I Hate the Hate for Our President

I have tried to keep this blog (on those occasions when I have found time to write anything), politically neutral, and focused on topics that are in good fun and not of the greatest importance. But, something keeps happening, that the more I think about it, the more I hate it.

I sit here today, watching and reading the stories about President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Now, is there room for debate about did he deserve it, and should an award be given based maybe more on what he wants to do, than what he has done, sure. But I am really stricken by the level of anger I am seeing and hearing from Americans just because their President won the Nobel Peace Price. This is particularly so because this is coming just one week after I watched and read so many Americans take a large amount of satisfaction from the United States not being rewarded the Olympics because the President wanted it.

What is really beginning to strike me about all of this - the level of anger towards this President receiving an award that should make all people regardless of politics proud, and the level of joy from a disappointment that had nothing to do with politics whatsoever - is not really what I am reading and seeing from those on the Right. These are the people that for 8 years fell right in line with George Bush and Dick Cheney and Karl Rove. I did not really expect them to suddenly change their ways. No, what is starting to strike me the most is how much hate for Obama and how much satisfaction from any of his perceived or real failures, I see and hear from people that I have known for many, many years whom I never even knew cared at all about politics, never heard them say one word on any issue either way. But now, suddenly, they do not miss one opportunity to complain about or bash the President.

Now, maybe this is a product of the economy, and when the economy tanked, it made people who never cared about politics care because they want to keep their jobs, or find a job, or afford their bills and pay their mortgages. I guess that may make some sense.

But I cannot help but think I am ignoring the elephant in the room because the truth is if you are middle class, which applies to almost everyone I know, the economy hasn't been good in years, and yet I can't recall one word or one conversation where they had something politically to say, let alone something negative to say about our President.

Then, do I just have to admit to myself that these people simply are not comfortable with a black President? It might not be an outward act of racism, they may never say something outwardly racist. They may know better, or maybe they haven't even admitted it to themselves. They will never say outright that I want Obama to fail because he is black. But I can't help but thinking their motives are centered around because he is black, they want him to fail. And because of that, they don't let one thing go without jumping all over it.

Am I reading too much into all of this? Maybe, but I do not think so. Even in today's era of instant media, presidents are normally judged by bigger pictures, and when issues have not been about politics, we have all rooted for the President. They want to judge Obama like he was a batter in basbeall, on every at-bat, even every swing. If he takes a swing, they will complain, "He is trying to do too much!" If he swings and misses, "He hasn't done anything yet!"

Most of the leftiest liberals I know were still able to take some level of satisfaction when President Bush threw a strike in Yankee Stadium in 2001 - Yes that may have been a different time, but the point is there always seemed to be circumstances where if politics were not involved - like with receiving the Nobel Prize or trying to get the Olympics to this country - people, especially politically neutral people, would find a way to stand behind our President. Yet now, there are large groups of people angry when their President won a prize acknowledging peace? Or they hate the President so much they were glad the U.S. wasn't awarded the Olympics?

I am not someone who thinks that all criticism of the President is racist; but I am convinced that some of the over the top criticism I am seeing from people that prior to last November never really cared about politics, absolutely has its roots in racism. If someone thinks the economy isn't recovering fast enough, or we should have closed Guantanamo, or we need more troops in Afghanistan, or we need less troops there, or that the health care plan goes too far or not far enough - that is fine with me. Those are real issues. And we need real debate on all of them.

But when I can't go one day without seeing people react in anger towards anything that involves the President whatsoever, I can't help but realize that no matter how large a step this country took last November 4, we still have a long way to go. And President Obama, just in case trying to rescue this country from one of its worst economic crisis ever, bring health care to all Americans, end two wars, deal with Iran and North Korea and the Israelis and the Palestinians, and the swine flu wasn't enough, you have to also contend with trying to get people to somehow believe that wanting your President to succeed is a good thing.

Traffic Cameras

I hate traffic cameras. I really hate them when they are alongside speed limits that leave drivers really no choice but to speed. This happens in the District of Columbia. On a three-lane open-road, where just moments earlier cars were driving 65 MPH, and with no change whatsoever in the road conditions, the speed limit amazingly plummets to35 MPH! And naturally, right above that 35 MPH sign is a traffic camera, ready to give tickets to each and every driver that goes past - and it should be each one because no one drives 35 MPH.

Anyway, for more on the D.C. Traffic Camera abuse, go here - dctrafficcameras.com

My suggestion to show really everyone how stupid some of these speed limits are, in particular this 35 MPH limit is to somehow organize a national drive the speed limit day. Everyone, throughout the country, unite in one effort to drive the speed limit no matter where you are. The exact speed limit, not over, not below. If the sign says 65, you drive it, 35 you drive it, etc. And the congestion and traffic and problems that would ensue might show some of these people in control just how absurd these speed limits are - something that is going to become more and more of a problem as cities continue adding traffic cameras in an effort to raise revenue.

Maybe this isn't the most pressing issue, but why should someone have to work long hours and then try to drive home only to deal with this type of nonsense.

When Mike Florio Just Makes Things Up

Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com found a story yesterday that said Randy Moss was dogging it on Sunday. Now everyone with any sense has said the writer of the article was mistaken. Florio, on the other hand, went a different direction. He not only linked to the story, but then started to make stuff up in order to get even a bigger reaction. See for a guy like him, a story about Randy Moss was not enough. He needed more than to get a reaction from Patriots fans and Patriots haters. Just like someone listening to "Electric Avenue," he took that sh*t to the next level. He brought in Brett Favre to the mix. Right around now you may be wondering - how can a story about Randy Moss's efforts in New England possibly connect to Favre? Here is how, and we learned it all as kids watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. It is called make believe. Because when you are Mike Florio what you can do is pretend, shut your eyes, and think of ways to make the connection. He did and he wrote it - Moss wants out of New England to go play with Favre because Favre has been whispering in his ear.

Anyway, my friend Stew Winkel did a great job yesterday breaking down Florio's fiction - read it here.

Tony Mazz - You've done it again

So the Globe's Tony Massarotti is up to his old tricks again. He wrote an article today for the Globe about how the Yankees have caught up to the Sox in developing their own players, and they aren't just winning by spending money. He says for the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia, Yanks have Robinson Cano. For Jon Lester, there is Joba Chamberlain. For Daniel Bard, Phil Hughes. For Jacoby Ellsbury, there is Melky Cabrera. He then stops, because if he kept comparing home-grown talent, he'd have to acknowledge Sox also have Papelbon, Youkilis, and Buchholz on the team now. A slight edge. Not to mention that of those farm players the Sox have, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Lester, Papelbon and Youkilis are were key players on the Sox '07 World Series team.

But what about just his argument that the Yankees aren't just widely spending money to try to win. Let's look at some facts -

• Of MLB's top 4 highest paid players, 3 are Yankees - A-Rod, Teixeira, Jeter.
• Of the top 25 highest paid players, Yankees have 6. Red Sox have zero.
  
• For their starting rotation to start the season plus closer, Yankees spent over $57 million. Sox under 35.
• For their opening day lineups, Yankees spent over $125-million; Sox under $70.
• Yankees outspend Red Sox at every single position, except right field.
• As far building from the farm system, Yankees pay $85 million this year to four players signed as free agents the last two offseasons.
  
• Highest paid Red Sox is JD Drew at $14-million per season. Yankees have six guys who make more than that.
• Yankees have nine players making over $10 million. Sox have four.
  

