2008 TKD Board Break a thon

I have been studying Tae Kwon Do for a over 2 years now and and have been sharing my story with everyone here about my success. Well our academy's booster club has an annual community fundraising event,a board break-a-thon, and all of the proceeds go to the Katy ISD D.A.R.E program. The past 2 years we have raised over $4500 per year as a group for the program and we want to do even better this year. It is a good program and a lot of fun for all of those that participate.

I hope to raise at least $400 this year if possible, and it all comes down to you my friends and readers. What I am looking for is for you all to sponsor my daughters in this event. For every $5 donated they get to break a board. So we are looking to get donations towards 80 boards, now I know that sounds like a lot but knowing my kids they will rip through that in no time flat.

As an added bonus if anyone wants, I will provide photos of myself or my kids breaking the boards that are purchased by anyone who sponsors us. And if you want I will even make sure your name is on the board. Please help support D.A.R.E. You can contact me through here or via E-mail at wtweldon@yahoo.com and use TKD in the subject line.



Thanks again,

Black Belt Expectations

It has been a crazy month, let alone the past couple of weeks, what with all of the personal excitement and nerves about my latest Tae Kwon Do belt testing. Now you may be wondering why this event is any more important than any other belt testing, and that is understandable, so let me provide some background.

Two years ago this August I signed up for a 3 class trial of Tae Kwon Do at the academy that my daughters had spent the summer at. I was 39 years old weighed about 225 to 230 lbs and my cholesterol was at around 235. Add on top of that my diet consisted of fast foods, soft drinks, and candy. Yes I was a walking advertisement for medicine companies and the US heart association. I could not walk up one flight of stairs with out getting out of breath, and could barely do anything physical with my children with out needing an oxygen tank. I realized at that time that if I did not do something I would, despite not drinking or smoking, be in the hospital with a heart attack, or worse dead in the next 5 to 10 years.

So I did something that up until last month, my mother though I was crazy for doing, I tried out martial arts, Tae Kwon Do to be specific, I saw several older adult males in the class and figured if they were able to do it I should be able to as well, especially since I was at one time a respectable college level swimmer as well as could hold my own in other sports. So with a summer of watching my daughters and a little courage I signed up for the trial class package, which is actually a really good value, $19.95 for 3 lessons and you are provided a uniform as well. So it actually is a great deal and the opportunity to try something at a very reasonable price.

Well needless to say even before my first class I was interested, I walked on the training mat, a 39 yr old overweight, former college athlete, and was immediately greeted by two Black belts and a Green Belt who came over and welcomed me and offered words of encouragement ranging from glad to have you, to just do what you can and do not be afraid to ask questions. Needless to say that first lesson was if not completely forgettable, it was an experience, I had considered myself a reasonably agile and limber person from my swimming days. Suffice it to say I was neither agile nor limber, and I walked off of the mat soaked in sweat, tired and wondering if I had done the right thing. The next morning my body reminded me of just exactly how out of shape I was, I ached all over, and also in places that I did not know I could ache, but for the first time in nearly 15 years it was a good ache, my body was telling me that I was doing something good and I was reminded of all of the time I spent in the pool and in the gym, and all of the blood, sweat and pain I went through to accomplish what I did, and you know what it was something that I realized that I had missed these past 15 years.

Fast forward through twenty months of classes, aches, sore joints, failures, successes, significant diet changes, as well as the multiple belt tests and tournaments, and we come to the last weekend in March of this year. I am now a senior Red Belt and am testing for my level 1 First degree Black Belt, also called probationary rank, however instead of doing things the easy way, I attempted to test for my level 1 instructor certification. Double dipping at a testing is not always the best thing to do, especially when you are making a major jump in rank like I was. I knew I was taking a calculated risk doing this however I felt that if I was not prepared for both I was not prepared for one. So everyone who was testing lines up and warms up, and I am getting focused upon my belt testing, and things are going well. I feel good, stretch out well and go and sit down waiting to be called up to test when I am thrown the ultimate curve ball, the head of the academy that I attend starts to talk about the instructor certification program, and at that time I realize that my belt testing is going to come second and that I need to switch mindsets. As the description of the program is finished and my name is called, I take a deep breath, answered up sharply and moved to my position on the floor. I can only guess why they chose to run things in this order, maybe it was because he wanted to see me at my freshest when testing for the instructor certification, maybe it was because he wanted to see how those being tested would react to an unpredicted change of plans, who knows? Needless to say I blew through that testing and did well, and I completed my belt testing with out so much as a single mistake.

So I walk out of testing knowing I have done as well as I possibly can, and then the waiting starts. See we are not informed of our test results till the following Monday, at which time you will get a call from the academy if you failed or No Changed at the test. Needless to say the waiting was the worst part, but nobody who tested from our family received that phone call. which meant not only did I pass my instructor test but also my belt test and was now a black belt. Now I have come to realize that being a black belt means being held to a higher standard both in the class room as well as outside of it, what I did not realize was that the standards for someone like me, an (supposedly mature) adult who is both a black belt and an instructor were even higher, not only am I expected to assist in lower classes but I also need to expect to be called upon in my own class to assist, demonstrate, or even teach some of the lower ranks if necessary. The ironic thing is some family members have asked me if I now regret taking on these responsibilities and I tell them emphatically, "not in the least, if anything I am enjoying the challenge of living up to what is expected of me."

Now I expect some of you are asking, well now that you have your black belt, what else do you plan on doing? Well to be honest, this rank is simply the beginning of the journey, my ultimate goal is to achieve both an advanced Black Belt rank (4th degree or higher) as well as becoming a level 4 or 5 instructor. Beyond that I do not know but as of now getting to, testing and passing my test for 4th degree Black belt is a journey that will take around 5 years of work, possibly more if for some reason I no-change, however that is one thing that I do have some control over, and to be honest with everyone, I will do everything that I possibly can to avoid that.

