Sports and politics do sometimes mix
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- January
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I have long discouraged political talk on this blog and that is still the case. Baseball should be a haven from such serious topics and emotions.
But as a new president is inaugurated today, I wanted to share this interesting column from ESPN’s Tom Farrey, who calls on Barack Obama to make the physical fitness of kids one of his priorities.
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Meanwhile, the Faceoff blog on LoHud.comhas a good question today: Which athlete would make the best president?
I know Al Leiter wants to be. I’m sure Curt Schilling does, too. Many presidents have been good friends with athletes over the years.
My choice would be Larry Bowa. He’s make America show up early and run sprints. Go over to Faceoff and give your thoughts.
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on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 10:11 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
Josh Thomson
Derek Jeter would make the best president. Diplomatic, charismatic, good with the media.
Haha.
I really wish the President’s Council on Physical Fitness would get back into school systems around the country.
Its embarrassing that the majority of today’s kids can’t even do 10 push ups.
There are so many consequences to poor fitness at an early age. Obsesity, diabetes, heart problems, etc. Lifelong health issues that make an already messed up healthcare system even worse with additional patients needing care over a long period of time.
While there are other important problems to tackle, getting kids back into fitness, and making it an important part of their lives, is a step in the right direction.
I’d say Rickey Henderson.
He speaks all languages, just not ours.
And he speaks for all third persons everywhere.
m
Too many Page 6 stories he’d have to answer for. As always, skeletons are the downfall for many who could have achieved greatness.
Mariano. No scandal in his past, remains calm in times of crisis, not afraid to share credit with others around him for making his job easier but takes responsibility for failures with a promise to do better next time.
How about Mickey Rivers? Ever hear him talk to Dan Patrick?Funny Stuff.
Jeter would make a great pres… A-rod would be the worst one..
Tom Brady, just so long as he names me Secretary of State.
OK, maybe not.
Mike Tyson!
shoeless joe!..oh wait…weve had several versions of him already….
pat,
As long as he doesn’t pull a Slick Willy while in office. The question is though, who would be his first lady? I like Jessica Alba, but is that Jessica Minillo his ex, too? I see her on that True Beauty reality show and I think she’s really cute. But she’s a carbon copy of Jessica Alba!
As for Mo, he wasn’t born in the states. Or was Panama a US territory at the time.
No to Tom Brady. He’s my QB, but he’s too GQ. But Giselle as a first lady would be great. She’s very athletic (wanted to be a pro volleyball player), she’d convert us to the Euro, and would be a real fashion plate.
TT
mickey rivers is great!
he makes absoulutely no sense when he talks..
spinks as vp..
,,,perfect!
with a constitutional amendment, Arnold Schwarzenegger could be the most likely ex-athlete to do so.
“A-rod would be the worst one.”
I’m guessing OJ might have him beat as worst by at least a smidge.
Just watching the inauguration ceremonies on ABC. They just talked to Spike Lee.
He has the funkiest Yankee hat I have ever seen. It was a light colored fur lined ear flap hat with the Yankee emblem on top.
Commentators said you can be sure you won’t see Jeter or Arod wearing that hat.
I remember having to take the physical fitness test in elementary school and middle school. There were two levels, the national and the presidential, for average and excellent.
Usually I finished well below the two-I couldn’t reach far enough on the sit and reach (I have short arms and long legs) or I couldn’t do the shuttle run on time.
But when I was 13, I made the national level in everything…except the shuttle run, which I missed by two tenths of a second. The gym teachers couldn’t understand why but I made them let me run it again and again and again until I finally did beat it.
Making the national award that year was probably my only real sense of athletic accomplishment throughout my childhood.
ray,
That’s funny. I’m so sick of seeing/hearing about Obama’s White Sox fandom. So, it’s good to see some sports diversity.
Hey mel,
Impressive Laker win last night!
Can we ban “terror” from the English language? Please?
m
Been meaning to ask, what’s with the initial? You reached rockstar proportions like Prince with the single name and decided to just go with an initial? Is “$@%” next and we’ll just refer to you as “the blogger formerly know as mel”?
ray,
It would’ve meant more if the Cavs weren’t so banged up. And unfortunately, your C’s are back on track and the Magic swept us this season. For the first time in years, all eyes will be on the eastern conference playoffs.
Here’s a couple of new Lebron nicknames that you can use. Le Crab or King Crab.
pat,
We all know there’s only one ‘Mel’ and he’s a pretty darned good pitching coach.
