Are Sports Real?.... and other quandries....

Questions from TJ....
I never could figure out how to post to the blog. So, I offer this for your consideration. The NBA Regular season starts next Tuesday. As an avid Rockets fan, I am extremely excited. As I was perusing the NBA news I found the following brief article:

It may have only been the end of the exhibition season, but Detroit Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace was in mid-season form.
"I still don't think they (Cavaliers) beat us, we beat ourselves," Wallace said. "And I think we also fell victim to that personal NBA thing where they are trying to make it a world game and get (television) ratings. They wanted to put their darling in there (the NBA Finals) and they did, and look what ended up happening.
"This game ain't basketball anymore, it's entertainment," Wallace said. "It's starting to get like the WWF. There ain't no real wrestling anymore either. It's all fake."

Obviously sports (at least professional sports) are first and foremost about selling tickets and making money, but do they have any other value? A law school colleague of mine stated that pro sports are meaningless and wasteful and compared them to the bread and circuses of ancient Rome, but was in favor of soccer because third world countries need the distraction, further arguing that the developed USA should be beyond such base diversions. I am a follower of the NFL and the NBA and even play fantasy sports (which I will admit is a total waste of time) and do feel that sports have some redeeming qualities. Role model for children, American dream of rags to riches by practicing and being 6' 11" tall or if nothing else an entertaining diversion from the daily grind. Any thoughts?

More to Rasheed's point, does anyone feel that pro sports are fake on any level? Do the Refs cheat (referencing another story about how over half of the NBA referees gamble on the games?)? Did the Broncos only win their Super Bowl so Pat Bowlen could get a new stadium? Does Kobe get away with fouling because people pay to see Kobe play? If they are to any degree fake, does that undermine their value even more or would you still watch? Would you rather a more boring but less fake world of sports or a more entertaining but less "real" world?

Clearly this issue is not as heady as the next presidential candidate or health care reform but for less enlightened folks like myself the NBA (NFL, MLB [Go Rockies!], NHL, Championship curling, and of course Miniature Horse Worlds) bring a little joy into my every day existence and for that I say God Bless Them.

Response From Chris:
I didn't spend yesterday afternoon saying pick or fumble and D-score to the Gators over something that is not real. Is dark matter real, are super massive black holes real, are oil prices real? Kasparof says Putin is manipulating them to keep himself in power and Maher believes him, that's good enough for me!
XXXII and XXXIII were as real as it gets in this plane of existence. After XII, XXI, XXII, and XXIV not to mention the Jaguar debacle of 96, the relief, release, and excitement were more real than anything I've ever experienced. I've watched the BoSox fans describe how 04 felt to them and I tear up and remember being in Port Lavaca shouting at your mother and brother IS IT OFFICIAL, IS IT OFFICIAL. I remember Sean calling me and neither of us knowing what to say. I remember James driving me around standing up in the back of the truck screaming at all of the south Texans HOW BOUT THEM BRONCOS! The Packers lost XXXII because your mother and I were praying confusion and counfoundment on Brett Favre with Pentecostal zeal for 3 quarters, and he was. He made boneheaded plays that amazed the announcers. The things you and I Experienced the next season, a 63 yard field goal, TD getting to 1000 yds in 8 games, the autographs we got, seeing them humiliate the Jags in person at Mile High(sorry Jenn), XXXIII with the glitch in the tape(the size of my foot) when Jason missed a field goal, it doesn't get any better or more real than that.
From dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return but in the middle don't tell me that sports aren't real. By the way Soccer, is he kidding. He gets no cigar and single malt balcony privileges.

