In the wake of Connecticut basketball coach, Jim Calhoun's greedy tirade at a press conference, the Connecticut power brokers are predictably making their plays. The Democratic leaders of the Connecticut General Assembly, Sen. Mary Ann Handley and Rep. Roberta Willis sent a letter to the Connecticut University president, Michael J Hogan, requesting that Calhoun be reprimanded.
Naturally, the lawmakers came way short of calling for the terminating or even suspending Calhoun. That particular president of a university in New England, Hogan, whitewashed the entire matter. So the power brokers that allowed a troubled individual like Calhoun to be making $1.62 million per season have covered their bases and all that was left was for Calhoun to feel some contrition, right? Wrong.
Instead, Calhoun issued a statement that he had been "misinterpreted" as being insensitive to to the current economic climate. Thus, Calhoun's defense is that if you that if you do not believe he is worth every penny, even in this economic climate, then you are ignorant. Wow!
Coach Calhoun, "my best advice to you is to shut up." Rather I am recycling your own advice back to you anyhow. And to take another page out of your book, I am not trying to be polite. As you would say, "check your facts." Your state is going to be running an $8.7 billion deficit over the next two years and you are making the type of money that you are not entitled to be making in any economy.
Predictably, Calhoun supporters have defended Calhoun's exorbitant salary based on what other coaches are being overpaid. Bu it is no secret that greed took over college sports a long time ago. How do you think the BCS came about in college football? Justifying the poor decisions of other universities to overpay their coaches does not take Calhoun off the hook. It is a mitigating factor though and it would be hard to blame Calhoun for not taking an enormous salary that was on the table.
But at some point that salary made Calhoun think he was the best thing on campus. At some point, he got so used to having his power unchallenged that he had lost all track of reality when the very heart of his power status was challenged; his money. And he is so drunk on money and power that in the wake of this controversy, he feels no remorse for his sanctimonious, overbearing diatribe.
Some bloggers have defended Calhoun's huge salary by pointing to his philanthropic efforts. In his statement,Calhoun also defended his huge salary by reiterating his charitable contributions.
“I believe I have a duty, responsibility and obligation to support the state I love and the many people and organizations of Connecticut that are in need,” Calhoun said. “I look forward to continuing with the same amount of passion and commitment to assist people and causes that are important to me and my family.”
The sad truth is that Calhoun's philanthropic efforts are personal investments and public relations insurance. In 1998, Calhoun donated $250,000 to a Connecticut hospital. His self-named charity also raised $1.75 million. For his contributions, Calhoun got a tax write-off and was immortalized by having cardiology center named after him.
Calhoun knows how the game is played. By being a "valued member of the community," as Hogan said, Calhoun can keep receiving those fat paychecks. And when a controversy such as this occurs, Calhoun can paint himself out to be such a great person. Calhoun knows that those alleged charitable acts are merely a gravy train tax.
There are those of us that remember what the true meaning of charity is. "To give and to not count the cost," is what St. Ignatius taught. Calhoun is just a wolf in sheep's clothing. That university in New England know that keeping men like Calhoun at the top of their ranks is stealing from the community.
If you want to introduce the letter and color to your children or students. So the picture above can be an inspiration for you. In addition to teaching the order of letters, you can also introduce a variety of colors. This is the right combination for a few things to teach a child together. Please try it!
If you want to introduce the letter and color to your children or students. So the picture above can be an inspiration for you. In addition to teaching the order of letters, you can also introduce a variety of colors. This is the right combination for a few things to teach a child together. Please try it!
In response to UCONN coach, Jim Calhoun’s disgusting greed induced tirade, the Connecticut governor, Jodi Rell called it “embarrassing.” Ever the politician, she side stepped questions about whether he should give back any of his $1.62 million salary (does not include his contract with Comcast).
You may remember that Shots Heard surmised that Calhoun’s greedy rant was indicative of three things, one of which was that the sports media is no longer a watch dog. That is no surprise given the self interests of entities like ESPN, Fox Sports and other big name brands. Shots Heard even called those journalists that refuse to hold sports organizations and figures accountable, weasels. We even gave the example that there would be reporters who fit the weasel mold by arguing that the so-called journalist, Ken Krayeske that asked the question had an agenda.
