Things To Look At

In between working, managing my fantasy teams and constantly checking my facebook I look at these sites on a daily basis, what can I say I'm an addict:

• http://www.thedw.us (This is my daily reader. Check daily, check often)
• http://www.2leep.com (Similar to the above website but with more clutter)
• http://www.listverse.com (I'm not sure how it happened but I like lists, who new)
• http://www.cracked.com (If you thought the lists on listverse were pointless you should check these out)
• http://www.foodnetworkhumor.com (Perfect for what most of us think about the Food Network)
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com (Because I do read the news)
• http://www.espn.com (I shouldn't even have to explain this one)
• http://www.postsecret.com (Updates on Sunday)
• http://www.thesuperficial.com (A guys point of view of pop culture, Possibly NSFW)

Second Chances

Maybe I'm a sucker for second chances. I am the one that wrote about Vick before everyone decided to forgive him, but I'm talking about one person in particular this time. I think it's time everyone forgive Chris Brown. I know that the Rhianna punching isn't the easiest thing to forgive but I think we can look past this if we can turn a blind eye to other celebrity mishaps.

Think about it most of us forgave Mel Gibson after his drunken rant where he slandered Jewish people and called a police woman sugar tits. Most people still refuse to believe Michael Jackson was the ultimate creep. People still watch Tom Cruise's movies and he's a psycho scientologist. Does anybody remember Kobe's infidelities, I thought not. Give Green Bay a couple years and even they will for give Favre.

Maybe it's the fact that I've been searching music videos on YouTube for the past hour, but I really do think Chris Brown has a talent that needs a second chance. I'm not saying love the guy, but I ask remember there was a time that he was on the radio, and more often then not, I wouldn't change the station. I mean if Red Sox can forgive Roger Clemons; oh wait they can't bad example.

NFL Is Back

I'm back after a long hiatus. A man can't go to Texas, and expect to hit the keyboard right away. But I'm back and just in time for the NFL to start. I want to point out the obvious before I point out the obviously funny.
The Obvious: I predict the AFC will be represented by either New England or Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. I say the NFC is up for grabs(Cowboys!) but don't want to impose my bias opinion on you(COWBOYS!).

Now the Obviously Funny:

• Detroit decided to go ahead and play the 2009-10 season. I imagine owner, William Clay Ford, saying "We can't do worse than last year." That's the spirit.
• The NFL rules and regulations committee needs to set up an age limit for it's players. Not that they're coming in to young, but when you have senior citizens that just had hip replacement surgery still playing...... Oh, well my editor just informed me that I had my information mixed up. It seems Brett Favre didn't get hip replacement, but arthroscopic surgery to his throwing arm. Never mind then let the old guy play.
• Josh McDaniels. What a guy. A young coach, comparable to Mike Tomlin. A great mind, the mind behind Bill Belichick's '08-'09 Pats. What a..... Yoko. Who in the Mile High City would have thought that their franchise quarterback would be throwing passes in Chicago by the '09-'10 season. All because Cutler's a baby and McDaniels wanted Matt Cassel. Matt Cassel, that leads me to my next point:
• Matt Cassel: BUST. That felt good. Now I'm in the mood for calling out more busts
• Carson Palmer: BUST.
• Matt Leinart: BUST.
• Mark Sanchez:_______(reserved)
• The scoreboard in Dallas is so big, that I swear I saw it when I flew over Dallas. With a scoreboard that stretches from the 20 yard line to the 20 yard line, I think it's safe to say that It is definitely the second biggest object in the new Cowboy Stadium after Jerry Jones' ego.
• How is it that JaMarcus Russell can never come to camp in shape? Not that the guy ever was in shape, but for an athlete, especially a quarterback. I'd expect more.
• OchoCinco, EightFive for the non-spanish speaking community, is predicting great things. This wouldn't be on my funny list, but Carson Palmer is the guy that throws the ball to him.
• And last but not least is how funny it's going to be to watch the Chargers win their division. They play Denver, Oakland, and KC twice.. TWICE! That my friends is Webster's definition of a Gimme.

The above topics all happened before the first snap of the regular season. I can only imagine what's to come during the season. One thing is for sure the next 5 months are the greatest months of the year.

How To Kick A Man While They're Down, As Told By Roger Goodell

"I accept that you are sincere when you say that you want to, and will, turn your life around, and that you intend to be a positive role model for others. I am prepared to offer you that opportunity. Whether you succeed is entirely in your hands."

Those were the words handed down by Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, earlier today to suspended quarterback Michael Vick. Oh yes ladies and gentlemen, there is a catch. Vick won't be able to participate in an actual game until week 6 of the NFL season. What I'm not understanding is how, after a two year suspension and a prison term, can the commissioner still suspend Vick for 6 more games. That is adding insult to injury and should not be tolerated by the NFL Players Association. I've read interviews and seen the grief in Vick's face and i can say that yes, he does feel remorse for what he did. Now I don't know if that's because he got caught or because he did it in the first place, but remorse is there. This guy is serious about playing in the NFL again and right now what the commissioner needs to do is step up to the plate and tell one of the most intriguing players in the league, "Ok, you've done your time, welcome back, but I'm watching you." In my opinion the only reason Goodell reinstated him was because he didn't want a popular(be it bad popularity or good popularity) player to leave to the UFL. They already have J.P. Losman. Add Vick to the mix and UFL, you might as well welcome ticket sales and TV ratings, because as much as many people hate Vick(I'm not one of them), people still want to see him play, be it to fail or succeed.

