Random Thoughts

 

 

 

10-30-08

To answer Ian's question - A Day in the Life of an Intern on The Roundtable:

8:30 - Wake up, lounge around the house for about 30 minutes in my underwear while trying to wake up.
9:00 - Take a shower on every third day, on days you don't, then update the Sports Reads on the website.
9:20 - Desperately search for a YouTube clip of the day and a picture of a hot chick for the website before you leave. (if you can't find one, then just leave yesterday's clips up and hope that Ian doesn't look at it that day.)
9:30-9:45 - Try and find a time to leave the house and drag up to the studio.
10:04 - The show starts.
10:15 - Ian yells at you (if you didn't change the YouTube clip, front page picture, poll question, gather audio from every collegiate and professional sporting event, and come up with 3 ideas for the show.)
10:17 - Ian is still yelling at you as the show comes back on air.
10:18 - Rockstar laughs his ass off at me for getting yelled at.
10:19 - Rockstar farts.
10:20-11:00 - Answer phones, with about 75% of people not wanting to talk about the subject that the guys are on, yet insist on calling back 15 times after you politely tell them to go the hell away.
10:30 - While answering phones, get yelled at for not doing it right as Rockstar laughs at you.
11:00-11:30 - Go to Subway for Ian, and wait while they mess up your order 3 times, then try and find something cheap for yourself to eat since you have to pay for it yourself.
11:35 - Trash on the Table, always a fun time.
11:39 - Rockstar farts.
11:42 - Rockstar farts.
12:05 - The Six Pack.
12:30 - Nap time while some interview is going on.
1:06 - Wake up from that dreadful nap when Rockstar farts.
1:30 - Ian yells at you and makes you do a cut sheet for audio that no one will ever use.
1:45 - Lance makes fun of you for screwing something up during the day. You die a little inside.
1:59 - Show ends, time to run for the hills.

Not too bad, right? Remember this is just the average day, so it can be better.

