The Octagon. A 6 foot high steel cage that surrounds MMA fighters to contain their mayhem. Just as important, once you’re in, you’re in. There is nowhere to run. The wrestling takedowns and punches to the head only stop when the recipient stops breathing consciously.

There are so many people I’d love to lock in the cage with me. Lessons need to be taught, and I am one hell of a teacher…

June Edition

NUMBER 5: Perez Hilton
There are so many reasons why I want to put him in a figure four leg lock. Nothing worse than a no talent writer to make tons of money by writing about celebrity garbage. And its bad enough that he was brought into pageants to ask questions as if he was a real journalist. But the media circus that surrounded his attack by the black eyed peas was absolutely comical. You can only poke a dog so many times with a stick before it reacts and attacks. I’m glad he got slugged. But I’d give him a real reason to cry.
Watch him get smashed

NUMBER 4: Bernie Madoff
So you received 150 years in prison. That certainly doesn’t refund any type of funds that may have destroyed families. When is enough enough? How much more money do you need? Is there a difference between one billion and two billion?

NUMBER 3: Brett Favre
Go away. Go away now. Actually, no. I want you to come back. I love that you continually embarrass yourself by saying you are a team player yet create a circus around your “retirement.” Favre has had more farewell tours than the Rolling Stones.

NUMBER 2: Courts that are suing for music downloads
Grow up. That’s all that can be said. You made an example of a woman who has ZERO chance of paying the hundreds in thousands of fines that you ordered. We’ve been ripped off by the music industry long enough. I’ve bought my share of Led Zeppelin albums. I think I should be entitled to download “Tangerine” if I want it on my iPod and I lost the CD.

NUMBER ONE: The people that are crying for Michael Jackson
It is pathetic enough to see people cry when a celebrity that they don’t know dies. But he was a child molester. He dangled his baby out of a window. His face looks like he truly was in the Octagon already with Wanderlie Silva. So stop crying people. He didn’t know you nor care about you. Now was I sad when Paul Newman died? Yes. Not because I just loved his work. But because he donated millions to charity. What is Michael Jackson’s contribution to this planet? Do you think the parents of the children he molested are crying? Are they playing his music over and over.
I guess as long as they paid for it and didn’t download it illegally, most will accept it.

BAILOUTS, BANKRUPTCIES AND BUFFOONS: The story of GM

According to the laws of capitalism, it is survival of the fittest. If one business makes more than its competitor, so be it. If one business can’t stay afloat, oh well. Sour grapes. Typically the rule isn’t to replace the grapes with a strand of fresh strawberries.
Yet General Motors is a different case. It is the second largest auto-maker in the world and employs nearly a quarter of a million Americans. The bankruptcy of the company would not only put the families of the employees (easily in the millions) at risk, but likely the foreclosure of the entire American automobile industry.
Pres. Obama knows this. Congress knows this. And educated Americans know this. This is why billions of taxpayer dollars have been pumped into the company in a bailout effort. Obama has sworn that he will stay “hands off” on the majority of issues and leave those up to management. He has also wisely forced CEO Rick Wagner out of his position and plans to replace a majority of the GM board. He has also smashed all car manufactures with new fuel efficiency requirements. While on paper that seems to only benefit consumers, car dealerships will soon realize that Obama has just made their products better and more appealing to consumers. After all, the reason to go Japanese is not the price or the design – it’s the durability and gas mileage of the vehicle.
So far, Obama has done a good job. Yet, I see problems in the foreseeable future. Yet I may be the only one, since this regime has yet to announce any type of actual future strategy for this company. When does the government walk away from the company? After it repays its debt? Does it even have to repay its debt? Will the government even walk away at all?
Exit strategy anyone? It must be in the Washington D.C. water. Once again, the “shock and awe” of the initial barrage has left our government clueless as to how get taxpayers out of the situation that they have found themselves in. Many are still waiting to hear how (or when) the President will be able to confidentially hand this company back to management.
While I agree with the bailout in principal, I have extremely varied views on its philosophy and execution. I feel that this company has lost its privilege to become wealthy and regain its power. Instead of giving GM a loan that it will never be able to pay back, why not invest taxpayer money into this company and retain it? The company should be operated as a non-profit corporation. Workers get paid. Management gets paid. Assets and profits should be allocated to relieve every taxpayer of a portion of their federal taxes every year.
Want a reason to buy GM? How about because technically you own it and every car you buy is actually lowering your taxes? And when the loan is paid back, GM can have their company back. Until then, they are the property of the United States government.
Is this socialism? Is this was so many Americans wearing anti-Obama t-shirts will say? Not likely, since most do not understand the true nature of the word. But in a sense, this company would be operated with a socialistic field. Absent will be the chance of capitalism for this company. Yet it is a privilege that they have already had and lost. Until their debt is repaid, I just can’t understand why the taxpayers should give CEOs another opportunity to make themselves fat in the pockets.
For every GM, there are thousands of business owners who have gone belly up. And there are no second chances in sight. GM should be thankful for any scrap they get. So put them back to work. Just this time, put a hammer and sickle in their hands.

