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And people wonder why the general population hates cops. What a dick.

On Pot Smoking Olympians

Before I get into this, I want to state that first of all I don't smoke pot and I probably never will. Not that I think there is anything wrong with it, I just don't care to smoke anything. Anyway, here...we...go...

A few days ago, the pictures that shook a nation and took away a countries national innocence for the 50 bajillionth time were unleashed upon the interwebs. Michael Phelps took a bong hit and was photographed! Oh no, think of the children! WHY WON'T ANYONE THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!?!?

Ok, ok, maybe that is a little excessive, maybe you could call that an overreaction, but most of all, maybe you could call that the reaction that has taken place to these photos. Now, it was stupid on Phelps' part, granted it was also stupid of him to get a DUI underage, but what was the main stupid offense here? Was it that he actually smoked pot, or was it that he got photographed doing it?

When I worked in the residence halls at the university I attended, we were very much under the same scrutiny. The same way that Phelps can lose his sponsorships for being photographed doing something that our society would call unsavory or detrimental to his role model status and having it leaked to the public, I could have lost my job for doing the same thing and having it put up on Facebook, MySpace, or anywhere else. I completely feel for him on this one, but have to wonder, how stupid can the guy be?

When he got his DUI while he was underage, I had to wonder, if you're a world renowned athlete and want to get drunk, why would you not have someone to drive for you? Do you not have enough friends that you can say something to the effect of, "Hey, I want to get drunk, will you drive for me?" and be able to get a ride?

At that point, he had won a few gold medals and had some endorsement money, he could have probably even paid someone to be his driver. But that was a little over 4 years ago, now Phelps is in trouble for smoking pot. Once again, this is something that is easily avoidable as an issue. If you want to get high, do it before you go to the party. It's not that difficult to do at all, especially with who you are. I'm willing to bet that you could mooch some pot off of someone already there and smoke it out of the public view or have one of your people get some pot for you for free.

Instead of taking the easy precautions, Phelps now is facing a three month ban from USA Swimming, the governing body of competitive swimming in the United States, and he has lost his Kellogg Co. endorsement when his current deal expires. I'm sure it isn't that big of a hit to his wallet, given all of the endorsements that he has, but it's still money and the suspension still interferes with his training for the world championships in Rome in July. Just a lot of trouble that could have been prevented.

But in the grand scheme of things, is it really that big of a deal? I say, simply, that it is not. For as long as I can remember, professional athletes have been idolized by our society and been viewed role models. I cross-referenced it with my parents childhoods, and they said the same thing was going on for them as well. But how is it that an athlete like Babe Ruth can be an alcoholic and a womanizer who routinely exercised the use of hookers and still not be demonized in the public eye? Then it hit me like a wild Mike MacDougal fastball, it is all the media.

We currently live in the ESPN age, where they will report anything and everything they can to get a story, regardless of how much truth is involved. Recent memory brings to mind the Kordell Stewart being gay story, the Mike Shanahan to the Chiefs story, everything reported ever by Ed Werder and many more were all stories reported by ESPN off of a rumor. Because of this, and their itchy trigger-finger when it comes to beating a story into the ground, when ESPN gets something they do not let it go at all. Factor that in with their partnership with ABC, and you've got a mess just waiting to happen.

Back in the day, they didn't talk about the players activities outside of the field, or court, or diamond. There was discretion shown as far as what the mainstream media would report on about athletes. These days, you don't see it at all anymore and that is why we have this current situation with Phelps. A decade ago, you wouldn't have seen this with an athlete because our society has changed, permanently, thanks to the internet. Now, I can just go to Deadspin to see what other bonehead moves the athletes I watch on a regular basis are doing. If it gets enough momentum, ESPN might mention it and turn it into World War 3, it really is crazy how that works. Or, if I want to go see what athlete ESPN feels like attempting to bury, Adam Jones I am looking in your direction, I can turn it there and see what story they are either blowing out of proportion or making up completely. I could even get the picture and sell it to a paper in London thanks to our technology. The times really have changed, really, they have.

The point I'm trying to make is that in the grand scheme of things, all that the Michael Phelps story really is is a story about a dumb kid who made a mistake. So he smoked a little pot and got photographed, he didn't fail a drug test, he could have been doing something far far worse, and I'm willing to bet that everyone reporting on this story and scrutinizing him has probably smoked pot at one point or another in their life as well. Just give the kid a break already and let him get back to winning a ridiculous amount of gold medals, maybe if you smoke pot, you can too.

