The Blue to Your Face Media

If a recent bipartisan report released by the government is true, we should expect a biological or nuclear attack on US soil in the next five years. Now here is a matter we should look ahead to rather than Lebron James' free agent status. Or is it? I understand the need to keep sources and intelligence secret, but why is this threat becoming more believable/credible? Is it simply more access to the materials and more anti - Western sentiment? A blanket statement like this or the "unsubstantiated" report about a potential attack on the New York City subway system just continually funnels fear into our faces.

No doubt, a chemical attack on our soil, or any soil for that matter, would be catastrophic; not only to the area immediately affected, but to the flood gates of retaliation and the breaking the seal mentality for this type of attack. But it is this very tactic that is causing us more harm than good. Am I any more likely to prepare myself for an attack like this with purchasing some sort of bio suit or gas mask because of this report? No. Am I more fearful I am going to die by asphyxiation while my skin melts off? Yes. Do I look like a small wide receiver going through the middle of the secondary on the subway now? Yes. Will I stop riding the subway? No. So what's the point? The "I told you so factor" when one of these suckers goes off? It is this type of information that should be kept classified. It is this type of intel that media outlets go gaga for and it is this sort of thing that should be kept off of everyday Americans' radar screens. This type of "news" only plays into the fears people maintain and it is this sort of news which solely feeds the problem. It is only worse with our current economic climate.

As someone who is finding more hairs on my pillow each morning, to reduce stress I have maintained ongoing efforts to avoid negative coverage of everything from the terrorist attacks in India to the ongoing tanking of the economy. This has proven incredibly difficult as both were played/are playing out in the media with a constant bombardment. Hell, even watching Sportscenter is no refuge anymore as the economy has brought rare frugalness to baseball's free agency this offseason. As I have always heard, "No news is good news." The down your throat attacks through newspapers, TV and the Internet of the day to day layoffs, bankruptcies and bailouts caused by the economy's downward spiral only add to the problem. A good chunk of the economy is based on people's belief in the economy and in the capitalist system. With constant updates on the volatility in the stock market, massive layoffs and production output declines, the media is simply feeding the fire that is deepening a year old recession.

What do I expect from companies that make their bank from shock and terror stories? Well certainly not a kitten saved by a firefighter from a tree on a daily basis. But would it hurt to bring up good news every once in a while? John McCain was not far off when he proclaimed that "The fundamentals of our economy are still strong" back in September. Productivity is steady, innovation is still there and we aren't lacking in any resources or commodities (oil is even down to below $50 a barrel). There is a lot of bad debt to deal with and the housing and stock markets need to settle themselves but the biggest thing we lack right now is confidence and it is only being hurt by the constant negativity that the media brings.

Merry Commercial X-Mas

We have finally reached December but it feels like we have been in the midst of Christmas week for over a month now. Was it the quick changeover from Halloween candy to the red and green wrapped Hershey's kisses? Could it have been the supermarket decision making we needed to choose Apple Cider or Egg Nog to quench our thirst from raking? The answers, yes and yes, are not alone. The biggest tell tale sign that Christmas has become an over commercialized beast is the radio station switchovers to all Christmas music all the time. One Boston station (ahem WROR, ahem) switched to this format way back in early November.

Who the hell would keep them dialed in for 2 months a year for the same music that is forced down our throats in stores, restaurants and on the air waves every single year? There are no new Christmas "classics" (except comical parodies such as "Deez Nuts Roasting on an Open Fire", but I digress) churned out on a yearly basis. Instead, we are forced into listening to Jessica Simpson's rendition of O Holy Night or some other remake that only brings down the quality level each and every year. When will it all end? Do we have a date with destiny that will have us preset at least one station that will give us Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow in June?

It has been abundantly clear for some time now that Christmas and the holiday season in general is commercial insanity. Slap down $20 and you can sit on Santa's lap in the mall, only $15 more for a picture! Lights that go up after Thanksgiving and stay up until Memorial Day are growing
in popularity. Gift lists that include the post man to teachers to relatives and everyone in between. Hell, a person died at a Wal Mart because of people trying to get the best gifts on the mother of all Christmas jerk offs, Black Friday. People refused to leave the store even after being told someone had been killed, clamoring for that marked down flat screen or hottest toy. How far are people willing to go to get in tune with their inner "Christmas Spirit"?

There are a few reasons (outside of boozing and days off from work) that make a holiday great. It's a time to get together with family, eat some good food and relax. Christmas possesses these characteristics, at least on the actual day. It is the buildup to the 25th that worries me. Lining
up at 4am to shop for everyone on my list, hanging lights on your house while precariously hanging from your gutter and arranging travel all sound like the nightmare before Christmas to me. How does wrapping hundreds of gifts and putting on 10 pounds of cookie and egg nog weight
celebrate Jesus' birthday (that is the original reason for the day, you know) exactly?

