super Bowl ring.
Andy Reid: If Wilson can get 5 games for taking HGH, which won't help him coach any better, then how many games will Reid get for two sons, count em again, two sons who are drug addicts and can't stay out of the news. After all, Goodell wants to clean up the image of the NFL, so we can't have coaches with sons embarrassing the league. Heroin, DUI, Oxycodon, and a list that includes Road Rage for Reid's sons. Sounds like 8 games to me, or until Coach Reid spends some quality time with his sons.
Bill Belichick: Is there another coach who looks as disheveled as Bill? Wearing those baggy sweatshirts should levie a 3 game suspension at a minimum. After all, doesn't Goodell want to improve the image of the NFL? Take a page from David Stern and make em wear ties on the sideline. If it was good enough for Tom Landry, it can be good enough for Bill.
My wife is opposed to our sons playing football. Soccer, basketball, and baseball are all okay, but she has a fear that they will damage their knees, spines or something far worse, their skulls. One look at Troy Aikmen's injuries confirms her worst fears. Concussions, back injuries, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, and elbow problems all plaqued the Cowboy star. He is lucky he even remembers his own name. 
Adam Vinatieri, almost as hard to pronounce as it is to spell, is taking it easy during preseason so he can get some rest. 
A good place kicker is put in more situations to win games than any other person, but plays the least amount of time on the actual playing field. What other gig is so sweet? Next to the quality quarter back, the place kicker is in the limelight the most. He takes home all the glory when his winning field goal sails through the uprights. His team mates carry him off the field in glory, probably because it's too hard to walk in two different shoes, and the QB who made the winning drive pats him on the back like he did all the work. I need to have my wife read this article today and maybe my boys can still feel the comraderie of playing football, as a kicker.
Someone asked me the other day where I had gone. I'm still here, but with the start up of school just a week away, I am putting in overtime to get our school ready. With last minute teacher hiring, training of new teachers, ordering of furniture, interviewing parents and children, and switching offices, it has been extremely busy these last two weeks. One of my history teachers was called out to Iraq this week as well so I had to take him out to lunch and say goodbye. With all that is going on, I plan on posting on the weekends. Whoever said that principals don't work in the summer has never been in education.
There has been alot of speculation about whether or not Barry Bonds will be rested now that he has broken the HR record. Many analysts and Bonds haters have said he will now sit out the rest of the season or be played sparingly, but that is not how I see it. In fact, Bonds has hit two more HR since his record breaking number 756 blast. He has three this week and shows no sign of slowing down. The truth is, the Giants pay Barry way to much money to have him sit, and his production is better than anyone else on the team. Barry will still take an occassional day off, but he will play the bulk of the rest of the season. I would expect that he will hit another 10-15 homers along the way.
As for next year, Barry will continue to play. I would expect him to finally join an AL team and DH for at least one more year. Barry knows his new record is not safe from A-Rod if he stops now, and he has endured too much to allow his record to be so easily surpassed. Also, he can still play. If he can hit 40 HR as a DH, there will be teams clamoring for his services. The fact is Barry can still hit the ball with the best of them. He is like the Enegizer Bunny: He keeps on going, and going, and going. Just think how much more productive he could be without having to play the field. As it is, he has 25 HR not playing every day, over 57 RBI, and batting over .280. Get used to it, we haven't seen the last of Barry Bonds.
Danny Ainge is being criticized for trading away Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, and two first round draft picks. No one really cares about his trade of Theo Ratliff or Sebastian Telfair, but overall this trade was brilliant. Ainge has been a terrible GM up to this point. Some of his draft picks and trades have been very questionable, but he had amassed some very good young talent. Al Jefferson is capable of a double double every night and is a wonderful talent along with Gerald Green. Ryan Gomes also added depth to the Celtics bench, but the simple fact is that Boston was not winning with these guys. By trading for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, the Celtics are guaranteed to win more games than they have in the past five years while they were developing all of that young talent. The name of the game is winning. If you lose as a coach or GM, then eventually you will be fired. The Celtics are now very relevant in the East and they will win more games.
