OUTLANDIS

Enough is enough. Floyd Landis, the 2006 Tour De France Winner, has been found guilty of using performance enhancing drugs. WHO CARES! Lance Armstrong captured American's imaginations by winning the race as a cancer survivor. Armstrong, like most Americans, is not the most popular guy world wide. Once Armstrong decided he wouldn't compete for another Tour De France title, the field was wide open. In comes Floyd Landis, winning in somewhat easy fashion. After all the dust has settled, he tested positive for a banned substance. Now, Bike racing has become as popular as Curling, Lawn Darts and Croquet. Landis has made a mockery of his sport. Like the other athletes who tested positive before him, he has hid behind "It's gotta be a mistake" and "Someone is out to get me, I'd never do that."

Here's the thing, when you are in competitive sports and any kind of edge can put you closer to the pinnacle of success, the temptation is there. We live in a place where its easy to react to something as oppose to act on it, making the chances of not getting caught better.

Barry Bonds has never been caught using anything illegal, but ask anybody and in the court of public opinion, he is guilty. Floyd Landis was found guilty and instead of disappearing, he is trying to save his name. People don't care enough about him or his sport to want to believe he is innocent.

When all is said and done, Floyd Landis will be an asterisk in sports history, like Tanya Harding, Mike Tyson and Art Schleister. Landis is best off hiding in obscurity or joining the WWE, either way, he will never be taken serious again.

Gun Control and Riding a Motorcycle?

Looking back in the aftermath of the Va Tech Mass Shooting, Something has to be done about the Gun Control in this Country. I feel limitations have to be put on the kinds of guns people can have. Who needs a semi-automatic weapon to tote around? Is a hunter going to shoot a deer with 100 bullets in 30 seconds? These semi-automatic weapons are used for one thing and its not good.

I equate Gun Control to riding a Motorcycle. You have you Motorcycle riders who obey the rules of the road. They take proper precautions before, during and after they ride. Most importantly, they realize its a privilege to ride, not a rule. But than again, you have the Motorcycle Riders, who weave in and out of traffic at speeds dangerous to everyone around them. They don't wear the proper protection to drive, the drive between cars at traffic lights and go through stop signs. They do what they do without regard from anyone around.

I for one, do not like Motorcycles. The people who don't have any respect for Motorcycles, ruin it for everyone else. It's like that for Gun Owners as well. When a college kid or for that matter a professional athlete feels the need to carry a gun, they might have to reconsider what they are doing to carry the weapon.

The NBA

Over the last 10 years, my feelings for Professional Basketball has diminished to the point where I don't like it at all. Unlike its better looking step child College Hoops, The NBA lacks anything that I would consider for a night out.

This past week, Referee Joey Crawford was essentially fired for Teeing up Tim Duncan for laughing at him. I commend David Stern for hopefully making an example out of that referee and I hope others will take note before their big, fat egos get in the way. One of the things I hate about the NBA is the officials feel they are more part of the game than they are. A good official in any sport is invisible. Not in the NBA, the calls they make to favor some players over the others, take away the integrity of the game.

Back in the day, The NBA had a good balance between marketing of the team and the individual. Michael Jordan was the greatest and did things we never saw before, The Bulls won 6 championships, not Jordan, Pippen and Phil. The NBA today is marketing Kobe, Lebron, Dwayne first and the Lakers, Cavs and Heat second. Michael Jordan was never bigger than the Bulls, that's why they were so successful.

I hate the fact that the NBA doesn't have a good minor league system. The NBA is using college to be their learning grounds, but the problem is these kids play less than 2 years in college and there is a different system in college than in the NBA. Not everyone is college material, why not let these superstar High School kids get drafted and work on their craft in a minor league? The NBDL needs to be fixed, there needs to be 30-40 teams, these teams needs to be marketed to basketball fans who want to see up and coming players learn their craft. Put these minor league teams in places where they are going to draw (Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia Phantoms. The Phantoms, a minor league team, draws 15,000 per game and they play right across the street from the major league team.)

The NBA has to do something about teams tanking at the end of the season to get more ping pong balls. They need to put all of the lottery teams in a more balanced way to determine who gets what pick. Why should a team get rewarded for tanking their season, ripping off fans who pay a lot of money to watch these teams lose?