So while yes, the Yankees have had a few players chip in from their farm system, let's no go crazy here Tony. They are still about spending money to win. Maybe there isn't anything wrong with that, but there is no need to try to pretend the Yankees are anything other than what they are.

Why bother with facts? They just get in the way.

All us Red Sox fans know the team is in trouble. Today for Boston.com, writer Tony Massarotti writes about just that, noting that even if the Sox make the playoffs, it is going to be a battle to the end, which will stop the team from being able to rest in the final few days and set up their rotation.

A possible good point. But Mazz goes on to remind us about 2004 and 2007 - when the Sox decided that just making the playoffs via the Wild Card was enough, and didn’t go after the Division, choosing rather to rest. It paid off with the Wild Card in ‘04 and ‘07. One major problem - the Sox won the Division in 2007. It was kind of a big deal - first time since 1995, first time a team other than the Yankees won the Division since 1997. Remember ALCS - games six and seven played in Fenway? That doesn't happen without winning the division.

How he makes this error (and it isn’t caught by an editor) is beyond me. But it gets worse, because Mazz has to make his point. He writes, “Let's turn back the clock to 2007 for a moment. ‘It means a lot, but it means nothing as far as winning a World Series,’ manager Terry Francona said that year while the Red Sox were seemingly losing grasp of the division title. ‘It means a lot for what you set out to accomplish, I think. I don't think there's any getting around that, and I don't think we want to. But when it's all said and done, it won't have any bearing on how far we get into the postseason.’

So not only does Mazz, who gets paid to write about the Red Sox, not remember 2007, not only is he too lazy to fact check, but he compounds his error by making up facts when he writes, “while the Red Sox were seemingly losing grasp of the division title.”

Listen, I know errors can happen. But this is just so careless I find it really troubling. Aren’t there editors? If you walked into a sports bar in Boston and said the Sox did not win the Division in 2007, how long until 10 people told you you were wrong?

Mazz goes on to write this, “For these Red Sox, lest anyone misunderstand, this is all about the pitching. With the weekend results in Texas, the Sox are now 32-15 in games started by the tandem of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, 34-36 in games started by anyone else.”

That is an interesting stat, but is also a rather large leap to say it means it is all about the pitching. Lester and Beckett are very good - of course the Sox will win most of their starts. They can win those games whether or not they are hitting. The fact the Sox are 34-36 in all other starts, can say as much about the lack of hitting as it can the pitching. There needs to be more information that easily could have been found out - WHIP, ERA, etc for the games not started by Beckett/Lester.

Clay Buchholz in his last two starts has gone 13 innings, allowed only 3 ER. The Sox lost both of those games - so, is it really all about the pitching, Mazz?

No, no, don't get up

I really hate this f#cking guy from this photo.  I took this photo while riding on The Metro during rush hour.  This guy was just lounging on the seat with his bike, checking his phone, while being surrounded by a train filled with people standing because there were no other seats.  Hey you sir, lying on the seats - you are a douchebag.  

Not a Good Day for Journalism

First, there is this on Time.com. They conducted a poll of who is the most trusted newscaster in America. The result - Jon Stewart. Now I love Stewart and The Daily Show, but I would have to guess that even Stewart himself would admit that the journalism profession should be able to produce a more trusted newscaster than himself. When Walter Cronkite died, and article after article commented on how he was the most trusted person in the news, I wondered who does America trust now? Unfortunately my fears were confirmed, that there really isn't anyone.

Then there is the continuing story of how ESPN ignored a story about Pittsburgh Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger, even though every other serious sports media outlet reported on the story for days. ESPN came up with some lame excuse why they instructed their employees not to report on the story. But The Boston Globe's Chad Finn uncovered what is likely the true story. Big Ben is set to appear on an upcoming ABC show and of course ABC and ESPN are both owned by Disney. Again unfortunately, I was not surprised by this. It is really just par for the course for The Worldwide Leader.

I know what I will be doing tomorrow

Prior to seeing this story, I already knew that I would be glued to the tv watching the WNBA All-Star game. But it just got even better - as I will also be refreshing twitter at a mad pace:

NEW YORK — Two WNBA players will update their Twitter accounts during Saturday's All-Star game.

The league said Thursday that Alana Beard of the Washington Mystics and Swin Cash of the Seattle Storm will post messages pregame and postgame, during timeouts and at halftime.

The game will be played at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/24/wnba-players-to-tweet-all_n_244431.html

I hate umpires

This is another job well done by an MLB umpire - http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/58389

Shocking American Cars Aren't Selling

I am in the market for a new car. I was looking into possibly buying a Ford Escape, and asked for a quote from a local dealer. This is the email I received from the dealer. Note the Palinesque attention to detail and language -

Hi, my name is [removed] and got you're email about our 09 Escapes

We several Ford Escapes right with GREAT deals!!!!! Now, is a certain color or package that you're are looking for???

If you have any questions please email back or come down a visit.

Thanks.

On the list of why American car companies are failing, this email likely is not in the top 10 - but wouldn't you think because of all the other problems, something as simple as sending an email would receive a little more attention to make sure the person reading it doesn't think the person writing it is a complete idiot.

Per AP/ESPN - Don't drink and fall asleep on a couch and get shot by your girlfriend.

The AP is reporting, and of course ESPN has to pounce all over it - that Steve McNair's blood alcohol level was over the legal limit at the time of his death. Wow, I didn't know there was a legal limit for being asleep on the couch. This is not a story, just an attempt to add another level of scandal to a story. McNair wasn't driving. He wasn't over the legal anything. This is a non-story.

Can the Boston Sports media just let things go?

Maybe it is all markets. But I follow Boston sports, and the sports media in the city seem to really have a difficult time just moving on when athletes - in particular baseball players - leave for a new team. This is the latest example - a 66-page slide show detailing where ex-Red Sox players are and how they are doing? Who cares? It is 2009 - newsflash for the Boston media: athletes change teams. It happens. Are the Red Sox suffering because any of these guys are playing for other teams? Wait, if only the Sox held on to David Aardsma - maybe they would be in first place? Things changed dramatically in how people feel about the Red Sox after October 27, 2004. The old line of "why can't we get players like that" just doesn't matter anymore. I don't care what any of these people are doing. Break a sweat maybe and come up with something new to talk about, write about and turn into a 66-page slide show.

I hate Stupidity - even by those I love

Now for Really with Seth and Amy. Ok, they aren't here, but I am going to play Really with this latest story about former Celtic Antoine Walker's arrest for an $800,000 unpaid gambling debt -

Really Antoine? You went to a different Nevada casino? Really? Didn't think they would notice the 6'8 guy? Really? So let me get this straight, you were a professional athlete, you earned nearly $100,000 in salary alone during your career, yet, you can't pay your bills? Really? And then the day after an arrest warrant was issued, which I have to assume you knew about, you decide you are just going to try to pay back the debt by gambling some more? Really? You just thought you could slip into a casino, undetected because it isn't as if casinos have cameras watching every inch of the place? Really?

Other than that, sure it has been a success

This morning while watching ESPN's Mike & Mike in the Morning, Mike Greenberg was plugging the show for the rest of the morning, and told people that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig would be appearing at 9:00.  I am sure he meant it as a tease, to get people to stay tuned, but at least for me, it has the opposite effect - as I will be sure to be doing something else.