'Ghosts of Manila' still loom

The left hook that cracked Muhammad Ali’s jaw for 14 rounds of sheer hell left him slumped in a Philippine locker room afterwards stating that, “This is the closest thing to death.”
Across the ring from him, his nemesis Joe Frazier ended a 25-year relationship with his best friend and manager Eddie Futch after was told that Futch was stopping the fight and not allowing him have one last round with Ali.
While the “Thrilla in Manila,” what many consider to be the greatest boxing match of all-time, took place over three decades ago, the anger and resentment between the two fighters still remain. And as veteran sports writer of Sports Illustrated fame Mark Kram tells us in his new piece of work, not only do the wounds run deep, but the scars refuse to heal.
“Ghosts of Manila: The Fateful Blood Feud Between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier” (HarperCollins Publishers, March 2002) is not the first to tell the story of these two former friends, but it has a rare insight into who these boxers were and what they truly felt about it each other from the time Kram spent with them on the road.
There are no heroes. No villains. They both ceased to be just characters and became human, as Kram exposed a rare glimpse of what went on in the gym, in the bars, on the road and in their own homes.
By looking strictly at statistics, it is easy to find that the boxers faced each other three times, the first deciding the unification of the World Heavyweight title. It is easy to find that Ali won the second and third fights, avenging his loss in the first fight. By the third fight in 1974, one would think that the feud ended that hot night in Manila, as Ali, barely able to stand, was awarded the victory in front of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.
Yet what Kram tells the reader is how this fight changed each boxer for the rest of their lives. It is apparent that three wars in the ring with an all-time great can lead to physical damage, as both fighters were never the same in the ring after they punished each other for 41 rounds combined.
Yet mentally, both refuse to let go of the grudge. The book tells of how Ali refuses to even say the name “Joe Frazier” thirty years later and his abnegation to discuss any of their historic fights. Kram tells of how Ali acts as if the fights never happened, and keeps all of the memories to himself.
Meanwhile, it seems that Ali is all that Frazier can ever talk about. He will never forgive Ali for the taunting that so many fans and media were enthralled with. He was called a gorilla. He was called an Uncle Tom. He was labeled as “the White Man’s champ,” although Frazier is descended from full African blood, while Kram claims that Ali actually has Caucasian ancestry.
On television and video, it is easy to see how both men appear godly, fighting in front of the world for the sport’s richest prize and doing it as if they were in a back alley with no witnesses. Yet through Kram’s eyes, the reader learns of the weaknesses of both immortals – Ali and his obedience to the Nation of Islam and its leader, Elijah Muhammad, who intimidated him often and spent his money as if it were his own. Ali, who barked at everyone, never let out a whimper to the entourage who spent his money and ate his food as if it were their last day on Earth.
And the bitterness of Joe Frazier, who refuses to reconcile with Ali, and sneered at the mention of Ali’s current battle with Parkinson’s Disease, saying, “Look at his condition. I think we know who won those fights now.”
His hatred boiled over to the point that he told the media when Ali came out to light the Olympic flame in Atlanta in 1996, "I wish I could have pushed him into the fire."
Both men are no longer on top of the world and their fighting days are long over. As Kram puts it, their will never be a reconciliation. Yet the ghosts of their previous battles still continue to loom, each begging for just one more round.

