My Date With Big Gheorghe

*Disclaimer:Sorry for the lack of posts. I was in Ann Arbor all weekend enjoying Mudbowl (post on that forthcoming). Oh yeah, and I decided that because I was going to the Arb that I would just delay all my work for the paper until today (Monday) and Tuesday. Just to give you some perspective, it's 630 on Monday right now and I just completed writing my 15th story of the day. And I think it's safe to assume none will win any sort of awards (well actually maybe one will, hopefully). Now that I'm done venting, back to the regularly scheduled post about, of all people, Gheorghe Muresan.



I think that picture pretty much explains it all in terms of just how surreal my Thursday was last week. Just admire that thing, I'm close to 6-foot-1 and I go up to Gheorghe Muresan's armpit. I was meaning to put this post up sooner, but I wanted to wait until my story in the paper appeared online. It's a good read (at least I hope it is) if you're into the sappy local news stories that appear in small papers all over the country.

So let me give you a little background on this whole experience. I came into the office a few weeks ago to find a message from a local writer. He was calling to promote this new fitness book that he, Gheorghe and Gheorghe's longtime trainer had teamed up to write. Specifically, it was a fitness book for kids.

My immediate reaction was how the hell can Gheorghe Muresan put his name on a fitness book when 1) I wasn't sure if he spoke English and 2)During his NBA career, and more importantly while playing for the Bullets back in the day, he was consistently the last man up and down the court and oftentimes wouldn't even make it across half court on offensive possessions. That's how slow the guy was. But even though I was skeptical, chances to interview people who are 7-feet-7 tall don't come around every day.

When I told the head honcho editor about the possibility of interviewing big Gheorghe, she came up with the novel idea of visiting him at his home since he lives in Potomac, just like me. I called the writer guy back, and since it seems they are pretty desperate for some publicity, big Gheorghe agreed to have me in his home.

That brings us to last Thursday. I drove to his home (about 10 minutes away from mine) with some genuine nerves. To be honest, I wasn't sure what 7-feet-7 was going to look like and I wasn't sure if I was going to get a legitimate interview since Gheorghe is Romanian. And I was quietly hoping for a Behind the Music-type moment where Gheorghe would expose how he went through some kind of drug addiction after My Giant bombed at the box office. As you'll be able to tell, I didn't actually see this.

As soon as I pulled up in his driveway, this giant Great Dane leaped into my car. I'm talking in my lap, licking my face before I had a chance to move. Once I got rid of the canine, I made my way to Gheorghe's door, which to my surprise was no bigger than your average front door.

Of course, the doorbell didn't work and since nobody was responding to my knocking, I began to peer through the side glass into the front hall. Out of nowhere, I hear this booming voice, "Who's looking in my window?" and judging from the giant shadow approaching, it was pretty obvious who the voice belonged to. Maybe when I see some of you reading this in person later, I'll admit to not being scared. But thinking back to that moment, I'll admit I definitely wasn't confident.

Gheorghe opened the door with a huge grin on his face, and almost immediately put his arm around my shoulder. I'm assuming this is a tried and true method for making others feel comfortable around him since, well, he is 7-feet-7 tall. And it worked, because it broke the tension. We sat down and started the interview from there.

One of my first questions was about the legitimacy of this fitness book, and I even cited the example of him not getting across half court. This is where I learned Gheorghe is much more than just a buffoon giant basketball player. His response was:

“You read the book and you’ll see why you should trust me. If you read the book, you’re going to see there are the right exercises in the book. I work out under the trainers, and good trainers, for 15 years. I work out with program, I don’t just go to the gym to work out. No way. For me, it was dangerous to go into the gym and just work out. All the time, when I go to work out, I have a trainer with me. I have a couple different trainers. Those trainers made me play in the NBA. My rookie year, I don’y play that much, but I worked with those trainers the most during that year. I work in the weight room, basketball court and agility and this make me to stay fit, to help with confidence in myself, and to be all the time prepared.”

As you can probably tell, Gheorghe speaks English but with a pretty thick accent. You can definitely understand him, though. And although he gets stares wherever he goes due to his height, he's a pretty normal guy. He's got two kids, a wife, he runs a basketball clinic company, and works for the Wizards as a suite ambassador (basically he schmoozes with the VIPs at Wiz home games). That's what my story in the paper is about. A normal guy in an abnormal body.

Now I didn't pass up the chance to talk a little hoops with Gheorghe. I asked him about Gilbert. He said he's just every other Wizards fan, who is anxious to see if Gil can come back fully healthy. I asked him who he thought the team to beat in the NBA was this year. He said the Houston Rockets. He made a good point about how Tracy McGrady won't have to play defense anymore because they have Artest to cover the opponent's best player now. I also made sure to ask him about that Bullets team from 1997 that made the playoffs only to lose to the Bulls in three games. His response: "Jordan was good".



I specifically mentioned Webber and Michigan in that convo, too. When I asked what he thought about CWebb taking money in college, he just shrugged and said "We all like money." I found it kind of weird that he didn't have much basketball memorabilia in his house. Or at least I didn't see any. I was hoping for some random pictures of him with someone who you totally wouldn't think of ... like Donald Trump or something. I was at least expecting something of him and Billy Crystal since they starred in My Giant together.

All in all, it was a pretty unique experience with a fairly intelligent guy. He really is just a normal Romanian immigrant trying to raise his family. He lives and breathes for his kids. There's a tree house that he claims he built for them. I asked if he needed to use a ladder to build it. He laughed and said "No way." He's even got this jumbo-sized bike (it really is the largest bike I've ever seen) so he can chase his kids around the yard. I tried to convince him to ride it so the photographer could take a picture of him doing it, but he was too smart for that. If I had convinced him, that thing would have been priceless.