Possibly I would listen but I am fairly confident it will be another typical ESPN interview of Selig, where they just lob softballs at the incompetent Selig.  To confirm my suspicion, Greenberg went on and on for a few minutes about how great the first half of the season has been for baseball, and how happy Selig must be.  Of course in the laundry list of what has happened in baseball thus far, Greenberg forgot to mention Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Sammy Sosa all being outed as steroid users.  Just a minor detail that may cast a bit of a negative light on MLB and in particular Selig's leadership of the sport.  

A quick freecreditreport.com rant

If you marry your dream girl, and then break up with her just because her credit is bad, doesn't that just make you a complete asshole?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H8dAgu05CA

What Does This Mean?

The Minnesota Vikings reportedly are customizing their playbook for QB Brett Favre. What could this possibly mean for their playbook - that the Vikings are now putting in plays to help their offensive players quickly switch to defense in order to make tackles after interceptions?

This seems fair

Yao Ming is injured. Again. He may miss all of next season, and his career may be over. But nothing is known for sure at the moment. Regardless, the NBA granted the Houston Rockets a disabled player exception due to this injury which freed up $5.7 million in cap space to allow Houston to sign Trevor Ariza.

Why does this make me so angry? It is because a few years back my favorite team, the Boston Celtics, applied for a similar exception, and the NBA denied the request. That was for Reggie Lewis. He died. Still bitter.

Everyone, Stop What You Are Doing!

Red Sox Owner John Henry has just released photos from his wedding. I am so excited I can barely type, but I just knew that everyone out there had been frantically searching the web for this moment when we get to see photos of this pasty old man getting married.

Not Quite Just The Facts

The following is two paragraphs from a story by Mike Florio on his web site Profootballtalk.com:

"The fact that Mechelle McNair didn't know combined with a claim from Kazemi's family that McNair would soon be divorcing his wife could point to a set of facts in which McNair was trying to break things off with Kazemi, who while under the influence of alcohol (or something else) might have reacted irrationally -- and violently -- to the news.

But where did the gun come from? It possibly belonged to McNair, who might have left the thing laying around without ever considering that the girl he was dating would use it on him."

Now let's count how many times in the span of three sentences Florio decides to just completely make up what he thinks might have happened -
1: "could point to a set of facts"
2: "who while under the influence of alcohol (or something else)"
3: "might have reacted irrationally"
4: "It possibly belonged to"
5: " who might have left the thing laying around"
6: "without ever considering"

Not bad. Only six times where Florio just guesses. Now, it could turn out that everything he made up did in fact happen. But shouldn't someone writing on a very prominent web site, not be so quick to just print rumors and what he believes may have happened? How many people will read that and gloss over the words Florio carefully couches his language in, such as "could point" or "might have" or "it possibly", and just use Florio's imagination to fill in the blanks to this tragic story.

For anyone who follows Profootballtalk.com, which is connected with NBCSports.com, you will know this type of report first, fact check second process is par for the course for Florio. But there is also a difference between reporting rumors when it comes to covering the NFL and the games, as compared to writing about a person's murder.

Update: It only took a few hours for one of Florio's made-up-rumors to be debunked, as now there is a report that the gun was not McNair's, but that the Kazemi had recently bought the gun. Florio also provides this same update to the story on his web site, but of course makes no mention of his previous incorrect posting. Another job well done by Florio.

Oh, that Ex-Vice President

Headline right now on CNN.com, "Ex-VP accuses insurer of 'purging' customer."  It caught my eye.  Quickly, I start thinking, who could it be?  If it was Cheney or Gore, I have to assume it would say Cheney or Gore instead of Ex-VP.  Dan Quayle, couldn't be.  He hasn't said something news worthy since he took Murphy Brown a little too seriously.  George H.W. Bush?  Yes, he is an Ex-VP, but he had another position after that, that trumps VP.  So, it has to be Walter Mondale, right?  Interested, I click on the link to the story.

So, which ex-Vice President was it?  Well, it was Wendell Potter of course.  Was he VP under Ford?  No.  He isn't an ex-VP of the United States.  Why would I think that.  Naturally, he is an ex-VP of corporate communications at the insurance giant Cigna.  Yes, that ex-VP.  I should have known.  

Nationals Park - Not Ready for Prime Time

Last night I went to my first game at Nationals Park to see the Red Sox against the Washington Nationals. As you can see below, the Nationals were concerned with the large expected turnout. This season, the Nats rank last in MLB in terms of attendance. But last night's game, set a stadium attendance record as the park was overrun by Red Sox fans.

Now, with advanced noticed that this would be a large crowd, you might expect the stadium to be prepared. Sure there might be some glitches, but at the same time, tickets went on sale in March and virtually sold out with the exception of some of the more expensive seats rather quickly. So there I was - bottom of the second inning, and decided to make a run to get myself a sausage and a couple of beers. I am with a friend, we are both very excited in anticipation of getting something to eat - sausage for me, and kielbasa for him. We wait in line for several minutes, only to find out - they were out. Of everything. Bottom of the second inning, and the Sausage Stand was out of sausages. And kielbasa. And peppers. And onions. They could have sold you a roll, but that was about it. In sheer disappointment, we venture on to find another sausage stand - this time we wait for what seems like an hour, missing many key plays. Finally we get to the front of this line - they are of onions and kielbasa (and something else, which I don't remember at the moment). Thankfully they had Italian sausages left, or else things could have taken a turn for the worse. So two beers and an Italian sausage later, I finally returned to my seat - top of the 5th inning. That's right, I missed from the bottom of the second to the top of the 5th all in a pursuit of something to eat.

From The Department of Redundancy Department

The Red Sox are coming to D.C. this week to play the Nationals. I am very excited for this and will be attending all three games. Unfortunately, the Nationals are not exactly accustomed to handling large crowds and they are expecting a large contingency of Red Sox fans to overtake Nationals Park.

So on Friday, I received the following e-mail from the Nationals. This is the first paragraph:

The Red Sox visit the Nation's Capital to take on the Nats on June 23 - 25. Nationals officials are expecting capacity crowds at Nationals Park on all three nights and encourage fans to arrive at the ballpark early when the team faces Boston to avoid rush hour delays and long lines.

Then, just in case that first paragraph was confusing, the Nats broke out their team president to reiterate that more than 38 people might be attending these games. Here is what Nats team president had to say.

"We are encouraging all fans to arrive early at Nationals Park when the team faces the Boston Red Sox next week in order to avoid delays and long lines." Nationals President Stan Kasten said. "We are expecting capacity crowds to be travelling to the ballpark during the heart of rush hour for all three games, and advise fans to plan for extra travel time."

See, much different than that first paragraph. Not to mention that I love that it falls on the shoulders of the team's president to tell people to arrive early. That isn't slightly below his pay grade?

What is wrong with ESPN

On the list of ESPN outrages, this may not rate the highest, but what is wrong with that network? Today is father's day and this is the poll question 0n the main page -

Which athlete would you want to be your dad?

Really? Isn't there something wrong with that question? Kids, don't respect your father and honor him on today of all days, but rather, sit at home, and wish you had someone else for a father. But of course ESPN's idiocy doesn't end there. The first choice all you sons and daughters out there can choose to replace your own father is Lance Armstrong. Inspirational story, sure. A good bike rider, absolutely. But someone who has been dogged by performance enhancing drug allegations.

