You can't say Ludacris isn't trying

I'm not sure if you've heard about Ludacris and his recent foray into legitimate politics, but let's just say it hasn't gone too well. You may remember, I posted about the awesomeness that is Ludacris attempting to transform into a socially conscious human being from a thug rapper who likes to lick people from their heads to their toes. Back in the beginning of 2007, I was a bit critical of Ludacris selling his soul to white people by no longer rapping about hoes in different area codes. That was when he released a song about the plight of women.

Well, it seems Ludacris has taken my advice ... sort of. Luda's newest song, a pro-Obama, anti-everyone else riff, is getting a lot of publicity because of the Presidential campaign. See Luda, instead of rapping political (which we all know is just way over his head) has combined politics with thug life in his new song "Politics", and the Obama campaign isn't too happy about it. See the song included this:

Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant. McCain don't belong in ANY chair unless he's paralyzed. Yeah I said it cause Bush is mentally handicapped.

and this ...

Well give Luda a special pardon if I'm ever in the slammer
Better yet put me in office, make me your vice president

Well let me be the first to say: Luda, I don't think you're going to be Obama's Vice President. And also stick to what got you here. I will never listen to another one of your songs unless it's titled along the lines of "Comin out yo backside" or something of that equivalent. By the way, I could definitely see George W Bush bobbing his head to this song, and totally overlooking the mentally handicapped part. And I don't think you'll be seeing any more pictures like the one above.

A Favre Remix

I was sitting in Graham's room last night watching some kind of sports programming (switching between Mets-Marlins and Yanks-Orioles) when yet another Brett Favre update rolled across the screen, informing the masses that the legendary quarterback had officially written to the NFL for his reinstatement into the league.

Now I'm fairly certain I'm not alone in saying enough with this constant Favre coverage, but it was then that Graham asked me what I thought about it. Clearly, he didn't remember my post from a few weeks ago concerning Favre, where I outlined exactly what I thought of the situation. But to be honest, I don't blame Graham for forgetting my stance, because I think we've all lost sight of what's important amidst the daily (and sometimes thrice daily) Brett Favre news that comes out. Seriously, poor Chris Mortensen's phone bill is probably through the roof with calls to Mississippi.


I feel even worse for Mort after seeing this picture.

Through it all, though, I'm sticking to the point I made earlier this month. The Packers can feign anger at Favre all they want for flip flopping, but ultimately the public is going to realize that the team is essentially pushing one of its greatest players out the door when he desperately wants back in. And for me, it just doesn't make much sense. Here's what I wrote a few weeks ago:

I just don't get Green Bay's dilemma. Say you were the GM of an NFL team, if given the choice, who would you rather have quarterbacking your team : Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers. To me, no circumstance exists where Rodgers would be the answer.

Yes, it's unfair for Favre to just un (or de-) retire like this, but he's still one of the best quarterbacks in the league. How is this a bad thing?

This morning I was thinking about how another NFL team would treat a similar circumstance: one of their legendary players flip flopping about playing. The Giants had a similar scenario last season with Michael Strahan, when he feigned retirement because he didn't really want to participate in two-a-days. Favre's conundrum was he didn't want to participate in the non-training camp aspect of preseason football, things like OTAs and mini-camp. But instead of taking a hard line stance on Strahan, the Giants did the smart thing and took a wait-and-see approach since they understood they weren't going to just replace Strahan.

Packers GM should be using this same strategy as it relates to Favre. I realize you want Aaron Rodgers to get his chance at starting after using a first-round pick on him. But like Strahan helped the Giants win the Super Bowl a year ago, I think Brett Favre also has a shot at winning a Super Bowl with this Packer squad. Also remember, we found in January's Super Bowl that not only did the Giants take a wait-and-see approach while Strahan considered calling it quits, they did so knowing full well they had a player named Justin Tuck waiting in the wings.


Yeah, some of your decisions have me scratching my head too, Teddy.

