Monthly Archives: July 2012
The Confused Mind of Mitt
Another headache for the Romney campaign After providing a great deal of fodder for the media to dissect and giving his camping yet another headache following his series of gaffes during his visit to London, Mitt Romeny is back on … Continue reading
Phelps Flops, Lochte Locked In
Phelps Flops, Lochte Locked In
The 2012 Olympics began with a splash and thud. The splash came when Ryan Lochte swam away with an easy win in 400 IM to give Team USA their first gold in the London Games. And the thud came when swimming’s most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, finished in mightily disappointing fourth place finish — not to mention he did not appear to congratulate the winner. The 400 IM was hyped to be the first of many Olympic showdowns between rivals and the world’s top swimmers — only to have Lochte leave Phelps in the waves and the rivalry falling victim to another case of too much media hype. Ryan Lochte in no way surprised anyone with his gold but the fact that Michael Phelps was not even able to find his way onto the medal stand leaves most scratching their heads and with questions galore. Was Phelps even ready for the Olympics? Will regain his traditional form? Is he now outside his prime? Is Ryan Lochte just plain better than his rival. The one thing we all now know is that the American swimming hierarchy is now reversed with Lochte taking over the top spot in the pecking order over his main rival. Coming into the Games, most observers, including myself, assumed that Phelps was still the world’s top swimmer. Unfortunately for Phelps, his performance on Day 1 erased all notions that he is still the world’s best. Lochte settled all doubts by proving that he was better and more prepared to keep Michael from repeating his success from Beijing.
I’m not expert on Olympic swimming, but as a sports fan I realize when a star’s day in the sun has come and gone. Everyone should begin to take notice the decline of the world’s most famous swimmer is upon us. Phelp’s made history in 2008, now it is his turn to make way for the ascent of fellow swimmer Ryan Lochte. As Michael had his tremendous run in 2008, it is looking very promising that Lochte will have the expectations to match his rival’s past success — as it looks as if Ryan has and will surpass Phelps as the world’s best swimmer. Phelps will win medals — silver and bronze— and win gold with the team in the relay, but his dominance as an individual are over at the hands of his rival. We are witnessing the end of storied Olympic career and the twilight of an Olympic idol. Before I end; a quote from a famous Briton is appropriate:
“I have touched the highest point of all my greatness; and from that full meridian of my glory I haste now to my setting: I shall fall like a bright exhalation in the evening, and no man see me more.”
–Henry VII (Act 3, Scene 2)
Putting Wins Over Universal Values
When corruption and coverups go deep, the punishment must go deeper. Yesterday, the NCAA handed Penn State unprecedented sanctions for the university’s coverup of the crime committed by convicted sex-abuser Jerry Sandusky. The sanctions include a $60 million dollar fine, a postseason ban for four years, reduction in football scholarships, and vacating all the team’s wins since the 1998 season. The football program was lucky it was not given the death penalty (banning the entire program from competing), as this coverup totally warranted it. The sanctions may seem harsh, but I will not complain. The NCAA did not make the wrong decision or the right decision — they made the necessary decision. They had to show the culture of corruption in college athletics had reached its breaking point and that Penn State had to pay for letting evil destroy the lives of too many young men. The scandal transcended previous college sports scandals that involved impermissible benefits such as giving players cars and tattoos, but those scandals pale in comparison to the debacle at Penn State. The Penn State scandal involved a massive coverup from the coaching staff to the university’s top administrators of child molester. The coverup allowed Sandusky to go abusing young boys for years after it was first alleged in 1998. It sickens me know that the school administrators had a golden chance to turn Jerry Sandusky into the police 14 years ago, but failed to act leading to the torment of more children. The football program’s reputation obviously would have taken a hit if the administration forced Sandusky to turn himself in to the police. But the team’s reputation should have been secondary to protecting children from a known and active sex criminal. In the grand scheme of things, wins and success mean nothing when the most despicable of crimes are being committed by a man who was supposed to trusted.
I remember last year, before the scandal broke out, how much I admired Joe Paterno. He represented everything good about college football and held up the values we hold dear; integrity, leadership, and doing the right thing, regardless of the pain it will cause the team. That now is all but gone and faded into the farthest reached of my memory. A man I and everyone grew to trust turns out to be a fraud, with only reputation holding importance over the value of honesty. Paterno cemented himself as just another heroic figure to fall from grace. As current student of a Big Ten university, I am ashamed at how the scandal unfolded. The entire university is to blame, and the football team will now feel the brunt of the NCAA’s wrath of the university’s inability to tell the truth. When Penn State comes to play at my school’s stadium I will refuse to attend and give my money, even partially, to a university and a football program that placed wins and fame over ethics and protecting the innocent youth. Sports are supposed to be vehicles of celebrating the human spirit and of social change, not excuses to take a pass on doing what is right.
Shame on Penn State.
Ignore the Political Consequences of the Colorado Shooting For a While
The above video is good complement to my post on the Colorado theatre shooting, courtesy of Reason.com. LIke many moviegoers, I was eagerly awaiting all week for the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. I considered going to the midnight screening … Continue reading
First Half Awards (AL Edition)
We are already four days into the second half of the baseball season, but here are my first-half awards for the American League. In a first-half filled with five no-hitters – two of them perfect games by Matt Cain and … Continue reading
Romney’s Worst Allegation Yet
Another Romney bombshell at Bain Capital was exposed this week. And this one is far worse than the allegations of outsourcing or banks accounts in the Cayman Islands or Bermuda. According to The Boston Globe, Romney claimed to the SEC … Continue reading
Three Constitutional Amendments We Can Ratify Now!