It then gets worse. Choice number 2 - Kobe Bryant. I know ESPN loves him and Spike Lee did everything he could to make us all think Bryant is the greatest person in history. And let's forget for a second that Bryant, while an amazing basketball player, will never be confused for being the best guy to his teammates off the court. And lplease, for a second can we remember that at the very least Bryant used the cover of going to Colorado to rehab his knee to cheat on his wife. Yes please, can I have a father that cheats on my mom? Please, where do I sign up ESPN.

Any chance ESPN hires another ombudsman at some point?

One more thing on steroids in MLB

So this story came out yesterday - Manny Ramirez will report to the minor leagues to prepare himself to return to the Dodgers as soon as his 50-game suspension is over. It also says that Ramirez takes batting practice with Dodger coaches to stay ready during his suspension. Maybe this isn't the biggest deal, but I find something wrong with the fact that MLB allows Manny to take batting practice with his team's hitting coach and then go on a rehab assignment while he is suspended for cheating the game. Shouldn't the punishment be 50 games complete suspension. If he wants to work out, he does so on his own. But he can't go on a rehab assignment in the minor leagues to permit him to be ready to play at the major league level the day his suspension ends. After 50 games, that should be the first time he is allowed to do anything connected with a major league team. Just another example of how MLB still has this whole steroids thing wrong and how they are still bending over backwards to protect the guilty.

Time To Fake Outrage - Another baseball player caught for PED use

First, let me say, I am sick of the performance enhancing drug story in baseball. It is disappointing but at the same time, who can blame the players - the league certainly didn't care, so why shouldn't they have taken something that would make them better players, more famous, earn more money etc. We are unwilling to hold those who let it happen accountable (Bud Selig is still raking in millions as commish), so I don't find it fair to just blame the players. (I don't feel the same about players who are still getting caught, such as Manny Ramirez).

But, right now on the ESPN.com main page is the story about Sammy Sosa being caught for PED use. Then, at the bottom of the page, is a box with a link to a story about Ivan Rodriguez with the question who is the greatest catcher of all time - Isn't there something wrong with tearing down any baseball player who happens to get caught, but at the same time, acting as if a player who just happened not to be outed (yet) accomplished all of his achievements the natural way? Shouldn't we either not care who took PED and just assume most players did it, or be far more skeptical of any accomplishment in baseball over the last 15 years? But simply vilifying the minority who have been caught, and championing anyone else, seems to me rather naive and absurd.

Nothing Like Feeling Entitled to Everything

I saw this story on Friday. Yankee manager Joe Girardi is upset that Brad Penny hit Alex Rodriguez in the game with the Red Sox on Thursday June 11. Girardi thinks it was on purpose, and he doesn't like it. He is a Yankee, they can't throw at us. Who knows if it was on purpose or not. Maybe it was. But it wasn't at the head, it wasn't dangerous. And of course Girardi has no problem with the fact that this season, over the first seven games the two teams have played, Yankee pitchers hit a Red Sox 9 times - Yankees were only hit twice. (and a vast majority of those HBP were inflicted on Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis, the two players who just so happen to have done the most damage to the Yanks this season). It is all part of baseball - but when your team has done the same thing over and over, and finally, the opponent responds (in a way it should, that wasn't dangerous), it is just complete b.s. to fake outrage the way Girardi has. Just shut your mouth and manage your team.

In a similar Yankee story, injured reliever Brian Brunney on Saturday said he had a problem with Francisco Rodriguez's antics on the mound. You have to love when guys on the DL feel the need to talk to the press, and then especially in this case when Brunney is a teammate of Joba Chamberlain whose antics rival K-Rod's (not to mention that Joba does not have close to the resume at this point that K-Rod does.

What I would love to happen is for the media to maybe do its job - why doesn't someone who hears Brunney's quote or Girardi's ask them about their apparent hypoctical stances. I am sure he would duck the question, but can't someone at least ask Brunney, "if you you think K-Rod is a tired act, what do you think when Joba celebrates on the mound?" But I won't hold my breath.

Can someone create a poll that might mean something?

Why is it so difficult to write a proper poll? I am going to pick on ESPN, but I see this all over the place. Right now on ESPN.com, the poll question on the main page is "Will you watch the Belmont Stakes if Rachel Alexandra does not race?" There are then two choices - Yes and No.

The point of the poll is to try to gage what the impact of Rachel Alexandra's absence might have on viewership of the race - so just having two answers, yes and no, leaves out one (possibly large) category - those people like myself who couldn't care less about horse racing, and are not going to watch whether Rachel Alexandra or any other horse races.

This isn't asking too much, to just have what ESPN has is simply being lazy. This is a question that has three rather obvious choices choices - Yes, I will watch even if the horse does not race; No, I will not race if the horse does not race; and I will not watch either way. Nice, simple poll, that will yield some sort of meaningful result.

Isn't that the goal? A. Yes. B. No. C. Don't I have something better to do than to nitpick meaningless poll questions.

Or something that is slightly more important than a horse race, on CNN.com at the moment, the poll question is "Do you agree with President Obama's selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the next U.S. Supreme Court justice?" The poll has two possible choices - yes and no. The poll forces people to make a decision, instead of adding a third option, "Not sure," or "Haven't had a chance to make up my mind," or "Prior to this morning, I had never heard of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, so give me some freaking time to form an actual opinion if you really want an informed result."

Is This Really a Talent Worthy of its Own TV Show

Ok, so I do not watch the show, but I do see the commercials for The Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo. Every time I see a commercial I get angry because the woman could not be more annoying, rivaling the annoyance level of the woman in the Progressive Insurance commercials. For anyone who does not know, this is a show about a woman who has made a career (and then the tv show) about her business where she finds dates and spouses for millionaires. Wow, what a skill? I mean who wants to date millionaires? It must be so difficult to find people willing to want to be with someone who can guarantee their financial security for their life time, their childrens' lifetime, and maybe even their childrens' childrens' lifetimes, with plenty to spare on extra houses, cars, jewelry, and more material items than I can even imagine. Where do I sign up to get that job? What is the training - find a single millionaire, walk the person into a restaurant or a bar, and announce, "Hey, does anyone want to date a millionaire?" When all the hands get raised, you then tell the millionaire to pick one. Must be back-breaking work. Get a real job that takes a skill to be proud of, and then maybe it would be worthy of a television show - how about instead of The Millionaire Matchmaker, we find someone who is The Goofy Looking-Short-Poor Matchmaker. Give that person a show, because that would be a talent that might be worth watching.

You are ruining sports

I love sports, but there are so many things happening now with professional sports that make it difficult to maintain that love. Yesterday I found one more - idiot super-sensitive fans courtesy of Ernest Provetti. Ernest and his son were sitting courtside for Game Four of the Celtics-Magic series. After Glen Davis hits the game-winning shot at the buzzer, a shot that saved the Celtics from going down three games to one, Davis races up court to go celebrate with the rest of his teammates. Along the way, he bumps into Ernest's son. I watched it happen live, and in the back of my head, I said, I guarantee some idiot is going to make a big deal out Davis bumping into that kid. And of course I was right, as waiting to be just that idiot the day after the game were both Ernest and naturally ESPN.

Ernest sent the league an e-mail and made sure the local newspaper found out. Ernest calls Davis, "a raging animal," and demands an apology. He believes players are not allowed to cross the out of bounds line and step off the court, writing, "The NBA makes it clear [that players are not to] cross the sideline. If I cross that line, the NBA will take away my tickets. It's a double standard." A double-standard? Hey Ernest, go f*ck yourself. I don't really think players can't cross that line - how do they get to their bench if they can't cross the line? Players can't go into the stands. That is it. Players can't intentionally push, shove fans.

