Boykins vs. Robinson

Last night saw a matchup of the two shortest players in the NBA. Earl Boykins of the Washington Wizards met Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks. Although it didn't last long, it was a pleasure to watch.

Robinson only played 25 minutes; Boykins just 16. The Knicks defense was atrocious, so, for some of the time they were out on the floor, the Knicks went with a zone. The Knicks also shifted on picks liberally. But the two did guard each other and it was fun to watch them chase each other. Robinson clearly isn't used to playing against someone shorter than himself. Boykins, in his 11th season, scored 9 points, including a powerful drive right to the basket.

Robinson, however, had the better of the dual. Nate the Great scored 16 points and added 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. Robinson, in his 5th season, was able to drive around the older Boykins on a couple of occasions. One of Robinson's steals was a defensive back-like interception of a Boykins cross-court pass. At one point, in the backcourt, Robinson jumped up to catch a pass. Boykins was waiting just below him. Virtually every other player in the league would have had the ball stolen by Boykins. But Robinson has tried that defensive approach himself and avoided Boykins.

They meet again on Wednesday in New York. Keep your eye out for that matchup.

Dear Mother Nature

Dear Mother Nature,

We get it. Climate change is our fault. We accept responsibility. We're sorry. We'll try to do better in the future. Just please, no more snow.

Signed,
The DC Area

The Pee Epidemic

I'm conferred with literally several men and they all have had the problem.

The Problem: You think you're finished peeing. You shake it out just to make sure. You close up shop. Sure enough, a few sprinkles leak out.

Waiting Doesn't Work: No matter how long you wait, those sprinkles will come. I once waited an hour. Every five minutes I shook just to make sure. After the hour was up and I put it away, the sprinkles appeared.

The Solution: There is no cure for Sprinkles Syndrome. But there is a way to overcome this problem. After I'm done peeing, I feign like I'm putting it back to bed and then quickly whip it out again. I've found a good deal of success with this method as the penis is tricked into thinking it's going back inside. Once the momentum for the sprinkles start, it's too late to stop even after the penis realizes it's been deceived.

Review of the State of the Union Speech

Tonight, the President of the United States came out as a socialist. He stated that he was not an American and added that his sole objective is to destroy America and all it stands for.

Wait.

Never mind.

The tone was too light in my estimation. People are struggling and angry. That wasn't the route to go. The President proposed a slew of moderate legislation, including a spending freeze and a capital gains tax cut for small businesses. He also proposed a liberal jobs bill and pressed for the watered down health care reform bill. He maintained his promise to end the war in Iraq and see the war in Afghanistan through. He also called for the end of the exclusion of openly gay people in the military.

The President told the nation that the United States must be number one. He wanted to keep jobs from going overseas. Yet, later in the speech, he advocated providing help for people of other nations. These two points on engaging the world seemed, if not contradictory, at least confused.

You got the feeling that the President could have said, "Guns for all! Abortions for none!" and the Republicans still would've sat there twiddling their thumbs. Just once I'd like to hear a president say, "The state of our nation is... well, I don't want to talk about it."

Doing Research

Last evening, a person from Wasilla, Alaska found the Evil Leaders League site by googling "evil leaders." It was probably someone doing foreign policy research in preparation for a run during the 2012 presidential election.

I just hope she got that it's a joke.

Bush Ain't So Bad

We liberals take it for granted that George W. Bush was the worst president in the history of the United States. But I was thinking recently, what did he really do that was worse than the actions of any other president? He really didn't set any precedents.

Was he the first to start an unprovoked preemptive war? Not by a long shot. He was at least the fifth to do so, if we're only counting major wars. What about falsifying information to provoke the nation to war? Nope, try Polk and the Mexican-American War or Johnson and the Gulf of Tonkin incident leading to Vietnam's escalation.

What about throwing American citizens in Guantanamo without so much as charging them with any crime? Well, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, which is the same thing. Bush's civil rights record isn't great, but at least he didn't reign during an era of legal slavery, nor did he own slaves himself. Bush wasn't a champion of women's rights, but at least women weren't legal property and did possess the right to vote during his term.

In terms of torture, my knowledge of history fails me to recall another example of an administration which tried to come up with a legal argument to justify torture. But that doesn't mean Bush was the first president to oversee state-induced torture. In fact, the only area where Bush is diabolically unique is his use of presidential signing statements, which can alter bills passed by Congress without any check.

