Another life for Pacman

It's almost time for another NFL season with all the preseason games finalizing this week and the final roster cuts being executed so they can get down to brass tacks. For the Dallas Cowboys, they actually activated one player to their roster for regular season activity today, thanks to the pardon of league commissioner Roger Goddell. Oh, that's right. Pacman Jones. The man responsible for a strip club shooting in Vegas during NBA All-Star weekend two years ago.

Owner Jerry Jones has put together a contending football club with only the biggest of knuckleheads in the league that have either smeared the good name of the NFL with gun violations, stripclub shootings or just plain running of the mouth. Terrell Owens, Tank Johnson, Mr. Jones... they all are high-caliber players who had burned every previous bridge they crossed before. Whether its the media circuit or being suspended for over a year, these guys have apparently squared up with the house and paid their dues. Do I think so? No. Should they be allowed to make millions of dollars again and face "possible future suspensions"? No. Should they even be allowed to have jerseys sold with their names on them for children to idolize and wear? Again, no.

I've always looked at every professional sport league as a privledge to participate in. It's something that was there before any player arrived and it'll be there after they leave . No one is bigger than the game. So, why do these guys all get a second chance at the opportunity to play, make the money and potentially screw up again? Because the league apparently can make more money and attention with these guys than some college grad walk-on who has never had a parking ticket in his life. And of course, because Jerry Jones is the godfather of gathering the poor, tired, huddled masses yearing to breath free... and the 'boys get more tv time than Ryan Seacrest once the season starts, the NFL is going to have hot topics and potential feel-good stories with these guys that is going to make the team, the owner and the commissioner look like a f*cking genius.

And in the end, even if any of these guys don't perform up to their superstar playing status, they're all winners because they didn't shoot anyone, badmouth the team or get caught with assault weapons in their SUV this season. The NFL fraternity doesn't have to keep things fair or justified. They just have to keep people glued to their televisions every sunday until late January.

Go Cowboys.

War at Home

I couldn't believe when i woke up today that the Olympics from Beijing, China were over. As described, I wasn't as die hard a tv fan as I have been in the past, which doesn't make sense because everything was in HD tv, on one of seven NBC channels and there was enough drama to rival a season of Guiding Light.

When I turned on the AM sports radio on my morning commute, everyone was discussing how the U.S. flexed their muscles by finishing first in the overall medal winnings (110) to China (100) and Russia (72). Of course, we didn't win the most gold medals, but ours came in the events that matter in our eyes... basketball, track & field and anything that Michael Phelps breathes on.

It's also at this time that your going to hear the finalized stories involving scandals with doping athletes, underage gymnasts and roundhouse-kicked referrees (yes, that happened in TaeKwanDo).

Charles Robinson wrote a piece for Yahoo! Sports regarding the country of Somalia and the two... yes, TWO athletes they sent to Beijing. With their second decade of civil war still tearing a third-world country apart, both runners (Samia Yusuf Omar and Abdi Said Ibrahim) competed on a level that probably wasn't deserving of their athletic prowess, but it never meant that they didn't deserve to be there.

Omar, an 17-year-old war survivor, who lives with her seven family members in a two-room house, was entered by her country into the women's 200-meter dash (one of the most electric and competitive women's events in the games). We've all seen pictures of what a world-class women's sprinter looks like... stoic face etched out of stone, revolutionary skin-tight uniforms that streamline their muscular bodies, highlighting every physical feature for intimidation and performance. And there was Omar... with her underdeveloped figure, jersey untucked, headband placed like an accessory just to look like she belonged. Truly, an ant among elephants.

There was no miracles or fairy tale story with this race, as Omar finished in a competition-worst 32 seconds; over 8 seconds after the event's eventual winner, Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown. Apparently, the crowd even rose to their feet to cheer for the girl as she had only approached the final turn when all other runners had crossed the finish line already.

I guess, the who point of view that I'm taking on is that for two weeks every election year, the summer is occupied by these world superpowers want to flex their political power by putting thoroughbred athletes that receive the finest coaches, breakthrough technology and cutting-edge supplements so they can have bragging rights until the next games. In the case of Omar and Somalia, there is no facilities or powerbars or even teammates to cheer for support. The country sent these two runners with no intention of winning to China and with only the breath in their lungs, as to say "They are competing because the war has spared them and survival is the ultimate goal." Sadly, Omar's probably not even looking forward to training for the next Olympics as she only trains to live for another day back in Mogodishu.

Eyes On the Prize

I'm admitting that my Olympic fanfare is slacking on a whole new level this year. In the past, I was glued to my moving picture box for 2 solid weeks because... well, it's the Olympics. However, I have been trying to read AP stories and updates on the events and of course, anytime swimmer Michael Phelps breathes, wins gold, farts or blinks... he's instantly a headline (rightfully so, he is the winningest Olympian EVER).

I actually crossed some drama with the men's basketball competition today as a picture crossed my path that i'm not really sure how to take. Take a look for yourself:

It's the Spainish national team, posing for a full-page ad in a Madrid newspaper prior to the Olympics. Apparently the ad represented a sponsor of the team and their bid for the Olympics. Notice how they're all making "chinese eyes" with their hands. It might not seem like a big deal on a world scale because maybe this picture was taken out of context... or maybe it was part of a campaign that is an inside joke within the borders of Spain? However, I do know that players in the photo such as Paul Gasol and Jose Calderon, who each play in the NBA and make millions of dollars, representing one of the richest sports leagues on the planet, are part of this instance.

"It was supposed to be a picture that inspired the Olympic spirit," Gasol said. How that was supposed to inspire, is beyond me. I mean, it could have been a situation where the this team sponsor was like "Strike a pose for us, because we pay to have the uniforms on your backs." Regardless, there was some definite lines crossed here and the irony lies in that it's the USA team players, not the Chinese, that are making the biggest noise.

"We would’ve been already thrown out of the Olympics,” USA guard Jason Kidd told Yahoo! Sports. “At least, we wouldn’t have been able to come back to the U.S.…There would be suspensions.”

Bottom line is that players like Gasol and Calderon should know better to act in such a manner, especially since they're part of an international basketball association that represents Spain just as much as China in their league's diversity. The NBA hands out millions of dollars in fines every season due to owners or players calling out referees, fighting on the court or even missing schedule games due to hissy fits. The FIBA (the European governing body of professional basketball) dismissed the situation already, as apparently China's well-being has nothing to do with them. Kinda sad to see the buck passed during the most coveted sporting tournament in any century.

In the end, I believe that class and sophistication follows any team that emulates being a true champion, because... well, they're the best and represent the sport in such a manner, pridefully. Can you even picture this team posing in the same way because Nike told them to?

Yeah, me neither.