Posts Tagged "HWSNBN"
A new definition of “occupational hazards…”
It’s been a few days since HWSNBN has been outed as a steroid user by Sports Illustrated and he’s recently admitted to the claim to Peter Gammons. Adding to the fact that Miguel Tejada is scheduled to plead guilty to lying to Congress today what is a baseball fan to do?
I’m glad you asked. The question now isn’t why should fans care but SHOULD fans care. And the simple answer is: no.
We shouldn’t care that professional athletes cheated the system to find some kind of edge, whether performance enhancers actually do help you focus on hitting a baseball. Why shouldn’t we care? Simply put: it technically wasn’t illegal as according to the rules at the time. And we all know how annoying “technicalities” can be.
Obviously MLB didn’t care that its employees were cheating. Many knew, the Union HAD to have known since they fiercely opposed mandatory drug testing for years and what are unions for? To protect the interests of its members. And in the interests of its members, drug testing had to go lest their secret come out.
So if the heads of the company didn’t care, why should we?
Oh, you say the integrity of the sport is at risk? Since when? Since now? So it wasn’t at risk after the 1919 Black Sox scandal? Or the Pete Rose betting debacle? Or the blatant racism? Or the cocaine mess in the ‘80s? Or either of the two player strikes [1981 and 1994]? Or how about the cold shoulder Curt Flood received when challenging the reserve clause? Or what about the prolific reputations of certain drunkards, abusers, philanders, racists and so forth? They didn’t tarnish baseball’s integrity?
The truth is baseball’s integrity has been tarnished for many years already. The problem surrounding most of the disclosure is people’s unrealistic and misguided belief that baseball is pure. Nothing that is a business is pure and MLB is two things: 1] a business and 2] a game, but mainly a business. I will admit that had these allegations been revealed back before I started college, I would have been DEVASTED just like all the other fans. But now that I’ve studied the field and have worked in it, I see it for what it actually is, not the dream people are trying to sell and I am thankful for my insider’s knowledge. It’s way past time to peer behind the curtains folks.
As a fan it’s hard not to become personally and emotionally tied to your favorite team, the company banks on that because that’s how everyone in the business pays the bills. But that blind devotion always fails and then you’re stuck facing the reality of the situation and it’s never pretty. This is why people are upset and disappointed but they shouldn’t be [that includes you, Mr. President]. This is what happens when we place our full trust and hope on these men and make them to be demi-gods; nothing good ever comes from the realization that they’re but mere mortals like ourselves. Everything that is done in the dark eventually surfaces to the light.
Read MoreYou mean Patagonia isn’t just a brand of jacket?
Am I the only person who still, from time to time, tries to freeze time by touching my index fingers together? I can’t be. There’s got to be someone else who does this. I know that I’ll never be able to stop time but it’s fun to try every once and again, just like we all did after watching that show.
And yes, I did try that yesterday just for kicks.
Okay, can I say how utterly disappointed I am that HWSNBN is potentially in line to return to the Yankees? I mean, what? After all the posturing…for nothing? He better start producing like, all the time. Even when he sleeps. For all that money [while not near the appalling $350 million floor Boras talked up] he needs to be able to heal the sick and walk on water. For real because if he doesn’t then it’s gonna be another rough go round in the Bronx for him.
And that’s without dealing with me. I was prepared to let him leave and start the “healing process” for the both of us; I’d get over him and he’d move on and regain that killer instinct he once had [not to say that he’ll be made completely impotent at the bat if he stays in New York – I know he has it in him, it’ll just be harder]. But if he insists on staying then Godspeed.
I’m amended my original plan. The gingerbread roll will be made the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The office will most likely close early so I’ll be home with plenty of time to make it. Besides, I would like Lindsey to try it too even though she’s being mean to me right now and refuses to bring home Sprinkles cupcakes for me [or even make crepes while she’s here]. Plus I will be having lunch with Kayli on Saturday so that cuts my baking time. I can bust out the fudge no problem since I plan on getting to the hospital early in the morning [provided I wake up early].
My favorite show started again last night. That’s right folks, Project Runway is back. I completely forgot about it when I got home and just ate, showered and went straight to bed so if you caught it, don’t tell me what happened because I plan on watching it sometime this weekend. I adore Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn but I’m most excited about the bitchy twins, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. Oh how I love their unabashed comments, even when I think they’re too harsh. They’re fabulous! I was amused to see Santino on The World’s Smartest Model [a.k.a. Lola’s favorite show]. I didn’t watch the episode but I did stop to see what he would do…and for the five minutes I did watch, not much but probably think he got stuck with the two biggest boobs in the world.
With the writer’s strike showing no signs of ending, I’ll be taking the opportunity to catch up on my reruns. I’m sad that the Office only has like, 1 more episode in the can before they’re forced to run reruns [or so I’ve heard] but that means that I’ll be able to catch up on Ugly Betty, which runs during my NBC block. I don’t have Tivo and I can’t remember to make it back to the ABC website to watch the show online [which is great because there’s hardly any commercials! So it only takes, like 40 some odd minutes to get through an entire show]. So I’ll be able to keep myself amused until this all plays out. Maybe I’ll Netflix the Gilmore Girls and catch up on the last few seasons! Or I can figure out more flavors. I’ve got my personal entertainment covered fairly well. Plus, I always have Cartoon Network. All of those shows are reruns anyway so no interference from the strike.