Sean's response:
I remember last night sitting and watching the last out of the penant last night. Oddly enough I hadn't read either of Chris' or TJ's emails, but a thought crossed my mind that does so every once in a while. Hmmm...I wonder if this is rigged. It is a scary thought to me. The one thing that stopped me from getting into wrestling past the age of 8 was that I knew it was fake. Not only faked, but completely staged. Oh sure it has its characters. Actually my name for wrestling is "soap opera for guys"....Oops....Just imagine Hulk Hogans voice......"Soap opera for dudes, Brother!!"
When I was 8, or something like that, I remember Hulk Hogan coming to rescue Bob Bacland (SP?) from the Samoan's. At the time that was the greatest thing I had ever seen. He came in and beat up everybody....I was so excited.....He may have even beaten up Bob Bacland....I didn't care. I championed Hulk and his "eye of tiger" soundtrack.....and I still do.....because at the time....I thought it was real. I won't let the wisdom that comes with life to let that spoil.
On the other hand, finding out any sport is fixed would be a tragedy. Wrestling is fake, because it is about drama and not about sportmanship. I mean, how many Colorado Rockies did you see last night hitting Boston Red Sox players in the back with chairs.
All that to get to this point. I think there are exceptions in every sport. An official getting caught betting in backetball, Pete Rose, the Patriots stealing signals, etc.. There are going to be people that try to bend the system to their benefit. It is when they get caught that you know the system is working and that in fact these sports are ligitimate.
My father-in-law thinks every sport is rigged. What always gets me is that he still watches? I won't even argue with the man anymore, because I would be tempted to do so brandishing a shotgun and bazooka (no not the gum)......Saying....."Come on....make that dumb ass point one more f-ing time....I dare you....I double dare you..Motherf-er"
OK the point is sports is so great, because real life and things that happen over the course of the season are far more interesting than you can ever make-up.
The Giants and Dolphins could have just made spectacle of the London game yesterday by just faking it and just scoring 100 points each. You know what though, it was spectacle and it wasn't even a good game. It was already a spectacle before they even stepped onto the field, because of what the NFL means in sports.
Sports means a lot to me. There is no doubt in my mind that it is all real and legit. Of course there are those exceptions, but those exceptions and how they are dealt with are what keep sports so great. I mean, how would you even going about faking 100 years of sport anyway.

Oh, on the Kobe. There are those that get away with things, because they are good at it. Kobe is a quicker than any normal person, including most referree's, would ever hope to be. So of course he gets away with some stuff. So did Jordan......People come to see these awesome creatures perform feats what we would find impossible. NFL, NBA, MLB......These, argueably are the best athletes in the world. You put great teams, coaches and players together and that is all the drama you need.
Rasheed Wallace needs to get down and thank God that we lives in a world were he can be reveared for his size and skill. Sure it's entertainment, but he doesn't exactly have to face lions anymore.

OK final thought......Entertainment. OK. Here in the US hockey is not incredibly popular. Not like the other three anyway. The networks do a great job or really personallizing sports so we can identify with the players. Hockey does a horrible job of doing this....Always has. Plus I can never find the puck. I off looking some where else and someone is scoring a goal. There is a sport that needs some added drama!

Did any of that make any sense....Well they are just a collection of my thoughts on the matter.

Oh and I didn't get to watch Bill Maher yet.....But now I have to watch it!

Is dark matter real, are super massive black holes real, are oil prices real?
Yes, yes and no.....Although the last is hardest to prove. This would be a great discussion by the way.....Can something exist...even if we can't see it? Well with help of xray and radio telescopes we can see blackholes. Dark matter had been shown to exist because the things we can see, interact with it.
My question is....If you are able to manipulate a gravitational field to the point where you can create a worm hole.....How would you be able to determine where you end up? The current theory is that you must create a beginning and an end. That you must create a place and time where your want the worm hole to end up and than use a strong gravitational field like the sun to destort gravity to the point where can create a wormhole back to that original place.
Well that sounds kind of boring.
My personal theory is this......Imagine space and time as a web. If you create a gravitational field so tremendous that you can actually use the web of the space time
continum to direct where you will end up, by manipulating the gravity, as well the other laws of physics. It is hard to put it into words, but if you pushed your finger to strech a spiders' web, and you used the protection of the web to touch another point on the web.
Here's an interesting theory that really helps explain a lot about the physics of the universe. It is a debated theory, but a good one.
String Theory
My best example of this is the World Wide Web. We use portals such as Google and Yahoo to find things. We use them to manipulate the electronic universe and go to places that match what we want to see. I think on a far grander scale this could be accomplished. I think we are probably at least a couple hundred years away from being able to do this, but I think we are getting to the point technologically that we may be able to start approaching it.
More thoughts.....Sorry.
See ya!