Time To Boycott The XBox

So my Xbox 360 died on me for a second time in 18 months. And that is the end of relationship for me. Dead. Gone. Deceased.
The first time I got the red rings of death, the most notable of the all the XBOX 360 defects. Since it happened so often, they extended the warranty for that problem to 3 years.
Awful nice of them. It took a month to fix. When I got my X-Box back in the mail, it sounded so loud I thought I was making a cappuccino in my bedroom.
That was 9 months ago. Now, every time I put a disk into Xbox, it says “Reading….Open Tray” as if no disc was ever placed in there.
They want me to pay between $100 to $120 to have that fixed. I can’t do it in good conscious. There is no guarantee in nine months I won’t have to fork over the cash again.
But I’m not the only one. The internet is full of stories of broken Xbox 360s and Youtube videos of how to fix them.
Xbox claims only 3 to 5 percent of its products are defectives. Some stories claim up to 32 percent actually have that honor. In 2005, a lawsuit was filed against Xbox by a conglomerate of owners for selling faulty consoles.
You can’t be sure who to believe, but I have a guess. Almost every person I know who owns an Xbox has at one time had some sort of a problem.

An excerpt of my letter to XBOX:

“First it was the Red Ring of Death. Now my console will not play any disks. And your company wants me to pay $100 to have it fixed. Nonsense.
I understand that this a complicated piece of machinery and that break downs are going to happen. But to expect me to pay a fee to repair it....especially after all the negative PR that your company has received over the last few years about selling merchandise that was subpar is baffling.
Repairs must be made to machines. But i'm not going to sink another 100 into your product just for me to take the chance that it breaks down again in a few months. And save the response about "well if you bought the warranty then..."
If your product was put together properly then i wouldn't need a warranty. Not in the first 18 months of purchase, anyway.
The XBOx 360 sadly reminds me of a car that you love, but it is a money guzzler that needs to re repaired every year. It is just a poor investment.
I loved your games, i just cannot sink good money into hardware that is bound to fail again and again. So since you refuse to give me a break on the hundred dollars now, i will not sink thousands into you by buying games for the next 40 years of my life.
Good Investment
Since your customer service was not willing to help me, I bid you farewell. All the little people like me can do is write these letters, post our blogs, and never give your company business again.
If you are interested in keeping me in the Microsoft family, email me at XXXXXXX. If not, take care.”

I think we all know how this is going to work out. All we can do is not give them their money anymore.

HOF Needs Checks and Balances For Voters

Cris Carter was thought to be a Hall of Fame lock.
Apparently not.
Amazing numbers. Great leader. Elite career. One of the greatest possession receivers of all time. Kind of scary to think that he has more catches than EVERY player in the NFL Hall of Fame (Jerry Rice isn’t eligible until 2010).
Yet for the second consecutive year, Carter was passed over for the Hall of Fame, a distinction that he should have earned quite easily with his stellar numbers and gentlemanly conduct during latter of his career.
For a reason the HOF Board of Selectors aka the NFL Cosa Nostra are not sharing, Chris Carter will not be joining Bruce Smith or Rod Woodson at the induction ceremony. What’s even more frightening is that the 44 sports writers that have a vote do not have to give one.
It is time for accountability. These voters seem to be more clueless than a boxing judge during a heavyweight fight, and we all know how that sport is perceived.
There seems to be no logic behind the selection process for the NFL or MLB Halls of Fame. For years the understanding is if a player was not cordial to the media, then voters would punish them by not putting them in the Hall of Fame. And they certainly stick to that credo for fear of losing player interview availability. Don’t believe it. Ask Jim Rice. He’s had been trying to get in since Miley Cyrus was born. And don’t forget players like Albert Belle, who garnered only 19 votes in 2007 yet he had 10 straight dominating years in which he posted better seasons than the likes of Andrew Dawson, Harold Baines and the rest of the HOF waiting list. So they weren’t great guys to interview in the clubhouse. This isn’t supposed to be a popularity contest.
Did I mention someone voted for Jesse Orosco this year? What credentials does this voter have? Was that a fraternity prank? Talk about voter fraud.
Oddly enough, the man who received the most votes for the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame class in 1936 was Ty Cobb, one of the most despised players in sports history.
Go figure.


So let’s play Hall of Fame voter. Cris Carter’s name comes up. Let’s look at some stats.
Most receptions in a season – Chris Carter is tied for third at 122.
Most receptions of all-time – Carter is in third at 1102.
All-time receiving yards – Carter is seventh with almost 14,000.
All-time receiving touchdowns – Carter is fourth with 130.

