The Best of the Best

Every time I watch golf, no matter what tournament it might be, I root for Tiger Woods. I do. There is the extremely rare circumstance where I will root for another golfer but these come in the even rarer circumstance when Woods is not near the top of the leader board. But, about 99% of the time, I root for Tiger to win everything, every time, no matter what. It's just how I feel. I love to see the best of the best win it. Tiger has been on top for a long time. Ever since I saw him destroy the competition at the 1997 Masters for his first major title, I have wanted him to win. When I was in 7th grade, right around the time of that triumph at Augusta, I got a Tiger Woods shirt. It was a white t-shirt that simply stated "I am Tiger Woods." I was in love and still am.

I was even younger when the best basketball player of all time was dominating everything. MJ. Michael. Jordan. #23. Michael Jordan. The best ever. He won 3 straight and retired. He came back and then won 3 more. When he came back as owner/player of the Washington Wizards, I wanted him to win it all. Every time.

There is a new 'best player ever' named LeBron. People give him standing ovations in New York. And that's not just because he's rumored to be going there in June 2010. They give him standing O's and chant MVP in other cities because he is universally loved. The whole country loves LeBron. They all want him to win. I am part of that group.

There is another player, in another sport, who is considered 'The Best of the Best.' His name is Brett Favre. For some reason, the love is lost on Favre. I understand the annoyance that comes with his faking on retirement. It seems like he's done it every year for the last decade. But how can you blame him? If he does not try to do it now, he will never be able to for the rest of his life. It is literally now or never. He is the best QB of all time, so why would you not want the opportunity to see him play one more season, especially with the two games against Green Bay - one at Lambeau. This is great entertainment. You better believe the world will be watching Favre this season. When Favre was deciding whether or not to come back last season, Green Bay GM told him that they did not want him on the Packers and they did not want him in the NFC North. They said he was not good enough to play on the Packers but also could not play for another North team. Why do that? Whatever the reason, it got Favre fired up. He's pissed. He wants to show the Packers what they lost. He gets this chance now, with the Vikings. And we get to see the best of the best for one more year. Or two. Or three.

So let's give some love for 'The Best of The Best'. Woods. Jordan. LeBron. Favre. Everyone is a fan. Consider yourself lucky for getting the opportunity to see Brett Favre in the NFL.

Healthcare = Fundamental Right?

This is the question of the moment. Is universal, government-sanctioned healthcare a fundamental right? I have had some internal debate over this subject for a while now. I use the words 'fundamental right' because these are the words most often used by the media and the government officials speaking on the subject.

On the one hand, I am unemployed and have no health benefits from an employer. It should be obvious that I would be an advocate for free healthcare. Who would not like free healthcare? Especially people who currently do not have any sort of healthcare. In the last 2 weeks, there has been a string of robberies and muggings in the Lincoln Park/Lakeview area. If I became the next victim, I could be in big trouble if they decided to break my jaw like they did to one of the victims. The size of my medical bill would easily drown me. If tomorrow, the government said that I was covered under their healthcare plan, I should be thrilled. Why don't I feel thrilled?

I was watching CNN and FoxNews and saw that they both used the words "Fundamental Right" when describing this healthcare plan. My next move was to go to Wikipedia and type in those words. Here is that link (Wiki). From what I gather from Wikipedia, here is a list of the fundamental rights...

Some rights generally recognized as fundamental at the federal level follows

• Right to life after viability
• Right to freedom of movement within the country
• Right to property
• Right to marry the person of any race (not gender) of one's choosing
• Right to procreate irrespective of marital status or other classifications
• Right to freedom of association
• Right to freedom of speech
• Right to equal protection under the law
• Right to freedom of thought
• Right to vote in general election
• Right to freedom of contract by parties with proportional bargaining power
• Right to privacy

From this list, here is what I gather...

These rights are fundamental. What is meant by fundamental? Something that is given to you from the time you are born. It is guaranteed for every citizen regardless of race or religion. So far, I can see how universal healthcare could fit into these categories. But when you look closer at this list, I don't find healthcare fitting into the list. These rights are not rights on the scale of something like universal healthcare. It does not cost $230 billion dollars to give someone freedom of speech or freedom of movement about the country. It does not take government intervention to give someone the right to freedom of thought or freedom of privacy. What fundamental right takes so much money to provide? What fundamental right forces a tax increase to pay for someone else? What fundamental right takes any money from its citizens? I suppose due process costs tax payer money and so does an election. But to the capacity of healthcare? Due process and the court system is set up for all citizens. It's for the protection of all citizens. Elections are for all citizens 18 years and older. Neither of these cost close to what a healthcare plan costs. What if we get a healthcare plan covering all citizens, even those who are unemployed and living on the streets? Now those people can stand in front of us in line to visit the same doctor we have been visiting for our entire lives. Is that fair?