People like Ernest here, and ESPN for jumping on the story and talking about it throughout the day yesterday, are ruining sports. I am just sick of stories like this, people intent on getting their names in the paper at the expense of sucking all the fun out of sports. Ernest - do you like sitting courtside, just inches from the bench and all the action? Well keep complaining, because you know what will happen next time you or a similar moron complains - the NBA will make sure no one gets to sit that close anymore. If you want to sit that close to the action, there is a chance for some minor interaction with a player. Emphasis on the word minor. Deal with it Ernest (and any idiot who agrees with him). No one was hurt, no one was pushed down. It was not intentional. Davis hit probably the biggest shot of his career, and was excited. It was a great reaction to see, and this guy had to try to ruin it.

And you know what ESPN, and the papers that covered this - just because some moron complains, it doesn't mean you have to waste time and space covering it. Why not just ignore this moron? Is that freaking possible? Are there any sort of standards anymore on what is, and what is not news? Or is it simply that we are too stupid to decide, and if someone complains, we are just sheep and have no choice but to report on it?

As of now, neither the NBA nor the Celtics have apologized, and I hope they do not. I'd love it if someone would tell Ernest to shut the hell up, but for now, I'll be satisfied with the silence.

I guess you could do that too. But why would you want to?

Watching ESPNNEWS last night, along the bottom scroll was this, "Follow ESPNNEWS on Twitter." I am not really into Twitter, but I have no problem with it. It seems more of a way to follow celebrities than your friends. But regardless. Does a person really need to go to Twitter to follow ESPN anything? How about this ESPN, "Follow ESPNNEWS on ESPN.com." They already have their own web site. I am pretty sure plenty of people go there and know about it.

Here is something I like - Mike Reiss' Football Notes

The Boston Globe's Mike Reiss wrote this in the Sunday Boston Globe -

Everyone is covered
What is it about Brett Favre and his seemingly annual flirtation with retirement or returning to play that turns media coverage of the NFL on its head? Last Thursday, a reporter from NFL Network delivered a live report from Favre's front lawn in Hattiesburg, Miss., and told viewers, among other things, that he watched Favre's wife leave to run errands. Left unsaid was that Favre was one of the NFL's worst quarterbacks down the stretch last season.

Well said, Mike. Well said.

Dumb Yankee Fans, Even Dumber Yankee Jerseys

It goes without saying that I hate the Yankess and Derek Jeter and Yankee fans, but what really drives me crazy is Yankee Fans with Jeter jerseys who feel the need to put his name across the top (or any Yankee player), like these two idiots pictured above. Needless to say, it really makes me angry when I see a picture of a couple with their matching dumb Yankee jerseys. I know these two are huge fans who love the Yanks, but in case Ruth and Dimagio above haven't noticed, the Yankees don't have last names on their jerseys. That the Yankees have stuck to the same simple, distinctive uniforms is one of, if not the only, things I like about the Yankees - this stands in stark contrast to what has become of the Red Sox, who this year are rolling out different uniforms depending on what time of day a game is being played (accompanied by entire notebooks in the paper the next day devoted to what uniform and uniform accessories the Red Sox were wearing the night before).

Well if these two guys say it

Well if two people with rings say it, then it must be true, according to the Boston Globe today -

"When two players with rings say the same thing, it must be true: Aaron Ward (three Cups) and Shawn Thornton (one) both noted that the last win is the hardest one to get."

Oh, then I guess it is true. If these two guys can come up with words of wisdom like that. It isn't as if every single announcer won't be saying the same exact thing before the start of any possible game where a playoff series can end.

Again, as wrote in an earlier post, this writer has moer access than anyone to a team. Can we get some meaningful information? What is up next - coach says team is going to have to play hard from beginnnig to end to win.

Nothing Like a Snap Judgment

What do you think football columnist Peter King would think if he read a column by an entertainment writer saying a football player should find something else to do for a career after just one game? I imagine King would be ready with a response centering around how you can't judge someone that soon, and you have to give the player a chance to get comfortable, to develop.

I am wondering about this after reading King's Monday Morning Quarterback column, where despite there only being one episode, he is all ready to write off Amy Poehler and her new show Parks & Recreation. King writes, under the non-football thoughts section, "Keep your Saturday night job, Amy Poehler."

First, not exactly the most clever phrase I have heard of, especially considering Poehler can't keep a job she no longer has. If anything, it should read, "Go back to your Saturday night job."

But second, and more on point here, it was one show. Cheers was the worst rated show on TV after one episode. Seinfeld was a failure early on. King loves The Office, a show that had it not been for Steve Carell's movie success, likley would not have survived very long. Could you wait maybe a few episodes, possibly give it a chance, before you use your national football column to take a shot at it?

A leader of athletics or a director who can run?

This is another pet-peeve of mine, and I see it all over the place. Headline today on ESPN.com - "BC athletic director gets extension." The article is then about Boston College giving an extension to Gene DeFilippo. Now DeFilippo runs BC's athletics department. He is the Athletics Director (note the "s"). That is someone who is the director of athletics. He is NOT the Athletic Director (note lack of the "s"). An athletic director can be a director of anything who happens to be in good shape, maybe can run a mile or plays softball. I guess DeFilippo could be an athletic Director, but he received an extension for being the Athletics Director.

Let's Stay on Topic

In today's Washington Post (Monday, 4/13/09) there is a front page article about Rahm Emanuel, and how he is working with lawmakers to help pass legislation. The writer is showing how Emanuel has been functioning as Chief of Staff in a manner that is different than his previous reputation. "But in his new job, Emanuel is overhauling his image, becoming more valet than hit man, and his formula for moving Obama's agenda through Congress is beginning to resonate. Even Republicans concede that given Obama's early victories, thornier tasks such as landmark health-care, energy and education bills may not be out of reach."

As support for this, the writer then quotes Republican Representative Peter T. King saying, "He's tough, and he's really not that partisan. He doesn't think he's morally superior to Republicans, and that alone will get you far in this environment."

The writer then needs contrast, to show that not all Republicans have the same view of Emanuel that King does. Sure, no problem. But who does the author quote - Newt Gingrich, who yes, he is a republican, but hasn't been in office in 10 years. What would Gingrich possibly know about how Emanuel has worked with lawmakers since becoming Chief of Staff. This isn't anti-Gingrich, but for this article, and this topic, his opinion is not particularly relevant. Can the Post not find a living, breathing Republican who is actually holding office to give a quote? To me this is just lazy reporting. I know Republicans in office is a relatively small number, but there are still 100s of them. Find one, one Republican in office who would say that working with the Obama White House and Emanuel in particular has not been easy.

And you know what, if by some chance you can't find someone to say that, then don't include that portion in your article. We don't need Newt Gingrich's opinion on everything, and in particular, we don't need someone who does not hold office, who is not a lawmaker, spouting off in an article about current lawmaker's dealings with Emanuel.

There has to be a better option

Please, America, tell me this isn't true. Please, tell me this is a mistake, or a satire, or something. Please, tell me, that Fast and Furious is not, by a rather large margin, the top movie in America. I would say a new low, but again we are on a third season of Rock of Love. So maybe this is just par for the course.