More stats can easily surface. Only four players have ever caught more touchdowns in one season. He is the only player in NFL to ever catch over 120 balls twice. Eight Pro Bowls. 1990 All-Decade team.

He never had Joe Montana or Dan Marino throwing him the ball his entire career. Instead he Wade Wilson and Brad Johnson, plus a slew of others. Steve Largent has the best statistics of any receiver currently in the Hall of Fame. Carter has him bested in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
I’m still waiting for the argument from the Board of Selectors. Sadly, it will never come.

I’m sure Carter will get in eventually. But his statistics will not change. Nothing will make him more worthy, since he will be just another year removed from his career and writers will less likely remember his fantastic catches and sure-fire hands.
Some writers will argue that only elite athletes deserve to get in on the first and second ballot. Fair enough. I wonder what Joe DiMaggio has to say about that, since he was denied entry during his first year of eligibility.
That’s right. Joltin’ Joe was told No. Someone actually had the audacity to vote against his induction, as if he wasn’t good enough for Cooperstown. Throw DiMaggio’s statistics into a HOF voting computer and you get 3 MVPs + only player to be an All-Star ever year of his career (13) + 56 hit streak + nine World Series rings + .325 career batting average = 44 percent of the vote in 1953 and 69 percent of the vote in 1954.
He was punished not for his play, just his hesitation to speak to the media and his yearning for privacy. The HOF selectors ended his punishment in 1955 by giving him 88 percent of the vote.
The Baseball Hall of Fame has existed for almost 75 years. And we’ve yet to have one ball player unanimously voted in. Someone actually voted against Babe Ruth and his 714 homeruns. He was a true sports phenomenon who is unparallel in stature. Maybe the only man for famous than him in this country’s history were George Washington and Elvis. Maybe…it would be close.
“Did a voter look at Ruth’s stats and say ‘you know what, he’s not what we’re really looking for,’” a buddy of mine joked during Super Bowl Sunday.
Snobby, arrogant sports writers should get away with this travesty no longer. Everything in this country has checks and balances, why shouldn’t sports’ most prestigious honor. Like a lawyer on the Supreme Court, a HOF voter should have to draft a dissenting opinion after the results are tallied on the top 10 vote getters every year and draft a concurring opinion about everyone that they did vote for. They should then hand them to the commissioner, and make them available for fans to read on MLB and NFL.com
You didn’t vote for Cris Carter? Tell me why. You didn’t think Joe DiMaggio did enough to make it into the Hall of Fame? Please explain. Oh, you voted for Jesse Orosco? And your logic was what exactly? Did you fill in the wrong number on the Scantron sheet?
I’d probably accept that answer before any others.
I’ve visited Cooperstown during my college days. But that was before I knew better. I’ll never go back until there is some accountability held to these voters. And you’ve just read my dissenting opinion as to why.

Do'h! What are Amendments?