But that's really it. Except he's nicer because he has to be. People like me would be scared of him if he wasn't. I guess I'll leave you with a final word from my interview:

“Right now, the life I live right now because I can see my kids do their homework and take care of the kids. I can spend more time with my wife and my kids. But I miss traveling, I miss that action with the team sometimes. I’m not crazy, I don’t cry, but I sometimes I miss this action. When I play ball, every morning I wake up 730, eat breakfast, and I go to practice. I miss that, going to practice. And what I miss the most is that energy after I have a good workout. When you are in good shape, you have a good workout, you take a shower, an hour later you have a lot of energy, this is what I miss.”

“I tell you, if I have to trade between my family and traveling, no way. Because I can go to the gym when my kids are in school and have fun with my family. Sometimes we play basketball, play a little racquetball, and then have a sauna and shower. Then we go home.

Sounds like a pretty good life to me.

State of the Big Ten

Well, I'm getting all amped up today because tomorrow I leave for my triumphant return to the old stomping grounds: Ann Arbor. It's Mudbowl weekend and obviously, no stone went unturned to ensure I would be there. And it seems I'm arriving on campus at a near-perfect, what with Michigan football coming off a "No way they should come from behind" comeback victory over Wisconsin last weekend.

Like I said last week, I thought the Rich Rod era was going to take its first major step in this weekend's game against Ilinois since they run a spread offense that I thought the defense would be more than ready for considering they play against one every day in practice. Clearly, I was a week off in my prediction.

After a first half that saw the Wolverines offense gain 21 total yards and have another five fumbles, I don't think I was alone in shaking my head in befuddlement at just how anemic this team can be. And although Threet and company looked mighty impressive in the second half, I think it's vital that we not get ahead of ourselves here. With such a young team, it's impossible to guess what kind of offensive output you're going to get from week-to-week. As we saw against the Badgers, this squad is capable of greatness (like that awkward-looking, but still impressive Threet run in the second half) and the atrocious (cough cough 11 fumbles in the past two games) What I'm trying to say is, the Wisco win was another step in the right direction. But I'm not sold on it being that moment where everything clicked for the Rich Rod era. There are still some growing pains to go through.

All that said, it was still a win, and a comeback win that should do wonders for this team's confidence level. They now have confirmation that can compete with anyone in the Big Ten. The offense is going to come in fits and spurts, but as long as the defense can continue its bend, but not break tendency of showing up at just the right time, Michigan should be in every game it plays the rest of the way out. Don't expect 27-point halves every week, though.

So while I'm not ready to make any broad declarations about Michigan after just one win, I am ready to say the Big Ten is as wide open a conference as there is in the BCS. Anyone who tells you Penn State is the favorite is a moron. Yes, the Nittany Lions should certainly be in the conversation, but I don't think one lousy win over what I've been calling a suspect Illini team at home merits a jump to No. 6 in the country.

Penn State hasn't even touched its toughest stretch of the season, which begins after this week's game against Purdue. Not only could that game in West Lafayette be a potential upset (Joe Tiller's Last Stand anyone?), but they follow that up with a road game at Wisco, a home game against Michigan, and finally a trip to Columbus. That's the next four weeks for the Nittany Lions. If they come out of the next month with just one loss, I'll be impressed. Crowning them now seems way too premature to me. For God's sake, they haven't even played a road game yet (and no, playing one of the worst teams in Division I at a half-empty Carrier Dome doesn't count in my book). I'm saying now that the Nittany Lions will barely escape Purdue this weekend, followed by losses in their two big road games at Wisco and at the Horseshoe. All that and I almost forgot to mention they haven't beaten Michigan in more than a decade.

Wisconsin looked mighty suspect losing to Michigan, but take into consideration it was outside of MadTown, where the Badgers play particularly well. However, what shocked me is that Wisco is usually the type of team that once they get a lead, they grind you into submission with its running game. That certainly didn't happen against Michigan because Scott Shafer and the Wolverine D knew what was coming and loaded the box. Basically what I'm trying to say is they need a quarterback, or at least something resembling a human with a throwing motion. Allan Evridge, you have been put on notice because I think it's a bad thing when people are throwing around crazy phrases like "Man, I wish we had John Stocco still."

The Badgers have three of their next four at Camp Randall, though. The only catch is those three games are Ohio State, Penn State, and Illinois. I expect Wisco to lose this weekend against the Terrelle Pryor Experiment in a close one, but three losses in a row is out of the question. That's why Penn State goes down.

I guess a sleeper is Michigan State, who has started the season with just one loss, but c'mon, it's State. That team is good for at least two boneheaded losses that shouldn't have happened plus at least one more against a team like Ohio State or Penn State. Although, the Buckeyes have to go to East Lansing later this month, and I've got a weird feeling Spartan fans will rush the field at the end of that one.

That leaves us with Ohio State, who a lot of people threw to the curb after that USC debacle. And while nationally that was the right thing to do, a loss to the Trojans doesn't mean jack in terms of the Big Ten. The Bucknuts are the best team in the conference in terms of talent, it's just a question of how quickly Terrelle Pryor can become a difference maker. Right now, he's doing a good job at quarterback, but this team to take the next step Pryor must become a dynamic playmaker.

Here's the thing, though. I was going to predict Ohio State runs the table against all the top tier teams, but I just don't think it'll happen. Frankly, none of the teams in the Big ten are going to sweep through the competition. The winner of the conference is going to have at least two losses since no one is overwhelming.

What I'm trying to say is Michigan has as good a shot as any, especially if they start the conference 2-0 with a win over Illinois this weekend.

