The NFL Players Assciation pulls a Leon. (Or why sports Unions suck.)...and other things.
Apparently, a perfectly legal deal isn't good enough because crybaby Terrel isn't happy. Looks like the players association is going to file a "special master case" to try to get the trade to Baltimore overturned.


How does this work? I mean, this guy had a legal contract with a team that realized that he was hurting more than helping and so they sent him away. Simple, you sign the contract you live with the contract. He had the ability to declare as an unrestricted free agent, but he didn't. So, he's fucked. If this trade gets overturned because of a lot of whining, well fuck him. Whoever ends up with him, either back in SF or in Balt. should just deactivate him, fucking whining wanker, shithead.

Argh. I wish guys like Lambert, Nietchke, and Butkus were still in the league so that they could get a cheap shot in on this guy.

Leonism at its best (worst.)

Quickly, other things...

Water Taxis. Ooops.

Paris Nice started today, yes it is a bicycle race but it is an important one, for those of us who know these things. Paris Nice is the traditional start of the season for riders gunning for early season success or for the second tier Grand tour contenders such as Kazakstanian Alexandre Vinokourov and Tyler Hamilton to show what they're going to do this season. And OLN will be covering every stage. Hooray for cable.

Multiple choice time.
Is this person
a.)a Yugoslavian political refugee
b.)suffering from a rare skin disease
c.)Tyler Hamilton professional cyclist
d.)dead

Draper

More off-season wackiness
In the comment section of one of the Leon posts I mentioned that 6 High School kids have declared themselves eligible for the NFL draft. I also expressed my desire to see one of them drafted and then broken in half. Alas, I don't think that dream is going to come true. Check out this description from an article on ESPN.com about the High School prospects:

None of the high school players is [sic] among the top 25 college prospects by position, according to Tom Lemming, editor of Prep Football Report and ESPN.com's recruiting guru, who said Friday he had heard of none of them. And, no wonder. They appear to be more suspect than prospect.

Running back Ethan Mitchell of Springdale, Md., and Flowers High School, never played for the varsity, while running back Joe Banks is from New Directions Academy High School, a Baltimore school for developmentally disabled children, according to the Post.

Quarterback John Belisle of Capac (Mich.) Community High School and defensive tackle Earl Fields of Appling County High School in Baxley, Ga., were not on their school's 2003 rosters, while wide receiver Joe Lee of Tacoma, Wash., lists Gates High School, an alternative school that doesn't even have a football team, the Post reports.

In more NFL draft news, the deal to bring the Deactivated Leon to Dallas has stalled because the Bucs cannot come to an agreement with Cowboys WR Joey Galloway. Also, Eagles RB Duce Staley will be visiting with the Steelers on Sunday.

Tony

What the hell am I doing reading the National Review?
This is an interesting little piece from the National Review Online (2-18-04) about trying to find the Billy Beane of educaton policy. (I love when my two nerd worlds collide.) Look for the reference to Colorado Governor Bill Owens. Expect to see his name again in about three years.

Tony

The rubber grits circuit
John Kerry's flirtation with writing off the South in his bid for the presidency this fall may be coming to an end. The Massachusetts Senator and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee began a campaign swing through the South that included a lunchtime meeting with Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (a possible Veepstakes winner) yesterday.

This is a good sign for Democrats, who risked losing any chance they had at Southern Congressional seats, particularly in the Senate, if Kerry's campaign decided not to pursue southern voters. It's also good news for Kerry, who would have faced tremendous difficulty cobbling together a winning coalition if he chose not to compete in the South. Not only would he need to capture every state that Al Gore won in 2000, but he would also have to pick off one of the red states, no small task against a sitting president. Complicating matters even more is the prospect that a non-southern electoral srategy could put Kerry on the wrong sides of a number of issues (particularly cultural issues) that are as popular in suburban Ohio and Pennsylvania as they are throughout the South.

