...aren't we all trying, and if not, why not?
This is however, my water cooler so I will be blogging about politics, faith, pop culture, food and drink, my kids, my work, and sports - which guarantees baseball. If you don't enjoy the water, I won't be offended should you leave, but if you stay please keep your comments civil and provide thoughtful feedback; okay sanity is not required.
A teacher was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter and a concurrent sentence of ten years for failing to render aid after a hit and run accident last year. Many comments are flooding the Dallas Morning News article saying "she should have been put to death" and "I have no pity for this thug."
What amazes me is not the sentence. I might argue it is probably deserved when you consider she left the scene of an accident without checking on the child she hit. What amazes me at the outrage at this teacher, yet no one seemed this up in arms when Josh Brent, the former defensive lineman for the Cowboys had a DUI that killed his team mate.
Despite having a DUI in college that meant he was driving without a license, Mr. Brent somehow managed to serve all of 180 days in county jail despite killing someone, yet this woman will serve years.
I'm not sure anymore whether justice is still blind, but you have to wonder based on sentences handed down of late.
Today Cowboys defensive back Orlando Scandrick was suspended for four games for violation of the league's drug policy. The drug in question appears to be MDMA.
It wasn't too long ago that Ray Rice beat his fiancee unconscious.
In San Francisco, Aldon Smith has been nailed on not one, but two DUIs. He also has a little issue with weapons charges and oh yeah, he made a bomb threat at an airport.
While none of these guys deserve a pass it appears increasingly clear that while the NFL will "discipline" all of them, the league is endorsing this behavior with the way their owners
Jones, who has his own drinking problem, is all too ready to bring back Josh Brent - a player who killed a team mate because he couldn't handle his alcohol issues. How can Mr. Jones expect Josh Brent to handle gap assignments when he can not seem to handle basic life assignments?
Of course when we come to alcohol and the NFL, it is hard to look past Jim Irsay. Irsay was busted for DUI. He was found with multiple prescription pain killers and $30,000 in cash in his car despite his alleged girlfriend dying of an overdose just two weeks prior. I am not a police officer, but in my world this amounts to what you might call a clue.
The point is the NFL will throw the book at players for a sneeze in the wrong direction or say a player dunking a ball over a goal post, but they don't seem to have the heart to deal with their owners and executives who can't seem to keep it together.
The NFL seems confused by why they have a player behavior problem. I'm not confused at all.
Okay, so I am not usually one to make game day predictions much less attempt to astrologize what will happens months off in the making, but my friends, I will tell you now your Cowboys are not making the playoffs AND I would take the under when it comes to Tony Romo and him making it through 14 games - which is what Bovada currently has his number at.
Before I continue, let me note that as a Green Bay stockholder, I do not and will not wager on any NFL game as it is a violation of league rules and would void my ownership rights. That being said, Romo sounds done to me and I will be interested to see how long he can continue to play.
Since his back surgery seven months ago we have had the typical he said/she said from Jerry Jones and the rest of the Cowboys organization about whether or not Romo is 100%. Romo himself in a recent interview said he was working to getting up to where he wanted to be - for me a clear indication he was not 100%. Even the Dallas Morning News is noticing him stating in a recent scrimmage his play was uneven. More telling though is the fact that the Cowboys are holding Mr. Romo out of the one or two series he might have played in Thursday's opening preseason game against the Chargers.
I could be wrong, but something tells me Mr. Romo is much worse than expected and something tells me the entire organization is in fear that the line breaks down in such a way that Tony is re-introduced to Jason Hatcher or other members of the Redskins D line in a compelling way. I don't think I have anything against Tony Romo personally. I have never been a Dallas fan and don't anticipate becoming one. He seems like a good guy, though I don't think he is the one I would want leading my team - too much gunslinger who shows up game day, but does not put in the mental effort of a Peyton Manning or Derek Jeter.
In any case, the season clearly rests on his surgically repaired back which for me means a record 5-11. No questions about making or not making the playoffs this year Mr. Jones.
As we head into Super Bowl Sunday and the drama of whether or not Peyton Manning will take home a second title ring I heard a recent discussion about Michael Young and whether or not he belongs in the Ranger Hall of Fame or even the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. (The quick answers to those two issues are who cares and absolutely not. I can't even believe a "journalist" would refer to Michael Young as a borderline Hall of Famer with a hits total of under 2400 and home run numbers under 200. Perhaps ESPN 103.3 doesn't believe in drug testing its employees.)
