Papelbon says Boston Tragedy proves Obama is wrong on Gun Control

Philly's pitcher Jonathan Papelbon is a right-wing nut job.

Jonathan Papelbon

While discussing ballpark safety in the aftermath of the bombings at the Boston Marathon with CSNPhilly.com on Tuesday, Philadelphia Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon made a reference to the ongoing gun control debate, claiming that President Barack Obama "wants to take our guns."
"Today's day and age, has gotten so crazy, everything. You know? [There is] all this stuff going on. And, shoot man, Obama wants to take our guns from us and everything," Papelbon said. "And you got this kind of stuff going on? It's just a little bit insane for me, man. I really don't even know how to take it."

Shoot man.

I have often derided another pitcher on many occassions. It turns out, I may have misjudged Curt Chilling. The bait were his appearances with George W. Bush during the 2004 presidential campaign. Bush was preaching less government, and more private sector. (He even had a plan to privatize Social Security. What a disaster that would have been!) Therefore, by proximity alone, I stuck Shilling in the same hole, and covered it with lime, as I did Bush.

Curt Shilling

But after doing a little research, I dug up some quotes about Shilling that belie an image he created for himself.


A strong supporter of the war, Schilling wrote in January of 2008, that
"ANYONE promising an immediate withdrawal of our armed forces is either
A) A liar trying to get elected to public office
B) Horribly callous, irresponsible and ignorant to the lives of the men and women serving in the armed forces.
•Abortion: Schilling is a born-again Christian and calls himself pro-life, but adds, "I also think that decision is WAY beyond any one person to control or decide on." We're not sure what that means from a policy standpoint.
•Tort Reform: Schilling told the conservative website Newsmax.com that he's "disgusted ... with the litany of lawsuits by every American on the planet against doctors," and thinks that "frivolous and expensive unfounded lawsuits need to carry MASSIVE penalties for people [filing them] and law firms."
•Crazy People: Schilling once called Ann Coulter “intelligent in ways that piss so many people off,” and said there’s “something admirable” about the way she speaks her mind.
Now, his more liberal positions:
•Gun Control: Schilling doesn't understand the need for automatic rifles and supports gun-control laws:

I disagree with some of this, but the only thing crazy is Shilling's positive characterization of Man Coulter. Shilling's main hypocritial blunder is preaching for smaller government and then accepting $75 million in loan guarentees from the state of Rhode Island for a business the state will now have to pay $100 million to set things straight.

Oregon Facing Sanctions, Kelly Collecting Millions

Backballed vs. Tolerated: Another installment in an on-going series by 
Vincent Wrice

Chip Kelly                   vs                               Terrell Pryor

In respect to both Terrell Pryor and Chip Kelly, there are distinct differences. While Pryor was an amateur who didn't receive pay, he was sanctioned by both the NCAA and NFL. In the NCAA he didn't serve his penalty but he was punished by not being able to reap the benefits of his remaining time at OSU.

                          Chip Kelly

He didn't get to compete for the Heisman Trophy or a national championship; he didn't get to increase his draft position, thereby increasing his immediate and lifetime earning potential. So a penalty evaded didn't necessary mean he received no detriment. Pryor then received a second detriment by a body not connected to where his first offense occurred. After Pryor and the Raiders agreed to a 4-year contract, he served an NFL-mandated 5-game suspension at the beginning of the 2011 NFL season. That suspension was without pay. It is as if I was caught cheating on a test, left the university because of it, was hired by a firm, but they suspended me for cheating on the test. This makes no sense. Not to mention the                        

                                                                                 Terrell Pryor

                                                   

unconstitutionality of NCAA laws making these guys play for unjust enrichment and not letting them sell items to which neither the NCAA nor the school having control over. This is effectively giving the awarded student a mere license to use said award. The awards should remain in the school's trophy case until the student has graduated.

As for Kelly his responsibility is far greater that a student athlete. He has a responsibility to the school as well as the athletes he has recruited. Adam Jude of the Oregonian stated the University of Oregon agreed that its football coaches “committed at least one major violation,” from 2008 to 2011.

Kelly

Kelly has gotten his multimillion dollar contract on the backs of students athletes ate the University of Oregon. The NCAA was his laboratory and audition for the NFL. He now gets the chance to implement his theory while making millions of dollars.

Pryor

One basically gets expelled and docked pay for what amounts (in the real world) as a petty offense, while the other makes out just fine. Kelly follows in the footsteps of Pete Carroll who left just before USC received its sanctions for offenses during his tenure.

NFL Player's Dad Suing Cowboys Stadium (and for good reason)

When I first heard that Danny Amendola's father was suing Cowboys stadium, I brushed it off as just another person trying to sue someone with deep pockets. Even when I learned there was video of the incident, I still didn't think much. Well, I've changed my mind and this video helped change it.

Willie Amendola is the guy who finally jumps off 30 yards after impact. He's seeking $1 million in damages, and here's the B.S. part. Although he wasn't seriously injured in the incident, Amendola is suing for "past and future physical pain and suffering; past and future mental anguish and past and future medical expenses," among other things.

If you're not seriously hurt, how about they pay for your medical expenses and we call it a day?

Warriors Play Thunder Hoping Not To Again

The Golden State Warriors are in the playoffs, but who they play will be determined by where the team finishes in the standings. Tonight's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, at Oracle Arena, could be a playoff preview. But given that the OKC has beaten the GSW in 6 of the last seven tries, the Warriors are hoping to keep their 6th seed in the west and avoid playing the Thunder, the number one seed, (right now) in the playoffs. The irony is they have to beat Oklahoma tonight to maintain that position.