I don't hate Christmas or the holiday season. There was a time when it was manageable and only surrounded me for a week a year. I would get some new stuff, light some lights, eat some good food and relax with family. Now we are stretching the day into 2 or 3 months of music, food
and gifts. I hate what has become of this time of year. Gross excess, the non stop, in-your-face action that has creeping closer and closer to Labor Day by the year. These are not what its all about, but what it has become all about.

Dear ESPN:

Please stop talking about LeBron James' "impending" free agency (in July of 2010). There is still 3/4 of the current NBA season, in which Lebron's Cavs are looking like a true contender. Then there is another FULL season to go through and then he will become a free agent. That is, of course, he doesn't use his player option in 2010 or he signs an extension with Cleveland or is traded and signs an extension with that team. Just because he happens to be playing in NY against the Knicks and the Knicks have made two trades that scream cap space clearing for that summer's free agent market doesn't mean you have to cover it ad nauseum. They even sent Rachel Nichols to talk about it courtside. Is there no other story than a potential one 2 years from now? Thank you in advance.

All Day, and this Morning

I want to go down as being the person that coined the phrase "All Day, and this Morning." It has a variety of uses, mostly applicable while watching sports. When Joe Buck or Mike Tirico starts talking about how "Manning had alll day, and this morning" when he had abundant time to make a play. In a sentence: "Eddie House had all day, and this morning to shoot that 3." Mark it down its gonna be huge.

Boston's Blueprint

Warning: This will be a major jerk off of Boston sports. I will also provide, however, a persuasive argument to support the following claim. Boston sports teams have become the model of excellence in 3 of the 4 major sports. The Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics all have the attention of the rest of the class. We will start with the longest and most replicated but never quite duplicated example.

The New England Patriots burst onto the scene in 2001 with an unknown quarterback taking over for the face of a franchise and arguably the league (he was the highest paid player with a $100 M contract), Drew Bledsoe. The two touchdown (re. 14 point underdogs) beat the high flying Rams after an improbable late drive (Kneel that John Madden) and a legendary kick. The Patriots had shocked the world but it wasn't the first time that night they did. After the long drawn out introductions for the Rams, the Patriots "electing to be introduced as a team" came out of the tunnel as a unit. So began, the emulation of a dynasty. Your Super Bowl pregame is much shorter thanks to the Patriots, as this has become the status quo for every Bowl since.

The Patriots won with a mix of scouting/drafting, inexpensive veteran free agents and great coaching. They have shown time and again they know where to invest their cap money (Brady, Seymour) and when not to (Lawyer Milloy, Deion Branch). They know when a guy has more left in the tank (Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillon) and when its time to let go (Bledsoe, McGinest). They win with coaching, preparation and the luck any team needs to sustain winning. This is the model of excellence in the NFL. Every team wants to be the Patriots with their superb front office and scouting, superior coaching and a team first attitutde. The 9-0 Titans and Jeff Fisher would probably agree with me here.

The Boston Red Sox are a bit of a hybrid of this example. They have the money to toss around so not only can they sign big free agents and keep their homegrowns from leaving when arbitration/free agency hits, but, and this is something that gets overlooked by most, they can scout in far reaches of the world and drop bonus money to sign high draft picks that other teams stray away from because they simply know they can't cough up $5M for uncertainty. Revenue sharing is starting to buck this trend, as evidenced by the Rays success this year, but it certainly is still a factor in the success of the Red Sox.

The Red Sox have put a lot of money and effort into their scouting. They are looking where lots of teams haven't (China, Taiwan and Latin America) and they are drafting a mix of raw talent and finished, college type players. Their team this year, while falling short of the World Series, was evidence of the Red Sox scouting and development prowess. Pedroia won a gold glove and there is a good chance for him to be named MVP next week. Papelbon was dominant at the end of the bullpen and Lester looks like an ace. Throw in production from Youkilis, Ellsbury and Masterson, the Red Sox have a promising future filled with these homegrowns and some key trade/free agent acquistions (Bay and Ortiz). The Red Sox have traded their prospects wisely (such as Hanley Ramirez, a stud no doubt for Lowell and Beckett) for certain results and when to hang on to them (such as Lester and Ellsbury for Santana this past offseason. They have their bad ones (see Gagne last year) but again, they have the money to make up for this.

You have seen the price of minor leaguers go way up and it started with the Red Sox. You have seen an increasing number of foreign players in areas where they hadn't been taken from before. A premium has been put on scouting and development and the Red Sox have led the field in the MLB.

