Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- What did the Dalai Lama know and when did he know it? Thailand arrests senior monks in temple raids to clean up Buddhism.

- How a weakened ESPN became consumed by politics.

- Master Chief Britt Slabinski - Medal of Honor recipient. Where do we find such men?

- I see this and immediately wonder if the title of the piece is The Passion of the Willie.

- F-35 1 - Russian Defensive Systems 0 (but don't get cocky)

- Interesting - HGH as a treatment for stroke victims

- Local hero Stephen Mindich passes. WFNX was always the first station I'd turn to on my car radio.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- This is true

- Cool - your complete guide to the total solar eclipse

- Am I the only one who things it's weird that Tiger Woods' back is OK to do free diving but not well enough to swing a golf club?

- You may want to start taking HGH after reading this. Outside originally published this in 2003 and I wish they did a second follow-up version on how the drugs have changed in the past 14-years.

- Sorry Cardinals fans - this cannot be unseen

- I had never heard of the Forrest Fenn Treasure Hunt before. Looks like a third person may have died trying to find the $2 million treasure.

- You have to be up to date on Game of Thrones to appreciate this joke

- Heh heh - Russian TV 

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Wise words from Frank Zappa

- Interesting long read on the seriously messed up 1982 draft by the Tampa Bay Bucs

- On the other end of the spectrum - how Red Auerbach assembled the 1986 Celtics starting five. Did not know about the Ralph Sampson angle. There should be a follow up on how Red put together the bench because it was perhaps the greatest bench in NBA history.

- Fantastic look into why daily fantasy sports sites are for suckers

- The "economic bomb" Saudi Arabia faces because of low oil prices

- Heh heh

- John Stuart Mill was a fascinating character (and this review of his biography is so long that reading the book might not be necessary)

- Heh heh - Denmark has had enough of Bernie Sanders

- This picture of Pete Rose cannot be unseen

- Maybe HGH does stand for "head growth hormone"

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

If ESPN's Chris Mortensen was asked to sit on a jury on a case involving Peyton Manning - he'd have to be recused because he's a longtime friend. Yet we are supposed to think he's objective when it come to Peyton's reputed HGH usage... Excelsior! Stan Lee turned 93 yesterday... Is the brain "affected" by alcohol or "effected" by alcohol? Or both?... Manning's doctor is famous for his HGH therapy but we are supposed to believe he was going to him for other treatments... The Ewoks are dead. All of them... Words in a Cunning Order would be a good name for a blog - or a publishing company... My favorite part of the Manning story is now whenever Peyton gets mad at anyone - people can immediately ascribe it to "Roid Rage"... Touching stories of George W. Bush visiting soldiers in the hospital... So does Manning retire at the end of the season with this HGH story hanging over his head or does he try to stay on and dare the Broncos to cut him?... I'm an awful person for laughing at this...

Trainspotting - The US Version

It has long been a tradition to take an English made movie or TV show and Americanize it. The most recent glaring example being the TV show The Office which was a re-make of the English version starring Ricky Gervais. When an import from England is Americanized some changes have to me made to account for the differences in culture. For instance the original book and movie Fever Pitch was about soccer but the American version of the movie was about baseball.

I bring this up because it occurred to me that perhaps the best way to capture the current HGH problem in baseball would be to re-make the 1996 English movie Trainspotting. The original story was how a bunch of friends dealt with heroin addiction but the American version could easily have a change in drug of choice.

Two things made me think the re-make could work. First you could rename the main character Clemens instead of Renton but the scene of the main character being sucked down the toilet by his drug use could pretty much remain intact. In fact can you think of anything that better symbolizes the state that "Clemens" currently finds himself in than being literally sucked down a toilet? Plus in the original the main character goes to London for a fresh start - in the remake we can have the main character move to Houston.

Secondly you have the character Tommy in the original movie who was a clean living athlete who gets introduced to drugs by Renton (nee Clemens) and whose life falls apart because of the drugs. In the remake we could call this character Pettitte.

Just using these two things as a starting point could lead to a successful remake if you ask me.

I'm not sure who could play the Begbie character in the re-make.

Rodney Harrison

I just wanted to share my thoughts on Rodney Harrison of the Patriots getting a 4 game suspension for using the NFL banned substance HGH (human growth hormone). Let me first start off by saying I've never used steroids or any performance enhancing drugs. That said - I really don't blame Rodney Harrison for taking HGH. Let me explain.

Rodney Harrison is at the end of his career. He's no longer a young man. Taking HGH gave him the ability to heal at the rate of a young man and if Rodney was to come back from his torn ACL in time to play - he needed a little help.

People are always saying that the NFL is a business and Rodney Harrison's only product in that business is his body. He cut some corners by taking HGH and like any business - when you are found cutting corners your reputation takes a hit. Well Rodney Harrison's reputation has taken a big hit. Lucky for Harrison that he still has a loyal customer for his business in the Patriots.

Let me make three observations:

1. Harrison wanted to be a referee when his playing days are over. I'm thinking that this 4 game suspension pretty much puts a damper on those plans. Taking steroids is akin to cheating in many people's eyes and if you are the NFL you don't want to mix the words "cheater" and "referee" in any context.

2. My understanding is that Harrison got caught because he used his own name and address. Hello - fake name and PO Box at a Mailbox Etc. next time (or at least get a friend or relative to place the order).

3. I've never had an interest or a need for Viagra but I imagine there might come a time that I am. So too HGH. Say I turn 50 and want to remain as active as a 35-year old - I would like HGH to be medically available as an option for me. All the bad publicity on HGH may be harming what in proper usage may be a boon to an aging generation. Seriously.