Selig To Study Putrid Percentages of African-Americans in Baseball

A MLB committee met today in Mliwaukee to find out why there are so few African-Americans playing in the league.
“I don't want to miss any opportunity here,” said commissioner Bud Selig. "We want to find out if we're not doing well, why not, and what we need to do better. We'll meet as many times as we need to to come to meaningful decisions.”

Andrew McCutchen, Matt Kemp, Michael Bourn

The World Champion San Francisco Giants are one of several major league teams that don't have a single African-American on their current roster. If I didn't love the Giants, I'd  be really annoyed. League wide, just 8.5% of all players are African-American, and according to Society of American Baseball Research, the number has never been higher than nineteen-percent. (Didn't it seem higher in the 1970's?)One problem apparent to me right now is, the media doesn't seem to give a crap. The article I read about this on CBS cited a figure on the percentage of African-Americans in the game from the NYT. CBS didn't already know the answer and couldn't be bothered with looking it up themselves. But the media isn't the only problem.

When it comes to field managers, maybe hiring practices discourages African-Americans from pursuing baseball.

Ned Yost is now the manager of the Kansas City Royals, but why. He'd already unsuccessfully managed the Milwaukee Brewers. Six years and a .477 winning percentage. OK, he had a bad squad. Let's given him another chance. In 3 plus years with KC, Yost is 203-256! This will be Yosts' tenth year as manager, but he probably shouldn't have more than three.

Conversely, according to a site called FanGraphic there have been 14 black managers in the history of MLB. (The data was collected between 1975 and 2010. Bo Porter was hired this year)
Of those 14, only 11 ever managed a full season —Jerry Royster, Larry Doby,(the second African-American to play in the majors) and Maury Wills were midseason replacements who were canned before they ever got a chance to manage their 162nd game — and just nine ever won as many as 200 games, a total reached by 250 other managers in history, including Yost!

Maury Wills

Let's look at players on the field. The good news is there are a few medicore African-Americans playing or sitting the bench. Why is that good news? Because it no longer means, if your African-American, you have to be a starter or a superstar in order to play.

Selig, hated by many in the media who in turn have persauded fans to hate him, has been the most progressive commissioner on race relations. Thanks to Selig, there have been improvements in the hiring practices of MLB teams for front office jobs. But right now, just Dusty Baker, Bo Porter, and Ron Washington are managing. That's three out of 30 teams.  Baker and Washington lead their teams to playoff appearances last season and Washington won two consecutive American League Championships with Texas. Porter was hired by the Astro's in the off season the same way most black managers get their jobs, by being offered a position with a crappy team.

Bud Selig

Selig also required all major league teams to retire the number 42. That number was worn by Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play in the majors. As for diversity on the field and front office, its unclear how much Selig's efforts led to the improvement or if social evolution played an equally important role, but it happened on his watch.
Selig instituted the first Rooney Rule in pro sports. That's a reference to an NFL rule that requires teams looking for new head coaches to interview at least one minority candidate. Selig's version was implemented in 1990, 13 years before the NFL rule. But in the MLB version, Selig directs teams to notify him of the names of minority candidates they planned to interview for their vacancies. The interviews were to be legitimate, Selig told them, not of the token variety. I'm not saying these moves were all substance, but once there was a rule in place, the media could have kept the heat on by asking questions. Instead, how many of us even KNEW MLB had such a rule?
There are no reports on what this new committee will look at, when they will draw their conclusions are when/if the results will be released to the public.

Serena Williams wins the mental and tennis match against Jankovic

Serena Williams won the Family Circle Tennis Championship in Charleston today. The match lasted three sets, but it wasn't that close.

Serena Williams

Like last week, when she dumped Maria Sharapova, Williams caught fire in the second set and dusted her opponent. Weird Jelena Jankovic didn't take extra time during the match to address an injury, (its what's she does when she's losing) but she did start an argument with Serena, and that was basically the end of the match.

                                                                    Jelena Jankovic
Up a set and serving, Jankovic got mad at Serena for signalling she wasn't ready to receive a Jankovic serve.
The action comes a minute into this video.

This is what two said to one another.

Jankovic: “How long do I have to wait?”

Serena: “Until I’m ready. I don’t play slow.”

Jankovic: “But you go like this [crouching in return position]

Serena: “Honestly, you got a problem? I’m not the one.”

Jankovic, as I mentioned, was already up a set, and up 40-15 in this game. Then she went mental. Not only did Jankovic not win this game she lost the next six games, the second set to Serena, and only two more games the rest of the match, which she lost, 6-3, 0-6, 2-6. Serena not only has the physical game, and all the shots, she also has the ability to psych the hell out of anybody in the game.

Lin says Race Kept Him Out of Good (basketball) College

Jeremy Lin says race was a barrier to competing at college of his (first and second?) choice. I supposed some might say, hey you went to Harvard why the whine? And others might say, not getting a look from, say Kentucky, cost him millions of dollars in the NBA. In an upcoming 60 Minutes, (I love sports but its got no place on 60 Minutes) Lin says his Asianess resulted in a lack of offers from major colleges.

Jeremy Lin

You'll have to watch the piece yourself, but in the SI story about the piece, the magazine doesn't say who are the perpetrators. There are plenty of suggestions that the prejudice against the Chinese-American is slowly being chipped away by Lin's play on the court. (SI calls Lin a Taiwanese-American. The U.S. country does not officially recognize Taiwan. It keeps us out of war with China) Lin says he is still thought of "deceptively athletic and deceptively quick." 

Let me help you understand. If Reuben Studdard is athletic and quick, that's deceptive because he's heavy. To be surprised that an Lin is athletic or quick, that's like saying you're surprised he can enunciate his L's and R's. Lin is averaging 13.1 points, 6.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals for the Rockets, who are on track to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009. I love me some Lin, but James Hardin is also on this team and he is the NBA's fifth leading scorer averaging 25.8 points a game.