-Lunce

10-28-08

      "If Atlanta can have Beluga whales, we can too!"
      Larry Langford sits in a studio on the other side of town, broadcasting to thousands, spouting off about beluga whales while we sit here and laugh.
      Crazy doesn't even come close to describing the mentality that the new mayor of Birmingham has towards trying to fix the city up.
      As I have sat here over the past year of Langford's new term as mayor, and listened to the junk that has come out of his mouth, I just laugh.
      I'm sitting in my office one day when someone comes in and tells me to go to MyFoxAL.com and watch the Beluga (as we've appropriately named him) in a chat with the highest-ranking people in the city.
      We sit around the computer like a campfire and listen to the amazing comments pouring from the mayor's mouth.
      "Birmingham is a boring city, almost as boring as Montgomery. Have you ever been to Montgomery? It's a boring city too. I want to put fountains all over the city so we won't be so boring."
      Fountains? Shoot, that will make me visit Birmingham.
      Langford wants to bring the Olympics to Birmingham. Birmingham is the 131st ranked city in sports in the country. That's good enough, right?
      Not so fast my friend, lets take a look at the "serious" issues plaguing Birmingham first before we try and reach for that #1 spot in the sports rankings.
      You know, the serious issues, such as adding fountains so we won't be as boring as Montgomery.
      Let’s not even think about addressing the sewer debt, or your issues with the SEC, or the crime rate, or the economic crisis. No, lets add fountains. That will make all the problems go away.
      Right?
      In order to make things better, Langford proposed a 1 cent tax increase. As he sat among many people who disagreed with him, he points his finger and spouts, "If a penny is going to break you, you're already    broke, so don't even worry about it."
      I think Larry Langford might need to sit back and worry about being broke himself.
      According to a transcript released by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Langford has been facing personal financial struggles, most of which stem from his management of public funds.
      After all was said and done, Langford had accumulated around $260,000 in 2006 when the investigation was underway. However, in 2002, Langford had accumulated $70,000 in credit card debt.
      When asked about the debt and what he has spent all that money on, he simply said, "I'm kind of a clothes person, I like clothes."
      In Langford's inauguration speech, he went off on parents who buy their kids expensive clothes. "You have parents spending $120 on a pair of tennis shoes," Langford stated. "Are you crazy? You are paying $60 and $80 for blue jeans with the names of somebody tattooed on your children's butt you don't even know. When was the last time Tommy Hilfiger was at your house?"
      As the SEC investigation went on, Langford"s financial methods were slowly found out. The methods? Simple - pay off debt with more debt.
      As the countdown to the 2020 Olympics continues, Langford's trouble with the SEC continues.
      Constant contradiction seems to be Larry's worst nightmare as the SEC continues to dig into his mind. All it takes is asking the question twice to get two different answers, and you've got your solution - Larry's hiding something.
      The Olympics bring peace and harmony, but also a lot of bills. The planned construction of the new dome will only cost $500 million. Not too bad. I think we can afford some fountains with the leftover change. I mean, Larry does know how to handle money so well.
      The aquarium? Well we've got to have a place for the beluga whales to go once we get them. I mean you did want beluga whales didn't you?
      Think before you speak Larry.
      When Langford left the county, they were more than $150 million in debt. The county had almost double its debt since Langford took over.
      I was talking to a colleague about needing to write 1,000 words on Larry Langford , but before I could finish, he broke in with, "Just write 'crazy' 1,000 times!"
      The sentiment seems to be unanimous among anyone I ask.
      Larry's choices are obviously not the smartest, as evident in his choices for the newly formed Olympic committee.
      Langford recently joined forces with the Alabama Sports Festival CEO Ron Creel to select 22 members for the Olympic committee that will hopefully help bring the 2020 Olympics to Birmingham.
      Langford showed once again how he doesn't make the smartest decisions as he picked a B-team if there ever was one.
      Among the members selected for the "world-class committee";, was Jefferson County Commissioner Shelia Smoot, Samford Associate Athletic Director Jay Roberson, UAB Athletic Director Brian Mackin, and former athletes such as Vonetta Flowers.
     The only thing I'm wondering is - where are the people that matter?
     Three people that come to mind, Gene Hallman, CEO of the Bruno Event team, one of the top Sports Marketing firms in the southeast who helps plan the Regions Classic, Barber's Porsche 250, Alabama's    Pre-game planning, just to name a few.
      The president of the Lakeshore Foundation, Jeff Underwood, who was the USA's representative to the Paralympics in Beijing this year, and runs the nation's best rehabilitation clinics right here in Birmingham.
      Then we've got Birmingham-Southern's Athletic Director Joe Dean. UAB had representatives on the list, but where does BSC fall on the list? Nowhere, despite Langford naming Birmingham-Southern's facilities in almost every sport that takes place in the Olympics. Also despite the fact that Joe Dean is one of the most influential athletic figures in Birmingham, now heading the public relations board for the PapaJohns.com bowl, an NCAA bowl that takes place at Legion Field.
      The first decision this "super committee" has made is to send Chicago a letter supporting them in trying to grab the 2016 bid for the Olympics.
      Chicago will most likely get them, but has spent over $50 million dollars just to get the bid to become the host city.
      Chicago has the facilities already, but the amount of money the city will have to spend if you have to keep adding the millions of dollars for simple things such as bids, then Birmingham is in deep trouble.
      Birmingham is doomed to never achieve their goals, as the Olympics have never been supported in the same country two times in a row.
      The more that I look into the facts, the more I see the waste of money that the city is putting forth. A little bit of a city facelift is too large of a price to pay when you are wasting money on a non-achievable goal.
      As I look forward into the bleak future of Birmingham, I feel I am not alone. Langford's dreams are reaching for the sky, and I admire that, but when it gets to the surface, you realize how big of a waste this could   be. Waste is a harsh word, but sometimes reality hurts.
      For Langford, chasing that reality is nothing more than a pipe dream.