Homer. Bart. Marge. Lisa. Maggie.
Many of you already know that this is the infamous five members of Fox's "The Simpsons," the cartoon family that has entertained the country for nearly 15 years.
Simon. Paula. Randy.
Yes…the judges of American Idol. I'm sure most of you also know that Ryan Seacrest is the host of the show as well.
Yet the polling of 1,000 Americans last month discovered that more Americans know about these and other pop culture tidbits than their own freedoms and rights granted to them by the Constitution.
For those who don't disagree with the poll, do yourself a favor and write down the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. Good luck.
Most of the focus group discovered that it wasn't as easy at they suspected, as only one in four of those surveyed could name more than one of the freedoms, but more than half could name at least two members of the Simpson cartoon family. A fifth of those polled could name all of the Simpsons; a mere one person was able to name the five freedoms.
The study was conducted by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum in January.
"Part of the survey really shows there are misconceptions, and part of our mission is to clear up those misconceptions," Joe Madeira, director of exhibitions at the museum told the Associated Press. His exhibit, opening in April, will teach visitors about the First Amendment. "It means we have our job cut out for us."
Freedom Of Speech.
But what does this study really mean? Is it something to be laughed at in amusement? Or is something that should concern Americans?
It may have something to do with the fact that Americans take their freedom for granted and that they do not realize the opportunities that these amendments grant them. But there are more freedoms that the First Amendment gives Americans. The Right To Be Oblivious. The Right To Not Care About Anything That Happens Outside Of Their Social Lives. The Right To Let Others Make Decisions For Them. The Right To Not Vote.
Or maybe it's just because of the icon status that Americans grant to celebrities- and just how high the pedestals are that they place them on.
Angelina. Brad. Nick. Jessica.
For some Americans, what goes on in the lives of the celebrities is more important than their own. They are viewed upon as gods and goddesses.
Freedom Of Religion.
But is it the media and society that made Americans that way, or has the laziness of Americans made media and society dumb down their coverage to an uinattentive public? Why is it that celebrity breakups, instead of world issues, dominate the headlines of news broadcasts? Whose fault is it: the sender of the message or the receiver?
In an essay by reporter Mark Lloyd in "The Future Of Media: Resistance and Reform in the 21st Century", he stated that the major television networks are timid in their choice of news topics for fear of losing sponsors and advertising dollars. He stated that gutsy reporters such as Edward R. Murrow (whom you may recognize from George Clooney's "Good Night, and Good Luck") did not shy away from broadcasting reports on men such as Sen. Joseph McCarthy, but lost his network advertising dollars. Instead, he claimed, the networks would prefer to broadcast more mindless television for the comatose viewers. Lloyd stated in his essay, "The Beverly Hillbillies program is much more comfortable environment for the car, soap and pharmaceutical companies…"
Maybe the less a viewer has to think about, the more at ease that viewer is in understanding the advertiser's messages.
Freedom Of The Press.
There is no solution to the problem in sight. Americans will still rather read a magazine about their favorite rock star than material that will educate or enhance them. Programming will always be created for the sole right of generating viewers not because it enhances the public's minds, but because it will enhance the networks' wallets. Some Americans just don't, and will never, realize just how good they have it and that this is the greatest country in the world because other Americans understood the freedoms of the First Amendment and took full advantage of them.
So realize that there was more to this poll than just informing us that the Simpsons are a popular show and that Simon Cowell keeps getting an extended 15-minutes of fame. It is really a study of American society, and how it is easier to ignore the important and concern oneself with just the trivial.
You can gather together and discuss these topics in an open forum. Fortunately for you, that's one of your freedoms.
Freedom To Assembly.
And just how detached from reality (maybe because of too much "reality TV") are some people who took this poll? About 20 percent of them thought the right to own a pet was a protected amendment, and nearly 40 percent thought the right against self-incrimination was protected by the First Amendment.
"I plead the Fifth". Some people that say it sadly cannot make the correlation that it is a reference to our Fifth Amendment rights.
Maybe I'm over-reacting. Maybe that is not what these survey results prove. Maybe you completely disagree and feel that one topic has nothing to do with the other. Maybe you disagree so much that you feel compelled to write a letter to state your dissatisfaction with this theory and address it to this newspaper or a member of our government. And just maybe, you have realized that you have that right to do so because of the First Amendment.
Freedom to Petition for Redress of Grievances.

More school shootings

Is it me or do we have a new school shooting or attack every week? Acts of violence become really scary in culture when they are just not that shocking anymore. Columbine was a total shocker. Now, school violence is shrugged off. So i wrote this a few years ago, thought it was appropriate.