So back to my personal health, if you look back to when I started I was 39 yrs old, around 230 lbs, with a cholesterol of around 235, in less than 2 years I am down to between 200 and 205 lbs, and at last check my cholesterol was at 188. So it comes back to this, Tae Kwon Do has provided me with not only wonderful new challenges, but also probably has added maybe 10 or 20 years onto my life. Will I stop? not if I can avoid it, both for my physical as well as my mental health.

God bless and enjoy.

Board Break a thon Video

Rockets Roster setting up nicely for season

Ok we have all been busy waiting for football season to start, however I realized that we have been neglecting to talk about the one team in Houston that actually could be the best of the bunch.Yes I am talking about the Houston Rockets and what with the current trades and other injuries that have occured in the past month, the Rockets are looking more like a contender than ever before. They have quality depth, and a good mix of youth and veterans to really succeed in the Western Conference. Why do I say that well let's look at the roster as it stands right now

Potential Starters
7 Mike James PG 6-2 195
1 Tracy McGrady GF 6-8 223
4 Luis Scola F 6-9 230
31 Shane Battier SF 6-8 220
11 Yao Ming C 7-6 310

First 4 off Bench
44 Chuck Hayes F 6-6 238
6 Bonzi Wells SG 6-5 210
3 Steve Francis PG 6-3 195
45 Jackie Butler FC 6-10 260

Final 3 active roster spots
0 Aaron Brooks G 6-0 160
13 Kirk Snyder SG 6-6 225
2 Luther Head G 6-3 185


3 potential for inactive list
20 Steve Novak F 6-10 220
9 Justin Reed SF 6-8 238
14 Carl Landry F 6-7 245

Trade Bait
15 John Lucas PG 5-11 165
12 Rafer Alston PG 6-2 175
3 Bob Sura G 6-5 200

D- League possible
21 Brad Newley G 6-7 201
29 Mike Harris F 6-6 240

Now the final 6 may change depending upon what sort of health issues occur but this team is sitting pretty right now what with plenty of depth at guard and maybe more depth if Mutombo comes back for one more year.

Can they get anything for Sura, Alston, or Lucas, maybe you never know. But at least the season is starting with some optimism

Houston Texans Preview - Part 2 Defense

It is time to take the next step in examining the 2007 Houston Texans. This time around I will be looking at the defense, starting with the defensive line. The roster currently shows the following players for the Texans at DL.

93 Jason Babin DE 27 6-2 259 4 Western Michigan
60 Earl Cochran DE 26 6-5 284 1 Alabama State
94 N.D. Kalu DE 32 6-3 265 11 Rice
97 Alfred Malone DE 25 6-5 308 3 Troy
92 Anthony Weaver DE 27 6-3 280 6 Notre Dame
90 Mario Williams DE 22 6-7 291 2 North Carolina State
79 Tim Bulman DT 24 6-3 300 3 Boston College
96 Thomas Johnson DT 26 6-2 298 3 Middle Tennessee State
99 Travis Johnson DT 25 6-3 305 3 Florida State
78 Cedric Killings DT 29 6-2 310 5 Carson-Newman
95 Anthony Maddox DT 28 6-1 305 3 Delta State
- Amobi Okoye DT 20 6-2 287 R Louisville
- Thomas Smith DT 24 6-3 300 R Pittsburgh
90 Jeff Zgonina DT 37 6-2 290 15 Purdue

The team will rotate probably 6 or 8 players in the line over the course of any game. Weaver, Williams, Okoye, Maddox look to be the starters with the Johnsons, Malone, Kalu as the next wave, and Babin and Zgonina as the final pair in the ten that may make this team. This unit is under the microscope what with four first round picks and two that are top ten picks at that. They need to be able to put pressure on the quarterback without any blitzing LB's or DB's and at the same time be able to keep the linebackers free and clear so that they can play the run better.

The linebackers this year look as solid and deep as they have since the first year that the team was in existance.

50 Charlie Anderson LB 25 6-4 243 4 Mississippi
56 Shawn Barber LB 32 6-2 240 10 Richmond
94 Marcus Bell LB 30 6-1 245 4 Arizona
51 Trent Bray LB 24 6-1 237 1 Oregon State
54 Danny Clark LB 30 6-2 245 8 Illinois
- Zach Diles LB 22 6-0 240 R Kansas State
56 Morlon Greenwood LB 29 6-0 238 7 Syracuse
53 Shantee Orr LB 26 6-0 250 5 Michigan
59 DeMeco Ryans LB 23 6-2 235 2 Alabama
59 Zac Woodfin LB 24 6-1 235 1 UAB

The starting trio of Anderson, Ryans and Greenwood, could be as good as most other LB lineups in the league, and I really think that after this season if they continue to produce as they are capable of doing you will be hearing them listed as one of the top five LB corps in the league. Ryans is without a doubt the leader of this group and he leads by example both on and off the field. He is one of the hardest workers and spends more time in the film room than most of the rest of the team. The team will probably keep 4 or 5 more LB's some of which will be primarily for special teams, that being said the 5 I see as staying around are Orr, Clark, Barber, Bell, Diles, and maybe Woodfin, on the practice squad.

Defensive Back is where we could have some change when it comes to who is playing as well as who is on the team.

22 Roc Alexander CB 25 5-10 190 4 Washington
- Fred Bennett CB 23 6-1 199 R South Carolina
38 DeMarcus Faggins CB 28 5-10 178 6 Kansas State
21 Jamar Fletcher CB 27 5-10 186 7 Wisconsin
26 Jason Horton CB 27 6-0 190 4 North Carolina A&T
34 Von Hutchins CB 26 5-9 181 4 Mississippi
20 Dexter McCleon CB 33 5-10 195 10 Clemson
28 Chris McKenzie CB 25 5-8 182 2 Arizona State
23 Dunta Robinson CB 25 5-10 174 4 South Carolina
40 John Walker CB 24 6-1 200 1 USC
25 Dexter Wynn CB 26 5-9 177 4 Colorado State
24 C.C. Brown S 24 6-0 208 3 Louisiana-Lafayette
26 Glenn Earl S 26 6-1 215 4 Notre Dame
- Brandon Harrison S 22 6-2 210 R Stanford
30 Jason Simmons S 31 5-9 199 10 Arizona State

There is plenty of competition this year in the defensive backfield and the only position that is a lock is Dunta Robinson's. There will be competion for all of the other 3 starting spots as well as for the backups, that and there will be a couple of spots for those playing special teams, including punt and kick returner. Roc Alexander is out for the season so that will give someone else some more reps and the chance to make an impression.