That takes me to the wonderful and glorious Obama administration and Angola. In August, Hillary Clinton visited the African country, which is run by a dictator, Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Clinton threw out the usual calls for democracy. But last week, a law was passed that stripped Angolans of the right to vote for their president. Instead, the president will be elected by the parliament. This was because do Santos feared he might receive less of the vote than his party did in the 2008 parliamentary elections (which weren't deemed free or fair by independent observers), thus checking the Angolan president's immense powers.

The reason why Clinton was in Angolan last summer has to do with that nation's vast oil reserves. The U.S. is also hoping to combat China's influence in the resource rich African nation. So the question becomes, will the Obama administration pursue a policy of kowtowing to dictators for the sake of oil and in order to engage in a self-defeating game of offsetting China's influence? Or will the Obama administration buck the trend of presidents past?

(more on Angola at the HQT-IE)

The Super Bowl's Set

I'm a sucker for irrelevant Super Bowl history. The Colts are making their 4th appearance in the Super Bowl. They are 2-1 and 1-0 since moving to Indianapolis. Peyton Manning will play in his second Super Bowl, leading the Colts over the Bears in Super Bowl XLI and earning the game's MVP award. This is (obviously) rookie coach Jim Caldwell's first Super Bowl as head coach. He's the fifth rookie coach to make the game.

This is the Saints first ever Super Bowl appearance. Sean Payton is making his first appearance in the Super Bowl as head coach as well. Drew Brees will also make his first appearance.

The Saints are the 7th franchise to make their first Super Bowl appearance in the last 11 years. The Cardinals did so last year, the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL, the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII, the Bucs the year before, the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV, the Titans the year before and the Falcons the year before that. The Lions are now the only NFC franchise to never have made a Super Bowl. The Browns, Jaguars, Texans haven't made one from the AFC. The Saints are one of 15 franchises never to have won a Super Bowl.

Socialismed

Being socialismed is when you're having a highly intellectual discussion on a specific issue and, out of leftfield, some one accuses you of being a socialist.

This happened to me recently. Someone did not feel that Botswana is prosperous because of sound economic management as Obama has claimed. Instead, Botswana is successful because its government has stayed out of the market- also adding that Obama could learn from the example. I presented the inconvenient fact that the Botswana government actually owns 50% of Debswana, the main diamond mining company. Diamonds of course are the backbone of the nation's economy.

This person acknowledged my point, but argued that Botswana has low tax rates, which is attracting business and creating more jobs, asking me to compare that record to Zimbabwe's. I felt that numerous other factors have individually played a larger part than tax rates in the differing conditions of both nations. Those included the fact that colonialism played a more direct function in Zimbabwe, Rhodesia's unilateral declaration of independence, the long and devastating war of liberation, the 5th brigade's genocidal campaign into Matabeleland, Britain's inaction towards settling the land rights issue with whites, and the dictatorial disposition of Mugabe. Botswana was fortunate to avoid all of those hurdles. Those factors, and not the difference in tax rates, played a defining role in determining the future for both countries.

I was excited to take part in such a back-and-forth intellectual discussion about Botswana. Then, I was socialismed. Disappointment. Despair. Diarrhea (compliments of corn beef hash in a can).

Let it be said that I believe the more fortunate of us have the responsibility to assist the less fortunate of us. I favor a public option to compete with private insurance companies when it comes to health care. I don't believe the U.S. government should start nationalizing industries. Does that make me a socialist? Maybe. Maybe not. It doesn't really matter. The point is it had nothing to do with the above conversation. Conservatives, please, if you feel the urge to socialismed someone, just walk away.

(or put another way - HQT-IE)

Fuzzy Math

I'm no math wiz, but I had no idea that 41 was greater than 59. Apparently, the Republicans are not only in control of the senate, but are also the most popular party in the nation. This despite the Democrats holding wide margins in the senate and house and owning the White House.

The Republicans' majority of negative 18 in the senate isn't going to halt the Democrats agenda, their lack of savvy will. It makes me sad to say it, but most Americans are a little dim. They respond when you say, "He's a socialist" when discuss the merits of Obama's economic plan. If you try to elucidate the complex factors involved in Afghan war, including the role of CIA funding of the Mujahedeen, you are part of the "Blame American first" crowd. If you try to discuss safety concerns in Iraq before the U.S. invasion and after, a high ranking Bush official will yell at you about rape rooms. Americans go for that.

It's not fair that the rebuttal to the case for a public option as part of the health care system or concerns over climate change is a cry of "socialism." But that's the reality. We’ve become a nation who can’t think critically. As a result, the party not in power, without any real ideas, can sell their message better than the one everyone voted for a year ago. The Democrats need to figure out a way to use their majorities before they evaporate later in the year... for real this time.