Read MoreGo get your taco!
I got my jacket! For $70! Well, a bit more with tax but still cheaper than full price. My mom’s awesome. She even went over the selection with a fine-tooth comb to make sure there wasn’t any visible defects because she knows I would have noticed and not been happy [like how the ink spots magically appeared on my comforter while it was getting washed – I can barely stand to look at my comforter now]. It was waiting for me in my room and I put it on to model it. I’m still contemplating looking for a shorter, more casual everyday wear coat but mom didn’t like the quality of the ones at Old Navy so I’m now turning to Gap…I know, I know, it’s pretty much the same thing but it’s infinitely more affordable than, say J. Crew, because I’m not trying to spend $300 on a coat when that $300 could go towards seeing the bf…or buying a Wii and second controller. Plus, I’d be able to get the red coat I was originally aiming for.
My mom rolls her eyes at my colorful coats but I love them [and she always does too eventually]. They add a nice splash of fun to an otherwise dull, dreary day. But a new coat will have to wait until I take care of the bills at the beginning of the month. Maybe by the end of the month I’ll be rocking my new coat.
I also need to start my Christmas shopping. I’ve slowly started figuring out what to give folks but I’m still in the dark about Jacki. I’m always in the dark with her. I may need to enlist in additional help. I figure, if I slowly start picking up gifts here and there, I won’t be overwhelmed later on, plus, I can better save money for my trip at the end of the year. Because heaven forbid if I end up with like, 30 bucks in my checking account to see me through the week in Michigan. Can’t have that. Won’t have that. Okay, I’m about to start singing a little Junior Senior here.
I also need to follow up on a few things with other on-going projects. I’ll do that this afternoon. It’s weird how much stuff I have going on yet I can’t figure out how it all gets done. I guess it doesn’t really matter how it gets done; just that it gets done.
Alright, I’ve got to get back to figuring out my Sunday school lesson. How hard could it be to find a lesson plan on giving thanks to God?
Oh, and yes, I am aware that HWSNBN isn’t returning to the Yankees [he blinked first]. And yes, I am down on Boras for the timing of it; I’m not buying the fact that he didn’t intend on disrupting anything. Really? So you thought emailing everyone and their mom about your client’s opting out during the middle of game 4 was a really good idea? That’s some fuzzy math, dude. It’s a shame that HWSNBN is getting all the heat for it; it’s not like HE was the one who chose to announce it then, but it’s HIM who has to deal with the fall out of “needing to be bigger than the game.” You gotta watch the folks who work for you.
And get your free Taco Bell taco today between 2 – 5pm. I’m annoyed that I’ll be missing out on it. Boo-urns Taco Bell. BOO-URNS.
Read MoreIn the immortal words of Apu, “I cannot believe you do NOT SHUT UP!!
HWSNBN…oh what another tangled web you’ve found yourself in. It’s amazing that you just can’t get a break. Honestly, try as you might to make good, to make a little headway in the way to PR and the media the whole thing just blows up in your face. It’s amazing because it seems like eventually SOMETHING would work out for you…alas, that hasn’t been the case just yet.
Now, if I were on your payroll as your publicist, I would advise you to just sit back and keep quiet. Just SHHHHHHHH. Zip it. Zip it good. You don’t have to say anything. In fact, DON’T SAY ANYTHING. At this rate, you can’t even breathe without upsetting the delicate balance of the world. Haven’t you noticed the more you talk the worse things get? So the obvious thing would be to just stay silent. What a novel idea. Just go to Spring Training, work on your stuff, waddle off to the locker room, get dressed and leave. Just because you have a mouth doesn’t mean you have to use it.
Just stand there, hit the ball, and be pretty.
That will cost you $100,000. You know where to send the check. Thanks.
Read MoreThe human element
The office was a buzz with the news of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle’s untimely and tragic death in yesterday’s plane accident in the Upper East Side of New York. Everyone was shocked and wondered how it happened, mentioning how he had just received his pilot’s license last season [that’s what happens when you work in sports…you know everyone’s business]. We watched the TV in shifts gleaming as much information as we could from it.
Everyone talks about perspective and how this event forces us back to reality and shows us how human people are and how trivial the games we idolize these men for playing. We assume they [athletes, celebrities, other public and political figures] are demigods and are then subjected to the strangest realms of abuse ever [note the constant HWSNBN heckling and so forth]. People yell obscenities at them and make fun of their families. And they ignore us, which only makes us [general terms] yell even more. But in a moment we remember they are just like us, only with cooler jobs.
Cory Lidle would have slipped under most of America’s radar if not for this event. Like the majority of professional athletes, he most likely was able to live a life of an ordinary private citizen. He left behind a wife and a son; a mother, father, brother. But the most striking tragedy was that his identity was released before family members could be contacted.
At the time, Mayor Bloomberg refused to confirm whether he was on the plane, even though officials at the scene said his passport was found on the sidewalk, citing that the next of kin hadn’t been notified yet. From reports I’ve heard, his wife was on a commercial flight around the same time and suddenly I felt even worse. She would have been the last one to find out. Can you imagine learning of a loved one’s death via the news? Or turning on your cell phone to find hundreds of messages concerning this? The identity of the co-pilot, most likely an instructor, was not released, but his was. Just thinking about that made me want to cry and even more so when I thought how I would feel if I were in that position.
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