Halloween Potluck Recipe Ideas

When thinking of Potluck, you have to think of something that is going to feed a lot of people, but something that is going to stand out. Here are two ideas.....

Chili
Chili and Chips is always great to bring to pot luck.
You can follow most basic recipes on the internet, but I recommend that you
use an ancho chile powder. It gives the chili a great smoky flavor that will
win you rave reviews.
Here is a good recipe I found on the internet:
Ancho, Red Beans and Chocolate

Macaroni and Cheese
This recipe is very close to what I do. The paprika, onion and the bayleaf are all essential, so don't leave those out!
Baked Mac and Cheese

Good luck and feel free to call if you need any pointers!

Happy Birthday James!!

Happy Birthday from one "cone head" to another!!!! Have a great day James!!!
Wish I could be there to celebrate with you.

Favorite Recipes

Okay so politics are fun and all, but we should really talk about is food. And how we like to eat it! So here is one of my favorite (yummy and healthy!) recipes:

Salmon Sandwhiches

Good deli bread, toasted
Salmon, grilled (or broiled) and covered in chili powder
Sauce- 1 avacado and 2 Tbl Mayo
Tomato Slices
Red onion slices

Cover bread in sauce, add salmon, tomatoe, onion and scarf.

Suggested sides: salad and sweet potatoe fries
Sweet potatoe fries- sliced thin sweet potatoe drizzle in olive oil and cinnamon and baked at 350 F til done. Dip in sauce made of fat free sour cream with dill added to taste.

Meet the Candidates - Fred Thompson

Let's learn more about the candidates. In a non-threatening manner.....
My breakdown is this. Fred Thompson seems like a really good candidate for the Republican side. Well except for two things. One is in 2002 he decided to run for another term in Senate, but bowed out. This was due to the death of his daughter. I just get this feeling that he doesn't have his heart in it, and frankly he looks tired.....And he just got in the race. This is a long haul and there is just something I see in his eyes that just says he will not be in it for long.

Second, his policies on taxes and the War on Terror personally go against my own personal credo.
Also I have yet to read about a proposed health plan.
I watched the republican debate the other night and the thing that struck me was that they went on for the first 20 or so minutes arguing about who was more conservative. I get it....I know by proving they are more conservative they can show what path their policies will follow. Common on though. There are plenty of things to debate about that will show how far you lean as a conservative. Issues that not only are important to the people of the United States, but that also distinguish the candidates from one another.

Upfront Issues:
Fred Dalton Thompson - Wikipedia Profile
Republican - Senate - Tennessee - 1994 - 2002
Actor - Come on you we all have watched at least one episode of Law and Order!

Abortion - Against
Overturing Roe vs Wade - For
Gun Control - Against

Taxes -He is for tax cuts, because he believes they mean growth. I think tax cuts can work, but I believe a tax
cut on sales tax cuts may be a more effective tool. Bill Clinton did this in enterprise zones and it really help
stimulate the economy. Broad tax cuts without a balanced budget would be irresponsible and counterproductive.
We've had eight years of that already!

Campaign Finance Reform - Yes and no. He was initially for the McCain-Feingold campaign Finance legislation, but basically later felt it went to far in constricting spending limits of lobbiest such as Gun Owners of America. Ah, Fred, that's what it's all about buddy.

Immigration - Believes US Border should be secured before considering comprehensive immigration reform. Also doesn't agree with Amnesty for the 12 to 20 million illegal immigrants already in this country.

Seperation of Church and state - Against the complete illimination of Chruch and state.
War on Terror - Thompson believes that terrorists started a war against Western civilization and that this war will not end until the terrorists are defeated.

Iraq - Felt we had a right to invade, but mistakes were made.

Iran - Worried about the threats made in regards to Israel, but feels there is a diplomatic solution.


Fred Thompson on the issues:

911, a Conspiracy?

Did you see this on Bill Maher the other night?

Here is the rebuttal from the 911 Truthers:

I wouldn't be so outragged at this normally, but these people were protesting at the World Trade Center on the anniversary of 911 this year.....Right next to the podium where the read off the names. In fact, when I was there they were so loud you had to try and listen hard for the names.