-Lunce

10-15-08

So Auburn loses to a bunch of nerds - fire their offensive coordinator - then lose to the worst team in the SEC - and you want to fire your head coach. That makes sense. Hell, Clemson just did so why shouldn't Auburn? What's good for one set of kittens is good for another, right? Actually, it isn't and I'll tell ya why. Tubs has gone undefeated. Bowden never did. Tubs has one a conference title. Bowden never did. Tubs has played in BCS Bowl games. The other Tommy never did. Ya get the point?? When it comes to throwing coins in the college football coaching fountain - be careful what you wish for - because you just might get it. Blowing up Tommy Tuberville in the middle of the year would be a tragic mistake especially with 5 games to go and three of those games being "winnable" and the other two being huge rivalry games. Evaluate the future of football on the plains at the end of the season but to can a guy right now that has done more for your program than any other coach in the history of your institution - save Pat Dye - would be as dumb as firing your offensive coordinator in the middle of the season. That move might get him run at the end of the year but because of what he has accomplished he has earned the right to have everyone shutup and let him do his job....and that is coach his team up. But ya better hurry, Tommy. - fitz

9-30-08

Wow - it has been a while and I apologize. If you listen to the show then you know that my wife and I have a beautiful three month old daughter, Maren. She is not the reason that I have not talked to you -- it is our 2 1/2 year old, Rowan that has us/me ready to see how much you can get for a healthy girl on the internet.  Those of you that have children - you can probably relate. You go to work. You run down the "honey do's" before you get home. The list continues once you get home. You try and get some "daddy -daughter" time in by reading books, going to the park  or telling stories and the next thing ya know it is ten o'clock at night and you are looking at the back of your eyelids. It is no excuse - I suck. But from here on out we will get back to our regular thoughts on life, football and society so that you can hate, laugh and disagree/agree with my "Random Thoughts." So here we go. Alabama football is back in 2008.....for the moment. Bama fans - relish this moment. Embrace it. But do not get carried away with it. In the recent years and days of college football we have seen underdogs upset powerhouses at an unprecedented pace -- so heed the warnings of your head coach. Every game is one game. It is damn hard to win any game in college football in this day and age... just ask Pete Carroll. So show up on Saturdays and do not tell the fan in front of you to sit down because you cannot see the game -- stand your lazy ass up and show up just as you expect your team to do. Unless of course you are handicapped - then scream your butt off and enjoy your choice seats. Auburn fans -- your offense sucks but you are still 4-1 and ranked #13 in the country (which it seems most of you have forgotten.) Your defense has a fantastic d - cor in Paul Rhodes who has his guys playing at an elite level just like Muschamp and Chezik did. They'll keep you in every game but just pray that Franklin and my man Tuberville don't kill each other out of desperation. Tuberville is one of the best coaches in college football this decade -- just look at his record. Wins are wins even if Alabama's wins look like Megan Fox and yours look like Amy Whinehouse. (Don't tell me you haven't compared the two.) Could this be the year of my Cubbies?? My mother raised all four of her boys as Cubs fans -- not to punish us -- but out of passion -- I think. She is also a die hard Penn State alum. The Cubs and her Nittany Lions possibly back in the same year??? If the Saints could deliver along with Joe Pa and Big Lou she might check out on principle. It is good to be back -- send your hate mail or comments now. I missed ya. I think I hear a kid crying........ - fitz

8-21-08

Most obnoxious fan bases from a Bamer (all for fun, yet in all seriousness):

1. LSU - Never fails that the purple and yellow, tiger print pimp suits are out in full force, no matter where they go. The bengal tigers live it up everywhere they go, and cook the greatest food ever, yet never share. Les Miles has spent his pre-season rapping with Snoop Dogg instead of coaching football like your previous coach did for you. You flaunt that NC ring in our faces, as we see the setup for nothing this year. LSU fans and Mike the Tiger just can't stand the fact that Nick Saban left the coonass nation to come to a place that bleeds crimson and white, and not Jack Daniels.

2. Tennessee - The cheating fat Phil's live for the 8 win season, hell they even made it mandatory in the whale's contract. UcheaT wants nothing more than to expose everyone else cheating and act like they are innocent. Nothing would upset them more than to lose to Alabama and Auburn both this year, and go under that mark. Good luck finishing top 4 this year...in the East.