The Conference of Jewish Vegetarians and Dog Lovers Sponsored by the Hiking Club of America

Come to The Conference of Jewish Vegetarians and Dog Lovers sponsored by the Hiking Club of America!!



January 29, 2010 in the Washington, DC area (subject to rescheduling)




editor's note: This is a real thing!


another editor's note: Seriously, it's not just some elaborate ruse.

Plea for Haiti (Sponsored by Reebok)

The Rawlings Opening Statement
The people of Haiti have survived colonialism, tyranny, neo-colonialism, and now a devastating earthquake. Few collections of people have exhibited the will to endure in the face of overwhelming despair. But in this moment of crisis, there is no shame in asking for a helping hand. As Americans, we must rise to the challenge and live out our ideals as a nation.

Historical Overview brought to you by the History Channel "Where history lives"
There is nothing more apt in terms of historical symbolism between the U.S. and Haiti as the northern neighbor's failure to grant diplomatic recognition to the tiny Caribbean country until 58 years after the latter's independence. Haiti came into existence following a brutal series of wars against the French colonialists- wars, sparked by slave revolts, which were so destructive they would derail Haiti's future prospects for the next 200 years. Fearing a revolt from its own slave population, U.S. officials left the new nation to fend for itself. In 1962, Abraham Lincoln finally granted Haiti diplomatic recognition. Lincoln's Union army was in the midst of a war against the slave-holding South; recognizing Haiti made political sense.

And so it would be. The U.S. ignored Haiti until the great power was compelled to act. From the 1950s into the 1980s, the Duvalier dictatorship was tolerated in the name of stability, until the U.S. recognized the unavoidable voice of the Haitian populace. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Haitian immigrants arriving on U.S. shores were sent back, while their Cuban counterparts were welcomed in. We, as Americans, have had a hand in the struggles of the Haitians. We must help. (more at HQT- IE)

MTV's YouTH APPeal - Catch the Jersey Shore, Tuesdays at 10pm
Yo, u wanna make a diff? Text HAITI to 90999 and D'Nate to the Cross.

The Donna Karan Closing Argument
Too often we focus on the aspects of the world which divide us. That diversity is necessary for human development. But when a tragedy befalls members of our human family, we must put aside those differences. We must ease the bureaucratic impasse that makes it so difficult for us to help those in need. We must put aside our own petty individual concerns, open our hearts, and give generously to our brothers and sisters who are living under tragic circumstances through no fault of their own. Please give what you can.

ELL, Season 7, Week 1

We're back! And we're doing things a little different this season. Each contest will occur every two weeks. Yet, each round of battles will curiously be labeled the same as before (Week 1, Week 2, etc.). Hey, the Dallas Cowboys are in the East; competition doesn't make sense sometimes. The change will give each evil leader more time to commit their evil deeds. And, hopefully, increase the quality of each post. Everything else will be the same, including the awesomeness of the Evil Leaders League site.

Let's meet the competitors:
Than Shwe - leader of Myanmar since 1992. Champion last season.
Kim Jong-Il - head of North Korea since 1994. Finished 2nd.
Omar al-Bashir - in charge of Sudan since 1989. Finished 3rd.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - a leader of Iran since 2005. Finished 4th.
Teodoro Obiang - ruling Equatorial Guinea since 1979. Finished 5th.
Silvio Berlusconi - Prime Minister for the 3rd time since 2008. New.
Hamid Karzai - ruler of Afghanistan since 2001. New.
Evo Morales - President of Bolivia since 2006. New.

Shwe vs Berlusconi
Than Shwe, the Burmese bomber, will oversee elections in Myanmar this year. He has urged his people to make the "correct choices." Some might argue the implied portion of that quote is... "or you will be chopped up into little pieces and fed to the dogs," but I say that's just good campaigning. No one would bat an eye if Obama made that claim before this year's midterms.

I don't know why the recent attack against Silvio Berlusconi was such a big story. The rule is after every 10 scandals, you get hit in the face with a statuette of Milan Cathedral. It's right there in the Italian Constitution. And don't get too upset that his 18-year old mistress is young enough to be his great granddaughter. You should be upset that she might actually be his great granddaughter. He has so many, it's hard to keep track.