God forbid it was the parent’s responsibility to not let their child be a fat-ass.
Now we need/want our government to force it? That’s pathetic.
Joe Torre was the most presidential. He was a charismatic leader and a motivator and yet was a no-nonsense guy when it came to his enemies. Like anyone else he had his weaknesses, and after a few “terms” he inevitably had used up his reservoir of good will. But while in office he showed great ability to manage different interest groups and constituencies, (The Tampa Faction, George, Cash, the NY media, the prima donna players), maintain his power against constant threats and intimidation, and, most important, he made the franchise and its fans proud again with triumph after triumph.
Mr. Obama, you can learn from Mr. Torre. Nothing succeeds like success. Godspeed and good luck. (Just don’t ask Mr. Torre for bullpen advice).
nemo: Unfortunatley we’re so concerned with being politically correct that we do away with ANY sense of competition, and gym class is certainly that.
I understand not all kids are athletic, but there’s a simple remedy for that-group kids according to athletic ability. We already do it for math class and English, so why not gym?
m
You just got Vanessa Minnillo’s publicist fired by calling her Jessica Minnillo.
NY Post today says there’s a first lady in Jeterland not named Jessica but someone didn’t send the Puerto Rican paparazzi the memo about not photographing them together. The contrast between how pleased she looks compared to how pleased he looks being photgraphed is stark.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01.....ws011c.jpg
I’d say Rickey Henderson.
He speaks all languages, just not ours.
And he speaks for all third persons everywhere.
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If not Rickey, who is still ahead in the polls…
how about a Mercury Morris/Wade Boggs ticket? I see they’ve regenerated the growth of their hair, maybe they can do it with the economy??? Or is growing your hair back easier?
So ‘m’ is mel? I was wondering what happened to her.
Athletes for President, just my thoughts …
Mike Mussina
Tom Glavine
Tom Watson
Jay Haas
Grant Hill
Not an athlete, but what about Jim Nantz?
nemo
January 20th, 2009 at 10:56 am
God forbid it was the parent’s responsibility to not let their child be a fat-ass.
“Now we need/want our government to force it? That’s pathetic”
Like it or not the obesity epidemic with young people is a government problem because as these young people develope significant health problems because of their obesity it will be up to the government to pay for many of those problems.
Yes indeed. President elect Barack Obama is a Sox fan.
Morning, ray. How’s the (sox fan) family on this nice, warm spring morning? snicker, snicker.
Two people to head the President’s Council For Physical Fitness are Mo Vaughn and David Ortiz. David Wells will be pulling the strings behind the curtain.
Like it or not the obesity epidemic with young people is a government problem because as these young people develope significant health problems because of their obesity it will be up to the government to pay for many of those problems.
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ahh, the old “get your foot in the door” tactic to more government control… tried and true.
karl marx would be proud.
where does it end?
Physical fitness! The problem with America’s children is their nutrition. If you make them run more, they’re still going to be fat, they are just going to be fat kids who can run a little better
I think Leiter would be a great President. Good speaker, good looks, good people person. I am sure he would nominate Kay to be his VP though lol.
As a teacher I can tell you exactly what is wrong with America’s children, based on what I see everyday. For one, they eat pure junk. They try to hold the schools more responsible which is good, but if it doesnt change at home, it isnt going to change anywhere. Its twofold though because kids are spending more time sitting indoors than I was at least as a kid. Can’t tell you how many of my kids say they spent their weekend indoors playing videogames and such all day long
“Morning, ray. How’s the (sox fan) family on this nice, warm spring morning? snicker, snicker.”
GB…that was cold…
Actually it has warmed up from this last weekend when it was well below zero much of the time.
Might as well add Bartolo Colon to the fitness council too!
If parents would take over raising and controlling their own kids instead of expecting the local, state and federal governments to do it for them, then there wouldn’t be the issues of government involvement. Parents (and, I use that term loosely) want the school system to raise their kids and teach them manners and responsibilty. All kids are anymore for a large number of people are tax deductions.
Curt Schilling? Fitness?
The guy is known as the first one into the clubhouse to hit the free buffet.
ray (sox fan)
January 20th, 2009 at 11:25 am
“Morning, ray. How’s the (sox fan) family on this nice, warm spring morning? snicker, snicker.”
GB…that was cold…
Actually it has warmed up from this last weekend when it was well below zero much of the time.