I know there's still no team that has publicly admitted they want Vick(a wildcat specialist before wildcat became popular), but they are out there. If he does get signed before week 1; count me to be the leader of the campaign for Vick to play before week 6.

63 Million? Really?

Matt Cassel is doomed for failure in Kansas City.(I somehow feel this statement is really going to come back and bite me right in the... ) How can you give a career back up a 63 million dollar contract with 28 million guaranteed? That means if he turns out to be the worst decision since Jerry Jones decided a face lift was in order, he would still walk out of the place 28 million richer. Who are they kidding? This guy was a decent quarterback in a great system. Even Rudy Ruettiger from that Notre Dame movie, Rudy, could succeed in that system. I would even put money on the guy that played Rudy, Sean Astin, could come up with 350 yards and 3 touchdowns in a game with Belichick making the calls. Unless Belichick and the whole offensive line are moving with him to KC, I don't see success in Cassel's future. He doesn't have good targets to throw to, a horrible offensive line, and not to mention NO BELICHICK MAKING THE CALLS. Either KC has lost it or Cassel is just that great of a con man. In that case, have the cell next to Madoff ready cause I'm out to expose Cassel. Really KC? 63 Million? Ok then, you have all season to prove me wrong.

Texas, Homecoming

I'll be going home for the first time in over a year in August. Texas might be the greatest state in the union, and if you've never met anyone from Texas, 90% of us think the same. The only exception is Wes Anderson, and maybe my wife. Both of whom I respect dearly. Why is Texas such a great place to be? Here comes my list that rivals any travel agent's brochure:

• I shouldn't even have to mention this, but the elixir of the Greek God's was rumored to be a formula closely resembling that of Dr. Pepper's formula. Dr. Pepper EST. 1885, Waco, TX.
• America's Team, The Dallas Cowboys.... I won't even elaborate on this. It could possibly go on for the rest of the article.
• Biggest state of usable land. Yes it is true that Alaska is bigger by square miles, but who can actually use all the tundra and ice. Texas has so much space, it's the iPod Classic of states. You have so much room you don't even know what to put on there, so you add fillers like Sinead O'Conner and Cyndi Lauper.
• I'm not sure if anybody is aware of the law that if you marry someone over the age of 21 and you, yourself, aren't 21 yet, you can legally drink alcohol in the state of Texas. Already I can feel a third of the population migrating south.
• Hate snow and big, some would even call them 'Great', lakes? Well go to Texas where all the lakes are manageable in size and snow fall is scarce. And if you really want to swim in a big body of water, the Gulf Of Mexico is to the east.
• I know some people that love to travel but aren't comfortable when they enter a state they've never been to. In Texas you can travel for hours straight in one direction and still be in, you guessed it, Texas. It took me 12 hours just to leave the state, and another 12 to get to Michigan.
• And last but not least, as one of Texas' greatest natives, George Strait, once said, Texas is the place I really love to be.

I think I just convinced myself. Oh and my wife(who proof reads my material) wanted it on record that SHE IS NOT A TEXAS HATER. (she just likes 15inches of snow, that's all)

News Worth Knowing

A couple of interesting things have happened in the past few weeks, lets review:

The first topic is our inconsistent judicial system. I've mentioned it before in my Michael Vick article and the last couple of weeks affirms my beliefs. The people who we elect to uphold the law are not consistent in their rulings. Two cases come to mind.

• Donte Stallworth, hits and kills a pedestrian while intoxicated and receives 30 days in jail, 10 yeas probation(2 years house arrest), and 1000 hours community service. This can be heavy sentence but remember, he killed a guy. Inconsistency comes in the form of another disgraced NFL'er who didn't kill anybody but killed animals and has just finished serving a 2 year prison sentence. Everybody, that officially means that you can kill someone in Florida and get a slap on the wrist but kill a dog in Virginia and you get 2 years in prison. That or Vick should have bought of somebody, anybody. I know these are different states with different laws and court systems, but it all boils down to the fact that the United States should be more consistent as a judicial system as a whole, not vary from state to state.
• Chris Brown viciously beats his then girlfriend, Rihanna, and gets 180 days community service and 5 years probation. Domestic violence isn't something prosecutors want people to be taking lightly, so why did they agree to a light sentence with Brown's plea deal. I guarantee if it were any regular person, a plea deal like that would never have existed.

Money screams louder than the law, and if you have it you might be the loudest person in the room. I hate to sound like a person that complains that the rich get off easy, but in most cases they do.

Another topic that I found worth mentioning is how an organization like PETA continues to use scare tactics and shock value to gets it's points across. They even called out President Obama on killing a fly. A FLY! It's just a fly, I'm pretty sure even Michael Vick can still kill flies and not be labeled the devil again. J.P. Goodman, founder of The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade has openly criticized PETA for using what he calls silly claims and goofy stunts. Goodman believes that PETA should stop spreading horrible messages that make them look like extremists and get back to the basics, a voice for the animals. In the end that's what PETA looks like, extremists. Any pamphlet that you get from PETA is all about shaking your core and making you cringe. The same way violence isn't the answer to our worlds problems, neither is graphic imagery. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, I prefer to call them People Effectively Terrorizing America.

News worth Knowing brought to you by MME. I love me some MME.