I think the media has also played a role in the Favre saga becoming a melodrama. I don't quite understand why we're all jumping on the guy just because he wants to keep playing football. He's admitted he jumped the gun in calling it quits and still thinks the fire exists to compete. And coming off the season he had a year ago, I don't get the problem. Michael Wilbon has an interesting take on the issue in today's Washington Post, where he laments the power the Packers have over Favre:

If you don't want Favre, if you think he's washed up and ready to be bronzed, then why would you care if he winds up with the Vikings or Bears? If you don't want Favre, why would you care who he plays for in the limited time he has left?

Because the Packers want it both ways, like every NFL team in history. Thompson thinks being an NFL team executive gives him the inalienable right to be able to tell players what to do for the rest of their natural lives. "I don't want you to play for me, but I'll do my best to prevent you from playing for anybody else." That's the NFL way.

And because the NFL is the unchallenged sports/entertainment leader in America, most of the general public -- even in Wisconsin -- most folks in the media and most fans nationally think the poor Packers are somehow being put upon. This is yet another case of the NFL flexing its unequalled sense of entitlement and arrogance.

See, I don't think it's the NFL or the Packers flexing their muscles. This is squarely on the shoulders of GM Ted Thompson, who has backed himself into a corner by taking this definitive "he retired so we moved on and there's no turning back from here" approach. It illuminates an even bigger issue, which is why this man can't just flip flop, just like Favre did concerning his retirement. It's not the end of the world to have Brett Favre quarterbacking a team that was a play away from the Super Bowl. If Favre had never made his March retirement announcement, none of this media bruhaha would be going on. Someone needs to put Mr. Thompson in his place because no matter what he does in this situation, he isn't getting a statue in front of Lambeau Field like Favre will.

In simpler terms, enough with this Favre stuff. Let the man play football.

Gilbert is at it again

I've been trying to avoid regularly posting about the habits of Gilbert Arenas for some time now, since I've gotten some comments about my unhealthy obsession with the man. But I couldn't resist once I saw pictures of $1 million pool in the 'burbs of DC. Work is still underway. The pics are all courtesy of the DC Sports Bog.




The stone for this "mountain" apparently cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000.




These are pictures of Gilbert's Playboy Mansion-style grotto and what I'm presuming is the basement or "chill" area to said mountain grotto. It will contain three gigantic fish tanks, and the chill area will have a set-up so Gilbert can lean back on a couch and look at his fish tanks.

This really makes me want to be rich, or if that can't happen, at least be invited to a pool party at Gilbert's house. And if that can't happen, I'd settle for being the lifeguard at one of those pool parties. The only question I have is what kind of pumps are running this bad bay?

At least he read my story

So I have a google alert for my own name, meaning every time something is posted on the internet with my name attached, I receive an email telling me what website it's from. Usually I receive a few a day, depending on how many people link one of my stories, and ordinarily it's at relatively minor websites or blogs.

Well today I had a story about a McCain function specifically for NY Democrats. And to my great pleasure, it was linked on some blog.

Except this blog linked the article as its misleading story of the day. Here's why:

Roberta Weisbrod is a lovely woman, who makes her living consulting on maritime and other economic development issues. Her husband, Federal Judge David Trager, is a Republican, or at least was when Republican President Gerald Ford made him a United States Attorney, at the behest of Republican Senator Jacob Javits.

Ms. Weisbrod’s 1992 work for Clinton preceded by about one year the appointment of her husband as one the few Republicans Clinton elevated to the federal bench.

This is not to question Ms. Weisbrod's sincerity, but rather the Sun's. Full disclosure would be nice next time, guys.

My take ... I was the best at something today, whether it's for misleading people or quality work.

A Court House Debacle

Yesterday was quite possibly the most frustrating I've spent here at the Sun. Let me summarize before I go into great depth: I was in a Brooklyn courthouse for more than two hours and basically accomplished nothing by myself.

Now for the gory details. I was sent by another writer to get all the information I could about a second amendment case involving a Brooklyn hot dog vendor who had a loaded gun in his home — a basement of some apartment building. Apparently the arresting officers had been given an anonymous tip that this guy had a gun in his possessions, and since New York has some of the strictest gun levels in the land, they decided to pounce. This is a big deal right now because of a recent Supreme Court ruling that re-interpreted the Second Amendment to say people could use guns for self-protection. Well, here at the Sun we've been trying to drum up a hubbub on various cases that could also be re-interpreted due to this somewhat landmark decision.