Pre Season Look at Houston Texans - Part 1 - Offense

Today instead of sitting around waiting for the Astros to not make a trade that will help them in the future, I have embarked upon a journey of examination. Where I will look at the Houston Texans roster position by position, starting with the offensive side of the ball. If you sit down and take a look at the Texans depth chart on ESPN.com or even the one on NFL.com you can see that the roster has has some serious turnover in the past two season and will be quite different this year as well. That being said it is time to dig a little deeper and see what we can find, starting with the receivers.

The depth chart and roster looks a like this with starters in boldand third and fourth WR italic:

19 Charlie Adams WR 27 6-2 190 5 Hofstra
14 David Anderson WR 24 5-10 193 2 Colorado State
18 Andre Davis WR 28 6-1 195 6 Virginia Tech
80 Andre Johnson WR 26 6-3 219 5 Miami (FL)
81 Bethel Johnson WR 28 5-11 200 5 Texas A&M
- Jacoby Jones WR 23 6-4 210 R Lane
13 Jerome Mathis WR 24 5-11 172 3 Hampton
87 Keenan McCardell WR 37 6-1 191 16 UNLV
85 Kevin Walter WR 25 6-3 214 5 Eastern Michigan
86 Harry Williams WR 24 6-2 186 1 Tuskegee

Assuming that Jacoby Jones makes the roster then you are looking at a contest between Adams, Anderson, Bethel Johnson, Jerome Mathis, and Harry Williams for the final spot on the team. I give the advantage to Bethel Johnson with Charlie Anderson and Jerome Mathis as the next two on the list. Now if Mathis shows that he can stay healthy and also shows that he can run routes as a viable extra receiver then he moves to the front of this list because of his ability on kickoff returns, otherwise he may be gone. But no matter how you look at it there is some talent behind Andre Johnson, and the competition between those in the #2 to #7 spot will only make everyone better.

Now as far as the tight ends go:
87 Mark Bruener TE 34 6-4 258 13 Washington
81 Owen Daniels TE 24 6-3 247 2 Wisconsin
83 Joel Dreessen TE 25 6-4 260 3 Colorado State
88 Jeb Putzier TE 28 6-4 256 6 Boise State
82 Ben Steele TE 29 6-5 260 3 Mesa State

Owen Daniels is the starter and showed during the first half of the season that he can be an effective target over the middle as well as a reasonable pass blocker, Mark Bruener provides the team with the extra tackle like tight end, and Putzier provides excellent depth as well as another good pass catcher. We look solid at this position, granted we do not have a superstar here but some of the best teams have consistent play from this position, there are very few that stay in the same category as Tony Gonzales, or Todd Heap.

Running Back, the position that has caused the second most trouble as far as having a healthy body that can provide a consistent running attack:
43 Jameel Cook RB 28 5-10 237 7 Illinois
36 Ron Dayne RB 29 5-10 245 8 Wisconsin
35 Samkon Gado RB 24 5-11 226 3 Liberty
30 Ahman Green RB 30 6-0 218 10 Nebraska
44 Vonta Leach RB 25 6-0 250 4 East Carolina
33 Wali Lundy RB 23 5-10 214 2 Virginia
27 Chris Taylor RB 23 5-11 220 1 Indiana
Patrick Pass

With the signing of Ahman Green, and Ron Dayne healthy we have two veteran RB's who can still contribute. Vonta Leach is a very good fullback and excellent lead blocker, that several teams tried to sign away from the Texans in the off season. Chris Taylor who showed some promise at the end of last season is out for the year with a knee injury, so the final two spots will probably go to Wali Lundy, and Patrick Pass who was just signed. Pass can play both halfback and fullback, and brings the experience of three Super Bowls from New England.

Quarterback is an easy one to talk about:
5 Quinton Porter QB 24 6-5 233 1 Boston College
18 Sage Rosenfels QB 29 6-4 225 7 Iowa State
8 Matt Schaub QB 26 6-5 237 4 Virginia
10 Bradlee Van Pelt QB 27 6-2 220 3 Colorado State

Schaub is the starter and right now I would bet that Atlanta would surrender about five times what we gave them to get him back. That being said Rosenfels is a very capable backup, and the third spot will probably go to Van Pelt because he knows the system.

Now to the the biggest question mark on this team, the offensive line.
58 Mike Flanagan C 33 6-5 301 12 UCLA
55 Drew Hodgdon C 25 6-3 309 3 Arizona State
76 Steve McKinney C 31 6-4 302 10 Texas A&M
48 Bryan Pittman C 30 6-3 270 5 Washington
68 Chris White C 24 6-2 285 3 Southern Miss
71 Kevin Barry OT 28 6-4 332 5 Arizona
65 Jordan Black OT 27 6-5 310 5 Notre Dame
- Brandon Frye OT 24 6-4 300 R Virginia Tech
74 Ephraim Salaam OT 31 6-7 300 10 San Diego State
77 Charles Spencer OT 25 6-5 351 1 Pittsburgh
73 Eric Winston OT 23 6-6 311 2 Miami (FL)
71 Atlas Herrion OG 26 6-4 305 1 Alabama
62 Scott Jackson OG 27 6-4 300 3 Brigham Young
69 Chester Pitts OG 28 6-3 320 6 San Diego State
- Kasey Studdard OG 23 6-3 310 R Texas
70 Fred Weary OG 29 6-4 308 6 Tennessee
72 Zach Wiegert OG 34 6-5 309 13 Nebraska

The starting five at this time is Flanagan at center, Pitts and Weary at guard, Salaam and Winston at tackle, with McKinney and Weigert and Jordan Black as the first three off the bench. The one thing that Coach Kubiak wants out of his linemen on both sides of the ball, is for them to be able to change positions, that is why McKinney, Black and Weigert get the nod at this time because they are versatile. The wild cards in this discussion are Charles Spencer, who is recovering from an injury, Brandon Frye, and Kasey Studdard who are rookies and possibly candidates for the practice squad, as well as Bryan Pittman the long snapper and Drew Hodgodon who is learning to play guard. This line is not full of superstars but they are getting younger and more talented. There is finally some competition for spots, which means players cannot just sit back and expect to be starters.