Virginia Tech Disaster Poses More Questions Than Just Security


Originally Posted: 5/5/07
After the massacre last week at Virginia Tech, faculty and staff around the country are being influenced to take notice of any unusual behavior. As students, faculty and administration, when we see friends or fellow classmates acting unusual, we cannot just ignore their problems and hope that they go away. We need to address the issues and give some assistance to the individual who needs it. By ignoring potential problems, the individual needing attention could feel unwanted, and may end up harming themselves or someone else.
There are several ways in which the college community can be aware of and take precautionary action against unusual behavior. If a person states that they are contemplating killing themselves, please contact campus safety immediately. Also, if an individual has certain items in their room such as pills, sharp objects, or weapons, please explain to this person that there are alternative, safer methods to help them through a difficult time, that they can receive the proper care easily and anonymously, and that harming his or herself, or anyone else, cannot ease their pain.
The fact that the Virginia Tech shooter made videos and sent them to national news organizations, without planning to escape his own attack, the situation is largely considered a glorified suicide. It did not appear that he ended his life because of guilt after his actions or fear of a prison term-instead, he seemed to have made the decision to end his life even before he started killing his victims. This mindset does not just occur, it is manifested after years of rage or depression.
According to SAVE.org, a website for Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, more than 90 percent of people who commit suicide suffered from a significant psychiatric illness at their time of death, typically depression.
In addition, there are ways we can recognize friends in need of help; by noticing symptoms like depression, insomnia, excessive sleeping, significant loss or gain in appetite, significant lost interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities, decreased sexual drive, speaking and moving with unusual slowness, fatigue or loss of energy, and/or feelings of worthlessness or guilt, we can help ailing individuals get the help they need before their condition worsens.
Dr. Joseph Rivard, a professor of emotional and social development at Central Michigan University, told NBC last week that the problem with identifying troubled students is that it is hard to establish the boundaries of what is normal and what is not normal behavior. "College students who are out on their own for the first time are maybe trying different things to express individuality, and that may seem odd," he noted.
Yet he does mention some student behavior to watch for, including extremely isolated students, those who show signs of aggression, or those whose work shows themes of violence or hate.
"How do we respond when something is not right? (Some feel) it's too premature to turn over to law enforcement when a crime hasn't been committed yet," he said.
A new level of violence now exists in the college landscape, and institutions may have to change old policies or adapt to new ways of preventing this kind of problem that injects terror into college communities every time another incident occurs. And while tradition, location, price, and potential career opportunities have been the normal collegiate selling points in the past, do not be surprised to see colleges marketing themselves to students on the basis of safety; that aspect may be just as important as what majors are offered.
So what exactly can be done? Universities and colleges have been scratching their heads trying to find possible solutions to prevent these tragedies from taking place again. The University of Maryland has begun a Behavioral Evaluation and Threat Assessment Resource Group, where police, mental health officials, and counselors meet regularly to discuss students displaying risky or odd behavior. The faculty meets with the resource group and obtains advice on how to deal with the students in question. Johns Hopkins University has begun a program where the director of counseling sends a memo to staff at the beginning of the school year detailing warning signs for psychological disorders. At Towson University, counselors have implemented a suicide tracking system, which helps them identify suicidal students.

But despite all the precautions administrations have taken across the country, they may not allow a student to get the advice from where he or she may need it most - from home. In 1974, the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act restricted colleges from releasing student records to parents without student consent. In most cases, this act denies parents' rights to their children's education records after the child has turned 18.
Even with all the policies put in place to protect students, some feel there may not be any feasible method or science for identifying troubled students capable of creating community wide catastrophes.
"Anyone who suggests there is a way to prevent this in any concrete way is not being forthright," said Dean Bresciani, vice president of student affairs at Texas A&M University told the Houston Chronicle. "There are rarely circumstances where Behavior A plus Behavior B equals an episode. In most situations where somebody is in a crisis stage, the signs are often very subtle."
And revelations like these may translate into college communities simply having to pay extra attention to what occurs on their campuses. Maybe the best form of treatment is a kind word or taking an interest in helping someone.
Take the initiative by talking to someone seeming in need- it may decrease the chances of them committing suicide or setting off an irreversible act. Second, take conversations seriously - most troubled students give out a warning sign before something happens. Never attempted to argue with someone who speaks of suicide - just let the person know that you understand what they are talking about and going through. And never promise to keep it a secret. By telling the appropriate people, you could save the person's life, plus others. If you know a troubled individual with access to dangerous medicines or weapons, alert the proper authorities. Keep your friends and yourself out of a potentially devastating situation.
We must be other other's protectors. We must be each other's guardians.
College communities must be aware of the attitudes, feelings, and emotions of students today. Students would be cruel to ridicule and poke fun at a colleague obviously suffering from emotional problems. Faculty and administration would be unprofessional to simply try to "ignore" a student in a troubled situation. Students battling depression or social issues are not to be ignored or feared. They need to know that they have support and that despite what they face, they are still a welcomed part of our college community.
It makes one wonder if effort, emotion, and understanding could have prevented some of these horrific tragedies over the past decade. School shooters who have chosen the path to "glorified suicide" are easily categorized as vicious assailants, but may also be considered victims of ignorance and misdiagnosis.