3. Auburn - Not a surprise, the "other" team from Alabama sits down south, and lives off their half of a national championship, while doing nothing but holding up a damn 6 next to Alabama's 12 rings. You know what, I'll give you a NC in 2004, but then allow me to show you Alabama's 5 additional NC's that we shared with people. Auburn fans have nothing of their own but copy everything the "original" has to offer. They don't have their own song to play back after they beat us, but rather a crappy version of the Rammer Jammer. Auburn will always play second fiddle in the long run, yet the number 6 for now holds more than anything else in their life. When Auburn reaches that pinnacle of success, and they can turn that win over Alabama into something worth a damn such as a National Championship, then we'll talk.

4. Alabama - Now if an Auburn fan just read what I wrote, you obviously just saw how obnoxious an Alabama fan can be! I must say, even from an Alabama fan's perspective, we are pretty bad when it comes to the present not being as important as the past, but damn if we don't have the greatest coach to ever grace the planet Earth right now coaching our boys. When I run out on my lunch run for the show, and stop by Books-a-Million to pick up a copy of the latest Forb-eee's magazine for the station, and there is a line of 40 people waiting for a copy, you know it's bad. And these aren't 40 businessmen, these are CRAZY people. Here's a run down on what I saw waiting in line, aka the "Typical Alabama Fan" (remember, I'm an Alabama fan): Mullet is mandatory, male or female. Slighty plump, but never too over done. Trailer homes are mandatory. While waiting in line, not only are you wanting the Forbes magazine, but you've also got the media guide (because you couldn't afford the season tickets with the free media guide), Lindy's pre-season magazine with JPW on the cover, and any other Bama mag you can grab up. You've got the Bear Bryant hat tattooed on your chest, and are missing half of your teeth. You've got the satellite on top of your trailer so that you can pick up that thriller against the yellow school bus (which you lost by the way), and because of it, you can't feed your children for a week. Alabama fans can't get enough of their previous nationwide domination, and can't seem to hold on to a coach that either doesn't suck, or doesn't....well you know.

5. Florida - The gator chomp never seemed so annoying until the day Florida couldn't get enough of it. When Tyrone Prothro went down agaisnt FU UF, Gator fans couldn't get enough of the Gator Chomp as Alabama's greatest receiver in years was carried off the field with one of the most painful injuries ever, and one that screwed his life forever. Albert always has to have a woman next to his side so we are 100% sure he's all man. Florida just can't stand the fact that Spurrier is up the road in SC, and that the best recruiter in the nation left for a step up from the yellow school bus. The Urban Legend took Zook's recruits and won a national championship, yet since, Florida hasn't been able to grab their ass with two hands against Auburn or Georgia. Obnoxious, thy name is Florida.

6. Georgia - The team that never quite gets there. They can try and try and try, yet even last year, the team that deserved to have a shot at Ohio State, couldn't even make their own conference championship game. This year is set up for failure as they head into one of the craziest schedules ever conceived with a #1 ranking. UGA fans love it, but even UGA VI knows what's up, he'd rather lay on a bag of ice all day than ever do anything worth a damn. At least Smokey gets after it.

11. Ole Miss, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, Miss. State - Who cares? Win something, and then you'll actually have some fans that will be obnoxious for you.

12. Vanderbilt - Vandy has a football team?

-Lunce

(In case you couldn't tell this was not serious, no hate mail please... Thanks.)

8-10-08

As you heard on the Roundtable this week, Chris Gray has been forced to retire. Amidst the Favre talk, another great legend in the NFL has had to walk away after a slight injury. A lot can be learned from Chris. Chris was a man who never left his roots, never made the headlines for doing something stupid, yet he was one of the greatest athletes in the game.

I have had the privilege to be raised in Homewood where Chris was raised. I've played in the same atmosphere Chris has, and followed his great legacy. I'm not an NFL player, and don't plan on being one, but I can still live my life as he did. Chris was an inspiration to me, just as he was to many other players that have grown up through Homewood's football program. He was a ray of hope, someone who had achieved the seemingly impossible by making it to the NFL as a successful player, first with the Dolphins, then the Bears, then finishing with the Seahawks.

