To the casual observer, sports heroes have it all: the money; the attention; the women. What could trouble them?
I, for one, feel for today’s athletes: they have pressure on them to perform like at no other time in sports history. Athletes are on television all of the time, and the pressure to perform is great. In addition, today’s athletes are also celebrities, facing media scrutiny; under the proverbial microscope. Any discretion, however slight, that would be called youthful indiscretion to most people, is front page news. Moreover, the motives of the people that approach professional athletes is suspect at best. And I don’t just mean women, friends, family members all have their hands out trying to get a piece of the athlete, usually money. So today’s athlete doesn’t know who to trust.
So, it wasn’t a huge surprise that there may have been issues with Titans quarterback Vince Young. Young, the mobile quarterback from Texas has yet to live up to the hype and promise he showed in college, and is currently injured again for the next 2-4 weeks.
This whole thing started Monday night when Titans coach Jeff Fisher called police for help in locating the quarterback because of concerns over his emotional well-being. This isn’t a usual thing for a big, tough football player. Football players are supposed to be like fighter pilots – have “the right stuff:” never show fear; or pain unless you literally can’t get up. Football players aren’t supposed to show weakness, especially mental weakness.
Adding fuel to the fire, Young’s mother, Felicia told a local newspaper that the quarterback had indicated he didn’t want to play football anymore because of all the negativity he faced.
Young came out of hiding today, giving a 16 minute news conference, saying that he has never wavered in his commitment to football. And that the media went overboard in concern over his mental state. Young said that he was upset trying to deal with his first serious injury, and he didn’t realize he had to tell his mother where he was going anymore.
Of course, blame the media. It’s their (our) fault. We have done this to poor Vince Young. Well, I still think it’s proper to discuss poor Vince Young. He has never faced adversity like this, and if his head coach is concerned, then so should we be concerned. It’s not easy being in the spotlight and many tougher than Vince young have succumbed to alcohol and other substances to cope. I hope Vince Young gets attention before that happens.

For the next few days, I won’t be posting much if at all, because it is time for the annual Toronto International Film Festival. It is my ninth festival, and I will be seeing 10 films in four days. If I have a chance, I will post roving comment. If not, I will still be providing my review of all of the films I saw next week here at evilopnion.com.

As you may know, I work at a bank in my day job, and bankers are usually conservative and Republican, which I am the furthest from. I try to keep my liberal attitudes to myself, but I did get a very nice Obama ’08 cap when the family and I were in Washington D.C. a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, after last night’s speech by Gov. Sarah “The Pit Bull” Pulin, men I work with were walking around high-fiving each other like they had won the lottery.
What is it about this woman that has them fired up? That she can spread lies and untruths effectively? She is everything I abhor: a social conservative who wants everyone to live by her rules, while giving everything to the super rich and robbing our environment at the same time. I still say that any woman who votes for this ticket is grounds for reversal of women’s suffrage. Only racists, the rich and the stupid will be voting Republican this year.
One of my co-workers told me about a quote by Winston Churchill about being liberal in youth, but not being conservative in older age was being a fool. Well, besides not getting the quote right (“To be conservative at 20 is heartless and to be a liberal at 60 is plain idiocy”), I got mad and said “F@#k Winston Churchill.”
This would be a surprise to folks that know me well. I am a committed Anglophile and have a lot of respect for what Churchill did during World War II as Prime Minister. However, my co-worker needed to be told, quickly and decisively that I think his comment was full of s@#t.
First, when Churchill made his comment, “liberal” and “conservative” weren’t mutually exclusive, and certainly weren’t mortal enemies like they are in the current political discourse. In Churchill’s day, liberals and conservatives could disagree on how the government was run, but both respected the others’ point of view and knew that both wanted the best for the country. That is not 21st Century America, where “liberals” are enemies (even liberals call themselves “progressives” – what a bunch of weenies!) and no one is allowed to agree on anything. It’s war and the enemy is to be crushed, not conversed with.
But I do agree with Churchill on one thing: Conservatives are heartless, and that is the reason I would never be one. Despite what I have been able to achieve, I feel much closer to people at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder than those at the top. Without affirmative action and other set-asides that the Republicans would eliminate, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and there are some who say I should probably be pushed aside in favor of some-similarly qualified white man.
But I refuse to think that, even as I get older, I have to lose my empathy for my fellow man. Yes, I have less tolerance for people who refuse to try to improve their situation, or wallow in stupidity and victimhood. But I want to see the opportunities open to everyone: black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Jew, Gentile, Arab, gay, straight, lesbian, other. And I don’t see anything wrong with that.
I am for Obama because of what he stands for, not because he is black. Believe me, if Alan Keyes was running for something, I wouldn’t be voting for him. I’m not a knee jery voter, and John McCain made a mistake thinking that former Hillary Clinton supporters will come over to vote for him because his VP-Rottweiller happens to have breasts and a uterus.
So, I don’t want to hear what Winston Churchill said 60 years ago. The saying doesn’t have any relevance anymore.