Ironically, or rather sadly on the ESPN show, ‘Pardon The Interruption,’ Michael Wilbon went the way of the weasel. When asked what he thought about the Connecticut governor calling Coach Calhoun’s rant, “embarrassing.” Rather than even discuss it, he simply called Krayeske a weasel. And thus, Wilbon became a prototypical journalist enabler of greed in sports. Although, in Wilbon it is worse since he is one of the All-Stars of sports journalism in that he is highly liked, respected and is heard by millions.
Wilbon may be willing to only attack the messenger (not that Ken Krayeske is not worthy of criticism), but Calhoun’s attitude and compensation do not hold up to the light. There is no excuse for a coach to be making $1.62 million under any circumstance, let alone a state employee in a state with a $2 billion deficit. Just to add further perspective, the Connecticut governor makes $150,000. That means that for one decade of service the governor will not earn what Calhoun makes in compensation this year!
In a recent post game news conference, political activist and so-called journalist, Ken Krayeske asked the University of Connecticut coach, Jim Calhoun if he, the highest paid state employee should give back any of his enormous salary as the economy gets worse. Despite what the zombie sports media tells you, this was an appropriate question that needed to be asked. What was not appropriate was Calhoun's tyrannical response. Calhoun's irateness sheds light on serious problems regarding the state of coaching and the sports media in college athletics.
Coaches are overpaid
Whether the economy is bad or not we should not be tolerating coaches becoming multimillionaires many times over. In many cases these coaches are making much more than than the governors and the presidents of their respective universities. Most, if not all states have college coaches that make more than their governors.
As these coaches get overpaid more and more, it eliminates opportunities for people who simply want to coach for the right reasons. People that want to coach for the love of sport or the joy of helping young people are getting snubbed, in favor of coaches that are coaching for their own selfish reasons, be it riches, prestige or power.
These coaches are so overpaid and so greedy that they have convinced themselves that they are the fish in the pond. In Calhoun's case he is convinced that he is worth every penny of the $1.6 plus million he makes. "Calhoun would like the layman to believe that the university could not bring in a coach, pay him $50,000-$80,000 in salary and get results. Calhoun would be wrong. Coaches do x's and o's and a little bit of recruiting with the help of their staffs. It is as simple as that. Any high salary compensation is simply a blessing.
But even if we were to argue that Calhoun is marginally better than just about every other potential coach (and he is not) then at what point did it become justifiable to pay coaches that type of money? Calhoun cites the $12 million that his program brings to the institution. That is fine. The institution still has scholarships, athletic costs (including other non profitable sports), educational programs, campus security, campus maintenance and many other various costs that these sports institutions were designed to help support.
Not to mention, as a consumer we are tired of overpaying these coaches. College sports should be communal events. The tickets should be much more affordable for the general public. It should be very affordable to attend any college event. When institutions start paying these ridiculous salaries to coaches, ticket prices have to dramatically increase. If we are to consider the university system to be a part of our community and not merely big institutions then this financial disconnect should not be tolerated.
It can be argued that Krzyzewski is a lovable, well respected figure on campus (a point the media is fond of promoting), but we are still going to see coaches like Calhoun that arrogantly snipe at reporters, "not a dime back, I would like to retire someday." And that greed only scratches the surface. This is a man that has to have his butt kissed by campus personnel and the students he is an alleged advocate for.
If UCONN was a leader instead of a cog in the system, they would fire Calhoun and give him no severance. This should be done on the grounds that his behavior is reprehensible and that he has made more than enough to retire. But UCONN is just another cog in a system gone out of whack. They themselves are a microcosm of why the economy is in such turmoil.
Coaches are being esteemed above everyone else
As a representative of a supposedly esteemed institution like UCONN, how does Jim Calhoun get away with screaming at a reporter and calling him stupid for merely asking a question. There are many professors that would be fired for such conduct. Calhoun will not even be reprimanded. Instead we await his next cursing tirade (he has had many other tirades in response to simple inquiries from reporters).
We have seen similar inappropriate outrages by coaches. Oklahoma State's coach, Mike Gundy was allowed to slander, berate and personally belittle a female reporter in a yell filled tirade and then face no repercussions. We saw Indiana's Bob Knight get away with repeated inappropriate behavior for decades.
Even the millions, accolades and job security and chance to compete for a Wooden like legacy at Duke is not enough for Mike Krzyzewksi. We always hear about how humble he is, but that did not stop him accepting his arena from being named after him. How are students and faculty supposed to ever truly see eye to eye with someone in that position?