Might as well add Bartolo Colon to the fitness council too!
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Ray, I’m happy to hear you guys are having a heat wave. Colon could be in charge of bringing in the do-nuts to the daily meetings.
“Mr. Obama, you can learn from Mr. Torre. Nothing succeeds like success. Godspeed and good luck. (Just don’t ask Mr. Torre for bullpen advice).”
murphydog-
amen to that. but if obama has a closer like mo, that’s the one call to make every time.
Bill Lee would be my choice.
Forget Schilling. It would be un-American, at this point in time, to consider another Bush-supporting republican for elective office.
Terrible article on ESPN. Parent’s need to take responsibility for their kids, not push it onto Obama, the government or somebody else. It’s called personal responsibility, try it some time. Read the Constitution, while you are at it. The role of Federal government is not to tell kids to run outside at recess.
*Can we ban “terror” from the English language? Please?*
================
We can rest assured that we’ll never hear “turr”, “war on turr”, and “turrist” again.
How about this… the government should force the schools to focus on education
Sj
Have u ever done the presidents council on physical fitness program for kids? Obviously not! The thought that it actually encouraged fitness makes me laugh!
sierchio
“January 20th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
How about this… the government should force the schools to focus on education”
LoL a novel idea!
Oh that was amazing.
“We’re willing to extend our hand if you’re willing to unclench your fist”
And i say A-Rod!
Jeter for president, the end of long speeches then we could all say “what” together, united states again.
Mickey Rivers would try to double the GNP at the track!
This is an easy question. None other than Derek Jeter. He speaks correctly. He dresses the part. He’ll get the white and black vote. He’s a world wide recognized character. He’s use to being the figure head. Derek Jeter for President! 2029!
Pete, get a wife, have some kids, and then get a clue. Children are the responsibility of THEIR PARENTS!!! There is no “national child obesity” problem. Seriously, I don’t give a damn if my neighbor’s kid eats McDonald’s every day and weighs 400 pounds. How is that my, or the nation’s, business??? My job is to make sure my kid eats his vegetables and gets his exercise. Why can’t you get that?
According to the huffingtonpost.com,under the chicago tab,the Chairman of the WHITE SOX said, “If Obama says hire Sammy Sosa,he’d do it.”
nemo January 20th, 2009 at 10:56 am
God forbid it was the parent’s responsibility to not let their child be a fat-ass.
Now we need/want our government to force it? That’s pathetic.
Not force it, encourage it.
Athlete for President? Ok, I know he grew up in Washington Heights but don’t know if he was born here or not, but I say Manny Ramirez for President.
Why? For the pure comedy of it.
President Ramirez accidently order invasion of North Dakota instead of North Korea.
Talking head response: It’s just President Manny being Manny.
“I have long discouraged political talk on this blog and that is still the case. Baseball should be a haven from such serious topics and emotions.”
i disagree because baseball has always been a place to me where i could compete. no one could put me down for good if my talent was there. after finishing my high school season as captain of the team , i remember an american legion coach looking at my long hair and making me the third string shortstop and then eventually banishing me from the team and not releasing me officially so i could play on another legion team.
i didn’t pick up a ball for another 14 years, but when i did, i did it with a purpose and that was taking care of unfinished business. i ended up on a field 8 years later warming up for a game playing catch with graig nettles and clete boyer while being a bullpen catcher for a pro team.
so that coach can kiss my ass. baseball is all about freedom and letting your talent take you as far as it will go. to never mention politics isn’t the right way to go. baseball has always been political, but the point is let the winner be decided on the field. let the results decide who gets to play and who wins.
let the long haired kid, or the black kid,or the jewish kid or now the arab kid play and compete on the field. have your differences ,but let them play and compete. baseball is way too serious to reduce it to some trivial diversion.
it should be the ultimate level playing field where everyone gets a chance to compete. rather than not mention politics, i’ll say i beat that j edgar hoover loving, war mongering, brain dead legion coach on the field. it just took a while.
believe whatever you want and let it all be in the open, but when it comes time to play , let competition decide.
23 days til spring training. Supposedly Posada is not gonna be ready, another bat is looking pretty tempting atm. Manny 2 years 45 mil?
Who said Jorge won’t be ready?
“Supposedly Posada is not gonna be ready,”
Says who? Link or source please.
Bobby Abreu – “Mr. Gorbachev, TEAR DOWN THAT WALL!!!”