So in conclusion with the exception of Schaub, Andre Johnson, and Ahman Green, expect to see plenty of competition for both roster spots as well as playing time once the season starts. The offense will be better this year, if only in the fact that they will be more consistent with another year under Kubiak's leadership, as well as getting some more veteran play makers on the field. If things go well we will see some nice numbers put up by this unit.

What do you all think....

Commentary: Pro athletes must leave their pasts behind

Commentary: Pro athletes must leave their pasts behind - CNN.com

It is so nice to see these sorts of commentaries regarding the bad behavior of professional athletes. It is even nicer to see these comments coming from someone who is the same race as the majority of the offenders. Roland Martin is a radio talk show host in Chicago so he has seen and followed one of the worst offenders as his career has gone from talented young player to convicted felon, and that is Tank Johnson. Now granted Johnson is only the tip of the iceberg but as Martin points out so well, he is exactly what is wrong with society today. Look at what he says

Casual observers are quick to suggest that these are nothing more than spoiled, rich athletes who revel in the bad-boy side. What they don't understand is most of them were either bad boys growing up, or they now choose to associate themselves with bad boys who don't care about their big contracts and grown-up responsibilities. Their only focus is to party like a rock star.

It would be wrong to suggest that grown men can't make their own decisions, but the fact is the company you keep plays a role in keeping your business private, or seeing it spread on the front page.

He is right on target with these comments, and he also shows that if a one of these young men wants to change they can, but it will require hard and usually uncomfortable choices of who they associate with.

Denver Nuggets guard Allen Iverson can preach on this subject for days.
When he was in his first couple of years in the league, Iverson was running hard with his "crew," a collection of guys who he grew up with. He told reporters that they often discussed taking care of each other, so when he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, they traveled with him to the City of Brotherly Love.
But instead of truly loving him like a brother and protecting his back, they made his life even more difficult. The team, and subsequently the NBA, got tired of the arrests and police interrogations, and told Iverson to cut his ties with his past or lose the gravy train he was riding on.
He got the message and changed.

Yes Iverson still has his tattoo but I have no problem with that. They are a personal decision on what to do to your body, that each individual has control over. What your "posse" does while living off your hard work and talent is another thing. Again it comes down to hard choices between your past and your future.

That's really what the problem is for guys like Vick, Jones and so many others. Many grew up poor, and it was their athletic talent that kept them from falling victim to the streets.
See, the money is irrelevant here. What they are most afraid of is losing the support system -- no matter how detrimental -- and then being branded a traitor for turning their back on the guys who were there when they had nothing.
You don't have to admit it, but that's a serious guilt trip that can eat some folks alive.

Everyone is tired of their acts. Now it's time for them to decide whether saying no to their "friends" is worth losing everything they worked so hard to get.

Martin is correct and if more people learn from what Adam "pacman" Jones, and Tank Johnson have done in continuing to pollute their lives, then can learn even more from what Iverson has done to clean up his life.

Top ten College Sports arenas

CNNSI has a photo essay of the top 10 college sports arenas and for the most part I agree with it, however the order I cannot agree with. The list was in order :

1. The Rose Bowl
2. Cameron Indoor Arena
3. The Swamp
4. The Big House
5. Rosenblatt Stadium
6. The Palestra
7. Michie Stadium
8. Mariucci Arena
9. Charles River
10. Allen Fieldhouse

Now as far as I am concerned seven of the ten belong two are maybes and one just does not belong at all. I am sorrry, but as beautiful as the Charles River is it is not a sports arena, it is a natural event. I refuse to classify anything that is not constructed by man as a sports arena, plain and simple. The Rose Bowl and Rosenblatt, while both impressive and having outstanding histories, just don't cut it, they are for the most part special events arena on the college scene, and I know those in so-cal would say other wise, but UCLA does not fill the stadium up when it plays home games there, with the exception of the USC game. So that leaves the other seven

1. Cameron Indoor Arena
2. The Swamp
3. The Big House
4. The Palestra
5. Michie Stadium
6. Mariucci Arena
7. Allen Fieldhouse

and what other three places would I put on the list, well I would add LSU's stadium, Assembly Hall at Indiana, and Kyle Field, Memorial Stadium, or Nebraska's stadium, and possibly Reckling Park at Rice University as others.

Texans Preview

Well the Texans open training camp in ten days and it is about time for everyone in the city to start their annual Super Bowl dream sequence where your team is there and you are watching and hear this.....(cue the music). Then after 6 weeks of training camp and 4 meaningless pre season games, you sit down on sunday to hear the pregame show and then wait to see if you can catch any highlights on sports center. When deep down you know that eight wins will be a rousing success, espcially for the Texans that have had only one season where they have had one season where they even had a chance to see a .500 record at the end of the year. So now that I have burst your bubble, I will proceed to tell you why I think this season will be the most successful in Texans history.

1. First for the team to have its' most successful season it only needs to win eight games


2. the schedule is layed out that with some good luck ( and we all know they are due ) that there are 10 yes 10 games that they could win.


3. of those 10 wins 6 are games they should win because of who and where they are playing.


4. the off season roster moves made by GM Rick Smith are designed to bring some depth to a team that has been horribly under skilled the past couple of years.