C'mon Hating Al Davis is Just Too Easy

Happy Rosh Hashanah to all the Jews out there. No I didn't forget to post because I was attending services, I was busy basking in the glow of that Cowboys defeat this past Sunday. That Jim Zorn, he might be onto something. Don't look now, but even if the Skins lose to the Eagles next week, they've got upcoming games against Jim Haslett's soul (they are officially back to being called the lambs by the way), Braylon Edwards rotting corpse (that's just some fantasy bitterness coming out, I still love Braylon), and the perpetual football coma that is the Detroit Lions. If I was a betting man, I'd put the Skins at 6-2. All that said, the Philly game looks awfully winnable, especially if Brian Westbrook isn't playing.

But enough about the Skins. They don't need the press right now. I'm actually terrified this winning might go to their heads, so let's switch topics to someone else who at some points in times terrifies me and at other times keeps me alive with laughter.

As you all probably will know by the time you read this, Al Davis finally ended the "Will he fire boy wonder Lane Kiffin or continue to let him hang out to dry" saga with a bang. The Raiders owner went out and just lambasted the guy publicly, calling him a liar and then had the audacity to bring up Chris Mortenson. Seriously, every time he would go back to Chris Mortenson's story during that press conference, he'd make sure to mention just whose story it was. As if it were Mortenson's fault all this happened, you crazy old kook.


The hiring

It's not all hate for Al Davis here. I gotta admit, it was kind of refreshing to hear the owner shoot off at the mouth in public. The guy had something to say, and no matter how crazy he looked in that weird looking sweater vest, he was going to say it. Although I kept getting the image as Davis's head and specifically turkey-like neck kept twitching about as if he hadn't seen the light of day in awhile. It was as if he knew the presser was going on too long and the early bird special was running about down the street.

But unlike the rest of the sporting world that hides behind its cliches and inner circle rights when it comes to speaking with the media, Al Davis said what he felt, despite the questions of sanity all of it raised. What I'm trying to say, is I learned a lot about and from Al Davis and I'd like to share some of that enlightenment with you:

1) There is still a need for mailmen
In trying to prove that the all the media reports about Kiffin's frosty relationship with ownership and his imminent firing were false, Al Davis decided to show the press a letter that Davis sent to Kiffin after the Raiders' opening season loss to the Broncos.

Mind you the contents of said letter, which lest we forget was fedexed to to really get the point across, contained pointed criticism about the way Kiffin was handling the team and warning that his job was in jeopardy. Oh yeah, and since the reports were off about that deteriorating/non existant relationship, the letter was absolutely necessary. Oh wait, Al Davis works in the same office as Kiffin, at the very least has assistants who know how to send an email, and confirmed today that he indeed had Kiffin's phone number since he used it to fire Kiffin.

2)This might be the beginning of some epic firings
This is about as public and bad a firing I can remember. It's probably just an anomaly considering we're just off the nicest firing of all time with Ned Yost and the Brewers (I'm still in shock the GM sent Yost an email saying thanks for all the hard work. You fired the guy two weeks ago. I'm trying to think of a good analogy but the only thing I keep thinking of is someone handing another person some brownies, promptly kicking them in the nuts, only to give them the brownies back. What was the point if you were on such hearty terms).

But in all seriousness, I just happened to be watching Back to the Future II right after Al's press conference ended and couldn't help but watch with delighted anticipation as Michael J. Fox's character gets fired by a boss who shows up on a big screen yelling You're Fired in a stereotypical Asian accent while fax announcements of the news come streaming in from every direction. That's our future, and I like thinking about the future meltdowns that could ensue. If Christopher Lloyd and the DeLorean say it's going to happen, I think we can mark it down as fact.

3) Lastly, but most importantly, Al Davis's pockets are definitely straight
What can you really say about the guy? We were expecting crazy out of Al Davis and the man delivered with flying colors. You can hate him, but I love him. He's like Mr. Wilbur on Dennis the Menace except cracked out, older, and more vindictive. Then you've got little Lane Kiffin running through his garden (or I guess in this case football team) making a mess. Al decided enough with the shenanigans and put the kid in his place and let us all know: I'm rich, I like me some dysfunction, and I'm not selling the team.


DEEENNNNNISSS!!!!

So sit back and enjoy the bashing Al Davis is going to take over the next couple of days. But c'mon, you can't tell me that old bastard wasn't entertaining. When Al Davis speaks, I listen with a sarcastic grin on my face.

Weekend Viewing Guide

Alright enough about the economy. No matter the doom and gloom on Wall Street, sports are still around to create a helpful diversion. With college football in full swing now thanks to USC's upset loss to Oregon State last night, the NFL season starting to hit its stride in week four, and baseball playoff spots still up for grabs in the final weekend ... this should be a pretty, pretty good week for sports and television.

Friday Night
Cubs at Brewers, 8 pm ESPN
So this whole "who's going to win the NL East and NL wild card spot" thing is actually going to come down to the last day. As of Friday afternoon, the Mets are a game back of the Phillies in the East and all tied up with the Brewers in the wild card race. The Mets finish up with three against the Marlins, while the Phillies have three with the bottom of the barrel Nats (Oh and by the way, the Nats fan in me jumped for joy when I read this. Finally the cavalry is here to help right this sinking Nationals ship.) But back to the race, which really could go any direction for all three teams. Since this stretch run will essentially be an early start to the playoffs for whoever makes it to October, pitching will likely be the big deciding point.

The Mets throw out Pelfrey on Friday and Santana on Sunday. They haven't decided on Saturday's pitcher. You've got to believe if the Mets can win on either Fri or Sat., odds are Santana will clean things up on Sunday. The Phillies have Joe Blanton Friday, Jamie Moyer Saturday, and if necessary I'm guessing Cole Hamels on Sunday. And we can't forget the opponent is the Nats. Meanwhile, the Brewers have Jeff Suppan going against a 16-win Ryan Dempster of the Cubs, a just coming back from an elbow injury Benn Sheets on Saturday and a going on three days' rest for the second-straight start C.C. Sabathia. In essence, new manager Dave Sveum is taking a lot of risk going for that ultimate reward.