Chris stood for something more than an outstanding athlete in the city of Homewood. In this town, he stood for greatness, and he stood for everything people wanted to be when they grew up. Playing 15 seasons in the NFL is beyond successful, and beyond successful is what we all want to achieve. Chris never forgot his roots where he would come home to play in the Homewood Athletic Association golf tournament every year. He would come home to the football banquets when Homewood had an outstanding year. He didn't have to, but he was proud to call Homewood home, and he made sure we knew that he was unique - a rare breed of professionalism that seems to fade away in today's athletes.

As I walked across the stage in January of 2005, after winning the 2004 Alabama State Championship in football, I shook my coaches hand with joy and pride. Front and center, there was a face all too familiar, we could all remember from the painting hung in the fieldhouse of the first football player to ever make the professional ranks. Chris Gray was clapping for me, congratulations without saying a word. I couldn't help but crack a smile as I grabbed all my championship gear from the different coaches. I was happy. As I rounded the banquet hall at the Healthsouth building, my head coach, Bob Netwon, began to speak about me. I walked slowly as he talked. He spoke of my willingness to not just be a good football player, but to be a better man. That's when he said, that when he looked in my eyes, he saw Chris Gray. He saw a student of the game, and a student of life. Chris stood for everything I wanted to be, and I didn't even want to play in the NFL. Being compared to a legend such as Chris Gray is the greatest honor I could ever receive. The two championship rings, and the posters, and popularity, they are all nothing in comparison.

We saw a great hero retire from the league this week, one that has never forgotten who he was, and one who has never forgotten where he came from, and a city can now welcome home one of the finest people it has ever produced.

-Lunce

8-5-2008

Random Thoughts. Why does asparagus make your urine smell?? Why do so many women love asparagus?? Do we always have to be in control of the remote or is it cooler to have your lady change the channels for you? On Demand of course. If you could have one man coach any team you are a fan of -- who would it be?? One woman -- same question. Do you ever wonder what genius discovered putting ketchup on french fries or for that matter -- was the french fry a mistake that made a genius?? How come some guy can make a fortune by inventing the condom or those stupid straws that go in island drinks and we can't think up a god ---- thing?? Food for thought while I dip my last fries in some ketchup in hope that my wife wants some more asparagus before she leaves town. - Fitz

7-31-2008

Just a few things from a sleep deprived soul. One. Going from one child to two children under the age of three with the youngest being 5 weeks may in fact end all sexual transactions between my wife and I. That is a sad statement considering that she is really looking hot again. Two. Nick Saban walks on water. I told several Tide alums that are friends of mine that I thought Alabama should/could win 9 regular season games and you would have thought I told them I wanted to bang their mothers!! They said " I am setting Nick up for failure!"  My bad. I thought this was a fan base that expected to win. 3.  When someone is merging off the interstate on your right and you have nobody in the lane to your left do us all a favor.  Get the hell over one lane to your left !!! This will avoid many road rage encounters. - Fitz

 

7-18-2008

7-10-2008

In this day and age, there are certain things that a person can say that forgives them from being offensive or flat out insulting to someone. Alabama football coach, Nick Saban has mastered one phrase, " You are totally unprofessional." Then here comes the " I just knee-capped you but I can get away with it b/c I said this right afterward."  -- I'm just kidding -- The phrase that allows one to call you anything one wants as long as "I'm just kidding"  follows within three seconds of cutiing off your guys. I say this is total .B.S. and soon someone will call St. Nick on his attitude of  -- " you media type suck my a--." I'm just kidding crap!! But as masterful as the Alabama man is at crushing a nutless man -- the Rev. Jesse Jackson has gone all the way to want to rip a powerful man's junk right off and I say -- screw the apology Obama -- tell the "reverend" who used that kind of language to kiss your ass!!!  I can use that kind of verbage  because I am as far from a holy man as you are, hoss. I am tired of the apology and I am tired of the "I'm just kidding" crap. If you say it then stand by it -- unless you are some kind of a pansy that is scared of being Un -PC. If you are not confident in your statement or your question to not follow it up with "I'm just kidding" or an apology -- then don't say it to begin with -- it might work out a little better for you anyway. - fitz