5. the team has drafted well over the past two years, and the majority of those drafted have been on the defensive side of the ball, which is getting younger and faster and played much better over the last quarter of the season last year


6. We have a quarterback who is dedicated to winning and working hard to win


7. and finally the team is starting to get more tallent on the roster from top to bottom

All of that being said, there are still questionmarks on this team. These include the second WR position, is Kevin Walther the one to become the compliment to Andre Johnson? Will Charles Spencer return and be able to play again thus making the offensive line that much better? How will Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye blend, and can they become a dominant force on the defensive line? Will Jerome Mathis stay healthy for a full season and become at least a partial threat as a reciever? How long will Ahman Green hold up, and who will develop behind him, Wali Lundy, Chris Taylor? Will Jacoby Jones become the next Marques Colston and tear up the league after coming from a smaller college program? Will the defensive line stay healthy enough so that we will have some consistancy from that group? Can the team avoid a serious injury to a key player for the first time in it's history? If after the season we can say yes to these eight questions then we should be talking about a very fun and exciting and successful season.

Now does this gaurantee that the Texans will win 8 games or more this year? No they still have the games to play, but that being said I can honestly say that for the first time in the 6 years that they have been around there is not a game that I will sit down and watch and know that no matter what they do they have no chance of winning that game. As long as they can stay healthy and find some production from several key players this team will be prepared to play, they will play hard, and they will play smart. They should be fun to watch as well.

Let camp and the speculation begin.

Headlines I have collected

Ex-Marine, 72, Teaches Pickpocket a Lesson
New Jersey mutt wins ugliest dog crown in California
Judge rejects $54 million lawsuit over lost pair of pants
Millionaire, 84, died fleeing Harris probate court
Disney to scrap lucrative direct-to-DVD animated sequels
Is Earmark Disclosure a True Measure of Transparency? Actually the question is do we actually have a conservative or at least honest democrat?
Embattled Duke Rape Case Prosecutor Mike Nifong Could Get Jail Time
Senate Votes to Increase Fuel Economy Standards in Cars, SUVs
Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barbara Boxer Dispute Conversation About Reining in Conservative Talk Radio So who do you believe, a moderate/conservative republican or two flaming liberals
Prince William Turns 25, Gains Part of Diana's Inheritance Now the question is will he be king instead of his father, and who will he marry....
Bush Administration Opposes Making Immigration Bill Easier on Employers
Vatican Reverses Annulment of Ex-Rep. Joseph Kennedy's First Marriage
Computer Hacking Plagues Department of Homeland Security
County rescinds Westpark Tollway fee hike
Plan for new taxes on oil companies stalls
N.H. Town Hopes to End Standoff Between Police and Couple Barricaded in Home Since January
FOHacker Claims to Have Posted 'Harry Potter' Plot on Internet
Police Say Washington Baby Died After Mom Taped Pacifier in Infant's Mouth
The perils of carving a path to the Taliban's front door
Fireworks sales likely to blast off
Duke prosecutor testifies; ex-lacrosse player weeps

Are we nearing the end in the Duke Lacross Rape story?

Here we go with the final chapters of the Duke Lacross Rape case.
to summarize
1) Duke Lacross team has a party, strippers are invited
2) underage drinking occurs
3) one of the strippers, a black woman, with a past history accuses them of rape.
4) the DA, in a tight race for re-election takes the case
5) People are up screaming for these rich spoiled brats to face justice.
6) DNA testing is done to verify if a crime occurred
7) The accuser's background is made public, and her credibility is brought into question.
8) the DA calls the Duke players hooligans and swears that they will face a trial.
9) Charges of rape are brought on 3 of the players
10) DNA Testing shows that the 3 are innocent
11) The DA refuses to release all DNA Testing
12) the accuser' changes her story so many times, any reasonable person would question its truth.
13) Duke suspends the lacross teams season and fires the coach
14) the DA wins re-election
15) Pressure to drop the charges because there is no evidence increases
16) the DA turns the case over to the State AG for completion
17) the State AG drops the charges and calls the DA's actions deplorable
18) DA faces multiple charges both civil, criminal, and professionally
19) DA is disbarred for over 10 violations of conduct code but he shows no remorse

District Attorney Mike Nifong was disbarred Saturday for his "selfish" rape
prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players -- a politically motivated
act, his judges said, that he inexplicably allowed to fester for months after it
was clear the defendants were innocent.
"This matter has been a fiasco.
There's no doubt about it," said F. Lane Williamson, the chairman of the
three-member disciplinary committee that stripped the veteran prosecutor of his
state law license.
Even Nifong and his attorneys supported the decision,
though the veteran prosecutor refused to admit to the end that no crime occurred
at a March 2006 lacrosse team party

20) DA resigns from office and offers to leave middle of July
21) State superior court judge bars DA from office and removes him from his position ASAP
22) Duke and accused players reach settlement

The players said in a joint statement that they hoped the agreement would "begin
to bring the Duke family back together again."
"The events of the last year
tore the Duke community apart, and forcibly separated us from the university we
love," they said. "We were the victims of a rogue prosecutor concerned only with
winning an election, and others determined to railroad three Duke lacrosse
players and to diminish the reputation of Duke University."

23) NCAA gives accused players extra year of elegibility

OK now with all of this that has happened over the past 13 months, have we learned anything? I would say no, simply because there are still to many people who feel that they deserve something, and will do anything to get it. The DA in this case was so desperate to get elected after being appointed to the position last year that he failed to look at the whole picture, as well as failed to keep is personal feelings out of the case. He is lucky that he only lost his job and not all of his retirement and benefits. But that may well be coming as it looks like the 3 young men who were WRONGLY accused of this crime are looking into a civil case against the DA. I hope they take him for everything he has and he has to start over. I will not say that this is a liberal democrat that is getting busted, but what it is plain and simple is a person who let their ambitions and the public outcry and outright local hatred of a group that was better off than them cloud his decision making to the point that he eventually realized that he could not just walk away with out completely losing all credibility. He has convinced himself that a crime did occur, and that he simply pursued the wrong "criminals". Really sad if you ask me.

