With all of the political debating, shot taking, and war of words, I feel it is time to make a political "statement" about sports issues, using both sides of the fence.  On one hand, we have the liberals, who are constitution watchers and "by the book" advocates.  And on the other hand, we have the conservatives who use a more religious, look beyond the boundaries mentality when discussing issues.  So without further delay, here is what our liberal and conservative panel had to say when confronted with the following issues.

 "Barry Bonds has been accused of taking steroids during his great run at Hank Aaron's record....and your thoughts on this..."

Liberal says, "Innocent until proven guilty!!!  He hasn't admitted to using them, and he hasn't been tried in court.  Therefore he cannot be held accountable for doing something he hasn't been officially convicted of."

 Conservative says, "This guy is sooooooo lying.  How can he lie so many times about something we all know he has done.  Boy, just wait until God gets hold of him.  This guy is nothing but the devil in disguise!!!"

 "Floyd Landis has tested positive for a banned substance in winning the Tour De France....and your thoughts on this...."

 Liberal says, "He has tested positive, both A and B samples, and should be stripped of his title.  However, if all bicycle riders are taking roids...then why make them illegal.  Seems like they would all be on a level playing field..right?  I mean, in reality, who really cares what he does with his body....after all, it is his body...right?"

Conservative says, "Not only should the man be stripped of his title, but he should be banned from bike riding for life.  All retailers should have a picture I.D. of him, and refuse selling him anything having to do with cycling.  Furthermore, he is the Satan of cycling!!!"

 "Roger Clemens has been accused of using steroids, in order to keep a competitive edge with his timeless rocket of an arm....and your thoughts are..."

 Liberal says, "Innocent until proven guilty..how many times must I repeat that same phrase!!!  Afterall, if he were in a court of law, he would have the opportunity to clear his name of these allogations...and I repeat...they are only allegations.  He could possibly be a genetic freak who is at the pinnacle of evolution!!!"

Conservative says, "What an arrogant and foul mouthed man!!!  He deserves what he gets...assuming the people will repent of their sins, see the light, and convict this man of such a treacherous crime.  He is nothing more than the son of Satan himself!!" 

"The Miami Hurricanes have made a name for themselves, from their former players being suspended from their NFL teams for allegedly committing crimes, to getting into fights during college football games.  However, it seems that the most controversial thing in Miami at this point, is the lack of punishment handed down to players who were involved in the fight with FIU a couple of weeks ago....and your thoughts on this..."

Liberal says, "The punishments fit the crimes.  How do we know what really happened?  After all, they haven't been convicted in a court of law have they?  Were you there? 
Were you at the game?  If you suspend the players...and the season for that matter...do you realize how much money would be lost to the University?  It's the decision of a panel of coaches and school officials.  It is the constitutional right of them to make their own decisions about THEIR players!!"

 Conservative says, "What a bunch of Godless thugs!!!  I can't believe they are being protected!!!  They should be stripped of their scholarships, and forced to go to the "Anti-Satan Church of Rehabilitation"!!  I am praying for the panel who made this decision that could have only come from Satan himself.  I pray they will see the error of their ways and repent!!! 

 Note:  The identity of those questioned in this survey shall remain anonymous.  It is their constitutional right...and may God have mercy on their souls!!! 

There have been several blogs over the past several months that have revolved around religion, politics, and sports.  One of the most controversial subjects in the U.S. is prayer in our schools, at work, and at our sporting events.  It seems that the minority has once again reared its ugly head and screamed, "I'm offended by those who practice their faith in public places."  Well, I'm actually offended that you're offended.  And my question is, how exactly are you offended.  Does it cause you pain?  Does it cause you to just want to cry?  Or is it simply a result of individualism, of just wanting to be heard?  If those who are praying at public sporting events, are actually praying, then they probably won't know that you're not, simply because they should have their heads bowed and their eyes closed.  If not, and they complain that your'e not, well, then you have the right to complain.  The same goes for our National Anthem.  If you don't want to hear it, show up a few minutes late, or wear headphones.  If you are offended by prayer in public places, then have your own prayer.  If you're an athiest, then why the hades are you offended in the first place?  You should be laughing, that there are so many stupid people out there praying to a God that does not exist.  How exactly does it offend you?  And probably the most important aspect of life, is how our children are raised, and how they portray that raising in our sporting venues.  So with all of this being said, here is a statement prepared by Ben Stein during the Christmas (so sue me for saying it) season, and then recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, that puts a different kind of spin on this whole subject.  Enjoy!

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and Jes sica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important?

I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no clue who Nick and Jessica are.

If this is what it means to be no longer young. It's not so bad.

Next confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beau tiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don' t feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't th ink they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?
I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.

But there are a lot of us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this Happen?" (regarding Katrina)

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.

And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about and we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

Are you laughing?

Enough said....or is it?