At the still young age of 31, Daunte Culpepper, who starred as the quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings before a major knee injury in 2005 curtailed his career, retired from the NFL after not getting any offers to play.
During his career, Culpepper completed 1,867 of 2,927 passes for 22,422 yards and 142 touchdowns. His career quarterback rating was a lofty 89.9. His best season was in 2004 when he threw for 4,717 yards and 39 touchdowns for the Vikings. Many thought that he would remain one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, but Culpepper shredded his knee in the 2005 season and was never the same.
He tried to come back with Miami in 2006, but his mobility was gone, suffering 24 sacks in just four games that season. He tried to comeback with the Raiders, a team that is always trying to reclaim players off the junk heap, but with the drafting of LSU’s JaMarcus Russell with the first overall pick in the 2007 draft, who needs two of the same type of quarterback?
The Packers and Steelers each offered Culpepper one deal deals to backup Aaron Rodgers and Ben Rothlesburger respectively, but Culpepper refused.
“Since I was not given a fair chance to come in and compete for a job, I would rather move on and win in other arenas of life,” Culpepper said. “No matter what I did or said, there seemed to be a unified message from teams that I was not welcome to compete for one of the many jobs that were available at the quarterback position.”
It is never easy to walk away from the crowds, the adoration, the money, the attention, and some athletes handle it better than others. Daunte Culpepper seems like he has his head on straight so that we won’t see him staring at a camera in prison fatigues. However, it just shows you how fast a football career is, and how suddenly, it can all end. That is the story that every aspiring professional athlete should learn: go to class; learn something useful because a sports career can end before it’s begun or anytime after its started, and there has to be a Plan B.

Whenever I see something like this, I always think back to the film Blue Thunder. In it, the late Roy Scheider is a Vietnam vet cop who flies a helicopter. As a result, Scheider’s sanity is often questioned except by his boss, another vet played by the late Warren Oates. Anyway, after Scheider gets into trouble, Oates tells him “when you’re walking on eggs; don’t hop!”
What am I talking about, you may be wondering? Two future NBA players were expelled from the league’s mandatory rookie transition program. The players were both from the University of Kansas: Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur. Chalmers is to be employed by the Miami Heat after being acquired in a draft night trade. Arthur, a 6-foot-9 forward, was chosen late in the first round by New Orleans, and then was traded three times on draft night ending up with Memphis.
The league and the teams only reported that the duo had been sent home for “violating league rules.” Apparently, the two had marijuana and got busted. Now they may face fines and possible suspensions from a league where a squeaky clean image is paramount.
Now, let it be said that I personally don’t care if someone lights up a doobie, as long as the person is in the comfort of their own home, or, at least, are not operating cars, moving equipment, or engaging in acts that could hurt someone. However, even the most lackadaisical NBA fan knows that the league takes a dim view of drug use, especially in arenas and league functions.
How the Blue Thunder reference applies is that both of these guys are widely known: Chalmers hit the overtime-forcing jumper in the Kansas’ win over Memphis in the national championship game five months ago; and Arthur was an important member of that team. It is too ironic that among the NBA’s transitioning classes’ major points is that as an NBA player, it’s hard to hide, and there are lots of people who would love to get the players in compromising positions for money, for fame, out of spite, or less discernable reasons, and these guys failed the test.
It’s definitely a good thing putting a basketball in a hoop doesn’t require loads of IQ, because these morons wouldn’t be able to get on a court.

In the past, on other web sites I’ve written for, I always gave my list of NFL picks for the coming season, and there is no reason not to do one here, but in my opinion, there has been no more wide open season than the one upcoming. New England should be good, but how bad is Tom Brady’s foot and teams that lose Super Bowls often don’t make the playoffs the year afterward. The same injury comment can be made about Peyton Manning and the Colts. Which teams are contenders and which are pretenders? Parity or Parody? Let’s take a look, starting with the AFC:

AFC East AFC North AFC South AFC West
New England Pittsburgh Indianapolis San Diego
N. Y. Jets Cincinnati * Jacksonville * Denver
Buffalo Cleveland Tennessee Oakland
Miami Baltimore Houston Kansas City
* Wild Cards
As I wrote above, New England should go as far as Tom Brady can take them, especially since the backups have shown themselves so poorly in the preseason. The story of the year so far, of course, is Brett Favre in the Big Apple. I think he will be alright, but I don’t think the Jets have enough in the other areas to get a 39-year-old quarterback to the playoffs. Buffalo still needs to find an identity at QB, and Miami is still recovering from all of the trials and tribulations of the past several months. Bill Parcells will improve the ‘Fins, but it’s going to be a long year for the Tuna.