Probably one the most notable legacies of the world’s most revolutionary document, The Constitution, is not only the liberties it entitles all citizens or the checks and balances it provides the government, but the ability to amend it. The Constitution … Continue reading
My Breakdown of the USA Basketball roster
The 2012 London Games are just over two week away, and that means its time for USA Basketball to again show the world that 2008’s “Redeem Team” was no joke. Team USA is not nearly as loaded as they were looking about four months ago, due to injuries to Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and Derrick Rose (I’m a Bulls fan, so Rose’s torn ACL made life seem existentially meaningless for a while). Other than the absence of those three, Team USA is locked and loaded for run at the Gold Medal. Here is my breakdown of every player on the roster.
LeBron James: Not much to say here. The Finals and League MVP is the most imposing menace on this roster and arguably the most athletic man on the Earth. Expect LeBron to shine once again.
Kevin Durant: KD shined at the FIBA Championships in 2010, which was just one of the many factors leading to his quick ascent to NBA stardom. The three-time scoring champ is participating in his first Olympic Games and his participation will raise his game to another level, to think his ceiling isn’t high enough. I expect Durant to be the team’s top scorer.
Chris Paul: CP3 is a magician as a supreme ball-hander and will certainly get everyone involved. All he has to do is not turn the ball over and collect dime after dime, assist after assist. If you thought Lob City in LA was exhilarating this past season, the Olympics will be that times 5. Expect Paul to throw-up some artful lobs for alley-oops over the weaker nations.
Kobe Bryant: Kobe is certainly getting up there in age and has only a few seasons left as elite player, but he had to chosen by Coach K (don’t even want to try writing out his name), regardless of his age. Kobe wants to finish his international career in style, so expect elite play from him. He is always tough in the clutch, as I expect him to take some of those shots in close games.
Tyson Chandler: As we saw with the Mavericks in their championship run and last season with the Knicks, Chandler is the best defensive paint presence in the NBA, as winning the Defensive POY signifies. He will effectively shut-down the opposing team’s big man and will be the primary defender on Pau Gasol in the, as I predict, USA-Spain final.
Deron Williams: D-Will will provide this team a big boost when a couple players are on the bench or in foul trouble.
Kevin Love: Love is the most underrated player on this team, if not the entire NBA. He is a double-double machine with a smooth outside jumper, especially the beyond arc. Expect him to dominate the boards while on the floor, while simultaneously spreading the floor with his three-point shooting prowess. I really think this a terrific selection by Coach K.
Carmelo Anthony: Regardless that I think that Anthony’s return to the Knicks hurt Jeremy Lin and the rest of the team, he is still a gifted scorer. He deserves a spot on this team, due to his offensive talent.
Andre Iguodala: Not a sexy pick, but still he has offensive talent, so I won’t overanalyze this selection to the team. I would have chosen Rudy Gay over him.
Russell Westbrook: I’m iffy on this selection. On one hand Westbrook is a prolific scorer, but on the other hand he won’t be expected to score but be a distributer, which I do not regard as a consistent tendency with him. He won’t get a lot of minutes, so I do not expect a large contribution from him, other than mop-up duty in the early games when the score is thirty points apart.
Blake Griffin: Not a big fan on this selection. Other than being a tremendous dunker, Griffin still needs to develop as a post-up player. His defensive is suspect at times, as well. I’m kind of a radical, so Anthony Davis would have a great pick over Blake Griffin. The number one pick would have brought a shot-blocking presence to this team.
James Harden: I find the bearded Harden to be a vastly entertaining player. I love the energy he brings and, of course, he is the spark-plug he is for the Thunder when either Durant or Westbrrok are on the bench. Harden will be a key player off the bench.
Suggested Starting Five: LeBron, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Kobe, Tyson Chandler
GOP Fails to Listen to Independents
A great find in Ezra Klein’s Wonkblog in the Washington Post. This week House Republicans will vote to repeal the Affordale Care Act (Obamacare) for the 31st time, now a merely symbolic vote as it has not chance of passing the Senate. This is getting ridiculous. 56% of Americans now opposed the GOP’s efforts to block the ACA, including 51% of independents (as opposed to 41% in favor of the GOP’s repeal efforts. The Republicans are digging their own grave as November nears, as their opposition to the President grows destructive to the country.
Bush Tax Cuts Drive Our Debt
In case you have not heard, President Obama is 100% committed to allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire, especially for upper-income earners, at the end of the year. The President is equally committed to keeping the tax cuts for the middle-class, which would a welcome relief in the current recession. Obama’s decision is telling In an election year, drawing a clear policy contrast with Mitt Romney’s tax plan. According to the Tax Policy Center, his tax plan would add $600 billion to the deficit.
The link if have added details the role the Bush tax cuts had in creating the current deficit. Over the last decade, the tax cuts have added $1.8 trillion to the debt, more the the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined (which added $1.4 trillion). The tax and spending policies of the Bush Administration clearly were detrimental the fiscal direction of the country. The President’s commitment to get Congress to let the Bsuh tax cuts expire, which promises to be a huge partisan battle following the election, as Obama will have nothing to loose, regardless of the result in November, is a welcome step to gettting our rising debt and deficit under control. There still needs to be tax reform, but I like the President’s decision.
MLB First Half Awards (NL Edition)
In a first-half filled with five no-hitters – two of them perfect games by Matt Cain and Philip Humber, surprise teams, and standout offensive displays we are finally at the All-Star break. So without further ado; here are my MLB first-half … Continue reading
Sportocracy 