To me, there is no doubt that universal healthcare is not a fundamental right. It might be a different kind of right, but it is not fundamental. These rights are clearly different altogether. So, should the government mandated healthcare proposal go through? It's tough to say; but I can clearly see that it is not a fundamental right.

Everyone Should check this out

The New Cursed: Bronx, NY

With the rivalry renewed tonight, I thought I would offer my opinion of the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry and curse.

For the past who knows how many years, up until 2004, the team that everyone knew could never win, was the Boston Red Sox. They were cursed. The curse of the Bambino. The ball got through Buckner's legs and on and on. Red Sox nation simply could not win. It didn't matter. They lost.

Bring on 2003. ALCS. Red Sox/Yankees. Game 7. Red Sox lead 5-2. Grady Little is the manager, the man to blame, who left Pedro in the game. Yankees rally and Aaron Boone is forever famous. Yankees go on to lose in the World Series to Josh Beckett and the Florida Marlins. They have now lost in '01 and '03. Why? I believe it was the slow turning of the curse from the Red Sox to the Yankees. It did not come full circle until the following season...

2004. Red Sox. Yankees. Same story. Yankees are pounding the Sox. They have a 3-0 series lead and seem to be a lock for another World Series appearance. But something happens. The Red Sox win Game 4. Ok, blow it off. No big. Then the Red Sox win Game 5. Still, the Yankees have a 3-2 lead and they have home field advantage. Game 6 back at Yankee Stadium. The bloody sock. Curt Schilling. Game over. Sox destroy Yankees in Game 7 to complete the comeback. They then go on to win the World Series.

Since the 2004 ALCS, the Yankees have lost their swagger. In 2005 and in 2006, New York lost in the ALDS both times. In 2007, they lost in the first round after Joba Chamberlain was attacked by bugs in Cleveland. And who won the World Series that year? Red Sox. Again. Shortly after, Joe Torre departed the team for LA. 2008 was even worse. In the last year played in the House That Ruth Built, they missed the playoffs entirely.

We arrive at 2009. The Yankees did their usual reloading. They added starting pitchers A.J. Burnett and CC Sabathia. They also added All-Star first baseman Mark Teixeira. How has the season gone? They lead the AL East by 2.5 games. They open an epic 4 game set at Yankee Stadium tonight against the Red Sox, who have gone undefeated against NY this season.

So, what about curses? What about the Yankees? I believe the Red Sox are the team in the East nowadays and the Yankees have to fight the curse. But there is only one way to find out. Watch what happens.

Steroid talk

There is a list with 100+ players who tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). This test was in 2003. MLB wanted to see how many players were on PEDs before it implemented its Steroid policy for the first time the next season (apparently a lot players were on this stuff). So far, there have been a few big names on the list.

Before the start of the 2009 season, Alex Rodriguez was leaked from the list. Back in 2007, he denied ever using or needing steroids. Two years later, he's guilty. There was a fairly large amount of upheaval over his name being released - for a variety of reasons. A-Rod was the man who was supposed to save baseball. He was supposed to hit 800 HRs and leave all the steroid talk in the past. He was the savior. Apparently not. Now, just a few months after A-Rod's name was leaked, we found out that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are also on the list. This means that two of the players who helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and in 2007 were juiced. Where is the public outrage? Why are fans continuing to fill seats? Manny gets standing ovations in LA and I have heard that the Red Sox fans are continuing to support Ortiz, maybe more now than ever. Are you f**king kidding me? These players, along with 97 others, have ruined what once was the great American pastime. Does anyone else see this? Am I the only one?

In baseball, numbers are paramount. At the end of your career, you have numbers next to your name. This is how you are judged. If you have 500 HRs, they say that's a good mark to decide Hall of Fame eligibility. If you have 3,000 hits, you have the same HOF mark. Because of the need to "keep up" or because "I was caught up in a culture", these numbers are forever skewed. FOR. EV. ER. There is no possible way to make things right. In my mind, 755 is the career best for Home runs and 61 is the season best. No one who was not on some PEDs has ever beat either of these numbers. This bothers me to a great extent. In 100 years, baseball will be over 200 years old and people will look back on this time with a different perspective than we have now. I just hope in the year 2100, they still remember Aaron, DiMaggio, Mantle, Musial, Gibson, Rose, and NOT Rodriguez, Ramirez, McGwire, Sosa, Ortiz, Giambi and whoever else is hiding behind the list.

One other thing: release the list in its entirety NOW. The sooner we get past this, the better. At least one Hall of Famer agrees with me.

testing 1,2,3

Colorado