Shame On the Game

When it comes to the steroid era in baseball, going after the players is fine and good, but only if they have actually violated league rules or state or federal law. Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) appears to have taken steroids, but it was prior to league rules prohibiting such usage. The testing revealing A-Rod's usage was suppose to remain confidential and thus a horrible breach of player privacy has occurred as it has so often in the past. A-Rod has not been tried, not to mention charged, for any state or federal crimes. A similar situation exists with many of these players, with the big exception coming with players who lied in grand jury testimony and have subjected themselves to federal penalty.

Meanwhile, the MLB executives, most notably Commissioner Bud Selig, and team owners have come through all of this unscathed. They built back their sport after the players strike in 1995 using the longball. The revitalization of the Yankees, powered by several players appearing to have been bolstered by performance enhancing drugs, put together a dynasty that drew tons of fan attention. In short the owners and the league endorsed this drug usage if nothing else by passively allowing it and not pushing for drug testing to protect the health of the players and the integrity of the game.

There should be no striking players names from the record books, because we will never know which records have been tainted by drug usage. Why should Barry Bonds be outcast while the Yankees keep all their World Series victories during the last decade and a half. It's a slippery slope that could lead us to erase 30+ years of history in order to properly remove any taint from the record books. Frankly, that type of witch hunt is ridiculous and useless. Leave the record books as they are and people will always know that this era, and maybe on into the future, all records are subject to the use of enhancement products.

Shame on the players that did this and the league and owners that allowed it while everyone in the sport got rich in the process.

Pepsi Owns Diabetes

I completely abhor the mass consumption of soft drinks in this country and around the world, because it is such a major contributor to obesity and diabetes. But Coke and Pepsi hold a stranglehold on this juggernaut and if these two purveyors of "kiddie suds" were to be judged simply by their Super Bowl Ads I would have to crown Pepsi the King of Diabetes.

Coke tried to remake the famously touching "Mean Joe Green" ad and completely disrespected a classic piece of television and Troy Polamalu in the process.

Original

2009 Abomination

On the other hand Pepsi released a sensational cross generational multimedia masterpiece with a remake of "Forever Young".

2009 Masterpiece

Did you see that? Will.I.Am and the new Pepsi logo with a striking similarity to the logo of our new president during his campaign. Pepsi is the Obama band wagon baby. Hop on and crack a cold one!

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, CAN'T LOSE!

Recently I became completely addicted to NBC's Friday Night Lights. The show tells the story of life at Dillon High School in fictional Dillon, Texas. The show focuses on the lives of the Dillon Panther football team and the career of Coach Eric Taylor. It's a program that flourishes due to it's extensive character development, high production value, and satisfying script writing.

The show completed its third season on Direct TV's channel 101, but is now re-airing those episodes appropriately enough on Friday nights. The entire first and second seasons are available at Hulu.com, which happens to be my favorite flash based video site yet and it's even all legal. The third season is being posted on Hulu after the episodes air on NBC the next few months. The sad thing is, despite all of the available options to watch this show I read that it has an uncertain future and may not be back for a fourth season. I have posted the pilot episode here and encourage you to give the show a try.



I could talk about why I like all of the characters and plot lines, but if you watch the show you will see soon enough. What really amazes me is how nostalgic the show makes me feel. I am kind of a sports nut, but that's not why I love the show. High School was the best time of my life. I had the best friends of my life there and I felt important and loved. I was kind of an obnoxious tool at times, but that's just part of being maturing adolescent. Friday Night Lights has all the drama of high school and captures all of the nervousness and neurotic activity of teens, but also the swagger, cockiness, and exuberance that young people have as well. When I watch the show it reminds me of how I want to remember high school. The rumor mill, the nosiness, the scandal of it all were titillating.

When I left A-West at 17, I thought we were the greatest and most impactful class the school had ever seen. I have hardly stepped foot in the school since the day I graduated and have since realized that life goes on and we were just one of many celebrated classes to move on from that high school's halls. Despite that realization that in reality I wasn't as great as I remember, high school was still great because my importance in the world was real to me then.

Friday Night Lights takes me back every time I watch it and all the wonder and excitement of my teens flood back into my mind.