Groundbreaking News Thanks to Bob Ryan

So Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan is at The Final Four. He can write about anything he wants before the championship game tonight. And thankfully, Mr. Ryan gives us a column telling us about UNC's Tyler Hansborough. I just want to thank him for writing this informative column about a topic that has never been written about anywhere or anytime before. Tyler Hansborough has been a four-year college basketball player, and a star from day one. But despite all his on-court success, people tend to focus on the negatives, in particular that there are questions about whether or not his game translates to the NBA. But Bob Ryan doesn't care about that, and he is going to use the forum of his column to tell the world that.

It isn't that I disagree with one word Ryan writes. It is just that this article has been written. And written, and talked about on tv, and written some more, and talked about some more. It took me all of one other web site to visit before I saw another writer who wrote essentially the same article, here.

Do you want to make newspapers relevant and reporting relevant again - give me something new. Bob you are there. You are at the games, you have access to these players and these coaches and information almost no one else has. Yet, you give us a column that any person who follows college basketball for one second could have written.

In addition to the repetitive nature of the topic of Ryan's column, he and the editors at the Globe also showed how little attention they paid this particular column with the following sentence:

Again, this is all about his NBA future, and where he'll go in the draft, and the supposition that he would have gone much higher last year, and that he'll never be more than a role-player, etc., rather than focusing on the fact that throwing the ball to Hansbrough on any given possession is still the best hope any team has of putting points on the board, if only because he gets to the foul line more than anybody and he makes 'em when he gets there.

Yes, that is a sentence, 87 words without a period anywhere in sight.

Maybe Ryan can be forgiven if he didn't give this column his all with the news this weekend that The Boston Globe may be coming to an end unless the writers make a series of major concessions. I can understand. Ryan has been synonymous with the Globe for longer than I have been able to read. The thought of no more Boston Globe bothered me all weekend. I can't imagine what that concept does to someone like Ryan. But at the same time, one of the failings of newspapers has been an inability to give readers something different than what can be found on any internet site or any cable news show. Take advantage of your access and give people something special. Make people call or e-mail their friends, saying, "Did you read Ryan today - you have to." Would it be enough to save the paper or newspapers in general? Probably not at this point. But isn't it better to go down swinging, then simply providing more evidence for people who think the demise of newspapers is not really all that big of a deal.

Outdoors in New England vs. Inside

It is almost as if scheduling this game to be played outdoors in New England in early April, when it very easily could have been played in a dome, did not make any sense. What is the point of having teams play their home games in domes if it isn't utilizyed at this time of the year. I understand there are not enough dome teams and warm weather teams - but it seems like every year we go through this with opening day games in Boston, New York, Cleveland, etc.

What is better about the NCAA than the NBA

So, this post should be about why I like something, but really it is just going to be a backhanded way to note what it is that makes me not want to watch the NBA (and it should be noted that basketball is my favorite sport, and the NBA is the league I follow the closest. What that says about me, I don't know).

Anyway, three things I like better about the NCAA than I do the NBA -
1. Better officiating.
2. Less complaining.
3. No (or considerably less) flopping.

Of course in the interest of fairness, what do I like better about the NBA than the NCAA - no Duke.

Good job, Bud

Thankfully, the World Baseball Classic is over. But as per usual, the incompetent Bud Selig was sure to make matters worse.

First, there was the story here about MLB pressuring Derek Lee, who was injured, to be a replacement for the injured Kevin Youkilis.

Then, there was Selig here, complaining about the lack of effort by the United States team. Selig, who is terrible at his job, simply should never complain about anyone else. Ever. He has lost that privilege. But more importantly - this WBC is Selig's tournament, and the only way it suceeds is if the game's top players play, they enjoy it, and they either come back or tell others they should play. But why would someone put themselves out there, at a time when they should be readying themselves for the upcoming season, if the Commissioner is going to question their effort when/if they lose. This is baseball, it isn't a series, anything can happen in any given game. The best teams in the league lose 60-70 games per season.

Bill Simmons in is mailbag yesterday really said exactly how I feel about baseball at the moment:

And when you think about how many All-Stars cheated over the past two decades -- is the number 70 percent? 75 percent? 80 percent? -- the unwillingness of the commissioner's office and the player's union to apologize publicly or admit any culpability whatsoever is really staggering. Why is Bud Selig still the commissioner? THIS HAPPENED ON HIS WATCH! Why is Gene Orza still running the players' union? THIS HAPPENED ON HIS WATCH! Everyone's collective "apology" this winter seemed to be, "Let's move on, it's spring training, the World Baseball Classic will be fun, fantasy baseball is starting up ... no use crying over spilled milk."

Ask yourself this: Do you feel like the players, union leaders, owners and executives even feel bad about what happened? Because I don't feel like they do. And it makes me kind of hate baseball. I will still follow it, and I will still love the Red Sox, and I will still do the League of Dorks ... but at the same time, when the sport flounders because of the economy this summer, part of me will be thinking, "What goes around comes around."

Thanks Bill for saying what I think needs to be screamed by anyone who cares about baseball - Why is Bud Selig still the commissioner? I don't get it, and I don't understand the lack of outrage that he continues at this job with all the damage he has helped to inflict on the sport.

Shouldn't the title of this article be "Johnson is really a little bit of a prick."

From the Mercury News.com - Johnson wishes Schilling well

These are Randy Johnson's quotes:

• "I haven't talked to him in a while."
  
• "I guess maybe he'd had enough and didn't want to try to come back from his surgery. I know he's got other business ventures that he's doing, so maybe he's enjoying that a little bit more. He's had a great career and I wish the best for him.
• "I don't have an opinion about me, so I surely don't about anybody else."
  
• "Somebody who has a vote can vote. I don't know what the parameters are."
• "I've moved on."
  
• "I'm thinking about this year. I'm not thinking about that World Series or my Cy Youngs or anything. That was eight years ago. It does nothing for me now. I'm eight years older."

http://www.mercurynews.com/giantsheadlines/ci_11997967

Are you f*cking kidding me?!?!?!?!?!?

Just read an article that the Senate is going to hold hearings on the BCS. Yes, that BCS. Yes, that Senate. Seriously. Right, now. The Senate must have a little down time with nothing really that important going on for them to focus their attention. Stories like this make me wonder how anyone can dislike politicians and possibly, ever, question their motivations. Any Senator who spends one second on this issue at a hearing should be ashamed of themselves, and hopefully members of their respective districts take notice.

Oh, and it is not just the Senators, as you read about the brilliant, doing his job for the American people representative who is sponsoring legislation, actually spent time to write a bill, that would prevent the NCAA from calling a football game a "national championship" unless the game culminates from a playoff system. Great job. Very impressive. I hope you are very proud.

I don't think they taught this in Journalism school

So, last night, President Obama held a press conference. At one point, CNN's Ed Henry asked a question, and the President gave a curt response. One question, one response. I didn't think it was really a big deal at the time.

Nope, coverage, not of the press conference, but of this one question, has received more news coverage today than the press conference itself. So much news today not about the question, or the response, but the response to the question and the response. And it isn't just other networks or newspapers talking about it, but CNN, and Ed Henry himself.

Ed Henry, Really? You are a reporter. You aren't supposed to be the story. It was a single question, and a single response. I don't really believe that warrants a response, let alone nearly 700 words. Is this how far the journalism profession has fallen that one possibly tough question and one possibly tough answer warrants dominating the news cycle the following day. I don't think this one question deserves to be recognizes or condemned. It was a question. Get over yourself Ed.