To view the winners, click the official Evil Leaders League site. Do it or you'll be jailed indefinitely

Kim vs Morales
I'm the Kim Jong-Illest emcee
Who heads North Korea? That be me
Sell nukes to pariahs for a fee
While I laugh as my peeps go hun-gry
From the hit song "I'm the Kim Jong-Illest" off the album Literally Born to Rule, which, according to an official government press release, has gone 10 times platinum in North Korea.

Evo Morales is the first indigenous president of Bolivia, which means the conquistadores failed to eradicate at least one Indian tribe. That's egg on their faces. America is worried about Morales because he's your typical Latin American leftist. He nationalized the oil industry and demands reparations from industrialized nations over climate change. But, as is the case with all liberal men, he only holds these positions in an attempt to sleep with Jane Fonda.

Karzai vs al-Bashir
I don't want to say Hamid Karzai stole the recent Afghan presidential election held last August. I also don't want to say that Tiger Woods enjoys philandering. Stating the obvious makes me gassy. Omar al-Bashir's Sudan is also set to have an election this year. Most pundits don't think al-Bashir will lose. Mostly because if anyone else receives a vote, they die. Who knows, maybe they'll get reincarnated into people who vote for Karzai next time.

Ahmadinejad vs Obiang
One of the conundrums surrounding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is that he's evil enough to provoke protests for the last 7 months, and yet, not evil enough to halt people from protesting for the last 7 months. Another conundrum is how a short hirsute man dressed in casual attire doesn't get more booty. I hear that's the new "in" look. Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang has pledged $2 million in aid to Haiti. See, stealing your nation's oil money can be beneficial. Now, it'd be great if only some other corrupt dictator would give a part of his stolen oil money to aid the majority of Equatorial Guinea's population. I'm looking at you, José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola.

click for Standings

The Commish

The key to running a successful fantasy sports league as a commissioner is to give your owners the illusion that they have a say in the league's decisions. Then just do whatever you were going to do in the first place. Occasionally, you may need to have an owner or two argue your side for you. Don't rely on that too often. It's better to throw in a few choices that will obviously go your way, so when you have to make a move against popular opinion, you have some built up clout.

As great as I am at running fantasy sports leagues with disparate owners and yet, very little turnover, I'm struggling in the Twenty Ten fantasy basketball season, despite having Kobe and Carmelo. I'm tied for 8th in a 12 team league, or tied for 3rd to last if you're Jewish. Last season I was able to piece together a playoff berth after losing 4 of my top 5 players in a week while wallowing in 9th place. I'm using to the same strategy now, let's see if it works.

Teaching Kids their ABCs

What's this letter? What sound does it make? How about this one? And this one? Now, put it together. Faster. Good!

To teach kids how to read, I feel it takes a healthy impatience, a strong dose of bitter sarcasm, and an arrogant contempt for the situation. At least that's how I handle working with 4 and 5 year olds. Hey, it's a rough world out there.

Just My Imagination

It was like a dream come true. My favorite team, the Knicks, would be playing in my hometown against the Wizards on my birthday. I scheduled my birthday around the game. Told friends and family. I was very excited.

Turns out it was a dream. I somehow transformed a desire into reality in my mind. But no amount of hope was going to change the Twenty Ten NBA schedule.

So, I disappointed myself on my birthday already. If only the Haitian earthquake was the dream and the Knicks game was reality, instead of the other way around.

Haitian Aid Attack Ad

Don't give money to help the victims of the Haitian earthquake to any old organization. Give it to an organization you know and trust.

Don't just cross your fingers and pray your money is put to good use. Victims of this kind of devastation need more than mere care. They need the expertise that only we can provide.

You don't want an organization that'll be gone in November. Or one who can only hope to help. You want to give your hard earned money to a group that you can rest assured with produce positive results.

Four out of five starving children trapped under mounds of debris in Haiti agree, they'd rather be saved and fed by us. Not those other guys like Oxfam, Partners in Health, or the American Jewish World Service.

We're UNICEF.
No one saves you better.

The Haitian Earthquake

As a result of the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, France took control of what would become Haiti. It took a bloody revolution to overthrow the French colonials. Haiti gained independence in 1804 after several ghastly battles against the French imperialists. France then, amazingly, blackmailed Haiti into paying a vast indemnity for diplomatic recognition.

The U.S., which occupied Haiti from 1915-1934, has continuously supported dictators within Haiti for the sake of stability. These dictators have used the national treasury as their own personal bank account. They've only stepped down when the U.S. has acknowledged that the dictators had to leave.