In theory, based on the starting pitching, the pick should be the Phillies winning the NL East with the Mets taking the wild card. But how can you say that with any certainly considering how atrocious the bullpen at Shea has been all year. It's certainly going to be interesting to watch the drama unfold through the weekend.

Saturday
Maryland at Clemson, Noon RAYCOM Sports
Virginia at Duke, Noon ESPNU
North Carolina at Miami, Noon ESPN2
Michigan State at Indiana, Noon ESPN

I know the ACC isn't the cream of the crop in terms of football conferences, but me being in DC has definitely influenced my viewing habits. In the paper I work for this week, I picked Maryland to go into Death Valley and escape with a win just like it did two years ago. I like the way Freidgen and his gang have played the past two weeks when their backs were against the wall. My question is will the pass defense hold up? ... Virginia and Duke will have my eye solely because I'm curious what David Cutcliffe is up to with a 2-1 team in Durham. ... And I have a weird feeling the Blue Devils will win, while Carolina will crumble against in Coral Gables against Miami a week after pure and simply blowing a win over Virginia Tech ... Oh yeah, I'll grab a look at Little Brother. The Spartans beating Notre Dame last week does not change my belief that Michigan will win at the Big House later this year.

Wisconsin at Michigan, 3:30 pm ESPN
Tennessee at Auburn, 3:30 pm CBS
Nationals at Phillies, 3:55 pm FOX

Speaking of the Wolverines, they have a game against Wisconsin this week at the Big House. And for me, I say thank goodness. That Notre Dame loss has had far too much time to linger. The bottom line is that Michigan lost six fumbles in that game (Matt I said seven, but I was wrong) and losing six fumbles in a game just doesn't happen more than once a season. I'm willing to bet a lot of money on that. In that game against the Fighting Irish, Michigan out gained them on offense, while Sam McGuffie and Steven Threet looked impressive (or at least something resembling impressive for all you pessimists out there).

All that said, I don't like the Wolverines odds in this one. Something tells me it's a close game that comes down to the wire before Michigan shows its youth. Next week against Ilinois, well I've been thinking that would Rich Rod's break through for awhile now. More on that later, though. ... The Auburn offense was better last week against LSU, but the Tigers still lost. This article about the Tony Franklin offense (see last week's Weekend Viewing Guide for more) comes out next week, and my gut tells me this is the week Auburn explodes against the reincarnation of Lloyd Carr aka Philip Fulmer. ... And like I said, I'm keeping an eye on that playoff race and the Phillies.

Alabama at Georgia, 7:45 ESPN
Illinois at Penn State, 8 pm ABC
Virginia Tech at Nebraska, 8 pm ABC

I would have put the Illinois/Penn State on top because that's the game I really wanted to watch. But being in DC means ACC all the time, and therefore we are getting the Va. Tech/Nebraska battle. See, after watching that Oregon State/USC game last night, you couldn't help but get the feeling Penn State is better than we all thought. That being said, I think the Fighting Illini are a flawed team, that like I said earlier, will lose to Michigan. They barely beat Louisiana-Lafayetee a week ago and combined with the overwhelming home field advantage, I expect the Nittany Lions to come out on top. This is Penn State's chance to prove it actually means business this year. ... The Bama/Georgia game is just another example of how tough the SEC is this year. All this talk of an undefeated team making it all the way has to be thrown out the window now that the Trojans have a loss. I just don't see it happening. Remember, just last season, one team in the BCS Title game lost its second-to-last game (Ohio State) and the other lost its last regular-season game (LSU).

Sunday
Falcons at Panthers, 1pm FOX
Vikings at Titans, 1pm FOX
Packers at Bucs, 1pm FOX
Marlins at Mets, 1pm TBS

The NFC South takes center stage for me with three teams locked in at 2-1. The surprising Falcons should get a reality check against my Panthers, especially in Charlotte. You gotta admit, though, the Matt Ryan/Michael Turner era in the Dirty Dirty rolls off the tongue a lot more easily than it did a few weeks ago. ... 60 some odd passes aside, I'm certainly not sold on Fiji alum Brian Griese as an answer at quarterback for the Bucs. I think Aaron Rodgers gets back on track this week for the Packers, who might (I say might with extreme hesitation) face a challenge from the Bears this year ... Because like I said last week, Gus is not going to the playoffs with the Vikings. Especially when it looks like the Titans defense may make them a replica of the 2000 Ravens that somehow won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer. ... And yes, the Mets game will get some minutes from me considering a playoff spot is almost certainly going to be hanging in the balance.

Redskins at Cowboys, 4 pm FOX

Everyone is pumping up the Cowboys and rightfully so, considering the way they've looked going 3-0 this year. But if it's one thing I've learned over the years about these Dallas games, it's that this is the one rivalry that levels the competition field in the NFL. You see it a lot in college, but not nearly as much in football, and especially this series. Because no matter how good or how bad either team is, this game more often than not is fought tooth and nail and real close.

It's definitely concerning that Jason Taylor won't be playing, because getting pressure on Tony Romo is the key to stopping the Cowboy attack. There's a lot of weapons to deal with, though, and from what I've read the Skins plan to give the Cowboys as many five or six yard gains that they want in order to combat the consequences of giving up big plays. I bet TO has a touchdown, but Shawn Springs does a solid job on him. Jason Witten has a shot at a big game.