Finally....I Have Come Back...

So it has definitely been a while...

School has been killer, work has been even more so, and it won't get any better soon, but I thought I would drop in this little bit of stuff.

1. College Football Tournament

I saw this on Deadspin today and I thought I would share. If we had a playoff in college football featuring 8 teams that started after this week, it would look like this...

1. Alabama 11-0

8. Penn State 11-1

2. Texas 10-1

7. Texas Tech 10-1

3. Oklahoma 10-1

6. Utah 12-0

4. Florida 10-1

5. USC 9-1

I see nothing wrong with that at all, in fact, I think all of those games are at least interesting. Bama and former number 3 Penn State, a rematch of the Texas and Texas Tech game that was very fun to watch, Oklahoma taking on a non-BCS team given their past with those, and Florida and USC which would be fun to watch at any time. Plus, you can still play the championship games next week and start this on December 20, play all 4 first round games and play the next round on the 27th, then the championship on Jan 5 like it would be anyway. You can take all of the lesser bowls and offer those up to everyone outside of the top 8 tournie so they can share in extra bowl money and let those serve like the NIT does in basketball. It's amazing, and it took me 5 minutes. Now do your job, Mr. Obama.

2. Alabama is Number 1

I'm a huge Alabama fan. While not as much as I am a fan of the NFL, I do love me some Tide. I am also loving this season as it was a complete shock to me. I didn't see this coming at all, but hot damn I hope they keep it up, and yes, I do honestly think they can beat Florida.

3. Denver Broncos are on Top of the AFC West

Don't get me wrong, it has been hideous, but I'm still loving it because they're right about where I expected them to be. They should finish 10-6 and make the playoffs on top of the division, from there I don't expect much more than maybe 1 and done, but they might surprise a lot of people. And, and, and...Jay Cutler is a beast and a half. Also, picks back next season.

4. Graduation In 3 Weeks

Yes, I graduate college in 3 weeks. I have no clue what I'm going to do, no clue where I am going to go, and no clue on what I think I want to do, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's going to be a glorious glorious day/night/weekend full of a lot of fun.

5. Christmas and all that it Entails

It's back, just like me. Christmas is coming and very exciting to have here since it will probably be the last year that I get anything good at all. After this I'm going to be done being spoiled and I'll have to buy stuff for myself...damn. On second thought, I'm not excited for that at all.

Keep Rollin Rollin Rollin Rollin...

Something To Think About...

In my life, I complain a lot. I act like every little thing that happens to me is the end of the world, that I can't find a job and stay in Emporia this summer, that my dinner in the cafeteria wasn't food that I wanted to eat tonight, that I'm burned out on my current job and don't want to do it anymore. I think the world is this horrible place that is meant to just screw me over continually, I get more and more cynical and I get more and more irritable. I piss and moan like it is all going to come crashing down on me, not realizing that what I have going on is nothing compared to that of millions of other people in the world. Then I go to Deadspin and I read a story about an 18 year old with cancer named John Challis getting to have what could be one last at bat.

Say what you want about the importance of sports in our society, that it is just a game, a waste of time, and that in the grand scheme of things it is inconsequential, but tell that to this kid. An avid sports fan, John played football and baseball, even seeing action in both at the high school level for limited time. Then came April 14, Challis was put in to pinch-hit and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was there covering it. To summarize would do this no justice, so here is what Mike White had to say about it...

"He hasn't played in a few years, but he's called on to pinch-hit. His eyes light up at the first pitch and he puts all of his 5-foot-5, 93-pound frame into one mighty swing, making contact and sending a line drive into right field for a single -- if he can reach first base. The cancer he's been battling for almost two years has spread to his pelvis, making running nearly impossible. The kid worries about falling as he hustles down the first-base line. When he gets to the base, he lets out with a yell. 'I did it! I did it!' Safe at first with a hit and an RBI, the kid is hugged by a crying first-base coach. The opposing pitcher takes off his glove, starts applauding and his teammates follow suit. The kid's teammates run onto the field to celebrate."