So I was first sent to this Brooklyn court house where I was to "get every single file involving this guy's case." Of course, when I got through security at this courthouse (at every courthouse you must pass security and some make you give up your cell phone, which is extremely annoying) I was promptly told the files for this particualr case were at a different court house that was luckily just down the street.

So I plugged in my ipod and started my trek to a different court, the criminal court of Brooklyn. As many know, I've had some experience in these halls — well at least the Montgomery County version of these halls — as part of my program days. I should have known something was up when I had my ipod on shuffle and "Frustration" by the Mamas and the Papas came on randomly.


The criminal court of Brooklyn.

I get through security at this court house, which thankfully does not require giving up your cell phone (more on this later). I went to the information desk there, thinking this would be the end of my journey. I figured once I reached the window, I would get my files and head on back to the office. Obviously, i was wrong.

Now as I was waiting in line, I noticed just how miserable these people looked. Everyone working there had a serious case of the Mondays and were being pretty rude to some people. Although, there was a guy ahead of me who was facing some sort of charge and trying to get the files on his own case, and yet for some reason didn't bring any form of identification. He wanted this court house employee to just give him the files on the basis of trust (his words). Just think about that for a second: a guy just committed a crime and a court house employee who sees thousands of criminals a week like him is supposed to just have some trust in him. The only way I could see anything like that happening would be if the court house employee had recently smoked a solo bowl.

But to be fair to the information window people, they were actually not the problem for me. Once I got the window, I was promptly given instructions to go to another room down the hall, where all the files were stored. He wasn't cheerful about it, but he had quickly taken care of me.

Well I walked down this hallway and to the door, where I was met by a security guard, telling me I was at the wrong room. I asked where it was. He didn't know. I then turned to my right and saw it was literally right next to me. I wanted to call this security guard an idiot, but I hadn't noticed the door either (personally I think my mistake is a little more excusable since I don't work within spitting distance of said door).

Of course, when I turned toward this door a the clerk of courts (the very man I was looking for) was walking out the door for his lunch break. I begged and pleaded with him to just help me out real quick, but of course this is city government so lunch breaks just don't get ignored. And frankly, I understood where the guy was coming from. I probably would have done the same thing if I were in his position looking at a young journalist. But here's what got me steamed. It was about 12:45 pm when I was outside his door, and this clerk told me it was best I come back at 3 p.m. If I had thought of quicker my response would have been "That's not a damn lunch break, that's a friggin siesta douchebag." But of course, I didn't actually say this. I just bowed my head, reluctantly accepting my fate of being stuck in this court house for another couple of hours.

I passed the time by listening to some tunes and a phone call to Battey, who along with Matt, is trying to convince me to move out to the mountains for the winter (I haven't reached a decision yet, but it's a definite maybe).


Rocky Mountain high?

To my surprise, the clerk showed up from his lunch break at around 2 p.m., but refused to open the door for me. Instead, he was cursing under his breath about me waiting outside the clerks office while he was on his lunch break. Once I heard this, my polite waiting game was over. Immediately I repsonded with a "God forbid you do your job as a public servant." I don't think he was very happy about that.

So I continued to wait outside this door until finally at 2:15 a woman, who I'm assuming was the administrative assistant of the clerk, opened the door for me. I started explaining to her (politely) what I needed and almost as quickly, she rudely shot back with "you can't just have all the files from a case. I don't what court you've been to before but I've been here a long time and I'm not losing my job because of you." To say I was taken aback would be an understatement.

I then asked what I could see. She said I could only see a copy of the complaint and that she would not go to the trouble of photcopying anything else for me. At this point, I had pretty much reached my limit. I had politely waited over an hour for these people and now I was getting rudely escorted away. It was time to make a scene. As many know, this is usually a winning strategy for me.