7-1-2008

I am sorry that is has taken so long to vent again but with a new baby girl and my in-laws going back to Texas my wife and I have been wondering how we as a species are even here!! No sleep. Who cooks dinner? The 3 am feeding. Sanity. Germs. If you don't burp your baby before he/she goes to sleep he/she may drown in their vomit!! Diaper rash is the enemy! Seriously how the ---k are we even alive considering all the crap that we believe can kill us now? You think "Tonka the Caveman" was worried about burping his/her kids or diaper rash?? Hell no!!! But now, if  you hold your infant at the wrong angle the child might contract a rare form of whatever!  Once again -- it is amazing any of us are even here! Damn I needed that -- now to business -- this space now has a new forum. This is no longer "Ian's Thoughts." We have improved it to go with the original idea which is -- any member or contact of the show can write whatever he or she wants as long as it is PG-13. From sports to entertainment to our personal lives -- it all gets revealed in "Random Thoughts!" If you think about it - we are all lucky to be able to read, write and drink considering all that can kill the future of the human race today! BTW - college football is right around the corner. Can ya' feel it?? -fitz

6-18-2008

My wife and I are the proud parents of another baby girl - Maren Rose Fitzsimmons was born at 7:13 am at St. Vincent's Hospital. She weighs 8lbs 6 oz. and is 20" long. Both mom and little girl are doing well -- I am the one that is freaking out. Two weddings. Two boyfriends taking my two girls to a combined total of 4 proms. Do you remember what you were trying to accomplish on prom night with some other dad's "little girl!" I do. So here is to my daughters health and potential of getting dear ole dad a "two for one deal" at the Convent!! Either that or they grow up loving women as much as daddy does. Is that wrong???? - fitz

6-13-2008

Simply put -- sometimes ya need to let a person brag about ya --even if you aren't worthy. - fitz

6-11-2008

Let me make one thing clear -- if anything said here to Mauricia Grant by NASCAR officials or employees is true then she deserves to be paid a lot of money. Having said that -- let me make one more thing crystal clear -- if you are a minority in an uncommon workplace i.e. -- bar, pro sports league, rodeo barrel racing, snake charming, etc. You had better have some thick skin because you are going to be ripped. Minority means straight guy in gay bar. White guy in black bar. Woman working in NASCAR. Ya get my point?? That is a cruel reality in the world we live in but for some reason nobody except Lance and I are willing to say it!! That is part of what is wrong with this P.C. society today -- if we do not talk about it then maybe it will just get better or it will just disappear. No it won't.  You cannot tell me that Ms. Grant was not prepared to be mentally tougher than her peers when she decided to pursue a career as an official in NASCAR. NASCAR is 80% white men. Mauricia is a black female. To not be ready for some ribbing is absurd -- you knowit, I know it and so did she. I love women. I am not gay .....but if I got a job tending bar at a gay club I had better be ready for some serious "off-color" comments or else I wouldn't last one night. She lasted two years and IF what she says actually happened then once again -- she needs to be paid because nobody should ever have to put up with disgusting comments like that at work or anywhere else. But, to not talk about it or not expect something is going to be said isn't as bad.....but it is nieve and chicken you know what. This is the world we live in kids -- it ain't know utopia unless you live in a gated community. -fitz

5-28-2008

When it comes to the birth of your child, is it wrong to be scared to death and excited as hell at the same time?? Just wondering if I am alone in this amazing scenario of going from one child and a zone defense to two rug rats and my wife and I are now locked up in man coverage. My wife, Katherine, knows if number two is a boy or a girl and I have decided to have X-Mas in June and not knowing if "Julio" is a boy or a girl is a fantastic rush!! All I truly want is a healthy baby and my beautiful bride to come out fighting at 100%. The gender is the stocking stuffer -- the scared part comes from no family here in The 'Ham and one of us possibly losing our minds!! Our two year old, Rowan is becoming a little person and also becoming harder to keep up with.....so if you have any tips on how to not lose your mind when adding another player to your family roster your -- feedback is more than welcome. Please hit the home page and email my roller coaster ass. -fitz