Time to for the Astros to be HONEST with the fans, as well as themselves

Ladies and Gentlemen, after last night I have officially declared this years Houston Astros season DEAD... Yes I know that there is still more than half the season left, but this team has shown me no spark, no cohesiveness that I have seen from teams in the past. It is time for Drayton to give GM Tim Papura the green light to make some wholesale changes and look to build a long term contender starting today.
Now here are some of the things that if I were GM would do:

• First I would sit down with Jason Jennings and get a long term deal worked out, and if that fails then I would admit that the trade was a mistake and get rid of him. Trade him to a contender and get a couple of prospects. As a team the Astros cannot afford to let this guy walk and only get a draft pick for him.
• Second I would make sure that Chris Burke got as much work at second base as possible, Biggio would play at most 3 days a week, and if that means he has to pinch hit to get more at-bats to get to 3k hits so be it.
• Next I would end this joke that is the Luke Scott, Jason Lane, are everyday MLB players, I would get Josh Anderson up here and see if he can cut it. Put him in the leadoff spot and hit Berkman 3rd, Lee 4th, and Pence 5th and see what happens.
• I would make sure that Eric Munson gets about 50% of the catching assignments
• I would be trading some of the following pitchers, Lidge, Wheeler, Qualls, Williams, Jennings if I cannot sign, for AA or A prospects.
• I would then bring up the kiddie corp of pitchers and let them go.

There is ZERO reason for this team to be bringing up players that are rookies that are 26-28 years old. It has been proven many times that 95% of all players have their best years between the ages of 26 and 31. So that means you should be seeing guys that are in their early 20's as rookies. There is no reason for someone who played 4 years of Division I college baseball to be sitting in high class A baseball 2 years after drafting them. The management of the development system for the Astros is screwed up and needs to be fixed.

The Astros are dead and we need to scrap this season and look towards next year and get some of the players that we know are dead wood out of here now and let the young talent see if they have what it takes. PLAIN AND SIMPLE

This crap has to stop and soon

I have been sitting back and watching what has been going on in Florida lately and I have had enough. No I am not talking about some political scandal involving Jeb Bush, or Kathleen Turner. I am talking about Billy Donovan, the onetime head basketball coach of both the University of Florida, as well as the Orlando Magic. As i said before in a previous post about how I can trust professional and college coaches about as far as you can throw them, I now am willing to move Donovan to the head of the class of liars, frauds and thieves. Here is a coach who after eleven yes eleven years at an institution, walks away for a huge contract to coach in the NBA. I have no problem with that, Donovan had a contract extension from the university in his desk drawer that he never signed. He had turned down other college coaching positions, and had said no to the NBA on at least two other occasions. So he decides to explore his options, and here come the Orlando Magic, a team that needs a good coach, and they throw almost SIX MILLION DOLLARS a year at the man. Only a fool would not look at the opportunity that was presented, however here is where Donovan, and many of the other frauds, go wrong. Instead of taking a couple of extra days and really going over the whole scenario with his family, Donovan apparently after only two days jumps at the money and the "prestige" of being an NBA head coach, then less than forty eight hours after he has signed his contract, and that is another mistake, Donovan tries to beg out of the contract. Here is a quote from Donovan on the whole fiasco.

"I realized in less than 24 hours after signing a contract with the Magic that I had made a mistake that had nothing to do with the Magic. Instead, I realized that, in my heart, I belonged in college basketball. As soon as I realized that, I contacted the Magic immediately to let them know. I have enormous respect for the Magic -- including the DeVos family, the management, the team and the fans.
"In these circumstances, it would have been entirely unfair to the Magic and their fans to have continued on. Although this has been a difficult time for everyone, for which I am profoundly sorry, in my heart I know that this is the right thing for the Magic and for me.
"It's my admiration for the whole Magic organization that led me to this course of action. I believe that the Magic has a great future ahead of them, and I wish them all the best."

All I have to say is BULL SHIT. I really am glad that as part of the agreement that was worked out there is a FIVE year no compete clause that keeps Donovan from being in the NBA. It does not preclude him going somewhere in the college ranks, however I really doubt that many Universities will want him now that they have seen that he is so willing to change his mind. I also hope that the new contract that he is about to sign with the University of Florida has some very stiff buyout/abandonment/resignation clauses in it, because the last thing they need is him bolting again and looking to come back.

Now I want to make one thing clear, Billy Donovan is a very bright and talented basketball coach, and he has proven that he can build a winning program at a school that for the most part is a football first athletic department. My issue is with the fact that as a coach, whether he likes it or wants to admit it, he is a role model for the young men that are on his squad. And his actions only show to those young men that contracts were made to be broken and that your word is only good until your feelings change on a subject. What sort of message is that sending? You tell me

What is happening in sports

Well two months have passed since I last graced these pages with my thougts, however a lot has gone on since then.

• I participated in the Fox Bloggers NFL draft


• The NFL draft happend


• the MLB season started


• The NBA Playoffs have been rolling along


• I changed jobs


• The Astros woke up and brought up Hunter Pence


• The Rockets flamed out in the first round again


• Then they fired their coach


• Roger Clemens decided that money and the Yankees were where he wanted to be


• The Rockets have hired a new coach


• The Astros continue to muddle along around .500


• NFL OTA's have begun


• More NFL players have been arrested


• More NFL players have opened their mouths to comment on issues and shown how stupid and out of touch with reality they really are


• More Steroid talk in MLB


• Barry Bonds chases Hank Aaron and Hank could care less


• Bud Selig again comes off looking like the fool he is with regards to steroids and Barry


• Craig Biggio approaches 3000 hits and in the process is dragging down his team


• Brad Lidge explodes and loses his closers job less than one month into the season


• The NBA Draft Lottery happens and the 3 teams that tanked the last third of the season did not get one of the top 3 picks


• Florida Repeated as NCAA basketball champions


• College Baseball and Softball seasons rolled on to conclusion


• NHL Playoffs have started


• I have tested for my Senior Blue Belt in Tae Kwon Do and was successful.

