a subset of derek

I wish the knuckleheads at ESPN would call TO a selfish nigger and get it over with. We know they want to. All I hear is this “TO is selfish. TO’s all about TO. TO this, TO that”.

I don’t agree with how TO handled his situation (Rosenhaus should be out on his ASS) but the blame isn’t just his. As I have said before, the Eagles are leadership-deficient. The front office is so heavy-handed and power-hungry, they do not want strong characters in the locker room. It shouldn’t have gotten as far as it did. They didn’t come to TO as a man and say “Welcome to the Eagles. Your past is of no consequence. Let’s play some football. But, we do have some rules we ask you to respect.”. TO is a grown man…he could have either agreed or disagreed. Instead, both sides were inconsisted and it got ig’nant. Nobody’s hands are totally clean…and TO’s isn’t the only loser in the situation.

I know some of you are saying ‘Wait, Donovan McNabb is a leader’. I disagree. Donovan is still one of the league’s premier QBs, don’t get me wrong but he has yet to really grab the Eagles reins. I think he punked out a little bit when he made the comment that they didn’t need TO for the Super Bowl. I think he meant (and what he should have said) is that, win or lose, they can only play the guys that are suited up. If TO is one of those guys, great. If not, we will have to find a way to fill that void. Not, “we don’t need him” because that’s bullshit. He came back from a broken friggin’ leg to have a 9 catch, 100+ yard game in the Super Bowl. He played like he was the only one that wanted to win and outwardly showed it.

I think TO exposed greater questions in the Eagles organization like: why would Donovan back out on lobbying for more money for TO and do a 180 when it comes to Brian Westbrook.

I KNOW the Eagles were missing Duce this season.

Ever since Jeff Lurie bought the team and f**ked Randall Cunningham’s career up by trying to change him into something he’s not, I had no love for that jerk. Andy Reid? If it wasn’t for McNabb, he would be just another Mike Holmgren wannabe. And Hugh Douglas? You are retired, for all intents and purposes, what are you doing goading players (I don’t care if it was TO) into fights? What is your malfunction?

The Eagles have really dropped down the list of my favorite teams…they are now in the 30’s. Only the Ravens are below them…hell, I like the Texans more than them. David Carr, at least, has heart…he keeps getting up after all of those damn sacks.

Well, that or a death wish.

What the FUCK is this?!?!

They should be FIRED…

Today is the 39th anniversary of the Apollo 1 disaster as well as the anniversary of the 1986 Challenger disaster. February 1 is the 3 year anniversary of the Columbia disaster as well…this is not a good time for NASA, the families of the lost or people affected by that day. I remember when I was in 4th grade and everyone talked about a teacher in space. We wished it was our teacher, Mrs. Harsh (who was anything but)…that is until, 73 seconds after lift-off, the shuttle exploded. We were all shocked…I can barely remember it…it was that rattling. Yahoo has a commemorative article.

Also, there were 4 women or people of color on that shuttle. Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnick, the aforementioned teacher, Christa Macauliffe and Ronald McNair.

“Cleveland ought to be ashamed to look herself in the face.” — John D. Rockefeller, 1914

Some people wonder “why the Cardinals?” Well, I am from Cleveland and it can’t be worse than rooting for the Browns….or the Indians…or the Cavs.

Here is the MLB Misery Index and the NFL Misery Index…. not the kind of 1 – 2 punch that Cleveland needs.

Oh, and let’s not forget the story about how George Steinbrenner wanted to buy the Indians…

As detailed in this article:

In an effort to interject some life and direction into the town, he organized a group of young up-and-comers, christened them Group 66, and set out to make something happen. Among the first things they did was to resurrect the defunct air show, a symbol of the city’s better times.

Steinbrenner established a pro basketball team in the 1960s, composed of some of the best college players of the time. While both league and team failed, he was relentless in his quest to run a professional sports franchise.

His father, Henry, argued that his son’s future was in the family shipping business, not sports. Occupants of the Rockefeller Building still speak of overhearing furious debates between father and son.

By 1973, Vernon Stouffer, who made his money in frozen foods and restaurants, was having financial problems. He was willing to sell one of his least promising holdings: the Cleveland Indians.

Stouffer had purchased the team largely as a civic gesture, and the beleaguered franchise floundered. There was talk of moving the Tribe to New Orleans.

Steinbrenner formed a group of local investors to buy the Indians. The asking price was $10 million. But when Steinbrenner and partner Dan McCarthy studied the financials, they found a team strapped with debt and concluded that its real value was around $6.3 million.

The group offered $8 million anyway, says McCarthy, since Steinbrenner and Stouffer were friends. Yet Stouffer was adamant; he wanted $10 million. To this day, some still wonder whether it was Stouffer’s drinking or his dislike for Steinbrenner’s Jewish partners that caused the deal to collapse, because what happened next made no sense.

Stouffer sold the Indians to Nick Mileti, a charming promoter who flashed across Cleveland like a shooting star. Mileti gave Stouffer $1 million in cash and a lot of paper. Paper to Mileti was like tissue to Kleenex.

Jack Torry, in his book Endless Summers: The Fall and Rise of the Cleveland Indians, wrote that Mileti “bought the Indians with nothing more than green stamps.” He would eventually resign his role as general partner.

With his investment group intact, Steinbrenner learned that CBS wanted to sell the New York Yankees. For virtually the same amount of money, the band of Clevelanders purchased what would become the richest sports franchise in history, estimated by Forbes to be worth $832 million.

Gary Younge of the Guardian has written an excellent article on “Where there will never be a black Brokeback Mountain“. It brings up the fact that, when white men cheat on their wives with other men, it’s a moral failing. When it comes to black men, it’s the “Down-Low”, like it’s somehow different and black men are beholden to some animal instinct to fuck, fuck, fuck.

I still have trouble wrapping my head around the idea of getting it on with another man…women are just too damn amazing…but people have to be with who makes them happy. I think that people should be honest with the feelings within themselves. Also, society needs to chill out on chastising homosexuals which is part of why people, especially minorities, find it hard to come out — I can’t even imagine what former NFL DL — DL for Defensive Lineman — Esera Tuaolo had to go through as a minority gay male professional athlete. If it really is a sin, God will take care of that. Not us. Our job is to love, respect or, at least, tolerate, each other, not judge (or worse) each other.

I am so tired of people using what adults do in their bedrooms as a smokescreen issue while our schools, infrastructure and jobs are going to hell in a handbasket.

Sickening…way more sickening than two men or two women in love (which, I believe, isn’t sickening…even though it’s not for me). I think that heterosexuals and homosexual haters should focus more on loving those they care about than hating on people that did nothing to them.