Sports media is not a watchdog
The so-called journalist that asked Calhoun whether he should take a pay cut, Ken Krayeske is reportedly a socialist and has an agenda independent of the bad economy. But anyone that points that out is just creating a smokescreen. Journalism 101 states that these are the tough questions that need to be asked.
Calhoun himself said that he would be willing to talk to Krayeske outside. That is reasonable, but he only said that after calling the reporter "stupid" and to "shut up." It is within reason for Calhoun to dictate some of the parameters of the debate as he may have found it better to talk about the game in a post game press conference. But more realistically, Calhoun is a state employee and he should have to justify his salary in the light, period.
Reporters should not be scared to ask valid questions at any time. When Krayeske said, "if these guys were doing their job then I wouldn't have to (ask the question)," he was right on the money. Sadly, those reporters are so intimidated by Calhoun that they indignantly grumbled (in Calhoun's and their defense) when Krayeske said that. Nobody likes to hear they are doing a bad job, but the fact is that those reporters did not want to be bothered with a reality check that they are not doing their jobs.
These types of weasels are found all across the sports media. If reporters had developed backbones long ago then coaches like Bob Knight would not have been allowed to constantly belittle them. Many of times, reporters just sat there and let Knight scold them for minutes for mere indiscretions or valid questions.
These are the same weasels that clapped when Mike Gundy inappropriately yelled and glared at a reporter because he did not like her column. He called it three-fourths untrue but was unwilling to specify what was wrong with it. We are talking about a man that had the audacity to yell at a woman saying she "obviously never had a child" after she simply criticized a grown man's performance on the playing field.
The weasels need to stop getting lost in the show that is sports. Stop allowing the Calhouns of the world to have a stranglehold on sports programs. Stop clapping for the Stoops of the world belittle your own associates. If these weasels start doing their job, then accountability can be restored in sports.
After Gundy made his tirade, the weasels were like a crowd at The Colosseum, cheering for the death of a gladiator. But for those of us that have some pride, we only felt a queasiness in our stomachs. It is a queasiness that a man like Mike Gundy is allowed to not only be allowed by universities to coach to the tune of millions, but that he is propagated by the media that is supposed to scrutinize that type of behavior.
To parallel Mike Gundy's opening statement of that infamous press conference, that tirade should make university officials and media members feel embarrassed to be involved with college athletics; whether they have children or not!
go to school every morning make me vibrant! while waiting for school bus passes in front of the house, I usually wait with a friends. When ride the school bus, and I find all friends already in the school bus, because my house is the nearest from the school. Wow .. how happy ride school bus with friends. How about you?
go to school every morning make me vibrant! while waiting for school bus passes in front of the house, I usually wait with a friends. When ride the school bus, and I find all friends already in the school bus, because my house is the nearest from the school. Wow .. how happy ride school bus with friends. How about you?
Derek Jeter is known as the consummate teammate. He was the leader of a New York Yankees team that won four world championships in five years. He lives the Manhattan penthouse life and he is a model citizen. That is the profile anyways.
If a man, woman or child had to choose between Derek Jeter and Captain America to have as his or her role model, they would be hard pressed not to pick Jeter. Once at a game in Anaheim, I witnessed an Angels fan verbally retaliating to a loud mouth arrogant Yankees fan. Earlier in the game during a rally, the Yankees fan provocatively yelled, "Everybody hits!" But now it was time for 'Everybody sits.' The Yankees fan yelled back at the Angels fan, "Sit down and shut up and watch a future Hall of Famer (Jeter) hit." To which, the Angels fan immediately sat down and reverently watched Jeter!
Leaving aside the general positive feelings that Jeter illicits, I find his comments regarding Alex Rodriguez's cheating and steroids use in baseball are completely unacceptable. Thus, I will address those comments here:
"People always ask that question, (you know) do you feel as though somebody cheated? Well first and foremost, you cheat yourself. I think that's the message that needs to be out there," Jeter said.
That's a good question Derek Jeter. Did he cheat? Because A-Rod's story is that he took steroids by mistake. We just know that is rouse and anyone as intelligent as Jeter knows that is so also. Yet later on in Jeter's press conference he had no problem calling A-Rod "honest."
But first and foremost, A-Rod did not cheat himself. If A-Rod's psychologist wants to tell A-Rod that, then that is one thing. But baseball is the national pastime and is sacred to thousands if not millions of purists. For them, it's the A-Rods, Bonds, Big Macs of the world that are spitting on Babe Ruth's grave.