I’ve said this before but I would like to reiterate that all of the Yankee Championships since 1961 (8 of them) have been won when a Democrat was in office. It looks like we will have a great 4-8 years ahead of us. That’s change I could believe in.
Amen randy.
Al from BK
January 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
23 days til spring training. Supposedly Posada is not gonna be ready, another bat is looking pretty tempting atm. Manny 2 years 45 mil?
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I haven’t spoken on this in at least 5 days now lol.
But if Jorge is at all questionable to start the seaon as our catcher, then I would certainly look harder at signing Manny. The longer he stays out there the better his chance of coming home are.
Randy
I got a Clete Boyer bat for bat day. I Had it for at least 10 years. I loved it! I guess they dont make like they used to.
Politics is so boring. Just do your civic duty by voting and paying your taxes. Keep your nose clean and be a good person.
I’m not religious and am a firm believer in separation of church and state. Of course there’s still co-mingling of the two with references to God and the Bible being used in our courts of law. But I don’t let it bother me.
But I do live by the original commandments with a couple added on. The first ammendment is “Thou shalt love the Yankees”.
Art,
If we win a championship in the next 4-8 years, it’s because we spent a gazillion dollars.
i thought they’ve been pushing fitness in school gym classes ? has this dropped off/stopped over the past 15 years or so ?
and lol @ the Abreu to Gorbachev comment!
In our local schools, upstate NY, kids can no longer play dodgeball, for fear of injury. The brave ( those who aren’t PC)gym teachers play it and call it “reactionball”. I am not kidding. Pretty sad.
“Seriously, I don’t give a damn if my neighbor’s kid eats McDonald’s every day and weighs 400 pounds. How is that my, or the nation’s, business???”
So you don’t mind the fact that this same kid will probably have so many health problems he/she won’t have a job when they are an adult and you my friend will be paying for their care and shelter.
“If we win a championship in the next 4-8 years, it’s because we spent a gazillion dollars.”
Obama will have spent 2 gazillion so if you don’t want to give him credit for a championship you can at least give him credit for making the Yankees look frugal in comparison.
What DO they do in gym class if not fitness?
Forgive the naivete of my question. My children had alternative schooling experiences, so I’ve operated outside the norm for years. (P/T and O/T are not the same as gym class.)
NYYanksfan,
lol. I know that every inauguration has a big price tag, but that $170M looks bad.
Why not just have a simple swearing in? That would be priceless.
Manny for prez…:)
m
January 20th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
NYYanksfan,
lol. I know that every inauguration has a big price tag, but that $170M looks bad.
Why not just have a simple swearing in? That would be priceless.
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Fear not, Mel. There will be plenty of swearing about the job this guy does in the next 4 years.
m or mel- I was wondering the same thing. I realize this is a historic day, but if the country is in such poor financial shape to spend that much money for one day is insane.
“There will be plenty of swearing about the job this guy does in the next 4 years.”
Haha great line..
jennifer,
I meant to clarify earlier, it’s probably the price tag for the week. But, still.
M — Add $10m and the Federal Government could have had a gold glove first baseman!
Ray — Careful talking like that, you may lose your citizenship status in New England if you don’t want to give your hard earned money away.
“I’m not religious and am a firm believer in separation of church and state.”
I cant argue with that m/mel.
Why are you the first one to post again? Is there a free peak in Silletto for the first 3 to post on threads or something?
Rob,
That will definitely be $$ well spent.
GB7,
Don’t want to get partisan, so I’ll just say that it doesn’t really matter which party is in, it’s a thankless, no-win job. And a lot of our problems are rooted in the legislative branch.
Can we get a source to the Posada claim please!??
“I got a Clete Boyer bat for bat day. I Had it for at least 10 years. I loved it! I guess they dont make like they used to.”
they don’t make em like clete anymore either. it’s not often mentioned that he was a key minor league coach for the yankees in the early nineties who helped set up the championship run. jeter gives him a huge amount of credit for his fielding.
even though the yankees say they are focusing on minor league development, i don’t see old grizzled veterans of the yankees past passing on the torch to the younger players. it’s great to bring in new people, but coaches like clete know what it takes to be a yankee.
the yankees need more coaches like clete in the minor league system. as far as politics go, i would say clete was politically incorrect because he always said what was on his mind, but obviously one hell of a baseball guy.
