China Still Getting Kicked


 I just watched a wrap up on ESPN on the Beijing Olympics. The guy doing the report voice over was still taking jabs at China for their humanitarian violations or lack of freedom. I agree there is much work to be done there. However to act as though the USA is this bastion of liberty for the world to emulate is deceiving. I am aware that America is still freer than most countries so I am thrilled, thankful, & blessed to be here. But I will not ignore the violations of rights here in our country while critiquing another country’s policies. The people are what make America free. Liberty is an idea that cannot be killed no matter how the Constitution is trampled by the federal government. Illegal wire tapping, torture, immanent domain abuse (stealing people’s homes), gun rights infringed, redistribution of wealth, insanely high taxes, etc make me believe we are on the downside of freedom. While we are still free we had best stand up for others when they are being abused by our “public servants”. If not there will be no one to stand up at all in the end. Liberty is not stolen all at once. It is taken in small steps so the citizens won’t notice. If you like the idea of America, then I suggest opening your eyes to what your “leaders” are doing. If not this great country will have been lost one baby step at a time.

Take a look at this story if you think things are just fine. If after reading it you are not disgusted then, “may your chains rest lightly upon you”

NBA TEAM gets Redemption

 After failing to destroy international teams the way MJ & his Dream Team did in 1992, USA basketball is back. They won the Gold after getting bumped off in the last Olympic games four years ago. It’s not like USA teams have been bad, they just have not won as convincingly as of late. The guys who stepped up to play should be commended. It’s not like they could not have taken off for the summer and just relaxed. Afterall the only thing they stood to gain was a personal satisfaction. When everyone expects you to win the gold and you do you get little praise. But if they had not won gold the critics would have pounced like Michael Phelps on H20. Big risk / small reward. But I think the guys who won it all should be celebrated. They are the best in the world since they proved it on the court. just saying NBAers are the best on this planet does not make it so. Beating the competition between the lines when it counts makes it a FACT!

Cry Baby Fans

 I have a special disdain for fans who seem to make every possible excuse for why their team did not win. First off it is not “your” team. The players, coaches, owners, or university presidents have no idea who  you are. But you are a fan. Fan is short for fanatic. I don’t like it when fans say their team would have won if not for X or Y. They believe every ref is against them and there is no possible way their team could lose on a level playing field. They think it unfathomable that any team could possible be better than their beloved Dawgs, Gators, Cowboys, Falcons, etc. This type of person is in the minority since most humans are rational. But this type gives fans a bad name. They whine, complain, and make excuses which take away from the competition. Believe it or not one team is actually better than the other on that particular day. And no it does not matter if your guys would beat the other guys 9 out of 10 times. The fact is they could not man up when it mattered. A win is determined when the game is played not the day before or after.

I had the misfortune of talking about Georgia Football with a relative of my next door neighbor at a birthday party once. He was apparently a “argue with a stop sign guy”. He claimed the dawgs were held every play so the refs were against them and for the Vols of Tennessee thus the Bulldogs lost the game. People like him enhance my desire to meet as few new people as possible (just kidding… I really like meeting new INTERESTING people). Holding could be called on every play on both teams but his myopic view of “his” team would not allow that to enter his thick skull.  This is not exclusive to Georgia fan I know. I am just using personal examples. I am sure “jean shorts guy” in Florida has the  same views when it comes to his Gators.

This type of fan is in every level of football. I see it in my local High School games, especially among women. They go crazy when a flag is thrown on “our” team. I have heard some ladies say some vile things! I guess that is why they call them fanatics. They are not insane but these type of fans do border on crazy.

ECI Season

 Check out this link for a look at the defending Single A Champions….. ECI Bulldogs. The videos should be interesting.

LINK

Commerce Tigers Football Program Covers History

 Slideshow of High School Football Program Covers from Today back through the 60’s
Formats available: Windows Media (.wmv)

Cards WR Boldin asks for trade

If anyone has Arthur Blank’s cell number, email address, or twitter information you need to get to him quick. If he wants Matt Ryan to be good now instead of later then he needs to acquire disgruntled Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin immediately. This guy is a great play maker and one of the top receivers in the League. This guy was great in college at FSU, even playing QB at times! I’d love love to see him in Atlanta but I have no idea what the Falcons have to trade for him. Maybe they could trade Mike Vick. It is possible that Arizona missed all the news coverage of Mike’s run in with the Feds.

ESPN - Wanting new deal, Cards WR Boldin asks for trade - NFL

Gene Upshaw Dies

Damn I hate to see when someone dies of cancer. What a freaking terrible disease. I was no fan of Gene Upshaw as the president of the NFL Players Association as it seemed to me the players rarely had an advantage over the League but I am not going to knock him here.  From the few accounts I read of his playing career he was a tremendous competitor and respected by his peers as a player. It’s a shame to see a person cut down by cancer. It happens much too often.

Ga. Southern suspends eight — including two starters — vs. Georgia

The way the Dawgs have been going and now GA Southern suspending players I doubt they will have 22 guys available to play! Good grief coaches, get your guys to straighten up. I know it looks like UGA has a bigger problem than other schools but I disagree. Richt just has not gotten good at hiding the problems and the local police force has not been educated. It has been a while since the Dawgs have been consistenly good so the cops need to remember to drive the guys home instead of the jail… like they do in Alabama. And in every other state in the Union.

ESPN - Ga. Southern suspends eight — including two starters — vs. Georgia - College Football

UGA’s Moreno may return punts

The talk about Moreno returning punts has Dawg fans worried about their guy getting banged up. My thoughts are that there is always a chance for a player to get hurt whether it is an odd play, a meaningless play before halftime, or a player being left in a blowout game. So worrying about a star player doing something extra like fielding punts is not valid…. usually. But in this case I say it is a bad idea since the percentages say that  more bad things happen on a punt than good. Actually more meaningless things happen like the ball sailing out of bounds or the end zone, fair catches, and 4 yard returns. With that fact in mind I would not want to waste my star tailback’s energy on punt returns when I know that there are more 3rd & 4th down situations he will be involved in during a game. That being said, Mark Richt probably knows more about college football than even I do. It’s hard to fathom I know.

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GA’s Moreno, Gray return punts in practice | ajc.com

How to Recognize Greatness

I have about as much a clue about women’s synchronized diving as I do about women in general.:) That said, I saw greatness in that very sport today. I don’t know if it was live or it was on my DVR. Much to my surprise my kids love watching these odd sports that are rarely seen. Anyway the Chinese divers  Wang and Chen, impressed me enough to blog about them. I usually like to clown weird sports but not today. I only saw a few other teams do the same event but the difference between the rest of them and the Chinese team was big enough for me to see it.