The Celtics have the most recent recipe for success that has been emulated. Teams saw what tenacity on defense could do for a team. Holding opponents around 90 points a game gave you a great chance to win, regardless of if there were hot hands on offense. You can already see this emphasis around the league early this season. Teams spent the offseason acquiring defensive minded players and the cliche the name on the front is more important than the one on the back has made a comeback. It will be interesting to see how this trend develops with the Celtics at the helm.

Three teams, three sports and three highly respected teams in their individual leagues. The Patriots have had the longest reign on top as they are still proving they can win with a team attitude and great coaching even as injuries ravage their squad. The Red Sox have pioneered several new attitudes in the MLB although they are certainly rivaled but many teams in their execution. Defense will be the increasingly emphasized for this season and beyond because of the Celtics' success last season. It will be interesting to see these teams and their counterparts take into the future seasons.

Digital Age

We just witnessed a presidential race that went on for more than a year. No incriminating story or photo about each candidate that was available was kept private. We had pictures of Mr. Obama with Mr. Ayers, we had pictures of John McCain drinking at his base and everything in between. As everyone one under 40 (its biggest increase in users is in the 30-39 range) takes to Facebook and other social networking sites, indiscriminately posting pictures of themselves doing dumb things, at what election year do we reach the inevitable photos from Facebook that ruin a candidates image?

We have been hearing how hiring managers are looking to these sites for more insight on candidates they interview or are looking to interview and how these sites ruin/promote a persons chances. When is the saturation point of social networking site users being the majority of the pool for political candidates? My guess is it will start at the local level, Mayors and the like and steadily move into state representatives and then on the national level, eventually to the President and/or his Cabinet members. How long before I get to see One of Our Future Leaders smoking a giant blunt or funneling a beer naked from a Facebook photo or an old friend's cell phone camera?

I feel its getting to the point where there are people recording all sorts of dumb things people do and storing it on their tera byte hard drive until they need leverage against someone in power. One of the thousands of creepers and paparazzi out there is bound to be hanging onto video or pictures just waiting for the right moment to cash in on their prize. People will pay good money to save their reputation or magazines will pay good money to get the inside scoop to destroy them.

Be wise all. You are almost always on camera in a big city such as NYC, at least in public areas. And you never know when that guy with the Iphone is going to snap that picture of you pounding beer out of a shoe.

Election '08

Well, with election day tomorrow, I guess it is time for the wRite, Rinse, Repeat official endorsement for president, no doubt trumping that of the WSJ or New York Times or even PerezHilton.com. We all know (or should know) the facts, policies/(empty) promises that each candidate possesses as this campaign has gone on for essentially (at least) twelve months. With all that in mind, I am endorsing Mr. McCain for president. Not McCain/Palin, John McCain. Let me throw my simultaneous endorsement with the people who are terrified of Sarah Palin becoming president. I am simply going to assume that with the best doctors in the world, he can be kept functional at least until its time for reelection and that he doesn't already have any number of degenerative diseases that could make him less "there" than Ronald Reagan was for at least his last two years when Alzheimer's was setting in.

My reasons for this are varied but can be succinctly expressed this way: For a position that should require a resume that goes on longer than a Best Buy receipt, Mr. Obama's is exceptionally thin while Mr. McCain's is double sided and lamenated. The next president will be elected into an atmosphere that has no rival in American history, at least on the global scale. (Lincoln's election prior to Fort Sumter could be argued because it would have severely altered the shape of America and the Americas during the age of imperialism and through the World Wars. However, after globalization and the double headed monster of an unparralleled attack on belief in Capitalism and a deepening worldwide recession and the reclosing of the Iron Curtain across new global lines this one could be much more perilous. Sorry to sound like a doomsdayer, but for the purposes of this crude blog, I will make this fact from here on.) Mr. Obama provides too much unknown and far left thinking for the role he is going to need to play on both domestic and foreign stages. As a small microcosm example of some unknowns he could steer us to, his tax reductions and the increased spending his agenda would cause would put us even further on borrowed time until the bill collectors from China and even old friends such as Germany and France come calling. His plans are just too risky.

Mr. McCain will provide more known course. I would compare it to your investment portfolio. The more risk you are willing to take on within that portfolio, the more extreme your results will be, both good and bad. This is what you have with Mr. Obama, one with lots of start up companies and a whole lot of that risk. Mr. McCain is like your 401K (this most recent plunge withholding), you have more manageable and forseeable growths and peace of mind that those treasury bonds and other slow growth investments are backed by the federal government. With that example, I do think Mr. Obama could be better than Mr. McCain. However, at this juncture in my life with it already being a transition out of the fantasy land that is college, I want to keep the future on a steadier course than Mr. Obama offers.