France's legacy of colonization and the U.S. support of dictators are two important reasons towards explaining Haiti's underdevelopment. Both countries must do everything they can to help the people of Haiti after the disastrous earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation on Tuesday.

It's difficult to find a silver lining in such destruction. But if there is one, it's that Haitians have never relied on the government. Past governments have always been ineffectual at providing even the most basic needs. Not to generalize, but Haitians have always shown a kind of resilience known in few places in the world. They've had to make their own way. The Haitian government and the world have ignored them. Sometimes it takes a horrific tragedy to present an opportunity to correct a historical wrong.
(more at International Edition)

Reid's Remarks are Racist

Perhaps Harry Reid meant by Obama was more electable because he is "light-skinned" that, societally, racism unfortunately still clouds Americans' judgments of individuals, even manifesting itself through shades of skin color, not merely on the basis of race. If he did, he wasn't nearly that articulate.

However, even giving him the benefit of the doubt on that one, I don't know what to make of the rest of the quote. He said that Obama was an African-American "with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Certainly, the word "Negro" is long outdated. I don't really know why that's still in Reid's active vocabulary. But what is this quote trying to say? Is it questioning Obama's blackness? Is he saying that Obama is electable because he's a black person who can speak "proper" English? What does that say about Reid's perception of the rest of black America?

Reid's comments are racist. There is no getting around that. But I'm surprised that the Democrats have come to his defense. If Reid was a Republican, the Democrats would have gone after him. It's a poor politics-first play by the Democrats. We need principle over politics. Reid should at least lose his leadership role. I tend not to think he should resign. If politicians had to resign every time they said something racist, the halls of Congress would be pretty empty for the most part. Well, more so.

Jewish Boxing

I started a new blog called The Jewish Boxing Blog, which will follow the careers of every active Jewish boxer (all 6 of them). Of course, that sometimes can create problems, even in Twenty Ten. For example, it is not always easy to verify if a person is Jewish. Alexander Frenkel, a Ukrainian born cruiserweight residing in Germany, has been put in BoxRec's list of Jewish boxers. Boxeo Mundial also describes him as a Jew. But nowhere else is he referred to as a Jew, including his own website. BoxRec also lists Argentine light heavyweight Mariano Nicolas Plotinsky as a Jew, though no other site confirms this.

There should be some way of indicating a Jew. Perhaps Jews could wear some kind of colorful armband or somethi, never mind.

Twenty Seven

Twenty Ten will be the last year that I'm ever 27. I can't figure out if that's deep or inane.

Anyway...


Dear Mom,
First let me just apologize
For the foolish lies and all the times that you've cried,
For the times that I said things I really didn't mean.
Basically for my entire existence as a teen.
It's been 27 years since my birth here on the planet
And I know that at times you think I've taken you for granted,
And granted, at times, I don't show my appreciation
But know, everyday I give thanks for my relationship with you
Even the times that I've bitched at you for nagging me,
I know that there's only love behind it
Like the time freshmen year that I came home in tears
As you whispered those words that helped to lessen my fears

- Kimani of the Masterminds "2 Moms"

Twenty Ten NFL Playoff Predictions

NFC
6 Phi over 3 Dal 17-11
4 Ari over 5 GB 27-17

Phi over 1 NO 24-23
Ari over 2 Min 28-14

Phi over Ari 21-17

AFC
3 NE over 6 Bal 20-14
4 Cin over 5 NYJ 15-7

2 SD over NE 28-17
1 Ind over Cin 35-7

SD over Ind 30-24

Super Bowl XLIV
SD over Phi 26-17

Appreciation for the Underwear Bomber

The Christmas Attack that wasn't has done Americans a favor. We've learned a little about Yemen and inexplicably a little less about Nigeria. We could really use some international knowledge. And no one got hurt in the process. It's really win-win.

Now all we need is numerous nutjobs from diverse parts of the world to have their attacks foiled every couple of weeks and we'd make up the education gap with the rest of the industrialized world by the end of Twenty Ten.

Arenas Suspended

I'm a gun control guy. Gilbert Arenas very obviously should not have brought guns into the locker room. He shouldn't have playfully shot a finger gun at his teammates Tuesday night. He had to be suspended.

If you're anything like most talking heads, that's probably where our agreement on the subject ends. Even if David Stern was one of those people who thought the finger gun thing was nothing more than a bit of humor, a rebellious act against the establishment, he'd have to suspend Arenas. Perception is very important to the success of the NBA, and for reasons that I won't go into here, the league is unfairly perceived as filled with thugs.