So I demanded to speak to this woman's superior. And of course, the superior was the man who had earlier muttered under his breath. I positioned myself for a lengthy verbal battle. He told me, "You can't just have everything from this guy's file. There's a rap sheet in here and stuff like that so you can't just rifle through this man's file." I responded, telling the man (now loudly because I was no longer in a jovial mood) then I'd like to see everything I'm allowed to see. I knew this would piss off said clerk because he'd already been pissed I was waiting outside his door after lunch and he also knew it was his job to do things like this.

But, shame on me for thinking a city employee would do anything remotely close to what protocol calls for. He said I would have to request specific parts of the file and then he could get them for me. I started listing things off the top of my head (frankly, at this point I didn't know what I was saying expect using words like defendant and motions and depositions, all the things I've heard my dad say over the years). He told me I needed to go to some other office to get what I wanted. I knew he was wrong, so I then began to tell him about a little document called the United States Constitution. In it, it says all court filings are for public record. It's the reason why when Michael Jordan filed for divorce the world found out about how he had a different woman in every city he played in (and yes, I told him this exact story).


I would have loved to bludgeon these people with an axe looking like this.

It was at this point that I called up the reporter who had sent me here in the first place and gave him the lowdown on what was going on. He decided he should come down to the court house and figure out what the deal was. While waiting for him, I went to the office the clerk had told me to go to, only to find out I had been in the right place and the clerk was mistaken. When the actual reporter got there, we went straight to the clerk, who again told said reporter that he couldn't have the files.

Then, this reporter did what I should have done. He asked to go even higher than the clerk and asked to speak with the bureau chief (he had done this before and calmly knew all the bullshit channels he had to go through to get what he wanted). Upon seeing the bureau chief, I think it hit all these nitwit city bureaucrats that myself and this other reporter were not going away. so they let us see the whole file, only we weren't allowed to look at the rap sheet and we weren't allowed to take the file out of the office. This meant no photocopying.

Myself and the reporter then proceeded to write in pen every word of this file, which took about 30 minutes. As for me, I was actually a little embarrassed that I had gone through everything I had gone through and ended up not being able to get the file. It was like calling home to Daddy to clean up my dirty work. In Potomac terms, it was like a rich Jappy girl calling Daddy (in this instance we'll call him Lee) and asking him to bail her out of a alcohol citation.

Now if you've made it through this whole post, I want you to scroll up and look how long it is. Peopl wonder why the government is so messed up, and this provides a perfect illustration. I was essentially told there was too much red tape to accomplish what I set out to do, only to spend basically an entire afternoon proving to these city bureaucrats that I could actually do it. Now imagine people who are seeking relief from the government due to the ever increasing terror associated with the national economy.

It's just maddening that these city bureaucrats can get away with treating the public, the people who they work for, like this. I don't exactly like my job right now either, but you don't see me snarling at employees. And the sad part about all this is that clerk and that woman are probably making more money now than I will make yearly for the next few years. Oh, the life of a journalist.

Funny Drinking Articles

Seeing as I'm desperate to return to any college campus anywhere in America (or the world for that matter), it seems appropriate that I spent part of today reading articles from college newspapers. And over the course of reading various newspapers, you tend to have some hilariously funny articles pop out of the woodwork. This is especially true of a college campus. So without further adieu:

This Penn State student wore a helmet while hammered and hilarity ensued.

And ...

A shocker for any Michigan student or alum or teenager, Studio 4 has had its fair share of fights and underage drinkers. And by shocker I mean how the hell is this place still open when there was a fight involving more than 200 people.

Made the front page

I'm on the front page of today's NY Sun. It's a pretty cool story about this judo olympian from the Bronx. View it here. Thank you, and let's give this story an overly absurd amount of hits so I look like a far more popular writer than I actually am.

I made some bets awhile back

One night a few weeks ago, some friends and I were sitting around before heading out to the bars watching a Yankee game when discussion began about the Bronx Bombers' playoff chances. It was then that I put more faith in pinstripes than I have in quite some time.