We'll certainly learn a whole lot about the Jim Zorn era this week and the following week, when the Skins face the Eagles. It's definitely been refreshing to see the Skins dominate fourth quarters the past two weeks. A win in Dallas puts the Skins on a fast track to a playoff run, but a loss isn't the end of the world (it is a division road game after all). That being said, I think if the Skins want to be able to look themselves in the mirror and feel confidence about their status within the NFC, they need to pick off either the 'Boys or the Eagles on the road in the next two weeks.


I think with all the attention on Santana now, Cooley is due for a big game. These Skins can win, it's a question of will they.

Have No Fear a Recession is Here

Well as we move along in this financial crisis, there seems to be new developments by the minute. A couple hours ago it was Jp Morgan becoming the largest bank in the world thanks to its purchase of Washington Mutual. And right now it's Harry Reid, Christopher Dodd and the rest of the powers that be on the finance committee of the Senate criticizing interference on the passing of the Paulson bailout plan. Basically the world is coming to an end according the men running our country.

Now, it may bore some that I'm paying so much attention to this thing, but it's kind of cool that we're going through something that will be remembered for a long, long time. I'm talkin an entire chapter of a text book important.

My quick, knee jerk reaction is that the government is moving way too fast on this this bailout. It seems to me it's merely a "plugging the hole in a rotting dam" solution to this crisis. It addresses the fallout, but doesn't get at the root of the issues. At least that's acccording to the experts:

But almost 200 academic economists -- who aren't paid by the institutions that could directly benefit from the plan but who also may not have recent practical experience in the markets -- have signed a petition organized by a University of Chicago professor objecting to the plan on the grounds that it could create perverse incentives, that it is too vague and that its long-run effects are unclear. ...

"There is a kind of suggestion in the Paulson proposal that if only we provide enough money to financial markets, this problem will disappear," said Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist. "But that does nothing to address the fundamental problem of bleeding foreclosures and the holes in the balance sheets of banks."

Henry Paulson, you worry me.

The feeling I get is that this plan is the quick fix answer, and more time is needed to thoroughly plan out just how we're going to recover. And frankly, it appears to me as if it's getting rushed simply because people are fearful of an economic downturn. Well, guess what people, we're in the midst of a full fledged downturn. Why is everyone afraid to embrace it. Everyone seems so fearful of acknowledging the word "recession", even though it's a natural occurence in the system we call capitalism.

Instead though, the powers that be within this country feel the answer is to nationalize everything when a disaster strikes this country. I read an interesting piece, from of all people, the governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford. He cites the examples of Hurricane Katrina, when the federal government took on roles normally reserved for state and local governments. and 9/11, when the government created a shoe removal/security service by the name of The Transportation Security Agency. And wouldn't you know, my guy Sanford elaborates even more:

For 200 years, the "business model" in our country has rested on a simple fact: that while one may reap rewards from taking risks, one should also be prepared to face the consequences of those risks. Some of the proposed actions with regard to the credit market turn that business model on its head -- absolving those who took too much risk, or bought too much house, from the weight of their own choices. If Congress passes the proposed bailout, we will be destined to have far greater problems in time, leaving those who are prudent in their finances to foot the bill for those who are not.

See, capitalism relies on recessions. Japan went through one the entire 1990s. Just open up your minds to the concept of it. It's happening. So let's take the time to allow the experts to create fundamentally sound and real solutions to this crisis.

And frankly, it bothers me that one of our Presidential candidates went from saying the fundamentals of our economy are sound a week ago to feeling the need to call off his campaign because the financial situation was so dire seemingly a few days later. John McCain, you've been warned.


John McCain becoming more and more frightening.

These Days Everyone Has a Blog

Seriously, it's absolutely fascinating the amount of athletes that have decided to write down their semi-coherent, yet not very thought provoking ideas on the computer screen. Everyone sort of knows about the big time ones that occasionally pop up on the national news like Curt Schilling's blog or Gilbert Arenas' blog, which of course I read regularly.

But it's a national phenomenon in the athlete world now. Today I discovered Mike Hart's blog, where I learned that he will be on campus in Ann Arbor this weekend for the Wisconsin game alongside his former teammates, Jake Long and Mario Manningham. Also, Hart's fellow Colts teammate and former Wisco QB, Jim Sorgi, is coming as well.

Once I stumbled into Hart's blog, I decided it was time to start googling anyone I could think of and attaching the word "blog" to the end. Here's what I learned:

1) Michael Phelps used to have a blog. I guess now he's too big time for that. Instead he likes to drink corona out of a can on national television.

2) David Wright used to have one, too. I particularly liked how he spent an entire section of one post explaining why he sticks his tongue out on the baseball field a la Michael Jordan. For the record he only does it when he's "really concentrating or trying hard." How cute.

3) Dontrelle Willis has a blog that he started on December 5, 2007, two days after he was traded from the Marlins to the Tigers. Funny thing is, D (which what he calls himself on the blog) stopped posting on March 6, 2008. I guess it makes sense, since that's about the time D probably realized he's no longer a Major League caliber pitcher. But the banner when you actually go to the site still says "Dontrelle Willis: Pitcher for the Detroit Tigers". I wonder if there's anyway we can go in there and change it to "Dontrelle Willis: High Leg Kickin' It in Class A Lakeland". Other issues I had were that he listed his favorite city as Oakland (I know he's from there, but c'mon, OAKLAND!), his favorite player as Juan Pierre, and one of his favorite movies is Mr. 3000 starring the deceased Bernie Mac.

4) Carmelo has one, too, but it hasn't been updated since May. Be prepared to try and read the number '2' used as a word and the letter 'u' as a word. I guess Melo texts these bad boys in, rather than actually write them.

5) Donovan McNabb's blog was probably the best I read. Too bad it's almost all Philly sports. Oh yeah, and McNabb writes it. Ugh.