Athletes, war heroes, political or religious figures...all of these leave behind legacies. Legacy is defined as "something handed down from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past." Over the years our Presidents have left behind legacies. And though our media seems to determine what those legacies are, we tend to have our own minds made up as to how we feel about a particular person. Religious figures have left behind powerful legacies that have played parts in wars spanning thousands of years. For Christians, that person would be Jesus. For Muslims it would be Mohammed. And there are others. But few give us more happiness and more hope than our athletes.

As I have posted in one of my earlier blogs, sports is what keeps us up late at night rooting for the home team. It's what brings us together with our friends and families. It takes us away from the realities of work, school, politics, and even religion. It gives us hope. And we seem to thrive on the legacies of athletes past and present. Joe Lewis left behind a legacy of respect and honor for the black athlete. Mohammed Ali left a legacy of political change, hope for the poor, and a mouthy and great Champion. John Wooden left behind a legacy of a college basketball dynasty. Magic Johnson left behind a legacy of tragedy, yet turning it into hope. Larry Bird's legacy will probably always be that of being "the great white hope" in a time when Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Dominique Wilkins dominated the NBA....no matter how politically incorrect that may sound. But what will our athletes of today leave behind, in a time of individualism, material wealth, and a growing number of run ins with the law? How will our generation be seen 20, 30, even 50 years from now? Wheras sports was once filled with role models and "good ole boys", it seems to be growing into a way of life seen as lavish, unruly, and greedy.

Our perceptions of athletes have taken a hit over the past five to ten years. And it is up to us to change that. It must start in the home. Parents much teach children that values are to be placed before material and individual successes. In our pee-wee leagues, children must learn that team success is much more gratifying and honorable than individual stats. Coaches must be an off-shoot of parents, teaching children these values. And they must not waiver. The days of one game suspensions for assault, dwi's, and weapons charges must be done away with. For if our parents, teachers, and coaches do not change the present situation, our children will see the results. And ethics and morality will be seen as hindrances to a more lavish and individualistic lifestyle. And this will be devastating to our younger generations.

I have done much thinking on this subject over the past couple of days. And there are things I need to change in my own life. I like to think I'm a reasonable person. But I have seen lapses in my own character that bother me. Let me first apologize to "fishwanda" and her friend "gale". I was flat out rude and mean to both of them on a blog posted by "fishwanda". I apologize to you both. There is a difference in having opinions and throwing out insults at those who do not share your opinions. I would like to apologize to anyone I have offended on this blog-site. I will always be argumentative, but I hope not to be insulting. I would like to leave this world knowing I did everything in my power to make it a better place for our children to live in. That is the legacy I would like to leave. And I would hope that sports would be a building block to this better world. What will be your legacy?

(Sorry guys..my work computer will not allow me to copy and paste pics..I'll have them later today.)

January 17, 2006.  That was my first entry into this phenomenon we call sports blogging.  I have often been told, "Matt, you would argue with a wall!"  And guess what.....I can't argue with that.  I have been blogging for going on two years.  However, the brunt of my debating has come in political blogs that, if you don't have a thick skin, will tear you to shreds.  It's particularly deflating when fellow members of the armed services call you a liar, and force you to prove that you are indeed a member of the military....and all because you don't agree with something they have posted.  But I will save all this political bickering and nonsense for another day...and another blog. 

Over the past two weeks I have noticed so many differences in the things we deem important in our lives.  And though debates rage and tempers are tested, we still "post that last argument before bedtime" only to sit and wait for a reply.  So guess what.....you guessed it.  "Okay, just this one more..and then I'm going to bed."  And the cycle goes on and on.  As a college student, I would play video games until wee hours of the morning, before I realized...it was time for my early class.  So to remedy this problem, I would simply set my alarm clock...at which time I would force myself to put down my controller and shut off the PlayStation.  I have forced myself to do much the same as an avid blogger.

It's amazing how sports bring people from all walks of life together for a common goal.  And that goal is to root for your team no matter how bad your team is or how really bad your team is.  But what's even more amazing than that is that 99% of people who have a "favorite" team will never change "favorite" teams in the future.  Now you may ask yourself, "Where in the world is this guy going with this nonsense?"  Well, if that statistic holds true, THEN WHY IN THE HADES ARE WE ARGUING?!!  What is our purpose in insulting others for their choice of teams, and for debating who's the best and who's the worst?  It's like trying to convert a Muslim to a Jew or a Jew to a Muslim.  It just never happens. 

So this leads us to the moral of this post.  We debate because it makes us feel important.  We debate because we want to have that feeling of "someone is listening to me...and they actually like what I am saying."  Northside wrote, what was in all essence, a fantastic Eulogy for his recently deceased Grandmother.  There was much to learn from that.  Our days here are vitally important.  Our country may cease to exist in the future.  Some of our friends and our loved ones will pass unexpectedly.  We, ourselves will pass.  But sports will live on.  People will continue to cheer for their favorites and debate in order to be heard.  And so sports is what makes us American.  It's what keeps us up late at night.  It's where we go with friends to compete or just root for the home team.  And it's where we will laugh and we will cry.  But the most important thing about sports is, it will live another day.  If your team loses, there will be another day, another season, and another reason to be a blogger!!! 

And that's why I'm a By GYOD Blogger!!!!