When you think about it, the days of New York dominance are fading away, and have been for several seasons now, and even the Yankee of our generation, Derek Jeter, is starting to show signs of decline. Still, though, these Yanks remain pesky and always find a way to turn on the jets come August and find their way into the playoffs. For this reason, there I was on a weekend night re-investing myself into the baseball season and the city's obsession with all things Yankee by placing two separate bets that will dictate much of my fandom through September.

First, Graham began talking up the suddenly-mighty Rays, who are currently a game ahead of the Red Sox for first place in the AL East. I had to jump on this opportunity since I am of the belief that while the Rays are definitely talented, their time is not quite here yet. They remain a year away from the postseason, if you ask me. So I told Graham I thought the Yankees would make the playoffs and the Rays wouldn't, and I was willing to place money on it. The terms were set, and if neither or both make the playoffs the bet is null and void.

Hearing this, Chachi decided to jump on my risky venture into pinstripe land and bet that the St. Louis Cardinals were more likely to make the playoffs over the Yanks. It was a guarantee from my friend that I once again could not ignore. I also bet him. So now I have a lot invested in this Yankee team.

And what do you know? We're winding down to the end of July and the Yankees are surging thanks to some quality pitching (Joba and Moose), as well as a rejuvenated bullpen that has out of nowhere turned from a bunch of ragtags featuring Mo Rivera into a real weapon on opponents. The hope for Joe Girardi's squad is that Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada come back at some point, and coupled with the acquisition of Xavier Nady, will again resemble the potent lineups of years past.

I think it's only a matter of time before the Rays start a late summer swoon. With the temperature swelling, there's always that one younger team that just inexplicably runs out of gas a bit too early. It was the Brewers a year ago, and Detroit the year before that (although they barely held onto the wild card spot and ended up getting to the World Series). They've had a nice run, though, and the day of dominance in Tampa is fast approaching.

Atleast that's what I'm hoping for (sorry Greg).

How Sparty could impact my life positively

It's been a busy day for me here at The Sun. if you aren't in New York, you probably don't know about the proposed subway fare hikes that have New Yorkers big and small in an uproar. Well, I've been covering the subway beat here for awhile, so I had to go to another MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) meeting today.

But it didn't stop me from becoming prefixed on the NFL once again. This Jason Taylor trade really got me going, and I'm back into the swing of things. And when I got a chance to sit in front of a computer today, I noticed this article about the Skins offensive line from Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post (Incidentally, I met Jason at a hotel bar in Livonia, Michigan the week before the Super Bowl in 2005. Not sure if anyone actually cares about that, though).

The article goes into great detail about how injured the Skins offensive line was a year ago, and specifically the right side of Jon Jansen and Randy Thomas. And it implies that their health may be a linchpin to the success of this season. And while I agree, the success of a team does hinge an awful lot on line (cough cough notice how I was on the line in two consecutive Mudbowl victories), I think the focus on this Redskins team should turn to the outside.



I'm talking the wide receiver position. See, we're in the Jim Zorn era now, and he brings with him his usually dynamic offense from Seattle. And if you remember, the Seahawks ran a ton of West Coast style routes that largely depend on wide receivers breaking big runs after the catch. You'll also remember that the Skins had an unusual infatuation the past few years with the Mighty Mouse receivers like Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle-El, and the $10 million dollar poop aka Brandon Lloyd.

Well that didn't really work over the past couple seasons, especially in 2007, when wide receivers accounted for 1/3 of the team's touchdown catches. I understand the Gibbs offense was run heavy, but that's not a good ratio no matter how you slice it. The bottom line is the past two seasons the Redskins best offensive player has been Chris Cooley, and no matter how much I like him, that just can't happen again if this team is to reach its capabilities.

To their credit (sort of), the Redskins went out and tried to address this problem in the 2nd and 3rd rounds of the NFL Draft by selecting three wide receivers in Michigan State's Devin Thomas, Oklahoma's Malcolm Kelly, and USC tight end/wide receiver Fred Davis. My opinion is that one of these three needs to step up and become a consistent red zone threat in order for this Skins team to be successful.