Is there any journalistic integrity left anywhere. I don't think this should be a story at all - if there is a story in the specifics of the President's answer or any answer, fine. But a day's worth of news about Ed Henry and the President and what does it mean. He is a reporter, it is his job to ask questions. To ask tough questions that occasionally might elicit a harsh response, that sometimes may be warranted, and sometimes it might be an overreaction.

If someone else wants to write about this, fine. I don't really think it is a story. But I don't think a journalist should ever be writing an article about reaction to his own one question. These networks and companies are so desperate for ratings, that they will jump all over anything. Journalism ethics be damned.

This is right along the lines of these news shows calling themselves, "The best political coverage" or similar terms. Newspapers and news networks should just be that. News. Not this bullsh*t of creating on your own labels for your own coverage. Does anyone other than CNN call it the best political coverage? So CNN should not. If you have to advertise your own news show as no bias, no bull, it is probably a pretty safe bet your are full of sh*t. And CNN is far from the only one, it really is every network. And it is just another reason why it is increasingly difficult to take any news on any of these networks seriously. Their priorities are not based on delivering the news. That is far, far down the list with money and advertising and ratings being at the top of the list for the networks; and just getting publicity for yourself at the top of the list for the reporters.

I read this article here by Eric Alterman about the press conference. I agree with everything Alterman writes. I think regardless of your political views, opinions of the President or any of his ideas, we can agree that cable news is failing at its job of informing the American public on what matters. This failure is only going to become more alarming as newspapers continue to go away. Alterman points out the questions on substantive issues had to come from other outlets - not the cable news reporters and not even major newspapers. Maybe this will be the only way to teach these so-called reporters a lesson: stop wasting our time in your attempt to entertain instead of inform, or else, lose your ability to have the President answer your questions.

Something needs to be done because cable news reporters aren't asking questions and filming stories based on what is the most important. They are going for ratings and entertainment. The way CNN followed up on the Ed Henry question underscored this. CNN and Henry wanted to get good television by trying to goad Obama. When he gave them a response that they felt they could spin and stretch into their pre-determined Obama shows anger story - they ran wild with it. And their friends were all too happy to join in. They don't want questions and answers about substance, about issues. They want a show about anger, who is angry, who is the most angry, and when were they angry. As we face this economic crisis, I have just one simple question - why the f*ck does that matter?

Can we please put an end to . . .

People saying, "So, working hard, or hardly working?" Every time I hear that, I laugh, and I laugh. Today, in line to pay for my lunch, I heard a guy behind me say this to someone else. I really couldn't believe it. I thought we had reached the point where this wasn't said anymore. I guess I was wrong. We must put a stop to this. Take two seconds, and think of something else to say if you insist on making small talk. How about just say, "How's it going?" Not exactly breaking any records for being clever, but it is much, much better than working hard, hardly working.

While we are at it, let's also put an end to, "So, it cold enough out there for ya?", and might as well toss in, "So, it hot enough out there for ya?"

Have I mentioned I Hate the WBC

I hate the World Baseball Classic. This is only part of the reason. Every single spring training, fans are told not to pay too much attention to anything we see. Pitchers are just getting stretched out, hitters are getting their timing down. Results are not important. It is just preparation for the season, and the players ready themselves to use the time to be ready for opening day. But now, the Incompetent One Bud Selig sees dollar signs in the WBC, and he doesn't care about anything else. That the best players don't want to play - who cares. That players are pushing themselves, especially pitchers, to try to win in games that are treated as meaningful. Lose a game, and be called failures. So the players who actually do play, push too hard, too soon. And they just are not ready.

Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci had some ideas that might help - put the interests of the players above the interests of the sponsors. If the players are happy, and want to play, and the best players compete, everything else will fall into place. Only problem, Dollar Sign Bud couldn't care less about the players. Taking any step that might lighten anyone's pockets, even if it would significantly help the players and help the game, he would never consider. This is the same man who in a shameful attempt to help ratings, decides home field for the sports biggest event based on the result of an exhibition game. The man is a failure, and as long as he is in charge of anything, whatever it is, will no doubt be flawed and fail as well.

With the WBC, Seig is legacy shopping. He is clearly thinking about what his baseball commissioner obituary is going to say. He is searching for a lead, and he thinks creating this grande world wide tournament may be it. Well, I have news for you Bud. Your legacy is set, the headline has already been written. It is steroids. Not only was it on your watch, but you and your ignorance/indifference allowed steroids to stain everything about the sport over the last 10-12 years. Up next, is probably canceling the World Series. Everything else is a footnote.

The WBC is something that on paper may make sense - baseball is an international game, let's have an international tournament. But there just is not a time to play it that makes sense - where it can be played with the best players competing at their bests. If that is the case, then it should not be played. But competition always takes a back seat for Selig - a backseat to sponsors and ad revenue.

A big time question - Duke v. Pitino?

My friends and I like to have e-mail debates centering around "who would you root for" - a question that typically involves two sides that no one would be particucularly happy about rooting for ever. With the release of the NCAA tournament, I was asked, who would I root for in the championship game if it came down to Duke and the Rick Pitino coached Louisville. I had to take a moment. But then my answer was clear.

Duke.

This was an amazingly tough choice. But I do not want Pitino to succeed at Louisville. I know success has degrees, and by many definitions, he has had success at Louisville. But he left Kentucky where he was right in the middle of putting together a dynsasty. And he did all of that so he could come to the Celtics, be the arrogant, unflicnhing a-hole he is, and ruin the Celtics. My favorite team. And then he goes back to college, and all is forgotten. Well f*ck him. He doesn't get to win another championship, and make his stay in Boston really nothing but a minor footnote. The man is a smug arrogant a-hole. Who else writes a book called "Success is a Choice," and then writes another similar book. Hey Rick - you failed in miserable fashion in Boston, did you just choose not to succeed then? And by the way Rick, the second you left, the team turned it around. So it wasn't the players, it wasn't the defense, it wasn't the pressure of playing in Boston or the negativity from talk radio - it was you. All you. One-hundred percent. No debate. As a Celtic fan, I am thankful every single day, that Rick Pitino will never again walk through that door.

Pitino never should have left Kentucky, and if he wins a title in Louisville, well then - it all worked out in the end for him. Well, I dont want it to work out. I want it to always be over his head that he never achieved the type of success in Louisville that he had in Kentucky. And also, he has one title. Fine. But start to win two, and your place in history really changes.

Duke - yes I hate Duke, like any person really should. But how much more obnoxious could Duke get? The answer is none. None more obnoxious.

So, for now, I can just root for each team to lose so it will never come to such a terrible choice. And if it does come down to Duke-Lousville, I will be fine. I won't watch - will be too busy lighting myself on fire.

The Big List

I am sure I will add to this, and will probably expand on some of the items mentioned here, but here we go - the list - in no particular order - what do I hate....

