There are no points for second place!

Life it seems has begin to imitate art.  Or is art imitating life.  I don't know.  It's pretty damn confusing.  It seems like every where you look there is a call for people to stand up, stop whining and do what's supposed to be done.  Unlike my parents and grandparents who were raised to quietly deal with their issues, I was raised to express my feelings and seek to understand them.  While that is a "healthy" way to live, it seems to me that we have begun to spend more time seeking to understand how and why we feel a certain way and less time actually doing anything.  We live in world of perpetual excuses...  "I'm not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, handsome enough, funny enough, witty enough, cool enough, coordinated enough, flexible enough, compromising enough, etc" and blah blah blah.  How about this "Who gives a F@#$ enough?!?!"  There was a time when the better team won and it mattered how you play the game.  Did you try your hardest and do the best you could?  Yes? Ok, then maybe you need to work harder and get even better.  No?  Then you definitely need to work harder and get a lot better.  I never found anything wrong with Slider's line in Top Gun "Remember boys, there's no points for second place."   If you lose, you're supposed to be gracious.  If you win, you're supposed to be even more gracious.  Truthfully, when I've been on the losing side of a game (and that's been all too often) and I've had to look at the smug satisfaction of the winner trying not to gloat, it's made me angrier and more determined to come back and kick their ass the next time than if they danced in my living room.


Yesterday the Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 in overtime.  The Pats came back from a 10 point fourth quarter deficit against an outstanding defense.  This in itself is not major news.  Yes the return of Deion Branch was great.  It's been a long time since Brady to Branch won games at Foxboro.  What I found interesting was a comment made by Ravens safety Tom Zbikoswsky after the game.  He muttered about the Patriots having two weeks to prepare with a bye week and still barely beat the Ravens at home and needed their best performance to do it and just wait until the playoffs, when the Ravens will roll them again, just like they did last year in the same building and ...  Is this guy kidding?!?!  Are you gonna bark all day little doggy?!?!  It should always take your best effort to beat someone.  Anything less than your best and the question should be raised about how exactly you deserve to call yourself a professional?!?! By the way the comment about the playoffs is totally premature.  It's week 5 and you play in the same division as Pittsburgh who got their swagger back yesterday!!  I'm just sick of pro athletes whining like little bitches when they lose.   Grow up!  You're a millionaire because you can play a kids game!!  And there is nothing worse than a bitchy millionaire!!


Does life imitate art or does art imitate life?  Fair question.  The midterm elections are in November.  According to the national media the Democratic party is going to get handed a major referendum from the American people.  Maybe they will.   Despite the fact that they passed health care reform, the stimulus package, and countless other reforms they'll still probably lose.  Nobody ever said that doing the right thing was easy or popular.  Personally I don't like any career politician and my reason is simple; eventually they become like the Sith, only interested in keeping their power.  That's why it always easier to campaign against an incumbent than it is to be one.  It's easier to complain about what someone has done than defend what you've done.  Personally I don't care if a politician does what's popular.  If you are against a proposal then develop a better one.  And by the way, and this is for both sides of the aisle, you live and die on the taxpayer dime so don't pretend that you deserve something that we don't.  That goes for health care, retirement, tax breaks, and any other perk you think you're entitled to!!!!


Art does imitate life.  On Smallville Clark Kent is scared to embrace the possibility of what he can do because of what he has failed to do in the past.  It took a former enemy to show him that the things he blames himself for weren't his fault.  He has been hiding behind his friends and his doubts.  He seems to demand perfection from himself.  It doesn't take perfection.  It takes courage.  This week he finally stood up.  He even sort of flew.  It was nice to see.  I just sincerely hope that we don't have to wait until the final episode to see Superman. 


Well if you are still reading this then you obviously have as much time on your hands as I do and if that's the case then you have my sympathies.

Fantasy Land

NFL network aired a segment today that showed how the Ravens could shut down the Patriots.  I thought well that's original, after all they only KICKED THE SNOT out of the Pats in the divisional round of the playoffs last year..  so it stands to reason that they would need an analytic tutorial on how to do it again.  Why not show a segment that shows how a team with a sub par running game, and now that bat shit crazy Randy "the freak" Moss is gone has no deep threat can beat arguably the best defensive team in the league!?!?!  Now I realize that everybody outside of New England hates the Patriots, but how do the Ravens somehow come out looking like the more lovable franchise in this contest?  Art Modell stole the Browns from Cleveland and brought them to Baltimore!!  Ray Lewis is such a vicious bastard that he actually participated in a murder!!!  AND HE DID LESS TIME THAN PLAXICO BURRESS DID FOR SHOOTING HIMSELF!?!?!  I know that was like forever and a day ago..  but so was the last time the Patriots won a Super Bowl.  Get over hating TFB for being an every man hero.  Get over hating the hooded evil genius that lurks the sidelines muttering "Something.. something.. everything is proceeding as I have foreseen it." In terms of franchises that create reasons to hate them I still don't think the Pats have crossed the threshold of the Red Wings and their fans (Is there anyplace on earth worse than Detroit!?!?!), the Lakers with their rapist superstar (Kobe Bryant) and their resident psycho (Ron Artest), the Cowboys with their how in the name of all that's holy does this white haired ass bag hack head coach still find work??? (Wade Phillips) and supremely overrated douche bag quarterback (Tony Romo) and finally there is that baseball team from New York. (I can't say anything else about them because kids might be reading!!)

Damn!!  I just re-read what I wrote...  I think I have some unresolved sports issues!! HA!  Speaking of unresolved sports issues... fantasy football is in full swing again!! I can't help but wonder exactly how this is fun?!?  Every Sunday and Monday I watch the scores and stats of players and games I couldn't care less about in the hopes of beating one of my friends in a game that requires nothing more than clicking a mouse and moving a player.  At least an online match on Madden is interactive!!  Even after I said that I'm probably going to post this blog and then fret over which RB to start this week.  I'm addicted to make believe coaching!  And I'm not alone!!  It's like four square. Considering this rampant epidemic of the make believe taking over the real...  maybe we are in the Matrix!!!  Or maybe we're at level one of Inception...  wherever we are it feels like up is down and left is friggin diagonal!!

This is an election year.  The most fascinating thing is that the level of political discourse in this country has been reduced to the lowest common denominator.  Professional wrestlers say less offensive stuff about their opponents and the fans than politicians are saying lately.  One guy lies about being a Vietnam veteran. One woman can't decide if she's a witch.  A certified whack job from Alaska has become the spokesperson for the Tea Party Movement.  A B-Movie actor and political satirist has somehow become the voice of reason.  Rush Limbaugh did a guest voice on the Family Guy.  Let me say that again... RUSH LIMBAUGH DID A GUEST VOICE ON THE FAMILY GUY!!!  At some point we should all be asking ourselves the simple question:  Is this really the best we can do?  Do I really want a government run by people who are so eager to be zealots that they say "You're either with us or against us."  This has been going on for a decade.  Wrestling got clean and politics got straight crazy!!! 

Well if you are still reading this then you obviously have as much time on your hands as I do and if that's the case then you have my sympathies.