But even if we marginalize the purist, are we really suppose to downplay that A-Rod cheated his way to over half a billion dollars. That is billion with a b! A-Rod's career on the field earnings are at $197,431,586. That does not include the next nine years of his ten year $275 million contract. That does not include the millions of dollars he made in endorsements. Endorsements were his main reason for being in New York. Some experts estimate that a player like A-Rod can earn $100 million a year in endorsements alone. That is well beyond his exorbitant yet comparatively poultry $28,000,000 he earned last season.
Yea but do not worry because first and foremost A-Rod cheated himself. It is not like you, the everyday Joe is paying him all that money for his cheating (sarcasm). So remember that the message is that A-Rod has to deal with his own demons.
A-Rod will earn over half a billion dollars (in his playing career), not get punished or sewed by MLB's weasel commissioner, probably be allowed to play without being disciplined and possibly break hallowed records by cheating is of lesser consequence. And when A-Rod hits home run 757, breaking Hank Aaron's all-time home runs record, his cheating will be reinforced with you guessed it more bonus money. But don't worry, because A-Rod has have to deal with his own demons. You do not need to worry if you are one of countless pawns that pads his bank account. Just sit back and idly watch as cheating is tolerated and advocated, because A-Rod feels bad enough after all.
"The biggest message that needs to be out there is that everybody wasn't doing it. (I mean) You hear about people saying this was the steroids era. There were a few players in this era taking steroids, but it wasn't a steroid era. I mean you have what a hundred something people fail the test and how many people are in the major leagues, 1200? You have 1100 people that haven't done it," Jeter said.
Did Jeter read my entry, 'It was not the steroids era; it was the better steroids era'? OK, probably not. But how does 104 steroid users qualify as a few? Because only one in twelve people were caught cheating he wants to play it down? If you throw a party on Christmas Eve with a dozen people and play Monopoly and one person is slipping himself a gold bar ($500) every turn then do you say well the biggest issue is that the other eleven people were not cheating?
In some circles, Derek Jeter may be considered equivalent to Captain America, but I'm just going to say that it is un-American to turn a blind eye to such a huge plague of corruption. Comparatively speaking, only a 'few' of the Germans were Nazis too. But that did not stop the detriments of WWII occurring.
There will be some that say that Derek Jeter needed to say what he said for the sake of being a supportive teammate and having good feelings in the locker room. And from that standpoint I can understand any hesitancy to speak sharply on the matter. But he has no excuse to take it to the next level and downplay what A-Rod has done here.
"I always hear other thing about should the other 103 names come out? Really, what's that going to do? It's just going to be another story and it's going to be another black eye for the sport," Jeter said.
Jeter had an attitude that we should all just move on that the dialogue is tired. It is only tired because Jeter is mirroring his players association that stifles discipline. It was that attitude that allowed for 104 players to anonymously cheat and not be punished for it. It was an attitude mirrored by MLB dunderheads like Commissioner Bud Selig and Yankees GM Brian Cashman. They would love to turn a blind eye and move on. Why not. It worked in their Days of Yore.
As for the 'black eye,' that's just another way that Jeter is downplaying the situation. 'Cancer' would be the much accurate term. Unfortunately the cancer is only killing the integrity of the game. It has yet to start speaking a language that MLB executives and players understand; and that is the language of money.
Derek Jeter has an enabling attitude. If he truly wants to be Captain America and not some concoction of the media then he needs to call for zero tolerance. You cheat and you are gone for life period. There is no excuse for blatant premeditated cheating. Eradicate the cancer by doing the radiation. Stop calling cancer 'a black eye.' Seriously, did we fall so in love with Derek Jeter that he can spew all of this out and we are not critical of it?
"You see some of the things these players are going through and then they have to admit it; that's worse than somebody being suspended or anything like that," Jeter said.
So what, A-Rod is a sympathetic figure here? His shame is punishment enough? Granted he does have the Scarlet S on his chest. But let me remind Jeter that A-Rod also wears the blacks NY on his chest. To give him a pass and even allow him to keep that NY on his chest just makes an incoherent gray symbol. There's just nothing special or meaningful about what it means to be a Yankee at this point.
The consequences of cheating just is not important to those in the dough (money). We are talking about the same organization (MLB) that when pressed to get tough on steroids, came up with the ten strikes and you're out law!
"You understand people do make mistakes, nobody's perfect. We're hear to support him recover from that mistake," Jeter said.