The AFC North and South will be the most hotly contested conferences in football. The North has four teams, all but one could significantly change the order I have them in and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. The Steelers are older; have experience; play tough defense and smash-mouth offense; and they make few mistakes. They should be able to hold off the others. I may be out on a limb here, but I’m listing the Bengals as second place due to Carson Palmer and the defense can’t get any worse under a defensive mind like Coach Marvin Lewis. Cleveland was the Cinderella last season, making the playoffs, but they won’t sneak up on anyone this season, and they looked absolutely horrible in the preseason. I know those games mean nothing, but the Browns looked bad nonetheless. Baltimore has no quarterback. Steve McNair retired; Kyle Boller is out for the season. I don’t see how they are going to score?

The Colts remain the class of the AFC South but injuries to Peyton Manning, and now, center Jeff Saturday makes the Colts vulnerable. I am picking Jacksonville for second and the Wild Card. David Garrard’s stats are wonderful, but I don’t know how. He doesn’t scare me as a defensive coordinator. Does he not throw deep that well? Do people catch the ball short and run far? I don’t know, but for some reason, I’m not at all sold on Garrard as a Super Bowl caliber quarterback yet. Tennessee could prove me wrong, but Vince Young is going to need to mature, and I’m not sure he’s ready. Houston is poised to make a move, and I admit that this could be the team I’m most wrong about.

The AFC West belongs to San Diego, but the Chargers have a huge question. All Pro linebacker Shawn Merriman is playing rather than having knee surgery. The Chargers are Super Bowl contenders with a healthy Merriman; without him, they could just be very good. The Broncos should be improved with another full year of experience with QB Jay Cutler. I think that the Raiders should improve because 1) experience of QB JaMarcus Russell, and 2) they can’t suck much worse. The Chiefs may have the worst record in recent history for their team. I feel for Herman Edwards, but I don’t think that Vince Lombardi from the grave could make this team better.

AFC Champion: San Diego – I had picked the Chargers in discussions with The Indignant Wife a couple of weeks ago, before Merriman got hurt, but he’s going to try and play, and if his leg doesn’t fall off, I’m going to stick with San Diego

Now, the NFC:

NFC East NFC North NFC South NFC West
Dallas Minnesota New Orleans Seattle
N.Y. Giants * Green Bay Carolina * St. Louis
Philadelphia Chicago Tampa Bay Arizona
Washington Detroit Atlanta San Francisco
* Wild Cards

In the East, the Cowboys are the class of the Eastern Division, perhaps of the whole NFC. The only things that could derail Dallas are injuries and Terrell Owens self-destructing again, and Owens has a new contract and has been a model citizen in Big D. New Yorkers will frown at me picking the defending Super Bowl Champions as second place, but the Giants got hot at the end of the season. I’m still waiting for Eli Manning to self-destruct, and the season ending injury of Osi Umenyiora and retirement of Michael Strayhan makes the defensive line a serious problem. Still, they have more than enough to make the playoffs again. The Eagles will make noise but they don’t have enough to beat out Dallas and the Giants. As I wrote a few weeks ago, I’ve seen Washington play in the preseason and I still don’t think Jason Campbell is ready to make a move into the top echelon of NFL signal callers.

The NFC North has undergone the most change. The Vikings have too much talent to suck, despite the fact that QB Tavares Jackson makes Jason Campbell look like Dan Marino at this point in their careers. The Packers are hurt by the Favre saga, and unless Aaron Rodgers is made of stone in mind and in durability, the Packers will suffer. And, they no longer have a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback in the backfield. The Bears have finally benched Rex Grossman in favor of Kyle Orton, which means that the team is less likely to beat itself, but it may not make any difference. The offensive line is terrible and the big question is whether Orton can remain alive. And the defense has proved to be very mortal so far this preseason, so things could be grim this Fall in my hometown. While I think the Bears may well suck this year, I can’t bring myself to pick them under the Lions. Detroit will somehow find a way to suck worse than anybody in this sorry division.