5-16-2008

We are all so quick to judge others. We are even quicker to judge people that we are envious of for one reson or another. A good man is being judged now. News broke at the Regions Charity Classic that one of Alabama's more famous sons had felony check charges brought against him from the Wynn casino. That son was Charles Barkley. Time for the disclaimer - he has over time - become a friend to not only me but my family. Charles has been, maybe to a fault, honest about his personal vices of gambling and drinking and everyone laughed then because it was the persona of Charles Barkley speaking - they didn't  laugh on Thursday. "How could he lose $400,000 gambling??" " If he wants to be Governor he should do better things with his money!!" How quickly people forget the MILLIONS of dollars Sir Charles has given to charity - not just here in Alabama but also to other places of need like New Orleans after Katrina. So quickly forgotten because the court of public opinion has no court reporter to read back the good deeds of yesterday. Before you get on your moral high horse -- do yourself a favor. Ask yourself this question.... When was the last time you gave back?? Don't be so quick to judge. -fitz

5-12-2008

Just a few rambling thoughts - Is anyone surprised that USC's OJ Mayo was popped by the mother mouse ear for taking gifts, cash and cocktails?? Myles Brand made this bed when he bent over for David Stern and the one and done plan for the NBA. Brand gets the Kevin Durant's, Kevin Love's, Beasley's, Gordon's, Oden's and yes Mayo's for a year of better TV ratings and the NBA gets their fans familiar with their hopeful stars of the future. Player leaves after a season - takes cash and still gets paid millions. Good ole State U. is left wondering why they sold their souls to the devil (Stern) for years of probation and scholorship reductions. AKA - sucking. Great move, Brand. Staying with the NBA - the playoffs are getting better - thank God. In MLB - the state of Florida is on a combined 11 game win streak. Manny hit HR number 498. Yeah, he sucks. It was a good night in T-Town as the Tide didn't have a football player arrested. How do Texas and Arizona get all the hot softball players?? First sign indicator for another one and done postseason for the Cowboys - Terrell Owens is in a soap opera and one extra for good messure --  Romo still thinks he can sing. - fitz

5-8-2008

This entry has nothing to do with sports but it has everything to do with saying two words - What if. Those two words can break a man down if if he is uttering them to himself under his breath at any time in his life. I have said those two dreadful words a time or two in my day but not in a way that I was second guessing  atremendous decision in this game called life. It was more along the lines of, " What if I hadn't had that last shot?" My mom has kept me from saying the two deadlies in the context of career or life decisions and I now pass along her advice to me on to you. Listen up and listen good. First off, Mama Fitz has more degrees than I have letters in my name. She is a woman  who left the love and life of academics to pursue another love of horses. She never wanted to look back on her life and say "What if?" What if I had chased that dream??  What if I had given everything I had to buy a run down farm in the middle of Louisiana?? Would my life be any different?? She never said that because she did chase her dream - hence no second guessing. When I was seven the University of Alabama was playing her alma mater, Penn State, for the National Championship in football and all eyes were on ABC's Keith Jackson in the pre-game show. All the men were for Alabama and all the ladies for mom's Nittany Lions. But everyone was hanging on ole Keith's every word. I turned around and told the whole crowd that I wanted to be like Mr. Jackson - that is what I wanted to do with my life. Everybody laughed. Everyone except my Mom. She embraced it. I sort of forgot about it as the years went on until my senior year at Georgetown Prep in Md. I had a few offers to play small college ball and was pretty much lost in what I wanted to do with my life. See most 18 year olds. But my mother asked me after my grandfather passed away where I saw myself in 20 years. Tough question for an 18 year old egomaniac who had a built in depression/anger excuse. I said I had no idea. She reminded me of that seven year old who wanted to be a broadcaster and I replied," How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Mama Fitz looked at me and said the following which I share with you now - " Boy. No son of mine is going to walk through this life feeling sorry for himself and saying "What if"!!  Nothing will make you feel worse TEN years from now if you are sitting in a pool of self damn pity saying "What if?" You want to do something then you damn well better go out and at least  try and do it .If you don't you will not be allowed home crying to me saying "I never did it". Now go out and do it or at least die trying. there will be no "What Ifs" in my house." True story. That little lecture was almost worse than the beatings she gave us as kids. The moral is - you are reading this and I ain't saying "What if?" I am doing the very thing that people laughed at me about from the time I was seven to my third sophomore year in college.Take some advice from Mama Fitz and chase that dream because she and I are living prove that they sure as hell come true. If you have a dream - go get it. NEVER SAY WHAT IF!!  This personal story was inspired to be shared with you after talking to John Challis. - fitz