6) I take what i said about Donovan's blog back. Baron Davis easily has the most entertaining blog this side of Gilbert Arenas. It's not just vanilla bullshit about games. Baron actually shares some real world views. For example, the Baron addressing Gilbert on the Presidential election:

(I know he said he's gonna raise the taxes on the top income bracket, Gil, but if he uses that money to improve our schools then you won't have to worry about some kids trying to sell pictures of your pool online cause they couldn't get a better job.) LOL

Oh and to top it all off, Baron refers to himself as BoomDizzle throughout and starts posts with phrases like "Yessirr!!! Boom back in the Yard", "Ybbbbbb, what's good. Its your boy Boom", and "What up YB, your boy BoomDizzle stopping through the yard". I think that makes it official, one of this blog's favorite players, Baron Davis, will from here on out be called Boom Dizzle. I think this whole blog search just confirmed Boom Dizzle as my favorite player not wearing a Wizards jersey.

Also, look who figured out how to use video. I highly recommend watching this if you'd like to become an even bigger BoomDizzle fan



POST-POSTING NEWSFLASH/UPDATE:
I just put this post up and then discovered Boom Dizzle actually made some headlines today. He's now endorsing Jenny Craig. Yes, the same haven for fat women we all associate with the name Jenny Craig.

Let Them Drink The Beer

I'm no longer in the Midwest, but it hasn't stopped me from noticing all that's going on in the Chicagoland baseball scene. Both the White Sox and Cubs should be in the playoffs this year (although my guess is neither make the World Series) and apparently the people of Chicago are happy — really happy.

So happy that Chicago mayor Richard Daley has issued this decree:

Mayor Richard Daley said today the city will ask bars near Chicago's baseball stadiums to voluntarily cut off alcohol sales after the seventh inning of home games where the Cubs or White Sox could clinch a playoff series.

While other city officials cautioned that they had yet to discuss the plan with bar owners, the mayor said it was a no-brainer.

"What we're asking is common sense. You can drink as much beer for seven innings as you want," Daley said. "Give me a break. This is common sense, that's all it is. We're asking for the cooperation of everyone."

Asked what he would tell business owners who fear a loss of business, Daley replied, "I'll have somebody buy their place tomorrow ... If you've been drinking for five hours and you're laying on the floor, don't give that person another beer.

"I mean, give me a break ... It's not going to cost them any business. They made enough money all year, I'm sorry. We're just talking about common sense."

I know we all look towards out politicians for help and guidance in tough economic times since we all care about our incomes so much, especially during the past few months. But this Daley fellow might cost himself re-election with this little stunt. I may have just turned 21 a short while ago, but I know there's only one thing people like more than money ... ALCOHOL!

RIP Modern Era Yankees

I'd been saving this post for the day the Yankees were officially eliminated from playoff contention, and of course when that day came yesterday I forgot to post about it altogether. But here we go, the unofficial eulogy of the modern era Yankees.

I feel like we've all had a vested interest in this team soley because this was the dominant baseball team for my precocious youngster years. They kept going to the playoffs, and making deep runs once they got there (especially before 2001), that even if you hated them, you were familiar with names like Jeter, Pettite, Posada, Rivera, Tino, etc. But as we all know that started drying up once the Yanks' brass decided to go for broke every year in free agency and in the process completely alter their (to that point) minor league development machine. Buster Olney of ESPN, who used to cover the Yanks for the New York Times back in the day, explains it better than I do:

The Yankees' thirst for yearly success at the big league level has hurt the team's efforts to regenerate the organization's player development, of course. ...

The Yankees, who already had become a middle-aged team during the dynasty, began relying almost solely on free-agent spending to augment the team, to paper over weaknesses, and the Yankees sacrificed draft picks along the way. From the fall of 2001 through 2005, the Yankees sacrificed nine high draft picks to sign free agents Jason Giambi, Steve Karsay, Rondell White, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill, Jaret Wright, Carl Pavano, Kyle Farnsworth and Johnny Damon. In addition, the Yankees' consistent high finishes in the standings -- propped up by the free-agent signings -- naturally hurt their draft position.

Basicallt the desire to be this World Series contender every single year hurt them in the long run. Now the mighty Yanks are starting to feel the heat because even the limited amount of proven home grown talent like Jeter, Pettite and Posada are on the down turn, while supposed up-and-comers like Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Melky Cabrera, and Robinson Cano have on various levels shown themselves unworthy of being considered future stars just yet.

Which brings me to my next point: this upcoming offseason. We are all expecting the Yankees to be the Yankees of old now that they're about to have close to $90 million in payroll wiped off the slate. That means C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, maybe A.J. Burnett, and who knows what else the team may have up its sleeve.


Their days as Yankee stars are (or at least could) be numbered.

And while Brian Cashman has put a newfound emphasis on organizational strength (i.e. having a good minor league system and good drafting), the team still seriously lags behind the Red Sox and now the Rays in terms of developing its own players. And the way the AL East played out this year, I think the addition of Sabathia and Teixeira, while nice pickups, would still leave the Yanks on the outside looking in when the playoffs come around. And frankly, my opinion is that any team based around the talents of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez is likely to have a short shelf life. There's just no way a championship team consists of Jeter and ARod as focal points in the future. Jeter isn't the player he once was and it's only a matter of time before ARod, now 33 years old, starts to see some major slippage in his game.

If I'm Yankees management I go pick one or the other — Sabathia or Teixeira — sign him to one of those ridiculously large Yankee deals and then see if you can't just develop a second star. Build the team around either Sabathia or Teixeira, not build it with them and some other big money free agents. It may mean taking some lumps for a season or two, but the quality draft picks they might get from a season or two like this year could pay off in the long run. Look at the Rays, they sucked for years and years, subsequently some great picks in the top five of various MLB drafts, and now they have a juggernaut that could be a team to be reckoned with for the next decade.

