Earlier this week, the mainstream press reported that Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis and several law enforcement agencies sat down with West Side gang leaders and members and told them to control violent members of their gangs or face police action. Even though some aldermen were up in arms over “negotiating with terrorists,” most people think it was a good idea (I though of the times on “Hill Street Blues” when Capt. Furillo would bring the gangs in to talk. I also can’t help but think of the Hispanic man who played one of the gang leaders who always greeted Daniel J. Travanti’s Furillo with a jovial “Hey, Frankie.”) Anyway, anything to try and do something about the senseless violence turning inner city streets into war zones.
But I don’t want to talk about this. What happened earlier this week is what has me fuming. Yesterday morning, people claiming to be former members of gangs and one claiming to be associated with a gang called a press conference. A press conference! And what did these criminals talk about? They said that they and other gang members were disrespected by police with the surprise meeting and that their rights were violated. Disrespected? What about the people in the neighborhoods that are afraid to come outside, even in broad daylight? What about their rights? And what about the rights of the kids shot as these wanna-be desperados shoot at each other?
They reportedly did make one point, which is that there are no jobs available for them, and in this economy, I would agree. (I will refrain from the questions of what jobs could they have or hold?) However, I have to say that I really don’t care about their feelings being hurt, and give less than a damn about their constitutional rights.
As I said, jobs are hard to come by for normal people, much less ex-gangbangers. The educational system is not very good in most of these areas, although their parents failed them by not pushing them to take school seriously, and the gangster’s fault for choosing the path that they did. I wish that high educational standards were the norm, not the exception. I wish corporations would think beyond their own one quarter bottom lines and look at being true good citizens to everyone, not just their CEOs. But enough Fantasy Land.
The one thing I can say about the old Mafia guys in the 1920s, generally, they killed each other; there were very few “innocent bystanders.” The gangsters got up close and shot, garroted, blew up, their enemies. Today, modern technology allows one to spray hundreds of bullets in every direction, and invariably, other people get killed, most often not the people they were targeting in the first place.
I think a greater measure of a man is being able to handle slights and conflict in more positive ways than violence. If I pulled a gun every time someone stepped on my foot, or said something I didn’t like, I would be just like these thugs. But I don’t, because sometimes it isn’t worth it, or other times, I complain in other ways short of violence. I realize that to many of these young men all they have is their pride (such as it is) and any affront to it is punishable by death. This society needs to deal with the job and education issue. But these gangbangers share fully in the responsibility for their actions. And as such, I’m sorry; I don’t care about how the police deal with them.

That said – I hope everyone has a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend.

I hate to put a jinx on a young man, but it appears that all of the precautions that the Washington Nationals took with rookie ace Stephen Strasburg were still not enough. The phenom will have Tommy John surgery on Friday to rebuild his injured right elbow, an operation that is expected to sideline him for 12 to 18 months.
Strasburg is having ligament replacement surgery in Los Angeles performed by Dr. Lewis Yocum, with Nationals team doctor Dr. Wiemi Douoguih assisting. He is to begin his recuperation the day after the surgery, recovering at the Scripps Clinic in his hometown of San Diego.
Strasburg hurt himself while pitching Aug. 21 in Philadelphia. The right-hander who was the talk of the sport, and created a rare baseball buzz in our nation’s capital will finish the season with a 5-3 record and a 2.91 ERA.
I don’t want to come off as callous – I hope the young man makes a successful recovery has finishes what began as quite an auspicious beginning, but I have to wonder if this is some karmic reward for all of the problems he put the Nationals through after they drafted him as the number 1 pick in the 2009 amateur draft? If you remember, he made it plain that he didn’t want to go to the Nats, even though he was going to make millions no matter where he went. He threatened to sit out for a year, gambling that the Nationals wouldn’t have the top pick again (they did, which would have thrown a monkey wrench into Strasburg’s plans).
Now, the team doesn’t look at it that way – he was the number one star of the team and they certainly don’t want him to be seriously injured. Games sold out when he was pitching; his jerseys were flying off the shelves. He was already showing his worth on and off the field.
I just hope he isn’t a flash in the pan, like the late Mark Fidrich, who had a phenomenal rookie season in 1976, winning 19 games, led the AL in ERA (2.34) and complete games (24). The Rookie of the Year in 1976 and runner up for that year’s Cy Young Award suffered a torn rotator cuff that ended his career in 1980. One thing that Strasburg has over Fidrich is that the great improvements in technology of medicine and the routine nature of the once-unusual surgery. Good luck to him.