I tend to think that it was a funny act of rebellion against a culture that can take things, particularly the actions of sports stars, way too seriously. He's in trouble with the law for the real guns in the locker room, but the finger gun motion was nothing more than a defense mechanism. It was Arenas's contribution to discussion over his actions and it was a poignant one, "Don't take my actions as a sports star too seriously."

Arenas's problem is that he misjudged what is important in our culture. Arenas didn't hurt anyone. He was simply making light of his own troubles. But that doesn't matter. He should have realized that it was going to be taken seriously. It would be treated as if he had hurt someone. Outrage at over-privileged athletes is as American as the Fourth of July. Any excuse to get on a high horse and preach about how today's athletes are overpaid, spoiled, and out of touch (though it's never mentioned that we pay to see them and then hang our dreams on the backs of their athletic prowess). Arenas missed the mood of those covering him. And because of it, he will likely miss the rest of the Twenty Ten season.

A Better Year Than

So far, Twenty Ten has been better for me than for these people...

The Underwear Bomber, Tiger Woods, Jim Zorn, the next Redskins coach, and Brittany Murphy's family.

I'm a silver lining kind of guy.

The 2009 Buffalo Bills

I was in India for a good portion of the season, so I didn't have many chances to watch this team. The Bills went a disappointing 6-10 in '09. Dick Jauron was fired mid-season. Perry Fewell took over and was let go at the end of the season. Fewell was never given a chance. There was really no reason to fire Jauron in the middle of the season. It was too late to make a playoff run at that point and rarely does a couching change induce that kind of turn around.

Trent Edwards didn't improve as the Bills quarterback. He again struggled after suffering a concussion. Ryan Fitzpatrick played quarterback more than Edwards did and wasn't any better. Edwards should probably be given another year to see if he has what it takes, but a back up plan for the position must be considered.

The big story was the arrival of Terrell Owens. The 36-year old future Hall of Famer had 55 catches for 883 yards. He scored 6 TDs, 5 receiving. Lee Evans had a subpar year with only 44 catches for 612 yards and 7 TDs. Marshawn Lynch struggled terribly after serving a 3 game suspension. He rushed for only 450 yards all year. Fred Jackson was the story, earning his first career 1,000 yard season.

On defense, Jarius Byrd tied for the league lead in interception with 9. Aaron Schobel had 10 sacks and 3 forced fumbles. The Bills special teams was solid.

The team will have a completely new coaching staff for the Twenty Ten season. To make the playoffs, however, Buffalo will need to improve on the offensive side of the ball, particularly the line.

Pacquiao-Mayweather and Steroids

Floyd Mayweather wants strict Olympic-style steroid testing, including random blood tests, leading up to his potential match with Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao's side claims that their fighter doesn't want to subject himself to a blood test within a month of the fight because it might weaken him. To suggest that a blood test taken a week or two before his bout will impact his performance is ridiculous. Even if that were to be the case, what's the harm in giving blood immediately after the fight?

Pacquiao's stand, in conjunction with his recent rapid rise, raises reasonable suspicions that performance-enhancing drugs have played a role in his amazing ascent. As much as we want to cheer for the underdog and hope that Pacquiao's achievements are legit, we would be foolish to deny these suspicions.

But suspicion isn't guilt. Pacquiao hasn't ever been linked with steroids outside of mere conjecture. So, to this point, he isn't guilty of anything. Thus far, the media and the fans have given him the benefit of the doubt. Only unreasonable actions should taint this benefit. Refusing to take a blood test close to the possible match up with Mayweather, and immediately afterward, is unreasonable. It deserves suspicion. But he's still innocent until proven guilty.

The Walt Frazier Game

Whenever I have the privilege of watching the Knicks play on the MSG telecast, I play a game with friends and families that involves guessing which big words Walt Frazier will say throughout the game. Everyone gets to pick one SAT-level word that Frazier might enunciate during the contest. Some recent guesses: inauspicious, precipitous, circuitous, percolate, matriculate. No one ever wins. And yet, everyone always wins!

That takes me to Nate Robinson and his 41 points off the bench last night. What a great way to start off Twenty Ten. This after sitting for an entire month full of DNP- coach's decision. I had Al Jazeera on after the game and sure enough Nate's performance was featured. Nate Robinson's not just good, he's Al Jazeera good.

New Year's Resolutions

This year I'm going with your typical resolutions involving home, career, and lad(y/ies). But, most importantly, in Twenty Ten I resolve to attend more basketball games.