Dave Letterman clears up the economy issues?

So I've got Verizon Fios at home here in Maryland, and up until today it hadn't really caused me any major issues. In fact, I get more channels for a cheaper price than Comcast. But yesterday, Verizon decided to switch up the channels on me, moving all of them in seemingly incomprehensible directions. And since I threw away the channel guide, I was SOL last night maneuvering through the television.

That's why I stumbled upon the Late Show with David Letterman last night. See, the basic channels like NBC, FOX, and CBS remained unchanged. Apparently this week is premiere week for the late night talk show circuit, so they all try to pack in as many big time guests as possible. Dave had Bill Clinton and Chris Rock last night.

Let me tell you, after hearing Bill speak last night, I'm completely convinced this entire financial fiasco the world is going through would not have occurred had Bill gone FDR on our butts and been in the White House for 16 years. While the entire world seems to be completely flummoxed by this situation (notice the ridiculously volatile oil prices right now), Bill calmly explained to Letterman in layman's terms what the problem was and how he/Hillary proposes to fix it.

Basically he said the Bush administration failed in the beginning of this decade by just handing out tax breaks to the rich instead of giving money/tax breaks/incentives for said rich people to invest in new industries revolving around energy initiatives like alternative fuels and the like. This would create new jobs for the American people (a huge need given all the outsourcing in every industry these days), and also prevent the rich folk from simply re-investing and leveraging in the real estate market. Clinton said all this concisely and re-assured people that everything is going to be alright. Basically what he was saying is that if you're going to allow rich people to get richer it's fine, but make sure they have to make concessions to help the rest of the country in process. Therefore, it turns into a win for everyone.

Who knows if he's right, but I think Americans need to stop playing the blame game in this whole economy mess. Everyone screwed this one up: the federal government, Wall Street, the Main Streets of America, and the really rich barons. Whether it was not providing enough oversight and letting the rich get breaks they didn't deserve (the federal gov't), spending money they didn't have in order to get huge, ridiculosly large bonuses (Wall St.), taking on mortgages people couldn't afford (Main Street America), or just being greedy old farts with no concern for the well being of anyone but themselves (rich barons) ... shit has hit the fan and it's time to regroup.

But what made Clinton's appearance on letterman even more remarkable was Chris Rock following him. The dude was on fire and on point, especially when he criticized Clinton for talking too much about Hillary and not enough about Barack. Here's some highlights:

Rock, out promoting the latest HBO standup special, isn't used to having the secondary slot on a talk show, but allowed it Monday to make way for Clinton, who was asked about the economy and campaign by the host

"I hope you don't expect me to be that smart, Dave. I got nothing," Rock said. "I thought I was watching Charlie Rose."


One observation Rock made was "Is it me, or did he not want to say the words 'Barack Obama?"

Clinton had mentioned his wife quite a bit, he noted. "Hilary ain't running! One of those guys needs to tell him. I love Hillary but she lost. She got a lot of votes she lost. The Patriots got a lot of points too, but they lost to the Giants. "Hillary Clinton didn't lose because of sexism, Rock said. "She lost to a black guy nobody had ever heard of."

As for Sarah Palin, Rock said, "Have you been to Alaska Dave? It's like 'Road Warrior' with snow." He marveled at all those pictures of Palin alongside a moose she had killed. "She's there holding a moose and Michael Vick is like: 'Why am I in jail?'

I think the most important part of that interview was Rock establishing that it's officially no longer too soon to make a pro-Michael Vick joke. I'm looking forward to more because, well, like Rock said the woman who could potentially be our vice president (and holy shit, maybe our President at some point) killed a moose.

Weekend Viewing Guide

Not nearly as packed a weekend for sports watching as it was a week ago, but there's still some quality out there. No Michigan, which judging from the Notre Dame debacle, is probably the best thing at this point in the Rich Rod era. But you can't help but smile seeing how much West Virginia is struggling without its old coach. Seriously, I watched parts of last week's East Carolina-West Virginia game and then watched most of last night's Mountaineer-Colorado game, and I couldn't get over how atrocious the clock management and play calling were.

Onto the games to watch:

Friday Night
Quince Orchard High School vs. Damascus High School, 630 p.m.
Westfield High School vs. Chantilly High School, 730 p.m.

Being the sports editor (yes that is my official title here in Virginia and I have the business card to prove it) I had to include a couple high school games ... even though I'm not attending either and there's no chance any one can even watch them on television (If you can, let me know what channel). But these are the two biggest regular season games in the DC area this year, and they both happen to fall on the same weekend. Damascus beat QO for the state title a year ago, but QO now has a team with something like five or six guys who are going to play D-1 football, including a couple top100 players in the nation. Westfield is the defending state champion in Virginia (which is saying something), but appear weaker than last season. Can Chantilly (a perennial power) knock them off? Apparently there's supposed to be close to 10,000 people going to that game later tonight.

Saturday
East Carolina at NC State, Noon ESPN
Will the Pirates keep their undefeated streak alive. Something tells me this is the game they trip up in. I have no real reason for supporting this, though. It's just a hunch.