New York Yankees, Duke, the Lakers, the BCS, sandals, really any footwear other than sneakers, talk radio, debt, bad breath, the dentist, haircuts, combing my hair, tying my shoes, pairing socks from the laundry, sweating, buying clothes, shopping, the supermarket, reality TV "stars," virtually any show that appears on The Soup, bars with cover charges, athletic trainers, chopsticks, moving, helping people move, asking people to help me move, asking people to pick me up at the airport, Bud Selig, the World Baseball Classic, Rick Pitino, NBA officials, NBA players who flop, sports agents, freecreditreport.com, celebrity gossip, not having change for the vending machine, the switch from cans to bottles of soda, people who turn the simple task of ordering a sandwich into the most complicated feat on the planet, people in a checkout line who wait until the last possible second to get out their form of payment as if they couldn't have seen that step coming, watching people trying to pick out which donuts they want for a dozen, meatloaf, Meatloaf, the media most of the time, ESPN most of the time, Fox News all the time, having cereal but no milk, having jelly but no peanut butter, having to set an alarm on the weekend, Proposition 8, the Today Show, turtlenecks, people who try to get on elevators or the train before letting the people off, the small yet growing bald spot beginning to form on the back of my head, the near impossibility anymore of being able to buy a ticket to an event at face value, the unwillingness of the powers-that-be to even attempt to address that problem, that I can't break dance, not being 6'0 tall, people who feel a need to provide a minute by minute time-line of their day via their facebook status, having my order screwed up, bars/restaurants that give you a hard time about splitting your check for multiple people over multiple credit cards, places that try to enforce a minimum charge before they will let you use a credit card, that bar in DC we went to with all the strange rules, spilling something on the rug in our apartment, spilling something and not realizing until long after the stain has set in, spilling something and realizing it but being too lazy to do something, spilling something and realizing it and actually doing something but making the stain much much worse, same goes for my clothes, ironing, wearing ties, people who hate everything, fish, Phish, that The Wire and The Shield and Arrested Development all are off the air, Abba, girls running on to the dance floor arms flailing screaming when Abba is played at a bar, listening to Johnny Sports Trivia explain every possible detail to the girl he brought with him to the game that he is attempting to impress, not knowing any of the questions at Jeopardy, companies that are using the state of the economy as an excuse to layoff low-level workers (I am talking about you Washington Redskins and other sports teams), people who don't turn right on red, people who take their sweet time crossing the street even if they are doing so against the light, wine, people who repeatedly and violently push the call button for an elevator as if that will get it there faster, I know he is already on here but I really hate Bud Selig, the liquid rule for getting through airport security, people who don't know the right way to put their luggage in the overhead compartment, people who know the flight is full but still decide to stuff all their belongings in the overhead compartment instead of just sticking their winter coat on their lap or under the seat, the overly-anal people about getting in line for a flight on Southwest, my rapidly declining vision ability, buying something only to realize shortly after "What was I thinking," that I can get a footlong sub from Subway for 5 bucks but not a 6-inch double sub for that same price,

Walking

I hate walking. And I don't mean walking for exercise, walking on a treadmill or anything like that. I mean just normal, simple, plain 'ol every day, right foot then left foot walking. Why? Because I am not good at it. I am a terrible walker. Said in my best Bill Walton voice, "Terrible." I don't fall down or anything like that. But I am completely incapable of walking more than one block without having one of those awkward confrontations with someone walking towards me. This is not an exaggeration. I will be walking. There will be someone else. We will approach each other. Now, most adults (if not children), have mastered the art of walking past another person, easily, even mindlessly, avoiding confrontation. Not me. Not ever. I always, always, get in one of those predicaments where we are face to face. I slow down, so does the other person. I start to move to one side - the other person does the same. Then we each try to go the other way. At this point, after a few side to sides, we usually untangle and go on our way.

By why does it have to get this far? Why with over 30-years of walking experience, why can't I do this correctly. Sometimes I begin to get mad at the other person (in my head). Use the rules of the road - stay to the right. You idiot, get to the right and out of my way. Only problem is, I don't stick to this rule. Chaos. I can't explain. I don't understand. I don't know why. I just know I can't walk.

And today, was the last straw. I know without question I need help. It is a nice day out, and I decide to get out of the office and take a quick walk for a break. Ok, I was told to leave my office while they fixed my computer because I had downloaded a virus by accident. Either way. Either way. I am outside, doing my walking. Everything going well. This is easy, anyone can do it. Then I am coming to a corner and planning on turning to my left down another street. Uh oh. I see someone in my path. It is going to happen, I can see it. He sees me. I am nervous. Why isn't he nervous? Can't he see what is only a few steps in his future? We get closer. Move to your right. I say this in my head both to him and to myself to myself. To the right. Phew, he does. He moves to the right. Oh no. Problem. I don't follow the rule. I go left. Why, why did I go left. This isn't Wee Britain. He now sees me, looks at my eyes. He sees fear, he must. He wants me to take the wide turn, while he stays on the inside. That makes sense. But it isn't what happens, because I keep going left. Stumbling and studder-stepping. We are inches apart. It is like a tractor beam. I can't shake loose. We are face to face. And we each come to a standstill. This is a first. A new low. No movement at all. Just me, an idiot, completely stopped, staring at this man. He looks at me, as if to say,"What the f#ck is wrong with you? Why can't you walk?" Maybe, sometime in the past, I would have been thinking the same, blaming him for our standstill. But I have to be true to myself. I know the truth. It is my fault. It is always my fault. I just can't walk and I hate it.

Did I really just hear you say you could care less?

One last time, can we please get this straight - the saying is, "I couldn't care less." Ok. Very easy. It is not, "could care less." Could care less does not make any sense. I own a hat. I love this hat. I could care less about it I guess. That really isn't letting anyone know about my level of caring about this hat. But, if I said I own a hat, and I couldn't care less about it, that lets the listener know that I hate this hate. I despise this hat. I am at the lowest possible level of caring when it comes to this hat.

And it isn't so much when I hear someone that I am talking to say "could care less." Yes, I wish they would use the correct phrase, but I can deal with that. It is when I see it in print or hear it in a movie or a TV show. It is one thing for it to come from someone's mouth in the moment of conversation. It is another when the phrase goes though some level of editing, and still comes out incorrect on the other side. Two of my favorite shows that I thought were cleverly written, Seinfeld and The West Wing, were as guilty as any outlet of using "could care less" on repeated occasions.

Similarly, I don't want to hear or see "ATM Machine" or "PIN Number." ATM - automated teller machine. PIN - personal identification number. Saying ATM Machine or PIN Number is just redundant. And again, it is one thing if I hear it said. But I feel as if it is rather common to see a billboard or an advertisement for a bank highlighting their 100s of ATM Machine locations in the area. Just drives me nuts.

And lastly, the word is "regardless."

State Nicknames

I hate State nicknames. They are pointless, and usually deal with rather obvious and not all that unique qualities of the different states. Some may be fine. But for the most part, they stink. To use an example, I will pick on one of my favorite states, Rhode Island ('hey, it's up and coming."). The great state of Rhode Island has cleverly dubbed itself, "The Ocean State." And boy are they proud of that. It is on signs as you enter the state, on their license plates. It is everywhere. Really, why shouldn't they be proud. They are a state. They are bordered by an ocean. The Ocean State. Freaking brilliant. I mean how many states can claim to be bordered by an ocean? I can't think of any other. So they slap it all over the place, letting the people know that Rhode Island and ocean go together like none other.

And that is the point - Fine, you have a dumb nickname. It happens to the best of us. But maybe acknowledge that calling yourself the ocean state isn't exactly something you should be rushing to point out to the public. It doesn't exactly give anyone an indication of what is important, special or unique about the particular state. It could be too late to change the nickname, but possibly, don't be so proud of it. Or, get together, and decide on a new name - something that tells people something about your state - Rhode Island: The State you drive through when going from Massachusetts to New York if you want to avoid the Mass Pike. Something catchy like that. Or they could just use the old standard, "The 401."