The primary discussion centered around does Young belong in the Rangers Hall of Fame since he went to the Phillies and then the Dodgers. The absent mindedness of the fact that the Rangers traded Young to Philadelphia is somewhat disheartening, but what was Young to do? Stop playing? Simply because he wasn't a Ranger anymore? You have to be kidding right?
The discussion then moved to how the Dallas Metroplex was unhappy with Emmitt Smith continued to play football after the Dallas Cowboys no longer wanted him. I realize the picture of Smith playing in a Cardinals jersey had to horrify Dallas fans back in the day, but as I recall he started fifteen games for the Cardinals and nearly ran for 1000 yards in 2004. Why is it he should give up playing just because Jerry Jones wasn't smart enough to want to keep him around?
Right now, the Cowboys would kill for a guy who was a consistent 1000 yard rusher and a quarterback smart enough to hand the ball off to him. (Given DeMarco Murrary's injury history I am not ready to pronounce him a true heir apparent to Mr. Smith, but he might be, though I doubt with Tony Romo and his five offensive coordinators, he will ever get to show it.)
Another great example of a guy who didn't know he was supposed to quit was Nolan Ryan. I know it's a scary thought, but you will remember, even the great Texas Ranger Nolan Ryan wasn't a Ranger. Not until the END of his career. Before that he played for the Mets, Astros, and even the California Angels. Was he supposed to stop playing because the team he started with no longer wanted his services?
What about Willie Mays? Some say he was the greatest ball player of all time. I argue that because I never saw Mr. Mays pitch, but having started his career in New York with the Giants, he ended it in New York also...as a Met. Remember that?
I don't bring up all these examples, not to mention Mr. Manning, for any other reason than this is a child's game that adult men get to earn a living playing. In general, their careers are short lived, perhaps four or five years if they are really good. That being the case, why would anyone begrudge a player for taking those extra contracts to play a game?
There is a lesson for the rest of us in their pursuit. When you find that which you are passionate about...run after it. Go get it...seize that day.
Robin Williams character in Dead Poets Society was dead right...make your lives extraordinary:
Now I would like you to step forward over here and peruse some of the faces from the past. You’ve walked past them many times. I don’t think you’ve really looked at them.
They’re not that different from you, are they? Same haircuts. Full of hormones, just like you. Invincible, just like you feel. The world is their oyster. They believe they’re destined for great things, just like many of you. Their eyes are full of hope, just like you. Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives even one iota of what they were capable? Because you see gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. But if you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen. Do you hear it?
[whispers] Carpe.
[whispers again] Carpe. Carpe Diem. Seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.
What are you waiting for? Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor. Go get it.
Jerry Jones, the President, CEO, and General Manager, of your Dallas Cowboys believes that the NFL playoffs would be better off...if only they would expand. Look Cowboys fans, I get it. It has to be tough watching your team miss the playoffs each of the past four years and in each of the last three, losing the final game of the season to a division opponent to keep them out of the playoffs, but who is to blame?
Your coaching staff talks about doing things the right way, but if you are doing it the right way and that leads to success and you aren't successful...maybe the answer is you aren't doing it the right way. I know that is hard to believe for fans of "America's team," but let's look at reality, you have finished 8 and 8 each of the past three years? How is that successful? At best it is mediocre.
By the way, a quick side note for Cowboys fans about your organization, you are not successful getting to the playoffs. There are thirty-two NFL teams and each year only one of them can be successful. I know, I know...if the Raiders were to beat up on the AFC West one year and get into the playoffs many would consider that successful. I don't. You either win the last game of the season or you don't. If you aren't sure, go ask Bill Belichick what he thinks about the year they went 16-0 during the regular season and then 2-1 in the playoffs. Sorry to say, but it's the one that counts in that case, because that was Super Bowl XLII. The one game they lost that year...the Super Bowl.
Instead of fixing the problems with his team which include a General Manager who is not trained for the job and a general lack of talent (see General Manager, Problems with) the Cowboys want to fix the system where you simply add teams. My question is after this year, why would I add the Cowboys, then the Arizona Cardinals - in the toughest division in football arguably - were ten and six. Jerry, you were eight and eight man!
Honestly, the issue is ultimately moot. For me, I believe you could probably make the playoffs the top fifteen teams from each conference and the Cowboys would still find a way to choke in December and miss the playoffs anyway. They are America's team, because they like many in America, have decided they are entitled to things instead of working for them. And that is the real story for the Cowboys and Jerry Jones. Too much entitlement, not enough effort.