Why is this merely a mistake. Why is the c-word blantantly missing from Jeter's dialogue. Stop minimizing the severity of his crime against baseball. This is not merely a mistake. We are talking about a man that has cheated his way to the most amount of money in baseball history. We are talking about a man that would have been considered the best player in baseball history (at least statistically). We are talking about a man that was winning MVPs and countless accolades for his perceived greatness. This was not just a mistake this was criminal, literally. Jeter calling it merely a mistake is bombastic.
"Unfortunately when you are in the spotlight any mistake you make is made public and people are talking about it and they're scrutinize and stuff like that," Jeter said.
There is nothing unfortunate about it. Let your light so shine before men. We want to see real players and we want our game unpolluted. We want cheaters to suffer real consequences. There is nothing unfortunate about that. Jeter is taking up a passive aggresive stance against the media and the public for having the audacity to not want to settle for less (sarcasm).
There you have it sports fans, maybe Jeter is not such a hero after all. Maybe he is just a baseball player; and one that is happy to turn a blind eye to the ills of his sport at that. He is not 'classy' as so many of the youtube users said in their response to his comments. Nor does it matter if he was coached. His response to the A-Rod situation was contrived and designed to illicit such bliss. Meanwhile, the cancer continues to kill.
Pictured: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees team captain
I remember with an ancient legend that says that cats have 9 lives. And they are also able to throw the enemy with his views. They can recognize the smell emotions enemy. And now they both are in love. Truly an amazing creature!
I remember with an ancient legend that says that cats have 9 lives. And they are also able to throw the enemy with his views. They can recognize the smell emotions enemy. And now they both are in love. Truly an amazing creature!
In 2002 World Cup at Seol, the United States served notice to Mexico that they were the best team on Western hemisphere, with a dominating 2-0 victory. In that second round elimination game, the United States crushed the dreams of an entire sports nation. It was even more painful for a nation that put a premium value on soccer (futbol) the loss to a country that placed a higher value on football, baseball, basketball and even hockey. So painful that in the wake of 9-11, a stadium of 60,000 Mexico fans chanted 'Osama, Osama, Osama,' in an under 23 (age) match.
Since that time the two nations have been taking turns winning their home games. The United States won their latest home game tonight in Columbus, Ohio, two to nil. Since 2000 in home games against Mexico, the United States are now 9-0-2, with a 19 to 3 goal tally.
USA soccer organizers and consumers were dissapointed to see that the temperature was only in the forties with clear skies (no rain or snow). That may sound shrewd, but it is mild compared to the conditions that U.S. soccer players must endure when they play in Mexico.
The United States are 0-22-1 all-time at Estadio Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. There, U.S.A soccer players have to endure high altitude, smog and racial jeers. They also certainly do not get the calls from referees who literally fear that an unpopular call can be fatally answered.
On the rare occasion that I click on an internet advertisements, I have a legitimate twinge of curiosity that wants to be satiated immediately. Of course it's not quite what Chris Mathews would call "thrill going up my leg." Still, the expectation to see or read the commercial immediately is there.
So when I clicked on 'Reebok Presents: Get Rondo'd,' with a picture of Rajon Rondo on it, I wanted to find out what it means to get Rondo'd. Instead of watching, I was told by Yahoo Videos that the promotion had started and to come back at the scheduled start time.
Besides not telling me what it means to 'get Rondo'd,' they did not even tell me what that scheduled advertising time was or even a link to see it. Of course they should not flatter themselves. The general public or myself do not schedule our lives around commercials, with the one exception of the Super Bowl. So Rondo off Reebok. That's what it means to get Rondo'd. Thanks for letting me and countless others know.
If I haven't even went to Hang In There Jack dot com (a brilliant advertising campaign) to see if Mr. Box will survive his accident then I'm certainly not Rondo'd up enough in the head to schedule time to see what it means to get Rondo'd. Ironically they did do the third definition of Rondo'ing me when they created an optical illusion that I would see their commercial. But in the end they can Rondo off.
This is the day that we wait, the holidays! After tired for 1 week activities. Everyone needs a holiday, any person requiring relaxation for mind, body and their soul. And one of the choice is enjoying the holiday. You can vacation on the beach, park or playground to visit family and friends. Happy holiday..
This is the day that we wait, the holidays! After tired for 1 week activities. Everyone needs a holiday, any person requiring relaxation for mind, body and their soul. And one of the choice is enjoying the holiday. You can vacation on the beach, park or playground to visit family and friends. Happy holiday..