5-5-2008

Reading all the Kneejerk Reaction on the Kentucky Derby and how a dominant performance was drowned by tragic tears from the barn that housed the euthanized filly, Eight Belles I want to remind everyone of one thing. The sport of horse racing is driven by two things - greed and ego. Owners have too much greed and MOST trainers have too much ego. The combination of the two can obviously be deadly. Talking to several former trainers and breeders there was a a majority opinion that this filly should not have been racing with this elite company...yet. You see - two and three year olds in horse racing are just that. Two and three year olds by year and year only. My younger brother Cavan was held back a year when he was born because he was born in November 1975. Compared to another boy born in January of 1975 or May of '75 he had a distinct disadvantage. Mama Fitz held him back at the age of 5 even before pre-school and in doing so he went from a 190 pound so-so linebacker to a 220 lb. linebacker and going on to play college football at Colgate University. Multiply that by 7 and you get the difference in horse years. Now Eight Belles may have been as tall (17 hands) as the last champion filly to take the Roses at Churchill - that being Winning Colors. But Colors had a good 100-150 pounds on Belles which means she was more defined. More complete. Older. Her bones were more developed and that is why she, meaning Winning Colors did not break down but took home the crown. She was a true champ and Belles may have been if patience and not greed had driven the decision when to race her and when not to. She should have been held back. You see, these animals are athletes - trust me. Having grown up around them on Tautog Farm in Folsom, LA they know when it is race day and when it is just practice. They know when it is the so called "Title Game" and when they are playing the Knicks or Vandy. Eight Belles had the heart of a champion and she proved it on the first Saturday in May. She proved she could compete with the best. If she was going against lesser competiton - she might still be here. If her handlers hadn't had either of the diseases that is killing horse racing a dominant performance by Big Brown would have had his name mentioned  in the first sentence. That ain't a Kneejerk either. Mama wasn't lying when she said patience is a virtue. I think she also said something about greed being a deadly sin.- fitz

4-30-2008

Watching COSTAS NOW on HBO I realized that the evolution of how sports is covered has almost done a 180 degree turn. Think about it - 20 years ago when sports talk radio burst on to the scene -- coaches, players and mostly fans viewed the talk medium as evil and negative. Hosts of sports talk shows were deemed "coach killers" and "haters". Fast forward to 2008 and the talk forum is now a "voice of the fan" and a .way for some to vent as the bloggers and message boards have now become the vehicle to spew any venom at a hated rival - out a famous athlete - or spin a negative story toward a positive side. The way sports is covered has become a mirror of the microwave society we live in today. Give me info now. Give me thirty seconds to digest it and let me spit it out or devour it like a perfectly grilled filet. I don't know if that is good or bad. Pure or evil....but I do know that is only going to get faster, naughtier and more inaccurate. Families of public figures matter little or not at all to fewer and fewer and that is sad. Being inaccurate on a player or coaches career and not caring is sad. This though is the world in which we now reside. Sports Talk radio is still going to give you what the suits and hosts think will sell and have you talking at the pub and at lunch and around the office but the real chatter will be about that picture of the QB that was on so and so's site doing beer bongs with a fat chick -- that is the new "killer". Those are the new "haters". I read them just as much as anybody and to be honest - sometimes they taste like filet. Try and keep up because evolution continues and lord knows what we might be fed or feeding you in another twenty years - hell it might taste like raccoon and sometimes there ain't nothin' wrong with a little fellowship over some varment. - fitz