Finally, the NBA has to make the game better. I would love to see more players care about making their team better around them. NBAers should take more pride in their free throws, assists and turnovers. Slam dunks and three pointers are nice, but they are only part of the game. The cultural differences between the players and who the game is marketed to needs to be addressed as well.

Just Stuff On A Sunday Night

I believe strongly about accountability. One of the problems I have with religion is that it is easy to credit or blame someone else. First of all, I do believe in religion, I believe in God and I respect what other people believe, whether it is the same or different as me. I expect others to share in my respect, unfortunately they don't. People have a tendency to be egocentric, caring only what happens in their world. But most of the world's problems could be avoided if you'd step into someone else's life.

I look at the world as a whole and I look at my life and I know I have good, actually, I have it great. I have been blessed with countless opportunities to do better. I am grateful for what I have, even though I don't show it as much as I should. I respect the people who have come before me and their trials and tribulations to get there. I pray for those around me who have been dealt a poor hand as I hope they pray for those around them.

It's a sick, crazy world we live in and if you don't have accountability, what do you have?

One's Actions

In the World we live in today, you are responsible for your actions. I've said this before and believe it to this day, we live in a Country that gives you second chances. To get a second chance, you need to do 3 things, apologize, be sincere about your apology and don't do the same thing again.

Right now, the biggest story going on is about Radio Talk Show Host, Don Imus and his racially and sexually inappropriate comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team. Imus' comments were wrong and whether he means what he said or he just said it because that's what he gets paid to do, he should have been smart enough not to say it. I expect Imus to be fired. I think CBS Radio and MSNBC will feel the pressure to make Imus an example, thus he will be looking for a job elsewhere.

Imus has agreed to meet with the Rutgers team and their coaches in a closed door meeting and I commend the team for agreeing to meet with him. I think it shows class to give him the opportunity to apologize face to face. I feel he is quite remorseful for his actions and I hope all works out for him and the team at the end.

While, Imus is making the front page, bold type, the last page in tiny fonts, NBA Championship Winning Heat Basketball player James Posey, World Series Winning Manager Tony LaRussa and NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon were all arrested for DUIs. They seem to get off scott free. It slays me that these Millionaires can do what they want and not have to take responsibility for their actions. I find it hard to believe that in their drunk state of minds they got into their expensive cars and drove. How stupid are they? Someone could have been hurt or even worse. I am waiting for someone to stand up and call these idiots and idiots like them out. I am waiting for someone at a bar to grab their keys and call them a taxi or a limo. I am just waiting for someone to step up

Finally, I take my hat off to NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell and the NFL Players Association for suspending Pacman Jones and Chris Henry for behavior unbecoming of a human being. Mr. Goddell stated it is a privilege to play in the NFL. And I for one agree totally with him. Yes I love watching the best of the best play on Sundays and I really don't care what they do on their own time, but when I hear what they do on their own time, thats usually not good. Henry and Jones were given second chances, they were only suspended for several games. Let them learn from their mistakes and become better people, upstanding citizens if you will.

Keith Richards - A Man amongst Men?

What a whacko. Keith Richards, when asked what was the strangest thing he has ever snorted, claims he snorted the ashes of his dead father. When his father died, he was cremated, Good Ole Richie, grinded up his ashes, mixed it in with his "Blow" and snorted away. Richie said, it didn't kill him, so he guesses he is lucky. Later on, Richie said it didn't happen.

Ok, first thing, first, I am willing to bet it did happen.

Second, I am sure Richie snorted other various foreign objects. He went into the shed, turned on the grinded and mixed it in with his coke. I can see he snorted some of Mick's hair. How about panties from an adoring fan. Maybe even some kind of precious metal. Can you imagine the other kinds of things Richie has snorted, smoked, inhaled, imjected, licked, drank, rubbed, chewed, rolled in and ate?

Third, Does he still do drugs (I know, dumb question)?

Four, By all accounts, just looking at him, he should be dead. Keith "Richie" Richards defyed death. Orrrrrr maybe he is the Grim Reaper himself?

Fifth, Didn't the Who's john Entwistle die a few years ago from a Cocaine overdose before a concert? And if memory serves me correct, Roger Daultry and Pete Townsend played the next night. Sounds like to me, The Who knew their bassist was on borrowed time and probably mourned for him a long, long time ago. I am sure Mick and the boys have a contingent plan all ready to go if Richie snorts a little too much and isn't so lucky.