Ruth v. Bonds

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Ruth v. Bonds Current mood: annoyed Ok, ok, so I know I'm biased. I'm a Giants fan. I'm a Bonds fan. But more importantly, I'm of the opinion that sports, the athletes involved in them and the rules surrounding them only become more advanced as the years progress. In the past few weeks, there's been much talk about Ruth, Bonds, and the homerun chase. Everyone points to the ALLEGED (please, show me a blood test, or at least something more conclusive than rumors, allegations and the "schedules of drugs" brought out in the Game of Shadows.) steriod use by Bonds and claims that it taints his numbers and his currently tied status with Ruth. I say bullshit. Ruth played in a period of time where the rules were less advanced than they are now (not that that has anything to do with home runs), and where he was the reigning stud. Sure, he crushed home runs, he had a great career, but how many of the pitchers facing him used sliders, curve balls and fast balls, most of which topped out at 89+mph? How many pitchers in Ruth's day could put out a 101mph fastball? If Bonds played in Ruth's day, I think he'd be over the 800 mark...which brings me to the second part of my rant here... Oh that's right...he couldn't have played. Because they didn't allow hispanics, asians or blacks to play the game. So now we're supposed to believe that Ruth's accomplishment is as good or better than Bonds when he didn't play against anyone but other white baseball players? I don't think so. See, in a sport like baseball, and a category like home run hitting, it is all about who you're up against. Not only did Ruth not have to face anyone outside his own race, but the training techniques, throwing techniques and other intangibles were nowhere near as advanced as they are now. We could very well say that Pistol Pete was the best basketball player ever, which he might have been, had the league never opened up to black players...but he isn't. You can't just look at the records from a segregated time and equate the numbers to our current situation. Ruth made his mark against inferior opponents, drawn out for him by the racial lines our culture and society had built at that point. Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that Bonds did use steroids between 1999 and 2003...how many pitchers did he go against that were juiced? How much more spin and more speed were these pitchers able to throw at him? If anything, I think the training, techniques and competition of modern baseball make Bonds' accomplishment more substantial, not less. Finally, and this has almost nothing to do with baseball, but if you look at the way Ruth is revered, he's almost like a God. No one likes to mention that he was an alcoholic during the years of prohibition. He broke the law for years on end, living life hard and living it up, and we still look at him as the best in baseball history. I say let Ruth's mythical status die in the monochromatic league he played in. This is a new day and a new age, providing more equality and competition than Ruth probably ever imagined. He was a great man for the game, but his league was limited, his competition weaker, and in my mind, if he played today, he'd be lucky to hit 600, let alone 700.

The Texans Took Who?!

Monday, May 01, 2006

The Texans Took Who?!? Current mood: amused Hahahahahhahaha. Laugh. That's about all you can do when the number one team in the draft takes a defensive lineman over who could potentially end up being the best running back/receiver/return man in NFL history. If you don't want to take Bush because you want hometown hero Vince Young to bring in the ticket buyers, fine, that makes sense, but don't even try to pass off this bullshit like you took Williams over Bush because it was the right "football" move. a) It was a horrible football move. You just drafted a D Lineman over the consensus number 1 football player in the entire draft b) It wasn't a good personnel move. Last I checked, Houston won 2 games last year...so they're saying, by focusing the majority of their picks on defense, that David Carr and Dominack Davis are a good offensive duo. I think I'd actually qualify them as just plain offensive. c) It wasn't a good business decision. They just paid a number 2-5 pick 1st pick money. Didn't it occur to them that they could have traded to almost anyone in the first five spots, still gotten Mario Williams and paid him money that he's worth? I'm sorry, but no rookie D lineman, regardless of how good he may become someday, is worth 6 years at 54 million. Let's be real, the only person worth that type of money is someone scoring touchdowns for you...Vince Young, Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, Vernon Davis. How many touchdowns do the Texans think Williams will score for them this season? Good luck Houston. With this type of draft, you most certainly have a problem, and, more importantly, you now deserve to lose every game for the next five years with that type of draft day intelligence.