The Timberwolves are now loaded with young talent, but will they win in the West? They have lost Kevin Garnett which was bound to happen after this year anyway, so Kevin McHale did a masterful job of swindling Danny Ainge into giving him essentially an entire team for one player. McHale now has enough pieces to trade for a Shawn Merriman or another free agent in the future. One would assume they will let Ratliff go and Telfair’s days are numbered. With two more draft picks the Timberwolves are in a great position for rebuilding, which is something they had to do once KG departed. The problem is that McHale wasn’t winning in the West with KG and the players he received from Boston were not winning in the East with Pierce. What makes anyone think that the T'Wolves will win with this Celtic team minus Pierce in the West? Still, for McHale it appears to be the best he could get for KG from anyone.
The first knock against the Celtic GM is that the players he acquired, Garnett, Pierce, and Allen, are aging while Jefferson, Gomes, and Green are all very young. Kobe and Iverson are also aging, but wouldn’t you trade for one of those guys if they were available. Mitch Kupchak took a lot of heat for not pursuing an aging Jason Kidd, but the fact is that superstars tend to stick around longer than young talent that never develops. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce are not that old and Ainge now has 5 years to develop more raw talent or trade for new players in the future. 
The second problem some have with this trio is that their combined salary is around 60 million and that leaves very little room to work with under the cap. To me this is a moot point, because teams like 
Today, it was released that 
Daryl Strawberry's career was ruined by this infamous white powder. Lawrence Taylor, Michael irvin, and many others wrestled with this addiction. We will never know just how much better either of those two men may have been if they were not in the grasp of cocaine. Irvin may have had several more seasons and an ESPN job if he could stay away from this drug, but he could not. Len Bias should have had a great NBA career with the Celtics and Roy Tarpley would be a millionaire if not for cocaine.
How many times do we hear about steroid abuse ruining a player's career, but in my opinion there are many other drugs which are more troublesome because of their addictive properties. Every time I hear of a young athlete who dies during spring training, football practice, or basketball pick up games, I immediately suspect drugs and/or alcohol abuse. My mind never wonders if it was caused by steroids, but maybe that is just me. Usually we find an athlete was taking drugs, drinking and operating a vehicle, or some combination of these deadly drugs. Steroids is the exception to the rule. Situations like Chris Benoit do not happen every day, but drunk athletes behind the wheel of a car is all too common. (For that matter, normal people struggle with these addictions as well, it just seems athletes and celebreties make the news more often.)
We live in a wonderful country. The United States of America has one of the highest standards of living and the best health care in the world. (Stick with me, this has relevance in sports, or at least on this Fox sports site.) Contrary to what 
Today as I have read blog after blog, I noticed in one of them, 
Last year, I had two Korean students who lived with me. At spring break we went down to the CA DMV and they took the written driving test. Now both of these girls speak English, but they were allowed to take the test in Korean. It blows my mind. How many different languages does the DMV have to print its tests in to help out foreigners? I’m not sure if every state does this, but CA does. 
Then today as I am reading Fox Sports and I notice under each of the major headings where the stories are a button that is labled “en Espanol.” I never noticed it before, but that is because the face of this internet site changes on a regular basis. When you click that button you are taken to another page that is written all in Spanish. I understand that Fox is trying to garner a larger viewing audience, but it still bothers me. Maybe I just live to close to Mexico and the constant struggle we have with illegal aliens has me biased. It is a real issue here in southern California where our tax dollars go to help support illegals in schools, hospitals, and even in housing. No matter what the reason, I am offended and I plan on writing Fox. Why not cater to the Germans, the French, or the Asians. We can not become all things to all people. I understand that we have a President who butchers the English language, but that is no excuse to embrace multilingualism. Take a look on your Fox site, and if it bothers you write Fox too. 