So the questions is: Do you think 911 was government conspiracy? Not necessarily the whole thing, but any part of it?

Healthcare - Just an Idea

There are a few of big considerations you have to take into account.
First is that health insurance companies are huge. Huge enough that they could probably create their own army and attack the government in a coup.
Second - we don't want the government taking over and slowing the healthcare industry down. It's slow enough.
Third - Prevention of diseases has to be a big part of this.
Fourth - Drug and health related research have to dealt with as well.
Fifth - The Doctors and Healthcare providers will be tough...If not tougher the the insurance companies.
Sixth - Drug Companies....Something has to be done.

I'm going to explain this quickly. It's a rather boring subject on the whole, so explaining it quickly will be the best for all of us.
First health insurance can be dealt with this way. We are a market economy, so why not let this work in our favor and utilize
what is already set up.
People that are covered by a health insurance through work keep that insurance
People that are not insured at all. Whether they are jobless, homeless or just an independent business owner. You get the insurance companies
together and you say we are going to offer this whole group of people to be covered together. The people in this pool are divied up without knowledge
of class. Each person in that pool is examined and given a health risk from 1 to 5. 1 being Best health and 5 being Dire! Each of the insurance companies
has to take the same number from each number. That way it is even.
After that everyone will have healthcare. The divied up people premiums are payed by the government. That is the costly part at first.

Second we don't want the government taking over, but we also don't want insurance companies making all these exceptions, referrals and such.
So the government says that each insurance company......By the way in this system, there will be no independent insurance companies that work
outside the system. They are either in or out. Any, the government sets a set of guidelines that every insurance company must follow. So that
every insurance company has the same strict guidelines to adhere to. There will not be choice. If they are to stay in business they my comply.
It will seem tough for them, but they will stay cause there is a lot of money involved.

Third - We set up and require that people to manage their health. In particular the prevention of diseases is going to be paramount. People that
continue to smoke will not only have to pay more for cigarettes, but also have to pay something on their insurance. Anything that raises their risk,
they must contribute what ever that access is. And there is no in or out for people either. They are in the pool. If they continue to drink and drug
and need assistance from addiction specialist and hospitals, their rates will go up.
So, you say...How are the poor and the homeless going to pay. Well there will be none. An mission to be get every soul off the street. If they are
jobless they will give jobs and places to live. Some of the jobs will be building these new places for people to live. People that are mentally challenged
or have mental disorders will be set put in appropriate institutions.

Fourth - Also as part of this prevention effort, drug and health research will help offer grants to fund reseach and development for drugs. Incentives would
be based on the type of drug and the risk its development would help. This would help with the drug companies. Many drug companies complain that
drug prices are so high, because of the cost research and development. Not really true, because Canadian drug prices are far lower. It has more to do
with the power we give drug companies in the United states.

Fifth - Doctors and Healthcare providers would have to adhere to the same things the insurance companies would have to do. They have to accept insurance
from everycarrier and at set prices. Procedures would have set codes and prices across the board. No acceptions.

Sixth - Drug companies would have to come up with a cost analysis of every drug they produce to justify the price they charge. Whatever they put in they get
out with a 20% profit. Eventually this would be off set by the fact that the government would fund all research and development throught the corporations so
that eventually the prices would fall.

Finally I must say the one of the most important elements to this is that everyone is accountable. Including the patient.
I know there are probably huge gaping holes...I also don't have a staff of accountants to run numbers, but the cost the government puts into the system,
will eventually be returned.

I also think the risk assessment idea could be used to feed the starving people on our shores. Each person gets assigned a health risk number and
a corresponding food number that tracks the degree to which you stand. 1 being overweight and need of nutritional guidance to 5 malnurished. The hunger
number would assessed by each doctor and it be considered when re-evaluating your risk number.

Just some ideas....

JB had some great thoughts about the holes in my plan:

Each person in that pool is examined and
> given a health risk
> from 1 to 5. 1 being Best health and 5 being Dire!
> Each of the
> insurance companies
> has to take the same number from each number. That way it is even.
> After that everyone will have healthcare. The divied up people
> premiums are payed by the government. That is the costly part at
> first.