So there you go a quick overview of what is going on in the world of sports through today. I hope that I'll have time to write up a couple of articles about some of these events with more detail soon.

Later all

Sports headlines since 4-10-07

Yao takes blame for Rockets' first-round loss

Clemens will reunite with Pettitte in New York

Jazz top Rockets in Game 7 to advance in playoffs

Crasnick: Meet the best defensive shortstop in baseball

Amaechi 'caught up in the whirlwind' after coming out

ESPN The Magazine: John Amaechi Busts Out

Amaechi in speech: 'I underestimated America'

ESPN The Magazine: Open Look

Texans make more moves....

Well the Houston Texans have finally made their big pre-draft move. And what a move it is, they have traded 2 second round picks for Matt Schaub. This trade marks the end of the David Carr experiment by the current coaching staff and at the same time also shows that Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak are serious about changing the direction that this team is going. Granted the true results of this offseason will eventually be played out on the field I like what has been done to change the atmosphere and roster over the past 2 seasons. With the exception of a few of the better performers almost all of the players on this next years roster will be chosen by Kubiak and Smith. Here is a quick rundown of new Houston Texans....

First we start with the new quarterback Matt Schaub, he is 25 years old 6'5" and 235 lbs. He has great upside and has shown that he is a hard working student of the game. He will put in the effort to learn the offense as well as spend the time needed to get a good raport with his teammates. I like the pickup, even if we ended up giving up draft picks, there is not a quarterback in the draft this year, nor last year that would be able to come in and make a big enough of a difference, without other players on both sides of the ball.Now on to those new free agent signings.

The Texans were in Salary Cap Hell this year at the start of the Free Agent period. They had about $13 million in available cap space and over $20 million in dead money sitting on the books. First thing the team did was to dump several players that have not lived up to their cost either because of injury or age or both. Eric Moulds was a good 1 year pickup simply because he was the type of player who could teach Andre Johnson how to take his game to the next level and it showed in J0hnson's season. But Moulds showed he has lost a step and is not the best complimentary player for Johnson now. Also going were Seth Payne and Zach Weigert, both because of injuries and age. Those departures and Andre Johnson redoing his contract gave the Texans the needed space to make the following moves.

First they signed Ahman Green to a 4 year front loaded contract. If anyone thinks Green is going to see the end of that contract then they are crazy. He is a 2 maybe 3 year signing who will allow the Texans to either develop another RB or find one in the draft during that time. Yes he has had injuries before but we still have several functional backups in Ron Dayne, Chris Taylor and Walli Lundy. And before anyone says that these guys are chopped liver they did a fine job over the last 4 weeks of the season running for an average of 150 yards a game which is one reason that the Texans went 6-10.
Next the Texans also have addressed the Offensive line issues in several ways, first they resigned Ephriam Salaam, who can play both tackle positions, and they added Jordan Black who is a young lineman who can play either guard or tackle. This leaves them with several young athletic linemen who will all be competing for spots in the starting lineup. Even if Charles Spencer does not come back this season the offensive line will be better because with Eric Winston, Black, Chester Pitts, and possibly another young linemen drafted in the middle rounds they will be set at the guard and tackle position for several years. Salaam, McKinney and Hogdon, provide depth and flexability that they have not had up to this point. Now I know people are going to say that we don't have any superstars on the O-line but if you look at the best 3 o-lines in the NFL, Indy San Diego, and Pittsburgh none of them have super stars, they have 5 or 6 guys that play hard and play smart, and on any year potential pro bowl performers.

The final moves that the Texans have made and it has all been very quiet, they have improved their depth and tallent level in both the Defensive line and Linebackers. They have signed Jeff Zgonina, Shawn Barber and Danny Clark to contracts that are 1 to 3 years in length for reasonable salaries. All three guys are vets who know what it takes to win as well as have histories of success in the NFL. None of them are world beaters, however you need what I call lunchpail players on your roster to make things work, you cannot have superstars at every position, just look at the Washington Redskins and the New York Yankees. These teams were winners when they had the old school blue collar players on the roster. The heros of those early Yankee teams were a>not the superstars but guys who simply went out every day and busted their backsides and played hard. That is what Zgonina, Barber, Clark bring to the team, and maybe, just maybe they can help some of these young players who do not understand about what it takes to be a success in this league see the light.

So there you have it. The Texans have been blasted by national and local "experts" for not being more of a "player" in the free agent period, but as you see Rick Smith and Gary Kubiak have very quietly done some quality work filling up some of the holes that are on this roster. But they still need to have a good draft to make the off season a success. As of right now their grade is a B- but depening upon the draft it could end up as an A. We will see, the draft is April 28-29.

I'll talk to you after the draft

One more voice saying celebs are not role models

I am always thrilled when someone stands up and either questions or condemns the actions of someone from the "entertainment" industry. It does not matter if it is politics, fashion, or behavior. The sooner people realize that these people should always be held to a higher standard, as well as not be held in as high regard, we will be a whole lot better off.
The following article again sounds the warning that rich little tarts like Britteny Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan should never be role models and that the press is responsible for their continuing inappropriate behavior.

Here is what I mean.

I always cringe every time people show concern over the antics of celebrities and about the impact they can have over impressionable youngsters.

Other celebrities like Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan created their own uproar with sex tapes and flashing the paparazzi. In a two month time period, Lohan went panty-less four times in front of hordes of cameras. Consequently, a famous person being naked or at least giving full frontal nudity is more than enough to create a media sensation. And the tabloids and the press loved it.

Unfortunately, too many people have an unrealistic expectation of celebrities being role models to young people. Britney Spears is not a role model. And neither is Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan. More often than not, their outrageous behavior is done to garner publicity and attention or to feed their own insatiable egos.

The author is spot on about the fact that 99% of the actions that these young "ladies" do are to get more attention and feed their egos. If only someone had been there when they were younger to hold them accountable for their actions, things might be different.