Kerry aides indicated yesterday that their focus on the South could result in a southerner being put on the ticket. This would probably be a wise move on Kerry's part, as the last Democratic ticket to win without a Southern was in 1944 (Roosevelt - Truman, for the curious).

Kerry has an advantage in the upcoming election that Democrats haven't had in a long time. The liberal base is energized and focused on winning, and has been willing to put some differences aside in their efforts to oust President Bush. If Kerry takes advantage of this and doesn't let Bob Shrum whisper in his ear too much, (and with the economy still struggling) he just might have a fighting chance.

Tony

Leon Sez
I just signed up for Terrell Owens' website. Here a few nuggets of wisdom from the man himself:

On the trade to Baltimore:

YEH, THEY BACKSTABBED ME AGAIN, BUT I AIN'T GOIN AWAY LIKE THAT, I'LL FIGHT THIS N COURT IF I HV 2! MY RIGHTS WERE VIOLATED! AS 4 AS I'M CONCERNED, I LEFT MEMORIES N SAN FRAN BUT MY HEART IS N PHILLY!

Responding to criticism about his behavior:

U MUST HV HAD A RUFF ENCOUNTER, IF SO, I APOLOGIZE! I TRY 2 LIVE MY LIKE A REGULAR HUMAN BEING REALIZING THT I MUST ENCOMPASS WHT COMES MY WAY DUE 2 MY OCCUPATION! I'M REALLY NT A MEAN PERSON @ ALL, DEPENDS ON THE SITUATION! SO WHAT IF PEOPLE CRITICIZE ME, I CN TAKE IT, @ THE END OF THE DAY I GO HM 2 MY FAMILY & FRIENDS! BTW, THEY TALKED ABOUT JESUS AS WELL!

I love it. And it only gets better...

The Baltimore Ravens are among several NFL teams negotiating with seven-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Warren Sapp, sources familiar with the talks said yesterday

Marc

John Kerry: He's Not Always Wrong
So as not to sound like a broken record, here's something John Kerry said that I agree with:

"Howard Stern does have the right to say whatever he wants anywhere, but he doesn't necessarily have the right to say it on that station if the people who run the station don't want him to," Kerry said while campaigning in New York, where Stern's show is broadcast.

A questioner at the town hall meeting in Brooklyn asked Kerry to stand up for Stern's right to say what he wants because the Republican-led government is repressing his right to free speech.

Kerry said he disagrees that Stern faces repression.

"If you are working for somebody and they have a set of rules, that's the deal," Kerry said. "And it doesn't mean he can't go out and say it somewhere if somebody else wants to have him say that."

Kudos to Kerry for not caving in to the lunatic left on this one.

Marc

BREAKING News: Leon a Raven. (Fuck!)
Yeah, that's right, all next season we're stuck watching Terrel Owens, as a Raven.

Billick said, that he seemed to be a good fit for the team. Has he committed and gotten away with a felony lately?

Looks like all a Leon is worth these days is the 51st pick in the upcoming draft.

Look on the bright side, at least he didn't go to the Redskins.

Inside The Cocoon
I watched a show on PBS last night that really set off the old outrage.

It was an episode of "The Morrow Report" about the impact of Proposition 13 on California public schools (Prop 13 limited property taxes and required supermajorities to raise them). The message was essentially "raise taxes or the kids get it" - a message delivered by ACLU lawyers, journalists, and leftist non-profits.

So here we have a perfect example of the liberal cocoon at work: a program funded by rich liberals, quoting rich liberals in order to persuade the rich liberals watching the show, who can tell their rich liberal friends about it, and they can agree that "everyone" knows taxes are too low.

Liz told me about a coalition meeting she attended full of union types and liberal non-profits. Someone from the teacher's union said, "Governor Ehrlich has abandoned his responsibility to raise taxes." This is what passes for common sense inside the cocoon.