I know that professional athletes are well paid. I also know that often they are spoiled, immature young men who spend their worth on bling – big cars flashy jewelry; big houses; the works. All too often, unfortunately, the athlete does something stupid and loses his money and all too often, the bling. However, athletes don’t usually lose their baubles on the field. But the latest in the mental midget department is Miami Dolphins’ defensive end Kendall Langford.
Yesterday, Langford said he forgot to take his earrings off before practice and lost one during drills. But this was not just a small stud – the earring had a diamond that was nearly 2.5 carats, which is why he was still on the field an hour after practice scanning the grass. While he declined to say how much the earring cost, one jewelry distributor said it could be worth more than $50,000.
The good side, I guess, is in the team building. Several teammates crawled across the field after practice with Langford. I know that I keep extra good care of my wedding band, my best watches, hats that mean a lot to me, and they cost one helluva lot less that this guy’s earring.
Another example of a top physical specimen not using the one organ that we need the most – his brain!

The rumors have finally come true, the White Sox acquired troubled slugger Manny Ramirez off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers in yet another 11th hour move intended to get the struggling team to the postseason. The Dodgers have, in effect, given up on trying to catch the Padres, and may have been tired of Ramirez’s antics. But, on top of that, nagging injuries have limited Ramirez’s availability for the Dodgers. Now, with an AL team, Ramirez can DH and avoid wear-and-tear on his body.
You have to give White Sox’ GM Ken Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorf credit – they make moves almost every year to try and help out their ballclub. Sometimes, they’ve worked (Scott Podsednick), other times they haven’t (David Wells, Ken Griffey, Jr.), but at least they are trying. That, to me, is fulfilling the team’s part of the implicit contract with the fans – doing everything they can within their budget to put the best team on the field and try to win.
I hope it works.

Yesterday, the Chicago White Sox retired Frank Thomas’ number. It was a touching ceremony, and Thomas, who had always been a bit standoffish, teared up and shows that he was touched.
Thomas won 2 MVP awards in 14 years with the White Sox, and had the best eye at the plate and knowledge of his strike zone than any bog man who has played the game, and even among the little guys.
But, as I told a Facebook friend, Thomas left town like a petulant baby, bitching and moaning even though the team and owner Jerry Reinsdorf went far beyond the call of duty in helping Thomas when he had problems. But, when the Sox let Thomas go, there was some question if he had anything left, and certainly was no longer worth top dollar, which Thomas would have expected if he stayed here. The war of words culminated in GM Kenny Williams privately and publicly telling Thomas to shut up.
Now, all the fences have been mended; Thomas is back in Chicago, providing commentary on the team for Comcast SportsNet, and getting his number retired, which was fitting.
Which brings me to another spoiled former local baseball icon, Sammy Sosa. Sosa has been lobbying publicly for the Cubs to retire his number too. Sosa says it is ridiculous that other people have worn his number 21 since he left “the Friendly Confines.” Sosa’s relationship with the Cubs is very similar to Thomas’ with the White Sox;: Sosa was suspended and released after skipping out on the team’s last home game of the season without permission.
But there is one thing that is very different – the steroid allegations and potential perjury indictment awaiting Sosa, the Cubs have stayed away from their former right-fielder like the plague. When Sosa announced his official retirement, he asked to do so at Wrigley Field; the response he received was a polite but firm “no.”
Isn’t it kind of tacky to lobby a team to have your number retired? Shouldn’t the club come to the former player to retire their number as a reward for being a quality player? Or is this just another example of the shameless, me-first attitude of Sammy Sosa?

I will be entertaining The Indignant Wife and Children next week, so I will be very busy. So, I hope you enjoy the next four blogs and I’ll be back on August 30.

Just to let you know – the show I wrote for (and started my need to proclaim my thoughts upon the world) is coming back. Next month, Comcast Sports Net will be showing “best of” editions of “The Sportswriters on TV” on Friday and Sunday nights at 11:00 PM. Look for my credit at the end of the show.
To show that I’m not smoking something, please click on the following link: http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/towerticker/2010/08/comcast-sportsnet-dusts-off-vintage-sportswriters-on-tv-reruns.html