Good Job Construction Men

Friday, April 28, 2006

Good Job Construction Men Current mood: bouncy So they're doing a bunch of construction in our office...basically they're creating a stairway that will link our current first floor office to the second floor office we're adding in June. Well, yesterday, the fire alarm starts going off, followed by the sound of running water in the ceiling. About five minutes later, water starts raining from the ceiling and seeping out of the walls. Apparently, some genius broke through a water main and flooded a good portion of the second floor and our office as a result. On a follow up to a previous blog, now they're saying that the prostitute that is accusing the Duke lacrosse players apparently accused someone else of rape 10 years ago (for a rape that she said happened three years before she made the accusation)...looks more and more like a DA clusterfuck down in Durham. Watched Donnie Darko last night for the 10,000th time. God damn, that movie is frightening, funny, fantastic, melancholy and moving. How's that suit you suckers for some super strong alliteration? Sorry, it's Friday, I'm delirious, let this weekend begin......

Who Put the Best in CBEST?

Saturday, April 22, 2006

Who Put the BEST in CBEST? Current mood: amused So I go to take this test this morning in order to be qualified to substitute teach. CBEST. There's about 500 people at the testing facility and the test consists of three parts: reading, writing and mathematics. 50 multiple choice questions each in the reading and math, two essay responses in the writing. This test was a joke. Our educational system is a sad state of affairs when someone who can pass this test is allowed into the classroom. The reading is paragraph after paragraph with only 4 to 5 questions per passage. Very pathetic. The math is more a test of your patience in finishing it than anything else. The test is probably structured around the idea that half of the takers will doze off before they finish this crap. If these are the test scores of the students (list of scores here), what is the average class score? Here is a pie chart with only one percentage not filled in...what is that percentage? I don't deserve to substitute teach anyone, let alone be a high school graduate if you can't answer this thing. They give people 4 hours to finish this test. Oughta be called CWORST.

Duke Lacrosse Players

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Duke Lacrosse Players Current mood: disappointed Not that I'm maintaining that nothing happened, and not that I'm maintaining that the people they've charged are innocent, but this whole case strikes me as a little off. Last I checked, citizens in this country are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. It's bad enough that the court of public opinion has already condemned Barry Bonds, but here are two college students that have been accused of rape. Let's review the facts of the case...first, a DNA test of ALL the team players came back negative. Yet, even with no DNA, they're prosecuting these two guys. Secondly, and more importantly in my mind, apparently, one was at a restaurant when the party was happening, and the other is on camera at an ATM across town. Yet, despite a negative DNA test, and despite alibis that put them elsewhere during the party, these two guys are not only being charged, but suspended from Duke. Shouldn't Duke be waiting to hear if they're guilty before stopping them from attending school? This is starting to look more and more like a witchunt put on by a DA running for reelection and looking to make a statement. Apparently, things like "innocent until proven guilty," and "separation between church and state," don't mean quite as much as they used to.

Fuck the IRS

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Fuck the IRS Current mood: aggravated Ah, the Internal Revenue Sluts. Self employment tax, charging a portion before deductions come into play. And for what? So I can send more innocent people my age to Iraq? So I can drive on the same potholed streets that never seen to be fixed? Maybe it's so I can fund a drug war that is immoral and consistently draws attention, money and time from federal agents away from terrorism and other generally important things. Meanwhile, Bush has a plan, Congress bows to the Man, and we watch as the money gets pulled from our hands.

Welcome Friends, Robots, Countrymen

Friday, March 10, 2006

Welcome Friends, Robots, Countrymen Current mood: chipper So here I am. Unfiltered, untouched, unfuckwithable! Thinking about all those young impressionable catholic high school girls I teach to run finding my myspace profile and being shocked that I not only smoke pot, but also swing!? Jesus. That's not a conversation I want to have with parents or school administration. It made me cut out all the things that helped make me me, until my other myspace profile was but a hollow shell of the man known as Currier. So come here instead. The other one will exist, but in a form mostly there for business and other non-fun things. So kick back, relax, light up that massive spliff and don't forget who you're fucking dealing with here! p.s. party at cella's place tonight in the city.