Marc

The greatest website ever.
Okay, so I got tired of looking at Herzog's headshot. And I thought, well, let's not forget about Pittsburgh's longtime football anouncers, Myron Cope, Bill Hargrove and former Steeler O lineman Tunch Ilkin (I think he is Turkish). Anyway. I found this site of Myron Cope soundclips.

This shit is great...take time out of your day and listen.

Cope is credited with inventing the terrible towel, coining the phrase Steel Curtain and using the phrase Immaculate Reception, referring of course to the most amazing play in NFL history. The Raiders are still pissed about this.


And if you don't have time, though I know all of you do, at least listen to this. Take that Maurice Clarett.


Gold!

Draper

Vote!
Hey, the primaries are today! I was the 21st person to vote at my polling place at about 9AM. I voted for Edwards, as did Liz after some agonizing.

Marc

I guess I can't blame this one on Snyder
Long time Redskins radio announcer Frank Herzog has been ousted from the booth, according to today's Washignton Post. Herzog, who has been broadcasting Skins games on the radio since I was born, will be replaced by 46 year old Larry Michael, who has been doing pre- and post-game shows for the Skins since 1996. Herzog's partner's, former Redskins players Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff, will remain in the booth. Reports are that the move was not initiated by the Skins, and was instead a station decision.

With everything that has happened to the Redskins in the past few seasons (i.e. Spurrier, Snyder, Bruce Smith, Deion etc.), this thing has really got me pissed off. Was Herzog too old and ugly for the fucking radio? Were the listners clamoring for a younger, sexier play-by-play man? No. In fact, most fans are understandably outraged by this move, myself included. This was the best local radio booth in the NFL. It's going to be really sad when we're all old men and we don't have any legends left, because they will have all been replaced before they had that chance. Herzog had a chance to be among those in the sports broadcasting pantheon: Harry Carey, Jack Buck, Chick Hearn. Now, he's just another old guy who got bounced from his job because his overwhelming competency just wasn't sexy enough.

I don't think I even need to say this, but: Orndoff Principle, anyone?

Tony

Edwards Close In MD Primary
This ARG poll has Edwards trailing Kerry by only seven points, 42-35. Personally, I'm voting as a political junkie for Edwards and an open convention, even though I think Edwards is the only guy who can beat Bush.

Marc

Lady Liberty Gives Haitians The Finger
Does anyone else find this disgusting?

Coast Guard Intercepts Haitians on Boats

What the hell is wrong with this country? Why do you think people came here in the first place? Puritans, Mennonites, Russian Jews, Vietnamese boat people... Maybe we should have turned our guns on them, too.

To be fair, this is a policy with bipartisan support. Clinton did the same thing the last time Haiti went down the tubes. Utterly shameful.

Marc

The Real Slim Shady
From today's Pioneer Press at twincities.com:
If elected, Kerry said, he would strip the tax code of every provision that rewards "Benedict Arnold CEOs" who move their companies overseas and "stick us with the bill."

From today's Washington Post:
Additionally, two of Kerry's biggest fundraisers, who together have raised more than $400,000 for the candidate, are top executives at investment firms that helped set up companies in the world's best-known offshore tax havens, federal records show.

Tony

Finally
Finally, a high-ranking government official has come right out and stated the obvious. Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, in testimony given to the House Budget Committee yesterday, said that Social Security benefits that have been promised to future retirees must be cut in order to deal with a ballooning long-term federal defecit. Greenspan urged Congress to consider spending cuts before tax increases, although he noted that both would probably be necessary in order to deal with the impending budget crisis. Although Greenspan again urged that current retirement benefits should not be cut, he listed two specific ways in which Congress could cut spending: gradually raise the retirment age to reflect the increased life expectancy of Americans, and linking cost of living increases to something other than the Consumer Price Index, which many experts believe over-states the rise of overall prices.

Hopefully we'll look back on this testimony as the beginning of a long and sometimes painful (but nonetheless neccessary) reexamination of entitlement programs in this country.

Tony