Major League Greedball – A New Outlook

Last month, I wrote a pretty bad, yet cheesy, poem about Jose Canseco, and what I thought about his ‘name calling’ in his books and interviews. I made up my mind about him from the beginning, and never gave his word a chance. But that changed today, when I finally gave in and bought one of his books. I bought his newest release, ‘Vindicated’, from a Penn Station bookstore that was selling it at 20% off (not that the discount is what led me to buy it). It was time for me to give ‘Jose’ another chance. After all, my former opinion of his ‘allegations’ and ‘name calling’ was mostly fueled by the media bigwigs at ESPN or CNNSI, instead of my own cerebrally-formed opinion. So, here it goes.

[Start of ‘Bizarre Story’ Break]

I was riding the LIRR with my girlfriend, on our way to visit my grandparents, when a whole bunch of Mets fans got on the train at Woodside (I say Mets fans because they all had Johan Santana jerseys on). One of them caught a glimpse of what I was reading, and said down at me, “What does it say about A-Rod?“. I ignored him, and kept on reading, because I wasn’t about to get into a conversation with a guy on his way to a baseball game who already looked drunk (at 11:00am, mind you). He turned to a friend of his and continued by saying, “This kid is reading that Canseco book. Man, @&#% Canseco… and @$&% A-rod too“. Kid? Amazing how an 18 year old “kid” calls a 26 year old a kid (I know he was 18 because a friend of his had said “you’re NOT drinking at the game, you’re only 18”). Okay, how in the world would he know I’m 26 anyway… but that’s besides the point. Back to the post…

[End of ‘Bizarre Story’ Break]

I’m not going to give away the meat of the book, because I believe everyone (who has an interest in this topic) should buy the book and give it a chance. The guy is simply recalling his life, from start to present day. Sure, he names a bunch of players and recalls a lot of conversations, but that’s purely secondary to what he really talks about in the book. The majority of this new book was focused on two things (at least from what I took from the book):

A) Why steroids and performance enhancing drugs were kept so ‘quiet’ during the post ‘Strike of 1994’ years of baseball. (I happened to have the same ‘theories’ that he had)
B) How steroids created a ‘Level Playing Field’. (That’s where I was a little skeptical)

My opinion on Jose’s claims haven’t change dramatically, but simply looking at what he has to say (lie-detector passed and all) has given me a whole bunch of new theories to rack my brain with. I will agree with him on this, though. “Chicks Dig The Longball”. How many of you remember that commercial with Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Big Mac? Jose made a reference to that commercial in the book, and how it was a funny reference to the state of baseball back in the (now referred to as the ‘Juiced’) era. Fans (and sports coverage hounds like ESPN and others) love the home run ball. Whether it’s a solo shot, a grand slam, or a game-winner… there’s something about the ball being crushed into the next atmosphere that gives baseball fans an incredible rush. After reading this book, I’m starting to believe in the idea that Steroid use was kept quiet because it kept fans (notice I didn’t say ‘all fans’) in their seats, buying more tickets, buying more food/alcohol, and fueling the baseball economy.

None of this means I’m a believer in everything Jose says. What it means, is that I was knowingly hand-fed media garbage and used their opinions as my own. I accepted it without questioning it, and now I want my own opinion back.

So what have I learned from all this? While I never did know a whole lot about Jose Canseco, his book has given me some neat theories to play around with. Thanks Jose!

Believe what you want. Believe who you want. We’ll all believe who we want and what we want. It’s our god-given right to do so. But me? After all of the ‘Canseco Nay-Saying’ I did? I’m glad he opened his big mouth. Then again, the media-opinion-hungry kid on the inside wants this guy to fade away into the darkness that is the “Steroid Era” and never been heard from or seen again, along with everyone else involved. But then I’d just be a media-puppet… and we all know that’s no fun!

Respect My Authoritah!

Major League Greedball – Arod and the Fish

Doing my usual web-browsing for baseball news, I came across this Yahoo article on Alex Rodriguez and the Florida Marlins. The article had nothing to do with statistics or the game itself. It had to do with money. This article was about how Alex Rodriguez ($28 million) makes more money, annually, than the entire current roster of the Florida Marlins ($21.8).

