More than one friend of mine contacted me concerned that me and my ragtag band of ruffians might be the victims in this
terrible story that unfolded last night which, thankfully, we are not.
Here's a very brief synopsis. A young couple, married, who had a young child between them was shot yesterday on Sanders Road in Buffalo. We likely never even saw those people in day to day passing. We live on the other side of Colvin from where it happened, even still it was awful
close.
There's a lot of paranoid folks on the web site marking this as the beginning of the end for a great many things, and/or battling it out over gun laws. I called the Meggasaurus and told her about it and she was a bit shocked. I don't normally go for this, but I was even able to frighten her into being a bit more secure about things round the house, since I grew up on the east side where making sure things were locked down was a way of life. That was a little deviceive I know, but making those ladies safer is my task. Though I'd rather Meg did the things I asked her to do to be safe because she wanted to and she trusted my judgment, I'll take fear if keeps them alive another day.
So, I guess I'm just as guilty as some of the "whoa-is-the-world'ers" on the Buffalo News site. I think that murders like this aren't random, and are indicative of the life the victims lead, though unfortually in some situations that's not the case and they are innocents. This comment set me at ease a bit, as disturbing as that may seem:
msmma wrote:
When I saw the news reporting this story last night, they interviewed a neighbor who didn't want to be id'd who said that there were drug deals going on in that house all the time.
Who knows if it's true or false, but if it's true, then I don't think anyone should be surprised by this tragic outcome.
Otherwise. I'm really sorry for
(e:Jim) and his late boss. I'd still be trying to get over that if I were Jim... You were brave to find him Jim.
I'm not really considering the fairness argument I suppose. It definitely looks and sounds ugly, and I won't argue against that. As long as they are a private organization I think they can, within reasonable limits, make their own rules. Augusta National got heat on them for being basically an Old Boys club.
I'm not necessarily against this primarily because they should be able to make these rules and sink or swim based on their decisions. The responsibility of the management is to ensure the LPGA's financial solvency, and I'm certain that's the primary motivation.
Another angle is the prize money discrepancy, and whether that is "fair" or not, but that is another argument for another time. I think that the LPGA is looking to promote their best players, right or wrong, and are looking after the bottom line.
I really don't agree that American athletes give the country they work in the finger when it comes to language. Freddie Adu is going to have to learn Portuguese. Athletes who play in Europe or Asia or South America all have to learn the local dialect as a matter of practicality, if not survival, if they can't get by with English.
Kind of a cold justification I guess but it will be interesting to see what comes of it. A lot of people are going to learn from this, and if it really is illegal I wonder what damages would be like.
(e:Jason) I'm not attacking you so don't take it this way but you should be very upset by this just like I Am. The Reason Being is that if this takes off it will spread to some other sport that you or I like. Why not put this rule into Hockey, yes most players can speak English but it comes out as simple things or sayings and they can't really describe stuff in detail, now those players wouldn't be allowed to play. What about in Volleyball there are some coaches who only know the terms and things they need to know game wise of the team they are coaching what will they have to be able read a short story and then explain it to there players next.
Yes it is good for international players to learn English but you can't make them, that is illegal. Hey I got an idea why don't American Players learn Korean, oh yeah they would say "Fuck You". Americans (a lot of them) would never learn to speak some other language and often think when they travel everyone should know how they speak but won't learn how to talk the language of the country they are going to.
I don't watch golf but there are some hot Ladies like Michelle Wie and that Pak girl so I don't know how much interviews do play a role. But in a lot of sports when you give your interview the drink you have and the hat and the clothing is all people who sponsor you and some times the sport so keeping people listening and watching it is an important aspect but it isn't the most important.
I don't have any particular problem with it. The alternative is, I guess, to just not market your stars and go for the second tier of people who can actually communicate with the fans. With all of the other sports it is implied that to be promoted you have to be able to relate to your fans. Those who can't communicate don't get on ESPN commercials or NBC promotion packages.
I thought this was really weird, because golf is golf right? But I guess before each game you can shoot a round with the pros, chit-chat, and schmooze in exchange for a large box of money, which is used to keep LPGA going. But if you don't speak the same language, all you're doing is paying a whole lot of money to play golf with a mutually-incomprehensible foreigner and I guess that's not as fun. There must be a better solution, but I've already thought more about golf today than I usually do in a year so I guess it'll have to wait.
- Z
I wish My boycott would mean something, but it isn't physically possible for me to be less interested or involved in golf.
Really though, How dumb is this idea? A giant market opens up, and they rush to alienate it. Baseball, Basketball, and ice hockey have made bank by becoming international. (Football is trying, but has a long way to go). And golf thinks they can do better?