They Skins have gotten away with it the past couple of years, but let's face the facts: Santana Moss is not a viable No. 1 receiver in the NFL and Antwaan Randle-El is more like a No. 3, slot receiver than someone who should be split out as your No. 2. Now I'm not ruling out Kelly or Davis in this debate, well actually maybe Davis since he overslept for his first ever meeting, but I just have a hunch Michigan State's Devin Thomas is going to be the guy who fills the TD catching role that this team so desperately needs.

Just check out this scouting report leading up to the draft and tell he doesn't seem like the perfect type of guy for this role:

Very good size with long arms and excellent bulk...Smooth natural athlete...Great timed speed...Extremely elusive and runs well after the catch...Terrific vision...Has reliable hands and he'll pluck the ball...Great leaping ability and ball skills...Tough, strong and physical...Is also an outstanding return man...Still has a ton of upside.

I mean, seriously, he fills all the voids. Yes, he did have just one big college season, but I think that's largely related to him being a JUCO transfer. You rarely see guys from the JUCO ranks make an immediate impact at the Division 1 level. Frankly, the reason I'm just not so sure about Kelly is the fact that his statistics went down from his junior to senior season. To his credit, Oklahoma had a freshman Qb this past season, but Sam Bradford was still pretty solid. And if you watched the Sooners at all last season, it's readily apparent that Kelly is more of the big play, fly route kind of receiver.

All in all, though, I think the pressure needs to be on the wide receivers (and also the QB throwing them the ball). They underachieved big time a year ago, and now they're being counted on more than ever. Remember how the Seahawks offense used to sputter when Darrell Jackson and Koren Robinson used to get the dropsies? We can't have that at Fedex Field this season or else a young QB might get frazzled and the season may just go up in flames.

So whether it's Thomas or Kelly or even dreary-eyed Fred Davis (he's never going to live that down, in my opinion) who steps up and makes the receiving corps more than a white tight end with a fro who blogs, I don't much care. But my money, unfortunately, is on one of those East Lansing bums.

Interesting take on the Taylor trade

So my post about the possibility of Jason Taylor in a Redskins jersey was decidedly muted because I just didn't think the deal was going to happen so quickly. But upon hearing the news, I posted my subsequent post about just how happy I am now.

Actually, relieved would probably be the better description, because I was really concerned with the make-up of this year's squad. No stars equals no playoffs and the move the Redskins made yesterday certainly added a star. The team had to make this move in order to keep up in the highly-competitive NFC East. Yes, they did go against their apparently newfound fondness of draft picks, but if Taylor gives the team double digit sacks for even one season, I think the trade is an even one. And if he plays for more than just next season, even better.

Now maybe this part of the trade only interests me (because I'm attempting to become a member of the press), but I don't think I'm the only one who noticed how much Vinny Cerrato straight out lied to the press yesterday as he pursued this deal. Jason La Confora, one of the Redskins beat writers for the Washington Post, details this in a blog post of his.

Here's what Cerrato said to local media:

"We haven't talked to anybody yet on anything." He then denied, again, any attempts to land Taylor to representatives of virtually every media entity that approached him at Redskins Park.

Here's what Cerrato said to ESPN this morning:

"We went out to practice at 3:00, and I talked to Bill Parcells probably like three times on the practice field, back and forth. We went and discussed some different terms, we came in after practice, talked to 3 or 4 of the veterans players, and asked them what they thought, what type of guy and everything, they said great guy. Everything was positive. Called Parcells back around 6:15 and told them, we'll do the deal. We faxed papers back and forth, got Jason Taylor on the phone and we were done."

And here's what he said to Peter King of Sports Illustrated:

"I'd called Bill a couple of months ago, I guess, like a lot of other teams did, doing their due diligence, asking him what he was interested in for Taylor,'' Cerrato said. "But nothing ever came of it. I didn't talk to him again about it 'til this afternoon. Then, during the afternoon practice, I'd say I talked to Bill three times about the terms, trying to work something out.''

I understand the need to keep these things quiet when you're still negotiating, but a good ol' fashioned "no comment" never hurt anyone. According to La Confora, a lot of the regulars who cover the Skins aren't very happy about how this all went down.