Root Responsibly For Your Favorite Team

As a kid, I never understood why my father was so against attending live sporting events. Not to say we didn't see our share of games at Yankee Stadium, the Meadowlands and Giants Stadium, but usually, we would watch the games on television together. Yet I always felt like I was missing something by not being at the game in person with my old man.
Over the past few years, I've realized exactly what I have missed by not being one of those "weekend warriors" that attend a game every Sunday. I've been able to miss obnoxious, drunken, thirty-something year-old fans that fall over themselves in the parking lots on their only day away from their wives; foul-mouthed twenty-something year-olds that would have no trouble trampling the eight year-old sitting next to them to catch a foul ball; and unknowledgeable teenage fans that scream and hiss if their team's star player doesn't hit a home run at every bat or throw a touchdown pass on every attempt.
Is it all the alcohol that is served at ludicrous prices at these events? It certainly doesn't help. I've seen fans drink a month's worth of beer before that 1 p.m. kickoff. I once attended a Jets-Titans Monday Night Football Game on a freezing November evening, in which the Jets won a thrilling game, and upon leaving the game I was encountered a shirtless, plump gentleman who stumbled up to my brother and asked, "So who won the game?"
He never even made it into the stadium. We told him the Bears won. He nodded and kept staggering on his path to who-knows-where.
But for all the horrors that alcohol produces, I'm not going to let fans off easy and just blame booze for this. Some ads will tell you to drink responsibly. I'm going to tell you to root responsibly.
Two weeks ago on the opening weekend for the NFL, I had the "pleasure" of attending the Jets game with some friends. As we walked to the stadium around 12:45 p.m. after briefly tailgating, I looked at the masses that were flocking to the Meadowlands and thought for a second I was in the opening scene from the 70s cult movie classic "The Warriors," which is about fictitious gangs from New York traveling in herds to a conclave. Many of the people walking beside me smelled like they took a bath in vodka and probably had more Pabst Blue Ribbon in their veins than blood.
And so the heckling began. As it should at a sporting events. A forty-something couple, walking in Patriots jerseys, were being followed and hissed at by Jets fans. Seemed harmless at first.
I've been involved many times in "friendly" arguments with Yankee, Giants and Jets fans. That is my right as a paying customer. I can root for whomever I want, as I will walk on the moon before I root for the Yanks.
So I turned around to see the commotion about 20 yards behind me. I saw six thugs, in their twenties, start punching the man twenty years his senior, and as the Pats fan actually fought them off, he was repaid by being blasted over the head with a beer bottle.
The cowards, led by the fool in the Al Toon jersey, quickly scurried away and ran like children avoiding a parent's scolding. The Pats fan was left with blood trickling down his face and his wife on the pavement, as she had been knocked to the ground as well.
Security was nowhere to be found. No arrests were made. And I started thinking that could have been my parents, or aunt and uncle. All because they had on a different team's jersey.
I'm not just picking on the New York fans. We've all heard the horrors of what goes on at Philadelphia Eagles games or college games in the Midwest. This isn't "East Coast mentality"- it is now American behavior.
Two days later, I read about a Texas Longhorn fan who walked into a bar in Oklahoma with a U of T shirt on. He was quickly heckled and then attacked by a Sooners fan. His injury? A near castration. You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried.
And these aren't just "kids" getting involved in this type of nonsense. The man who was arrested for aggravated assault in this case was a 53 year-old federal auditor and Army veteran. Did I mention he was also a church deacon?
"I've actually heard callers on talk radio say that this guy deserved what he got for wearing a Texas T-shirt into a bar in the middle of Sooner country," Irven Box, an attorney near Norman, Oklahoma, told the Associated Press last week.
So it goes.
So before some of you trash sports like football and boxing for being two violent, take a look at the actions of soccer moms at the Pee-Wee level.
It makes me wonder if a gladiator in ancient Rome ever took a breather during his battle to the death, motioned at the crowd, and said to the other combatant, "Did you get a load of this crowd? Man, they are animals!"
So when my sister-in-law called me and asked me if I wanted two tickets to the Jets game this weekend, I told her no thanks, I'll sit in my Addidas pants on my couch and watch the NFL Ticket with the rowdy friends that I choose to hang out with.
I get it now, Dad. And if the day ever comes that I'm a parent and need to take my kids to a live sporting event, I'm simply going to cross my fingers and hope that the three drunken fans behind me pass out before halftime.