Opinion Articles

What? My thoughts.
Just when you thought I had disappeared, I'm back. After 1 year and 4 months of silence, recent events have driven me to state the obvious again.

Follow up:

First up: Kobe Bryant. I realize the man wants to sell some new shoes. That makes sense. I realize that he has talent that is simply unbelievable. I also realize that he isn't going very far with his current team because they aren't really a team and he really isn't the answer to the question "How do the Lakers get another championship?" Kobe, a leader? Get real.

What in the world is Kobe doing spewing off in a very redundant article and commercial about himself? He starts off with his "hunger" for the game and talks about his "isolation" and so on. First of all, every single really good athlete has been isolated by his peers. Pick any high school where one person is the absolute best it's easy find the jealousy rates are just as strong as what Kobe claims he is experiencing or has experienced. Humans are jealous, get over it and move on. Kobe, you're not as alone as you are whining about.

As far as your hunger for the game...that's quite obvious. There is a concept, though, about a team sport and that is winning. Kobe's hunger has driven him to lose. When Kobe had a little balance on his team, someone he fought with for the spotlight, then and only then did he take championships. It's quite obvious that his idea of being a champion has more to do with him and less to do with his team. Kobe can prove me wrong and take a championship by himself this year but I know he can't.

As for Kobe's 81 points in a game...that's pretty cool. Listen to what the real pros are saying about Kobe's feat, though, and you'll realize that many players could have accomplished the same thing but their coaches took them out of the game before it was possible. Kobe himself could have had many 81 point games before he finally got one, but Jackson sat him because that is the sportsman like thing to do. The professional players are of such a caliber that if they are allowed to take as many shots as Kobe did without fear of their coaches or losing that just about any starting player in the NBA today could get 81 points in one game. Their stats would probably look like Kobe's too, stop passing to the open man, start out taking way too many shots, start to trim down the shots and get better shot selections, take a few 20 point games trying to get to the main goal and eventually, 81 points would happen for most players. Too bad players play as a team.

Next, Kobe talked about his family. There is no way anyone can take him seriously about this. The fact that he talks about his family even brings more injury to the insults and absolutely abusive way he has treated his family already. He complains a bit about missing holidays with his family and being away from his family and on and on wondering if it is worth it and what it is all about, striving for a championship that he thinks he won by himself and blah, blah, blah.

Kobe Bryant, if you really cared about your family you wouldn't cheat on your wife and drag your children (child and child to be) down with you. I'm sure that your family would have loved to have spent time with you when you were in court but because you "care so much" about your family you had to spend time in court. There is no father on this earth who can possibly claim that they'd sacrifice for their family, no matter what, if they have cheated on their wife. There is no way this was the first time either. The same goes for Jordan, Magic, Wilt and every other sports legend who even thinks about complaining about the sacrifices they have made away from their family.

I believe Kobe about what happened that night. That lady was clearly not all there but it is a good thing people do not go to prison for being stupid because Kobe would have a life sentence.

This is not just me, as a father and husband, being judgmental, this is me stating the facts. Ask any sane person and they will tell you the same thing. Ask any husband who has cheated and you'll get denial.

Kobe isolates himself. Some people are like that. Kobe's story is not some big revelation, some "honest" story that he reveals about himself. Welcome to the real world, you are not any different than anyone else. Oh and it is "couldn't care less" not "could care less" if you could care less that means you do care about it...if you couldn't care less that means you don't care about it. I only bring this up (because I make just as many mistakes) because maybe this is Kobe's big revelation about himself. He actually does care what people think. He just mentions it in code...like DaVinci or something. Genius.

Susan Sarandon. So I'm watching the Olympic ceremonies Italy sure does spell Hungry in a way that doesn't make sense, those moon and sun balloon deals are pretty cool. I think that the dove's head those people hanging from ropes were trying to form was a little off...maybe I just don't get it. Hmm...Then WHAM. Who is representing us? Susan Sarandon? What the %$##%? Who votes for these things? Out of all the women in the United States SHE'S chosen? Exactly how does this happen?

Let's break it down. First we all know that any political body that is going to put up some artsy show that is supposed to be about the athletes is going to be liberal. Fine. There are a lot of liberals that I love. Maybe I'm one of them, who knows. With that acknowledgment, let's move on. Susan's political views are so far off base that they have not been established in the United States, ever. EVER. She's a quack who can act like a mean woman. I loved her in some of those movies she plays in...children of something and something else...she plays a great mean woman because that's pretty much how she really is. Mean woman is a nice term simply because I can't think of the politically correct version of the word I'd like to use. That's why she is such a great actress, she plays roles that fit her. End of story. Even that one where she plays the mom who's kids are with a step mom or maybe she's the step mom...the movie calls for a psycho and she fills it.

Why is she representing us again? Maybe the entire situation was a repeat of why we lost the Gold Medal in basketball...when the country came to ask for service, "big-wigs" turned their backs on her. At least in basketball there is a very serious risk of injury that could affect your livelihood.

The Olympics are marred. Hopefully we get real representatives through our athletes. Speaking of being liberal...shouldn't the U.S.'s tax dollars go to helping our athletes a little so they don't have to work at Home Depot in the off season? Where's the country's pride? Maybe we are worried about another New Orleans' aid incident where people received many payments, in cash, when they should have only received one payment and only if they were affected by the floods. Athletes might claim to be training but not make it (Dan O'Brien) or get injured (Tom Pappas) or act like it really doesn't matter (Bode Miller). Either way, hold an event and if they qualify to be good enough to train to represent the US then I'm sure that most people wouldn't mind working an hour or two to make sure that we are well represented.

On the flip side, America is all about starting with nothing and being huge. That's why our country is so great...right? Maybe we need that in our athletes as well. The answer, then, is to get corporations and businesses to recognize our athletes and make sure the US is well represented. Not just during the Olympics either, but all 4 years it takes to get to the Olympics.

Tom, I played against you in basketball. We won every time we played your team (thought I'd throw that in) and getting hurt isn't a big deal. Seriously, you're the man.

Quite Frankly...the man starts his own show off with "The Patriots have Tom Brady and 'Quite Frankly that's all you need'". No one can ever take you seriously again. I didn't even bother to look up the "Quite Frankly" guy's name. Idiot.