*** They are going to charge out outrageous amount to the government to take on the "Dire! 5" people. ***
>
> Second we don't want the government taking over, but we also don't
> want insurance companies making all these exceptions, referrals and
> such.
> So the government says that each insurance company......By the way in
> this system, there will be no independent insurance companies that
> work outside the system. They are either in or out.
> Any, the government
> sets a set of guidelines that every insurance company must follow. So
> that every insurance company has the same strict guidelines to adhere
> to.
> There will not be choice. If they are to stay in business they my
> comply.
> It will seem tough for them, but they will stay cause there is a lot
> of money involved.
>
> Third - We set up and require that people to manage their health. In
> particular the prevention of diseases is going to be paramount.
> People that continue to smoke will not only have to pay more for
> cigarettes, but also have to pay something on their insurance.

**So what about poor people who can't afford insurance in the first place? The government now has to pay their extra premium for smoking?***

> Anything that raises
> their risk,
> they must contribute what ever that access is. And there is no in or
> out for people either. They are in the pool. If they continue to
> drink and drug and need assistance from addiction specialist and
> hospitals, their rates will go up.

***Will this cause more people NOT to seek help due to their rates going up? Also, typically these are people who can't afford insurance in the first place, (i.e. they are drunk and have no job) so again does the govenment take over their extra premium costs?
And where do you draw the line on what constitutes something that your rates could get raised for?***


> So, you say...How are the poor and the homeless going to pay. Well
> there will be none. An mission to be get every soul off the street.

*** That would be nice but impractical. ***


If
> they are
> jobless they will give jobs and places to live.

*** They have a system like this in Jacksonville.
Some people just refuse to work. Some people refuse the free housing. In Jax, if you are homeless they give you a job, clothes, a place to live and food.
Yet there are still TONS of homeless people. They are given everything they need to get back on their feet and yet many of them never do. Many of them just make bad life choices and cannot change.***

> Some of the jobs will
> be building these new places for people to live.
> People that are
> mentally challenged
> or have mental disorders will be set put in appropriate institutions.

***WHo is paying for these institutions? What about the lazy that just don't want to work? Nothing's wrong with them, they just have addictions that prevents them from keeping a job. How are they dealt
with?***

>
> Fourth - Also as part of this prevention effort, drug and health
> research will help offer grants to fund reseach and development for
> drugs. Incentives would be based on the type of drug and the risk its
> development would help.
> This would help with the drug companies. Many drug companies complain
> that drug prices are so high, because of the cost research and
> development.
> Not really true, because Canadian drug prices are far lower. It has
> more to do with the power we give drug companies in the United states.

***There is lots of funding for research on drugs currently and they are incredibly expensive to develop. I'm not sure how much profit drug companies make, but they take a lot of risks. Drugs take decades to develop, scientist are expensive, the machines they use are expensive, and the drug companies liability is huge in a lawsuit if their drugs kill people. It takes a lot of money to make drugs! I can't comment on Canada b/c I do not know how much drugs are or why they are so cheap. If drug companies are pocketing excessive tons of money then that is wrong, but they certainly spend a TON of it producing drugs. Just think, if there was no financial incentive, many of these companies would not exist, drugs would not be made, and people would still be dying or in pain. I hear the pharma industry is having to make a lot of cuts recently and it is now harder to get a job there. That means less research gets done. Less drugs are developed. Less cures are
found.***
>
> Fifth - Doctors and Healthcare providers would have to adhere to the
> same things the insurance companies would have to do. They have to
> accept insurance from everycarrier and at set prices. Procedures
> would have set codes and prices across the board. No acceptions.

*** You want to make sure doctors make good money too.
You don't want anyone doing that job.***

>
> Sixth - Drug companies would have to come up with a cost analysis of
> every drug they produce to justify the price they charge. Whatever
> they put in they get out with a 20% profit.

***What about the other 100,000 compounds they put a ton of money into researching that never were marketable? What is their profit on drugs now? (When you take into account ALL their expenses(lawsuits, scientists, lawyers, equipment, marketing)? ***