story in point:
it’s the beginning of the second year of the ill fated senior league( bad name because players could be as young as 32), and in the raucous clubhouse the first day of practice with a huge influx of latin players because the new gm was latin , clete walks into the locker room in his yankee undershirt and underwear smoking a cigarette , takes a look at the chaos( yes latin players have a good time), and says to everyone ” when did the banana boat arrive?”.
players like cesar cedeno, joaquin andujar,jose cruz, and all the other players bombarded clete with sanitary socks and whatever else they had to throw. with a big grin on his face clete went back into his office.
clete in that one inspired move, relaxed everyone and got everyone on the same page.
i’ll say it again. the yankees need more coaches like him in the minors and even the major league staff.
“…so I’ll just say that it doesn’t really matter which party is in…”
Yeah, the new president was conditioned in the same types of elite schools the former president was. The country is in dire straights but I don’t think a new guy in the white house can or should be the one to change that.
“And a lot of our problems are rooted in the legislative branch.”
Absolutely. Everyone wants to hold the president accountable and then sends the same crappy bunch back to Congress. And don’t get me started on how people ignore local city and county officials.
I have been reading all over other blogs and even on the Yankees website that Cash said something along the lines of Molina seeing the most pitches come ST. If this is true Posada will be a month behind and will NOT be in sync with the staff and at the plate.
Question that i was asked yesterday that someone might be able to answer.
Has any quarterback led two different teams to the Super Bowl let alone won with both?
Randy I, I remember those days ( being a product of Woodstock )quite well……Cletis Boyer # 6, was as good as any 3rd baseman that has ever played the game….Went to the line better than anyone I’ve ever sen, and his arm was a cannon…..I still say he was better than Brooks…Hell he’d hit 8th and hit 18 dingers…….Sad when he passed…..
Doreen
My kids still do physical things in gym class. My younger kids seem to do obstacle courses, aerobics and play kickball and soccer alot. The older kids don’t really talk about it much anymore but I know they play volleyball and soccer at least.
I’d like the government to focus on my kids fiscal fitness needs and I’ll worry about their physical fitness needs even if that includes an occasional trip to McDonalds or an Oreo.
“Why are you the first one to post again?”
Uh, because no one posted in the first 14 minutes?
As for your QB question, there was another QB who led 2 teams to the SB, but I’m not sure if he won twice.
BTW, there’s a new thread, but I didn’t post first.
Bill Lee for President.
Money for the inauguration was fund raised,the Associated Press lied about the actual cost.IT WAS LESS.
I always thought the best thing that could happen in a school gym program was to expose our children to all the different ways to maintain physical fitness. That means the different sports, aerobics, hey, even Wii Fit, if it means something will stick.
Going to middle school in the 70’s, we participated in the Presidential Fitness Program, which included stations of sit-ups, push ups, standing broad jumps. If you were an athletic person, and did well in these things, I’m sure they were fun. For most of us, it was drudgery. The unfortunate result of that is a whole bunch of uninspired young people – exactly the opposite of what the goal was. I know they wanted a different result.
First and foremost, the idea should be to have fun while being physical. And it is the duty of parents to make sure they get their kids out, but face it, our kids spend most of their time in school, and so it would certainly help if schools were a part of this. We as parents should never rely on the schools to take our place, but to be a partner in all aspects of our children’s education, including physical.
Isn’t it obvious? Mike Mussina!!! He’s smarter than the entite Bush administration combined, he would whip this country back into shape but good!
I like the idea of having a hard-azz as his running mate, though. Larry Bowa is an excellent pick in that department.
Mussina/Bowa 2012!
As far as other sports, Tiki Barber has certainly proven enough of a 2 faced flip flopper to make an adequate politician…
The Rock would make a great president because you’d have to smell what he is cooking.
A combination of Bill Bradley’s wisdom and Clyde Frazier’s speech writing.
Give Schilling a Cabinet post – Secretary of Pomposity
“Terrible article on ESPN. Parent’s need to take responsibility for their kids, not push it onto Obama, the government or somebody else. It’s called personal responsibility, try it some time. Read the Constitution, while you are at it. The role of Federal government is not to tell kids to run outside at recess.”
Hey Ed Whitson:
Don’t you get it? This was Obambi’s entire platform. The gov’t will take over and run everything because the people are too stupid to do it themselves. Didn’t you hear his speech on the economy saying that “only gov’t” can pull us out of this mess??