If you’ve read my previous “Major League Greedball” post, you’d know my stance on the flow of money through sports, and where I believe it should really be going. I have nothing against Alex and his talents, or any other player in baseball and their talents, for that matter. I just have a hard time believing in the sport with so much money being dumped into it, when all that money could be going to more important places (in my opinion), like into the pockets of educators. Now, I’m not saying that highly paid players don’t give back to their communities. A lot of players have foundations, charities, or donate money because of a clause in their contract. That’s all wonderful and great. But at $28 million a year… if Arod doesn’t win any World Series rings as a Yankee, that’s one big waste of money, in my opinion.

I’ll feel a little better when the $21.8 million Florida Marlins make a playoff run… or will Jeff Loria sign a truck-full of high-priced Free Agents at the end of the season to win a World Series, and fire everyone when they finally win it? How very “Huizenga” of me to say…

Spitzer Gone Wild

Just when you think the drama was over, it’s was only the beginning. I was browsing around CNN.com this morning to find out that just two days after Elliot Spitzer’s resignation as Governor of New York, another media frenzy broke loose over the internet when it was learned that Client 9’s girl might have been involved in the “Girls Gone Wild” videos when she was 18, or at least one man says she was 18. Joe Francis, the company’s founder, had recently reached out to Ashley Alexandra Dupre about appearing in a non-nude spread for his company’s magazine, and to join the “Girls Gone Wild” tour bus. He was ready to pay her a whopping $1 Million. But hold that phone! Someone in the company found her footage from old videos, and they featured a sample of the footage on the website’s homepage! I guess Joe made out like a bandit with this one.

But wait, there’s more! Joe claims she was 18 when the footage was shot, but her attorney claims she was 17 at the time, which would be against the “Girls Gone Wild” policy, and could result in more trouble for Francis.

I wonder when “You, Me & Dupre 2” is coming out…

Does the media frenzy ever stop? Apparently not… now there’s a video floating around of Ms. Dupre being featured as a rapper’s girlfriend in a music video for “Pop Off” by Mysterious.

Gangsta…

First in Elliot’s arms, then in Girls Gone Wild, and now in a music video? This girl is everywhere! Where will she end up next? I have no idea… But I do know this… watching videos on this blog might lower your intelligence. But who’s counting, right? Enjoy!

Chess, Anyone?

Photo Time: Calling ‘Client 9’

Bill Mitchell created yet another brilliant cartoon. This time, it’s current (and soon to be former in about half an hour) New York State Governor Elliot Spitzer. If you haven’t heard the new, he’s resigning in the midst of allegations of paying for the transportation of a prostitute to see him, and a bunch of other allegations. The cartoon that Bill draws up about the entire situation is brilliant, and I’d like to share it with all of you. Enjoy!

© Bill Mitchell, 2008

If you missed the actual resignation, I’ve got that for you too. Ready? Set? Go!

I wonder what ‘Client 9’ did with “Kristen” for all that money?

So, now that Spitzer is stepping down by March 17th, you’d think this is all over, right? No way! The American Media would never let that happen! It turns out, that Spitzer’s “call girl” has been identified as Ashley Alexandra Dupre. Was it completely necessary to ‘out’ the girl Spitzer was caught hiring via wiretap? No, I don’t think so. I actually feel terrible for all of the women involved in this whole ‘saga. I feel terrible for Spitzer’s daughters, wife, and entire family. I also feel bad for Ms. Dupre for all of the negative exposure she’s getting.

*sigh*… Such is the American Media. Or, just Media, in general…

Spitzer for President!

10,000 Thanks!

This morning, I saw that the counter on the blog had finally hit the 10,000 mark! It may be a small number, compared to a ton of other blogs out there, but it’s quite an accomplishment for me. I was never much of a writer, or a blogger. But since I found WordPress, it’s been getting easier and easier.

Well, enough with the sappy thank you speech. In honor of the blog hitting the 10,000 reader mark, I give you 2 Moments of Zen that could very well be worth the 10,000 readers! Enjoy!

Here Comes Peter’s Farts!

Just Give Stewie His Money!