But if parents in particular and society in general are actually expecting these beautiful sexy starlets to be positive role models to young girls, then they are going to be terribly disappointed.

NBA superstar Charles Barkely created a backlash when he adamantly insisted that he is not a role model. Lots of people were taken aback and some basketball fans were furious by such a bold but truthful statement. But as iconoclastic as Barkley is, he is definitely right when he further asserted that ordinary people like parents and teachers ought to be the role models for kids.

And it is also time for ordinary people like parents to step up to the plate and behave like mature responsible adults so that they can give kids the direction and support they need, especially during the turbulent times of their lives. And most importantly, parents who create a nurturing environment can have a profound influence upon their children if they apply themselves to it and become a moral authority that can be respected.

However, if parents fail to step up to the plate and assert their influence, then Britney Spears and others will be more than happy to influence the next generation of youth.

Headlines for Today

7 Large Tunnels Beneath U.S.-Mexican Border Raising Security Concerns

London Prison Changes Direction of Toilets in Respect to Islamic Law
The Wealthy Far More Likely to Be Audited on Their Taxes

Cops Taser Student Running Naked Through High School Cafeteria

Microsoft Releases Windows Vista to Masses

12-Year-Old Boy Becomes 14-Year-Old Girl, World's Youngest Sex Change Patient

Gaza Cease-Fire Between Hamas, Fatah Holding

Official: Siberian Girl Paid Teens $570 to Kill Parents

Saudi Official: We're Working With Lebanon to Calm Crisis in Iraq, Lebanon

WWII Vet, 84, Wins $254 Million Lottery Jackpot

Bonds passes physical, gets one-year deal from Giants

Super Bowl comes home

Hall of Famer Singletary to interview for Dallas job

If he returns, Clemens says it won't be full season

Greatest hits, in the palm of your hand

My first news and Headlines of the new year

Sorry it has taken so long to drop another of these out there, but I have been really busy at work and home. Hope to get back on to a more regular schedule here this week.


Air Force Staff Sergeant Relieved of Duties After Posing Nude in Playboy Had to start with this news article

Michelle Manhart's my space page

U.S. Embassy in Athens hit by terror attack it was only a matter of time

North Korea Seeks Giant Rabbits for Meat Production to Alleviate Food Shortage Kill the wabbit.....

Five Iranians Seized by U.S. Troops in Iraq Remain in Custody do you see any reason to be nice to Iran with things like this happening?

Where Parents Favor Baby Boys to Girls, China to Have 15M More Men Than Women in 20 Years

Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul Files Paperwork for 2008 Presidential Bid Maybe we can get some honest debate in the next election cycle

Democrats Choose Denver for 2008 Presidential Convention Most liberal town East of the Rockies and West of the Appalachains

Investors Sue to Block Former Home Depot CEO's $210 Million Severance Package If only we could sue professional sports teams for outrageous contracts.

Casino Mogul Wynn Sues Insurance Company After He Pokes $54M Hole in Picasso Painting Why should his clumsy act come out of our pockets

Will David Beckham Spark a Star Ad War in the U.S.? Who cares...

14 Carter Center Advisers Resign Over Former President Jimmy Carter's Book and this is important because...

Rare Turtle Turns Up in Thailand After Two Decades Where are the enviromentalist and their party

California State Panel Votes to Restrict Navy Use of Sonar This makes no sense

Texas High School Teacher Charged Under 'Peeping-Tom' Law for Videotaping Girls Wrestling look it is a Drama Perv... Sad...

Liars, Hippocrates, and Frauds

From the title you would think I am talking about lawyers, or politicians. No actually I am talking about a select few select coaches and professional sports owners. The list was a short one for a while but over the past few weeks it has seen several new members join the group.

Let us start with the star of the show Nick, "My heart was still in college" Saban. Here is a guy who is simply looking for the easiest way out of a tough situation. With all of the garbage that he has spouted the past two weeks about not being interested in the Alabama job and then all of a sudden signing a nice fat contract, the question comes up, will the recruits actually believe him when he comes knocking on their doors? This is a man who preaches about honesty, integrity, and commitment but he has yet to stay as the head coach of any one team for more than 5 years. Look at the list of schools/teams he has just up and left in a lurch because of his wonder lust. In reverse order of abandonment, Miami Dolphins, LSU, Michigan State. Do I really need to go any further. If the coaches in the SEC are smart they will use the fact that Saban has not seen a freshman that he recruited graduate since the mid 1990's and point out that he is one hot coaching job opening away from walking away from them as well.

Next on my list is Bobby" I am at Louisville for the long term" Petrino. He goes and less than one season after signing a 10 year extension, bolts to the NFL. This is after being interviewed for as many as 4 different positions last year in order to secure the extension that he signed and then bailed on after only 1 year. The good thing is Petrino has to pay the school 1 Million to break the contract, and I think that you will see more of these sorts of clauses in contracts to prevent schools from pillaging staffs.

It is one of those few times that I actually feel sorry for the kids that are on these teams. However it only lasts for a few moments, because they should know that about 75% of these men that are their coaches are looking for opportunities in which their own egos can be stroked and not looking out for what is best for the institution that they are working for, nor the young men that they are supposed to be teaching. The sad thing about this is that all it does is help reinforce the problem that is so prevalent in many minority communities, the absentee father. These young men see that it is alright to simply walk out on a commitment and not worry about the repercussions of those actions. That is really sad.

I was only going to talk about Saban and Petrino, however now that Todd Graham is leaving Rice as a direct result of Petrino leaving Louisville, and the Tulsa Coach leaving to go to Louisville, and Graham being hired as Tulsa coach less than 2 days after signing a contract extension. I applaud Graham for his hard work here on South Main but he is no better than the others that I have mentioned before. You can read the story about him leaving in the Chronicle.

I simply hope that Major Applewhite who was supposed to be named Offensive Coordinator at Alabama changes his mind and tries for the head spot at Rice, however the only thing that anybody should expect is that someone will be leaving somewhere and that some student athlete will end up getting the short end of the stick....