Virginia Tech at UNC, 330 p.m. ABC
Florida at Tennessee, 330 p.m. CBS
Notre Dame at Michigan State, 330 p.m. ESPN

UNC was mighty impressive in that win over Rutgers, but the Scarlet Knights look like trash this season. I want evidence that the Butch Davis era is for real. A home game against a suspect Va. Tech team will do a lot to validate the Tar Heels as a potential ACC champion ... The Florida-Tenn. game meant a whole lot more back in the days of the Ol' Ball Coach, Spurrier, when this game would ultimately decide the SEC East. Hell, the Vols can't even seem to fill their own stadium these days thanks to the administration actually making students pay for tickets (Gasp!). I would say the Gators win this one in a landslide, but you never know what can happen in an SEC road game. ... And last and least, the matchup between my two least favorite teams in all the college football world. Is there a way both teams can lose or maybe at least tie or something? The only reason I might want a ND win is that it would officially signal the end of all this "Mark Dantonio is really onto something there in East Lansing" business.


Apparently the game against UAB didn't inspire this type of attendance.

LSU at Auburn, 745 p.m. ESPN
Georgia at Arizona State, 8 p.m. ABC

I've been working on this story for a couple weeks here in Virginia. It's about these three high school football teams I cover that all switched over to this system called "The Tony Franklin Offense". Who is Tony Franklin, you ask? Well he was the offensive coordinator at Troy until getting the same such job at Auburn this past off season. He has this unique scheme that is apparently really easy to implement and even has an 800 number for coaches to call when they have questions. Well, I want this story to come off as if I've discovered the next big thing. The only problem is Auburn has blown on offense thus far. And by terrible offense, I mean really terrible, as in they beat Mississippi State 3-2 last week. For my sake, I need everyone to root for this LSU game to be the Tigers (the Auburn version) coming out party offensively. ... As for the Georgia game, the only reason it is of consequence is that if the Bulldogs struggle in this one, we can make it official that this whole BCS thing is a two-team race between USC and the winner of the Big 12 this season.

Sunday
Cardinals at Redskins, 1 p.m. FOX
Raiders at Bills, 1 p.m. CBS
Panthers at Vikings, 1 p.m. FOX

As I stated earlier this week, the Skins looked good, real good against the Saints. It won't mean much, though, if they don't beat the upstart Cards. Especially with two road games at Dallas and Philly looming in the two ensuing games. Even with a full complement of secondary players (Springs, Smoot, Rogers) and the addition of a talented rookie (Chris Horton), the Skins will struggle with the likes of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. But here's the thing about Kurt Warner: he doesn't handle pressure well. If the Skins can get past that offensive line, especially without having to blitz, I don't think the Cards do all that much. But that's obviously easier said than done, because if Warner has time he'll pick this defense apart. As for the offense, I think CPort should be plenty motivated considering his shenanigans the past week. I'm looking forward to hearing Brian Mitchell on the Skins pregame show (it only airs in the DC area). I'm curious to see how the wideouts respond after a brilliant game a week ago. Is that the standard for the season or was last week an anomaly against a weakened Saints secondary? Plus with the injuries to Malcolm Kelly and James Thrash, does Devin Thomas do anything this week? All that being said, let's remember these are still the Cards and the last time that franchise started a season 3-0 was 1974.


You get to grow up quickly this weekend young Devin.

As for the other games, I promised I would pay attention to the Bills if they went to Jacksonville and won. Now they get to feast on the Raiders and Lane Kiffin's dying coaching corpse. Seriously, look at Buffalo's schedule, its next three games are Oakland, at St. Louis, and at Arizona. It's not out of the realm of possibility to see them at 5-0 heading into the bye week. But I've got a weird feeling the Bills might just choke this week (or at least make the score way too close to comfort) because I'm not ready to accept a 5-0 Buffalo team as part of the NFL landscape. ... Panthers and Vikes is on here solely for the return of Gus Frerotte to relevance. It seems like just yesterday I was chanting "We Want Gus" at my first football game at RFK as Heath Shuler sucked a nut on the field. The fact that Gus still has a job somewhere indicates to me just how easy it is to be solely a quarterback that can form complete thoughts. Because that's all Gus really brings to the table. he certainly won't be leading some obscene playoff run out of nowhere.

Saints at Broncos, 4 p.m. FOX
Jaguars at Colts, 4 p.m. CBS
Steelers at Eagles, 4 p.m. CBS

Gutsy call by Mike Shanahan last week, which I liked a whole lot. But it turns out, according to Tuesday Morning Quarterback's Gregg Easterbrook of ESPN.com, it was the right call if you go by the percentages:

The invaluable Pro Football Prospectus reports that since 2003, deuce attempts have succeeded about 55 percent of the time, which sounds better than trotting on to overtime. True, in the past 15 years, teams that have gone for two to win in the final minute won three times and lost three times. That's still no worse than proceeding to overtime -- and tells you how rare going for two in this situation is. TMQ suspects that if coaches went for the win in this situation more often, they'd do better than 50/50.

My thoughts on the battery charges for Brandon Marshall? One man's battery is another man's way of teaching someone a good lesson.

Was a 3-0 Bronco team part of preseason prediction of a playoff berth? No, but the more wins the merrier. ... If the Jags lose this week, I think they might have next to no shot at winning the AFC South. I'm not the type that panic too much over 0-2 starts, but a third loss against a division rival would be devastating. I guess this is a perfect example of what happens to teams not used to being hyped ... Big Ben vs. Donovan might be the matchup of the week. It's scary to think the Eagles could be 1-2 after this week considering how impressive they have looked so far. Man, I hate it when Philly is good.

Cowboys at Packers, 8 p.m. NBC
Orioles at Yankees, 8 p.m. ESPN

The Boys look like the team to beat in the NFL, but Aaron Rodgers can officially get the Brett Favre monkey off his back if he has another impressive game in this one. Remember, the Cowboys-Pack game a year ago was the one Rodgers came in to relieve Favre after a hand injury, so he shouldn't be too intimidated by the situation ... And the last game ever played at Yankee Stadium. It also might serve as the last game for the modern era Yankees as we know them because this team needs (and is likely going to get) a gigantic makeover this offseason.