Only a short couple of week before this, he was told by doctors that he had possibly 2 months to live. It sounds like something you would see in a Disney movie, but it isn't, this is real life. The kicker in all of this is that, when it could go down as a sad story of a boy going too soon, it is so much more. The testimonial from the coach, Mr. Wetzel, put it best...

"He spoke from his heart," Mr. Wetzel, the coach, said. "He said, 'I've got two options. I know I'm going to die, so I can either sit at home and feel sorry, or I could spread my message to everybody to live life to the fullest and help those in need.' After hearing that, I don't know if there were many people not crying."

The attitude that John Challis has maintained throughout this adversity in his life might not have the same effect on you that it has me, in fact, it may not have any effect on you at all. But the next time that you think you have it all so bad because you have a big homework assignment due that you waited until the last minute on, you get a flat tire on your car, or are just having a bad day, take some time to ask yourself just how bad you really have it. Take some time out to ask yourself if everything is really as horrible as you're making it out to be, if maybe you should lay off the cynicism. I think Challis has it right...

"I guess I can see why people see me as an inspiration," he said. "But why do people think it's so hard to see things the way I do? All I'm doing is making the best of a situation." John then raises his voice. "Why can't people just see the best in things? It gets you so much further in life. It's always negative this and negative that. That's all you see and hear."

Maybe we can all learn a lesson...

*To Read This Article, Click Me*
*All credit due to Mike White of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.*
*Thanks to Deadspin for introducing the article.*

(Insert Name Here) Blowout!

I'm not about to use the logo or name the game and get sued.

It's that time of year again, that big game that I refuse to name for fear of getting sued is coming up on Sunday and I figured it was about time to write something new. So, without further ado, this is my bonanza on the game, or as I like to call it, me writing about one or two topics about the game that I care about.

Tom Brady And His Boot:
About a week ago, the story broke through footage from TMZ that Tom was wearing a boot on his plant foot, immediately it was all that you heard about on the WWL and multiple other news outlets. Now, I could be wrong about this, but I really don't care about whether Tom is wearing a boot or not. Yeah, it could be considered news, but at the same time I don't think it is threatening to their performance in the game unless something comes out about him having a serious injury, which has yet to happen. The only bright spot of this was the joking about who was going to play quarterback that went on between the receivers, it only would have been better if later in the week a story broke about Randy Moss wearing a boot, then Wes Welker, then Adalius Thomas and so on throughout the roster. The thing for me is that I would see wearing the boot as a preventative measure at this point, very similar to a pitcher icing his arm and wrapping it after a game or a running icing their knees after a race, if I was a professional football player I would be wearing one after a game if i even stepped the wrong way during or after the game.

Randy Moss Being A Quitter:
A year ago Randy Moss essentially "quit" the Raiders. Now, he is in the big game playing for the undefeated Patriots, and apparently some people in the media have taken issue with that. Screw that, anyone of his calibre that happened to be playing for the Raiders under Art Shell should have done the same thing. The Raiders were, are, and always will be a sinking ship until Al Davis calls it quits, whether with the time or life. Congratulations to Randy Moss, you did what you had to do to get out of Oakland and into a winning team where you have shown that you can mature and become a team player as opposed to classic Randy.

Those are two of the stories I wanted to preach on before the game, there will be more in the coming days...be excited.

Week 17

I don't really know why I'm going to bother this week. Week 17 means that it is about 4 teams really playing, and a lot of teams tanking for draft picks, and a couple teams resting starters. Oh yeah, and I guess some team is going to try and go 16-0 for the first time ever. I'm just going to list who I think will win.

Eagles
Tampa Bay
Bengals
Steelers
Browns
Packers
Texans
Saints
Redskins
Broncos
Seahawks
Chargers
Rams
Jets
Titans
Patriots

Week 16

Xmas Break, I hate it.

Winners in Bold

Pittsburgh v. STL

Dallas v. Carolina

NY Giants v. Buffalo

KC v. Detroit

Philly v. New Orleans

Oakland v. Jacksonville

Cleveland v. Cincinnatti

Green Bay v. Chicago

Houston v. Indianapolis

Atlanta v. Arizona

Tampa Bay v. San Francisco

NY Jets v. Tennessee

Baltimore v. Seattle

Miami v. New England

Washington v. Minnesota

Denver v. San Diego