New Orleans and Carolina should fight all season for the NFC South division title, but I predict that the loser will win a wild card. NO has a great offense and reportedly has built up a better defense. Time will tell. Jake Delhomme and Julius Peppers had wasted 2007 seasons and have impetuous to prove that they’re not finished in Carolina. Steve “Punching Out My Teammates” Smith still remains one of the sports true gamebreakers if he can control his temper. Tampa Bay was the NFC’s Cinderella last season, but Jeff Garcia is nearly 40-years-old and Jon “Chucky” Gruden didn’t make Garcia feel very welcome when he jumped into the Favre sweepstakes earlier this summer. Atlanta is still feeling the effects of Michael Vick’s prison sentence.

Just like in baseball’s National League, the Western Division of the National Conference is the weakest in the sport. Seattle is the best team in the division, but can’t be seriously considered a true Super Bowl contender. Matt Hasselbeck remains a Pro Bowl caliber QB, but who is he going to throw to? Injuries and holdouts have depleted the wide receiver corps. And Shawn Alexander, the most overrated running back since Franco Harris retired, has left Seattle. Coach Mike Holmgren has his work cut out for him, but, to his favor, Seattle has six games with the rest of the division. I was going to pick Arizona for second place, but Owner Bill Bidwell could screw up a one car funeral. He refuses to pay top receiver Antawn Bolden and it’s only a matter of time before he leaves the desert. So, I’ll push St. Louis into second place in the division, with Marc Bulger returning and a now-happy Stephen Jackson who just signed a big new contract. This leaves San Francisco and again, I could be wrong picking them last, but they won’t seriously challenge Seattle.

NFC Champion: Dallas – yeah, easy pick, but I’m not a Cowboys fan; I don’t like Jerry Jones and it hurts me to pick any team with Terrell Owens and a quarterback who’s dating talentless blond bimbo Jessica Simpson (Tony Romo), but there’s no one as strong as the Cowboys. But, there’s hope…

NFL Champion – San Diego. I think they’re young, hungry, and have been close to the ultimate goal, which has only fired them up more.

There’s one thing about black people, often they can make a really good point, but shoot themselves in the foot doing it.
Today is the first day of school for the Chicago Public Schools, but Rev. James Meeks, also a legislator is promoting students stay home from class today and wants to bring 2,000 underprivileged kids to wealthy New Trier High School in Winnetka to try and register there, to bring light to the discrepancy in funding between Winnetka’s schools and the City of Chicago.
This is an important point, and one that should be investigated. However, kids belong in school. Bring the parents up to New Trier if you want, but don’t take the kids out of school, especially since there are attendance markers tied to state and Federal funds based on first day attendance.
To their credit, instead of the angry backlash seen in school busing incidents in Chicago and Boston two decades ago, many New Trier students voiced support for the boycott on their way into class. As the Chicago Sun-Times reported on its website, “As 9-year-old Darius Roosevelt stepped off the school bus, he was immediately greeted by Ken Bley, a New Trier alumnus and parent of two New Trier graduates. ‘You’re welcome here,’ Bley said, extending his hand to Darius who seemed a little overwhelmed by the attention.”
The Sun-Times reported an accord between the students, with half a dozen parents of former and current New Trier students waving signs that read: “We can all learn something today,” and “All kids need good schools.” Some of the students on one of the buses: “We love you, New Trier!”
Of course, there were naysayers. The Sun-Times reported the comments of one New Trier student, “a big publicity stunt.” “They are trying to make it racial,” said New Trier senior, Andrew Scherer, 17. “It’s a better media story.”
As in any story when it comes to money, the reality is not as clear as just the rich vs. the poor. The complicated funding formula in Illinois relies heavily on property taxes to support schools. According to a fact sheet prepared by New Trier, the New Trier school district property wealth per student is $1.125 million compared to $150,000 in Chicago.
Schools with lower property wealth receive a higher proportion of funding from state sources. As a result, according to the New Trier district, its schools get 96 percent of its revenue from local sources compared to 48 percent in Chicago. Conversely, according to New Trier, its district gets only 3 percent of its revenue from the state, while Chicago gets 35 percent from the state.
Obviously, however the formula works, the Chicago schools are getting the short end of the stick. I know because it is one of the reasons that we moved to the suburbs – better schools. There should be parity in funding; and in teacher pay and quality; and books; computers; facilities; etc. and Rev. Meeks does have a point in bringing this out. But the kids need to be in school, because every day matters. It’s like when I see people begging on the street and they have their children there. Yes, more people will give, but do the kids need to see you begging, and shouldn’t they be doing their homework somewhere instead of being used as pawns for our sympathy and money?